I am a "Gun for hire"!!

Gun for Hire

Well, here I am in 2010 and looking for a change in direction.

I have been reflecting with friends and business associates and they tell me I have some very unique skills for my age.

I have over 200 days of hands-on experience in product development and sourcing in China.

I am looking to use that experience with a world class company that can help me learn the next level of skills in this exciting industry.

So if you read this or hear of a suitable role please contact me!  I am a “gun for hire!”

My details are here....

Andy Baxter

Mobile +61 400 442 102

Email -  andybaxterau@gmail.com

Hope to hear from you soon

" 200 + Days in China" Reflection!!

I have been reflecting on how my product sourcing knowledge has increased over the last 3 and a half years.

And then I realised I have spent over 200 Days in mainland China. 

It feels like I have been enrolled in a “masterclass!!”

China has to be one of the most exciting places on earth!

And the challenges of learning to do business in a new language!

Wow!

It has been a real privilege to meet some new connections and partners.

I am really confident to be able to undertake any challenge that an Australian client could throw at me in sourcing and developing products in China

China contacts!!

I was going through some of my business cards from China the other day and thought it was amazing how many different businesses, companies and factories I have directly worked with .

Baby clothes success!!

Wow I can really see my lessons learnt here in China paying off. After everything I have done here in China over the past 3 years it has really taught me how to avoid mistakes , eliminate risk , solve problems and do business smoothly.

I decided to take the initiative and deal with the fabric mills myself to avoid any problems with the production of the bamboo fabric for my baby clothes project.

 This turned out to be a very good idea!!  


The fabric was produced to the exact specifications and passed onto the production factory without any problems at all. 


The samples of the baby clothes have been produced perfectly the first time and I once again have a happy customer. Woo Hooo!! They have now ordered close to 10,000 garments!!

New products to develop!!

Well all the details for the baby clothes have been finalized so here I am back in China.

 I have already had 2 meetings with the factory that will be producing the garments but because the fabric is made from bamboo, there will be a lot less risk if I go to the fabric mills and have the fabric produced myself and then hand it over to the production factory.

 Remember,  Quality Control....!!  


The bamboo is crushed down in to a cotton like fiber and then spun into cotton so the final product is about 70% bamboo and 30% cotton!!

Planning China trip #6

I have been quite busy while back in Australia, but it is time once again to start planning another trip back to China.

I have been having many meetings with a clothing company that specializes in children's garments.

They have asked me to develop a range of garments for babies for them and the fabric is made from bamboo!

Reflection!!!

I sat down with a friend of mine Andrew Staggs the other day, he is an accountant. We talked about what "Gold" I have been learning from doing business in China. Here is our list so far. !!


BIZKEY #1- It takes 5-7 times to CLOSE THE SALE - so keep trying - most people give up after 2 times !!


BIZKEY #2- A GREAT salesperson prefers to be called your consultant, EXPERT or advisor !!


BIZKEY #3- You can never LISTEN yourself out of a sale !!


BIZKEY #4- SUCCESSFUL people THINK like this - "I am an EXPERT at solving your problems and prescribing CURES"


BIZKEY #5- "EVERY product or service I sell should be a PROFIT to my customer - it is that good that it is not a COST"


Food for thought!!

Accomplishments of China trip #5!!

As I said in my last blog I was very busy on my last trip to China so I thought I would show you a bit of what all that hard work has accomplished !!


Firstly , There is a new up and coming Streetwear clothing label called Dirty Gremlin and it is based around extreme sports. I personally designed and developed the name, logo and am currently helping them develop their products. Check them out here!!

I also sourced a new unknown shoe label to Australia called BSQT . They have never distributed to Australia before so I am the first person to introduce them to the Aussie market. They are an Italian shoe company that is designed and developed in Hong Kong. I sourced them for a new streetwear store in Brisbane. I also designed the store it self , like the lighting , shelves , layout , colour schemes and even helped with the fit out.

 Nothing wrong with getting your hands dirty every now and then!!

Some great news!!!  After all the hard work I did with the Gangstarship Clothing Co shoes, I have since been informed that they have had numerous meetings with the buying team from Footlocker Asia Pacific. That's great news and I wish them all the best!!

China Trip #5 Summary!!

Home again and just in time for Christmas!!

  This trip was nothing short of amazing !! 

 I accomplished so much !!

 Met a lot of great people and business contacts, helped develop another Australian up and coming label called Dirty Gremlin, sourced an unknown shoe label to Australia for a new Streetwear shop in Brisbane, finished the development of the Gangstarship clothing co shoes and learnt a lot of new skills which will greatly benefit me in the future .

I will do some new posts on these experiences when I am back in Australia.

Design Legends - RADDISSHME DESIGN HOUSE - Guangzhou, China

I referred in my last post to Ajoy Sahu - founder and director of  RADDISSHME DESIGN HOUSE.

Check out their website here - they are really good to deal with and are a key part of my China sourcing system.  

Here is a sample of some of their GREAT work!

My #1 Partner - Ajoy Sahu - RADDISSHME DESIGN HOUSE!!!

Through my travels here in China I have met many great people and contacts but I would have to say that Ajoy Sahu would have to be one of the most interesting and valuable contacts I have met so far. We met strangely enough through a friend of a friend while playing pool watching football at an Irish pub in China.

Ajoy is the director of a company called Raddisshme Design House , he is an amazing designer and has a very extensive knowledge of the shoe and fashion industry. He has directly done many projects for companies such as PEPSI, MASERATI, ARMANI, HUGO BOSS, DKNY, PRADA, and the list goes on.

Ajoy and I have become very good friends and we spend a lot of time together every time I am in China.
We are currently working on some shoe projects together and really look forward to a long future of business and friendship with him.

Here is some information about Ajoy.

 FOUNDER AND CREATIVE DIRECTOR OF RADDISSHME DESIGN HOUSE.AJOY SAHU

One of the most inuential casual sports footwear designers of the moment - Ajoy Sahu passionately continues to bring fresh and brand dening products into the market. Since his role in the launch of Prada Sport and Miu Miu footwear collections in the late 90's, Ajoy designed for many leading brands such as DKNY, Paul & Joe and Terra Plana for which he designed the shoe that won the Ethical Fashion Product Award of the year 2007

 From his vast experience, Ajoy Sahu established RADDISSHME Design House (R'Me) in 2004 which bridges the gap between Eastern and Western design by having studios in both London (UK) and Guangzhou (China).  FOUNDER AND CREATIVE DIRECTOR OF RADDISSHME DESIGN HOUSE. AJOY SAHU

;

" All work No play" pfft.....

 A friend of mine has come over to China for a shopping holiday and we also decided to go to Hong Kong and go to Disneyland

Who said " All work no play" ?

Why Angel is my "Network Angel!!"

On my very first trip to China I met a lady that went by the name of Angel . When I first met her I thought she was no more than the manager of a local cafe/restaurant that I met at with other business people on occasion.

We spoke many times about business and I would regularly ask her questions about why the Chinese do things the way they do. She seemed to have a very vast knowledge for business in China, so I asked her what her background was . To my surprise it turned out to be business translating , sourcing , logistics and business management.


I thought to myself that this could turn out to be an extremely valuable contact for me to have.

Since then we have become very good friends, I have rented an apartment from her that she owns in Guangzhou, she has put me in contact with many factories and she has helped me with many dilemas that I have faced with factories and so fourth. She also put me in contact with a very successful law firm in Hong Kong which now helps me with many of my business transactions in China.

What grabbed my attention mostly about Angel was her network of contacts in China and ability to source new and good trustworthy factories. I have had many customers in Australia and New Zealand ask me many times in the past if I can source different products for them in China and most of the time the answer is "yes".

But sometimes it is not that easy, so if it is a product I have not yet sourced or developed I know Angel is the one for the job.

The best thing is, Angel does not go and do the job for me she simply does the research to find the factory and do background checks and so forth to ensure they are a good factory for me to work with and then she puts me in contact with them so I am still in control. 

Angel,  I just love your work!!!


PS - it is just so true what they say in business....

"my network is my net-worth"

Product design & development - From "wo to go"

I am amazed at the business product development process that I use .


Thought - Design - Development - Final product.


Very exciting!!!


The process goes "from this...."

"to this !!!"

Gangstarship shoe project, 2 thumbs up !!

The shoe samples for Gangstarship Clothing Co are going great. Many of the samples are finished, they look perfect and the quality is extremely high.

 I was even able to have some of the samples photographed and I cropped and leveled them to send the customer professional looking photos. Here are some of those photos.