Although I am now based in London, I lived and worked for many years in Yorkshire and treat myself as an adopted Yorkshireman. This means that I am allowed to talk bluntly. It also means that I'm always anxious to save money where possible. You may have heard that we Yorkshiremen are just like the Scots but with the generosity squeezed out of us!I am the author of a number of books about international legal issues including books about setting up small businesses overseas. For good or bad our clients tend to be small businesses rather than international corporations Im assuming always a dangerous thing to do that if you picked up this magazine you are interested in starting a business or that you have a relatively new business and are looking for ideas as to how to make it grow. In future columns I will deal with many of the issues that arise when starting a business in any country and with many of the issues specific to a particular country that arise when you choose to start a business abroad. Starting a business abroad or, for an existing UK business, doing business abroad is a relatively new phenomenon. This is especially true for small businesses. When I started in practice in Sheffield nearly 30 years ago my secretary had never been to the city centre and most small businesses didn't know that there was anywhere outside the People's Republic of South Yorkshire. Today huge numbers of small businesses based in the UK regularly service clients based abroad or sell their products overseas.

If doing business in the UK has its tricky moments mainly to do with making sure you get paid, making sure that you don't get sued and making sure that you don't end up in an employment tribunal then doing business in or with another country can seem even more complicated. Yet, in truth, their rules are seldom any more complicated than our own. There are, of course, different and it is the differences that create the initial impression of complexity but I can assure you that an American or a Frenchman starting business or doing business in the UK will be just as befuddled as you are doing business in their countries. The key steps when planning to do business abroad are very simple. First, you make sure that your business plan and model will work. In some places things that are perfectly legal and profitable in this country might be illegal or unprofitable over there. Secondly, you need to make sure that you are dealing with good, reliable people as your business partners ideally people share with you a long term ambition to make both of your business grow. Thirdly, you need to speak at least some of the language. We have many clients who had set up business in another country without speaking a word of local language but it is difficult and they would have had a much easier, less stressful and more profitable time if they had been able to communicate effectively with the local people.

Finally, you need to get advice about the viability of your plans, about the best legal and tax structures to use and about all of the day-to-day business challenges as early as possible. Getting advice does not need to be expensive. There are some excellent government agencies in countries overseas that can provide you with masses of useful and, just as importantly, accurate information at no cost. Some of them will even do so in English! There are lots of good websites, where you need to be alert to the fact that there is a lot of junk and out of date information on the Internet. Many people may have already set up their own business similar to what you are trying to do. Surprisingly, they are often prepared to give away all of the trade secrets that they have spent months or years and a small fortune accumulating. I was recently talking at a conference in Paris when one of the fellow speakers gave an amazing blow by blow account about how she has set up her gourmet delicatessen for dogs and cats in the heart of Paris. I know how much she has spent on legal and tax advice to make this possible and yet she gave her potential competitors all of that information completely free. Finally, there are a number of books to buy. Not only books such as mine about how to set up a business in a particular country but also books by those who have been there, done that and got the medal. If you are thinking of setting up a business and you are too stingy to spend £20 or £30 buying some relevant books then you really should stay at home!