To answer this question in an objective manner, an SME firstly needs to ask itself the following practical questions:

What kind of commitment is reasonable to assess whether exporting is right for me? Time is a precious commodity for all of us and developing international sales will take time, and that means time away from doing other things within the business. 

How much time will depend on whether your focus is:

• generating more international sales through your website
• selling to an intermediary in your country who then sells your product to the ultimate buyer
• finding distributors in another country
• attending trade shows
• or some combination of these and other possible strategies

Time is a function of persistence and patience and you will need both to be a successful exporter, however success is defined. International sales won’t happen overnight. It will take time to develop the procedural expertise within your company, and World Port Global and other resources can make the acquisition of this expertise as efficient as possible. It is important to remember that when it comes to the time commitments related to exporting:

• It will take time to find buyers
• It will take time to modify your product and packaging if needed for access to some markets
• It will take time to manage relationships with customers from other countries and cultures

If you are not willing to expend this effort, then exporting, aside from passively filling the random occasional order, is probably not for you.