Just back from a “business vacation” in Shanghai. The friends, the companies, the conversations, and, of course, the city’s incredible energy have given us so much. <\/p>\n
One thing that always strikes me in China is how varied people\u2019s opinions are about what constitutes a \u201ccompany.\u201d My Chinese business partners don\u2019t even consider anything with fewer than 3,000 employees to be a real company\u2014and are then utterly astonished to learn that well-known companies from Germany are often much smaller. <\/p>\n
When I ask them my favorite question\u2014namely, what percentage of companies in Germany have fewer than 250 employees (no, I won\u2019t reveal the answer here)\u2014they\u2019re stunned. But you don\u2019t have to be big to compete on the international stage. \u201cGood\u201d is perfectly sufficient\u2014as long as you have sales expertise or are willing to acquire it. <\/p>\n
My belief is that German small and medium-sized businesses\u2014and even startups\u2014have very good prospects abroad if they take a personal approach, study cultural differences, find good intermediaries\u2014and, of course, don\u2019t put all their eggs in one basket. There\u2019s always a niche where you can become a global market leader! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Just back from a “business vacation” in Shanghai. The … <\/p>\n