IN THIS EPISODE . . . . 

Scaling and expanding your company operations internationally can be very lucrative when done right and challenging when planning is not conducted strategically. Establishing a global brand is all about understanding the market environments, local cultures and business laws. Thinking that you already know what to do without understanding the market is setting yourself up for failure. The roadblocks you face and the revenue potential in a foreign market will not be the same as in your current market. As a leader, you have to be willing to change your mindset and be flexible with your strategy to enhance the effectiveness of your foreign-based operations.

Danila Palmieri, the Founder and CEO of Connect Solutions, gives us insight into the dynamics of scaling companies into foreign markets. While it can be rewarding to scale your company internationally, there are pros and cons to consider while planning your international operations playbook, to have a shot at increasing your probability for long-term success.

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WHAT TO LISTEN FOR:

  1. The importance of work-life prioritization vs. work-life balance
  2. Some of the biggest success inhibitors of businesses trying to expand operations internationally
  3. Danila’s addition to the LATTOYG Playbook
  4. Danila’s Fun Facts – Saturdays, rice with beans, and surprises

“I value my clients’ culture.  We want to help them keep their identity, their history and what they value most. But we help them adapt and engage in this country.”

FEATURED TIMESTAMPS:

    [04:02] Hear about what led Danila to move Brazil to the United States

    [12:30] The different areas that Connect Solutions helps businesses establish operations outside their home country

    [17:51] Danila’s entry into the LATTOYG Playbook: Roadblocks international companies face in establishing their presence in the US

    [21:32] Danila shares some of the challenges she has faced as a female founder

    [25:44] Signature Segment: Danila’s LATTOYG Tactic of Choice

    [30:23] Signature Segment: Full Disclosure

    [34:28] Signature Segment: Karan’s Take

    ABOUT DANILA PALMIERI: 

    Danila is the Founder & CEO of Connect Solutions, a rapid business growth company that aims to help clients achieve their international business goals on an expedited timeline using a variety of tactics in HR Strategy and Operations. With 21+ years of experience managing corporate projects at the highest levels, Danila is an expert in strategy, project management, HR, and business acceleration.

    With a strong background orchestrating large-scale projects locally and internationally, Danila specializes in cross-border soft-landings in the U.S., post-merger integration, and helping companies establish back-office operations. She believes in becoming a long-term partner with her clients to help them achieve business goals that they couldn’t achieve alone.

    Danila holds a degree in Engineering from Faculdade de Engenharia Industrial, a Postgrad in Business Administration from Fundação Getulio Vargas, and an MBA in HR Management and Personnel Administration from Fundação Getulio Vargas. She is also a WTC Atlanta Board Member, Former Chairman of the Board at Brazilian American Chamber of Commerce (BACC-SE), and an SHRM Atlanta Leadership Development Volunteer.

     

    LINKS FOR DANILA PALMIERI:

    PEOPLE &  RESOURCES MENTIONED:

    ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR YOU:

    • Website:  The Export-Import Bank of the U.S. (Ex-Im Bank) is one of the most popular sources of financing for businesses that are expanding overseas. https://www.exim.gov/
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    Click the plus button on the tab to access the written transcript:
    EPISODE 14 | Helping International Businesses Establish Operations in the U.S. with Danila Palmieri

    Danila Palmieri  00:00

    First is really understanding the market here, changing our mindset, and really like I always tell them, “Open your mind and your ears and listen. Don’t come in here like you’re ready. Oh, I know what to do; I’m gonna do like this.” because problem is it’s not gonna work so, understand the market here. First thing: your mindset, change your mindset.

     

    Voiceover  00:27

    Welcome to the “Lead at the Top of Your Game” podcast, where we equip you to more effectively lead your seat at any employer, business, or industry in which you choose to play. Each week, we help you sharpen your leadership acumen by cracking open the playbooks of dynamic leaders who are doing big things in their professional endeavors. And now, your host, leadership tactics and organizational development expert, Karan Ferrell-Rhodes.

     

    Karan Rhodes  01:04

    Hi, there superstars. This is Karan, and welcome to today’s episode. You know, so often, those of us who are in the United States dream about expanding our company operations internationally but, you should also know that there’s a huge population of foreign-based companies who are just as passionate and dream about establishing operations right here in the U.S. And with all the regulations to navigate and all the operational processes to understand, foreign-based operations frequently find the process of coming to the states really overwhelming, and most need an intermediary to guide them on the very steep learning curve. This is why I am so happy to feature on today’s episode, Danila Palmieri, who is the founder of Connect Solutions—a rapid business growth company that aims to help clients achieve their international business goals on an expedited timeline. Danila is a native Brazil, and she splits her time between the US and Brazil and a variety of other foreign countries. She leads a team of experts who helps clients establish operations in the US and is very involved in partnerships with over 28 consulates. Danila will be sharing more insight on the dynamics of scaling operations into foreign markets so, you definitely don’t want to miss this episode. But remember, be sure to listen to her addition to our leadership execution playbook. And my closing segment called “Karan’s Take”, where I share a tip on how to use insights from today’s episode to further sharpen your leadership acumen. And now, enjoy the show. Hello, superstars! This is Karan and so happy to have you all listening in on today’s episode. I am just thrilled beyond belief to have our guest today, Ms. Danila Palmieri. She is the founder of Connect Solutions which is a firm that helps clients achieve their international business goals in a very expedited timeline. Her company is absolutely dynamic so, be sure to listen and deeply because as you all know, global business is truly the way of the world. So, welcome Danila to the show.

     

    Danila Palmieri  03:28

    Thank you, Karan! It’s a pleasure being here and it’s always a pleasure to talk to you. So, thank you so much for having me here today!

     

    Karan Rhodes  03:37

    Oh, absolutely. Absolutely! So, are you ready to open up that leadership playbook of yours?

     

    Danila Palmieri  03:42

    Yes, I’m totally ready to do it..

     

    Karan Rhodes  03:46

    Alright. Well, let’s go ahead and dive in. Well, you know, to start, you know, for as much as you feel comfortable Danila, can you share a little bit about your background, kind of where you grew up? A little bit about your personal life? And tad about your professional journey?

     

    Danila Palmieri  04:02

    Sure! So, my beautiful accent, right?

     

    Karan Rhodes  04:07

    I love it!

     

    Danila Palmieri  04:10

    My beautiful accent is coming from Brazil. So, I was born and raised in Sao Paolo, biggest city in Brazil, the biggest city in Brazil. I graduated there as a Chemical Engineer, worked for around 15 years in corporations from work on the floor in the manufacturing, training people, designing processes, all the way through my last role. That was a leadership development director where I was able to help develop around 300 leaders in the company I used to work for and that’s where I decided to move my journey to the human resources field, righ? After a merger and acquisition process that was responsible for the integration of the processes and also work with the people management team, and that’s why I decided to shift my career to that. In 2013, I moved to Atlanta. My husband was invited to come to work here in Atlanta, and I can confess to you I never… I didn’t hear about Atlanta before.

     

    Karan Rhodes  05:46

    It was a culture shock, right?

     

    Danila Palmieri  05:48

    Yes, and then, we came here. I love Atlanta. I feel like an Atlantan. I always tell my husband like, “Oh, do you wanna… Anyway, we need to drive somewhere.” I said, “Oh, I know where we have to go.” So I… I’ve been living here for the past 10 years, and I drive around a lot. So, I have a five years old daughter, my husband, right? She’s American-Brazilian, right, was born here, and also, I have to work hard to make her speak Portuguese.

     

    Karan Rhodes  06:30

    I can imagine.

     

    Danila Palmieri  06:31

    So, I always… she starts speaking in English, I say, “Hey, speak in Portuguese, please.” So, it’s a challenge but… but it’s fun. And the things are [unintelligible] here, Karan. In 2013-14, I was already in a solo career as a consultant in Brazil, and my first step was getting in touch with the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce, where I want to understand… I would like to understand how to do business here in this country, right, and also, we start to engage in the community and that’s what I did. And I became chairman of the board some years later, and we changed a lot of things in our board. At that time, we’re recruiting new board members; we create some more diversity in our board, because it was a lot of Brazilians, and it’s a “No, no, no, no, we have to bring Americans. We have to bring, you know, different ways to see things once we are a binational chamber.” so we did that. I decided, like with Connect, to serve international companies in the human resources’ heaviest field. Let’s say this way, because now I can kind of help them with some marketing. Of course, with some operations; we have partners that can help them with the business development, right, with recruiting, sea-level recruiting. So, we ended up creating this match-working in this partnership that can provide better resources for international companies.

     

    Karan Rhodes  08:18

    I love that! And for our listeners who may not realize this, in Atlanta, we kind of call ourselves the melting pot of the South, but there’s a very thriving Brazilian community–among other diverse communities–but there is a very thriving Brazilian community. I have quite a few friends of Brazilian nationality or Brazilian descent. So, I definitely understand why it made it such sense for you to connect with the Chamber of… Brazilian Chamber of Commerce here because there was a great business opportunity. Yeah, definitely there.

     

    Danila Palmieri  08:55

    Yes, and then, once I would like to not serve the Brazilian community and also other international companies, because when you come to the US the challenges, the struggles, the culture are all the same, right? So, it is… we can help any international companies, right, to doing what we do? Then, I decided that I would like to be a board member, and I chose the World Trade Center Atlanta at that time. I had a connection that introduced me to them. I went to all with the process to write to be hired for… for them and I’ve been acting as a board member there since… has been five years now.

     

    Karan Rhodes  09:46

    Oh, amazing. Congratulations on that!

     

    Danila Palmieri  09:48

    Thank you, and leading programs–event is not really my forte–but I always say like it’s sometimes I have to engage with things to improve some skills that we are not good at.

     

    Karan Rhodes  10:02

    That’s right.

     

    Danila Palmieri  10:04

    And that’s why I engaged with the World Trade Center—to open doors and understand other cultures and being touched with other international chambers or consulate. I don’t know, Karan, if you know that, but we have around 28 different binational Chamber of Commerce or some trading office, or consulate here in Atlanta. So, it’s really a [melting pot] to the South, right? We really have a lot of international backgrounds here. That’s… that’s amazing. That’s one thing that I love.

     

    Karan Rhodes  10:49

    It is amazing. I knew we had quite a few; I didn’t know 28. So that’s a new one on me. I learn something new every day but, that… that is absolutely totally amazing. And for our listeners out there, full transparency: Danila and I have had a chance for our businesses to partner together on a variety of initiatives, and she’s really underselling herself. I mean, she has such a dynamic expertise in combining business operations with HR and in organizational effectiveness initiatives. She is one of the best in the business around that, and so, I didn’t want her to get off this podcast without me really [unintelligible] her expertise, because it has been such a pleasure collaborating with her on a variety of engagements that we had a chance to work together on.

     

    Danila Palmieri  11:40

    Yeah, it’s always a pleasure, Karan. You know that, right? I am your fan, I am here for you anytime you need. You know that.

     

    Karan Rhodes  11:50

    Absolutely! Well, let’s dig a little deeper into Connect Solutions. What I’d love for you to share with our audience is a little bit more about the different areas that you help businesses with because I do know you do a lot of heavy work with helping foreign-based businesses establish operations in the US–kind of help coaching and guiding them and establishing operations–but what are some of the different areas of specialty that the team that Connects Solutions can help with?

     

    Danila Palmieri  12:30

    So, we can… I like to explain Connect Solutions as a like a game, right, where you have a path to go? And when you throw the dices, you run some steps forwards or back, right? So, I like to explain like this as a table a board game? Because it is… that what has happened so when I our clients approach us–and we work a lot together with the Georgia Department of Economic Development with the Brazilian like consulates and other Mexican consulates, I’ve been talking to them as well–to understand like, “Where is the company? What is the challenge?” Right? So. I started asking questions like, “Oh, do you know you market size? Your competitors? Do you know where your clients… where they are? What they are looking for? Do you understand that they are in need… they are problem?” Because also when you’re talking about the internationals, you have to understand your audience. It’s not the same the way I see things in Brazil; it’s not the way I see here for sometimes the same solution the same product, right? And the way we will promote that and we will create, you know, the footprint. So, even sometimes we have to change the name because the name when you translate or when you say in English, doesn’t make any sense or maybe something that Americans would like say, “Oh my gosh!”, right? It can be a word that [does] not really fit well the culture. So, if they say no, I understand all these. I know the market and I know my audience; I know everything. I need to just to start selling, right? So at Connect, we have partnerships with companies that can do the business development, can do the sales for them. So, we start helping them with the marketing, language, creating a footprint and materials so they are able to start selling here. If they are here and they want to really start their company, we have an accounting CPA partner that does it for us–help them with all this bureaucracy, legal, immigration as well. And at Connect, we are able to do what we can do best that help them go through all the challenges around people management—from hiring the right person and before that, the Human Resources strategy. It’s planning, right, where we really add value. It’s planning in a sense that you know the people you want, you know the market, how much the market pays, where are these professionals, how much, the benefits, all the challenges around, you know, legal and compliance before hiring anyone. Then, we can help them hire this person and we are heavy on cultural fit–not only experience, not only knowledge, and professional background–but we fit together to that culture, because also I value my clients culture, right? We… we wanted to keep that here—their identity, their history, right, what they value most, and just adapt and engage to this country and change communication, and adapt maybe some policies that in Brazil makes sense but here it doesn’t make sense and the other way around, right? So, it’s a learning process for all of us because also we can improve process in Brazil. In Brazil, they are learning also or in their country, they are also learning how to adapt to that. And here, they can also create and adapt to new things. And we can… Oh, sorry, Karan. Go ahead.

     

    Karan Rhodes  17:08

    No, no, no. I’m saying that’s great. I was just curious as well, what are you seeing as some of the main challenges of international companies establishing a presence in the US? And then, we talked about kind of policies and… but do you think it’s the top… the top… I won’t say roadblocks, but top obstacles that they’re trying to tackle? Is it the laws around foreign companies establishing it here? Is it finding that talent to create, you know, to build a base here? What are some of the top challenges you’re seeing right now going on as companies are trying to establish operations here?

     

    Danila Palmieri  17:51

    First is really understanding the market here, changing our mindset, and really like I always tell them, “Open your mind and your ears and liste. Don’t come in here like you’re ready. Oh, I know what to do; I’m gonna do like this.” because problem is it’s not gonna work so, understand the market here. First thing: your mindset, change your mindset. Open. Totally open, blank page. Second, is understand that the whole… the blocks we have here might not be the same ones in your country, right? Right now, here in the US, we know about the shortage, right, in the workforce? We know that how challeng[ing] is hiring someone now. All the compensation is up and high, right? Then, three years ago… also the flexible time and working from home, people change their home, right? Some people they were leaving in New York, and now they want to live in Florida because [unintelligibel] gave them this choice. And now, it’s challenging to make them “Hey, come back. I need you here in New York in person, not virtually, or at least for a couple of days.” So, there’s all these challenges that we are we are facing in the… we cannot be… how do you say… we need to be flexible and understand and consider that. I have a client that I just spoke to yesterday, and she told me, “Oh, I I cannot hire someone here if they are in Miami because they need to speak Portuguese. They need to work from the office.” And I said, “Well, you know, you have you’re giving me this spectrum to work, right? Because when you say speak Portuguese, okay in Miami, Florida that we have a lot of Portuguese speaking people but with the experiences you need…

     

    Karan Rhodes  20:04

    Small market, right?

     

    Danila Palmieri  20:05

    It is a small market so that’s… that’s another challenge. And I have other clients that came here to hire a Head of… of Sales, and they have to change the whole strategy because they could not find the person with the budget they have because their budget no longer makes sense here. So, that is the main obstacles and, of course, understand the labor law because it has some nuances in… also now that you can hire in different states so, you have to comply with different regulations. That’s another… another thing. But I… for me, the [primary] one is mindset. Change your mindset. Clear your calculator. Let’s start again.

     

    Karan Rhodes  20:55

    Which is hard to do, right? Especially when you’ve had a successful business in your… your native country. Clearing your mindset to totally almost recreate your business in the US can be a huge challenge. I know you have a lot of experts and specialists that you bring in based on what, you know, the client’s need and what stage they’re at. And I’m just curious, a female founder of… of such a firm, what are some of your major challenges in in leading Connect Solutions?

     

    Danila Palmieri  21:32

    Wow. It’s a… as a female, mom, wife, daughter, it’s… it’s always a challenge and yesterday, I was talking… talking with a friend. She’s also so so amazing that we are like living the same life right now. She’s an entrepreneur like me; she’s a mom. She just end[ed] up… because I end[ed] up a partnership a couple of weeks ago and restarting, rebranding Connect. So, she’s doing the same with her business and we are talking about the challenges we face in our daily basis because we say like, “We are our… the son is a mom’s son, right? Or a  daughter, right?” You have to take care of them so you have to worry about from… what we’re going to eat for dinner to all the way through, “Oh my God, how do I connect with this new person and have a new prospect?” So that’s really the challenge for women because I don’t see in our society, like if… if it were a male person, if we were being worried about all these stuff for the same time and have to handle all these different balls as we have to handle, right? So it’s time that you have to dedicate, it’s time that you have to think in a different way, and sometimes it’s pretty challenging in the sense that, “Oh my god, they do a phone call now with a potential prospect?” or I have to go to my daughter’s school, right, and be engaged with that community? So that is a balance, that is challenge being a female, right, to… to… how to handle all these balls and how to make time a quality time to do, and I feel sometimes that I’m dropping my ball in the business?

     

    Karan Rhodes  23:45

    I think we all do.

     

    Danila Palmieri  23:46

    Because I’d have to pay attention. Because I have… because sometimes [at] 5pm, I go down and I have to prepare the food [unintelligible]. What are you going to have to eat? Everybody’s waiting for me. And sometimes I feel like, oh my god, I’m dedicating so much time to my work that I may be dropping the ball with my husband, with my family, right, or with my friends. So it’s always a feeling that we are missing something or always we [owe] something to somebody.

     

    Karan Rhodes  24:24

    Right. Always, always. Well, I think you’re doing a fantastic job trying to juggle. I think we’re all in that similar situation but it’s… You know, I always say it’s all about work-life prioritization versus work-life balance, you know, for every single day I wake up and I think okay, what are my top priorities for today? And I look across the spectrum from business to family to me, you know, sometimes, I have to prioritize me, you know, and make time to go get my annual physical or whatever it is that I need to get done. But, you’re right, it’s… it’s just taking it day by day and doing your best because there’s never enough hours in the day. Never enough.

     

    Danila Palmieri  25:12

    No, never.

     

    Karan Rhodes  25:15

    So, Danila, I’m really… I’m just curious for you. What do you think it takes for someone to lead at the top of their game?

     

    Danila Palmieri  25:24

    So to live at the top of the game, well, you have in your book of the seven [unintelligible] priorities?

     

    Karan Rhodes  25:33

    Yeah.

     

    Danila Palmieri  25:33

    I would like to talk about… a little bit about driving for results, because I’m a very results-driven person, and I find in everything I like to do to add value, and accomplish results, right? Always. Like with my clients, with my family, what we are looking for as a result, and that’s for me is always that… not the end of the game but it’s a really huge part of the game that we need to deliver results. I don’t feel good if I’m not delivering, or, actually, I love to say like, I like to exceed expectations. I don’t like to [deliver] what we agreed; I like to [deliver]…

     

    Karan Rhodes  26:22

    More.

     

    Danila Palmieri  26:24

    …more, always more. I’m never happy if I believe we like what we agreed, I’ll feel like, “Is it the best work I can do for you?” So I like to [deliver] extra results in like a surprise, rather than the expectation, go beyond that. But [that doesn’t] always happen but that’s where I go forward. And I… and I, uhm, I like to get the work done. This juggling things, I do also prioritize over my week, like my calendar, Fridays mainly, I do this—the planning for next week like blocking some times for myself, walking times for projects, for [unintelligible] working for, you know, different things for my family that I can really my… my major… my MVP priority, right, the most important value priority, that’s what I do. But that’s where I see that as a leader, we have to [be] looking for results or results that our team has to develop to be better in something so help them do it. Or for us, personally, either that or for it… for… for our family. So, that’s why I chose driving for results as the topic today, Karan.

     

    Karan Rhodes  27:58

    Oh, I love that, and I think I’m gonna use that as your entry into our leadership playbook. I love how you [unintelligible] time and Fridays to make sure you’re planning for the next week for all the different areas of your life. I think that is a valuable action or tool for leaders to do because sometimes, many of us don’t do it or don’t find the time to do this and you’ve scheduled time in your calendar to make sure you do that in hopes that you’ll be the most effective that you can be for the upcoming week. I absolutely love that. Do you have any other tips or tools that you do to kind of keep yourself sane?

     

    Danila Palmieri  28:41

    Well, I usually have my Mondays to working on projects, try not to schedule meetings, real focus on getting the results done. I have my calendar opening Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays really to business development, marketing, all the hats that [as] an entrepreneur we have to wear. And Fridays is my… I have a part of my days for myself, my massage, my nails, whatever I want to do to soothe myself or to be nice to myself. And then, I take like the afternoon to planning and to organiz[ing], see what I missed, maybe I didn’t accomplish from that week that I need to reroute, turn around, and have done for next week. That’s mainly… I believe that’s helping me a lot not feeling that guilty. We just spoken about between family, right, yourself, and work life. Try to balance a little bit more of that.

     

    Karan Rhodes  29:51

    I love that. I absolutely love that. Alright, well, we only have a few more minutes left but I don’t want to leave without doing our final segment. Our final segment is called “Full Disclosure”. These are little fun questions to ask to… to get a sneak peek into some of the things that you like as an individual and I promise there are no gotcha questions.

     

    Danila Palmieri  30:15

    Okay!

     

    Karan Rhodes  30:18

    Nothing to that, but my first question to you is, you know, what is your favorite way to decompress?

     

    Danila Palmieri  30:27

    Saturdays.

     

    Karan Rhodes  30:29

    Saturdays, what do you do on Saturdays?

     

    Danila Palmieri  30:31

    Oh, Saturdays, I like to wake up whatever time. I love to walk around the neighborhood, and I love to take my daughter and my dog and my two puppies, right, my two babies with me. They go on the stroller, my dog. They’re just so cute. And I like to just to walk around the neighborhood. And now that the weather is amazing, my favorite time to do that in the year and come back home, workout, and do whatever we like in the in the afternoon. You can have a good glass of wine or more because of Sunday’s just coming, right? Enjoy the night, we don’t usually enjoy the night much because we go to sleep early. We’re not owls here at home, and have some friends over. That’s what I like to do. So, Saturday is my decompression day.

     

    Karan Rhodes  31:31

    Is your day to do that. That’s awesome. What is one of your favorite meals that you love to eat?

     

    Danila Palmieri  31:38

    Wow, my favorite meal. It’s a typical meal in Brazil. It’s rice with beans, some protein like mainly I am beef person. I love a barbecue.

     

    Karan Rhodes  31:57

    Oh, yes! Absolutely.

     

    Danila Palmieri  32:01

    And some vegetables. This combination is really a comfort food for me. I don’t eat these very often. It’s been a while not because I’m living here, it’s because just change… I don’t eat that much but it’s… that’s my my favorite.

     

    Karan Rhodes  32:18

    That’s your splurge meal that you would love, right?

     

    Danila Palmieri  32:21

    Yeah.

     

    Karan Rhodes  32:23

    Awesome! What would be a perfect birthday gift for you?

     

    Danila Palmieri  32:29

    Oh my gosh, something that surprised me. I tell my husband if he said “What do you want for birthday?” I [say], “Surprise me.” Just surprise you? Okay. Oh no, just surprise me. Now, but other than that, my… my perfect of present or perfect birth birthday is hanging out with the people I love, you know, and just to enjoy the time with them and be grateful and celebrate one more year, rightm and one more year ahead, being healthy, right? That’s really the best birthday day that I look for always.

     

    Karan Rhodes  33:14

    That’s awesome. That’s awesome. Alright. And one more question not for you; I always love to turn the tables on me since you’ve been such a great sport for being on the podcast. What is one question you’d like to ask me about anything business or personal?

     

    Danila Palmieri  33:32

    Okay, so Karan, I admire you. I know you, it has been a while we work together so I… you really is a reference, you know, is a role model for me.

     

    Karan Rhodes  33:46

    Oh, that’s so sweet of you to say.

     

    Danila Palmieri  33:48

    Oh yeah, this is true from the bottom of my heart to you so what I would like to hear for… and I don’t know if it’s really a question but how do you get so successful handling family business all this time, right, to have [unintelligible] where it is and I know that we are… you are always looking for something new to do, right? You’re always looking for something different so, how do you do that? Give me a little bit more from your magic.

     

    Karan Rhodes  34:28

    That’s a great question. Um, well, you know me personally, Danila. I’m an over-the-chart extrovert. I talk with everyone, network with everyone. People… talking to people are my joy so that… that’s my space. And so, for the business side of the house, I do try to extend my networks at all times with key decision makers with companies, you know, starting out with just, you know, being friendly trying to see what’s top of mind for them, you know, offering some free advice or resources, you know. I don’t… I’m not a great… I won’t call myself a great salesperson. I’m pretty good at deepening relationships. and I just been fortunate that because of that, you know, business has been referred to me from those that are within my network. And so, I just try to continue to keep up relationships with individuals. Sometimes, it doesn’t… the business doesn’t come like immediately. I’ve had a ton of people that comes a year, year and a half later and say… they’ll say, “Hey, I referred you to one of my best friends are needing X, Y, and Z.” And it took a while when we first started the company, but over time, it has really ramped up so that’s kind of one of the secrets to our success.

     

    Danila Palmieri  35:51

    Yay. Thanks. Thank you. Thank you for sharing.

     

    Karan Rhodes  35:54

    Thanks for the great question. Well, unfortunately, our time was up. I could talk to you all day, Danila, but thank you so much for joining the “Lead At The Top Of Your Game” podcast. And audience members, please definitely go to our website. There’ll be detailed show notes, information on how to contact Danila, and get more information about her and her company services. You’ll also get links to how to reach her. And Danila, you’ve just been the epitome of a wonderful podcast guest. So, thank you so much for the gift of your time for our listeners.

     

    Danila Palmieri  36:35

    Thank you. Thank you, Karan, again. It’s always a pleasure being here with you so thank you for having me.

     

    Karan Rhodes  36:41

    Absolutely. Have a good day, everyone! I hope you enjoyed our conversation today with Danila Palmieri, founder of Connect solutions. Links to her bio, her entry into our leadership playbook, and additional resources can be found in the show notes on both your favorite podcast platform of choice and at leadyourgamepodcast.com. And now, for “Karan’s take” on today’s topic of scaling internationally. You know, while it may be exciting to contemplate scaling your company or business internationally, just know that there are both pros and cons to consider. Some of the pros include things like having a larger likelihood that your company will be more immune to the fluctuations and downturns of a single market. Also, you’ll be able to tap into a larger talent pool, which is really cool. Another pro might be more options for selling your products and services, as well as enjoy the cachet that comes with having a global brand. But, listeners, you know, I’d be remiss if I did not give you some tips to avoid some of the pitfalls which may come your way if you don’t plan for international operations very strategically. One of the things you should make sure that you do is conduct comprehensive market research in every country you’re considering, understand the local laws, tariffs, and taxes. And I personally recommend you starting with the US Department of Commerce because they have a ton of data on trade laws all over the world. The second thing you should do is to devise a sound strategy when you’re planning to establish operations in another country, and please don’t wing it. Take the time to understand the cultural differences that will impact things like pricing, advertising, shipping, payment, production, and even packaging. And lastly, if you think that you might need finance for your business, make a research appointment with a renowned international bank such as the Export Import Bank of the US. There’s a lot of these types of banks out there but all of them have specialists who can help you prepare your financial strategy and also can they can connect you with subject matter experts in your target countries. So, if you’ve enjoyed this topic, more info on developing stronger leadership acumen can be found by clicking on the signature program link on our website, shockinglydifferent.com. Thanks so much for joining this episode, and see you next week. Bye!

     

    Voiceover  39:33

    And that’s our show for today. Thank you for listening to the “Lead at the Top of Your Game” podcast where we help you leave your seats at any employer, business, or industry in which you choose to play. You can check out the show notes, additional episodes, bonus resources, and also submit guest recommendations on our website at leadyourgamepodcast.com. You can follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn by searching for the name Karan Rhodes with Karan being spelled K-a-r-a-n. And if you liked the show, the greatest gift you can give would be to subscribe and leave a rating on your podcast platform of choice. This podcast has been a production of Shockingly Different Leadership, a global consultancy which helps organizations execute their people, talent development, and organizational effectiveness initiatives on an on-demand project or contract basis. Huge thanks to our production and editing team for a job well done. Bye for now.

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