SPOKANE, Wash. More than $1 million in new export revenue has been achieved by 235 businesses statewide in the year since the Washington Small Business Development Center (WSBDC) export program was started. A partnership of Washington State University and others, the WSBDC has a goal of establishing a “culture of exporting” across the state.“The services the export center offered have been of great value in developing an export initiative within our company,” according to RANDL Industries of Spokane, Wash. “Without their assistance, we may not have moved forward with an export plan.”
“We’ve worked with other export assistance programs, but the WSBDC program has been much more helpful,” according to Yaax International of Yakima, Wash.
Highly trained, experienced advisors
The export program was started in January 2011 as part of a statewide export initiative sponsored through a grant by the Washington State Community Economic Revitalization Board. Two export readiness centers joined the statewide WSBDC network of 24 centers and 25 certified business advisors to provide small business advising services.
Four highly experienced trade specialists with more than 100 years of international experience were hired, funded in part through the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). They complemented their existing knowledge by attaining the Nasbite International Certified Global Business Professional certification.
To further enhance the exporting culture inside the WSBDC network, the organization has added an exporting module to the advisor certification process that all advisors must complete.
Workshops, in-depth advising aim for success
The export program works with new-to-export and new-to-market companies to make each export-ready with a plan for success. The benefits gained from personal, in-depth advising have been substantial.
“I am very pleased with the impact our trade specialists and researchers are having with our clients,” said Terry Chambers, director of the WSBDC International Trade Program. “For many of these businesses, this is the first time they have made a commitment to get serious about exporting. Without substantial assistance, including one-on-one advising, many, if not most, would not start the process, let alone be staged to succeed.” In an effort to share critical information and promote the program, WSBDC trade specialists working with industry experts have presented 17 training workshops and completed a new export portal on the WSBDC website, www.export.wsbdc.org.
The WSBDC is in the process of developing new workshops that address a crucial area of exporting – compliance with laws and regulations. The workshops will help businesses with compliance assessment, processes, procedures, accountability and a compliance manual.
The training events have been co-sponsored or hosted by Washington agencies, ports, chambers of commerce, lenders and others.
Research opportunities for WSU interns
Eight WSU interns assist WSBDC export efforts by doing international research to validate markets and helping clients complete export plans. Research demands have required more than 2,700 hours during the year. Five more interns were hired from Eastern Washington University in the fall with funding from the SBA.
The WSBDC promotes economic vitality within Washington communities by providing expert business advising, demand-driven training and applied research to existing businesses and entrepreneurs. The WSBDC is a cooperative effort of WSU, other educational institutions, economic development organizations and the SBA. For more information on the mission and services of the WSBDC, visit the network website at http://www.wsbdc.org.