New markets and fresh pools of prospective employees are two reasons why businesses pursue opportunities in foreign countries. International expansion can also shore up supply chains and even reduce overall costs of doing business.
However, all too often, small business owners think those opportunities are out of their reach. Traveling abroad can be intimidating, let alone growing your company there.
Before you automatically put the kibosh on this potential, consider the possibilities. Technology, trade agreements, and foreign talent put global expansion within the reach of businesses of any size. Here are three ways to grow your small business beyond international borders.
1. Partner With a Pro
You may have no experience operating a business in another country. But the great news is that there are companies that do. Even better, those companies work with brands like yours to navigate this new territory. There are a couple of ways to do this. Which option works best for you will largely depend on whether you establish your company as a legal entity in the foreign country or not.
If you establish a legal presence in another country, you can partner with a professional employer organization to help manage your new workforce. The PEO will take care of human resources administrative tasks like handling payroll, withholding taxes, and administering benefits. Different countries have unique laws about worker classifications, pay, tax withholding, and required benefits. Your PEO will know what those are and manage your payroll and benefits accordingly.
If you haven’t established a presence yet and don’t intend to, you can partner with an employer of record instead. An EOR will onboard and handle HR administration of the employees it hires to work for you. Legally speaking, the EOR, not your company, is the employer of these new international hires.
There is another consideration to take into account when choosing whether to establish a legal entity abroad. Should you run afoul of any compliance issues, your EOR partner is on the hook for them. If you’re working with a PEO, you’re responsible for any violations — although it will likely help you address them.
Making sure your business adheres to the employment laws of another country and that employees are paid properly is critical. If that’s what is holding you back from global expansion, remove the roadblock. Partner with the right pro, and you — or it — can hire away.
2. Do Your Homework
You probably won’t be successful in broadening your corporate reach if you fail to invest the time and resources required for extensive exploration. It’s a big world out there, with a lot of choices on where you could expand. Asking the right questions, using the best research tools, and analyzing findings will be key.
What you’re looking for is the perfect intersection of markets, culture, regulations, and talent. The more you can match up those considerations with ease of access, potential, opportunity, and viability, the better.
Begin by studying the candidate market. Is it one where goods and services like yours are being sold? Who are your key competitors, and what strengths and weaknesses do they have? How competitive is the country based on multiple factors, including economics, politics, and culture?
Learn about a country’s regulatory environment to determine how many hurdles you’ll have to jump and at what cost. Figure out how you’ll need to modify or create a supply chain to serve the market. If you’ll have to rent or purchase property, determine the best location and what the real estate market is like.
Of course, your HR requirements will entail a major investment. What education, skills, and experience will your employees need? How deep is the talent pool? What type of wages, benefits, and employer taxes will you have to pay? How will you deal with language barriers and cultural differences?
This is a sampling of the type of information you’ll be required to uncover if you want to expand into a foreign market. And you can count on it taking months or even years. You’ll need to employ surveys, research, competitive analyses, and boots on the ground to do it. But getting your homework completed before you venture abroad can’t be skipped.
3. Leverage Technology
One of the lessons learned during the global pandemic is that many jobs can be performed remotely. You know it took the right technology to make that possible. You can use what became a necessity then to your advantage now.
If you have a building in another country, employ a security system that can be monitored from your local headquarters. You will want to check the country’s laws regarding security cameras and similar devices first. But being able to monitor what’s going on there from your domestic location is a plus.
Project management and collaboration software that syncs across time zones and languages can keep teams connected no matter where they are. Remember, you will be opening your company network, which also opens the door to potential hackers. Employ encryption, password protection, and smart cards to provide layers of protection and security.
Use the cloud to store files and make them easily accessible from any location. At the same time, maintain control of your data by confining access to authorized users. Only those who need particular information should be able to get to it.
Choose your virtual conferencing platform carefully. Ensure that it will automatically sync time zones so scheduling meetings will be easier and more accurate. You should also use software that is optimized for all devices, including desktops, laptops, tablets, and cellphones.
Using a Snagit free alternative for screen and video recording can help eliminate unnecessary meetings, which is especially important when dealing with vast time differences.
Technology will play a crucial role in your ability to go global. Confirm that the platforms and software you want to use aren’t restricted by the country where you hope to expand. Once you have clearance to invest, use tech to make a big world a little smaller.
Grow Up and Out
In today’s world, the size of your business shouldn’t inhibit your stretch beyond local borders. The resources, partners, and tools you require to make the leap are out there. All you need to do is find them and put them to work for you.
