Web Development, Website Design
As most of you know, I work from home, and tend to advocate that lifestyle quite a bit. In doing so, I’ve often used the phrase, “you can work from anywhere”, but an online acquaintence reminded me that I should form certain I add a few points to that. Let me tell you about a man who has some experience with these additional points.
I asked Robert to tell his story about how he set up his U.S. based online retail store, selling fitness equipment, while running it from his home in Melbourne, Australia. Here is his response.
“Like most humans who are interested in earning a living online, I believed all those ‘gurus’ I found on the Net who all say the same thing, ‘anyone can run any business anywhere and from anywhere’. It’s a beguiling letter to new online entrepreneurs but I soon found out that that wasn’t true.”
About eighteen-months ago, Robert wanted to quit his nine-to-five job and run his own online store. The only problem was he had no money. Therefore, he decided to operate his store using the drop ship model – that is where the retailer holds no stock but has signed an agreement with a supplier to retail its products. soon after, when a customer places an order, the order is sent to the supplier and the goods are sent directly to the customer. Drop ship offers would-be retailers the opportunity to start selling goods from their site without having any stock and with very little start up costs.
However, it was when he got into the mechanics of setting up his business that it soon became obvious that the business needed to be grounded somewhere.
“In order to be accepted as a dealer for a supplier’s goods I needed to operate through a business. Without a business, real wholesalers simply won’t deal with you. Obviously, a company has to be registered under the auspices of a government agency. It was thereupon that I had doubts on the story being peddled around the Web about how online business could be operated anywhere and from anywhere.
I wanted to retail exercise equipment and, for various reasons, I wanted to sell to the U.S. market. At first I thought I would just register a company in Australia, set up a website and approach suppliers in the States that would drop ship the goods to customers in the U.S.
But there was a big problem with that: U.S. suppliers are loath to deal with overseas retailers. U.S. suppliers want a retailer to have a U.S. EIN or reseller’s licence. Many additionally want to know your American business bank details. And, perhaps most crucially, suppliers in the States just feel more comfortable dealing with U.S. businesses.”
Many non-U.S. resident entrepreneurs dream of breaking into the American market but find that the technical challenges defeat them. But, not Robert.
His stubborn, Irish genes refused to give in. So, he decided to ‘locate’ his business in the U.S.
“It wasn’t easy says Robert. There are some major obstacles for a non-U.S. resident setting up a business in America – and, to set it up remotely, from the other side of the planet!
Forming a U.S. company and getting a tax ID (EIN) proved to be remarkably easy and cheap. But, the real challenge is in obtaining a business bank detail and merchant detail for your new business.
I spent hours phoning banks in the States and explaining that I was calling them from Australia but wanted a bank history for my American business. Many just didn’t understand and others refused on the grounds of the Patriot Act, whereby a bank has to know its customers and they would only open accounts for U.S. citizens.
Eventually I did find a bank that was willing to open an history and merchant explanation. Once these were in place, my business was ready to start operation and the rest, as they say, is history.”
Today, Robert’s online store is thriving. He retails fitness gear to the U.S. market and he does that all from his home in Australia.
“But, what I’ve learned is that: contemporary technology has indeed made it possible to run virtually any online business from anywhere. Websites can be hosted anywhere, phones and faxes can now be run as virtual PBX’s which means my U.S. customers signal my U.S. toll-free number and I can take their calls in Australia. plus, nearly all correspondence is done via mail; orders are sent to my suppliers via mail, I receive supplier invoices by e mail and I can access my U.S. bank explanation online.
However, the actual business entity can’t operate anywhere. It has to be formed and operated in the jurisdiction of the country it was incorporated, which means you will have to deal with that country’s tax and banking laws.
So, whether you’re thinking of starting an online business don’t believe everything the ‘gurus’ tell you. A business is still rooted somewhere but, unlike before, you can now run it from anywhere.”
From now on, whether I happen to mention “you can work from anywhere”, I’ll be certain to add Robert’s points for clarification. You can find out a lot more on how Robert set up and runs his U.S. business by visiting www.americanbusinesslaunch.com.
© Donna for DazzlinDonna, 2012. |
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Original post by Donna