China Sourcing for beginners: Learn from experience.

China Sourcing for Beginners: Learn from Experience.

I think the saying goes "we can teach from experience but we cannot teach experience."

Today I wanted to share a few thoughts on what we can “learn from experience” in the context of China Sourcing for Beginners. There are plenty of voices out there who have been to the business equivalent of the University of Life in China and share those experiences online.

Let’s start though with a few random classics from the Rough Ride files...which I will share more of one day.

Getting to the factory address to be met by a couple of emaciated dogs and an old lady who is not quite sure what a wind turbine is? Meeting the supplier contact at the train station only to be told the factory is broken and its better we meet at the hotel....Right.

Factory: It’s better you meet with our boss to discuss this matter. Me: Sure, where is the boss? Factory: ...Actually he’s in prison these days. Me: Great, cheers for that.

Don’t worry there will be a Smooth Sailing section too.

You may have seen me mention before that by visiting factories in China a person can learn a whole lot more about a potential supplier than if they were sitting in their office Monday – Friday just playing email ping pong back and forth. I guess the fancy name is “experiential learning” but let’s keep it real and

simply understand it as “learning by doing”. An important point is that we reflect on our experiences and work out what was good, bad or what we might do different next time we get a chance. With China sourcing for beginners this is a very noteworthy point.

Sourcing from China is not new indeed it’s been really mainstream for 10 years and common enough for the 10 years before that. For those of you new to the scene there is plenty to be excited about but in equal measure plenty to be apprehensive about. You may think about these two feelings with a nod towards economics.

Apprehensive: I’ve heard about it being a minefield and about people being ripped off by fake companies or bad quality goods.....I don’t want to lose all my cash like that!

Excited: China’s economic leap has been a huge success story for lots of businesses and individuals who have made a great living importing from China. So despite the hard luck stories there must be plenty of people getting it right and making a small fortune.

Both situations above are firstly true but also very natural feelings for anyone thinking about getting started with sourcing from China. At this point stop! Think about the above, lots of people have been through the drill. You can and should learn from experience. There is plenty of information out there from a few different categories with the most popular being;

China Industry experts. Entrepreneurs sharing their experiences.

Independent 3rd party sourcing companies with handy advice.

All 3 have their own unique and valuable information to share on their own experiences good and bad. Before diving into sourcing products it’s advisable to read plenty from all 3 with a balanced view. You should get some great advice, tips and tricks based on others experiences. The point is you don’t have to go in cold and start talking to your first suppliers without having first learned something from those who have experienced the rough with the smooth. Here is a nice introductory course for you with some key topics about

China Sourcing for beginners.

Topics covered include:

How to source suppliers online. How to gather the right information from suppliers in China. How to weigh up your supplier options. How to make a factory visit in China

...and much more. Enjoy the experience,