April/May 2008
Extra
The Time Is Now To Go Global
The world is small businesses’ oyster. The “Intuit Future of Small Business Report” looked 10 years into the future and found that all businesses – not just the traditional big guys – are “poised to thrive in any industry, anywhere.” This includes ad specialty distributors, many of which have already embraced the idea of the global marketplace.
Not surprisingly, enthusiasm about the Internet is driving much of the global inspiration. The report cited cross-border business opportunities, technological advances leading to broader social networks and reductions in export costs as being some of the key drivers. “We’re in an international marketplace. The only restrictions we have put upon us are by ourselves in our own brains,” says John Wray, founder of the Sunbase Promotional Agency (asi/339227), which is based in the United Kingdom. “Between the Internet, e-mail, videoconferencing—there is no reason you can’t be representing the same products in different countries today.”
The report said small businesses will be better positioned than large corporations to provide customers with highly targeted, customized and relevant products. “Small-business operations are no longer confined to brick-and-mortar storefronts. An increasing number of entrepreneurs are doing business online and finding they can serve international markets as easily as their local customers,” says an Intuit spokesperson.
Making the leap overseas is not without its challenges. Occasionally, “customs and import tax doesn’t make it that cost-effective,” says Danette Gossett, president of Gossett Marketing Communications Inc. (asi/212200). “But, once you’ve done it, it’s not that difficult. Plus, for an additional fee, many of the manufacturers will do the paperwork for you.”
Learning each market’s needs also takes some work, says Wray. “You can’t just walk in and pick up the business.”
Some, though, have attempted overseas sales and been turned off by the results. Andrew Schmid, owner of S.A. Promotions (asi/315946), says he was afraid of fraud after placing an ad in Thomas Register. “I got so many junk e-mails from what I didn’t consider to be legitimate clients,” he says. “One lady from the United Kingdom wanted to order 200 high-end products that were $100 apiece. She sent me three different credit card numbers and said, ‘Use whichever one works.’ I shut the whole deal down after that, and never heard from her again. At least when you’re doing local face-to-face sales, you can see who you are dealing with.”
KEN HEIN is a contributing writer based in Basking Ridge, NJ.
