Forum Moderators: buckworks
A breif background about myself. I am a licensed CPA(US-certified public accountant), currently working in public accounting firm as an auditor in my 20's. Started side importing business, ran for a year and was decently profitable. I have however, since end the operation because the product basically lost its magic. (Poker chips by the way! if anyone is curious). Speaks and Write Chinese fluently.
Purpose of this posting is not to sound like a smart ass, but to just discuss an issue. I have basically grown really really sick of following the "institutional" system the society has set out for us. I mean we graduate college, get an advance degree if you want your resume to look nice, climb the ladder than you grow old. I have done plenty of that and it is just sick. Well maybe not a lot, but I see 12 years of education plus 4 years of college already being too much. I personally hold much more respect for the Bill Gates, Michel Dell, and that Virgin Record guy more.. I mean they took the risk and made their bones.
I am just fed up with this crap, so I am quitting my job(sent out my notice in fact) soon. My plan for myself is to switch from finance to maybe marketing, but in the field of internet/e-commerce. It’s going to be a hard switch, but I believe in the potential of this field and I respect the entrepreneurial sprit of this industry.
So given I am really new to this whole thing (SEO, website design or what not), I was wondering if anyone is running any operation that would want someone with ability to source product from China (and other countries of course). I'll be glad to hear out any business plan.
Also I will be glad for any comment on my view on career and such.
Peace.
welcome to the club :)
I think, sooner or later many people recognize they are no more satisfied with their current lifepath, and decide to take their own way.
For me personally, I always wanted to find an interesting and well-paid job somewhere abroad, to gain experience and study languages. Now I have what I once wanted, but I'm no longer satisfied with this. Once challenging job turned to be routine, and I'm not quote interested to work all my life to pay mortgage.
I think, the experience you gain working for somebody else, is an indespensable way to gain experience required to entrepreneur.
So, me and my wife decided to start-up. I am a banking IT (Western-Eastern Europe experience), and she is an MBA student (with solid international trade experience). We registered a company about three months ago, dealing with book trade over Internet, targeting primarily local market. Since then, our small company already makes profit, although not enough, to consider it a serious business. So, I still preserving my job as a safety guarantee, and we still looking for further business possibilities.
I'll make a little business reconnaissance and sticky-mail you some ideas regarding ways we possible can cooperate.
I don't pretend to be an expert in what you're looking to do, but as a non Chinese speaker/writer with an interest i can see some big opportunities.
The RMB is pegged to the dollar, and for export the implications for this are huge.
It means that no matter how low the dollar falls the RMB stays just as competitive, but the kickback is in countries which have increased in value against the dollar, and thefore the RNB. Importing in to the US makes Chinese products great value, with the dollar sliding against the Euro it makes them even cheaper in Europe.
People i know that visit China tell me the purchasing power of $100 is frightening, and that for a handful of dollars manufacturers can customise products to suit the western consumer very well.
If i was heading over to China (and plan to) then this would be the market i would look in to. Over in China the manufacturing process, from the outside seems very advanced, but from what the west can bring are service skills.
If i was to import a box then that is worth a price, but if i was to bring western PR skills and penetration in to the Chines firms, then this is something i'm sure has a huge market and huge profits.
I know very little about the intricacies of doing business in China, my research has brought more questions than answers. What i do know though is that there is a lot of money there, and if Lenovo can spend $2,400,000,000 to buy the IBM PC business there's a few dollars spare for marketing in the west, and the opportunites are huge.
If i spoke fluent Chinese then i'd look towards the service sector. Chinese quality control is improving daily and for companies that are able to add value to the their technically advanced, well built products i think over the next 10 years the rewards will be huge.
I know I need to go to China one day - for me its matter of when...Now? or two - three years from now.
My father worked in China for 13 Plus years and told me if I go, I need to go NOW. The competition is heating up, sooner or later my western education and experience is not going to buy me much lead way against the Chinese College/MBA/PHD grades. A new generation of chinese manager will emerage and its going to be a total different game.
My dilema is.. if I go now, I don't know if I am well prepared yet.
My training so far has been in finance, but truthfully, I don't have too much interest in it and I don't think that is the skill I should be bring over there(I don't think finance or accounting is China's weak point). I need to develope a set of new skills valuable to the Chinese, such as sales, marketing or strong internet/e-commerce experience. Those are what I don't have yet or has only limited exposure.. If I go now, I might not get a very good position.
However, if I wait two years until I have experience in these field, it might be too late.
I have many friends that is already there. They however, have the advantage of having family operations in China, usually in terms of manufacturing.
I agree with you that service is going to be big. Again, service means expertise in that field which I still need to obtain.
Can you elaborate on what you mean by the western services China would need? You mentioned briefly, but can you elaborate?
I believe China is very interested in learning the way west systematically operates their businesses. Right now, majority of the companies in China are still relying on a few key officers, most likely their founder and a few close officers to drive the whole company forward.
This is very broad description of what China needs. I also need to do more research on this field, and I will do so when I don't have a job : )
As i see it the Chinese economy is growing at an unprecedented rate, and it is therefore logical that as it moves to being the worlds biggest economy over the next 20 years or so it will mature at a far quicker rate than the established western economies did. Therefore it is logical that outsourcing skills and services is going to be huge in China.
As Chinese companies get bigger and bigger, they are going to create a phenomenal amount of money. Now if i owned a Chinese company creating millions of dollars of excess cash i know what i'd do. After taking care of business at home, i'd go shopping. For western firms, and brands.
But who to buy? That is the question, and if someone can bring the money of China and the assets of the west together they're going to make a lot of money.
China also needs access to western markets. As companies grow they need to be able to sell their stuff. Working as an OEM is fine for now, but how long before more Chinese firms start adding value through marketing and selling direct?
Western firms also need access to the low cost manufacturing base China can offer. I want to buy from China, but who do i speak to about it? If you can provide western business practices to me, and deal with Chinese manufacturers on their terms then that is a skill i will pay handsomely for, and no doubt so will Chinese firms.
As the money sloshing around in China escalates then Western firms are going to want in. Not because they can offer better products, but because China wants established western brands. If you can help me get in to the market then i will pay well for this.
Looking at GDP China may not do well per capita (with 1.5 billion population it is hardly surprising) but overall GDP and PPP (purchasing power parity) is impressive, and increasing rapidly. The sheer size of the Chinese population is creating a huge economy, which one way or another is going to influence the west and create astounding wealth over a handful of years. That is a party i would like to get a ticket to, whether i'm right though is another question altogether.
