As I mentioned a couple of months ago I have recently published a book about my experience of relocating to USA which I believe will be helpful to many people as a guidebook to building a career and life in this country. You can read more about my book at http://internationalexperiences.blogspot.com/2007/11/my-book-has-been-published.html
This story (which consists of 3 short stories actually) is my "international expereince" with trying to promote my book with various cultures.
1. THE AMERICAN STORY. I often promote my book at various business networking events and there is this one business networking group that I really liked and that I have been a member of for 2 years. Recently the group leader changed and now instead of us paying for whatever everyone eats/drinks during the lunch meeting as it used to be everyone has to pay a flat fee whether one eats or not. I raised a question about it because I have a baby who is breastfeeding and has serious colic so I am very selective about what I eat (I don't eat outside home for now) but I was told I must pay as everybody else because that's the new rule or I should go to a "mommy & baby" netowrking group instead. I was totally appauled by the approach (people totally don't understand the concept of diersity and inclusiveness): they may be vegans in the group, jews who eats only a Kosher food or muslims who don't eat when it's Ramadan... And many other specific situation which are totally discarded by the group leadership. And this is a typical American approach in business too: "we either do it our way or we don't do it at all". No further comments.
2. THE RUSSIAN STORY. I was doing a networking presentation at one of the networking groups where I also sold my books at the end of the event. I Russian woman came to me for advice and she also wanted to buy the book but she didn't have cash with her. She promised to send me a check by mail so I gave her the book. Guess what? I never got the money. Some time after that I decided to hire a PR company to help me promote my book and I wrote my parents about it. Do you know what was their first reaction? - "Don't! People will take your money and run away with it!" Having lived abroad for 9 years now I already forgot that this in fact a common thing in Russia. Very often you cannot trust people you do business with. If in Europe and USA such occurances are more of an exception from the rule, in Russia it's more of a norm, unfortunately... Be vigilant!
3. THE ASIAN STORY. A week ago I was promoting my book at the Asian American Gala. All attandees coulb be devided into 2 main ethnic groups Indian-Pakistani and Chicnese-Korean-Japanese. The former expressed a keen interest in my book, they were very communicative, asked a lot of questions and some of them bought the book because indeed it is designed to help all the immigrants. The latter behaved in a strtange way: they seemed to be intrigued by the look of the book but when I asked them if they wanted to learn more about it they got confused and left the booth. I really cannot explain this phenomenon. Either they were shy or not confident in their knowledge of English or something else. It looked like they were interested but didn't dare to ask for more information, let alone buy the book. May be I was doing something wrong... I wish I could understand my customers better so if anyone has an insight, please share it with me!
Showing posts with label International Business. Show all posts
Showing posts with label International Business. Show all posts
Sunday, February 03, 2008
Friday, December 14, 2007
Answering my reader's comment - 2
I was thinking a lot about my another reader's comment regarding Russian, Chinese or Indian companies making mistakes while working with Americans. These cases are more difficult to find. I have not managed a project for an Indian or Chinese company so I cannot say. In terms of the Russians, here is the story.
They usually aproach an international project possibility with a lot of attention to detail. They do excellent background research. While Amercians might not KNOW how to deal with other cultures Russians, in most cases, do, but sometime they prefer to IGNORE that just because of being obstinate. Once I lead negotiations between a Russian and a British party and the former knew the latter very well, but chose to stick to their unacceptable methods of dealing with the other party because they didn't want to loose and inch. The ultimatum basically was "take it or loose it" and this is not the way to deal with the British (well, not the way to deal with anyone, really) The Russians KNEW that and this was their conscious choice to behave that way.
Did they win anything? They did, in terms of money on that one particular deal. They lost in terms of respect from the British and possibilities of having further deals with this party.
Another thing is that I noticed that Russians when aware of the other party's limitations will use this knowledge against the other party creating a win-lose situation rather than trying to make a compromise and get a "win-win".
Not all Russian companies are the same, of course but these are the things to be aware of.
They usually aproach an international project possibility with a lot of attention to detail. They do excellent background research. While Amercians might not KNOW how to deal with other cultures Russians, in most cases, do, but sometime they prefer to IGNORE that just because of being obstinate. Once I lead negotiations between a Russian and a British party and the former knew the latter very well, but chose to stick to their unacceptable methods of dealing with the other party because they didn't want to loose and inch. The ultimatum basically was "take it or loose it" and this is not the way to deal with the British (well, not the way to deal with anyone, really) The Russians KNEW that and this was their conscious choice to behave that way.
Did they win anything? They did, in terms of money on that one particular deal. They lost in terms of respect from the British and possibilities of having further deals with this party.
Another thing is that I noticed that Russians when aware of the other party's limitations will use this knowledge against the other party creating a win-lose situation rather than trying to make a compromise and get a "win-win".
Not all Russian companies are the same, of course but these are the things to be aware of.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Answering my reader's comment
Following up on one of the comments left by 1 of my readers to the following post http://internationalexperiences.blogspot.com/2007/10/major-mistakes-companies-make-when-they.html (what is "an 'all-star cast' of assets to have when going into the international arena" ) my professional opinion can be summarized as: you need a man with a plan at least.
What I mean by this is that for any international expansion to succeed, primarily, there should be a person (or a team of people) internal or external working with an organization who have the vision, the knowledge and the experience in the international field. This person or a team of people should be leading the project. As obvious as it sounds it is very often not the case.
For example, I know 1 company which continuously wants to be my client and I continuously refuse to work with them because the new owner (a rich guy from a rural Midwest who never worked abroad) wants me to organize the project of their expansion into Russia the same way the previous owner penetrated South Africa. Overall, the company does have some international experience but the guy at the top doesn't have a clue.
Secondly, any new market entry project should follow a certain set of steps (a plan). The steps are basically the same, no matter what country you are looking at. However, the information you get at each step and decisions you make based on this information will be different for each new market. I developed this topic more profoundly in my article "New Market Entry Strategy" (http://www.mycontentbuilder.com/Article/New-Market-Entry-Strategy/30298) Obviously, this is just a basic "skeleton" and my job as a consultant is too put "meat" on it but it gives you a general idea of what I was referring to earlier.
These are just the basics but you will be very surprised to find out how many companies don't get even these basics.
What I mean by this is that for any international expansion to succeed, primarily, there should be a person (or a team of people) internal or external working with an organization who have the vision, the knowledge and the experience in the international field. This person or a team of people should be leading the project. As obvious as it sounds it is very often not the case.
For example, I know 1 company which continuously wants to be my client and I continuously refuse to work with them because the new owner (a rich guy from a rural Midwest who never worked abroad) wants me to organize the project of their expansion into Russia the same way the previous owner penetrated South Africa. Overall, the company does have some international experience but the guy at the top doesn't have a clue.
Secondly, any new market entry project should follow a certain set of steps (a plan). The steps are basically the same, no matter what country you are looking at. However, the information you get at each step and decisions you make based on this information will be different for each new market. I developed this topic more profoundly in my article "New Market Entry Strategy" (http://www.mycontentbuilder.com/Article/New-Market-Entry-Strategy/30298) Obviously, this is just a basic "skeleton" and my job as a consultant is too put "meat" on it but it gives you a general idea of what I was referring to earlier.
These are just the basics but you will be very surprised to find out how many companies don't get even these basics.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
MegaConverter 2
If you are involved in ANY sort of international activity: business or just travelling you cannot do without this very handy MegaConverter 2 http://www.megaconverter.com/Mega2/
It has hundreds of conversions in areas like chemistry, cooking, currency, dress sizes, engineering, finance, fuel efficiency, lighting, oceans, shoe sizes, and more.
The site also has a scientific calculator that performs operations far beyond adding, multiplying, subtracting or dividing. It calculates logarithms, tangents, random numbers and may other things (if you know what they mean and where to use them :-)
It has hundreds of conversions in areas like chemistry, cooking, currency, dress sizes, engineering, finance, fuel efficiency, lighting, oceans, shoe sizes, and more.
The site also has a scientific calculator that performs operations far beyond adding, multiplying, subtracting or dividing. It calculates logarithms, tangents, random numbers and may other things (if you know what they mean and where to use them :-)
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Doing business in European Union
EU represents a huge attractive market for many companies around the world but to succeed on this market one needs to know all rules, regulations and existing opportunities.
One good site, http://www.buyusa.gov/europeanunion/, provides a lot of information on doing business in EU. It has links to:
- EU standards & regulations;
- where to find EU grants, tenders & financing;
- reports on various sectors of the EU market;
- trade documents;
- the latest news & information and much more.
Of course doing business in France might be a very different experience from doing business, say, in Hungary because of country specific business culture, mentality, etc. You will most likely need to find an organization (consulting) that will help you with peculiarities of a specific market but at least the aforesaid site can give you a big overall picture which is also very important.
One good site, http://www.buyusa.gov/europeanunion/, provides a lot of information on doing business in EU. It has links to:
- EU standards & regulations;
- where to find EU grants, tenders & financing;
- reports on various sectors of the EU market;
- trade documents;
- the latest news & information and much more.
Of course doing business in France might be a very different experience from doing business, say, in Hungary because of country specific business culture, mentality, etc. You will most likely need to find an organization (consulting) that will help you with peculiarities of a specific market but at least the aforesaid site can give you a big overall picture which is also very important.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
On-line solutions for global expansion of small businesses
I would like to continue the tradition of providing examples of successful strategies small businesses apply in expanding internationally.
The easiest way to reach wide audiences globally is, of course, through the Internet. But what else can you do if you already have your business running on the Internet? It doesn’t seem like much… unless you are very motivated and creative, like CapucinesBoulevard.com art gallery.
CapucinesBouloevard.com is an on-line art gallery and auction that exhibits and sells art works of various artists from around the globe. And recently they added another line of business - an on-line gift shop! When you visit, say, National Gallery in London and you fell in love with a couple of, say, Monet works what do you do? You buy a calendar or a fridge magnet or something of this sort to take a piece of Monet with you, don’t you?
CapucinesBoulevard.com followed the same logic: why don’t give our visitors a chance to buy a gift with an image of their favorite work of art if they cannot buy the work itself? And the choice of gifts at their gift store http://www.cafepress.com/capucinesblvd is fantastic: cups, bags, apparel, clocks even cute teddy bears - lot's of stuff for you, your family and friends!!! But what is most important, the prices are very affordable and gifts can be shipped anywhere in the world! Excellent customer service, 30 days return policy, secure transactions – everything you will expect from a major reputable on-line store.
I believe it is a great idea, very well thought-through and very much in-line with their core business, which actually enhances their core business even more. I applaud their creativity, enthusiasm and consistency in pursuing their international ambitions. This is a great example every small business can learn from.
The easiest way to reach wide audiences globally is, of course, through the Internet. But what else can you do if you already have your business running on the Internet? It doesn’t seem like much… unless you are very motivated and creative, like CapucinesBoulevard.com art gallery.
CapucinesBouloevard.com is an on-line art gallery and auction that exhibits and sells art works of various artists from around the globe. And recently they added another line of business - an on-line gift shop! When you visit, say, National Gallery in London and you fell in love with a couple of, say, Monet works what do you do? You buy a calendar or a fridge magnet or something of this sort to take a piece of Monet with you, don’t you?
CapucinesBoulevard.com followed the same logic: why don’t give our visitors a chance to buy a gift with an image of their favorite work of art if they cannot buy the work itself? And the choice of gifts at their gift store http://www.cafepress.com/capucinesblvd is fantastic: cups, bags, apparel, clocks even cute teddy bears - lot's of stuff for you, your family and friends!!! But what is most important, the prices are very affordable and gifts can be shipped anywhere in the world! Excellent customer service, 30 days return policy, secure transactions – everything you will expect from a major reputable on-line store.
I believe it is a great idea, very well thought-through and very much in-line with their core business, which actually enhances their core business even more. I applaud their creativity, enthusiasm and consistency in pursuing their international ambitions. This is a great example every small business can learn from.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Understanding international trade documentation made easy
Here is an extremely useful site for international businesses: http://www.scinet-corp.com/associates/index.htm?bdd_md.htm~index2 A glossary of selection of terms used in world trade of goods, products and services, in 4 different languages: Spanish, English, French and German.
The only drawback of the glossary is that the terms are sorted alphabetically in English only (i.e. it's made easy to translate a word from English to any other 3 languages). However, if you have a German word, say "Vorleistung" and you need to translate it in English or any other language you'll find it difficult because it is not listed under V, it is listed opposite English word "advance" under A.
But this site also offers information on a number of other useful world trade documentation such as (check the links on the same page above the glossary of trade terms):
EXPLANATION OF BILL OF LADING TERMINOLOGY
INCOTERMS 2000
DOCUMENTARY CREDIT
and others.
The only drawback of the glossary is that the terms are sorted alphabetically in English only (i.e. it's made easy to translate a word from English to any other 3 languages). However, if you have a German word, say "Vorleistung" and you need to translate it in English or any other language you'll find it difficult because it is not listed under V, it is listed opposite English word "advance" under A.
But this site also offers information on a number of other useful world trade documentation such as (check the links on the same page above the glossary of trade terms):
EXPLANATION OF BILL OF LADING TERMINOLOGY
INCOTERMS 2000
DOCUMENTARY CREDIT
and others.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Trade Promotion Directory
I just recently found an excellent resource for companies who are doing or planning to do business in Europe: UNECE 's (United Nations Trade Economic Commission for Europe) Trade Promotion Directory, http://www.unece.org/trade/ctied/tradedir/trddir_h.htm
As mentioned on the site "this Directory is intended to help enterprises and investors find the organizations and information they need for trading or investing in the UNECE region.
The information is organized by country. Under each of the 55 European countries (the list includes also USA and a couple of countries in the Near East, such as Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, etc.) are lists of organizations covering the following areas:
-Information for investment and enterprises
-Government organizations and other supporting organizations
-Trade facilitation
-Corporate governance (including regulatory agencies)
-Trade and enterprise financing
-Chambers of commerce, and business associations
-Sectoral business associations "
The informatin is regularly updates and the site mentions in which country directory there were recent changes.
As mentioned on the site "this Directory is intended to help enterprises and investors find the organizations and information they need for trading or investing in the UNECE region.
The information is organized by country. Under each of the 55 European countries (the list includes also USA and a couple of countries in the Near East, such as Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, etc.) are lists of organizations covering the following areas:
-Information for investment and enterprises
-Government organizations and other supporting organizations
-Trade facilitation
-Corporate governance (including regulatory agencies)
-Trade and enterprise financing
-Chambers of commerce, and business associations
-Sectoral business associations "
The informatin is regularly updates and the site mentions in which country directory there were recent changes.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
World Customs Organization
As fantastic as it was to talk about travelling there is always business to attend. Here is a great resource for everyone doing business internationally: Customs Administartion Websites world-wide http://www.wcoomd.org/ie/En/CustomsWebSites/customswebsites.html
Everyone trading across the borders knows that customs regulations and procedures are usually the most complicated in any country. On this site you can find links to Customs offices in most of the countries in the world that will make your task a little bit easier.
One tip: when you try to select "Europe" as a continent the page does not work properlly, so just select a country you are interested in from the "select a quick link" drop-down menu below.
Everyone trading across the borders knows that customs regulations and procedures are usually the most complicated in any country. On this site you can find links to Customs offices in most of the countries in the world that will make your task a little bit easier.
One tip: when you try to select "Europe" as a continent the page does not work properlly, so just select a country you are interested in from the "select a quick link" drop-down menu below.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Small businesses going global: International Art Gallery
When we talk about International Business, most of us think about huge multinational corporations. What fascinates me personally is the ability of small businesses to find their unique niche and grow the business globally. With this article I start a series of stories about such companies.
Capucines Boulevard art gallery and auction (http://www.capucinesboulevard.com/) is a very interesting entrepreneurial venture based out of Chicago, IL which succeeded in becoming international on several levels:
1. Capucines Boulevard gallery attracts artists from all over the world: though it's a relatively new venture founded in 2005 it already represents nearly 60 artists from Western Europe, Eastern Europe, India, USA. Therefore it creates a unique opportunity for visitors to experience everything from the mesmerising landscapes of New Mexico to unusual sceneries from a small Russian village. Paintings, ink drawings, prints; glass and metal works; painted silk - an art lover can find anything and everything in this gallery. But most importanly many of the exhibited works of art can be found ONLY at CapucinesBoulevard.com. Russia, Ukraine, Byelorussia, for example, are not strong in e-commerce yet and Capucines.Boulevard.com is the only outlet where artists from these countries offer you their art for purchase.
2. Being an Internet based art gallery and auction CapucinesBoulevard.com has a truly global outreach: it can sell a work of art to anyone anywhere in the world. You can make a purchase from the comfort of your own home and it will be delivered to you by a courier within a couple of days.
Of course, there are many Internet art galleries but the following characteristics make CapucinesBoulevard.com unique:
1. It does not specialise on just 1 - 2 - 3 countries, this gallery is truly diverse and international
2. The experience you get from interaction with the gallery is dynamic: you can view the photos of the works of art, listen to the artist's favourite music or their interviews, view virtual tours of their studios, etc.
3. Even static works of art come to life in CapucinesBoulevard.com gallery!! To learn how it's possible you can watch these videos:
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-6C6S0Zma8
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obNvYJSsGdI
This company is a great example of a small business going global, an excellent sales and marketing approach and an exciting experience for customers - all in one.
PS The ink drawing included in the article is called "Dancing Libra" from Zodiac collection of a Russian painter Anatoly Kudravcev exhibited at CapucinesBoulevard.com
Capucines Boulevard art gallery and auction (http://www.capucinesboulevard.com/) is a very interesting entrepreneurial venture based out of Chicago, IL which succeeded in becoming international on several levels:
1. Capucines Boulevard gallery attracts artists from all over the world: though it's a relatively new venture founded in 2005 it already represents nearly 60 artists from Western Europe, Eastern Europe, India, USA. Therefore it creates a unique opportunity for visitors to experience everything from the mesmerising landscapes of New Mexico to unusual sceneries from a small Russian village. Paintings, ink drawings, prints; glass and metal works; painted silk - an art lover can find anything and everything in this gallery. But most importanly many of the exhibited works of art can be found ONLY at CapucinesBoulevard.com. Russia, Ukraine, Byelorussia, for example, are not strong in e-commerce yet and Capucines.Boulevard.com is the only outlet where artists from these countries offer you their art for purchase.2. Being an Internet based art gallery and auction CapucinesBoulevard.com has a truly global outreach: it can sell a work of art to anyone anywhere in the world. You can make a purchase from the comfort of your own home and it will be delivered to you by a courier within a couple of days.
Of course, there are many Internet art galleries but the following characteristics make CapucinesBoulevard.com unique:
1. It does not specialise on just 1 - 2 - 3 countries, this gallery is truly diverse and international
2. The experience you get from interaction with the gallery is dynamic: you can view the photos of the works of art, listen to the artist's favourite music or their interviews, view virtual tours of their studios, etc.
3. Even static works of art come to life in CapucinesBoulevard.com gallery!! To learn how it's possible you can watch these videos:
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-6C6S0Zma8
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obNvYJSsGdI
This company is a great example of a small business going global, an excellent sales and marketing approach and an exciting experience for customers - all in one.
PS The ink drawing included in the article is called "Dancing Libra" from Zodiac collection of a Russian painter Anatoly Kudravcev exhibited at CapucinesBoulevard.com
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
International Consultants
I wanted to share my recent observations with regards so-called "international consultants" who are plenty in USA and whom I meet quite often at various networking events.
I don't really understand what is the reason behind the phenomenon I am going to talk about (may be the geographical position of USA - far away from most of the world, i.e. Europe, Middle East, Asia, Africa) but most of Americans I meet who spent at least a couple of months abroad during their lifetime (either working or as a student) consider themselves to be professional international consultants. Here are 2 classic examples that I recently met:
1. Middle-aged guy who spent 3 months in Europe as a student (about 20 years ago) insists on being extremely knowledgeable about in European business. He never worked in any European company and since his days over there many countries do not exist any more and new ones emerged.
2. A lady who spent a year or so in Europe working as a ground personnel for 1 of the American Airlines (you know those girls who check in your luggage before the flight) now has her own consulting company specializing in... international business and international relations! How much did she learn about European business models printing baggage receipts???
Moreover, neither of these so-called "international consultants" speak any foreign language and I suspect has know clue about cultural aspects of the regions they "specialize in" either.
However, their businesses exist and, apparently, some companies trust them! I just wanted to warn my readers about these types of "consultants" and "international experiences". Don't waste your money! If you have never been abroad except as a tourist your experience and knowledge is not inferior to that of such "consultants" even if they spent several month abroad. The main question you have to ask is what were they able to learn doing whatever they were doing while staying abroad? Drinking in pubs with other students or printing boarding passes (as per my examples) has nothing to do with understanding the principles of international business.
I do call myself an international consultant too (my company is Emerging Markets Advice http://www.emadvice.com/ ) but in contrast to what I have already mentioned I lived, studied and worked in 5 different countries (and when I say "studied" I mean I studied international management, and when I say "worked" I mean I worked as international business development professional in big multinational companies). I also participated in a number of cross-regional and global projects involving a dozen other countries and in addition I speak 3 languages.
This phenomenon does not exist, say, in Europe because you cannot fool a truly international community where the majority speaks at least 2 languages, has experience studying abroad and some of them have worked abroad too. There you really have to show you can add value compared to everyone else.
Therefore, dear business owners, if you plan an international expansion, please, be careful choosing a consultant to help you with the task! Beware of former international camp councelors, flight attendants and the like.
I don't really understand what is the reason behind the phenomenon I am going to talk about (may be the geographical position of USA - far away from most of the world, i.e. Europe, Middle East, Asia, Africa) but most of Americans I meet who spent at least a couple of months abroad during their lifetime (either working or as a student) consider themselves to be professional international consultants. Here are 2 classic examples that I recently met:
1. Middle-aged guy who spent 3 months in Europe as a student (about 20 years ago) insists on being extremely knowledgeable about in European business. He never worked in any European company and since his days over there many countries do not exist any more and new ones emerged.
2. A lady who spent a year or so in Europe working as a ground personnel for 1 of the American Airlines (you know those girls who check in your luggage before the flight) now has her own consulting company specializing in... international business and international relations! How much did she learn about European business models printing baggage receipts???
Moreover, neither of these so-called "international consultants" speak any foreign language and I suspect has know clue about cultural aspects of the regions they "specialize in" either.
However, their businesses exist and, apparently, some companies trust them! I just wanted to warn my readers about these types of "consultants" and "international experiences". Don't waste your money! If you have never been abroad except as a tourist your experience and knowledge is not inferior to that of such "consultants" even if they spent several month abroad. The main question you have to ask is what were they able to learn doing whatever they were doing while staying abroad? Drinking in pubs with other students or printing boarding passes (as per my examples) has nothing to do with understanding the principles of international business.
I do call myself an international consultant too (my company is Emerging Markets Advice http://www.emadvice.com/ ) but in contrast to what I have already mentioned I lived, studied and worked in 5 different countries (and when I say "studied" I mean I studied international management, and when I say "worked" I mean I worked as international business development professional in big multinational companies). I also participated in a number of cross-regional and global projects involving a dozen other countries and in addition I speak 3 languages.
This phenomenon does not exist, say, in Europe because you cannot fool a truly international community where the majority speaks at least 2 languages, has experience studying abroad and some of them have worked abroad too. There you really have to show you can add value compared to everyone else.
Therefore, dear business owners, if you plan an international expansion, please, be careful choosing a consultant to help you with the task! Beware of former international camp councelors, flight attendants and the like.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Starting in Exporting
Last year (August 29, 2006, see the blog archive) I posted information on this blog on how to start in International Trade from a UK point of view. I mean the site it based in UK but information they give is pretty generic and quite useful.
Here is a great US site of the similar nature: http://www.foodexportusa.org/export101/. Though some specifics are US and food industry related they are just a few, most of the information is applicable to any industry. For instance, there is a checklist you need to go through to evaluate if your company is ready for exporting or guidelines on export pricing applicable no matter what product you are planning to export.
Each page on the site gives you numerous useful links on that topic too, for example: http://www.foodexportusa.org/export101/price-links.htm
Here is a great US site of the similar nature: http://www.foodexportusa.org/export101/. Though some specifics are US and food industry related they are just a few, most of the information is applicable to any industry. For instance, there is a checklist you need to go through to evaluate if your company is ready for exporting or guidelines on export pricing applicable no matter what product you are planning to export.
Each page on the site gives you numerous useful links on that topic too, for example: http://www.foodexportusa.org/export101/price-links.htm
Monday, March 26, 2007
Trade in Muslim World
If you are planning to engage in international trade with a Muslim country (whether in Middle East or Africa) here is a great help: http://www.muslimtrade.net/tradeguideline/ This site has great country specific information such as export/import regulations, legal framework, banking system, taxation, etc.
Some of the countries' profiles are missing for now, such as Jordan and UAE, for example, but the site promisses that "other muslim countries are on the way..." so it's worthwhile checking it out on regular basis for new additions.
Some of the countries' profiles are missing for now, such as Jordan and UAE, for example, but the site promisses that "other muslim countries are on the way..." so it's worthwhile checking it out on regular basis for new additions.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
French Chambers of Commerce and Industry Overseas
I have a personal interest in France and French culture and the other day while researching some info on France I found a great website that would be useful for everyone interested in international business, not only business with France. This is the site of the Union of French Chambers of Commerce and Industry Overseas which brings together and supports the development of the 112 CCIs overseas in more than 75 countries: http://www.uccife.org/en/index.htm
Part of the site is, of course dedicated to France: you can obtain a lot of useful info about everything from doing business to travelling in France. The other part of the site, however, is dedicated to French Chambers of Commerce work overseas: here you can find market research, market information (i.e. useful publications) about most of those 75 countries around the world where French CCIs work.
The site can be viewed in French, English and Spanish.
Part of the site is, of course dedicated to France: you can obtain a lot of useful info about everything from doing business to travelling in France. The other part of the site, however, is dedicated to French Chambers of Commerce work overseas: here you can find market research, market information (i.e. useful publications) about most of those 75 countries around the world where French CCIs work.
The site can be viewed in French, English and Spanish.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Law Library: International Taxes
I would like to introduce the Law Libray - fantastic resource for anyone doing business internationally: it provides an incredible listing of sites related to International Tax Laws per country (25 "most wanted" countries included from around the world from Australia to Russia to Brazil to South Africa). Whether you are an accountant, a lawyer or a marketing manager doing market analysis - this site will be a great help for you:
http://www.law-library.info/page/tax-international.htm
http://www.law-library.info/page/tax-international.htm
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Sea Ports Worldwide
This is a great resources for those working in the field of Export/Import, Transportation, Supply Chain and Logistics. The website below lists links to all major sea ports around the world:
http://impoyexpo.com/ports.htm
This comes very handy since you have all ports in one place and you don't need to spend your time looking around. One correction, though: the link to Russian port of Vladivostok is invalid, the proper link is: http://www.vladcomport.ru/index.html?eng
http://impoyexpo.com/ports.htm
This comes very handy since you have all ports in one place and you don't need to spend your time looking around. One correction, though: the link to Russian port of Vladivostok is invalid, the proper link is: http://www.vladcomport.ru/index.html?eng
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Foreign Direct Investment
Recenty I found a great market reserach tool analyzing Foreign Direct Investment Projects globally: www.locomonitor.com . Extensive reports can be ordered for a fee but snapshot reports and some extra reports are available for FREE per country.
The snapshot reports give you data for the last 4 years (2003-2006) and provide information on total figures, figures per country (investing in your chosen country), industry, by business function and data on the top 5 multinational companies investments.
In Downloads section you can find some extra free reports and presentations related to international business and FDI.
Finally, Locomonitor publishes free quaterly reports per certain topic. For instance, Q1 2006 report analyses China outbound FDI and Q3 2005 report is talking about Strategic Ivestment Locations for 2005.
I hope you find this information useful for your International Business/FDI projects.
The snapshot reports give you data for the last 4 years (2003-2006) and provide information on total figures, figures per country (investing in your chosen country), industry, by business function and data on the top 5 multinational companies investments.
In Downloads section you can find some extra free reports and presentations related to international business and FDI.
Finally, Locomonitor publishes free quaterly reports per certain topic. For instance, Q1 2006 report analyses China outbound FDI and Q3 2005 report is talking about Strategic Ivestment Locations for 2005.
I hope you find this information useful for your International Business/FDI projects.
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Russia in the Spotilight, Part II
One of my blog readers asked about the link to the articles about Russia I mentioned in my post called "Russia in the Spotlight". I didn't include the links to these articles because I read these articles in the hard copy of Business Week. But I value my reader's opinion and thus, I performed on-line search for these 2 artcile and here are the links:
1. http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/dec2006/gb20061207_520461.htm?chan=search
2. http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_51/b4014100.htm?chan=search
1. http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/dec2006/gb20061207_520461.htm?chan=search
2. http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_51/b4014100.htm?chan=search
Monday, December 18, 2006
How to be a successful International Business Consultant
At the end of November 2006 I was giving a presentation at the Institute of Management Consultants (IMC USA, Chicago Chapter) about skills to have and things to know to be a successful International Business consultant. I put the essence of this presentation into an article which I have recently published. You can read this article at http://www.emadvice.com/articles.html (article # 5)
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Russia in the spotlight
If you are interested in doing busienss in/with Russia you should have a look at the recent Business Week magazine (December 18, 2006) There are 2 full articles about Russia, which in a way complement each other.
On the bright side it shows that Russian middle class is growing, hence the consumption is growing too including the demand for foreign made goods. In addition Russia is also popular with foreign investors and the stock market is up.
However on the dark side there is a question raised about the sustainability of such a growth since the most of the money inflow is oil money and only a very tiny percentage of population really benefit from it. And in addition all the recent political scandals and a growing controling role of the government are called "troubling signs" by foreign experts.
Both articles make a great reading (one is an essay style and the other is an interview with a famous Russian chess player, Garry Kasparov) and I just wanted to add my personal views on the topic. It is true that sometimes doing business in Russia is like walking on the mine field unless you have a map of dangerous areas. But even with the "map" you have to be very careful because there might be a dozen of addendums to it which you, as an outsider, might not know about. Or in the middle of your walk the government can intervene and change the rules of the game...
Why are people still coming then, you may ask? Well, I guess it's because the prize on the other side of the field is really attractive. Just look at the automotive industry: in the recent years a number of foreign car manufactures (Ford, Toyota, VW, etc.) started to open their huge manufacturing plants in Russia despite the fact that the Russian governemt is very protective of the Russian automotive industry and potentially it can interefere with the foreign manufactures' plans if they see a real threat. But Ford and the likes are still going for it because there is demand and hence, there is future. It might not be the bright and easy one but the potential is there.
On the bright side it shows that Russian middle class is growing, hence the consumption is growing too including the demand for foreign made goods. In addition Russia is also popular with foreign investors and the stock market is up.
However on the dark side there is a question raised about the sustainability of such a growth since the most of the money inflow is oil money and only a very tiny percentage of population really benefit from it. And in addition all the recent political scandals and a growing controling role of the government are called "troubling signs" by foreign experts.
Both articles make a great reading (one is an essay style and the other is an interview with a famous Russian chess player, Garry Kasparov) and I just wanted to add my personal views on the topic. It is true that sometimes doing business in Russia is like walking on the mine field unless you have a map of dangerous areas. But even with the "map" you have to be very careful because there might be a dozen of addendums to it which you, as an outsider, might not know about. Or in the middle of your walk the government can intervene and change the rules of the game...
Why are people still coming then, you may ask? Well, I guess it's because the prize on the other side of the field is really attractive. Just look at the automotive industry: in the recent years a number of foreign car manufactures (Ford, Toyota, VW, etc.) started to open their huge manufacturing plants in Russia despite the fact that the Russian governemt is very protective of the Russian automotive industry and potentially it can interefere with the foreign manufactures' plans if they see a real threat. But Ford and the likes are still going for it because there is demand and hence, there is future. It might not be the bright and easy one but the potential is there.
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