SBA OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE
“Small businesses that export are more financially stable, expand faster, and create more higher paying jobs than non exporters and are more resilient.”
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“We devote our entire office exclusively to assisting you: U.S. small businesses in international trade! Selling to foreign customers –also known as exporting – can help increase your resilience and business growth.
We love hearing from businesses because while 95% of consumers live outside of the US, too many small businesses overlook global sales and we want to change this.
SBA just completed a study looking at the “Total Addressable Market” for U.S. small business exports. Through this study we found that at least ¼ of all industries with small businesses are tradeable.
Depending on how “tradable” is defined, U.S. small businesses in 415 to 778 industries could be selling internationally. We bet you are in one of them.
But even if you just look at the more conservative definition of “tradeable”, only 10-18% of small businesses in these industries are identified as selling internationally. This means there’s likely opportunity for you.
SBA is all in on selling internationally because statistics show companies that export experience greater business growth. In fact, they are more financially stable, expand faster, and create more higher paying jobs than non exporters. Exporters are also more resilient as they reduce their dependency on a single market, stabilizing their sales and stay in business longer.
What might be holding you back? We know that:
About a third of small businesses don’t know where to start.
About a third believe the regulatory environment is too complex
About a third say that they find it difficult to finance global sales
Fortunately, we have solutions to each of these obstacles with business intelligence, grants, and financing.
Business Intelligence: We provide information on our Trade Tools for International Sales page to help small businesses explore opportunities in other markets. Learn about U.S. trade agreements, find information on regulations and laws, and explore programs and services for small businesses who want to go global. We also help small businesses facing barriers in accessing international markets: Contact the toll-free trade hotline at International@sba.gov
Grants: Our State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) grant provides financial awards to state and territory governments to help small businesses with export their products. State-level STEP grants help small businesses:
Learn how to export
Participate in foreign trade missions and trade shows
Obtain services to support foreign market entry
Develop websites to attract foreign buyers
Design international marketing products or campaigns
Most states receive STEP support. Find out if your state does, then contact your local office to see how they can help you export your products and services.
Financing: Most U.S. banks view loans for exporters as risky. This makes it harder for you to get loans for things like day-to-day operations, advance orders with suppliers, and refinancing existing debts. That’s why SBA created export finance programs to provide lenders with up to a 90% guaranty on export loans.
To learn more about SBA export finance programs, contact your local SBA Export Finance Manager. “
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