Alexandra Levits Water Cooler Wisdom Considering a Global Business Strategy

Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom Considering a Global Business Strategy Many business owners dream oftaking a company overseas. Youre capable of making such a potentially lucrative moveâ€"with the right global business strategyin place. Tamara Nall, CEO of data consulting firmThe Leading Nicheoriginally incorporated in the U.S. But she decided to go global as a result of a relationship map that plotted the strength of her most influential relationships against the need for her companys services. Glaringly, the map pointed to international markets and West Africa specifically, says Nall. Kelly Gibbons, co-founder of personal branding firmMain and Rosehas a slightly different story. Her company, which helps socially-driven entrepreneurs and brands with communication services, received several inquiries from international clients every week. When the time came to expand, we decided tobase our new officein a location that many consider the center of the world: the UAE, Gibbons says. Consider Your Proposed Strategy From Top to Bottom A global business strategy should include: an overview of expansion plans, a description of the market, including size and competition, a description of planned overseas operations (including how products will be produced, distributedand marketed)and a description of how the international business will be led, managed, staffedand positionedfor growth. It sounds deceptively easy. But, according to Nall, developing an effective global business strategy requires careful consideration of a variety of factors. For the rest of the piece, head over to the AMEX OPENForum.