For a few short months, I had the opportunity to work with a family-owned freight forwarding company, and the owner was a very bright leader and passionate business consultant. She told me that “Exporting is a right and Importing is a privilege." It took me a minute to understand that sentence, and I would like to dive into the deep meaning of exporting in the next few paragraphs.

I noticed that more than ever, young companies are starting to think about exporting at much earlier stages of growth. The usual practice was for companies to exhaust all local opportunities, gather enough experience and finances, and then look for growth in untapped markets. Today, even start-ups include exporting in their growth strategy as a part of establishing their presence in the global market. Many small businesses fall into exporting accidentally: someone abroad placed an online order, and now it must be fulfilled, documented, and shipped.

Before you even fulfill that first export order, I highly recommend consulting international legal counsel to update your disclaimers and contracts, and consulting an international accountant to understand your money flows, fees, taxes, tariffs, and added value implications for your bottom line. Each country has different rules, and some of them apply to US citizens as well. Doing your research and laying a proper foundation for exports will yield unwavering results with minimal effort. My recommendation is to work with your local Government’s Commercial Service office. You can find them locally in larger cities or abroad, usually attached to an embassy. They have the ability to assist with new market research, industry research, make foreign business introductions, or step in if there are business or diplomatic issues abroad. This connection is a goldmine and will save you a lot of time and money.

One or two exports a year might not require extensive preparations for the company, but as exports constitute a larger portion of your business, my strong recommendation is to collaborate with a reputable Freight Forwarding company. They are the “travel agent for your cargo,” finding the most economical way to deliver the product, managing proper paperwork, and overseeing your inventory and risks. It is a nice specialty. I assure you want to become an expert in the Harmonized System (HS) codes that are used throughout the import and export process for classifying goods. The Harmonized System is a standardized numerical method of classifying traded products. It is used by countries around the world to uniformly identify and describe products for assessing duties and gathering statistics. You need someone who already knows your HS code and the best choice for your products for export and import permissions, tariffs, and taxes.

The second most important partner you can obtain in your exporting journey is a bank knowledgeable about import and export financing and aware of any guarantees or assistance provided by the exporting government. Not only will they guide you through foreign market research and provide you with working capital, product and invoice insurance, but they will also become a secret sauce for your success in collecting payments without delay. No foreign government or business wants to receive a letter of collections from an international bank or a foreign government. A bank that is knowledgeable in import and export and has ties to the government is a very powerful partner for exporters.

Surrounding yourself with strong partners is important for growing a business, reinventing it continually to meet the new demands of the market. Did you know that your local Economic Development agency or even the State Economic Agency has many tools to help your business grow and export? Each state receives federal dollars to help local businesses retain and train their staff, as well as hire new employees, and utilizes various locally developed financial incentives to support growing business needs. I always say: “you don’t ask, you don’t get.” Many of these agencies have offices in local colleges, trade centers, business associations, and trade groups. Often, these programs have specific qualifications to meet, but I see more and more programs supporting young, emerging companies.

Lastly, consider this honest warning: be cautious of “International Business Consultants” who promise to grow your business tenfold or guarantee your success in a new market. You can obtain everything you need about successful exporting from the government agencies mentioned, along with your own due diligence and research. As a taxpayer, you are already paying for their services.