Taking It International

Why work internationally? Where do we start?

When my design agency Plot was first invited to work with Nokia’s Research team in Helsinki, it felt like the most exciting and glamorous thing…to take our work…international! In pre-Brexit times, we could easily shift our work there. Looking back at the impact it had on our business, it seems like the most obvious thing for us to do. Working outside your own country can do so much for your business profile, opening you and the company to new collaborations, and new talent. If it fits your business values it can open up whole new markets in different countries and especially if there is plenty of competition in your own country. But it is always more than just the money, as Andrew from Bristol Festival of Ideas knows: “we learn often new ways of helping make change happen which are applicable to us here – and I hope our international partners have the chance to learn from us what might be of use to them at home. It’s a constant, never-ending search but one that is very rewarding“.

There are of course many ways to do this. You might partner on a project with someone from another country, find an international distributor, or a contract to supply a company with your work. You might find a partner for something that you make or sell an international license for your work. Or you might do what Trigger Stuff, Raucous, Bristol Ideas Festival and Everything is Music did, and join a project such as Here + There - one that is aimed at new international collaborations. Yet you don’t need a programme to do this - you can do it yourself

Photo: Gill working at a cultural incubator in Dakar, Senegal

Many sources exist to support you and to help you to get a preview of what it is like to do business there. This is because hidden differences occur in how businesses work in other countries. Here in the UK we have access to funding and grants to help creative people produce new work and R&D. In other countries this way of funding simply does not exist, in one of these countries, Canada, they can charge higher amounts for tickets which UK audiences would not pay for, and creative companies make their money that way.

Business cultures (how people feel comfortable with doing business together), business laws and legal structures are likely to be different in other countries, so grab advice where you can. Some experts and specialists can give you insights into how markets are changing in that particular country (so that you can be in the right place at the right time). Some run trade missions, and guided trips to countries to meet business people and potential partners, along with introductions, they know how things work there. Organisations like the DIT have trade grants and Trade Advisors, experts locally on the ground, who can help you land your business well in that location. As I heard one say the other day: “charm gets you only so far” and what she recommended above all is doing your homework, which is exactly what they can help with.

Photo: A street shop in Ammam Jordan, credit: Gill Wildman

In Bristol + Bath Creative R+D we are running a series of International Market sessions over the next few months for the Here + There teams, each one has a set of experts and advisors in different countries. We’ll be looking at the key learnings from those sessions and hope to share this further with our readers. To find your local trade office for the Department of International Trade, search your postcode on their website. Alternatively, you can seek further advice from Gill via her company Upstarter. Gill has also created a zine looking at seeking investment for your start up with Watershed, read it here.