Are you stuck in a single domestic market and want to increase your sales and profits? Are you wondering about the potential for expanding your business? Are you afraid of taking the next step? Not sure where to go or how to get there? The NH Small Business Development Center is launching a new eCourse on Expanding Your Business Through Exporting.
In this course you will learn about five key areas that will help guide you and your business through the exporting process. These five areas include strategy, marketing, finance, compliance, and logistics. Each area helps to pave the path for you to expand your business through exporting.
Strategy
The strategy section focuses on designing the right plan to start the process. Choosing the best plan for your business is essential, as plans vary from action plans to websites to market analysis. This section also covers regulations and governmental agencies that you will need to research to move forward.
Marketing
It is vital to have an export destination in mind while you are creating a marketing strategy. The marketing section equips business owners with the tools that they will need to successfully find a market for their product. We discuss market research, market analytics, statistics and demographics as well as market resources that can help narrow your search for the right market to export to. There are additional resources available that can help narrow down and identify the best possible markets for your company to export to.
Finances
Impacting your domestic operations by putting all your assets into exporting will not help your company grow. Making the right financial decisions will. In the third section we discuss finances and who you can turn to for assistance and local and federal agencies that can assist you in making the right choices for your company. We highlight the Export-Import Bank of the United States and EXIM they can help small businesses enter into foreign markets. Cargo and Export Credit Insurance is another topic, and finally, we learn about Incoterms and how these can be beneficial when determining the risk and responsibilities of exporting.
Compliance
The fourth section, compliance, contains useful information on compliance with both international and domestic laws, including agencies to be aware of. When exporting, it is not just the importing country’s regulations you need to be aware of, it is also what the United States requires as well. Harmonized Systems, Export Administration Regulations and Export Control Classification Numbers are all topics of interest in this area. Compliance is extremely important and can be a determining factor on whether you can or cannot export. Although there are many organizations and agencies that can assist your company, ultimately it is your responsibility to have the correct compliance for your exporting product.
Logistics
Now that you have made the decision to export, identified your markets, covered financing and compliance, you are ready to export. The final section of this course is all about getting your product into your customers hands. In this section we discuss logistics. Whether is it is ground, ocean or air, finding the right logistics partner is crucial to be a successful exporter. You may not always need to be a big-name freight forwarder to handle your company’s logistics of getting your product from here to there, however it is key that you make sure your forwarder matches your export market needs.
Course Outcomes
The goal of this course is to prepare you to start asking the right questions of the right people. The N He Small Business Development Center offers many courses on starting and growing small businesses and will provide the necessary tools for you to take the next step forward in becoming an exporter. I hope you enjoy this course and we look forward to hearing from you soon!
- Shaun Reilly, Import/Export Compliance Planner, Lindt & Sprungli (USA) Inc.
Want to learn about exporting?
- Take SBDC’s new free eCourse, Expanding Your Business Through Exporting, developed and narrated by Shaun Reilly, Import/Export Compliance Planner, Lindt & Sprungli (USA) Inc. Thanks to Tina Kasim and Rachel Adams at NH's Office of International Commerce.
- For individualized help with getting ready to export, please reach out to the SBDC to request no-charge individualized business advising.