Many people are quick to point out the difficulties of starting your own business. A favorite statistic of the naysayers is that most businesses fail within the first year of operation. While this is very true, most of the time the failures could be avoided if proper steps are taken ahead of time to understand the potential pitfalls, which lead to disaster. Nowhere is this more true than in the export import market. In fact, this industry has its own particular set of common behaviors that are guaranteed to ensure failure. Know what they are, do your best to do the opposite, and before you know it, you will be sitting at the top of a success, proving all those naysayers wrong. A lack of understanding for other cultures. Knowing what kind of country you're dealing with is important in so many ways. Not only should you know the economic climate and the need for the product in question (when exporting), but you should also know what materials they are popular for and what a good price is (for importing). Aside from that, it never hurts to know the personal factors such as religion and local pop culture. A hasty get rich quick mentality. Yes, there is a lot of money to be made through international trade. After all, it means reaching (potentially) billions instead of the thousands that you would attract from a locally based community business. But don't think that volume equals dollars. You're still not going to get rich overnight, and it's still going to take a lot of work to learn the ins and outs. Poor research skills. If you are unsure of where to go for product and culture information-and you must seek trusted sources such as an embassy or consolate-then you could risk getting a hold on bad info that improperly directs your business decisions towards failure. Lack of organizational talents. Taxes, inventory, customer relations, product research. It takes a lot of organizational talent to keep all of this straight. If you're the type of person who forgets everything, you may want to saddle up on a traditional job and work towards a retirement pension. Shortage of people skills. Customer service is everything, even if many of your customers interact with you over email or the phone. Service skills are one principle of business you cannot live without, no matter what the industry is. Laziness. As an extension of the get rich quick mentality, laziness often stops you dead in your tracks. Most people want to "have worked for themselves" (past tense), instead of actually doing the hard work. Unrealistic expectations. Grow your business a little at a time, and you'll be on the steady path to success.
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