Import & Export Business in Pakistan

From Time to time we write handy business tips and guides for people looking to start Import / Export business in Pakistan, and below article is part of that series (Find Part 1 Here), we really hope it would give you basic hints and tips to start your own import and export business in Pakistan.

Plan:

Every good businessman needs to have a plan. For a businessman, a plan is like a sketch-up of the start-up business he/she will be starting or a plan on what he or she intends to do with the business. A mockup plan is very vital for the success of any business startup.

A plan allows the businessman to solve issues and some pre-starting issues before even confronting them. For example, if someone is opening up an import/export business, a plan will be developed regarding what he/she will be importing/exporting, how much capital does the person have, what the price of each commodity is, and what an average profit for will be on the basis of simpler prices.

This will allow you to ensure that you do not end up with your money at the bottom of the pit hole with you looking down at, with regret – which will eventually lead you to cross off any future business plans, just because you lost once, you’ll end up mentally thinking u’ll fail at all others as well.

Plus, a start up plan allows you to keep yourself one notch above your competitors as you’ll probably know what they do best, and you shall devise a plan that takes their weaknesses and turns them into your business’s strengths.

Determination and Patience:

Once of the biggest reasons I’ve seen for people failing in the business sector is because they are neither determined nor patient.

A person might start an Import/Export business, and start with small stuff as can be done with the capital in hand, however, the person may not pay full attention to it and keep it as a side business, and just do a few contracts of here and there, and at a time lose interest in the field and shut the business down. Wrong.

If you start a business, keep yourself attached to it. Consider it your body. Without your body you cannot live, without a business you cannot survive. That’s how it should be, if you want a sucessful and prospering business.

Being determined, working hard and having patience are the 3 vital principals of a successful business. Neither does money come over night, nor does sucess. It comes with time, and patience only. As you keep on doing your business, it eventually grows, gains a spotlight in the market, and the spotlight keeps getting bigger and bigger until your contracts get more difficult; yet with more pay in return. More pay, is more profit.

So, if you start an Import/Export business don’t expect to get a huge contract just overnight, that is just plain wrong. Start small, and work your way to the top. If it were so easy to make money and get rich overnight, I think everyone would be doing it then.

Protect Yourself:

Every business has one final main goal: making a profit. And profit is somehow directly proportional to the money invested in a business for the starting periods and later periods.

Most business are either sole proprietorships or partnerships. And most of them expose their owners to liability for business debts and loses. The fact that your savings, and personal assets are put to the risk makes this a difficult land to venture on, and a hard game to play.

This is exactly why a person must form a corporation or limited liability corporation (LLC). These will give the person a shielding from personal liability but however there are other rules and regulations that need to be followed with this. However, your personal assets and savings accounts are at least kept in a safe zone and not in harms way in case bad luck befalls the business.

Another way to protect yourself is by contracts. True, most of the small business go around doing deals with a mere “handshake”, but that is not how it should be. Set up a boundary in the plan after which you will not deal without a legal contract. For example, in the case of an Import/Export business

A Legal Contract if the value of consignment is worth Rs. 50,000 or above
If the dealer is abroad or new whom the market knows not of

This way if the dealer defunct, at least you can file a legal case under the “Law of Contract” and see to it that you are given fair judgement. And if not full, damages (monetary compensation) can be payed to ensure that your business does not take a harsh blow in its starting stages.

Stay Small But Effective:

At times it does not depend if you have a small business. Many people can make the most profits out of their small businesses.

To do so, one needs to be in touch with the market, and keep a very close lookout for the competitors and what they are doing. It is vital for the company to keep one notch above them so as to get most of the customers and dealings.

However, at times its not always about the product, but people prefer if your services are good, your PR is amazing, and your customer satisfaction levels are high! So, you could focus on your companies PR and services offered to people to get the most out of the people. For example, for an Import/Export business:

Offering quality assurance unlike competitor, or transportation at a cheaper rate than your rival company giving you a clear edge

And the final things…

Don’t stop trying. Keep on going as you are. Business is something where you put a risk and you either gain or lose money. There is no person in this world that has not ever lost money in a business, so if you actually end up losing some, don’t lose heart – rather learn from your past mistakes for that is what makes you a better businessman

Always keep a close eye on the market. Analysis and judgement is something that will get you ahead of the market. If you don’t want to wait, just keep going with something that has been trending and will keep trending for some period of time so that you can make enough profit allowing u to change business next time the trend changes, if it does.

For example, and Import/Export business would do good in trending things like:

Constructions Materials: The world is always developing
Cars: The world is always buying car as the standard of living develops
Food: Something u need to research first before indulging in
Household Items: They are always in demand.