Short-Term Goals vs. Long-Term Thinking.

While your instinct may be to locate your European operations in the center of your current most successful market, that may be a mistake – simply because that market or location may not be enough to sustain your business five years from now. In fact, a May 2005 Ernst & Young Study on European Headquarters found that not only did almost 25% of the companies surveyed relocate their headquarters from the original location, but more than half of those relocating moved to another country as well.

So, be sure to think beyond where you’re doing business today, to where you will be doing business tomorrow. That’s because factors so critical to your success –proximity to your enlarged customer base, accessibility to additional markets, cost and delivery times for your products – can change dramatically as the geographic scope of your business expands.

Other location-specific factors that will impact your growth are the overall costs of doing business at the location you chose, the tax climate in that country, the availability of qualified staff and affordable office space, as well as the general business climate.

All these factors vary significantly throughout Europe and should be carefully examined when comparing potential locations.

CONTINUE TO FINDING YOUR CENTER OF GRAVITY