- Original Poster
- #1
Hey Guys and Girls
My first post of many I hope. Been browsing here and there, always thinking about the world of business and doing "my own thing".
My long story short, I'm a Chartered Engineer with a several years experience, but dislike what I do, doesn't fulfil me at all and I hate the daily grind, sitting around for 8-10 hours on a desk, but being productive only for 20% of the time at present. I want to do something more with my time and to give myself something to really focus on and grow.
I've had a stab at business previously in the international trade sector by importing an interesting product from South Asia. The product was a cool but not really a mass-seller and to be honest other things came up for me to lose motivation. I want to have another go at it, but this time I want to import footballs from Pakistan to start with. I've already made contact with a couple of manufacturers but its at its early stages and I'm keen to bring some high quality footballs into the UK and eventually Europe.
I need some advice on the marketing and who my target buyer should be. Yes, there will be competition from the big brands, but I'm looking to have a high quality, low cost product because of its unbrandness, or I may go down the route of creating my own brand and design etc. I have a couple of questions:
1. What should my approach be? I'm thinking of getting some samples in and then using those to market the product. But then do I need to have 100s/1000s of footballs in stock, ready for immediate delivery as these footballs would take weeks to hand-stitch and then get delivered to the UK. Surely, larger buyers want immediate response to their orders and demands?
2. Who should I sell to? Should I look to go to distributors who have all the connections in place and sell at a lower price, or should I target retailers with higher profit margins but will require a lot more effort, baring in mind I'm still working in my profession and this is on the side. Or should I simply sell online? I'm not quite sure what will work. I do like the idea of meeting people, negotiation, presenting and showing the brand/ product to the customer, building a relationship etc.
I don't like the website route because it means I am responsible for delivery of the product on a daily basis. I would much prefer larger orders in person and then arrange the manufacture and delivery in bulk.
3. Should I take an entirely different approach to this?
I have imported products once before and have picked some experience and knowledge on how it works. I don't think I'll have huge problems with that, other than the time delay from manufacturing to shipping across to UK.
Your advice would be much appreciated.
Many thanks in advance.
My first post of many I hope. Been browsing here and there, always thinking about the world of business and doing "my own thing".
My long story short, I'm a Chartered Engineer with a several years experience, but dislike what I do, doesn't fulfil me at all and I hate the daily grind, sitting around for 8-10 hours on a desk, but being productive only for 20% of the time at present. I want to do something more with my time and to give myself something to really focus on and grow.
I've had a stab at business previously in the international trade sector by importing an interesting product from South Asia. The product was a cool but not really a mass-seller and to be honest other things came up for me to lose motivation. I want to have another go at it, but this time I want to import footballs from Pakistan to start with. I've already made contact with a couple of manufacturers but its at its early stages and I'm keen to bring some high quality footballs into the UK and eventually Europe.
I need some advice on the marketing and who my target buyer should be. Yes, there will be competition from the big brands, but I'm looking to have a high quality, low cost product because of its unbrandness, or I may go down the route of creating my own brand and design etc. I have a couple of questions:
1. What should my approach be? I'm thinking of getting some samples in and then using those to market the product. But then do I need to have 100s/1000s of footballs in stock, ready for immediate delivery as these footballs would take weeks to hand-stitch and then get delivered to the UK. Surely, larger buyers want immediate response to their orders and demands?
2. Who should I sell to? Should I look to go to distributors who have all the connections in place and sell at a lower price, or should I target retailers with higher profit margins but will require a lot more effort, baring in mind I'm still working in my profession and this is on the side. Or should I simply sell online? I'm not quite sure what will work. I do like the idea of meeting people, negotiation, presenting and showing the brand/ product to the customer, building a relationship etc.
I don't like the website route because it means I am responsible for delivery of the product on a daily basis. I would much prefer larger orders in person and then arrange the manufacture and delivery in bulk.
3. Should I take an entirely different approach to this?
I have imported products once before and have picked some experience and knowledge on how it works. I don't think I'll have huge problems with that, other than the time delay from manufacturing to shipping across to UK.
Your advice would be much appreciated.
Many thanks in advance.
