Knowledge Central

Through our work with companies pursuing ambitious expansion initiatives, we’ve recognized a simple yet vital best practice shared by the most successful ones: a commitment to understanding the challenges and common missteps of expansion before ever even starting. And while every international growth plan is unique, this practice delivers a competitive boost. It’s an overlooked form of […]

Whether a company is entering its first new country or is trying to simplify management of multiple vendors across dozens of international countries, every stage of the expansion experience is challenging. That’s why clients ranging from startups to Fortune 500 partner with Blueback Global to scale up their businesses around the globe. And I do […]

Why Too Many Meetings and Complicated Checklists Are An International Expansion Illness I’ve helped dozens of companies expand internationally. Some of the work has involved complicated, managed service, and advisory engagements spanning multiple continents in less-than-friendly business climates. Other projects have been more straightforward growth solution offerings, although certainly no less important. But no matter […]

My ‘a-ha’ moment It is 2007 and Steve Jobs had just unveiled the first iPhone. His description was provocative and groundbreaking: “an iPod, a phone, and an internet communicator.” I remember being awestruck. And thereafter wrestled over the fate of my trusty Palm Treo smartphone. That functional Qwerty keyboard had helped me punch out thousands […]

Companies looking toward expansion into Asia should consider Taiwan as a first target market. The country ranks 19th out of 190 economies in ease of starting a business, averages six percent growth in the gross domestic product (GDP) over the last 30 years, is a major platform for trade with China, and serves as a logistics hub for the entire Asia […]

China has experienced an economic boom over the past decade. Massive increases in GDP output and continuous economic growth make it an attractive market. Over the past two years, however, the percentage of economic growth has slowed. Today, it remains steady at just over 6%. The decrease in growth has affected several sectors. Lower-wage workers are finding it difficult […]

Our population has become increasingly mobile and globalized. Internet access is ubiquitous, with most people carrying around mini-computers in their pockets. There are predictions that by 2020, emerging international markets will be the new global leaders, particularly Brazil, Russia, India, and China. The opportunity to communicate and trade with people around the world has never been so […]

Although ranked fairly low by the World Bank for ease of doing business, there remains a number of compelling reasons for companies to consider expanding into Japan. Notably, Japan is third globally in terms of gross domestic product (GDP), has a rich culture of innovation and offers well-established labor and intellectual property laws. In fact, marketers and […]

Hong Kong continues to be favorable destination target for foreign businesses looking to expand into Asia. Despite its small size geographically, Hong Kong was ranked as the world’s 7th largest trading entity, with a total value of visible trade amounting to $7,596.6 billion in 2016*.  It measures as one of the top five easiest places on the […]

Global businesses have long had their eyes on Korea. According to the latest World Bank annual ratings, the country is now ranked number 4 among global economies for ease of doing business.Business-friendly policies, leading technological and digital infrastructure and unparalleled education system investments highlight its emergence as a top target for global expansion and investment. For […]

As a professional responsible for expanding operations overseas, you need some understanding of the labor laws in the countries and/or regions you’re considering expanding to. The first in a series of numerous articles will focus on select member countries of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). The first ASEAN country covered here is Singapore, […]

Sub-Saharan Africa (Africa) is a vast region with 954.7 million citizens spanning 43 countries. Africa is the 3rd most populous region in the world, yet has the dubious distinction of being the poorest region with a gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of only $3,786 USD. With GDP totaling $3.615 trillion USD in 2016, Sub Saharan […]