Several years ago, when I was invited to sit on the board of Wade World Trade, an educational institution established in 1946 to help entrepreneurs become import/export agents, I thought I would try it out for myself. I have to say that although I am not a natural entrepreneur (I hate anything which smacks of ‘selling’) I have never regretted the decision.

My first challenge was to find something to import or export. After much thought I decided I had to pick an area I was interested in anyway so I chose food. Since ‘artisan’ food producers are not very commercial it was a good decision. They find it easy to sell their products locally but tend to be hopeless at marketing overseas. I soon negotiated agency agreements with half a dozen companies for a range of related products – jams, chutneys, oaten biscuits, relishes, tea, hot chocolate and chocolate. All were manufactured (or at least packaged) in the UK and none had ever been exported.

The next step was finding possible buyers. My approach was to send an email containing photographs of the products I had on offer to – literally – thousands of buyers in Europe, the USA and Commonwealth countries. In the email I offered a ‘sample’ pack for the cost of postage. I also sent out about 2,000 mail shots. All together I must have spent close to £1,500. But I received requests for 70 sample packs and from this I obtained 15 regular customers. With three months I had made back by £1,500. Within a year I was generating a very nice income. It probably absorbs about 8 or 10 hours a week of my time BUT the beauty of it is that I can work at it largely when it suits me – in the evenings and weekends.

How to get into the lucrative world of Import/Export without a penny in capital and without leaving home.

If you would like to know more about becoming a successful Import/Export Agent then why not visit the Wade World Trade website (http://www.wadetrade.com). If you decide to take their course as a reader of the Power Report you will be entitled to the full £100 discount.