Many businesses do well by targeting the domestic or local market but exporting can be a great way to grow a business by selling products and/or services to a worldwide market. Whether you’re selling business-to-business or business-to-consumer, a growing worldwide middle class means more potential consumers of your product or service. With emerging markets in Asia, Africa and the Middle East projected to grow their middle class by millions of people in the next 10 years, the opportunity is there. If you’re considering exporting, you may be wondering how to get started, how to find buyers and/or how to finance your exporting project.
Grow your Hawaii business through exporting
How to find exporting opportunities
Use the following tips form waystocap.com to help you find the right export opportunities:
- Check the export-import statistics of the country you’re hoping to break into to get information like the type of goods that are most imported and exported. There are many online and governmental resources for these statistics.
- Choose the right country: one that needs the products or services you are selling and one where you can meet the export requirements.
- Choose the right product/service: one that is in high demand in your chosen country.
- Seek the advice of export experts who can save you from wasting your time by going down the wrong path on your export process.
Click here for a list of 50 business export ideas.
How to finance your exports
The U.S. government has programs with many financing options personalized to encourage small businesses to export their goods and services. The Import-Export Bank, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and the U.S. Small Business Administration can help businesses raise the capital needed to start exporting. Other financing options include commercial banks, export intermediaries, Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) and state and local export finance programs.
How to setup an exporting contract
Export sales contracts vary in formality depending on the foreign buyer. In some cases, a verbal agreement is made over the phone while other buyers require formal negotiations and signed documents. To minimize your risk, ensure that you have stable import partners on the receiving end. Before starting negotiations:
- Try to learn as much as you can about the business culture in the country where you want to export your goods.
- Build your online presence with a great logo, slogan and website. Once this is done, post and advertise on social media sights to show that you are a serious business.
- Obtain a letter of credit and a government-sponsored export insurance plan, which can help to make the process more successful.
Click here for more information about setting up an export sales contract.
Managing currency risk
Many foreign trading partners will want to pay you in their local currency but this can obviously be a financial risk because of fluctuating currency exchange rates. The best ways to reduce the risk of losing money are to export to different regions with different currencies, choose countries with strong and increasing currencies, to be careful when investing in foreign bonds, and investing in currency-hedged funds.
Hiring more workers for your growing business and don’t have time to handle the administrative work? That’s okay; we’ve got you covered through HR outsourcing! When you partner with Makai HR you can get on with the business you are trying to grow while we take care of your employee needs from 401(k) plans to payroll, taxes, health insurance/benefits, and worker’s compensation. You also gain peace of mind that you are in compliance with all of Hawaii’s employer laws (if you’ve ever looked you know that the list is very long). When choosing a PEO to partner with, there are many things to consider including cost, services and technology solutions.
With the cost of doing business in Hawaii at record highs, we know how important it is to keep labor costs in line with revenue. Our plans are priced competitively and include value-added services like time-in/time-out systems. Our three tiers of PEO service plans are tailored to the size of your business and specific needs. We offer a 100% paperless solution which means that your employees can manage their needs through a computer, tablet or phone. We can truly improve your employees work benefits while freeing you up to run your business.
What are you waiting for? Companies who partner with a PEO benefit from 7-9% faster growth, 10-14% lower employee turnover; and they are 50% less likely to go out of business. Contact us today to get started!