To build a team within your own spoken language and environment...or go beyond these boundaries ?

This depends on your goals and you strengths as far as this business is concern. Some may prefer to globalize, while others may prefer to localize, both for different reasons. Some see opportunities where others do not, hence may want to tap into that specific opportunity, but yet others believe you need to knock on all doors to be able to determine where opportunity is lurking. Both approaches have their merits and downside as stated below: 

1. Building a team within your local environment gives you the benefit of local knowledge which you can tap into like same language, common problems and common solutions. Culturally, you know the do and don'ts, including best practices in communication and approach, so you will be able to use these advantages to build your team. 

These benefits of hindsight are absent when you go beyond your boundary, maybe globally because you will be dealing with several unknowns and only just hoping you are doing the right thing. 

2. If you are not an experience marketer, you may just want to build a team locally and as you develop the necessary experience and confidence, you may begin to expand beyond your geographical region. 

On the other hand, an experienced person may see the entire globe as his constituency and tap into the huge potential of globalised team building. 

3. It may be cheaper to build a team within your environment in certain aspects; shipping of products as you may buy from local ECAs, organising local events where you may want to meet physically. 

There may be some potential hassles in trying to organise an event for team members beyond your environment, especially if its a physical event. Some may argue that online events and meetings are gaining momentum in the virtual world, but physical interaction is more cordial, friendly and trust building, which may not be the case in a virtual event or meeting. Start your own business

4. You may also be able to tap into the current market trends in your local environment by encouraging your team members to open ECA stores in order to take advantage of selling local products that are regarded as cash cows. 

However, when you build your team beyond your boundary, potential ECAs may be unable to ascertain local cash cows to promote. 

Having said this, I am of the opinion that building your team beyond your local environment will effectively create diversity and boost the potential of improving your portfolio of success. This is because if there is a downturn of event in your local environment, it may negatively impact on the success of your team.