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For small businesses, exporting products to new markets may appear unattainable. With assistance from partners such as the U.S. Commercial Service, business leaders with minimal international experience can soon learn the basics of exporting. This can be an enormous opportunity for business growth, attainable without unnecessary levels of risk. Jim Blasingame of “The Small Business Advocate” recently sat down with Doug Barry, the Director of Marketing and Communication for the U.S. Commercial Service, to discuss such a success story. One small bio-business used international markets to quickly achieve levels of wealth that otherwise would have seemed impossible.
The United States government has set a goal to double exports from $1.5 trillion to $3 trillion over the next four years. The U.S. Commercial Service is dedicated to alleviating any fears that may prevent businesses from achieving that goal. Barry’s book A Basic Guide to Exporting outlines many of the strategies that can be used to help take businesses into international markets.
In his interview with Blasingame, Barry shared one of his favorite export success stories. A company in Baltimore, Maryland grows bacteria to eat industrial greases and fats that would otherwise harden and solidify in sewers. This technology has now been successfully exported to more than ten world markets. The U.S. Commercial Service helped the business owner to find partners in Mexico, Peru, and Chile to run franchises of his business abroad. Finding a business partner requires the sort of due diligence that a small business may be unable to achieve on its own.
Business owners seeking similar international business opportunities need not attempt to accomplish everything on their own. The U.S. Commercial Service is ready and willing to assist with global exporting efforts.
The full interview is available online at the Small Business Advocate's website.
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