Gmail Motion

http://www.google.com/mail/help/motion.html#utm_source=en-et-na-us&utm_medium=new-features-link&utm_campaign=en

The Heaven

Adam just didn't want to live in God's heaven anymore, because that was God's heaven and not Adam's heaven. So he left heaven in order to create his heaven.

Safe Trading Tips Home

eCommercePortal is committed to making your trading experience safe and simple. By providing you with 

as much information as possible about potential buyers and sellers, we help both you and your trading 

partners make informed business decisions. These Safe Trading Tips are designed to help you take 

advantage of eCommercePortal\'s services in identifying trustworthy trading partners as well as online 

and offline resources that can help to make your internet experience more secure and safe.

There are a number of actions you can take to research your potential business partner whom you have 

met on the internet, so that you can reduce the risk of being subject to a fraudulent transaction or 

business misunderstanding. These include:

Verify the Identity of Supplier/Buyer

Always confirm if the address, phone number and email address given to you by your trading partner 

belongs to the same company. If a trader provides inconsistent contact details, for example an address 

in the India and phone number from another country, we recommend you look up the address in the local 

phone directory and obtain the local phone number, and call this number to confirm that the person you 

are in touch with actually works for the company. Similarly, if a partner\'s email heading states that 

they work for a certain company, you should verify this. Be aware that some scam artists could alter 

their return email address heading to make it look like they work for a company that they don\'t.

Check the Partner\'s Background

Background checks from independent third-party sources include a search for legal registration and 

credit reports. In many countries the existence of a company and its legal status is a matter of 

public record. Check with the companies registry in the partner\'s country to ensure that the company 

exists with a valid registration. If you cannot have independent access to your partner\'s 

registration information, ask your partner to provide you with a Certificate of Good Standing issued 

by the companies registry of his country or state/province. You can also gain further knowledge about 

your partner by ordering a credit history report from a local credit agency. Credit history reports 

contain information about the partner\'s business history in their relationships with banks and other 

trading partners. Go to contact credit agencies which can provide credit history reports. 

A personal meeting

Whenever possible, meet your business partner in person and visit his company\'s facilities. While the 

internet offers you a wealth of information on your potential partner which enables you to make an 

initial assessment, there is no substitute for face-to-face contact.

Protect Yourself When Ordering or Providing Samples

As a buyer, order a sample before committing to a purchase order to be sure that the product meets 

your expectations. As a seller, request payment for a sample and/or payment for shipping costs before 

you send out the sample, especially if your product has a high resale value.

Pre-Shipment Inspection Services

If you are a buyer, you can protect yourself against poor quality by ordering a pre-shipment 

inspection of the products. You can demand the inspection as a condition to payment.

Protect Yourself Against Payment Risk

If you are a seller and have not been doing business with your partner for very long, avoid selling 

your products on open-account (in which case you are extending credit to your buyer). Instead ask your 

buyer to open a letter of credit (an \"L/C\").

Protect Yourself Against Payment Risk-You Are the Buyer

If you are a buyer, sometimes a supplier may ask you for a deposit before he accepts the order. While 

this is not unusual between long-standing trading partners, if you are doing business with the 

supplier for the first time, make sure you have done sufficient background checks on the supplier 

before you agree to the deposit, or ask for a different form of payment, such as a letter of credit. 

If the seller seems more focused on payment than any other issue, or indicates that cash payment must 

be made urgently, more caution should be given to the transaction. Be extra cautious when the seller 

asks you to send money to an account whose real owner cannot be traced; for example, you cannot trace 

the real name of the person behind an account with a wiring service such as Western Union. 

Tips When Receiving Payment as a Seller 

If you are a seller and have not been doing business with your partner for very long, avoid selling 

your products on open-account (in which case you are extending credit to your buyer). Instead ask your 

buyer to open a letter of credit (L/C). 

Tips When Make Payment As a Buyer 

If you are a buyer, sometimes a supplier may ask you for a deposit (generally 30%) before he accepts 

the order. While this is not unusual between long-standing trading partners, if you are doing business 

with the supplier for the first time, make sure you have done enough background checks on the supplier 

before you agree to the deposit, or ask for a different form of payment, such as a letter of credit. 

If the seller seems more focused on payment than any other issue, or indicates that cash payment must 

be made urgently, more caution should be given to the transaction. Be extra cautious when the seller 

asks you to send money to an account whose real owner cannot be traced; for example, you cannot trace 

the real name of the person behind an account with a wiring service such as Western Union. 

Fake E-mail Addresses

It is possible for anyone with some technical knowledge to send an email with a fake address. When you 

receive an email from someone you know or whose email address appears legitimate, but the message of 

the email looks suspicious, you can verify whether the email came from the person whom the sender 

claims to be by using a simple procedure to check the email address. test adding trade safety tips

Computer: masculine or feminine word?

A Spanish teacher was explaining to her class that in Spanish, unlike English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine.

‘House’ for instance, is feminine: ‘la casa’

‘Pencil,’ however, is masculine: ‘el lapiz’

A student asked, “What gender is ‘computer’?”

Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two groups, male and female, and asked them to decide for themselves whether ‘computer’ should be a masculine or a feminine noun. Each group was asked to give four reasons for its recommendation.

The men’s group decided that ‘computer’ should definitely be of the feminine gender (‘la computadora’), because:

1 – No one but their creator understands their internal logic;

2 – The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else;

3 – Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for possible later retrieval;

4 – As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.

The women’s group, however, concluded that computers should be masculine (‘el computador’), because:

1 – In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on;

2 – They have a lot of data but still can’t think for themselves;

3 – They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they are the problem;

4 – As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better model.

The women won.

anonym

Comprehensive Business Solutions

www.ecommerceportal.biz offers comprehensive business solutions to the global community. Our portal is an ideal platform for buyers and sellers across the globe to interact and conduct business smoothly and effectively.

www.ecommerceportal.biz helps small-and-medium-sized enterprises compete in international trade, advance into new markets and meet the needs of their clients. The B2B website allows users to post and browse company information and trade related information in 27 categories.

www.ecommerceportal.biz was established in 2010 and has grown-up to a mature and professional B2B Portal that addresses the needs of business of more than 27 Industries in over 200 Countries with an aim to provide a complete solution where the companies meet online to do business.

Selling Leads

Our website provides global traders with powerful Product Searches, Buying Leads, Selling Leads, Trade Shows and much more.

E Commerce

E Commerce allows people to carry out businesses without the barriers of time or distance. The direct cost-of-sale for an order taken from a web site is lower than through traditional means.

While you deal with Nigeria than please read it FIRST

I'm a Nigerian resident in Nigeria and a sound businessman who always allows sound business judgement to dictate my actions. From my experience on this website just a little over 2 months. I discovered that the major swindlers on this site are from asia and they are in swarms. Making bogus claims and promising a lifetime bargain and asking you to transfer money to them.

Most of the so called Nigerian scammers are usually school dropouts between ages 12- 24 of average intelligence who post just anything on the web at unbelievable price. From Household items, plasma tv, watches even cell phones. I marvell endlessly at how people fall for such trap because A simple check will have revealed that doing business with such people is not worth while.

1. Nigeria doesn't manufacture most of the items posted by Nigerians on alibaba - that is one clue, most of them are imported into nigeria from Taiwan, Dubai, China etc. The only Company that manufacture cell phones in Nigeria is ZTE and they don't manufacture enough to export. If you want to import electronic items, then look at sources from which Nigeria imports them from. We are majorly a consumer nation not an industrial one per say.

2.Any Nigerian promising to sell Nigerian Oil, LPFO, aviation fuel, AGO, PMS etc from this site is a scammer. Allocations for Oil are usually snapped up immediately at NNPC because the demand is more than the supply. You cannot see anyone peddling Nigerian Oil on websites because the President himself has brought sanity into the industry.

FInally there are more honest people in Nigeria than dishonest people, if anyone makes you an offer that is too good to be true - shut down your emotions and greed quotient (GQ) and allow your sense of reason to direct you.

Except where a strong trust bond has been built i.e. several transaction completed succesfully, never send a dime through WESTERN UNION, if you do well - you've just flushed your money down the drain.

Insist that you will do business directly through the bank - where the volume of transaction is huge - request an advance payment guarantee (APG) which makes the bank liable if anything goes wrong. when you are sent the (APG) get the address of the bank (independent of the sender) from the Nigerian Central bank http://wwww.cenbank.org/ open up correspondence with the bank independent of your nigerian customer and ask them to send you a confirmation letter that the APG was issued by them. This keeps you in safe hands if anything goes wrong as the Nigerian Bank would have secured a collateral of the amount they are guaranteeing from the customer.

If you have been scammed by a nigerian get in touch with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) www.efccnigeria.org they will help you with the recovery of your money. In most countries of the world when you're scammed your money is gone forever - but in Nigeria we are doing something about it and millions of dollars are being recovered and sent back to their owner annually. A sample success story is here:

If you want to do business in solid minerals, contact the ministry directly www.msmd.org

If you want to invest verify from the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council www.nipc-nigeria.org

If you have any problem or any company you want verified, you can get in touch with me, I'll try and verify for you.

Nigeria is not as bad as people think, remember one bad apple doesn't spoil the whole bunch

Paul McCartney - Lady Madonna (live at jools holland)

Global E Commerce Portal: Bridging The World Markets

Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, 2010 by Singh, Nitish, Alhorr, Hadi S, Bartikowski, Boris P

Global e-commerce is expanding rapidly and several trillion dollars are being exchanged annually over the web. The global online population is also increasing substantially and by 2013, Wigder et al., [2009] of Forrester Research predict that there will be 2.2 billion Internet users worldwide and Asia will be the biggest global growth engine. Another interesting trend in global Internet usage is that almost 72.4 percent of these users are now non-English speaking [Internet World Stats, 2009]. So, besides English other languages like Chinese, Spanish, Japanese and French now have significant online usage. By 2010 U.S. retail e-commerce will be about $182.5 billion [Grau, 2008a]. On the other hand, European B2C e-commerce is expected to reach almost $234 billion by 2010 [Grau, 2006].According to e-marketer estimates by 2010 the British market share will fall to 44.5% as France and Germany ramp up their online sales. Asia will also see significant growth in B2C e-commerce with a 23.3 percent annual growth rate and eventually reaching almost $168.7 billion in 2011 [Grau, 2008b]. Japan and South Korea currently lead the B2C e-commerce sales in Asia but by 2011 they will be overtaken by China and India [Grau, 2008b]. From these numbers it is clear that e-commerce is now a truly global phenomenon. Thus web is increasingly becoming a diverse global marketplace with global business opportunities.

To take advantage of the full potential of global e-commerce, companies need to tap into global markets and consider expanding online not only in developed countries but also in the emerging economies of China, Brazil, India and others. Companies may proactively exploit global e-business opportunities and take advantage of the full potential of e-commerce, or may adopt a defensive approach to new global competition threatening their business. Domestic businesses will increasingly feel pressure of global competition as e-business will offer companies a platform to compete on global basis.

The Interconnected World

The Interconnected World

eCommerce Portal is the cheapest means of doing business

Important benefit of eCommerce Portal is that, it is the cheapest means of doing business.

 

The day-to-day pressures of the marketplace have played their part in reducing the opportunities for companies to invest in improving their competitive position. A mature market, increased competitions have all reduced the amount of money available to invest. If the selling price cannot be increased and the manufactured cost cannot be decreased then the difference can be in the way the business is carried out. eCommerce Portal provides the solution by decimating the costs which are incurred in promoting the business.

 

Poll

Bridging The World Markets

Managing a lucrative business entails attracting and servicing customers without the benefit of face-to-face contact. Assure your success with a full range of http://www.ecommerceportal.biz tools and services.

We've never heard of you either!

We've never heard of you either!

Join us @ www.ecommerceportal.biz and get to be known by traders worldwide.

Assessing Your Company's Export Readiness

Answering these general questions about how exporting will enhance into your company's short, medium and long-term goals will help determine your company's readiness to export: What does the company want to gain from exporting? Is exporting consistent with other company goals? What demands will exporting place on the company's key resources, management and personnel, production capacity, and finance and how will these demands be met? Are the expected benefits worth the costs, or would company resources be better used for developing new domestic business? Once you have decided to sell your products abroad, it is time to develop an export plan. A crucial first step in planning is to develop broad consensus among key management on the company's goals, objectives, capabilities, and constraints. In addition, all aspects of an export plan should be agreed upon by the personnel involved in the exporting process, as they will ultimately execute the export plan. The purposes of the export plan are (a) to assemble facts, constraints, and goals and (b) to create an action statement that takes all of these into account. The statement includes specific objectives, it sets forth time schedules for implementation, and it marks milestones so that the degree of success can be measured and help motivate personnel. At least the following ten questions should ultimately be addressed: Which products are selected for export development? What modifications, if any, must be made to adapt them for overseas markets? Which countries are targeted for sales development? In each country, what is the basic customer profile? What marketing and distribution channels should be used to reach customers? What special challenges pertain to each market (competition, cultural differences, import controls, etc.), and what strategy will be used to address them? How will the product's export sale price be determined? What specific operational steps must be taken and when? What will be the time frame for implementing each element of the plan? What personnel and company resources will be dedicated to exporting? What will be the cost in time and money for each element? How will results be evaluated and used to modify the plan? The first time an export plan is developed, it should be kept simple. It need be only a few pages long, since important market data and planning elements may not yet be available. The initial planning effort itself gradually generates more information and insight. As the planners learn more about exporting and your company's competitive position, the export plan will become more detailed and complete. From the start, the plan should be viewed and written as a management tool, not as a static document. Objectives in the plan should be compared with actual results to measure the success of different strategies. The company should not hesitate to modify the plan and make it more specific as new information and experience are gained. A detailed plan is recommended for companies that intend to export directly. Companies choosing indirect export methods may require much simpler plans. NOTE: Many companies begin export activities hap-hazardly, without carefully screening markets or options for market entry. While these companies may or may not have a measure of success, they may overlook better export opportunities. If early export efforts are unsuccessful because of poor planning, your company may be misled into abandoning exporting altogether. Formulating an export strategy based on good information and proper assessment increases the chances that the best options will be chosen, that resources will be used effectively, and that efforts will consequently be carried through to success.

Alexa Top 1,000,000 Sites

Our site has joined Alexa Top 1,000,000 sites with its following database:

Total Members               :1748
Total Categories             :  652
Total Sell Offers             :1078
Total Buy Offers            :    17
Total Product Catalogs  :  532
Total Company Profiles: 854

Join us at http://www.ecommerceportal.biz

Developing a Marketing Plan

As you can imagine, many foreign markets differ greatly from each other. Some differences include climatic and environmental factors, social and cultural factors, local availability of raw materials or product alternatives, lower wage costs, varying amounts of purchasing power, the availability of foreign exchange, and government import controls. Once you have decided that your company is able and committed to exporting, the next step is to develop a marketing plan.
A clearly written marketing strategy offers six immediate benefits:

1. Because written plans display strengths and weaknesses more readily, they are a great help in formulating and polishing an export strategy.
2. Written plans are not easily forgotten, overlooked, or ignored by those charged with executing them. If deviation from the original plan occurs, it is likely to be due to a deliberate and thoughtful choice.
3. Written plans are easier to communicate to others and are less likely to be misunderstood.
4. Written plans allocate responsibilities and provide for an evaluation of results.
5. Written plans are helpful when seeking financial assistance. They indicate to lenders that you have a serious approach to the export venture.
6. Written plans give management a clear understanding of what will be required of them and thus help to ensure a commitment to exporting. Actually, a written plan signals that the decision to export has already been made.

This last advantage is especially noteworthy. Building an international business takes time. It usually takes months, sometimes even several years, before an exporting company begins to see a return on its investment of time and money. By committing to the specifics of a written plan, top management can make sure that the firm will finish what it begins and that the hopes that prompted its export efforts will be fulfilled.

Manage your Business

Integration of Financial and Ecommerceportal systems

Efficient integration of financial and e-commerce systems has fundamentally changed the way modern companies operate. Companies who integrate their business with e Commerce Portal website gain substantial competitive advantage by reducing the operating costs, adding value to their operations and providing their customers with new and innovative products in much faster pace.

Gold Membership is a valuable tools to get a lot of customers

We started with a free membership on eCommercePortal.biz two months ago. After we had tested the features,benefit & gained more confidence in eCommercePortal.biz\'s system, we decided to become a Gold Member. We found that working with other Gold Memberss made our research easier and gave us a higher degree of valuable leads. Internationally marketing our company\'s product line requires a strong online presence. We believed, and now know that using a B2B search engine is essential in developing a highly qualified lead system. Through eCommercePortal.biz, we have received potential leads throughout Asia, Europe, South and North America. We are now seriously working with 3 major leads from 3 different countries. These leads each have the potential to produce hundreds of thousands of dollars in product orders.

ALWAYS ASK - NEVER ASSUME!!

His request approved, the CNN News photographer quickly used a cell phone to call the local airport to charter a flight. 
  
He was told a twin-engine plane would be waiting for him at the airport. 

Arriving at the airfield, he spotted a plane warming up outside a hanger. 
  
He jumped in with his bag, slammed the door shut, and shouted, 'Let's go'. 

The pilot taxied out, swung the plane into the wind and took off. 
  
Once in the air, the photographer instructed the pilot, 'Fly over the valley and make low passes so I can take pictures of the fires on the hillsides.' 

'Why?' asked the pilot. 

'Because I'm a photographer for CNN' , he responded, 'and I need to get some close up shots.' 

The pilot was strangely silent for a moment, finally he stammered, 'So, what you're telling me, is . . . You're NOT my flight instructor?'

Forwarded URL s

http://www.ecommerceargentina.com
http://www.ecommercearmenia.com
http://www.ecommerceaustria.com
http://www.ecommercebrazil.com
http://www.ecommercedenmark.com
http://www.ecommerceengland.com
http://www.ecommercefinland.com
http://www.ecommercegermany.com
http://www.ecommercegreatbritain.com
http://www.ecommerceholland.com
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http://www.ecommerceiraq.com
http://www.ecommerceisrael.com
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http://www.ecommercejapan.com
http://www.ecommercekorea.com
http://www.ecommercenigeria.com
http://www.ecommercenorway.com
http://www.ecommercepalestine.com
http://www.ecommercepoland.com
http://www.ecommerceportugal.com
http://www.ecommerceromania.com
http://www.ecommercerussia.com
http://www.ecommerceserbia.com
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http://www.ecommerceswitzerland.com
http://www.ecommercetaiwan.com
http://www.ecommerceturkey.com
http://www.ecommerceuae.com
http://www.ecommerceuruguay.com

All above URL are aliases for http://www.ecommerceportal.biz

Bridging the Global Markets

Our website provides global traders with powerful Product Searches, Buying Leads, Selling Leads, Trade Shows and much more.
http://www.ecommerceportal.biz

http://www.ecommerceportal.biz: yourshop.eCommercePortal.biz

http://www.ecommerceportal.biz: yourshop.eCommercePortal.biz

yourshop.eCommercePortal.biz

eCommercePortal.biz is one of the leading B2B marketplaces for global trade and the provider of online marketing services for importers and exporters. It is a place for buyers and sellers to find trade opportunities and promote their business online. 

It is a great tool for importers, exporters and manufacturers connecting users from around the world. With eCommercePortal.biz, you can list your products in Sell Offers, Buy Offers, post or reply to Trade Alerts, identify buyers and/or sellers, explore the Resources section and more - all free of charge. SO GET START TODAY!!

Joining eCommercePortal.biz is a great way to jumpstart your global business. Free membership includes an e-business website (ex.:http://yourshop.eCommercePortal.biz)- providing your company with a contact information and product details page, a subscription to Trade Alerts and Newsletters. Plus, you can post and reply to Trade Leads.

Admin

Zero Cost

Promote your business at zero cost

The day-to-day pressures of the marketplace have played their part in reducing the opportunities for companies to invest in improving their competitive position.

Important benefit of e Commerce Portal is that, you can promote your business at zero cost.

A mature market, increased competitions have all reduced the amount of money available to invest. If the selling price cannot be increased and the manufactured cost cannot be decreased then the difference can be in the way the business is carried out.

e Commerce Portal provides the solution. you can promote your business at zero cost.

Growing a Business

Fraud Email Samples

The following are examples of fraud that we\'ve identified. We\'ve categorized the scams by their subject matter and content. This page will be updated frequently. Please visit this page often to learn about the latest alerts.The Internal Revenue Service (IRS)has issued a warning about an email scam that looks like official communications from the IRS. The email scam notifies individuals of an impending audit or an offer to access a refund. The fake message includes links to Web pages that use graphics from the IRS and an official copyright notice. The IRS does not communicate with taxpayers via email. If the IRS needs to contact you, it will do so by mail or phone.
Million Dollar Sweepstakes Official notices from the World Lottery Association asserting you\'ve won a million dollar sweepstakes are fraudulent. The scam states that funds have been deposited with .........t Financial, Inc. (a fictitious company) and includes a check for $3,999 to \"assist in legal and administration fees.\" The fake letter asks you to keep your winnings from the public until the claim can be processed. ............Financial, Inc is not a part of the scam and the included check is fake and cannot be cashed.
International ATM Alert ........, and other financial institutions, have observed an unprecedented level of fraudulent transactions occurring at ATMs outside the US. In order to protect ........ cardholders traveling outside the US, it has been necessary to temporarily restrict the ATM spending limits in specific areas outside the US. We have made an effort to exclude ........clients with non-US addresses from these changes. While there are only a few areas restricted at this time, additional areas may be added at any time as new areas with concentrated fraud are identified. Due to the changing nature of this situation, no listing of restricted areas or of the value of the restricted limits will be provided. Protecting Your Computer and Online account Protect your computer like you protect your checkbook. The following tips will help you protect your computer and your online accounts:
Be cognizant of your surroundings when using a public computer or working on a wireless network. Keep your online accounts active – such as Online Banking with Bill Pay – to watch for any suspicious transactions. Help protect your computer and your accounts by installing anti-spyware on your computer. Anti-spyware can help prevent the collection of your personal and account information without your knowledge.Update your antivirus software regularly to help protect your computer against viruses and other harmful computer codes. Stay up-to-date on the latest online security concerns such as viruses, keyloggers, and trojan horses. These destructive software programs can often appear to be authentic, but can result in damage to your computer.
Suspicious Activity/Account at Risk. Some clients have received emails that convey a sense of urgency and warn them that their accounts are at risk. For example, they notify clients that such as such company suspects fraudulent activities or charges on their accounts. The fraudulent emails often include the name of a fictitious business and dollar amounts of the \"suspected\" charges and ask clients to respond to the emails to resolve the issue.

What is Fraud Emails

Fraud is a term that has become part of our everyday vocabulary. You probably hear variations of fraud ranging from identity theft, online fraud, such as phishing and pharming, to offline fraud, including credit card, phone solicitations, print fraud, check scams, and mail fraud. You can help protect your personal information and accounts by using caution when providing confidential information. Also, by keeping yourself updated on the latest fraud alerts, you can help prevent yourself from becoming a victim.Mail fraud occurs when scammers illegally intercept your mail or when you receive unrealistic offers.

e Commerce Portal is the cheapest means of doing business

Important benefit of e Commerce Portal is that, it is the cheapest means of doing business.

The day-to-day pressures of the marketplace have played their part in reducing the opportunities for companies to invest in improving their competitive position. A mature market, increased competitions have all reduced the amount of money available to invest. If the selling price cannot be increased and the manufactured cost cannot be decreased then the difference can be in the way the business is carried out. e Commerce Portal provides the solution by decimating the costs which are incurred in promoting the business.

E Commerce Portal: Global Trade starts here

http://www.ecommerceargentina.com is now forwarded to URL http://www.ecommerceportal.biz

E Commerce Portal: Bridging The World Markets

E Commerce Portal: Bridging The World Markets

nomorelonely.com

nomorelonely.com

E Commerce Portal: Bridging The World Markets

E Commerce Portal: Bridging The World Markets

http://www.ecommercebrazil.com

Brazilians seek long term relationships. Though profits are very important, it is almost always a secondary issue after personal relationships. A foreign company which enters the Brazilian market with such intentions, and which always stresses that they are there to establish long-lasting relations, has tremendous competitive advantage.

Brazilians have a very strong culture of importing and exporting. Over time, they have developed a sense that there is a whole world out there, which they are willing to reach through both imports and exports. The idea of taking and giving is very strong.

Business Meetings

In a meeting, shake hands with and greet each person individually; never walk in and acknowledge everyone all at once. If you know the order of status then shake hands from highest to lowest.

Always be on time for an appointment but expect to wait. They're always 10-15 minutes late. Be patient with business-related delays. Expect many interruptions [during meetings], especially at the higher levels.

They are very interested in physical contact. In a meeting they might touch your arm or pat you on the back. You don't have to initiate physical contact but be aware that it might happen.

Business Protocol

You might be invited to a meal in a business contact's home. Dinner time is from 7:00 - 9:00 PM.

Don't bring anything with you [to a dinner in a home]. Instead, send flowers afterward as a thank you. Be careful not to send purple flowers, or anything purple because it's considered a death omen.

Don't give personal gifts such as ties or perfume. These are seen as too personal for business entertainment gifts.

If you have a business dinner at a restaurant, the service charge added to the meal cost. However, it is customary to give another 5% to the waiter. Taxi drivers are also tipped 10%.