The International Business Journal for Busy Executives

I’m starting a column. To be more accurate, I’m starting a journal – a collection of posts functioning as a journey through the world of international business. My posts will feature case studies of our clients, lessons from doing business in different countries, industry trends, and global market developments. My goal is to shine a spotlight on what I’m learning about international business at FB International LLC in short and accessible stories.

I’ve been working at FB International since September 2016, as Marketing Associate. I knew that there would be any number of topics in which I was unfamiliar. I was prepared to “drink from the firehose”. Still, nothing prepared me for the day-to-day learning and vast knowledge required to work in international business.

Here’s why:

Our company helps businesses expand to new countries through market entry strategy, matchmaking, and overall business development activities. In short, we help companies go global. Did you hear me mention a specific industry sector or type of company that we focus on? No? That’s because we work in many industry sectors with companies and government agencies from literally around the world.

In my eight months here, I’ve worked with and met executives from Hungary, England, Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, France, Lebanon, Turkey, Canada, and of course, the U.S. We have also clients in Spain, Portugal, Morocco, India and Brazil, with prospects in Algeria and Saudi Arabia. I’ve explored industries from food production (can you say pure honey?) to the Internet of the Things (the future is here!) to products that educate using robotics (beep beep).

I want to share my experiences with you from my non-technical, curious perspective. I hope you’ll find my journey in international business interesting, and look forward to reading your reactions while I’ll be writing these blog posts based on what I find interesting and relevant. We have a framework that my boss, Fabrice, likes to use when we look at the big picture:

“Find customers who have a need for a product or services at a price they can afford that is available in their market.”

What exactly does this sentence mean? That’s a great question – and I’m still figuring out the answer! The sentence illustrates, in bold, some of the key elements to prepare for when doing international business. I’ll make frequent references to this magic sentence as I share my exploration of the world of international business with you.

For now what I know is that international business is not for lazy minds; it requires a lot of homework, and success depends on one’s level of preparation and planning.

Thanks for reading – check back soon for my next post!

Author: Noah Feingold

Noah is the Marketing Associate for FB International LLC. Noah focuses on supporting the marketing, social media, and business development efforts of FB International’s clients.