Excellent job by a student on mitigating International Business Risk!

Professor,

I liked the article you posted and found it interesting. In fact, once I read it, I did more research on other recommendations for reducing international business risk. According to Morley (n.d.), there are 10 things to know before conducting business internationally.

1 - Affordability - International business means more costs, including travel, customs, phone calls, and office space if you plan to offer an overseas office. For most companies, the biggest difference in costs between having an international or domestic business is shipping. Don't forget to include the hidden costs involved with shipping overseas, such as hiring a freight forwarder and purchasing overseas shipping insurance.

2 - Feasibility - Revise your business plan to include your overseas goals and network with other industry contacts who have gone global. Discuss the decision with those in your business, with consultants and your industry peers. Look at other similar companies who have gone overseas and evaluate their success. Think about what makes their company different from yours.

3 - Communications - Language and cultural barriers can be detrimental to some kind of businesses if they are not addressed. Determine if you will need to hire translators or change your website.

4 - Market - According to Entrepreneur.com, you should not take your whole business overseas at one time. Instead, you should run a test case offering one product or service overseas. If it works well, then you might slowly start to expand.

5 - Currency Exchange - Expanding internationally can be scary for both you and the person with whom you are doing business in terms of payment and delivery of goods. One idea to solve this issue is to go through an international collection service that will help the transaction run smoothly.

6 - Problem-solving - Solving problems in the United States is relatively easy. If the problem can't be solved with a phone call or e-mail, you simply hop on a plane and fly a few hours to meet the partner or customer in person. However, doing international business creates a whole different problem. Develop a strategy for how you will deal with problems when it is not cost-effective to handle them in person.

7 - Customs and Border Operations - Whether you will be traveling, or an employee or product will be going overseas, knowing how customs and border operations work is integral. Understand how to pack your product for shipment overseas and learn how to make passing through customs easier for you and your employees.

8 - Discounts - If your company will have employees overseas often, you will need to determine how you can save money on things like cell phone and Internet use, lodging and meeting locations. Some airline, phone and hotel companies will give discounts to those who do frequent business overseas.

9 - Hidden Fees - Many banks will exchange currency for you before and after you leave for a trip, so you don't have wait to do so at the airport and pay high exchange fees. You can also use credit cards to minimize exchange rates.

10 - Exit Strategy - If you start small, trying a single product or service overseas, your losses will not be as hard to make up. However, consider how many times you are willing to try different types of international markets and how you will expand domestically if the international idea falls through.

References

Morley, M. (n.d.). What to know before conducting international business. Retrieved from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/10-things-before-conducting-international-business-20611.html