International Trade Blog

Yes the global economic crisis is still governing our minds and while some governments have taken the necessary steps to rejuvenate the economy some only issue bold and reassuring statements, but actually does not do anything. Granted not all countries have the necessary amount of additional money to inject into the economy, but there are always other ways.

Of course not every country is able to invest huge amounts of money into their economy like, for example, China, but nonetheless there are several economic tools which can have a positive and rejuvenating effect on the economy. Let’s take a look at the taxes. Many markets have crumbled and companies have a very hard time to sell their goods. Huge tax burden does not help either and so to cut expenses they have to downsize by letting go employees and thus decreasing their economic activity. The decreased economic activity on its part hampers the overall economic recovery. The best way to fight the economic recession is to drastically decrease such taxes as Income and VAT. While at the beginning it will surely decrease budget income, but as economic activity will increase, due to the lowered taxes’’ so will the income. Sadly many government officials do not see this way. Quite opposite, they are planning to defeat the crisis by increasing income with a substantial raise of taxes. Any half good economist will tell you that this is the most foolish action you can take in such a situation. Nevertheless government official still think that they are smarter than any professional of the field.

We need some drastic moves to be maid to overcome this recession, but these steps must be carefully researched and debated over. In order for any of them to work they must receive acceptance from the general population. Let’s hope that government officials will listen to the voice of reason.

I have always been somewhat skeptical towards advertising. Does it really work and if yes how effective it is? I have never been fully convinced that consumers buy goods due to advertisements and that investing money into advertising is foolish and ineffective. A waste of money so to say!

Let’s face it most consumers only buy what they really need and only a small percentage buy just for fun. This of course depends of the wealth of an individual. If the product is good then the quality will speak for itself and the need for advertising is only required in the initial phase when a new product enters a market. When the product has established itself in the market and aggressive advertising campaign can do more harm than good. People get bored or even offended with too aggressive advertising campaigns and may not buy the product in spite. At least that is how I react to overaggressive advertisements. If a product has established a solid consumer base in a market more advertising will not drastically expand the consumer base. Granted it may grow, but the growth might be quite slow and will not cover the extra costs of advertising. Generally more important than advertising is reputation. If a product acquires a positive reputation it is probable that it will establish itself as the market leader because most consumers still mostly rely on mouth to mouth propaganda. The most excellent advertising campaign cannot rival with an excellent reputation. While it may experience temporary success in the ling term the consumers will return to the product with the best reputation.

Of course the role of advertising is important in international trade, but it is somewhat over hyped in my opinion. A good advertising campaign will not save a bad product no matter how much money you spend. None the less advertising can be used as a tool to establish the needed reputation of a product.

While working and earning money is a necessary thing one must remember that all work and no fun can make your life boring and miserable. So this article will be a bit about the fun part.

Yes we all are very busy people and not all of us have either the time or money for extensive hobbies. But I think we all can agree that there are always 10 spare minutes in our busy day. Why not spend them on something relaxing and fun? Nowadays almost anyone has a computer and an internet connection. So I proudly present an online browser game Erepublik. It is a simple, but very interesting game. Basically you design your ‘’other’’ self. As in real life you need to eat so therefore you need to work to earn money and pay for food and other stuff. If you are a good worker and have earned enough money you can try and create your own company. You can conduct international trade, manufacture goods or become a media mogul. Don’t like business? No problem become a soldier and earn your fame on battlefields all over the world. Or maybe you would like to try a political carrier. Join or found a political party, work in your countries’ administration apparatus or even became the president of the country. The choice is yours!

http://www.erepublik.com/en/referrer/Mavericx

As this is a browser based game you do not need a super gaming computer. Your everyday or office computer is good enough. The game can be a lot of fun and you can meet and interact with a lot of interesting people. The best part is that the game is totally free. So no investment is needed just a bit of your time. Believe me once you have played the game for a while you will be hooked. At least I am. Give it a try, maybe you can even view this game as a training exercise before you create your real company.

http://www.erepublik.com/en/referrer/Mavericx

To be successful in trade and business in general you have to posses certain qualities. You might be adventurous, organized and sometimes just plain lucky, but most importantly you have to be smart and wiling constantly to learn something new.

Business and trade especially requires strategic and tactic decisions. To make money you have to be ready to react to the slightest changes in the market, but how to make the correct decision at the appropriate time? Well if you are a natural born merchant then it might be an affair of heart or gut, but a smarter choice might be the brain. Trade as such can be learned. By obtaining new knowledge it is possible to translate even the slightest fluctuation of the market and even predict it next move. This is no magic, just plain and simple know-how. It is advisable that before starting a business you should conduct a thorough research of the sphere. There are a large number of books and manuals available so use whatever you can. Granted not all are free, but it is better to spend a few bucks at the beginning than suffer great loses later. When we were small children and played video games and watched movies trade seemed so simple. Just buy something and sell it for a higher price. Actually it is far more difficult, but still manageable. You might get lucky and your gut feeling would show you the right choice, but the next time you listen to it might be fatal. The safe bet always should be knowledge. It is an investment nobody can take from you and will provide various benefits in the future. If you want to listen to your gut then place a bet on your favorite football team, but do not entrust your business dealings to it.

This is of course only my opinion and others might say that it is better to learn by doing. While this might be true to a certain point I still believe that there always should be a certain level of base knowledge or else you might end up selling refrigerators to penguins.

Global trade today is as ordinary as buying a carton of milk in your local supermarket. People are not only selling goods and services; information can be a valuable asset. Not only a valuable item, but also potentially quite profitable.

Well when we think about trade we usually think about the exchange of real hands on goods, but the implementation of Internet has created a totally new type of commodity – information. You do not need large warehouses and elaborate transportation means to trade with it. In fact in most cases information exists only electronically. By the term information we must understand everything starting from books and newspapers up to various manuals and ‘’How to’s’’. I think we all understand that selling books online is a very profitable deal, but we must think farther. What will the future bring? Sooner or latter the physical paper book will become obsolete and some technologies will be developed to enjoy reading an electronic book the same as the real deal. Meaning there probably will be huge online libraries and stores providing a large amount of information while earning decent money. The other thing is costs. It is possible to create your own information product with virtually no costs at all , apart from your time. You can quite safely store it on your personal computer and make as much copies as you like or need without any additional costs.

Sounds incredibly easy and profitable, but in fact it is far more difficult than it seems. Creating your own information business sounds easy in theory, but real life it can be a tough job. First of all not all of us are natural born writers. I guess that is why not every one of us can write a bestseller. Another important thing is to find the correct target audience. Information is not a vitally needed product and for people to buy it it must be very good and really valuable. You cannot sell junk. No I better rephrase this; you can sell junk, but not very much of it and not for a long time. You always must take in account the long term profitability of a project. Any project or else you are just wasting your resources.

The trade of information can be a profitable thing you just have to show serious attitude towards it. Sooner or latter information will be more valuable than gold.

While it may seem that starting a business in these turbulent times is complete madness it is actually the other way round. A lot of people use the economic crisis open new businesses and you do not have to be an experienced entrepreneur to pull it off. Just think before you do.

A question may arise how logical and safe it is to conduct business in the time of economic recession. So let’s try to answer it. First of all you must choose a suitable niche of action. It would be very foolish to try to sell expensive cars during the crisis when people do not have extra money to spend. You have to consider the everyday needs of your potential customers. No matter the situation people will always have the need to eat. That does not mean that you have to start to import food items, you will never be able to compete with big supermarket chains, but you could open a diner or a restaurant. The latest statistics from my country show that such type of enterprises are doing quite well and even new ones are developed and successfully conduct business. So it is possible to conduct bossiness and with a wisely chosen concept it is possible to increase your profits.

What else do the people need? Do not always think product remember there is also service. The same as the need to eat there are other everyday needs. One of the sectors who benefit from the crisis is the security sphere. As unemployment levels grow so does the crime levels thus increasing the necessity for more security. Today it is fairly easy to find a job in the security sector. Remember also that you have to spend money to make money. Profit is not generated from nothing. You must be willing to invest some money to support your business endeavors.

Successful business in these times of turmoil is possible, but nothing is guaranteed. Business in general is always risky. In fact the higher the risk the bigger the possible profit. There is no way around it, no sure things, but a smart and adventurous person can use this time to start something big. Just think carefully before you act and use all the possible tools at your disposal and success will not be very far.

Internet has opened new possibilities to conduct various forms of business and earn money even from your own living room. You can actually get rich with the help of internet, but remember one thing, it may sound easy, but a certain level of investment is required to succeed, and by investment I do not mean only the money,

First of all you must be willing to invest a certain amount of time in every project you are involved in. Only very seldom people get rich without any effort. Think lottery. But that is just blind luck and wining a lottery is not actually a very sound business plan. Time generates experience and experience generates income. Try not to rush thing. Actually a well organized plan is an excellent tool to keep you on the right track, but remember to make it realistic because probably you won’t struck gold in a month (unless you are really digging for gold). Every profitable business operation is a long term project.

Secondly to make money you have to invest money. Nothing grows from nothing, that you can ask every successful businessman. It does not mean that every time you have to invest huge amounts of money. Sometimes all you need are a few bucks to buy a manual which can help you to increase your knowledge level. Basically you have to be willing to learn if needed sometimes also from your own mistakes. It does not matter if you are conducting international trade or just selling your stuff online. No one is born with absolute knowledge. You have to train and improve your skills because the skills you posses are the keys to success. Wow this sound cheesy, but no matter how you look at this it is true.

Lastly remember this; theoretical knowledge is only a base, real experience is gained by trial and error. As one of my friends said: ‘’you learn better while you do it.’’ I completely agree. Even if you might fail with your first project you will sill have gained valuable experience which will help you with your next project what ever it might be? The market of today provides you with unlimited possibilities. You can import and sell Chinese toys or sell handbooks on ‘’ How to pass your Math exam’’. It’s up to you.

Set yourself a long term goal and follow your dream. Remember if you do not get rich with your first project it does not give you justifiable cause to jump of the bridge. Just keep on trying, eventually you get there.

Today you can buy everything on the internet, may it be a box of matches or a modern fighter jet. Everything is for sale. Only 15 years ago it seemed that something like this would be possible in the far future. Today buying a TV set on the internet is not much different than buying a carton of milk in your nearest supermarket.

So is this a good or bad thing. Well it probably depends from which side you are looking at it. In general items bought online have a lower price which is due to the fact that it is sold directly out of the warehouse and there is no need for a retailer so no extra costs like salary for a sales clerk or lease for a shopping area. The quantity from which you can choose is not comparable from a retail shop. Quantity means the possibility to find the necessary quality for an acceptable price. On the other hand the customer looses the possibility to see and touch the item in real life. For a lot of people online shopping still feels like buying ‘’cat in a sack’’ so a number of people view online shopping as shady process and in general are very afraid of being scammed. Actually to some degree they have a valid point because the whole sales process is very anonymous and as such it is prone to scam. But on the other hand anonymous shopping can have its benefits. But we must face the fact that there is no actual anonymity on the internet. We all have IP addresses which can be used to locate the terminal we are using and as soon as we submit our credit card number we identify ourselves. If you want total anonymity then throw away your mobile phone and go on to live in the deepest woods. I don’t see that happening for me.

So if online shopping exists it probably best to try to use it to its full potential. In my opinion online shopping is still in its baby steps and we will experience dramatic developments in the near future. Sure today it is very easy to buy electronics, books, clothes and other stuff online, but why stop there? Need a bottle of milk or a pack of cigarettes, why just not order them online. All that is needed are a few clicks on your computer and the closest supermarket could deliver the requested items directly to your home. Oh and wait till someone discovers teleportation…
The most important thing is to be open to every new possibility and, in my opinion, online shopping and online business in general is the way of future. If we are willing to give it a try the rewards could be very satisfying.

Currently we experience global crisis and it is the time of economic recession. While that most definitely is true, not everyone has lost the job and has no money in the pocket. For those who have some extra money this is the time of opportunities.

So you always wanted to buy a flat screen TV set, but they were so damn expensive. Due to the current economic crisis the manufactures and retailers have to lower the prices simply because the number of people who could afford to buy such high end stuff has drastically decreased. People spend more money on the most necessary things such as food and rent so the market has adjusted accordingly. So now the prices have significantly fallen and if you still have the money it is the time to act. Basically the prices for all exclusive goods have fallen just because the decrease in demands and it is the right time to buy goods such as high end electronics, cars and more important real estate. Well yeah real estate is not actually an item, but I think you get my point. I will not speak about speculating in the real estate market, which in general might be profitable idea, but I think that I have covered that part in one of my previous articles, this time I would like to discuss something else. Continue reading »

Well some time ago I wrote about some of the more popular types of scams that involved some strange Nigerian princes and not the h most honest EBay sellers. Let’s continue with this topic a little bit, shall we?

Of course there are a number of scam types out there, but today I would actually concentrate on a very specific one, namely the freelotto.com pop-up. Well lets face it greed makes us gullible. We might be smart, but when there is a large sum of money involved, we become stupid quite fast. Continue reading »