How to Find Manufacturers & Suppliers in Asia (E143)

Kevin UrrutiaFounder of Voy Media Notes: Worked with the TSA for approvalPicked from a catalogCost 150k for the moldsThe factory recommended other suppliersFounder factories via Alibaba, AliExpressHow to US port documents -> Panjiva Looking for high barrier to entry productsGet reviews from bloggers and influences Sponsors: Drip – Get a free demo of Drip using this coupon code!Spark Shipping – Dropshipping Automation Software Transcript: Charles (00:00): In this episode of a business. E-Commerce I talk with Kevin Urrutia about how to find suppliers in Asia. This is the Business of eCommerce episode 143. Charles (00:17): Welcome to the business of eCommerce the show that helps eCommerce retailers start launch and grow their eCommerce business. I'm always Charles Palleschi I'm here today with Kevin Urrutia. Kevin is the founder of Voy media. We just started several eCommerce companies, his most recent company producing luggage. We probably showed it chat about how he went through the process of finding suppliers in Asia to produce the luggage. Super interesting, just talking to Kevin about his whole background process and how we kind of thought through the process of getting this business started. It's very addressing, I think, helpful for anyone just starting off or even someone experienced right at the very end of the show, he also dropped some really helpful, helpful nuggets on what he would do if he was just starting off today. So I think it's well worth listening right to the end. Let's get into the show. Hey Kevin, how you doing today? Kevin (01:06): Hey, I'm doing good. How are you Charles (01:08): Great to have you on the show. I'm super interested in we're talking about earlier. So about finding suppliers in Asia. But I guess some of your background real quick. So we're talking in 2020. And what do you guys do? So, so luggage currently. Kevin (01:25): Yeah. So for tester, we are sound luggages online when we did, so that's a carry on probably the, one of the most proper sizes, but then we pop like maybe eight months ago we released like the other two sizes. The medium wanted to check one. But yeah, for like almost a good year and a half, we only sold the carry on because we didn't have any cash to make the other ones. Charles (01:44): So you actually, so you started what? A year and a half ago? Or how long has it been around? Kevin (01:49): Oh, now, yeah, like actual selling, but then we were in like product development. We're good. Like six months being up, like the products and stuff. Yeah. Charles (02:00): So when you say product development kind of let's go. So what, at what part did you actually, when you say product development, what part were you developing? What part are you talking to suppliers and like, how did this whole process happened? Kevin (02:10): Yeah, so for the, for the chest of luggage, so this is my second e-commerce company for Chester. Everything on the luggage is actually custom made a supplier that we've worked with, which is great because obviously you probably know e-commerce like, you can say, Hey, like, this is one thing that I'd like to kind of funny. We're like, Hey, we want to make a of agent. And they're like, okay, like, can you make that look just like this corn company? And they're like, nah, like we don't work like that. And we're like, no, cause like we're so used to that. Right? Like you see that align well with them. They wanted us to pretty much pick everything like, and that was pretty exciting and also scary because we'd never done it. But like, I kinda liked that. So we were able to pick the wheels, they send us like a catalog. Kevin (02:48): You find out like a catalog of like wheels, shells interior, interior lining, and then colors. And then we have to just design the whole shape of it. And then they need to be like AutoCAD for that. So then my brother is actually art.