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Southern Illinois University Edwardsville faculty, staff, students and the regional business community gathered on the SIUE campus May 28 to hear from GlobeTrade Founder Laurel Delaney on how to prepare their organizations and clients to succeed in markets abroad.

The event, coordinated by Illinois International Trade Center (ITC) Director Silvia Torres Bowman, was in celebration of World Trade Month.

“Anyone can export. The world awaits,” said Delaney, a successful entrepreneur, author, speaker, educator, blogger and columnist with more than 25 years of global business experience. “The essential element needed for successful exporting is readiness. The rest is just mechanics and know-how.”

Only one percent of U.S. companies currently export goods or services, yet U.S. exports reached $2.3 trillion in 2013.

“The U.S. supports a record 11.3 million jobs in the U.S. through exporting,” Delaney said. "A total of 370,000 small businesses are exporting. There’s a whole lot of room for growth among entrepreneurs and small businesses that export, and that’s exciting.”

The single-biggest reason businesses opt not to enter the global marketplace, said Delaney, is that it involves change.

“We have to be willing to rethink what it really means to take our business global,” she said. “The local business model just isn’t going to cut it in the international business world, because it does not promote the ability to automate and scale at the level that’s needed.”

According to Delaney, increased sales, an improvement in return on investment and the potential to outmaneuver competitors are all rewards of expanding into the global marketplace.

“Women business owners have a special place in international trade due to all the characteristics we carry,” Delaney said. “Nurturing, cultivating and being sensitive to others are talents that come naturally to women and can be used successfully in the global economy.”

Delaney emphasized that leveraging mobile technology is a must in making the leap into exporting.

“Spending on mobile advertising in America is expected to grow from $18.8 billion to $58.5 billion over the next three to four years,” she said. “All your platforms need to be responsive in utilizing mobile devices if you want the message of your product or service to reach prospective customers throughout the world.”

In addition to exporting, selling globally includes direct, indirect, online and e-commerce strategies, said Delaney.

Organizations that stand ready to assist companies in going global – many of which were represented at the May 28 event – are the Illinois Small Business Development Center International Trade Center (SBDC ITC), the U.S. Commercial Service (the trade promotion arm of the U.S. Dept. of Commerce’s International Trade Administration), the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Illinois Office of Trade and Investment.

The International Trade Center, located on the campus of SIUE, is a 2011 Governor’s Export Award winner. Also in 2011, the ITC was named Illinois’ International Trade Center of the Year.

For more information on how the ITC can assist your company in exporting, contact Torres Bowman at (618) 650-2452.

Photos: GlobeTrade Founder Laurel Delaney presents on how to prepare organiazations and clients to succeed in markets abroad.

GlobeTrade Founder Laurel Delaney visits with attendees at the Illinois International Trade Center event.