Benefits of globalization
The last two articles were a series on Sweden and its start-ups potential. Great part of the success was contributed to Swedish entrepreneurs’ global outlook from the early founding of their companies. Namely, tech-companies from Sweden have developed products and services for the global consumer rather than tailoring for the local market. This is the first benefit of globalization and Sweden has made the most of it!
Companies with such a rapid pace of internationalization like many start-ups from Sweden have been identified as Born Global (BG) firms. Often, internationalization here does not refer solely to rapid expansion of sales across foreign markets, but can also recognize internationalization of processes, the second widely exploited benefit of globalization.
Doing business in the global world
Start-ups with ambition to go global from the start can especially take advantage of the interconnected way of doing business which helps BG to overcome their initial disadvantages:
- Limited financials
- lack of skills and expertise
- “the liability of newness”
Small markets are no longer limitation; extensive financial resources are no longer a prerequisite for internationalization. Most importantly, companies are no longer restricted to their home market for sourcing skillful workforce. In previous article, skill shortage has been identified as one of the biggest challenges for start-ups in Sweden. As a consequence of this situation, outsourcing has increased extensively in Sweden and is expected to grow in the future, both in scope and scale.
Some are still sceptical when it comes to outsourcing and with right. Trusting part of your business to an external partner is a sensitive matter. However, when done properly it can play the role of a catalyst for growing your business.
Outsourcing today is considered as a strategic decision which combines internal capabilities of the firm with resources outside the company.
Choosing which skills to source externally and which areas of your business to keep indoors is crucial, as well as how ant with whom to partner!
Invest in your business by outsourcing
Entrepreneurial orientation of founder and international networks have been identified as two main factors for success of BG. Partnering with an external partner for outsourcing side tasks or activities for which you do not have the expertise has shown highly useful and effective for start-ups, particularly ambitious BG.
Next are the top three areas outsourced by start-ups:
Accounting
Accounting can be very time consuming and expensive, especially dull and routine activities like accounts payable, billings and accounts receivables. And you do not have to go as far as India to find a reliable partner. In the past decade, various outsourcing companies from Central and Eastern Europe have emerged which specialize in providing a full business support of your accounting and administration. Moreover companies like this are always up to date with latest regulation changes and technology updates making your business efficient and bottleneck free.
IT and Graphic Design
Start-ups are often “one man show” and usually the person good at strategizing and financials will not be the most qualified for programming, nor designing. From one side setting up a graphic design department when you are just starting can be a huge financial burden on your business. On the other side not investing in the creation of logo and attractive webpage can cost you much more in today-s digital world. For that reason outsourcing your graphic design to professional companies can give both the benefits of creating high quality graphics to visualize things, as well economies of scales which have been accessible only to big companies until now.
Human resources
As the war for talent intensifies, vast number of companies outsources their recruitment process work. This is particularly beneficial for small companies, especially start-ups which may find it difficult to attract the best skills in the very beginning. There are also many cost advantages related to health insurance premiums, workers’ compensation insurance, recruiting fees, payroll processing, and legal costs which are realized when outsourcing. Furthermore, human resources outsourcing can continue helping the company with further development of talent and teamwork spirit.
