29 August 2012 by Sophie
It's all well and good George Osborne, Vince Cable and the UK's
super-entrepreneurs banging on about how small businesses must
start exporting to exploit growth opportunities. They're not the
ones who actually have to take the plunge, are they?
Exporting can seem like more trouble than it's worth for small
companies. You're dealing with new corporate laws, more complex
logistics and a marketplace you're most likely unfamiliar with.
But the growth opportunities exporting offers up are no myth.
Foreign appetite for British services and goods in overseas markets
is exploding: UK exports to India grew by 45% between 2005 and
2010, according to UKTI, and UK businesses exported £17bn worth of
goods to Ireland in 2010, to pick just a couple of many stellar
statistical examples.
So what are small businesses to do? Well, first things first,
exporting doesn't actually have to be difficult. There are some
truly brilliant, and best of all incredibly simple-to-use,
services out there to help you dip your toe in overseas
waters.
We at Smarta are big fans of Alibaba, the international trading
platform for small businesses, because it really does make
exporting about as simple as you could ever hope for. Which means
start-ups really can try exporting without the need for huge (or
virtually any) investment or struggle.
Don't believe us? Watch how these three small businesses started
exporting with minimal fuss. (Then watch
the next webisodes in this series.)