If the UK is too small for you now and you see the potential to expand into Europe, then there’s much about international trade, especially within the EU, that is really quite straightforward:

​

• Regulations are largely similar

• English is a pretty universal language

• Delivery isn’t difficult

• Cross-border sales platforms are everywhere

• And people are getting more used to buying from abroad.

 

Sounds easy - just make sure you do well over there what you already do well over here and you should be fine.

​

But … it’s easy to be complacent.  International trade is different in ways that can trip you up disastrously, even within the EU.  So you need to understand the differences, consider the implications and mitigate the risks before you make the leap.

​

Given these differences (whether foreseen or unforeseen), here’s the most important question to ask yourself before you embark – Can you afford to fail?  If your international business could fail without ruining your UK operations then maybe it’s time to consider expansion.  

 

But if you’d have to plough so much time, effort and money into your overseas start-up that failure would bring down your successful UK business with it, then perhaps you should think again.

 

This blog can’t give you all the answers, and don’t take the list of issues as comprehensive.  In fact, don’t even accept it as correct!  Like everything else in business, it depends on the circumstances – it’s variable, and fluid, and unpredictable, and volatile.  I could go on, but we’ve all got the same thesaurus on MS Word, right?

​

However some of the bigger challenges are likely to include the issues below.  Plan for them in advance and you’ll at least give yourself a head start when the unexpected happens.

 

Regulations

Trading regulations can trip you up in the most surprising of ways. 

 

If your UK company is called Bike Parts Ltd, you would not be allowed to set up a German subsidiary called Bike Parts GmbH (or the German equivalent - ‘Fahrradteile GmbH’).  The German authorities would consider this name too descriptive of the service offered, and therefore anti-competitive to other companies also selling bike parts. It makes sense when you think about it - but unless you knew, you simply wouldn’t think about it!

 

So even within the EU there are little differences that complicate matters and add time, cost and effort to your planning.

​

Start trading outside the EU and import regulations, barriers and tariffs are commonplace.  It’s your obligation to understand and adhere to these rules, not the regulator’s.  Fail to do so and the consequences can be swift and devastating, so you need to understand them well in advance.

​

And once the UK leaves the European Union, what happens then? 

​

I don’t know.  No-one does.

​

But can you afford to fail of it all goes belly-up?  If the answer is still yes, then crack on!

 

Languages and Translations

In 2009, HSBC launched a new slogan.  Its aim was to describe the importance of planning for every eventuality and of considering every possibility: ‘Assume nothing’ - it was pithy, clear and challenging – in English anyway.  But in some languages they managed to mis-translate it into ‘Do nothing’.

 

It cost them $10m to put right.  But worse was the sheer embarrassment (for the company that calls itself ‘the world’s local bank’) of getting it so wrong in the first place.  That level of irony may be very satisfying for everyone else, but if HSBC can get it that badly wrong - then so can you.

​

So don’t rely on online translation apps, they can give you a general steer but simply can’t deal with the nuances of language.  You need a native-speaking industry expert.  Consider it a necessary expense of doing business in that country.  Because it is.