How One Company Quickly Expanded Overseas

I just got off the phone with Tom Brown from Little Airplane Productions "LAP". LAP produces TV programming for kids, and Tom will be one of our panelists at our upcoming event on May 25^th, “International Business Opportunities: 3 Success Stories”. As LAP brought on the BBC as a new client (representing about 50 percent of their revenue), Tom and his colleagues saw an opportunity to open an office in London. They jumped on the chance to not only be closer to their biggest client, but also to have a foothold into the European market. 

Here are a few things I found interesting about their international expansion:

• Tom found government trade organizations (e.g. UKTI) who were very helpful with logistical and legal issues from immigration to getting phone service. South Korea's organization even helped him get meetings with clients!
• LAP runs the London and New York offices as one company (e.g., one production schedule).
• As LAP's biggest costs are people, they always prefer to get paid in the currency where they have to pay people. That reduces currency risk.

To hear Tom and two other entrepreneurs discuss their experiences expanding their businesses overseas, you can request an invitation visit, www.nyreport.com/internationalbusiness.