Amira elAdawi of AMIRA & CO on How to Run a Successful International Business

Taking any business global can be a formidable challenge, even for the savviest of entrepreneurs. We live in a world teeming with different cultural norms, political and legal directives, and client behaviors that will change from country to country, region to region, and business to business. 

Amira elAdawi, the founder of consulting firm AMIRA & CO, has a solid handle on what it takes to bring a business to the global market. With over 20 years of experience with top-tier consulting firms and an MBA from Harvard Business School, her approach has been informed by experience and a first-class education. AMIRA & CO has a disruptive approach to consulting, approaching each client with a “transformation from within” mindset that is antithetical to traditional consulting models. 

“We believe that the best way to enact lasting success at a client’s organization is by partnering with them to co-create solutions,” explains elAdawi. “This enables internal teams to play an integral role in the future of their success, rather than relying on external consultants to dictate solutions to them.”

In understanding that taking a business international involves a specific set of considerations to thrive, elAdawi has seamlessly integrated these international business tenets into her approach. 

Laws & Regulations 

The laws regulating business differ from country to country. As such, the first step in taking a business international is to not only learn the different laws, but to respect them. 

Keeping on top of tax laws, labor regulations, and other legal conditions that vary depending on location can be challenging. To address this, businesses should team up with a local partner or put “boots on the ground” to dive into a particular region’s legal ins and outs. Ignorance of the law will be no excuse if a business gets caught doing something illegal within their practices, processes, or operations. “Educating oneself is all part and parcel with running a legitimate business venture,” elAdawi adds.

Cultural Norms

Every country and region in the world has its own cultural norms. These can even differ from city to city, as we can see in the United States. Familiarizing oneself with these cultural proclivities will help when trying to establish a business amid a particular culture. 

“Having authentic international experiences before you set out to sell a service internationally is important,” says elAdawi. “Part of the services I offer are integrations across continents. I’ve lived on four different continents and know how important it is to immerse oneself in different cultures, especially when looking to build a business there.”

According to elAdawi, there’s no such thing as having “one way to run a business”, and this is especially true when running a business internationally. Cultural and societal norms must be considered when approaching the sale of a service or product — certain cultures value punctuality above all else, while others have strict rules about when it’s appropriate to talk about money. Some value socializing and networking outside of the business setting, and some totally frown upon that and find it an intrusion on privacy. These are nuances that can only be derived from immersing oneself in that specific culture. 

Have a Solid Plan for Growth

One cannot merely expect a global expansion to run smoothly without a solid strategy set in motion. There is no standard recipe for success when it comes to international growth. Rather, each organization has to chart its own unique path depending on their product, origins, and where they are expanding to. 

Sometimes, it’s easiest to pick a market where your product or service can be launched with minimal changes. That way, you can focus on the other aspects of the expansion without worrying about testing and launching a new product, too; sometimes you find an unmet need that you can meet, and so you adapt your product/services to local needs. Other times, it’s easiest to enter a new market by acquiring (or partnering with) a local entity to speed up your learning curve. 

“The recipe to success is to evaluate all options, objectively weigh your trade-offs, and accept that every choice comes at a cost,” said elAdawi. “Success is in the details.”

Find Common Ground

When taking a business international, finding common ground from a business and a human standpoint is crucial to success. From a consultant’s perspective, approaches such as elAdawi’s own — enabling companies to transform from within — are tailor-made for the international stage. 

“We don’t come in as outsiders and dictate solutions,” says elAdawi. “Instead, we actively guide client teams to find the right answer themselves.” 

As elAdawi explains, enabling clients at an international level entails knowing how to teach people, but also how to motivate them. Doing so successfully requires a deep understanding of their cultures — both national and corporate. For example, the way you might teach or motivate an American executive is very different from how you might best coach or motivate an executive from the Middle East.

Scaling a business to serve people worldwide can be daunting, and history is full of failures and examples of how wrong that can go. However, the benefits could far outweigh the challenging uphill climb, if you succeed in reaching the summit. Access to international markets, and thus, a larger customer base and global brand recognition, are just a few of the perks a business and its stakeholders can expect from going global. 

“The most rewarding part of my international expansion journey was mastering new skills and tools from experiencing different ways to doing business,” elAdawi adds. “The ideas I got from these experiences, and the ability to offer my clients different out-of-the-box solutions to help their business — all while living a remarkably interesting life along the way — is priceless in this industry”.