Contact:
SCORE Atlanta
scoreatlanta@joimail.com
Where
SBA Georgia District Office233 Peachtree Street, NE
Harris Tower, Suite 1900
Atlanta, GA 30303
Parking in downtown Atlanta can be difficult and expensive. We encourage you to use MARTA.
Arriving by MARTA:
Transit to the Peachtree Center station on the North line. At the Peachtree Center Station exit on the Harris Street end. The signs inside station will point to the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Take the East escalator up to the street. Once outside you will be facing Peachtree Street. Turning quick right make a U turn from the escalator and follow the walkway between the station entrance and office building until it dead ends at Harris Tower. The Harris Tower is about 250 feet from Peachtree Street. We are on the 19th floor in the Small Business Administration office.
From the North:
Take I-75/85 S to exit 249A Courtland Street. Turn right on Courtland Street and make a right at the first intersection, Baker Street . Continue on Baker, crossing Peachtree Street (the Hyatt Regency Hotel will be on your left) and park in either of the parking lots on the right side. Walk back up to Peachtree Street and cross to the Hyatt Regency side. Walk one block south (towards downtown) and you will come to Harris Street. Cross over Harris Street and continue a few steps south on Peachtree. As soon as you pass the Bank you will come to a long partially covered walkway on your left (between the building and the Marta entrance). Take the walkway until it dead ends at the Harris Tower about 250 feet from Peachtree Street. We are on the 19th floor in the Small Business Administration office.
From the South:
Take I-75/85 North to exit 249B Peachtree Street . Turn right on to Peachtree and go three traffic lights to Baker Street . Turn right on Baker and follow the previous directions.
From the East:
Take I-20 west to I-75/85 north exiting at 249B Peachtree Street and follow the previous directions.
From the West:
Take I-20 east to I-75/85 north and follow the previous directions.
Developing an Import / Export Business
ABOUT the Workshop
Small businesses looking to increase sales and profit, reduce dependence on the domestic market and stabilize seasonal fluctuations should consider importing and exporting. With nearly 96 percent of consumers living outside the U.S. and two-thirds of the world’s purchasing power in foreign countries, opportunities await U.S. small business.
Go where the customers are. There is significant opportunity for small businesses to profit through importing and exporting operations.
Do you have what it takes to become a successful international business? Are you ready to make international sales? Importing / Exporting offers great opportunities but requires preparation and planning.
This is a two part series taught by international experts from the Georgia Small Business Development Center, a resource partner of the SBA.
Module I will aid you in assessing your readiness, understanding what you need to know and consider before pursuing an international strategy.
Module II will introduce you to those topics needed to develop and implement your strategy: international pricing and costing issues, proforma export quotations, payment terms, and risk assessment.
The workshops will help you gain the knowledge to develop and implement an international plan. You will become acquainted with the key components of an effective import / export plan. The instructors will raise questions you should answer to complete your plan and provide the resources to help you answer those questions.
* organizational and product readiness,
* market research,
* guidance for developing your strategy and marketing plan,
* promoting your products in target market, and
* complying with US and foreign regulations.
Fee for Module I is $50 per person and is taught 9:30am - 12:30pm
Fee for Module II is $50 per person and is taught 1:15pm - 4:30pm
Both modules can be attended as a full day event for a single Fee of $89 per person
ABOUT the Instructors
Rick Martin
(one of the following instructors will lead the workshop)
B.A. in Biology, University of Texas at Austin
M.B.A. in International Business, University of South Carolina
International Trade Head
Rick has over 25 years experience in international business in both the public and private sectors. As Regional Director for a food processing equipment manufacturer, he established and developed distribution networks in Latin America and the Asia/Pacific region. Most of his time was spent actually visiting markets in these two regions and attending trade shows in Europe. He served as Assistant Director for International Trade with the Georgia Department of Economic Development. As an international trade consultant with University of Georgia’s International Trade Center, Rick provides one-on–one trade consulting services to Georgia companies. In this role, he also develops export education programs for Georgia’s business community.
Dimitris Kloussiadis
B.S. in Marketing, University Of Southwestern Louisiana
M.B.A. in International Business, Georgia State University
International Trade Consultant
A native of Greece, Mr. Kloussiadis previously held the position of International Marketing Manager for Transworld Trading Company, where he established an extensive network of international distributors and dealers who sold to large foreign commercial customers as well as the military establishments of the Middle Eastern and North African markets. Earlier in his career with this company, Mr. Kloussiadis was also responsible for importing & marketing marble from Italy, Greece, Belgium and Taiwan. In this capacity he worked with US architectural, construction and design companies and succeeded in securing bids for several major construction and renovation projects. Mr. Kloussiadis has traveled extensively overseas and has met with industry associations, as well as various foreign agents and distributors to introduce and market US products and services. He identified, evaluated and established distribution networks, generated international sales, negotiated international payment terms and was personally involved in licensing, distribution and joint ventures agreements for the European, South African, South American, Asian and Australian markets. Mr. Kloussiadis also owned a company which imported & marketed European women's clothing to major high-end U.S. department stores.
Bob Erwin
B. Arch., Syracuse University, 1974
B. A. in Psychology, Syracuse University, 1978
M. Arch., Syracuse University, 1978 Phi Kappa Phi
International Trade Consultant
Prior to joining the SBDC, Mr. Erwin held various positions in the Georgia Department of Industry, Trade, & Tourism (GDITT), including Senior International Trade Specialist, and Director of the International Trade Division. There he managed programs which took hundreds of Georgia companies to overseas trade events, and generated in excess of $200 million in documented export sales. Before joining GDITT, he served as the Executive Director of the American Building Products Export Council, in Washington DC, a trade association of more than 135 of the country’s leading building product exporters. He also served as Vice Consul (Commercial) at the British Consulate-General, in Atlanta, where he coordinated British building sector marketing throughout the United States. Other positions have included Senior Architect with Steven Winter Associates; Vice President and Technical Director with Kaltek, Inc., an international management consulting firm; and Head, Building Research Applications, at the Southern Solar Energy Center, a prime contractor to the U.S. Department of Energy. Mr. Erwin has directed international trade programs and traveled extensively throughout Europe, Asia, and Latin American. He is also a registered Architect.
