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Posted on Jul 18, 2008 at 15:26
Alisy[CN]
Overall Ranking
Points:144 | Ranking:12
[Experience]Bacon's Experience Sharing in Foreign Trade

It was 5 years since I graduated from the college, my major is international trading, I have the opportunity to improve my English in the university, even it was my dream when I was in mid-school, that one day I could spend all my time on English only, I was poor in subjects of Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, that is the very reason.

I really benefited from English, which opens a window of the outside world for me. From May 2002, I worked in the Nike footwear factory in our city for half of the year, I learnt some knowledge of the shoe making, it helps me to identify the genuine and counterfeit Nike shoes. It was hard days for me to work in the Nike authorized factory, Taiwanese factory, you know it. I am an new hand there, not any job experience, and I was a bottom staff responsible for the documents and invoices, and a boy who is one year older than me, was my “Team leader”. I was disappointed, that my major, or in another word, English is useless there, I was not the salesman or called foreign trade clerk, the job was very boring, same like other graduates talked, even when we left the campus, we were still not accustomed to the life of the community with complex relationships, I lost my patience and confidence gradually, how boring the dairy job was, even I was missing my classmates and the good old school days so much, then I found an excuse to resign the job, my parents and some of the relative not allowed me to do it, they thought it is a good job. Yes, I should admit it is a good job with monthly salary RMB1200, when my classmates get the salary at 800 RMB each month in the office.

PS: It is very important to have a good starting after you left college or university, to practice, to get more knowledge about foreign trade in a short time, but don’t change jobs again and again for money purpose only, because we have the opportunity to make money, not only in one or two years. Take care of yourself without the protection of  campus and parents.

At that time, I knew nothing about internet-business, or my fate will be much different, all what I wanted in year 2002-2003 is to get a stable job with wages of RMB 1500-1800, I will be very satisfied, very happy. As some of friends may know that, our city is very famous on duplicated brand sport shoes, some of my friends, who was also in the Foreign language department, graduated 1 or 2 years earlier then me, they earned at least RMB five hundred thousand every year from selling the fake sport shoes through internet, there are big profit on them, RMB 400-500/pair, all what they had it to buy a membership from Alibaba, ECVV or Other B2B Website. Sending photos to the website, waiting for the inquiries, quoting prices, receiving the payment, looking for the suppliers, delivery the goods by courier service, and finished, not any more difference from the business now, but the most important thing is that, the competitive is much more fierce now. My Lord, I didn’t catch the chances, some like my other classmates, it is OK now, just a pity.

I am an ordinary person, I don’t have big ambitions, I don’t want to be Bill Gates, don’t want to be Li Ka-shing, and not willing to be Mayun, all what I want is offering my family an affluent life, I thought I don’t want to much.After the first job, my friends persuaded me to go to Xiamen(Amoy) to find a new job, it was the second time I visit this city, just like friends not met each other for many years, I wanted to talk with her, I love this city very much. But destiny played games with me, I can’t believe that I was unable to find a job for 4 months, even I had the CET-6, had the experience, but there were also to many graduates in this city, I was always feeling tensely, because of my introverted character, I am still a green hand for foreign trade. It is the most embarrassing Chinese Lunar New Year I had. I should earned some money for my family, I should a man who can “bring bacon home.”
I didn’t find there is a so called “bright future” in front of me, my life at that time is failure.


-- this post is updated in 2008-7-18 15:28:25.
Posted on Jul 18, 2008 at 15:34
Alisy [CN]
Overall Ranking
Points:144 | Ranking:12
Re: [Experience]Bacon's Experience Sharing in Foreign Trade
PS: For the graduates, it is correct to have an idea, but we can not expect too much, Plans according to your capabilities is better for you, step by step.

With the help of my classmate, I got a job in Dehua County, Quanzhou City, which is one of the four China Porcelain & Ceramic Capitals. There, I offered low salary, but I am glad that I had the opportunity to attend Guangzhou Canton Fair twice each year, I worked as a foreign trading clerk. China Guangzhou Import & Export Commodities Fair, where you can communicate with many foreign customers from all over the world and learn a lot, my follow young friends, take good use of it, not always complaint that it doesn’t bring any order for you after your company paid more than hundred thousand RMB on it. You paid, you got.


At that time, I am still not familiar either with websites or B2B, which really new for me, I can’t believe that I will know some clients from the internet and they will place me orders, it could be a magic. Now, I get to know the power of it.

I stayed in the mountain town for almost 2 years, it is really an unforgettable experience, during those days, I lost the connection with outside world, but it let me calm down and think about the future carefully.

PS: Impulse is the devil

In 2005, I resigned my second job again and back home and got married, married at a young age. 3 months later, I started my job now.

The main channel for us to find the new customer is internet, send marketing emails to hundreds of email address relate with our products, yes, it can be said the spam, then you may receive 2-3 responce from the receiver, some days nothing, even some people may curse you, because you waste their time. In this “stupid” way, I got my first order USD 300 in 8 days, it is really a Miracle or Myths for me, I was going to crazy, I enjoyed the “success”, you can’t imagine how happy I was.

I am sure most of the traders did in this way, and I should say that it is the most effective method to find the valuable customers through internet now, “Search Engine” is really a powerful tool for us, the most important thing is it is free, only one computer needed. And in my point of view, waiting for potential buyers from B2B websites are passive now, which will cost you to much time and energy and passion, you will lose your confidence after days to days’ waiting. But we have to make good use of these free source, B2B or any massage board in the internet, And you should pay your attention to design a good website, good optimization, eye catching, can be included or caught easily by Google or Yahoo or something like these. I must mention the “Key words”, you should learn from some experienced friend or officemate, refining the words, looking for gold(buyers & orders) from the sands(thousand of information from the internet.)


Secondly, it is very important to be a specialist for your products, than you can access the buyers’ trust, as well as good communication, try to make the buyers your friends.

And I should suggest that we have to visit customers in their countries and attend the exhibition overseas, which will offer you more opportunities in foreign trading.

From the beginning of 2007, our company started to attend the exhibitiones in Mid-east, Africa, Europe, South America, more than 10 countries, each fair costs about one hundred thousand RMB, not so expensive compare to exhibitions in domestic, but the results are much different, which not only bring orders, but also do promotion for our brand, that is the long-term economic benefits we want.

I am lucky, I have the opportunity to go abroad for business travel and meet many new customers there. In March, I visited Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, it is my first to go outside, so many overseas Chinese there, even some of them are from our city, they still can speak the local language, most of them are more than sixty or seventy years old, and leave the hometown very young, they talked with me cordially and inquiry the new development in the hometown, I invited them to come back and walk around.

In April, I arrived in Istanbul, Turkey for another exhibition for ten days, it is really a beautiful city here, Mosque, Carpet, Turkish Bath, Turkish Barbecue, Belly Dance, Turkish folkloric music , Bars in Taksim Square, the nightlife in Istanbul is clorful, people they are friendly and hospitality, everything just unforgettable.

I come to Dubai, Emirates in July to attend an exhibition too, it was really hot here, always about Celsius 50 degrees from June to August, Dubai is a bustling international city, luxury cars, seven stars hotel, in the past half year, I went to Tehran, Iran for 3 times, I come to understand this country better, it’s a big market there, I am working on it.

Finally, if you don’t work for yourself, but for a company or a factory, you need the support from your manager or boss.

PS: All roads to Rome.
An opportunity is for those who preparing for it.

Hope these words can help you , and we could discuss together too.
Posted on Sep 10, 2008 at 10:22
kingbo [CN]
Overall Ranking
Points:104 | Ranking:129
Re: [Experience]Bacon's Experience Sharing in Foreign Trade

I stayed in the mountain town for almost 2 years, it is really an unforgettable experience, during those days, I lost the connection with outside world, but it let me calm down and think about the future carefully.

 

 

 

 

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