Today more than ever it makes sense to build your company to compete on the Global market. The best way to do this is to plan on going global from the inception of the company. From incorporation to launch, you need to think globally for every decision you make. 1. Start Locally Step one is to start your company using the resources, support and funding available to you locally. Organizations like; Austrade, NZTE, business incubators, local business economic development organizations, and business networking groups are great places to make contact for mentoring, knowledge, and in some cases financial support. With your first draft of your business plan complete, your company incorporated, your team established, your IP filed locally as well as globally, your product or service being used by local companies, and your friends and family funding in process or closed, you are now ready to explore the US market. 2. Plan Globally Your business plan should factor in expanding to the US market early in the growth of the company. As of July 2007 there are 301,139,947 people in the US. When you compare that to 4,115,771 people in New Zealand and 20,434,176 people in Australia, the decision to start global expansion in the US is the next logical step. 3. Do Your Research While you are developing your business plan, you can research the US market using search engines as well as services like Hoover's Online and trade organizations in your specific market. Research market size, learn if there are any geographical hot spots, and identify your competition, both direct and indirect. This research will help you identify the best place to locate your first US office. 4. Come to the US With the preliminary research complete, the next step is to come to the US to validate your research and complete a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis on the US market. This is also the time to meet face to face with prospective customers, partners, and sales channels. Plan on spending one to three months in the US depending on your product and market size. With close to 50% of all venture funding coming out of Silicon Valley and with its proximity to Australia and New Zealand, Silicon Valley is one of the most popular places to launch a company in the US. 5. Launch Your Company in the US With your research complete the next step is to locate temporary housing and a business office as well as identifying key service providers to assist you with legal, accounting, immigration, banking, and insurance issues. 6. Build Your Company in the US Now that you have your living quarters, transportation and real or virtual office established, and you have selected your law firm(s), accounting firm, bank, insurance providers, etc, it is time to concentrate on building the infrastructure of the company. This includes: Business structure and legal issues Human Resource issues for employees and contractors Immigration, visa and work regulations Issues US Federal regulations Embassy and trade assistance Company, personal, and BOD Insurances Building a US Board of Directors and/or Advisors Building the US Business Development and Marketing Team Setting up partnerships with US companies Developing and implementing sales and distribution Developing and implementing your marketing plan 7. Landing Your First Account With your infrastructure complete you can now concentrate on landing your first reference account(s) and/or business partnerships. To do this you need to: Position your company for the US market Have a clear understanding of your market landscape, and the competition. Understand the US business culture Understand your target audience and how to reach them Establish business relationships in your area Develop a US brand for your company and products or services Identify and contact “ideal customers” to secure your first US reference account. 8. Funding Your US Company Once you have a reference account established in your country as well as in the US and you have revenue stream(s) identified, now is the time to look for outside funding (if you need it). Funding can come from a number of sources including: Position your company for the US market Friends and Family New Zealand and Australian Angels and VC's Government Aide and Grants US Angels and VC's Customers and Business Partners Banks and individual investors (board members or advisors) 9. Start Now Launching in the US will take anywhere from six months to a couple of years and potentially cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. The earlier you plan for the US in your business cycle the faster you can launch and be doing business in the US. 10. Contact the GoToMarketUS Team Contact us with any questions you have about entering the US Market. If we don’t have the answer we will contact one of our service providers and get answers quickly and accurately