Import Export Business News Updates
1) There is a search box in the upper left side of this blog that will assist you in searching throughout this blog and it's many years worth of entries.
2) There are over 5 1/2 years of posts within this blog, there is a search box to search box located in the upper left side of the blog that you may use to search for specific words or phrases or or you are encouraged to use the archive date links located on the lower right side of the navigation bar - they are listed by Month/Year.
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If you purchased The Import-Export Business Training Toolkit or The Computer User's Guide to Running Your Own Importing Company training courses within the last year (September 2010 to present) you are encouraged to visit the membership site and download the updated version of the Importer's eBay and Mail Order Handbook, which is included with The Import-Export Toolkit and The Computer User's Guide to Running Your Own Importing Company. All the links have been updated and amended, changes have been addressed and some new success stories have been added.
The new guide is now available for download at the to clients who have ordered either The Import-Export Toolkit or The Computer User's Guide to Running Your Own Importing Company. Simply login at Trade Tools client site and scroll down to "Importer's Mail Order Handbook" to read or download the new book. It's usually found at the very bottom of the page.
This is a free update for current clients who purchased either of the above mentioned training programs since September 2010. We hope you find the updated information useful.
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Web Wholesaler is the leading B2B publication for e-Tailers, Dropshippers, Online Marketplace Sellers, Store Owners/Buyers and Wholesalers and best of all, it is currently accepting NEW FREE subscribers from the USA ONLY.
Web Wholesaler offers the latest in new products and merchandise sources, ideas and statistics on what is selling online NOW, as well as up to the minute news and information on industry trends, e-business growth and management strategies, and methods for increasing your revenues.
Located in the USA? Then sign up for your FREE Web Wholesaler subscription today!
http://tinyurl.com/67hqnyr
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Global Sources, the world leader in product sourcing trade shows, is organizing a number of China Sourcing Fairs in Hong Kong, from 20-23 October, 2011 ( http://tradeshow.globalsources.com/TRADESHOW/CHINA-SOURCING-FAIRS/HONGKONG.HTM?period=2&WT.mc_id=3003009 ). There will be over 2,300 booths for the 6 shows held concurrently: China Sourcing Fairs: Baby & Children's Products, Home Products, Gifts & Premiums, Medical & Health Products, Christmas & Seasonal Products and India Sourcing Fair: Home Products. The trade shows are a great way to meet 'real' professional suppliers face-to-face and see the products before you place an order.
While you are there, be sure to attend the conferences ( http://tradeshow.globalsources.com/TRADESHOW/HONGKONG-HOME-PRODUCTS/CONFERENCE.HTM?WT.mc_id=3003009 ), which are co-located with the China Sourcing Fairs! These conferences are free, first-come-first-served and highly popular (often with standing room only). Learn China sourcing strategies straight from industry professionals, plus be updated on the latest trends in your industry!
You can register for the fairs at http://tradeshow.globalsources.com/TRADESHOW/CHINA-SOURCING-FAIRS/HONGKONG.HTM?period=2&WT.mc_id=3003009
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Last, but certainly not least, we finally got around to adding contact links on this and the Importers Exporters trade leads blog - if you need or want to contact us about anything, please feel free to use the Contact Us link on the right side or click on the small graphic with the operator - include details of what you are inquiring about - I will not call someone who does not tell me what they are inquiring about - sorry, too many time wasters and flakes out there in the wide, so again, unless you tell me what it is you are asking about, don't expect me to call you.
Until next time.
Ron Coble
Showing posts with label importing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label importing. Show all posts
Import Export Business Questions And Answers
The following was a comment made to a post I made back in June 2010 and rather than having the answers to the commenter's questions buried in the comments I decided to make my answers and reply a new post.
As a reminder - the links to 5 1/2 years of archived posts in this blog are located in the lower right of the sidebar area (you will have to scroll down to see them) - These are IMPORTANT posts with IMPORTANT information you need to know - after reading this post/page, go check them out, bookmark the blog so you may easily return as we update when valuable and important events occur - real world information and REAL experience.
Commenter's Post and Questions:
This is a very informative blog you have written and I do agree that you should motivate yourself and make your own decisions to determine your own success. I am very impressed at your honesty in a business where many will bend the truth to make an easy progress. However, I have two questions:
1. Are you saying that great mentors are hard to find in this business?
2. Why shouldnt you be in this business for the money? Of course i am interested in travel and succesful business building, but are you saying that I should still have a motivation to participate in international trade even if i am without a comfortable profit?
3. Is this a business that can be done part time until you have fulfilled your obligation of your current full time job? (Im on a contract)
Please forgive me if I have taken anything into misconception. I am a hard worker with a mind of an aggresive leader, however I believe that money is the ultimate reward for such an attitude.
Thanks alot sir for an honest blog and great knowledge.
My Reply with Answers to the questions above:
First, I must emphasize that you should read ALL the posts within this blog - the archived posts are available by Month and Year and are listed in the lower right side of each page of the blog (or should be) - many of these types of questions have been answered since I began the blog in February 2006.
OK, in answer to your questions:
1. Are you saying that great mentors are hard to find in this business?
In reality finding "great" or "real" mentors are hard to find in any business based on my definition of a mentor which is where you and I may part ways.
A mentor (in my view) is someone that you actually (physically) work with in an office environment and those types of situations are virtually unheard of today. So onto the online type of mentor.
At the http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mentor website you will find the following as some examples for the use of the word mentor:
After college, her professor became her close friend and mentor.
He needed a mentor to teach him about the world of politics.
We volunteer as mentors to disadvantaged children.
Young boys in need of mentors.
So again, in my interpretation of the above, a mentor is someone who is "physically" present or available to answer your specific questions.
There are some high priced courses offered some I have seen for as high as $8K to $30K which offered to provide you with a 'mentor'....unfortunately, most of these do not live up to what the customer believes they are paying for when commiting this unecessaryily high amount of money to learn this business.
In most instances people get nothing more than someone who has earned a very nice commission off of you who is reading from the same materials that they have already sent you.
I addressed the need for someone to have someone to discuss their options with about a particular deal several times over in the blog, primarily under the subject heading of "making decisions".
A mentor is not there to make your decisions but should have provided you with the knowledge so that you can make an informed decision based on your own research and abilities....it is NOT their business, it is yours after all.
In regards to the course of instruction we offer - I consider it to be your 'mentor'. It is an 18 year work in progress that includes most, if not all, the questions that both we and the publisher have received over those years that may not have been covered at the time....with updates to the 'mentor' course, those questions and answers to them are now included.
The step-by-step instruction of a mentor is provided by the course....the decision making is provided by you!
2. Why shouldnt you be in this business for the money? Of course i am interested in travel and succesful business building, but are you saying that I should still have a motivation to participate in international trade even if i am without a comfortable profit?
I think there may be some misunderstanding of what I was trying to say about "being in the business for the money".
The problem that I see with MOST people who look at the import export business is they are "opportunity" seekers who when faced with having to operate a "real" business will never succeed and ultimately base their failure on the course because "it did not work for me". They are ultimately searching for the magic button (or book or course) that after they read it, everything will go exactly right for them and they will be rich and famous within months.
They jump from one business opportunity to another, usually the more hyped it is, the more people fall for it because they are looking for the easy.
The Import Export business is that - a business! Our course is your mentor, it provides you with the step by step instructions that are needed to succeed in the business.
Back to your question, yes, MONEY is the absolute motivation, otherwise why bother, but again, don't look at this business like a magic carpet or genie in a bottle.
3. Is this a business that can be done part time until you have fulfilled your obligation of your current full time job? (Im on a contract)
Most people start the business on a part time basis and that is what both the publisher and I recommend....whether you can evolve it into a full time income by the time your contract is up? I cannot assure you of that, nor can anyone else and this is something that I also addressed elsewhere in the blog....please read the entire blog, the entire course page and linked to pages in the course page, then make the most informed decision possible, it will be your first major decision in this business.
Putting aside the legal reasons why I cannot answer this question, there IS no guarantee you will earn any money at all in importing or exporting. Just like there's no guarantee a new restaurant will make money, or a guarantee that you'll get a job in your major after graduating from college. There's also no guarantee you won't die 5 minutes after ordering the course.
I hope the above will better clarify what was stated in previous posts within this blog?
Ron Coble
Import Export Business Help Center
As a reminder - the links to 5 1/2 years of archived posts in this blog are located in the lower right of the sidebar area (you will have to scroll down to see them) - These are IMPORTANT posts with IMPORTANT information you need to know - after reading this post/page, go check them out, bookmark the blog so you may easily return as we update when valuable and important events occur - real world information and REAL experience.
Commenter's Post and Questions:
This is a very informative blog you have written and I do agree that you should motivate yourself and make your own decisions to determine your own success. I am very impressed at your honesty in a business where many will bend the truth to make an easy progress. However, I have two questions:
1. Are you saying that great mentors are hard to find in this business?
2. Why shouldnt you be in this business for the money? Of course i am interested in travel and succesful business building, but are you saying that I should still have a motivation to participate in international trade even if i am without a comfortable profit?
3. Is this a business that can be done part time until you have fulfilled your obligation of your current full time job? (Im on a contract)
Please forgive me if I have taken anything into misconception. I am a hard worker with a mind of an aggresive leader, however I believe that money is the ultimate reward for such an attitude.
Thanks alot sir for an honest blog and great knowledge.
My Reply with Answers to the questions above:
First, I must emphasize that you should read ALL the posts within this blog - the archived posts are available by Month and Year and are listed in the lower right side of each page of the blog (or should be) - many of these types of questions have been answered since I began the blog in February 2006.
OK, in answer to your questions:
1. Are you saying that great mentors are hard to find in this business?
In reality finding "great" or "real" mentors are hard to find in any business based on my definition of a mentor which is where you and I may part ways.
A mentor (in my view) is someone that you actually (physically) work with in an office environment and those types of situations are virtually unheard of today. So onto the online type of mentor.
At the http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mentor website you will find the following as some examples for the use of the word mentor:
After college, her professor became her close friend and mentor.
He needed a mentor to teach him about the world of politics.
We volunteer as mentors to disadvantaged children.
Young boys in need of mentors.
So again, in my interpretation of the above, a mentor is someone who is "physically" present or available to answer your specific questions.
There are some high priced courses offered some I have seen for as high as $8K to $30K which offered to provide you with a 'mentor'....unfortunately, most of these do not live up to what the customer believes they are paying for when commiting this unecessaryily high amount of money to learn this business.
In most instances people get nothing more than someone who has earned a very nice commission off of you who is reading from the same materials that they have already sent you.
I addressed the need for someone to have someone to discuss their options with about a particular deal several times over in the blog, primarily under the subject heading of "making decisions".
A mentor is not there to make your decisions but should have provided you with the knowledge so that you can make an informed decision based on your own research and abilities....it is NOT their business, it is yours after all.
In regards to the course of instruction we offer - I consider it to be your 'mentor'. It is an 18 year work in progress that includes most, if not all, the questions that both we and the publisher have received over those years that may not have been covered at the time....with updates to the 'mentor' course, those questions and answers to them are now included.
The step-by-step instruction of a mentor is provided by the course....the decision making is provided by you!
2. Why shouldnt you be in this business for the money? Of course i am interested in travel and succesful business building, but are you saying that I should still have a motivation to participate in international trade even if i am without a comfortable profit?
I think there may be some misunderstanding of what I was trying to say about "being in the business for the money".
The problem that I see with MOST people who look at the import export business is they are "opportunity" seekers who when faced with having to operate a "real" business will never succeed and ultimately base their failure on the course because "it did not work for me". They are ultimately searching for the magic button (or book or course) that after they read it, everything will go exactly right for them and they will be rich and famous within months.
They jump from one business opportunity to another, usually the more hyped it is, the more people fall for it because they are looking for the easy.
The Import Export business is that - a business! Our course is your mentor, it provides you with the step by step instructions that are needed to succeed in the business.
Back to your question, yes, MONEY is the absolute motivation, otherwise why bother, but again, don't look at this business like a magic carpet or genie in a bottle.
3. Is this a business that can be done part time until you have fulfilled your obligation of your current full time job? (Im on a contract)
Most people start the business on a part time basis and that is what both the publisher and I recommend....whether you can evolve it into a full time income by the time your contract is up? I cannot assure you of that, nor can anyone else and this is something that I also addressed elsewhere in the blog....please read the entire blog, the entire course page and linked to pages in the course page, then make the most informed decision possible, it will be your first major decision in this business.
Putting aside the legal reasons why I cannot answer this question, there IS no guarantee you will earn any money at all in importing or exporting. Just like there's no guarantee a new restaurant will make money, or a guarantee that you'll get a job in your major after graduating from college. There's also no guarantee you won't die 5 minutes after ordering the course.
I hope the above will better clarify what was stated in previous posts within this blog?
Ron Coble
Import Export Business Help Center
Starting An Import Export Business Q&A
Question:
I have just read your "Due Diligence" resource and have found it enlightening and scary.
Based on that information, as a new business in this industry, I would fail just about every check. No longevity, no old web site, no established bank information, no BBB background information, no back links by reputable organizations.
How would I overcome this?
Thanks
Answer:
The sooner you get started the sooner you begin building those bits of reputation.
Understand that most manufacturers are not going to check you out using these
resources. These resources are made available primarily for anyone who is
entering into the international trade business through the purchase of one of
our courses.
The resources are meant for you to use in evaluating a potential manufacturer,
whether it is one based in the USA or in a foreign country. The resources are
also meant to help you evaluate and determine the viability of a potential
"buyer" or "importer" that you may bring to the table of a manufacturer.
Granted a manufacturer may "happen" upon our resources but it is "very"
doubtful considering the size and scope of the Internet.
The Due diligence resources are meant to help you build the reputation
you may not have in the beginning by being able to bring only viable
prospects to the table and not a bunch of sample seekers or importer
wannabees who will waste your time and that of your client which will
then set your reputation back.
But, getting back to the beginning, the sooner you get started, the sooner
you will have these resources which you can then refer someone to, if
they are interested in checking you out and are smart enough to have
found our website and resources.
Hope this answers your question?
Ron Coble
I have just read your "Due Diligence" resource and have found it enlightening and scary.
Based on that information, as a new business in this industry, I would fail just about every check. No longevity, no old web site, no established bank information, no BBB background information, no back links by reputable organizations.
How would I overcome this?
Thanks
Answer:
The sooner you get started the sooner you begin building those bits of reputation.
Understand that most manufacturers are not going to check you out using these
resources. These resources are made available primarily for anyone who is
entering into the international trade business through the purchase of one of
our courses.
The resources are meant for you to use in evaluating a potential manufacturer,
whether it is one based in the USA or in a foreign country. The resources are
also meant to help you evaluate and determine the viability of a potential
"buyer" or "importer" that you may bring to the table of a manufacturer.
Granted a manufacturer may "happen" upon our resources but it is "very"
doubtful considering the size and scope of the Internet.
The Due diligence resources are meant to help you build the reputation
you may not have in the beginning by being able to bring only viable
prospects to the table and not a bunch of sample seekers or importer
wannabees who will waste your time and that of your client which will
then set your reputation back.
But, getting back to the beginning, the sooner you get started, the sooner
you will have these resources which you can then refer someone to, if
they are interested in checking you out and are smart enough to have
found our website and resources.
Hope this answers your question?
Ron Coble
Import Export Business - Happy New Year 2011
Happy New Year 2011 to One and All!
I wrote quite an extensive "tell all" post last year on New Years day and would like to suggest that you take time to read it now even if you have read it before, if you have allowed the entire year of 2010 to pass you by without taking action, you especially need to read and heed what I took a lot of time and thought in posting there -
http://importexportbusiness.blogspot.com/2010_01_01_archive.html
In addition to it being New Years Day 2011, I wanted to address a couple of recurring factors that seem to hold people back from making life decisions. Call this my 2011 KICK IN THE ASS POST!
It is NOW 2011, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?
Stop thinking that someone or some organization like the government is going to help you get to where you want to be in life.
Do you really think that either political party gives a DAMN about you and your family?
You have to take the steps necessary to survive and prosper in this life or forever label yourself as a victim of circumstances out of your control.
YOU ARE IN CONTROL and YOU MUST TAKE ACTION, SO WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?
A comment that was left on this blog a few days ago helped to prompt this post as well.
The comment stated about how tn start without much funds and also stated "I need a mentor".
So let me address those two facts about your success or failure first.
Funds - If you follow the course that we recommend and my personal bonus information provided when you purchase that course, you will need little or no money to start or operate your business (NOTE: I am referring primarily to the exporting part of the business).
My first recommendation is this - if you are short of funds enough that the price of the course is going to affect how you live for the next few months, i.e., pay your rent, buy your groceries, put gas in your car, then DO NOT BUY OUR COURSE OR ANYONE'S COURSE.
You need to either get a job or second job if necessary, get your finances in good shape and then, and only then, get our recommended course and bonus resources.
No one offering any of the other courses is going to tell you that because they simply do not care about anything but getting your credit card number and putting you into an even worst financial position than you are now.
Despite all the hype that is out there about how "easy" it is to just buy their "program" or their "mentorship" and you will be guaranteed of success. WAKE UP and smell the coffee - it AIN'T GOING TO HAPPEN, you are just going to be separated from your money at a time when you need it the most.
Which brings me to the subject of "mentorship" which has become a very sore spot for me.
Many people call me, every week, asking about the import export business, they want my help, they want my advice, they are seeking it, but when I give it to them, they never follow through.
Some people have told me that the SBA (Small Business Administration) volunteers really did not or want to provide the type of support they were seeking (for free, of course). I do not know if this is true since the SBA has always been touted as being the best place to go for free assistance in getting started in your own business.
My growing belief is more on the side of the people who make the above complaint being not ready to be in business for themselves and the SBA volunteers recognizing this. Also, I believe these same complainers are people like a lady who called me from Canada a few years ago asking for an import export business that was already set up and running and profitable that she could simply buy into for a few hundred dollars.
IT AIN'T GOING TO HAPPEN!
The volunteers teach or guide people how to get started and become successful but what most people lack is the initiative to actually take any action.
There is a WEALTH of FREE advice and guidance within the posts of this blog. REAL WORLD EXPERIENCE has gone into these posts.
HAVE YOU READ ALL OF THEM? Have you taken action to implement any of them, even ONE!
IF NOT, forget going into ANY business for yourself, because you need a BOSS, not a mentor, not a coach, a BOSS!
My advice to you before ever spending a single penny is to READ each of the posts within this blog. There are also some good posts within our Importers and Exporters trade leads blog spread out among the trade lead posts, read them too.
If there are suggested actions within those post, TAKE THEM, TAKING ACTION, even little ones will help you to realize YOU ARE IN CONTROL OF YOUR DESTINY and will help you get over the victim mentality or the I need a mentor, helper, coach before I can succeed thought process.
Realize that NO ONE ELSE is going to care as much about YOUR FUTURE, YOUR FAMILY'S FUTURE, YOUR SUCCESS as you will and if you don't care enough to take positive actions to change things why do you think anyone else should?
Some might think me to be arrogant. So be it but let me tell you where I came from.
My parents, both depression era children, worked for the railroad as a laborer and in various sewing factories as a seamstress.
I had two brothers and when my mother would buy a bag of M&M candies she would count the candies out so each of us got an equal amount.
I had to use an outhouse for a bathroom until I was about 10 years old (gets damn cold here in Pennsylvania December through March, let me tell you). We did not consider ourselves poor at the time and I know that both of my parents did their best to give us the best life possible.
I worked for several years in a warehouse loading and unloading trucks and have a bad back to this day because of it.
At one point in my life, I made a job decision that some would say (and did say) was a bad one and it almost left us destitute so much that I had to take a job shoveling horse ship cleaning out horse stables and planting trees at a minimum wage with no benefits.
Jump to today. I owe NO ONE. My only bills are those we all have, electric, heat, real estate taxes etc. and I do not state this to brag, but simply show you from where I came to where I am there were a lot of BAD decisions and GOOD ones but I really cannot look back on any of them and BLAME or TAKE CREDIT for other than myself.
I did not wait for a new president to be elected, or congress person or senator, they are only in the business of helping themselves keep their jobs every 2, 4 or 6 years. I took the negatives and turned them into positives, basically, I focused on what I wanted to do and took positive steps to achieve success in that area.
Did I continue to make mistakes to this day, absolutely! But without taking those steps I may still be working in some type of hard labor type of job for a subsistence style of living.
NO ONE CARES MORE ABOUT YOU AND YOUR FAMILY'S FUTURE THAN YOU DO!
For those of you who want my advice, then don't act on it, forget this business, forget any business for that fact, get the best job you can find and stick with it.
Seriously, because you need a BOSS or SUPERVISOR who will tell you what you need to do next and who will ALWAYS be sure you are one step below what they are in the corporate structure.
If you are a DECISION MAKER and ready to TAKE ACTION on starting an Import Export business, then my advice is (and always has been) read through my blogs first, take notes, take action, review the DUE-DILIGENCE resources on our company page and THEN purchase our recommended course, study it, take notes and TAKE ACTION.
The calendar has changed again. Are you still where you were a year ago? Either get off of it and take action or forget about it. Your CHOICE, not mine or anyone else's.
With that said, WELCOME TO 2011!
I wrote quite an extensive "tell all" post last year on New Years day and would like to suggest that you take time to read it now even if you have read it before, if you have allowed the entire year of 2010 to pass you by without taking action, you especially need to read and heed what I took a lot of time and thought in posting there -
http://importexportbusiness.blogspot.com/2010_01_01_archive.html
In addition to it being New Years Day 2011, I wanted to address a couple of recurring factors that seem to hold people back from making life decisions. Call this my 2011 KICK IN THE ASS POST!
It is NOW 2011, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?
Stop thinking that someone or some organization like the government is going to help you get to where you want to be in life.
Do you really think that either political party gives a DAMN about you and your family?
You have to take the steps necessary to survive and prosper in this life or forever label yourself as a victim of circumstances out of your control.
YOU ARE IN CONTROL and YOU MUST TAKE ACTION, SO WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?
A comment that was left on this blog a few days ago helped to prompt this post as well.
The comment stated about how tn start without much funds and also stated "I need a mentor".
So let me address those two facts about your success or failure first.
Funds - If you follow the course that we recommend and my personal bonus information provided when you purchase that course, you will need little or no money to start or operate your business (NOTE: I am referring primarily to the exporting part of the business).
My first recommendation is this - if you are short of funds enough that the price of the course is going to affect how you live for the next few months, i.e., pay your rent, buy your groceries, put gas in your car, then DO NOT BUY OUR COURSE OR ANYONE'S COURSE.
You need to either get a job or second job if necessary, get your finances in good shape and then, and only then, get our recommended course and bonus resources.
No one offering any of the other courses is going to tell you that because they simply do not care about anything but getting your credit card number and putting you into an even worst financial position than you are now.
Despite all the hype that is out there about how "easy" it is to just buy their "program" or their "mentorship" and you will be guaranteed of success. WAKE UP and smell the coffee - it AIN'T GOING TO HAPPEN, you are just going to be separated from your money at a time when you need it the most.
Which brings me to the subject of "mentorship" which has become a very sore spot for me.
Many people call me, every week, asking about the import export business, they want my help, they want my advice, they are seeking it, but when I give it to them, they never follow through.
Some people have told me that the SBA (Small Business Administration) volunteers really did not or want to provide the type of support they were seeking (for free, of course). I do not know if this is true since the SBA has always been touted as being the best place to go for free assistance in getting started in your own business.
My growing belief is more on the side of the people who make the above complaint being not ready to be in business for themselves and the SBA volunteers recognizing this. Also, I believe these same complainers are people like a lady who called me from Canada a few years ago asking for an import export business that was already set up and running and profitable that she could simply buy into for a few hundred dollars.
IT AIN'T GOING TO HAPPEN!
The volunteers teach or guide people how to get started and become successful but what most people lack is the initiative to actually take any action.
There is a WEALTH of FREE advice and guidance within the posts of this blog. REAL WORLD EXPERIENCE has gone into these posts.
HAVE YOU READ ALL OF THEM? Have you taken action to implement any of them, even ONE!
IF NOT, forget going into ANY business for yourself, because you need a BOSS, not a mentor, not a coach, a BOSS!
My advice to you before ever spending a single penny is to READ each of the posts within this blog. There are also some good posts within our Importers and Exporters trade leads blog spread out among the trade lead posts, read them too.
If there are suggested actions within those post, TAKE THEM, TAKING ACTION, even little ones will help you to realize YOU ARE IN CONTROL OF YOUR DESTINY and will help you get over the victim mentality or the I need a mentor, helper, coach before I can succeed thought process.
Realize that NO ONE ELSE is going to care as much about YOUR FUTURE, YOUR FAMILY'S FUTURE, YOUR SUCCESS as you will and if you don't care enough to take positive actions to change things why do you think anyone else should?
Some might think me to be arrogant. So be it but let me tell you where I came from.
My parents, both depression era children, worked for the railroad as a laborer and in various sewing factories as a seamstress.
I had two brothers and when my mother would buy a bag of M&M candies she would count the candies out so each of us got an equal amount.
I had to use an outhouse for a bathroom until I was about 10 years old (gets damn cold here in Pennsylvania December through March, let me tell you). We did not consider ourselves poor at the time and I know that both of my parents did their best to give us the best life possible.
I worked for several years in a warehouse loading and unloading trucks and have a bad back to this day because of it.
At one point in my life, I made a job decision that some would say (and did say) was a bad one and it almost left us destitute so much that I had to take a job shoveling horse ship cleaning out horse stables and planting trees at a minimum wage with no benefits.
Jump to today. I owe NO ONE. My only bills are those we all have, electric, heat, real estate taxes etc. and I do not state this to brag, but simply show you from where I came to where I am there were a lot of BAD decisions and GOOD ones but I really cannot look back on any of them and BLAME or TAKE CREDIT for other than myself.
I did not wait for a new president to be elected, or congress person or senator, they are only in the business of helping themselves keep their jobs every 2, 4 or 6 years. I took the negatives and turned them into positives, basically, I focused on what I wanted to do and took positive steps to achieve success in that area.
Did I continue to make mistakes to this day, absolutely! But without taking those steps I may still be working in some type of hard labor type of job for a subsistence style of living.
NO ONE CARES MORE ABOUT YOU AND YOUR FAMILY'S FUTURE THAN YOU DO!
For those of you who want my advice, then don't act on it, forget this business, forget any business for that fact, get the best job you can find and stick with it.
Seriously, because you need a BOSS or SUPERVISOR who will tell you what you need to do next and who will ALWAYS be sure you are one step below what they are in the corporate structure.
If you are a DECISION MAKER and ready to TAKE ACTION on starting an Import Export business, then my advice is (and always has been) read through my blogs first, take notes, take action, review the DUE-DILIGENCE resources on our company page and THEN purchase our recommended course, study it, take notes and TAKE ACTION.
The calendar has changed again. Are you still where you were a year ago? Either get off of it and take action or forget about it. Your CHOICE, not mine or anyone else's.
With that said, WELCOME TO 2011!
International Trade Perils
This post is NOT meant to be critical of the importer who sent me the email and who has posted his story on various complaint boards on the Internet. The post is being offered to help other potential importers from having the same or similar situation happen to you.
I have changed the name of the company to "the fish food supplier" because this blog is meant to be educational and not a means of filing a complaint against any particular company (that can easily be found on other sites throughout the Internet).
The post is about 98% as I received it in an email, the only changes were the date formats, adding of US Dollar amount so it would be easier to see the British pound value to the dollar value and some of the British spelling to US English spelling. My comments in the body of the email have been coded in BLUE.
Additionally, I have placed some notes throughout the post and at the end of the post that will hopefully serve to help other International traders from encountering a similar fate.
Beginning of Email:
Hello and BEWARE!!,
This Fish Food Supply company has just cost me £18,000 ($27,725USD)!!
I began searching for a fish food supplier and came across the company (we will refer to them as fish food supplier), I enquired about there products and there export to the EU, they said they were experienced exporters to Europe and had done this many times before.
FIRST MISTAKE: Never take a company or their representatives word. It means nothing. DUE DILIGENCE - MAKE THEM provide you with at least 3-5 customer references in your country or region in this case for the EU. MAKE THEM DO SO OR DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THEM. IF they cry, complain or continue on the "trust us" we know what we are doing path, simply walk away because they do not.
After about a month of communication with this company an order was placed and paid for (** SEE BELOW REMARKS **) and was due for arrival in the UK around the 6/15/2010 this date however the date got moved forward to the 8/15/2010 by fish food supplier, I was not to pleased about this as there was also a lot of koi carp food in the shipment and the koi season would be drawing to an end by the time I received it.
SECOND MISTAKE: Paying the full amount in advance. You now have NO CONTROL over the process or making them meet YOUR deadlines. If anything, pay 50% with the other 50% due upon shipment on the date YOU SPECIFY.
There were also a number of errors in the paperwork from the fish food supplier when my customs clearance agent received it ahead of the shipment arriving, these errors absorbed most of my customs clearance agents and my time for around 10 days to rectify these errors with port health authority.
THIRD MISTAKE: This ties in with mistake two - DO NOT PROVIDE 100% payment until everything is the way YOU NEED it - request copies of the documentation prior to shipment BEFORE you pay the remaining 50% and make sure those documents will pass the customs clearance.
The food arrived in the UK on the 8/14/2010 this was cleared by customs and was just waiting for the completion of a CVED form from the port health authority, this time the errors from the fish food supplier were out of our control. The fish food supplier had not included all the food ingredients in the health certificate, when my customs man contacted the fish food supplier about this they responded with a company letter stating this was just an error from a company clerk and that the ingredients where actually correct on the health certificate and sent relevant paperwork to back this up THESE WERE FALSE DOCUMENTS supplied by the fish food supplier.
FOURTH MISTAKE: All tied back to previous mistakes - the documentation could have been verified before shipment of the goods to ensure that once it arrived in port that everything would go smoothly.
The port health authority then ordered an examination of samples of the food from their testing labs, this took 12 days for these results to come back all the time this is going on i am having to pay £40 (about $61.61USD) per day storage for the container in the port.
The port health authority then found that the fish food supplier had NOT complied with the actual health certificate conditions that all the packs of fish food should bear a label stating "not fit for human consumption" on them.
The port health authority then issued a 2nd notice of rejection into the UK order on the container,,,there were now only two options available: 1) to re-export the container outside an EU country or 2) have the food destroyed by port health authority at my expense (i don't know the cost of this as yet).
The fish food supplier was contacted yet again to see what they were going to do about this problem due to there list of errors in the export/import of these goods, their answer was it was not there fault and for me to try harder to get the container allowed into the UK.
I then spent the last few days contacting various bodies to try and find help, including lawyers, the lawyers contacted the fish food supplier to point out that this shipment was not allowed into the UK purely due to the errors made by the fish food supplier.
There reply to the lawyer was, as you are a lawyer we will not reply to any of your emails regarding this matter.
I spoke to my lawyer this morning and he said it would cost around £17,000 ($26,185USD) to fight this case in china under Chinese law and even though i would very possibly win the case it would be very unlikely i would ever get my money back from the fish food supplier and was not really worth the risk of running up a large legal bill to not get anything at the end of it all.
So I made the decision this morning to have the food destroyed by the port health authority.
End of Email -
My further comments:
I was curious after reading the above email and did a google search on the fish food supplier company. The very first google search result showed them listed as a "Gold Supplier" or Trust Pass member in Alibaba.
Now again, don't get me wrong, Alibaba's trust pass system members are the ONLY sources that are worth following up with because they have paid to have a background check done on them to become a gold supplier/trust pass member.
However, simply because it has been verified that a company is "registered" in some way with the government and and address verifies does not mean they are competent at exporting their products and most of all it does not mean they have ANY knowledge of the import requirements for your home country or region.
Literally, you should NEVER TRUST that a supplier can deliver what they claim to be able to deliver without first making them prove they are capable of doing so.
A couple of other flags flew up for me when I looked at their profile in Alibaba:
Their Total Annual Sales Volume was stated as being US$2.5 Million - US$5 Million while their Total Annual Purchase Volume was stated as being US$5 Million - US$10 Million.
This does not make sense? Or is it just my math?? They have a purchase volume twice as much as their sales volume?? That cannot be sustained but most likely it was just a figure they posted to the profile because the next bit of information shows their Registered Capital as being: RMB 1,000,000 which according to my currency calculator is about $147,000USD? Not very much for a company supposedly purchasing $5 million to $10 million a year - again, if you ask me.
Next you have the Date of Issue of their business registration: 2009-09-30 which means they were only about 6-9 months old when this importer began negotiating with them. Nothing wrong with trying to work with a new exporter, however, it would tend to negate the statement they made regarding their experience in dealing with EU countries: "they were experienced exporters to Europe and had done this many times before".
I tend to doubt they had or have done much exporting to other countries at all.
Last, the profile states: "All legal business licenses and contact persons are verified for those who have been A&V Checked. Suppliers must be A&V Checked before becoming a Gold Supplier." This is again the level of verification, not a condemnation of the trust pass system, but it simply provides you with a "somewhat" better level of company in knowing they are registered with the government and have proven it, however, as stated before, you have still got a lot to do in the arena of "DUE DILIGENCE" before committing ANY funds, even if only 1/3 of the contract upfront.
Personally, I feel the pain of the importer who sent me the above email. Losing money is never easy, whether it is a few dollars or £18,000 ($27,725USD) and in reality it will be much more because he has storage fees and the fee he has to pay the port health authority to destroy the fish food.
Whether you are importing or exporting, if all the i's are not dotted and the t's are not crossed to "YOUR" satisfaction, it is far better to quit now and find another supplier if you are an importer or potential buyer if you exporter. You CANNOT rely on TRUST in international trade, YOU MUST make the seller or buyer PROVE to you they are legitimate and are capable of doing their part of the transaction.
If you fear pissing them off, too bad, there are other suppliers and other buyers. This is business and don't let personal feelings ever make you vulnerable to letting your guard down. CONTROL the deal or the deal could end up costing you dearly.
Ron Coble
International Trade Help Center
I have changed the name of the company to "the fish food supplier" because this blog is meant to be educational and not a means of filing a complaint against any particular company (that can easily be found on other sites throughout the Internet).
The post is about 98% as I received it in an email, the only changes were the date formats, adding of US Dollar amount so it would be easier to see the British pound value to the dollar value and some of the British spelling to US English spelling. My comments in the body of the email have been coded in BLUE.
Additionally, I have placed some notes throughout the post and at the end of the post that will hopefully serve to help other International traders from encountering a similar fate.
Beginning of Email:
Hello and BEWARE!!,
This Fish Food Supply company has just cost me £18,000 ($27,725USD)!!
I began searching for a fish food supplier and came across the company (we will refer to them as fish food supplier), I enquired about there products and there export to the EU, they said they were experienced exporters to Europe and had done this many times before.
FIRST MISTAKE: Never take a company or their representatives word. It means nothing. DUE DILIGENCE - MAKE THEM provide you with at least 3-5 customer references in your country or region in this case for the EU. MAKE THEM DO SO OR DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THEM. IF they cry, complain or continue on the "trust us" we know what we are doing path, simply walk away because they do not.
After about a month of communication with this company an order was placed and paid for (** SEE BELOW REMARKS **) and was due for arrival in the UK around the 6/15/2010 this date however the date got moved forward to the 8/15/2010 by fish food supplier, I was not to pleased about this as there was also a lot of koi carp food in the shipment and the koi season would be drawing to an end by the time I received it.
SECOND MISTAKE: Paying the full amount in advance. You now have NO CONTROL over the process or making them meet YOUR deadlines. If anything, pay 50% with the other 50% due upon shipment on the date YOU SPECIFY.
There were also a number of errors in the paperwork from the fish food supplier when my customs clearance agent received it ahead of the shipment arriving, these errors absorbed most of my customs clearance agents and my time for around 10 days to rectify these errors with port health authority.
THIRD MISTAKE: This ties in with mistake two - DO NOT PROVIDE 100% payment until everything is the way YOU NEED it - request copies of the documentation prior to shipment BEFORE you pay the remaining 50% and make sure those documents will pass the customs clearance.
The food arrived in the UK on the 8/14/2010 this was cleared by customs and was just waiting for the completion of a CVED form from the port health authority, this time the errors from the fish food supplier were out of our control. The fish food supplier had not included all the food ingredients in the health certificate, when my customs man contacted the fish food supplier about this they responded with a company letter stating this was just an error from a company clerk and that the ingredients where actually correct on the health certificate and sent relevant paperwork to back this up THESE WERE FALSE DOCUMENTS supplied by the fish food supplier.
FOURTH MISTAKE: All tied back to previous mistakes - the documentation could have been verified before shipment of the goods to ensure that once it arrived in port that everything would go smoothly.
The port health authority then ordered an examination of samples of the food from their testing labs, this took 12 days for these results to come back all the time this is going on i am having to pay £40 (about $61.61USD) per day storage for the container in the port.
The port health authority then found that the fish food supplier had NOT complied with the actual health certificate conditions that all the packs of fish food should bear a label stating "not fit for human consumption" on them.
The port health authority then issued a 2nd notice of rejection into the UK order on the container,,,there were now only two options available: 1) to re-export the container outside an EU country or 2) have the food destroyed by port health authority at my expense (i don't know the cost of this as yet).
The fish food supplier was contacted yet again to see what they were going to do about this problem due to there list of errors in the export/import of these goods, their answer was it was not there fault and for me to try harder to get the container allowed into the UK.
I then spent the last few days contacting various bodies to try and find help, including lawyers, the lawyers contacted the fish food supplier to point out that this shipment was not allowed into the UK purely due to the errors made by the fish food supplier.
There reply to the lawyer was, as you are a lawyer we will not reply to any of your emails regarding this matter.
I spoke to my lawyer this morning and he said it would cost around £17,000 ($26,185USD) to fight this case in china under Chinese law and even though i would very possibly win the case it would be very unlikely i would ever get my money back from the fish food supplier and was not really worth the risk of running up a large legal bill to not get anything at the end of it all.
So I made the decision this morning to have the food destroyed by the port health authority.
End of Email -
My further comments:
I was curious after reading the above email and did a google search on the fish food supplier company. The very first google search result showed them listed as a "Gold Supplier" or Trust Pass member in Alibaba.
Now again, don't get me wrong, Alibaba's trust pass system members are the ONLY sources that are worth following up with because they have paid to have a background check done on them to become a gold supplier/trust pass member.
However, simply because it has been verified that a company is "registered" in some way with the government and and address verifies does not mean they are competent at exporting their products and most of all it does not mean they have ANY knowledge of the import requirements for your home country or region.
Literally, you should NEVER TRUST that a supplier can deliver what they claim to be able to deliver without first making them prove they are capable of doing so.
A couple of other flags flew up for me when I looked at their profile in Alibaba:
Their Total Annual Sales Volume was stated as being US$2.5 Million - US$5 Million while their Total Annual Purchase Volume was stated as being US$5 Million - US$10 Million.
This does not make sense? Or is it just my math?? They have a purchase volume twice as much as their sales volume?? That cannot be sustained but most likely it was just a figure they posted to the profile because the next bit of information shows their Registered Capital as being: RMB 1,000,000 which according to my currency calculator is about $147,000USD? Not very much for a company supposedly purchasing $5 million to $10 million a year - again, if you ask me.
Next you have the Date of Issue of their business registration: 2009-09-30 which means they were only about 6-9 months old when this importer began negotiating with them. Nothing wrong with trying to work with a new exporter, however, it would tend to negate the statement they made regarding their experience in dealing with EU countries: "they were experienced exporters to Europe and had done this many times before".
I tend to doubt they had or have done much exporting to other countries at all.
Last, the profile states: "All legal business licenses and contact persons are verified for those who have been A&V Checked. Suppliers must be A&V Checked before becoming a Gold Supplier." This is again the level of verification, not a condemnation of the trust pass system, but it simply provides you with a "somewhat" better level of company in knowing they are registered with the government and have proven it, however, as stated before, you have still got a lot to do in the arena of "DUE DILIGENCE" before committing ANY funds, even if only 1/3 of the contract upfront.
Personally, I feel the pain of the importer who sent me the above email. Losing money is never easy, whether it is a few dollars or £18,000 ($27,725USD) and in reality it will be much more because he has storage fees and the fee he has to pay the port health authority to destroy the fish food.
Whether you are importing or exporting, if all the i's are not dotted and the t's are not crossed to "YOUR" satisfaction, it is far better to quit now and find another supplier if you are an importer or potential buyer if you exporter. You CANNOT rely on TRUST in international trade, YOU MUST make the seller or buyer PROVE to you they are legitimate and are capable of doing their part of the transaction.
If you fear pissing them off, too bad, there are other suppliers and other buyers. This is business and don't let personal feelings ever make you vulnerable to letting your guard down. CONTROL the deal or the deal could end up costing you dearly.
Ron Coble
International Trade Help Center
Another Import Export Business Question And Answer
QUESTION:
Hello Ron,
Thanks for the speedy response. I was referring to both actually.
I am seriously considering ordering the "Export Master Package". I am more interested in brokering the deal between buyer and seller. However, my major concern was would I be able to do it from Japan ( I will be leaving in a month). Are there any special obstacle I should be concerned with, like telephone bills, foreign address(Japan), bank accounts? Thanks in advance.
Regards,
Marty
ANSWER:
Marty,
I am of the belief that if you really want to do something in life, you will find a way of getting around the perceived obstacles.
There may be better answers out there than I have for your questions and I do not
know what your situation is, are you in the military, do you still have relatives here in the states.
Basically, for foreign phone you can get a vonage or skype account. In my bonus
materials I reveal a service that I use for my fax messages that only costs $24.95
a year after the first year of $34.95 (a 10 set up fee). Faxes come in, are translated to a PDF document and are emailed to me, I can view on screen, if needed, I can print out, if not, I can file or delete - no waste of paper or $450 a year phone line.
Foreign address - if you have a relative willing to handle your mail and forward
what is necessary (mail is used so little now) with the internet and email and fax.
Bank accounts, if you are a US citizen, I doubt you are giving up your citizenship??
Open of two bank accounts for your business before you leave, look for NO Fee
accounts - have one as your main business account with checking and the other
a small or no balance required checking account for receiving wire transfers.
Where there is a WILL there is a WAY.
I would suggest ordering the exporter master package asap as it will take 3-5 days
to ship to you - our publisher is shut down until Monday, 15 June, will begin shipping again on Tuesday 16 June - they only ship on Tuesdays and Fridays - if you wait until you are in Japan, there is an additional $25 fee for shipping.
Hope the above has answered your questions and dispelled some of the
perceived obstacles.
Irregardless of what you decide, I wish you the best.
Kindest regards,
Ron Coble
Coble International - International Marketing Services
http://www.ImportExportHelp.com
Phone: 717-292-5763
Hello Ron,
Thanks for the speedy response. I was referring to both actually.
I am seriously considering ordering the "Export Master Package". I am more interested in brokering the deal between buyer and seller. However, my major concern was would I be able to do it from Japan ( I will be leaving in a month). Are there any special obstacle I should be concerned with, like telephone bills, foreign address(Japan), bank accounts? Thanks in advance.
Regards,
Marty
ANSWER:
Marty,
I am of the belief that if you really want to do something in life, you will find a way of getting around the perceived obstacles.
There may be better answers out there than I have for your questions and I do not
know what your situation is, are you in the military, do you still have relatives here in the states.
Basically, for foreign phone you can get a vonage or skype account. In my bonus
materials I reveal a service that I use for my fax messages that only costs $24.95
a year after the first year of $34.95 (a 10 set up fee). Faxes come in, are translated to a PDF document and are emailed to me, I can view on screen, if needed, I can print out, if not, I can file or delete - no waste of paper or $450 a year phone line.
Foreign address - if you have a relative willing to handle your mail and forward
what is necessary (mail is used so little now) with the internet and email and fax.
Bank accounts, if you are a US citizen, I doubt you are giving up your citizenship??
Open of two bank accounts for your business before you leave, look for NO Fee
accounts - have one as your main business account with checking and the other
a small or no balance required checking account for receiving wire transfers.
Where there is a WILL there is a WAY.
I would suggest ordering the exporter master package asap as it will take 3-5 days
to ship to you - our publisher is shut down until Monday, 15 June, will begin shipping again on Tuesday 16 June - they only ship on Tuesdays and Fridays - if you wait until you are in Japan, there is an additional $25 fee for shipping.
Hope the above has answered your questions and dispelled some of the
perceived obstacles.
Irregardless of what you decide, I wish you the best.
Kindest regards,
Ron Coble
Coble International - International Marketing Services
http://www.ImportExportHelp.com
Phone: 717-292-5763
Motivation To Succeed In The Import Export Business
Most of this post is attributed to my old business friend and associate,
Jim Straw, who has over 50 years of success in various businesses and
is considered one of the top marketing gurus who continues to operate
his business while well into his 80's.
This came to me as part of an email and I thought it appropriate to
post here since motivation or "coaching" is a key factor in the decision
of which Import Export Business training course people select.
Jim's post begins here.....
Here lately, I've been reading a lot about *How to Motivate Your Sales
Team* in the multitude of ezines I receive.
As always, the ideas ranged from the ridiculous to the sublime.
To be quite frank with you, I have never tried to "motivate" any of
my sales people (dealers, associates, affiliates, whatever). I always figured
that those individuals who were "real" would take the bull by the horns
and make the sales to make the money, because ...
In the words of Andrew Carnegie:
"There is no use whatever trying to help people who do not
help themselves. You cannot push anyone up a ladder unless
he be willing to climb himself."
Beyond that, as Frank Tibolt said:
"We should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a
thing. Action always generates inspiration. Inspiration seldom
generates action."
Rather than wasting my time trying to "motivate" people, I have always
spent my time supporting the efforts of those who were doing something.
So ... please don't wait for me to start
"motivating" you. -- It won't happen. -- But ...
As always, I am here to answer any questions.
Don't be bashful. -- Anytime you have any kind of question, just ASK!
I may not tell you what you want to hear ... like the b.s. artists do
... but, I will tell you the facts of the matter as I know them to be from
my over 50 years hands-on experience in the business community. -- That's
what I'm here for. -- Your success is just as important to me as it is
to you because, when YOU succeed, I succeed, too.
Feel free to pick my brain.
And, remember what Charles Steinmetz said:
"No man really becomes a fool until he stops asking questions."
I ain't from the government, but I am here to help you.
.....end of Jim Straw's email.
My (Ron Coble's) further comments.......
Although our Importing course and Exporting course and the combo
Import Export Toolkit course offer email consulting for ONE FULL YEAR
that allows you to ask any question you want in that time, many people
opt to pay THOUSANDS of dollars more for the promise of being able
to TALK to someone by phone.
Whether it is an inherent need to have someone "coaching" them or
"motivating" them, they are spending thousands of dollars and untold
hours of precious time on a promise that I have yet to have anyone
tell me helps them reach ANY success in this business.
As Jim mentions in his email text above, the Email consulting that is
offered with our courses will provide you with answers....although they
may not be the answers you are seeking.
For instance, if you submit a question that we know is covered in the
body of the course, then you will receive an answer referencing that
portion so "YOU" may read that section and learn and make your
own decisions accordingly.
Other answers you may not like are when you are so enthusiastic about
a deal offered to you but the answer comes back to stay away from it.
We are not deal killers but if you ask about something that we have
prior knowledge of, that is the answer you will get, we are not going to
tailor our answers to meet your hoped for expectations. Reality is
what it is and sometimes it sucks!
Additionally, you cannot expect someone else to learn ALL the aspects
of a particular deal you are trying to put together so much so that you
are really seeking a confirmation of your decision to move forward or
not. There is NO profit incentive for us to get involved in your deals and
quite frankly we have NO interest in becoming silent partners with
everyone who purchases our "HOW TO" course.
I covered this in a previous post about making "DECISIONS". Making
decisions is what separates the successes from the failures and having
some minimum wage or commission paid rep on the other end of the
phone giving their totally unqualified "OPINION" is a sure recipe for
FAILURE.
It was interesting that I received Jim Straw's email today because I had
been thinking about how MOST people are simply not cut out to get
involved in international trade. They view the business as a "get rich
quick" scheme or "how do I make money" opportunity and it simply is
not suited for that type of mentality, although most purveyors of import
export training would have you believe otherwise.
Hope this post will enlighten those who really have an interest in getting
started in the Import and/or Export business and also help save those
who are in need of constant motivation or who are looking at import
export as a "money making opportunity" from spending their hard earned
money on some useless program that promises to hold their hand while
skipping down the yellow brick road to riches.
Jim Straw, who has over 50 years of success in various businesses and
is considered one of the top marketing gurus who continues to operate
his business while well into his 80's.
This came to me as part of an email and I thought it appropriate to
post here since motivation or "coaching" is a key factor in the decision
of which Import Export Business training course people select.
Jim's post begins here.....
Here lately, I've been reading a lot about *How to Motivate Your Sales
Team* in the multitude of ezines I receive.
As always, the ideas ranged from the ridiculous to the sublime.
To be quite frank with you, I have never tried to "motivate" any of
my sales people (dealers, associates, affiliates, whatever). I always figured
that those individuals who were "real" would take the bull by the horns
and make the sales to make the money, because ...
In the words of Andrew Carnegie:
"There is no use whatever trying to help people who do not
help themselves. You cannot push anyone up a ladder unless
he be willing to climb himself."
Beyond that, as Frank Tibolt said:
"We should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a
thing. Action always generates inspiration. Inspiration seldom
generates action."
Rather than wasting my time trying to "motivate" people, I have always
spent my time supporting the efforts of those who were doing something.
So ... please don't wait for me to start
"motivating" you. -- It won't happen. -- But ...
As always, I am here to answer any questions.
Don't be bashful. -- Anytime you have any kind of question, just ASK!
I may not tell you what you want to hear ... like the b.s. artists do
... but, I will tell you the facts of the matter as I know them to be from
my over 50 years hands-on experience in the business community. -- That's
what I'm here for. -- Your success is just as important to me as it is
to you because, when YOU succeed, I succeed, too.
Feel free to pick my brain.
And, remember what Charles Steinmetz said:
"No man really becomes a fool until he stops asking questions."
I ain't from the government, but I am here to help you.
.....end of Jim Straw's email.
My (Ron Coble's) further comments.......
Although our Importing course and Exporting course and the combo
Import Export Toolkit course offer email consulting for ONE FULL YEAR
that allows you to ask any question you want in that time, many people
opt to pay THOUSANDS of dollars more for the promise of being able
to TALK to someone by phone.
Whether it is an inherent need to have someone "coaching" them or
"motivating" them, they are spending thousands of dollars and untold
hours of precious time on a promise that I have yet to have anyone
tell me helps them reach ANY success in this business.
As Jim mentions in his email text above, the Email consulting that is
offered with our courses will provide you with answers....although they
may not be the answers you are seeking.
For instance, if you submit a question that we know is covered in the
body of the course, then you will receive an answer referencing that
portion so "YOU" may read that section and learn and make your
own decisions accordingly.
Other answers you may not like are when you are so enthusiastic about
a deal offered to you but the answer comes back to stay away from it.
We are not deal killers but if you ask about something that we have
prior knowledge of, that is the answer you will get, we are not going to
tailor our answers to meet your hoped for expectations. Reality is
what it is and sometimes it sucks!
Additionally, you cannot expect someone else to learn ALL the aspects
of a particular deal you are trying to put together so much so that you
are really seeking a confirmation of your decision to move forward or
not. There is NO profit incentive for us to get involved in your deals and
quite frankly we have NO interest in becoming silent partners with
everyone who purchases our "HOW TO" course.
I covered this in a previous post about making "DECISIONS". Making
decisions is what separates the successes from the failures and having
some minimum wage or commission paid rep on the other end of the
phone giving their totally unqualified "OPINION" is a sure recipe for
FAILURE.
It was interesting that I received Jim Straw's email today because I had
been thinking about how MOST people are simply not cut out to get
involved in international trade. They view the business as a "get rich
quick" scheme or "how do I make money" opportunity and it simply is
not suited for that type of mentality, although most purveyors of import
export training would have you believe otherwise.
Hope this post will enlighten those who really have an interest in getting
started in the Import and/or Export business and also help save those
who are in need of constant motivation or who are looking at import
export as a "money making opportunity" from spending their hard earned
money on some useless program that promises to hold their hand while
skipping down the yellow brick road to riches.
Importing Business Question & Answer
Question: I've been searching for a guide that would show me how to setup
an import business, with information such as taxes, forms, etc. I'm
interested in importing jewelry from Asia countries to sell here in the
U.S. Are you selling any guides like that?
Answer: I assume you are referring to duties on imported products and
this is covered in our Importing Business course.
A lot of the necessary forms can be supplied by the customs
broker or the U.S. Customs office. Our course focuses more on identifying
suppliers and buyers and a whole lot of time is not wasted on supporting
paperwork which is really incidental to the process.
Our importing business training self-study course provides some sample
forms and the like but we really try to encourage new traders not
to obsess over paperwork and to focus instead on the business of
identifying suppliers and buyers. Importers (you) simply need to know how
important it is to check with U.S. Customs in advance of importing. They
will provide the details on quotas, duties and special requirements.
Our course will provide you with a myriad of ideas for finding buyers
for your imports, here is a FREE resource where you can find 16 Electronic
trade magazines that are updated monthly with "VERIFIED" suppliers AND
complete contact details for those suppliers -
FREE Verified Import Product Supplier Electronic Trade Magazines
an import business, with information such as taxes, forms, etc. I'm
interested in importing jewelry from Asia countries to sell here in the
U.S. Are you selling any guides like that?
Answer: I assume you are referring to duties on imported products and
this is covered in our Importing Business course.
A lot of the necessary forms can be supplied by the customs
broker or the U.S. Customs office. Our course focuses more on identifying
suppliers and buyers and a whole lot of time is not wasted on supporting
paperwork which is really incidental to the process.
Our importing business training self-study course provides some sample
forms and the like but we really try to encourage new traders not
to obsess over paperwork and to focus instead on the business of
identifying suppliers and buyers. Importers (you) simply need to know how
important it is to check with U.S. Customs in advance of importing. They
will provide the details on quotas, duties and special requirements.
Our course will provide you with a myriad of ideas for finding buyers
for your imports, here is a FREE resource where you can find 16 Electronic
trade magazines that are updated monthly with "VERIFIED" suppliers AND
complete contact details for those suppliers -
FREE Verified Import Product Supplier Electronic Trade Magazines
More Import Export Business Start Up Questions
Rather than posting a response to one of the comments left by a gentleman named "JIM", I felt a complete post was in order to address some of his remarks and questions.
Jim stated in his comment that he was taking a course of instruction on starting an import/export business at a university and (his comments) - "this class is giving me a comprehensive look at the industry from an instructor who owns and operates an import/export company, as well as a information from a guest speaker from US. Commercial services. Also, the instructor has availed himself to giving help and answering questions long after the course is completed."
I am sure the course you are taking through NYU is a good one. Based on what you have told me in your comment and what I could find through a google search it sounds very comprehensive and one that gives your money's worth.
In relationship to our self-study course, it has been used as a basis for community colleges to provide import/export business training so it too has great value and often people are not as fortunate as you to have a comprehensive course available in a locale that is convenient for them to attend in person.
Having US commercial service personnel provide some of the instruction is great as well. If you review our course information line by line at Starting An Import Export Business Course you will find that the videos we have in our course include various interviews with personnel involved in various aspects of international trade.
These interviews included exporters, international bankers, brokers and freight forwarders.
Not knowing the course curriculum of your NYU course, I would have to hazard a guess that based on what I could find in google, it appears to be focused on establishing your business as an export management company which is the general course of action found in most books and courses of instruction.
That again, is all well and good and in fact our course provides you with similar training to establish your company as an export management company. However, where I "think" our course diverges from most others out there is we also focus heavily on you starting and operating your business as an agent or broker.
Working as an agent/broker gives you the opportunity to get into the business more quickly and "hopefully" attain some profits more quickly than establishing your company as an export management company (EMC) and getting financing for the products you are going to purchase and resell to importers.
Working as an export commission agent can be far less complicated on your part (and yes, less profitable) but repeating what was stated above, it gives you a much better opportunity to get into profitability at far less financial risk than trying to start out as an EMC.
Personally, I decided a long time ago to work my international business as an agent. I am now semi-retired and I really do not wish to evolve into an EMC and am very happy with the way my agent business has developed. Each person is different but getting back to the core reason for this post, I doubt your course covers much in the way of working as an agent but I may be wrong.
Irregardless, our course offers you a more diverse look into the business and perspectives that you will not find anywhere else because the interviews are proprietary.
Another reason for a complete post was the last sentence in your first paragraph that stated:
"Also, the instructor has availed himself to giving help and answering questions long after the course is completed."
I am glad this person is making themselves available to you, however, if you look at our course, it offers an email consulting service for up to one year and quite frankly, our course is comprehensive enough that you should have little need to call upon anyone for questions that are most likely answered within the course itself.
If there is a question the course does not answer (quite unlikely) then you have up to one year to ask them via email and again, quite frankly, if you have not reached a point in your business within one year that you are able to answer most questions yourself, by contacting the appropriate trade support businesses or government offices that you are instructed to contact in our course, then maybe you need to go back and review the course again.
Actually, the CD Roms that contain all the course materials are ideal for that reason. You have a 24/7 international business library that has most of the questions/answers and resources you need listed in them, you just may need to take a few minutes to find them.
I know this post is getting long but I will get to your last question before completing it.
I will not repeat what I have already posted to this blog before about questions after you have all the information you need to make a "decision" - if you search for "decisions" you should find a post directly addressing this issue.
Summarizing, it is well and good to have someone to call about your questions, but if that person does not have a profit incentive to know "everything" that you should have already researched yourself and after calling upon this person a couple of times, I would think that they would soon reach a point that they too would tell you that "decisions" need to be made by "you" and if they have provided you with the instruction tools to make those decisions, their 'ongoing' availability would soon end.
Think about this for a moment - if there are 20 people in the class and if all 20 are now calling upon the instructor for answers to their questions, 'if you' were in their situation, would it not become way too time consuming to be taking you away from your core business? Especially if the answers were either covered in the course or instructional materials the students had been provided or the answers were of the "decision" nature??
Here are the dates and links to posts that have addressed the "decisions" issue in the past, they are well worth the few minutes it will take to read them -
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
http://tinyurl.com/y6777ut
Sunday, July 19, 2009
http://tinyurl.com/y6aw85p
Now, finally, to your question - "I have 12 years of experience with the web, operating systems, cross-platform browsers, search engines, and online/offline applications for both Mac and Windows, etc.). I also have first-hand experience with setting up a business, although it has been awhile. After reading this post, it would seem to me that, in concert, that skill-set should give me a good foundation with regard to promoting exports via the Internet."
ONE WORD ANSWER: ABSOLUTELY!
The experience you have outlined gives you a superior position to someone who has to learn how to set up websites or pages.
Relating this back to the "decisions" part of this post, when I got started, I knew absolutely nothing about building web pages or maintaining a website. I was solely dependent upon a very good long distance business associate who took care of it for me.
It soon became apparent to me, however, that his time was very limited and if I needed something done, added or changed, I had to learn how to do it myself. I took some sit in courses but most of what I learned was through CD Rom based self study and upon finishing those courses, I had all the information I needed to take over the website and move on from there.
If something is not covered in the coursd materials, I researched it through the knowledge I had learned and found enough information for me to perform the task at hand. Most of the time, all I had to do is go back into the course materials to find the answer.
Jim, in closing this post out, I know many of my blog posts and website information appear to cast a negative light on having someone available to you as a "call-up" type mentor. If the instructor/mentor you have found in your course does not mind you and all other students calling him/her up for a never ending amount of time, then you have found a gem and wish you the best.
Thank you for posting your question/comment and I hope my reply here is not construed negatively but constructively.
I wish you success in your business!
Ron Coble
Coble International Marketing Services
Jim stated in his comment that he was taking a course of instruction on starting an import/export business at a university and (his comments) - "this class is giving me a comprehensive look at the industry from an instructor who owns and operates an import/export company, as well as a information from a guest speaker from US. Commercial services. Also, the instructor has availed himself to giving help and answering questions long after the course is completed."
I am sure the course you are taking through NYU is a good one. Based on what you have told me in your comment and what I could find through a google search it sounds very comprehensive and one that gives your money's worth.
In relationship to our self-study course, it has been used as a basis for community colleges to provide import/export business training so it too has great value and often people are not as fortunate as you to have a comprehensive course available in a locale that is convenient for them to attend in person.
Having US commercial service personnel provide some of the instruction is great as well. If you review our course information line by line at Starting An Import Export Business Course you will find that the videos we have in our course include various interviews with personnel involved in various aspects of international trade.
These interviews included exporters, international bankers, brokers and freight forwarders.
Not knowing the course curriculum of your NYU course, I would have to hazard a guess that based on what I could find in google, it appears to be focused on establishing your business as an export management company which is the general course of action found in most books and courses of instruction.
That again, is all well and good and in fact our course provides you with similar training to establish your company as an export management company. However, where I "think" our course diverges from most others out there is we also focus heavily on you starting and operating your business as an agent or broker.
Working as an agent/broker gives you the opportunity to get into the business more quickly and "hopefully" attain some profits more quickly than establishing your company as an export management company (EMC) and getting financing for the products you are going to purchase and resell to importers.
Working as an export commission agent can be far less complicated on your part (and yes, less profitable) but repeating what was stated above, it gives you a much better opportunity to get into profitability at far less financial risk than trying to start out as an EMC.
Personally, I decided a long time ago to work my international business as an agent. I am now semi-retired and I really do not wish to evolve into an EMC and am very happy with the way my agent business has developed. Each person is different but getting back to the core reason for this post, I doubt your course covers much in the way of working as an agent but I may be wrong.
Irregardless, our course offers you a more diverse look into the business and perspectives that you will not find anywhere else because the interviews are proprietary.
Another reason for a complete post was the last sentence in your first paragraph that stated:
"Also, the instructor has availed himself to giving help and answering questions long after the course is completed."
I am glad this person is making themselves available to you, however, if you look at our course, it offers an email consulting service for up to one year and quite frankly, our course is comprehensive enough that you should have little need to call upon anyone for questions that are most likely answered within the course itself.
If there is a question the course does not answer (quite unlikely) then you have up to one year to ask them via email and again, quite frankly, if you have not reached a point in your business within one year that you are able to answer most questions yourself, by contacting the appropriate trade support businesses or government offices that you are instructed to contact in our course, then maybe you need to go back and review the course again.
Actually, the CD Roms that contain all the course materials are ideal for that reason. You have a 24/7 international business library that has most of the questions/answers and resources you need listed in them, you just may need to take a few minutes to find them.
I know this post is getting long but I will get to your last question before completing it.
I will not repeat what I have already posted to this blog before about questions after you have all the information you need to make a "decision" - if you search for "decisions" you should find a post directly addressing this issue.
Summarizing, it is well and good to have someone to call about your questions, but if that person does not have a profit incentive to know "everything" that you should have already researched yourself and after calling upon this person a couple of times, I would think that they would soon reach a point that they too would tell you that "decisions" need to be made by "you" and if they have provided you with the instruction tools to make those decisions, their 'ongoing' availability would soon end.
Think about this for a moment - if there are 20 people in the class and if all 20 are now calling upon the instructor for answers to their questions, 'if you' were in their situation, would it not become way too time consuming to be taking you away from your core business? Especially if the answers were either covered in the course or instructional materials the students had been provided or the answers were of the "decision" nature??
Here are the dates and links to posts that have addressed the "decisions" issue in the past, they are well worth the few minutes it will take to read them -
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
http://tinyurl.com/y6777ut
Sunday, July 19, 2009
http://tinyurl.com/y6aw85p
Now, finally, to your question - "I have 12 years of experience with the web, operating systems, cross-platform browsers, search engines, and online/offline applications for both Mac and Windows, etc.). I also have first-hand experience with setting up a business, although it has been awhile. After reading this post, it would seem to me that, in concert, that skill-set should give me a good foundation with regard to promoting exports via the Internet."
ONE WORD ANSWER: ABSOLUTELY!
The experience you have outlined gives you a superior position to someone who has to learn how to set up websites or pages.
Relating this back to the "decisions" part of this post, when I got started, I knew absolutely nothing about building web pages or maintaining a website. I was solely dependent upon a very good long distance business associate who took care of it for me.
It soon became apparent to me, however, that his time was very limited and if I needed something done, added or changed, I had to learn how to do it myself. I took some sit in courses but most of what I learned was through CD Rom based self study and upon finishing those courses, I had all the information I needed to take over the website and move on from there.
If something is not covered in the coursd materials, I researched it through the knowledge I had learned and found enough information for me to perform the task at hand. Most of the time, all I had to do is go back into the course materials to find the answer.
Jim, in closing this post out, I know many of my blog posts and website information appear to cast a negative light on having someone available to you as a "call-up" type mentor. If the instructor/mentor you have found in your course does not mind you and all other students calling him/her up for a never ending amount of time, then you have found a gem and wish you the best.
Thank you for posting your question/comment and I hope my reply here is not construed negatively but constructively.
I wish you success in your business!
Ron Coble
Coble International Marketing Services
Import Export Business Answers
Question about Exporting to Jamaica.
message: I have a family member that is living in Jamaica. We are trying to find out the laws of me buying stuff here in the US and shipping them to Jamaica where she can sell out of a store. I just need help finding out if i need a license and if so what type. Are you able to help me with this question? Please let me know.
Answer:
You are asking a question that could have many potential
answers.
Most of the time, there are no licenses required to ship
something from country to country unless it is considered
hazardous like chemicals, weapons, etc..
If you are talking about large, container size shipments, then
you should talk with a freight forwarder to assist you. If you are
talking about boxes that can be shipped via the post office, you
can talk to someone at a reasonably sized post office.
If it is small enough to ship via the post office, it will most likely
be the cheaper way to both ship and get through customs. See
many times there are no restrictions or fees other than shipping
from the country a product ships from but there are fees (customs,
duties, etc) that are due by the buyer upon receipt.
You may also find some information posted at the US Postal web site at www.USPS.com - there is usually a customs form
you have to complete at the Post office showing what is in th e
package and the estimated value (this is how the receiving
country ends up taxing or charging customs).
As an example, we used to sell an automotive product on our
web site and in Canada, they charged about $25 on a $150 valued
item which was about 16 to 17% of the items value.
Fresh food items often require special handling due to bugs,
spoilage, etc..
Hope this will help get you pointed in the right direction.
Ron Coble
International Business Services
message: I have a family member that is living in Jamaica. We are trying to find out the laws of me buying stuff here in the US and shipping them to Jamaica where she can sell out of a store. I just need help finding out if i need a license and if so what type. Are you able to help me with this question? Please let me know.
Answer:
You are asking a question that could have many potential
answers.
Most of the time, there are no licenses required to ship
something from country to country unless it is considered
hazardous like chemicals, weapons, etc..
If you are talking about large, container size shipments, then
you should talk with a freight forwarder to assist you. If you are
talking about boxes that can be shipped via the post office, you
can talk to someone at a reasonably sized post office.
If it is small enough to ship via the post office, it will most likely
be the cheaper way to both ship and get through customs. See
many times there are no restrictions or fees other than shipping
from the country a product ships from but there are fees (customs,
duties, etc) that are due by the buyer upon receipt.
You may also find some information posted at the US Postal web site at www.USPS.com - there is usually a customs form
you have to complete at the Post office showing what is in th e
package and the estimated value (this is how the receiving
country ends up taxing or charging customs).
As an example, we used to sell an automotive product on our
web site and in Canada, they charged about $25 on a $150 valued
item which was about 16 to 17% of the items value.
Fresh food items often require special handling due to bugs,
spoilage, etc..
Hope this will help get you pointed in the right direction.
Ron Coble
International Business Services
FREE Import Product Sourcing E-Magazines
FREE Import Product Source E-magazines -
Here is a list of the FREE Product sourcing E-magazines
that are available to you -
Here is a list of the FREE Product sourcing E-magazines
that are available to you -
- Auto Parts & Accessories
- Baby & Children's Products
- Computer Products
- Electronic Components
- Electronics
- Fashion Accessories
- Garments & Textiles
- Gifts & Premiums
- Hardware & DIY Products
- Home Products
- Security products
- Sports & Liesure Products
- Telecom Products
Inside your e-magazines, you'll find:
Including pictures and top-line specifications
development and trends in your industry
suppliers in China and throughout Asia
Click Here Or On The Picture Above To Apply For Your FREE Import Product E-Magazines
Import Export Business Questions & Answers
The following is a list of Questions from someone who was considering the Import and Export business and my answers to those questions (NOTE: the questions are numbered and my answers are preceded by several asteriks)- one point of reference - I refer to "absolutes" quite a bit - giving an an "absolute" is an impossibility when it comes to starting and succeeding in a business:
AS i'm doing my due diligence search i have some questions about the import and export Business.
1. Between import and export, which one will give me a quicker result? I understand it might be up to my speed and learning ability, but give me an average: which one of the two gives better and quicker result, i know i cannot do both at the same time, i'm trying to see which one of the two that i should try first.
**** Your first absolute which I cannot provide - each business is different - each person entering these two businesses are different and bring with them different personalities, backgrounds, abilities, and resources. Personally, I feel (not an absolute) that there are more opportunities within the exporting business, especially right now with the US dollar being at historic lows - this makes our (USA) goods less expensive to buy by foreign importers.
The exporting business also offers (in my opinion) more opportunities to work it indirectly, i.e., without buying the product with your own funds or legal financial obligations. Both the course publisher and I recommend that you start out working as an export agent or broker where you match buyers to sellers, after you have an agreement with the seller to pay you a commission. In my many (almost 20) years in this business, I have not seen many (if any) similar opportunities to work the importing business as an agent or broker.
Most often in importing, you have to put money out for the goods and be totally responsible for their shipment, then the marketing, sale and shipping of those products.
2. Once i order the import or the export package for the price listed on importexporthelp.com websites, is there any other money that will come out of my pocket soon or later. I'm trying to keep up with my budget, i don't want to order either package, then later i find out that i cannot keep up with the business because i'm short on cash.
**** There is only one other resource that we offer that I recommend - a subscription to the online Export Leads service as described here: http://www.importexporthelp.com/trderl4.htm
I think you should have a dedicated fax number but that does not mean you need an extra phone line - as a bonus when you order the Exporters Master Package - I send you some agreement formats, a letterhead format and some information on resources I use in my own business, such as a dedicated fax number that emails me my faxes and only costs $34 a year (not month, a year). Beyond that would be your phone bill and I can give you the name of my long distance service if you like - I have been with them for about 8 or 9 years now because they have the best domestic and international rates I have found.
3. i'll be willing to do whatever it takes for that business to work, i have tried so many other online businesses, they were not working for me, but this one will: That's why i'm doing all the possible research before i get deeper to it. Would you tell me about how much time i will need to spend on the business (weekly).
**** Another absolute - sorry but I simply cannot give you an answer - no one can and if they do, get it in writing, signed and dated.
4. how guarantee is the business for everybody who do what they suppose to do, including research and all that. Does this Business requires for you to have luck.
**** Another word for guarantee - absolute - patience, persistence, perseverance, tenacity - all go into your ability to succeed in this business or any business - I am quite frank here, if you are looking for guarantees and absolutes, then you probably should never go into business for yourself.
5. How many transactions can you hit in a month after you get used to the business? Can you do more than one transactions at the same time?
**** Working the business as an agent or broker, I would encourage you to be working on several possible deals (if you have the time) not every (for that matter, not most) deal will come to fruition. I live in the Pennsylvania dutch area and they have a saying around here - "dont put all of your eggs in one basket" - the same goes for starting out and building your business - dont get so focused on one deal that you ignore other potentials, but by the same token, don't get spread too thin by trying to do too many. How many is too many, when you do not have time to follow up with what you need to do to see even one come to fruition.
6. is it going to take me 3 to 6 months to learn the material or is ti going to take me 3 to 6 months before i make my first cash.
**** Sorry, another absolute - too many variables are in play - you, the marketplace(s) you choose to pursue, your ability to communicate, whether over the phone or in writing or possibly in person. How can I be a judge of that? Sorry, but I will say that minimally, if you were successful on your very first deal, you would still be looking at 3-6 months before you would collect your commission from the manufacturer - simply, it takes that long for everything to process through, i.e., shipping, negotiation, customs, payment by the buyer, etc..
7. I know i'm going to have to reinvest some of my profits into the business, how would i be able to do that?
**** Working the export business as an agent or broker really does not require a lot of reinvestment - a phone, fax (which you can do with software in your computer) , fast internet connection, these are the basic tools, except for maybe this - I do recommend that if you get a manufacturer to sign you on as their export agent/broker (one of the hardest parts of the business actually) - then I recommend that you use every means possible to promote the manufacturer's products, but in a generic manner so the potential buyer(s) have to come through you to learn more. I strongly recommend you develop a web site that promotes these various products in a generic manner, under your name or your business name and use either search engine optimization or pay per click advertising to promote their products. Most manufacturers allow you to use their product pictures, etc on your web site since you are helping to promote their products, even though generically.
Hope the above Q & A's will help you make a more informed decision about the Import Export business and whether you are ready to make the investment of time and money required to get started.
Ron Coble
Coble International Business Services
http://www.importexporthelp.com/
AS i'm doing my due diligence search i have some questions about the import and export Business.
1. Between import and export, which one will give me a quicker result? I understand it might be up to my speed and learning ability, but give me an average: which one of the two gives better and quicker result, i know i cannot do both at the same time, i'm trying to see which one of the two that i should try first.
**** Your first absolute which I cannot provide - each business is different - each person entering these two businesses are different and bring with them different personalities, backgrounds, abilities, and resources. Personally, I feel (not an absolute) that there are more opportunities within the exporting business, especially right now with the US dollar being at historic lows - this makes our (USA) goods less expensive to buy by foreign importers.
The exporting business also offers (in my opinion) more opportunities to work it indirectly, i.e., without buying the product with your own funds or legal financial obligations. Both the course publisher and I recommend that you start out working as an export agent or broker where you match buyers to sellers, after you have an agreement with the seller to pay you a commission. In my many (almost 20) years in this business, I have not seen many (if any) similar opportunities to work the importing business as an agent or broker.
Most often in importing, you have to put money out for the goods and be totally responsible for their shipment, then the marketing, sale and shipping of those products.
2. Once i order the import or the export package for the price listed on importexporthelp.com websites, is there any other money that will come out of my pocket soon or later. I'm trying to keep up with my budget, i don't want to order either package, then later i find out that i cannot keep up with the business because i'm short on cash.
**** There is only one other resource that we offer that I recommend - a subscription to the online Export Leads service as described here: http://www.importexporthelp.com/trderl4.htm
I think you should have a dedicated fax number but that does not mean you need an extra phone line - as a bonus when you order the Exporters Master Package - I send you some agreement formats, a letterhead format and some information on resources I use in my own business, such as a dedicated fax number that emails me my faxes and only costs $34 a year (not month, a year). Beyond that would be your phone bill and I can give you the name of my long distance service if you like - I have been with them for about 8 or 9 years now because they have the best domestic and international rates I have found.
3. i'll be willing to do whatever it takes for that business to work, i have tried so many other online businesses, they were not working for me, but this one will: That's why i'm doing all the possible research before i get deeper to it. Would you tell me about how much time i will need to spend on the business (weekly).
**** Another absolute - sorry but I simply cannot give you an answer - no one can and if they do, get it in writing, signed and dated.
4. how guarantee is the business for everybody who do what they suppose to do, including research and all that. Does this Business requires for you to have luck.
**** Another word for guarantee - absolute - patience, persistence, perseverance, tenacity - all go into your ability to succeed in this business or any business - I am quite frank here, if you are looking for guarantees and absolutes, then you probably should never go into business for yourself.
5. How many transactions can you hit in a month after you get used to the business? Can you do more than one transactions at the same time?
**** Working the business as an agent or broker, I would encourage you to be working on several possible deals (if you have the time) not every (for that matter, not most) deal will come to fruition. I live in the Pennsylvania dutch area and they have a saying around here - "dont put all of your eggs in one basket" - the same goes for starting out and building your business - dont get so focused on one deal that you ignore other potentials, but by the same token, don't get spread too thin by trying to do too many. How many is too many, when you do not have time to follow up with what you need to do to see even one come to fruition.
6. is it going to take me 3 to 6 months to learn the material or is ti going to take me 3 to 6 months before i make my first cash.
**** Sorry, another absolute - too many variables are in play - you, the marketplace(s) you choose to pursue, your ability to communicate, whether over the phone or in writing or possibly in person. How can I be a judge of that? Sorry, but I will say that minimally, if you were successful on your very first deal, you would still be looking at 3-6 months before you would collect your commission from the manufacturer - simply, it takes that long for everything to process through, i.e., shipping, negotiation, customs, payment by the buyer, etc..
7. I know i'm going to have to reinvest some of my profits into the business, how would i be able to do that?
**** Working the export business as an agent or broker really does not require a lot of reinvestment - a phone, fax (which you can do with software in your computer) , fast internet connection, these are the basic tools, except for maybe this - I do recommend that if you get a manufacturer to sign you on as their export agent/broker (one of the hardest parts of the business actually) - then I recommend that you use every means possible to promote the manufacturer's products, but in a generic manner so the potential buyer(s) have to come through you to learn more. I strongly recommend you develop a web site that promotes these various products in a generic manner, under your name or your business name and use either search engine optimization or pay per click advertising to promote their products. Most manufacturers allow you to use their product pictures, etc on your web site since you are helping to promote their products, even though generically.
Hope the above Q & A's will help you make a more informed decision about the Import Export business and whether you are ready to make the investment of time and money required to get started.
Ron Coble
Coble International Business Services
http://www.importexporthelp.com/
Are You Ready To Start An Importing Business?
Here are a few key questions to consider when thinking about
starting an importing business to help you learn if you are ready:
1. How well are the products selling that you are considering
importing?
2. Do you have a market already established for those
products?
3. If you do not have a market, i.e., buyers, how are you
going to get those buyers to first learn about your products,
then buy those products?
4. Do you have the expertise to deal with the foreign
languages of the countries you are thinking about importing
from?
5. How will you pay or finance for those products?
6. Are your trusting enough (or naive enough) to send your
funds to a company you found on the Internet simply because
they have a nice looking web site and best of all, the lowest
prices you have found yet?
7. Have you ever heard of the term "due diligence" and do
you know how to perform it on potential suppliers?
8. Have you ever sold anything? Products or services via
any method of marketing?
The above list are just a few of the questions you must
answer to yourself when considering the start of just about
any business, but especially one that requires you send
your hard earned funds to someone in another country.
Consider this post a reality check. If some of the things
in this post upset you, good. I would rather give you a
reality check before it costs you any serious money.
Most people have more dream than they have experience or
willpower. They want the fast track to guaranteed success
and do not want to face the realities of business that
do not match their dreams.
If you have ever considered starting an import business,
you better have solid answers to the above questions.
The primary one - who are you going to sell to? Second,
do you have "any" business experience??
When someone calls me on the phone asking about starting
their own importing business, the first questions I ask
are those listed above.
Most answer that they do not have any business experience
or if they do, it does not involve the actual sale of the
products they are thinking about importing.
The recommendation I give them in such instances is as
follows:
If you do not have any experience and/or you do but
you do not have an established market - then start selling
stuff on eBay.
By stuff I mean the excess things you have personally
accumulated, that same stuff owned by your relatives and
friends.
Selling "stuff" like this teaches you the "how to" of
the largest marketplace in the world - eBay.
It also gives you an opportunity to experience the "thrills"
of doing business, such as
Experiencing a sale or no sale
Researching how to price your products (based on previous
sales of the same or similar products)
Setting up a no cost merchant account with eBay's paypal
service and joyously paying fees to both paypal and eBay.
Dealing with shipping and handling.
Dealing with customers, communications - customer service
if they are not happy with the "stuff" because you did not
write a thorough description or provide a photo that did
not detail every nook and cranny of the stuff.
Dealing with non-paying customers.
Not trying to scare you away from your dreams but simply
giving you a path to learn from that does not cost you
a lot of out of pocket funds.
Now for some resources that my experience and research
over the past 7-8 years has discovered to be the BEST
I personally have found -
If after reading the above you realize that you are
"not ready for prime time" in starting your own importing
business, then this first resource is a place you should
visit and take advantage of "every FREE resource" they
offer to help you decide if their paid service would
help you launch your business.
This first link will take you to a search engine like
facility within their service where you can search for
suppliers of various items to see how many they have in
their database system:
http://www.importexporthelp.com/redir/odssd.htm
-- just enter the name of the product(s) in the search
engine space, submit and wait for the results - the
search results will bring up various listings, one
will say "Import Buys" that is the one to focus on -
see the number out to the right that is underlined,
that is the number of suppliers they have for the item
you searched for - click on that number to expand and
see further details.
If you see that their service would be beneficial to you,
then get it - if you are not finding enough suppliers to
make it worthwhile then two things - 1) do not get their
paid service or 2) realize that maybe there is a reason
for not finding the product(s) and change the name or
learn from this that maybe you cannot sell that product
because it has minimum requirements that you would not
be able to handle or there are exclusive distribution
rights that simply exclude others from selling it.
A bit of advice on products you are thinking about selling -
don't get so fixated on one or two products that you
spend all your time seeking to find a supplier for it.
Understand that MOST of the BIG BRAND NAME products
have "EXCLUSIVE" distribution agreements and you are
NOT going to the attention of a manufacturer since you
are just getting started. Once you have a market
base established, then you 'may' be able to get them
to answer your phone calls, but you better have a
huge market base.
Now once you have that market base established and you
feel financially successful enough to purchase a much
larger (maybe container load) of a product, then it is
time to beging considering Importing it yourself.
This is when you are ready for our Importing course
and should get it so you understand all the aspects
of importing before you even make your first foreign
inquiry. Here is a link to our course:
How To Start An Importing Business Course
Last, but certainly not least, getting back to selling
on eBay - I am going to give you the link to our web
page where you may download, for free, an ebook that
I purchased a few years ago and found to be extremely
helpful when I made my first foray onto eBay to sell
some of the "too much" stuff I had accumulated over
my lifetime. Go visit and download at:
Free Ebay Selling Auction Book
Now the most IMPORTANT thing that selling on eBay
provides you is learning how to take ACTION! Beyond
dreaming about starting a business, by actually selling
(or attempting to sell) your first "stuff" on eBay,
it causes you to take that ALL IMPORTANT FIRST STEP -
ACTION.
This brings me to close this post with something I
read recently that Walt Disney once said - it applies
to you feeling overwhelmed with all of the strategies
you want to try - some people (maybe you) get so
completely overwhelmed that they put off getting
started for far too long.
Walt Disney put it simply like this:
"The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing."
Walter Disney
Hope this post will help you decide to "BEGIN DOING".
Ron Coble
International Trade Marketing Services
http://www.importexporthelp.com/
Import And Export Business Q&A Continued
Question:
Can you guide me as to where I could find more information on regulations for export to Mexico? We are a US company that would be shipping within the U.S. The product would then be sold in Mexico by the customer.
Answer:
We do not provide consulting of the nature you have requested. My suggestion for either you and/or your customer is that they get our course on exporting - it will guide you/them through all the processes and provide details on which public/private organizations you need to contact with regards to specific products for the specific regulationsand requirements regarding those items - you may review details of the course here and feel free to forward this message to your client:
http://www.importexporthelp.com/trdspm1.htm
*****************************************************
Question:
I know you don't need a certificate to start a business but regarding the commission fees, is there a difference regarding the income of an agent compared to a broker on the same transaction(connecting seller to buyer) or is it just a title difference? Are there certain income the broker can make that the agent can't just because one has the license? I'm seriously thinking of starting the business, but I just need to do a bit of research according to your advice on the blog.
Answer:
In regards to the "title" - that is all the difference there is - whatever you choose to call yourself. I have been referred to in agreements as the International Sales Coordinator, International Marketing Consultant, Export Agent, International Business Broker - bottom line is, I don't care what they call me as long as they have my name or my business name spelled correctly on their checks.
You also refer to the term "license" - the only licensed individuals in import export are "Customs Brokers" and they are not working as agents/brokers for the manufacturer and earning a commission, they get paid to make sure all the i's are dotted, t's are crossed on any documentation and sometimes provide other shipping related assistance. Our course will teach you who you need to work with to get the deals done without trying to do it all yourself.
Follow Up Question From The Same Person:
Thank you for your clear explanations. I was probably confused between a broker and a Custom Broker.
I have one last question and I hope you don't see it as being too straight forward. Can you tell me why I should choose your product over other Starter Kits($400 range), classes plus support, books/notebooks (Entrepreneur.com), e-books, import/export coaching, CD-roms, DVDs and etc.?
Answer to Follow Up Question:
There are a lot of good materials on the market and I have probably purchased or reviewed most of them over my 20 years in this business. First off, I would be very, very wary of any "coaching" programs or those that offer what I call hand holding "support" - I have written enough about these type of programs on my import export business blog that I will defer you to go find them and read why.
In most instances, the "support"/"coaching"/"hand holding" personnel will be doing nothing more than reading from the same hand book they supply you with and in most instances these hand holding sessions can be quite expensiveright up front to the tune of thousands of dollars.
Our course provides you with all the information, much of it proprietary from our publisher, that you will need to follow in order to start and succeed in your own import or export business. Do we guarantee you will succeed - absolutely NOT!
I did not start this business to sell information products or training, I started it because in the late 80's the Internet was not readily available - yes, AOL was and I was one of their first 100,000 customers. I started it because I spent hundreds of hours visiting the library, visiting with actual importers and exporters, visiting with international bankers, department of commerce personnel, buying various materials that turned out to be such a waste of time and money it was unbelievable.
In getting started I found some very unique and incredibly helpful information and thought I wonder if others would be interested in saving all the time I spent if I would put this information together in the form of a couple of reports. Low and behold, they were.
I found this course in the early 90's (it has been updated about every 2 years since but still includes some very valuable proprietary info like the one video that was co-sponsored by the US Dept. of Commerce - it still is one of the best resources around).
I have been sent books, CD's, access to web sites and more in those subsequent 15 years and in regards to actual training programs, the "only" change I have made is the addition of the China Trading program about 18 months ago. I did so because it is not competitive with the import export training course and is a uniquely different niche within the international trade business.
I do not want to sway you from the direction you are headed to the China trading program, I am just making you aware of what and why I only offer a very narrow, targeted group of materials.
I also have become good friends with the publisher of the import export courses over these years because I know he has integrity. An example of which was with a recent customer. Their course was just shipped to them about 2 weeks ago and one of the ebooks was updated just a few days ago - he emailed them a copy of the new version since they had just purchased the course a few weeks ago.
Additionally, there are a "few" bonus items I send you when you get certain packages through our web site - the publisher has encouraged me to publish these items as an ebook and try to sell them but I decided to keep them special and only give them to people who get either our Importers Master package, Exporters Master Package or the combo of these two, the Import Export Toolkit. I feel anyone purchasing these complete packages are far more serious and I would rather have my information in their hands rather than everyone's.
So the bottom line is this, yes, there are a few good resources on the market and you don't need to 2nd mortgage your home to get started in this business and in most instances you will not be getting answers from someone who is doing what you hope to do as you are getting this correspondence from me.
One of the reasons I am working so late is because I just signed on a new manufacturer today and I am compiling some leads to send them over the weekend.
I guess a lot of what you have to base your decision on is that gut feeling of who do you trust - I have put my life out there on the web site and blog, my information is "easily" verifiable, is theirs?
*****************************************************
Ron Coble
International Trade B2B Help Center
Can you guide me as to where I could find more information on regulations for export to Mexico? We are a US company that would be shipping within the U.S. The product would then be sold in Mexico by the customer.
Answer:
We do not provide consulting of the nature you have requested. My suggestion for either you and/or your customer is that they get our course on exporting - it will guide you/them through all the processes and provide details on which public/private organizations you need to contact with regards to specific products for the specific regulationsand requirements regarding those items - you may review details of the course here and feel free to forward this message to your client:
http://www.importexporthelp.com/trdspm1.htm
*****************************************************
Question:
I know you don't need a certificate to start a business but regarding the commission fees, is there a difference regarding the income of an agent compared to a broker on the same transaction(connecting seller to buyer) or is it just a title difference? Are there certain income the broker can make that the agent can't just because one has the license? I'm seriously thinking of starting the business, but I just need to do a bit of research according to your advice on the blog.
Answer:
In regards to the "title" - that is all the difference there is - whatever you choose to call yourself. I have been referred to in agreements as the International Sales Coordinator, International Marketing Consultant, Export Agent, International Business Broker - bottom line is, I don't care what they call me as long as they have my name or my business name spelled correctly on their checks.
You also refer to the term "license" - the only licensed individuals in import export are "Customs Brokers" and they are not working as agents/brokers for the manufacturer and earning a commission, they get paid to make sure all the i's are dotted, t's are crossed on any documentation and sometimes provide other shipping related assistance. Our course will teach you who you need to work with to get the deals done without trying to do it all yourself.
Follow Up Question From The Same Person:
Thank you for your clear explanations. I was probably confused between a broker and a Custom Broker.
I have one last question and I hope you don't see it as being too straight forward. Can you tell me why I should choose your product over other Starter Kits($400 range), classes plus support, books/notebooks (Entrepreneur.com), e-books, import/export coaching, CD-roms, DVDs and etc.?
Answer to Follow Up Question:
There are a lot of good materials on the market and I have probably purchased or reviewed most of them over my 20 years in this business. First off, I would be very, very wary of any "coaching" programs or those that offer what I call hand holding "support" - I have written enough about these type of programs on my import export business blog that I will defer you to go find them and read why.
In most instances, the "support"/"coaching"/"hand holding" personnel will be doing nothing more than reading from the same hand book they supply you with and in most instances these hand holding sessions can be quite expensiveright up front to the tune of thousands of dollars.
Our course provides you with all the information, much of it proprietary from our publisher, that you will need to follow in order to start and succeed in your own import or export business. Do we guarantee you will succeed - absolutely NOT!
I did not start this business to sell information products or training, I started it because in the late 80's the Internet was not readily available - yes, AOL was and I was one of their first 100,000 customers. I started it because I spent hundreds of hours visiting the library, visiting with actual importers and exporters, visiting with international bankers, department of commerce personnel, buying various materials that turned out to be such a waste of time and money it was unbelievable.
In getting started I found some very unique and incredibly helpful information and thought I wonder if others would be interested in saving all the time I spent if I would put this information together in the form of a couple of reports. Low and behold, they were.
I found this course in the early 90's (it has been updated about every 2 years since but still includes some very valuable proprietary info like the one video that was co-sponsored by the US Dept. of Commerce - it still is one of the best resources around).
I have been sent books, CD's, access to web sites and more in those subsequent 15 years and in regards to actual training programs, the "only" change I have made is the addition of the China Trading program about 18 months ago. I did so because it is not competitive with the import export training course and is a uniquely different niche within the international trade business.
I do not want to sway you from the direction you are headed to the China trading program, I am just making you aware of what and why I only offer a very narrow, targeted group of materials.
I also have become good friends with the publisher of the import export courses over these years because I know he has integrity. An example of which was with a recent customer. Their course was just shipped to them about 2 weeks ago and one of the ebooks was updated just a few days ago - he emailed them a copy of the new version since they had just purchased the course a few weeks ago.
Additionally, there are a "few" bonus items I send you when you get certain packages through our web site - the publisher has encouraged me to publish these items as an ebook and try to sell them but I decided to keep them special and only give them to people who get either our Importers Master package, Exporters Master Package or the combo of these two, the Import Export Toolkit. I feel anyone purchasing these complete packages are far more serious and I would rather have my information in their hands rather than everyone's.
So the bottom line is this, yes, there are a few good resources on the market and you don't need to 2nd mortgage your home to get started in this business and in most instances you will not be getting answers from someone who is doing what you hope to do as you are getting this correspondence from me.
One of the reasons I am working so late is because I just signed on a new manufacturer today and I am compiling some leads to send them over the weekend.
I guess a lot of what you have to base your decision on is that gut feeling of who do you trust - I have put my life out there on the web site and blog, my information is "easily" verifiable, is theirs?
*****************************************************
Ron Coble
International Trade B2B Help Center
Import Export Business - Don't Put The Cart Before The Horse
Here in Central Pennsylvania where I live and operate our Import
Export Business and International marketing services, we have
Amish living nearby.
The Amish have a saying "don't put the cart before the horse".
Simply speaking, you ain't goin no where unless you know how
to hook the horse up to the cart correctly.
In the 19 years I have been operating this business, I have
probably spoken to hundreds and exchanged emails with
thousands of people who insist on putting their cart before
their horse when it comes to starting an import or export
business.
They think that they can buy a $12.95 ebook off the net or find
enough free material that will give them "all" they need to know
to get started and make their fortune.
One of the first things I ask someone when they call is what type
of course or book they have read that makes them feel they are
able to start this business. 99 and 9/10th percent of the time
they have done nothing but read how wealthy they can become.
If you think $160.00 for a comprehensive course on how to
start an import business or $316.00 for a comprehensive course
on how to start an export business is too much, let me tell you
a little story about one of the recent "cart before the horse" tales.
The following story is true related to you so that you understand
that it can become very, very expensive for you if you do not
invest in the right educational materials for starting an import
export business.
A gentleman called asking if we could help him expedite the
process of getting his food products from Vietnam approved
by the FDA. He went on to tell me that he had imported
5 container loads of food products from Vietnam. However,
he had put his cart before his horse.
He did not have all of the approvals necessary from the FDA
and could not distribute the food. Now here is the KICKER my
gllobal trade friends, he reltated how his storage costs at the
dock had already exceeded the value of the food. Whoa. Did
you get that. HIS STORAGE COSTS AT THE DOCK HAD
ALREADY EXCEEDED HIS COST OF THE FOOD! OUCH!!
Guess how wealthy he is going to be, no wait, guess how
much of a loss he is going to personally incur?
Let me ask you something? Did you ever wonder where all
these closeout stores and liquidation stores are able to get
much of their merchandise at sometimes a nickel or dime on
the dollar?
If you guessed wannabe importers who put their cart before
their horse, you get an A+. They were either too cheap OR too
arrogant to pay for a course to learn the processes of the
import export business and guess what, they are now going
to pay much more in the form of a "real life" learning experience.
You will either pay a little now for a comprehensive course on
importing and exporting, or you will pay a heck of a lot more
later in "real life" payments.
Either invest in YOUR FUTURE by getting the import or export
(or both) course appropriate to the business you are SERIOUS
about starting. YOU NEED TO LEARN THE PROCESSES
or quit kidding yourself about starting an import export
business and move on to something else.
Putting his horse before his cart for 19 years now,
Ron Coble
Coble International Marketing Services
http://www.importexporthelp.com
PS: Just a little point of personal interest, in May 1984, my
then 10 year old daughter, wife and I went on an adventure thru
Lancaster county (PA). We got to see the farm where the
movie Witness was being filmed, the courthouse where the
underground garage was used to film the scene where
Harrison Ford was shot
Best of all (especially for our daughter), we got to meet
Harrison Ford. He came out of the underground garage
where they were filming the scene in which is shot and went to
his trailer for make up and a break. When he came out he
gave our daughter his autograph.
We also got to see Danny Glover that day and a little known
(at the time) actress named Kelly McGillis was practicing a
dance routine for a broadway production she was starring in.
She did the dance routine just a few feet from where we were
sitting waiting for Harrison to come out, never realizing that
she was a big star in the making. Just a little personal note
from a beautiful day in May 1984 - one my now 30+ year
old daughter (and my wife and I) will never forget.
Export Business and International marketing services, we have
Amish living nearby.
The Amish have a saying "don't put the cart before the horse".
Simply speaking, you ain't goin no where unless you know how
to hook the horse up to the cart correctly.
In the 19 years I have been operating this business, I have
probably spoken to hundreds and exchanged emails with
thousands of people who insist on putting their cart before
their horse when it comes to starting an import or export
business.
They think that they can buy a $12.95 ebook off the net or find
enough free material that will give them "all" they need to know
to get started and make their fortune.
One of the first things I ask someone when they call is what type
of course or book they have read that makes them feel they are
able to start this business. 99 and 9/10th percent of the time
they have done nothing but read how wealthy they can become.
If you think $160.00 for a comprehensive course on how to
start an import business or $316.00 for a comprehensive course
on how to start an export business is too much, let me tell you
a little story about one of the recent "cart before the horse" tales.
The following story is true related to you so that you understand
that it can become very, very expensive for you if you do not
invest in the right educational materials for starting an import
export business.
A gentleman called asking if we could help him expedite the
process of getting his food products from Vietnam approved
by the FDA. He went on to tell me that he had imported
5 container loads of food products from Vietnam. However,
he had put his cart before his horse.
He did not have all of the approvals necessary from the FDA
and could not distribute the food. Now here is the KICKER my
gllobal trade friends, he reltated how his storage costs at the
dock had already exceeded the value of the food. Whoa. Did
you get that. HIS STORAGE COSTS AT THE DOCK HAD
ALREADY EXCEEDED HIS COST OF THE FOOD! OUCH!!
Guess how wealthy he is going to be, no wait, guess how
much of a loss he is going to personally incur?
Let me ask you something? Did you ever wonder where all
these closeout stores and liquidation stores are able to get
much of their merchandise at sometimes a nickel or dime on
the dollar?
If you guessed wannabe importers who put their cart before
their horse, you get an A+. They were either too cheap OR too
arrogant to pay for a course to learn the processes of the
import export business and guess what, they are now going
to pay much more in the form of a "real life" learning experience.
You will either pay a little now for a comprehensive course on
importing and exporting, or you will pay a heck of a lot more
later in "real life" payments.
Either invest in YOUR FUTURE by getting the import or export
(or both) course appropriate to the business you are SERIOUS
about starting. YOU NEED TO LEARN THE PROCESSES
or quit kidding yourself about starting an import export
business and move on to something else.
Putting his horse before his cart for 19 years now,
Ron Coble
Coble International Marketing Services
http://www.importexporthelp.com
PS: Just a little point of personal interest, in May 1984, my
then 10 year old daughter, wife and I went on an adventure thru
Lancaster county (PA). We got to see the farm where the
movie Witness was being filmed, the courthouse where the
underground garage was used to film the scene where
Harrison Ford was shot
Best of all (especially for our daughter), we got to meet
Harrison Ford. He came out of the underground garage
where they were filming the scene in which is shot and went to
his trailer for make up and a break. When he came out he
gave our daughter his autograph.
We also got to see Danny Glover that day and a little known
(at the time) actress named Kelly McGillis was practicing a
dance routine for a broadway production she was starring in.
She did the dance routine just a few feet from where we were
sitting waiting for Harrison to come out, never realizing that
she was a big star in the making. Just a little personal note
from a beautiful day in May 1984 - one my now 30+ year
old daughter (and my wife and I) will never forget.
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