I’m going to show you exactly how to make a million dollars.
This isn’t some scam or some get-rich scheme – this is an outline of the exact process many people are using now to make over one million dollars a year.
Now, I’ll be honest with you… this plan takes some work. You’re going to have to invest a little bit of money and you’re going to have to do a little bit of travel, but the upside reward can be enormous.
First let me introduce you to the Canton Fair, which is held twice a year in Guangzhou, China. The Canton Fair is essentially an international trading event where manufacturers come to display their products to buyers (you).
This isn’t some fair with a couple thousand people in a big warehouse. This event is massive. It occupies over ten million square feet, with 25,000 exhibitors, and well over a million attendees each year.
To properly convey the magnitude of this event is very difficult – it’s overwhelming.
The fair is broken up into three separate sessions that last five days each. That means there are fifteen days total in each of the two times it’s held every year – once in the spring and once in the fall.
Each of the three sessions is categorized to look like this:
The full list is here and includes items I didn’t even know existed. I literally can’t think of anything that isn’t sold at the fair, so there should be something for everyone.
Now, you’re not going to go to this fair on a shopping spree. You need to have a pre-planned strategy to target the exact items you want to buy. Otherwise, you’ll simply wander around walking aimlessly for days.
So let me show you the exact steps of how to do this…
1. Determine a product you want to import. Pick something that you are already knowledgeable about. It could be anything from candy bars, to hair ties, to backpacks – just choose something.
2. Figure out how you’re going to sell this product. This is where most people get hung up. “Where am I going to sell thousands of hair ties?” The easiest way to to sell the product you’re after is to find a distributor in the US (or wherever you’re from) that is already selling similar products.
Approach a company that is selling similar products and tell them that you are going to the Canton Fair and would like to find new products for them. Distribution companies are always looking for new products that are more cost effective so they can have higher profits.
Another way to do this is to set up an online store in a particular niche. You can use Amazon or multiple other types of online sellers to help you out with shipping and billing issues.
3. Get a pass to the Canton Fair. This is the difficult part because you need a pass for the Canton Fair and you need a Chinese visa (which is going to be a different process depending on your nationality or the type of passport you hold) in order to enter the country.
You need to first apply for an invitation to the Canton Fair. Once you receive the invitation, you can then go to a Chinese embassy to apply for a visa. When you get your visa, you can then get your Canton Fair pass. The full details are here. This is probably the most difficult step of the process and it’s what keeps most people away from actually going to the event.
In reality, it’s just a bunch of paperwork to fill out. The process is pretty straight forward and if you apply for a Chinese business visa it’s valid for ten years, meaning you’ll be good for a while.
4. Get to Guangzhou, China. I think the easiest (and cheapest) way to get there is to first fly to Hong Kong. If you haven’t been to Hong Kong, the trip is worth it alone to visit the city.
Right now, flights from Los Angeles to Hong Kong are around $600. That’s unbelievably cheap for a 14 hour flight.
5. Get a hotel in Guangzhou. Usually you are required to get a hotel during the application process for the Canton Fair pass – I guess they want to verify that you have somewhere to stay(?). Pick from the list of hotels they recommend because there is a free bus service that transports fair attendees back and forth from the hotel to the fair.
There are all kinds of hotel options that range from the Westin to local hotels. Surprisingly, some of the hotels are very expensive, so you can make reservations depending on your budget.
6. Get to the fair and start making deals. This is by far the most fun and frustrating process. You will be absolutely shocked by the amount of options you have at the fair. You need to make sure you are targeting the right products, otherwise you’ll just spin your wheels.
Once you find a product and vendor that you are interested in, start making a deal. The vendor will be very flexible on prices depending on the size of the order you plan on making. But, just because they are flexible on price does not mean they are foolish. In fact, most of the vendors are expert negotiators.
This can be quite frustrating because you need to be equally savvy in the deal-making process. Additionally, there can be a language barrier and cultural differences, making for a sometimes comical interaction.
Once you’ve made a deal, return back home and start selling those products!
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Ok… I realize that I over-simplified this process, and there are a ton of tiny details that I didn’t even include.
The point of me sharing this with you is not to trick you into some wild goose chase. I wanted to show you what is going on in different parts of the world.
The fact is that many people are attending the Canton Fair every year and they are making big time money. If you look around your house, office, or wherever you are sitting right now, I bet you could point out ten things that were imported by some person who attended a similar trade show.
Go on any major online retailer and look what is being sold. Where do you think those sellers got those products? What do you think their profit margins are?
As a quick example… When I was at the fair last year, I found a manufacturer that was making backpacks for a major high-end US company. These backpacks were selling in the US for around $200 a piece… but the manufacturer that I found in China was selling them for $18. The US company was just embroidering their logo on the backpack, which left them plenty of room for profit.
The other main reason I wanted to share this with you, is to show you a wealth building option that has nothing to do with the stock market, real estate, or any type of ‘regular’ investing strategy. If you look at any successful person, they usually get their start by actually doing some type of business, not by investing. Investing usually comes after you’ve created a bit of wealth.
We’re living in a time where anyone can sell anything to the entire world. If you have an internet connection, then you have the ability to create a storefront that is available to billions of people. It’s just a matter of taking advantage of the opportunities out there.
