SBA: Exporting Tips for Small Business

Our conversation today is part of an ongoing partnership with the US Small Business Administration highlighting small businesses as well as offering advice and resources to small businesses. We talked with Martin Short, Lead Economic Development Specialist & Public Information Officer at the Virginia-Richmond District Office for the US Small Business Administration and Bill Houck, an International Trade Finance Specialist with SBA. Martin reminded us that National Small Business Week happens April 30 - May 6, 2023 and that nominations for 2023 awards are open until Dec. 8, 2022. Get more information and the nomination forms here: https://www.sba.gov/national-small-business-week. We also talked about Shop Small Saturday and he encouraged everyone to shop small with your holiday purchases this year. He also encouraged small businesses to take advantage of the resources available to them on their website here. Bill explained his role as an international trade finance specialist and talked about all the smart reasons that most small businesses should consider exporting their product or service. He talked about all the resources that are available - including loan programs - and answered several questions about the logistics of it all. He recommends starting your research at trade.gov and utilizing Virginia Economic Development Partnership & your local Small Business Development Centers. In our immediate area, those would be Shenandoah Valley Small Business Development Center and Laurel Ridge Small Business Development Center.