Bryan Treherne is a member of the national executive of the Institute of Export and chairman of South London Export Club.
A seasoned trader with decades of international experience, he was made an MBE in 2008 for services to export at the behest of UK Trade & Investment, a British government department.
Each month Bryan will have something to say about Britain's place in the global economy and how firms in south London can take advantage of the wealth of international trading experience.
Bryan's views are his own and not necessarily those of the club.
Bryan's Blog - January 2010.
Welcome to the first in a series of monthly musings
At 68 I should be retired really, but I still enjoy
what I do.
I can’t tell you how satisfying it is to see a new exporter
land his or her first order – and the more difficult the market, the greater
the satisfaction when we crack it.
I am a firm believer in overseas trade. We have been a trading nation for centuries and it makes
sense commercially.
Whatever the economic climate – even the
present British one – there is always somewhere in the world that is enjoying
faster growth than we are. Selling in a number
of markets helps a business to smooth even the bumpiest trading cycle.
I know people who believe you need to conquer Britain – become a national name – before you consider selling abroad.
I disagree. I can quote examples of south London firms – particularly
one-woman bands – who have made a huge success of overseas trading.
But international business is not a get-rich-quick solution;
particularly in the Far East it can be painfully slow. Wherever possible I try to encourage would-be exporters to
look for a long-term business partner – maybe by forming a joint venture in
which each brings something unique to the table.
Very often the British partner will have the know-how,
while one from a developing country will have access to a plentiful supply of
labour. The annual profits from this kind of venture tend to be smaller in the
early years, but they go on for longer and are therefore greater overall.
I particularly enjoy chairing the South London Export Club, which meets
ten times a year, usually in central Croydon, and offers advice and support to
actual and would-be international traders. Invariably there is someone who has the answer to any given
question, or knows someone who does.
We open a lot of otherwise locked doors
that way.
SLEC is sponsored by HSBC - the world's local bank
Bryan Treherne is a member of the national executive of the Institute of Export and chairman of South London Export Club.