International trade is good for business - especially during the downturn as it provides access to wider markets that are open to new ideas, products and technologies. However, research shows that women are less likely to be exporters and tend to have more localised markets.
Exploiting and accessing new markets can help to sustain a business, especially in a recession, says Joanne Rogers, Managing Director of international PR firm Prowse & Co. “We have clients around the world including North America and the Asia Pacific, which has proved beneficial to our business given there is less opportunity in the UK in the current downturn.”
Penny Bailey runs a successful business in the IT sector. Her company, Bailey Solutions library and information systems, also trades internationally. As a first-timer to the export business, Penny found the UKTI’s ‘Passport to Export’ programme a great help in highlighting areas to thoroughly research before approaching clients overseas. Penny has also benefited from grants through the programme, which have funded a trade mission to Dubai, a solo mission to a trade exhibition in the US and extensive market research.
Alice Edgcumbe-Rendle and Ida Horner both run companies who rely on international suppliers. Alice stepped up to the leadership of Edgcumbes tea and coffee merchants in 1986 and relies on international suppliers and imports ingredients from all over the world.
Ida runs an ethically-minded company, Ethnic Supplies. Having visited the South West part of her native Uganda in December 2006, Ida witnessed poverty which prompted her to quit her job as a Housing Manager for a London council to set up Ethnic Supplies, a social enterprise specialising in African handicrafts, textiles, art and crafts from East Africa.
Ida’s whole business plan rests on international trade and she relishes dealing with women who would otherwise never have the opportunity to sell their products internationally. “My advice to others looking to set up international businesses is to network as much as possible with people from the country where you intend to trade.“
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