Whether you run a textile mill in rural China, or an organic juice factory in the South of France, a hedge fund in Mumbai, a winery in Southhampton, or a IT outfit in Silicon Valley, you would have to literally be living under a rock not to realize that business has gone global.
The internet has shattered barriers and ceilings and have opened up all nature of commerce to global consumption. It is imperative that small businesses, just like large businesses, learn to think globally even though they may be local actors.
That is going to mean getting technologically literate. At the bare minimum, you need to invest in a website. That is your primary point of sale (POS). With a website, while you are acting locally, people around the globe can find your business and you may be surprised that you can generate customers that way. Of course, the key will be optimizing your website, using the kind of key words that Google would pick up in a search done around the globe. That is not easy or inexpensive but small businesses need to keep these issues in mind as they develop their strategy and chart their goals. And this is just for starters. There is so much more to think about in this shifting global economy.
Just because you are a small business in New York city, for example, and your services are strictly confined to New Yorkers, doesn't mean that over time you could not or should not expand to other markets. You can bet that your competitors are keenly aware of this phenomenon called Globalization, and they are constantly thinking of ways to exploit these global markets - as should you.
If you are interested in even more sophisticated and proven ways to get the job done, check out this blog.
3 years ago
