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What You Need To Know Before You Export To The US

by Elli St.George Godfrey on May 3rd, 2012
14 Comments



Are you considering growing your business by exporting your products to the US marketplace? There are  opportunities to grow beyond your local borders for small businesses. Thorough planning will highlight what you need to know before it becomes a problem.

Strategic planning is absolutely crucial

If you have been one of those small business owners who has meandered along building a thriving business, it may feel odd to use a strategic planning process. However, this planning process will make obvious what you need to know before it costs your business too much.

Instinct might tell you that you’ve got a special product that American desire or that healthcare is a growing industry and your medical device would fill a competitive hole. You may even lead a technology company that is on the brink of increasing market share. Preparation through education and connecting with the right people and organisations is essential.

# 1. Planning begins with “why”

While there is a certain cachet to saying that you serve customers in the US, you can’t go on romance alone. There are two “why’s” to ask before you go any further in your planning.

  1. Why do you want to expand into the US market?
  2. Why now?

# 2. Resources

Even if  you work with a broker or a non-profit organisation like The Business Coalition, it is important tounderstand what is involved with adding a presence in the US market. There are a number of resources you can use to learn the specific information for what you will be exporting to the United States.

Here are some suggested sites:

Related: Export Cooperative Transforms Exporting For Small Irish Firms

# 3. More research

It can be overwhelming at first when you realise that there are so many things to put into place even before you ship a product. Be deliberate and take your time. This is a big step for your company and you want your business plan to be a guide and not a dust collector. Here are the areas to concentrate on in the beginning:

  • Customs – From how you package your product to the Customs Modernization Act to who is your designated representative who receives your goods
  • Legal entity – You may want a legal entity for liability, be able to sell to the US government and/or have access to services provided by the Small Business Administration
  • Visas – A visa is required to enter the US for business purposes but there is more than one type.
  • Marketing – The US market has its own characteristics so it’s important to have a marketing campaign designed for your US customer
  • Funding – With all the fees for legal advice, licenses, marketing and scaling up of production, it is important to know if you need to approach investors, bootstrap or governmental programs
  • Location – Identify everything from location of your customers, access to reliable transportation, manufacturing facilities and office space
  • HR regulations – Hiring practices, employee benefits, employee handbooks and complying with workplace regulations
  • Cultural differences – Americans have a different sense of time and conversation among other things. This might not be part of your business plan per se but learning the basic tendencies (not stereotypes) will help you build strong relationships with your new network.

Related: International Marketing Checklist

# 4. Begin writing

Taking the time to research will help you identify the resources and professionals you need to make exporting to the US a positive experience. Allow yourself to write and rewrite your plan as you understand more clearly what is involved. Another advantage to planning well is that it supports your growth from being a simple small business owner to the managing director of a global small business.

Related: Competitive Intelligence Gathering For International Markets

All growth stages take strategic planning. Exporting to the US will grow your business into a more sophisticated organisation. Make it work for you from the start.

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Image: “American flag/Shutterstock“



Category: Business expansion

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The Author:

Elli St.George Godfrey guides small business owners as they expand in their own community or internationally using her 3 Keys Coaching process helps clients not only navigate growth stages. With each stage of the 3 Keys coaching process, we tackle strategic planning, goal setting, managing change, organizational development and managing the stress and feelings of overwhelm that often plague small to mid-size business owners and executives. This results in clients feeling confident in identifying and developing strategies to be more effective leaders, plan more creatively, increase revenues and overcome the fears and obstacles that interfere with building thriving small to mid-sized businesses. I am also Chief Community Manager of Kaizen Biz and Host of Twitter chat, #KaizenBiz (a chat that uses the concept of "kaizen" for continual improvement in how we think and act in business). Please visit www.abilitysuccessgrowth.com/about/ to learn more and I look forward to meeting you in a complimentary coaching session. http://www.abilitysuccessgrowth.com

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Add Your Comment

  • John Twohig

    I find more and more Irish business people do not plan or educate themselves about their business field, or worst still make no effort to understand the people they are about to meet, the very people that will make a decision that will affect their business.

    Great post.

    Fail to prepare, prepare to fail.

  • http://www.bloggertone.com Niall Devitt

    Great post Elli, I think your point about considering cultural differences is one that’s often overlooked. at the end of the day, it’s about relationships so understanding what makes Americans is vitally important if you want to do business there. 

  • ElliStGeorgeGodfrey

     Niall,

    I think it’s easy to overlook the cultural aspects given the long-standing relationship between the Irish and the Americans. Also, one of the things that is also overlooked is that each region of the US has its own “personality”. It’s worth taking the time to research business etiquette so you have the basics as well as keeping an open mind when you are actually communicating with the person you are networking with. A good place to begin is here http://www.ediplomat.com/np/cultural_etiquette/ce_us.htm

  • ElliStGeorgeGodfrey

     John,

    Thanks for the comment. It is unfortunate that you’re seeing business people not preparing themselves adequately when making new contacts. It’s easy to think you understand a group of people when you observe them through television or film, media coverage or tourism.  LIke I wrote in Niall’s reply, there are resources to explain basic tendencies.

    The “know, like and trust” factor is a major component in developing
    positive relationships. You want people to say, “I know someone you
    should talk to…” because they genuinely like you and want to see you succeed.

  • http://www.bloggertone.com Niall Devitt

    Super overview Elaine! In my opinion, the lone ranger needs to also have a guest posting & commenting strategy – if he or she is serious about growing their blog. Blogging in complete isolation is probably the least effective strategy to start with.

  • http://www.smartsolutions.ie/blog/ Elaine Rogers

    That’s an excellent pointer Niall, thanks for sharing. Isolation does not sound very social and collaborative, and a Lone Ranger’s blog will not be compromised using this strategy.

  • http://www.smartsolutions.ie/blog/ Elaine Rogers

    Thanks Marie,
    In fact your mix is a perfect example of how a blogger can achieve the best of both worlds. Again, it’s all down to what you want. Thanks for reading and sharing your view.

  • davidquaid

    That’s a great blog title and post. I think very few people well get to Seth Godin status, even locally, so I think the blogger community makes sense for most – possibly 90% – of bloggers, especially new to space.

    The biggest factor: as people gear up their content production, having a network like this might be the only way to maintain an audience.

  • davidquaid

    Indeed – but then if you’re going to venture into connecting with people offline from online, then TYB makes a good case for having a friendly group for your first meetup!

    Seth makes some good points about going viral and the value of thousands who enjoy reading soundbites but that is far different from a blogger for say a Health and Safety Business. I think ‘Zen of Tribal’ noise is the best summary I’ve read

    The chap with the 700k+ followers who wrote (humorously) that “Social Media is ******” muses that its best suited to Journalists and Comedians. Indeed, ‘content curation’ on facebook pages (imitating a Mashable or TechCrunch) to me is the worst form of engagement (if you had to introduce a sliding scale of subjective opinion). – but the ultimate is blogging for yourself – with or without others – your content should be king :)

  • http://www.smartsolutions.ie/blog/ Elaine Rogers

    Hi Tina,
    Great comments thanks – yes sometimes it can be a cat and mouse game, or perhaps chicken and egg – which should we attempt first, when starting off? The lone ranger can be very resourceful on his own, but being part of a posse has its advantages too

  • http://www.smartsolutions.ie/blog/ Elaine Rogers

    Well David, I am not sure if you are familiar with the TYB community, but I do believe it’s quite unique and very special as there is a very high level of participation behind the scenes, and we have been know to luncheon together also :)

    I think your final words say it all – content is king – still!
    There is no point in being an emperor – you may just end up with no clothes!

  • davidquaid

    Did I say content is King. Context is Emperor. Content is key — but without conduit its lost. Thats why TYB is so important – not because of content but because of conduit.

    Quality of content is determined by the user. Badly written without images is fine in many circumstances – like a forum.Whether content is King or not, its getting the right people to the content is the challenge.

  • http://www.smartsolutions.ie/blog/ Elaine Rogers

    and that indeed IS the challenge, I think I need more carrots!

  • k8twopointoh

    Marie, that’s amazing that you blog individually along with a community. Do you have a blog site that you can share?

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