How to write an export plan

With the United States only exporting one percent of what we make, it is no wonder that we are running a trade deficit.  And, when surveyed, the majority of businesses in Central Texas state that the reason they do not export is because they do not know how, or they think that the process is too complicated, or they are worried about getting paid.  All of which can be easily overcome with a simple export plan.

Most small and midsize U.S. exporters do not have a written export plan. Lacking a plan, it's easy to get discouraged and give up or to miss opportunities that having a strategy might reveal.

An effective export plan need only follow the simple outline below.

Egypt in Crisis

Egypt in crisis - where does democracy and free trade reside amidst the turbulence and turmoil in the Middle East?  Is Egypt the bellwether for the other Arab peoples who have risen to protest totalitarian rulers and a lack of individual freedoms?


Perhaps it is important to recall the words of Anwar el-Sadat, who, in 1972, said,

• Through a history of alternating victory and defeat, attainment and frustration, achievement and disappointment, Egypt formed an attitude and determination. This we must understand in order to comprehend Egypt today.

• When we assumed responsibility after the Egyptian Revolution in 1952 three principles were fixed as our main targets. They appear as Egypt's motto: Freedom, Socialism and Unity.

For Sadat, the three principles of freedom, socialism, and unity meant ridding the country of foreign influence, pursuing economic growth for its people while promoting public services, and fostering solidarity with other Arab nations.  Sadat went on to say in an article published in Foreign Affairs in 1972,