(NC)If youre a small- to medium-sized business with a potential market for your item abroad, you might profit from building a move into exporting.

Your first reaction may be "Me, an exporter?" but it isnt as farfetched as you can think. Even if your business is relatively small, there can be a market for your merchandise or service outside of Canada. In fact, 90 per cent of Canadian exporters have annual export sales of less than $1 million. Whats important is having the right product or service, a commitment to overcome , and a sound strategy.

The best export strategies are built on the foundation of an up-to-date and comprehensive business plan. If yours isnt as current as it should be, you might ruminate on refining it with the help of the resources offered by BusinessGateway.ca. Located at www.businessgateway.ca, this Web site provides lots of free of cost tips, advice and tools, all related to starting, running and developing your business.

Take your business plan, for example. It should enable you to:

identify the strengths and weaknesses of your company;

establish your objectives and strategies, and analyse your companys performance with respect to them;

determine your cash needs so you can approach banks and investors with confidence; and

communicate your intentions to employees and investors.

If your plan falls short in any of these areas, check out the free of cost, Interactive Business Planner, located in the Tools section of the page . It covers everything your plan will positive need , including:

identifying the types of knowledge required in your plan;

locating knowledge on basics such as branding and costing; and

preparing financial projections for your business.

Once youre satisfied with your business plan, you may return to the Tools section and use the Interactive Export Planner. Its similar to the Business Planner, but also covers issues such as:

adapting your products or services to a foreign advertise;

grasping an overview of the distinctive export sell ;

making a market entry strategy and an export implementation plan; and

preparing financial plans related to the defined export market.

And dont let the memory slip to use the Exporting backlink on the BusinessGateway.ca home page. It will point you to other essential sources of experience that might help your company find business opportunities around the world. Once you take the leap, you may discover that export success is a lot closer than you ever imagined!

- News Canada