How To Internationalise your Business

How to….. internationalise and grow your business
In light of the new set of How To…… Business JUMPSTART courses, “How To” questions have been on our minds.
How To Internationalise seems to be a big one that weighs heavy on many SMEs in the EU, especially those that are only used to do business only inside their own country or in their own language. The extra resources and skills required can be daunting to SMEs especially when it comes to expanding their networks and doing the groundwork for sales that can only come further into the future.
 
I came across this article the EU report “INTERNATIONALISATION OF SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES 2015” according to which SMEs see that some main barriers to exporting are:
·         identifying business partners abroad is too difficult,
·         knowing where to find information about the potential market,
·         not knowing the rules,
·         the company does not have the specialised staff to deal with exports, or that
·         they lack the language skills to deal with foreign countries.
 
Almost one third of the SMEs think that support for finding business partners and networking would help them to internationalise, but “how to” achieve that…..?
 
Although SMEs are the backbone of the EU economy representing 99% of European businesses, and providing 85% of all new jobs, only 30% of SMEs have exported to another EU country, while 20% have exported to a non-EU country. However, 36% of the SMEs have imported from another EU country, while 19% have imported from a non-EU country. There is a large domination of small companies selling only to others in their own local geography.
 
Today markets are global and full of opportunities. Therefore, internationalisation of a SME plays an extremely important role when the company wants to boost the growth of its business and for companies working with complex scientific and technology products, an absolute necessity to ensure survival.
It takes a leap of faith. It takes confidence in the global appeal of the products and services – helpful if this is backed up by concrete market research and actual market evidence such as letters of intent – but even that takes looking beyond your own borders.
 
Firstly, there is a need for a strategy – a plan to create the market, or join the existing international market.  SMEs do not need to have all the expertise internally in their companies, but they can outsource activities including internationalisation activities. It is possible to work with carefully selected, trusted groups, such as SSC, to bridge the gap to success whilst you are gaining those skills and the confidence to go forwards alone.

New compliance requirements for UK registered companies

UK registered Limited companies are legally required to keep and maintain a number of statutory records and registers, and it is the responsibility of the Director(s)/company secretary to ensure these records are accurate, up-to-date and made available for public inspection at the company’s registered office or SAIL address (Single Alternate Inspection Location). Unfortunately, the pressures of running a SME sometimes mean that these records are neglected, and only considered once a year when the Annual Return to Companies House is due to be filed.

When you seek investment, these records and registers (including minutes of Board meetings and records of all resolutions and decisions) will be scrutinised as part of the due-diligence, and correcting things retrospectively can be expensive and time consuming as well as reflecting poorly on the Company's professionalism. These issues can be prevented by spending a bit of time and effort in ensuring the records are kept up to date.

From 6th April 2016, there is a new additional record keeping requirement. As part of the Government's drive for greater transparency, all UK registered companies are required to keep a register of people with significant control (PSC). Further information can be found here.

SSC have a template for a compliant PSC register - please contact us for your free copy..

Pitfalls of Pitching in Science

The Pitfalls of Pitching and Presenting
 
We hear and read a lot about how lousy scientists are at pitching. That is partly due to the fact that scientists are very factual in nature and are not marketing and sales oriented people and so they do not think it is important to market own expertise. However, today pitching and presenting your expertise in a convincing manner is extremely important for everybody. It gives context to how and where your products and services should be used and the benefits that they bring to the customer.
 
It is essential that researchers improve their understanding of the impact of the business world. The content of a presentation depends on who it is targeted to:  a funding agency, a customer or an investor. In addition, one needs to consider if the target is a national or an international organisation since different things are considered important in different countries and cultures.
 
Often researchers tend to focus too much on technical details and stay within the area that is their comfort zone and their expertise. However, the presentation and/or pitch should have a balance between technology explanation and the market potential as well as showing that the team behind the idea are the best people for the job. Researchers need to be able to productise her/his expertise in a manner that its benefits are easily understood.
 
Pitching is especially important, probably the most important skill, for young companies. They need to be able to present the business proposition in a simple manner that is tailored to the audience.
 
SSC has excellent training courses on pitching and presentations tailored for customer’s needs. If you want to receive more information on our courses, please contact Dr. Anna-Marja Hoffrén, SSC Finland, email: [email protected] or phone: +358-45-2782595