Florida Trend | Florida's Business Authority

Scoring in Global Markets

J.T.D. Enterprises wanted to sell its “Search ’N Rescue” golf ball retrievers beyond U.S. borders. “We knew there were opportunities to export,” says Tom Nihra. “We just didn’t know how.” So J.T.D. sought help from the Florida SBDC at the University of South Florida to create an Export Marketing Plan and identify key markets, one of which was Mexico. A Gold Key grant from Enterprise Florida allowed Nihra to join a trade mission and meet one on one with potential distributors. “I would never have been able to get those appointments on my own,” he says.” End result: J.T.D. shipped its first products to Mexico in fall 2016, and coming soon — shipments to Canada.