Your business is thriving. You are making a lot of money, your employees are happy, and you are dreaming bigger and looking to expand your business. This is a great spot to be in. Expansion due to success is what every entrepreneur wants to experience. For some very lucky ones, the ability to expand is not just about growing, it’s about growing overseas. With every country different with their own laws, it is worth preparing a few items before you begin that overseas expansion journey. Here are a few things to keep in mind if growing your business in another country.
What You Need to Expand Your Business Overseas
Hire a Tax Professional
The biggest thing to know about is taxes in other countries. Whatever country you are choosing to expand to, make sure you know the tax laws so that you can make necessary arrangements to keep on top of your books. Hire an international tax professional that can sit down with you and tell you all you need to know about that country, their system, and what you need to keep track of throughout the year in order to make filing your taxes easy and legal.
Taxes will also affect how much your employees will get paid, and that is something you will want to know before hiring so that you can determine how much money they need to make in order to have a livable wage.
Open a Bank Account
You are going to need a bank account in that country so that your money can go right into the bank and you can worry about currency conversion later. There is also an option of setting up a USD bank account in whatever country you are doing business with. This can help people pay you in USD if that is available.
Having your own business account in that country will help you during tax season because you will have everything organized in that country, under their laws. Make sure to perform an in-depth legal analysis before proceeding however, to ensure that nothing gets lost in translation and guarantee that you get your taxes filed and paid as easily as possible.
Research Your Branding
Your branding may not translate to another country. Wording or images may not be as eye-catching or as humorous as they are in your country or whatever country you are trying to set up. Do some research before expanding to that particular country so that you can get a sense of what is important to their culture and what is important to their humor.
This way, as you prepare to open, you can sit with your marketing department and figure out how to rebrand and send those new materials ahead in order for you to start getting on the radars of your new client base. Then you can open with confidence knowing that your brand and ideas will do well in this new market.
Who Do You Know Locally?
Knowing someone who is from that area can be a great way into understanding the land. Before you start thinking about expanding your business in a new country, it may be best to consult with someone you know who is from that area. That person can answer all of your important questions upfront. They will let you know if your idea has any relevance in this country.
They can alert you if your branding is off the mark for that culture. A friendly face in that country can also let you know if what you are trying to sell us something that the population needs. You don’t want to try and sell a good or service in a place that has no interest or need for what you are trying to get going.
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Take a Trip There
Once you have found out that your business would work in this new location, take yourself on a trip. There is nothing better than experiencing everything with your own eyes on your own time. You can get a sense for yourself how things feel and how people go about their day and what is important to them. You will be able to get a visual of what it may look like for your business to exist in this new location.
You can start talking to people about your product or service, and then you will be able to get honest feedback from the people who are your would-be clients. This will help you get a better picture in your mind of what you will and will not be able to sell, or you will be inspired to create a new product or service.
