How to Be Successful in Sweden

To be successful in Sweden you need to understand the concept of "lagom." This concept applies to all areas of life, including business. It basically means to excel at what is necessary and to avoid what is not necessary. Follow these steps to success.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A tax attorney or professional
• A Swedish dictionary
• A work visa or residential permit

1. Learn Swedish. Even though a lot of companies conduct business in English, it will be beneficial for you to learn Swedish as well.

2. Understand the Swedish concept of lagom. When doing business in Sweden you can save yourself a lot of time and money by simply focusing on perfecting the basic components of your services and products instead of trying to sell all the bells and whistles. Perfected simplicity is what the Swede's value.

3. Hire a tax professional to help you understand the Swedish tax code. Sweden has some of the highest tax rates in the world. A Swedish tax professional can help you to identify ways to save on your tax bill and they can help you understand your tax responsibilities.

4. Be punctual. Punctuality is very important in Sweden. Therefore, to be successful in Sweden you need to arrive on time for meetings and deliver services and products on time.

5. Learn to compromise. Sweden has a very egalitarian culture. This means that doing what is best for the whole is more important to Swedes than doing what is best for a small group of people.

6. Learn modesty. Swedes prefer people that do not stand out in a crowd. You may create business tension by bragging about your accomplishments and boasting about how much you make. Again practice lagom when it comes to revealing your professional accomplishments.

Resources

• This website has a lot of great information about doing business in foreign countries.

[ErezHenya]

on 5/29/2008 Thank you. I'll keep the lagom concept in mind!