International Business Alliance,
International Business Development,
and Strategic Planning Process Services

The Austin Business Alliance (TABA) is a professional service organization located in Austin, Texas. We facilitate and simplify the strategic planning process of doing international business with the Austin area in the scope of international cooperation and international business alliances. Currently, our operations and business development fall into three categories:

I. Helping Non-U. S. Companies Come to Texas and International Business Development

We represent small and mid-sized, non-U.S. companies who wish to expand their operations to Texas. For a number of reasons, many such companies are reluctant to enter a market area as large as the United States. The distances involved are long, travel is expensive, and the language and business customs may not be unfamiliar. Most important, their CEO's are not 'plugged-in' to the local society for various strategic planning the way they are in their own country; they are uncomfortable, don't know whom to trust or where to get reliable local information and advice. In short, they don't feel 'at home,' so they often decide not to venture so far abroad, even at the risk of missing a profitable new native or international business development opportunity.

Their concerns are well-founded. There really is no substitute for localknowledge. It is indeed difficult to do business in countries whereone does not have a reliable and experienced partner.

For our clients, our international Business Alliance is that partner.

Helping companies feel comfortable in the Austin area is one of the primary reasons for TABA's existence. Most of our core members have extensive experience working in foreign countries--some of us for many years--so we know what companies want when they expand into a new and unfamiliar area.

First, we provide prospective clients with a free preliminary evaluation of their proposals, giving our opinion as to whether their idea is an appropriate one for the Austin area, and for The Austin Business Alliance. Then, if they become our clients, we give them the convenience of 'one-stop-shopping' for all their native of international business development needs, the ease of integrated billing, and the confidence of dealing with a highly reputable organization worth to be involved into highly responsible strategic planning process in the scope of international business development.

Our members are experienced in working with different business cultures and speak a variety of languages. We are thoroughly familiar with all aspects of the Austin-area business community, business alliances, including its economics, its social aspects and its politics.

Through the use of "production teams" we are able to keep expenses at a minimum while at the same time drawing on some of the best talent available in the region.

II. Investor And Strategic Planning Process Services in the scope of Business Alliances

We also provide advice and analysis to investors who want to investigate the Austin area, especially its real-estate and high-tech sectors. Central Texas is one of the fastest growing regions of the United States, particularly in the computer-related and biomedical fields and is always ready for international business development. Because of our members' unusually deep knowledge of the area for strategic planning process and their familiarity with its rapidly-growing business environment, we are in a unique position to assist our clients, and can sometimes guide them to investment opportunities that they might otherwise not be aware of.

III. Helping Texas Companies Expand Abroad

We help U.S. companies wishing to expand their sales or operations to Europe and the Pacific Rim countries. Several of us have lived and worked in these areas for years, have excellent contacts there, and we are able to help our clients in a variety of ways. Please contact us if you would like more information.

Traditionally, companies have structured themselves in terms of goals in international business, in pursuit of which they hired employees. While this type of structurestill has its place, the Business Alliance finds it more cost-effective to work in terms of projects and of assembling production teams to take a client'sproject from the conceptual stage to completion. (We have adapted theterm "production team" from the movie industry which is becoming an important factor in Austin's economy. Movies are made almost entirelyby production teams which are assembled to work quickly andefficiently, then disband so the members can move on to otherjobs.)

Austin's highly-educated, mobile workforce is accustomed to working on contract and as members of production and project teams, so it is comparatively easy to implement this kind of strategy for our clients.

In order to save time and expense both for everyone concerned, we offer new clients a free evaluation of the feasibility of their project .

To this end, we ask each client to fill out a brief questionnaire, describing the company, its vision to strategic planning process and development, and what it proposes to do in Texas. We will give the project a quick evaluation, and will give the client our opinion of the project and whether we believe we can help realize it.

If we believe the Austin Business Alliance is the appropriate resource, we will recommend the next step and suggest how we proceed, including costs. If Business Alliance is unable to help, we might be able to recommend someone else.

Of course, all client information is kept strictly confidential.