Making the decision about whether to raise your kids as bilingual can be difficult, and with the amount of Running a home business is one of the easiest ways to take your career to the next level. Your own working office straight from your living room, being able to pick up and put down whenever you need to, and no unnecessary overheads to weigh you down - it’s the dream! However, when it comes to expanding your business and bringing in international customers, you can feel at a disadvantage. How can a home grown company reach that many people when you’re just on your sofa? Here are a few tips to keep in mind.

Find Out Where Your Traffic is Coming From

The first thing to do is see if you’re already getting international traction. Where are the visitors to your website coming from? Do you have a good portion of overseas visitors who have no way to buy through you? If you do, it’s a good sign it’s time to open your doors to a wider audience! And not only that, you know exactly where to go, what networks to form, and where your marketing efforts will be best received.

Research Different Markets

Once you’re sure you know where to move, it’s time to research the markets there. If you’re an American business, for example, and you get a lot of European traffic, what countries and what markets within them would make the most sense? Look at your current demographic to get a headstart here - can you find customers like this abroad? And if you can identify a persona, what does someone who looks a lot like your current clientele need and/or do in another country?

Get Your Shipping Needs Addressed Early

If you have international customers, you’re going to need to pay for international shipping that’s both efficient and safe - and that’s hard without a bit of background! So it’s best to address these needs as early as possible. In fact, make this decision the cornerstone of what markets you think about moving into. And the more research you do now, the more significant savings on UPS international shipping you could get, and that could save you a good portion of your budget that you’ve worked so hard to put away.

Be Aware of Administrative Costs

Of course, you’re going to need to put up quite a bit of budget if you’re going to step up your marketing in this manner. The admin costs alone can be enough to put you off, but if you think you’ve got a strong enough pull, they can be worth it. You may need to start working with someone on the ground in an overseas territory, for example, who can do market research or a focus group for you. And while it’s easy to outsource this need thanks to the internet, you should take your time in choosing your representative.
Going global is possible for many home businesses out there; you’ve just got to make sure you’ve done your research and have a budget ready to go!

Disclosure: This is a collaborative post.