The golden cage: why accompanying partners need businesses that can move with them

Mobility teams invest a great deal in helping accompanying partners find work in each new country. Mangla Sachdev, founder of Expat Business In A Bag, argues that a better investment is helping partners build a business that can move with them.

Mangla Sachdev, Founder, Expat Business In A Bag

1 October 2026

A six-figure business I couldn't take with me

Seven days before the first lockdown, I started a printing business. I'd spotted the gap while doing the printing for our school's PTA. The service from the printing companies I dealt with was poor, and I knew I could do better. Within a short time, the business was turning over six figures.Then a realisation stopped me in my tracks. We were an expat family, and expat families move. Everything about that business was tied to one location. If we moved again, I would have to shut it down. I had built myself a golden cage.I've launched several businesses across different countries, and I now coach expat entrepreneurs in more than ten. The pattern I saw in my own life shows up again and again in the partners I work with. They are capable, often highly qualified people who build something in each new posting, then watch it end when the next move comes.

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About the author

Mangla Sachdev is the founder of Expat Business In A Bag, a business coaching practice serving expat entrepreneurs in more than ten countries. Based in Singapore, she has launched seven businesses across multiple countries and co-founded a six-figure business in 2020 whose clients included Meta and several embassies. She also runs The Room, a curated mastermind for business owners. Https://expatbusinessinabag.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/mangla-sachdev/

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