Things You Should Know Before Expanding in Europe

Want to extend your business empire in Europe but don’t know where to start? Have a lot of uncertainties but very much willing to invest? Here are the things you should know before landing a grand in a foreign land.

Buckle up because we’re about to take off!

Businessmen nurture company growth in the form of business expansion. These include opening an additional company in another location, franchising, company merging, venturing into a new market, acquiring another company, and so on.

• In doing this, a company needs to consider its financial capability to spend more as it expects more profit in return. 
• Business expansion can be done locally, internationally, and digitally using only the internet. 

If your company’s target is to extend your services or products globally, particularly in Europe, here are the things that you should take into consideration:

1. Take Notice of Employment Laws.

There are more than forty (40) countries across Europe, and every one of them has a different employment system that is demographically appropriate to protect its people.

By understanding their labor law, you can create legally compliant employment contracts. This will result in better retention and greater efficiency because your employees know they are legally protected.

Moreover, having a good employment contract attracts more experienced professional workers, which will help your company have a good start.

2. Consider the Corporate Legalities.

If you’re considering building a corporate entity in a European country, you should study the processes involved in legalizing your business.

Among those are the taxation system, procurement of business permits, and local and national laws. All of these, aside from employment laws, should be thoroughly analyzed.

Moreover, hiring professionals is more time and cost-efficient than doing the legwork yourself. For example, it would be more convenient for you to hire payroll services in Belgium than to ask your HR team to do it themselves. Translating and understanding employment laws in another language takes a lot of time.

This will help you avoid misunderstandings, lawsuits, delays, and other possible legal loopholes that can be used against you.

3. Assess Cultural Implications.

Whether in Europe or not, assessing the social and cultural norms of a country where you’re considering expanding is essential.

It’s not just about being able to speak their languages. Instead, it’s about understanding their most profound norms. Your target audience in Paris will behave differently than your target audience in Zurich.

Failure to capture your target audience’s cultural differences will significantly affect your chances of success.

4. Know the Market Trends

Business expansion needs well a well-thought-out plan and in-depth market research. As mentioned earlier, European countries vary in more ways than just their languages.

You should have a market researcher who is well-versed in the cultural and social environment. And who could that better than a local or a native of that country?

Hiring or running your own phone survey team offshore may not give you a comprehensive answer about the market’s response to your product or services. Thus, the margin of error may be too significant for you to ever recover.

You can only create an effective marketing strategy if you know the business and startup environments of European countries. It always pays to do your research.

Consider Contacting Staffing Firms or a Local PEO

Building a business in a culturally diverse continent like Europe is hard work. It’s not just about merely renting or even constructing your own building. Instead, it’s about building connections and hiring the right people.

Challenges like language barriers and cultural differences may result in more unproductive expenses. Many multinational businesses consider it wise to hire staffing firms or build a relationship with a local PEO with connections across Europe.

A PEO (Professional Employer Organization) provides HR Management, Site Inspection, Accounting, Payroll, and Legal Support services. They can help you speed up the hiring process to focus on building your existing employees rather than hiring for more.

Having a relationship with a local PEO will save you time and money since you will be fully informed about operational and legal costs before starting your business. 

This will allow you to monitor your business in Europe, even across the sea.

Conclusion

Venturing into business expansion in a foreign country holds a blind spot dark enough to not let you foresee the end result of your business expedition. 

Understanding the culture and its people, its ways, trends, legalities, and everything in between ensures a smooth and less turbulent transition from your country to Europe.