by Carrie Hinkel on March 20th, 2008
Understanding your business’ range of potential risks can help you to manage them, or even avoid them all together. By anticipating risks and potential pitfalls for both your business and the industry as a whole, you can protect your business and improve its success. Here’s how:
Step one: Identify the risks
There are two categories of risks facing companies: risks that directly affect the business and risks that face the business’ industry as a whole. For the former, make a list of potential risks that are affecting your business. It might include things like: specifically-named competition, price increases, material shortages,... Read more »
by Larry Slusser on January 2nd, 2008
Exporting can improve your small business in a number of ways. It can lead to additional sales revenue which may not have been possible in your domestic market. Going international can open up markets you did not have access to. It also can lead to increased profits, depending on the margins you are able to generate on your exported products.
Exporting does, however, have its risks and can leave you feeling out of control. There are a large number of variables that can impact your ability to export, many of which are beyond your control. So before committing your business... Read more »
by Carrie Hinkel on December 20th, 2007
It’s easy to see why more and more business owners are showing an interest in importing, mainly from China. E-commerce is booming and all that competition means price wars, and importing goods in bulk allows companies to get big price breaks. Although, receiving those discounts means getting through the risks first.
As cynical as it may sound, the two biggest pieces of advice when importing are: trust no one and do your research! There have been too many horror stories of buyers losing money, getting fakes, damaged goods or never getting any shipment at all to think that something like... Read more »