No matter how stable the economy of a nation is, no nation is practically self sufficient. Even the most powerful countries need many raw materials from other countries in order to produce products that are needed by other countries as well. Everything is actually evolving in trading; and that is acquiring what it lacks, and selling what it produces. In other words, no nation can be totally independent from the rest of the world, most especially in providing for its production needs.
Nowadays, international trading has become more convenient, easier, and safer. Moreover, a lot of hard-to-comply government trading rules have been revised and improved for a smoother trading flow. These have encouraged many people then to engage in the import export business.
Like any other businesses, the trading business has also a lot of important considerations. Although, trading opportunities have widened with advent of technology, traders, importers, and exporters still have to be conscious of the factors that will affect the outcome of the business. Here are some of the important factors that affect the import export business.
Marketing. A lot of businessmen may not be aware of the great impact of marketing on businesses. This is probably why not many businesses invest on marketing that much. Unfortunately for these people, they have actually missed out on the most important factor in any business- and that is marketing. The logic of marketing is just very simple and basic. If you want people to patronize your products and services; you must make them aware of these products and services. After all, how could someone possibly buy something that he has not heard of? Marketing is indeed a crucial aspect in businesses, most especially in the import export business. In starting up an import export business therefore, you should acknowledge the importance of marketing and invest time, effort, and money for the facilitation of marketing strategies.
Logistics. In the import export business, the delivery of products is one of the utmost important considerations, most especially if the products imported or exported are perishable. Definitely, with these types of products, time is very important. There are many logistics services that you can choose from. Naturally, for faster delivery of goods, the service charge is more expensive than the slower delivery services. Thus, it is important to consider the logistics requirements of your products in order to predict the costs that you will have to incur in the business.
Government Rules. Whether you like it or not, an import export business will always be dictated by the various rules imposed by the government with which you are doing trading with. With this reality, to avoid trading restrictions, it is very important to strictly comply with government rules at all times. If you are therefore doing trading business with many countries, you will have to consider the fact that these rules may vary from country to country.
Import Export Business – Factors That Affect It
February 16th, 2012Writing Business Letters – Tutorial 1: Letter Format
February 15th, 2012
Everyone in business needs to write letters. It’s unavoidable if you want to run your business or just stay in touch with your suppliers and clients. How well … or not so well … you write reflects on you and your business. Write poorly constructed letters with unprofessional layout and format and you will look like a rank amateur, no matter how good you are at plumbing, cooking or whatever it is you do.
If you are a seasoned letter writer who has completed a business communication course, this series of articles is probably not for you. It will help, however, if you haven’t been educated in communication skills. You will be able to improve your writing very quickly just by following a few simple rules.
Letter Format
The easiest, quickest and most efficient letter format is known as “full block” or simply “Block”. A block letter has all its text left justified ie, there are no indents. This method is very popular because it is simple to produce. Here’s an example using Australian address formats – modify it for your own country:
Parker Morgan Finnigan
Lawyers
PO Box 2345
SYDNEY NSW 2000
29 October 2010
Ms Janette Jameison
PO Box 34687
NORTH SYDNEY NSW 2005
Dear Ms Jameison
CONTRACT WITH ACME FINANCE CORPORATION
I refer to our previous correspondence requesting a copy of the contract between you and Acme Finance Corporation.
If you do not provide us with a copy of the original contract, I’m afraid we will not be able to act on your behalf. We need the contract to accurately assess the claims you have made and to question legal staff from Acme Finance Corporation.
Please send us a copy of the contract at the earliest so we can get this matter under way.
Yours sincerely
Parker Johannson
Principal Legal Consultant
PARKER MORGAN FINNIGAN
Whether you use Letter or ISO A4 paper, this format looks good and saves time. Your paper needs to have a border all round of 2.5cm (1″) and you should endeavour to place the total content of the letter so that it is symmetrical on the page ie, don’t have more text in the top half of the page than on the bottom half. A balance of black and white and good position on the page makes the letter look good.
You’ll see that there is no punctuation except within the body of the letter. This is called ‘open punctuation’ because the text is open where punctuation doesn’t add significantly to the reader’s understanding of the letter.
Using Letterheads
Some letterheads I see are poorly designed. While they look good from a graphics and colour perspective, the flow between logo and letters is poor eg, when you run your eye down the left column, there is no, or poor alignment between text and letterhead elements.
If you design a letterhead page that is left or right justified, design it so that the left most portion of the letterhead graphic or text is 2.5cm (1″) in from the left or right sides. The best design is one that is centered on the page. This is because it doesn’t ‘force’ a right or left margin allowing users to set margins of any width that still appear balanced on the page. When you have a short letter you can bring your left and right margin in a little to make the text area look larger.
Tutorial two of this series discusses the parts of a letter.
Copyright 2005 Robin Henry
Best Places to Live in Singapore
February 11th, 2012
If you’re looking for a place to stay in Singapore with an expat community, these are the areas that will interest you if you’re working in the main Central Business District. All the locations are within 17 min (or less!) drive to the Central Business District of Singapore.
East Coast – Live At Katong
Expats are fond of the east because of its close proximity to the beach, and the entire feel of the place. It has a palm tree, sand and sea locality and its main highway is the ECP. This allows a quick drive to work in the Central Business District along a scenic expressway that gives you a view of the ocean and Singapore’s city skyline.
You’ll be interested in condos at Katong where the rental is anywhere from $4500 up.
There’re international schools located within 20 min of this condos in this area as well.
West- Live At West Coast
The Vision is one of the newer condos to be completed est 2014. This area is 15min drive to the main CBD and 10min to Harbor front. You’ll pass Harbor front before reaching the CBD.
When you live at The Vision, you can have an ocean view and the amenities of a city lifestyle. This area is served by 3 large parks. If you enjoy sports, exercise, convenient grocery amenities, West Coast is worth a look at.
North – Live At Bukit Timah
This is a very rich district and many expats love living here. Examples of new condos here are Cyan located at Keng Chin Road. Although it isn’t close to the sea, many good schools both local and international schools located within 15 minutes of properties found here.
Central – Live At Orchard or Newton Circus
Living in the heart of the city means being close to shopping, Louis Vutton, Chanel, Dior. There’re service apartments at Orchard, and older condos available for rent. Older units will tend to be more spacious, yet we can’t expect the price to be low because you’re in the heart of the city.
South – Live At Sentosa Cove or Marina
This place is going to be a great place to live in when all amenities are fully operation by 2013. This area is just 15 min drive to the Central Business District. Just like the east, you can enjoy ocean side living and the best nightlife, dining, shopping, games, wakeboarding fun Singapore has to offer. Nearby is Sentosa where the casino and universal studios are located.
The Marina Collection condos is a yacht, waterfront lifestyle living that you’ll not find anywhere expect in the south. If you work during the weekdays and want to unwind on your yacht, then this is the place to be.