- •Unit 1. Free enterprise entrepreneurship: on the upsurge
- •Is entrepreneurship for you?
- •Is owning a small business for me?
- •Unit 2. Choosing the right business and developing your financial plans how to choose your business
- •Three Basic Kinds of Business
- •How to develop your financial plans
- •The stages of a business
- •Unit 3. Building an import/export business twenty questions on importing and exporting
- •1. Why are you thinking of starting a business? What are your objectives?
- •2. What makes you think you will be successful?
- •3. Do you plan to import, export, or both?
- •4. Do you plan to work as a merchant, agent, broker, or some combination of the three?
- •5. When you start, will you be working full time or part time?
- •6. Who, if anyone, can help you with the work in the beginning?
- •7. Which type(s) of product(s) do you plan to trade?
- •8. What will be your sources of supply – countries and/or companies?
- •9. What is your target market?
- •14. Which national and/or foreign government regulations will concern you?
- •15. What will be your company name and form of organization?
- •16. What will you do for an office, office equipment, and supplies?
- •Are you right for the business?
- •Interest in and Knowledge of International Economics and Politics
- •How to start importing/exporting
- •Setting up your business
- •Imports: selecting products and supplies
- •Exports: what comes first, the product or the market?
- •Choosing target markets and finding customers
- •Importing for Stock
- •Unit 4. A short course in management concepts of management and organization
- •The single greatest mistake a manager can make
- •Six skills for new age executives
- •Mastering decision making What Does It Take to Be a Good Decision Maker?
- •The Japanese Decision-Making Style
- •Negotiating agreement without giving in
- •Hewlett-Packard*
- •McDonald's
- •Nine small-business management pitfalls*
- •Unit 5. The nature of marketing what is marketing?
- •Marketing functions
- •The marketing concept
- •Marketing research
- •The marketing mix
- •Consumer vs. Industrial goods
- •Steps in your marketing plan
- •Industry and market structures
- •U.S. Marketing in the future
- •Unit 6. How to do business with your potential partners china
- •Hong kong
- •Singapore
- •South korea
- •Australia
- •Appendix
Unit 3. Building an import/export business twenty questions on importing and exporting
What is the import/export business? The import/export business is defined as any movement of products across national boundaries. Products are defined in a strictly material sense* – commodities such as grain and iron ore, industrial goods such as machinery and equipment, and consumer goods such as transistor radios and clothing. These products may move between countries by any means of transportation – road, rail, water, air – or even carried by people or animals.
Nonmaterial products – construction, advertising, accounting, and the like are not considered here, nor is "unregistered trade",* that is smuggling and black market activities.
International trade is a business of enormous proportions. Historically, groups of people have always traded with other groups to obtain goods that were not available locally or were cheaper and better elsewhere, or simply to acquire products that had the cachet of being imported*.
Opportunities in international trade are unlimited. It is a question of finding the right market for a product, or the right product for a market, and setting up efficient import/export procedures.
The subject of international trade is a large one, and no single book could include everything you need to know to be a successful importer or exporter.
Our aims here are:
• Touch on the most important aspects of international trade.
• Give you enough information to enable you to decide whether this is a business for you and what steps you should take to get started.
Here you will find a detailed account* of what it takes to go into the import/export business and how to set up this kind of commercial operation. There is a discussion of the different factors involved in selecting products, lining up suppliers, choosing markets, and finding customers. These are the most important aspects of the business. If you handle the purchasing and marketing well enough to establish a profitable operation, you will be off to a good start.*
Here is a list of 20 questions to be answered in planning your import/export business.
1. Why are you thinking of starting a business? What are your objectives?
Some possible objectives are to make money, to travel, to broaden your knowledge of the world, to acquire business experience, to gain prestige,* and to be your own boss. You should decide what your main objectives are and whether an import/export business will help you attain them. Many people think of starting an import/export business because they travel and want to take advantage of products or contacts discovered on their trips. Although this sort of experience is helpful, these travellers usually make the mistake of thinking international trade is a simple venture – just buy it here and sell it there. It is important to understand the full range of complex activities in which you must become involved.
In general, the best reason for starting a business is to earn a living doing something you enjoy. Will you enjoy the main activities in the import/export business, which are purchasing, marketing, domestic and international trade procedures, and administration?