Thanks to the Internet, which allows almost everyone in the world to connect with each other, going international is no longer limited to the domain of the large corporations. Businesses of all sizes are now capable of finding a market practically anywhere on the planet. The only challenge now is effectively reaching said market and taking on the global opportunity without having to suffer a great loss. Trying to expand on a global level may pose some really big risks, after all.

Thankfully, there are tools out there that can make things much easier for businessmen aspiring to take on the world via the Internet.

Setting up Shop

One of the first things you need to do when you’re expanding your operations to other countries is to make sure that everything will always get where they’re supposed to be. Whether it’s the payments from your customers, the payments to your employees based in other countries, or it’s the actual products that need to be taken to international clients, you need to make sure that these things are delivered properly and on time.

As such, you have to consider:

• PayPal for Transactions – Pretty much everyone has at least heard of PayPlus, and most of us have come to think of it as a more effective and secure mode of transaction since using it means we don’t have to share our credit card information with vendors. Using PayPal for commercial transactions is the best way to handle international transactions.
• Celergo for Payrolls – This particular payroll service allows you to have a no-fuss system for managing employee income in more than a hundred nations all over the world. With this, you can outsource the entire employee payment process to professionals who can speak to as many point people as you deem necessary.
• FedEx for Delivery – There’s a reason why FedEx is incredibly popular, because it goes beyond merely delivering packages for you. It also adjusts its offers based on your global shipping experience to ensure that the delivery goes as smoothly as possible.

Making the Calls

For most of us, international communication is best performed through services like email, instant messaging/chat, and even social networks. Unfortunately, there are some conversations that are best held over the most traditional of remote communication – telephony. And since we all know that long distance calling of any kind can be expensive, we need to figure out a way to make international phone calls without having to deal with ridiculous long distance rates.

Thankfully, you have these VoIP options:

• Skype – While it’s not strictly a traditional or professional phone service, this often serves as an acceptable variation of making phone calls all over the world. It doesn’t hurt that, for the most part, it’s pretty much free.
• RingCentral – If you like your phone systems professional, this may be a better option for you. Among the cloud-based business phone service providers available today, it has some of the lowest international call rates you could hope for.

Take note that, in some cases, it’s actually better to have a local number that customers can call. In such situations, you may need to set up local office that has its own phone number.

A Final Word

There are, of course, other things you must be prepared for when embarking on global expansion. But these are the most basic things you need to have to function properly as an international shop.