Research in the first month of the New Year points to record levels of new businesses being created and high optimism amongst small business owners. Will this confidence convert into international trade and expansion? We hope so! Enterprise Nation founder, Emma Jones, offers four steps to going global in 2012 and announces a series of events with DHL and Regus that will help you along the way.
This will be a good year to grow sales and Go Global. A sizeable opportunity is opening up with growth in markets beyond the Eurozone where more people are going online and wanting to buy British made products and services. Here’s how to make the most of it:
- Know your product/service – this sounds like a basic starting point but what I mean by this is focus on your niche. Clearly define the look/feel and cost of your product so you know exactly how to position it in new markets and where to promote it.
- Look beyond the Eurozone – in late 2011 the HSBC Trade Forecast predicted world trade to grow by 73% in the next 15 years, with forecasts showing Egypt, India, Vietnam, Indonesia, China and Brazil being the international powerhouses that will drive growth. These countries are not natural trading partners for theUK and for reasons of culture and distance the European Union remains the largest recipient of exports from theUK. Political figures have recognised the need for British companies to look further afield with the Prime Minister urging businesses to seek out opportunities ‘in huge modern cities fromBogota toIstanbul where people are hungry for the skills and servicesBritain is best at.” Research and visit emerging markets to assess the potential for your business.
- Make the most of powerful platforms – upload products and services to international trading platforms and/or source the talent you need to serve new markets. Elance.com is a good place to promote yourself as a business service provider or identify experts and professionals and Alibaba.com is the platform of choice to source from and sell toAsia.
- Seek help – there has never been so much support available to help you Go Global. Seek advice from peers who have been through the experience of international trade, from government agency, UKTI, and from industry experts and service providers.
Enterprise Nation is on hand to help and has partnered with DHL and Regus to deliver a series of events throughout 2012 to help you Go Global. Speakers at the free events are well qualified and include Christian Arno of Lingo24.com who will show how to localise your website to increase sales, Gabriela Castro-Fontoura who will offer a guide to doing business in Latin America and Tony Wheeler will share the story of how he co-founded Lonely Planet and built it into the UK’s largest independent travel guide publisher before selling a majority stake to the BBC.
The Go Global series will offer the guidance and support you need to make the most of what is a growing opportunity to take your business to the world.
This is a guest post from Emma Jones, the founder of Enterprise Nation www.enterprisenation.com. @emmaljones. Please click here to register for the Go Global events http://goglobalworkshops.eventbrite.co.uk/
