Export products

Export goods to increase your profits, reduce market dependence, and stabilize seasonal sales. Connect with SBA resources and partners to get help exporting.

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Benefits of exporting

Nearly 96% of consumers live outside the U.S., and two-thirds of the world’s purchasing power is in foreign countries. If you’re a small business owner, here’s how to work with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) for your trade needs.

Get counseling
Find buyers
Get funding

Get export and trade assistance

It may be easier to expand your market than you think. Even small businesses can get into exporting with the help of mentors and modern technology.

Trade Tools for International Sales

SBA's Office of International Trade provides information on its Trade Tools for International Sales page to help small businesses explore opportunities in other markets. Learn about U.S. trade agreements, find information on regulations and laws, and explore programs and services for small businesses who want to go global.

U.S. Export Assistance Centers (USEACs)

USEACs help you explore the process of exporting at centers across the country. Each one is staffed by professionals from public and private organizations with experience in export assistance for small- and medium-sized businesses.

Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs)

SBDCs can also help. SBDCs are hosted by leading universities and state economic development agencies, and are partially funded through a partnership with SBA. Their advisors offer free business consulting and low-cost training services.

International Trade Hotline

SBA’s Office of International Trade can help any small business that faces barriers in accessing international markets. The office publicizes the small business benefits of U.S. trade agreements and helps protect the rights of small businesses under these agreements. Contact the toll-free trade hotline at 855-722-4877 or international@sba.gov.

Find export trainings near you

Find events

Find international buyers

Many small business owners don’t realize foreign sales opportunities are well within reach. To reach them, all you need to do is take advantage of federal programs designed to build the bridge to new markets.

State Trade Expansion Program (STEP)

STEP provides financial awards to state and territory governments to help small businesses with export their products.

State-level STEP grants help small businesses:

Learn how to export
Participate in foreign trade missions and trade shows
Obtain services to support foreign market entry
Develop websites to attract foreign buyers
Design international marketing products or campaigns

Most states receive STEP support. Find out if your state does, then contact your local office to see how they can help you export your products and services.

Export finance programs

Most U.S. banks view loans for exporters as risky. This makes it harder for you to get loans for things like day-to-day operations, advance orders with suppliers, and refinancing existing debts. That’s why SBA created export finance programs to provide lenders with up to a 90% guaranty on export loans.

To learn more about SBA export finance programs, contact your local SBA export finance manager or SBA's Office of International Trade.

Find a list of participating export lenders.

Small business success story

In 1992, Karen Markson followed her entrepreneurial interest by taking the leap to co-found ExTerra Global Trading – a commodities wholesaler for the export of U.S. agricultural commodities to food wholesalers located in the Caribbean and Latin America – with her business partner, an investment bank that specialized in the buying and selling of Latin American bonds. In the first six years, Markson was instrumental in growing and diversifying the company’s revenues and export customer base. Then, in 1998, she jumped at the opportunity to buy out her business partner who was retiring.

In the beginning, financing for the business was never an issue, as ExTerra was able to obtain private funding from its former partner. After the partner buy-out, though, Markson moved quickly to secure an SBA Export Working Capital Program (EWCP) line of credit from her bank as she realized the critical importance of having access to financing, especially for a food wholesaler. According to Karen, access to export working capital financing was critical to the company’s overall success as it provided the necessary liquidity to scale and grow the business. For the past 23 years, ExTerra has utilized SBA’s EWCP as its primary source of working capital financing.

SBA’s EWCP helps small companies better compete in global markets by allowing lenders to offer much needed working capital financing to fund export transactions for small businesses. EWCP can also be used to issue standby letters of credit to serve as a bid bond or advanced payment guaranty, while only requiring the lender to take a collateral deposit of 25% of the amount of the standby letter of credit, freeing up the remaining 75% for working capital purposes.

According to Karen, the main source of stress for her – and presumably most businesses – is having access to appropriate working capital financing that can provide the liquidity during difficult times, such as crop droughts, commodity price fluctuations, and foreign currency devaluations. During these challenging times, Markson is happy to know that she has a lender in her corner that understands the situation and can provide some level of flexibility.

Today, ExTerra is an SBA-certified, woman-owned business and has twice been nominated for Exporter of the Year award.

When asked for some specific advice for other exporters, Markson offered:

Develop strong customer relationships while delivering exceptional customer service; this allows a small business to compete against larger competitors.
Stay up to date on the global markets you are selling to as this will help minimize downside risks.
Start slow and really get to know your customers to help you to develop an instinctive sense of which customers are good, reputable, and worth doing business with.
Identify a lender that will take the time to understand your business; having a close lender relationship is key to a company’s overall growth.

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