This week, we will review trade finance programs available to assist U.S. exporters, and decrease the risks associated with exporting.

Over the next week we'll look at:

Ex-Im Bank

The Small Business Administration

The Overseas Private Investment Corporation

Foreign Agricultural Service

The Grateful Dead broke almost every rule in the music industry book. By cultivating a dedicated, active community and giving away "freemium" content, the Dead pioneered many of the social media and inbound marketing concepts that are successfully used by businesses across all industries today.

The Import/Export Kit for Dummies covers the basics of importing and exporting and provides guidance for selecting the right products. There is also useful information on finding customers, negotiating, and finalizing an international transaction.

Learn about A Basic Guide to Exporting, a comprehensive how-to resource that covers nuts-and-bolts information you need to meet the challenges of the global economy.

Get a digital copy of this book for free at: export.gov/basicguide

Hear from Laurel Delaney, author of the excellent book on global business, Exporting: The Definitive Guide to Selling Abroad Profitably

Get more global business advice from Laurel Delaney on The Global Small Business Blog and get the book on Amazon

We now return to our regularly scheduled broadcast. Come learn about some of the best books we've found to help your business grow globally, and come back in the following days to find out more about each of these books.

In our series finale to inspire you to vote for us in Comcast's I4E contest, we push the boundaries of what can be conveyed through a Tweet, and Tweet-sized mediums. Enjoy our Tweet put to music; conveyed by a Dolphin; and as modern art.

The contest allows one vote per person per day, so just go to business.comcast.com/i4e/vote and vote for ThinkGlobal by using the pull down menu under the heading "Best Improved Customer Experience." Thanks for your support!

We're stepping up our promotion for the Comcast I4E Grand Prize, with a special broadcast from New York's Times Square.

The contest allows one vote per person per day, so just go to business.comcast.com/i4e/vote and vote for ThinkGlobal by using the pull down menu under the heading "Best Improved Customer Experience." Thanks for your support!

Here we attempt to properly recognize the value of the regional award we've already been given in Comcast's Innovations 4 Entrepreneurs contest.

Of course we still need your help, and votes, as we hope to win the Grand Prize. The contest allows one vote per person per day, so just go to business.comcast.com/i4e/vote and vote for ThinkGlobal by using the pull down menu under the heading "Best Improved Customer Experience." Thanks for your support!

Help ThinkGlobal in our quest for the Grand Prize in the Comcast Innovations 4 Entrepreneurs contest. We have already been named a Regional Winner, but now it's up to the public to help select the six finalists. One vote, per person, per day.

Just go to business.comcast.com/i4e/vote and vote for ThinkGlobal by using the pull down menu under the heading "Best Improved Customer Experience." Thanks for your support!