Back to work. Brings me back to the shipment, non-sleeping, and the next few days of craziness. Of course everything comes at the same time!
What is that Murphy's law?! Here are some of my favorite examples: You get into the shower, and that's when the doorbell rings. You step outside for one minute so your dog pee, and the call you've waited for all day, comes right as my dog is looking for the perfect place to shit....which is up a hill. (eye-rolling lol)
Oh here's another one, you can be the only person at the beach, and with all that beach, someone will still sit right next to you....urgh.
I feel like Murphy's laughing at me, whomever he or she may be.
IN this business it can come on schedule, or just when it comes! I planned two very different shipments. A boat of big pallets, and another one by air....I am still waiting for product. LOL
So many variables involved. Whether Airfreight, Boat delivery, or a bit of both...ship to the east coast or LA, and truck the rest to warehouse......
There are so many ways to import. Give yourself time, you never know. Generally it takes about 2years to get all the paperwork in order.
Word to the wise, you'd better have a good source of savings. You just must.
Also, the 1st import, generally the 1st is said to be the worst. In TRUTH?! It is....the 1st shipment is the fucking worst.
I didn't understand when people said this to me before. Denial makes you hopeful.
However, I am an importer.
I will confirm this......
As you continue to grow, you will learn how to play, this game of cards. There are all sorts of players in this game. No one is perfect. People make mistakes. Don't assume, they got it and lower your expectations. Always go back and check... Time is your friend, if you use her carefully, you'll get into the right flow. Almost when you finally speak that foreign language with ease and confidence. Not arrogance, I said confidence. Never a good idea to start being an asshole. Learn from mistakes and pass on the information.
I learned that knowing your weather, terroir, and the regions that you broker/buy in, will better your seasons of earning...
It matters what time of year you're sending bottles, delivering, and accepting shipment.
This is important, when dealing with freight, and where it's heading.
KNOW THIS~Everyone wants a piece of the pie, before it's even out of the oven. I feel if possible, they'd gnaw on the dough.
Also, know your countries and their holidays that you work and live in. Why?! Because you're probably going to be the only foreigner working, when everyone else is on bloody vacation!
I've tried to plan early and correctly.
Hey, even planning ahead of time, and having all things moving correctly, sometimes things just happen out of your control. You just have to be cool and learn not to promise too much in advance. This way, you're not looking too stupid, when your merchandise is still on a boat.
What happens when your merchandise gets flown internationally, only to get stuck at a hub, in Cincinnati Ohio?! You're thinking, wtf?! Start to panic, and this was not your destination!
What are you going to do?!
Oh and when this happened, to me, they had the nerve to ask me to clear my shipment. You mean the shipment that was sent to California?
*I had a good friend over the weekend tell me his landlords raised the rent on his bar. Then they tried to bully him into selling them his "liquor license!" Really?! What is wrong with people?!
NOT hypothetically speaking, people will try to punk you. Hopefully you can you recognize actual shade, even when they're nice. Sometimes they're actually really nice...
(shaking my head)
.....when they're trying, to get you to clear your merchandise in another state! WHY Not?!?
Why wouldn't they try to make a little money off the shipment, that you need. Lame, right?!
It happens. Hey, sometimes people aren't out to get you. But, I learned it's good to know all angles, in this business of sales. When these type of things do come up, I personally think of how'd I'd handle it back in my old, fine dining restaurant days. Or giving my flight attendant crazy smile at 30,000 feet in the air, when someone was trying to push those buttons.
Just Breathe.
