It’s a Big World Out There: How to Take your Business Global (Part 1)

There are many small and mid-size companies here in Colorado, and across the U.S. making great products or providing valuable services.  Many of those companies do all of their business strictly within the United States, and why not?  We live in a large country, with a common language, predictable laws and customs, and high certainty of getting paid.

For many companies this is sufficient, and they have no wish to expand globally.  But as the title of this post says, it’s a big world out there.  The US is only 5 percent of the world’s population; the European Union has over 500 million people; India and China over 1 billion each.  That’s a huge potential market for your products or services, one that local companies in those countries might not be meeting as well as you could.  So perhaps you should look at expanding into a market outside the US, exporting your products or services.  As I mentioned in my last post, over 5,700 Colorado companies currently export over $9 billion in goods and services.  If they can do it, so can you.  It’s not as hard as you think, but it does take planning, persistence, and a willingness to seek out expert advice.

The federal government, the State of Colorado, the city of Denver, and other organizations all offer assistance to companies seeking to export.  These include:

U.S. Department of Commerce Export Assistance Center, with an office right here in Denver.

U.S. Small Business Administration

Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT), including an global export consultant network to advise on access to international markets, and a trade mentoring program

City of Denver Office of Economic Development

Denver World Trade Center offering various contacts as well as informative training on the different aspects of exporting

The government agencies listed above offer their services for free (remember, you pay taxes!), while the World Trade Center is a membership organization.  There are also many consultants, accounting firms, law firms, and others who can advise and assist your company as you explore going global.  In future blog posts I will discuss some of the things you need to think about as you explore doing business internationally, including pitfalls to watch out for.