Growing Demand for US Expertise: Service Providers are Exporters Too!

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May 19, 2016 Elizabeth Thomas, Business Development Specialist, Office of Small Business

Tagged: Exporting Tips

Most people think of exporting as selling hard goods overseas. What is less well understood is U.S. expertise in services, from tourism to high tech to construction, engineering and architecture, is in high demand worldwide. The service sector in the U.S. is driven primarily by small and medium-size businesses and thrives in an entrepreneurial environment. If your small business provides excellent service and is looking to grow, the world is waiting for you!

Two of the major markets for U.S. services, Canada and Mexico, provide opportunities to export to neighboring countries. The European Union and Japan are also high demand markets that enable you to extend your reach. In a May 3, 2016, article posted by Financial Times Wealth, 34 year old entrepreneur Guillermo Echeverría says, “When one door opens, another, bigger one does too.” Federal government agencies including the Department of Commerce, Small Business Administration and the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM Bank) are available to help you open those doors. Each year these agencies guide thousands of companies through the exporting process, enabling them to improve cash flow and offer credit terms to foreign customers, while insuring against risk.

Examples of the products and services available to exporters include:

Market research and industry analysis
Support in finding buyers and distributors
Affiliations with foreign partners
Trade Finance (Working Capital Guarantee and Export Credit Insurance)

The 2016 Small Business Exporting Survey by the National Small Business Association (NSBA) and Small Business Exporters Association (SBEA) cites two barriers that prevent small businesses from selling internationally: “a lack of goods or services to export” and “an unclear understanding of where to start.” I hope we have disabused you of the first notion. Foreign buyers clearly value the domain expertise of U.S. service providers. Take a look at your offerings. Can you see them helping people everywhere? As to how to get started, it’s easier and clearer that you may think. Decide you want to learn more. Get informed, and then take action. It’s all spelled out below.

Learn More

Interested in learning more about the nuts and bolts of exporting? This article is a synopsis of Chapter 9: Exporting Services from “A Basic Guide to Exporting.”

You can learn more by downloading the entire guide Developed by EXIM Bank’s partner, the Department of Commerce, the “Basic Guide to Exporting” outlines many issues that both new and experienced exporters should know about when competing for deals or entering a new market overseas.
Visit exim.gov and click on “What We Do” to read about risk mitigation programs that can open more doors for you.

Interested in a free consultation with your local EXIM trade finance expert? Complete our short, pre-consultation form and one of our regional specialists will be touch.

Join the 58 percent of NSBA survey respondents who have exported and grow your international sales today!

EXIM’s Blog postings are intended to highlight various facets of exporting, but the postings are not legal advice, and are not intended to summarize all legal requirements associated with exporting.