The Miller Business Resource Center at Salt Lake Community College announced last week the creation of the SLCC-Utah Small Business Development Center Network Global Trade Center. The center was established to collaborate with the SLCC Global Business Center that was started in 2007 to give Utah small businesses a resource for help in taking their products to a world market.
According to Jim Herrin, regional director of the Utah Small Business Development Center (SBDC), the marriage of the two programs will enhance the center’s education and training services to businesses wishing to develop and export-market. “One of the things that we want to have happen is more businesses find out about global trade,” he said. “Then we can work with them one on one, give them the time they need so they feel comfortable with it.”
The SBDC is a program of the U.S. Small Business Administration that is funded by the SBA, the state of Utah and local colleges and universities where the centers are located. Advisors with the SBDC provide help to small-business owners in all areas of business and help to those wishing to start businesses. While just 1 percent of American small businesses export goods, those companies are responsible for one-third of total U.S. global exports, according to an SBA release.
The state Department of Commerce said that Utah exported $11.6 billion worth of products in 2017, with small businesses accounting for 49 percent of the total. Utah has 2,917 small businesses that export goods and services, representing 84 percent of all export firms, according to the release.
“In many countries, 'made in the USA' is (considered) a premium product,” Herrin said. “So sometimes, (U.S. companies) can charge a premium price.”
Herrin also said Utah benefits from outside investors coming into the market. “By getting more global capital to come into Utah, it helps the standard of living for everybody,” he said.
International trade supports 1 in 5 Utah jobs over 30 industries, said Miles Hansen, president and CEO of World Trade Center Utah, “International trade is integral to the continued growth of Utah’s economy. It creates jobs and makes companies more resilient.”