Sanders to host NEK small business export program October 3-4

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) is partnering with local and State business development agencies to expand his Small Business Export Program to the Northeast Kingdom this fall. The Small Business Export Program (SBEP) is a grassroots approach to provide sustained, long-term support to small Vermont businesses, generally defined as having 20 or fewer employees, looking to enter the export market or expand existing international sales. The SBEP will bring together local chambers of commerce, regional development corporations (RDCs), state and Federal export and business agencies, international e-commerce experts, export professionals, colleges and universities, and companies that are already successful exporters to create mentoring and support structures.
The SBEP begins with an export workshop, during which small business owners will be introduced other companies seeking to export with similar or complimentary products or looking to export to the same region of the world. At the end of the workshop participants will form workgroups consisting of six to ten businesses that will work together as a team throughout the SBEP.
Two workshops have been scheduled for the Northeast Kingdom:
Thursday, October 3 ‘ Goodrich Memorial Library in Newport
Friday, October 4 ‘ NVDA’s offices at 36 Eastern Avenue in St. Johnsbury
The SBEP workgroups will be teamed with at least one exporting mentor and a local chamber of commerce/RDC advocate. International e-commerce experts, export professionals, and state and Federal government export assistance contacts will be available to assist on discreet issues. University and college partners will be offering interns to assist participating businesses with investigating international markets, preparing business plans, developing web sites for international markets, assisting with correspondence in foreign languages, and conducting other export business administration functions. The workgroups will meet monthly over the next year to two years to review each member's progress towards exporting, provide group encouragement, explore solutions to challenges, and identify support needs for further action by export professionals and government agencies.
Small businesses in the Northeast Kingdom that are interested in developing export opportunities may call 1-800-339-9834 to register for one of the SBEP Workshops or to request additional information.