Small Business Export Numbers Offer a Bright Spot in Troubled Times
PHILADELPHIA – A favorable market for US exports proved to be a highlight of an otherwise tumultuous year for small businesses. The Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) report client overseas sales increased over 100 percent in 2008, representing a $52 million boost.
With the domestic sales falling and the dollar dropping in value against other currencies, business owners sought to diversify their customer base and plumb markets abroad. Many, however, had no experience with international trade.
The US Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy notes small firms have “room for growth” when it comes to exporting. In the 2008 edition of The Small Business Economy: A Report to the President, Chief Economist Chad Moutray writes, “Small businesses have often ignored the international marketplace because they could. In a globalized economy, more and more small firms will need to consider export opportunities as an important key to survival and growth.”
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