Staying Competitive Requires More Entrepreneurs Expand Abroad
Small businesses are no longer limited to local. Increasingly, entrepreneurs see the necessity and opportunity to immediately (or more quickly) enter the global marketplace. The ease of travel, communications, and trade has significantly lowered barriers to exploring new markets. Yet, the vast majority of small American firms continue only to sell domestically. Indeed, just five percent of our country’s small businesses export, even though more than 95% of consumers live outside of the United States. In the United Kingdom, the number of small businesses that export is well over 50%. Much more needs to be done to help American entrepreneurs expand their operations overseas.
This is why we decided to come together to put on the Global Entrepreneurship Export Exchange (E3). First, we want to make it easier for small businesses to connect with new markets. At many large trade conferences, entrepreneurs struggle to get attention and to get their key questions answered. They often don’t have the time or resources to follow up on or carefully analyze information provided by foreign businesses or trade offices. So, E3 will take the big businesses out of the room and lets the entrepreneurs focus on the issues that matter most to them. The conference is designed to allow small businesses to go more in-depth with a wide range of foreign trade officials. Building these relationships and getting these insights can make the difference between choosing to explore a new market or deciding to stay at home.
The second unique feature of E3 is policy discussion. We can’t make real progress on internationalizing entrepreneurship until more governments focus on the unique needs and concerns of small businesses. They may have lowered the regulatory and tax requirements of trade, but more can and should be done to address challenges from administrative burdens to informational barriers. Business, government, diplomatic, and thought leaders will look at policy and programmatic changes that can be undertaken to support more entrepreneurs globalizing their ventures.
Relationships always matter most in foreign markets. This conference is different because it focuses on making connections with the people who can give reliable guidance and information. At the Entrepreneurs’ Organization, the membership regularly talks about how they should be out exploring overseas opportunities for their businesses. Yet finding credible information and connections to start down that path they say can be a real challenge for small firms. E3 is a unique platform for these small business owners who know they need to look at expanding abroad, but aren’t sure how or where to get started.
There’s certainly a lot to celebrate during this year’s Small Business Week. Support for entrepreneurship is at an all-time high. In the United States and around the world, incubators appear to be popping up on almost every corner. Communities are investing significant sums into strengthening their local entrepreneurial ecosystem. Nonetheless, one of the significant hurdles that remains is helping these startups and small businesses to broaden their markets.
This isn’t just an ambitious aspiration, it’s becoming more and more of an economic necessity. The new globalized economy will favor those countries that enable their small businesses to compete internationally. When the Global Entrepreneurship Summit takes place the week after E3, hundreds of emerging entrepreneurs will descend on Silicon Valley. These are internationally-inclined small business leaders who are ready to succeed in today’s increasingly challenging and complex global marketplace. We hope that the connections, conversations, and concrete proposals that come out of E3 can ensure that they aren’t in the minority.
Brett Bruen is President of the consulting firm the Global Situation Room and former Director of Global Engagement at the White House.
Miranda Barrett is Vice President of Strategic Engagement at Entrepreneurs’ Organization.
Aaron Miller is International Trade Manager for Virginia’s Small Business Development Centers and Director of the Master’s Program in Social Entrepreneurship at George Mason University.
