More and more businesses are operating on a global scale, and deciding to start a business in another country can be a great strategic move for any organization. But it’s not always a straightforward process—you’ll need to look at how to start a business in another country and figure out the best approach for your business.
How do you start a business in another country?
There are a few steps you’ll need to take to not only start your business, but to help make it successful in a new market.
Make a plan
The first thing you’ll need to do when starting a business in another country is create a plan. A plan should always start with the questions; why are we doing this and when do we plan to do it? This allows you to understand your business goals and timeline.
Other things to look at during the planning stage are researching international markets, looking at the global economy, legislation and political climate and taking time to consider how the changes will affect your current business.
You’ll then need to get into the nitty gritty of ‘how to start a business in another country’—this is where you’ll start to build out your strategy, decide what type of business you might want to set up, how many team members you might need, the costs and budget you have, and location.
Once you’ve got a basic understanding of what you want to achieve with your business in a new country, make sure that your ‘how’ matches your goals.
Selecting the country for you
There are hundreds of countries in the world to choose from to launch your global business, so how do you decide which country is going to work best for your business?
Things to look at when selecting a country are:
- Market size
- Growth potential
- Local labor laws and legislation
- Cultural fit
- What type of legal entity can you set up in the country
- Quality of talent in the country
Once you’ve considered these different areas in each country, you should have a better idea of where you can start your business in another country.
Legal and regulatory considerations
You’ll need to take some time to learn about the local labor laws and legislation for any of the countries you’re considering starting your business in. To do this you have a few options. You can do some manual research, but this can be time consuming and you risk finding conflicting or incorrect information online. Or you can enlist the help of global HR professionals who are up to date on what is happening.
Market entry strategy
Once you have a business plan and have done your research on legal considerations, you’ll be able to build a market entry strategy. This strategy is exactly how you plan to get started in the new country.
You need to look at what needs to be in place before you get started, what the timeline might be to enter the market, the legal entity you need to set up, and hiring any employees you might need to run the business in that country.
Payroll and HR
A big thing which comes with hiring employees in another country is looking at your HR and payroll. Does your current system work globally? Er will you need to find a local provider? Or will you swap to a global software or outsource your global payroll?
You also have the option of using an employer of record who will hire your employees for you and pay them monthly, taking the task out of your hands.
It comes down to EOR vs payroll and which is right for your organization.
Cultural adaption
Every country in the world has its own culture and own practices and they might not suit how your business currently runs. You need to look at what might need to change to run smoothly in an additional country.
You might find that certain countries have different processes around hiring, working hours, employee benefits. Even things as simple as how a team works together can be different in different countries.
If you’ve chosen to expand your business to a country with a different language, you’ll also need to understand how this might affect your business when dealing with employees, suppliers, and the public. You might also find that your business name or slogan needs to change based on translations or how things are phrased in the new country to make sure you’re meeting the nuances of local language.
Logistics
The final step of starting a business in another country is the logistics. You might have a great idea and a plan in place, but there are logistical considerations you need to figure out before you can launch. This includes:
- Finding locations, suppliers, and employees
- How will you build a customer base in the new country
- If there is any marketing you need to do
- Completing any paperwork
- Visiting the location
Starting a business in another country
Now you have a plan to start a business in another country, let’s get started. We offer a global expansion service which can help cover a lot of these tasks and challenges allowing the launch of your new business to go as smoothly as possible, and to leave you time to do the exiting bits like picking out new team members and deciding on a business name. Get in touch today to find out more!