Reply With QuoteAfraid I'm not but good luck in your new venture. Good stuff happens to those that go looking for it!
Not sure if this is the right place to post this or not, so here goes...
I've Been interested in switching professions for a while now as ultimately my ambition is to be self employed.
I'm very interested in getting into Shipping/Imports/Exports.
Does anyone work in this field, and if so could you please give me some advice/pointers so I can look at making something happen in 2020.
Any advice is appreciated, whether it's here or via PM.
Thanks.
Afraid I'm not but good luck in your new venture. Good stuff happens to those that go looking for it!
I've worked in this field for 20 odd years. If you would like to know anything in particular the feel free to pm me. I'm away at the moment but would be able to give some info on my return. Just to clarify, my experience is short sea, not air or ocean. Cheers.
Cheers Dave,Originally Posted by Dave O'Sullivan
Thanks for the words of wisdom, I hope you're right.
To be honest, any information will be beneficial. I figure it best to try and build a fundamental understanding (or at least grasp the basics), rather than wading straight in unprepared.
I'll drop you a PM in the new year then.
Enjoy your break. Happy new year
Please feel free. All the best to you too.
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Please feel free. All the best to you too.
The other 'words of wisdom' I'll over are;
I'd never start a firm unless you've worked in the industry upto some kind of management level.
I know what you're saying, it's something I had considered. I previously tried to work in this area, but there don't seem to be many companies locally, and the ones that were didn't seem interested in giving me the time of day.
Although on the flip side Aristotle Onassis, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg & Richard Branson never worked up to management level first.
I'm not saying that to discredit what you're saying (as fundamentally I agree, experience has its value), but I also believe sometimes success is about taking calculated risks and not simply giving up because it's going to be hard... Personally I want it to be hard, I enjoy challenges.
Also I think you can learn far more, far quicker when the consequences affect you more directly.
It's not something I am looking to do blindly, based on absolutely no knowledge. Hence why I'm eager to learn.
Don't listen to me. I can't even spell 'offer' 😂
I applaud your drive. Just think about how you will enter this industry. How you will secure decent trade partners and how you can offer clients some degree of security in your services. Yes, you'll likely learn some valuable lessons doing things yourself but I'd be inclined to learn them with the support and knowledge of those in the trade.
I'm not weeing on your parade as I think you've definitely got the right idea but it can't hurt to suck it up for a year and take a wage surely? Think of it as a stepping stone to the master plan!
That was my original intent. I have a good qualifications and a good job within construction (Engineering) and I approached all the local companies and offered my services for free... And still nothing. That was (and still is) the extent of my commitment to succeeding.
Believe me if there was an option to work for someone in the area to gain experience first, id tear their arms off for it.
This isn't an endeavour that I am looking to in order to make money, this is something I actually want to do.
I've reached the time in my life where I now want to make things happen, and that's what I will try and do.
And fwiw I wasnt taking it as weeing on my parade, I know what you're saying is right. I like that someone does say it; its always useful to keep your feet on the ground.
I don’t know anything about this field, although it has always seemed to me a promising way to earn a crust, but I will contribute this. Do you know anything about “marketing”?
Many years ago while working in the telecommunications for Marconi I continually got roped in to support the sales guys and someone, God bless them, decided it would be a good idea to send me on a Marketing for Engineers course. It blew me away. I very effectively used the skills I learnt on that course some years later when I went self employed myself.
I did sales in freight forwarding for 7 years, air freight, full 20' 40' containers and LCL (less than container loads) world wide, the most valuable thing as a freight forward is contacts, both supplier and customer, that's why you cant get a job. I wouldn't take on anyone who could leave in a year with all the contacts that took a decade to build up, like every job from the outside it will look easy but there is a great deal of knowledge built up.
simple job, a 20' shipping container of flower pots from factory in Malaysia to warehouse in Bedford.
You can ring a shipping line and they will quote one price to handle it all, but if you use a Freight Forwarder he will ring around and get a break down of each part of the cost, the difference between what he saves and what he charges you is where he makes his money, and he'll be looking at all the separate costs.
Collection from factory to port
Loading from port to ship
Sea freight
Unloading from ship to port
Loading on delivery trailer
Customs paperwork
Delivery to end storage
Relocation of empty container
its all about contacts, somehow we got in with a tractor importer, and also a guy who had a contact with a tractor exporter, he was in and out of ports delivering on low loaders but never had back loads, we always had stock that needed moving from ports to clients, he would move them at pretty much fuel cost just to keep his trailers heading home.
Its cut throat, you make your money buy building contacts then squeezing them till its almost not worth their while, all the time looking for someone cheaper, I learnt a lot, but hated the way the business was, I like to quote a sensible price and build relationships long term, my boss just wanted money. We had one company come to us to quote against regular shipments they had (2 x 20' containers a week), when we looked at the paperwork the shipping terms they were buying under were Door to Door so the only thing they had to pay was customs paperwork about £25-45. This wasn't really our thing so my boss typed a quote that made it look like their shipping terms were to port only, we then quoted a handling fee to get the container from port to door (£450.00) I said this was ridiculous and we would lose their business as soon as they got another quote, my boss said (correctly) "If we do one job we make more profit than if we do 30 at the proper cost so lets milk it while we can" we ended up doing about 20 shipments for them then one day I rang for a chat and they said they would no longer be using us.
Starting up you'll need to find people who want product moved and people who move it, the second part is easy, just get a copy of Lloyds Loading List, getting the client is the hard part, an importer or exporter will be getting called every day buy people who have been doing it years.
people want service we had a big contract with a Maltster just to move their containers from factory to port, they could use the shipping line but we went the extra mile and actually collected and delivered back to them their paperwork same day. this paper work was their export license if they lost it they were in big trouble.
Good luck, if you keep it small to start and offer a service then there is a market.
Justin44
You could approach some freight forwarding / bonded warehouse companies with a view to potential employment to learn how a business operates. I used to work as a company cashier for a freight forwarding company - a fascinating experience - especially the currencies dealing side e.g. buying / selling currencies on the forward market.
dunk
"Well they would say that ... wouldn't they!"
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