5 Tips for Breaking Into an International Market

Today's technology gives us access to so many vehicles for breaking into markets abroad. Having the tools to go global with your company, however, doesn't mean that you have the skills to do so. Since international firms tend to make bigger profits, grow more quickly, and are less likely to go out of business, it's easy to see why you'd be eager to break into a new market. Just look at what happened when Alex F Bouri took his company, Seament, international: he changed the cement industry forever.

So, yes, breaking into a new market is advisable. But these tips from Alex Bouri will help you to do so more wisely, and hopefully more successfully.

Look Beyond the Obvious Cities

You'd be surprised to learn that some second-tier cities are easier to make revenue in, due to being less competitive, than larger, more "obvious" cities. For example, in India, better-known cities such as Bangalore are already saturated with certain industries, but smaller cities like Ahmedabad and Nagpur could make for a great place for your product. Plus, they also have highly skilled and eager talent to choose from.

Seek Advice

You're not alone in your exporting endeavors. In fact, there are plenty of resources for you to access before taking the first big step, such as government-run trade and investment bureaus. You could also contact other non-competitors who have already paved the way in your destination locations to ask for advice.

Research

Crunch the numbers to figure out if the location(s) you've chosen to expand to have a market for your products and whether your company will be able to compete with local firms when it gets established. If you can safely say "yes" to both of those questions, then you need to delve further into your research, such as figuring out how you will advertise, what taxes are like, and how to finance a property.

Be Flexible

In your new location, how quickly and easy will you be able to upsize or downsize? You never know what your business's progress is going to be like, so no matter what comes your way, you need to be ablet o sustain it. If you need to hire 50 more employees on the spot, will your premises support that? Can you bring on remote employees? Flexibility is invaluable in a situation like this.

Learn the Culture

When the time comes that you want to start marketing, making partners, et cetera, it's important to know the etiquette in order to avoid rubbing anyone the wrong way. Learn the "rules," whether it's receiving a business card with both hands or removing your shoes indoors, in order to avoid making any enemies or giving your company a bad reputation.

Business Tips: Starting a Family Business

The world of business can be very rewarding, being able to create and sell a product or service people need can give your life purpose.  Some people choose to go into business by themselves or with a friend, but family owned businesses are growing in popularity.  Family owned businesses were almost the only businesses in existence in the past, and even though their presence has declined over the years existing family business are still successful.  Seament, one of the largest international cement traders in the world, was founded by Alexander Bouri and is now run by his sons.  Big name companies like Walmart, Samsung, and Ford are family owned businesses.  If you want to include your family in your business ambitions, here's some advice on how to make your new business venture a success.

Identify the Need in Your Market

Some people go into business after spending years developing a service or product, and others have a passion for entrepreneurship but don't know what they want to sell.  If you want to provide a product or service you know people want, focus on potential customers in your area.  Think back to conversations you've had about your town with friends and neighbors.  Do you remember somebody saying that they wished there was a reliable dry cleaning service in town?  Did your next door neighbor mention that he misses the old pizza place that used to be around the corner?  Once you figure out the need, you'll be able to start your business.

Identify Your Family's Strengths

After doing some brainstorming you've decided on what product or service your business is going to provide customers.  Now that you know what you'll be selling, it's time to think about how your family members can help your business by identifying each member's strengths.  Does your son know how to use a cash register?  Is your spouse well-known enough in the community to attract people to your business?  Does your daughter know how to design websites and use SEO?  If you spend time truly evaluating your family's strengths and weaknesses you'll be able to find something useful every member can contribute. 

Identify Their Feelings

Even though it's your dream to have a family owned business other family members may not have similar feelings.  Nobody likes having to do something they have no interest in, especially if they feel like they're being pressured into doing it.  Don't spend time trying to recruit your family members, mention your idea to them and see if they have an interest in helping with your business.

Charity Profile: Agape Foundation

Sometimes large companies can get an undeserved bad reputation.  Big businesses are generally looked at as selfish and opposed to charity, but the reality is very different.  Many large businesses like Microsoft, Seament, and Wal-Mart have owners who donate a significant amount of their money to charity.  There are a variety of charities and causes business owners can choose to support, but many donations go to charities that strive to better education around the world.  If you're interested in donating to an education based charity, you could donate to the profiled charity in this blog post.

Agape Foundation

Education is essential for success and change, that's why so many societies stress the importance of learning on their youngest members.  There's one group in South Africa that's working hard to improve the quality of education for all of the children in their country.  All children, regardless of their background or class status, suffer when they don't receive a good quality education.  But children in the poorest areas of South Africa suffer the most.  There is also still a significant problem with educational gender inequality in the country, male children are for more likely to receive and complete school than females.

These reasons are why the Agape Foundation was formed by a group of women many years ago.  They were aware of the educational problems in South Africa, so they formed Agape in order to inspire, educate, and encourage the youth of the nation.  They work with individuals who don't have the financial needs they require to receive a high quality education.  They believe that with proper education, encouragement, and attention that South Africa can become a better place for all of its citizens.

If you're interested in donating or learning more about the Agape Foundation, visit their website at:  http://www.agapefoundation.co.za/index.php

Mark Bouri and EBM

The Bouri family is probably best known for founding Seament, the first company to utilize floating terminals to distribute bulk building materials, but this is far from the only project they have their hands on. Charles Bouri, for example, also manages Seabulk, and Alexander Bouri is on the board of directors for Envipco. The list goes on for all members of the immediately family, but EBM, or Environmental Building Materials, spearheaded by Mark Bouri, is one of the truly interesting companies in the bloodline.

We live in a day and age where the harm we are doing to our Earth is becoming visible and it's starting to plague our consciences. While some choose to turn the other cheek, others are deciding to be proactive, and that is exactly the purpose of EBM. EBM is a leading provider of bulk materials, but is also an innovator for conservation and waste elimination. They make it their mission to repurpose wasteful by-products into completely usable materials for construction companies. As a result, members of the construction industry are able to improve the quality of their jobs while also saving money. New markets are created in return, and what would once be a negative cost is now a positive return for these companies. It creates a win-win situation.

The company is able to succeed as the result of intensive research and market analysis. They perform testing and quality control on their products, projects, and development to ensure that each company that uses their products gets the desired results. As a result, the earth benefits due to the reduction of waste and the decreased depletion rate of precious resources.

It would be ideal for all businesses to begin employing environmentally conscious strategies in an attempt to control and reduce the potential damage to the environment. That may be far-off into the future; however, businesses like EBM and Envipco are most certainly a good start.

Seament Holding: How it All Came to Be

Even though it has been a major player in the cement industry for decades, Seament Holding started small, just like any other business. It's interesting to think about how one set of hands could start something that would go on to be so gargantuan, but that is precisely what happened when Alex Bouri conceptualized Seament. Let's examine how far this fifty-plus year-old company got to where it is today.

It was in 1961 that Seament transactions began; in their first years, they claimed the title of the first cement company to do bulk shipments. The immense success made it plausible them to acquire their first vessel just seven years later, which would allow them to broaden their clientele to many other countries around the world. By 1973 the company shipped out over 2 million tons of cement yearly on average.

At some point, business growth and heightened demand called for bigger ships. Thus, Seabulk Shipping was born, a company that could ship mass quantities of building materials. It started as just a small business ran out of Greece, but grew exponentially. Before they knew it, the top cement companies worldwide began employing these services, as it was extremely useful for gaining customers – Seabulk could ship to nearly any port. When the size of their shipments became too large for the receiving ports to handle, the floating terminal was born.

Since the dawn of the floating terminal, Seament is now a company that is recognized worldwide. Its revolutionary concept has allowed several countries to emerge from their cement crises and begin industrializing once more. As of a decade ago, Seament Holding now both manufactures and ships cement and continues to provide solutions for lesser-privileged countries.