Over the past two years, the SME and company formation sector have been under enormous financial pressure; not only have they had to contend with difficult market conditions, they have also had to overcome the challenge of having restricted access to finance. Consequently, many of these companies have had to diversify their business and consider alternative routes to market, including expanding internationally.
According to a report conducted by RBS Enterprise, over sixty per cent of small businesses in the UK are expecting an increase in their export revenue.
James Warwick, business development manager for ‘Direct Homeware’ comments; “At the start of the recession we were advised to extend our core business proposition. One of the most important elements of this strategy was the export side of our business.”
“The first step was developing our website so that we could begin marketing and selling our goods internationally. Uplift from this has been extremely positive, so that now exports account for almost 40 per cent of our overall profits.”
Economist Peter Howell says; “One of the Conservative party’s main economic policies was based upon making it easier for UK companies to trade abroad. Now they are in power it will be interesting to see how the progress this and the impact it will have on the broader economy.”