May 1, 2009

Women learn firsthand the ins and outs of importingBy Carlton ProctorPNJ.com

From Spanish olive oil to French jewelry to exotic Argentine handbags to antique chandeliers, the products they import are as different as the countries from which they originate.

But what Susan Bullock and Laura Austin, Susan Smart and Bradley Proctor, JY Smejkal, and Susan Finger do have in common is good taste, a love of travel and an understanding of the hard work, marketing savvy and risk-taking needed to make an import business click.

Here are their stories:

B&A BAiscos

It all started at a dinner party with good friends.

Over good food and wine, the conversation turned to a trip a guest had taken to Argentina.

Susan Bullock and Laura Austin were soon convinced to take a trip to the nation’s thriving capital city, Buenos Aries.

“We spent a wonderful week in Buenos Aries,” Bullock said. “Laura has a great eye and is a real fashionista.”

Returning from Argentina with some high-end animal skin handbags they saw in the capital city, the two were urged to start a business selling the items in the United States.

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