STEP 5 OPERATION SERVICES

Launch a Virtual U.S. Presence

Virtual Office

Conducting business in the United States can be done from any location in the world without the expenses of establishing a local office. Sunshine State Enterprises helps clients create a “virtual” presence, which is a lower-cost tactic for having a subsidiary, phone number, and address in the United States. This presence can help clients in the sales, local operations, and other requirements.

Local Representation

Sunshine State Enterprises is proud to act as a local representative for clients. On their behalf, we attend industry trade shows, important conferences, and smaller-scale local meetings. Clients can choose from a range of packages meet their unique trade show needs, so clients don’t have to spend the time or money involved in traveling overseas to publicize their businesses and network with other players in the U.S. market.

Correspondence and Communication

Thanks to the creation, editing, and interpretation services that we offer, our clients have no need to feel intimidated by cultural and linguistic differences. We can work on any type of professional communication, such as marketing materials, business proposals, letters, and even e-mails.

Start Your U.S. Subsidiary and Operations

Once you’ve finished your market analysis and strategy creation, you can set up your presence in the United States. Sunshine State Enterprises is ready to help you here as well, with the support you need to successfully set up your subsidiary in the U.S. Payroll and administrative systems are just two ways we can help. We can even set up your office space. Everyone who works on your subsidiary is reliable, professional, and personable, so that your company is represented in the same favorable light.

The flexibility of our service offerings means that you can entrust to us as little or as much as you want while being certain that the U.S. subsidiary is in good hands. This frees you up to concentrate on other business concerns. We can even act as your company’s U.S. COO or CFO.

Subsidiary Creation

Finding the right partners and making the best decisions will save your business money and time. Sunshine State Enterprises assists in the process of subsidiary creation for this reason.

Domiciliation and Hosting

Sunshine State’s own offices are located throughout the state of Florida. We offer a range of office hosting services, with many amenities that can help your business function well while you make connections from our contacts, get off to a solid start, and grow your presence in the U.S. These amenities include our large networks; well-appointed meeting rooms; reception (call and mail); kitchen facilities for employees; and excellent sites.

General Administrative Support

In addition to taking care of your subsidiary’s need for physical space, we can also take care of the administrative support your company needs.

  • Sales documents creation and management (delivery notice, invoice, order acknowledgement, and more)
  • Support in human resources (limited)
  • Legal representation (limited; assistant secretary)
  • Logistics (basic), including shipping and receiving
  • Management of bank account(s)
  • Follow-up with suppliers and customers (tax documentation, invoice, payment)
  • Provider management, such as insurance (general liability and health), bookkeeping, payroll, and so on

Accounting, Financial, Payroll, Insurance

To meet the needs of clients who want further assistance in operations, we partner with a firm of multilingual Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) who offer tax and accounting services. All services are compliant with U.S. standards. The firm has experience in working with international clients. The following services are available:

  • Processing payroll (once or twice per month)
  • Monthly or quarterly financial reporting; includes balance sheet, accounts receivable, accounts payable, profit & loss, bank reconciliation report, etc.
  • General ledger entry
  • Tax estimation and tax returns (corporate)

Employment, Recruiting

Employment laws and practices in the United States are markedly different from those in China, which can be a surprise for new businesses here. An employer has a great deal of responsibility, and Sunshine State Enterprises can help you understand the differences and make the best decisions for your business and its employees. Whether you decide to come to the U.S. yourself for business development, to send someone on your behalf, or to select someone local, we can help you with any immigration, recruitment, and benefits processes and issues.

Public and Government Relation

While many of our clients think strategically and have the experience and professionalism typically found in large international companies, they prefer the individual client focus that often typifies smaller businesses. Sunshine State Enterprises can provide the creative public relations and communications services your company will need in the U.S. market. These services can be used for a wide variety of industries.

Our strengths can be found in every stage of the PR process: research, strategy, creation, and execution. Our expertise is demonstrated in the following ways:

  • Corporate, marketing, and internal communications
  • Public affairs and media relations (including placement)
  • Communications strategy and development
  • Social media and digital strategy and implementation
  • Brand development
  • Media training
  • Editorial services (including op-eds, white papers, press materials, and speeches)

Legal Support

Though we are not legal practitioners, we understand just how vital accurate and reliable legal guidance is for businesses, especially those who are new to the U.S. Differences between the U.S. and European business law structures can be difficult for companies to handle. Correct legal structure of your company and subsidiary is essential for a smooth legal future. Failure to create the proper legal structure can result in problems and even losses that can bog down your business or even lead to its failure.

Sunshine State Enterprises is pleased to recommend attorneys (screened by us) who are experts in U.S. and Chinese business law. Their goal is protect your company and add value to it. When making referrals, we will select attorneys best suited to your company’s unique issues and needs. We can also focus on the most vital areas of legal counsel for your company.

The following list of legal services is typical for most of our clients:

  • Contracts (business and incorporation): U.S. subsidiary incorporation; registration of corporation in appropriate U.S. state; filing of by-laws and provisions; creation of end-user and/or commercial contracts
  • Employment and human resources: creation and establishment of provisions (hiring, employment, firing, etc.) that comply with subsidiary state’s laws as well as those of the U.S. federal government
  • Intellectual property: assessment, prioritization, and protection
  • Visa and immigration: correct immigration status and/or visas for subsidiary’s employees
  • Sunshine State Enterprises highly stresses that every company’s legal considerations are different, and your unique considerations as well as your entire business will likely benefit from discussion with qualified legal counsel.

Purchasing and Sales

Direct Sales to US Customers

By using importers, trading companies, and brokers, up to 80% of the total price paid for a product can go to those middlemen. Direct sales can be vital for a company who is working with high levels of price-based competition and faster sales cycles.

Direct sales channels can lead to diversifying streams of revenue and shortening the sales cycles. Companies can see major margin improvements (40% to 50% of total revenues, up to 90% in some cases). Despite these benefits, many businesses based in developing economies, such as China, still get their products to customers in the U.S. via importers or trading companies. Maintaining the use of such middlemen eliminates the largest potential source of increased financial returns.

Our approach to removing trading companies and brokers from the sales process is based on the simple principle that selling directly to customers in the US is not that complicated and, with a small amount of help, our clients can do it for themselves. In our experience, clients need assistance with three main tasks; local logistical support, overcoming language and cultural barriers and dealing with the formalities. Logistical support includes contacting potential customers, arranging meetings, engaging local experts (e.g. supply and logistics companies, attorneys or bookkeepers) as needed and resolving questions between the US and foreign partners. Overcoming language barriers includes translating documents, answering our foreign clients’ questions in their native language (e.g. Chinese) and advising our clients on US business practices and etiquette. Dealing with the formalities includes creating an appropriate legal structure (e.g. company or LLC), helping with tax returns and acquiring licenses as necessary.

We can help you significantly increase your revenues and keep profits in your pocket, not the pocket of your broker.

Buying Direct from US Suppliers

In developing economies such as China, many businesses use trading companies or brokers to source their components and materials. These companies and brokers assess significant fees for their work, money that most companies don’t have or can’t spare. Using such companies and brokers can also result in longer delivery times, which can affect companies’ profits and successes.

Sunshine State Enterprises purchases directly from U.S. vendors, a simple approach that allows us to remove these middlemen from the process of procurement. With our assistance, our clients can learn this method of procurement and perform it themselves, thus saving more of their hard-earned money instead of giving it to brokers. Through direct procurement, businesses can save on average 20% to 25% of total materials cost. This average can go all the way up to 50% depending on the type of materials/components purchased. Working directly with suppliers can also lead to quicker deliveries.

Our experience has shown that, in three main areas, clients usually require assistance: formal processes, language and cultural differences, and local logistics. Legal work such as creation of proper legal structures (company structure), license acquisition, and corporate tax preparation are all part of formal processes. Translation, interpretation, explanations of principles and issues in native languages (such as Chinese), and education about business culture and etiquette are all part of language and cultural differences. Meeting set-ups, contact with possible vendors, and working with locally-based experts (attorneys, accountants, supply and logistics providers, etc.) are all part of logistical support.

 

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