The fact that you’re here, means you’re flirting with the idea of exporting your business. The possibility of exporting goods/products to an unknown, new market might seem a bit overwhelming at first, yet here we are to assist you with some of the essential guidelines that will help you organize and get started. 

Starting point? Yourself, of course, followed by the business you operate, so that you make good sense of whether you have sufficient personal qualities, relevant mindset and a successful, export-oriented business. Let's start with “You”:

 

Assessing You: The Global Mindset

What are some of the main characteristics needed to become a successful exporter? To break through the borders of a new market? to become an international executive of the global conglomerate? We might assume that the successful exporters, international expansion artists and executives differ drastically, yet they are similar in such important ways that make them more similar than different from each other. What is it that makes them alike? Desire and willingness to riskily fly into the world and adapt accordingly - improvise professionally. This is what we call a global mindset, which the successful exporters have or generate, motivating them to export their businesses in unknown environments.

Let’s take a fun turn and imagine export to be a rather extreme roller coaster. Before getting on it, we know that the ride is going to be rough, we’re scared and thrilled at the same time, yet when we get on board, we fasten the seatbelts and rush forward. The experience is very similar to exporting your own business abroad, so before taking on the journey, ask yourself - are you ready for an overwhelming yet exhilarating journey? Are you ready to rush through fears and joys and come out stronger? Are you ready to take on the challenges this journey has to offer? You’re going on a far-off land, stepping into a different cultural environment, you have to be ready. These are the questions you need to answer - a kind of homework to righteously export your business. 

The homework you need to complete revolves around self-awareness and temperament, technical aspects of an export, market research, financial considerations, and most importantly - does the chosen market demand your products or services?

The deeper you dive into the quality work, the less the probability of risks and mistakes on the way. But before going from “thinking about an export” to “executing an export”, you must be sure of having a global mindset - flexibility in adapting to the unknown environments.

 

Examining Self-Awareness

Global mindset begins with self-awareness, is mirrored in welcoming and openness towards the world and accumulates in acceptance of the cultural diversity. When complemented with an adventurous, easily adaptive spirit, solid education, business competency and life experience colored by international travels, we get the Successful Global Mindset Leader formula. It is these characteristics that help formulate a global mindset and operate a successful export.

At this point, we’ll share the 12 characteristics of a successful exporter, based on our own and that of other memorable, limitless figures’ experiences and observations:

1. Breaking through the boundaries of the world and adapting elegantly

2. Empathy towards those around you, but most importantly, toward yourself

3. Cultural and emotional intellect

4. Acceptance of the diversity of foreign countries, languages and cultures

5. Finding the best in each person at every end of the planet

6. And getting the job done with them

7. Curiosity and hunger for knowledge

8. Being straightforward with people and business

9. Flexibility and willingness to serve those around you

10. Making something difficult easily

11. Positively challenging challenges and always looking for better solutions

12. Elasticity - fell down? get on up again, even stronger this time.

It is likely that you might not find some of these characteristics in you, yet that’s only a matter of time and desire. So, if most of this list sounds familiar to you, then export success is inevitable. We’ve more or less covered “You”, time for “Your Business” now.

 

Assessing Your Business: Local Business Model

Your local business is quite a success and it colors the domestic market effectively, yet you need more geographic space to grow - so it’s time to look beneath the borders.

There’s a governmental website, providing a questionnaire (the link does not work) helping you elaborate on the readiness of your business being exported:

1. Does your company have a product or service that has been successfully sold in the domestic market? (Yes/No)
2. Does your company have or is your company preparing an international marketing plan with defined goals and strategies? (Yes/No)
3. Does your company have sufficient production capacity that can be committed to the export market? (Yes/No)
4. Does your company have the financial resources to actively support the marketing of your products in the targeted overseas markets? (Yes/No)
5. Is your company’s management committed to developing export markets and willing and able to dedicate staff, time, and resources to the process? (Yes/No)
6. Is your company committed to providing the same level of service to export markets that is given to your domestic customers? (Yes/No)
7. Does your company have adequate knowledge in modifying product packaging and ingredients to meet foreign import regulations and cultural preferences? (Yes/No)
8. Does your company have adequate knowledge in shipping its product overseas, such as the ability to identify and select international freight forwarders and freight costing? (Yes/No)
9. Does your company have adequate knowledge of export payment mechanisms, such as developing and negotiating letters of credit? (Yes/No)

As soon as you’ve completed the questionnaire, you’ll be presented with an online score, showing you the readiness for export and the fields that need more effort. It's okay if you’re not an entirely Yes-Person of this questionnaire, “No” responses just mean that you have some more homework to do. But most importantly, you must never forget the end game - your business breaking through the borders and exporting successfully. 

Lastly, it is very important to answer one more question: can you operate abroad with a domestic operation template? The answer is: it depends, because of course it does. All of us want the exporting process to be an expansion of domestic operations, yet there is no such guarantee. 

It's better not to concentrate on this, as the means vary according to the challenges of new markets. If a specific product is sold perfectly in the US, it does not mean the product will be as well-received in other, culturally different countries. Every market is a separate organism with its specific conditions, this is why it is important to research the market well enough and adapt the products and services we export accordingly.