Extract

In its survey of entrepreneurial activities in 54 countries, the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor estimates that there are over 400 million entrepreneurial ventures (Kelley et al., 2012). The entrepreneurial revolution is a global one. And many of these ventures are active in the global market place. Yet, in spite of the sizable number of entrepreneurs to be found in the US, small businesses in the US lag behind their counterparts in other countries in terms of international engagement. For example, the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) reports that while 31percent of exports from the European Union are generated by small and medium enterprises, only 13 percent of US exports come from small and medium enterprises. And government data find that only 1 percent of US small businesses export. Many factors affect the propensity of business owners to seek customers in other countries. Certainly regulatory and financial barriers play a part, but small businesses in any country face those challenges.