our own business

Running a small business is often just as much about what you don’t do as what you do.
What can seem the obvious solution can turn out to be the exact opposite.

So here are the seven deadly sins most often committed by small firms — and ways to avoid them.

Well, the first shipment is still undernegotiation.

The challenge is that some mexicans broke in the business.

And this is the situation:

The client asked us for 60 000 units, UL certified.

1. We were offering exactly that at x USD
2. They mexicans offered 80 000 units at lower x USD not certified...
3. We contra offered 60 000 certified units at not that low x USD
4. They mexicans said nothing
5. We still have a "AS" under the sleeve ;)

The client is thinking...

Business is exciting... and taking long. We need some luck and good ER skills.

Update with Business in China

What it takes to succeed in China?

1. Sharp focus
2. Operational excellence
3. Astute technology adquisition
4. Strong partnerships

Some challenges of Chinese companies:

1. Reliance on CEO and lack of Executives development programs
2. Lack of investment on R&D (Research and Development of products)
3. Little experience in adquiring or integrating companies

"Chinese companies don't have a legacy; these companies start with a clean sheet of paper."

- Christina Zhu, Honeywell International

salut!

well, we're back. we have to be.
hopefully be the end of the next week we'll have a draft for the web site.
how's the first shipment going, juanito?

i decided to get to china by the end of this november, through an AIESEC internship or only for business purposes if we have the money.

randomly, i found a world campaign against the unfairness of the trade. you can read something about it here and in the links in the sidebar.

lazy beginnings,
stefan

We need to come up with something like this:

"Thinktopia is an idea engineering company that generates Better thoughts through thinking™. We work in a variety of media, from designing brand futures to media development. We remind you that success is for the people at the precipice. The entrepreneurs, innovators, risk takers, and dreamers. We remind you to never stop thinking. Proactively seek out fresh answers. Find partners. Remember that you are only as smart as the people you surround yourself with. Seek out new people who are smarter than you are. Reward them. Because they are the future. Become cosmonauts of change. Motivate forward. Find your buzz. Remember that life is a continual uncovering. Most of all, discover the things that thrill you and do them. In the end, they are the only reason to get up in the morning."

First of of all:

Thank you very much Zeno!
I will keep this in mind. :)
I have beeing feeling the need of the Website for sometime now, specially among potential clients. That want to keep in contact.
By the way, we should start building the virtual database asap... ;)

Second of all:
Some stuff I learnt at University that now are becoming more and more important to me:

INCOTERMS: it is about communicating with your clients/suppliers on who is responsible to cover the logistics expenses. For instance: US$XX XXX CIF Cluj, means the supplier gets everything in Cluj and the price he is offering includes the products, transport and insurance.

Bills of Exchange: this is about payment agreements. When , where and how will the clinet pay the supplier. This is a big issue because you don´t want to pay in advance for a product that you don´t know (100%) you will receive but you neither want to start producing something you don´t know (100%) it will be bought... The answer to this dilema is there...

Enjoy Trade, Networking Pays!!!

hey guys!

having a network pays a lot of bills!
you can see this if you look at how we build this business.

and having good friends in that network means more than bills, more than opportunities, means reliability and trust

the good thing about our common past and present is AIESEC. amongst all the things it is, AIESEC is a very big network of very talented people, ready to become very good professionals. well, most of them.
besides the spirit it builds in people, besides the knowledge and experience, AIESEC gives you an extraordinary foundation for whatever future you have in mind: a network.

after AIESEC, we plan to invest as much as it takes to start a JCI brench in cluj. that's something this city misses so much. that's also something we would miss so much after AIESEC.

thank you, zeno, my friend, for your help.
you know i'll return the favor someday!
stefan

Ballast Definitions according to Encarta:

1. stabilizing heavy weights: heavy material carried in the hold of a ship, especially one that has no cargo, in the keel of a sailing boat, or in the gondola of a balloon, to give the craft increased stability
2. something that gives bulk or stability: anything that serves no particular purpose except to give bulk or weight to something or that provides additional stability
3. foundation material: stones or gravel when used as a foundation for a road or railroad track
4. industry gravel used in making concrete: gravel used in making concrete and in earthworks
5. electrical engineering circuit limiting current flow: a circuit that limits the current flow in a fluorescent lamp

i never thought encarta could be a market research tool.
i go for number 5.

the ballastian.

There is a chance this is our first order.

The one that will open the doors of the a new world for the three of us:

Electronic Ballast for Circular Lamp

Quantity: 10 000 (minimun orders scanned in market: 1000)

Specifications:

• S-22
• T8
• 110V-120V, 60Hz
• Lamp type (to hold): circular, 4 pins
• UL Certified

The questions is... what is a "Ballast"???

Hey man! Hey friends!

If it was easy, everybody would do it and I wouldn´t be fun... :)

I also think that I has to be sustainable. So, it is not only about the business itself but also about how we live our lifes. Invest, don´t suicide!

I just came to realize that I really need a Coach on this, I will start looking for one right now.

Coaching story:

"In 1967, a young graduate of Bombay's Indian Institute of Technology, Kanwal Rekhi, came to the United States to obtain a master's degree from the Michigan Technological University. Thirty-two years later, a young Indian in Bangalore, Saumil Majmudar, started a small company. Those two events are connected by a trail of knowledge accumulation and hand-offs, of experience hard-won and generously shared."

juanito my friend, you were a one man show lately.
it seem like the real spirit never dies.

now things settled a little in my personal life. i'm also ready to attack the business plan we don't actually have, little by little. but only at ten percent capacity this month. rada and my term in AIESEC will need the entire month of march.

these days i've herad about some friends of mine who got hired. nothing weird till now, except for the fact that i was expecting them to be young entrepreneurs.

now i look around and i only see juan, gabi, tzutzu and cecil. four guys out of an entire generation. and me, the fifth element. :)
my biggest wishes for us are busy days, peaceful nights, lasting friends and living dreams.

this was another non-professional post.
randomlly,
at 3 o'clock, very early in the spring,
the evil vp.