Melissa Maguire, Director, International Engagement
We spend a lot of time talking to international companies abroad about how we can support their relocation or expansion in the Dallas Region. We tout the benefits of DRC membership, we sing the praises of our region’s communities – big and small – and we highlight the data that makes this area a global economic powerhouse and a great place to live.
But what we don’t spend as much time talking about is how we can help local companies make the leap across the ocean to expand their businesses abroad.
At the DRC, it is our mission to help companies in our region prosper and succeed. We provide a wealth of programs, information, and services related to workforce development, leadership growth, site selection, and networking, all designed to help our members proactively grow and strengthen their business.
We usually think of success as local – a company expands its operations by hiring more employees, or builds a new warehouse facility, or contracts on a joint venture with another local company.
However, we increasingly find that local companies have done plenty of growing in the Dallas Region and are ready to start growing abroad. Member companies approach us for recommendations about where to expand, how to navigate that business climate, what trade statistics and comparisons are available between the Dallas Region and that international market, and what kinds of policies are currently in place or being shaped that may affect their decision on where to expand.
To be honest, we’re not the best equipped to answer all of these questions, mostly by merit of our our expertise, which has traditionally been focused on outbound marketing on behalf of the region.
The bright side is that we usually know the people who are the best equipped to support these inquiries and expansions, and we are always happy to connect you!
We do so by partnering with:
- international consulates and embassies, who can provide diplomatic support and information around immigration forms, visas, and trade visits;
- international trade and investment promotion agencies, who are the resident experts on doing business in their home countries;
- our peer chambers around the world. Connection to a local chamber in your target country is the best way to receive updated economic information, as well as to get plugged into the local business community.
If you and your business are considering expanding abroad, let us know and we can very likely connect you directly to the consulate, trade and investment promotion agency, or the chamber representing that country or community.
If you don’t yet know where you’d like to expand but know that it’s time to start looking for that next growth opportunity, we invite you to participate in one of our outbound international marketing missions so you can interact with and learn more about the global markets that already have strong trade relationships with the Dallas Region. As of now, we are planning missions to the U.K., France, Spain, Germany, and Japan. Feel free to reach out to Sarah Rush, Senior Vice Present of International Engagement, at srush@dallaschamber.org if you’re a DRC member and are interested in any of these destinations.