Getting Started: A New International Business - IIEI-101

Course Description: This introductory practical course provides individuals with an understanding of how to explore the trade opportunities that exist in international marketplace and then how to get started in their own business.  It walks a person through the lengthy process of being able to determine whether starting an importing or exporting business will work for them.

Typically, the person who finds this course useful is someone who has visited a foreign country and has seen a product or service that he/she thinks might have sales potential in his/her domestic market; or a person who has family or relatives in a foreign country that might bring value to the process-- either by finding or making goods to export, or being the receiver of goods shipped (importing).

Prerequisite: None

Course Credit: 3 Credit Hours

Major Course Topics & Course Outcomes

As a result of the group and individual activities included in this course, the student will acquire the following knowledge and skills that can be applied to the workplace:

Readiness to do business internationally

• Assess your readiness to start a new international business.

Product export/ import potential

• Determine export or import potential for a good or service.

Barriers to Trade

• Understand the most common barriers to international trade.

Risk Assessment

• Identify the risks involved in international trade.

Judging Market Opportunities

• Demonstrate how to perform a basic market research using secondary research in support of a marketing effort.

Major Trade Blocks

• Recognize the major international trade trading blocks and why they exist.

Finding Suppliers and Resources

• Utilize the various resources helpful in pursuing international trade.

Operating Issues for International Trade—shipping and packaging requirements

• Reflect the logistics concerns facing a company shipping internationally. 

Setting up the New International Business

• Develop a plan for a new international business that considers to key business practices presented in this course.

International Culture Considerations

• Appraise the impact of culture on conducting international trade.

Required International Paperwork

• Demonstrate the basic required documentation, forms and other paperwork required in international trade.

Pricing Products for International Markets

• Determine the correct pricing for products shipped to foreign markets.

Starting the Business

• Possess a working knowledge of what is generally required to start a new international business.

Course Texts:

There is one textbook for this course.

A Tour of International Trade. David M. Neipert. Prentice Hall, NJ. 1999. ISBN 0-13-671744-6 (1st Edition)

Selected Readings Online.

Please note that textbooks are subject to change. Please contact your advisor before purchasing the textbook for your class to confirm.