Ask anyone successful in business how they made it, and they’ll tell you they didn’t do it alone. When starting out, you need support and mentorship.
It’s time to offer that to America’s small businesses.
At a time our economic reemergence is a work in progress, we need to focus on how we can create long-term growth. And in an increasingly global marketplace, we need to find ways to help American businesses — especially small- to medium-sized ones — compete and create jobs.
The key to success is finding customers in new markets and increasing exports. For small businesses, expansion is not as easy as setting up an office in Hong Kong. A mom-and-pop shop in Gwinnett or Buckhead likely lacks the resources and experience to “go global.” No matter what economists say about emerging middle-class populations in Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia, small business owners have little time to deal with the difficulties of expanding internationally when they’re focused on daily operations.
Exports are the answer. To increase exports, small and medium-sized businesses need trade-friendly government policies and support from large corporations.
Less than 1 percent of America’s 30 million companies export. Of those, more than half export to only one market. American small businesses create more than half of all new jobs and more than half of all non-farm GDP, most of them without access to 95 percent of the world’s consumers. In 2012, the Atlanta metropolitan area was the 17th largest export market in the United States, with merchandise shipments totaling $18.2 billion. We need to continue to grow that business.
The Obama administration and Congress must take steps to implement domestic reforms that eliminate barriers to global competitiveness. We need more programs like the one the U.S. Department of Commerce just introduced — an updated National Export Initiative called NEI/Next. It works to streamline regulations that impact exporting and open new markets to American businesses.
Concluding negotiations on trade agreements, such as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, will also streamline the trade process and create a level playing field. The administration could also fully implement the “single window,” which creates a single electronic platform for exporters to complete forms needed by dozens of agencies.
UPS launched an initiative to identify small and medium-sized customers that export to only one market. Using our advanced analytics, we partner with these companies and help to identify new potential markets.
With adequate guidance, small businesses can emulate the success of companies like Alpharetta-based Cellairis. UPS partnered with Cellairis, now the largest franchiser of wireless accessories, to streamline its operations and find a new inbound supply chain operator. Its phone cases and armbands can now be found in kiosks across North America, South America and Europe.
Working together, the federal government and the private sector can make it easier for small businesses to expand internationally. We all received help at some point. Paying it forward ensures stronger economic growth in the future for everyone.
Scott Davis is UPS chairman and CEO.
