Most North Americans tend to think that no matter where they go in the world, they will be able to find some people who speak English, and that will allow them to sell their water treatment chemicals internationally. However, there are vast swathes of the world that speak no English at all, and in many places where English is spoken, locals will be resentful if you don't at least make an effort to speak to them in their own language when you're visiting their country. That's why multilingualism is always an asset in business.

Think about it. You're visiting Egypt in the hopes of expanding your dental advertising firm into the Middle East. If you don't know any Arabic and your contacts are unable or unwilling to speak to you in English, you'll be forced to arrange for a translator. Now not only are your business plans being revealed to a third party that may or may not be trustworthy, you also have to rely on someone else to convey your message for you and you have no way of knowing if they're doing the job adequately.

If you spoke the language, you wouldn't have to deal with translators or translation services except as backups or to double check your own work. You may think you don't have the time or the ability to learn a new language, but it's actually surprisingly easy. A cosmetic dentist in Oakville who works full time can still make a study of one or more languages at home as a hobby and know enough in a few weeks or months to make a decent effort at communicating abroad.

The easiest way to learn a new language in order to build your business is to buy yourself a computer language learning program, such as Rosetta Stone, that is geared toward the language and terms of the business world. Many programs can be loaded onto laptops and smart phones, allowing you to work on them while you take your Pearson airport taxi to work. Once you have built up a reasonable vocabulary, becoming online or pen pals with a native speaker will boost your proficiency and help you learn local customs.

If you intent to learn a new language or two to help you pursue your international business goals, select the languages you will study carefully. Do you want to expand into Europe? Then French is the best starting point. Moving south? Take up Spanish. Looking to market a home for sale in Markham to recent immigrants? Then Chinese or Hindi are better choices. You need not limit your focus, either. Each language you learn increases your learning ability and makes it easier for you to pick up the next. Pretty soon you'll be truly multilingual.