The first stage of business plan development is to research the opportunities that expanding to global e-commerce will offer and to recognize any limitations or challenges that might be encountered.
It is important to explicitly state business objectives and goals, conduct research on global e-commerce (especially for a niche market), list any risks involved, formulate a budget and estimate a project timeline. Responses to some of the following questions and points of consideration will inform the scale of global e-commerce expansion that is appropriate for your small business.
When describing your reasons for expanding to global e-commerce asked yourself the following questions:
- Has your business recently experienced a noticeable increase in overseas sales?
- Would you like to broaden your knowledge of e-commerce to include foreign markets?
- Are you interested in incorporating a more global approach to the development of your Web site in hopes of attracting a more diverse customer base?