bMighty:
Forget the weak dollar. Social networking designed to overcome language and other ’soft’ export barriers is helping to give smaller companies new advantages in international markets.
The latest installment of the Intuit Future of Small Business Report, authored by the Institute for the Future, cites social networking as a key to helping sellers at smaller companies find overseas buyers without the expense of travel:
‘Social networks will fuel borderless commerce. Online and offline social networks will help remove soft trade barriers, such as language and cultural differences. These networks will introduce small businesses to new markets and facilitate cross-border trade.’
In addition to social networking, the report predicts substantial increases in the number of U.S. small businesses trading globally due to new cross-border business opportunities and reductions in export costs. Half of all small businesses will be doing business abroad by 2018, the report says. And in an article on the report, US News quotes UPS saying that a third of small businesses are already working internationally.
Matthew Bandyk at US News cites the rise of PayPal as a key factor: ‘The creation of PayPal means that small businesses - which generally can’t hire large legal teams - can be assured they will get paid when they do international business online.’…
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