Exchange Students

The specter of exporting probably scares away as many small-business owners as it encourages to do business abroad. Fortunately, there's a place to find most of the information you need-all on one handy CD-ROM disk.

The National Trade Data Bank (NTDB), a CD-ROM created by the U.S. Department of Commerce, is packed with information for companies that want to start marketing their goods and services in other countries as well as for those that already do. Features include the "Export Yellow Pages," where you can research American exporters; market research reports that can help you gauge how your business will fare in a certain country; and foreign trade show calendars. A foreign traders index lists overseas buyers and the products they're seeking.

The NTDB also answers common questions small-business owners have about operating abroad, such as how to make sure they get paid, where to advertise and how to locate distributors for their products. "It provides a lot of timely information entrepreneurs need to get their products out the door," says David Walthour, whose Freeville, New York, export trading and management company uses NTDB regularly. Walthour also offers a seminar on the NTDB every spring at a local community college.

The updated data bank is available on CD-ROM for $40 per month or $360 for a one-year subscription. It can also be accessed free of charge at most Department of Commerce district offices and federal depository libraries.

To order the NTDB, call Stat-USA, the agency within the Department of Commerce that produces the program, at (800) STAT-USA or (202) 482-1986.

This article was originally published in the February 1996 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Exchange Students.