Workshop to Focus on Global Trade
It’s a relatively common occurrence in the business world:
Executives of a small- to medium-sized company are selling to customers solely within their own city, county or state. Then one day, correspondence comes in from overseas, and suddenly the executives are immersed in the world of international trade.
“That’s the frequent way that manufacturers get into the international arena,” said Gary Snyder, executive director of the World Trade Center, California Central Coast branch, in Oxnard. “People will hear about a business or go browsing on the Internet and find the business’ Web site. As the world grows smaller and smaller, we are living in more of a global economy.”
But turning a profit in global trade is easier said than done, particularly for novices.
To help inexperienced international traders, the World Trade Center will present an “Essentials of Exporting” workshop series at Pepperdine University’s Westlake campus. The program, also open to students at the university, will run Wednesdays through July 8.
Each session will focus on a different aspect of trade. The course lineup will begin with the basics of exporting, followed by export marketing strategy, transportation and contract administration, international trade finance, legal aspects of international business contracts and effective means of communication with international clients.
“When businesses are pulled into the international arena, they tend to be a little afraid of it,” Snyder said. “By offering these workshops, we give them an opportunity to get their feet wet as to what goes on. We’ve dealt with people working out of their garage all the way to $300-million companies.”
The need for export training, he said, also spans a variety of industries, many of which are represented in Ventura County.
“We’ve got a lot of companies moving into the corridor--anywhere from down around Woodland Hills all the way to the other side of Santa Barbara,” he said. “A lot of companies that moved in are environmentally clean, involved in software development, medical equipment, biotech, and almost any of these products are exportable. Ultimately, businesses will probably be pulled into exporting in one way or another.”
Workshop courses will be led by business experts, including Viola Koch of V.K. International in Santa Barbara; Dawayne Flor, the Oxnard World Trade Center’s international business strategist; and Michele Englebert and Shoshana Brower, owners of International Training Systems in Oxnard.
The cost to attend the workshop ranges from $99 to $240 for the series or $45 to $55 for individual classes. To register, call 988-1406.
