Small Business: Getting into global markets

More than 70 percent of the world's purchasing power is outside of the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

So if your business isn't taking advantage of global markets, you could be missing out on some big opportunities.

Long Island has been expanding its international reach, with total exports growing from $8.6 billion in 2007 to close to $11 billion in 2011, according to estimates from The Trade Partnership, a Washington-based economic research firm.

"Now's an ideal time to be exporting, even given some of the global uncertainty in some of the international markets like Western Europe," says Shakir Farsakh, director of the Long Island U.S. Export Assistance Center at SUNY Old Westbury, which offers free counseling. "Demand is still strong for high-quality American products and services."

Plus, the government is pushing exporting, with President Barack Obama looking to double exports by 2014 through his National Export Initiative.

For companies just starting out, exporting to smaller markets like Eastern Europe (i.e., Poland, Czech Republic) and Central America (i.e., Costa Rica, Panama) initially might be easier than tackling large markets like China, he notes.

"In the smaller markets, the competition's a bit less intense, and there's a strong appetite for American products," he says. Even Canada's a good place to start. "It's our next-door neighbor, and the regulatory environment is very open," says Farsakh.

Tap free resources: The Export Assistance Center, found at

export.gov/newyork/longisland, can help you identify which markets might be right for your products or services, he says, and provide matchmaking services with different countries via such programs as the Gold Key Matching Service.

There are many government resources to guide you, says Toni Corsini, regional manager for the Small Business Administration's Office of International Trade in Manhattan. Check out sba.gov /international to tap into them and for information on export loan programs.

You need a specific business export plan, she says. The SBA offers a tool to do this at sba.gov /exportbusinessplanner.

Take time to do your research, says Wilson Zuluaga, president of H.W.Z. Distributors Inc., a Bohemia food company.

"We talked to a lot of people in the business and joined different groups," says Zuluaga, who is exporting products such as powdered milk and cooking oils to Colombia and hopes to expand to Ecuador and Costa Rica by 2014. Exporting represents about 10 percent of his business, but he hopes to grow that to 50 percent in two years, he says.

Talk to exporters: One of the groups he recently joined was the Long Island Import Export Association, in Bellmore, which offers monthly conferences to educate companies on doing business globally, says managing director Patti Stoff.

It always helps if you can speak to businesses already trading globally, says Stoff: "They can't learn this from sitting inside their office."

There are many players involved, and you must familiarize yourself with transportation logistics and documentation, says global business expert Laurel Delaney, president of GlobeTrade.com in Chicago.

Freight forwarders and transportation companies like UPS and FedEx can help guide you, she notes. Also, talk to your banker on the best way to get paid on international transactions. "A small-business owner's biggest fear is not getting paid," says Delaney.

Choose a market that has demand for your product or service and that fascinates you, she says, because you'll be visiting this market frequently. And start small.

LI's top export markets

2011 estimated value of LI exports

CANADA
$1.31 billion

UNITED KINGDOM
$1.16 billion

HONG KONG
$892.1 million

ISRAEL
$824.6 million

GERMANY
$536.1 million

Source: The Trade Partnership