Meet Louise Kern, the Expert on Uncovering the Truth on Global Companies

Managing director of GloBIS, Louise Kern, helps businesses make the right choice in international expansion.  We refer to her as the “truth whisperer” on global companies.

In the following interview, Kern, who presented a fabulous wegginar® for us on avoiding scams, shares tips on how to avoid getting burned on a business deal, how to recognize a legitimate business opportunity when it lands in your inbox, and what steps a business owner should take to button things down safely to ensure saving money, time and grief down the road.

Here’s a quick snapshot on our lead question for Kern:

Laurel Delaney: I think of you as being an expert in uncovering the truth on companies. Have you ever gotten burned in a business transaction because you didn’t check out your partner in advance? If so, what happened, how did you resolve the problem, and what is the lesson in it for all of us?

Louise Kern: Wow — throwing me a curve ball right off the bat! The biggest scofflaws I’ve had as clients or business partners I’d actually either met or worked with before they burned or tried to burn me.

In one case several years ago, an accountant was recommended to me by three separate U.S. and foreign government entities, and I began discussions to hire him. Something didn’t sit right, though, and I did some investigating. It ends up he had plead guilty to and served federal time for wire fraud and money laundering. I fired him and literally ended up as the FBI’s key witness against him in a new trial for other crimes.

Read a Q&A with Louise Kern about international expansion.

Continuing on the path of international expansion, be sure to register for our next free of charge wegginar® on April 10 where PiperWai co-founder Sarah Ribner will be talking about how she created a strong natural deodorant brand with worldwide appeal.  Sign-up here.