Why the US Still Makes Sense for Professional Services Firms

People often ask me which overseas market comes up most often when I’m talking to clients about international expansion. The answer has hardly changed since I’ve been involved in international recruitment.

It’s still the United States.

Perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised. I’ve travelled there regularly over the years, partly because both of my brothers have made their lives there. Those visits have taken me well beyond airports and business meetings, giving me a chance to see different parts of the country and how people live and work. Every trip reminds me just how diverse the US really is.

That’s probably why I always smile when someone refers to “the American market” as though it’s one place.  It isn’t.  Doing business in New York isn’t the same as doing business in Texas, California or North Carolina. Different industries, different cultures, different ways of building relationships. Yet despite those differences, one thing has remained remarkably consistent throughout my career: for ambitious professional services firms, the United States continues to offer opportunities that are difficult to match anywhere else.

Expansion has become more sensible

One thing I have noticed is that companies have become far more pragmatic about international growth. The expectation was often that you opened an office, established a legal entity, employed a team and hoped the work followed. It was a significant commitment, and if the market didn’t develop as expected, it could become an expensive lesson. Thankfully, that thinking has changed.

Most of the conversations I have today are far more measured. Clients aren’t looking to build a hundred-person operation overnight. They’re looking to win their first customer, recruit one exceptional individual or establish enough of a presence to understand whether the opportunity is really there.  If I’m honest, I much prefer that approach.

Growing steadily isn’t a lack of ambition. More often than not, it’s simply good business.

Relationships still win business

Technology has transformed the way we work, and international collaboration has never been easier.  But professional services has always been, and probably always will be, a relationship business.  Clients buy expertise, of course, but they also buy confidence. They like knowing there’s somebody in their time zone who understands the market they’re operating in and can build relationships locally.

I’ve seen businesses secure work simply because they had someone on the ground who could meet a client for coffee at short notice rather than joining another video call from several thousand miles away.  Sometimes one well-connected person opens more doors than an entire overseas sales team – I think this is particularly so in the US where a handshake and a coffee go a long way.

The conversation I seem to have every week

Interestingly, finding good people isn’t usually the first obstacle.  Neither is deciding whether the United States is the right place to expand.  The conversation nearly always arrives somewhere else.

“Do we really have to establish a US company before we can hire someone?”

I’ve probably answered that question more times than I care to remember. Only recently I spoke to a business that had already found exactly the person they wanted. They’d assumed the next step involved lawyers, company registrations and months of administration before the individual could start.  In reality, the options were much simpler than they expected. That’s becoming an increasingly familiar story.

Where Employer of Record fits in

This is where Employer of Record (EOR) has become such a useful option for growing businesses.

Rather than establishing a US legal entity from day one, companies can employ staff compliantly through an Employer of Record while they build the business. From the employee’s perspective, very little changes. They work as part of your organisation, support your clients and become part of your team.

From the employer’s perspective, it removes much of the administration and employment complexity that comes with hiring in the United States before you’ve decided whether a permanent operation is the right next step.

Some businesses eventually establish their own US company. Others discover that an Employer of Record continues to give them exactly the flexibility they need. The important thing is having the choice.

Every conversation starts with people

One thing that surprises people is that our conversations rarely begin with payroll or employment compliance. They begin with questions like:

“Who should we hire?”

“Where are we likely to find them?”

“What sort of person will help us establish ourselves in the market?”

That probably reflects Hanover’s background.

For more than 30 years we’ve helped clients recruit across professional services and a range of specialist sectors. Employer of Record wasn’t the starting point—it became a natural extension of those conversations because clients increasingly wanted help not only finding exceptional people, but employing them internationally as well.

For some clients we’re simply providing an employment solution. For others, we’re helping shape their entire expansion strategy, from identifying talent through to employing them compliantly.

Every Case is Different

One thing travelling to the US and working with American businesses has reinforced over the years is that opportunities rarely arrive at exactly the right moment.

The businesses that seem to succeed internationally aren’t necessarily the biggest or the best funded. They’re usually the ones prepared to take sensible first steps, learn as they go and adapt as opportunities develop. Sometimes that means opening a US company from the outset. Sometimes it means recruiting one outstanding individual. Sometimes an Employer of Record is simply the bridge between where the business is today and where it hopes to be in a few years’ time.

Every expansion story is different.

If you’re considering growing into the United States, I’d always be happy to share what I’ve seen work well over the years. There’s no obligation and certainly no sales pitch, just an honest conversation based on three decades of helping businesses find great people and, more recently, helping them employ those people internationally. Reach out to me today.