Export expert exhorts exporters

Exporting goods overseas is one of the few areas of the U.S. economy that's doing well, but few do it right.

“The U.S. is a miserable exporter of our goods,” says Tarik Ayasun, president of Taray International, a Marco Island-based company that exports tires and retreading equipment all over the world.

The key to successful exporting is to meet and get to know the people you're going to do business with. That's because you can't rely on bureaucrats and others to ensure you get paid, Ayasun told a group of manufacturing executives in Fort Myers recently.