Educating Exporters: Phase 1

Meet Mark Allen, a ​senior counselor with the UMKC-Small Business & Technology Development Center and  seasoned entrepreneur. Mark's resume includes founding and running nine companies  in a holding company that was sold several years ago. At that time it was sold to an overseas group, the companies had several hundred million dollars in revenues and over five hundred employees. ​Mark works with innovators​ and small business entrepreneur to assist them in transforming themselves and their businesses.

Here, Mark shares his first of four posts on exporting—how to get prepared to successfully take your company global. Tune in next week for another installment.

There are four main ingredients that are essential to make exporting successful for your company.  They are:

• Management commitment to exporting
• In-depth experience with the product or service
• Adequate cash flow to bridge the initial costs
• Capacity and capability to produce international products or services

The best place to start exploring export markets and their viability is to get some training and more in depth information so you can determine if your company is a good fit for the export market. 

Here in the Kansas City area, the Small Business Technology and Development Center at UMKC and the SBA have partnered with the World Trade Center-Kansas City and the U.S. Commercial Service network to provide a four-part program titled simply “Export Training.”  Tune back in next week, and I’ll provide a complete summary of this training program.

In addition to the resources above, you can also find training and education opportunities through the International Trade Council of Greater Kansas City and U.S. Commercial Service.