I thought that most of you guys will find this interesting and see if this is exactly what you wanna do.  - Cool post of how George Freeman of the Freeman Import Company describes his typical day at the office:

7:00 am
If you deal with companies based in the Far East and you want to talk to them by telephone or receive a quick answer then it is important once or twice a week to start early (or stay up late)in order to catch them. I am an early riser so I often make a few calls and send a few emails before breakfast. When I launched Freeman Import Company I didn't have my own computer ? but now I have the latest Home Office, which is fabulous. I use it together with a digital camera to send and receive photographs of products.

8:00 am
Breakfast with my family. Take the kids to school. Take the dog for a walk. Read the papers (I am always on the look out for new product ideas). Only go back to my study when my wife suggests I should fix the garage door. It is wonderful working at home ? the only downside is everyone thinks you are available for doing chores. I know some Import/Export agents who like to go on buying expeditions overseas -but I hate travel and I hate hotels. My idea of bliss is staying at home all day.

10:00 am
Start work in earnest. I usually devote my mornings to marketing, my afternoons to administration. However, the post brings several cheques so I spend an hour doing my accounts, writing out some invoices, and filling in the bank book. Most of my commission is paid by direct transfer into either my US dollar or sterling account, which saves me a lot of time.

11:00 am
A manufacturer I have never dealt with before has sent me a box of thirty clock radios. He wants me to act for him in the UK.I spend an hour testing his product and after deciding that it is of good quality I create a fact sheet describing its features and setting out the price and delivery details. I make a straight 15% on everything I sell. His product offers good value for money and I know it is going to be popular. I email him a copy of my standard terms and conditions asking him to sign a copy and fax it back within 48 hours. Five minutes later the fax comes through even though he is in a time zone nine hours ahead of the UK! Keen or what?

Midday
After a break for coffee I draw up an initial list of possible customers for the clock radios. Nowadays, I have my own list of customers but there are plenty of reference sources when you are starting out. I decide to fax my fact sheet to about one hundred wholesalers ? offering them a free sample on a first come, first served basis. Thanks to the computer I can send the one hundred faxes in a matter of minutes. I don't deal much by telephone and I rarely make a sales visit ? though I do take my best customers out to nice meals every few months.

1:30 pm
Stop for lunch. Walk the dog. End up mending the garage door. Kids come home from school so I stop to have a cup of tea with them.

4:00 pm
Back in the office. Process orders for other products I sell. Some orders come by post, some by fax, some by email. A few messages get left on my answering machine. I pool smaller orders together to make up whole containers. Although this may mean a slight delay for my customers they are happy to wait because it means they can order less but still benefit from a rock bottom price. I've set myself a weekly sales target of #10,000. Last week I did #4,000 ? but this week I've already dome #18,000 and it is only Wednesday. Last year, after all my expenses, I made a profit of #57,000 ? nearly #5,000 a month. I am hoping to do considerably better this year.

5:00 pm
Send all my own orders off to the manufacturers I represent. Most now have email ? but some have to be faxed. It takes me half an hour. Deal with a telephone call from a wholesaler looking for electric kettles. Promise to send him details and prices within 24 hours and immediately send off an email to a dozen possible suppliers in Taiwan and China. More and more of my products come from Chinese factories ? their prices are impossible to beat and the quality is getting better and better.

6:00 pm
Call it quits for the day! I've done six hours actual work ? and that's enough for me. A few inquiries have already come in for the new clock radio so before I turn off the computer I run out name and address labels. First thing tomorrow morning I'll post off samples.

Replying to [Customlinepc]:

thats what i would'nt mind doing...that if i knew how

Replying to [Customlinepc]:
I envy you, , I'm yearning for such a life in China!!!
I'm looking for a chance to work closely together with a serious foreign buyer in China!
I like making friends worldwide and love to work at my option!
Welcome to China!

Replying to [Customlinepc]:One year $57000 profit it seems a lot of money.It is about 45 times of my salary of one year.

Replying to [Steelion]:
PLEASE ASK YOUR BOSS TO INCREASE YOUR SARSARY

Replying to [Steelion]:
ONCE AGAIN GUYS THAT IS NOTMY SCHEDULE IAM A STUDENT IN NEW YORK, I JUST FOUND THAT SCHEDULE ONLINE AND IT BELONGS TO GEORGE FREEMAN ( HE COULD EVEN BE FULL OF CRAP ) but yes "steelion" please as he said, ask your boss to increase your salary!

Replying to [Customlinepc]:

It sounds very good. However,

1) Mr. Freeman already has established suppliers and buyers with him. Most people manage to achieve this after spending a considerable amount of time in the field. This suggests that Mr. Freeman's success has not been overnight and he has been working in this field for a while now.

2) Such sourcing and buying agents depend on the integrity of the suppliers and buyers. They also need to have legally binding and, more importantly, enforceable agreements with suppliers and buyers. Currently, there is a discussion titled 'The factory stole my customer!' in Resources. This exemplifies the pitfalls of working as a buying/sourcing agent since agreements with business associates may not be legally enforceable, especially when the supplier/buyer is in another country.

Regards,

Replying to [Customlinepc]:

Replying to [Customlinepc]:

Hello,

I am in USA and wanted to set up a business like yours. Could you please suggest, where to start.

I highly appreciate it. Thank you

Barry
merchant95@yahoo.com

Replying to [Customlinepc]:
Wow. I never know what comes up next. For me every day is different. If you are in sales, sometimes you have to take clients out, entertain them, show them around, and make sure they have a good time. Cause if you are a sales person, you need to know how to make relations with people. Most likely it is better if you also make friend relationships with them and not just business. In those cases when I stay up late, I can barley wake up in the morning. Sometimes I have to load containers, sometimes I have to run to factories, sometimes I have to answer calls and e-mails. Everyday is different.
Anyway you have a very healthy schedule. It is something I also want to do but can not.

Replying to [Customlinepc]:
What a beautiful way to work. This is exactly how I would love to lead my life too !! I'm an agent based in India. If you want to source anything from here please contact us at : salona@jaguaroverseas.com