{"id":171,"date":"2018-12-27T17:26:54","date_gmt":"2018-12-27T22:26:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pressbooks.library.upei.ca\/smallbusinessmanagement\/chapter\/going-global-yes-or-no\/"},"modified":"2020-01-06T09:58:41","modified_gmt":"2020-01-06T14:58:41","slug":"going-global-yes-or-no","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.upei.ca\/smallbusinessmanagement\/chapter\/going-global-yes-or-no\/","title":{"raw":"Chapter 18: Going Global: Yes or No?","rendered":"Chapter 18: Going Global: Yes or No?"},"content":{"raw":"
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\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"576\"]\"image\" Figure 18.1 Center Rock Inc. Reprinted with permission from Center Rock, Inc.[\/caption]\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

Brandon Fisher, the founder of Center Rock Inc., is shown on the left side in the picture. The man to his right is Richard Soppe, the senior drilling application engineer. The number 33 is the number of Chilean miners who were rescued in 2010. Brandon and his company, now at seventy-five employees, are true American heroes.<\/p>\r\n

Center Rock<\/a> manufactures and distributes a complete line of air drilling tools and products. At its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Pennsylvania, they build stock and made-to-order products that are used by leading drilling, oil and gas, foundation, construction, roadway, and mining contractors across North America, Europe, Asia, Russia, and Australia. Fisher entered the global market four years ago as a way to expand the business. He was able to finance the expansion internally, so financing was not an issue.<\/p>\r\n

Center Rock Inc., founded in 1998 by then twenty-six-year-old Brandon Fisher, began as a drilling company. He designed and built his own horizontal drilling rig and, shortly thereafter, began focusing on making Center Rock an air and rock drilling supplier and manufacturer. He recognized the need for a manufacturing company that was reactive to customer needs, with innovative products and 24\/7 customer service and support. Working with his high-tech engineering and design team, Fisher created a company different from its competitors with its unique products and service capabilities.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cI love what I do,\u201d says Fisher. \u201cThere is always a challenge in this industry to find new ways to drill into the earth, and the challenge feeds the excitement.\u201d[footnote]\u201cAbout Us,\u201d Center Rock Inc., accessed February 7, 2012, www.centerrock.com\/content\/about-us; e-mail correspondence with Brandon Fisher, July 28, 2011.[\/footnote]<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n

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US Small Business in the Global Environment<\/h1>\r\n
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Learning Objectives<\/h3>\r\n
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  1. Understand and appreciate the role of small businesses in the global environment.<\/li>\r\n \t
  2. Learn about the global growth opportunities for small businesses.<\/li>\r\n \t
  3. Understand the advantages and the disadvantages of a small business going global.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n

    Although small businesses make up a disproportionately large share of the number of companies that export and import, this represents only about 1 percent of the total number of small businesses. Thus many small businesses have yet to compete globally. The opportunities are there. \u201cSo much of what America makes is in great demand,\u201d said US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke in an interview, adding further that the growth potential for small companies is outside the United States. Dale Hayes, vice president of US marketing for UPS concurs, observing that the demand for high-quality American products is huge.[footnote]Paul Davidson, \u201cSmall Businesses Look Across Borders to Add Markets,\u201d USA Today<\/em>, April 12, 2011, accessed February 7, 2012, www.usatoday.com\/money\/economy\/2011-04-06-small-businesses-go-international.htm<\/a>[\/footnote][footnote]Rieva Lesonsky, \u201cIncreased Opportunities for Small-Business Exports,\u201d Small Business Trends<\/em>, June 27, 2010, accessed February 7, 2012, smallbiztrends.com\/2010\/06\/opportunities-small-business -exports.html<\/a>[\/footnote]<\/span>\u00a0It may be that a small business is already competing globally because foreign-owned companies are competing in our own backyards.[footnote]\u201cBreaking into the Trade Game: A Small Business Guide to Exporting,\u201d US Small Business Administration<\/em>, 2005, accessed February 7, 2012, archive.sba.gov\/idc\/groups\/public\/documents\/sba_homepage\/serv_entire.pdf<\/a>[\/footnote]<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Yet the global marketplace is not relevant to most small businesses. Given that 99 percent of the small businesses in the United States are not operating globally\u2014preferring to grow (if they want to) locally, regionally, and perhaps nationally\u2014it is reasonable to conclude that going global will interest only a few. Those few, however, must undertake careful analyses before jumping into the global arena.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

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    The Small Business Global Presence<\/h2>\r\n

    It may seem to many that the global market is the domain of the large corporations, but the statistics tell a very different story. Small businesses actually account for close to 97.6 percent of US exporters and 32.8 percent of the value of US exports as well as 97.1 percent of all identified importers and 31.9 percent of the known import value.[footnote]\u201cProfile of U.S. Importing and Exporting Companies, 2008\u20132009 Highlights,\u201d US Census Bureau<\/em>, April 12, 2011, accessed February 7, 2012, www.census.gov\/foreign-trade\/Press-Release\/edb\/2009\/2009Highlights.pdf<\/a>[\/footnote]<\/span>\u00a0Consider the following additional facts:[footnote]\u201cProfile of U.S. Importing and Exporting Companies, 2008\u20132009 Highlights,\u201d US Census Bureau<\/em>, April 12, 2011, accessed February 7, 2012, www.census.gov\/foreign-trade\/Press-Release\/edb\/2009\/2009Highlights.pdf<\/a>[\/footnote]<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n