What's a Good Idea to Start a Small Business?

• 

  Quantumcat on 27/09/2021 - 21:57

  +7

  If there's something that's generally known enough that people will reply here, then it is already being done to as much as the market will bear and there's no amazing profits to be had. If you want to make money doing stuff like that you have to have the original ideas yourself.

  • 

    xiabonan on 27/09/2021 - 22:10

    That's certainly true. I guess the reason why I'm asking is if I can get some replies I might be able to have some inspiration or ideas myself. Maybe a reply will trigger something that I hadn't thought of myself.

• 

  netjock on 27/09/2021 - 21:57

  +2

  Problem with importing products isn't with selling it in Australia but not getting ripped off in China. Seen it so many times. Products not according to specification etc.

  • 

    xiabonan on 27/09/2021 - 22:09

    +2

    Yes that's true. Hence why I think it's important I point out that I'm Chinese and, while there's still every chance that I get ripped off, the absence of cultural and language barriers, plus being careful myself, would hopefully mean that I can minimise the possibility of getting ripped off.

    • 

      subywagon on 27/09/2021 - 22:19

      +2

      Do you have any connections in China? You might know someone who can get help supply products? Then you might have an idea of what you can get easily and see if there could be a market here in Australia for it. Good luck mate. I hope it works out for you!

      • 

        xiabonan on 27/09/2021 - 22:31

        Thanks a lot!

    • 

      Switchblade88 on 27/09/2021 - 22:21

      +4

      If you DO go down the importing line, don't go for 'cheap items in bulk' like clothes or reject shop items. Find a really specialised market niche with few/expensive competitors and try there.

      I know a local businessman that imports heavy machinery from China; like most other assorted imports it's got less quality/features/capacity than an equivalent brand-name item, but it's certainly cheaper. Seems to be a good market for local farmers etc that need a cheap and cheerful front-end loader and the like for occasional use, but they'll still commit to a high-end header for cropping.

      • 

        xiabonan on 27/09/2021 - 22:30

        Good tip!

    • 

      netjock on 27/09/2021 - 22:22

      +2

      Hence why I think it's important I point out that I'm Chinese

      You'd think Chinese don't rip off Chinese but I'd suggest it is more common for Chinese to rip off Chinese as Chinese people seem to hold westerners in high regard. They think westerners will help them get out of the country.

      If you read the news. Caucasian people jailed in China gets higher profile coverage than Chinese with overseas passport jailed in China. On that point, watch out don't cross the wrong people and end up in jail.

      • 

        xiabonan on 27/09/2021 - 22:28

        +1

        Yes I'm well aware of this phenomenon. I'm not saying that being Chinese makes me immune to getting ripped off, I'm saying without the language and cultural barriers I can be more careful in detecting rip offs.

• 

  nephilim on 27/09/2021 - 22:25

  +1

  Look at whats popular in Asia and Europe but not in Australia, like bench top dish washers.
  Then talk to places like TVSN, that sell drop shipped brands

• 

  Mechz on 27/09/2021 - 23:09

  Your English written skills seem to be very good compared to most so I'd say you're ahead of the game when you get to the point of writing product descriptions on your website.

• 

  mikewall38 on 27/09/2021 - 23:28

  +1

  good quality kids clothing

• 

  [Deactivated] on 27/09/2021 - 23:37

  Phones brands like oneplus which are harder to get here. I ended up buying mine from a dodgy guy on ebay who messaged me about a week after he marked my order as shipped to ask if I would like a refund or a blue version of the phone (i ordered black) as they were out of stock, i said i'll take the blue as i didn't really care but i looked a couple days later and he marked the black version as back in stock but with 50 dollars added to the price.

  there is a real shortage of trustworthy places to get certain Chinese phones here, that dodgy guy on ebay was the best place i could find to get one. I would suggest also looking at other products that are easy to get in China but not so easy to get here, i don't know any others off the top of my head but i'm sure there is a market for a lot of stuff. Australia has a real problem with variety, we get less than half the choice that people in the USA get with their goods and we have to pay way more because of lack of competition.

• 

  Domingo on 27/09/2021 - 23:45

  You should totally start… Wait that's a really good idea. I'm going to do that instead.

  • 

    spunkyfondue on 28/09/2021 - 12:08

    I'm already doing that one!

• 

  zoombie on 28/09/2021 - 00:06

  Hey
  I'm in the process of setting up a shop as well. I certainly need a Chinese speaking partner, let me know if you want to team up.

• 

  WizMuncher on 28/09/2021 - 03:40

  +1

  Why don't you export quality Australian items to China? A lot of Chinese students do that - e.g. you'll see them loading up on vitamins, or skin care creams made from, well do your own research. Then tentatively play around the fringes of importing - silver charms, cultural items etc.

  • 

    tonyjzx on 28/09/2021 - 23:12

    watch how much hate you get from 'taking goods meant for australians and sending them to china'

• 

  iCandy on 28/09/2021 - 04:28

  Ok. I’ll say the elephant in the room. We all know that products from China are cheap crap. They break easily, are low quality and don’t last. After being dudded by a few products I bought from China that were not what they advertised (the ads actually using ads from other business’ products), and products that are apparently shipped but you can track them arriving in different ports in China for up to 6 months until order finally cancelled, I’m now proactively not knowingly buying anything from China. They also say your order has been shipped the minute you want to cancel the order, yet the order remains in that status for weeks. If you have a query about an order and send an email, you will either get a Mandarin written email back, an email just containing numbers (yes that actually happened to my sister) or a very poorly written English email that is very hard to understand. That won’t affect you as you speak Mandarin.

  TLDR a lot of people are proactively not buying Chinese made products because of the quality and difficulty getting a refund.

  • 

    xiabonan on 28/09/2021 - 09:42

    There are actually lots of quality products from China now. We regularly see such items on this site. But without a good platform to sell them and without someone who can handle all the enquiries, returns, refunds, warranty, it makes it unpleasant to say the least to make the purchase.

    • 

      iCandy on 28/09/2021 - 13:21

      My family and I have recently bought products from China through sites from FB and marketplaces. My sister is still waiting in the toy dogs she bought last year as Christmas present. I bought a cream that promised to cover up tattoos. It didn’t do that and then I found the same ad on the product that really does do that. It’s common knowledge that Asian products are cheap quality and it’s hard,if not impossible,to get a refund. I’m sorry but I won’t buy from eBay or market places anymore. It’s the sellers fault. They shouldn’t have tried to rip us off, then they would have a booming business.

      • 

        KSMLJ on 28/09/2021 - 20:38

        +1

        Just like to point out - As much as the PRC would like you to think so, Asia =/= China.

        China is but a part of Asia, and ranges from Japan in the east, through Siberia to Turkey in the west, and everything in between.

        I'd dare say Japan generally has some of the best quality products in the world, with South Korea a close second.

        • 

          iCandy on 29/09/2021 - 07:11

          @KSMLJ: Indian products are pretty crappy too.

• 

  brendanm on 28/09/2021 - 08:22

  +2

  I'm thinking buying merchandise from China (I'm Chinese so no issues in dealing with Chinese sellers or factories) and sell in Australia

  I don't think this has ever been tried before.

  • 

    SF3 on 28/09/2021 - 08:56

    +1

    Let's set the Delorean to goto 1979. ;)

  • 

    xiabonan on 28/09/2021 - 09:43

    I think it's still a viable model. The price differential is still there. The issue is execution.

    • 

      Hybroid on 28/09/2021 - 09:44

      They were being sarcastic. You will need to find a niche product or market that isn't already saturated by eBay, Amazon and third party sites like Bangood or whatever. If it's profitable, would have been done already.

      • 

        xiabonan on 28/09/2021 - 09:54

        Yes I completely agree. Which is the purpose of this post. It might not even be that I can find some ideas from it, but having some discussions with the community is always good. Who knows, one day I might be selling stuff on OzBargain.

        • 

          Hybroid on 28/09/2021 - 09:57

          @xiabonan: Hopefully something more meaningful than slapping your random name on mass-produced cheap junk available everywhere else. Good luck.

        • 

          brendanm on 28/09/2021 - 10:05

          +2

          @xiabonan:

          Which is the purpose of this post

          I would imagine if someone had come up with a niche product they could make easy money from, they probably won't give the idea to a stranger on the internet.

• 

  SF3 on 28/09/2021 - 10:00

  What's a Good Idea to Start a Small Business?

  GRIT.

• 

  GG57 on 28/09/2021 - 10:01

  I would have thought that you would focus on things that people will still do after COVID is under control and we return to some sort of 'normality'. A lot of people I know are now shunning consumerism, mindless shopping for non-essentials, etc., and are spending money on things that make them feel better. It could be a special dinner, or an experience, or a new hobby, etc.

  Or, you could focus on the 'essentials' that will not go away. Cleaning and related businesses will continue to do well. Deaths will continue. People always need to eat and drink. There is probably a backlog of weddings, special events, etc., but the nature of those may change. People will want holidays, but perhaps not like pre-COVID.

• 

  orangetrain on 28/09/2021 - 10:16

  Sell Chinese goods in Australia with Made in Australia from local and imported ingredients. Such a rip off, but apparently legal.

• 

  FreeUyghur on 28/09/2021 - 12:10

  +1

  stop buying chinese products! free Tibet, free Uyghurs!!

• 

  [Deactivated] on 28/09/2021 - 12:46

  Small business in Australia? Not sure the governments approve

• 

  AaronRain on 29/09/2021 - 10:04

  Julian Assange: "It takes two things to change the world, and you'd be surprised how many people have good ideas. But commitment, true commitment, that's the hard one. It requires sacrifice."

  Or the tldr version: "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration"

• 

  weezlebub on 29/09/2021 - 10:22

  can you get some 3070's from china? they would sell well …

  if you know people who are involved in manufacturing, that would help …

  you could be a re-seller (postage middle-person) …

  sell stuff to australian chinese that they want from home but can't find …

  cultural / arts stuff is good, descent profit margin and you can mark it up a lot more than you pay if you get the right stuff