Doug Bruhnke’s Grandmother Emma Arriving at Ellis Island, 1932
“Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action.”
It seems it would be great if we had one growing customer for our business located right across the street. Then we could spend all our time right there, crossing the street if there were ever any issues. We wouldn’t have to worry about cross-cultural issues and adding a layer of complexity to our business with global business. But that one growing customer would be high risk: all eggs in one basket. And so to diversify and lower risk, having more customers makes sense … across town, across the state, across the country and, eventually, across the world. It’s inevitable if you want to grow with low risk.
This is why almost no company proactively goes after global business. We tend to go kicking and screaming. Only 1 percent of companies export, and of those, less than half export to more than one country, and the one country is Canada or Mexico more than half the time. The number of companies exporting to multiple countries outside Mexico and Canada is really small. Worse yet, three out of four exporters wait till a buyer approaches them instead of proactively planning. We REALLY don’t want to do this!
It takes action, and that’s hard. An analogy I use is my grandmother and grandfather: Unhappy with how things were going in Germany in 1932, they proactively decided to export themselves to the U.S. That took thoughtfulness, energy and courage to go to another country and make a new life in the teeth of the worldwide depression. I’m sure happy they were proactive, because status quo would have been to stay and then be on the wrong side during WWII — and would they have survived?
Should you wait or should you go (global)? When asked, 100 percent of the speakers at Global Chamber have said, “I should have gone global sooner.” Exporting companies in the U.S. are 20 percent more profitable on average, and the 1 percent that export account for 15 percent of the national GDP.
Will you wait for something to happen, or will you be proactive in 2016 and take a positive step forward in your business growth? We can’t make that decision for you, but we can offer a safe place to come when you’re ready: Global Chamber.
Global Chamber is the only organization in the world with the mission to grow business from anywhere to anywhere while collaborating with every organization. We help companies, investors and business service providers grow and succeed. Consider lowering your risk in 2016 with a plan that includes global growth.
Doug Bruhnke is CEO and Founder of Global Chamber®
