In class we have talked about working abroad for corporations and some business strategies to entering foreign markets. I was reflecting on an experience I had in the Atacama desert in Chile and realized that the small town I stayed in, San Pedro de Atacama, had a ton of American and foreign small business owners. This town in the desert was pretty much economically fueled by tourism so I imagine that some tourists saw a good opportunity to make some money so they set up shop in the desert. It seems like a great idea because Americans like to work with Americans. It is a lot easier to trust and have a good time with a tour guide that speaks your language and understands your culture.
Have you found a place abroad where there were many foreign business owners? If you could open up a business abroad what and where would it be? Could you identify some problems before you started your business?
Here is a link that will help you decide where and types of things you should know before you go.
Know Before you Go
Kathy Wood, our professor, has started her own touring business so maybe she can share some of her barriers to entry or tips to success. I also found this article about starting a business in France which makes start up seem really complicated. French Start Up
Finally, this USA Today article talks about some "faux pas" that could really hurt you and your attempt to start a business abroad. It talks about Americans being culturally inept when it comes to respecting others abroad. We have talked about this a lot in class but this article has a lot of good points that we should observe. faux pas
Nico and Shane
8 comments:
I believe that having business in another country is a great way to experience that culture. since you will be dealing with the country people all day, you will most likely learn their culture. Also, you will also have the chance to express your culture to the local people giving them the chance to learn about the American culture. I think it that living in another country is the best way to learn that places culture.
I visited Costa Rica a couple years ago and encountered many American business owners there. Most of them were owners of the hostels I stayed at while traveling around the country, and it seemed like a good market from the experiences I had. The owner of the hostel I stayed at was from Washington D.C. and had been living in Costa Rica for around five years. There did seem to be some barriers to entry in the country as I saw them scrambling constantly to make sure all of the random permits and legals were being properly addressed. I think that as opposed to the case with France, lower income nations like Costa Rica see the influx of foreign business owners as a positive influence on their economy, whereas the same is unnecessary in countries like France.
When I was abroad in Europe, I noticed how much people obsess over Abercrombie and Hollister which are classically known as brands that were only cool in middle school. Out of curiosity I browsed around a store that sold Abercrombie and the shirts were ridiculously expensive. My friends and I always joked that we should open up an Abercrombie store and make a fortune- but it may actually not be a bad idea. American brands are glamorized in other countries and people are willing to spend much more on certain products than we are just for the chance to say its "American"
-Jessica Salomon
I agree with what Ashref says above that starting a small time business in another culture is a great way to learn about that culture. Although, I feel like if you start a business in a culture you are not familiar with at all is very risky and might not yield positive profits. We have studied many cases in class on how companies have failed because of lack of preparation but that has been on a completely larger scale, but it could be different from how a smaller business operates and enters a makret.
I think opening a small business abroad would be a great way learn and experience a new culture. Starting a business abroad brings many risks if you do not do the proper research. Your revenue and your profits might not be enough to keep your business afloat if you do not understand the culture that you are trying to open a small business in. Whether you are a small business owner or a large company going abroad, if you do not have the basic understanding of that culutre, their way of life, language, etc.,their is no way you will succeed as a company abroad.
I am really interested in this topic, because eventually I hope to open a bakery in France. I have NO CLUE how to open a business in a foreign country, but I do know that it's difficult to get started.
I would be really interested in opening a bakery in a city that isn't Paris. As a small business owner, the size of the city would be a really important factor for me, if the city is too huge it would be irresponsible to open a bakery. However, if the city is too small, your market wouldn't be big enough to support a new business.
I went to Costa Rica a few years ago for vacation, there are not many American small businesses there, but one niche of the market that foreigners to Costa Rica do have is the charter fishing industry. Almost all of the charter boats in Quepos were American owned and operated. I definitely think it makes people more comfortable dealing with fellow citizens when abroad. If i were able to open my own business in a foreign market i would like to start and international shipping company or maybe an Americanized bar on the beach in the Caribbean.
I think that if you are really wanting to grow your business, starting a business abroad would be a great way to go. You would want to make sure first though that product or service will be sought for in that country. Just because it does well in the states, does not necessarily mean it would do well in another country. You also would want to research the laws for that country before opening up a business there. I would love one day to be able to own a company that operated in multiple countries.
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