Growing Global to Survive

Does Your Product Have Potential in An Overseas Market?

How About An Award For Your Exporting Efforts?

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SBA has you covered with an award recognizing a small business that is successfully engaged in exporting!  Is that you?

A new award has been added by the U.S. Small Business Administration in celebration of National Small Business Week 2013.  The Small Business Exporter of the Year award will recognize a small business that is successfully engaged in exporting.  A national award winner will be selected from among state award winners from each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam.

Deadline for submissions:  January 31, 2013

Go here for guidelines.  Go here for the nomination area.  Read the entire SBA press release here.

Your First Date in the New Year?

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If you haven't already started to export, make a date to do so in the new year.  Let me introduce you (I'm big on matchmaking) to Export.gov.

Operated by the U.S. Department of Commerce as a collaborative effort with 19 other agencies, Export.gov is a goldmine of information, tools and programs for anyone looking to succeed in the global marketplace.

In 2013, make it the year to learn, leverage and go global!

SBA's International Trade Loan Program

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As a small business owner, do you plan to bring your production to the United States? Then the U.S. Small Business Administration’s International Trade Loan (ITL) program can provide you with capital to finance your fixed assets, including real estate, and working capital needs.

The program offers private lenders a 90% guarantee on loans as an incentive to encourage lending to growing small businesses.

You can use the ITL program two ways:

1. On-shore to strengthen exports.
2. On-shore to counter import competition.

Learn more here.

You're Invited ... 21st Century Marketing: How to GROW Your Business in Today's Market

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Dear Colleague and fellow Women in Business,

I’d like to invite you to attend the upcoming “21st Century Marketing: How to Grow Your Business in Today’s Market” Conference, targeting Women in Business, to be held at the Anaheim (California) Marriott March 23, 2012.

You can access the Conference agenda (and registration) via the website link below. I look forward to speaking at the Conference and hope to see you there!

http://www.wboconference.com/

Regards,
Laurel
773-381-1700

Export: How Ventrac Did It

Visualize the Market and Go After It: Global

Video is in English and it's excellent.  Strategies for growth:  exporting opportunities.  Be sure to catch the takeaway sheet at the end.

Share Your Export Success Story

Deadline extended to:  September 30, 2011

Increase Sales By Exports

Steps to Exporting

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If you are looking to increase sales and profit, reduce dependence on the domestic market and stabilize seasonal fluctuations with your business, you should consider exporting.

Here are six steps to get you going.

When It Comes To Exporting, Don't Think It, Do It

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The Small Business Administration (SBA) is encouraging you to export.

Go here for more details.

Posted by: The Global Small Business Blog

Dear President Obama

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From the Director of Economic Research at the United States Small Business Administration:

In sum, the 27 million small businesses in the United States play a vital role in the economic well-being of our nation. the Office of Advocacy's research contributes to the understanding of the importance of small businesses and the entrepreneurial spirit in generating economic growth, hiring and training new workers, and creating innovative products and services that will strengthen America's competitiveness in an increasingly global economy.

Immediate download of the The 2008 Small Business Economy Report (366 pages -- including chapters focusing on financing, procurement, international trade, small business training and development, tax policy, business creation, and regulation) can be obtained here.

Small Business Advocate Could Head Ex-Im Bank

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Fred Hochberg, a longtime advocate of small business, could head Ex-Im Bank. Ex-Im Bank mission: To finance sales that the private sector considers too risky to fund on its own. Hochberg currently is dean of Milano The New School for Management and Urban Policy.

Hochberg has a diverse business background:

• Held top positions at SBA (under Clinton administration).
• Was in direct sales industry positions.
• Spent bulk of his business career at Lillian Vernon Corporation, leading the transition from private enterprise to publicly traded company (president from 1989-1993). It appears he is the son of Lillian Vernon.

Ex-Im Bank has made an effort to emphasize lending to smaller companies -- $3.2 billion of its $14.4 loan authorizations last fiscal year went to finance exports by small firms.

"The SBA must assert itself more aggressively in the area of procurement to ensure that small businesses are receiving a greater share of federal contracts," he wrote in a 2006 op-ed in Inc. magazine.

Read the entire article here.

International Trade Symposium

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SBA will hold an International Trade Symposium in Nation's Capital on Tuesday, November 18. Part of what will take place:

Experts will educate small businesses on the resources available to help them export their goods and services. The symposium will begin with a panel of successful small business exporters who will share their stories and expertise on tapping into the global market. Valuable networking and counseling opportunities for small businesses interested in expanding their businesses through international trade also will be available.

Reducing barriers to trade is a significant way to help small businesses through the current economic downturn. With exports now accounting for a larger percentage of U.S. GDP than at any other time in history, expanding free trade is crucial for America's long-term economic health. Small businesses are playing an increasingly larger role in the U.S. export sector. The number of small and medium-sized exporters grew more than twice as fast as the number of large company exporters, between 1992 and 2003. This international trade symposium will enable small businesses to better understand how to take advantage of free trade and continue export growth.

Read more here.

Just Export!

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There's a saying, "No excuses, just results." Well, here's another one: "No excuses, just export." A new online course will help all of us here -- entrepreneurs and small businesses -- explore exporting opportunities in international markets. Global Enterprise: A Primer on Exporting is a free, self-paced course that provides practical guidance on exploring international markets. Look for it under New Courses on the right sidebar.

Course participants completing the 30-minute online training programs can earn a certificate of completion from the SBA, with their name, date and course title. The Export Primer course is one of nearly 30 online tutorials offered by the SBA on its virtual campus, the Small Business Training Network (www.sba.gov/training). SBTN is part of the SBA’s Office of Entrepreneurship Education (OEE), which combines the agency’s online education programs, youth outreach, and outreach to underserved markets under a single umbrella.

The online training info page is here; selection of new courses is here and to register fast go here.

Go for it!

Entrando En El Juego Del Comercio Internacional

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SBA’s “Breaking into the Trade Game: A Small Business Guide to Exporting” was translated into Spanish by Argentina’s Chamber of Exporters and will be disseminated as a joint effort between the Argentinean Chamber and the Small and Medium Enterprise Congress of the Americas on International Trade.

Says SBA Acting Administrator Sandy K. Baruah:

“In our global economy, trade among nations has proven a leading factor in economic development and job growth. For small businesses, learning how to break into the international trade game is a must to make them more competitive."

Download PDF file here:

Entrando En El Juego Del Comercio Internacional (Breaking Into The Trade Game -- Argentine translation)

The guide will be made available in other countries with large Spanish-speaking populations.

Minority Businesses Matter in the Global Marketplace

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The Minority Enterprise Development (MED) Week conference, initially instituted by President Ronald Reagan in 1983, is the largest federally sponsored event held on behalf of minority businesses.

Small businesses can learn about the U.S. Small Business Administration’s International Trade initiatives, including its first-ever International Trade Symposium with the Department of Commerce during this year’s 26th Annual MED Week conference. MED Week is co-hosted by the Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency and the SBA and will be held on September 3-5, 2008 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C.

The theme for this year’s event is: "The Power of Strategic Alliances in the Global Economy." There will be an SBA/MBDA workshop on Free Trade/Export Enforcement entitled: "Small Business Benefits - Free Trade Agreement." The workshop will be held on the afternoon of September 5. For more information, visit MED Week 2008.

Gear Up For Globalization: Answers From Real People (#2)

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Question from:

Laurel Delaney, Founder and President, GlobeTrade:

"Do you think Ex-Im Bank will cut back or be more willing to extend loans to SMEs (that qualify on exports) this year in light of a possible recession?"

Answer from:

Harvey Bronstein, Senior International Economist, U.S. Small Business Administration, Washington

"As far as ExIm Bank, you'll have to talk with them.

As far as recession, the US is not in a recession, which is commonly defined as two quarters, that is a period of six months, over which the size of the US economy actually shrinks. For the third quarter of 2007, that is through Sept. 30, the economy actually grew almost 5%, far above the long-term average growth rate of the economy. Although growth will almost certainly be slower in the fourth quarter of 2007 than it was for the earlier part of the year, one quarter of slow growth does not equal "recession."

Concerning job creation, small businesses often create well over one-half of all net new jobs in the economy. Please refer to the link below on our website:

6. How many new jobs do small firms create?

Over the past decade, small businesses created 60 to 80 percent of the net new jobs. In the most recent year with data (2004), small firms accounted for all of the net new jobs. Firms with fewer than 500 employees had a net gain of 1.86 million new jobs. Large firms with 500 or more employees lost more jobs than they created, for a net loss of 181,122 jobs. For information on employment dynamics by firm size from 1989 to 2004, see www.sba.gov/advo/research/data.html#us.

On small business and exporting, 2007 will be a record year with small businesses racking up over $400 billion in exports. While in the third quarter of 2007 the economy grew 5%, exports grew by 19%. So long as the dollar remains weak and other countries' economies strong, the outlook for exports is bright."

Note from LD: Interesting "definition" of Export-Import (Exim) Bank at Answers.com.

Gear Up For Globalization: Answers From Real People

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Question from:

Laurel Delaney, Founder and President, GlobeTrade:

"Do you think Ex-Im Bank will cut back or be more willing to extend loans to SMEs (that qualify on exports) this year in light of a possible recession?"

Answer from:

Chad Moutray, Chief Economist & Director of Economic Research, U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy:

"Small businesses are increasingly sophisticated global players who are able to spot opportunities, whether these are found in their local communities or across the globe. The depreciated dollar has given entrepreneurs -- many of whom had not looked at the export market before -- a golden opportunity to pursue sales abroad."

Regarding the possibility of a downturn, Moutray referred us to this study (be prepared for an immediate PDF file download) by Craig and Kohlhase that had been released in December 2006. Note the research summary's overall finding: "Small firms play a vital role in maintaining economic growth in urban areas."

Moutray does not follow the movings of the Ex-Im Bank so there was no comment on the loan policy.

Sign up for Advocacy's ListServ here.

Add on from LD (1/26/08): Interesting "definition" of Export-Import (Exim) Bank at Answers.com.