FINISHED TRANSCRIPT

National Disability Institute
Small Business Exporting - Entrepreneur's Experiences
MAY 28, 2024
1:00 P.M. CT

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>> ALEXIS JONES:  Welcome, everyone. We're going to give people a few moments. Then we'll get started in a moment.
Thank you for joining us for Small Business Exporting ‑ Entrepreneur's Experiences.
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Welcome to Small Business Exporting ‑ Entrepreneur's Experiences.
The presentation today thereby given by LaTaunya Darden, Business Development Specialist and David Hincapie, Learned Relations Specialist, Veteran Business Development Officer.

At this time, I will turn it over to LaTaunya to share a few words and get us started.
>> LATAUNYA DARDEN:  For the introduction, Alexis. I'm so happy to be here for the second webinar that we have co‑hosted together. But this time, it is a little different. I'm happy to have Joy Johnson with us today who is a fairly new customer to XM, for her to share about how she actually started her business and her experiences of utilizing EXIM and other resources.
I've been in my current role for six years now, assisting women‑owned business, access services, and other resources. I'm a part of a team of business development officers, and we assist and actually do the handholding for businesses who find it a little challenging to navigate the export process.
So I'm very happy to be here.
Now I am going to start the conversation with Joy.
Hello, Joy. How are you today? Thank you so much for joining us this afternoon.
>> JOY JOHNSON:  Good afternoon, LaTaunya. Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you so much for having me.
>> LATAUNYA DARDEN:  You're quite welcome. I will just jump into it.
Many businesses are started as a result of a challenge or some type of adversity happening in their lives. A lot of business owners felt that there was a lack of a product or a service in the marketplace.
Can you share with us if that was your experience and exactly what catapulted you to start your business?
>> JOY JOHNSON:  Absolutely. I do agree with that statement. My business is really twofold. The first part of my business and really how my business got started, I'm a service provider. I'm a licensed esthetician and manicurist, and I've been so for the last 17 years.
So my business started off as serving the community and serving others.
So, for that business, I specifically wanted to focus on ‑‑ as time went on, I decided I wanted to focus on the immunocompromised community, diabetes, oncology, individuals fighting cancer; elderly people, nursing moms ‑‑ I wanted to focus on people we all know. They may be in our family. They may be us, but they don't always necessarily feel seen when it comes to getting personal care services.
And so that was the genesis of my business, providing specialty services. For instance, we provided diabetic pedicures. So I did training with other manufacturers and understanding how a diabetic's pedicures need to be performed and why it's different from someone that is not a diabetic.
Over the years, my business has pivoted, in part because of the pandemic, but also other things. I wanted to continue providing services to these people that we all know. So I decided to develop Joy of Beauty, which is a diabetic‑friendly care line. That part of the business is what I have been utilize EXIM services to help me take global.
So those were really my beginnings, wanting to provide services and later products for people that are very abundant within the world. There are many people with diabetes and even more millions that identify with being immunocompromised. So I wanted to develop products with them in mind. So that was the issue I wanted to solve.
>> LATAUNYA DARDEN:  No wonder you've seen much success. Because of the work you're in, a lot of businesses don't focus on individual who is may have a disability or who are immunocompromised. You know, it may not generate the income, if you will, but, as you have stated ‑‑ or you're going to see, people around the world have need for your product.
I've never heard of a pedicurist, if you will, or a nail tech serving individuals with diabetes. So that's a very niche product, and I know that you will experience much success with that.
Thank you for that.
>> JOY JOHNSON:  Thank you.
>> LATAUNYA DARDEN:  What challenges did you have, and how did you overcome them when you started your business?

>> JOY JOHNSON:  The challenges were many. (Laughter). But to be more specific to the current state of my business, shifting from being service‑based to being a manufacturer and having a tangible product was extremely hard because I am accustomed to being able to talk to my client. I truly believe in the power of touch, you know, being able to touch someone, having the permission and ability to serve them and to make them feel better about their physical being is extremely powerful. It's really hard to translate that one‑on‑one eye contact, the private conversations you have and that many of us have with our own service providers, to go from that to really only being able to communicate with people through the Internet and trying to help them understand why, for instance, if you are a diabetic or someone that may have a health reality that you need to be conscious of products that you put in your body, not just the foods you eat.
Having different types of conversation and trying to bring awareness about continuing on with healthy lifestyles and understanding how literally everything you put on your body gets absorbed into your bloodstream.
So having those conversations on the Internet is extremely challenging. I'm a one‑on‑one, eyeball‑to‑eyeball person that likes to have in‑depth communication with people. I've had to hone into younger individuals.
Like, I've hired, over the course of my business, many college interns because their pulse on the Internet is much more than me. They're able to help me convey my messages.
Actually, before this meeting, I had a conversation about one of my interns about planning, in terms of some things for our social media. So that's been a challenge for me. I would say, also, trying to convey or convince bigger business to do business with smaller business is a challenge, especially if you don't have the name that other larger businesses may have or maybe even competitors or whatnot.
So being creative on how to still make a relationship happen may not be in the methodology that you would have thought it would happen, but finding ways to compromise to try to make a deal happen, so to speak.
So being open‑minded and being creative, you know, really thinking outside the box and constantly asking people ‑‑ especially when I meet new people, constantly asking them what it is that they do and figuring out do they maybe have some information that can help me with this particular challenge that I may have.
So going to networking events or even events like platforms we're at now or different organizations will host opportunities for you to learn. You're able to then kind of ask questions.
It may not even be related to what the person is talking about, but you never know who knows what.
So those have been some of my solutions to some of the challenges that I've had being in business.
>> LATAUNYA DARDEN:  Okay. Great.
I can relate with relying on or pulling on the younger generation because they do have ‑‑ they're tech savvy. They have the know‑how. If you give them your vision, they will run with it. I know that's been an added value to your business.
When you're talking to your clients and your customers about maintaining being healthy and what you put in your body goes into your bloodstream, you know, that's not a conversation that the majority, if you will, will have with a customer who is dealing with that.
So you're actually providing them hope and care, you know, that you really care about what they are putting in their bodies, on their bodies and into their bodies, what they consume as well plays a major part. I'm an advocate for that. I know exactly where you're coming.
What did you know now before you considered exporting.
>> JOY JOHNSON:  So the thought of exporting was literally a dream. It's one of those things that are on the long forecasted goals. It's not something that, in my opinion, was something I could ever do within the next five years. It was one of those, you know, once we're established here in the United States, then we can look at going outside the United States.
When I read the statistic, I believe from the SBA website, that 90% of consumers are outside the United States, that statistic completely blew my mind.
But, really, it was from the efforts of EXIM's outreach. I was at a business conference. In that conference is where I met an EXIM representative, Debra Wiggins. And we were talking. I was explain my brand. She was like, Have you ever thought about exporting your products?
I was like, exporting where? Like California?
(Laughter)
>> JOY JOHNSON:  She was like, No. International. Have you ever thought about Africa, Asia, other parts of the world.
I was like, Yeah, I've thought about it, but I never thought it would be something I could do in the short term.
That really opened my mind to, oh, this is actually something I could work on.
And so that was really the beginning of what I didn't know. I didn't know that it was something that could be tangible for a small business like myself. I'm a solopreneur. All of these things are coming slowly but surely. As I continue by research and talking to different people and figuring out how to make all of this work, I'm doing that in addition to expanding domestic footprint.
Figuring out that I didn't have to be put together or already this huge success or well‑known brand here in the United States, it was understanding that I could work in tandem. So that's what we're doing. We're working in tandem and continuing to make our footprint here domestically within the U.S. and also having conversations externally.
So, right now, we're looking to export to the UAE. We're going to be exhibiting at the trade show that they're going to be having there later on this year.
So this working in tandem, working on both sides of the world, so to speak, but just the sheer thought of even being able to do it was not something that I thought I could be working on right now. I thought that was something I could work on in maybe 10 or 20 years.
>> LATAUNYA DARDEN:  And that is the beauty ‑‑ and that's a good segue into what I wanted to say, if I didn't mention it earlier. Since I've been in this role, there's not been a product specifically for businesses in underserved communities.
We launched a new program Equity Select Express the 19th of April.
And since we have launched it, we have approved, I would say, maybe six or seven applications so far. And I'm really excited and happy about the program.
You know, businesses such as yours, we're seeing more and more interest.
As we continue our outreach efforts, we are seeing an uptick in applications and approvals for the program.
So, like yourself, some businesses, they may not have the brand name or be known here domestically, but they are, you know, garnering interest from abroad.
They're coming to us. We're so excited and happy that we can say, Yeah, we have a program that can start helping you export. We can start holding their hands through the process and work with our sister or partner agencies as well, if need be.
So very excited to hear about that. I'm glad that you are one of the first applicants to be approved and just looking forward to the growth you're going to see as a result of leveraging this program.
So, as I wrap up, I was one last question. What advice would you give a business that's just starting to export?
>> JOY JOHNSON:  I would absolutely recommend that they reach out to, of course, EXIM bank to start figuring out how to start there.
I would also recommend they reach out to their State's Department of Commerce. There's a whole host of resources, including grants, that can help them on their exporting journey.
I would also recommend ‑‑ it could be through their State representative, but they can also reach to the U.S. commercial services sector of helping you figure out kind of where to go next. Truly, they're been kind of my holy trinity, EXIM, Maryland Department of Commerce ‑‑ because I'm a Maryland‑based business ‑‑ and then (indiscernible) commercial services.
They've assisted me in helping me planning my exporting and international goods on the ground. Those would be my recommendations, in terms of services.
They can even add on their small business local development center. That's been integral in my part of the business. I've had my same counselor, Mr. Bill Hiddy (phonetic) for the last 17 years. Really, things started out with him, and it branched out from there, figuring out what services are available.
But I absolutely know that I wouldn't be able to consider going national without EXIM because of the protections that are in place. It makes me more comfortable knowing I can do business outside the U.S.
>> LATAUNYA DARDEN:  Great. Great. So glad to hear that because so many businesses don't know that we exist and the programs that we have and they can go international.
A lot of businesses say, Well, I'm too small. That's for large corporations or bigger businesses who have been operating longer than me.
That is not true.
So it does warrant to give us a call so we can have a deeper conversation about how your business is structured, what your plans are. Maybe we can discuss strategies on how to get you there.
So I'm very happy to hear you say that.
Also, too, I must say the annual conference is next week, June 6th and 7th at the Washington Hilton Hotel. Joy is speaking at the conference. If you don't get to talk to her before then, I encourage you to come to the conference so you can hear more about her export journey and just her business in general.
So I thank you again, so much, Joy, for being with us today.
Now I would turn it back over to Alexis.
>> ALEXIS JONES:  Thank you, LaTaunya.
Thank you, Joy.
We're going to move on to learn a little bit about what the SBA Small Business Administration can do for you.
>> ALEXIS JONES:  Is this for Joy or LaTaunya?
>> DAVID HINCAPIE:  For Joy. Is she still on the line?
Joy, did you have any occasion ‑‑ I don't know if it was necessary for your line of business, but the Bureau of Industry and Security, did you have any reason to connect with them?
>> JOY JOHNSON:  No, not at this juncture, I have not.
>> DAVID HINCAPIE:  Did you even know about them?
>> JOY JOHNSON:  No. I was not aware of them.
>> DAVID HINCAPIE:  So you just heard about them from me just now?
>> JOY JOHNSON:  You bringing them up is the first time I've heard about them.
>> DAVID HINCAPIE:  Oi, that's interesting. I just discovered about two months ago at their annual conference. They have a generic name, the Bureau of Industry and Security. What is that? It's the federal agency that's in charge of certain things regarding export licenses for certain things and certain procedures.
Just like EXIM Bank, they were also at the conference we were participating in a few months ago.
A lot of people don't even know they exist.
LaTaunya was saying that people don't know the EXIM bank exists and about the programs. Even I and the federal government didn't know the bureau existed.
This is very focused.
For the audience, I want to use this as an example of how because you don't know what you don't know, you have to ask. You have to be asking questions all the time.
The important thing is to ask any and all advisors. Whether it's a person from the government or one of the SBA resource partners, an SBA advisor, a score mentor, whether you're going to the accelerators, if you're in contracting, keep asking questions so you know about it and don't find out about it later.
There's a lot of stories about people getting involved in exporting and realizing they can't do it or it's going to take six months because they have to deal with something administrative regarding the bureau of Industry and Security and Exporting. So that's a lesson there.
I didn't hear about it, and I work in the federal government, until two months ago.
Our entrepreneur here, she didn't know about it until two minutes ago. There's always a lot to learn. Keep asking.
There's three core finance programs, international finance trade programs for small business exporters and for export transactions.
We have the Export Express loan program. And that's for guaranteeing smaller lines of credit for a business or term loans for a small business concern that wants to develop exporting, just like Joy did.
It has a lot of features of the loan that's for domestic use. The approval process is faster, the dollar amount is smaller than the standard 7A loan, which is 5 million. So it's going to be smaller than that.
But it has a hiring guarantee.
And so the higher guarantee to the bank, meaning the SBA guarantees the loan to the bank. The SBA is like a co‑signer. If the borrower doesn't pay, we'll pay.
It can go up to 90% for this.
Then we have the export working capital program. It's exactly what it says in the name. These are short‑term working capital loans that some of our participating lenders use for small business exporters.
The main difference so it's a larger amount, so it takes a little bit longer. It doesn't take six months, but it takes a little bit longer than getting the export express.
It's supposed to happen in a week to two weeks if you have a very organized business, an organized borrower, you have an organized statement, and you're Johnny‑on‑the‑spot with the information.
And then it can be useful for you.
The other takes longer because it's larger dollar amounts
The third is the international trade program (phonetic).
We do this to help improve the competitiveness of small businesses that are either exporters now or developing new export markets.
And so those are the three basic programs. Now, one of the details about this that I want to bring up, you can also use this for indirect exporting. This is where the borrower's direct customer ‑‑ say you have a company. Your direct customer is going to be exporting the stuff they buy from you.
So, in other words, you're a supplier. You're a vendor to an exporter.
You are also eligible for the export trade finance programs.
Let me say that again. If you are a supplier or vendor to an exporter, you are eligible for the export trade finance programs because you're an indirect exporter.
That means you, the borrower, have a customer. Whatever the customer is buying from you, they're going to be exporting the products or services that they buy from you.
So that's a very important detail that applies to people that are involved in exporting indirectly in this way.
So, now, those are the three programs. There's not much else to say unless we know the details of the business. How long have you been in business? Is the business profitable? What is your financial situation, et cetera?
So I can't get into that sort of loan counseling right now, but I want you to know these exist.
Okay. More important than that, though, is getting yourself organized to get this kind of export trade finance, this kind of credit.
What I mean by getting organized is what I mentioned earlier with the export express.
Meaning do you have your compiled statements for the last years. Depending on the size of the loan, they may require different financial statements with more detail.
But let's just say that you at least ‑‑ just so you can have a preliminary conversations with one of the lenders, do you have your statements for the last three years? Do you have the taxes for the last three years ready to go? When a lender asks you for this information, do you have it ready to go?
If you're a newer business, have you been profitable over the last couple of years?
If you have not in the last two or three years, no investor is going to do it.
That's all part of the preparation for being able to get this credit, whether it's a revolving line of credit, business line of credit, or whether it's a term loan. Are you organized and prepared to receive this kind of financing?
The way you get organized and prepared is going to the resource partners. There's the small business development centers, there's the women‑owned centers. You can go and talk to a business advisor. You can go and ask for a business advisor who has worked with companies doing X.
If so, I would like to talk to that person. That's how you go get that specific help.
And we also have the score business mentors.
So they're retired business owners. They're people like you will be in 20 or 30 years.
Some of them may have been exporters. When you get in touch with the D.C. metro area score chapter, you tell them specifically, I'm going to be exporting. I'm going to developing these markets for myself. Do you have a mentor I can talk to about this specific thing?
Now, going back to the Bureau of Industry and Security, they have advisors. There's people you can talk to for free that work for the federal government.
They're just like LaTaunya. You can call her up. She can advise you. You can tell her what's going on.
I'm the same thing as the SBA programs. You can call me up, send me an email, and we can talk and get into more detail about this.
So that's the overall thing. The SBA has these three programs. One of these might be good for you. If there's any questions, you can present them and I can take them.
>> Caroline Bolas:  Thank you, everybody, for this wonderful presentation. We have questions, but we probably have time answer other ones.
So while I am starting on the questions, if anyone has any in the audience, please go ahead and put them in the chat box so we can ask our panelists.
I don't know if Joy and LaTaunya want to come back on camera so we can see you.
Joy, we have a couple of for you to start with.
The first one, Joy, is:  Did you have to take into account any cultural considerations when you were thinking about your products?
>> JOY JOHNSON:  So domestically, I didn't take into account any cultural considerations. I just took into account the thought process when it comes to ingredients. I formulated my line. So I took into account, based on my training, what ingredients were ideal and not ideal for people that have diabetes, whether it's Type I or Type II.
Body scrubs, 90% are made with sugar grain. Diabetics should not use salt and sugar‑based scrubs because those grains can cause microtears and cuts into the skin. I made mine with poppy seeds. That took into account those sorts of things.
Now, internationally, I did create an international business plan. I utilized a wonderful resource. I took a class, and through that, I was able to connect with one of the facilitators of that program. They actually connected me with a professor at George Washington University. So the international business students for last fall, last semester, they utilized my business as their class project.
And so they helped me in creating my business plan.
And so, in that regard, we did take into consideration the cultural norms, being that once we figured out where we wanted to export ‑‑ because I wanted to export in a few countries in Africa. I was interested in the Caribbean, and then the UAE.
In my mind, I was going into the UAE last. But, in the UAE, when we looked at all the metrics, the ease of doing business, the likability of U.S.‑based businesses, and diabetes being extremely high in that region, once we took all of that into account and focused on the UAE, from there, we figured out which products to come out with and what we could do.
For instance, poppy seeds in a specific region are not permitted. I have to come up with something is else because I can't sell it there.
So those are some of the things I did take into account internationally.
There's a lot of modesty there in the UAE. We wanted to figure out which product would do the best. Those are the things we considered.
>> Caroline Bolas:  I think what the question was asking about, they had a follow‑up, and I think you answered it. Did you have to change things up to follow restrictions.
Someone asked if you had to get a specialist attorney or an accountant? Have you changed any of those advisors when you're thinking about exporting?
>> JOY JOHNSON:  So I went to an exporting conference in Miami this past October. I believe it was hosted by U.S. Commercial Services. So I learned quite a bit about accounting. I have a wonderful CPA I use in Maryland. They're very well versed in the contracting side of U.S. Government business because a part of my business has worked on doing that as well.
And I have their information. So if I feel like my CPA isn't able to answer some of the questions that I think need to be answered or if I'm not comfortable, then I do have some resources in that regard based on the people that spoke.
I have interviewed two attorneys that are more versed in international business.
I have a few attorneys here domestically. None of them are international. That's not their purview.
So I have interviewed a few so that when the time comes that I need them, I can kind of rehash a conversation.
So I think it would be in your best interest to absolutely have conversations with multiple professionals, starting with the ones you already do business with.
If they say it's not their area, you may not want your business to be the one where they figure it out. So it may be in your best interest to consider someone that's more of a SME in dealing with international business and exporting.
I have not made any changes yet, but when the time comes and I feel I need to, I do have a few resources I could reach out to pretty immediately to see, you know, what the next steps need to be.
>> Caroline Bolas:  Excellent. Thank you.
>> DAVID HINCAPIE:  Can I add something here? Do you have time? I wanted to just highlight something. She said she talked to an SBDC advisor ‑‑ you took a class; right?
>> JOY JOHNSON:  Yes, I did, the exporting class.
>> DAVID HINCAPIE:  And what SBDC did you do this in?
>> JOY JOHNSON:  So I did this one through George Mason. I usually use the SBDC in Maryland, but I had to use one in Virginia because Maryland didn't have an upcoming class.
>> DAVID HINCAPIE:  In the D.C. metro area, we're in a weird space. It's three jurisdictions.
Your business may be in Maryland, but there's no availability. Maybe they just don't have the expertise you need or whatever. So you go to Virginia. Or vice versa, you're in Virginia, and there's no one there to help you. So you go to the one in Maryland or D.C. You shouldn't stop looking.
That story about how you took the class with the SBDC advisor, and they connected you with the project ‑‑ that's exactly how we want this kind of free advice to work.
Sometimes the classes have a nominal cost. Did that class cost money or was it a free class?
>> JOY JOHNSON:  No. That class cost money. It was not a free class.
(Overlapping speakers)
(No discernible speaker)
>> JOY JOHNSON:  When you iron out all the other free advice I've gotten over the years, it was well worth it, but there was a cost associated with that class.
You have a Carlos for a class, but, yeah, you amortize it across all of the advice you get and all of the guidance that you get over a period of one or two years, and it winds up being nothing. If you decided it by the cost of the class by the number of hours that you actually talked to an advisor, it may be that you paid 5 bucks an hour, depending on how often you talk to the advisor.
That's the way it is meant to work. I'm glad it worked for you in that way.
>> LATAUNYA DARDEN:  The step grant, the state trade expanse project, can those grants be used to pay for classes or certifications as well?
I know they're used if you have to update your website to the country you're exporting to and other export activities, but does the step grant cover those certifications and classes that are needed to export.
>> DAVID HINCAPIE:  Step grants are state level. So it depends on what the state says you can do with the grant money.
Your state, Maryland, may do something. Virginia may do something slightly different. I don't know. I don't have any expertise on a particular one. There's 50 states.
As far as the SBA programs, you can use funds for an expense.
There's big, long list of rules, and we can talk about it in detail, if you want to.
>> LATAUNYA DARDEN:  Okay. Thank you.
>> DAVID HINCAPIE:  But I can broadly say, for example, the export working capital program, loan proceeds, what can you use it for? You can use it to acquire inventory, for export or manufacturing to export goods.
Joy can use it for buying the ingredients for the stuff she makes.
You can manage manufacturing costs if you're not going to manufacture them yourself but contract with somebody to build them for you.
You can buy goods and services for it directly.
You can use it to support a standby level of credit related to export transactions.
If you don't know what that means, then you're probably at the very beginning of your exporting process journey. But if you do know what that means, now you know. Exporting capital program loans can be used for supporting a standby letter of credit.
So, there you go. You can use it for foreign accounts receivable or inventory financing, et cetera. So there's a list of stuff you can use the loan proceeds for. We can talk about it in more detail, if anyone wants to get in touch.
>> Caroline Bolas:  What are the common mistakes you see and what can be used when exporting. What are any strategies so people can avoid making mistakes?
>> DAVID HINCAPIE:  LaTaunya probably sees this more than I do more frequently.
So you're best equipped to answer this question, although I have seen some things. I think she sees it more frequently.
>> LATAUNYA DARDEN:  You may have a want or be determined to export to a specific country but we're not open there. So that's the first step in the process.
And then, knowing the business landscape in a particular country, that's why I highly recommend reaching out to the U.S. Commercial Service or either the embassy in a particular country because they have knowledge of the bad actors, if you will, in a specific country.
So those are the two mistakes people tend to make.
>> DAVID HINCAPIE:  I want to reinforce that by saying it's going in blindly because you heard something from someone.
So don't take your business advice from social media. Talk to the Bureau about licenses you may need. There's a lot of preparatory work.
Then you need to learn about your market in that country. This may be expensive in the beginning, but it might be worth it. You will have to judge it. Go on the trade trips organized by different organizations
.
Africa is enormous, but there's groups that take people there.
If you can participate in those because you've done preliminary research and then actually go there, then you can learn a little bit more. You won't go in so blind. You're less likely to make any costly mistakes.
>> LATAUNYA DARDEN:  To add what you share, David, I know the PG Economic Development agency that you mentioned, I believe they're going, in August, to some part of Asia on a trade mission.
Also, I do know that step grant funds can be used to reimburse trade mission costs.
>> DAVID HINCAPIE:  Oh, well, there you go. This is great! I didn't know that. This is fantastic. It will reimburse. You have to pay out of pocket in the beginning, but you can get the money back.
>> LATAUNYA DARDEN:  That's correct.
>> DAVID HINCAPIE:  That's fantastic.
>> LATAUNYA DARDEN:  They will reimburse. Hold on to all of your receipts. There's a time period, once the trade mission is over, that you submit all of your receipts, and you will get reimbursed for that.
Also, you can use step grant funds to pay any EXIM Bank premiums.
>> DAVID HINCAPIE:  Well there, you go. I learned something today. That's good to know.
>> Caroline Bolas:  Joy, you wanted to mention something?
>> JOY JOHNSON:  Yes, to piggyback off LaTaunya, I used step grants for the Dubai trip. The trip is more than the grant, but the grant, because it's more than I will be able to get the full reimbursement for whatever the maximum is for that particular grant.
If you want to exhibit at any industry‑specific trade shows as well.
>> Caroline Bolas:  Excellent. Thank you.
And, David, following up, you were saying the importance of doing your research, does the SBA have any particular resources that help people look at international market research or any suggestions of where people may find those resources?
>> DAVID HINCAPIE:  The best place to start is with the SBA resource partners. That's what we generically call the women business centers, Veteran business centers, et cetera. They're all the same type.
They have slightly different audiences. Although the women's business center, they serve many. Then there's the score mentors, they are qualitatively different.
Some are experts in a particular thing. Maybe they were involved in exporting. Maybe they were a manager for a company that did a lot of exporting and then they become SBDC advisors. That can happen as well.
I would say to start there.
We do have the Office of International Trade. I can connect you with someone there if you talk to talk to someone in more detail about our programs.
I would say start with the resource partners so you can go there and have a good story like Joy's.
She took the class, got the advice. That's a success story I love hearing. I didn't know it. That's exactly how it's supposed to work.
>> Caroline Bolas:  Thank you. LaTaunya, anything you would like to add about additional resources? Is that something you provide at EXIM?
>> LATAUNYA DARDEN:  Yes. So we often refer businesses to other resources if they're not quite ready for EXIM.
Again, because of the new product that's launched last month, you know, everybody ‑‑ well, not everybody but a large majority of businesses that are coming to us, they have been applying, and they're either in the underwriting process, as we speak, or they have been approved. That's why I'm just elated with this program and looking forward to the fruit we're going to see as a result of it.
But, to answer the question, yes, we have been made referrals to the SBDCs or the SBA or the Department of Commerce just so businesses can make those connections and give further guidance into their export activities.
Businesses that sometimes come to us, they don't have an e port business plan.
I know these small business development centers assist with that, just like you need a business plan to access any grants or funding for your business.
The same is true for your export activities.
The SBDCs are instrumental and doing an excellent job in helping businesses to develop those plans.
>> Caroline Bolas:  Thank you.
I know we did a webinar that people can access it on our website where you talk more about the services, but I don't know if you could just do like a quick overview, like a recap, of all the things that EXIM does provide for those who were not on that last webinar.
>> LATAUNYA DARDEN:  Sure. EXIM is the export credit agency for the United States. Most countries have an export credit agent or ECA, as they're most commonly known as.
So they support businesses in their respective countries in their export activities, and that's what EXIM Bank of the U.S. does for here.
And we have a few programs in which we do that, but I will just mention the two main ones.
So we have a working capital loan guarantee program that is a guarantee that we provide lenders who actually finance the export lender loan.
Proceeds from these loans can be used to purchase raw materials that you need to manufacture or make your product.
Purchase finished products that you may be exporting.
Any labor or overhead fees or costs associated with the export transaction.
So that's what the working capital loan guarantee is.
Lenders are more comfortable with financing export loans when they know they have the guarantee from EXIM Bank.
Now, again, the criteria are you must have at least one year of business operations, have a positive net worth, and a purchase order or a contract.
Those are our requirements. You would still need to meet whatever requirements of whatever lender you choose to work with.
Those lenders are found on our website.
If you find your lender that you have a current relationship is not on our website, your lender can apply directly with us, and then we will underwrite the loan in‑house at EXIM.
So that's the capital working program.
>> DAVID HINCAPIE:  I will wait until you're done. I have a question. Your 12‑month requirement in business is the same as ours. So our programs, the SBA program, is very similar to yours. I imagine the difference is in the maximum loan amount. What is the maximum loan amount?
>> LATAUNYA DARDEN:  That's correct. We don't have a maximum. I know there's 5 million.
>> DAVID HINCAPIE:  Yes. So there you go. It could be that if you are very new to this and you're a smaller company, maybe the SBA company is one for you. It's a 5,000,090% guarantee on certain things.
As you grow, you might be moving on to the EXIM Bank for larger ones. Or maybe not. Maybe you go directly to the EXIM Bank. But know there's two, investigate both, and use what is best for your business.
>> LATAUNYA DARDEN:  That's correct. Now, I don't know if a lender who is not part of our delegated network can submit directly to SBA. I know that's the case with EXIM.
You know, we often run into a lender that is a larger bank, Wells, Bank of America, Huntington, but we have some lenders that have an appetite for the smaller loan amounts, as you just alluded to.
A small business may not need above 5 million. If that is the case, then the lender that the exporter has a relationship with can come to us directly to submit an application for the working capital loan.
I don't know if that's the case for the SBA.
>> DAVID HINCAPIE:  It is.
(Overlapping speakers)
>> LATAUNYA DARDEN:  The second program is the trade insurance. I know the SBA does not offer it. It is an insurance on the receivables. 95% in the event the foreign buyer does not pay due to political or commercial risks.
Some examples of those risks are if unrest or war develops in a country, if your buyer loses their import license, if there's fraud on the part of your buyer, those are some examples where the EXIM insurance policy covers you in the event of nonpayment by your buyer.
(Overlapping speakers)
>> LATAUNYA DARDEN:  Yes, David?
>> DAVID HINCAPIE:  The thing about the lenders, as part of the network, is very similar to the SBA.
With SBA, it guarantees ‑‑ any bank can apply for an SBA‑guaranteed loan. They can do it. It's just that when one of our preferred lenders, one of the lenders that has what we call delegated authority, that means they've demonstrated experience using our programs. So they can do all the work in taking the application, doing the credit analysis, making a decision, and sending it to us.
Because they're a preferred lender, our review of the work is pretty fast. That's because we trust them. We delegate the authority to approve the loan to them.
Now, any bank that doesn't have delegated authority can still use it. It's just that they don't. They are not going to bother. It takes longer.
Usually, if a bank is not interested in, this they're not going to bother getting the delegated authority.
So, in practice, what happens is almost every bank that submit this is for a guarantee from us is a bank that happens to be a preferred lender.
>> LATAUNYA DARDEN:  Hmmm, okay.
>> DAVID HINCAPIE:  And probably your bank is.
>> LATAUNYA DARDEN:  I have seen businesses that come to us, and they have a banking relationship already with someone, and they're not a delegated lender.
Some people feel defeated or after they talk to a delegated lender, they're not getting positive results.
So we do inform businesses that if they have a banking relationship who is not a delegated lender of ours, they can still submit an application directly with us.
>> Caroline Bolas:  Excellent. Thank you.
That takes us to the end of the questions that we've had.
I just want to really thank Joy, LaTaunya, and David.
Joy, we did put your website in the chat. We will also be sending out all the links in a follow‑up email.
I think it's such an important thing you're doing. I have family members with diabetes and receiving other treatments. I know it's a big issue.
Hopefully, you will expand globally, even further. My family is in the UK.

Thank you, David.
Thank you, LaTaunya, for all of your wonderful advice.
We'll be sharing the contact information.
Again, if you didn't get a chance to note it down during the presentation, you will be getting an email where you will get the chat links as well as the email and contact information.
So with that, we just have is a few other things to tell you about.
Our next webinar is taking place on June the 5th from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. It's around culture competency with the DC Mayor's Office of Deaf, DeafBlind, and hard of hearing. It's about how we can be effective in our communication.
We also have the small business National Convening coming up. This will be the third one. Hopefully, some of you have attended our previous ones. It's taking place on November 20th and 21st, 2024. It's completely virtual. We'll be sending out information in the coming weeks.
If you want a taster, you can go to the website and see the recordings from the 2022 and 2023 Convening.
It's a great opportunity to meet other business owners and network and learn and think about how you want to start and grow your business.
There's even a session from 2022 on exporting that also has other resources that you might find of interest.
And if you're thinking about loving all of this but you want more resources, on our website, we have a lot to help you think about starting to build. You can visit our website at www.disabilitysmallbusiness.org.
We also have a streaming TV channel that has some original content where, again, entrepreneurs with disabilities are sharing their journeys and some of the successes they've had, and that can be found at disabilityowned.com.
We are partnered with Verizon Small Business Digital Ready. There's short videos and toolkits. You can have your questions answered by experts in live events. They have mentoring and coaching.
It's all free. You don't have to be a Verizon customer. This is an amazing resource that can help you start thinking about your business.
At the moment, up until June 28th, we have a $10,000 grant that you can apply for. You do need to complete either the two courses or done two live events, but there's still plenty of time for you to do that if you sign up.
Hopefully, you're already on our mailing list because you're here today, but if you're not, we'll put it in the chat and the email that goes out so you can join the mailing list so you can keep up to date on everything we're doing.
Get to know us. Nikki Powis is our director. Ruth Chavez is our small business community navigator. I'm Caroline Bolas, the small business specialist. And then we have our wonderful Alexis Jones who is our project coordinator.
We'll be sending out information about this webinar.
And then, finally, we would love for you to become an NDI Equity Ally. You can find out all about it by scanning this QR Code. I will go to our website. But we can include that in the links that we're sending to you so you can find out more information about that.
With that, I just want to thank you all again for spending your time with us this afternoon.
Thanks for our wonderful speakers for sharing their expertise.
Hopefully, we'll see you again at future webinars.
Until then, have a great rest of your day.
Thank you.

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