Plan your business’s
U.S. expansion.
For owners of established European and Southeast Asian businesses whose managers run daily operations. Decide how to enter the U.S., what each side can earn and who will do the work. CEOs, CFOs and advisers can work through the same questions.
Start with the decision you face.
Learn the basics, find a specific guide or work through one of these questions.
Can our managers do the work?
Identify the decisions that still need the owner, who can cover them and what to test first.
Commercial relationshipWhat would the partner receive and do?
Record rights, payments, support and customer responsibilities before choosing an arrangement.
Operator and parent economicsWhat can both businesses earn?
Include local management and continuing support costs. Compare profit with cash available.
Build your plan
in seven stages.
Open a stage to enter your notes. You can skip stages and return later.
Open stage 1: Management
Responsibilities and decisions that need the owner
02Open stage 2: U.S. model
Rights, payments and support responsibilities
03Open stage 3: First market
Candidate markets, demand and local requirements
04Open stage 4: Economics
Unit costs, support costs and cash needed
05Open stage 5: Partner
Skills, accessible funding and territory
06Open stage 6: Launch requirements
Launch requirements, owners and deadlines
07Open stage 7: Decision
Decision, next actions and unanswered questions
Will a manager and royalty
use up the profit?
This fictional Singapore cleaning business has $180,000 before paying a manager and a 6% revenue royalty. Together, those costs use the full amount.
Calculate your unit economicsILLUSTRATIVE ONLY · USD / YEAR · $1M REVENUE
This leaves no surplus for other costs. Profit also differs from cash available.
Guides for your
U.S. expansion.
Read the guides and their sources without registering.
Who will do the owner’s work when you expand overseas?
A delivery manager may not replace the owner’s sales, pricing and exception decisions. Identify the missing job before choosing a U.S. manager or partner.
What would justify spending on your first U.S. service market?
Start with a customer and delivery area, then test how buyers purchase and what serving them costs before granting a broad territory.
Does the U.S. partner have the money and manager for this project?
Before granting rights, establish the candidate’s project funding, available manager and comparable delivery experience—not just wealth or an impressive older business.
Who gets paid when you sell centrally and the operator delivers?
Territory geography does not allocate the customer contract, local costs or collection risk.
Does your model meet
the franchise test?
What will the partner receive? Who pays whom? What support and operating controls are involved? Where are the seller, buyer and proposed operation?
Use the worksheets to record these facts before checking the federal and relevant state rules.
How we check sources