Abbott Stark

Thank goodness we did the program when we did. Our original collective thinking was that we were not ready to start doing international sales. Even while we were completing the program and the follow-up, we were asking ourselves if we were getting ahead of ourselves. However, there came a moment when we did start to export, following the program, and suddenly we needed all of the information that we had received during the courses and conversations with the other businesses and resources that were provided. We were very thankful to have the resources available. If we had not completed the program, we would have been driving blind, not knowing which issues we were going to face and what was important in regard to international trade. For example, we might not have known the best and most effective way to register our trademark internationally, which is very important for our growth, whether we are trading in all countries or not. I recommend that companies learn and prepare for international expansion before they think they are ready.