Once a Small Business with Only Five Employees and Now a Global Behemoth

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It's hard to imagine that Generac Power Systems was once a small business with only five employees, especially when you drive past its sprawling, newly remodeled corporate headquarters off Genesee and Hillside roads southwest of Waukesha, Wisconsin.

Today the company employs 5,600 — 3,800 at plants in Jefferson, Eagle, Whitewater, Berlin and Oshkosh, and its headquarters in Waukesha.  The rest of its employees can be found in plants in Mexico, Brazil, Poland, Italy, Germany, India and China.

Read more about how Generac Power Systems went from small business to global player.

5 Ways to Crank Your Business Up to Global

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If companies want to grow, they have a couple of options to make it happen:  new product launch, buy a company, franchise, license an idea and export, to name but a few.

In the article, "Five Steps to Start Thinking Like An Exporter," London regional director Parveen Thornhill for UK Trade & Investment's (UKTI) talks about how small businesses want to reach out to Bric countries and beyond, yet it's not always clear where to start.  He shares five tips on how to turn your business into a global player.

While I have you, I am currently at work on a new book on exporting to be published February 2014 by Apress.  I'll keep you posted.  It will be an export game changer for small businesses.  You won't want to miss it.