In this post, we are going to discuss some ways to get a tangible idea of a product or service to import that is more than likely to be a successful project. Be well advised that this is a process. You are not likely to get the exact product to be successful on the first swing of the bat. There is a possibility that you might just do that and make a fortune. Statistically, though, better to be willing to go through the process and be willing to “fail” in a small way by trial and error and examination and refining the problems and needs of the market and aligning them with the solutions and the benefits that the product provides.

First Things First
To start out there is a whole set of possibilities in the space we are setting out into. This is daunting and there is a great possibility of being completely overwhelmed and feeling hopelessly inadequate when comparing yourself or your business to the giants of the import market. At this point, it is vital to get a clear perspective on what you are looking to achieve within a given period of time.

It doesn’t matter whether you are importing for the first time as an individual or a multi-national corporation looking to explore a market, you and your team need to have a clear understanding of what the goal is going to be. This goal is not going to be specific in terms of product or service just yet. You will get to that level of completing the goal once you decide on the product you are going to use. For now, we are getting down to the portion of the goal involving time-related, financial, intellectual and emotional expectations. I like to look at the goal as a state of operation that I intend to have going in a given period of time, rather than a fixed possession of an item to give a clearer holistic idea of the state of my company should be operating in.

A fixed goal is one in which there is a clear object of desire that is to be attained. Here is an example of a fixed possession goal:

– Fixed Possession Goal: Generating $15 000 in profit monthly.

A State of Operation goal is one in which the ideal working and operation environment is painted as an image of what aspects are important to me and my team. Here is an example of a State of Operation goal:

– State of Operation Goal: Importing, distributing and providing an excellent quality product or service to a certain number of clients that my team and I absolutely love serving in a given area, as well as providing goods to other possible avenues of clients; making a profit of over $15 000 per month within 24 months and enjoying the experience with a great team of loyal, trustworthy, hardworking people who are all well remunerated for their efforts and find the project fulfilling, rewarding and profitable.

This type of goal works well for me since it guides my decisions. It’s easier to make a decision regarding any aspect that affects the project. If I have a doubt about a new potential team member who is ruthless at sales and gets good sales in but is obnoxious and rude to other members of the team who are also productive, it’s easier for me to get perspective. Either that person can be brought around to being more of a team player by gaining an understanding of what is going in their lives and giving them a better perspective of the business or they are off the team. With profit as the only motivation, that person may get good numbers initially but may have a poor overall impact on the rest of the business if not handled early.

Work with what is best for you in terms of goal setting, but do your best make it achievable and doable based on your level of skills, resources, abilities available and the certainty of what can be attained within the time frame.

In this post, we explored the first part of getting a tangible idea of a product or services that can be imported, which is to get a goal in mind that you are looking to attain. In the next post, we will explore the next steps involved in getting a good idea of a product to import into your market.

Assessing Your Situation
Coupled with the goal, there are two other lists that give a good indication to get us to where we need to be in terms of having a clear idea of what to import:

The strong points list
Taking into consideration what it will to take to make the goal possible and achievable within the time frame, make a list of three columns with the following headings:
– Qualities: What character traits do you and your team possess? (Tenacity, Loyalty, Reliable, etc.)
– Abilities: What skills and abilities do you and your team have? (Creativity, Communication, Engineering, etc.)
– Assets: What assets are available to you and your team? (Capital, Property, Networks, etc.)

This is a quick draft. As we get into the actual product there may be other points to jot down on this list.

The shortcomings list
On a separate page, make two columns. In the first column list your own and your team’s shortcomings that will make it difficult or impossible to achieve the goal you’ve set. In the second column, next to each difficulty (or on a new page) write down a plan of action in being able to strengthen each weakness, or overcome each obstacle that you noted down as difficulties.

With this measure of self-reflection done, you may have a better idea of where you are and where you want to get to regarding this “import” project and it’s time to get into looking into the market.

It Begins With Love
Looking at the market place for a good product or service begins with where you are. The best ideas that get us to where we desire to be are often right under our noses.

Start with looking into something that you love. It doesn’t have to be something that you love doing. Those things that you are interested in will have the tendency to be beneficial to you even if you do not make money off it, initially. And that type of interest has a tendency to bring about creative ways of looking at the market which can open the door to finding a good market, or good opportunity or even inventing or innovating a new product that does not yet exist. Keep your eyes focused on the goal you’re after and be open to flashes of inspiration that come to you intuitively, through a “gut feeling”; or a vision or a gentle whisper in your mind. Being involved with things that you like being around will also keep you sticking to it when the business goes through quiet patches.

A Personal Example
As an example, I had studied complementary medicine many years ago because it was something that truly resonated with me. When looking for a new product range to import, I began the process looking into anything in my life that I was interested in. That can be difficult if you have a good interest in life and living in general since almost anything worthwhile is likely to prove interesting. What I discovered were some products that a colleague of mine in another country was marketing and selling successfully in Asia. It was a range of natural supplements that were not available in the market that I am in.

A Famous Example
Steve Jobs had a love for music but disliked using the “Walkman” (a product that existed in the 1980s as a means to play music using cassette tapes). As he explored what he loved he found that there was an area of displeasure he experienced in having a bulky and complicated Walkman to carry around when wanted to listen to music as he walked. As the years passed he had heard of and made contact with a young man in the East who had developed the early version of an MP3 player. Steve made a trip to see this young man, made him an offer and purchased the technology. Apple went on to improve the product using its own expertise in the field of electronics and created the iPod – a huge international success that turned Apple around dramatically, financially.

Now that we have these lists in place it’s time to move on to the next step in the process. This is going to get exciting, so hang on and join me in the next post.

Almost like a camera lens or the lenses in our eyes, in order to get a clear focus, it is sometimes necessary to zoom in and then out and zoom in again to a different focus point and then maybe zoom out again. This is a matter of getting a clearer idea of the landscape.

Part of this zooming in by asking questions and then to withdraw reviewing another aspect of the area and then zooming in again through another set of questions.

The Zooming In Questions
If you have a list of interests start this process of questions with the one that appeals to you the most at this moment. Ask yourself these questions, writing an answer to each of them:

– In this field what do I know?
– In this field what would I love to learn more about?
– What would I love to achieve in this field if anything?
– What is it about this field that intrigues me?
– What do I enjoy about this field?
– What problem(s) do I experience in this particular field? (Problems might be related to finding the time to do an activity or finding products or services that I would like to get more of)
– What do I hate about this field?
– In this field what products or services have I experienced? What were they like?
– In this field what experience have I had with the people who are also interested in it?
– Are there people who have more knowledge in this field in other countries?
– Is there a country in the world where they have more knowledge in this field than anywhere else?
– What raw materials are used in this field?
– What tools are used in this field?
– What products exist in this field?
– Are there any problems or issues that you have experienced with the quality of the product or the service delivery of the raw materials, products, tools in this field?
– Are there any of these problems or issues that other people have also had, that were similar to your own, in this field?
– Is there a country in the world where they produce goods or services that support this field?
– Is there a country in the world where they produce cheaper raw materials that support this field?
– Is there a country in the world where they produce better quality tools that support this field?

Zooming Out Reflection
Once you have this list of questions answered you may find that you have your mind and more importantly your subconscious mind engaged. The next step is counter-intuitive it involves tuning out:

– Have a copy of the goal you had written down with you and read it a few times.

– Then glance over the list of questions and answers that you had written down.

– Then get comfortable and relax by sitting back in your chair or on a couch or even lying on the floor in a quiet, distraction-free place. Use earplugs to drown out the noise if you have to or get some soothing music on.

– Get an idea with the intention to experience the goal.

– Close your eyes and get an idea of the goal for a few minutes and then contemplate the field of interest you had just been looking at with the intention of getting a clear plan of action of a product or service or next action to take. Do not take any actions just yet. Just get the intention to get a clear moment of epiphany.

– Now let go of everything. Relax. Stop thinking if you can. If you can’t let your mind wander, but put no attention on anything that comes to mind. You can place a light focus on your breathing, but the point of this stage is to clear your mind and your space to make room for the inspiration to come in. It is effortless and it is can be compared to letting yourself float like a leaf in a river. Just let go.

– Keep this up for 15 minutes or so or whatever feels natural to you.

– Gently bring yourself back to resuming normal mental function.

– Once you get up, write down whatever comes to you. It doesn’t matter if it’s crazy or impossible, write it down. If you have the urge to make a phone call, make it. If you have the idea to leave this field or project alone, then get on to another area of interest.

There may be some real gems. There may be nothing.

Go through this process for each area of interest writing down what comes to mind.

This may seem like an unusual process, but it has been proven to work for many years by many of the most successful people in their fields of specialty whenever they approached a problem that they could not resolve. Once you get an idea of a good product or service or product range its time to move on to the next step of getting it more tangible by doing some research and homework.

We will cover that in the next post.

Creating a Business Case
This project is meant to be a profitable business, and part of a business is providing a valuable product or service to a market that is ready, willing and able to purchase that product for a price that is greater than it costs to produce and deliver that product to that market. In this post, we are going to introduce an actual product as a conceptual idea to assist with giving a better understanding of this process. Let’s say the idea can in the field of vegetarian food. It is something I had been looking into since I decided to experiment with a vegetarian diet.

In order to create a business case, it is necessary to find a market of customers that are ready, willing and able to purchase the product or service that you are looking into. Firstly we are going to have to do some digging and ask many more questions. Most of the answers to these questions can be found online using a search engine or getting into forums of the groups of people interested in the products or services.

What Is The Product Or Service?
At this point, it is necessary to define the product or service in terms of what it is, what it does and where it can be used.

In the case of vegetarian food, I discovered that I wanted to explore vegetarian meat substitutes for sausages, burgers, and other meat substitutes. These products can be used in meals for vegetarian people or people who eat meat as a nutritious meal that gives the same or more nutrition.

Who Is The Target Market For The Product?
Which market of people or organizations can use these products in a manner that brings greater value to their lives? This may be a group of people to which you belong or a group that would clearly benefit from the product.

In the example case, the people who would benefit from these vegetarian products are vegetarians.

Where Can The People Or Businesses In That Target Market Be Found?
Now that we have identified the target market and who they are, it is necessary to find out where they are. Search for groups on Facebook and on Google, Bing, Yahoo or your favorite search engine and make notes about where to find these people or organizations.

In the case of the vegetarian target market, I found groups on Facebook as well as a few religious organizations that subscribed to a vegetarian diet as well as restaurants in the vicinity that were making an effort to cater to the vegetarian market as well.

What Channels Of Communication Exist To Communicate With The Target Market?
Looking at the channels of communication may involve doing an online search for websites and their contact details as well as groups that are in your local city.

I found groups of people in my city on Facebook groups, websites that supported any form of vegetarian meals and of course all local restaurants and even I even got invited on to Whatsapp groups.

In the next post, we are going to explore how to use this information gathered in these questions to get even more in-depth research done that can be used practically to refine your product and market offering.