When is the right timing to take your business internationally?

The decision to take your products & services internationally is a big one, when done successfully it becomes a catalyst of great new things to you and to your business; when not done properly, could easily become a waste of your time, a waste of resources, and in some cases could damage your staff’s morale and the reputation of your brand.

With platforms such as Amazon, EBay, Shopify, Oberlo, and others, it has never been easier to make your products available to a worldwide audience, but although “easy” some of these options do not always offer you a sustainable business model, for example, you have limited control over supply chain operations and sales; if your products don’t sell as fast or as regularly as you need, often these e-commerce platforms charge you regular (high) fees that will start eating your profits and undermine your chances of success in your international expansion. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of success stories out there of entrepreneurs and business owners using these platforms to grow their businesses, you just need to make sure it’s the right fit for your business and for your products.

There’s no magic recipe about the right timing to expand overseas. Each business has its own idiosyncrasies, but as a general rule I advise all my clients to try to gain a material presence in their local/domestic market(s) before attempting to go overseas. Why?

Your domestic market, by definition, should be the easiest and most cost efficient way to promote your products and services, you should be quite familiar with the local culture and traditions, you speak the same language as your customers, know their basic habits. Your domestic market gives you a platform where you can build a solid structure for your business, build a team, develop a client base, develop your products using valuable feedback from your market, build relationships with financial institutions, and mostly important build cash-flow (the lifeblood of any business) which will help you later on your international expansion efforts.

Once you have a material presence in your domestic market, I would say at least 3 years of steady profitability, and if you believe your local market no longer gives you the growth options you desire – because it became too small, or it’s too crowded, or you believe your products and services would be a great fit in other countries - than you should seriously start considering in taking your business internationally.

Nuno G. Rodrigues is an international consultant & business advisor to fortune 500 companies and small businesses in multiple industries globally.