If you want to take on a market like Peru or Chile, where Korean cosmetics aren't yet well known, I'd recommend starting with small-batch trades as a solo trader rather than putting in a lot of capital from day one. Solo trading is a way of doing business where an individual can deal directly with overseas buyers without a separate corporation or a large organization, and lately more and more people are using it to take on emerging markets like Latin America.
The most common mistake people make when starting out in trade is setting the order volume too high from the beginning. In a market like Latin America, where consumer response is hard to predict, it's safer to first confirm the response with small-batch trades and then gradually increase the volume. The biggest advantage of small-batch trading is that even if you make a mistake, you still have room to recover.
The biggest advantage of small-batch trading is that even if you make a mistake, you still have room to recover.
The practical work you need to prepare in the early stages of a startup can be broken down into three main areas: sourcing, customs, and forwarders. Sourcing is the process of deciding which products to supply and under what terms; customs refers to the documents and procedures needed to clear the local customs authority in Latin America; and a forwarder is the company that actually transports the cargo. Since sanitary registration and customs standards differ from country to country in Latin America, it's safer to check them in advance for each country you plan to enter.
Peru and Chile also differ in consumer tendencies and distribution structure, so it's hard to apply experience from one country directly to the other. You also need to account for the possibility that shipping times may run longer than expected — and the surest way to get a feel for these variables is to run into them directly through small-batch trades.
To sum up, the key to entering the Latin American market as a solo trader is lowering your risk with small-batch trades while learning the sourcing, customs, and forwarder processes one at a time. Rather than waiting until you're perfectly prepared to start, starting small and building up experience is the safer approach in a market with as many variables as Latin America.