Beyond Our Borders

It’s clear we no longer live in an American-centric society but in a global economy. Now, more than ever, African American professionals and entrepreneurs need to assume a global focus.
From a corporate perspective, companies are gaining profits in markets such as Brazil, Russia, India, China, and the Middle East and therefore requiring more executives to live and travel abroad. In a June 2009 survey, Cartus Corp., a global mobility management and workforce development firm, found that nearly 60% of the companies surveyed agreed that companies value the skills acquired during an international assignment.

From an entrepreneurial perspective, the Minority Business Development Agency has noted that more minority small businesses are selling their wares overseas. According to a March 2008 report, Characteristics of Minority Business and Entrepreneurs, 2.5% of minority firms generated 10% of their sales through exports, compared with 1.2% of nonminority firms.

On the next few pages, three globetrotters share the rewards and challenges of working abroad. Their stories illustrate that global business opportunities not only exist but are attainable for any one with a strategy for success.

Bertrand Breton
Milan

Milan is Italy’s second largest city and a world capital of commerce, fashion, and design. Bertrand Breton is not sure where the country ranks in golf, but he knows the game isn’t played much in Italy. But golf is about the only luxury he misses since making the European city his home six years ago. A native of Washington, D.C., Breton, a consultant for an American mobile Internet company, says his Milanese wife, whom he met in New York City while working at Digital Solutions Cooperative, or Dscoop, a technology company, convinced him to relocate. “If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be here,” says Breton. “She’s definitely my favorite part of this adventure.”

Breton, 38, is also a fan of Italian business culture. Throughout the country most businesses are relatively small and family-owned, yet they drive the Italian economy. “In Italy, establishing a personal relationship with business partners is important,” he says. “If you don’t take the time to share aspects of your personal life with those you want to engage in business, things may not work out.”

Considering the congenial nature of business in Italy, Breton was surprised by the country’s level of bureaucracy. He says it can take almost a year to open a business.

Breton, who is fluent in French, struggled to learn Italian. Though he says it’s not necessary for the occasional business traveler, Italian is essential for those living and working in Italy. Having

studied with a language teacher for five months, he admits his skills are tested when he gives oral presentations. “I seem to always manage just fine, but the preparation it takes to organize my thoughts in Italian is challenging–but rewarding.”

Briggette Harrington
Tema, Ghana

Briggette Harrington recalls playing

golf one hot summer day in 2006 with a woman in Ghana who complained that her hands were too hot inside her gloves. Harrington, who had an extra pair to lend her, assumed that the synthetic fabric was the problem and suggested she purchase a new pair at the nearest golf shop. “She looked at me like I was from Mars,” Harrington recalls. “She said ‘What golf store? There are no golf stores here.’ ”

After investigating the woman’s claim and surveying about 200 golfers, Harrington quickly realized that in a country where there are roughly 22 golf courses, there was probably demand for a store that would sell golf apparel and products.

“There was no historical data for me to really decide whether or not this was a viable industry,” she says, “but I knew that companies sponsored tournaments at least twice a month.”

At the time, Harrington traveled frequently to Ghana in her work as an independent consultant in Washington, D.C. But within 45 days, after speaking to top golf manufacturers and securing exclusive distributorship within Ghana, Togo, and Cote d’Ivoire, she opened Golf World (www.golfworldltd.com), the first of three stores that would eventually be located across Ghana. Since opening in July 2006, total sales for the last three years is approximately $560,000, with the bulk of business coming from corporate tournament merchandising.

Harrington, 49, admits her success as Golf World’s owner and

managing director hasn’t come without difficulties, and to professionals interested in starting a business abroad, she suggests hiring a consultant to help decipher the country’s business and cultural climate. In Ghana, for example, Harrington paid an “expedite fee” five times before she got her business license. She quickly learned that foreign investment requirements are very different from those in the U.S. She has also noticed a difference in the way Ghanaians and Americans approach business.

“As Americans we think outside the box. If you don’t keep up, you’ll be left behind. But in Ghana, it’s more of a linear society. People are taught to do their job one way and one way only,” she says.

“You have to figure out what the culture of the people and country is, how they do business, and how they think, or you’ll lose your investment or never get to where you want to be.”

Her business has also brought her and her staff other rewards. She has helped many of them to open bank accounts and learn computer skills; one worker is taking reading lessons. “We’ve definitely touched people’s lives here,” she offers. “If and when they leave, they have some life management skills that will carry them throughout their lives.”

Robert Spencer
Tokyo

When Robert Spencer moved to Japan five years ago, he found the transition easy. Before moving, Spencer, 31, worked in his hometown of New York

City selling Japanese equities to U.S. institutions. The office culture in Tokyo was similar to the one back home, and all his colleagues spoke English. “Prior to the relocation, I already had working relationships with many of my colleagues in the Tokyo office.”

As a vice president of Goldman Sachs, Spencer works as an equity derivatives salesman covering foreign institutions, and he spends most of his day executing trades on his clients’ behalf and offering advice about the Japanese market.

Also, because Japan and China are geographically close, Spencer says there’s ample business opportunity in both markets, and he often advises his clients to gain exposure to China either directly or through Japanese companies.

Though his adjustment has been painless, he has quickly learned the differences in business rituals, such as exchanging business cards. “Arriving at a client meeting without business cards, while not a big deal in the States, could be detrimental to the start of a client relationship [here].”

For professionals interested in working in Japan, Spencer advises learning the culture and intricacies of business first, since being unaware of details could potentially undermine a budding business relationship.

Finding an apartment, opening a bank account, or securing a gym membership–Spencer found these challenging as well. “Tokyo is a great city and most of these are one-time experiences,” Spencer says. “Once you get past them, you adjust and can enjoy living here.”