Finding Your Business Opportunity Overseas

– Contributed content –

(Michal Parzuchowski, Unsplash)

12 Mar. 2021. A good business requires a good idea to build upon. Some find this by iterating or revolutionizing business ideas that exist or by meeting new needs. Others will take a business model that works, but find somewhere that it hasn’t been used to its fullest effect. Looking overseas is one of the best opportunities you might have to take a business to where a market is ready and waiting for it. But, how do you make that move?

Know the country

First of all, you shouldn’t be trying to open a business in a country that you don’t have some understanding of. Either you need to develop a close knowledge of it or hire someone who does to help you manage the move. You must know the language, the cultural norms, and how to make the products that you want to sell more appealing to the customers that live there. It can be surprising to find you don’t always have a shared frame of reference for what customer needs are and how your products or services meet them. This gap can be closed, though, you just have to get to know that country.

Know the market

Of course, before you put even a little bit of money into taking your business overseas (or starting one overseas), then you should make sure that the market there is going to be able to sustain it. Do your market research well in advance and see if there are any competitors in the market. Even if there aren’t direct competitors, you should research to see if there are any companies that provide products or services that speak to the same needs, even if they don’t do it in the same way.

Make your way over

If you plan on running a new business within a country without delegating it entirely to a management team based over there, then you have to make the move yourself. However, even if you meet the criteria for making that move and getting a visa or becoming a citizen, you should enlist the help of an immigration attorney, early. The process of actually immigrating can last longer than you might expect and you don’t want to hold the launch of your business back because you haven’t put the legal groundwork in.

Find your allies

You want to develop a strong understanding of the market of the country where you’re moving not just in terms of who your competitors are, but who your allies are, too. Potential business partners, service providers, and more are all going to be necessary to help you set up shop. Rather than setting up and then looking for them, you should put in the legwork of networking with them before you move overseas so you have a rapport and get the ball rolling as soon as you arrive.

Emigrating to start a business in a new land is not easy, by any means. However, it’s far from impossible, as plenty have done it. The tips above can help you follow in their footsteps.

*     *     *