Prince George is now one of four B.C. communities where small businesses can turn to a government-funded pilot program to get help finding customers beyond the province's borders for their wares and services.
The idea behind Export Navigator is to smooth the path for entrepreneurs reluctant to take the steps towards establishing an export market because the headaches simply outweigh the benefits.
"There's probably a good reason that a lot of small companies don't export - it's too complicated," Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training Minister Shirley Bond said Tuesday during a media event.
"It's very difficult to figure how to do that when you're just trying to keep your business running..how in the world do you have time to figure out how you're going to export your product?"
That's where Charles Scott will step in. The long-time business consultant has taken on the role of export advisor under the program and is working out of the Community Futures of Fraser-Fort George office.
Scott said the program will help businesses sort out the regulations, costs and fees that come with entering new markets, find the the time to deal with them and build the capacity to maintain the venture.
"It's not a do for, it's a walk with," Scott said. "There are doorways to opportunity and we will help you find them but you have to be prepared to walk through them."
In the month he's been working on the project, Scott said he has eight businesses lined up and needs another two to reach the goal of 10 required to make the year-long program a success in the eyes of the funders.
Overall, th B.C. government is contributing more than $500,000 to the program and the federal government $140,000 through Community Futures.
The event was held at the office of Sparkgeo, a web mapping developer based in Prince George with most of its customers are in the United States.
Launched in 2010, Sparkgeo now employs about a dozen people but CEO Will Caddell said Export Navigator would made life much easier when he started the venture.
"We felt the pain of not knowing all these questions and I can see the value of having a place to go to answer these questions," Caddell said.
