Opening in Dubai instead of Los Angeles

"I haven't opened a store in Los Angeles. How am I going to open clear across the globe?"

That was the reaction of founder of Chocolate Bar, a New York eatery and candy store, when a Dubai-based investor asked her to expand to the Middle East.

These days you hear in the news about big companies expanding to the Middle East, but the detailed Wall Street Journal story of Chocolate Bar, a $2 million annual revenue company, confirms that amid today's shaky US economy, even small businesses prefer to expand right across the globe. "When she opened Chocolate Bar her plan was to eventually open stores in Chicago, Miami and Los Angeles, but six years later, she ended up expanding to a more distant - and unexpected - place: the Middle East", writes the Journal.

A great story on why and how to expand to the Middle East.