How to ... Manufacture in China

Four times a year, Daniel Fisher travels to China with a small entourage of agents and translators to meet face-to-face with some 60 manufacturers.

Fisher's company, Floral Marketing in Port Charlotte, sells Chinese-made jewelry to flower shops all over the country. The entrepreneur has developed an elaborate network of smaller family-operated manufacturers in China.

To start, Fisher suggests checking out the online Chinese marketplace Alibaba. “You put in any item you're looking for and it will give you a list of vendors,” Fisher says. “You can instantly email them and the next day you're going to get responses.”

Although he uses Skype and email, Fisher prefers to travel to China to meet factory owners in person. “I want to know who I'm dealing with,” Fisher says. “I want to be a big fish in a small pond.”

One way to network is to attend the semi-annual Canton Trade Fair in Guangzhou. Look for manufacturers with booths that are neat, orderly and tidy. “If you have a dirty booth, you have a dirty factory,” Fisher says.

Agents in China can check on your goods at the factory and arrange for shipping and customs in exchange for a commission. Fisher says he's found good agents through his connections in the industry. “Factory owners are a great resource,” Fisher adds. “They're very good at putting us in touch with people.”

Fisher says he gives first shot at new products to factories with whom he's already working. In turn, factory owners repay his loyalty with information about new products and fashion trends. “There's items I pay more than I should, but I know who I'm dealing with and I don't have to worry about gimmicks,” he says.

Most large banks have no problems handling wire transfers to Chinese manufacturers, which Fisher pays in both U.S. dollars and local currency depending on the manufacturer's preference. To avoid wire fees, more factories have started using PayPal, he says.

Language is rarely an issue. “They either know English or they use Google Translate,” Fisher says. “If they're doing export, they're going to have people who are fluent in English because it's the international language.”

—Jean Gruss