When you’re an up-and-coming business, one of the most important lessons people will keep trying to make you learn is keeping it simple. It’s a good lesson to learn, as well – you’re not going to be making billions overnight. Therefore you cannot afford to be everywhere at once, nor to hire people who can be. It helps to have a defined focus at the outset.
That said, you need to be moving fast. While keeping it simple helps with this, it is also important to know when you can expand. Business is a fast-moving world, innovations come about all the time. And the phrase “strike while the iron is hot” is fundamental in business. If you’re too cautious, your competitors will pick up opportunities you’ve left sitting. Bottom line? If you’ve got an idea, and you can bring it to fruition, don’t be reluctant to pull the trigger.
We’re operating in a world that is more interconnected than it has ever been. You can trade internationally with little more than a broadband connection and an idea. And although you need to keep it simple initially, spreading your reach is something you should do when you can.
Is Your Idea International?
We’ve all seen businesses with signs outside their premises. “[Name Here] International: London – Paris – Tokyo – New York – Singapore.”
Often, we wonder how true that sign is. The business doesn’t look that grand. Is it traded on the Nikkei? Maybe, maybe not. But it underlines the importance in some people’s ideas of a global reach. Going international doesn’t just help your brand worldwide. That cachet helps its local success too. But you have to make sure there is scope to expand worldwide. Is there a market for your product in the places you want to sell it?
Can You Get It Off The Ground Somewhere Else?
You can run a business that trades with the world without any premises at all, so you don’t need to buy real estate everywhere. However, some types of business require you to have a presence. Will Malaysian stores stock your product if they never meet you in person?
They might, but you’ll probably need a presence on the ground. Hiring someone abroad is worthwhile if you can’t be there in person all the time. There is a range of global employment solutions to explore. And yes, you should show face yourself every so often. That’s just polite.
How Does Your Business Translate?
Making an impact in a new market isn’t about taking your product and getting it in place elsewhere. Sometimes you’ll need to think about how your brand is portrayed. If you brand your business in the US as being All-American, it’ll sell. Now try the same thing in Paris.
“Speaking the language” is a big deal in business, but that doesn’t mean learning Japanese for a Tokyo launch. It means being able to make your brand relatable in other locations. Having representatives abroad helps – but you also need to be a part of it by having an ear for cultural differences.
When you have a product that has captured markets worldwide, you can feel like you’ve really accomplished something. But it’s not a simple process. Cracking one market is great. Now, if you want to go global, you need to do it all over again, and that means getting the basics right again. But this time, they’re different basics.
