I, like many North Americans, was fortunate when it came to developing a rudimentary understanding of how different it would be conducting business across the world. Everything was neatly laid out in school, beginning in the primary grades. On world maps each country had its own color (Commonwealth countries, for whatever reason, were always colored pink … other countries had their own distinct color though France, for example could shift from blue, to green, to brown depending on the map). Likewise, every country had its own language, its own currency, its own postage stamps, and its own unique customs, all neatly laid out in the 1960s Golden Book Encyclopedia of which my parents gave me a set.
geishaEngland spoke English, France spoke French, the people of Finland spoke Finnish, Italians spoke Italian, the people of China spoke Chinese (though we would learn of Mandarin and Cantonese dialects) and the Poles spoke Polish. Each country – at least back then – has its own currency and, we learned, laid claim to unique attributes. Holland had windmills and wooden shoes, China had rickshaws and junks, French men wore berets and smoked unfiltered cigarettes, Japan had geishas, and English soldiers wore large black bearskin hats. So, from an early age, we were taught to appreciate that every country, besides having its own color on a world map, had elements unique to it that made it different from every other country. As time would prove, however, this did not equip us to conduct international business in any kind of knowledgeable way, even with the insights of the Golden Book Encyclopedia. Just ask any business person from South America, Africa, Europe, Asia or “down under.”
Yet, we had it so much better than everyone else heading in this direction.
mapnorthamericaNorth American maps had only three colors – one for Mexico, one for the US, and one for Canada, with Sarah Palin’s home state of Alaska in the upper left being the same color as the US … just to confuse everyone (and let’s not forget to let the eye travel further to the left to some specks in the water of the same US color so that Hawaii is not forgotten). To those from abroad, the US was pretty much the US from top to bottom, and from side to side (save and except the outliers … like hula dancing which is a Hawaiian exclusive, the Wild West, and the obvious differences between New York City and Los Angeles which, by now, every movie goer around the world recognizes). It is no surprise then to see business people from other continents regard the US as essentially one somewhat homogeneous place in which to do business (heck, even the currency is all the same color).
Yet, nothing can be further from the truth.
I lived just a few miles north of the US border in Canada for two-thirds of my life, before moving to California, and have done business in the US for all of my adult life. Yet I don’t think a week goes by that I am not served up some example of how, like Europe, the differences can become striking even over the duration of a car ride. Just think how those differences magnify over a plane (you can get from any major city in the US to any other in 6 hours or less, Hawaii and Alaska excluded).
Case in Point: California
On a world scale the economy of the state of California is larger than most of the countries in which our clients are located – it’s the 9th largest economy in the world. The differences between Norther California (San Francisco and Silicon Valley) and Southern California (Los Angeles and San Diego) are large enough to view them legitimately as distinct markets. Exaggeration? No. Consider the sport of volleyball.
2630volley_ball[1]By every measure California is the heartland of US volleyball. More California girls, boys, women and men play organized volleyball – court and beach – than almost all of the rest of the US combined. As widespread as volleyball is in California. if you are a seller of volleyball sporting equipment – balls, nets, knee pads, shoes, socks, ankle guards, sunglasses, uniforms, etc. – and you could only choose one part of California to market in, you would choose Southern California. Just compare the size of the NCVA (Northern California Volleyball Association) with at most 15 clubs, with that of the size of the SCVA which has over 1200 girls teams alone. Be assured that Molten, Tachikara, Mizuno, ASICS and a few dozen others have this figured out. (Correction: I received this from Melissa Walker of the NCVA: “According to our latest data (pulled just moments before sending this email) with USA Volleyball, the NGB for both NCVA and SCVA, NCVA has 322 affiliated clubs and 1158 girls teams.” It just goes to show that marketers should heed the popular carpenter’s adage: measure twice, cut once. Thank you to the NCVA for pointing out the error).
Other US Differences and Comparators
Dis you know that:
North Dakota (North what?) has had the strongest growing state economy since 2006? It’s all do to bakken shale and oil.
Among US states in 2012 the percent change in real GDP ranged from -0.1% to North Dakota’s whopping 13.4%?
For all the press that China gets regarding its growth, with 2011 US GDP at $15.6 trillion the US is about double the GDP of China?
At over $1 trillion in GDP, Texas is larger than the combined economies of Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and Malaysia?
Patents are concentrated in a handful or areas: Seattle, The SF Bay Area and San Diego on the West coast; Texas, Minneapolis and Chicago in the Mid-west; Michigan and the New York-Boston corridor in the Northeast?
Though manufacturing provides 9% of all jobs and only 12% of GDP in the US, it accounts for 2/3 of private sector R&D, 90% of all patents and one-third of all engineers employed?
Maryland households have the highest incomes in the US – almost double that of Mississippians?
You won’t pay any state income tax if you live in Alaska, Florida, Nevada, S Dakota, Texas, Washington or Wyoming, but if you want your technology business to be situated in Silicon Valley in California you could pay up to 13.3% in state income tax?
Though you’ll find the lowest cost capital in California, Texas ranks #1 among 10 factors of competitiveness (California ranks 40th)?
If you’re thinking of living in the US then consider Carmel IN (#1 best place to live) but avoid Cleveland OH (the most miserable)?
If you’re looking to import to the US, you’d better be familiar with US Customs and Border Patrol or know someone who is?
Compared to most countries, it is relatively easy and inexpensive to start a business in the US?
However, just like New York City, every state and city has its own regulations – in addition to Federal ones – for properly and legally conducting business?
There are many unwritten rules – and even more opinions, not all of them flattering – about how to conduct business successfully in the US and its regions?
No matter how much America TV one watches, there are still cultural surprises when the airplane lands.
Every state in the US is its own unique melting pot, and not exactly like any other. Like Dorothy in OZ, you need to know when you’re no longer in Kansas.
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