Latest / The SmallBizChat with Melinda Emerson / How to Get Started with Exporting with Melissa Muhammad

Transcript

How to Get Started with Exporting with Melissa Muhammad · The SmallBizChat with Melinda Emerson

• 0:00
  3, 2, 1, 0, ignition.
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  Lift off.
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  Ending small business failure.
• 0:11
  Welcome to the small biz chat podcast with the number 1 small business expert, Melinda
• 0:17
  Emerson.
• 0:18
  Melinda's goal is to end small business failure, and she'll give you the information
• 0:23
  you need succeed and live the life you dream of.
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  Now here's your host, the small Biz chat lady herself, Melinda Emerson.
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  Have you subscribed to the small bizchett podcast?
• 0:37
  Well, it's time every Wednesday we offer listeners bite sized actionable tips to start
• 0:43
  and grow a successful small business.
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  And just 20 minutes or so a week you can get a ton of insight and resources to propel your
• 0:52
  business forward.
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  Be sure to subscribe to the small beachhead podcast today.
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  Now it's time for me to introduce my guests, Melissa Mohammed.
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  Melissa is a global business expert and international tax attorney who specializes in
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  helping international businesses operate worldwide for over 20 years, she's traveled to
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  numerous countries negotiating $1,000,000,000 transaction and has trained tax officials in
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  over a 153 nations.
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  Now she's helping black owned businesses, export globally, and excess government
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  contracts to turn concepts into contracts.
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  You can get more information at Black And Global Business Net work.com.
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  Melissa, welcome to the Small Bishop podcast.
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  Thank you, Melinda.
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  I'm so happy and excited to be here with you.
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  Oh, man.
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  I can't wait to talk to you.
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  So first of all, tell us what is the Black And Global Business Network?
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  The Black And Global Business Network is an international business development and training
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  network.
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  And our organization is not a mission to help Black Own Businesses access US Government
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  Resources to sell their products and services around the world.
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  There is an entire world looking to do business with black American businesses.
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  And black and global is focused on making that connection happen through government resources
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  because guess what?
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  We all pay our taxes.
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  And you have people sitting on the ground in over a hundred countries around the world, and
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  their full time job is to go and get you contracts.
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  Wow.
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  You know, who even knew that?
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  Right?
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  Like, it's people's job to help me find business.
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  Well, I wanna I wanna know more about that.
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  So Tell me, why is this something that everyone should be paying attention to?
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  Why should everyone be looking into exporting?
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  Well, only 5% of the market exists in the US.
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  And when you see large corporations operating.
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  They're all of their eggs are not in one basket.
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  Melinda, they're not just doing business in the US market.
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  And with e Emerson and the Internet, you're able to leverage your reach.
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  Right?
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  And, technically, you don't have to go through the government in order to do that, you can do
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  it the more challenging way.
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  But since you did resources that are there to assist you, I think it's imperative that, Black
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  Bone businesses use this resource.
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  So the Biden administration for the first time in history has created a division called the
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  Global Diversity Export Initiative.
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  And never in history before has the Department of Commerce ever focused on serving, businesses
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  in the underserved community.
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  So this unit, their full focus, is on helping underserved businesses to access the global
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  market.
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  And you just never had that type of time, attention, or focus before.
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  Wow.
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  So Do you believe that this exporting can really be a game game changer for the black
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  community?
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  Oh, I know it is.
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  I I know emphatically that it is.
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  Let me my my personal professional, expertise is working with large, very, very large
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  corporations.
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  I see around the world what corporations do to expand.
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  So I always tell people that when you see businesses from other countries here in the US.
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  You might see a Chinese company or you might see a Korean company.
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  And you look at them setting up in these different places within the US, and you say,
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  oh, how can they come over here and set up a business?
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  And we're struggling to set up a business.
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  Right?
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  There's not a Cohen Inc.
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  The reason is because their government facilitates them coming over to set up.
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  And the American government does the exact same thing, but, unfortunately, less than 1% of our
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  community businesses have ever received those resources.
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  So when you see, we literally see 1,000,000,000,000 of dollars.
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  I'm talking contracts that are signing like right now for one of my small small businesses
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  that I'm so proud of.
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  I get so excited about this stuff, so I'm trying to stay calm.
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  So we're doing a deal for him that's $10,800,000.
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  Woah.
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  And and yeah.
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  And we are we're in the government is take doing all of the steps to get him through doing
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  this project.
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  So when I'm telling you now, we don't do easy over here, Melinda.
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  We do lucrative.
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  We don't do easy over here.
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  I'm just gonna tell you upfront, you know, and nothing about the government that is easy.
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  But, but in terms of when you see these businesses from other countries, who are the
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  people that they hire?
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  They are Chinese or Korean people.
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  Where are the products being purchased from that they sell?
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  They're from China or they're from Korea?
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  Why would their government put money behind them?
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  Coming to the US or other parts of the world to sell because they're going to sell Korean
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  products.
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  They're going to increase revenue in China they're going to hire Chinese people, and
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  they're gonna take money back to China or Korea or Japan or, you know, the UK, Canada, every
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  there are 170 countries in the world that do exactly what I'm talking about.
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  And the US is the leader.
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  The only difference is the US focused traditionally has been large for businesses,
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  not small.
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  And that changed under the Biden administration to focus on small businesses.
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  So this is a fantastic time to access all of those dollars that are flowing in global trade.
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  So let's talk about trade missions.
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  For years, I've been hearing about people, oh, let's go on a trade mission to Scotland.
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  Blah.
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  But I always felt like that was like a glorified vacation like to meet some other
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  business people.
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  Tell me, what is the real deal with trade missions?
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  Do they work?
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  Oh, they definitely work.
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  And and let me say you know, you really have to be focused and intentional, and that's a word
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  you used earlier.
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  You really have to be intentional with your global brand.
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  And what it is that you're going to do.
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  Because if you go with a party, mindset or a party example, people are not gonna take you
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  serious.
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  And so what so, what I want people to do is to think of this network in this way.
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  So 100 Countries, 100 embassies on the ground, US Embassy.
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  They have a full time office there that's a commercial service office.
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  Either through the Department of Commerce or the State Department.
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  And these people, the way that they get rated, the way that they get approved within their
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  agency is on the contracts they close for American Businesses.
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  So who are they going to want to bring to these trade missions?
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  They're gonna wanna bring the businesses that they know that they can get to a closed
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  contract because that's how they are measured in their, in their job performance.
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  So It is very trade missions are a great way for you to know the market, to get B2B, one on
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  one, missions and and meetings.
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  So I've used us as an example.
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  Last year, I gotta hold myself for all the countries we travel to.
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  Well, we were in South America last year on a trade mission.
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  We went to, Nigeria Afra Nigeria, South Africa Ghana, that trade mission was actually with the
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  Department of Commerce.
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  Is the first, was the 2nd minority focused trade mission.
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  And on that trade mission, we literally met with 10 to 15 different potential partners in
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  each of those countries.
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  So you literally meet with people on the ground face to face in order to market your product or
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  your service and you form relationships with businesses.
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  So they are very lucrative.
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  So let's talk about selling in, like, a Spanish speaking country.
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  How do you do that if you don't speak a no Spanish?
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  Right?
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  How do you do it?
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  It's called translation.
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  Now so what I'm very we're very focused on is resources.
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  Right?
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  So There's a program that the government has that's called the Step Grant Program.
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  And the Step Grant Program is a reimbursable Grant Program.
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  That will help businesses as you expand into different countries.
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  So let's say you want to expand into a Spanish speaking country.
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  That's actually what's happening with us right now.
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  And, and so the step grant program, it varies from state to state.
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  But one of the things that the money can be used for is for translating into the language
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  in the country that you're going to.
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  And the team on the ground in those particular countries they can help you identify
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  translators.
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  And they have a whole team that helps with translating American written products, American
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  verbal products, all going through the government so that you can sell into that
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  market.
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  Let me tell you.
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  Uncle Sam is not gonna miss a dime, an opportunity for a dime because because and the
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  re I'm as a tax lawyer, the reason they do this is because they tax everything that moves.
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  Right?
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  Right.
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  The US government taxes everything that moves.
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  So if you if there's an opportunity, all they need to do is give you a browser extension or,
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  help you to have someone to translate your materials, they definitely do that.
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  And depending on your state, your those resource can be used to help you to reimburse
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  those costs.
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  Wow.
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  Wow.
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  Alright.
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  So one more question before we go to break.
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  I know that there's a lot of concern about doing business overseas about currency exchange
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  risks and, you know, international payments and stuff like that.
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  I've heard nightmares about people sending money over to China to get their stuff done,
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  and they stuff come back messed up.
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  And and they're, like, too bad, so sad.
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  Whatever.
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  You know, so talk talk to me about you know, how you handle international payments and how
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  hard is it to get your money out of another country?
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  Well, first, if you go in by yourself, it's gonna be nearly impossible.
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  This is another reason why we say you work with the team that is tasked to your state, right,
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  in order to help you to, sell your product or service, but the what you want to do is work
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  with a bank like Exim Bank.
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  Exim is the US export import bank.
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  And that bank, their full time job is to make sure you get your money.
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  And so what these 170 con com countries do they have what are called export credit agencies.
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  And these agencies, they work to facilitate to give you basically an insurance policy that
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  says, you know, if you, if you buy from Melinda, And Melinda will get you this
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  insurance policy.
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  And if you have a company that's in Costa Rica, that's buying from you, that that company
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  starts to pay.
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  As long as you have your insurance premiums rolling and that company decides to stop paying
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  you, then the US government will facilitate you getting paid, you get your money, and then the
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  government goes after that company encoastor reef.
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  Oh, wow.
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  So that's how that's not the issue.
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  Mhmm.
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  Okay.
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  So this so so this is a well oil machine that we just don't know about.
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  That's what you keep telling me.
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  That that's what this is.
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  You know, it it's it's not perfect, Melinda, but because we run into obstacles, and I love
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  when we run into obstacles, because that's when my Superwoman Kate comes out.
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  You know?
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  Hope that's my that's my game time right there.
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  But, you know, overall, we do see the process work.
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  You know, in general, but there are sometimes that we have to really work our connections and
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  our contacts to get our businesses through.
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  When they run into opposition from people who may not necessarily look like us.
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  Sure.
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  Sure.
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  So on average, How long does it take from the time I go on my trade Emerson?
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  And I meet these people in, let's say, Ecuador.
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  How do I how But, realistically, how soon can I see an actual contract or dollars in my hand?
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  Like, realistically,
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  Yeah.
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  So it depends on the maturity of your business.
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  We tell people 12 months to 36 months.
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  Is there it's not a short term game.
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  It's a lucrative game.
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  And, you know, it's interesting at you naming the country of Ecuador.
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  That's the one that has us going to Latin America because I was like, We're not trying to
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  do no speaking up speak in Spanish and all of that, but I'm telling you, the team in Ecuador
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  said Melinda What you all are doing is so needed in Ecuador, and you have black
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  Ecuadorians, black Costa Ricans.
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  I mean, We do business with anybody.
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  You could be purple.
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  Our standard is that you're ethical.
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  Right?
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  You have to be ethical.
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  But my point is that, when you go in and you meet with these different countries, like, we
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  were when we were in Ghana, we signed contracts on the spot.
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  Like, literally same day, but we're mature in this business.
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  Right?
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  Got it.
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  So that makes a look that a big difference.
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  But so we'd like to tell people 12 to 36 months because it's not a short term kit.
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  Got it.
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  Got it.
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  Well, thank you so much.
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  When we come back on the small business chat podcast, We're gonna be talking more about
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  everything you need to know to get started with exporting.
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  You're watching the small Bishop podcast, and I'm Melinda Emerson, and we'll be right back.
• 15:03
  Hi.
• 15:03
  I'm Melinda Emerson small biz lady, and I wanna welcome you to small biz lady university.
• 15:08
  Our mission here is to end small failure.
• 15:12
  So all the courses here are about 2 things, how to become your own boss, or how to make money
• 15:19
  online.
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  So that's what we do here.
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  So whether you wanna learn about email, marketing, and sales funnels, or you're ready
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  I wanna jump into our how to sell and market online course.
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  support@malindamerson.com.
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  Take care.
• 15:59
  Hi there.
• 16:00
  Welcome back to the small biz chef podcast.
• 16:02
  I'm Melinda Emerson small biz lady, your host, and we're back with my guest Melinda Mohammed
• 16:07
  talking about everything you need to know about how to get started with exporting.
• 16:11
  Alright, Melissa.
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  I wanna jump back in.
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  Can you tell me about some of the risk factors that small businesses need to consider when
• 16:18
  exporting and how you can mitigate those.
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  So we were talking about XM.
• 16:23
  Bank.
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  That's one of the ways that you can mitigate.
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  And having a team, I think, is one of the biggest, risk mitigation factors because you
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  have different people from the small business administration that has, exporters, export
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  services, your state also hires people in different countries to go and get you
• 16:45
  contracts.
• 16:46
  So if you're in Philadelphia, I'm in Maryland, Maryland hires contractors in 22 countries,
• 16:53
  Virginia hires in over 150 countries.
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  So that's what we do at Black And Global.
• 16:58
  We help you mitigate your risk by building a team using these resources to help you as you
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  grow globally.
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  Alright.
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  So you've talked about a whole a whole lot of stuff.
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  So how does somebody get their arms around, like, learning how to export so that they don't
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  lose their shirt or get caught up in some there's so many inter international scams and
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  stuff out here too.
• 17:21
  Yeah.
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  So our sweet spot is a roadmap where we streamline the process for businesses, and we
• 17:28
  call it Black And Global Essentials.
• 17:32
  Where we teach you the basic essentials of what you need to do in order to, have a road map,
• 17:38
  which office to go to, who you need to talk to, what you need to say.
• 17:42
  And even more importantly, what you do not need to say, how to focus on your global brand and
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  how how to support yourself because it's key terms, like in any industry that's gonna get
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  you to a contract faster.
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  So Black And Global Essentials, you can go to the Black And Global Business Network.
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  That's www.
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  Blackingglobalbusinessnetwork.com.
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  And there, Melinda, we, have the essentials program and we will be happy to support and
• 18:16
  help your business to grow from black and local to black and local.
• 18:21
  I love it.
• 18:21
  I love it.
• 18:22
  Alright.
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  Last question.
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  What is the best business advice you've ever been given?
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  Higher a great team.
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  My job is to be, is to find top talent.
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  And trying to do it all myself is the worst thing I ever did.
• 18:38
  So learning to be a master at mind and talent.
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  That's the advice I ever received.
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  I love it.
• 18:45
  I love it.
• 18:45
  Thank you so much, Melissa.
• 18:47
  For all of your sage advice.
• 18:49
  I mean, I've I think I got two pages of notes here.
• 18:51
  Anyway, thank you all for joining me for this episode of the small biz chat podcast.
• 18:56
  If you are an author speaker or you wanna become 1 or a coach, I wanna let you know that
• 19:03
  brand and demand too is coming, the 2nd cohort of my branding demand 6 month coaching program
• 19:10
  starts March 20th.
• 19:13
  So if you are interested in finally becoming a national brand, I want you to consider joining
• 19:19
  me because It is amazing.
• 19:22
  So if you head over to smallbizladyuniversity.com forward slash brand
• 19:27
  into man, dashgroupcoaching.com.
• 19:31
  That's what you need.
• 19:33
  Dashgroupcoaching.
• 19:34
  That's what you want to get the information and my second cohort starts March 20th.
• 19:40
  So I can't wait to see you all there.
• 19:43
  Now I have one last thing for you.
• 19:45
  If you want to grow your business.
• 19:48
  You have to grow yourself.
• 19:50
  Alright.
• 19:50
  Thank you all for joining us for this episode, and god bless.
• 19:59
  Thanks for listening to the Small Biz chat podcast with Melinda Emerson.
• 20:04
  Subscribe to this pod cast wherever you listen to podcasts and join us next Wednesday for more
• 20:09
  fantastic information and interviews.
• 20:12
  You can find more sources and small business success strategies by visiting Melinda's
• 20:16
  website succeed as your own boss.com.
• 20:20
  Thanks again for listening, and we'll see you next week.