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Enterprise Nation has helped thousands of people start and grow their businesses. Led by founder, Emma Jones CBE, Enterprise Nation connects you to the resources and expertise to help you succeed.

Map out an export strategy for your home business

drive to encourage small and medium-sized businesses to export

 is all well and good, but what about micro-businesses? What can we do to 'go global' from our home offices? Here's what I've learned about international expansion from humble headquarters.

First, clearly understand your position in your home (UK) market to see where your best market niche is. It's best to start with data - and if you're a startup, understand the basis behind your projections. It's possible your approach could be export-ready at inception (after some testing). Otherwise, put in a solid foundation at home first.

Next, consider the EU zone and get systems and plans in place, then consolidate to go for non-EU markets. Emerging economies are most difficult and will need more resource.

It's good to rely on community networks, like 

. And offline too - London has the advantage of being 

 with the advantage of time zone (hence all the banks!) and different nationalities (and languages) at your doorstep. You can conduct face-to-face meetings and understand the cultural nuances of communication.

My one caveat regarding 'going global' is to ask yourself how you will get paid, since even the best value proposition will sink when payment is not effected. This also ties in with how to arrange funding, so you need to get the balance right. Help is also available from 

Your website is the toolbox for e-commerce, but you need to pick the tools for your purpose in a strategic manner. Check the plumbing with Google Analytics. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is an essential part of your promotional toolkit, while the choice of your social media channels should match your target export market or country. Videos, and the power of YouTube, are very useful too.

It's important that you have a good financial framework, in order to keep profits and maintain growth. Also, you should work within the government regulations, especially in the areas of tax, so ensure you get good advice.

Once your products or service leaves your home, the easiest route is to the Post Office, so you can pop in or use their web portal for 

. This activity does comes under e-commerce also, which is undoubtedly one of the fastest growing retail channels.

It's been so useful - for me - to attend Enterprise Nation meet-ups, workshops and events, including the Go Global week held in November 2011. The invaluable 

) is a digital mentor to small business owners - and an 

&lt;p&gt;Hi. We’re 24 fingers, an award-winning digital marketing agency.&amp;nbsp;We help small business owners&amp;nbsp;who are all fingers &amp;amp;&amp;nbsp;thumbs with their&amp;nbsp;marketing to grow their brand. Founder Emma Goode is the&amp;nbsp;proud Local Leader for Enterprise Nation in Essex.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Whether it’s getting more leads from social, increasing brand awareness or engaging with your customers, our fingers can help add extra digits to your bottom line.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;We work with start-ups and companies both big and small, as well as individuals who need a helping hand navigating the ever-changing world of social media. We know how difficult it can be for businesses to keep up with all the algorithm updates.&lt;/p&gt;

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&lt;p&gt;Click here to book your&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="https://calendly.com/24fingers"&gt;free Strategy Session&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

Managing Director

business.connected: Create highly effective landing pages

Watch back: Insight into creating highly effective landing pages for your business

Lucy is a jargon free, social media trainer and consultant. Lucy is a #SheMeansBusiness accredited trainer and founder of SocialDayUK the UK’s biggest social media marketing festival. Lucy is also a Director at Avviso Media, a digital marketing agency that specialises in content and social media marketing for B2B and events brands. Lucy’s passion is to up-skill women and so set up DigitalWomen with Natwest, a community created to empower 1 Million plus women through digital skills which holds regular events and highlights the great work women are doing in digital and entrepreneurship.

Director

Social media marketing for small Business

A group to learn and share social media advice and tactics

Creative Director

Finding and Talking to your Customers

&lt;p&gt;What will you get?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;You will have a wonderfully effective and easy to implement marketing playbook.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;What you cover&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
	&lt;li&gt;How to really get to know your customers; who they are, where they spend their time.&lt;/li&gt;
	&lt;li&gt;How to talk to them, and why they should care about you.&lt;/li&gt;
	&lt;li&gt;How to select the right channels to interact.&lt;/li&gt;
	&lt;li&gt;How to get them excited.&lt;/li&gt;
	&lt;li&gt;You

&lt;p&gt;I am a seasoned sales and marketing professional with over two decades of experience working in private and public sector organisations. Over the years, I've developed a passion for small businesses&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;As the Marketing Co-ordinator for Business Enterprise Fund (BEF), I am the go to person for all things marketing. This covers everything from daily&amp;nbsp;website updates&amp;nbsp;and social media posts through to campaign planning and delivery to the production of our annual Social Impact Report.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;In all things, I&amp;nbsp;work closely with&amp;nbsp;a friendly, talented and experienced team of investment managers to provide flexible finance to micro businesses, small and medium (SME) businesses and social enterprises across the North.&lt;/p&gt;

Marketing Co-ordinator

Shaun Connell

&lt;p&gt;I am a seasoned sales and marketing professional with over two decades of experience working in private and public sector organisations. Over the years, I've developed a passion for small businesses&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;As the Marketing Co-ordinator for Business Enterprise Fund (BEF), I am the go to person for all things marketing. This covers everything from daily&amp;nbsp;website updates&amp;nbsp;and social media posts through to campaign planning and delivery to the production of our 

Map out an export strategy for your home business

Start from your comfort zone

It's good to talk with neighbours

Check your wallet

Open your toolbox

Keep the home tidy

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