New EXPORT NOW Series Offers Practical Training, Stimulates Growth
Small businesses in southern Illinois are invited to take a strategic look at the world and create a plan to expand their business internationally with guidance from industry leaders during the new, virtual, action-oriented series EXPORT NOW.
EXPORT NOW is presented by the Illinois SBDC International Trade Center (ITC) at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, in partnership with the Southwest Illinois Trade and Investment Council, LR International and the Illinois District Export Council.
“I am excited to lead this opportunity for small businesses, because I have seen first-hand in my 30-plus years of experience how exports can help companies grow with 95% of the world’s consumers living outside of the United States,” said Paul Jarzombek, chief operating officer at LR International. “My company, as well as many of the professionals involved in EXPORT NOW, have been involved at the start with many new exporters who have developed their international business and become true success stories.”
The virtual series consists of three sessions scheduled for Wednesdays, March 24, April 21 and May 19.
- Session 1: International Outlook - Participants will learn and strategize about the relationship between their company and the world.
- Session 2: Export and Import 101 - Participants will utilize industry knowledge to create a seamless international process.
- Session 3: Planning for Success - With a Shark Tank-style approach, participants will create an export plan for the future of their company and have it audited by industry veterans.
“This training is practical,” Jarzombek explained. “We are not teaching theory. We are bringing real-life examples and success stories as a way to educate these exporters or soon-to-be exporters.”
Group and customized personal coaching will be available between sessions. Participants will learn the key phases of smart exporting, find the benefits to exporting, develop a global mindset, absorb how trade has changed due to technology and the pandemic, discover the most critical component in exporting, and be positioned to propel their company toward international success.
Among the experts to be featured throughout the series are Silvia Torres Bowman, director of the Illinois SBDC ITC at SIUE; Elizabeth Ahern with the U.S. Department of Commerce; Laurel Delaney, founder and president of GlobalTrade.com; Tom Dustman, international sales director with Sunnen Products Company; Al Li with Regions Bank; Paul Toskin with Commerce Bank; Insurance brokers Abby Martinez (EXIM), Michael Fazio (SBA) and Jackie Grahn (TAG); Ben Shanbaum with Rock Trade Law; Craig Eversmann, with MSSC; Sonat Birnecker Hart with Koval Distillery; Chantal Wittman with Wintrust Financial Corp; Han Ko with USAKO Group; Edie Koch with Monroe County EDC; and Scott Kotvis with Daubert Chemical.
All virtual training sessions will take place via Zoom from 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m. with a break from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. The cost is $900 per company. Multiple export team members from each company are invited to attend.
Scholarships up to $750 per company are available to eligible small businesses from the southern Illinois region, potentially bringing the out-of-pocket cost to $150 per company. This low-cost opportunity will only be available for the spring series, thanks to CARES Act funding.
Registration is required. To register, email international-trade-center@siue.edu with your company name, southern Illinois address, number of employees, website, and contact information for all attendees committing to all three sessions.
The Illinois SBDC International Trade Center at SIUE serves businesses in southern Illinois by providing individualized, no-cost export advising, identification of foreign buyers, agents and/or distributors through trade leads, international market analysis, and more. The ITC is funded through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville as a service to the region’s entrepreneurial and business community.
As a key member of the Illinois SBDC Network, the ITC delivers these important services to its clients while supporting the goals and objectives of both the SIUE School of Business and the University at large.
Photos: Paul Jarzombek, chief operating officer at LR International.
Silvia Torres Bowman, director of the Illinois SBDC ITC at SIUE.
