A few days ago a friend was telling me that he would like to expand his company’s activity to do business in the USA but he doesn’t know how to start doing it, and talking to him I gave him some recommendations that might be useful to him, and I also extend them through the blog to those who are interested.
Business USA
The first thing you have to keep in mind being Spanish is that if you have a successful business that has done well you almost certainly have to go a different route than someone who wants to set it up from scratch and start as an entrepreneur in the USA.
Yes, it is easier to start and do business in the USA, but as in any country you are a foreigner, and if you don’t have local partners who already know how to move there you can be faced with realities that you will not like, as in any activity in which you are going to start in any country in the world, it is important to have local partners who know how to move
Many Spanish entrepreneurs to start and do business in the USA start by going to the embassy to be informed and that’s fine, but the information and resources that these entities can provide you are interesting if you are interested in investing an amount from $100,000.
In fact I think that $150,000 was the minimum two years ago, and it is true that they help you to process several things like the Immigrant VISA, so that you can reside in the USA and others, but they are not the only option, in fact that is why it is important to see the options to get partners there, that if, depends on the state in which you want to settle to set up a company
Business in the United States, main areas
There are two main areas where setting up companies and businesses would be something “similar” to doing it in Gibraltar or Andorra, they are Delaware on the East Coast, which is the closest to Europe, and Nevada, on the West Coast, which are very active centers for the creation of companies. Although in the whole country many companies move, but mainly interesting is the state of California, mainly because the state of California is one of the main economies of the world, if it were a country it would be among the 5 or 6 first in the world.
In fact it has a GDP close to 40% of the entire United States. The other states I do not know enough to comment much, although they are not too far apart in terms of interest in setting up companies, but if you come from outside the USA, these 3 are, together with New York, the most active
What is striking is the way of doing business in the USA that people have from the beginning, in fact it is something that Spaniards find difficult to understand, because in general to do business in Spain you have to trust quite a lot of who you do it with and then you are never sure that you can trust at all, however, what is striking from the first moment in California is that people are usually quite open and put most of the cards on the table.
This is a good thing because when you understand the way of doing business you can move as fast as you want as long as you comply with the rules imposed, in fact I have met Spanish businessmen who can be labeled as loud mouths, proud or smart asses that sooner or later have “gone out the back door”. If you do it right you will have many doors open, if you screw up they will close immediately
Business in the United States, Entrepreneurs
It is a country made by entrepreneurs and for entrepreneurs, it is a country of business, the system makes that the person who complies and who wants to undertake is allowed to do so, this is seen in details such as when you go to ask for a loan to a bank, if your company already has credit capacity.
Credit Score, banks have a series of ranges and credit ceilings depending on the risk and financial history of individuals and legal entities, which can provide you to start creating business, and it is normal but does not always happen, but it usually happens, if you have a business plan bank managers want to study it to know what you’re going to do
This is important because doing business in the USA who responds to the credit they give you is not the entrepreneur or administrator as in Spain, which has to respond with all its assets, but responds who gives it to you, ie the bank, therefore, they want to know what you are going to dedicate to know if you can take that business forward.
And it is also normal that this “banker” even introduces you to his clients with whom you can do business so that your business goes ahead, the fact that you are doing well means an excellent business for the bank
Here at this point it is important to emphasize again that you study well the ways you are going to have to start doing business, because if you have no credit history in the country it is difficult to get credit options. It is therefore important to have local partners.
As you can see the same as in Spain, most bank managers have no idea what a business plan is, this is highly regrettable and even less interested in helping you with contacts, with few exceptions, the only thing that interests the banks is what you have to guarantee the credit, well, and now not even that, because credit is hard to find.
One thing that is important on a social level is that whoever tries to start a business, even if they fail, is highly valued, it is someone who has tried, who has wanted to prosper and who has jumped into the pool, that is a value that people look for in people. What in Spain would be a bank branch clerk in California is like a stone placed in a corner.
What is true is that as an entrepreneur who wants to prosper you have many options, although being from outside the USA can complicate it a little, but there are always opportunities.
As I was telling my friend the other day, it is good to start a business there, but it is important that you go hand in hand with someone local or someone who has lived there for a long time and knows the details, the business culture and already has the contacts to start something, if not, you have to do it and sometimes alone.
What is certain, is that the market vision that opens up the USA, and especially California is a global vision, I know many companies, SMEs, with less than 30 employees and operating in at least 10 countries, for entrepreneurs who have a vision of expansion of openness is the right country 100%
Well, I do not intend this post to become a mega article, simply that it serves to clarify some initial ideas for those who are thinking of starting a business in the USA.