The Staff of Entrepreneur Media - Import/Export Business: Step-By-Step Startup Guide

Entrepreneur Press, Publisher

Cover Design: Jane Maramba

Production and Composition: Eliot House Productions

2017 by Entrepreneur Media, Inc.

All rights reserved.

Reproduction or translation of any part of this work beyond that permitted by Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act without permission of the copyright owner is unlawful. Requests for permission or further information should be addressed to the Business Products Division, Entrepreneur Media Inc.

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional services. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.

Import/Export Business: Entrepreneurs Step-by-Step Startup Guide, 5th Edition, ISBN: 978-1-61308-363-5

Previously published as

Start Your Own Import/Export Business, 5th Edition, ISBN: 978-1-59918-606-1, 2017 by Entrepreneur Media, Inc., All rights reserved.

Start Your Own Business, 5th Edition, ISBN: 978-1-59918-387-9, 2009 Entrepreneur Media, Inc., All rights reserved.

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Coin Operated Laundry

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Fashion Accessories Business

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Import Export Business

Information Marketing Business

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Table of Contents

Contents

Y oure holding this book either in your hands, on your lap, or on your deskpossibly near a spillable cup of coffeebecause youre one of those people who likes to live on the edge. Youre contemplating starting your own business.

This is one of the most exhilarating things you can do for yourself and your family. Its also one of the scariest. Owning your own business means youre the boss, the big cheese, the head honcho. You make the rules. You lay down the law. It also means you cant call in sick (especially when you are also the only employee), you cant let somebody else worry about making enough to cover payroll and expenses, and you cant defer that cranky client or intimidating IRS representative to a higher authority. Youre it.

Were assuming youve picked up this particular book on starting and running an import/export business for one or more of the following reasons:

You have a background in the import/export field.

Youre an avid fan of the Travel Channel, your passport is close at hand even when youre just going to the supermarket, and you think international trade is a glamorous and exciting business.

You have a background in sales or distribution and feel that sales is sales, no matter where you are in the world.

You have no background or interest in any of the above but believe import/export is a hot opportunity and you are willing to take a chance.

Which did you choose? (Didnt know it was a test, did you?)

There is, of course, no wrong answer. Any of these responses is entirely correct as long as you realize they all involve a lot of learning and hard work. They can also be a heck of a lot of fun as well as provide personal and professional satisfaction.

Our goal here is to tell you everything you need to know to decide whether an import/export business is the right business for you, and then, assuming it is, to do the following:

Get your business started successfully

Keep your business running successfully

Make friends and influence people (which is actually part of Chapter 11, on advertising and marketing)

Weve attempted to make this book as user-friendly as possible. Weve interviewed lots of people out there on the front lines of the industryall around the worldto find out how the import/export business really works and what makes it tick. And weve set aside places for them to tell their own stories and share their own hard-won advice and suggestions, which creates a sort of round-table discussion group with you right in the thick of things. (For a listing of these successful business owners, see the .) Weve broken our chapters into manageable sections on every aspect of startup and operations. And weve left some space for your own creativity to work.

The pages are packed with helpful addresses, phone numbers, and websites so you can get up and running on your new venture as quickly as possible. And weve provided a resource section crammed with even more contacts and sources. Heres a tip: Youll find a complete listing of the sources mentioned throughout the book in the Appendix.

So sit backdont spill that coffee!start reading, and get ready to become an import/export pro.

I nternational trade is one of the hot industries of the millennium. But its not new. Think Marco Polo. Think the great caravans of the Biblical Age with their cargoes of silks and spices. Think even further back to prehistoric man trading shells and salt with distant tribes. Trade exists because one group or country has a supply of some commodity or merchandise that is in demand by another group or country. And as the world becomes more and more technologically advanced, as we shift in subtle and not so subtle ways toward one-world modes of thought, international trade becomes more and more rewarding, both in terms of profit and personal satisfaction.