The UK is more of an island than ever, as the negative business and trade impacts of Brexit continue to make themselves known. Domestic and regional businesses of all sizes are capable of thriving domestically, but the shrinking post-Brexit economy has demonstrated well that the UK has a hard ceiling for growth. Any business worth its salt should be considering the possibility of international expansion, and the limitless potential it brings – but where might you start in getting your business expansion-ready?
Research, Research, Research
Before you even consider investing company money into expanding in a new territory, you should first be devoting company time and energy to research. The preliminary research you should be undertaking relates to regions and territories in which your business has the most visibility already, or is most likely to thrive. From here, you can zoom in to countries and regions to perform market and competitor research – discovering the shape of your industry on a localised level, and establishing the footprint you’ll need to make your expansion worthwhile.
The profitability of your business is not the only thing you need to devote your time to researching, either. There are also the legal, administrative, and logistical steps to establishing a presence in another country, which can invite their prohibitive costs. Expert advice is indispensable here, as even a slight misstep concerning taxation or hiring practices could lead to unworkable consequences.
Attract Talent
Speaking of hiring, the success of your business overseas is wholly contingent on the calibre of the staff you hire. Establishing an international presence will require you to forfeit some talented – and willing – members of your domestic team, who travel over to ‘break ground’ on the new arm of the business.
This frontier team will then hire locally, enabling you to avail yourself of local knowledge and skills to maximise the strength of your regional workforce. This hiring process should be a robust one, so that you minimise the risk of your expansion being mishandled – and improve the chances of your business truly taking route in foreign territories.
Building Relationships
As you will already understand from your efforts building your business domestically, establishing a successful presence is not possible alone. Strength lies in collaboration, which makes networking an especially important part of the international expansion process. Even before you send your frontier team over to start on your regional base, you should be in touch with business leaders and industry institutions in your target area.
Having local businesses and entrepreneurs on your side when you do establish a presence can make doing business much simpler, and much more fruitful to boot. This should be an ongoing exercise, too, with members of your regional base’s staff allocated to networking and outreach – ultimately, allowing you to settle into your industry, and make the most of your new international endeavour.
