Abroad, the First Thing to Do Is Make Friends

When people ask me about expanding overseas, they usually start with market research: regulations, tariffs, competitors, price ranges. All of it matters. My answer, though, is always the same: first, make friends there.

What matters most rarely appears in reports. The real business customs of a country, how its offices actually work, who can be trusted and who cannot — that kind of knowledge usually comes only from friends. My own life reads like a record of this rule. In Canada it was friends, not school, who saved me, and many turning points in my career began with a friend's introduction.

How do you make friends abroad? My only method is to give first: invite first, share first, help first. In every culture, someone who acts before calculating is rare enough to be remembered. The market, I believe, lies beyond those people. What do you work for?