Home Furnishings In India How To Find An Exportermanufacturer Or Supplier Beyond A Database

Writen by Rekha I Nambiar

Looking for a manufacturer or supplier of home furnishings in India ?

Don't know where to begin? Want to find a source but at a loss for resources? Want to do business in India, but unsure what is the best way to go about it?

This article attempts to answer some of these questions.

Firstly,unless you have a link in India, you will find it a difficult task to sift through the information available on the Internet. There are various sites that provide a directory of manufacturers and exporters in India. These sites have a database of exporters, manufacturers, suppliers and agents dealing in home furnishings. Not exhaustive and certainly not comprehensive, but it's a good place to start.

One disadvantage is going through all the databases. Largely, in the directories of manufacturers and exporters in India, the paid listings are not the bigger companies, because the latter do not feel the need to have a paid listing. If the site with the database also offers website design and hosting services, then the listings that come on top are usually the ones they got business from. Many of the resource sites are similar and even have the same information base.

So, what would be the best way to find someone a source?

I have tried to outline below some of the methods you could use to get more information.

1. Find a consultant based in India. You would need to pay such a consultant for their services, but it would be well worth your while. They would also do market research for you at a nominal cost. They need not be your buying agents, you could still deal with manufacturers in India directly, but they would be a useful link to have.

2. Ask for specific information, giving details of products you are interested in. No matter how small your quantities, you will find a supplier in India, who is willing to deal with you. In fact, if you have a niche market, the chances of finding someone reliable to do business with in India are even better. If you are just generally looking for suppliers of home furnishings based in India, you will get absolutely nowhere.

3. Send a few pictures of the kind of products that would be of interest to you. Without a visual, it is difficult to communicate. Posting trade leads with pictures is useful, although it is doubtful how many of those companies have an employee regularly visit the sites that carry their listing. My guess is, it would probably be ones based in remote towns where there is no other way to access information.

4. Once you have found a few suppliers for what you need, assess if they are willing to come and meet you personally. If the manufacturer finds you to be a potential client (and this is important), they will not hesitate to travel across the world to meet you. The kind of manufacturer you will find is likely to be determined by the volume/quality of business you are likely to give.

5. Assuming you are uncomfortable dealing with faceless companies based in India, consider the fact that most manufacturers and suppliers in India are equally uncomfortable dealing with someone they do not know or understand. If you make the effort to communicate with them, they will usually respond with the same enthusiasm. The ones that are more likely to be useful will not send you an email that looks like a mass-marketing mailer.

6. If you need samples, and you want to deal with a good company, you would need to pay them for it. A better way would be to ask for digital pictures or a CD. At any given point of time, a fabricator based in India has at least five requests a day for samples. Every single potential client promises big business.

7. The best way to assess the credibility of a potential supplier is to start small. That way you will know what their limitations are, and they will also be able to assess if they can do business with you. Even a cursory glance at the communications that keep going back and forth will give you an idea of what kind of a company you are dealing with.

8. Try to exchange information that would be useful to your supplier in India. If you can help them with information that you have access to in your country, they will go out of their way to help you find someone even if they do not manufacture the products you want. It builds trust, helps business, does not cost anything and does no one any harm. It could however, prove to be extremely beneficial. In pure commercial terms. To both parties.

9. To understand a fragmented market, the first step is to work in fragments that will create the whole. Keywords commonly used to find manufacturers from India—that will probably get you absolutely nowhere in terms of relevance and drag you into a cyber jungle that will leave you more confused than anything else…. "furnishings India, exporters home furnishings India, manufacturers bedspreads India, decorative pillows India, table linen manufacturers India, suppliers fabrics India, wholesale distributors, handicraft, embroidered textiles,"

The list goes on and on. The reason is simple. It is an organized chaos. But chaos nevertheless.

10. If you have the time and the resources, you could perhaps find what you want in one of these databases. If not, and you are still looking to do business in India, find a link in India. A link you can build a relationship with. Business is all about relationships. Especially small business. The home furnishings industry in India is still relatively small business.

Rekha I Nambiar is an interior designer based in New Delhi,India. She runs her own business in interiors,furniture and furnishings.

Her work may be viewed at http://www.id-home-furnishings.com

Her blog is http://www.20six.co.uk/furnishinghub

10 Nifty Tips For Better Business Cards

Writen by Mike McDaniel

Not having a business card is as bad as using an eMail address that ends in AOL.com It's just not professional.

With domain names costing less that 9 bucks a year, there's no excuse for anyone in business to have an AOL.com address. With business cards costing less than 9 bucks at the big box store, there's no excuse for anyone in business not to pass them about.

Here are BIG Mike's 10 Nifty Tips for Better Business Cards

Don't Do It At Home
For what you spend on blank microperf cards and the time to get it right, you could pay to have them look professional instead of home baked.

Get your Own Logo
No logo at all looks better than a logo from a clip art book. Same with cards with bars of color or circles. Your card should be you, not something from a can.

Put YOU in the Middle
Your name is the most important part of the card put it in the middle and big enough to see without granny glasses.

Forget the Beeper Number
No need to list cell phones and beeper numbers. If you want a customer to have them, it is far more impressive for you to hand write it on the card ("I'm giving you my private cell phone number...")

Throw 'em Away When ANYTHING Changes
Don't be a cheapskate. Spend the bucks for new cards rather than penciling in corrections. Be professional.

Keep it Simple
One phone number and one eMail is enough. Be sure to put your website on the card, too. Some cards work great without a street address. Do you need it on your card? Why?

Use Both Sides
The back of the card can be used to reinforce your selling proposition. Think of your card as a little newspaper ad. Use both sides.

Stick with White
White, glossy, shiny cards say "Business". Pastels and swirls say "Avon Lady".

Never Leave Home Without One
Always carry a supply of cards. You never know. And keep them handy in a ready pocket, not tucked away at the bottom of a bag, so you can present one with a flourish on demand. Keep a backup stack in the car.

Present It With A FLAIR
Practice offering your card with BOTH hands. It makes a BIG impact. You goal is to get people to remember you and save your card. Do that by using both hands.

For more on business cards, get my article "What Does Your Business Card Say". Click the link to send a blank message BizCardSay@BigIdeasGroup.com

Sig: ©2005 BIG Mike McDaniel All Rights Reserved Mike@BIGIdeasGroup.com

http://BIGIdeasGroup.com

Subscribe to "BIG Mike's BIG Ideas" Newsletter MailTo:subscribe-956603364@ezinedirector.net

Ignite Your Audience 7 Surefire Tips For Presenters

Writen by Jo Gibney

Harry is sitting in his chair in an audience of over 200 like-minded individuals. They are all a little restless, and Harry can hear mumbling which is beginning to sound more like grumbling every minute that goes by. His backside is getting numb and both his constant yawning and his watch are telling him that it has been nearly 45 minutes since the presentation began. Harry starts to daydream, and the speaker slowly fades into a haze.

Sound familiar? Is this how most presentations feel to you? How can you make the experience any different for your audience? There are hundreds of "How to" texts out there that will give you all the technical expertise you could ask for. But in my experience, technically correct does not always equal "what a great speaker". Here are my 6 tips, gathered during 20 years of both speaking and listening to speakers, which will elevate you from just another presenter to a "great speaker".

TIP 1 : Know Your Audience

Some time ago, a colleague of mine (and a wonderful professional speaker) told me a truism that has stuck in my mind. "They don't care what you know till they know that you care." You must talk to your audience as if they were valued friends, and you can't do this unless you know something about them. Take the time and trouble to find out. Ask yourself who are they; what do they do for work; for pleasure; how old are they; what are their interest; what are their pet hates; is there an area we have in common; how can I reach them? Then get some answers.

It will be worth the effort when you see all those nodding heads and knowing smiles after you have said just the right thing in your introduction. The best speakers never take the stage with an empty head, no matter how short the notice! If you know you will be asked to "stand up and say a few words" to a group of near strangers, spend some time observing them – their clothes, their faces, their body language. It's amazing how much you'll be able to learn from just a few minutes of careful study.

TIP 2 : Say it with Passion

"Give me passion or give me death." Perhaps a presentation is not a life and death situation, but an audience will often fear boredom more than death. If you are not passionate about your topic, then how can you expect the audience to invest their emotions? Passion does not necessarily mean hype or excitement. Bells, whistles and lots of noise are not passion either. Passion is that undefinable energy that your audience can feel emanating from every pore in your body – the energy that says "I believe in this, I feel strongly about this, and I just love sharing it with you:"

Passion is not something you can rehears, it is something you must feel. Once you feel it, they will too. It is the key to make each member of your audience feel special, like you're talking to them alone. Think of how you come alive when you discuss your particular passion (footy, politics, parties, whatever) with your best friend. That's the feeling you need to harness, so that your audience becomes infected with it, and you carry them beyond the four walls of the room, into the world you are trying to create with your words. Nothing is as inspiring as a passionate speaker.

TIP 3 : Be Creative

There are rules for delivering presentations. Rules that appear in most books, and clearly tell you how to develop a speech based on structure, appropriate content, use of anecdotes and analogies, voice projection and the use of the pause. All this is true and can be quite useful, but creativity is worth 10 times more than any rule you may learn. Ask yourself "How can I do this differently? How can I capture their imagination? What can I do to make the old and familiar seem new and unusual?" Look for new approaches, both in content and delivery. Try a brief magic trick to open with (remember to tie it to your topic). Hang up colourful posters with minimum or no words then explain them during your presentation. Use props with a difference to illustrate a point. Even using coloured handouts instead of boring white will add some zip to your presentation. Be daring. Be different. Don't be boring!

TIP 4 : Action

The plague of all audience members is the numb bum syndrome. Don't contribute to this scourge by forcing your audience to sit still for long stretches of time. Either build in activity or give them a stretch break. In large audiences activity must be carefully managed, but even in a group of 500, people can turn to their neighbour to discuss a question, or stand up and stretch their arms above their heads and roll their shoulders. This applies to you too. Standing still with nothing but your lips moving for long periods may be a great imitation of a statue but it will not do your energy levels any favours. Get out from behind your lectern – the view out here is great! Move your body, and watch your audience wake up too. Remember the rule of all good speakers - keep the blood flowing or you'll hear them snoring!

TIP 5 : Give me Take-away

Whether you are presenting a training session, or a motivational speech or just a talk about the new computer system, your audience will want to take something away with them. Give them something to think about, to do, to puzzle over or to reflect on after they leave the presentation. This will ensure that the benefit of listening to you will go on even after you have stopped talking. (A great way to get invited back too!) Show them how your information will help them, change them, improve something for them, make them smarter or wiser or more likable. You need to answer that age old questions WIIFM (what's in it for me) in order to get them back next time. This ties in closely with "Know your Audience", as knowledge of your listener will guide you to the best "take-away" for them.

TIP 6 : Theming

It seems that these days every event has a theme. It creates atmosphere, brings disparate pieces together and creates the feeling of a "big picture" or wholeness. You can use this same concept for your presentation by theming every element – handouts, charts, props, tables, lectern, yourself. For example, mingle with the crowd before hand and give out coloured stickers (eg rainbows) that fit into your theme. Use colours that reflect a meaning and integrate them into your handout material, your charts, your clothes, even the tablecloths and napkins! It subliminally reinforces your message, especially if the colour's meaning is revealed during your presentation.

TIP 7 : Have FUN

If you enjoy what you're doing, your audience will come along for the ride. Let go of the perfectionist inside and allow yourself to make a mistake or two. Audiences love it when a speaker shows their human side, and they love it even more when a speaker can laugh at their own mistakes. So relax, have fun and let your personality shine through. That's the way to ignite your audience, and yourself.

Jo Gibney is an accomplished seminar leader, group facilitator, professional speaker, writer and HR Consultant. She has a broad background in both the private and public sectors and has presented at seminars and other business forums both nationally and internationally. Her commitment to adult learning is a life long passion, and much of Jo's work focuses on developing not just work skills but also personal competencies and strengths. Jo set up her own training and consulting business in 1995 and has developed many close links with both small and large businesses throughout Australia. In recent years, Jo has concentrated much of her professional expertise on the process of creating confident, courageous and committed individuals and organizations. Jo's ability to take complex theories and concepts and demystify them into user-friendly processes is a key to her business and personal success. Her strategy of keeping it simple and on the human level works brilliantly in both small and large organizations. Contact her at jo@organisenow.com

Bookkeeping Techniques For Quotmoronsquot

Writen by Julia Tang

Please don't think I am calling you a "moron" to hurt your feelings in any way. I was a moron when I first started setting up my files. You have to force yourself to do it NOW -- right at the beginning! Many of a business has collapsed simply because they lacked organization in their basic accounting business practices. Don't be one of them!

As a small business you don't have to really do much in the beginning. Here is how to set up your files from ground zero:

1. Take out a hanging file folder and a label of any kind. (Hanging folders and labels for them can be purchased at K-Mart, Wal-Mart and any office supply store.)

2. Type or hand print "Receipts" on the label and place it on the hanging folder.

3. Now, place 5 MANILA file folders inside the hanging file folder (which you labeled "Receipts") and label each of the manila file folders with the following headings:

a. Advertising
b. Postage
c. Office Supplies
d. Utilities and Rent for the Office
e. Miscellaneous

You now have one large hanging file folder with 5 separate manila file folders inside it. Carefully place your hanging file folder in your metal file cabinet or cardboard banker's box. (A banker's box can be purchased at any office supply store also and normally cost around $4.)

Now, wasn't that easy? Some of you reading this will think that I am attempting to insult your intelligence. This is NOT my intention. This report is broken down in a simple, step-by-step way so everybody can understand it -- regardless of their previous knowledge and experience. Remember, some people have never worked in an office their entire life. What seems simple and accepted to some of us, may be something another person would never have known.

Okay, let's go back to where we were. You now have one master file completed and we're ready to make another just like it. This time we'll name the hanging file folder "Income" and label 3 manila folders inside it with the following headings: a. Completed and Shipped Orders b. Inquiries and Correspondence c. Open Orders Still Pending

See how easy? From now on, you simply make another folder as the need arrives and you're files will always be easy to maintain. (Once you get this concept down pat -- you can easily think about getting a computer. A computer organizes its information in the SAME manner. Believe me -- this same system works! You'll be amazed at how many mistakes it will help you prevent.)

Yes -- bookkeeping is a very simple process. All you have to do is keep the system going. For instance, every order that I process, I completely finish before moving on to the next order. Example:

1. Mail is received and opened. As each piece is opened it is placed into individual piles. Orders with pre-payment are placed in one pile, information and daily correspondence in another, and so forth.

2. Each order that has been pre-paid for is processed first -- with each one being processed individually to completion. (That means it is in an envelope, a label typed out and the completed order is ready to be mailed at the post office.)

3. During the process, the "date," "amount of check or payment" and "product ordered" is recorded on the outside of the envelope -- making sure the customer's full name, address and telephone number (if available) is on the envelope too.

4. Just before closing up the office for the evening, the envelopes are then keyed into the database on our computer (you can substitute a computer for the hanging files in the beginning.) We record all the information that was written on the envelopes during the processing of the order. (Don't think you will remember "what" the order was. That thinking will open you up to make human errors.)

If you operate an Internet business, you are going to use computer and email a lot. You need do following:

1. Create different folder in your computer, name it with different resources: marketing, search engine tools, articles and tips, ebooks, ezine lists, picture files...

2. Create folders in your email account, you can save useful emails for different purpose: training, sales, purchase receipt, new customers, prospects... As your business grows, your understanding and abilities will grow also. At that time you can grow into a more sophisticated means of keeping the books.

In the meantime -- keep good records. They are the lifeblood of any business and can eventually make or break you. You'll thank yourself in the long run.

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Julia Tang publishes Smart Online Business Tips, a fresh
and informative newsletter dedicated to supporting people
like you! To find out the best online business opportunities,
and to discover hundreds more proven and practical internet
marketing secrets, plus FREE internet marketing products
worth over $200, visit: http://www.best-internet-businesses.com
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Note: Feel free to publish it with the resource box and content unchanged

Business Finance Top Ten Tips For Financing Your Business In Australia

Writen by Cathryn Austin

STOP! Before you take the first step in financing your business be sure that it is the business or property you definitely want to buy!

The following checklist of requirements will help you get a quick approval for your application, usually within one or two weeks. With a good business finance company or broker you can often get an approval within 24 hours over the phone. Banks may take longer, but be sure of this - if you prepare before you jump in you should have that answer in very little time.

(1) Fill out your application form truthfully with all the information requested. Ask the broker to assist you if necessary

(2) Have a photocopy of your drivers license for all applicants on the loan

(3) Have an appraisal of your home or business so you have some idea what its worth. Don't over value your property because financiers depend on a close estimate to finance you

(4) Have your current payslips ready or an accountant's letter on your gross and net wages

(5) Have the financials ready to produce to the financiers for the business you are buying or the business you now own

(6) A copy of your home insurance papers

(7) A copy of your existing home loan history if this is a refinance

(8) If you are financing to purchase a new business apply for an ABN number. Your financier will ask for this also

(9) References from your current or last employer, or if you are self employed a personal reference from a business person or institution

(10) If you are one of the many people in a hurry to finance and you have all the above ready to go you will help your financier to get you the answers you want as quickly as possible. It's really up to you to speed the application. Don't be afraid to be in constant contact with your financier until you have that answer.

Cathryn Austin is Principal/Licensee of Arwon Realty - agent for Australian Business Finance Companies, Business Broker, Real-Estate & Stock and Station Agent. Visit her site at http://www.bestbusinessbuyes.com.au