Christopher Roy Garland on Choosing the Perfect Place to Start Your Business
If you could start your business anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Many entrepreneurs think about this question through a “lifestyle-only” lens. They imagine where they’d most like to live — often a laid-back, warm-weather paradise — and order their priorities accordingly.
That’s not a terrible approach. However, entrepreneurs who fail to consider factors beyond climate and quality of life may miss out on the best opportunities, says Christopher Roy Garland, a U.K-born financial and business advisor based in the southern African country of Botswana for more than 30 years.
Garland does love living in Botswana, but that’s not the only reason he chose it as his home base. His decision-making process was more deliberative and comprehensive. If you’re edging toward a similar decision, these are the most important factors you must consider.
- Consider Political Stability and Risks
Political stability is a vital consideration for international entrepreneurs. Unless you have other very compelling reasons to locate in a particular country or region, political stability should determine the first “cut” you make to your list of possible domiciles.
Look at absolute as well as relative rankings of political stability. For example, you’ll notice that while many western European countries have comparable political risk rankings, Botswana stands out as the most stable jurisdiction in southern Africa, according to World Population Rankings. Likewise, Chile is a standout in South America.
- Look at the Regulatory Environment and Its Potential to Change
Political stability tends to correlate with regulatory predictability, but the two are not the same. For example, European and North American countries generally regarded as politically stable often undergo periods of rapid, disruptive regulatory change. These periods can disrupt incumbent businesses and create vast new opportunities — even entire industries — while curtailing others.
- Understand the Dominant Industries
Regardless of the type of business you plan to start or expand, you must understand the economic landscape in the country. Some countries, for example, are heavily dependent on “primary” industries like mining, energy production, or agriculture. Others orient toward specific manufacturing sectors, professional services, or finance. Whether you work in these industries or not, understanding them helps you understand your likely customers.
- Determine Near- and Longer-Term Growth Potential
When it comes to evaluating countries for growth potential, you must consider:
- Projected population growth
- Expected growth in key demographic groups related to your addressable market
- Expected growth in per capita income and total household income, both nationally and in your addressable markets
- Expected employment and income growth in your industry (and related industries)
These calculations involve a fair bit of educated guesswork, but they are very important for making informed decisions about where to set up your business (or which national markets to target next).
- Evaluate Regional Synergies
Even large countries like India, the United States, Brazil and Germany operate within larger regional economic networks. Over time, the relative performance of individual regions can rise and fall — such as Europe in the aftermath of the Ukraine war (fall) or North America as post-pandemic supply chains normalized (rise).
Understanding how countries influence their neighbors’ economic performance is vital to understanding the region you plan to operate in.
- Confirm (Or Reject) Your Conclusions Through Stakeholder Feedback
Before choosing your domicile or next target market, speak with people on the ground there. Do their experiences confirm your prior expectations and any research you’ve done to date? Or does their feedback suggest that you’re missing something important about local conditions? Remember, anecdote is not data, but it can be a useful complement.
- Evaluate for Personal “Fit”
Quality of life, climate, and other “fit” factors — broadly defined as “lifestyle” — should not be the most important consideration when selecting a new business domicile. It should not be the third, or even the fifth. However, it should be a consideration. Because, after all, you do need to live somewhere, and you might as well enjoy it.
Find Your Sweet Spot
The choice of where to base your business is not an irreversible one. You can pick up and move somewhere else if circumstances on the ground change substantially.
However, it’s unlikely that you relish the prospect. Like Christopher Roy Garland, you’d rather your choice of home base be permanent, or at least very long-term. No one likes to move once they’ve settled into a routine.
That being the case, treat this decision with the gravity it deserves. It’s a choice you’d prefer to make only once or twice over the course of your career.
