Export Management with Central ISBDC

Indy Chamber News Archives

Small businesses are very active in the global marketplace. In fact, 98 percent of United States exporters are small and medium-sized companies. With a deep-rooted history in manufacturing positioning the Indy region as a competitor in the domestic and global economies, the Indy metro is primed to take advantage of exporting activity. 

To help locally based companies with an interest in exporting, ISBDC turns to

Andrew Reinke, President of Foreign Targets, Inc., an export management company creating and managing proactive export programs for small and medium sized manufacturing firms. Reinke is a paid consultant on the ISBDC team assisting their small business clients with export development and maintenance.   Over the past 15 years, he has developed a system of helping these businesses develop and identify their export strategies – the Core 8 steps to Export Development:

1. Export Readiness
   Self assessment of current export activity
2. Market Research, Identification, and Assessment
   Locating international customers for my product or service
3. Benchmarking
   Identifying what similar companies doing with exporting
4. Foreign Market Representation
   Finding partners at these locations
5. Promotion Strategy
   Marketing product or service internationally
6. Assembling the Export Team
   Identifying teammates
7. Assess and Adjust
   Learning to stay on track when markets change
8. Maintain
   Maintaining and growing export sales

As an added bonus, Central ISBDC is also a member of the Indy Chamber’s Entrepreneur Services that offers many opportunities to help businesses enter international markets. To learn more about exporting, contact Central ISBDC at centralindiana@isbdc.org.