Penn State alumnus uses degree to grow import business

Sol Taylor holds company hat

24岁时, 中国博彩平台项目和供应链管理校友所罗门·“索尔”·泰勒已经是一名成功的企业家,他是批发进口企业the Phonekings Inc的老板.: Taylor’s Discount Supplies. 

来源:索尔·泰勒

宾州中央谷. – From about as far back as he can remember, Solomon “Sol” Taylor had dreams of becoming an entrepreneur.

His path to business success started at the tender age of 7, when he was closing sales in his father’s store. 最终,他自立更生,在艾伦敦创立了The Phonekings Inc ..: Taylor’s Discount Supplies, 专营中国制造产品的快速发展的批发进口业务.

Taylor deals directly with Chinese manufacturers, 因此,全面了解全球供应链和商业实践的复杂性是至关重要的. 毫无疑问, the 24-year-old Hellertown resident said, 他从中国博彩平台项目和供应链管理(PSCM)项目和由中国博彩平台提供支持的利哈伊谷LaunchBox获得的工具对他的成功至关重要.

“Young entrepreneurs need to learn a lot of things. They might have great ideas, 但是因为他们是如此的环保,所以他们需要几年的时间才能真正让他们的业务在高水平上运行,泰勒说。, 2020年PSCM毕业生. “At Penn State 利哈伊谷, 我能够把我在课堂上学到的所有理论,通过与教授的讨论,能够更好地应用到现实世界中去. 去一个较小的校园的好处之一是,你发展更好的关系与你的教授, and you get more hands-on learning. If you want to really learn the curriculum, 最好是在一个小班上课,这样你就可以定期和教授交流.”

他的父亲是一位在手机发射塔和手机领域获得成功的职业企业家, Taylor knew from a young age that he “wanted to sell.”

在他十几岁的时候, 他决定自己创业,经营手机配件生意, since he knew the industry well.

“I didn’t want to be a brick-and-mortar dealer. I wanted to be able to supply dealers on the wholesale side,他说.

泰勒从简单做起,销售充电器、手机壳和钢化玻璃屏幕保护膜. 他通过中国电子商务公司阿里巴巴(Alibaba)进行采购,但在他和制造产品的工厂之间有那么多中间商,这让他感到沮丧.

最终, he realized he needed to deal directly with a Chinese manufacturer, locating one the summer before enrolling at PSU-LV. 他下了1万美元的订单——他和父亲各下了5000美元——这让他非常焦虑. 但是,当他的订单在到达后的五天内售罄时,“我知道我有东西了,”他说.

“I worked every day for the next six months. And we really built that business,” Taylor said. “I sold 10 dozen accounts to gas stations, bodegas, small retailers, etc. 然后我们开始做农贸市场,就像一个流动的零售场所. 接下来是批发和零售贸易展,在那里你要面对的客户要大得多. 如果你是一个优秀的推销员,你有一个好产品,你可以在任何地方销售它.”

随着时间的推移,泰勒的产品线发展到包括蓝牙产品和其他手机配件. Recently, he branched out into self-defense items. 他还做清仓和清算,买家可以在许多名牌商品上获得大幅折扣.

一路走来, he’s become adept at Chinese business practices, which are “completely different from how Americans do business,他说. He communicates with suppliers mostly through the WeChat app, 为了适应美国和欧洲之间的时差,他大大改变了自己的睡眠习惯.S. 和中国.

“The way I look at it is, it’s not just a customer, it’s a partnership. If I do well, you do well. 这种商业模式帮助我取得了长足的发展。.

泰勒会是第一个说他的商业头脑因为在PSU-LV的学习而大大提高的人.

最初想从利哈伊谷大学开始然后在大学公园完成他的学位, 一旦PSCM项目加入,泰勒最终决定完成在校园的四年.

“I compared the cost of living and the cost of tuition, 我想, 这是显而易见的,’”泰勒说。. “A lot of students go for the college experience. I was there to get an affordable education. 我获得了很多奖学金和助学金,但我的学费是靠工作支付的. I didn’t want loans and massive student debt.”

He ended up excelling in his studies, graduating with a 3.96年平均绩点. 一路走来, he developed a first-class support system among the faculty, among them Lecturer in PSCM Mark Capofari, Assistant Teaching Professor and Director of Business Programs Maung Min, Professor of Marketing Denise Ogden, 经济学讲师和企业沟通项目协调员鲍勃·沃尔夫.

泰勒说:“他们都很棒,我对他们每个人都有很多话要说。. “It’s very beneficial to have good relationships with your professors, because you get even better insights on what you’re learning.”

沃尔夫说:“索尔是一位名副其实的全球企业家. “他没有等到毕业就开始创业——他上我的课时,已经对国际电子行业很在行了. Sol’s business acumen for world trade is impressive, 他的创业使他能够将课堂与商业世界结合起来, which is an incredibly powerful combination."

Taylor took advantage of the program’s internship opportunities, 在上海华东师范大学留学了一个暑假. 在那里,他特意参观了工厂,并与各种企业建立了联系.

“下飞机的时候,我一句普通话也不会说,但我一点也不担心,”他说. “I felt that the only true way I could learn was if I took classes there. It was a great experience, and I met a lot of great professors.”

与此同时, Taylor received additional assistance from 利哈伊谷 LaunchBox, which provided him with a grant that allowed him to launch his website.

“That was invaluable. The website helps validate us and helped us get onto eBay, Walmart.com, Amazon, all these third-party platforms. 如果没有LaunchBox的推动,我不可能走到这一步。. “LaunchBox还让我与其他拥有类似商业模式的新企业家建立了联系. If there’s something you’re lacking in, 网络上总有人能帮你解决这个问题. Networking is so key in business.”

正如泰勒所看到的,他的企业现在处于大幅增长的有利地位. 他希望有一天能被大公司收购.

“My goal is all about building wealth for the future. It’s about the long term,” Taylor said. “如果我能向年轻的企业家们宣扬什么的话,那就是让你的钱发挥作用. And put the time in to get there.”

And, make good use of the resources provided to you.

他说:“我的生意做得很好,我非常感谢中国博彩平台。. “I received a great education there.”

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