Whether you’re a native, immigrant or expat, it is extremely challenging to become a global entrepreneur without having learned a relevant foreign language. Communicating with key stakeholders such as clients, business partners and your staff in their local tongue will give you a competitive edge in today’s global economy. As a bilingual entrepreneur, you are bound to increase your earning potential and lead your business and employees towards international expansion.
Take for example Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. In October 2014, he spoke with Tsinghua University students in Beijing entirely in Mandarin during a Q&A. Zuckerberg clearly demonstrated that conversing with your consumers in their native tongue can develop deeper and stronger business relationships. Bill Gates even admitted during a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” conference that his biggest regret is never having learned a second language.
Whether you are looking to bring your company overseas or are planning to embrace the nomadic lifestyle while still managing your business, here are the top languages worthy of your investment:
1. Chinese
This could have gone either way, Spanish or Chinese. The differentiator being the plethora of Spanish speakers and lack of Mandarin speakers in the US. It’s important to note that, while Mandarin is by far the most prevalent language in China, there are several different languages and dialects spoken by massive populations in the country. The one the vast majority speaks either as a first or second language however is Mandarin. This makes Mandarin the most widely used language in the world, with an astounding 1.3 billion native speakers.
While currently in second place, a new study by Price Waterhouse Coopers forecasts that the Chinese economy will surpass America’s before 2030. In fact, its economy had grown 6.8% in the July-to-September period. This growth can be attributed to brisk government spending, strong exports and heavy lending by state-owned banks.
These days, you don’t need to leave the U.S. to find yourself dealing with Chinese businessmen or working alongside Chinese-speaking colleagues. In 2016, Chinese investors spent $46 billion on foreign direct investment, thus supporting 140,000 jobs nationwide (9 times as many as in 2009!). Meanwhile, hundreds of Chinese executives and their families have moved to the U.S.— buying homes and cars and enrolling their children in local schools.
There’s no doubt that fluency in Chinese, particularly in Mandarin, is a major asset in today’s global economy. At BRIC, we offer several options to learn Mandarin Chinese. Students can opt for one-on-one sessions that allow you to learn at your own pace, private group lessons that give you a chance to share the excitement of learning a new language with colleagues, friends and family, and finally, open group sessions that provide networking opportunities with other people who are already doing business in China. Once you have acquired the level of fluency you need, you’ll be equipped to explore the Chinese culture with locals or with peers who are native Chinese speakers in the U.S.
2. Spanish
It’s hard to miss Latin America’s enormous market, with emerging economic powerhouses like Argentina, Chile and Mexico, to name a few. By a small margin, Spanish is the second most spoken language in South America next to Portuguese.
In terms of opportunities, Argentina, for instance, where Spanish is the most common language, recently passed a law to fuel entrepreneurial economic growth. With this recent development, aspiring entrepreneurs can launch their companies within 24 hours (versus the previous 12 months). With successful companies like Mercado Libre and Globant in the news, people have become increasingly familiar with the value of working for startups in Argentina.
Meanwhile, U.S. based entrepreneurs also have a share of the Latino market within local soil. In America, more than 37 million people ages 5 years and older speak Spanish at home, according to reports.
That said, anyone who’s looking to tap into the exciting startup ecosystem in Argentina, or serve the vast Latino community in the U.S., should get a head start on learning Spanish.
3. Portuguese
Portuguese is the 6th most spoken language in the world, with a majority of speakers found in Portugal and Brazil. While not an obvious choice for business opportunities, Brazil has emerged from the country’s longest recession and its economy has grown 1% in the first quarter of 2017. Yep America, Brazil is more than just beautiful beaches and “futebol”. Brazil’s economy is by far LATAM’s largest economy, number two in all of the America’s and is the world's 6th largest economy overall. It has a strong manufacturing sector ranked 3rd in the America’s and an advanced services sector. To top it all off the tech sector has been growing 20% a year even through the recession and now that that Brazil is officially out of the recession this number is sure to rise.
In my opinion, this makes Brazil the most potential for future growth of any LATAM economy. There has been a lot of negative news out of Brazil in recent years. But the country remains a dynamic economy and a beautiful place—you couldn’t ask for much more.
4. Russian
With a nearly 170 million speakers, Russian is the 8th most spoken language in the world. Apart from Russian being one of United Nations’ six official languages, the country itself boasts rich natural resources and a burgeoning IT sector. Due mainly to its software engineering talent, Moscow has emerged as one of the hottest startup hubs in the world, creating companies such as Mail.ru and Yandex (Russia’s version of Google). Vladimir Putin sees the value in tech and is rolling a lot of Rubles in the direction of universities to encourage this type of education.
All of this being said however, if you are pursuing investment opportunities in Russia, you need to be prepared to communicate with your Russian business partners and potential clients. It’s not an easy place for outsiders to do business. You want to know the language and the culture to make it there.
The Bottom Line
Mastering a foreign language is a competitive advantage you need to have if you’re taking your business global. Depending on its relevance to your business or career, the ability to speak any of these top languages is a gateway to success in your chosen industry. Finally, while its benefits to your business are apparent, fluency in the language your colleagues, employees or your partners speak will also boost your negotiation and persuasion skills, as well as help build your character and temperament as a leader.