Business costs are going up and eating into your profits every day. While it would be ideal if you could keep your business at home and employ local people, sometimes it’s just not viable. The cost of running a business in some countries is much lower than at home and there comes a time when you have to be practical about the whole thing. You might not survive long enough to start making a profit if you keep things at home, but the reduced running costs when you outsource can act as a great buffer while you get things started.
The US might be the biggest economic power in the world, but when it comes to doing business, it’s not that great. Forbes recently listed it 18th in their list of the best countries to run a company in because of the general climate around business. That’s a drop of four places since last year’s list.
You don’t necessarily need to ship the entire business abroad. You can move the more expensive parts to a cheaper part of the world and run the show from at home. If you’re finding that your monthly bills far outweigh the money that you’re bringing in, it’s time for a move. Most people believe that China and India are, without a doubt, the best countries to go to because they have the fastest growing economies. However, that’s not always true.
While there are some great opportunities out there, every country has its own benefits. It just depends on your situation really. Check out this list and you’ll find a country that is right for your company.
Singapore
Singapore is a popular choice for business owners because of its business-friendly atmosphere and it encourages foreign investment. They run a Global Investor Program that offers lots of help to new business venture coming into the country from overseas. This is a valuable resource because trying to navigate the laws and regulations in a new country can be a real struggle.
The only thing you may struggle with conducting business in Singapore is finding new investors. f you’ve already got your startup capital, then you’re good to go. It has one of the best courts in the world for sorting out business disputes and it’s way cheaper than in other countries. Living costs there used to be pretty low, but they’ve been creeping up in recent years.
Malaysia
As a result of increasing living costs in Singapore, more businesses have started moving from there over to Malaysia. Between 10 and 20 multinational companies have moved their operations from Singapore to Malaysia in recent years because the value of the currency has dropped and housing, in particular, is far cheaper over there. You can easily find a studio apartment for rent in Malaysia for a fraction of the price of a similar property in Singapore. The cost of living in Singapore has fallen slightly in recent years, but it’s still considerably more expensive than Malaysia.
The majority of people in Malaysia are fluent in English, so the language barrier shouldn’t be a problem. There is also a low labor cost and the country is full of energy resources so running costs should be lower as well. Entrepreneurs are choosing to do business in Malaysia because it brings all of the benefits of operating in South East Asia, without the hefty price tag. There are a couple of drawbacks like the fairly high corporate tax rate and red tape to deal with, but when you balance these against the benefits, you’ll still be making a big saving.
New Zealand
New Zealand is often overlooked because it’s best known for it’s agriculture. If you’d been over there ten years ago, there wouldn’t have been much industry apart from farming but things have been changing over there in the last decade. All sorts of different industries have developed over there and business owners are starting to flock to the country.
One of the major selling points for New Zealand is how easy it is to start up and run a business. New businesses can get registered within a couple of hours using their online service and finding investors is fairly easy because there has been a recent explosion in business over there.
The tax system is efficient and the economy has seen a steady growth of 2-3 percent annually since coming out of the recession. This is a significant level of growth compared to a lot of western economies so you’ll have more access to capital and customer bases over there.
Denmark
Denmark is the country that comes top of the Forbes list of best countries to do business in. One of the main reasons that it’s so successful is the massive program of digitizing all of their procedures. They’re miles ahead of the rest of the world when it comes to modernizing business practices and if you move your company over there, you’ll soon see the benefits. Registering your business and applying for employee insurance takes no time at all because you can do it all through a simple online process and it’ll cost you less than $100 to do the whole thing.
Regulations about foreigners starting companies are far less strict than in other countries because they’re actually promoting self-employed expats in Denmark. There are government organizations that have been set up specifically to help people from abroad set up their own businesses. So if you run into any problems, you’ve always got that great resource at your fingertips.
Hong Kong
Since Hong Kong relies almost exclusively on international trade to survive, huge opportunities exist for businesses. Incredibly relaxed laws around importing and exporting make it easy for most companies to generate revenue in Hong Kong. The government only charges excise duties on alcohol, tobacco, methyl alcohol, and hydrocarbon oil. Beyond that, there are no charges and no import tariffs at all. This would save you a considerable amount of money every year.
While it isn’t as easy as it used to be for a foreigner to set up a business in Hong Kong, they still foster new companies. They are constantly updating laws to encourage new startups and it’s very easy to get building permits if you ever need to expand your operations.
The other main benefit of moving your company to Hong Kong is that it’s a world business hub. Some of the biggest companies from all over the world are passing through all the time, so it’s a great place to make valuable business contacts that can help you to grow.
Thailand
Thailand is a country on the rise and has been going through a period of rapid expansion for the last decade. A combination of a good workforce and government stimulus has made Thailand one of the best countries in the world for trade. The competition in the country is fairly low so there is a bit of a vacuum waiting to be filled by new businesses. The cost of living there is considerably low as well.
The only problem is, any business run by an outsider falls under the Foreign Business Act, which can be a bit problematic. There are a lot of specific laws around trade that are different from rules for locals. They shouldn’t affect your ability to run a business – you just need to be aware so you don’t land yourself in trouble.
The US is constantly falling on the list of best countries to do business in. Maybe it’s time to think about taking your business on vacation?
