If you have made the decision to export and you are consulting with government officials or finance people about the help they can provide to assist you meet your goals, you need to prepare for a discussion as to your business’ export readiness. True, there are many templates that you can work through to assess the export readiness of your business but what are they really assessing and how will they impact your future success in international markets. The following is what e

You are a small or medium sized business and your initial research indicates that there is a demand for your product or service. Either that or you are trying to decide why your initial revenue forecast was so far off the mark. You are not alone. In all of my 25 plus years in banking, I only saw one or two forecasts that were anywhere near accurate. Reflecting on this, I realised that a big part of the problem in determining the sales or revenue was the way we traditionally a

Russian Cruise Ship on Volga River Photo Credit: Raymond Joyce People underestimate the value of being open-minded and flexible, especially in an international environment. Below illustrates the importance of both of these traits. It's 1992 and I’ve just quit my job of 16 years to start my own consulting company. My initial idea is to offer my services as a controller on a contract basis to small and medium sized businesses. However, my long-term goal is to work international

Selling globally is an excellent way for companies to both expand their business as well as to mitigate the risks posed by the ups and downs of the local economy, since it is unusual for all parts of the world to experience downturns in their economies at the same time. That is not to say that going international is for everyone, as there are a number of factors that you have to consider. For example, the additional capital required, logistical and legal issues, currency ris