SBA adds export tool to aid small business

  • By Mike Benbow
  • Tuesday, June 7, 2011 2:37pm
  • Business

Small businesses interested in starting or expanding sales of their goods and services overseas have access to a new, free online tool that will gauge their readiness to export and help them develop an export business plan, the Small Business Administration reported Tuesday..

Called the Expor

t Business Planner, the tool offers a ready-made, customizable and easily accessible document that can be updated and referenced continuously as the business grows.

To check it out, Click here

The tool is intended to help you:

Determine export readiness.

Learn about training and counseling opportunities.

Complete worksheets for global market research.

Obtain financing information and options.

Customize export marketing plans.

Access resources

It’s a PDF file that can be easily downloaded, accessed, customized, and updated every time you use it, the SBA said.

It features an extensive compilation of export research and information, including quick links to websites, video profiles, training podcasts, trade statistics, contact information to counseling resources such as SCORE and Small Business Development Centers like the one at Edmonds Community College.

A useful feature is the customizable worksheets, which provide templates for developing your export business plan, conducting business assessments and foreign market research, creating your marketing plan, costing and sale projections and goal setting, the SBA said.

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