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A bit of an off-topic detour here—but since it touches on advertising—is anyone available to head over to the entrepreneurship camp tomorrow in San Francisco? It’s being hosted by the local business incubator, and honestly, it’s a fantastic chance to pick the brains of people with serious marketing expertise. My own company will be there—we actually won a spot in their competition for the top ten startups with the most promising products, which was 😁
Charles Ramos7 said:It really depends on what kind of clients you're looking for. Google works fine for me since most of my business comes from overseas.
Facebook (which isn't exactly my favorite) has potential on paper, but the way they've structured everything is just a mess.
I have to disagree—to me, Facebook feels like the perfect arena for advertising. The primary reason, of course, is the sheer precision you have when targeting a specific client profile—you can narrow things down by age, location, education, job title, and so on. Just two weeks ago, I decided to throw $17 at it simply to see what would happen; I ran an ad on my company page, and in those mere two days, I clocked about 21,000 impressions. Out of those 21,000 views, roughly 160 people actually clicked through to the website—some reached out directly, and a few even placed orders. In my estimation, that $17 was well worth it, especially considering it wasn't a massive amount of cash to begin with.
I’ll be handling all the payments and importing everything through my business—my registered activities include international wholesale and retail, so that should cover the legal side. But here is what I am trying to wrap my head around: should I be adding an extra 35% markup to my cost calculations for everything I buy? I am looking at a 25% sales tax plus 10% customs duties... it adds up quickly. Right now, the diodes are coming in at $148 including shipping, the switches are $150 excluding freight, and the boards are sitting at $261 total. Everything is being shipped via FedEx, so I am assuming they won't hit me with any surprise fees beyond that initial 35%. Also, will I actually be able to write off that 25% sales tax later on? 😕
Greetings everyone,
Amy Palmer32, I see you have some experience navigating Alibaba. I’ve spent the last few days negotiating with several different suppliers over there—specifically direct factories, since I wanted to go straight to the source—to finalize deals for some LED components, switches, and tiles. So, I'm currently working with three separate factories. They’ve all sent over their quotes for both the goods and the shipping costs. For the LEDs, I settled on using FedEx for about $50, while the other items are looking at roughly a hundred bucks for express shipping. Now, here is my question: does the price they quoted include customs duties, sales tax, and everything else? Or am I obligated to ask each seller specifically if the total is truly "all-in"? 😕
EDIT: One more thing—I haven't gone overboard with the quantities; we're talking maybe 4,000 diodes, about a hundred switches, and ten tiles. I'm starting to worry that by the time everything lands, it might actually end up costing me more than just buying them locally here in the States. The diodes should be fine, but for the other two items... well, I'm honestly not so sure. :S
I am currently 16 years old and dealing with some significant issues regarding my upper front teeth—they are far too protruded. My dentist has informed me that I definitely need braces to correct this. However, there is a major catch: if I rely on Medicare, I won't be eligible for coverage for at least another seven years—which, quite frankly, feels like an eternity when you're my age. To make matters worse, I have no idea where to find any affordable dental specialists. What kind of orthodontic treatment would you recommend? More importantly, can anyone point me toward an affordable dentist in the Miami area?