Starting A Business Abroad: 3 Major Challenges You’ll Have To Overcome

Posted on 14. Dec, 2009 by Emmanuelle Archer in Blog, Expat Entrepreneurs, Expat Life
3 comments

As a brand-new expat business owner, you’re potentially facing three major challenges:

• You have never had your own business before,
• You lack experience and you’re still learning your trade as you go,
• You’re a foreigner, trying to do business in an unfamiliar environment.

If this sounds daunting, that’s because it is. Any of these circumstances is enough to keep people up at night, so combine all three and you have a pretty overwhelming situation on your hands.

Of course, you may already have some parts of the puzzle figured out. Maybe you used to run a successful business back in your home country. Maybe you have been working in the same field for the past 20 years, and you excel at what you do. Or maybe you are so well integrated in your host country that you could pass for a native.

But what if you don’t?

Set priorities

Your priority should be to pick one of these challenges, and focus on it relentlessly, until it is no longer a handicap for your fledgling business. If you are very motivated, or if you have ambitious goals, you can choose to work on two issues at a time, but not all three – that’s too overwhelming.

Which one should you pick first?

Business experience

If you have no previous business experience, I’d recommend you address that first. Take a small business marketing course, read small business blogs (I like IttyBiz and Rock Your Day), or find a mentor. You could even take a job with a company similar to the one you want to start, and learn as much as you can by observing and asking questions.

Fair warning: you can learn about business for a hundred years, and the learning curve is still going to be steep once you hang out your own shingle. But as long as you don’t know the basic principles of marketing, are afraid of selling, and have no idea what financial statements look like, you have no business being in business.

Professional experience

If you lack experience in your field, do whatever it takes for you to feel absolutely confident in your skills and your ability to wow your clients. Get to know your work so well that you could do it in your sleep.

Instead of improvising as you go, make sure that you are well trained to begin with. This may mean getting the proper credentials, asking an expert to mentor you, or acquiring more experience through volunteering or working pro bono.

Then, and only then, start focusing on your website, your business cards, and whatever else you need to turn your idea into a “real business”. Don’t try to do it all at once. Your sanity will thank you.

Adjustment to your host country

If you have just arrived in your host country, my advice would be to give yourself enough time to become familiar with the local culture and business practices, as they will have a direct impact on how you work. Ask lots of questions, venture off the beaten path, and be curious.

On the other hand, if you’ve been in the country for a while but still feel like a complete outsider, you may want to consider getting professional expat support. The better integrated and well connected you are in your host country, the easier it will be to run your business.

Whatever you do, don’t use your work as an excuse not to deal with culture shock, homesickness or identity issues. You need to address the root cause and regain your emotional balance before you can tackle a project as ambitious as starting your own business.

How will you know you’re ready?

You’re not going to turn into Donald Trump after a few business courses (which, in a way, might be a blessing, especially when it comes to your hair), nor are you going to learn all there is to know about your new country within a few months. In a sense, you will have to jump before you’re completely ready, and that’s OK. There is such a thing as preparing too much instead of taking action.

However, you can certainly learn enough that you don’t feel paralysed or handicapped by these issues in your daily business dealings anymore. If you can bring two of these challenges under control, then it becomes easier to deal with the third. So aim for two out of three.

For example, when you feel secure in your professional and business skills, you can better focus on learning the language and networking with local people. Or when you have plenty of supportive local friends and you know you have a solid business plan mapped out, you’re in much better shape to pursue further training and credentials.

Think of it as sitting on a three-legged stool: as long as at least two legs are firmly on the ground, you won’t wobble, even if the floor is uneven.

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Emmanuelle

Images by katiew (top) and lindley rebecca. (bottom), both via Flickr Creative Commons