How to ... Manufacture in China

Four times a year, Daniel Fisher travels to China with a small entourage of agents and translators to meet face-to-face with some 60 manufacturers.

Fisher's company, Floral Marketing in Port Charlotte, sells Chinese-made jewelry to flower shops all over the country. The entrepreneur has developed an elaborate network of smaller family-operated manufacturers in China.

To start, Fisher suggests checking out the online Chinese marketplace Alibaba. “You put in any item you're looking for and it will give you a list of vendors,” Fisher says. “You can instantly email them and the next day you're going to get responses.”