The United States of America is a culturally diverse country and has been known as a nation of immigrants. Most Americans will have ties and lineages from other cultures and countries. While most of the portrayal of Americans in popular media are skewed and stereotypical, they are accurate to some extend. Americans’ friendliness and outspokenness are two fine examples.

In terms of conducting businesses, here are a few things to watch out for, particularly if you are unfamiliar with the American culture.

Punctuality: Timeliness is an important virtue to most Americans. In certain parts of US, lateness is viewed as a sign of disrespect.

Meetings: Compared to other cultures, Americans usually go directly to the point and spend little time with pleasantries, with emphasis on time management and reaching meeting outcome as quickly as possible. Meetings are also usually very structured with a summary at the end where deliverables and follow-ups are outlined. It is also not uncommon to reach a verbal agreement at first meeting.

Dress code: There is a wide variety of business attires that are considered acceptable for business dealings depending on the industries you are in. Typical formal wear includes suits with tie. People in the tech industry for example are usually more informal with jeans and dress shirts with a jacket as a norm. Though not particularly conservative, it is always considered safe to over-dress than to be overly casual.

For more business etiquette when doing business in the US, you can go here: https://www.kwintessential.co.uk/etiquette/doing-business-usa.html

For information on setting up businesses in the US, please refer to Healy Consultants Group’ excellent guide here: https://www.healyconsultants.com/usa-company-registration/

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