What’s it like for a business traveller to find himself trapped by a major terrorist incident? Not actually hostage at the point of a gun, but holed up in a room on his own, unable to leave as there is a genuine fear that gunmen are hiding in the corridor outside and could set fire to the building, as they have done in the one next door? If it happened to you, how would you feel? Panicked? Lonely? Stressed? Ready to emulate a superhero as best you are able? Just bored? Or all the above? Back in November 2008, our Host, Oliver Dowson, was visiting Mumbai and found himself trapped in his hotel r ..read more

Like it or not, new international business expansion depends on travel. Maintaining and growing existing business too, whatever one’s definition of international business – export, import, outsourcing, licensing, or operations of any kind in other countries. Sure, there are a number of established ways one can do many kinds of business in other countries without leaving home – selling online, using local distributors and agents, and so on – but without actually going there,  seeing and understanding the market for oneself, and making face to face contact with local people one needs to wor ..read more

Sometimes, something happens that makes a business owner realise that their business really needs a whole new approach if it’s to succeed.  Sometimes, that something is forced upon them. Like now.  In a month, two months, three month’s time, life will begin to return to normal. None of us know, but we all already suspect that the “new normal” won’t be like the one before – the normal of just a few weeks ago. What is that going to mean for your business? Can you just carry on from where you left off? Will your established customers all come back, and will new ones come naturally like ..read more

Since we started this series of podcasts a couple of years ago, quite a number of people have asked me to cover franchising as an approach to Grow through International Expansion. Becoming a franchisee has certainly proved a popular business opportunity for many who have a reasonable sum of money to invest, want to run a business that they can get started quickly, but who either don’t have a ready business concept of their own or simply want the increased confidence that operating an established model brings. However, I admit that franchising is not a topic that I’ve had personal experience of ..read more

There seems to be a general agreement that companies – both in the manufacturing and services sectors – could export a lot more than they currently do. If that’s so, what’s holding them back? My guest in this podcast, Andy Moylan, points to two key factors. One is simply the lack of accurate information and advice backed up by real practical experience. The other is fear of not getting paid. It can be bad enough chasing payment in your own country – but how do you go about it in a far distant one, and what can you fall back on if all else fails? As you’ll hear, Andy is a plain speaking entrepr ..read more

In this podcast, I’m going to talk about how I see the future of international business in 2021, what those with small and medium businesses should be doing and planning in the months ahead, why nobody should panic, and why it makes sense to go on listening to Grow through International Expansion podcasts and engaging with our articles and other content. We’re faced with two major global crises – coronavirus and climate change. Whilst they are not related to each other, both give rise to considerations about international business. Even Brexit gets tied in here. Don’t panic. I’m staying positi ..read more

In today’s podcast I’m talking with Karolina Peret, the International Manager for British Water, the Trade Association for the water industry. Karolina is responsible for British Water's global programme through the International Forum (IF).  With an international background in the aquatics and environment industry, she brings in-depth knowledge of water and waste-water related issues. Karolina's education is complemented by an MSc in engineering, a passion for sustainability, and broad experience in the private and government sector. Karolina leads the International British Water portfol ..read more

Our host, Oliver Dowson, first went to set up a business there back in 2006. It had to be a joint venture, and you may have listened to his podcast telling the story of some of the potential partners that he met. Oliver writes “Having decided on my partner, I found it surprisingly easy to get started – in retrospect, so much so that I never asked a thousand questions that I should have done. I’m not saying that anyone was trying to deceive me, but my business would certainly have been more successful had I taken more time to understand the culture and read all the small print more diligently ..read more

When you’re planning international expansion, deciding on the country isn’t enough. Next you need to choose a city or region – and there’s a lot of reasons to consider and, in the bigger countries, a lot of alternatives to consider. Obviously, the priorities depend on what sort of business you’re in and what you want to achieve in the country you’re expanding to. But the fundamentals are almost always the same. Last month, our host, Oliver Dowson, visited the annual Going Global exhibition at the London Excel Centre. It’s a big event, part of the Business Show. For those who are looking at exp ..read more

Walking round the Going Global exhibition in November gave visitors the opportunity of talking with representatives of many different countries. As you, our audience, know, here at Grow International we’re firm believers that international expansion to any country in the world can bring real benefits and, specifically, add value in different ways to many kinds of business. Every country, though, brings its own individual opportunities. Our host, Oliver Dowson, writes: “Most of the countries exhibiting were there, I think, simply because they’re not the ones that business people naturally think ..read more