The tabloid headline, “Penniless Mom Strikes It Rich,” summed up the story of Rosie Herman of Houston, Texas, and the million-dollar nail and hand care business she created from everyday ingredients in her kitchen.

The company

Herman had been a salon owner and manicurist for 15 years when expensive fertility treatments put her into debt. She gave birth to twin girls, and at that point her goal was to be a stay-at-home mom. That phase didn’t last long, and Herman was soon in her kitchen mixing natural ingredients into lotions to fix what she calls “lizard skin”—hands cracked and bleeding from too much cooking, cleaning, and care giving. She calls the recipe “a little bit of this and a little bit of that.” But would the potion stop the bleeding from the family balance sheet?

Herman sold the mixture, which includes grapefruit, peppermint, spearmint, avocado, rosemary, and apricot, to some local salons, and soon they were clamoring for more. Her husband renamed the product the One Minute Manicure, which made marketing easier.

Business took a leap when Herman gave a manicure to Oprah Winfrey on The Oprah Winfrey Show and was featured in People Magazine and a tabloid as the former “penniless mom.” The Oprah Winfrey Show is syndicated worldwide, and Herman is now getting e-mail inquiries and orders from Australia and the Netherlands. Celebrities Billy Joel and Jenna Elfman also provided endorsements.

The challenge

Herman realized she had a product for which there was interest beyond the United States. But her company, named for her husband Mykytyn Enterprises Inc., was a small family startup business. She wondered how she would navigate the world of commerce. The world is awash in beauty products. How would Herman’s stand out?

The solution

With the help of her sister-in-law, who engaged in international marketing, and the U.S. Commercial Service, Herman lined up distributors outside the country. International sales were a priority from the start because they offered faster growth and greater efficiencies. In just a few years, Herman has formed an international network of 200 distributors and has plans to supply some retailers with product directly.

International sales for the company, with its 12 full-time employees plus production staff, are about 20 percent of total earnings, and Herman wants them to account for 40 percent in two years. “I’ve developed a product that does not require a lot of modification because of consumer or cultural differences,” she says. “Looking and feeling good is a universal desire.”

Herman holds up an e-mail from her distributor in France, who tells her, “You are seducing the French, which is not an easy task.” Herman and her products are apparently seducing more than the French; sales are also good in Belgium, Mexico, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. A distributor in Peru has just placed an order for $10,000, and South Korea has welcomed the product. According to Herman’s international sales manager, sister-in-law Margie Mykytyn, China will be next.

Hasn’t all this success created envy and knockoffs around the world? “Yes,” says Herman. At one point, there were 50 different variations of the One Minute Manicure, some with remarkably similar packaging and branding. But none provided much competition for Herman’s product. Certainly none were as good, Herman explains. Only a handful remain—and they probably won’t survive.

Herman continues to work with the U.S. Commercial Service and its Export Assistance Center in Houston. In addition to finding distributors, the Commercial Service trade specialists provide background checks on prospective buyers, many of whom are coming to Herman’s company through her Web site. A buyer in India ordered $400,000 worth of product. But a Commercial Service trade specialist ran a background check and discovered that all the information provided, including the bank account numbers, was phony.

Does this mean exporting is too risky? “Not at all,” explains Herman. “You just have to do your homework and make use of the government export assistance programs that are available.”

“After I was on the Oprah show,” she recalls, “I received hundreds of e-mails from women wanting to start or expand their own businesses. I told them to think globally and contact the U.S. Commercial Service for help getting there.”

Lessons learned

Herman follows the Three P’s: passion, perseverance, and patience. In other words,

•     Follow your dream.

•     Don’t accept “no” for an answer.

•    Be patient and tackle one problem at a time.

She adds that you should always ask for assistance and advice when engaging in international business.

Action

How can you take your small business global? Here are some tips:

Conduct market research. Good market research can help you determine which markets are right for your product. For a complete listing of the market research that the Commercial Service offers, visit www.export.gov/mrktresearch. The Commercial Service can also help you find international buyers with the International Partner Search and the Gold Key Service. 

Know your customer. Perhaps you have already started receiving orders on your Web site. The Commercial Service can conduct background checks to make sure that buyers are reputable. For a description of the International Company Profile, see Chapter 6 in the forthcoming book A Basic Guide to Exporting, to be published in January. See Chapter 11 for tips on creating an effective Web site with an overseas audience in mind.

Get counseling. Small companies may find it daunting to enter the international marketplace. In addition to the U.S. Commercial Service, the Small Business Administration (SBA) provides a range of export assistance to small businesses, particularly those new to exporting. Counseling is provided at no cost. To learn more about the SBA, visit www.sba.gov. wt

Sidebar: Trading With the EU

The United States and the European Union, with its 27 Member States, enjoy a mature economic relationship that is characterized by massive two-way trade and an extensive investment relationship.

While the EU has suffered from global economic growth in recent years, last year was characterized by a 2.7 percent expansion in GDP and a strong euro.

On the trade front, U.S. exporters enjoy access to a ‘single market’ that offers similar customs procedures, intellectual property rights protections, low corruption, and advanced transportation and logistics infrastructure. Nonetheless, there are still differences from country to country and several non-tariff barriers exist, such as EU restrictions on genetically modified organisms, biotechnology, different approaches to transparency in regulatory procedures, and different approaches to the role of standards and their development.

In addition, U.S. exporters who are selling products over the Internet should be advised that in July 2003, the EU started applying Value Added Tax (VAT) to sales by non-EU based companies of Electronically Supplied Services (ESS) to EU-based non-business customers. American companies that are affected by the rule change must collect and submit VAT to EU tax authorities. Details of the VAT can be found in the European Council Directive 2002/38/EC.

Several recent developments in the EU are important to U.S. exporters:

• Enlargement in January 2007 added two new Member States (Romania and Bulgaria).

•    An increase in the size of the Eurozone (with the addition of Slovenia) brings the total to 13 countries using the currency. Businesses face lower business transaction costs and more transparent pricing throughout the euro area compared to the challenges and costs of dealing in multiple currencies prior to the euro’s introduction.

•     Renewal of the Energy Star Agreement promotes the use of energy-efficient office equipment.

•    The US-EU Economic Initiative is advancing regulatory and standards cooperation; open and competitive capital markets; innovation and the development of technology; trade, travel and security; energy efficiency; protection of intellectual property rights; investment; competition policy and enforcement; procurement; and services.