Your Insider Track to Global Business Success

The boundaries of business transactions have moved past the local and state lines, expanding outward to national and international consumers. Technology and digital connectivity have made it easier for any business to get involved in the global market, although you really need to know what you are doing if you are going to make your venture profitable and minimally stressful.

Develop Your Strategy

Building a business that moves products or services internationally can’t be done overnight. As global business executive Sjamsul Nursalim has discovered, it takes knowing the competition on the market, in addition to the international factors that influence supply, demand, and raw materials. The tire industry, which Nursalim has been able to use to amass his fortune and expansion into other ventures like retail, coal, and property, isn’t the most eye-catching of industries. It did provide a niche, and as a result, Nursalim has become one of the wealthiest individuals in Indonesia and a highly respected global business leader. Your strategy may be to find your own niche, or you can start small by simply surveying the relevant markets, potential competitors, international demand, and supplier potential in countries around the world.

Evaluate Staffing Potential and Challenges

You need to determine your staffing needs before you start selling or shipping any product. There may be specific roles that will need to be filled if you are expanding existing services, but if you are starting from scratch, you will need to evaluate what the job duties and levels of experience will entail. Recruiting and hiring the right staff will be key to your company functioning efficiently. Consider whether you will need individuals that speak more than one language or if you will need an executive director that has international business experience. The importance of global sales or controller experience should be undersold. If you don’t have the experience in this area, you will definitely want someone on your management team that can guide you through the process. You may encounter issues if you hire someone with all of this experience but yet you don’t follow through and expand your company. Your recruiting process and timeline should be carefully evaluated against your potential timeline for becoming an active international operation.

Minimize Staffing Liabilities

Expanding an operation overseas into a specific country may lead you to hire local counterparts in the country where you will be setting up command. Though this could hold potential with overcoming language barriers and navigating local markets, there is a risk that the quality of the effort, the loyalty to the company name and mission, and the honesty of native individuals may not be equivalent to your U.S. based employees. Cutting corners and making mistakes could result in weakened product quality, customs concerns, and potentially jail time for illicit labor management or operational activities. You also have to worry about your current employees and their attitude or interest concerning international expansion. They may have to undergo training in order to learn the ropes of export and import, as well as account for the potential increase in effort that will be needed to sustain demand. You may also need to rely on several of your team members to travel abroad for work, but not everyone wants to leave home and work in a strange country. Start by introducing different international items or topics over time, allowing for feedback or open forums where you can gauge the morale of your team members.

Analyze Regional Potential

There are some locations around the globe where your business may be highly successful and other locations where you have no market potential. You need to spend a lot of time researching the potential markets within specific regions for profitable global expansion. Monitor your areas of interest, keeping track of competitors, consumer trends, and suppliers. Evaluate the currency exchange and how the rate will affect your suppliers and the customers in the region. Use publications like the Wall Street Journal to keep track of global business topics or seminars presented by the Department of Commerce to become more well-versed in the economic issues you may encounter within the region of focus.

Overcome Personal Limitations

Understand how far you can take your business before you jump ahead with your plans. Rely on mentors or partner with other companies to expand your education and potential. You can use social media platforms or professional organizations to connect with people who are successful in your region of focus. Take the time to learn from them. It is much better to be proactive about potential risks, liabilities, and limitations than to spend your time fixing problems and back-tracking.

Through international trade has always been a substantial part of the American economy, it is often assumed that only large corporations, financial services, or key importing and exporting companies can benefit from global business opportunities. However, a great plan and sound business practices can get you started in international expansion.

About the author:

Veselina Dzhingarova has MA in Intercultural communication and translation studies. She is well experienced in internet marketing, SEO and is passionate about blogging to share her expertise. Veselina is a regular contributor at many online publishers like theglobaldispatch.com, thestartupmag.com, marketoracle.co.uk, newswire.net, bizcommunity.com, socialnomics.net and more. She is the co-founder of Financialtipsor.com, cryptoext.com, Blogforweb.com, Techsurprise.com, traveltipsor.com and others.