Hello, I live in the USA and I am very interested in starting a business however the process of purchasing and initiating a business transaction worldwide in a language I don't know is very new and intimidating to me as I do not know where to start and I have many questions I am starting from point A and I need to get to point Z !!

I have decided that the products I want to supply is Hotel amenities (shampoos, conditioners, slippers, sewing kits , shower caps, etc) I still have to find the right company in China....my target consumer is the hotel industry, however the hotels that I want to target are not in the USA they are located in the caribbean

The hotels that I want to target are currently being supplied these products by their local supply company that also have a base in Florida (this is where they have their warehouse) but they do not have many Hotel amenities options to chose from and the products they are offering at the moment is of very poor quality......

My dilema is I do not know what I should do...should I target the hotels and try to supply to them individualy or should I contact the local supply company and offer them the products? How do I ship from China to the USA? Do I need some type of license to import products into the USA? Can I ship from China to the Caribbean?

I guess depending on the route I eventually take..... the next spew of questions will follow, I really appreciate your help and feel lucky to have you read my post - what a wealth of knowledge!!!!!

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

You are in the right place for information. Make sure that you take the time to read through past posts as there is a lot of answers to questions that may be helpful to you.

You mention that the current product is not good quality. Have you checked with the hotels whether that is a problem for them? If they are after cheap price then perhaps they are willing to forgoe quality there.

As a start up I think your biggest problem will be establishing credibility. Hotels are going to want a professional supplier and someone that has the logistical ability to supply product on call. You are going to therefore need to warehouse stock so that you have product on demand.

I do not know the hospitality industry but I further suspect that they will want to ensure that your product is good before they order so samples are going to be required.

As to shipping and payment methods why not ask those questions on the specific forums as you may find you get better answers there.

What you are looking at doing is going to be a long road but the benefits could make it worth it. Don't be afraid to go after this but just make sure that you back up what you are offering so that you dont fall flat!

Quoting from [Egernia]:

You are in the right place for information. Make sure that you take the time to read through past posts as there is a lot of answers to questions that may be helpful to you.

You mention that the current product is not good quality. Have you checked with the hotels whether that is a problem for them? If they are after cheap price then perhaps they are willing to forgoe quality there.

As a start up I think your biggest problem will be establishing credibility. Hotels are going to want a professional supplier and someone that has the logistical ability to supply product on call. You are going to therefore need to warehouse stock so that you have product on demand.

I do not know the hospitality industry but I further suspect that they will want to ensure that your product is good before they order so samples are going to be required.

As to shipping and payment methods why not ask those questions on the specific forums as you may find you get better answers there.

What you are looking at doing is going to be a long road but the benefits could make it worth it. Don't be afraid to go after this but just make sure that you back up what you are offering so that you dont fall flat!

Thanks Egernia! I think establishing credibility won't be a problem as I have worked with these hotels before and I'm on a first name basis with some, however the work load does seem overwhemling I guess the first place to start would be to get samples...?

Thanks for your reply!

Quoting from [LilDragon]:

 

Thanks Egernia! I think establishing credibility won't be a problem as I have worked with these hotels before and I'm on a first name basis with some, however the work load does seem overwhemling I guess the first place to start would be to get samples...?

Thanks for your reply!

The credibility that you are alluding to is not what i think Egernia is talking about.  You may have worked with these hotels before in some other kind of capacity, but that is not going to give you instant credibility nor reliability because what you are trying to do now is unproven.  You talk about warehousing the product.  The price you have to charge them has to include the amount of time that those goods stay in a warehouse.

You are going to need forecasts from the hotels on how much of each product they use on a monthly basis and have the storage capacity of 1 months supply plus 20% on hand for unforseen needs or even special needs due to many factors.  Then theres the fact of securing suppliers that have lead times that can accomodate your turn arounds of supply.

Then theres, the money issue.  Most hotel chains do supply business based on net 30 days of a PO.  So now you will have the expense of buying 2 months +20% and storage costs before getting paid the first time.

Impossible its not, but your going to have to be very good with contracts, and pro-active logistics to make this work.  This over and above maintaining the quality of the products and your distribution.

Ranger

Quoting from [Ranger]:

Quoting from [LilDragon]:

 

Thanks Egernia! I think establishing credibility won't be a problem as I have worked with these hotels before and I'm on a first name basis with some, however the work load does seem overwhemling I guess the first place to start would be to get samples...?

Thanks for your reply!

The credibility that you are alluding to is not what i think Egernia is talking about.  You may have worked with these hotels before in some other kind of capacity, but that is not going to give you instant credibility nor reliability because what you are trying to do now is unproven.  You talk about warehousing the product.  The price you have to charge them has to include the amount of time that those goods stay in a warehouse.

You are going to need forecasts from the hotels on how much of each product they use on a monthly basis and have the storage capacity of 1 months supply plus 20% on hand for unforseen needs or even special needs due to many factors.  Then theres the fact of securing suppliers that have lead times that can accomodate your turn arounds of supply.

Then theres, the money issue.  Most hotel chains do supply business based on net 30 days of a PO.  So now you will have the expense of buying 2 months +20% and storage costs before getting paid the first time.

Impossible its not, but your going to have to be very good with contracts, and pro-active logistics to make this work.  This over and above maintaining the quality of the products and your distribution.

Ranger

You are absolutely right Ranger! I appreciate your imput  and advice

Quoting from [LilDragon]:

Hello, I live in the USA and I am very interested in starting a business however the process of purchasing and initiating a business transaction worldwide in a language I don't know is very new and intimidating to me as I do not know where to start and I have many questions I am starting from point A and I need to get to point Z !!

I have decided that the products I want to supply is Hotel amenities (shampoos, conditioners, slippers, sewing kits , shower caps, etc) I still have to find the right company in China....my target consumer is the hotel industry, however the hotels that I want to target are not in the USA they are located in the caribbean

The hotels that I want to target are currently being supplied these products by their local supply company that also have a base in Florida (this is where they have their warehouse) but they do not have many Hotel amenities options to chose from and the products they are offering at the moment is of very poor quality......

My dilema is I do not know what I should do...should I target the hotels and try to supply to them individualy or should I contact the local supply company and offer them the products? How do I ship from China to the USA? Do I need some type of license to import products into the USA? Can I ship from China to the Caribbean?

I guess depending on the route I eventually take..... the next spew of questions will follow, I really appreciate your help and feel lucky to have you read my post - what a wealth of knowledge!!!!!

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

An inexpensive referencer book that should be great help to you as you explore this opporunity is "Import/Export for Dummies".  This book is a treasure trove of information, advice and resource contact data for anyone thinking of going into, or already in, the import-export field. In a conversational style, the author walks the newcomer to international business through the myriad of challenges, regulations, and opportunities inherent in doing business with overseas interests. This book should be required reading for anyone thinking of importing or exporting!

You can find it in most online bookstores (i.e. Amazon, B&N, Wiley, etc)

Quoting from [LilDragon]:

Hello, I live in the USA and I am very interested in starting a business however the process of purchasing and initiating a business transaction worldwide in a language I don't know is very new and intimidating to me as I do not know where to start and I have many questions I am starting from point A and I need to get to point Z !!

I have decided that the products I want to supply is Hotel amenities (shampoos, conditioners, slippers, sewing kits , shower caps, etc) I still have to find the right company in China....my target consumer is the hotel industry, however the hotels that I want to target are not in the USA they are located in the caribbean

The hotels that I want to target are currently being supplied these products by their local supply company that also have a base in Florida (this is where they have their warehouse) but they do not have many Hotel amenities options to chose from and the products they are offering at the moment is of very poor quality......

My dilema is I do not know what I should do...should I target the hotels and try to supply to them individualy or should I contact the local supply company and offer them the products? How do I ship from China to the USA? Do I need some type of license to import products into the USA? Can I ship from China to the Caribbean?

I guess depending on the route I eventually take..... the next spew of questions will follow, I really appreciate your help and feel lucky to have you read my post - what a wealth of knowledge!!!!!

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

hi ,friend .  don't  worry about the  samples  .if you need hotle  products ,here are many in  yiwu of china ,there is  a big market  with good  price and quality .if you need some help , you can note us

about the  shipping route,it's no problem. we  can ship goods from china to the  caribbean.

 

welcome to  contact us  zhuairong999@yahoo.cn   my  skype :aizhu9991

Quoting from [LilDragon]:

Hello, I live in the USA and I am very interested in starting a business however the process of purchasing and initiating a business transaction worldwide in a language I don't know is very new and intimidating to me as I do not know where to start and I have many questions I am starting from point A and I need to get to point Z !!

I have decided that the products I want to supply is Hotel amenities (shampoos, conditioners, slippers, sewing kits , shower caps, etc) I still have to find the right company in China....my target consumer is the hotel industry, however the hotels that I want to target are not in the USA they are located in the caribbean

The hotels that I want to target are currently being supplied these products by their local supply company that also have a base in Florida (this is where they have their warehouse) but they do not have many Hotel amenities options to chose from and the products they are offering at the moment is of very poor quality......

My dilema is I do not know what I should do...should I target the hotels and try to supply to them individualy or should I contact the local supply company and offer them the products? How do I ship from China to the USA? Do I need some type of license to import products into the USA? Can I ship from China to the Caribbean?

I guess depending on the route I eventually take..... the next spew of questions will follow, I really appreciate your help and feel lucky to have you read my post - what a wealth of knowledge!!!!!

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

I just wanted to drop in and give my .02 cents. I work for a liquid and aerosol  manufacturer out of Missouri that makes products like the ones you are talking about. We went down the hotel and motel route several times and have found it to be a lot harder to crack than other markets. The one thing I found is that The Hotel Registry out of Milwaukee, WI has a firm grasp on this market. They have their current suppliers and are satisfied with what they are currently getting. For them to make a change over to a new company there has to be a huge added benefit of your product or services. It is way to costly to change over products, even if you are saving them a couple pennies here and there. If you are interested in a supplier of goods like you mentioned feel free to contact me and I can give you some products samples and such. Thanks, I hope this helps a little.