Exporting and Importing

In the global economy we live in, small businesses are emerging and creating international partners. Foreign trade depends upon the importing and exporting of goods or services in markets outside the U.S. One reason why international trade is increasing is because the Internet allows all companies, regardless of their size, to compete in the global economy.

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, big companies make up about 4 percent of U.S. exports. This means that 96 percent of exporters are small companies, and that can include yours! The global market can help small businesses and entrepreneurs increase their market from the 280 million people in the U.S. to 6.2 billion worldwide.

Every year Zions Bank hosts the International Trade and Business Conference. Like those of the past, the upcoming seventh annual conference will offer great advice about international trade, exporting, importing and the possibility of expansion into foreign markets. Don’t miss the half-day event on Tuesday, May 20. Now is your last chance to register for the conference by going to www.tradeconference.zionsbank.com.

John Winston Howard, who served as prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, will be the featured speaker for the conference and will share his vision for the international economic future.

Read on for more information on how exporting and importing can help your business.



Luz Robles
Director, Zions Business Resource
Center

(Source: The Employers Council)
The political drama unfolding on our national stage is consuming many conversations. What are the implications for HR of political debates in the workplace? The 2008 Political Discussion in the Workplace Survey, conducted by the American Management Association (AMA), included 701 employees, managers and executives. It found that 39 percent were comfortable with political discussions, 12 percent were extremely comfortable, 26 percent were somewhat comfortable and only 23 percent were uncomfortable. Read more...

Highlights from Zions Bank's Small Business Index for Utah

--The Zions Bank Small Business Index for Utah was 92.1 in April 2008, down from a revised 92.5 in March 2008.

--Utah's unemployment rate was estimated at 3.3 percent in the latest month, up from the prior month's 3 percent rate. Total Utah employment is up an estimated 26,200 jobs during the past 12 months.

--Stronger than expected U.S. economic growth during 2008's first quarter is a positive sign for Utah's small business sector.

Money Matters

Track Your Money Efficiently: 8 Steps to Managing Your Money

(Source: Startup Nation)
"You already know how vital it is to forecast the money flowing in and out of your business. Well, it’s just as vital that you figure out a system to track these receipts and expenditures as they happen and generate reports from which you can build strategies and action plans." Read more...

Small Biz  Partners & Resources

- SCORE -- Provides counseling to small businesses
- Ogden SCORE - E-mail
ogdenscore158@aol.com
- Salt Lake SCORE - Chapter 0049
310 S. Main St., N. Mezzanine, Salt Lake City. Phone: (801) 746-2269; Fax: (801) 746-2273; e-mail: mallen@slcscore.com
- Wayne Brown Institute -- Runs the oldest and most successful non-profit venture accelerator program in the country, helping technical entrepreneurs from every social economic level raise money for their businesses.
- Grow Utah Ventures -- A privately funded organization established solely to advance entrepreneurism and high growth business creation in Utah. Among its initiatives are the eStation Business Incubators and Launch-- The Magazine for Utah Entrepreneurs.
- Small Business Development Centers
-- Provides counseling and training to small businesses.
- Small Business Administration -- Provides information about small business (Click here for Utah SBA)
- Utah Micro Enterprise Loan Fund -- Provides counseling and funding for small business
- The Pete Suazo Business Center -- Provides counseling and training for Hispanic/Latino business
- Utah Business.gov -- Provides online access to Utah Government services; one-stop shop business registrations
- Export.gov -- Provides information on how to export your product.

Feature

Competing in the Global Marketplace

Making the leap from domestic to international sales can be a complicated process, but it was a natural step in the business evolution of Mineral Resources International, Inc. (MRI), a family-owned nutritional supplement company headquartered in West Haven, Utah.

CEO Bruce Anderson says thinking globally was fairly easy at MRI because his sales team was actively developing international contacts while attending domestic trade shows.

On a national scale, however, the U.S. Small Business Administration says exporting is an under-recognized opportunity for many American small businesses. Fortunately, experts predict that half of all U.S. small businesses will be involved in international trade by 2018. The SBA reports that from 1992 through 2007, U.S. exports by small businesses soared nearly fourfold to $400 billion. That number could climb this year thanks in part to a weak U.S. dollar and expanding free trade agreements. Story continues below...

MRI learned quickly there were foreign markets for its products. “We just had to develop our domestic infrastructure before making the leap,” Anderson says. When the company was ready to expand into the international arena, it utilized the foreign contacts fostered through participation in national and international trade shows to make the first steps.

Trade references were also extremely valuable. “Receiving a reference from someone that you already work with and trust is the best way to go,” Anderson adds.

Today MRI has sales in at least 20 different countries and is actively developing additional foreign markets. The U.S. Department of Commerce estimates that 246,000 U.S. businesses participate in exporting, most of which are small and medium-sized operations like MRI. In Utah, an estimated 2,300 companies sell products or services overseas and 83 percent of the exporters are classified as small to medium-sized companies.

Anderson says MRI stepped into the global arena via trading partners “that knew the ropes in the foreign countries where we planned to do business. We don’t get to keep all of the margins this way, but it allows us to use in-country professionals do deal with ongoing regulatory environments. In our industry, which can be heavily regulated, having experienced trading partners makes a huge difference.”

In countries where it didn’t have contacts or established trading partners, MRI opted to utilize the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Gold Key Service, which set up face-to-face meetings and helped MRI establish potential trade partners.

“The Gold Key Service is a great way to go. They do a pretty good job,” says Anderson. “We meet with specialists in the field and they help us make the necessary contacts we need to get going in a specific country.”

Another important step MRI took was to seek intellectual property (IP) protection within the countries where it has or plans to do business. “Just because your IP is protected domestically, it doesn’t mean you are protected internationally,” Anderson says.

One bit of advice: Anderson learned the hard way about offering exclusivities in foreign countries. “Be very, very careful in offering exclusive sales rights to your products—there are a ton of ramifications that go along with that, like enforcement,” he says. “We’ve seen situations where a trading partner jacked up the prices so high, they were making money on our products, but we weren’t because they weren’t selling enough volume to cover our margins.” If you offer exclusive rights, Anderson warns, you may need to lock in your pricing structure throughout the supply chain.

Despite its quirks and complications, foreign trade is the wave of the future and being able to compete on a global scale may be what keeps many domestic companies in business. Lew Cramer, CEO of World Trade Center Utah, says international trade makes good business sense—and lots of business dollars—for Utah companies.

“In Utah, we have the foundation for explosive growth in international commerce. Manufactured goods make up over 90 percent of our state’s exports. What’s more, with over 4,300 high tech companies in the state, the Information Technology and Life Sciences sectors are flourishing. Utah is an ideal catalyst for increased–and profitable–international trade,” Cramer says.

Import/Export Trade Resources

If you are interested in learning more about export or import opportunities for your business, a variety of resources are ready and willing to assist you:

World Trade Center Utah is the "one stop shop" for international business and provides information on international trade opportunities, agents and distributors, financing and shipping. Working closely with the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED), the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Economic Development Corporation of Utah, USTAR and the various chambers of commerce, WTCUT is focused on assisting Utah businesses in every way possible to succeed in the global marketplace. Contact: (801) 532-8080. 

Another excellent resource is the Utah U.S. Export Assistance Center (USEAC), which is dedicated to helping Utah businesses realize their export potential. Part of an extensive network of domestic and international offices staffed by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Utah USEAC assists Utah firms in exporting by providing expert counseling and advice, information on foreign markets, international contacts, and advocacy services. The Utah USEAC office can provide information on all federal programs designed to support international trade. Contact: (801) 255-1871 or e-mail: Salt.Lake.City.Office.Box@mail.doc.gov.

The Utah International Trade and Diplomacy Office (ITDO), within the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, is another great resource. The ITDO assists companies in developing markets for their products and services in other countries. ITDO helps Utah companies understand the benefits of expanding into international markets and provides assistance for securing international business connections. It also helps companies as they master the process of exporting goods and services. Through increasing international trade and branding Utah globally, ITDO helps grow Utah's economy, create jobs and increase Utah's international presence. Contact: (801) 538-8737 or e-mail: intlmail@utah.gov.