Summer is here and we couldn't be happier to see sunshine and excitement downtown and throughout the Toledo Region. But that's not all we're excited about this summer – the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Toledo Small Business Development Center welcome five summer interns to our team. These interns are providing incredible services to you, our Chamber member community, but until you can meet them in person at one of our fabulous upcoming events, please enjoy this Q&A to get to know a little bit about our interns.

​​By Sabrina D'Onofrio, CGBP, CBA​, Export Assistance Director

This month is World Trade Month in the United States and here at the Export Assistance Network, we want to showcase the importance of exporting and encourage you, our business leaders, just how exciting the world of exports is. Not to mention all of the no-cost exporting assistance that is out there, starting with the Export Assistance Network at The Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce. 

Here in the U.S., May is designated as World Trade Month, and while it’s important to recognize the impact global trade has on our daily lives all the time, it’s worth taking a moment now to consider just how much your life might be different if we didn’t have access to goods and services from outside our borders. According to worldtrademonth.com, U.S. exports totaled $2.5 trillion in 2018. Those dollars touch an estimated 11.5 million U.S. jobs and account for 13 percent of GDP. As you might imagine, without these goods and services, our lives – and our economy – would be dramatically different. To discuss the importance of having a defined export strategy for your business, we sat down with Steven R. Zirkel, owner of Blue Everest LLC, a strategic growth consulting, business advising and executive coaching firm.

As a business owner or leader, your business is of vital importance to you – and your employees are the lifeblood of that business. By protecting your employees and ensuring their safety, you’re also protecting your business.

On Feb. 26, as a student in the Export Success class of 2021, you'll join a team of business professionals in ready-to-export, new-to-export and longtime export businesses. Not only is this class built to help you grow your business by expanding into new international markets through classes on export law, cross-cultural communications and building an export plan, it's also designed to train your brightest and newest employees how to carry on your exporting efforts as they rise within your company. But the class isn't just unique in its variety of classmates; its expert mentors will help you get the most out of your export plans. Let's meet two of our newest mentors in the class of 2021.

​By Sabrina D'Onofrio, CGBP, CBA

The Export Assistance Network has a plethora of means to help you and your business export effectively. We have a network of resources and partners throughout the state of Ohio here to help you and your business excel in the complex world of exporting. So, how can you get help?

By Sabrina D'Onofrio, CGBP, CBA

With Export Success' class of 2021 beginning in little over a month, it's about time for the excitement to set in. By registering for Export Success, not only are you joining a team of likeminded, intelligent business professionals, you're also working to grow your business into new international markets and expanding your product or service's reach. But you're not just growing your network of consumers in Export Success – you're building your network of people who you can call and lean on when you have questions or just need a mentor.

The Ohio Small Business Development Center District Three isn't here to run your business for you – we're here to guide you, to show you the options and resources available to you, and to share with you the best practices so you can be successful. 

At the Toledo Small Business Development Center (SBDC), we're all about people – and helping people achieve their dreams. Our clients own a variety of small businesses all over northwest Ohio, each with a unique set of successes and challenges. And our expert team of counselors is here to assist in any situation.

By Sabrina D'Onofrio, CGBP, CBA

The Export Success class of 2021 is now accepting registrations, and that means it's time for you to decide whether Export Success can benefit your business and the goals you have for your business' future. Of course, here at the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce and our Toledo Small Business Development Center, which houses our Export Assistance program, and the Regional Growth Partnership, we want your business to grow, succeed and find stability. So, the short of it is yes, you should join Export Success. But let's get into why.