Starting Up a Small Business Overseas

September 20, 2018

Increasing numbers of people are beginning to consider pursuing a self-employed lifestyle and starting up their own small business. This isn’t all too surprising. After all, who wants to work towards building someone else’s dreams when they could work towards making their own a reality? Running your own small business means that you can focus on an area of the market that suits your interests, decide what direction your brand takes, and perhaps most importantly, be your own boss. However, the majority of people automatically set their small business up in the country that they were born in or happen to live in. This makes sense in a way. It is a lot easier and faster to set up a business in a country where you are already a citizen. However, it is important to bear in mind that foreign markets could offer you a better deal and a closer relationship with larger numbers of consumers. Here are just a few steps that you should take if you are considering setting up overseas!
Have the Right Visa
First things first, you need to make sure that you are entitled to work overseas and set up a company overseas. You can ensure this by applying for an entrepreneur visa. The process may be laden with legal lingo and can consequently feel a little daunting. But if you employ the help of a relevant and reliable immigration solicitor, you should be able to complete the application quickly and receive permission to work within your chosen country’s borders in next to no time.
Familiarise Yourself with the Foreign Market
Consumers in different cultures have different expectations, and it’s extremely important that you familiarise yourself with local values and needs in order to succeed. There’s no point in applying the market research or experience that you have with your home market to a foreign market. You need to start a clean slate and figure out exactly what it is that your new market wants and how they want it presented to them.
Advertise
Advertising is key when it comes to establishing yourself as a notable presence in your field. It’s easy to fall to the wayside when you enter overseas markets, as you tend to focus on areas such as legalities in setting up. While this is essential, you do need to divide your time appropriately and organise some notable advertising and marketing campaigns that will get your brand’s name out there.
These steps are all relatively easy to incorporate into your business plan. You just need to have confidence in everything that you do and devote yourself wholeheartedly to your venture in order to succeed overseas!

Mark Asquith

That British podcast guy, Mark is co-founder of Captivate.fm, the world's only growth-oriented podcast host. A Harvard, TEDx, Podcast Movement and Podfest speaker (amongst many more!), he's a wildly approachable Brit and Star Wars/DC Comics geek.

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