How to set up multinational business?

[GoGetter24]

The basic concept I'm trying to get some pointers on is this:

Let's say I'm based in the US, and I provide accounting services.

I grow, and I decide that certain back-office purely paperwork functions could be done by lets say Mongolians, for about the same reliability and half the price.

How do you normally execute this? Let's say I don't want any middlemen involved because I want full control, no middleman losses, and expect to scale the operation rapidly.

Thoughts on potential ways:

• You just contract them online i.e. as freelancers. You send them paperwork and Paypal money, they send back processed paperwork. Don't know if there's any legal/regulations dogshit involved in doing this, like you're "importing" something, or you just treat it as a plain expense like buying paper.
• You somehow hire them as permanent employees? I assume this is impossible as they're not US residents or whatever, even though they're not required to be in the US, they're working for a US company so it's a no no?
• You incorporate a company in Mongolia, which in turn then hires them as permanent employees. I assume this is the way it's done "for real". This then poses a bunch of other questions:
  • How does this relate to your US business? Does it "own" that company? Do you own both of those companies, and then just pipe money/resources between them using contracts between them? No idea where to start in researching this.

If anybody has tips on websites/blogs etc that might be down this alley, give us a tip. Cheers.

 

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[kanunay]

The answers to your questions are going to vary wildly depending on what country these workers are located in due to labor laws and regulations on foreign ownership and investment.
For decades, IT stuff has been outsourced to India (this seems to be shifting to SE Asia). Perhaps you can look into companies already doing this and see how they're set up?

Another thing to consider are the living and working conditions in these countries. This is important if you're trying to hire freelancers to do the work. If what needs to be done can be accomplished by someone with a laptop and a free wifi connection, freelancers might be the way to go, but retention of this kind of 'employee' may be problematic. And in many places, theft of equipment is a big problem.

The good news is there are many places where a foreigner can set up and own 100% of a business, and renting space in a safe area with good internet connectivity can be really cheap.