Global Jumpstart: The Complete Resource for Expanding Small and Midsize Businesses

For businesses large and small, a global marketplace represents a source of great promise -- and peril. While trade barriers have come down, and advances in communication and information technology have made new markets accessible as never before, one false move can spell disaster, especially for small and midsize companies. Nevertheless, with a combination of ambitious vision and careful planning, even the smallest businesses can expand far beyond their home country's borders. In Global Jumpstart, Ruth Stanat and Chris West draw on their many years of experience helping companies of all sizes expand into new markets to offer entrepreneurs a complete, step-by-step guide to launching a global strategy that will minimize risk, make the best use of their skills and resources, and capitalize on opportunities. Applying rigorous field-tested research and information-gathering techniques and citing the most current resources, Stanat and West present a comprehensive and immediately practical program for establishing a global mind-set, undertaking market research, building competitive intelligence, assessing customer needs, and evaluating a wide variety of options for expansion -- from, exporting to franchising to strategic alliances and joint ventures. The book also features the "global marketing audit," a self-assessment tool for determining your company's global readiness along many dimensions, including product mix, human resource capabilities, and sales and distributions infrastructure. All of the principles are illustrated through colorful case examples of companies as diverse as Powell Books of Portland, Oregon; Zion View Ostrich Ranch of St. George, Utah; and Applied Sweepers, Inc., Falkirk, Scotland. In many respects, the question is not whether to go global, but when and how. For small and midsize firms, the process of going global need not be overwhelming, as long as they are armed with commitment and information. Global Jumpstart will be an essential resource for initiating and sustaining that rewarding process.