There are currently 6.87 billion people in the world, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, while the United States population is 310 million. China's current population is 1.33 billion and India is 1.17 billion, according to Internet World Stats. Tokyo, Seoul and Mexico City each have more than 20 million people, whereas New York City has a population of 19.7 million. According to Worldatlas, there are 25 cities with populations of more than nine million people, while Virginia has a total population of 7.9 million. The U.S. economy is expanding at about three percent a year, according to the U.S. Export-Import Bank, the U.S. institution that provides financing and insurance to exporters. Yet many overseas markets are growing at many times that rate. Turkey's economy, for instance, is growing at about 11% a year. 

What does all this mean? It means that the world headcount outside the U.S. is 22-times larger than the U.S. domestic population. In other words, 95% of the world's customers and more than 70% of the world's purchasing power is outside the U.S. borders. This reality presents tremendous opportunities for U.S. businesses of all sizes that are savvy enough to utilize assistance from U.S. government export trade programs to reach these companies. 

But, you ask, how does a company comprehend such staggering numbers? There are 247 sovereign countries in the world per The Nations Online Project. You certainly cannot attempt to export to so many places. So how do you decide which country or countries to focus on? How do you know where to allocate your scarce funds, manpower and expertise? If you have been exporting for a long time, how can you get a boost of fresh sales and growth opportunities? Who can you turn to for real world practical and productive assistance? 

The best answer to all these questions is the U.S. government. Yep, you heard it right. If you take advantage of the many U.S. government programs, some customized just for you, then significant export opportunities can be available to you. The U.S. government has teams of technically multi-talented, motivated professionals located on the ground to help you achieve your export growth goals. They can do a lot of the time-consuming but necessary work for you saving you lots of travel time, so that when you do travel abroad, you can hit the ground running and concentrate on productive activities leading to more sales. And you get all this for a surprisingly inexpensive investment of your money. The extensive worldwide network of U.S. Foreign Commercial staff extends to 109 offices across the U.S. and 127 offices in 79 countries. These people are all dedicated to help you compete and win in the global marketplace. 

The U.S. government has numerous agencies that provide export assistance and support from marketing to finance to regulations to risk management. You can contact these organizations through the International Trade Administration, which manages the Export.gov website. Export.gov is the U.S. government's export promotion and finance portal. This portal is designed to deliver critical export information and services from across the U.S. government to small and medium-sized U.S. companies to begin or expand their exporting business. The U.S. government has also strategically partnered with major corporations to help small and medium-sized U.S. companies begin and/or expand their export sales. 

Being your "partner" is the common thread and theme of the export sections of these agencies. By utilizing their resources, services and programs, you can minimize your risks while simultaneously maximizing your resources, efforts and performance in achieving your worldwide targets and goals. 

The U.S. government realizes that 97% of all U.S. exporters are made up of small and medium-sized companies. Further, more than 60% of these exporters have fewer than 20 employees. The U.S. government knows that assisting these exporters greatly contributes to the economic well-being of the nation. This covers both tangible as well as service industries. The U.S. actually has a trade surplus in the professional service sector, and exports in this area are expected to continue excellent worldwide growth. 

In conclusion, the world is open for your business. There is tremendous export assistance that the U.S. government makes available to you. It is up to you, however, to contact them in order to start the process of getting this help. You need to make yourself aware of and understand the distinct offerings in various government agencies and details of their programs and services. Knowing about and taking advantage of U.S. government assistance can be a very good investment of your time and efforts in providing for your export pay-back agenda.