Valerie Bauer
JL Racing Video Assignment
8/24/13
1. What are the main challenges small companies are facing when doing business internationally?
Many small companies face challenges when doing business internationally. A big challenge is finding a good location with a good support base. JL Racing struggled with finding a good location with a good support base. They ended up choosing California and choosing an area where there were other companies and support. With the hard economy nowadays it is hard to find this. With the economy struggling many small companies are also struggling with not laying off their employees and finding things for them to do during off seasons. JL Racing has a policy that they will not lay off their employees and they are lucky enough that their markets do have some variation in their seasons. This is helpful because during their off season the national rowing teams are still rowing and this gives JL Racing something for their off season. When doing business in international markets it is important and a challenge to be able to produce a product that appeals to multiple markets. It is also very much of a challenge to keep shipping times down so they can stay competitive in the market and keep customers satisfied. Many businesses find it a challenge to understand their customers especially when they are in one country and selling internationally. JL racing worked on traveling to promote their products and actually take the time to see what the athletes are wearing. This helped them to better understand how to create a product that works for the athletes. There are also challenges with understanding buying habits and each countries culture. There are also cultural differences in clothing. JL racing struggled with entering the German market because they have a board of directors that make decisions. In order for them to make a decision it took a while and they also had to keep their other vendors in mind. Many small businesses have to...