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Small businesses are often the heartbeat of local economies. But could some of your best customers be waiting overseas? Outside of governments and multinational corporations, international trade was, until recently, a discipline that most small businesses didn't dare attempt. Paperwork, fees, regulations, tariffs, language barriers: keeping a business afloat is hard enough without piling on all of these concerns (and added costs).

But ecommerce and globalization have radically changed the landscape, according to Michael Lee, the director of global marketing for the massive, international B2B ecommerce platform Alibaba.com. He told Small Business Computing that engaging in the international marketplace online "is a good opportunity for small businesses to expand their footprint globally at low or minimal cost."