In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, remote work turned into a common practice that revolutionized the traditional concepts of doing business all around the world. Backed by the rapid evolution of digital tools and online technologies, working from home has become all the rage and many organizations started to manage their professional activities at a distance.
Did you know that establishing an international business online without leaving your room is possible in today’s world? As you can guess, the answer to that question is “yes”. However, many people do not understand how something like that is possible. Despite that, many people want to know what are the standard steps you should follow to get your business ready for going global while you are still sitting inside your room.
Fortunately, you came to the right place to improve your knowledge. In this article, you will find out 6 tips to build your international business from home.
1. Study your market
Conducting sufficient market research is the very first step toward creating a product or service that meets global needs. To validate your business idea, you need to delve deep into the market pains. The internet introduces you to an endless pool of resources to get an initial overview of your target market. Meanwhile, there is a diverse range of software applications that help you do your first-hand market research. Design your survey using one of the online survey making tools and share it on different social networks or send it via email to your potential customers. Also, please get in the internet forums where your prospects meet and exchange their thoughts.
2. Talk to locals
Before you kick off an online global business, you need to explicitly present your idea to some locals and get their feedback. One key element to succeed in a new target market is talking directly to your audience, but does this require you to travel abroad? Not necessarily; you can either run an online video call with some residents with the help of a video conferencing app or hire a company that specializes in market researching and online focus group creation, such as CRI or GreenBook.
3. Design an ecommerce platform
E-commerce is one of the world’s fastest-growing trends on the internet thanks to the broad scope of benefits it reaps to global businesses. Establishing an e-commerce site might be a bit costly, yet it brings your products closer to your market and allows your customers to take direct purchasing decisions. Besides facilitating the sales and distribution process, designing your e-commerce platform enables you to keep track of your conversion rates and improve them by attracting more buyers.
4. Employ secure payment methods
One major challenge you encounter as you enter the e-commerce field is the payment methods you would offer. Your customers seek out a secure and easy way to pay online for your products or services. This requires you to collaborate with a reliable payment gateway that operates in the country you are targeting and offers comprehensive and secure services.
5. Partner with a professional courier
It is clear now that you don’t have to travel to establish your online business, but your products do. Partnering with a proficient shipping service provider or courier from the outset saves you the hassle of tracking your post-sales activities, including the final delivery step. Professional couriers can take your product to places you only see on the television.
6. Find a veteran localization vendor
Now that your business has got what it takes to become global, it is time to kick off your marketing activities. To promote your brand in new foreign markets, you need the help of a professional localization agency that has a strong track record of similar successful projects and specializes in your field. According to this website, a localization partner will cater your content to the needs of your target audience, and thus drive higher sales figures toward your business.
Benefits of Starting International Business from Home
Going through the 6 steps from our list will help you achieve your goals. However, deciding on starting an international business from home is the toughest challenge. People do not have enough motivation to take the necessary risks. They would rather stay in their comfort zone and work for the salary they get from their “9-5” job. That is the reason why we want to highlight certain benefits of starting e-commerce. We are sure the list of benefits will serve as a good motivation for people that hesitate to decide on that move.
Smaller Investments
We do not want to say that you will manage to start a business without initial capital. However, you will get the chance to start the entire process with a relatively smaller amount of money. First of all, you will easily realize who your target audience is from the insights that you get online. Despite that, the opportunity to reach the audience is not going to require a huge amount of money. Advertising through blogs, social media, and other advertising channels is inexpensive compared to TV promotion.
Freedom to Choose the Location
The key benefit of starting a business from home is the freedom to choose your working hours and location. We do not want to say you will work less than 8 hours a day. In most cases, you will need to be active in all parts of the day. That especially counts when taking the first steps. Yet, you can choose to work from whatever location you want. Every location that has a stable Wi-Fi connection is going to be a good option for you. For instance, you can go to a village or somewhere outside of the town and work on your business improvement.
Profit and Growth Potential
As we previously said, remote work became especially popular in the last couple of months. However, the current situation doesn’t give you the chance to earn more money and grow. Things with online international businesses are different. If you are willing to work more than usual, you can be sure that your effort will pay off in the end. Hard work and creativity will improve the earnings you have and you have the potential to grow in the future.
Money should not be the main source of motivation that you have. However, the opportunity to improve your business (and entire life) should be a great inspiration for each person. Because of that, don’t delay the beginning of the process because the reward can come in different shapes and sizes.
There are many ways for entrepreneurs to create a unique and captivating business name. Brainstorming ideas is always ideal, creating mind-maps and having free writing sessions can also be useful. Entrepreneurs can also turn to business name generators to help them come up with the best possible name. With so many different name generators to pick from, it can be difficult to know which one is the best for you. Learn about TRUiC’s business generator and how it manages to deliver on all the needs and wants of a good name.
Congratulations! Now you are an international business owner. Good luck with all your next steps.
