Doing Business in the U.S., Canada or the U.K.

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It's not too early to starting thinking about how to move or store product during the holiday selling season (as noted in picture) -- especially if you decide to sell in the U.S., Canada or the U.K. Here's a success story shared by a reader:

Shipping and warehousing is one area that is essential to accelerating business growth, and simultaneously can be a drain on financial and time resources. The time-suck and hassle of shipping takes away from the other roles that business owners are more adept at—such as marketing, sales or business development. By re-evaluating shipping and logistics processes and leveraging Web-based innovation, businesses can take a hands-off approach, encourage sustainable growth and uncover hidden savings.

Marc Blaiwes, co-owner of car seat cover e-commerce company SeatGlovers, did what many smart entrepreneurs in today's climate should--he found a niche product with an untapped market and focused his energies. However, the sales success that followed was too much to handle. Marc needed to expand his warehouse, but the added costs threatened his profit margins and would have required product price increases. "Large companies play the expansion game all the time by building out storage and inventory and eating the added costs until business catches up," said Blaiwes, "Small businesses just don't have that luxury. That's why we needed Shipwire--to help us manage the double-edged sword of business growth."

"Shipwire is granting us immunity to all the flux in the market," said Blaiwes. "Shipping was a huge hassle for years, and it prevented me from growing my business. Finding Shipwire was as big for my business as selling on eBay and sourcing with Alibaba. We're growing exponentially and I'm realizing the true potential of my business. All of this at a time when many other merchants are just trying to stay afloat. Talk about a competitive advantage"

And Shipwire CEO Damon Schechter believes the way to scale and grow a business internationally is to get the product warehoused closer to local buyers.

More on Shipwire here (they offer a free, no obligation trial). Locations and shipping calculator that demonstrates cost advantages here.