Pop quiz: Would you rather have 6,000 customers or 6,000,000,000 customers? I can’t imagine anyone who would pick the first answer! Technology has allowed us to communicate with people all around the world and that means we can increase our customer base and our vendor base.
Do you have a world view?
Where we were once confined to start businesses that were made of “bricks and mortar” today we can start businesses that are available in the digital world of the Internet, accessible by people around the globe. And with technology, we can set up a business that uses the skills and resources of each area to move our products:
Create a business online selling products imported from China. Have a call center in India handle phone-in orders and customer service. Have a logistics company move the assembled product from China to wherever your customer is. You never see the product, you never talk to your customers, you simply create the vision and fill it with the appropriate people.
Why mention China and India specifically? They are massive economies making huge inroads into the world of Internet business. Their economies are growing at enormous rates and they have highly trained specialists and affordable wages. Investors around the world are looking their way – and to other countries in the Pacific Rim – to do business.
And today’s business is online. Strategic Alliances and joint ventures are no longer done in the boardroom of multi-national conglomerates; they’re done at the kitchen tables and bedroom offices of online entrepreneurs who recognize that the globe is their marketplace.
So how can we make this really practical to you, the business owner?
- If you are in business right now, but simply operating locally, consider expanding your horizons. Will your products or services somehow improve the lives of those in other parts of the world?
- Or, consider if you could expand your current business on a larger scale with the help of an outsourcing company or a call center. Perhaps a full time employee is out of reach for you, but a large building of highly trained staff available to answer your phone is NOT!
- Develop a plan to increase your business beyond its current capacity if you have the right mix of talent, skill, and resources available.
- Get online and start clicking. You’ll find that talent and those resources! Look for outsourcing companies like www.outsource2india.com or www.yourmaninindia.com. Check out a site like www.guru.com for sales, marketing, and web development.
- Strategize your next steps with a budget and an expanded business plan that encompasses the world as your marketplace.
If you’re looking for future opportunities, you may be surprised to discover that the future of global business is going to take place in two places: first, it will take place in Eastern Europe and Russia, and then it will take place in South American Latin countries. If you want to grow your business, leverage the booming economies in India and China and prepare to launch your business into these places.
It’s a small world after all. It’s time to take advantage of the business opportunities that aren’t just around the corner, but are rather at the far corners of the world.
