International businesses have always been a feature of economies everywhere. This was largely due to the presence of multinational companies. Of late, however, the business landscape is changing, with even small businesses being able to operate beyond their borders.
Multinational companies were able to conduct business in countries beyond their home borders, mainly because they have huge budgets. Operating in another country requires a huge reserve of capital to take care of all the expenses involved.
There is the capital required to purchase assets and maintain them, pay staff in the foreign country, as well as tax considerations to think about. Government regulation in the foreign country also has to be contended with. These all result in expenses that were traditionally not affordable for small business.
Operating in another country requires extensive research before operations are established. A lack of the appropriate information about the business environment in which your business will operate in another country, is a big impediment to progress.
Once on the ground, an international firm has to figure out marketing and distribution. You cannot expect your product or service to sell itself once on the ground. Without a proper means to market and distribute your product or service, your business endeavour will be dead in the water.
There are of course many other barriers to entry in entering international markets, but the ones I have highlighted above are some of the important ones. The Internet has in effect remove the implications of most of the challenges I have just discussed for small business.
The Internet is a remarkable feature of our times. It has vastly improved communications and has made information widely and cheaply available.
With the advent of the Internet and how far the Web has progressed today, it is no longer essential for a business to have a physical presence on the ground, in order to conduct business beyond its borders.
This can eliminate the need to have staff on the ground. Of course there are some types of businesses where it is not possible to operate internationally without having personnel on the ground, but this is possible with most service oriented businesses.
Where it is not possible to operate beyond borders without a physical presence on the ground, the involvement of business partners in the foreign country may be considered.
The Internet now makes it possible for us to do research that is fairly accurate in terms of gaining an understanding of a particular foreign market. This information can be obtained with a fairly minimal investment in time and effort.
Furthermore, a business operating within the scope of the Internet faces less red tape, in terms of regulation requirements, than is the case if operating on the ground in a foreign country.
The Internet as it has evolved today, has seen a wide array of communication tools being made available to business. Such communication tools include the ubiquitous Whatsapp and Microsoft Teams, to name a few. These tools allow us to communicate with anyone on the globe, as long as they have Internet access.
This is a significant improvement from the telephone, in that these tools are available at almost no cost. The tools I am talking about are often available through a free download, or can be used in the browser without installing any software, and allow for unlimited communications.
These tools have group features that allow for multiple people to simultaneously conduct meetings online. The ability to conduct online meetings, with the option of video adds an extra dimension to the convenience of these modern day tools for communication.
The world is getting smaller. People are moving all over the world and establishing themselves in countries that are not their places of birth. Furthermore, people are becoming more open to doing business with people beyond their borders, as long as the terms are agreeable.
As a case in point, I am in the final stages of a web app development project, which involves a company comprised of two business partners. I went to the same university with one of the business partners of this company but have never met the other.
The interesting thing is that for the entire duration of the project, none of us were ever in the same room. My buddy from university is based in South Africa, and his business partner is based in the UK whilst the project will operate in Zimbabwe.
We communicate using Whatsapp and go through the software review over Microsoft Teams. With Microsoft Teams we are able to share screens, so that we can review the app in all stages of development. Apart from some network issues now and then, the experience has been seamless.
My case in point is that, it is not that there are no developers capable of delivering on this job in the UK, or in South Africa, or even in Zimbabwe. They are there, but my clients decided to go with me on this project. I cannot claim to know how they decided to go with me, but I am certain that the terms were right for them, at the right price, plus they were confident in my ability to deliver.
The scenario I just outlined is indicative of the state of the international market today. People are prepared to look far and wide for people to work with in business, and are even prepared to cross borders, to get whom they believe to be the right people for the job.
But what does this really mean? For one thing, it means more competition. It means that your competition is no longer local. People now have the means to find the right talent anywhere on the planet, at the cost that suits them.
Whilst it is daunting and challenging to think of competing with the whole world, it presents lots of opportunities, if you work diligently to perfect your craft and place yourself favourably. We need to work on our talents to be able to compete on a global scale.
Perhaps what is even more important, and perhaps challenging, is the ability to find clients beyond our local corner. The clients exist beyond your borders, if you position yourself right, and the tools to engage those clients are also available at low cost, if not for free.
However, not all businesses can operate beyond their borders in the same way that Webmobyle is capable of operating, but all businesses can definitely recruit partners to work with across borders.
Business partners in another country can help your business leverage the combined strength and resources you bring to the international market, with the local expertise of your partners, allowing you to effectively serve an international market.
Want to hear some more from the Webmobyle Blog? Please
Leave A Comment