Confessions of an Open Networker

I like LinkedIn.  In fact, probably too much and had let my network get out of control.  The thrill of connecting.  All the exotic foreign countries.  The multitude of careers, positions, names, faces.  I was caught up in the moment.

Boogeyman

China is opening up to the outside world.  Everybody and their brother know China is the place for manufacturing.  

The days of marketing China as a big, mysterious, scary beast are over.  If you are a company that touts itself as a China manufacturing expert and you do it under the blanket of how “scary” and “unreliable” it is to buy from China, then your days of marketing in that fashion may be numbered.

The Chinese Language “To study or to work???”

Monday's guest blogger is my colleague and friend, Mr. Shakiri Murrain.  See his LinkedIn profile here.

(Photo Credit: GR Sipe)

Since arriving in China in November 2006, I have met many many foreigners coming for a multitude of different reasons.  Some come for study abroad trips, some for business & some just to see the anomaly we call China.  The common denominator is that we all came with huge ambition and not a lot of knowledge of what China actually is like (In my opinion, print/online media give such a limited view).   So no matter how you look at it, there is a lot to learn.

Artwork Hijinks with the Factory

This happens frequently.  In manufacturing branded promo and gift items;  factories have “trouble” in dealing with the artwork. 

Visit When Possible: check Pantone #'s,
films, application

Most folks working in the factories are not proficient in the software.  In general, they are not proficient in computer use.  These areas of lack, without the proper control, reflect in the branding of your item, which can lead to delays, more cost and, worse case, receiving incorrect goods.