Small businesses looking to increase sales and profit, reduce dependence on the domestic market and stabilize seasonal fluctuations should consider importing and exporting.  With nearly 96 percent of consumers living outside the U.S. and two-thirds of the world’s purchasing power in foreign countries, opportunities await U.S. small business.

Go where the customers are. There is significant opportunity for small businesses to profit through importing and exporting operations.

Do you have what it takes to become a successful international business? Are you ready to make international sales? Importing / Exporting offers great opportunities but requires preparation and planning.

This four hour course is taught in two parts, by international experts from the Georgia Small Business Development Center, a resource partner of the SBA. Each part is two hours in length with a two hour break between parts. 

Part one will aid you in assessing your readiness, understanding what you need to know and consider before pursuing an international strategy.

Part two will introduce you to those topics needed to develop and implement your strategy: international pricing and costing issues, proforma export quotations, payment terms, and risk assessment.

Course Outline

• Defining Your Business
• Strengths/Weaknesses Analysis
• Tools
• Building Your Team
• Knowing Industry Terminology
• Selecting a Product
• Finding Markets
• Finding Buyers
• Finding Suppliers
• How to Talk To Suppliers
• Do I need a license to Import/Export?
• How do I protect myself as a Middleman?
• Calculating Landed Cost 
• Understanding INCOTERMS
• Developing a Pro Forma Invoice
• International Terms of Payment

• Organizational and product readiness
• Market research
• Guidance for developing your strategy and marketing plan
• Promoting your products in target market
• Complying with US and foreign regulations