Things to Think Before Taking Your Business International

To expand or not to expand your business globally, that is the question. What a Shakespearean dilemma on your hands. Indeed, even the smallest of businesses can now operate on a global level, thanks to all the technological advancements. But that’s not the dilemma. The bigger problem is whether or not it would pay off and if it’s a good choice for your business.

Taking any business internationally comes with a great many struggles and things that you should consider. If you think that it’s time to go overseas, make sure you consider these 7 things first.

Be sure you can afford it

Taking your business across borders won’t be easy and it certainly won’t be cheap. When you put everything on paper you’ll realize that the most money will go on shipping overseas. Things such as hiring a freight forwarding company, getting overseas shipping insurance, credit extension, and so on, all need to be taken into consideration.

Once you put everything on paper, you’ll be able to see if you would benefit from expanding internationally, or you’ll be left with a ton of issues.

Culture and cultural differences

Before taking any steps toward expanding your business internationally, you need to consider cultural differences. Your international success depends mostly on how well your product can meet the desires and expectations of the local market. As well as if there is a need for such a product or service that you’re offering.

This is why you need to have a good, deep understanding of the values of the local community. You need to make a good plan and try to stick to it to overcome cultural barriers. Take enough time to investigate and study the foreign venue. Your first step must be understating the culture and all the differences.

Consider the market

The greatest mistake that you can make is to take your whole business overseas at once. That’s a sure way to fail. Instead, you should run a test run first to discover whether or not there is a place and demand for your product on that certain target market.

If a country already successfully produces a product, it won’t want to import it. This is another reason why you need to study and test the market before taking your business internationally.

First, you need to investigate the products available on your target market, are there any similar products, and at what price are they sold, does your product have what it takes to meet the needs of the target market? Only after you’ve thoroughly done this, can you plan to go international.

Comply with foreign policies and norms

Every country has different laws, norms, and regulations. If you want your business to successfully operate abroad, you’ll need to comply with local laws and policies. For this step, we suggest hiring a lawyer or seeking legal help. 

In addition to seeking legal help, make sure your product is market-ready. This implies checking and testing the quality of the product based on foreign rules and regulations, understanding tax-related norms, ensuring intellectual and property rights, import and export regulations amongst other things.

Customs and border operations

Transportation of goods is a complex and long process that requires a lot of knowledge and experience. When sending goods internationally, you need to know how the customs and borders operate. This implies knowing how to properly pack your products, how to fill forms and other similar operations. 

Thankfully, many different freight forwarding companies offer services to help you export and import goods internationally. A good freight forwarder will advise you on which routes are best for international shipping, they can safely and efficiently arrange transport details for air, road, sea, or rail freight, and ensure that your goods are in good hands.

Be prepared for international customers

Consumers differ from country to country, which means that you and your employees need to be ready to deal with them accordingly. Your team and you will need to be prepared to differently approach foreign customers always keeping in mind the cultural gap, also remember that you can use different keywords for the same product in different countries. 

Be ready to hire people who speak different languages to be able to place your product on a target market. They can also help you with customer services and support. Different time zones should also be taken into consideration and your team should be aware of it.

The foreign government also factors in

If you are planning to do business in a foreign country, local government and its authority will play a big role in this. Doing business in a country whose government is stable will help you do your business successfully. This implies that the government should respect the contract, trademark, and intellectual property, ensure employer rights and safety, give you access to need resources and materials, and so on. 

This all means that before taking any steps to expand your business internationally, you’ll need to seek advice on the local political and business situation of your target country.

Taking your business overseas is not at all simple or easy. It’s full of challenges and adversity. To overcome all those struggles, you’ll need to analyze, study and plan a lot before taking any steps towards global expansion. All that is not impossible, it just requires patience and perseverance.