It can be exciting on occasion!

Don’t think that all days are impossible.  Yesterday was pretty close.  The good news is that since I started working for myself, I get up every morning and am excited about what I’m going to do.  How long into the day the excitement lasts is the measure of the day!

I had a couple of great sales conversations today with people who found me through Google AdWords.  These were people that had a great understanding of global sourcing — a path to grow their business by allowing them to concentrate on what their business does well.  This is so refreshing — not just looking for another cost down!

I had a great chat w/ my good budro and fellow small business owner, the Samurai Appliance Repairman (www.fixitnow.com — return the love my brutha, link back at me, please).  He always makes me feel great!

A happy day is deserving of some pictures that represent some of the benefits.  I get to travel and see some fantastic sights!  Here I am cooking up some grub in Saigon, Vietnam, and hanging with the locals in Lhasa, Tibet!

Web sites!

I’ve been staring at my advertising numbers today.  I do this most days to try to figure out the right levers to pull.  Many people (engineer types, I’m riding the fence on this one) think that web sites are required elements of business presence, but don’t actually sell.

 When I ask purchasing agents and others how they do business today, they reply “Google.”  If true, that means that web sales are more important than ever. 

I can say for certain that I’ve had a lot of traffic bouncing off of my site — visits, but no messages.  Granted, my site’s pretty basic — after all, I did it in my spare time!  Maybe it’s time to reconsider investing in some professional website design.  If it captures even a fraction of the traffic hitting the site, I’ll be much better off.

Opinions?  Anyone else with a small business attempting to balance investments? 

Starting a Micro Multinational Company!

Ok, that sounds much fancier than it actually is.  Especially since many days end up like this!

 I run a small engineering and QC company called Quality Sourcing Solutions, or QSS.  We help people source product from China and other countries in Asia.  My team and I are good at what we do.  We’re not a trading company.  We’re engineers and technical specialists that can really help industrial companies manage projects, engineer for the local Chinese environment, and manage the risk of sourcing.  We can help their companies grow and take on projects that they couldn’t have done otherwise!

 It’s so tough some days finding people to give you a chance!  I’m an engineer and technical manager, and a good one, too, but sales — oh man, my skin isn’t thick enough for this.  If I can find the right place to talk, I can sell QSS, but making cold calls, etc. is really tough.  How many polite piss-offs can a guy take in a day?  I still think the answer is — as many as it takes.

 If you want to check out the business side of this — www.go-qss.com

Want to know what starting a small, technology-based, international business is about, follow along.  Already done it, or doing it, let’s share ideas!