Hi Mike,
First off thank you for taking the time to get involved in this interview for my readers.
We first met in Hong Kong a couple of years ago now and grabbed a quick bite to eat and a beer. You were about to kick start a transparent Amazon FBA follow along and looking for partners.
You have developed a lot of connections and specialize in cross-border commerce. From personal experience of creating my cross-border supplement business there is a lot of red tape and ever-changing rules.
To run the Global from Asia website giving information on the changing regulations and new services in cross border commerce. You also run Cross Border Summits and have a Cross Border Association for members, it would be great to discuss these along with your personal experiences of living in Asia for so many years now.
So, let’s jump straight into this with my first question.
You have lived in China for many years but recently moved. Can you outline why you decided to leave and where are you settling now?
Yes, that is right – I lived in China from the end of 2007 to about mid-2018 so a bit over 10 years. The reason was not an easy one, but I would say the fact that I am a family man now.
Priorities change, and it is about my children’s education and health – which my wife and I wanted to open up a bit outside of China. That combined with the rapidly rising costs of living there and the fact that most of my work can be done anywhere with a laptop and internet connection.
The great thing about having an online business is you’re a prolific blogger and podcaster, where do you get your inspiration and how much of your weekly time is spent writing and filming content?
Yes, I love creating content and sharing with those who enjoy consuming it. My motivation is thinking back when I was in the USA trying to figure out how to do business in China and Asia and how little information there was.
I remember trying to get some information and contacting a law firm that had decent search results and vague blog posts. They quoted me 100,000 USD to open a company in China without even knowing my situation.
Now, I know they only care about the “big fish” – but really do care about the “small fish”. And while I do not have the personal time to help everyone, investing some time in making content free and available is a one-time thing and the effects are huge. So many people thank us for the information we put out there, and I truly believe it is helping many people I will never know – not to sound morbid – but also hopefully long after I am dead as well.
Maybe you can say then it is legacy as the driving factor. Or the ability to help so many people at such a low cost in today’s online and connected world.
But the second part of your question is the stumbling block – creating content takes a lot of time! But like anything in life the more you do it, the better you get at it. Plus I am blessed with an amazing team spread around the world who helps keep the flow of content going on the site so I can focus on the interviews and creation part (which I love).
To put a weekly number on it, I’d say about 10 to 15 hours a week invested in content creation. This is down quite a bit from when I didn’t have the team to help with the post-production, which has saved the blog be honest – as burnout is real!
You have years of experience in cross-border commerce and specialize in particular with China business for export. How have you seen this change since first arriving in China?
So much has changed. I remember in 2007 factories had almost no idea what the internet was. A bit of an exaggeration, but seriously they just cared about the B2B sale and turnover. While that is still true, with eBay and then Amazon courting factories (and trading companies) in China to sell direct – my fear came true.
I moved to China as I had a feeling something like this would happen.
Outsourcing manufacturing to China was something I saw since a high school kid seeing the factories in my hometown of Hartford, Connecticut closing down. Listening to those machinists talk about the long term implications of outsourcing always resonated with me.
With all the infrastructure and knowledge on the other side of the globe, I knew it was only a matter of time before that side of the globe would learn how to build brands and distribution by themselves.
Since moving to China in 2007, I have seen the development first hand of factories moving from OEM and B2B to brand building and direct B2C distribution.
Attending Chinese Amazon Seller conferences about building up the Made in China brand and the patriotic chanting at the summits has made me realize that the future of M2C (Manufacturer to consumer) is real and I’d say close to fully being realized now in 2019.
To keep up to date with changing regulations and new services in cross border commerce, you run Global from Asia website that offers a number of services, many of which you provide for free.
Yes, as we have said in this interview – I’m a content creator first, business person second.
While I could try to squeeze more money out of visitors, I enjoy sharing as much knowledge as I can for free – and if people want our time or our services – they can use our CPA partner (we’re a joint venture equity owner) at Unipro Consulting Limited, or they can become our premium member for monthly private calls, members events, and time with our experts.
We see more commerce between countries and for the solopreneur or small e-commerce company it’s challenging to know the rules and methods to shipping and selling between borders. You have been addressing this with your Cross-Border Association. Can you explain more about this and how this can help members?
The Cross Border Association (CBA) is built to protect people in the industry as well as educate them. So many of our top experts in the community have limited time to keep up with the trends and news that they need an association to keep them abreast.
The core of the Cross Border Association is to help mediate when mediation is needed. Our experts in the community are on call to help other members when a trade issue or question arises. We also are planning more association members-only events for industry-changing issues as well as simple to get good people in the same room.
At the end of the day, we live for the community. We are here to make friends and do business together. While people can enjoy all the free blogs and podcasts at Global From Asia – what we have found people really want (and will pay for) in the community and the connections.
That is what the Cross Border Association is.
You also run regular Cross Border Summit events to help network with to learn tips and tricks of the trade. I have yet to attend but am keen to one day.
Cross Border Summit is our “crown jewel” from all this content and community building. We are gearing up for our fourth annual this Oct 22-23, 2019 in Guangzhou, China.
It is an action-packed event happening during the Canton Fair trade show season to allow those coming from around the world for their product business to connect with each other and learn the newest trends in export B2C cross border e-commerce
The day is jam-packed with industry leaders speaking about Amazon FBA, brand building, Facebook advertising tips and tricks, and the latest industry trends. Every other second is hyper networking with a top-quality group of business executives and owners in the industry – from lunch to tea time, to happy hours.
It is the highlight of my year, as well as many in the community. Hope to see you at the next one 🙂
The recent trade war between China and the USA and effect on rising import taxes, it would be good to get your feedback on the impact of this on cross-border merchants. How has this affected business and trade?
It is still a bit early to see as I type this out as we are only hearing about it less than 2 weeks ago – but it will have long term implications. The idea is that – no matter what ends up happening with the trade war – e-commerce sellers will always be thinking about a Plan B, a non-China supplier.
Even if Trump and Xi shake hands and drop all of this and say no taxes, the damage is done and the “trust” of no trade war is gone. Already I am hearing from people looking to Southeast Asia, even trying to small manufacturing runs in the USA.
Expect to see Christmas presents costing more for Americans – as e-commerce sellers can’t go bankrupt, they have to pass those costs onwards. Maybe the current sellers will phase out if new sellers are able to source elsewhere, but the quick poll I have is people are entrenched in China supply chain and it will take years to get out.
Lastly, you have spent many years in Asia, do you ever foresee going back to the US?
Good question, and common question.
Does it sound weird that because I call my blog Global From Asia I feel like I can’t go back?
Ha! But I love Asia – since the first time in 2007 when I came into Hong Kong airport – the energy and the hustle has been like an addiction. On my US trips, I often get bored quite easily and count down the days until I fly back to Asia.
Yet, I can’t say I’ll never go back – as I said earlier in this interview, being a parent really changes your mindset and your priorities. We’re already thinking about high schools and college and I want to be near my children. I’ve met other parents in Asia who send their kids to boarding school in America, but I personally would just “suck it up” and go back for a few years to be with them.
My heart is in Asia, but to say “never go back to America” is something I can’t commit too.