Made in China Podcast: International Business | Crowdfunding | Entrepreneurship

Obviously, 2017-2018 was a different time. Rico shares a fresh take on Negotiating too much with your factory. If you are talking to a factory right now, listen to this.

By the we are launching a free evergreen conference that we’re running year-round. Along with enthralling topics in the physical manufacturing space.

Sound off in the comments section below for specific topics that you want to hear, and questions that you want answered.

Description: Citing Coolest Cooler Crowdfunding in Kickstarter, Rico lays down some key-points that can help you prepare a successful Crowdfunding when launching your first ODM product in the market.

Important Notes:

- Focusing more on Marketing and not Sourcing

- Don’t over complicate your first Product

- Allocate Enough Time for Mass Production

- Plan ahead, and allocate enough Budget

- 4 Key-points for Preparing a Crowdfunding

By the way we are launching a free evergreen conference that we’re running year-round. Along with enthralling topics in the physical manufacturing space.

Sound off in the comments section below for specific topics that you want to hear, and questions that you want answered.

Description: From their experience of inspecting many factories over the past, Rico shares subtleties and how to spot them when you are about to be fooled by an “Overnight Factory.” If you want to know more, make sure to listen to this podcast until the end. 

By the way, we are launching a free evergreen conference that we’re running year-round. Along with enthralling topics in the physical manufacturing space.

Sound off in the comments section below for specific topics that you want to hear, and questions that you want to be answered.

In this episode, Rico describes what it’s like to experience Chinese New Year in China. He shares the contrasts of the week-long holiday compared to the normal days in the country. Make sure to tune in and get some tips on what to do next year!

By the way, we are launching a free evergreen conference that we’re running year-round. Along with enthralling topics in the physical manufacturing space.

Sound off in the comments section below for specific topics that you want to hear, and questions that you want to be answered.

Description:

Rico looks back to the previous employees he had, how he managed them. He also talks about transitioning from being a lone wolf to a manager. He also shares about how to let go of that control to someone that will manage a team in the company.

- Previous employees, current employees, and high retention rates in SFA

- The difficulties when hiring employees, building an identity being en employee

- His teaching experience in Organic, working with his students

- Being too “Buddy-buddy” to his early staff, separating himself from his staff

- Having good employees, and spreading his self too thin on SFA

- Hiring inexperienced staff and delegating tasks that got out of hand

- Being reminded of the values and ethos of the company by an employee

- Shifting his mindset from employee to employer, setting boundaries and core values

- Trusting your own staff more

- SFA very first project, Prodigy, manufacturing toys for a client

- Feeling about not giving enough value to the project

- Taking the steering wheel to the whole project

- Vetting the factories that ChinaMike knew, visiting multiple factories

- Trusting my gut for a sound decision for the project

- Receiving bad samples from factories that a client chose

- Founding the right factory and having backup

- Learning a lot from your initial clients, people approaching SFA for fixing factory problems

- Put your foot down when you know what’s best for the project

- Saying NO to clients rather than getting blamed for a bad project management

Description: Sits down and looks back on his early days in SFA. He talks about how to get by on bad decisions, selecting clients, and being blamed for failures on the project.

- SFA being audited, being forced to look back on past projects

- Not being proactive about dealing with products and selecting clients

- Pressure on operational expenses, getting clients during Chinese New Year

- Dealing with stubborn clients in the early days of SFA

- Being blamed by a client for lack of progress

- Consequences of clients that don’t read proposals/contracts

- Cancelling a project before starting it, dealing with clients that request refunds

- Trusting your gut when doing big decisions

Description:

Rico talks about how conscious are they when choosing their Outro Music in the early days of Made in China Podcast. In this bonus episode, they talk about how relevant it is to them and how would you understand them through music.

Music in the Podcast:

Middle Feat. Bipolar Sunshine by DJ Snake

Walking on a Dream by Empire of the Sun

Paradise Lost by Rick Ross

Kick Push by Lupe Fiasco

In this episode, Rico interviews Emma Schermer Tamir, the owner and founder of Marketing by Emma — an Amazon Listing Optimization company. She talks about how it is to transition from a passionate writer to a business person and how hard to give up the control in order for her business to move forward. Check out out the whole story below.

Important Notes:

- Marketing as a great space on understanding how humans work and help businesses find success

- Teaching English as means to live migrate and live to another country

- Amazon FBA Community being relatively a small space in Business, Current Amazon FBA Climate

- Amazon Listing Optimization, Keyword Strategy, SEO, and Copywriting to help product/brand success

- An E-Commerce page is equivalent of your listing, the misconception of selling to everybody and taking on your biggest competitor

- How can a customer effectively choose your product

- How decision-paralysis costs her time and how she minimizes it, how hard to let go of her control to move forward

- Mentoring Writers, Operating the Business on a bigger picture, Being a Business Person first then Artist second

- Growing their business during the pandemic, Success in business with honesty and integrity