{"id":146,"date":"2010-08-31T10:36:11","date_gmt":"2010-08-31T09:36:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.forestsoftware.co.uk\/blog\/?p=146"},"modified":"2012-01-23T11:23:29","modified_gmt":"2012-01-23T11:23:29","slug":"expand-your-business-overseas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.forestsoftware.co.uk\/blog\/2010\/08\/expand-your-business-overseas\/","title":{"rendered":"Expand Your Business Overseas"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes : <\/span><\/span>

\"ExpandAlthough not many small businesses think about expanding your business overseas here at Forest Software we have two clients who have done just that.\u00a0 Having spoken to them about this we have listed below a few things that you need to think about if you want to expand your business internationally.<\/p>\n

1. Market insights <\/strong>
\nExpanding into any new market requires research, this doesn’t matter if you are expanding into a new product range or into an overseas market,\u00a0you still need to\u00a0find out\u00a0how the market operates and, more importantly,\u00a0what the market wants. Researching an overseas market<\/a> is often a greater challenge than the domestic market, but there are many places you can go to for help (listed below).<\/p>\n

2. Use the \u2018been there, done that\u2019 factor<\/strong>
\nIf possible, use your existing contacts.\u00a0 You are looking for people that have been there and done it so that you can learn from their mistakes and profit from what they have learnt.<\/p>\n

3. Make use of government resources<\/strong>
\nUK Trade & Investment\u00a0(UKTI<\/a>) works with UK-based businesses to ensure their success in international markets, and encourage the best overseas companies to look to the UK as their global partner of choice.<\/p>\n

When you are overseas\u00a0on\u00a0a visit (you are going to visit the\u00a0new location aren’t you?) \u00a0try talking to the British embassy\u00a0or consulate\u00a0in the area you are in, they can be\u00a0an invaluable sources of information and contacts and may be able to give you advice on customs and local laws.<\/p>\n

4. Find relevant support organisations<\/strong>
\nMany other business organisations have units dedicated to helping you export or invest overseas: the Chambers of Commerce, and the Confederation of British Industry (CBI<\/a>) are two that spring to mind and there are many others that are worth approaching for advice.<\/p>\n

5. Seek professional advice<\/strong>
\nDon\u2019t forget to talk to your own professional advisers, who should be able to either introduce you to their overseas affiliates or to specialists in expanding your business overseas (such as Fitzgerald and Law<\/a>).<\/p>\n

6. Set up good business systems<\/strong>
\nThink carefully about how you will manage the business after any agreements are signed. Will you have your own staff in the business or will be be a joint venture? How often will you or your senior management visit? Who will be authorised to sign cheques and make any payments or money transfers?\u00a0 Are the reporting lines, performance requirements and responsibilities clear (see our making your business aims clear<\/a> posting for more details)?<\/p>\n

7. Stick to what you\u2019re good at<\/strong>
\nAssuming that you are not a foreign exchange dealer you should talk\u00a0to your bank and your professional adviser\u00a0about your overseas investment or trading plans. Foreign exchange volatility is a fact of business life, and is a\u00a0risk that needs very careful managing or you could find that any profit is wiped out by exchange rate fluctuations.\u00a0 Don’t get involved in exchange rates, but leave this to the experts.<\/p>\n

8. Check your tax position<\/strong>
\nDepending on the countries involved, you may find you can\u2019t get tax relief for losses on foreign exchange, or you may even be taxed on gains which you haven’t made. There may also be restrictions on how much you can finance by way of loans rather than\u00a0investing your own\u00a0capital into the project.<\/p>\n

9. Banking
\n<\/strong>If you are trading overseas, talk to your bank about what facilities might be available. Apart from the exposure to exchange rate risk mentioned above, \u00a0you might not want to provide open account facilities to new customers in the overseas market, especially where there are difficulties in\u00a0getting reliable credit risk information, or where the local legal environment does not seem to support contractual rights as strongly as you might wish. In this case\u00a0“letters of credit”\u00a0 or other kinds of trade financing instruments may provide a solution.<\/p>\n

10. And finally\u2026
\n<\/strong>Much of the tips above can be summed up as, take advice (from your bank, accountant, professional adviser<\/a>, the UK Government, colleagues that have already done this and any other source you trust). Doing so could save you writing off a bad debt on your first shipment,\u00a0abandoning your joint venture investment or making big losses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reading Time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes : <\/span><\/span>Although not many small businesses think about expanding your business overseas here at Forest Software we have two clients who have done just that.\u00a0 Having spoken to them about this we have listed below a few things that you need to think about if you want to expand your business internationally. 1. Market insights Expanding […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[12],"class_list":["post-146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business-advice","tag-business-expansion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forestsoftware.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forestsoftware.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forestsoftware.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forestsoftware.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forestsoftware.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=146"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.forestsoftware.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forestsoftware.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forestsoftware.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forestsoftware.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}