Exporting to the United States – A Team Canada Inc Publication

2.4 Assessing your company's readiness

After identifying a market segment, for example a demographic or a region where your product might do well, your next step is to decide whether your company is in fact ready to be an exporter – that is, whether it has the financial, human and production capacity to supply a market in the United States. You might consider this in the light of the following questions:

• The U.S. is a ferociously competitive market. What advantages does your product or service have that will set it above its competition?
• Can you obtain the working capital needed for any necessary expansion, such as staff or production space?
• Do you have enough cash flow to sustain you until payment for your goods or services is received?
• Will your product or service need to be adapted to the U.S. market? For example, will your oak cabinets warp in the humidity of the South?
• Will your product or service need different packaging and promotional materials? For example, will brochures need to be in English and in Spanish?
• Can you obtain the financing needed to promote your product or service in the U.S.?
• What further research are you doing to identify the market you're going to enter? Is it time, for example, for an on-the-ground survey of the territory?

This is far from a comprehensive list. You can see a much more substantial one, and create a readiness assessment for your business at the same time, by using the online Export Diagnostic. It's useful for exporters of both goods and services, because it provides alternative diagnostic paths for each; once completed, it will give you a summary of your company's strengths and weaknesses as an exporter. While it's not specific to the U.S., the diagnostic will suggest ways in which you can improve your chances of export success.

Another export-readiness tool for service providers can be found at exportsource.ca/worldview. "Export Your Services" covers everything from locating international business opportunities to market entry methods for service firms.

Export Development Canada (EDC), a Canadian financial institution devoted to providing trade finance services to support Canadian exporters, provides another angle on your export readiness through its free ExportAble diagnostic, available on the EDC Web site

This isn't an exhaustive list of readiness-assessment tools, so you may want to investigate other government and non-government resources in this area.