Push yourself and your business to the next level

You made the jump and started your business a few years ago because you’re an expert in the good or service that you provide. During that time you have continued to grow the business domestically, but are you truly maximizing your business’s potential?
How are you strategically planning for long-term growth? Is fear holding you back from where you can lead your business?
As women, we can tend to be less apt to go after that big contract or push ourselves to grow the business into riskier ventures. We stay in our comfort zone and, therefore, miss out on potential opportunities.
In the business world, however, we need to be looking to enhance our competitiveness, diversify our clients, lower per unit production costs, gain new knowledge and potentially expand the life cycle of existing products.
How are we able to accomplish this? One word — exporting.
Committed to helping
If you’re new to exporting, it can be daunting. So, where do you begin?
The Ohio Small Business Development Centers are here to guide you, steer you around the obstacles and point you to professionals or resources that may be of help.
We have 27 centers across the state and are a part of a national association. Our services are free and we are committed to helping you succeed.
Seize the opportunity
The employment outlook looks strong for 2015, as Ohio unemployment rates fell to 4.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014, well below national rates of 5.8 percent.
So, if the local economy seems relatively good, why the rush to export? It will help you prepare for the inevitable, cyclical domestic economic cycles of prosperity and downturn and allow you to seize a tremendous opportunity.
More than 95 percent of the world’s population and two-thirds of the global purchasing power lie outside America’s borders. Exporting enables companies to diversify their portfolios and weather changes in the domestic economy.
Use the resources available
What’s holding you back? Expertise? Time? You may not have staff with time or knowledge to develop an export strategy, much less execute it. This is where the Ohio SBDC International Trade Assistance Center is critical.
We have a tremendous wealth of expertise to assist companies in realizing their export potential. Some of the resources we provide are grants for Ohio companies that may cover up to 50 percent of the costs associated with foreign trade show participation, trade mission participation, appointment setting fees or even the wages of an intern trained through the Export Internship Program, which is excelling in its fourth year.
Get started today
The state of Ohio is the ninth largest exporter in the U.S. and set an export record of $52.1 billion in 2014, according to last year’s Ohio Exports Report.
How much of this do you want for your business? It’s not as risky if you surround yourself with experts that can push you out of your comfort zone and help you make sound, mitigated business decisions.

We have the resources to help you expand to other thriving economies and the success stories to prove it.

 
Ariana Ulloa-Olavarrieta is the district director of the Ohio Small Business Development Center, Columbus State Community College, which provides confidential, one-on-one counseling sessions for new entrepreneurs and existing business owners.