Issue link: http://www.insightdigital.biz/i/563465
18 | I NSIGH T • S e p t e m b e r 2 0 15 w w w . i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m FACE TIME We like to say the 80/20 rule applies: Eighty percent of international business is just like domestic business — there's 20 percent that's different. Out of that 20 percent, you can probably get down to 2 or 3 percent that's really risky. We have 10,000 small manufacturers in Wisconsin. ree or four years ago, nine out of 10 didn't even have exports on the radar. Many companies think they're an exporter, but they're either reacting or they're an accidental exporter. ey're getting these orders that are coming in, but they're not saying, 'How can I be a proactive exporter? How can I figure out where they really need my products?' rough ExporTech (administered by WMEP and the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation) we go through the process of figuring out the top three or four countries for a product. We've got a lot of intelligence from the U.S. Commercial Service, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., and the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. WEDC right now has a scholarship for ExporTech. Once a company has an export plan, WEDC has up to $25,000 dollars per year, per company to implement that plan. If you're a small guy, or if you're an accidental exporter, it's much easier to get that pulled together with the people who know how to do it. We like to say the 80/20 rule applies: Eighty percent of international business is just like domestic business — there's 20 percent that's different. Out of that 20 percent, you can probably get down to 2 or 3 percent that's really risky. With ExporTech, we vet the plan at the end with people that have exported for 25 or 30 years. We've made it a lot easier for companies like (Stevens Point-based) Gamber Johnson to go from a half percent to 20 percent exports in three years. ey're up to something like 12 or 13 jobs supported by exports. When there's a domestic downturn, there's an export market. We had a lot of companies that went through the 2009 recession that started with us in exporting, and exporting really pulled them through. Ninety-five percent of the consumers are outside of the U.S. With baby boomers retiring — and stopping acquiring goods — with other countries up-and-coming and buying things, we really need to make that shi. A lot of times we can go overseas and double the price of products. ey want the USA-made Midwestern work ethic, good stuff.