Product Description

"Essential reading for anyone concerned with importing and exporting."
—International Small Business Journal

Build your import /export business faster, stronger, and more profitably

Give your budding import/export business a big boost and keep it going strong with expert advice and proven solutions from one of the foremost authorities in the field. In Building an Import/Export Business, Third Edition, renowned entrepreneur, international trade consultant, and lecturer Kenneth Weiss brings you completely up-to-date guidance on every aspect of conceiving, launching, and operating a successful import/export business.

This easy-to-follow, step-by-step guide is packed with the very latest information on government regulations, tax laws, customs requirements, and shipping procedures. What's more, it features proven strategies for using the Internet to reduce costs, gain a marketing edge, establish sales and information resources, and develop a targeted customer base. You'll also learn how to:

• Choose a winning product line
• Target a profitable market
• Prepare a powerful business plan
• Cope with rising security concerns
• Make foreign currency transactions with confidence
• Take advantage of GATT, WTO, NAFTA, and other trade pacts

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #110379 in Books
• Published on: 2002-05-03
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Book Info
Easy to follow, step by step guide, packed with the very latest information on government regulations, tax laws, customs requirements, and shipping procedures. Essential reading for anyone concerned with importing and exporting. Previous edition c1997. Softcover.

From the Back Cover
Foreign trade is a billion dollar business in the United States --and growing. This easy-to-follow guide to starting and building a successful import or export business is packed with invaluable insights and practical advice on tapping into the lucrative global markets. Covering all the bases, from start-up considerations and operational procedures to marketing techniques and trade agreements, this completely updated and expanded edition of Building an Import/Export Business provides essential details on: Determining whether the import/export business is right for you --twenty key questions you should answer before diving in Setting up your business --opening a bank account, establishing your office, obtaining financing, setting up an accounting system Finding buyers --proven strategies to pinpoint your target market Understanding money matters --methods of payment in international trade, export credit and credit insurance, foreign currency transactions Handling documentation --commercial, banking, transportation, insurance, and government formalities documents Taking advantage of trade pacts --GATT, WTO, NAFTA, FTAA

About the Author
KENNETH D. WEISS is the owner of Plans and Solutions, a corporation that helps importers, exporters, and other firms with business planning, marketing, analysis, and contracts. He has been an importer and exporter, a lecturer on international trade, and a consultant to numerous private firms and government organizations.

Customer Reviews

Very good book
Excellent book. Well organized, and well written. Lots of pointers to other resources as well. Some web links are broken.

A good book to understand what everybody else is doing
Well, where do I start? This book is useful to understand what every small time operator is doing in this business. You don't want to follow the crowd so I suggest you purchase this book and John Weiley Spiers Book "How Small Business Trades Worldwide". If you follow the techniques outlined by Weiss you're wasting your time, taking on too much risk, and making very little profits. I'm not saying you can't do it, for example, using trade bulletins to find buyers but so is everybody else! This is not an easy business if you do it this way. No real mention of the internet is made to make it useful nor does he focus too much on the marketing aspects which is the most important. Again, there are ways, and very few of them, to make some big profits. In a strange way, I am recommending this book so you understand what everybody else is doing to get into this business, and hopefully you don't follow. If someone is starting off in their own business, I highly recommend you start out as a Manufacturers representative and branch out as an importer/exporter as part of the overall business. [...]

Baby steps
This book is fine for the very early entrepreneur. There is an entire chapter on choosing between forms of organization, buying office supplies and creating a logo. It's a good birds-eye-view of the import/export process, however, if you are a professional seeking insights and business solutions, you will not find many new ideas here.