Growing Internationally: An Export 101

1. Business Plan Reflections

Research shows that only a minority of businesses have a documented business plan that sets out their vision, objectives, strategy and behavioural values. Interestingly, companies that export are more likely to have a business plan than those that do not.

Do you have a plan?  If you do not and you are considering exporting then you are inviting a whole world of new challenges without a plan for managing them.

With a plan in place this can then form the basis for evolving an export plan.

2. Culture: An Export Mindset

Is the mindset right in your business? Is yours typically one that looks for excuses not to do something, or one that has a ‘can-do let’s give it a try’ mindset?

Exporting invites a whole world of opportunity to make mistakes and get things wrong. If your culture is not up to it then you are dead in the water. You will just generate a lot of excuses for ‘glass half-emptiers’ to retrench from global domination.

3. Bite-sized Market Research

Early on you will need to do some research.  The world is a big place.  Whilst you might want to deliver world domination (good – that is a growth mindset) you need to be realistic.  Pick off the low hanging fruit.

4. Revisit the Plan

Your market research will hopefully have provided greater insight into the markets worth targeting, the logistics of doing so, the resource you will need (marketing, people, infrastructure, external support, finance etc) and what to go for first. With this new intelligence it is time to revisit the plan and adapt so where you go from here is informed by credible data, not conjecture.

5. Finance

The working capital cycle needs funding – and the quicker the cycle (from curating goods and services through to getting paid for what you sell) the easier it is to sustainably fund what you need from existing resources and facilities.

The difference is that because you have got your business plan together and undertaken some research, you are in a better place to understand what you need and what the proposition is going to look like to the bank or any other backer.

6. Regulatory Environment – Tax and Legal

You are used to selling into the UK market, and the regulatory and tax consequences of doing so.

If you sell overseas, then your transactions are going to touch the tax and legal systems of other countries.  No two countries are the same.

You will need to have your act together to ensure that inefficient processes and poorly selected partners do not drive costs (tax and other overheads) over and above your revenues.

7. Logistics

Assuming your website alone is not sufficient as a trading platform, you may need to identify a distributor or agent to help you sell into your chosen market.

8. Support Network

In addition to recruiting additional internal resource your business plan has identified that you will need, you will also have to consider external support.

In addition, having a business advisor in the country to which you are selling will be invaluable in helping you to stay compliant as well as helping you to identify useful business contacts in country.

Via our membership of Kreston, Bishop Fleming has offices in over 125 countries that are willing and able to assist you.

9. Do it

Nothing worth having ever comes easily.  There will be challenges.  But plenty have gone before you and made a success of it.  Follow the steps above, take the plunge and be prepared to learn.

Further information

Find out how we can help you or your business with International Tax matters by contacting a member of our International Team.

Click here to visit our International Advisory Knowledge Hub, business and personal international insights and expertise together in one place.