Small Businesses May Not Have Time And Money To Invest In Exporting, Study Suggests

South Carolina Cases Cite Barriers To Exporting; More Research Needed

Small business owners may not have the time and
money to invest in overcoming barriers to exporting, suggests a study
released today at the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce Business Summit.
The study closely examined barriers to exporting faced by a panel of South
Carolina small businesses.

“This study shows that small businesses may face significant
barriers to exporting,” said Dr. Chad Moutray, Chief Economist for the
Office of Advocacy. “More research is needed to identify the barriers to
overcome, and how American small businesses can better compete in the
global marketplace.”

A key finding is that the firms studied generally initiated
exporting in reaction to customer inquiries, not as a planned strategy. A
more proactive stance, while possibly increasing export revenues, was seen
as too costly and time consuming for most of the firms.

Palmetto Consulting wrote Costs of Developing a Foreign Market for
a Small Business: The Market & Non-Market Barriers to Exporting by Small
Firms, (http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/rs241tot.pdf) with funding from
the Office of Advocacy. The report explores in-depth the market and non-
market barriers to exporting experienced by a wide range of small
businesses in South Carolina.

The Office of Advocacy, the “small business watchdog” of the
government, examines the role and status of small business in the economy
and independently represents the views of small business to federal
agencies, Congress, and the President. It is the source for small business
statistics presented in user-friendly formats and it funds research into
small business issues.

For more information, visit the Office of Advocacy website at
http://www.sba.gov/advo.

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Created by Congress in 1976, the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small
Business Administration (SBA) is an independent voice for small business
within the federal government. Appointed by the President and confirmed by
the U.S. Senate, the Chief Counsel for Advocacy directs the office. The
Chief Counsel advances the views, concerns, and interests of small business
before Congress, the White House, federal agencies, federal courts, and
state policy makers. Economic research, policy analyses, and small
business outreach help identify issues of concern. Regional Advocates and
an office in Washington, DC, support the Chief Counsel’s efforts. For more
information on the Office of Advocacy, visit http://www.sba.gov/advo, or call
(202) 205-6533.