Evolution: Family Sourcing Business to Influencer Heavy Asia Sports Brand with Alan Scanlan

In this podcast, we are doing an interview with Alan Scanlan, we talk about influencers and his family businesses – importing from China. He tells us about his evolution from working with the family business, sourcing with Ireland to his journey to Hong Kong and building a brand around influencers for heavy Asian sports brand. Let’s tune in.

√ Alan’s VIP Page
√ Rico’s podcast – Made in China podcast
√ Alan on Rico’s podcast
√ Spruce Social Media marketing
√ Earned Athletic Apparel – Alan’s brand website (Site being built)
√ CrossBorderSummit.com
√ EcommerceGladiator.com/book

Thank you Alan for sharing. I hope you all enjoyed the show. It’d be awesome if my son is something like Alan continuing to grow the family business and being an entrepreneur and venturing out to do his own thing.

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Episode 277 of Global From Asia I survived Cross Border Summit and we’re doing an interview about influencers and family businesses importing from China. Let’s do this. Welcome to the Global From Asia podcast where the daunting process of running an international business is broken down into straight-up actionable advice.

[00:00:26] And now your host Michael Michelini. All right. I am in Guangzhou China still I survived Cross Border Summit Fourth Annual. Thank you for those that came out and supported. Lance was really cool from Vancouver, he’s been listening too a while and it’s awesome to meet listeners and people that have been hiding like Clint Lazenby. Clint was a speaker.

[00:00:50] He’s the listener of, I think most of these shows. Hopefully, he’s listening right now Clint got him a Jack to our after party. I was exhausted. Seriously. It’s like burned out two and a half days of intense. Yeah, I’m the MC. I host these usually. I tried Mia, is amazing Mia I don’t think she listens to the show.

[00:01:08] She’s busy too making dough in videos and China for 2 million views per video, but she was really beautiful and she got to help me up on stage for a little bit but says Mike, you know, all these speakers, I’m just standing there. I don’t know what to say. So but she was helping out in other ways. So thank you so much Mia and everybody.

[00:01:28] I mean this is what’s great with a little bit over a hundred amazing people there high quality low quantity is what I like amount of people and collecting all the feedback didn’t pick a new date yet to be honest. There’s still Colombia in the works there’s still Guangzhou, there’s still Thailand. Things like that happening.

[00:01:49] All right, so I’m waiting for dinner meeting right now with another speaker and then more meet-ups Chris Davies amazing. Thanks Chris for coming also. Amazing free meetings here, meetups here. I’ll be going to that tomorrow quickly have another one, two per piece, two per not piece, 2 per trade show season.

[00:02:12] And things are really building up in this cross-border e-commerce FPA community. Lots of Gossip too, I’m not into that stuff, but let’s roll forward. This is up with the blah blah blah after. But today we got Alan Scanlan. Alan is Irish entrepreneur, family business person that is in Hong Kong and his living Legacy. His dad started importing from China in the 70s.

[00:02:39] via Hong Kong and other places and he shares a bit about the family business and also shares about a new brand he’s working on with, within the space and into Southeast Asia and other things and I like these kind of shows, you know, a little bit of learning of family business case studies and what he’s working on what he’s launching.

[00:02:57] So hopefully we’ll get Alan at the next Summit maybe, you know, just bringing these amazing people we meet on the podcast into real life and put an amazing people together. Without further ado putting my MC hat on. I sound like I’m introducing a speaker while I’m introducing the guest, similar style.

[00:03:15] I’m going to get some rest after this dinner and but you can enjoy this interview. Take it away Alan. Thank you, Goremit.HK. I really appreciate your support. And from Biz Dev was there she had an amazing booth at the Cross-Border Summit this year and they’ve been supporting the show for years. So I really want to give a shout-out Simon, the founder.

[00:03:39] And and and there’s others, amazing people in this amazing company. If you are trying to make payments from Hong Kong to Mainland China or South East Asia, it’s a great solution for your payments especially small ones. Sometimes friends ask me, how do I make payments to these small factories in Yiwu or Guangzhou or Thailand or Vietnam?

[00:04:00] This is a great one because the fees are based on transaction of FX so you can save on those costs, make multiple small, little payments or big payments. I pay my wife. I mean pay my rent is or give her money to go crazy with so if you want to enjoy this solution check it out at www.goremit.HK. Okay, thank you everybody for tuning into our Global From Asia podcast.

[00:04:29] We are, I’m going to call this story time, you know, there’s different types of interviews we have and today I was introduced by Rico from Source Find Asia, another and also Made in China podcast to Alan Scanlan. Thanks for being here Alan. Thanks for having me. Yeah, it’s national holiday in China today October 1st.

[00:04:50] And you know, I think you and I are there’s a holiday I think in Hong Kong where you’re at and China, course is shut down for the whole week. I’m down here in Thailand. It’s not really a holiday. But my life is revolving around China now, but it’s great to use today’s downtime to, to do this interview.

[00:05:10] So there’s a few things we can talk about. We’re going to talk about Connie Revolution working with the family business sourcing with Ireland to your journey to Hong Kong and building a brand around influencers for the heavy heavy, Asia sports brand. And for that the brand’s called earned athletic and on its base terrain cry across this.

[00:05:36] Okay, great. There’s so much we can talk about we we did some prep call before the show and you’re you you’re kind of following within your family business originally with the family trading from Ireland. You said 1975 it got started with with China before China was even open. Do you want to share a little bit again about the family trading business?

[00:05:58] Yeah. Yes. I suppose it is all uhm yeah, I’ll go back to when when my dad started the company back in the in the mid 70s. And he was working in an importing business in Dublin and then decided that in South and another another guy in the business, a friend of his they wanted to go out and do their own thing.

[00:06:18] So they started really importing anything anything and everything that they could sell a lot of stationary, lot of toys and they were coming out all over it all over Asia and they dealt with a lot of trading houses in Hong Kong. So obviously couldn’t go into mainland China until seventy seventy eight and.

[00:06:41] And they were yeah just come into Hong Kong go into like trade events and trade shows that were all based in hotels back then and they would drink, deal with trading houses and buying buying very small quantities of stuff. Like my dad’s told me lots of stories over the years about he’d be in a room with an American customer and they be buying container loads where he’d be buying sort of 12 15 boxes.

[00:07:07] Of whatever. Regular is our staplers are and and then they just get them shipped back to Dublin and then and wholesale them through a trade the country and base. I think it was about five five years into the business and they got asked to source and leprechaun soft toy. And that’s when the souvenir business really took off so.

[00:07:32] We’d guess like key, rings pens, soft toys all that sort of stuff done and the leprechaun pictures on it Shamrocks Anything Green, really and again get it all manufactured in China. And then wholesale it to Ireland and had this souvenir and tourism industry being one of our biggest businesses in in Ireland.

[00:07:56] So over the space of whatever we’re coming up to over 45 years in business and that was kind of a the base of the business and that’s how to help the company grew. Sure. I know I mean these American buyers Yeah by and volume and I mean, I think that Ireland and lots of countries around the world. I mean obviously Source from China even back in the 70s, which is very interesting and so you.

[00:08:25] Like you mentioned your dad tells you all these stories. I must be a great opportunity to have been growing our up growing up in that environment, you know hearing about business with international business China business sourcing. I mean, what was that experience like? Yeah. Definitely. I mean it’s it was always something that was around the around the dinner table.

[00:08:46] So I had two older brothers and two older sisters and they all worked in the business and my older sister and my two brothers still do. My other my other sister doesn’t anymore. But yeah like Friday Friday night dinners in our house were a big thing and we’d all sit around the table and be told we weren’t late, speak about business by my mother and then I would always end up being the topic of conversation.

[00:09:08] And so yeah, it’s a really good insight the whole time and I suppose a really good foundation for me having us. Having all my brothers and sisters involved in the business and having us and just kind of constant chat about work and how how being a family business is 24/7. It’s not just nine to five.

[00:09:28] Hmm, which was a good kind of mentality to get into yourself early on. Sure man the hustle and the grind. Yeah, I mean. I don’t know. I hope we’re not discouraging, you know listeners, you know, obviously it’s an amazing thing to build build your own business and but there’s a lot of times the wrong mindset like the whole.

[00:09:51] I mean, I love Tim Ferriss but the 4-Hour Work week or you know sitting on the beach collecting money, I mean to start your own businesses, running your own businesses is not a you know a small feat. So yeah, I mean, I’m jealous you had that environment you know growing up. I mean, it’s got to be amazing.

[00:10:08] So yeah, and it was always something like they’re always be ideas different ideas for businesses and it’s kind of interesting that I will lead on to what what what I’m doing at the moment with the apparel business, but kind of all the steps I suppose building up to this moment where. I’d come up with an idea and I’d be able to source it from from China because I’ve got background but then I wouldn’t have the capability to the rest of the steps or get get money for in our whatever marketing and the Branding or whatever it was and.

[00:10:39] But it’s all kind of I suppose different failures are not completing on us until until you do set up that company and and learning from all those all those different business ideas and ventures I suppose and then all the background with the family business as well. Sure. So so they know you’re in Hong Kong and.

[00:11:03] I think we’ll get into your your current venture your current brand in a second, but maybe give us this whole transition or how you got into the industry. How did how did you get to Hong Kong? And how did you kind of get to where you are now? Yeah, so when with the family business I started working around about 10 years ago and I was more on the packaging side.

[00:11:25] So we have Allied Imports, which is Souvenirs and then we had Allied International so. They were both started by my dad and they’re about sister company. I suppose you call it. And and it was myself and my dad and my sister on the packaging side, but I left International so and we do a lot of high ends or the luxury chocolate packaging and high-end drinks packaging and we’d work with work with….. who would have been our biggest customer.

[00:11:55] So they open up a lot of doors into the UK market and it’s the rest of Europe and and then my brother has ran the souvenir side of the business then advice. I think there’s like seven or eight years ago. We bought a company called Tipperary Crystal which at the time was the base. It was 95% crystal glassware and and of a sort of 5% giftware there we did a bit of a a bit of.

[00:12:22] a flip on the glassware, It’s about 95% giftware now and 5% glassware.  So a big focus on packaging and very much a gift for a company the which we have: jewelry, Rangers Christmas decorations, handbags, photo frame, chandeliers and huge big range of goods. So we built that up in Ireland and I’ve had a lot of success with that would be the number one giftware company

[00:12:47] Back home, very small Market obviously it was and have had great success with the brand and then about just before I moved to Hong Kong we decided that we were going to launch another version of Tipperary Crystal, so the international range called Bailey and Brooke, we weren’t selling any crystal glass ware so we just didn’t want to have any confusion in the name and that’s what kind of gave me the opportunity to come out to Hong Kong.

[00:13:15] My my older brother and asked me what I what I find seeing, moving here and setting up an office and handling the international trade. Then, so Trader Joe’s in America and Hong Kong and in Europe and then obviously being on China’s doorstep with the manufacturers.  That’s yeah, totally. This is a yeah, this is exciting.

[00:13:38] I mean, you’re the Legacy and you know, thinking of my son and my daughter you’re not hope I can give them these experiences myself, you know, no pressure though. And you think I’m going to do you think there’s pressure on your side. I mean or is this something you chose? It was kind of weird when I when I went into I got I say offered a job and inverted compass there.

[00:14:04] I got I was going into work in the company when I was about 24 25, and I couldn’t wait to move into the business, but I absolutely hated it for about two years. I hate couldn’t stand us want to do anything in. Get out of the business and then I started getting more into us and enjoying it more but when I was when I got offered the opportunity to move to Hong Kong.

[00:14:29] I had a I had a bit of a thing that I wanted to leave anyway, and wanted to do something different. I just didn’t know how I was going to do that. Okay, so. Getting the job getting the offer for my brother to do was a real Catalyst to go rise. I can really go and have a go at something else in Hong Kong and I knew Hong Kong from over the years and you there was lots of opportunity out here and lots of great people to meet so. awesome.

[00:14:52] If you’re going to make good connections. It was going to be here so. It was really like a spring boards and I ended up I ended up moving to Hong Kong and essentially doing the exact same thing what I was doing in Ireland and what doing it for myself and then that gave me a lot more happiness and enjoyment.

[00:15:13] So yeah, it was difficult coming out moving out here on my own I had friends out here, so that wasn’t the worst but Definitely a lot of different pressures coming out and doing this and it’s like you’re talking there about building a business before it’s not for everyone and you have to kind of realize that if you want to come out and try to be an entrepreneur and and work for yourself.

[00:15:39] It can be pretty lonely at times then but and now it’s definitely it’s definitely being the best thing. Coming out here is the best thing I’ve ever done. Awesome. There you go, man. That’s the spirit and after yeah, I mean intern especially international business. You know, I remember I used to mostly do, you know US

[00:16:00] E-commerce when I live in the US and of course there was trying to do some trading from China which kind of led me here actually stand up the time zone difference is just so hard to deal with you know, the. I’m going to grind, you know, like morning night evening afternoon. There’s always some always somebody working always something happening around you especially in Asia just non-stop.

[00:16:23] So let’s dive into your current thing your how did how did this come about maybe share this story? Well, I actually caught it. So when I when I moved out and I was doing the. The family business stuff with the Bailey and Brooke Brands. I ended up setting up my own company called Newland sourcing a few different people have asked me to find different bits and pieces and I had another trade show.

[00:16:51] I came across a buyer from Cirque du Soleil. Okay who wanted to do a range of ornaments? And so that kind of actually like went very very quickly and got some really really nice orders from Cirque. So I decided to set up my own sourcing business and I didn’t in that time. I had actually met Rico and come across his podcast.

[00:17:10] So we’ve been kind of struck up a bit of a partnership and between the two between ourselves of certain products that I can’t get my hands on if I need a quick turnaround we then work together and which has been great and then he’s introduced me to a lot of people obviously I decided the world and so I had the sourcing business and I was doing the family family business thing as well.

[00:17:33] And then about when I was it was Jan- and the December last year January this year thought I came up with the idea of approaching the guys who own my CrossFit gym in Hong Kong to launch an apparel range. So the gym in Hong Kong is called Coastal Fitness and it’s run by two brothers and Ed Matens and is classified as the fittest man in China.

[00:18:03] So he won the CrossFit games are there he topped the CrossFit ladder in China and then he finished 27th in the world and the CrossFit Games just gone by there and August so the idea was to build a brand and building apparel brands that would piggyback off the influence on the success of crossfitters in Europe or sorry in Asia and sell to the Asian market and that’s where all coincide with the fact that CrossFit is on the rise in China and becoming more and more popular.

[00:18:39] So yeah, so very much very much along the kind of lines of what Jim shark did in they use bodybuilding to get their brand out there and I want to use CrossFit in the Asian markets because that’s where we have our influence.  Okay.  Awesome, and so where we at now? What’s what’s the current? I know we ain’t even we had call and you’re working on the influencer strategy and your pre-launch.

[00:19:09] You’re not launched yet. Right, at least it’s my own or so. Yeah, I mean when I kind of sat down to when I first sat down with them and I gave a time a time frame I said eight to 12 months there were about 10 months in. And the target is the first week in December to launch the product and obviously ideally you want to get us out before Christmas rather than doing it in January or February.

[00:19:36] So we’ve set ourselves on target we’re finalizing our third set of samples at the moment and then we’re going to be having a photo shoot with our influencers and in the gym here in Hong Kong and then we’ll start getting all the content. I did on social media through our digital marketing company and then through the influencers, so hopefully have a kind of three or four week and launch.

[00:20:01] Sort of came down I suppose up to the launch and so we can just get a bit of brand awareness and get a bit of excitement building about the about the launch on. Yeah, hopefully the first week in December. All right, it’s exciting man will and what’s so what’s the strategy for these? I guess you have good partners right there helping you and what’s the?

[00:20:24] What’s the strategy for these influencers? Like what what’s the offer or what’s the. I mean, so we’re very much a big thing with this whole brand. And with with the business is very much built on culture relationships and connections within the company. And then thus leads into the type of people that we want to work with.

[00:20:44] So being a startup and the money’s all coming from from our own Pockets. We don’t have a huge huge kind of piggy bank to play with. So the two brothers who are working with Andrews that who, the athlete and Ed who is his coach the two of them have a lot of influence in the in the Asian market when it comes across it they both be.

[00:21:06] The top the top of the game and very well recognized and when it comes to cross it in Asia, so we’ve got a group of influencers here in Hong Kong. There’s five people involved and again all very closely tied to the gym and to the two brothers and they’re very much coming on board and helping us up I use because they believe in the product and they want to help and try and support us so.

[00:21:33] That’s that’s how we’re going about this. I think if we start offering certain people money and other people don’t get paid you create a bad atmosphere and a bad culture within the brand. So that’s our plan and we want to get to a place where we build up the company enough that we can, our, our ambassadors are going to be called or earn athletes. We want to get to a stage where we can build a brand up enough that we pay for them to go to events that we sponsor them our events, that we bring them all together and we have good socials are good events in the gym, and and we look after them in that sense.

[00:22:11] And I mean listen, we hopefully toward we got to a stage where we were we can pay the people that are helping us bringing in Revenue. That would be amazing. But at the stars it has to be very much helping us out because they yeah, they believe in the brand and they want to they want to see us grow.

[00:22:31] Okay exciting. So yeah. I’m sure you’ve learned a lot. I mean it hasn’t gone as expected is there something kind of like Lessons Learned or recommendations for others going through what you’re doing. While a lot of it is like I’m like, you know yourself as well. It’s when, you’re my guy so on my backgrounds in sourcing a dealing with Manufacturing in China, so that part was fine.

[00:22:56] But I still like I was talking to my 20 Factories at the start. I’ve never sourced apparel like this before like gym apparel, we done t-shirts and sort of Irish hats and clothes but nothing to do this sort of standard. So again, you’re learning a whole new process and you’re learning of like how you, they actually make and by the fabrics and dyes and the lead times and all that sort of stuff.

[00:23:25] So definitely a big learning curve the big one with me when apparel was the tech parts. So you’re basically like your spec for how a t-shirt or a jumper or a pair of shorts is made and it’s a huge amount of detail and I was initially working with an American designer. So I was the go-between between the factory and the designer and we had huge issues in just the language barrier.

[00:23:51] And I now have a designer based in Hong Kong whospeaks Mandarin. So it’s, she’s connected on, we’re all connected on WeChat and it’s just a lot. It’s a lot more straightforward and it’s been it’s been being really, really useful haven’t heard but I had spent a lot of money on the old designer as well.

[00:24:09] So it’s things like that. Definitely learn from same with the samples. I know, know 100% next time we do different items. I now have to do it a lot more efficiently and so that we won’t have to do as many samples for the next items. So yeah, like definite learning turns and even all the digital marketing man and all the social media like it’s something that I’m not massively of this of the speed was.

[00:24:41] Apart from like my personal stuff that I do but that’s completely different ballgame. So when working with a great digital marketing company called Spruce or based out of Manila and they are just really on that. Yeah, the stuff they’ve done for us to date has been has been really cool and really fit in with the brand and what we’re trying to create. Exciting.

[00:25:01] I am just checking them out. So just thinking here so December 1st, we’re recording this. It will probably just a couple more few more weeks prior to a go live but it seems like you have a good team in place. You have good if you have your influence to network through your partner’s to have a long-term relationships and kind of credibility and Industry.

[00:25:26] What are some of the goals that you have then,, I mean. The main the main target for this brand or the main Market that we want to get into is China and with the growth of CrossFit and with the influence that we have in the Chinese market place. That’s where I really see that the brand’s taking off as you know, it’s like a completely different ball game in there as well.

[00:25:50] It’s been in regards to influencers and social media and styling than online and everything. So we are launching in Hong Kong. We will be selling throughout Asia or shipping throughout Asia, but we’ll be launching in Hong Kong and targeting Hong Kong at the start and I want to have. I want to, the money from launch one will just be reinvested back into company and used for the second launch and again for the for the third and fourth, which would all going.

[00:26:21] Well, we will then look at raising Capital, but I I really want to have something substantial before we go to look to raise money. So yeah, it has to work first of all, which I’m pretty confident. We will we will definitely sell sell something but I don’t want to kind of look to raise capital or anything like that before we have we have a good foundation and then we can actually look for for what we believed we’re valued out as well.

[00:26:50] Yeah, of course. I mean I think everybody always wants to raise, you know, especially younger are not younger or newer entrepreneurs, you know, we always get excited about the TechCrunch news about the investment round at the next startup got but maybe for SAS or Tech startups in Silicon Valley.

[00:27:07] That’s the cool thing but I think for listeners and you and I are building, you know, just more you can bootstrap and build. Yeah better terms you can get you know, I mean, it’s actually. Exactly, I just I’d, you know that I’d feel very uncomfortable spending someone else’s money at this point as I.

[00:27:25] I mean it just it might work, worst case scenario, might sell anything and we could be stuck with a load of a load of Gym gear but and then I would just yeah, I just I wouldn’t feel feel that comfortable at all dealingwith someone else’s money and I’ve had a few offers. I’ve had a few people who think the idea is really great and they want to get involved and give me cash of friends of mine, which we will show just that note here because I just yeah, I just wouldn’t feel comfortable with it.

[00:27:54] There’s another side to that argument. But yeah, I mean we got to do it you you’re comfortable to do and yeah. And I think sometimes you and I might be too nice to risk, you know, you know risk somebody else’s money, but I think as long as they understand the risks. I’ve talked to others, you know on this show or privately and I think as long as you’re disclosing the risks and they’re accepting of that that should be okay.

[00:28:20] I guess the problem is when they, you know, somebody invests and then they think it’s like turned into a loan instead of an investment or like no no this. This is an investment not a loan, unless you unless that’s what you agreed upon but I think people have been through that. So, so how can people find find out more and then I guess maybe also, you know, we do talk about corporate structure China.

[00:28:43] How are you? How are you operating in China or Hong Kong first and then mainland China because obviously there’s complications of Chinese entities and Hong Kong entities and thinking yeah, I mean, I mean we’re all were all settled and registered and everything in Hong Kong. I have I have people that I can speak to about the Chinese side of things, but we haven’t done anything yet.

[00:29:07] I just I’ve got the trademark and all that sort of stuff registered. Okay and but, Yeah, know the plan and when I when I speak about raising money there that’s kind of the plan to raise money to raise nice chunk of change that we can attack the Chinese market properly and not half-hearted so going into the saddle and all our social media setup on WeChat and Weibo and all that sort of stuff and and register in China. But

[00:29:36] I haven’t actually started on process and yes, I want to I just want to make sure it works for asking to so many other expenses that we just got to put first in before that. True. Well, I think also a, you know, a lot of people recommend starting in Hong Kong first, you know, it don’t get political especially not today, but you know, there are differences, of course in Hong Kong and China, but you could of course learn a lot about the.

[00:30:05] The markets and experience and it is a lot easy. More Western business in Hong Kong as well as Asia and then you can always use that data and you can use that kind of credibility to to further expand into mainland China. You can also find distributors, you know selling direct of course sounds great, but you can also have like a Partners Equity, Partners can also have distribution partners and in China.

[00:30:29] Yeah like to joke about that. It’s not really a joke, but Bruce Lee, you know be the water, you know, you know, maybe Distributors might be a better way into mainland China or even other markets. I don’t know it’s automatic if you if you kind of have been used on because everything’s gonna be sold online.

[00:30:47] So people in China can still buy can still buy the items and I had like I’ve been looking into a few different trade shows a few different sports trade shows in China. So you never know what will come up or who you’d meet at, at something like that? But am I mean, I online I mean to me retail just is dying a death at the moment.

[00:31:10] Mmm-hmm. And online is I mean the Internet only gonna get bigger and faster and stronger. So I saw some figures yesterday from the online sales in China and it’s just they’re insane. So I think if you weren’t focused on doing that and you’re being you’re being left behind a bit, but I mean you never know when someone comes in and goes we want to order.

[00:31:33] Two container loads of stuff and distribute for you. I mean, I definitely think of items. So essentially you could also have a distributor on Tmall or Taobao potentially. Do you yourself, just for listeners to understand that ,so you have online Distributors as well, I think. Of course the best is to sell direct but there is there’s pros and cons to both sides but exciting times man.

[00:32:01] Thanks so much for sharing Alan and I really wish you the best. How could listeners get involved or learn more? See what you’re up to? So we’re currently building the website at the moment. So I would say. I am, it, it will be over just like you before the launch day, so it’s www.earnedathleticapparel.com and then our Instagram which obviously isn’t very handy for a lot of people in China.

[00:32:27] But our Instagram handle is a earned athletic apparel. We will in the next. In the next month, I’d say be starting to push our content on us. And so you’ll see you’ll see the sort of launch days and what influencers we’re working with and the product and everything like us through through the Instagram or Facebook and then the website.

[00:32:50] Okay exciting exciting. Thanks so much for sharing Alan and I really do wish you the best.  Thanks, man, and I appreciate appreciate you having me on. Cheers. Another shout-out Alpha Rock Capital. I’m a shareholder and partner and Biz Dev, dude. They have supported this show to get it going again.

[00:33:11] And I really appreciate Marc Roca and the rest of the partners there at Alpha. Rho Capital if you are looking to sell your Amazon FBA company or if you are looking to invest in a fund, might not be able to say that well, I can’t say it on there. Podcasts are our podcast at Alpha Rock. But when I hear we’re going to be a fund raising money and buying a lots of businesses.

[00:33:32] If you’re interested to get involved whether you want to cash out your company or whether you want to put your money with us. Actually. It’s amazing things are happening. We met a lot of amazing opportunities in Bangkok, in DCBKK, opportunities at Cross Border Summit. Thank you for their support.

[00:33:47] Thank you for your support. It’s a great way to get some exposure and diversifying and if you’re already a seller, you want some diversification check them out at www.alpharockcapital.com. I also have a podcast there. We interview the team and investors and talk more about investor mindset.

[00:34:04] Check it out. Thank you Alan for sharing. I hope y’all enjoyed that. It’s pretty cool. You know, I have to say my blah blah blah station, you know. It’d be awesome if my son is something like Alan, you know, continuing to grow the family business and being an entrepreneur and venturing out to do his own thing.

[00:34:25] Don’t know if I asked him to show how that conversation went. But I think as a dad, new Young dad the five year old and a three year old I could I could see myself being pretty happy. If something like this happened Miles think about getting to learn on the computer already, you know, he’s five and.

[00:34:42] Just turned five few months ago, but five going on five and a half. I think that’s about the age to get on my laptop. I got a beaten up old Chromebook thinking about sacrificing for his juice spills or whatever couple hundred bucks, but it’s been amazing. I’m still recovering from the summit. But I just I just love to hide behind my microphone seeing people in real life like.

[00:35:11] Freaking me out a little bit. You know fourth time Clint was like you’re a lot different than I imagined from listening to the show and the email newsletter and things like that, but.  It’s true. I am an introvert. I think even after all these freaking events, I’m still an introvert. Maybe my son will be better than me, you know, no pressure to Miles.

[00:35:35] Well, maybe my daughter Maggie will be better than me or better than me at these things. Maybe they can host conference event side, I can hide behind the microphone and behind my computer keyboard. But yeah, Alan’s got an amazing story. I do think it’s the right way to go. You know, I think maybe when his dad started his import business, it was a much different world in the 70s or getting into 2020 here and we just really need to.

[00:36:03] Take a take steps to build Brands right to build our own products. I’m here in the Canton fair, right? I just saw some factories. I still saw the Sisitano Moka pot Factory for those that are following that you know still at Alpha Rock and the the brand is moving forward and saw them and took some pictures of products took a picture of the booth make sure none of our logos were on any of the products in the booth area.

[00:36:31] But, You know, I think you got to build your own brand if you’re just trading and service provider. No offense. There was amazing service providers at the event. There’s so many I know listening and I’ve done it myself back in the day, but I believe Alan’s on the right track to build his own brand and also he’s innovative enough to find a partner that’s influencer and to find some ways to distribute that in the modern internet world.

[00:36:59] I really am proud of him sound like a dad or something, but thinking that’s what everybody here should be doing is building a brand. It doesn’t have to be a product brand. I mean.  Little bit proud of my little Brands, you know, this Global From Asia has it’s really not focused on us. I talked to some speakers and they’re like, I don’t know what Global media is.

[00:37:21] Well, I’m kind of in a transition. Honestly just released our fourth book e-commerce Gladiator. I’m spinning off these as websites. You know Ecommerce Gladiator.com has his own website now. Crossbordersummit.com is its own website and so when everything in Global From Asia of. But I think it’s just confused too many people.

[00:37:39] But you know, I think we need to build Brands and I’m really thinking he’s on the right track Alan and I hope to get him back on the show in the future and and see what he’s been building and growing and I wish him the best in the launch. I know he’s been asking me when we recorded about a month ago or so before I went on all these crazy.

[00:37:58] So, you know he’s launching soon and I hope this show can help maybe maybe if you’re interested to get involved. Give them some feedback check out his website by adding them on LinkedIn is the best. He’s pretty active on LinkedIn. He’s been supporting some of these posts in the LinkedIn world.  And he had a booth at the mega show or else he would have been at the summit, you know, just it’s hard not to overlap there in this trade show season with other things happening.

[00:38:28] But I do wish him the best wish you the best and I know you’re listening to this show is I know it might be too weird to listen to yourself. At least for me. I don’t like listening to my own voice still after Global From Asia turns six six years. Can you believe that? There was a little bit of a gap for a few months in the shows, but we’ve been keeping up mostly for six years and I appreciate you choosing to listen in, you’re in this blah blah blah session where I’m talking about.

[00:38:55] Alan and his thinking his dad and think of myself as a dad and taking the my kids and thinking of what the world will look like when my kids are Alan’s age. That’s pretty weird. Okay. I think it’s weird enough. Their meetings probably going to start soon. I got to compress this and hope the Chinese internet lets me upload this so that our amazing editor Alvin can make this.

[00:39:15] Lj can get this going and Sheryl. We got the transcription on the websites, you know, globalfromasia.com/episode 2 7 7 we try to get as much of a full transcription of this when we post so that you can try to enjoy that. My uncle Gary reads the transcriptions. I’m thinking listen to the podcast and thinking read the transcription.

[00:39:36] So that’s pretty cool a lot of things happening right now. I will be in Hong Kong when the show is live. Check it out Global Sources Summit and the community they’re meeting invest HK and some other people so I am really excited for that and then Halloween, I’m going to fly back to Thailand from Hong Kong that was thinking about him.

[00:40:00] Like I really hope the airport is opened. I really hope I was thinking about the masks Halloween that’s in Hong Kong sounds a little bit scary with what’s been happening if I was. Mischievous. I might use Halloween as a time to have masks and do stuff but maybe going to let you guys be creative on what that might be and personal I can do it.

[00:40:23] I’m going to be in the airport. Hopefully my flight on October 31st evening. Maybe you’re near airport you can give me a high five. Was in the airport hotel a couple of times but let’s let’s wrap this one. Thanks so much episode 277 and the book. Actually next week’s show I already interviewed this amazing author of a book and we talk some amazing things about the trade War in China culture, US

[00:40:48] Culture and some other insights of why people might not like Americans and I’m saying it as an American. I hope they catch you on next week’s show. Thank you again for listening and supporting however you are able to support books sharing podcast. Tell your friends. Tell your friends about the event.

[00:41:08] Things like that, retreats whatever, but try to make this show grow and you listening is helpful enough. Thank you to get more info about running an international business. Please visit our website at www.globalfromasia.com that’s www.globalfromasia.com. Also be sure to subscribe to our iTunes feed.

[00:41:29] Thanks for tuning in.