How to Do Business in China

Looking to expand your business? You might want to look to the Far East - as in China. There is a groundswell of eager Chinese consumers with money to spend. As the middle class expands they'll be looking for the same types of products and services as every other group of middle class workers around the globe.

How can you break into the Chinese market? It's going to take a little groundwork and investment.

Here's what you need to think about to do business in China:

Get the Lay of the Land

You really can't just drop your products into China and expect them to sell. You'll first want to explore the country.

Don't worry about seeing it all. Stay focused on the urban centers where people are spending their money. The language barrier could be a huge hurdle but it is easy to overcome. There are many locals who are happy to act as an interpreter. Try going through a reputable service to find someone to take you around. For a few bucks you can also download the iTranslate app on your Smartphone which will get you through the basics in a pinch. If you're really serious about doing business in China you might take a language course. That will show your Chinese counterparts that you're respectful of their culture.

Keep in mind that you're not guaranteed to make a quick buck in China. Build a long-term strategy, with a network of employees, business professionals and consultants.

Find a Trade Show

Just like there are trade shows and expos happening all the time on this side of the Pacific, there will be the same kind of opportunities in China. Depending on your business these could be a perfect way to start building up your new Chinese network of business associates.

Retain a Qualified Lawyer

The Chinese have a different way of doing business. Once you embrace that you should be able to navigate the intricacies of the Chinese marketplace. For instance, the Chinese don't embrace contracts as a legally binding agreement but more of a show of good faith. Does this mean you could get ripped off? Perhaps which is why you want to do your homework before setting up shop in Shanghai. A good lawyer will provide you with the legal backing and advice to help you navigate the business culture.

Work With a Consultant

You might find that a solid business consultant on this side of things can be the best introduction into Chinese business and culture. Once again, because of the many business opportunities happening in China you should be able to find a qualified consultant to help you set up your business. Look for a consulting company with many resources as opposed to an individual. You'll get more bang for your buck that way.

Are Tradeshows Worth the Investment?

It's a safe bet that no matter what type of industry you're in there will be at least one tradeshow that will be applicable for your business. The question then becomes do you attend as a "visitor" or a "vendor"?

Obviously, being a visitor will be less costly and still give you the opportunity to network but it might not be a productive as being a vendor with a booth. Would that kind of investment be worth the effort? Here are some tips to help you focus on determining if your tradeshow sales efforts will provide a viable return on your investment.

The first step is to factor in all of your costs and expenses. These would include:

Floor space costs: What will you be charged by the organizers for booth space?

Exhibit costs: If this is your first time at a trade show you'll be building a booth from scratch. How much that will cost depends on the size and design elements.

Labour costs: When you bring your booth to the tradeshow there may be union workers standing by to assemble it or you may require your own staff for set up/take down.

Marketing: You need to advertise in trade magazines and the tradeshow catalog to let visitors know where your booth will be, as well as having marketing collateral at your booth.

Giveaways: What will you give away at your booth? Every visitor should leave with something that has your company logo, web address and contact info.

Booth hosts: Will you and your employees be manning the booth or will you have to hire local hosts? Or both?

Travel and entertaining: It's going to cost you something to get to the tradeshow, plus added costs for accommodations and food. You'll also want to include money for entertaining: drinks and meals for potential clients.

Contingency: On top of all those costs add another 15% to 25% to your budget as a contingency line item in case of extra expenses, which there will always be!

Set Your Goals

Now that you know what your hard costs are, what are your goals for the trade show? Do you need to land a certain amount of new clients? Are you setting up pre-orders for products? If this is a consumer show and you'll be selling your product directly out of your booth, then you should have targets for each day. Whatever those numbers are, you have to be realistic. It might be hard to gauge if this is a new type of trade show, but if you're setting up a booth at something like Comic Con in San Diego then you know you're going to have a lot of foot traffic!

Once you have those goals set, make sure your booth staff is aware of those and check in every hour to make sure they're hitting those goals. If not, you might need to ramp up the promotions and get your staff out on the floor.

There are no guarantees with a tradeshow. However, if you've attended as a visitor in the past then you know what works and what doesn't. Put those principles to the test in your own campaign.

Small Business Financing - It's All About Who You Know

Believe it or not there are plenty of folks out there looking to invest in a small business. Your challenge is to get your business plan in front of them. Easier said than done, right? Actually, if you apply yourself you’ll find that it’s quite easy to build a network of potential investors. First, make sure you have a rock solid business plan ready to go. It makes no sense to seek out investors unless you’re ready to pitch. You might get only one shot and you have to be ready. Here are some tips for building up a network of investors.

1)      Go Online

There is a huge social network waiting for you to explore that is only a few mouse clicks away. LinkedIn is the most obvious choice to start your campaign to connect with potential investors. Here you’ll have a chance to build up a professional profile and find other business professionals who might be able to help. A connection you make on a site like LinkedIn might not be in a position to write you a check but they could connect you to someone who can.

2)      Try Crowdfunding sites

Beyond the direct networking possibilities of social media, there is another burgeoning source of investors you could find online and that would be with group funding. A site like Kickstarter is bringing together pools of small investors who are willing to share their funds with a business that looks promising. Once again, you have to be ready to fire up your business machine and answer any question in a competent matter.

3)      Ask your family and friends

It’s amazing the amount of help we can get from our family and friends if we just ask. You might have a favorite aunt or uncle who is willing to take a shot at investing in your business. As long as you treat them as you would any other potential investment then there is no reason not to present them with a business plan. Just as your online network could help you bridge the gap to meeting potential investors, you might have a friend who works for a company or has their own relationship with a potential investor. Throw a friendly dinner party and make your pitch. Keep it honest and sincere and you’ll reap the benefits.

4)      Network at events

This is a no-brainer. There are plenty of tradeshows geared for entrepreneurs to help them connect with investors. Seek them out but don’t stop at the tradeshow. Follow the money. This means going to places where the “money” would hang out: a country club, museum opening, first night at the opera, polo pony matches… wherever you might think that serious minded business professionals would gather you should try to infiltrate. This doesn’t mean barging in with your stack of business plans ready to hang out. Go make some new friends and see where that takes you.

How to be a Guest Speaker to Promote your Business

One of the most effective ways of getting the word out about your business is to talk about your business. That doesn’t necessarily mean stopping strangers on the street and passing out business cards (although that can work!). You should find ways to become a guest speaker. While you might not command those huge keynote speaker fees, you could volunteer to give a talk to local community groups or at trade show conferences. Those event planners are always looking to broaden their agendas and you’d be providing them a great service. Here are five terrific tips to help you become an amazing guest speaker to promote your business.

Get the Facts

 Know your audience. You should develop a kind of “stump speech” which is basically the same speech that can be delivered to any audience. However, that doesn’t mean you can tailor make that speech to fit a particular group. What you might be presenting to a group of senior citizens is different than to a group of high school seniors, even if it’s the same product. You should also know exactly how much time you’re allotted for your speech and when you’ll be “going on.” Additionally, if you require any special equipment like a projector or extension cord it’s always best to bring that yourself. Don’t count on the facility to have what you need.

Write Your Own Intro

Since you’re going to be introduced it will be best if you can position your biography and theme of your speech. Writing your own introduction can certainly be done with humility. It’s also a great relief to your host since they won’t have to worry about getting that information wrong.

Have Take-aways

It would be extremely beneficial if you can put something into the hand of everyone listening to your speech. Whether it’s a brochure, menu of services or even a refrigerator magnet, giving the attendees something with your company name and contact will be invaluable in terms of creating new customers. If you have something to sell immediately, like a book or other promotional items, make sure you clear it with the event planner in advance. Also find out if there will be other speakers selling stuff. You don’t want to be the only one selling.

Engage Your Audience

The best approach to giving a speech is to make it more like a conversation. Yes, you’ll be doing most of the talking but you don’t want to get stuck reading from a written speech or slides on a power point presentation. One of the most effective ways of engaging an audience is to ask them questions. You don’t always need to hear the answer but you’re getting them to think about your presentation by turning it on their own lives. That will make what you have to say resonate with the crowd.

Stick Around

Don’t just talk and run. If you have time in your presentation to open up the floor for questions, that will be terrific. Often attendees might prefer to pull you aside after the speech to ask questions. Stick around to meet the folks and find out more about them. Who knows? You might even be asked to give your speech somewhere else! 

Are Trade Shows Necessary for Your Small Business?

A successful business can’t form in a vacuum.

In other words, for a business to thrive and survive it has to get out into the world and “strut its stuff.” Nowhere is this more important than with startups and small businesses.

However, tough economic times have many businesses reviewing how their marketing dollars are being spent. As business owners seek more ways to increase ROI, activities that generate a higher return are kept whereas ones that don’t provide any traction are on the chopping block.

A trade show is considered to be an expensive necessity for many industries, but for a small business like yours, is it worth it?

Regardless of the industry you’re in, it’s a pretty safe bet there will be some kind of trade show occurring within the next several months. Whether you’re going as an observer or as an active participant with a booth, your trade show experience can become a major boost for your business.

Here are some of the focused benefits you’ll get from participating in a trade show.

Finding leads

You’ve got a product to sell. You know who your end customer should be. However, there are some very important middle men you’ll need to find before your product ends up with all those valuable customers. These would be the distributors and other partners that could benefit from having your product as part of their catalog.

Suppose you’ve come up with the greatest flavour of popcorn. Wouldn’t you want to go to the trade show where all the movie theatre executives will be hanging out?

A trade show is the most efficient method where you’ll find your leads all in one place.

The freebies

It’s one thing to describe your product or service on your website and quite another to be able to provide an actual demonstration or sample. Participating in a trade show lets you put your product into the hands of decision makers who can be placing orders the next day.

Yes, it’s a major investment to give away samples but it’s an investment that can pay back in very positive ways.

Build your brand

A business is built on its brand.

Just like the adage – if a tree falls in the forest, but, if no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?

If no one is aware of your company then it can’t gain a foothold. A trade show will be plastered with banners, bags, T-shirts and other give-aways that have all kinds of company brands imprinted on them. Get into that game and you’ll be able to spread your name in front of the people that matter.  

Scope out your competitors

You’ve got competition. Yes, you like to think that your product is truly unique and the only one needed by the consumer.

The harsh truth is you will always have competitors. Guess where they’ll be?

At a trade show.

This is a perfect opportunity for you to check out the competition. You’re not spying as much as seeing what they’re offering and how your product is different. Who knows? Seeing what the competition is up to might inspire you to make some beneficial changes to your business.

The press

Trade shows are covered by the media. Depending on the show and industry, that media could truly be global. This is a wonderful chance for you to get some very positive exposure. Seek out the media reps and offer them a demonstration/sample.

Don’t wait for them to come to you!