There are the following approaches to identify and choose partners for foreign markets:

a) to find domestic buyers who then export your product. In this case partners are domestic one and your selling approach to them is like you would sell  somebody in local market. You will filling orders from domestic buyer and he/she then will export it even you don´t know whether it will be successfully exported. This your partner has decided that your product meets foreign demand. He/she takes all the risk and handels all exporting activities.  Advantage of this approach is that it doesn´t ask any your knowledge about doing business in abroad and due to that is simple for you.  However, disadvantage is that you, as original seller and producer, are not aware what is going on with your product. Usually, if original seller (yourself) learns about his/her product success in selling abroad starts to think about the other approach to find partners for selling in abroad that would alow him to be better recognized and participate more on sharing export margin. 

There are different ways how to find partners and make contacts for arts and crafts. You can consider some of them listed below either as single one or in combination:  

• Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) – the world´s largest support network for small and medium sized business (SME) with international ambitions. Network  was established by European Commision with aim to provide support through local experts. It has 3000 experts across 600 member organsations in more than 60 countries. Member organisations include chambers of commerce and industry, technology centres and research institutes. EEN  provides international business expertise with local knowledge across a range of targeted services:

a) Partnership

b) Advisory 

The Network also offers specialised industry expertise across 17 sectors. 

• Partnership services

The Network manages Europe’s largest database of business opportunities. With the profiles in the database, Network experts can help businesses forge international partnerships with excellent growth potential. The database is updated every day, offers thousands of company profiles.

After preparing and submitting your own profile, you can join the database and receive regular updates about companies interested in working with you. The network can then connect you with selected parties and help you to broker a partnership.

The Network organizes 70,000 international business meetings every year and hosts matchmaking events throughout Europe, where you can meet potential business partners, on a confidential one-to-one basis if required. Many of these events take place at international fairs which means you can keep travel and accommodation costs down. These events can be divided into two separate formats with different purposes:

• Matchmaking and brokerage events where SMEs can meet potential business partners

o Fast and effective matchmaking event at international conferences and trade fairs

• Company missions for targeted international meetings with strong business prospects

o Tailor-made trade missions lead to successful partnerships thanks to thorough preparation. Local knowledge and expert guidance

? Advisory services

Network experts provide advice on market opportunities to help small businesses (craftsmen included) expand internationally. The network thanks to its local insight and various associated partners can cut through the complexities of international expansion by providing practical advice, targeted market intelligence and personalised support. These information are provided either through educational events and workshops or on an individual basis based on an assessment of the clients needs via individual consultations. 

Advisory services include:

• Practical advice on doing business in another country

• Targeted market intelligence

• Information on EU laws and standards

• Advice on intellectual property

How to use these services: in order you are interested to make use of the partnership or advisory services provided by Enterprise Europe Network you can do so in your native language by contacting your local Network office. List of all Enterprise Europe Network members can be found under: http://een.ec.europa.eu/. 

Important notice: all Enterprise Europe Network services are provided free of charge

• State and local government assistance. States provide an array of services to help to find partners both through agencies supporting small business (e.g. Slovak business agency in Slovakia - add the name of your agencies supporting SME´s), and  commercial sections of  ambassies of the ministries of foreign affairs. These sections can be contacted through ministries of foreign affairs.

• Assistance from national chambers of commerce, International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), World Chambers Federation (WCF) and arts and crafts national and international organizations.  National chambers of commerce used to have their units or projects that are involved into active support to find international partners for SME. As local business support agencies, chambers of commerce connect ICC to small- and medium-sized companies and promote the important role they play in the global economy. WCF recognizes the valuable contribution of SMEs and helps them to face the challenges and opportunities of globalization. Arts and crafts national and international organizations used to present itself at webpages and inform about projects that support international business.

• Advertisement in periodicals , webpages; participation in catalog and video/catalog exhibitions, at trade fairs focused on arts and crafts etc. These means of product presentations can belonged to the cheapest ways of spreading message on your product if they are  supported by government or  governmental that have mission to support internationalisation of arts and crafts.

• Pursue Trade Leads.  Trade leads are very important in identifying potential customers in abroad. They are most often  accessed via Internet and offer an inexpensive way to establish vital links with buyers in target markets. There are a few portals that are a good source of information on leads around the world.  

It is important to qualify  potential partners by reputation and financial position with aim  to check them before entering into any agreements.

Once you locate a potential foreign partner  the next step is to qualify them by reputation and financial position.  

• First, obtain as much information as possible from partner itself. If you are O.K. with background information both from reputational and business points of view than you should try to get some credit information to check financial position of the company. 

• There are different sources of information that could support you in decision making process.  As far as financial position of your partner is you should  go either  through public credit information, social security or health insurance public data on past due clients in countries you are familiar from language point of view. You can also go to your  bank and ask for banking information on your partners through correspondent banking contacts.  For countries you are less familiar with you can obtain reports on due dilligence of foreign companies. 

• To be sure that you don´t miss any important piece of information you should use some publicly available check list/questionnaire that you can adjust to sector specifics of your product and further needs.