In 2024, the world is more interconnected than it’s truly ever been before. Gone are the days when business was limited to one geographic market – with digital technologies and the rise of the World Wide Web, it became possible to reach customers from every corner of the world. Globalisation has also aided in redefining work models all over the world. Nowadays, modern professionals have the option to work remotely, allowing business owners the opportunity to hire talent from across borders.

As a result of this rapidly globalising economic landscape, taking part in culture is central to not only global citizenship but arguably even in building up a truly globalised business. Today, business owners are encouraged to understand the different cultural practices of the markets they serve and celebrate their holidays. Thankfully, technology can help you do this: for instance, it’s now possible to make Diwali posters online that you can print out and hang around your store or add to your website to appeal to your Indian customers and colleagues.

If you’d like to learn how to be a better global citizen as an entrepreneur and business owner, keep reading. Let us go through some easy ways to boost your cultural awareness and promote a diverse working environment:

Hire Diverse Talent

If you want to develop a global company, it’s crucial to create an environment that fosters diversity and inclusion in your workplace. Besides being the right thing to do, promoting diversity within your company is good for business. Having people from different backgrounds equips you with different points of view and helps you connect with a variety of audiences. Removing biases when hiring also gives you access to a larger talent pool.

When looking at resumes, you can create a process where your recruiters can only see your applicants’ experience, education, skills, and other relevant types of information, and are blind to age, race, and gender. This eliminates the possibility of your decision-makers being swayed by the latter, even subconsciously.

If you want to take this further, you can take steps to ensure your workplace is more diverse. This might involve quotas and posting job listings on non-traditional platforms, where you’re likely to reach a different talent pool.

Create A Safe & Inclusive Work Environment

Hiring a diverse set of employees is only the first step. Once you’ve filled your workplace with people from various backgrounds and cultures, you’ll need to create an environment where they all feel safe, heard, and valued.

Inclusivity is a culture. Foster it from the top down: starting with how you treat those you work with on a daily basis. Make sure to listen to various points of view and respect everyone. Our subconscious biases can sometimes get the best of us, so learn to become aware of when a different culture or race to yours may affect how you treat people.

Then, transmit this culture to your employees, and encourage them to accept and respect each other just as liberally. You should do this formally by implementing a set of guidelines that must be abided by as part of the job contract, with strict punishments or dismissal for failure to do so. On the informal level, implement office-wide celebrations for key cultural holidays and give your employees voluntary opportunities to get to know each other outside of work, such as with sporting events or after-work drinks.

Harness the Power of the Internet

The internet has made the world a much smaller place. It’s now possible to sell to people the world over. This is great for you as it gives you access to a larger market.

Building a great website is essential. You’ll be competing not just with businesses in your location, but with companies around the world. When building your site, make sure you stand out from your competitors by including unique selling points and interesting branding elements.

The same goes for producing promotional materials or marketing materials. You don’t need a graphic design degree to make posters to promote sales events or even just to participate in cultural festivities like Dussehra, Independence Day, or Diwali anymore. As we mentioned earlier, you can make Diwali posters and other designs by using the Adobe Express app. This freemium design app makes it easy to mock up engaging posters for your business to promote itself, but also to champion its social and cultural initiatives. After all, the best way to be a global citizen is to not only join the conversation but start a few yourself!

Celebrate All Cultural Holidays (Not Just Yours)

Being a global citizen means being a part of culture. As an organisation, educate yourself on the ins and outs of the dominant cultures in which you operate. This makes it easier for potential buyers to feel more connected with your business, and therefore more likely to shop with you.

Part of cultural awareness is celebrating important holidays. Run marketing campaigns around them by creating holiday-specific visuals and messages, and discount-related products at these times of year. Holidays are a great opportunity for your company to boost sales and make more people aware of you. They’re also a great time to learn about the holidays you’re promoting if you’re not already familiar with them.

With the world as connected as it is today, it’s absolutely crucial to approach business with an international outlook. Being a global citizen as an entrepreneur involves changing both how you view the external world, which includes your market, and the people you hire internally.Creating a more globally-minded company culture takes a conscious effort on everyone’s parts. As a business owner, this starts with you. In this article, we’ve gone through some simple steps you can take to get started.