48 Business THE MA GAZINE TM An educational American breakfast
America is a land of very big trading opportunities and our common language is a major business bonus – but remember that the USA is a foreign country. That was the underlying message from the Doing Business with the USA breakfast seminar staged by The Business Magazine in April in association with global audit, tax and consulting network RSM
The USA and Americans are actually very different. Obviously, the country is huge – nearly 40 times the size of the UK and with four time zones – but more than 70 business professionals also learned that informed awareness of the American business mindset, social culture, and the country’s complex taxation and employment legislation are just as vital as having a great product or service to sell.
Providing experienced professional advice to help reap the rewards of trading with the USA, for those fortunate delegates attending the Royal Berkshire Conference Centre in Reading, were four expert speakers.
International marketing specialist Allyson Stewart-Allen revealed the ‘US rules of the business game’ – among them, keeping things factual and forward-looking, and
avoiding irony in conversations.
RSM director Julia Summerville highlighted that there are thousands of potential taxation jurisdications among the complex national and 50 different
Allyson Stewart-Allen
state legislatures. Getting professional help was essential.
David Griffiths CEO of the Thames Valley’s Fiscal Technologies spoke from personal experience having set up business in North Carolina, while Owen Jones, partner at lawyers Doyle Clayton, revealed the legal immigration intricacies of bringing US talent to work in the UK.
Cultural differences
Americans want to get the job done, are explicit, frank and unambiguous. “Doing business is all about us and
performance,” explained Stewart-Allen. “We have a fairly high-risk appetite, but like things put simply, facts not theories, and knowing the bottom line.” UK culture tends to be implicit, context matters more, and decision-making takes longer.
Stewart-Allen felt that despite long- established worldwide trading, the US was “still a very insular place” with state-aligned economies and the vast majority of US business professionals not travelling abroad. “We don’t get out much.”
Avoid British colloquialisms, and certain words (eg Murphy’s Law, pants, jumper) that could be misunderstood, she advised.
While the US mindset could be impulsive, it also viewed failure as a learning opportunity. Action plans, progress updates, fresh knowledge and expert validation are all favoured. “We like to be masters of our own destiny.”
Being a young country compared to the UK, the US pioneering sprit is still strong. “Anchor us in the future. We look out the windscreen, not in the rear-view mirror.”
Don’t assume that other people are like yourself, she added. “There is no right or wrong culture; all cultures are right. You simply need to know how to finesse your business case differently in different parts of the world.”
www.businessmag.co.uk THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – MAY 2016
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