Starting A Business Abroad: What’s Your Business Model?

Posted on 07. Dec, 2009 by Emmanuelle Archer in Blog, Expat Entrepreneurs, Expat Life
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Your mind is made up. The time is right, and you have the motivation to succeed: you’re going into business for yourself.

Chances are you already know what you want to do. Now you need to turn your idea into a “real business” – for, as Pam Slim would say, hating your job (or not having one) is not a business plan.

The first step? Choosing your business model.

I know that sounds all technical and complicated, but don’t run away quite yet! “Business model” simply means where the money will be coming from.

Renting rooms and serving breakfast to B&B guests in exchange for money is a business model. Doing translations from home and being paid by the word is another business model. Selling your services by the hour, while being paid a flat fee for public speaking, and selling information products online is yet another business model.

Each model has its pros and cons, so let’s take a closer look at the most popular types of expat businesses.

Expat Business Models (more…)

Starting A Business Abroad: Is It For You?

Posted on 04. Dec, 2009 by Emmanuelle Archer in Blog, Expat Entrepreneurs, Expat Life
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You’ve probably gone through countless articles, books and tests that promised to tell you, once and for all, whether you are cut out to be a successful business owner or not. You’ve heard all the traditional advice: You have to be a risk-taker! You have to be self-motivated! You have to be willing to work hard!

Instead of giving you yet another list of must-have entrepreneurial traits, I’d like to focus on something a little different today: your motivation for going into business for yourself. The reasons why you want to become self-employed are going to have a huge influence on how you run and structure your business, so it is worth spending some time examining them very closely.

What is it that drives you? (more…)

Starting A Business Abroad: Send Me Your Questions!

Posted on 02. Dec, 2009 by Emmanuelle Archer in Blog, Expat Entrepreneurs, Expat Life
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Are you thinking of starting your own business in your host country? Do you have questions or concerns that conventional books or business blogs aren’t answering? Send them to me!

More and more expats have been writing me with self-employment related questions lately. I figured that you may be interested in the subject too, so I’m going to take these questions and write a series of posts about them.

There are already plenty of good small business resources out there (some of which you can find under “Personal Favourites” in the sidebar), but as an expat, you are up against a double challenge: getting your business off the ground, and navigating the complexities of life abroad.

Whether you’re a professional who’s been recently downsized, a newly-minted accompanying spouse with plenty of energy and ambitious goals, or an entrepreneurial-minded expat eager to take advantage of new opportunities, let me know what’s on your mind.

Over the course of my 11-year career in marketing and business management, I have picked up quite a few tips and strategies for small business owners – including tools to keep your sanity when it all gets too much.

Post your questions here in the comments, or email me if you’d like to share more details and don’t want to leave a long comment.

Emmanuelle

Images by purplemattfish (top) and Sal Petruzelli Marino (bottom), both via Flickr Creative Commons,/small>

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