For those you see thriving in small business international trade, there is a common pattern...
The genesis of their product (or service) is an solution to a problem they experience....
They then first go to the customers, and determine if there is a market or not for their idea.
These two steps are so critical. First you have a reason for starting a business, second you get affirmation to proceed. As you proceed, everyone you need to work with will want to know why, besides what effort you are making, they should work with you. The only persuasive reason is potential customers with whom you have spoken. Not customers imagined from anecdotal evidence, but decision makers who have the authority to commit to purchases.
The good news is you need no business skill, no perseverance, no funding, no connections, no resources, no contacts, no training, no language skills, you need absolutely nothing to start, because what you need you can and will go get.
The bad news is if you have business skills, perseverance, funding, connections, resources, contacts, training, language skills, or whatever, you are likely to rely on those, when in fact nobody knows or cares about those things. It is completely understandable that when we have nothing to offer, we grasp at straws and offer what we think will be welcome. People want customers, long term customers.
Starting with customers doors will be open to you. The more people that you expect to buy from you that you talk to, the more interested suppliers are in you.
The customers people you talk to, the closer you get to what they will buy.
I very often speak to people who have done several years work only to find their premises were completely wrong, and all of the time, treasure, talent was wasted.
If you are serious about starting a business at this point, then when people ask you about your business, the first thing that should come to mind is what a buyer says about your offer. If this is NOT the first thing that comes to mind, drop everything and get their first.
Once there, your daily work is to constantly improve your offering to get to milestone #3, and then ever improve your product or service thereafter.
Keeping to this process makes the goal of a thriving business easier, faster, cheaper and more fun.
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