Korean Job Discussion Forums

[lastat06513]

Through my ex-wife, I got alot of connections with clothing suppliers in China (she wanted to open a boutique in the US), but I had a chat with a supplier in China and they said they would rather do business with me rather than her (who would've thought.....), but I was thinking, why not open a small-scale stand on-base, if possible, sometime down the road after I get re-established in Korea.

I know there are some people here who have some affiliation with USFK (including some soldiers) and what procedures are required to get a vending lisense to sell stuff on-base?

I think this info is not just important for me, but also for those eager entrepreneurs who would like to venture into this kind of business.....

[bixlerscott]

To get vendor license to sell on military bases, apply with AAFES, the Army Airforece Exchange Service. This is the site: http://www.aafes.com/pa/selling/default.asp

This subject has me on a tangent...

Yes, for several years I have been very interested in this subject to the point of majoring in international business in college after serving in the US Army where many vendors were partenered with AAFES to conduct retail sales to military people.
Another way, many eBay sellers are buying in China and selling in the US and have a substantial business operation out of thier homes or rented space. I would suspect that some live and travel abroad. But to do this, it takes a substantial amount of cash for initial outlay to realize start-up. I believe I would had already done it after earning my business degree almost 2 years ago had I had a few hundred thousand dollars laying around. Maybe even fifty thousand dollars could get you started which I am thinking is possible though risky.

I took several college courses on doing business in China and found it is best for large corporations to engage in so a job as an international business agent would be ideal in order to gain experience, make contacts, and earn the money to set out on your own venture in a few years from now. The problem in getting an international business career started is that these jobs are only for experienced older people with MBA's and to invest for your own venture, you need some real coin in your name. Kinda catch 22 many people, particularly college grads, aspiring for a business career, but many finally achieve it through working many years in another career field (I.e. teaching English, truck driving, or store management) while saving and investing money. So teaching English in Korea is a decent entry level, but modest, position to get some real world experience and even a chance to save $10,000 per year.

Heck, a stateside friends' 75 year old multimillionare father taught in a one room country school house for 40 years straight, all while saving up money, and investing it in a portfolio and a couple pieces of real estate. At the ripe age of 65, he bought into a 1/16 share of a private jet, a nanny, a large ranch, horses, lakes, Lexus car, and regularly enjoys trips to the Trump hotel in Chicago and the Peabody hotel in Memphis. He realized all this good secure living and yet he was only a teacher with a strong sense of financial management. Of course his generation or time period saw huge appreciation of asset values from the 1950's until recent times, while today, asset values tend to be over stated in real estate and financial markets which are just big bubbles waiting to burst. Not a young adult investors market any more like in the 20th century unless we're talking international business which is where new opportunities are and why we are here in Korea today.

Guess an undergradute business degree is meant to be a very long term investment, not one that yields much in the early years which I find very difficult to stomach, but things can and do change once you get 10 years or more out from graduation so long as you strive to improve, while saving money.

Just some of the many ideas I have when it comes to topics related to money, business, and careers.