From The Experts: Andrea Collins of Global Trade Department

What does the Global Trade Department do? 

We’re passionate about helping SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) and we work a lot with micro-businesses who can go under the radar in terms of essential support. We try and remove barriers for people. Sometimes that’s just telling people what they need to do and sometimes it’s doing it for them. For example, in the case of GSPR we’ve actually done safety risk assessments for some of our clients, because it's just been beyond what they were capable of doing, or have done before, or potentially it just that they don't have the bandwidth, because they're small business owners wearing lots of different hats.

And you offer an advice clinic…

We try and carve out time in our diaries every week to make our time available for 15-minute free calls. Small businesses don't have the deep pockets of their corporate counterparts. Quite often, on a 15 minute call, we can troubleshoot their problem. Sometimes it's there's a bit of coaching, “you can do this. It's not as difficult as it sounds”, and breaking things down into pieces and sometimes it can be the beginning of a relationship that moves on to paid work, but there's no obligation. The call is free and we also get to go away feeling quite good about ourselves.

What are the common problems that people from small businesses come to you with? 

A businesses don't know what they don't know. We try not to be alarmist when they start telling us how they're going about exporting and we're thinking, “oh, you're not compliant in that area”… we have to coax them into doing things slightly differently. Quite often, with the craft sector, they want to make their product because they love their product. They love what they do. They're passionate about doing it, and they just want to sell almost as a by product of making. So they often worry about duties and taxes and how much they should ask customers to pay.

Then, obviously, the Trump administration's decision around removal of de minimis [scrapping the no-charge rules for goods under $800] has caused a huge amount of pain. Sometimes they're terrified that they're not compliant from a regulation standpoint. So they don't have the right thing on their product, they don't have the right information on their packaging.

And then I think some of it, with a really small businesses, is “can I even afford to export? By the time I've paid for my registration for EPR, by the time I've paid for my authorised representative for GPSR, is it even worth me selling anymore? What we can do is help them understand what the landed cost of their goods is and what the potential for their goods is overseas.

What are the avenues that people don’t think to explore? 

Confidence and a lack of knowledge is is a big part of it, and that's backed up by lots of research that the Department of Business and Trade have done as well. We all get caught up in the hows and whys and just don’t try. I see it so often with small businesses, they need to know everything before they dip their toe. But while they're not dipping their toe in that new market, lots of SMEs from other countries around the world are doing it and establishing a market for themselves.

What are some of the common stumbling blocks? 

People often think that the regulations are too complicated for them, and a lot of it, especially from the EU, is difficult to read. But when you break things down into bite size, manageable chunks, it becomes a lot easier for them to approach.

Business owners also get very familiar with certain marketplaces, like Etsy for example, that don't always produce for them. And actually, they could be sourcing alternative marketplaces - within the market that they're selling to - that could be more lucrative for them. Sometimes it's stepping outside of your comfort zone and thinking, Is there a better way we could do this? Is there something else that we could partner with?

I think another thing is small businesses could do is to get together and start shipping stuff together to cut down on shipping costs. Can they make up small consignments and spread the cost?

What are the absolute basics that someone should consider if they're starting their journey towards selling outside of the UK?

The first thing, especially in the craft sector, is to understand your capacity. There's no point in getting a whole lot of customers excited about what you can do and then realise you can't get it to them in the timeframe that they're expecting it.

Then you should always reach out for support. That could be a call with us, or some local authorities also havegrowth hubs that can provide international support. You will need additional support, even if it’s just someone to bounce ideas off.

It’s also important to understand your finances. Look at what your margin is by the time you’ve taken into account the landed cost of the goods, what it’s going to cost you to get them to market and then sell them on. Can the consumer, or the business if you’re selling to trade, in a particular market still afford to buy your goods and for you to get the margin you need? Get a little bit of knowledge around what the demand is in the market that you want to sell to.

What barriers are people facing to export at the moment? 

Funding. We need government funding and there is none. It would help enormously, especially with with your sector. Trade fairs can be really transformational for for for a business. You can go to a trade fair, maybe you just attend, or maybe you exhibit, but you make those connections. I think funding would be enormously beneficial for that kind of thing. So I think cost is a big barrier.

I think fear of the unknown is a big barrier too. When I talk to businesses, I never get concerned about tariffs. What Trump's done has upended the whole world, but that is a one-off, that's not your usual tariff situation. Tariffs are usually generally low, and if you preclude a market based on the fact there isn't a free trade agreement in place, you could be missing out on a big opportunity, because you can always build those tariffs into your pricing.

So then it’s regulation. That's the issue, especially when we talk about the EU, as the EU has the gold standard for regulation. If we align ourselves with EU regulation then that puts us in really good stead for shipping elsewhere, because everybody looks at the EU and either develops their own variant of EU regulation, or they align themselves to existing EU regulations. It's regulation that is the biggest barrier, because that's the difference between you being able to put a product on that market or not… You just have to know about it, and you just have to know exactly what to do to comply.

What would you say to someone who is considering expanding overseas? 

I've worked in import and export for nearly 30 years now, and - and I think this comes across when I talk about it - it is the most exhilarating ride. It can be a little bit scary sometimes, but it's so rewarding to know that you're expanding beyond your own country's borders. I can also say that despite Brexit, despite everything else, there's still huge demand for product that's made here in Great Britain. It's synonymous with quality. We've got so much heritage in the UK. We've got stuff that people are willing to pay a premium for in other parts of the world, and we've just got to get out there and do it.