Doing business abroad is no longer the big leap it once was, thanks to cheaper airfares and a more interconnected world. However, it’s not at all risk-free by any means, and you’ll still find yourself struggling, no matter how many resources you thought you had.
Here are a few ways you can make that move just a bit easier.
1. Make sure your insurance and vaccinations are in order.
The most immediate threat tends not to be to your business, but to your health and safety. Even foreign diplomats are sometimes surprised to find that they may have to pay for their own vaccinations or that their standard insurance policies don’t provide any coverage outside their home country.
Some countries may not even allow you entry if you are unvaccinated or lack health insurance. These aren’t just arbitrary requirements either. Foreigners are often at an elevated risk from different types of diseases when they live or work overseas. What’s more, foreigners also are more at risks from accidents than locals.
This makes it important to get an international health insurance policy from Now Health International or a similar provider, as neither regular insurance nor travel insurance provides the right kind of coverage.
2. Read news about your host country.
Political, social, and economic instability can spell doom – or opportunity – for your business abroad. Whichever way you choose to look at an event happening in your host country, what’s important is that you know just exactly what is happening, so you can make the best possible decision.
In order to do that though, you must try to get news from multiple sources, as political leanings can lead to vastly different interpretations of events. It can be difficult to get an accurate picture of events without checking out local and international sources from across the political spectrum. Using multiple sources will allow you to “read between the lines” and enable you to get a much better understanding of what exactly is going on.
3. Talk to people who have actually attempted to do business there.
When you review stories from expats on Quora and other online forums, it’s surprising just how many people take the plunge and try to make a new life for themselves in a foreign country without any preparation or any knowledge about what to expect. This can lead to disappointment and many potentially costly mistakes that would have been avoidable if one had taken the time to actually talk to someone who had been there.
While this information may be colored by their bias and personal experiences, there can be a wealth of valuable tips and tricks of the trade to be learned, provided you know what questions to ask.
4. Join expat forums.
While always in-depth or unbiased, these forums are a good way to connect with other expats who may be able to point you in the right direction when it comes to your own ventures. These forums are great for giving you general ideas about what to do and what not to do. They are especially valuable if you aren’t especially fluent in the local language, as you will likely find people who can help you through your host country’s bureaucracy – which you will eventually have to deal with when doing business.
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