Expansion
Selling to Florida | Government Contracting | Exporting
Exporting
Going Global
Exporting is another avenue many small businesses take as a way to increase their sales and profits. Does your firm’s product or service lend itself to export? Have you considered broadening your reach to include international markets? If you answered “yes” to either question, your geographic positioning could not be more ideal.
Florida is home to more than 61,000 exporters — the second highest number in the United States — and nearly all of them are small- and medium-sized businesses with fewer than 500 employees.
Positioned at the nexus of transportation links in the Americas, Florida boasts a multimodal system that ensures the seamless movement of people and products between any two points on the planet. Moreover, Florida businesses enjoy access to the nation’s second largest Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) network, where value can be added to foreign goods tariff free before shipping them on to another country.
If you find the idea of expanding into international markets an appealing growth strategy for your business but aren’t certain how to make it happen, we have good news. No matter where you are in your global planning, you’ll find programs, resources and one-on-one counseling available from:
Enterprise Florida
Enterprise Florida Inc. (EFI) , the state’s public-private economic development partnership, provides programs and services to help Florida businesses enter or expand into the international marketplace. These include:
Export Counseling Professional trade counselors provide free evaluation of a company’s market readiness, selection of target markets for its products or services, market research, information on channels of distribution in target markets and introductions to EFI’s international offices.
Overseas Missions and Trade Shows Opportunities for Florida companies to showcase their products and services and meet one-on-one with potential customers worldwide.
International Trade leads Trade leads generated by EFI’s international offices may be made available each month to Florida companies that have registered through their local trade office.
Gold Key/Matchmaker Grant Available to eligible small- and medium-sized companies for the purpose of generating or increasing export sales overseas. These grants serve as market development vehicles for companies that are new or infrequent exporters by providing them with an opportunity to meet with pre-screened and pre-qualified buyers, agents, importers and representatives with an interest in their products or services.
Educational Events Ready access to roundtables, seminars and conferences on export fundamentals is available in various locales throughout the state on topics such as researching markets, developing an export strategy, logistics, promotional opportunities and more.
See the list of EFI local trade offices and the regions they serve.
Florida SBDC Network
For new and infrequent exporters, the Florida SBDC offers International Trade Services and Trade Specialists to help business owners navigate the complexities of international trade. One-on-one consulting is available at the local level to help with learning foreign trade basics, obtaining required licenses, understanding country requirements for products and, in partnership with Enterprise Florida, preparing an “Export Marketing Plan” designed to pinpoint the best countries for a particular product or service, develop the right entry strategies and promote a company’s products/services abroad.
U.S. Commercial Service
The lead trade promotion agency of the U.S. government, the U.S. Commercial Service has trade professionals in more than 75 countries and 100 U.S. cities, including six in Florida. They are poised to help companies get started in exporting or increase sales to new global markets by identifying and evaluating international partners, creating market entry strategies and navigating documentation challenges.For information on export basics, regulations and licensing, free trade agreements and other topics related to exporting in general, visit export.gov. See the list of U.S. Commercial Service Export Assistance Centers in Florida.
Stay In The Know
Sign up for Enterprise Florida’s biweekly “International Trade Events” newsletter to stay informed about international trade events that are happening around the state and overseas. Go to enterpriseflorida.com/trade-events-newsletter-sign-up/.
- Free Downloads
