Nearly 70% of businesses fail when they attempt to scale and expand internationally. To help more companies join the 30% that do succeed, Trena Blair – Global Business Expansion Expert and Founder of FD Global Connections – has written her debut book Decoding Global Growth: How successful companies scale internationally.
As a global entrepreneur, Trena Blair has lived and worked in Australia and the USA throughout her 20+ year international corporate executive career, where she has worked with C-suite leaders and organisations including MasterCard, AGB Events and Austrade to deliver highly specialised international expansion and scaleup strategies to access the USA market, and beyond.
Trena has leveraged her expertise to author Decoding Global Growth, whichis a practical guide designed to give any business the tools and confidence needed to launch globally. The bookis the culmination of everything she’s learned, along with real-life case studies from some of the world’s most accomplished business leaders including Emma Lo Russo, Founder and CEO of Digivizer, Skander Malcolm, Chief Executive, Managing Director of OFX Group and Gemma Lloyd, the co-founder and CEO of WORK180. This is supplemented with research and insights from their learnings, whilst also weaving in historical context to support Trena’s proven processes.
The book is structured in four parts – setting the globalisation scene, how to lay the foundations for global growth, the key pillars for global growth, and an analysis of the top five global markets companies expand into. Each section covers content that can be applied to any business, including Trena’s proven scalability formula for success, how to develop the most effective go-to-market strategy, and various sales and distribution strategies, so every reader walks away with a clear path forward.
Trena Blair says, “There are many lessons to be learned when scaling a business globally, and often businesses and their leaders have to learn them the hard way, unfortunately. I was passionate about writing Decoding Global Growth in a way that provides true to life examples of some of the mistakes made, and provide my expert advice on how organisations can avoid similar mishaps on their expansion journey. I also delved into many complex factors that influence the right outcome in the global marketplace, and advice on how business leaders of any organisational size, can apply these practically.
“Essentially I wanted Decoding Global Growth to be a handbook – whether the reader is a start-up entrepreneur or a seasoned CEO – who wants to ensure their business scales successfully, that they do this in the most efficient way possible to save on time and money, and turn their vision into a reality.”
4 of the most common mistakes business leaders make when attempting to scale internationally, and how to avoid these:
- Assuming their business success can simply be duplicated in a foreign market
- Companies need to conduct in-depth research on the local practices, values and cultural nuances of the target country, and not assume that everything in their own market will easily translate.
- Lacking confidence in their team, and not having the capacity to delegate
- It is imperative for leaders to cultivate trust within their teams by mastering the art of delegation.
- Not fully understanding the business and all of its functions
- Leaders need to be aware and have deep knowledge of all functions of their business, from employees to the product or service they are providing their customers.
- Trying to scale too soon
- Premature scaling is considered one of the most common signs of imminent doom for a startup. Trena has developed her own ‘Global Scalability Audit’, to help leaders decipher whether they are ready to grow.
Trena adds, “In my 20 years of doing business internationally, the one thing I’ve come to know is that scaling internationally is not for the faint-hearted. Not only does it take grit, determination, and a healthy dose of courage, but an in-depth understanding of the risks and the intricacies of the landscape you’re launching into is imperative. In a race where only the best-prepared survive, getting it wrong could cost you millions, could impact your reputation negatively, and put your core business at serious risk.”
Decoding Global Growth: How successful companies scale internationally is available for purchase both via FD Global Connections’ website and on Amazon. The book is also being adapted to an online e-learning platform, FD Global Academy, where business leaders can go at their own pace, choosing modules based on their specific needs and skill gaps.