Your business, no matter how humble, is already an international business. And in the next few years that trend will accelerate. You can reach every corner of the world (last year I had clients in 66 countries).
Here's how to make sure you capitalize on this trend…
Please leave a comment below and let me know what you think…
Claudia Duncan
Hello Jeff,
thank you for pointing out to us that we really are in an international market. I am German, living in England and I do have clients, personal and online, in these countries and I am reaching out now for a much wider clientele by making my offers suitable for people from all countries.
Have a wonderful Sunday,
Claudia
Marcel Firmo
Hello Jeff,
I fully agree with you.
I myself am from Brazil and I believe that I will be your customer a day.
At the time I follow your disciple here in my country, Erico Rocha.
Entrepreneurial Greetings!
Marcel Firmo
Carla
You’re looking good, Jeff!
The IM Dude
I’m so glad you made this video. This is the first time I’ve seen someone address that issue of catering to a global audience. Countless times americans mention holidays or situations that alienate everyone else. These are exciting times though. Even when someone makes millions they still use software which is free or dirt cheap that can be easily downloaded from the internet. Just awesome.
Lirone Glikman
Thanks Jeff- as always great video! I’m an Israeli but intentionally started my business in English so I could touch and reach more people and travel the world. Being a business networking coach I have passion for meeting new people and discovering new cultures.
This era is wonderful in this sense!
Thanks!
Lirone
Edson Camacho
Hi Jeff!
Very Good, here in Brazil I have followed your work Jeff and I know that I have much to learn from you , success my friend!
Hanna
Thanks for sharing your insights on this topic, Jeff. In the recent years the term “digital nomad” has been coming up more frequently…and last year I realized at some point: This is me! Even I have been able to collaborate and work with freelancers from all over the world. I just open my labtop, communicate via Skype, share files on Google Docs or via Dropbox…It is really amazing! My vision is to create a business that is not bound to any location and that i can manage remotely from anywhere. Videos like these are again a confirmation that it is absolutely possible. Thanks!
Mary
Perfection
Laszlo
Your posts and the activity lift up anyone who does something for all kind of business or just intend to do for it.
I am working on a quite new language learning special app and already see the way how to show it to the world. Thank you!
Laszlo
Terezia
Thank you Jeff for sharing, and a big thank you for your enthusiasm. It is amazing and exciting journey.
Thanks.
Catherine
Amazing. As I am not in the US and English is not my native language, it has stopped me for years. I have a hard time getting over these excuses. Your video was very encouraging for me. Thank you. I adore your video background btw.
Patricia
Hi Jeff! I have been following you for some months now and I think your product and vídeos are great!
By the way Im from Brazil and I love the fact you are wearing a Brazilian shirt :))
Thanks for all the information you are bringing out to us.
Have a great Sunday!
Siri
Great spot on headline – thanks for the encouragement you send out – it’s so great that you have non-US centric awareness.
I totally agree – being a single Mom working from home and making that happen from my little cottage is one of the coolest opportunity that ever happen to human kind and parenthood, living a live in balance and fulfillment.
Dear Jeff, thank you for all your sharing – all ways feel uplifting spirit after listen to you.
Siri from Denmark, Copenhagen area.
Katleen
True!! And this is one of the things I so love about having a business online. One thing I was a little afraid of with also having a LIVE event was not knowing if people would really fly in or of we would get only locals to attend. And when we had 3 people out of 25 actually fly in for our first small event in 2013, we got it!! When it comes down to transforming lives and helping people move toward what matters, this is what really happens and they make it happen for themselves to move.
Nice video by the way! Perfect time a day for this beautiful light 🙂 Thanks as always for sharing!
Joanne
I’m in the UK and get a lot of traffic from the US – it’s such a huge market for everyone! I also get many visitors from countries that can’t pay for my online spelling products because there’s no Paypal in countries such as Afghanistan, Iran, Kurdistan, Colombia, so I send stuff for free. It’s great that not only do we get to provide valuable info to people worldwide but also have the opportunity to make a living.
Colin
Hey Jeff.
Awesome sunset!
You made a great point about not using slang or colloquialisms. For example, “I’m going to knock you up in the morning” means has drastically different meanings in the UK and the US. I am a web site designer and can work from anywhere, I am fortunate to have clients not only in the US and UK, but in New Zealand, South Africa and Canada.
It is truly amazing to me since I never leave my chair in North Carolina.
Peter Martini
Thanks to the Internet we live in a global world. I like to know amazing people from all around the world. Thank you Jeff, that I can be part of your globally network. Nowadays it is easily possible to connect and learn from each other.
David Price
I’ve heard that in Europe digital products are now being taxed as if they are produced in the country of the person receiving it, with each country having different tax rates. If this is true, how can it be policed? How can such taxes be paid to the right collection agency? I wonder how it works for information products and software. It looks like bureaucratic overreach to me and I don’t see how it could be monitored and enforced. Just think of the data base that has to be installed in your shopping cart to stay compliant.
Does anyone know about this?
Poppie
I’m in Hungary and if I don’t click the Aussie dropdown tab, I get charged 17.5% VAT. There was a big international Conference in Cairns Australia, last year about this being implemented worldwide by 2017 or there abouts. My take on this is…”they”want the tax, let them sort it out. I figure it’s recognition that internet marketing is now a legit business model that they want to collect taxes on. Hungary wasted no time implementing it!
Felix
This came into force on January 1. If you sell digital products to customers (individuals, not businesses) in the European Union then either you or your payment provider has to record the consumer’s country and collect the tax (VAT). The law in the EU now states that sellers have to register for VAT in each EU country they sell into, or register centrally in one EU country under the VAT MOSS (Mini One-Stop Shop) if you are a low-income qualifying seller. Each transaction will have to be correctly accounted and VAT payments made to the relevant tax authority (usually within the month of the transaction). According to main authorities, these rules also apply to sellers based OUTSIDE the EU. I have no idea how that will be enforced. Consult your payment provder and/or professional legal/financial representative for proper guidance on doing business in the EU.
Kim
Thanks for this great video. This is the one of the greatest aspects of an online market. I love the idea of connecting to people from across the globe. It’s also an important reminder to shake off U.S. centrism, or try to find a universal appeal in our own identity (I’m from the U.S.A. as well). For example, MLK day is a uniquely U.S. holiday, but it seems rather easy to find themes relevant to all humans regardless of nationality.
Thanks again; you’ve touched on a really important topic I haven’t seen addressed before. I really appreciate your down to earth approach.
Alan Repech
Thanks Jeff – I think the NFL would publicly disagree with you on their international appeal. I also think they would agree with you privately. Hey, maybe the NFL could become your client and then you could use American football analogies. Thanks for everything you do – lovin’ the Launch…
Randy Brinson
Excellent points, Jeff. Accordiing to the numbers at http://www.census.gov/popclock/ only 4%-5% of the world’s people live in the US. This alone ought to be enough to persuade any logical person to connect with the vast potential of non-US markets as trading partners; both as customers and as suppliers. In addition to their immense size, many international markets are newer to automation and technology than the US and many are experiencing strong positive economic growth. This is not something that we in the US hear a lot about. So kudos to you, Jeff, for highlighting this for those of us who are lucky enough to have found you and smart enough to keep following you.
Derek Russell
Congrats Jeff! I love how you sport the T-Shirt to rock it for Brazil. You are a prime example of what anyone can do from the comfort of their own home. Before you started out, how big did you dream? Did you envision this scale of success for yourself? I’m brought back to Wayne Dyer’s book, You’ll See It When You Believe It – the name explains it all. When you can convince yourself and believe in what you want for your life to where it feels real for you, you will notice those things in your life. Have you ever applied this thought process to your life?
lance
I agree with you on this one jeff. My first sale was from a guy in Australia
Charly Heavenrich
Thank you, Jeff. Even though I’ve been speaking for over 35 years, I’m just starting. You give me heart and inspiration.
Charly Heavenrich
Cedric
Hi Jeff,
The World Wide Web reveal its meaning,
Besides that I’m watching your great videos from Paris, France, so good job, you reached me in this global market 😉
Cedric
Btw I used to live in a funny house in portugal where we were 15 people from 7 diffrent countries and it was pretty cool 🙂
Suzanne Reilley
Super useful information, and important considerations I hadn’t thought about. Thanks for this.
Kristen Poborsky
Thank you for creating this and the tips on making content with the global market in mind. I am guilty of not considering this and will be sure to keep in mind when I am working on my content and for my clients as well.
Elva
Thank you Jeff. Your enthusiasm is infectious–a good infection. I appreciate all you do.
Simon
You are so right Jeff. The great people at Yahoo wrote a book on writing for the web that opened my eyes to this isue of creating global friendly content.
David Sullivan
Jeff, thanks for the info. Us Brits can fall into the same UK centric thinking! Love the T-Shirt – I think it’s burnt my display!!! David
Harun Rabbani
Hey Jeff,
You are so on the ball. It will be interesting to see how different businesses adapt to the new way of doing business. Effectively, we are all becoming mini multi nationals. It’s critical we entrepreneurs not only extend our vision beyond our borders but also support each other on the journey. Thank you for being a key player in this new adventure.
James
Jeff,
Thanks for the positivity and the message. My screen saver says “Global Transformation” although I forget how significant that is sometimes. I’ll also work on my examples. Great video on motivation really. Keep ’em coming. Best to you, John and the crew.
James
Andy
Always enjoy your energy.
Watching from Canada where it’s just getting above freezing out.
Arizona looks lovely.
Andy
Jeff Walker
@Andy: that’s actually shot in my hometown of Durango, Colorado. 🙂
Derek C Howie
Love It Love It.. Good Life Group New Zealand Bay Of Plenty.. Another Great Presentation Jeff.. Our Field Is Health Well-being To This End We Partner HeartMath .com My Personal Talent Is Seeing Talent In Others Simply Because i Derek C Howie Have Little My Self.. We Partner The Best In The Field HUAWEI + HOWIE We Have The Same Name.. Need A Contact In CHINA i Derek C Howie Your Man Standing Fit and Ready Take Care Jeff out.
Maureen Palmer
Great information Jeff. Not used to thinking out of the box this broadly but you paint a big canvas for us. Love the magnification sunset.
Michael Rytter
We have been serving a global market with our wood products since2001 !
We started off selling small blocks of wood for woodturners on Ebay…we had a tree service in Chilliwack BC Canada and were bothered by the amount of beautiful wood we were hauling away to the dump…there had to be a better use for it! And there was!
It just blew us away…people from all over the world were buying. (our wood was pretty fancy… figured or spalted big leaf maple).
Then when we got the sawmill and started producing Tonewood (instrument wood…in our case for guitars, violins, etc) our reach really spread! Who knew there were so many woodturners and small instrument builders in the world! (By then we had long since said goodbye to Ebay and were marketing our own websites. Next, it was stabilizing wood for knife handles (impregnating it with acrylic and color using vacumm and pressure) Who knew there were so many high end custom knife makers in the world….some of these guys sell their fancy hunting knives for 3 – 5k to THEIR markets, again online, and again, all over the world!
Currently, having sold our first 2 companies, we have started a small custom sign biz…figuring that this would just be local…..after all, we recently moved to our dream home, way out in the country (…a log home on 80 rolling acres overlooking a private lake, with horses, llamas, 5 cats and a dog….no neighbors for miles, other than the wildlife! ….well…guess what? That too is going global as it grows! Who knew?!! We have shipped custom signs and crib boards all over the states and Canada (We are in Alberta Canada)….To give you an idea, the nearest town, Ashmont AB, has a huge population of….wait for it… 149 ! .Our Facebook page is already cresting 10,000 fans! (Doubled since January)
I believe that the internet has indeed leveled the playing field. Historically, the only businesses that could have a global presence were the really big corporations with deep pockets, players that could afford traditional media buys on mainstream television, newspapers and magazines. This is so not the case today! Mom and Pop can play in the big leagues too….be Multi-Nationals in fact! And As far as that expensive traditional media? “Mainstream” seems to be going “downstream”! (…most of them don’t seem to have paddles, either!)
Anyway, that said…Without the the advent of the internet, not a single one of our businesses could have, or would have, existed. (A sobering thought!…. I’d still have to have a……..JOB!)
Michael Rytter
RBI
Jeff, being global is awesome! But how do you translate the pricing worldwide? Have you run into any issues with that?
Jeff Walker
No… we’ve always priced in U.S. dollars.
pat burkett
Hi!
It is always good to hear your news! Yest the global market is growing and thanks for sharing this
info with us. I am still a newbie but I am working on expanding and its always good to hear your
view!
Colin
Jeff, we have sold our products both digital and physical, to customers in 58 countries across the globe, and it expands each month, the internet is indeed the window to the world, and the strange thing is that it is so easy to do. It is far easier to open and run an online business than it is to open and run a brick and mortar street front business, my advice to people is this: grab the opportunity with both hands and run with it.
Alfred Himmelweiss
Hi Jeff,
what kind of camera are you using for the recording of your videos? Do you have a blogpost about the equipment you are using?
thank you,
Alfred
James
Jeff, so true that a small business is international.
I launched a simple website that sold a document download. My customers were from across the world. Since I’m not American, I always take care not to include local slangs or figure of speech that can make an confuse audience from elsewhere
Donald Pillai
I consult for clients on marketing, management, communications, branding, start-ups, product design and development, team building, social media, writing and design projects, and I also work with you individually in a one-on-one coaching relationship to create clarity, vision, and strategy in your journey. I collaborate with you to understand your brand and your place in the market creating predictable success in your planning, preparation and execution. Then, I help you get recognized in a way that’s all your own.
These days, marketing means anything from traditional print to email and video marketing. I’ve got all of that covered. How do you generate exposure and interest about your product and get lots of orders and sales quickly?
What makes people buy from you? What is the best way to market a new product or service successfully in today’s tough economy? I have been able to do all of this from scratch on my own three years ago. Prior to that I worked from my office and got connected with more than 180 countries by attending trade fairs and reaching out to potential clients via the web. These are certainly most exciting times. Thank you Jeff Walker for encouraging everyone to make their home INTERNATIONAL HEADQUARTERS
Jackson
How very true, Jeff. I’ve only ever seen one person constantly make reference to their international audience & that’s Mr Ed Dale. He always provided direct information for multiple timezones & countries for his webinars, & does several sessions to cater for ‘friendlier’ hours of interaction instead of always being notified of US times that are always when it’s sleep or die time. I believe it can be of benefit to make use of localisation to easier reach out to targeted specifics, it can be welcoming to have someone speak your ‘lingo’, but on a broader reaching scale the world should always remain as “Planet Earth”, not planet USA or UK or whatever. Stay global!!!
Manuel Taningco
I am glad that i had gotten the PLF program. I am anxious to put it to work with my products. Thank you for your knowledge, Jeff.
Doug Greene
Jeff … Agreed! I do web video and some of my first clients came from Central and South America. Excellent tip about being careful how you phrase things and be careful about “colloquialisms” that folks outside the U.S. won’t understand. Anyway, as always, thanks for your ongoing tips. ~Doug
Kay Christopher
Thanks, Jeff. You always bring positivity and joy into my computer screen, as well as very useful and informative content. Thanks for being so awesomely you!
Valéria
Hi Jeff
I totally agree. 100% Global Market.
We can reach all the world.
Thanks for share your thoughts with us!
Valeria from Brazil
Pedro
Jeff, I love watching your videos and yes, I am also truly amazed by how both the world and businesses have become so global. Thus you can now literally have a positive impact and help people all around the globe with just a laptop and a camera. Really awesome!
Amanda
Thanks for the reminder to think beyond our “normal limits!” AND I loved watching the sunset behind you in the reflection of your door/mirror… awesome 🙂
Hub
Hi Jeff, love what you share. I am working on a book on nature connection a kind of how to guide. I am really interested in turning some of the content into an online program. I am looking for a program or support to help with creating the program. I feel like I have an understanding of how to market, yet by no means mastered. But right now, creating the content in a format that really works for people is holding me up. Is there a step by step, best practices, guidelines, program or person out there that you can point me to? A lot of programs brush over content, and go to marketing. I need content creation. Thanks for being an inspiration to many, not only for product launches, but living a good life as a part of it. Thanks in advance.
Debra McElhaney
So exciting to think of the impact on the WORLD economy! Another way to feed children everywhere and build self esteem that becomes sustainable. Congratulations on a magnificent contribution to the world!
Celeste
Hi Jeff, your video motivated me to check my sales logs and list all the countries of my clients. I was truly blown away!!!
Lauri Flaquer
Jeff, First of all, I love the shirt. Way cool!
You’re so right on. From my little home based business in St Paul, MN, I have servicing and strategizing for clients in quite a few foreign countries. This is awesome.
All this globalization is making me believe borders will come down and people will be able to bring more of their talents and skills to others in previously untouched markets. The days of people not being able to work together are fleeting. Good news all around.
Thanks for this insight.