Building a Global Business

In many industries, businesses have traditionally stayed local to where they are based. As the world becomes more interconnected, however, many companies are beginning to understand the need to take their companies to a global scale to stay relevant. Today, the market is at a point where companies are scaling to cross international borders not just for growth, but to survive.

When it comes to global business, are you and your business being a part in this trend, are you bringing your personal greatness? If not, would you like to embrace the global market and have a global business? In this article we will be addressing three of the major aspects of your enterprise that we here at BusinessLife consider are integral to turning your company into an international or a truly global business: marketing, entrepreneurship, and information systems.

Marketing

Marketing is the process of delivering value to a potential customer base by educating them on what benefits there are to obtaining your product or service. Here at BusinessLife Coaching, we view marketing as the testing and questioning process to acquire the information that is necessary to go out and sell.

In business, marketing has different implications domestically from overseas. For example, some questions to consider before expanding into a market could be:

• What are the complexities of the region or its laws to doing global business?
• What management requirements are there?
• What opportunities are there? Where could we discover our clients?
• What knowledge and skills do we have, that we can bring into this market?

Marketing in business is a tool that will help your company build an understanding of what you will need to take it to a global scale.

Entrepreneurship

Every global business has at some time started off small, and all have required the building of a base. What is the base your business is built on? Consider critical questions such as who you are, what your business entails, and what assets you carry. Entrepreneurship is about taking your current business model, its capabilities and its base, and choosing to grow it to a global scale. It is about figuring out what your initial ‘why’ is before you consider how you are going to implement the ‘what.’

If you already have a business, what is your base? What are you already doing to get the results you are achieving? Turning a small business into a global company is about understanding how you are performing, what you are planning to implement as your business grows, and why.

To build a global business, it is important to be aware of what you are planning. A global market encompasses the whole planet, whereas an international market includes two or more nations. The entrepreneurial aspects of your global business depend on you broaden the outlook for your business.

What is your base for global operations? Why would you consider a global market for your business’ future? Many business owners may have a desire to take their company to a worldwide scale. However, most do not fully understand the types of assets and information necessary to make a strategic decision to enter into a global market. You may initially choose to consider learning and equipping yourself and your team with a new set of tools, plan to potentially bringing in new management to help investigate, and then build the global business.

Information systems

A global business requires a reliable information system to operate successfully. Information systems are tools that can improve the efficiency of your business operations. They allow you to develop, grow, learn, and make decisions based on data from your customer base. These tools may allow you to have the right product at the right time, and in the right place to maximize your sales.

Utilizing information systems to their greatest benefit takes skill. These systems can generate a wealth of data, but it takes expertise to access the data, manipulate it, and garner insights. As an owner, your ability to ask questions is vital. This applies for external accessibility as well — do you have the authorization to access a library of information about your business or industry? Are you in a country that has accessibility to Google?

Having the right tools allows you to seek out information on your sales potential, marketing information, resources, areas of hiring, recruitment, legalities, and finance. These details are critical in the global environment because they help you understand different cultures and business opportunities.

What do you understand about the different political situations or belief systems in other countries? Do you have the necessary means to understand the various tariffs, trade, exports, imports, exposure, market forces, and how you can work in niche markets?

Putting action to grow your business globally

Technology, the internet, and connectivity have, on a grand scale, broadened the reaches for our businesses, and made the world more open and available to build a global company. Are you prepared? Do you have the capacity to adapt and develop a global business, and if not, would you like to?

The potential is entirely within your reach. Contact me at peter@marcuscoaching.com to open a conversation about the possibilities global markets offer, and what it could mean for your company.