Category: Starting Up

Global expansion used to be a strategic move that entailed the alignment of various pieces — working with local partners, market testing, product testing, contracting with suppliers, outsourcing, etc. At the very least, it was a major goal to reach in the pursuit of total brand domination.

In other words, there was a certain kind of maturity one’s business would have to attain in order to then turn one’s sights upon international markets.

Not so in the digital age. In our digital landscape, international business expansion is not a ‘someday’ milestone but a ‘right now’ reality. Thanks to the sheer reach of digital marketing, businesses are able to break global barriers in a single bound.

With online entrepreneurship, it’s easier than ever to test products, find the right buyers and audience and sell internationally — all at scale.

And if you’re in a smaller country (such as Ireland), your chances at success are even better: According to research by Atomico, European entrepreneurs are scaling globally in ‘record time’ and startups from countries with less than 50 million go international twice as fast as those from countries with more than 50 million.

But, Atomico reports, timing still matters: 89% of companies go global first, before hitting their first billion in valuation, compared to the 11% who expand globally.

So: Could global expansion actually be the key to billion-dollar growth? And how can you map out your startup’s international business expansion plan so that you’re part of the 89%?

We breakdown what you’ll need to do to expand your business and choose the right market for your needs.

5 Key Steps to expanding your business internationally

Expanding your startup’s operation is a multi-step process that requires a step-by-step undertaking. Here are five key steps to beginning that journey towards expansion.

1) Start by Building Relationships with Influencers in Foreign Markets

In today’s digital environment, the first thing you’ll need to start doing is looking for and then building relationships with influencers already in the market you’re looking to take over. It’s not only for social media presence and brand awareness.

Building relationships with influencers can be a valuable source of ideas at a critical stage of growth. Connecting with and rolling out the product through influencers helps you test audience readiness and actually use the feedback to build a better, smarter product.

2) Perform Baseline Assessment of your Capital

What is the business’s financial state right now and what are the legal requirements and tax compliance issues that are already present in the country (or markets) you’re planning to expand into?

Setting up a long-term financial plan is one of the big keys to being expansion-ready. You’ll need to consider where you’ll be getting the capital for your initial investment since you can’t always expect to turn a profit right away. As time-consuming as it is to get into the overseas market, that’s how costly and tricky it is to ‘get out’. So make sure to do your due diligence — on yourself!

3) Understand the Culture

It’s astounding how much culture makes a difference in product choice, marketing, consumer preferences — in short, whether your product is going to sell or not. When entering foreign markets, there are a whole score of marketing and branding decisions you’ll have to make when positioning your product.

For example, what may be considered comical in the United States may be considered an unpolluted affront or an insult, at worst, in Japanese culture.

And it doesn’t stop at your product  — if you’re planning to have on-the-ground operations, hiring locally, you’ll need to consider the differences in your workplace culture, your employees’ expectations and the work-life balance that each country implicitly has.

4) Establish a Local Team

Yes, you’re a startup and being lean is your thing. But without on-the-ground guidance and advice, it’s hard to launch successfully. Take it from the pros: global companies first use a local team, with local knowledge and expertise, to hit the ground running, validate their ‘Minimum Viable Product’ and then continue to put together the senior management team.

5) Ask the Right Product-Focused Questions

One of the key aspects of your expansion should be (and will be!) product focused.

You’ll need to review government and industry regulations of the country you’re expanding into. You’ll also need to focus on localization of product, with particular attention to the translation (think cultural gaps!).

Next, you’ll need to initiate a patent and trademark review, before moving into testing and quality assurance. And, finally, consider distribution: How will you be getting your product into the hands of willing customers?

How to Choose the Right Market/Country for my Startup

You’ve got the right strategy — but do you have the right business climate? Every country provides its own attractive perks for different formats of business. Some companies choose a country specifically for their manpower while others choose an area for their labor and real estate costs.

Austin, Texas

Yes, Austin, Texas is first up on our list — and it’s not just the weather.

Texas has very favorable conditions for business and its labor participation rate has been steadily increasing at a very healthy rate. The business tax, known as franchise tax in Texas, is just one percent of the taxable margins. Moreover, from 2011 to2014, Austin’s gross metropolitan product rose 18.2%.

You’ll also be in great company: Not only was Austin named the number one place in America to start a business, global companies including Apple, Hewlett-Packard, Google, Facebook,  and Intel already have a presence in the area.

Dublin, Ireland

Ireland’s competitive tax rate of 12.5% may be precisely why Google established an arm of their business in the country, especially when compared to other EU country capitals.

The country’s taxes are on a territorial basis which means that companies that choose Ireland to expand into pay the local rate on profits generated in foreign subsidiaries. It’s all poised to make the climate attractive to foreign investment.

Another draw for startup businesses looking to expand will also likely be the population: employees are likely to be an average of 34 years, as Ireland has the youngest population in the EU.

This is precisely why Ireland is so attractive to technology and SaaS companies. A young and educated, tech-savvy workforce of digital natives has already managed to attract tech behemoths like Google, Facebook, and several smaller startups and tech agencies. It’s the Silicon Docks and we’re just expanding into it.

There is definitely a formula and a strategy involved with even startup level expansion. It takes time, careful planning, due diligence, testing and strong, overseas partnerships. You’ll need to make sure you’re doing constant vetting and that you have the appropriate marketing partners alongside you as you roll out your launch. However, this multi-step approach will allow you to undertake growth sustainably but rise just as quickly.

Ready to grow pro?

An exciting business idea makes you want to get up and get moving right away but directing that energy in the wrong direction or doing too much too fast could ultimately lead to failure. Before you start selling products or services, you need to follow a few steps to ensure legality and safety in the business world.

Create a Business Plan

If you hope to take out a business loan or find investors, you’ll need a business plan. Even if you can fully fund your new endeavor yourself, a plan will help you to stay on track and ensure you’re reaching your financial goals and production schedules. You can make either a traditional business plan or a lean startup plan, but keep in mind that investors may ask for more information if you present them with the latter.

•         Traditional Plan: A traditional plan is best for requesting financing. Although you can mix and match sections to get exactly what you need, it typically includes an executive summary, a description of the company, a market analysis, organization and management information, information about the service or product, marketing and sales information, and a request for funding.
•         Lean Startup Plan: This plan is best if you want to get started quickly or have a relatively simple idea. The most common type of lean plan is a business model canvas, which usually includes key partnerships, activities, and resources, customer relationships and segments, a value proposition, cost structure, and revenue streams.

Go Through the Legal Process

The earlier you get the legal aspects of your business out of the way, the easier it will be for you to start selling your product or service. You’ll need to trademark your company name as well as handle any relevant patents or copyrights. You must also decide on a business structure, such as a corporation or partnership, and file for federal tax identification numbers.

Registering your business and obtaining a company bank account is important for being viewed as reputable. Don’t forget that you may need a license and permits to operate if you intend to run a specific kind of company. Examples include those dealing with firearms, tobacco, or alcohol. If you are unsure of the legalities of your company, it is best to consult a business lawyer.

Purchase Business Insurance

Before you start operating, you need to find the best business insurance. At the very least, you should have professional liability insurance, which will protect you and your company if someone is injured due to your product or service. If you have a business property, you’ll want to get a policy for it as well. Other types of insurance include product liability insurance, vehicle insurance, and if you have employees, a workers’ compensation policy.

In addition to these traditional policies, many people overlook two very important policies: home business insurance and business interruption coverage. If you plan to operate your business from your home, your homeowner’s policy will not cover your company’s inventory or equipment, so be sure to purchase a separate policy. Additionally, business interruption coverage ensures you can still pay your bills if a disaster occurs that keeps your company from operating normally, such as if there were a fire or flood.

Do a Test Run

Nobody wants to spend a million dollars to get a company off the ground only for it to be a flop. Before you spend a large amount of money, do a small test run. This type of market research allows you to create your product or provide your service on a smaller scale, gain feedback from customers, and then make your company even better before you broaden your market.

Regardless of the type of business you run, vet the people you work with. From your partners and investors to your employees and insurance agents, your company is only as good as the people you have on your team. Create an excellent team and you’re more likely to have a successful company.

Kelly Hoppen- one of the most recognizable business women, an author and a celebrity interior designer is on a mission to empower young entrepreneurs who look forward to the beginning of a successful home improvement business. She has been a potential investor on BBC’s Den Dragon as well.

Her style is simply a fusion of East meets west. As she also won Britain’s Top Real Role Model Campaign in 2015, so Sandra Funk caught up with her to guide people about running their startups successfully; and here’s what the irrepressible lady revealed…

Be tenacious at all the times:

“Becoming an entrepreneur is pretty rewarding. Seeing your ideas becoming a commercial venture is an achievement beyond explanation. But sometimes, our ideas are the lifeblood of the business which fails along the way; because other people in our community do not share the same beliefs and vision.” She points.

Being tenacious is your real achievement, and especially for me, it is the difference between having an amazing idea, and turning that idea into reality.”

She advised, “If you are struggling to launch your own home improvement business, you need to carry a detailed research. It will help you minimize the risks and costs of setting up your company. The fact is, a potential entrepreneur will never go ahead to invest his money if he knows nothing about it.”

The key to success is; knowing your customer

She also focused on knowing customer needs, which is the center of every business’s success. Once you have the knowledge about what your customer needs, it’s easy to persuade him that buying from your company is in their best interest. Spend some time in grassroot marketing, and go out to talk with the customers before setting up your business and never forget to solicit their feedback.

While doing your research for a business, make sure you analyze the competition, because there are many entrepreneurs who think that they do not have a strong competitor, but that’s not true. You will find a lot of direct & indirect competitors in your entrepreneurial journey.

An Effective Teamwork- A Secret to Success!

We always heard a successful business owner say, “It wasn’t possible without the support of my partners and team members.” If you want to learn and grow, you need to get inspiration from your business community. Even if you are a boss, there is still a plenty of room for improvement.

She also focused on a point that, nobody appreciates negative criticism, but she always recommends young entrepreneurs to implement a 360- degree feedback system for your own benefits. By doing this, you will be able to find out the strengths and weaknesses of your team and you can perform a regular analysis to spot long term issues.

Furthermore she also suggests that there might be a possibility that you end up hiring a wrong candidate which may trigger a series of fatal consequences. You spend your time training him and then wind up choosing another person which may cost your startup a lot of money.  But looking for a passionprenuer can be a good choice as they are fearless, create actionable plans, and they keep learning and growing (which smartly benefits your company).

Want to unlock your potential? Find Yourself a Mentor

Be open to learning. Let me get straight to the point, if you are lucky enough to find a good mentor, he will help you overcome myriad challenges and obstacles to make your dreams a reality. I will strongly recommend the role of a mentor to fast-track your career’s success. To be encouraged by someone else’s success, you need to choose the right direction to go the extra mile with your business. Observing how a mentor works and behaves will help you gain smart insights to make adjustments to your management style. Learn, observe, and watch that you will have to do it yourself eventually; because we all know great things never came from comfort zones.

 

 

Discover funding alternatives:                          

According to another rising entrepreneur Usman Khan who recently launched home improvement startup Renovaten, shared his opinion, “Money always matter for a startup, especially when you have to cover expenses without breaking your banks. Whether you are managing finance through a bank, credit card, friends or family, be careful.”

Kelly also emphasized on a point that, being stupid with your own money is just one thing. But when you are managing finance from members of the family, then treat it like someone else’s money. It’s similar to getting a loan from a bank. If you are not in a position to meet the timeline, it’s time to make a big decision, and one of which is to quit.

There are a lot of barriers that might come to your road of success, for instance, lack of enough money, proficient business knowledge, confidence, and people stopping you to take a leap and set up your own business. But the true key to success and happiness is overcoming those barriers effectively.

In the end, she motivated young entrepreneurs by her own example.

She says, “I have struggled with dyslexia and bullying all my life. But I didn’t let that define me as a person. We all have different things and fears to overcome, but it’s important to overcome those things for your business and career.”

Purpose- Not Just Profit!                                   

Setting up your own business is a great adventure, but basic purpose should not only be to get financial independence, but to also getting recognition, self-discovery and learning to overcome the challenges. So it’s time to embrace the challenges and see the rewards it offers.

Good luck with your startup!

Author Bio:

Ambreen Sajjad is a technical content writer and working for Renovaten. She has a passion for helping people in all aspects of Digital marketing, Call center industry and home improvement etc. In addition to writing for different high profile blogs, she also provides SEO training and consultancy to fresh graduates who are looking to boost their career.

So you have a lucrative idea, one that you absolutely need to share – where do you begin? Starting a new business is really exciting, but just like a business that’s already thriving, it demands a lot of attention. Here are three key areas to focus on as you think more seriously about making your dream a reality.

1. Draft a plan. 

You can mitigate a lot of confusion by slowing down and dedicating time and energy to your business plan. However, this doesn’t mean that your business plan needs to be very long. The best plans say a lot with relatively few words.

Wondering where to start with a business plan? It’s a good idea to begin with a brainstorming session concerning your audience. Who are they, and what do they want to hear from you? What can you say about your business that will get their attention?

This isn’t as daunting as it sounds. Do you feel unqualified to write this plan,  like it’s outside of your wheelhouse? The secret is, most new business owners feel that way. Keep your eye on wowing the audience, and you’ll be okay. 

2. Find the money. 

Most small business owners also don’t have enough money to get going on their own. How they end up financing their new business varies. The good news here is that in these times, many banks, lenders and the like are usually glad to see what they can do to help. It’s very common to get a loan, such as the small business-focused loans found at Unsecured Finance Australia.

Getting a loan is a good option if you’d like to avoid subtracting from what you already have. Some decide to take out a loan against their homes, to sell off assets, or take money out of their savings and retirement.

Others discuss bringing friends and family in to invest. This is another good reason to have the plan finished first; you can present it to potential investors and be taken more seriously. Speaking of serious, just because you know your investors, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t draw up a formal agreement. 

3. Make sure you’re legit. 

When you get going, there will be no shortage of red tape to cut through on your way to opening day. Start thinking about how you’re going to accomplish this now. First, you’ll need to register your business formally and obtain a business license.

You’ll also need to decide where your business will operate from. Are you leasing a space? Have thorough discussions with your potential new landlord, and read that lease very carefully – there may be surprises in there.

And don’t forget insurance! Your business could barely be off the ground before an unfortunate event finds you mired in claims and legal proceedings. Insurance can help insulate you.

With any successful project, initial planning can greatly improve your chances of a successful outcome. Start your business plan today, brainstorm the best ways to fund it, and get used to paperwork. By this time next year, your life could look totally different. Whether or not that’s a good thing depends on how much care you put into getting started.