Blueback Global is a service provider that aids companies as they expand internationally, providing support throughout the process to make it as painless and efficient as possible. Jacek Rolnik, the Chief of Operations, shared some key considerations when planning to expand a company overseas.

Amidst of presenting key considerations, Jacek also gave warnings about what never to do when trying to take your venture overseas, and reiterates the massive importance of pre-planning and having a good growth strategy. Here’s 4 lessons I learnt from his talk.

Never go at it Alone

No matter if you are a new, small company or if you have been around for a while, never try to do everything on your own just to cut costs. Instead, seek out professional advice from experts on the process, and get advice from local experts of the place you want to move to.Their help is vital to avoid making costly mistakes that are not only hard to undo, but can be potential setbacks that decimates your already limited resources.

This is especially so for smaller companies or startups. Get advice and help early.   

Plan what you want to Achieve Overseas

Do you know what kind of entity you want to send over? A subsidiary that is more costly, but has greater freedom and no liability extended to the parent company? Or maybe a branch with a little less freedom, lesser tax benefits but easy to set up? These are questions that have to be asked, in order to formulate a strategy that you can stick to to benefit from this venture of expanding overseas.

Also, check with your overall growth strategy to decide how you want to carry out this process. A solid analysis of your company’s motivations and goals is a necessity for your success.

Understand the Country

Overseas, the laws are no longer the same ones that you are accustomed to. Make sure to have a proper understanding of how they differ from your norm, and adapt your plans so that you won’t be committing any infractions of the law. This is one of the most common mistakes done by American companies when expanding, so be careful.

Make sure that your products are a good fit for the new market as well. Are there any cultural factors or traditions in that country which may prevent people from using your product? Make sure you go to where there are people who want what you are selling, so understanding their market is paramount

In addition, look out for the competition landscape in the new country. If there are already competitors saturating the foreign market with similar products, don’t waste your resources there.

Be Cautious

Especially for the employer obligations to employees. You have to be familiar with the statutory requirements in terms of social benefits, or insurance, or pension. Again, you must be familiar with these to protect yourself in an unfamiliar environment.  

Be wary of independent contractors. Independent contractors are certainly a quick and easy solution to getting manpower. However, you must make sure that they are acting as a contractor and nothing else. There have been cases of independent contractors acting outside of the classification of contractors, the tipping the law off in order to gain benefits and payouts from a company. Of course, not all independent contractors may do this, and they are still a very useful source of manpower, just take caution when hiring them, and make sure they do not do more than what is expected of a contractor.

Watch the full Arcadier Inspire Summit by Jacek Rolnik’s here