“Don’t assume things work like in the U.S. and don’t take anything for granted.” - Larry Harding
That clear-eyed bit of advice came from a CEO at a consumer goods company, in response to a survey we conducted on the topic of global expansion. The survey, done in partnership with CFO Research, asked senior executives at small- and mid-sized businesses about the opportunities and challenges of opening overseas offices. Nearly 90% of the respondents were already operating overseas (the rest were considering expansion), and nearly two-thirds (65%) expected to be increasing their global footprint within a year of taking the survey.