I think there's a great future for home offices in China to support both Western and Chinese firms in international trading.

Other than the obvious cost savings to the western party, home offices on the mainland have the potential to smooth those insane time and holiday differences between China and particularly USA and Europe.

On holidays and festivals, China is at play while the USA works and vice versa. That greatly lessens the period when both countries work on the same calendar dates.

But, we also effectively get a three day weekend in both countries. China is ahead of eastern and western USA by 13 and 16 hours respectively. So, as far as inter-communication goes, Friday workday is lost in USA because it's Friday night in China. And, Monday workday is lost in China because it's of course Sunday in USA.

That three day weekend plus the differing holidays leaves surprisingly small windows where both continents work during the same consecutive days. It leaves around only 150 days per year when consecutive daily work is happening. In business terms this means there's only 150 days each year on which either the USA or Chinese party can expect a reply email on the following day.

And, of course it's got to be "following day" reply because of that darn day-night difference between the two.

The combination of that 150 day equation and the day-night factor makes for some pretty interesting scenes in USA offices. The frustration is mainly on the USA side because of the typical impatience of USA managers.

While doing business in USA, I've actually seen USA bosses yelling at their staff "I want goddam answers out of China right now". Of course, there's little chance of that because China is sound asleep or close to. And, if it's a Friday morning email from USA to China, there's a three day wait for a reply until return to the office on Monday morning.

And, so it goes on ... it drives people crazy.

No matter if the USA company has a specialist agent in Hong Kong or on the mainland. The agent works out of a Chinese office and that office closes at night and on Chinese holidays.

Okay ... phone the Chinese party on his / her home phone at night?

Hohaaa ... all good little Chinese managers and agents seem to dine out every night of the week. It's just so darn cheap to dine out like a King every night of the week in downtown China!

Talking in "real time" with China is almost essential in doing business with China and this is where Chinese home office workers are particularly valuable. At say 3-5pm LA time it's 7-9am in China or at 9-10am New York time its 10pm-midnight in China, which are reasonably civilised hours in a Chinese home office.

The merit of home offices in China is blindingly obvious. The competent Chinese manager who tosses in his/her $75 per week job to work full time from home for a western company for say $150 per week is not on a bad wicket either.

To talk in real time with a Chinese party, to talk virtually every day of the year and to have one's own feet on the ground in China for a couple of hundred bucks a week (plus home office disbursements and travel) is a bargain.

Yes, I am a great believer in Chinese home offices.

Replying to [Aussie]:

Yes, home offices for international business will be more popular in China. I've found many guys want to arrange this kind of offices.

If there is anybody interested in, I can also arrange an office with my good friend work together for international buyers

Replying to [tonyinspection]:very good idea.support you

Quoting from [chinacdl]:


Replying to [tonyinspection]:very good idea.support you

I want know from you the needs of Setting up a virtue office here in Asia? with all-ready-to-go equipements & professional service.


Any one intersted in such a service here?

Replying to [tonyinspection]:Tony u have my full support

Replying to [Aussie]:
Good idea. I will take in mind when will arrange next import from China.

Replying to [JMS wei]:

In a Home Office, where your work is exclusively for one western party:

A. Land line of course for home phone.

B. 3 in 1 Fax machine / photo copier / phone message recorder.

C. Laptop Computer / internet connection.

D. Microsoft Office software (to deal with western party on excel spreadsheets and the like).

E. Bank account for western party to pay your monthly fee and travel etc expenses into.

F. Business cards of course. English on side / Chinese the other, stating the western party you represent.

.................................

Agreement with western party, for rough example:

(a) Fixed Fee: paid monthly, first payment 2 weeks after commencement (so that monthly fee is always two weeks in arrears and two weeks in advance).

(b) Overheads: Western party to pay office expenses such as telephone, and other out of pocket expenses such as travel. No expense to be incurred without email approval.

(c) Expense Account: an agreed Petty Cash sum paid on day one. Say $500. To be replenished as money is spent so that cash is always on hand for expenses (ie do not use your own money to pay expenses when the "fixed fee" is a salary type arrangement). The unspent money in petty cash is the property of the western party.

(d) Authority: Chinese party does not have power to bind western party to any liability in China without written authority of western party.

(e) Relationship: Not employee / employer relationship.

(f) Termination: either party may terminate on 30 days notice or without notice for gross negligence and / or dishonest conduct.

(g) Confidentiality: Chinese party must not reveal commercial information to others.

(h) Restriction: during first year after Termination, Chinese party must not deal with western parties' competitors.

Replying to [Aussie]:
This is a good idea, I am trying to establishing it !

May the Gods smile on you marinewong,

Small western buyers need 100's of genuine little home office people all over China.

Never give up your dream.

Alibaba will have a special "Due Diligence" section in about another 6 weeks. Watch out for it and maybe you can get a little start there.

Replying to [Aussie]:
I ever worked in a factory in China and I am in charge of all of overseas orders. Our working time is from 8:00 am to 7:00 pm. 11:30 am to 12:30 pm is for lunch and 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm for supper.

Due to the time difference, when it is 3:00 pm in China, our German partners start work and when it is 5:30 pm, we have supper. But when we got back from dinner, it is lunch time for German people. When it is 7:00 pm, we have to go home; it is too tired and we do not want to work overtime. Everyday, there is only about three hours to do many things. So, the phone is our many method to contact each other. Nevertherless, sometime, I have to work till 9:00 pm for 3 days every week.

For our USA partners, we seldom communicate with each other by phone because there is no time to do it. If something urgent, we have to call counter persons' mobile phone.

We ever talked with our boss to adjust the working time for us, but they did not agree. So, if home officies in China, let the boss of the companies make allowance for their staff, not prolong their working time.

Now I left this factory and work for myself. Of course, this is home office.

Congratulations Peter on ditching your job and starting up your home office to get around those awful time differences between continents.

 

Why not tell us all about yourself and your home office to help others ...

 

Your city + what you do best + what you hope to accomplish in the next few years + the heartaches and joys of being your own boss in a home office + give us an example of how much $ you might charge a little western buyer to do a particular job or to do one day's work for a western buyer, or etc?

 

(Remember many little western buyers are very "little" and they also work in their own home office and without much money)?

 

You see, many little western people are too "frightened" to seek help in checking out Chinese suppliers / getting help with orders and etc. They are used to professional "robbers" in their own country charging a "fortune" to do a day's advisory work. This makes them shy about asking for help in China.

 

That's a pity because good honest help is available in China for a modest fee. We need to hear more on this forum about actual costs to get help in China.

 

If you would be good enough to post it, I don't think the little blue bird will regard your info as a Trade Lead because your story may help many people in both East and West to better understand.