Starting an Export Business

Getting into the export industry is a great way to begin a new business. Importing and exporting requires very little capital, when compared to other business sectors. It’s a professional field that can be entered into by almost anyone, and you gain the added prestige of building working relationships with people from all around the world.

To give you some good advice on how to start your own export business, we can take Canada as a model. Many small businesses and new start-ups have found success exporting goods to Canada, and you can too if you make sure to follow this advice.

Getting Started

There are two main ways to get into the export business. The first is to export your own goods – perhaps you already have a thriving company which produces its own products, or maybe you are an artisan crafter who works in a very particular niche. The second way is to form a partnership with one or more other businesses that require export services for their products.

Postage and Packaging

In the beginning, you will find that you have only a small requirement for services such as postage and packaging. The goods you export may be in small quantities, or they may themselves be small in size. Discussing your delivery needs with a reputable local provider will most likely ensure that your export services are cost effective. But there are other issues that you will need to take into consideration when exporting goods to another country, such as clearing customs.

Shipping Restrictions

Every country has strict rules and regulations about what types of goods are allowed to enter the country. These regulations cover almost every type of product, from food to electronic goods. Canadian import regulations prohibit the shipping of obscene materials and some firearms and other weapons. Tobacco and alcohol are also largely prohibited, the former being allowable only for personal consumption and meet certain requirements. For more information about non-mailable material it’s always worth researching specific regulations for the country you intend to ship to; for example, import and shipping information for Canada can be found on the CBSA website.

Staying Within the Law

As well as information about shipping restrictions, you will also notice that you can read up on regulations pertaining to business registration, goods storage and dispute resolution. As your export business grows, these are all things that you will need to attend to when shipping to Canada, and other counties too. These regulations are put in place, not just for the benefit of the country in question, but also for your business, so that you can operate in full awareness and compliance with the law.