Are Small Business Owners Convinced of the Benefits to Going Global?

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Despite technology removing barriers to overseas expansion, it appears that SME owners in Australia and New Zealand are not yet convinced of the benefits. Recent data from Bentleys, an accounting and business advisory firm, found that only 19% of Australian and New Zealand businesses operated in overseas markets.

Why is that?  Are they risk-adverse?  Do they lack interest?  Are they underestimating the benefits to going global?

What's holding SMEs back?  What's needed to get them going in the global marketplace?

Find out all the answers here:  Australian SMEs Slow to Move Into Global Expansion

Golden Rules to Going Global

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John Quirk, partner at Howard & Company, which specializes in growing Kiwi businesses on the international stage, has learned a few things about how to build a global company from New Zealand.  He share some of his golden rules to going global below.

No. 1:  The 321 Rule.  The rule is everything will take you three times as long as planned. It will be twice as expensive as budgeted and you will only want to do it once. That said, it can be an exciting journey with significant financial gains. 

No. 2:  "The ghost of Ned Kelly" ... what might that be?!

Read the entire article to learn more:  The rules of going global

Eco-Friendly Solutions Go Global

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New Zealand father and son team Tim and Geoff Barnett are behind the innovative compact machine that crushes glass containers into a fine grade sand.

Since developing the machine in 2010, the pair have sold about 400 machines around the world under the brand Expleco.  Export markets include island resorts in the South Pacific, the Caribbean and the Maldives. 

What's next?  They are currently working on a program to supply the machines to 50 hotels all within the same block in New York City, and another deal to furnish 40 bars in a Texas football stadium.

Learn more on how they are going global here.

If You Are a Band, Here's What You Need to Do to Go Global

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An interview at Undertheradar:

Going Global is about getting bands to recognize what they need to do to be successful overseas. What are your recommendations for New Zealand bands if they were going to the UK to get their music on radio or to get noticed more generally?

Radio play is something where the sound needs to be right for the UK audience and obviously I don’t know everything that’s going down here but I feel like there is New Zealand stuff over in the UK that is appropriate and that perhaps some New Zealand bands wouldn’t travel as well. If a band’s going to go all the way to the UK don’t just go for a week. They should go, have a ...

Read more:  Jen Long (BBC1) - Interviews at Undertherader

Going Global Out of the Gate

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Going global from day one, OleOle is a start-up founded by an American with a Chief Technology Officer who is a New Zealand resident. Much of OleOle's technology development is done in its New Zealand office.
The product is a social media platform for football (also known as soccer in the United States and New Zealand), with 10 language versions.
It began development in 2006, opened as a public beta in 2007 and officially launched in April this year.
Read more here.