CHAPTER SEVEN: IMPORTS AND EXPORTS

Need some good advice on starting a small business. Check here before you open up shop. http://www.sb.gov.bc.ca/

Here’s a Canadian site that means business! http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/

YOUR OWN INVENTION

You can check if your friend’s invention has been patented recently in any country by going to Intellectual Property Network.

If you’re looking for money to start up a new venture, there’s lots of it available free. Check out sources for Canadian grants and loans at http://www.businessguide.net/ and U.S. grants and loans at http://mel.lib.mi.us/social/SOC-grants.html. If you are skilled at filling out forms and talking the gibberish that government employees like to hear, you could earn a nice income helping others apply for the appropriate grants to get them started on their own business. How difficult is it? One of many articles.

Learn about international trade from NAFTA. They want your business.

This site contains a wealth of links concerning copyright, trademark and patent law. http://www.pravel.com/ and Patent Agent

Canadians can check out the information at The Canadian Intellectual Property Office

United States Copyright Office http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/

UNDERSTANDING THE TRADE BUSINESS

Matchmaker Trade Delegations help small and medium-sized U.S. companies establish business relationships in major markets abroad. http://www.ita.doc.gov/uscs/uscsmatc.html

East-West Trade Center

The Global Trade Center is a good place to get market information http://www.tradezone.com/welcome.html

KNOW YOUR MARKETS

The Trading Floor, where exporters and importers meet in real time International trade exchange. Check out the action. http://trading.wmw.com/

Canadian Trade Index

The International Trade Administration, part of the U.S. Department of Commerce provides a number of free services to get you started exporting. http://www.doc.gov/

SOURCES OF MONEY

Overseas Private Investment Corporation is an independent U.S. agency that assists companies looking to invest outside the country. http://www.opic.gov

WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW CAN KILL YOUR BUSINESS

The Export Legal Assistance Network could be vital to your survival. http://www.miep.org/elan/

The Foreign Credit Insurance Association (FCIA) can help take the worry out of dealing with buyers who may default. http://www.owens.com/

Who needs it? http://www.cei.org/

Not sure about the trade laws in your country or any other? Check it out at the International Trade Law site. lexmercatoria and Find Law

There are an incredible number of information resources on the Internet, for any business, including the Import/Export business.

Export Central will help you get started in International trade. http://www.exportcentral.com/

Trade Compass gives you the leads and tools you need for trading in the International markets.

For more resources do a search for "business directories import export".

THE STOCK MARKET

Titan Trading is a financial software development company that specializes in the research and analysis of stock market trading patterns. These programs are helpful when trading on world financial markets. http://www.titantrading.com/

Here’s an interesting site that allows you to do free research on various companies, manage your own stock portfolio and chat with other investors. They also run contests to give away stock shares. Investment Hotlines http://www.invhot.com