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Setting up my export business company


I called by my uncle in Saudi Arabia and informed him that the USA manufacturer welcomed the opportunity to provide them with the Stethoscopes. That there was no exclusivity issues to deal with in bypassing their local subsidiary and about their pricing. My uncle did a quick calculation to add up cost of shipping and insurance and it turned out that the final cost to him is very good and very competitive to what it would cost him if he would have to buy them directly from the local subsidiary.

He asked me another favor; Can I help them in finishing this purchase? I would have to contact a shipper to get their cost estimate for picking up the products at the manufacturers warehouse, including insurance cost and then shipping them by air to my uncle's company in Saudi Arabia.

I told him that I would be happy to help but I would need to investigate my local business requirements for me to do this.





I picked up the phone the next day and called up our local business license and permits department. To conduct an import export business, I would need:

  1. A general business license for a very small registration fee ($70)
  2. A fictitious business name filing since I did not want to transact business using my personal name. The cost was very small also ($40).
  3. I would open a bank account under the fictitious business name (providing the bank with a certified copy of the fictitious business name that I received from our local business licensing government agency). The bank required a $100 deposit to open a business account.
  4. I would need to publish the fictitious business name statement in a local newspaper. The cost was also small ($50)

So the total cost would be around $260 to get the business setup and I would able to accomplish that in around a week. Where I lived and would be conducting business at allowed for a business to start first and then register within a 30 day of conducting business. As you may know, different countries and different local business governing institutions will have different requirements to establishing the legal existence of a new business.

I called my uncle and told him about what I needed to do and he said that he would like to pay for those expenses since I would be doing it to mainly help his company receive the goods. He said once I had everything setup, he would be wiring to my business account the cost of business setup, the cost of purchasing the goods, the cost of shipping, a long with few more dollars to cover any unexpected costs and variances.

Within a week I had the business setup and ready.