VESTAL — With an array of programs and support available, now is a great time for businesses to consider taking their business to the international level, according to the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Binghamton University.

“It’s a good time to start looking at exporting,” says Rochelle Layman, director of the local SBDC, which can work with small businesses to help them begin doing business internationally. “People are willing to spend money on New York state products. It’s just a matter of getting the products to them.”

However, the process isn’t as simple as shipping a bunch of products to another country, she says. There are a number of factors to research and consider before making the decision.

“The first step would be market research,” Layman says.

Not all products are exportable, she explains, so the first step is to make sure a product is allowed. The next would be to ensure that the target country allows that product as an import. A business needs to make sure there is a ready market for that product in the target country, she says.

Another consideration is whether or not the product is patented here in the United States, she says. That patent will not offer protection internationally, so a business needs to take steps before exposing its products to different countries, Layman cautions.

Businesses should also make sure that they are prepared to handle increased production needs and have a healthy cash flow, since receiving overseas payments can often take longer than those from domestic customers, Layman says.

Finally, a business should develop a business plan for its international business just as it did for its domestic business, she says.

Successfully going international opens up many new markets, Layman says. The SBDC was able to successfully negotiate a deal that currently allows the sale of New York state wines in the free-market zone in China.

But there is another side to international business beyond selling products overseas, and that is acquiring materials or services from overseas vendors, Layman says. It could be that another country has a resource not readily available in the United States or can provide a service at a more competitive price.

Whatever the reason a business seeks to do business overseas, the important thing to remember is that there is an array of help available to help walk a business through the process, Layman says. “It’s just about finding the resources you can utilize,” she says.

Those resources include the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Small Business Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Markets, and the SBDC, Layman says. “There’s so much help out there.”

New York in particular is currently encouraging exporting and has a number of programs in place to help businesses.

Empire State Development (www.esd.ny.gov) offers the Export Marketing Assistance Service to help businesses find sales agents or distributors abroad by providing companies with customized agent-distributor searches and market analyses.

New York’s Small Business Development Centers (www.nyssbdc.org) say they can help businesses in a variety of ways including market research, customs, financial issues, and with relationships developed through regular business delegations and trade missions.

Contact DeLore at tdelore@tgbbj.com