Does this sound familiar?
You operate a small business that is popular in the domestic market and is fetching you good dividends. Given the digital era, you are getting enquiries from international buyers. What else could be an icing on the cake?
Opportunities are waiting for you to scale up your business. Women entrepreneurs often face policy and legal obstacles besides gender-biased sociocultural norms and tariff issues.
Women entrepreneurs never had it easy. The challenges have always been insurmountable and they had to walk the extra mile to reach their goals. Many women have been doing great business at the local level but to survive in the race, they have to go global.
The digital world has made it easy to expand businesses globally. Many dynamic women entrepreneurs have taken advantage of the digital economy to scale their businesses globally. These women leaders are shifting to global platforms with their innovative skills.
E-commerce has thrown a myriad of opportunities into new markets and one no longer needs the brick and mortar office to conduct business. This is the biggest advantage of technology, particularly for women. They can work from anywhere, anytime.
Going global also ensures that one is not affected by the local economic downturns. Besides, one can create brand awareness in different countries. A companys global presence helps it grow at the home front as well.
If you had not planned to go global yet, start now. Be innovative when you decide to sell your product or service abroad. You can be a motivation to many others who are looking for a direction to move ahead in their careers by taking their businesses global.
Be Informed
Finding the information, understanding official regulations and procedures is important for transparency, compliance, and predictability of the world business environment. Border procedure for each country is different and it is critical that you get the appropriate information. Be empowered with respect to information, procedures and also with respect to finances.
The Future
Even as we talk about women entrepreneurs going global, we do hope that in the near future we overcome these stereotypes and eliminate the gender from entrepreneurs.
Some Influential Businesswomen you can look up to -
They broke the glass ceiling that existed then. Coco Chanel and Estée Lauder brought about a whole new era for businesswomen across the globe. They were in the beauty business but today, women are establishing their businesses successfully in publishing, technology, fashion, broadcasting, beauty and other industries.
Huda Kattan, Tory Burch, Arianna Huffington of Thrive Global, JK Rowlin, Vera Wang, Martha Stewart, Cath Kidston, Angie Hicks, Sara Blakely, Denise Coates, Cher Wang, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Jennifer Hyman, Yang Lan, Rihanna (Robyn Fenty), Kylie Jenner, Oprah Winfrey, Beyoncé Knowles, Sofia Vergara and many others have shown that with determination and patience, women entrepreneurs can go global. They have had their share of struggles and rejections but they are there for everyone to see.
So, just make an intention and you will be there. And never give up!
