Ready to Take Your Business Global? Follow These Steps

Now, that doesn't mean things will be easy and the revenue will come easily and quickly. It won't. So, make sure you understand this. 

But it will come eventually and it will have a lasting impact on your business as a whole. You just have to be willing to put in the work and be patient to reap the rewards. We've outlined some key steps you need to take to make your expansion a successful endeavor. 

Benjamin Franklin said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." Those were wise words and ring true even today. 

A big part of planning and preparing for your global expansion requires researching the size, scope and operations of buyers in other countries. 

Before you do anything, you need to ask yourself some important questions about your business and goals. And you have to be prepared to fail - and have a plan for what you'll do if that happens. While you might think doing so is a bit pessimistic and jinxing fate, it isn't. It's making sure you don't get surprised if things don't work out and are able to bounce back and keep the rest of your business running smoothly and growing. 

Deciding the time is right to take your company global can be a great feeling. But that's just a feeling. Now, comes the real work. 

You need to be careful about which country/region you choose to expand to and do as much research, due diligence and competitive benchmarking before you decide where you're going to land. 

Here are some questions you should ask yourself to help you choose:

• Which countries/regions have good access to the specialist talent we'll need to set up and grow our business?
• Is there a serious product gap and high demand/need for our products/services in certain countries? 
• Which countries have a stable economy? What are the country’s macroeconomic indicators such as, GDP, CPI, exchange and interest rates combined with a firm-level analysis?
• Do certain countries/regions have regulations that would make it difficult to build and/or sell our products? 
• How expensive will the logistics be for setting up an office in certain countries/regions? What's the most cost-effective country/region to set up, where there's also a market gap and high product need/interest? 

Perhaps you want to expand slowly. If that's the case, you could pick a country that's geographically close to your own so you don't end up overspending. 

If you're a very hands-on CEO and want to handle as much of the business as possible, but don’t know more than your native language, you'll likely want to pick a country where they speak your native language. Of course, you could also hire local experts and specialists and let them focus on building the new business in that country and focus your efforts elsewhere. 

Now that you’ve narrowed down your list of countries, you need to research the business sector in these areas.

Look specifically at businesses similar to your own. They don’t have to be exactly the same, but the more accurate they are to your own business can help you compare possible success rates. We suggest running a credit check to compare how well they are performing. Check out to our “Using Credit Reports To Protect Your Business” section further into the article to learn how.

You may think that “no one is doing what I’m doing”, but in reality, there will always be a connection somewhere. Look for the similarities and draw the data from there.

This stage can take a lot of time and money as you investigate the businesses' wants, desires, and spending habits. The more accurate you are, the more likely you will understand your new demographic.

When you create this second head to your business, you need to ensure a structure is in place to allow the two heads to speak.

A solution that works in one country may not be helpful in another. Allowing each area to make its own decisions, but still communicate openly with the HQ office will allow each sector to edit and adjust to the new cultures without delay. 

Ensuring open communication will also allow each location of your business to see how they are coping with changes, and learn if their adjustments can be used elsewhere. They can understand how different directions may be needed to overcome obstacles.

Every country has its own legal system, which you need to navigate through. Ideally, you should hire a business lawyer in the country you're planning to expand to. They can teach you about the laws of the country, what taxes you will need to pay and what is considered a legal product.

If you have a large business, it's wise to invest in legal representation to help with any legal considerations or instances that may occur. If you have a small business, then you should hire a lawyer every time a new product or service is introduced.

Just as you should be aware of the legal system inside the business you have chosen, you need to be aware of the government laws too. This includes how much you should pay your employees, the taxes you should be paying, the code of conduct you need to follow, and the country's employee rights.

The best people to talk to, when it comes to business, are the successful business owners in the country you are joining. Talk to these businesses, especially ones that are in your sector, and ask them; how they target their audience, how the months or seasons change their demographic, how pricing matches public opinion, and what to be aware of.

These local champions will have all the experience needed to be successful in their own country, so make sure to talk to them and use their knowledge wisely.

If you already speak the language of the country, then hiring an interpreter may not be needed. That being said, you may still need a cultural interpreter to help you bridge the gap in social knowledge.

Countries like the US, Canada, Australia, the UK and so on all speak English, but they all have their own lexicon and cultural connections which means context, and subtext can become mistranslated.

Hiring an interpreter for a culture barrier rather than a language barrier can also help you create targeted adverts that play with the country's sense of humor. Despite sharing the same language, the cultural differences could create insulting or humorous undertones that you wouldn’t have considered in your own country.

Secondly, if you don’t know the language at all, you should be hiring a translator. Period. It doesn’t matter if you are learning the language, or if your native tongue is spoken as a secondary language, being unable to communicate to the masses will hamper your success.

One of the main reasons why small businesses refuse to go global is due to the complex nature of currency exchange. However, there are many avenues that business owners can go down to reduce the work that comes with currency exchange.

For example, you can set up international billing systems, which can deliver invoices online in multiple different languages and currencies. These SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) systems can include the needed tax changes and fee guides for the country you are working in. 

Finding the one which is best for your company means weighing up your current bank loans and deals, the exchange rates you are working with, and the laws of the country you are entering into.

Use your financial advisor to help you navigate through these waters.

Look at the products and services being sold around the country you are expanding to. What type of language do people use when they discuss this product, what images are normally associated with the product, and what other connections have you noticed between the companies.

Using this knowledge you can make your product seem more local to the area. You can use the same language techniques, colorations, imagery, and overall atmosphere to create a sense of locality.

Using a focus group, you should compare your idea with the people of the area. See if you have hit the mark or missed the essence of the community vibe.

Getting the balance right, you should be able to create a product that feels natural in the country you are expanding to but doesn’t feel like a copy or cheap version of something already existing.

Once you have made a business model, you want to stick to it as much as possible. It is your guide in the sea of uncertainty. However, as you continue active learning and building your business in a new country, you will notice when some aspects of your model aren't working.

Do not ignore this issue. When you find that something isn’t working for you, learn from this mistake or slow progression and adapt. Don’t think that you have to stick to your business model, as theories don’t always become solid practice. 

As we have said time and time again - what works in one location will not work in another. Edit your methods as you go, while keeping your goals in mind. 

Don't sign any and every customer that comes your way - dig into their business credit reports

Given that 20% of new businesses fail, you can't afford to be lax about which customers you choose to work with. Don't just accept any and every customer. That might seem like the best thing to do, especially as you won't have a large number of customers in the new market at the start. But that could end up hurting you in the long-term. 

Always, I repeat, always do your own due diligence on potential customers. Run a business credit check to see how they're paying their bills, how many days beyond terms (DBT) late payments are and what level of risk they pose to your business. You don't want to end up signing a multi-year contract with a customer that's in the process of filing for bankruptcy, do you? 

Along with credit checks, you also need to run compliance checks on any potential customers. This will prove incredibly valuable as it will show you if a potential customer comes up on any global adverse media, PEP (politically exposed persons) profiles, sanctions lists and enforcement databases. If you end up working with Politically Exposed Persons or companies that have been sanctioned unknowingly, you could find your business being fined, which could halt any further international expansion. 

You also need to consider reputational risk. Many countries around the world have different working conditions and methods, some of which are frowned upon within the US. Would working with companies that employ such tactics affect your brand reputation at home if your customers were to discover this?

Create a paper trail for auditing purposes

When you make a deal with businesses, money will be exchanged. If a business is indebted to you, then they should pay you back within the agreed time frame. However, it can be easy to lose this agreement if you don’t create a paper trail.

To make sure payments are paid back in full and on time, create a paper trail of every deal you've created. This way, you can demand action from the country's financial schemes and protection, if the business doesn’t pay up.

This is where it can be helpful to review international credit reports. Not only will you get a clear picture of their international credit score and credit limit, you'll also be able to see how well they pay their bills and how many days beyond terms (DBT) their payments are. This information is a goldmine and can help you manage your cash flow better, prioritize debt collections and make more informed decisions on which customers to work with (and which to terminate relationships with).