If you’ve been following my posts for the last two days, you can see that there is a lot of stuff to consider when doing business with China, but it’s not really a mystery… it’s just a serious exercise in patience, common sense, and due diligence. I can’t stress the last part enough: due diligence. Many a hopeful businessperson has run away screaming, after getting sucked into the never-ending spiral of being forced to do business the Chinese way, while foolishly trying to do it the Western way.
Now, I would never tell anyone not to give it a try… after all, I live in China, and I have been doing just fine for 3 years… but the truth is that there are a lot of things that can go wrong , and it can result in some big losses for both sides if you aren’t up-to-speed with how this works. I’ll be addressing some of the more specific Chinese business strategies for the laowai (foreigner) in later posts, so keep watching.
For now, I’ll share some insights dedicated to the last item of my little list, and as you can see, this is perhaps the most important one:
- the biggest Trade Fair in China
- the Internet and you
- Networks and Connections (aka guanxi)
Industry Associations and Groups
What better way to get fully immersed in the world of wholesale and trade with the PRC, than to start a search on some of the trade associations and networks that are already out there? One caveat: most of the really useful ones are in Chinese, so unless you have a translator nearby, they won’t be of much use to you. I’ll be covering some of the English-based sites that you can peruse on your own, in order to give you a good starting point.
Aside from having some good guanxi (the impossible-to-define word for ‘relationships’) there are some great ways to get to know who’s who on the scene, aside from just randomly starting a search on Google. Looking for these can be like hunting for a needle in a haystack, and since this is the Top10 Wholesaler Blog I figured I’d save you a little time by letting you in on a few of them below… my own personal top ten:
- PKF International “Doing Business In China” Guide
- Meshing Consultancy Service Co., Ltd
- Go East – Outsourcing to China
Do you notice a pattern here? That’s right, there isn’t any. In order to make the most of your attempts to build connections and learn how things flow in China, you must become a bit of a ‘China expert’, and that’s the awful truth. Besides having a trusted counterpart to handle things for you, there is no substitute for holding the cards yourself. Take some time to explore these sites, and make sure to take some notes as you begin building your database of tips to help you along the way. I’ll be here to lend a hand, so don’t hesitate to comment!
Super series, Rueben, on accessing foreign markets … and foreign ways of doing biz.
Definitely not BAU … Business As Usual.
As Jason noted, you are an official Tribal Insider. :-O