How do i start this business?

Question

hey you guysss!!!.. im 19-years-old entrepreneur from latin america...

the thing is that i have found a hughe company from europe that is not present in latin america... i would like to import their products and sell them in official stores (i mean, with their same brand) and open a few stores across latin american cities (of course, this implies a a long process)...

how do i start??... do i have to contact them first??... do i have to do a business plan with experienced accountants and lawyers?... how many capital would i need??... i think i could get some for the first store and start growing later...

im an accounting and economics major in a latin american university

thanks!!!

ps: i dont have experience, but i´m young and in this industry it could be valued.. i guess... would it be??

Answer 1

Ok, we might have a problem here.  What your talking about is in effect opening up a new division of an existing company...think Coca-Cola South Africa...this would fine, companies do it all the time, but usually it is the company itself, or more accurately an employee of the company that starts the process.  

Now im not saying that it would be impossible for you to pitch your idea, get the funding (projects like this are almost exclusively funded by the parent company, except when a merger is involved but that isn't the case here) I'm just saying its a long shot.  

To make this work u would need the backing of a big whig in the company itself, sold data that proves your business would be profitable, and a working knowledge of the business culture in your proposed market.

Oh, and one more thing, assuming the plan works and the company agrees to let u head their new latin american devision, u would not have ownership over the division.  You would be an employee; I would guess a vice-president given the amount of responsibility required of divisional heads.

Good Luck