“Recent events due to Brexit – whatever your political persuasions are – have damaged a lot of the UK’s reputation internationally,” says Cas Majid, CEO at WOW Group.  

“Whereas before we could say, ‘You’re not doing it right,’ they now say, ‘Well, you’re not doing it right either.’”

Have you ever considered taking your agency abroad?

For Cas Majid, it was always part of the business plan. Now, his agency group, WOW, handles clients from Western Europe to the UAE – so he knows a thing or two about how each continent does business. 

“Emiratis will pay more for really good quality,” Cas says. “I kid you not, when we put our first quote in, they told us, ‘You need to times that by 10. We quoted a small job at around £15k. Eventually, we got that business at $100k.”

“It’s all about brand out there, and how you position your brand. They want to deal with the best – are you positioning yourself as the best?”

Cas says business in the UAE in particular is starkly different from the UK.

“There’s a lot more bureaucracy than you would find in the UK. And everyone abides by the law.”

“There’s civil law, but it can also turn into criminal law as well. For example, for a non-payment of an invoice – you can be backed by police. That’s why people pay on time, all the time.”

“And don’t expect them to turn up to appointments on time or respond to emails either. It’s not part of their culture.”

In this month’s finance mastermind, Cas will be joining us to share his experience of building his agency into a multinational business – and the lessons he’s learned along the way. 

• How are Brits viewed outside of the UK?
• How does pricing differ from continent to continent?
• How can you build trust with international clients?
• What things do you need in place before you take your agency overseas?

If you’re looking to expand into external markets, this is the perfect session for you. Come along to hear how different countries handle business, and find out if this is something worth investing in.