Contributed by Nicole Woods, EXIM

You’ve built a thriving business selling your products or services right here in the USA. Kudos to your success, but you may not realize how many other potential customers you’re missing. Did you know that 95% of the world’s consumers live outside the United States? It’s time for them to meet you!

That’s where exporting comes into play. It can be the strategic growth opportunity that takes your business — no matter how small — to the next level. Not sure where to start? While the prospect of selling internationally may sound daunting, you don’t need to do it alone. There are government resources available to help you at every step along the way and give you the confidence you need to compete for global sales. It’s like finding a toolbox filled with tools you didn’t know you needed.

Archana Sharma, CEO and Chief Storyteller for AKAS Textiles in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, puts it this way: “Any small business could actually expand and double, triple, quadruple their revenue if they look at exports.”

That’s exactly what happened for her company. So now you’re thinking about the potential for exporting, but like the smart entrepreneur you are, you’ve got questions.

1. How Do I Know I’ll Get Paid By a Customer in Another Country?

You may be thinking, “not so fast… How do I know I’ll get paid by a customer in another country?”

Export credit insurance is an insurance policy, like the policy you already have on your house or car. In this case, the policy provides coverage on the accounts receivable that are generated from your international sales. Are you interested in exporting, but worry about buyers not paying on time, or at all? Maybe you’re concerned about winning sales, or about the political risks involved with certain countries? Those are exactly the issues export credit insurance is designed to address.

2. How Can I Afford to Offer Credit Terms to Global Customers?

Now that you’ve met these global customers, you realize that requiring them to pay in cash may be costing you business. You need to be able to offer them credit terms to grow your business, but how can you afford to do that?

Export credit insurance empowers you to meet, or beat, your competitors by giving you the ability to offer attractive credit terms. Your business can use open account credit terms to win new customers and increase sales to existing buyers. Another benefit to insuring foreign receivables is that lenders will often accept them as collateral, expanding your borrowing base and improving cash flow.

3. How Do I Get Cash Up Front to Grow My Business or Make My Products?

Of course you want to expand, but before you can make that happen, you may need cash up front to grow your business or make your products. How do you get that?

A working capital loan guarantee offers exactly what it sounds like — a guarantee to lenders so they will be more willing to lend money to purchase or manufacture goods and services destined for export. The collateral for the loan is the export-related inventory itself (including work in progress) as well as the foreign accounts receivable generated from the sale of the products.

4. Can I Take Advantage of These Opportunities If I Provide Services?

All this sounds great, but you don’t manufacture a physical product — you provide an essential service. Would you be able to take advantage of these opportunities?

Many people think of exporting as selling hard goods, or actual products, worldwide. But you know that U.S. services — including finance, education, software, entertainment, engineering, architecture, legal, and many others — are in high demand worldwide. The service sector in the United States is driven primarily by small and medium-sized businesses, and it thrives in an entrepreneurial environment. If your small business provides excellent service and is looking to grow, the world is waiting for you!

Meet 3 Empowered Women Who’ve Taken Their Businesses Global

When Dr. Wei-Shin Lai had trouble falling asleep at night as a family physician, she invented the product she needed — and launched AcousticSheep, growing the small business from a kitchen-table operation in Erie, Pennsylvania, into a successful company that has increased sales every year. As the company grew, it began selling its products internationally, but experienced difficulty when customers defaulted on payments. Read more in this story featured in Entrepreneur magazine about how she overcame those obstacles and now offers products in approximately 175 countries.

Merrilee Kick was a teacher grading papers by the pool in Carrollton, Texas, who was enjoying a beverage in a glass jar when her entrepreneurial idea struck. The single working mother, raising two sons, turned the idea of a cocktail in the shape of a ball into her MBA thesis — and then into BuzzBallz,  a company whose revenues are on pace to exceed $100 million. Recognizing the competitiveness of the domestic market, she saw the need to expand her sales internationally. Check out Merrilee’s story here.

When Angie Yu learned that the exploding population of Asian carp was endangering the Mississippi River ecosystem, she realized that demand existed in countries where the fish is a delicacy and recognized an untapped export market. She founded Two Rivers Fisheries in Wickliffe, Kentucky, with the goal of converting the invasive species into an innovative food source — turning an environmental problem into an exporting opportunity. She now runs the largest U.S. exporter of Asian carp, shipping products to nearly a dozen countries. Listen to Angie discuss her exporting journey on this podcast.

You can find more stories of U.S. companies that supercharged their success by taking their business global here. In addition, you can talk with trade finance specialists who work directly with women-owned businesses to help provide the financing and confidence needed to tackle the global marketplace.

Get These Free Resources to Launch Your Export Journey

• Export Credit Insurance

• Working Capital Loan Guarantee

About Nicole Woods

Nicole Woods is a lead global business development specialist and Director of Client Care at the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM), currently operating as the acting Vice President of the agency’s Minority and Women-Owned Business and Outreach Division. EXIM provides U.S. businesses with competitive financing tools that mitigate the challenges and risks of selling goods and services abroad.

Ms. Woods specifically works with small businesses and businesses that have been traditionally underserved economically and financially, to educate them on how to qualify for and access EXIM financing.

She also manages the Bank’s Client Care Unit which works with existing EXIM clients on maximizing the benefits of their policies for international business growth and success.

Ms. Woods is a graduate of Hampton University and a former public affairs specialist for the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy, with an extensive background in strategic communications, external affairs and media relations.

Nicole also holds a Certified Global Business Professional (CGBP) designation administered by NASBITE International, which is the leading authority and industry standard for global business education, trade credentialing and training.

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