How are you going to grow your business this year? Have you ever thought about exporting your products or services?
Research shows that, on average, exporting companies are more profitable than their non-exporting counterparts.
“Exporting exposes you to new ideas, management practices, marketing techniques, and ways of competing that you wouldn’t have experienced by staying at home. All this considerably improves your ability to compete in the domestic market as well.” Source: Austrade Website
Did you know the Australian Government has a wide range of resources and assistance for businesses looking to export? Through the government’s Austrade website, you can access a wealth of information and tools to get your business ready to participate in the export market. But how do you know if your small business is ready to export? Your first step may be to try out the International Readiness Indicator, an online tool to help you determine if your business is ready to export. After answering a series of questions it generates a report card, which gives you an overall score, but importantly also outlines your businesses’ weaknesses and provides information and tools to assist you address those issues.
You can work through your issues while considering the information available as part of Austrade’s getting ready to export resources.
Once you think your small business is ready to hit the international stage, Austrade strongly recommend you develop an export strategy. But don’t worry; they have advice and tools for that too, including a template.
Many of us are comfortable with e-commerce (buying and selling online), but did you know running an entire business online is called e-business? Austrade can help here too with their e-business for Australian exporters resources. This includes tips and pitfalls, information on security and online sales and case studies and resources. They also provide a FREE Exporting online booklet To make sure you’re set for success the Australian government has developed the Export Finance Navigator to help you find financial solutions for your business and identify any government grants that may assist you to get started in export. One of the government grants is the Export Market Development Grant, which encourages small and medium sized Australian businesses to develop export markets by providing funds for market visits and promotions. Feel like talking to a real person about your export preparedness instead? Then the government’s Tradestart program might be for you. It has been developed to assist small and medium size enterprises to achieve long term success in international business. They do this by promoting opportunities and sharing information for businesses looking to become exporters. There is probably a Tradestart Adviser near you.
And don’t forget the Australian government has developed the Australian Suppliers Directory that promotes Australian goods and services to overseas buyers through Austrade’s website. You can register your company for FREE.
To see how other women are succeeding in export markets, you may like to register with Women in Global Business (WIGB). WIGB is a joint Australian, State and Territory Governments initiative that supports businesswomen to take their products and services to the world.
