How do I go about starting up and running an imported furniture business in the U.S.?

Question

Or any other imported goods

Answer 1

First of all you have to decide what kind of business you want to set up - sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, etc. There are advantages and disadvantages to each. You also have to check with US Customs and Border protection to see whether you need a permit to import what you want, as well as getting some sort of importer number:

http://www.cbp.gov/

You also have to look at what you intend to import because all manufacturers have minimum order requirements. This is important to know because you need to know how much storage space you will need - will you need a warehouse or can you run the business out of your own home?

There are sites that help you find foreign suppliers, such as:

http://www.alibaba.com
http://www.china-buy.com/
http://www.made-in-china.com/
http://www.tradenet.com/
http://www.tradebig.com/front.php

Costs are an important thing to research beforehand. Since you want to import something like furniture, the only way to go about doing it is by container (since they are large and heavy) and when you use brokers and freight forwarders that will run up the cost.

Another way to do it is just do the retail side and buy the stock from a company that already imports the products you want to sell. They will have minimum order requirements as well, but it's less risky than spending thousands to purchase and import products that you don't know whether they will sell or not. At least when you deal with importers or distributors, you often can return products that you buy from them subject to a restocking fee (usually a percentage of the amount you want to return) - so don't expect to get the full purchase price back.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Associations may be a good avenue to explore. These organizations will address many of the thoughts, questions and concerns you'll inevitably have as well as many you haven't anticipated yet. See the source box for some relevant links.

Research, research, research – this cannot be stressed enough. Read as much as you can about the industry. Here are some book titles that are relevant:

* Building an Import/Export Business, 3rd Edition by Kenneth D. Weiss
* Import/Export: How to Get Started in International Trade by Carl A. Nelson
* Start Your Own Import/Export Business (Entrepreneur Magazine's Start Ups) by Entrepreneur Press
* Importing Into the United States: A Guide for Commercial Importers by United States Custom Service

There are plenty of free informational resources out there. Check the source box for links to articles.

Hope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!

Answer 3

First Obamas plan is not to stick it to the rich but to hold them accountable for their fare share of the burden. $250,000 profit, after expenses is a lot of money and people in that range have so many shelters that some pay way less a percentage than you or I. I have watched NY state give credits to companies and breaks and they still leave. They are leaving now and have been for quite awhile. Most of these companies were to take their tax breaks, meant to keep the company solvent, and put it in their pockets in the form of a golden parachute or just plain profit. That is not working. For this current plan to work there must a great deal more done then just make the tax system fair. We need to come down on the greedy who only care about profits and not people. Stop them from legal rape and pillage. As for Government owning banks and such. Heard of the bailout bill? They are using $250 billion now to buy "ownership shares" in banks. That's a Republican led government doing this not Obama. They also already effectively have fannie and fredie. Yes it has come down to this. The problem, through deregulation, has become so big, so rife with greed that no one other than the government can fix it. Ask Alan Greenspan. Of course we have to clean the graft out of government too. Other wise it will never work. I don't think trickle up economics will be any better than trickle down economics but done right it could actually put money in the hands of people who could never have opened a new business before. Needs work but it could, with loads of work, become an effective solution. That a greedy nfl team owner does not want to pay his fair share does not surprise me. By the way, I make around 40k per year and pay about 24% average. If I have a particulary good week it could be close to 30%. Where does -4% come from? Returns don't count as negative just a return of overpayment so please clear this up for me. EDIT Katwalker. Do you know Obama's plan includes health care related tax breaks for businesses? look it up. EDIT Roxy, have you actually read his tax proposal? Unless your company makes more than $250,00 profit, after expenses and plans to relocate to another country you will not be affected. Many small businesses will actually get tax breaks especially if they try to create jobs at home and have a good health care program. He is not looking to raise every businesses taxes unilaterally. Read it.

Answer 4

Thats a pretty broad question.

The simple answer is: Find some suppliers, find some customers, and make it happen.