| | DECEMBER 20209IF YOU ARE SIMPLY HOPING TO MAKE YOUR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES AVAILABLE IN A NEW MARKET, YOUR EXPANSION COSTS WILL BE RELATIVELY LOWBelow is everything that a CEO needs to consider before they fully commit to any kind of overseas expansion for their business.Hire People Who Understand Your Target MarketIt's hard to put a dollar figure on an in-depth understanding of your target market. Whether you are considering your domestic market or an international expansion, understanding your target audience and what they want is essential if you're going to reach them effectively.Without experience in a foreign market, you are going to be relying on other people to know what is and isn't acceptable and what will and won't work. You need to understand both the local market and the rules and regulations the local legal system will require you to follow. Without a good understanding of both these things, your expansion overseas will be beset with difficulties.A professional employer organization (PEO) provides human resources services to other businesses. These businesses are often based overseas, with the PEO handling the administrative tasks such as payroll, tax administration, and ensuring full regulatory compliance with the local laws and regulations.For small and medium businesses, the PEO services offered by reputable companies found on sites like GlobalizationPedia can make expanding overseas significantly easier and cheaper than it would be otherwise. Use GlobalizationPedia to find out how PEO services work, and how they can save you an enormous amount of time and trouble when your overseas branch launches. For example, they can ensure that you are already compliant with all the relevant local rules.Be Clear on the Reasons for Your ExpansionBefore you embark on any major projects involving your business, you should first ensure that you are clear with yourself about their purpose. For one thing, doing anything in your business aimlessly and without a clear goal is asking for trouble. If there isn't a clear purpose to what you are doing, that implies that you don't have a robust plan for doing it. Expanding a business in any capacity is a risky prospect; innumerable things can go wrong during the process. But expanding to a foreign market is an even riskier proposition.Ask yourself what you think you can achieve with your foreign expansion that you won't be able to accomplish in your domestic market. If you are looking to increase profits and you feel like you have exhausted your domestic market, this is a valid reason to expand. However, other than the largest corporations, most businesses will be able to raise their profits by exploiting their local market in smarter and more efficient ways.Many foreign expansions fail, often taking the parent business with them. A common reason for this failure is that the expansion was ill-conceived and poorly planned. Not only do you need a solid strategy for the expansion itself, but you need a viable approach to enable your business to flourish in the aftermath and continue to grow.Review Your Business BeforehandBefore you fully commit to any kind of overseas expansion plan, it is essential that you have audited the current health of your business. A business that is not in a strong position to begin with should not even be contemplating any kind of significant expansion. Before you pull the trigger and commit irreversibly to any expansion plans, you need to conduct an audit and ensure your business is in a viable state to undergo the transformation you are planning.If you have any doubts about the ability of your business to survive the kind of stresses and challenges involved in a massive upheaval such as an overseas expansion, you should be very cautious about proceeding. Overextending a business is a surefire way to destroy it for good. Once your expansion plans have progressed past a certain point, it becomes incredibly difficult to reverse them.
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