Lessons from SBA’s 'Expand Your Exports' Panel That Can Help Your Small Business

Last week, the U.S. Small Business Administration 's Office of International Trade hosted a webinar titled “Expand Your Exports” that featured panelists with valuable experience in exporting who shared their expertise and successes. In addition, the webinar celebrated #HispanicHeritageMonth and highlighted the importance of the relationships that develop between small businesses and their international trade counselors.

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Our Top Three Key Takeaways from the Webinar:

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1.?????? Honor Your Heritage

Three panelists with Hispanic heritage showed us the importance of honoring your heritage and paying it forward: North Carolina Small Business Technology Development Center Counselor Patricia V. (Ginny) Vaca , Illinois Small Business Development Center International Trade Director Siliva Torres Bowman, and GOEZ Global President Gustavo Ceballos each told us about how their heritage plays an important role in their identities and shapes their values that inform career decisions that have helped them get to where they are today.

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Torres Bowman said “I never forget my precious roots. I try my best to carry on my Hispanic values and traditions. One of these Hispanic values is taking care of our communities.” She does this through her work at the Illinois Small Business Development Center’s International Trade Center, where she helps others expand their small businesses into international markets.

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Torres Bowman has capitalized on her Latin American background, her connections, and her Spanish fluency to build bridges between Southern Illinois and Latin America. Silvia demonstrates how 1st and 2nd generation diaspora members, which make up 1 in 5 Americans, are well equipped to make an immense global impact through transferring resources, knowledge, and ideas back to their countries of origin.?

Learn more about the SBA’s observance of Hispanic Heritage month at Hispanic Heritage Month | U.S. Small Business Administration (sba.gov).

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2.?????? Counselors Are a Free Resource that Can Connect You with Real Tools for Success

During the webinar, we witnessed three examples of partnerships between small businesses and international trade counselors. The panelists demonstrated how this collaboration can lead to powerful friendships and strong business partnerships.

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Lisa Bamford, M.Sc. , part of the trio that made up SBA’s 2023 Small Business Exporter of the Year Sciencix , told of how she called the North Carolina Small Business and Technology Development Center ( NC SBTDC ) in the hopes of finding support and met Ginny Vaca, a counselor there. Bamford wanted to innovate and grow at the end of the pandemic. She shared that “Ginny came and asked about our story. She listened. And then, over the course of time, she methodically cascaded information to us in doses that were absorbable.”

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Vaca helped Bamford and Sciencix find resources to help them localize and translate their website, conduct market research, vet leads, and conduct financial analysis. Vaca also helped them apply for and receive a State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) grant of $24,000 which offset the costs of attending international trade shows and meeting overseas distributors.?The steps that Bamford took to help Sciencix resulted in a 10% increase in total sales, with exports accounting for one-third of those sales.

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Learn more about how the STEP grant can grow your small business exports at State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) | U.S. Small Business Administration (sba.gov).

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3.?????? Persistent Effort Yields Impressive Results

Each of the Small Business Development Center ( America's SBDC ) counselors on the panel praised their small business partners for their hard work, commitment, and willingness to learn and utilize new resources. SBDC international trade counselors have a wealth of knowledge about resources, tools, and pathways for small businesses to grow and begin to export, but the first step is for the small business to be committed and ready to work.

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Tom Fulcher, a business analyst with Maricopa Small Business Development Center, helped Gustavo Ceballos secure an SBA loan for his company Geoz Global , helping it grow by 500% since its first year. Ceballos said “we work really hard, and when we face a challenge, we connect with Tom. He is always there to help us, and if he doesn’t have the expertise, he brings a different expert to help us out. He has been an essential part of our success.”

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Learn more about how to expand your business through the SBA’s trade tools website at Trade tools for international sales | U.S. Small Business Administration (sba.gov). Also, consider connecting with your local SBDC to consult with international trade counselors for free. And to see the full video, check it out here: https://youtu.be/hKTVP7UNoHw