help wanted

**JMD** · 08-23-2010, 02:13 PM

hey my names josh... i met this guy a few months back and he had all these big ideas about opening a motorbike shop selling chinese motorcycles and preformance parts, he gave me the idea to open my own shop. He's ditched me for various reasons and i never got alot of info off him on how to start.

I am studying motorcycle mechanics at the moment in south wales... hoping to get a qualification at the end of it so i can do MOT's but i want a side shop selling chinese motorcycles and parts. I want to do this because i have noticed the higher quality found in chinese bikes and i figured you can still import them quite cheaply ?? I would like some guidence on where to get bikes from... mainly as ive never dealt with importing and chinese suppliers. cheers josh.

this is my bike im riding at the moment
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**CrazyCarl** · 08-23-2010, 10:39 PM

Tis a tall mountain to be sure. Is your business set up?

CC

P.S. Nice bike.

**JMD** · 08-23-2010, 10:49 PM

no... not as of yet.... im just looking into it at the moment as im still in college but bikes is what interest me. I really do want to follow my dreams and open my own bike shop. As i said at the beginning im looking into getting my qualification so i can do MOT's. then look into selling chinese bikes... and just wanted some guidence on how to go about importing the bikes and where to get them from as i have a basic idea of how to set up a buisness... and i have plenty of oppurtunity around me to find out how to set up a buisness properly. Its just the fact i want to deal in chinese bikes ... and i have no idea about how to obtain them let alone obtain the better quality ones that are being produced at the moment. cheers josh.

**CrazyCarl** · 08-23-2010, 11:23 PM

JMD,

The basics are:

1) Prove yourself a credible buyer who can support their product overseas. Have the financial and organization resources to buy move a lot and buy quantities (think in containers, not boxes) A business name and identity will be very important so that's worth looking at first no matter how tedious it may seem. There are probably services which could help you start one.

2) Contact the manufacturers. When/If they respond be ready to know what you want then put on some traveling shoes and grab a bottle of Pepto on your way out the door.

3) Do the same song and dance our ancestors did and hope you can successfully move the palletes of units you've just bought out the door. Until they're all sold, they taking up warehousing space you're paying good bucks for. Better have good marketing and distribution or be connected to a bigger buyer.

4) If you don't sell the units from your first shipment, there's little chance you'll ever order another. Remaining bikes will probably get picked over for spares like vultures in the Serengeti.

The upshot is, you're young. If you start crakin at it today and don't mind committing all the necessary time over the next 10 plus years, then more power to you!

Big Dream, Big Plans, Little Steps!

CC

**JMD** · 08-23-2010, 11:38 PM

thanks. appreciate the help, at the moment i havent got the time or money to put into the dream as i am still a student studying mechanics. when i get the money i will chase my dream because im willing to move times around to focus on my dream... the main thing is the money affecting me not being able to follow the dream... :)

but i can see me coming on here for alot of help along the way ... ill probably look around on this forum as it is interesting to find out what people think and stuff on chinese bikes and general biking conversation. Could you help me find suitable factorys supplying the type of bikes i would like to purchase eventually ?? im looking at copied bikes ... similar to the smc i got at the moment made in the galaxy factory... ?? it is blatantly obvious that it is based on a ktm ... or it might be me.... i have been looking at the pister pro ranges ... im liking the look of these also... and think they would sell well within the welsh valleys if advertised in the right way... panflets brochures posters ... shop floor display etc.. cheers josh

**jape** · 08-23-2010, 11:54 PM

This is just general advice. Running a business needs many skills more than the aptitude you are acquiring as a mechanic. You will be dealing with people and they are the problem. Most of the human race is crooked, selfish, greedy, ignorant. Some are evil. Some are decent. Governments at all levels are corrupt and uncaring. You need to know exactly who you are dealing with and what they require, what power they have over you and what penalties, mistakes, errors etc can cost you. And you need to cover ALL that and more in advance.

I have one friend who is very successful at just what you want to do Josh. By coincidence he started off in mid/south Wales! We used to drink together (along with Tom Jones) in a club called the 'key club' or something in Pontypridd (or Pontypool, my memory is fading) and we kept in touch after I started travelling.

He started by saving up, buying second-hand and crashed machines for pennies, stripping and repairing all sorts of these bikes, selling them on with warranties. He did it all, repaint, repair, rebuild, electrics, mechanical, everything. And he rode them all before he sold them for a couple of weeks and learned them and tweaked them. He offered excellent assistance, advice and service and never deluded his customers or himself as to what he could realistically offer. He paid for his own extra tuition in factory teams as a hobby, now has a successful business (took ten years to really take off but paid its way from day one) and traveled the world as a mechanic (much sought after) in MotoGP. At one point even he made a mistake and he lost nearly $2 million to a trusted partner and had to rebuild it all - but friends and connected businesses backed him. They did this because of the years of trust and service and honesty he had given them. Now he is again a rich man but the riches are not just money, they are the life he lives. Think about all that. Then join the Royal Marines, get some life experience and if you survive, come back and work at the business.

**JMD** · 08-24-2010, 12:02 AM

thanks. I have already learnt from the friend i thought i had... who was trying to open his own buisness that basically being sumone who just wants to make money is generally a bad idea. Im looking into it because it is something i enjoy... as money goes i got £4500 due when im 18 through insurances , ill get this in february... any ideas whats the best way to use this money ... to focus on opening a buisness first ... using that get an income then save the money to venture into importing bikes... or maybe take a trip to china?? cheers josh

**CrazyCarl** · 08-24-2010, 12:15 AM

1) Consider starting with just one product and selling it on ebay or something... could be anything. Understand the pressures of being paid and delivering. Get some money flowing and start keeping simple books. Choose a part/product you think is needed but no body sells. Try selling it.

2) Learn to write and take pictures not only to contribute amazing stories to MyChinaMoto

, but also help your business and marketing side of the house. You could have the greatest product on the friggin' planet but you can't sell something that doesn't exist in the eyes of the consumer. Having the product is only half the battle. (half half half...)

3) Read what Jape said again...

CC

**JMD** · 08-24-2010, 12:20 AM

what if i looked into selling things people already sell... but people need such has the hard parts like brake pads tyres tubes etc things people always need... that way theres a steady income?? but i shall be looking for things that no one else has :) im better at face to face selling personally but i would obviously have to sharpen up on selling over the internet as this is where the money is at i guess... cheers for the help josh. :)

**CrazyCarl** · 08-24-2010, 12:31 AM

Face to face skills are good but at the end of the day you need to sell in as many ways as possible. Internet, magazines, papers, radio, "cold calls" (everyone's favorite), sky writing....whatever will get the job done.

The only way to really ensure you have something no one else has, is to produce it yourself.. and even then it's not totally guaranteed. Whatever it is, start simple, start small. Focus on understanding the processes, you'll know when it's time to expand ... comes faster than you think!

CC