You don't have to be a Fortune 500 company to export your products, you just need quality goods, a healthy dose of ambition and the confidence to take your company out of Utah and into the global marketplace.
It's like Frank Sinatra sings in "New York, New York" - "If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere!"Juliette Fassett agrees with that thinking, only she's changing the name of the tune to "Japan, Japan."
Fassett is head of international accounts at Salt Lake-based Chisco, a sports accessories manufacturing company launched two years ago by Beirne and Gregg Chisolm, two brothers who had an idea for a new kind of watchband after they kept losing their watches while surfing off the coast of Maui.
Like entrepreneurs before them, the Chisolms, University of Utah graduates from Rye, N.Y., thought their little company would be a part-time affair, leaving plenty of time for the good life - surfing, skiing and the like. It didn't work out that way.
"The company has gotten bigger than they expected," said Fassett. The Band, the forthright name they gave their watchband, spawned a variety of other accessories and the company now has some 2,000 retail accounts across the U.S. and distributors in a half-dozen foreign countries.
Chisco's story isn't unique. There are a lot of small, start-up companies holding their own in Utah and, thanks to "The Greatest Snow On Earth," a number of them are involved in sporting goods.
On the theory that they would find strength in unity, a group of these companies - now 23 strong - banded together last year into the Utah Sports Manufacturers and Distributors Association and next month, Fassett and Sheri Johnson of Salt Lake-based ski manufacturer Tsunami Soft Goods will take the products of nine association members to Japan for the JETRO (Japan External Trade Organization) trade show.
Typical of the companies Fassett and Johnson will be representing at the show is Christine's Handcrafted Knitwear. Christine Young, one of the founders of the Utah association, operates the company out of her home, where she creates original designs that are then manufactured by 25 independent contractors - women who also work at home on their looms and sewing machines.
Young understands that her products will have plenty of competition in Japan, but she says American goods have a strong status appeal among the Japanese.
Fassett, who has spent a year and a half in Japan and speaks enough of the language to "get by," agrees. "In the U.S., you don't point to your TV set and brag that it's a Sony, but over there (Japan) they will proudly let you know that something they own is American. It's a new generation in Japan, and it's a great time for us to get involved there."
Fassett said the inspiration for the association to take its products to Japan came from Muneharu Miyazake, Utah's Tokyo-based trade representative, who told the group the JETRO show was the perfect opportunity for them to take a crack at the Japanese market.
"I'm hoping to make contacts that will lead to business agreements," said Fassett. "We'll see what happens, but I think our chances are good." She said Tokyo stores often have sections where they feature U.S. goods. Even prosaic consumer products like Cheer and Dove soap and Comet cleanser are more popular than their Japanese counterparts, she said. "It's a good opportunity for us."
The companies that will be represented by the association at JETRO include Chisco, Christine's, Tsunami, Alf Wear, Chums, Lone Peak, Wave Products and Evolution Ski Co.
"In our business, people really work together," said Fassett. "We are all in the same market, but we help each other out. We share information on distributors and the countries we're working with. I think we all realize that there is so much business out there that we don't need to compete with each other. Everyone's struggling to succeed."
At least the local companies are. The association also has some large, established members, such as Kastle, a European ski manufacturer that distributes its products out of Salt Lake City.
"We're lucky to have some big companies to help us," she notes.
Can two young women make it in Japan, where the business culture remains highly male dominated? Fas-sett understands the problem but believes she can overcome it.
"It's a little difficult for a woman over there, but if you conduct yourself in an appropriate manner it's OK. American women are considered very strong by Japanese men. I taught classes in English at Honda and Mitsubishi and got along fine."