2012 Business Plan.

[tec0]

It is always healthy to look ahead to 2012 and plan on what one can do to push the profits. I am currently doing research on direct import rather than going to the normal suppliers.

Some suppliers are actually trimming down on small businesses. An example would be that a small business may not sell enough to be worth their while anymore or a small business application may not be approved for whatever reason.

In short our suppliers became a regulator rather than a supplier and it is us the resellers that are now effectively feeling the losses. There is basically almost no competition left. Our suppliers also don’t keep in mind that franchises have bigger buying power then us thus there prices can be kept lower for longer.

So my approach is to find new pipelines to source goods so that we can re-establish that all important competitive edge.

What is your take on 2012 and what do you see as a foreseeable problem?

[yuemax]

Hi tec),

Where are you looking to import from?

If China, the lead-times before Chinese New Year would be closed already, and factories closed from roughly 20 Jan - beginning Feb (varies).

After CNY, you may be able to get reasonable MOQ's as the factories are keen to kick off on a good note. Bear in mind though that quality output directly after CNY is a bit lower as workers are new, and need to learn the ropes again (and again, after lunch...).

Cheers,
Max

[Pap_sak]

It is always healthy to look ahead to 2012 and plan on what one can do to push the profits. I am currently doing research on direct import rather than going to the normal suppliers.

Some suppliers are actually trimming down on small businesses. An example would be that a small business may not sell enough to be worth their while anymore or a small business application may not be approved for whatever reason.

In short our suppliers became a regulator rather than a supplier and it is us the resellers that are now effectively feeling the losses. There is basically almost no competition left. Our suppliers also don’t keep in mind that franchises have bigger buying power then us thus there prices can be kept lower for longer.

So my approach is to find new pipelines to source goods so that we can re-establish that all important competitive edge.

What is your take on 2012 and what do you see as a foreseeable problem?

It's an idea i would like to do as well - but I would need to be much, much larger to justify it. Would you be doing it just for yourself or could you sell those items to other resellers?

[tec0]

If successful (and I am worried that it might not be) I would have liked to sell directly to the public. Give them direct support from fabricator to them leaving out the wholesaler. That said negotiations are slow and most fabricators are hooked on wholesaler money so it is going to be a process. Franchising is forcing my hand, one simply can no longer compare prices and the wholesalers fail to recognize this growing problem.

That said (IF) successful then selling to resellers would have been a strong possibility and (might) still be. At the moment I wish to target the less known PC component fabricators, quality being key thus research is essential. Sadly there is no substitute for CPU’s and this is where the monopoly is at the moment.

Most of us that are in the business know that we are on a very short leash at the moment, and we can barely hit a proper mark-up.

That said one needs to be careful there are fabricators out there looking to make fast money and give us the lowest worst most crappy products imaginable.

Still it is time to think outside the box or facing to close shop and do something else.

But the last thing I want is to buy into a franchise... Still if that becomes the only option who knows...

[Dave A]

I've found as the business has grown I've been able to move closer and closer to source in the chain of supply. It really is a question of volume and capital. The tough decision normally is whether to do a banzai push for volume and reap the profits later - a bit of a risky gambit.

Having crashed once before in my life, and it being a bit late in the game for me to do a recovery stunt, I tend to be a bit more conservative in my decisions nowadays - I prefer the steady, solid build to the mad scramble approach.

Get big fast may have worked for Amazon, but overall there seems to be more casualties than success stories with this approach.

There's an awfully fine line line between success and failure.

[tec0]

Agreed growing too fast can lead to a crash and burn scenario, I always tried to bring something to the table that the customer cannot do without. Today there are truly massive companies hitting the lower markets.

The truth is they can out class the small business on every level. If these companies speak wholesalers listen. It has come to the point where the small business owner can no longer do business because these large corporations can hit a higher mark-up while getting massif discounts from the wholesalers.

Now hitting franchise seen means one does get lower prices and stocks are within reason. But one are effectively losing money as the franchises demands there share. Now importing sounds good and looks good on paper but the demands are high from the fabricator’s side.

Still I am hopeful that there might be a gab left to exploit.

[Pap_sak]

This thread has been bugging me for a couple of weeks...I've been doing ok for a while but the worm has definitely turned. You can only coast with your foot of the pedal for so long* Time to start a new revision of the old plan and get the spark back.


* trade marked, lol

[adrianh]

Bringing stuff in from China is the easy part. The difficult part is to find an appropiate niche market to service with a product that the big players haven't cottoned on to yet. And the further problem is then distribution, etc. There is no sense in trying to bring in high volume, low profit products and then try to distribute them all over. But further, there is also no point in bringing in high priced unknown brand products either (people tend to spend their cash on known brands)

So the question is really: what low volume high profit product do you import that people will be willing to buy within a niche market with low competition, that you will be able to distribute and service properly...

1. Fad products (if you get on the bandwagon very early)
2. Very specialized products to solve specific problems within narrow markets.
3. Cheaper, effective alternatives for high priced products (provided you are able to service the market)

There must be other stuff...

[ivyzhusu]

As the USD dollor and RMB exchanging rate is quite unsteady.It may be go down day by day.Do you think that it will effect your business plans of importing from China?

[tec0]

It is literally trying to play cards in a tumble-drier filled with glass at the moment. The info I am getting on my new market strategy is not too bad. That said quality… there is no way to guarantee quality if the fabricator is "new" and is half a world away.

Buying stock is nothing short of being a nightmare at the moment.

[ivyzhusu]

Buying stock is nothing short of being a nightmare at the moment.

this is right.

[Blurock]

Buying stock is nothing short of being a nightmare at the moment.

Is importing an alternative to the franchise idea?

[yuemax]

It is literally trying to play cards in a tumble-drier filled with glass at the moment. The info I am getting on my new market strategy is not too bad. That said quality… there is no way to guarantee quality if the fabricator is "new" and is half a world away.

Buying stock is nothing short of being a nightmare at the moment.

Hi Tec0 - with due diligence and good QC procedures, this can be alleviated quite well. If your suppliers know from day 1 that they will be inspected DUPRO or pre-shipment, the quality standards can be raised naturally. Add to that if you add in your contracts that failed quality inspections will lead to rejected shipments (and re-inspection fees on suppliers account), things can be quite positive.

Rgds,
Max

[Nilu753]

A business opportunity consists of four integrated elements all of which are to be present within the same timeframe (window of opportunity) and most often within the same domain or geographical location, before it can be claimed as a business opportunity.

[tec0]

Is importing an alternative to the franchise idea?

I am not too sure at the moment, importing is connected 3 factors the exchange rate, transport cost and availably. Now I can't say for sure that franchising is good or bad but turning a profit as is at the moment is near impossible so perhaps it is time to widen one's gaze to the over-sea markets and do some much needed research.

Our importers at the moment will cut deals with any large company and the smaller business just can't cut it anymore.