U.S. Small Business Administration

When trying to decide whether or not exporting is for you, you need to ask yourself some questions about the structure of your organization, your production capacity and your financial capacity.  Following are some of the issues you should consider.

Management and Personnel

• Who will be responsible for the export department's organization and staff?
• How much senior management time
• Should be allocated?
• Could be allocated?
• What are management's expectations for the effort?
• What organizational structure is required to ensure that export sales are adequately serviced?  (Note political implications, if any.)
• Who will follow through after the planning is accomplished?

Production Capacity

• How is the present capacity being used?
• Will filling export orders hurt domestic sales?
• What will be the cost of additional production?
• Are there fluctuations in the annual workload?  When?  Why?
• What minimum order quantity is required?
• What would be required to design and package products specifically for export?

Financial Capacity

• What amount of capital can be tied up in exports?
• What level of export department operating costs can be supported?
• How are the initial expenses of export efforts to be allocated?
• What other new development plans are in the works that may compete with export plans?
• By what date must an export effort pay for itself?

* Excerpted or reprinted with permission from Small Business Success, Volume 1, produced by Pacific Bell Directory in partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration.