Via my local newspaper, I have come across a pitch from the US government to American businesses seeking to expand abroad. Doing Business in Norway states that Norway and its neighbors are a good market for an American company, with a high number of enabled consumers and capitals that are only an hour apart from each other by air. And most folks speak English.
I can hardly wait to see the look on the Americans’ faces when they discover all the rules regulating our market, the sales tax, the workers’ rights, and the fact that the above varies from country to country here in the north. The Finns and the Danes want to go through channels, the Swedes want full documentation and time to think about it, the Norwegians won’t bother much with formalities, but there is the problem of getting the product out to Godforsakentown on some fjord or north of the Arctic circle.
But we all offer akevitt, open-faced sandwiches, weird fish dishes that aren’t sushi, and bad weather.
A Roll in the Universe 
10 replies on “Do business in Norway”
Get me a sauna and some hot naked babes that are as cute as Bjork and I\’ll be happy to put up with all the downsides.:o)>
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Saunas are easy to find in Finland. Bjørk, however, isn\’t. Her look is not typically Scandinavian/Nordic at all.
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I myself have seen first hand American reactions towards modes of conduct, regulations and the general company diet when doing business here. It\’s quite amusing to watch, remembering my reactions and how I feel now. 😉
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Okay, she doesn\’t, like, have to look like Bjork as long as she has the right, er, assets.
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Tim, I\’m curious about what you experienced. And I suspect your answer would make a good blogpost, so I\’ll read it there. :-)Mark, here and here are some Norwegians for ya.
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Even with the taxes, worker\’s rights, and what not, I would imaging that Norway is a fine place to sell american products such as golf clubs. My Onkel says that as Norwegians have become more wealthy they have come to need golf courses. And if they need golf courses, they probably need custom golf clubs.My own company already does business in Norway. We do business everywhere, including manyplaces that are way stranger than Norway.
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Nobody needs golf courses. 🙂 At any rate, establishing them isn\’t necessarily a problem as a lot are located on abandoned farms, and we\’re getting plenty of those. At least here in the west.Some Norwegians don\’t like the exclusivity of golf; it\’s a snob\’s game. One course that avoids that is northwest of Bergen – a former cow pasture that is now owned and used by the locals who have turned golf into an affordable family activity, even keeping the teens out of trouble.
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Mark, here and here are some Norwegians for ya.MEOW.m, what\’s wrong with weird fish dishes?
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While I was perusing your links I saw this:anywayz..her er noen jeg syns ser bra ut…(pga make up..riktig lys..what ever..)I thought the mix was funny.m, woot
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You know how English-speaking people think phrases in French sound elegant or something and so try to use them? Sometimes, Norwegians use English like that.
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