Home-based Import/Export business with low investment.

I have been reading dozens of websites regarding the topic. Pretty much most of them say: "this is what you can do" but not "this is how you can do it".

Most sources of information spend a lot of time talking about the customs/shipping/payments documents, but none of them talk about the negotiating/contractual/offer/order part of the documents.

I have studied Intl Business in College and no one ever mentioned anything about LOI, or the official supplier's offer, the letter of comfort from bank, etc. In fact I've just found out about those here in Alibaba, few days ago.

I could say that in College all they taught me was the basics to operate a Import/Export Business when you handle the merchandise in your warehouse. Direct shipping, bill of lading switch, how to protect your interests as a middleman, etc.

Oh, not to mention the several lectures about how to operate as a big coorporation manager. All the theories in the world and we never cut to the chase...

Anywho... the issue is..

I have seen several respectable people say you can start your home-based business with very little investment. Let's say 5 thousand dollars. (I dont trust people that say you need ZERO)

So, is it possible to start your own home-based Intl Business with only 5 thousand dollars? How?

(Any literature suggestionsare welcome, as well os other newbies who would like to share some ideas/doubts)

Once again, thank you for your time spent on reading this!

So, is it possible to start your own home-based Intl Business withonly 5 thousanddollars? How?

Matt,

The good news is. you decided to actually ask questions BEFORE you spent that 5K and got ripped off.

Starting a biz with 5K is posible, but it will be small to start..... Chosoe products you know something about, or "general" products which don't require specialist knowledge on your part.

Here's the part that is most important..... Getting a 5K business off the ground and running and becoming successful needs 3 basic things....

1> Honesty in your business practices (which includes great customer service)

2> Decent products.

3> Working your rear-end off

and no I am ot kidding on #3..... You really DO have to work your butt off.

All those ads you hear about "we did 45K last month" is technically) accurate maybe, but those numebrs are ALWAYS GROSS, not net....... pulling in 45K a month but outlaying 44.9K doesn;t give you a whole * of a lot of profit!

So my recomendation to you is to source a decent sized "book" of products either in Canada or the US, since with only 5K importing from OS isn't going to be cost effective at this point..... Keep 1K as your marketing/ storage/ gas etc costs for 3-6 months.... Do your own catalogs/ build a website/ hit the streets/ send out promo mail/ sell on craigslist etc etc etc

Basically, get some products together of decent quality and sell them in as many places as you can think of!........ oh yeah... and work your butt off.

Hope that is of some help... Keep asking good questions and say hello to Vesa at the next Leafs game from those of us who are Sharks fans

Whatever you do you need first:


- market knowledge

- product knowledge

- sales talent


It IS possible to start without money - I have done that, and this is the base of the business I do now. I found a niche product with only a few suppliers in my country who keep the prices high. I found a supplier who produce these products at very good prices. Thus I was able to go a few percent below my competition (I did not want to crush the market either) still having a high (and I mean high) profit rate and this was convincing enough for my first buyers to pay me in advance. The margins I collected at my first transaction have been used to finance this business since then.


It does not matter if you have no money, 5000 dollars or a billion. Without knowledge of your product and market none of these is any worth. However if you look around in your own environment and don't let yourself blinded by mobile phones and game consoles and such "hot sells", you will be able to find a product which is in high demand but low on supply.


I tell you an example: a few years ago everybody in my country began to download and copy movies from the internet. CD disks were cheaply available here in packages of 50 or 100pcs but no DVD cases, which were in demand. At that time a CD/DVD case was around 1,0 - 2,0 USD in our shops. I was curious about it and looked for manufacturers, and it turned so out that a single DVD case was available for around 15 cents (of course in bulk). I have had a good business with it one or two times. Of course competitors with more capital than I began importing this soon and crushed the prices, but so what, at that time I was already looking for other products. I don't care about the rat race, as long as I am sane and open minded, I will always find a new chance.


c[ ]

Quoting from [Foow]:

So, is it possible to start your own home-based Intl Business withonly 5 thousanddollars? How?

Matt,

The good news is. you decided to actually ask questions BEFORE you spent that 5K and got ripped off.

Starting a biz with 5K is posible, but it will be small to start..... Chosoe products you know something about, or "general" products which don't require specialist knowledge on your part.

Here's the part that is most important..... Getting a 5K business off the ground and running and becoming successful needs 3 basic things....

1> Honesty in your business practices (which includes great customer service)

2> Decent products.

3> Working your rear-end off

and no I am ot kidding on #3..... You really DO have to work your butt off.

All those ads you hear about "we did 45K last month" is technically) accurate maybe, but those numebrs are ALWAYS GROSS, not net....... pulling in 45K a month but outlaying 44.9K doesn;t give you a whole * of a lot of profit!

So my recomendation to you is to source a decent sized "book" of products either in Canada or the US, since with only 5K importing from OS isn't going to be cost effective at this point..... Keep 1K as your marketing/ storage/ gas etc costs for 3-6 months.... Do your own catalogs/ build a website/ hit the streets/ send out promo mail/ sell on craigslist etc etc etc

Basically, get some products together of decent quality and sell them in as many places as you can think of!........ oh yeah... and work your butt off.

Hope that is of some help... Keep asking good questions and say hello to Vesa at the next Leafs game from those of us who are Sharks fans

Great hints.

I was watching those John Spiers lectures on foreign trade. I'll try to cut to the the chase.

Basically he mentions that in several situation you as an importer will not be able to find a buyer to buy the whole MOQ. Therefore you will need to find enough buyers, in a reasonable period of time, to place that minimum order and get things going.

However, if there are several buyers, you will have to bring the shipment to a warehouse for "pick and packing", thence deliver to each one of them. ---> IS THAT CORRECT? or is there any other easier/less costly method that i'm missing?

Foow, thanks again for the tips. I can't promise you anything about saying hi to this Vesa cause I simply have no idea who he is hehehe

But you want something taken care of on the next Jays game, like send Halladay a message, count on me.

Quoting from [Gabor Bathori]:


Whatever you do you need first:



- market knowledge


- product knowledge


- sales talent



It IS possible to start without money - I have done that, and this is the base of the business I do now. I found a niche product with only a few suppliers in my country who keep the prices high. I found a supplier who produce these products at very good prices. Thus I was able to go a few percent below my competition (I did not want to crush the market either) still having a high (and I mean high) profit rate and this was convincing enough for my first buyers to pay me in advance. The margins I collected at my first transaction have been used to finance this business since then.



It does not matter if you have no money, 5000 dollars or a billion. Without knowledge of your product and market none of these is any worth. However if you look around in your own environment and don't let yourself blinded by mobile phones and game consoles and such "hot sells", you will be able to find a product which is in high demand but low on supply.



I tell you an example: a few years ago everybody in my country began to download and copy movies from the internet. CD disks were cheaply available here in packages of 50 or 100pcs but no DVD cases, which were in demand. At that time a CD/DVD case was around 1,0 - 2,0 USD in our shops. I was curious about it and looked for manufacturers, and it turned so out that a single DVD case was available for around 15 cents (of course in bulk). I have had a good business with it one or two times. Of course competitors with more capital than I began importing this soon and crushed the prices, but so what, at that time I was already looking for other products. I don't care about the rat race, as long as I am sane and open minded, I will always find a new chance.



c[ ]

Thank you for your words of experience.

I find that I have a great deal of knowledge on the product I want to market, and I have been following what's for sale in the stores for quite a bit of time.

I basically need to learn how to approach the potential buyers. Offer it to the retail stores or their distributors? How to approach department stores (specially in times of crisis talks...)

For the "sake of arguments", the product i am talking about is hand made (high end) leather shoes. They can be very pricey, plus high duties and volume of shipment... let alone the fact that currently only discount stores (such as Wal-Mart) are doing great business, and mid to high class stores are struggling to keep their doors open. (such as Sears...)

Hello,


well, how and to who do you sell depends mainly on what do you want. I for myself prefer selling quickly in large quantities even if I have smaller margin on that, because I can use the capital again sooner and my money is not locked up in stocks.


So in your case you have the option to sell your product - which is a high-value luxury product  - either in small quantities to a few selected retailers with high margin, but keep a reasonable stock and be very flexible on deliveries; you can be a distributor to supply many retailers with a reasonable margin and huge stocks; and you can sell to large retail chains in big quantities with smaller margins but you do not keep large stocks and your money turns over relatively quickly. You have chosen a good product, everybody likes luxury articles like this so you have the chance to make good business with this.


According to the option you will choose, you must select your sales strategy. In the first case you have to prove your retail marketing skills - you must point out the quality and the appearance of the product and the service you provide to that (this is the value you add - you keep many models on stock, you deliver in 24 hours etc). In the other cases you must point out the profitability and the popularity of the product as you are now moving in a B2B environment. Re-sellers like to hear how much they earn on selling and how little hassle they have with the product (popular products sell from alone and there is no need for any effort on behalf of the retailer - this is why I really hate doing business with retail chains).


Or you may want to become an importer and supply a few distributors who will then sell to retail elements. It is up to you what you want, you must select your strategy accordingly.


c[ ]  

Quoting from [Foow]:

So, is it possible to start your own home-based Intl Business withonly 5 thousanddollars? How?

Matt,

The good news is. you decided to actually ask questions BEFORE you spent that 5K and got ripped off.

Starting a biz with 5K is posible, but it will be small to start..... Chosoe products you know something about, or "general" products which don't require specialist knowledge on your part.

Here's the part that is most important..... Getting a 5K business off the ground and running and becoming successful needs 3 basic things....

1> Honesty in your business practices (which includes great customer service)

2> Decent products.

3> Working your rear-end off

and no I am ot kidding on #3..... You really DO have to work your butt off.

All those ads you hear about "we did 45K last month" is technically) accurate maybe, but those numebrs are ALWAYS GROSS, not net....... pulling in 45K a month but outlaying 44.9K doesn;t give you a whole * of a lot of profit!

So my recomendation to you is to source a decent sized "book" of products either in Canada or the US, since with only 5K importing from OS isn't going to be cost effective at this point..... Keep 1K as your marketing/ storage/ gas etc costs for 3-6 months.... Do your own catalogs/ build a website/ hit the streets/ send out promo mail/ sell on craigslist etc etc etc

Basically, get some products together of decent quality and sell them in as many places as you can think of!........ oh yeah... and work your butt off.

Hope that is of some help... Keep asking good questions and say hello to Vesa at the next Leafs game from those of us who are Sharks fans

Good

Quoting from [Matt - Toronto]:

Home-based Import/Export business with low investment.

I have been reading dozens of websites regarding the topic. Pretty much most of them say: "this is what you can do" but not "this is how you can do it".

Most sources of information spend a lot of time talking about the customs/shipping/payments documents, but none of them talk about the negotiating/contractual/offer/order part of the documents.

I have studied Intl Business in College and no one ever mentioned anything about LOI, or the official supplier's offer, the letter of comfort from bank, etc. In fact I've just found out about those here in Alibaba, few days ago.


I could say that in College all they taught me was the basics to operate a Import/Export Business when you handle the merchandise in your warehouse. Direct shipping, bill of lading switch, how to protect your interests as a middleman, etc.


Oh, not to mention the several lectures about how to operate as a big coorporation manager. All the theories in the world and we never cut to the chase...

Anywho... the issue is..

I have seen several respectable people say you can start your home-based business with very little investment. Let's say 5 thousand dollars. (I dont trust people that say you need ZERO)

So, is it possible to start your own home-based Intl Business with only 5 thousand dollars? How?

(Any literature suggestionsare welcome, as well os other newbies who would like to share some ideas/doubts)

Once again, thank you for your time spent on reading this!

Matt,

Congrats! Your close to hanging out a shingle! "Now you need to grow a pair" Business of any kind is hard to start, you need to ask yourself, "Do I have the ability to make this(what ever this is) happen?" Can you deal with scrapping bottom, not making any $$$$? It all depends on your needs, i.e. House payment, car payment, utilities... You may want to work a job at first and start your venture on the side until your in the Black, and is rolling along.... Anyway, I wish you luck!!!!     

 

Quoting from [Matt - Toronto]:

Home-based Import/Export business with low investment.

I have been reading dozens of websites regarding the topic. Pretty much most of them say: "this is what you can do" but not "this is how you can do it".

Most sources of information spend a lot of time talking about the customs/shipping/payments documents, but none of them talk about the negotiating/contractual/offer/order part of the documents.

I have studied Intl Business in College and no one ever mentioned anything about LOI, or the official supplier's offer, the letter of comfort from bank, etc. In fact I've just found out about those here in Alibaba, few days ago.


I could say that in College all they taught me was the basics to operate a Import/Export Business when you handle the merchandise in your warehouse. Direct shipping, bill of lading switch, how to protect your interests as a middleman, etc.


Oh, not to mention the several lectures about how to operate as a big coorporation manager. All the theories in the world and we never cut to the chase...

Anywho... the issue is..

I have seen several respectable people say you can start your home-based business with very little investment. Let's say 5 thousand dollars. (I dont trust people that say you need ZERO)

So, is it possible to start your own home-based Intl Business with only 5 thousand dollars? How?

(Any literature suggestionsare welcome, as well os other newbies who would like to share some ideas/doubts)

Once again, thank you for your time spent on reading this!

Quoting from [waggeh_alh]:

Quoting from [Matt - Toronto]:

Home-based Import/Export business with low investment.

I have been reading dozens of websites regarding the topic. Pretty much most of them say: "this is what you can do" but not "this is how you can do it".

Most sources of information spend a lot of time talking about the customs/shipping/payments documents, but none of them talk about the negotiating/contractual/offer/order part of the documents.

I have studied Intl Business in College and no one ever mentioned anything about LOI, or the official supplier's offer, the letter of comfort from bank, etc. In fact I've just found out about those here in Alibaba, few days ago.



I could say that in College all they taught me was the basics to operate a Import/Export Business when you handle the merchandise in your warehouse. Direct shipping, bill of lading switch, how to protect your interests as a middleman, etc.



Oh, not to mention the several lectures about how to operate as a big coorporation manager. All the theories in the world and we never cut

Anywho... the issue is..

I have seen several respectable people say you can start your home-based business with very little investment. Let's say 5 thousand dollars. (I dont trust people that say you need ZERO)

So, is it possible to start your own home-based Intl Business with only 5 thousand dollars? How?

(Any literature suggestionsare welcome, as well os other newbies who would like to share some ideas/doubts)

Once again, thank you for your time spent on reading this!

WITH OR WITHOUT MONNEY  JUST GO AHEAD AND KEEP GOING   AND YOU WILL BE ARRIVING  LIKE ME

Good luck.