My Exporting Books Arrived!

©2014 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

Nothing beats receiving your first fresh-off-the-press print copies of a book you've worked so hard on.  Mine arrived last week and what a perfect way to celebrate a new year and new book!

In case you missed these elsewhere, here are two media clips:

Businessweek
What Entrepreneurs Should Know About Exporting

China Law Blog
The Definitive Guide to Exporting

"But now I can say that if you are looking for a definitive guide on how to succeed at exporting, check out Ms. Delaney’s fresh off the presses book, Exporting: The Definitive Guide to Selling Abroad Profitably. This book is not only definitive, it is comprehensive. Heck it’s 552 pages!

But what I most like about the book is how it raises and clearly answers virtually all of the key questions that arise from exporting and how it constantly cites to and discusses real world examples. That it has a whole chapter on “getting paid” is testament to its being rooted in the real world." - Dan Harris, China Law Blog

Buy the book:  www.exportingguide.com

The Countdown Begins on the Release of "Exporting: The Definitive Guide to Selling Abroad Profitably"

Photo courtesy:  Apress

We are getting closer to the publication date on Exporting:  The Definitive Guide to Selling Abroad Profitably.  Meanwhile, here's a clip on an interview my esteemed colleague John Tozzi conducted with me for Bloomberg Businessweek:

What U.S. Entrepreneurs Should Know About Exporting Now

Here's a clip from the interview:

What made you want to write this [book] now?

Not enough entrepreneurs and small businesses really know how to export. The Internet has been a game changer for anyone who wants to do business internationally. How do you reach customers? What do you do as a small business owner to have the world find you? Once you find those customers, how do you get paid? Once you get paid, how do you get the merchandise or the service in the hands of a potential customer? Sign-up to be notified when Exporting is published!

U.S. Export Funding Help

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Will Ex-Im Bank's loans, loan guarantees, and insurance to American exporters and foreign buyers dry up at the end of May?

Fred Hochberg, Ex-Im’s chairman, says that 87 percent of the bank’s transactions and 20 percent of its financing dollars go to small businesses. 

Find out more here.  And another viewpoint here.

Small Business Exports: Where They Stand

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John Tozzi, our friend and colleague at BusinessWeek, reports on "Small Business Exports Edge Up."

Key comment:

“Ninety-eight percent of U.S. exporters are small and medium-sized enterprises but these exporters have historically represented only 30 percent of U.S. export value,” Tim Truman, a spokesman for the Commerce Department’s International Trade Association, said in an email.

And we are pleased to be quoted (GlobeTrade) in the article as well -- thank you John for including us!

Read the entire article here.  International Trade Update here.

Turning a Goal Into a Reality: Increase SMB Exports

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John Tozzi, small business reporter for BusinessWeek and U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke brainstorm about how the U.S. government plans to boost small business exports. They address three key issues:

1. What stops most small businesses from exporting?

2. How will the Obama Administration double exports in five years?

3. Some people argue that growing exports depends more on the value of the dollar, and there's not much from a policy point of view that the U.S. can do to boost exports.

Read the entire Q&A here.

Be Fearless: Get Out There and Export!

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Another great (expanded for print version) article on exporting by John Tozzi for BusinessWeek:

Entrepreneurs' Fears May Jinx Obama's Export Push

Here's an interesting issue posed by a small business owner:

Payment isn't the only challenge. Betsy Shields, founder of Breakaway Technologies based in Park City, Ill., sells used computer equipment abroad. Exports made up about 30% of her total sales of $2.4 million last year. Brisk business in Hong Kong and Singapore, though, dried up in 2007, when computer hardware manufacturers "dumped a lot of brand new product over there at pretty low prices," she says. A recent prospect in Tanzania looked promising, but tariffs made Shields' goods too costly.

We are honored to be included in this story. A hat tip and thank you to John for always reaching out to us whenever a feature has to do with global small business.

Up, Up, and Away on Exports!

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Biggest hiccup for SMBs on exporting? It used to be finding customers. Now, it's getting paid.

Read John Tozzi's excellent article over at BusinessWeek:

Other business owners might sour on exporting after what happened to David Old. His company (Old Wood LLC), a 15-employee wood flooring producer (pictured) in Las Vegas, N.M., had completed a $130,000 order for a new theater floor for a customer in Seoul, South Korea, in 2008. The buyer paid a deposit up front, passed a credit check, and made the first two payments on time. But the final payment of $40,000, due after the financial crisis began that fall, never arrived.

The Biggest Roadblock to Upping Exports

Posted by: Laurel Delaney, The Global Small Business Blog