Make the leap into exporting - two examples demonstrate how numerous export information sources can assist a company in exporting - includes related article on government and other sources of export information - Tutorial

Home Office Computing, June, 1994 by David J. Wallace

There's Ton of Government Help And Online Data For Selling Your Services and Goods In Other Countries

EVEN THOUGH MOST COMPANIES WOULD GLADLY WELcome a chance to sell seasonal goods year-round in new markets and diversity their services globally, actually selling in the next state--let alone a foreign country--is often too daunting. But business owners who haven't considered exporting may be motivated once they read about the wide range of available resources in this article.

Take people like Brian Gauler, who delivers the names of contacts abroad and reports on sales potential in various foreign markets. Gauler works with the Center for International Trade Development at Oklahoma State University. He also operates Trade America, a home-based business that provides a dial-in computer bulletin board with information on sales and purchases of hundreds of goods and services by foreign customers, industry forecasts, and other data.

For instance, Gauler introduced Oklahoma's former first lady, Shirley Bellmon, to the possibilities of esporting. Bellmon's home-based doll-making company employs 29 people during peak season, but she hadn't considered exporting. At a Trade America demonstration, Gauler needed only an hour to convince her. In 60 minutes Bellmon got detailed reports on the $2.4 billion worldwide toy industry, names and phone numbers of Oklahoma's export consultants, and data on toy importers in Canada and Japan, the two biggest markets. The information wasn't specifically on handmade dollss from Oklahoma but referred to the right industry --toys--to point the way.

"Some of these reports were less than 30 days old," Gauler says. "But it's like selling a car no one knows how to drive" ifr people are unsure of what information they need or what sources to use.

Data from federal agencies is posted on Trade America, includes sources ranging from the CIA to United States embassy staffs abroad. The bulletin board is open to the public and costs $90 for a one year subscription with a free 30-day trial.

Researching Online Infact, businesses of all shapes and sizes are currently exploring overseas deals, inspired by headlines about the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the potential United States-Japan trade war, and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).

Marc Freed wants to stay close to his clients. How close? He plans to open his next office in his Palmyra Harbor, New Jersey, home to take advantage of 24-hour computer-and fax-based information sources and the eight-hour time difference between the United States and his Russian clients in Moscow. After seven years of building a social relationship into a commercial one, he closed his first sale of medical equipment to Moscow late last year. International Acquisitions Inc., which buys and sells various items worldwide, is preparing for monthly transactions of $500,000 or more.

Freed intends to prospect for requests for goods and services on Network, a members-only bulletin board of trade leads and queries set up by the World Trade Center of New York. He also phones or faxes federal government offices to learn about trade regulations in Pacific Rim countries via a faxback service. Other options he's investigating are the interactive forums for traders available via such online services as CompuServe and the Internet.

"I'm trying to take advantage of as many sources as I can," says Freed. Doing business abroad requires gaining any edge possible, he notes, adding that the $4 faxes and $50 20-minute phone calls to his Russian counterparts can make or break a deal.

Coordinating the Flow The information motherlode Freed taps into is overwhelming and may not provide exactly what you're looking for--until you know where to look. For a company seeking data on boat motor--purchasing trends in Honduras, say, any other data eats up valuable time.

Freed's experience, and his periodic frustration with the search for useful information, is the reason federal officials are working to streamline export-promotion programs and why local agencies from the chamber of commerce to utility companies are helping small companies to go global.

For example, this past January, the Department of commerce opened four trial sites for Export Assistance Centers in Miami, Chicago, Baltimore, and Long Beach, California, to better coordinate export promotion. The Small Business Administration (SBA) is one of 19 federal offices that provide international trade services such as advice on getting financing, finding the right overseas market, and insuring your deal--these questions and more can now be answered under one roof.

State and local export-promotion programs exist in more than half the states, from Ohio to California, and ventures like the Southeastern Pennsylvania Export Consortium have already embraced this idea of one-stop shopping, as it's described by SBA spokesman D.J. Caulfield. The goal, he says, is to bring together experts on shipping, marketing, law, sales, and other subjects, with the results being more business for companies with products or services that are ready for export. One-stop shopping at the federal level could be expanded nationwide withing two years, Caulfield says.