Opening a business isn’t easy, wherever you choose to do it, however, opening one in a foreign country might seem a little more intimidating than most. Language barriers, different laws, and administrative requirements can make the prospect of taking the plunge more complicated than simply getting started in your own city or taking your business online. However, there are huge upsides to opening a business further afield.
In the age of digital access, quicker transport links, and globalized supply chains, entrepreneurs all over the world are taking advantage of the different market benefits, economic conditions, and incentives available to those willing to try their luck out there.
With a few considerations in advance, making a go of starting a business abroad can be a real possibility, and potentially help you realize your ambitions for a growing business sooner than you think.
Getting Covered
Insuring yourself and your business is obviously a must regardless of location but special attention is worth placing on it if you want to lay roots down somewhere more unknown to you. There’s plenty of planning that needs to be done before you start spending capital and finding premises. That’s why finding professionals to work with as consultants is a great way to manage your expectations.
For example, say you wanted to set up a construction firm in Spain. Your employees are entitled to certain rights and protections, including personal injury coverage. Understanding the risks you’ll need to insure against, and how they relate to Spanish employment laws is a priceless insight to you in this case.
A good starting point would be to locate specialist injury solicitors with good resources on the subject to gain some initial information – sites like McGinley Solicitors have extensive catalogs of information on different types of injury claims.
From there, you can begin to look into hiring consultants who will guide you in ensuring your business is fully compliant and protected against accidents on your premises or to your employees, in line with whatever national laws are in place.
Know Your Audience
The different markets available around the world are a huge advantage to an entrepreneur – if you know who you’re selling to. Market research begins with settling on your business idea. Rather than going in with any preconceived notions of ‘what works’, start by assuming that habits and tastes of consumers can change easily anywhere.
In a similar vein, Insights Association highlights the importance of adapting your research methodology to the local business environment to maximise its usefulness.
A good way to see whether there’s an appetite for your concept, product, or service is to set up a small, contained trial operation for a limited period in the location, or run some ads online targeted at the regional audience.
If you see some activity quickly, you can cautiously begin to expand operations. One notion to avoid is that what works in one country will undoubtedly work in another. Take it one step at a time, as you get to know your customers.
Local Agents
Often, foreign nations will actually require you to hire some form of a local agent if your aim is to incorporate your foreign business into an offshore enterprise. However, the actual benefits to you as an owner can be pretty enticing, as Forbes covers.
If the local agency or localized employees have a strong physical and cultural presence in a region and are well acquainted with the suppliers, authorities, and administrators in the area, your experience is likely to be quite a bit smoother than if you choose to tackle a lot of new processes and systems yourself.
Going back decades, entrepreneurs have been building fantastic companies in foreign countries, enjoying all the benefits alongside that, from lower fees to better weather. It’s a case of doing a little more homework and knowing the risks as they apply to that country, rather than assuming anything beforehand.
You may be surprised how forthcoming some countries are to accommodate new businesses on their shores, so long as you can meet their requirements.
