RE Small Co. Owner needs Guerilla Counsel for an International Sale

I've longingly eyed your course description in the College of Marin class
schedule ever since I started my business 3 1/2 years ago.


***You'll enjoy the class...***

I am now successfully importing a product I designed. At a recent trade show,
I was approached by a French company AND a German company who both want to
order a large quantity of my product.

***I am guessing the hat supplier is not european, so what is being proposed
is you sell something you import and export it to europe?***

I need a quickie consultation re: how to respond to them. I know my numbers,
i.e., the discount I can give them.

***Why give a discount if you do not have any economies of scale? Rarely do
small biz have economies of scale, so there ought to be no room for
discounts.***

The part I'm nervous about is how do I get paid from them?

***Fortunately importers prepay, so these customers would be prepaying.***

I haven't used letters of credit yet because my dollar amounts are small.

***Are these amounts large?***

The last time I checked, LOCs take lots of time to set up.

***Well, less than $5000 they dont make any sense...less than $5000 maybe
credit card is ok..with frequent flier miles attached to cards, some biz dont
mind.***

I can accept credit cards. Would it seem terribly unprofessional to suggest
they pay me by credit card?

***Depends on amount, but there is a better plan.***


I assume this is the kind of stuff to which you know the answer.

***Yes.***

Would you consider consulting with me?

***yes.***

How much would you charge me?

***What I always charge, $10,000. This is a simple problem with a solution
you haven't thought of yet...confirm the country of origin of your hats, and
give me a rough dollar amount, and I'll give you a simple profitable
solution. I do not need to know any prices or profit margins. After you
respond I'll reply and you can decide whether to send me $10,000 or just take
my class again.***

John

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