Travelling around St. Petersburg

This summer I have been travelling around St. Petersburg, Russia to find the not-so-well-known places of interest and here's what I have found....

The 16-th century Swedish fortress of Kopor'ye some 40 kilometers from St. Petersburg

 The Naval Cathedral in Kronschtadt, the city's historic naval base. The cathedral is being restored.

 A historic truck at the walls of the magazine building in the Red Hill fort, 50 km from St. Petersburg. This 6-wheel drive monster is still running, even though it has been set on fire 3 times by the local err...people.

 The magneficent 300mm artillery train in the same Red Hill fort (Krasnaya Gorka). We saw a group of activists (people who fight to conserve the monumental complex, which is being attacked by the local government who are backing a residential complex project on the spot). The people were painting the wheels and checking if everything was in place.

 The loading mechanism for the 300 mm cannon.

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Fresh air

Well, let me share, what a business with a $2000 of starting capital looks like. Let us ignore the formal figures, as if i get down to them, I'd wish I never started. Well, like any business.

So, what I have done with my $2000?

I established a firm and opened a bank account.

I bought 8 sheets of Kydex and cut them into 400 pieces to be sold separately.

I opened an on-line shop, made a page in a Russian facebook clone vk.com

The operations started on September the 9th.

By now:

- I have sold my kydex to 9 different customers in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Samara, Ryazan and Yoshkar-Ola.

- I am currently working with 4 new customers and keep up with the previous 9, expecting new orders.

I sell via a delivery firm, as they send the cash to my firm's account right away.

My e-stoe is almost useless. There has only been 1 sale through it. All the other 8 come from the social network. I keep my database with the social network accounts of my customers, because these proved to be the superior contact method.

I have sold for a total of $300.

Am I depressed? No. Selling a completely new product with no experience in sales, no advertisment and no help is not that bad. I wish to get to #500 by October 15th and increase the sum firther by November.

Finally, a nice pic of a sheath by one of my group members

Oh, btw. I should offer him a deal!

Kydex cut into A4 format

Auto-Training

It's almost 3 AM

- No sales today

- No sales till Monday

- The payment system still does not work

Well..

This is a great idea

It it still woth doing

Thanks God I employ noone but myself!

My new business: Done so far

As I am planning to work with kydex, here are my first steps:

1) Calculations

2) Website for E-store

3) Ordered the E-store

4) Now doing SMM. A group on the Russian Facebook alternative.

5) A giveaway. Proposed a competition of manuals "Make something interesting of Kydex".

The essence of my current business

 A thermoplastic material from the US to be sold in Russia. Good for home-masters who love gadgets, such as this one =)

Russian business before 1917 - part 1

I have recently discovered, that my blog has no central idea whatsoever. So, I decided to write down another random topic, which nobody cares about. 

Russia is a country with the most dramatic history of private enterprises ever. Technically, the industrial revolution could not take off before 1862 when serfdom was officially abolished. Yes, Russia freed about 80% of its population from slavery after the US freed african-american slaves. From a social point of view, the situation was super-complex in Russia. In 1862, slavery wasabolished. The Tzar's government, howether did not dare to hit on the interests of the nobility too hard. All the freshly freed peasants found themselves in debt which they had to pay over a period of 10-20 years to their ex-masters for their land and freedom. Only the reforms of the early 1900's allowed this stagnation to end, resulting in massive immigation to the Russian cities and extensive industrial growth. By 1913, St. Petersburg was a modern European capital with lots of industrial enterprises and technological marvels, available to the rich in the forms of cars, private boats, electric lights and as sewing machines, electric trams and cinema to the public. It is fascinating to know, that many of the future giants of European business were already in Russua these years: Siemens, Citroen, Zinger. 

All the plants were nationalized in 1917. So now only the old buildings remember the start of free enterprise in Russia.

Russia has entered WTO: now what?

It's been a long story with our country. The USSR was a stubborn country, which did not like global associations. Communist associations suited it better and thanks to Joe Stalin and the KGB, there were plenty! But the world has changed and now we live in a global associated environment.

So, where has Russia arrived by finally signing all the WTO agreements? Well, actually, there is no big deal. For years, interest groups have been inflating the public debate. Anti-WTO rhetorics are the best presented in the media field. Here are some rumors, which have been circulationg the media since the 1990's.

- WTO is going to kill Russia's agriculture. How? Well, by introducing cheaper meats, vegetables and grains to the market. "Evil global forces will force Good Mother Russia to stop donating to her agricultural businesses, some still semi-government owned". What is really important? Well, government support to business in Russia is usually the essence of inefficiency. So, why don't we welcome the idea that less of our money will be being dumped into this financial black hole? The issue is complex, but mostly, the problem is with people who got used to the soviet idea of "self-sufficiency", which has almost never been nothing but a myth.

- WTO is going to kill Russia's manufacturers. Well, this one is a real problem. In today's world it is important to keep the industrial backbone afloat. Russian manufacturers of cars, ships, heavy machinery etc openly acknowlege that they still exist mainly due to import regulation. Even with the current customs tariffs, the Chinese car manufacturers still have a chance of biting a lump off the Russian car market in the next few years.

- WTO will kill Russia's banks. Give me that pistol, WTO, THAT'S how you make the control shot! Yes, this one is just dumb. There are many foreign banks in Russia anyway, there shuld be with credit rates of 15-17% for businesses and 19-30% for private persons. The financial system is stable, and there is always room for a few players.

Now, isthis all going to happen? Well, I don't think so. The reasons are simple.

- Russia is not rushing to reform the customs service. Like not at all. All the agreements on reducing tariffs are extremely vague with terms stretching from 6 to 15 years with conditions like "possible temporary increases of the tariffs to compensate for the changes". Customs will be working by the Customs Codex of the Customs Union, so, most likely, the rules are going to remain as they are today. And today the process is not transparent, complicated and full of difficulties.

- The system of requirements for goods is going to be strictly internal. I do not believe that anytime soon I will be able to import cosmetics having the ISO and GMP certificates of the manufacturer.These papers are now rubbish in Russia. Well, not that. One needs to present them while applying for the certificates of the Customs Union. Just to give you an example:

In order to import cosmetics for in-country sales, a company must present:
- State Registration papers, issued by Rospotrebnadzor of Russia. Every product must be have such a paper, or be included in a list with similar products in one. Cost: 100 USD per certificate + around 150 USD per product for testing. At least 100 ml of each product has to be submitted for testing. These take about 2 months to be issued.

- The new declarations of conformity. Now you have to declare the conformity to the Technical Requirements of the Customs Union, which is fresh and raw. Product groups are allowed again, but just for similar products. 130 USD per paper + up to 200 USD per product for testing. Again, at leasr 2 packages of at least 30 ml each fot each and every product. Can only be issued after the first papers are presented. Will take approximately 2 weeks.

Professional cosmetics become a nightmare with hundreeds of products and comparatively low volumes.

Stay tuned =)

Russia's profit margins - good pr bad?

Russia is a wild market from the point of view of Western companies. Normally, Russian companies prefer to engage in processes with at least 160% profitablity..