The Hawaii Pacific Export Council is teaming up with the state’s Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism to offer a nine-month program to teach 15 businesses how to become successful exporters.
Council President and CEO Michael Sacharski said the program is intended for CEO-level employees or business owners and is spaced over a relatively lengthy time period to allow participants to complete the five-unit course. The program, funded by a $50,000 DBEDT grant, is available at no cost to the selected businesses. Businesses must apply by Oct. 3.
“We want a mix of companies in our final 15, some that have exported for years, some that are ready to export,” Sacharski said.
They’re also looking for applicants from all islands and with businesses of various sizes.
“Our approach is, everybody can use what we’re offering,” Sacharski said.
Past programs have started off looking at the receiving end of export businesses, but this time, Hawaii Pacific Export Council’s experts decided to focus first on businesses in Hawaii.
“For a company to export, they have to be fundamentally successful here first,” Sacharski said, adding that exporting adds a number of stressors to a business’ operations. “When not on solid ground, think of those stressors as lightning bolts. They come back and strike here. Those shocks tend to weaken the company.”
The curriculum will look at factors that can impact a company’s revenue, including the many cost factors involved in exporting, and how to manage those costs. Instructors will also touch on global trends that may develop in the next two years or so, as well as survival skills for exporters.
By the end of the program, the participating businesses will have written a prospectus to help them attract investors. Companies must also participate in five large group presentations, five small group meetings for focused counseling and create a single-issue export plan, to be implemented by the end of the program.
The program includes more than 100 hours of coursework, and provides each company with $1,200 to apply for trade show entry fees.
Apply online, and get more information, at hawaiiexportsupport.com by 5 p.m. Oct. 3. The program begins the week of Oct. 13. For more information, contact Jamie Lum at jlum@dbedt.hawaii.gov or 587-2753.
This program is sponsored by DBEDT and conducted by HPEC, with funding in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.