CHARLOTTE, North Carolina
Population: 809,958
Unemployment: 5.9 percent
Closest Port: Charlotte Douglas International Airport
Through Charlotte’s Export Assistance Center’s Gold Key Service, small business owners are introduced to potential export markets by oversea specialists who, based on the profile of the client’s typical buyer, pre-qualify agents and distributors and set up meetings for the company. By the time the local owners get on the plane in Charlotte, they already know who they are meeting with and, in some cases, have already begun to correspond. Once there, they are provided with an interpreter for meetings.