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WNPR’s small business coverage elevates understanding of the challenges faced by small business, educates policy-makers, and highlights the vital role of small business to the state’s economy.

One Year To Go Global

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Exporting is increasingly important to Connecticut’s economy. The state has a core of companies large and small that have led the charge into international markets, but there’s potential for many more to follow. WNPR’s Harriet Jones reports on a new initiative to help small businesses take their first steps overseas.

Last year, President Obama launched the National Export Initiative, which aims to double US exports within five years. That push has been led by the US Commercial Service and by the Small Business Administration. The emphasis on selling internationally has never been greater, and that’s led a lot of companies to think about it for the first time.

“We have more companies that are curious now about exporting.”

Ginne Rae Clay is director of the Connecticut Small Business Development Center, based in New Britain. She says companies have begun coming to her with very basic questions.

“How do you do this?  You know, we want to know about exporting, we want to know about foreign markets, we want to know how to do the research, we want to know what it takes to enter a foreign market.”

And thus was born 365 to Export, a new, year-long course that the Center will launch officially in December. It’s being run by consultant Jeff Ardis.

“This is really a comprehensive course, a complete process that will play out over a year’s time.”

A small group of companies, probably between 10 and 15 will be selected to take part. The first part of the course will consist of seminars on all aspects of exporting -- identifying likely countries and partners, marketing internationally, addressing legal and regulatory issues, navigating logistics and financing.

“But the idea is that they will come out of the seminar and into their one on one work with a complete, fully-vetted international action plan and an action plan to take that forward.”

Ardis says he hopes that the subsequent individual counseling will be successful in launching the companies into actually making international sales by the end of the year. He cautions that it’s not for everyone.

“This is ideally not a program for start-up companies.”

He’s looking for companies that have established themselves with solid domestic sales and need new ways to grow. But he also says the program is not aimed just at manufacturers. Service companies are also welcome.

“You have to be perhaps a little bit more careful, a little bit more diligent in your selection of market, but there’s a lot of intellectual capital and good work being done in the U.S. that is exportable overseas.”

Ginne Rae Clay stresses that this is a statewide initiative, and while the Small Business Development Center is the lead agency, it’s pulling in expertise from others.

“This program comes with great partners. I mean, it doesn’t get better than the U.S. Commercial Service and the Department of Economic and Community Development and Central Connecticut State University. So the program comes with many, many valuable resources to the business owner, so they should not be afraid to just explore.”

Currently more than five thousand Connecticut companies sell their goods and services in foreign markets. 90 percent of those are small to medium sized businesses. The team behind 365 to Export hopes to add at least a few more to their ranks.

For WNPR, I'm Harriet Jones.

Harriet Jones is Managing Editor for Connecticut Public Radio, overseeing the coverage of daily stories from our busy newsroom.

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