es (Hofstede 1984). Many companies invest in an emerging foreign market without advance planning. Whether it is a multi-million dollar corporation or a fledgling entrepreneur, some initial legwork will insure against a variety of possible pitfalls. There is some help, however. The Overseas Private Investment Corp. (OPIC), a quasi-governmental agency that supports U.S. investment in some 140 developing countries, offers a variety of services. It provides political risk insurance, which gives protection against war, political unrest, government seizure of assets, or sudden inconvertibility of currency (www.opic.gov). Other agencies offer numerous services. The U.S. Department of Commerce (www.doc.gov) can help match U.S. firms with local business partners or suppliers. And as with the U.S. Chambers of Commerce found in many countries, the U.S. Foreign Commercial Service gives market intelligence on local business and commercial categories (www.usatrade.gov). The fall of Communism (in the late 1980s and early 1990s) created not only a countless number of entrepreneurial opportunities in emerging markets embracing capitalism but also a minefield's worth of potential problems. American entrepreneur Ervin Latimer knows this all too well. Retiring from professional basketball in Finland in 1989, Latimer, along with his Finnish wife, decided to open a catering business in neighboring Estonia. With little or no preliminary research, Latimer dove in. In retrospect, he knows, that was a mistake. The wiser choice would have been to start slowly, because he was unfamiliar with the market. When he came to Estonia, Latimer had the optimism of a true entrepreneur. He saw an opportunity to open a restaurant in a city where privately owned restaurants hadn't been permitted since World War II. He knew that Estonia had a nearly tariff-free economy with a freely convertible currency and limited government interference. Foreigners can own ...
