What is a good way to build up a successful business from nothing and have fun doing it? The import/export business may be your answer. Not only does it require little financial investment to start, but it offers the prestige of working with clients from all over the world.

You don't need previous experience in the field, but you should have a good head for organizing. Fulfilling a successful import/export business requires constant attention to little details. Do you know some local manufacturers looking for ways to increase their market for the goods they make? Or are you planning a trip abroad and want to make some contacts for setting up a business?

If you have an ability to sell, and an air of diplomacy, the export business might be right for you. All you need is the desire and determination to make it work. Take a look into the import/export business.

1.    You can start your import/export business at home with a telephone. You'll need a file system, business card and a machine to answer the phone calls. And you'll need a classy letterhead. Until you establish personal contacts, it is your letterhead that represents you. Make it look professional, possibly embossed or two-color, or gold leafed.

2.    Making Contacts. The most important step in setting up your business is finding the contacts. You may have relatives in a foreign country; you may have frequently visited and established business relationships in a country. Or, you might just have a feeling for what will sell where. A person who keeps well-informed in the business world can pick If you have an ability to sell, and an air of diplomacy, the import/export business might be right for you. All you need is the desire and determination to make it work. Take a look into the import/export business. Consider the risks, and consider the advantages. Talk to people in the business. Is it for you? up and ride the crest of worldwide trends.

3.    Then prepare a massive mail campaign. To every possible contact, write a letter introducing your company, requesting the names and addresses of appropriate firms to contact. Ask to have the notice published in the monthly bulletin or posted in an appropriate place. The easiest way to mail hundreds of letters is to use a typing service that has the equipment to produce the same letter with a different address each time. It's worth the money it will cost - you'd go crazy typing so many identical letters.

4.    Keep informed. Read everything you can find about world trade. Look at trade publications, international newspapers, news magazines, and financial reports. Finding the right market is as important as the actual particulars of making deals and selling goods. What do you think will sell? If you do some careful studies and think about the trends, you'll be able to come up with hundreds of products to import and export. The export business is actually smaller than you might think. There are only a few of these businesses - that's why there's plenty of room for more.

What goods do they want to import? What products are now imported and how are they distributed? Does the company have a certain territory, does it have sales representatives, branches in other cities? What are the basic details of operation - history, assets and liabilities, plans for growth.

Request any information you need, to find out what they will buy and what they have to sell. If the company is a manufacturer, ask for samples or a catalog, the facts and figures of current foreign distribution, and the product demand in their own country. (Source: www.foreign-trade.com)