Looking to expand your business into the overseas market, or thinking about ways to increase your revenue? Exporting a good or service to customers or businesses outside of your home country can open your business to new markets, which creates sales potential and increases your business’s competitiveness.

Australian businesses export a variety of products and services from industries across multiple sectors. The benefits of exporting for your business could include:

• Learning new and innovative ideas and practices to make your business more competitive
• Diversifying and spreading your risk across multiple markets, rather than in just the one
• Increasing sales to grow the business steadily and sustainably
• Gaining new customers and clients for your business’s products and services
• Potentially better growth and expansion prospects for your business.
• Taking advantage of opposite seasons to promote goods in other markets during opportune times

If you are looking to pursue exporting, you may want to consider whether the benefits of it outweigh the risks. Those risks could include:

• Getting paperwork and compliance obligations wrong (including export documentation, meeting importing regulations
• Forgetting to protect your intellectual property
• Unscrupulous or unsuitable new business partners
• Lack of understanding when it comes to the local culture which may impact on your brand reputation
• Awareness of the hidden costs that may occur when entering a new market
• Long and complex payment terms
• Not receiving payment
• Political and global risks, such as politics and events,  which may affect your business when exporting.

As long as you are abiding by your local, national and international legislation, you can start exporting today if you so choose to do so.

Exporting as a  business will require you to understand and comply with the current rules and regulations that govern both your country and the countries to which you are exporting. This may include additional reporting obligations by which your business may already currently be abiding.

If you’re looking into this avenue, we highly encourage you to speak with us, so that we can advise you on planning out your business’s path and future.