Friday, December 31, 2010

Happy 2011 From The Global Small Business Blog

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And on the first day of the new year, do some productive reading to get your business even more global.  Try:

The Art of the Global Gateway by John Yunker
(Google Books here).

Reach out to the e-world for business.  It starts with web globalization and John Yunker can teach you a thing or two about it.

Best wishes for a happy, healthy and prosperous 2011!

Posted by:  Laurel Delaney, The Global Small Business Blog

The Most Powerful Force in Business Today: The New Logistics

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UPS is sponsoring an international business series over at Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing and Small Business Trends.

Be sure to check out both places for articles on global small business.

Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing:
Hidden Challenges Lurking in Global Business

Small Business Trends:
Become a Micro-Multinational Small Business in 5 Steps

Posted by: The Global Small Business Blog

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Cross-Cultural Learning: Being Able to Shut Up and Listen

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Side benefits of learning both a foreign language and a foreign culture.

Snippet:
How to learn about culture and language. When you live in a foreign culture, you learn how to learn. You learn what vocabulary is important, what language learning techniques work, how to make relationships, what skills are important, what details to pay attention to. These skills will carry over to other languages and other cultures in the future.
Read the entire piece here:  The Best Defense (be sure to read the wild comments)

Posted by:  The Global Small Business Blog

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Watch Out World: Google Is Out To Help Small Businesses Go Global

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Google has launched two new services to help small businesses go global:

Google Global Market Finder
Go Global with Google

And I love this statement:

There are 1.9 billion Internet users worldwide. Wouldn’t you like to add them as customers?


Posted by:  Laurel Delaney for The Global Small Business Blog

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Leaving Your Heart In Argentina

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Exploring a new country, buying a vineyard and starting a new life is not the easiest thing in the world to do.

Learn about how a couple pulled it off here:

Moving to Argentina

Monday, December 27, 2010

Steps to Exporting

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If you are looking to increase sales and profit, reduce dependence on the domestic market and stabilize seasonal fluctuations with your business, you should consider exporting.

Here are six steps to get you going.

Friday, December 24, 2010

Happy Holidays From The Global Small Business Blog

Photo credit:  Laurel Delaney, 12/18/10, Oak Park Avenue, Tinley Park, Illinois, U.S.A.
Best wishes for a happy holiday season filled with warmth, beauty, love and family.

Posted by:  Laurel Delaney, The Global Small Business Blog

Insights on Doing Business in China

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From the Business Pundit:
“We’re really wasting time,” says Janet Carmosky, CEO of the China Business Network. Carmosky knows what it’s like to be busy. When not running the China Business Network, a resource geared towards international professionals doing business with China; advising major corporations on their China strategies; or speaking at conferences, she writes about China for publications like the Economist and the Harvard Business Review.
Learn more about what she has to say here:

7 Deadly Perceptions About Doing Business with China

Posted by:  Laurel Delaney, The Global Small Business Blog

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Understanding Strategic Sourcing

Collection Mix: Subjects/Thinkstock
Very rare that I do this.  I have not read this book but stumbled upon it while looking for something else. Why look at the reviews:

Worth buying it!

Great overview of how to leverage the value of sourcing!

Small book with great content!

Easy reading with great content.

A complete guide.

An outstanding supply chain book-must read.

Check it out here:  Strategic Sourcing:  Suppliers Are From Mars, Customers Are From Venus by Murillo Xavier

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Import/Export Considerations for Your Global Small Business

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Getting involved in international trade is no simple feat.  Here are some import and export issues you will have to understand in order to be successful.

Some Import/Export Considerations

Posted by:  The Global Small Business Blog

Monday, December 20, 2010

A Checklist for Going Global

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Before you take the first step to expanding your business internationally, you might consider the following.

Checklist for going global

And here's another helpful article I wrote in 2006:  Twenty Essential Factors to Consider Before Going Global

Posted by:  The Global Small Business Blog

Saturday, December 18, 2010

A Few Export Questions Answered

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Wondering if you can transact international business via fax versus the Internet or how to write an export marketing agreement?  The link below will provide some answers.

Export questions answered:  Export Institute of the United States

Posted by: The Global Small Business Blog

Friday, December 17, 2010

What Are the Legal Requirements to Start an Import Business?

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I am working on a new project where I will be covering both importing and exporting for a small business.  Watch for it.  But in the meantime, here's a short cut answer to the question:
The only legal requisites to opening an import business are having an importer of record number, which is usually just the business's tax-identification number, and a surety bond to protect the U.S. government if you can't pay your duties, taxes and other fees. Surety bonds are required for all so-called formal entries where the shipment is valued at more than $2,000, but many importers use them on smaller shipments as well. They can be purchased ...
Read the entire answer:  Opening a Small Import Business

And I am sure there are additional factors to consider.  If they've been left out, please comment.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

A Revival in Global Economic Activity

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Exports during the month hit their highest level since August 2008, the month before the financial crisis.
"More and more of our exports have started going to the faster-growing regions in Asia, Latin America and Canada," said Morgan Stanley economist Ted Wieseman. "It highlights that the emerging markets never really had much of a slowdown at all. They've continued to outperform throughout the crisis."

Exports of industrial supplies were particularly strong, rising 8%, driven by chemicals and plastics. Food exports also surged. Among the big gains: Soybean exports jumped to almost $2.4 billion, an all-time high, from $1.8 billion in September.
Read the entire article here.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

What's Nato's New Role?

A little late on this but still worth a look:
Nato's new strategic concept unveiled in Lisbon underlines the global role of the alliance's new non-continental or non-geographic preoccupations such as cyber and space.
Watch a video and learn more here.

Illustration clip here.

Monday, December 13, 2010

SOLD....4/19


BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Steward Health Care LLC (Steward) announced an agreement to acquire Essent Healthcare’s Merrimack Valley Hospital (MVH) and Nashoba Valley Medical Center (NVMC). The agreement calls for the assets of MVH and NVMC to be acquired by Steward Health Care to expand its community-based accountable care organization.
So, it would appear that Essent is divesting itself from the losing propositions. That leaves, what, three? Is that enough to have a building, a suite of offices, or a closet for a headquarters?

So with less going out, does that mean that there are new investments to be made in existing facilities, or are we back to buying?

10 Things to Consider Before You Start a Business in the United States

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The following article covers ten areas that anyone wishing to start a small business had better think about before moving forward.  Here's a glimpse at No. 7:
Foreign Competition

Especially if you are creating a small business that does manufacturing, you are going to have to deal with foreign competition.

So are you going to be able to compete with the companies in your industry that pay their workers on the other side of the world less than a tenth of what you are paying to your American workers?

On the other side of the world, companies often don’t have to worry about unions, worker’s comp, health benefits, retirement benefits, nightmarish environmental regulations, crushing taxes or miles of paperwork and red tape.

Are you certain that you can compete against that?
Read the entire article here.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

How to Become a Micro-Multinational Small Business

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Here are 5 steps that a startup or a small business can take to become a micro-multinational.

Read the entire article here.

Friday, December 10, 2010

How to Leverage Your Existing Customers To Go Global

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For small businesses doing a great job for big-name clients close to home can leverage those relationships to expand abroad.   This is a savvy way to grow global for a small business.  That is what economist Jayson Myers, head of Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters, one of the country’s biggest industry groups, said in an interview.
“Often the best sales strategy is not going directly into new markets, but it’s leveraging up your existing customers. We are seeing this in a lot of manufacturing sectors, in a lot of technology companies. We [Canadians] have very, very good products, but often these products have to be packaged or integrated into a bigger service for customers.”
Read the entire article here.

Posted by:  The Global Small Business Blog

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Turn To Other Parts of the World to Grow Your Business

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Here are ten fabulous things you need to know about doing business in China.
It’s a global economy. We know that. But what does that really mean? It means that even if you decide to start a business tomorrow in your hometown, more likely than not, you’re going to have to turn to other parts of the world to make your business efficient and profitable. For many business owners, that other part of the world will most likely be China.
Read:  The Top 10 Things You Need to Know About Doing Business in China

Posted by:  The Global Small Business Blog

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Growing Small Business Exporting

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A very interesting perspective on small-business exporters:

Thinking Small
The Obama administration's efforts to grow small-business exporting, and how Congress could derail them.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Monday, December 6, 2010

Toolkit Kiosk Helps SMEs Go Global

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SMEs got a boost recently when the Small and Medium Enterprise Corp Malaysia (SME Corp) unveiled the first of its kind SME Toolkit kiosk in the country aimed at helping SMEs go global.
The kiosk, which is located at SME Corp's office in Menara Matrade, also helps them leverage on the toolkit to enhance their business by reducing their operational cost. SMEs can gain access to the relevant information in the toolkit via the Internet and need not go to the kiosk personally to access it.

The SME Toolkit is an online program that enables entrepreneurs and small businesses to learn how to implement sustainable business management practices needed for growth in areas such as finance, accounting, international business, marketing, human resources or legal, at no cost.
Learn more here.

Posted by:  The Global Small Business Blog

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Gum and Greetings Around the World

Photo credit:  Laurel Delaney, GlobeTrade.com -- captured in my car near a stop light at Wacker Drive and Michigan Avenue in Chicago.
Chicago-based Wrigley offers a nice season's greetings around the world ... check it out and enjoy your weekend.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Notes from the World Entrepreneurship Forum 2010 (Part I)

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After attending the third edition of the World Entrepreneurship Forum (www.world-entrepreneurship-forum.com/2010/), I was overwhelmed by the inspiring presentations from thought leaders around the world.

With this blog post -- the first in a series that I'll cover over the coming weeks --  Patrick Molle (pictured at microphone), President of Emlyon Business School (founding member of World Entrepreneurship Forum) is featured.

According to my notes, here are some of the points he touched on during his welcome presentation on "Shaping the World of 2050."
  • Worldwide environmental changes
  • Accelerating backlash against globalization
  • Depletion of vital resources
  • There will be 9 billion people by 2050
  • At least 80% of humanity lives on less than $10/day!
  • Africa is the only continent creating bigger youth population than older population
Challenges:
  • The world needs more (environmentally friendly) jobs
  • The world needs to reinvent itself
  • The world needs a new development model which reconciles the creation of wealth and with social justice (Laurel here ... which is what the World Entrepreneurship Forum is based on)
Ambitions for the World Entrepreneurship Forum:

Primary:  Educating entrepreneurs of the world (with emphasis on early stage).

Secondary considerations:
  • How to prepare young people?
  • How to train (to become agile)?
  • How to educate cross-cultural leaders?
Goal: To produce entrepreneurs for the world!
"Entrepreneurs are not born but created by their experience." ~ Patrick Molle, President of EMLYON
His conclusions and recommendations can be found here (requires translation).

Revert to this post for photos from the World Entrepreneurship Forum 2010 and go here to learn more about what took place and its overall mission.

Posted by:  The Global Small Business Blog

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

New Kid On the Block: GlobalTrade.Net

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Welcome neighbor GlobalTrade.net!  A new marketplace for international trade services run by FITA Online, with the support of the Federation of International Trade Associations , in cooperation with the U.S. Commercial Service , United Kingdom Trade & Investment , ThomasNet , Alibaba and Kompass.

Ahhhhhhh, if only we could truly have an open source global trade platform that the whole world could tap into (similar to a Wikipedia for global trade) and benefit from!

We hope to see eBay and Global Sources welcomed into this exchange soon.

Posted by:  Laurel Delaney, GlobeTrade.com and The Global Small Business Blog

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

The iPad Makes It Easy to Take Your Business Global

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According to Gartner research analyst Raphael Vasquez:
"PC market growth will be impacted by devices that enable better on-the-go content consumption such as media tablets and next-generation smartphones," added research analyst Raphael Vasquez. "These devices will be increasingly embraced as complements if not substitutes for PCs where voice and light data consumption are desired."
 And according to Laurel Delaney, founder of GlobeTrade:
"The iPad will make it a whole heck of lot easier and more fun to take your business global."
Read more here.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Learn How To Do Business With People in Other Countries

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Need help negotiating with clients, suppliers and partners in other countries?  Trying to work more effectively with customers and colleagues from another culture?

Go here for assistance.  The books alone are worth a read.

Posted by:  The Global Small Business Blog

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Thanksgivingworld

Photo credit: Laurel Delaney, The Global Small Business Blog
Turkey (pictured) just about done.  Have a Happy Thanksgiving and be grateful for every precious little thing in your life.  I am blessed by your readership -- thank you!  Enjoy the day.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

The Whole World is Going Global

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Based on this article, it is vital to build your global skill sets, to learn how work is done offshore, and to educate yourself on projects and teams that work with offshore components either internationally or through a service provider.
“The whole world is going global, and especially in the last three or four years, it has really taken off,” said Janssen. “The revenue growth is in Asia—with some in Europe, but [revenue growth in] the United States is virtually flat. The jobless recovery here is very, very real. The war for talent in the United States [consists of] finding those who have skills to manage a global group—those who have global awareness and understand the complexities in doing global business. It’s only a handful of people right now.”
Read the entire article here.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Web Start-Ups Go Global

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According to a recent article in the WSJ, "Web Start-Ups Search History," a newer generation of start-ups such as Yelp Inc. and Groupon Inc. are going global. They are studying their predecessors and adapting successful ideas -- such as using acquisitions or partnerships to enter markets where a strong competitor exists -- with the intent of improving their chance of success in the global marketplace.

Read the entire article here.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Flag Fascination

Photo credit:  Laurel Delaney
Photo credit:  Laurel Delaney
Photo credit:  Laurel Delaney

Photo credit:  Laurel Delaney

Photo credit:  Laurel Delaney

Photo credit:  Laurel Delaney

Photo credit:  Laurel Delaney

Photo credit:  Laurel Delaney
Sometimes the first photo is not always the best.  It's more intriguing to capture moments as they occur.  I love the simpleness, cleanness and color in these shots.  On the day (11/19/10) these flags were photographed, I was out at the Chicago lakefront.  The temperature was about 39 degrees F -- chilly -- and the wind was blowing fiercely.
Enjoy your weekend.  May it be filled with magnificence and many more colorful flags!

Posted by:  Laurel Delaney, The Global Small Business Blog

Friday, November 19, 2010

Pork Butt Goes Global

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The most underutilized meat export, pork butt -- genteel name is Boston Shoulder Roast -- is set to go international.
The U.S. Meat Export Federation thinks that the butt, which has enjoyed a surge in popularity in the U.S. as the raw material for pulled pork sandwiches (as shown), should go international.
Read all about it here.
USMEF is looking at a variety of markets for this initiative, including Mexico, the Caribbean, Canada, South Korea and Japan,” said Dan Halstrom, USMEF senior vice president of marketing and communications.  “U.S. pork is the protein of choice globally, and we see opportunities to expand market share and compete with other proteins by educating our contacts there about the advantages of the pork butt.”
Posted by:  The Global Small Business Blog

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Young Entrepreneurs Hold the Key to Our Global Economic Future

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For one week, millions of young people around the world join a growing movement of entrepreneurial people, to generate new ideas and to seek better ways of doing things.

The movement is called Global Entrepreneurship Week 2010 (runs November 15-21).

How are you getting involved?

Learn more here.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Netflix Poised to Expand Internationally

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According to Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, Netflix Inc. is “primarily a streaming company that also offers DVD-by-mail.”
In addition, the company is also looking to expand internationally. Already, Netflix is available in Canada. However, the company is considering moving “beyond North America” in the second half of 2011. It’s unknown which countries Netflix has its eyes one, but the company is expected to invest up to $50 million trying to expand to countries other than United States and Canada.
Source:  Erictric

Posted by:  Laurel Delaney, The Global Small Business Blog

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

The Kardashian Brand is Borderless

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Never in a million years could I ever imagine writing about Kim Kardashian and her sister Kourtney going global; but here I am.
Kim Kardashian and sister Kourtney Kardashian are going global with cover spreads in far flung India and South Africa.  It’s a far cry from Wilshire Blvd. but the Kardashian brand apparently knows no bounds, even in the Third World.
What can we learn from them?  That anything is possible when it comes to taking a brand global.

Read more here.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Groundbreaking Ways to Get More Finance to SMEs Worldwide

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The SME Finance Challenge was born to identify and fund innovative initiatives that help grow local businesses in developing markets.  It came together as a result of Ashoka, the White House, Rockefeller Foundation, the World Bank and several other of the world's leading institutions.

Most of the winners of the SME Finance Challenge were announced recently at the G20 summit -- and one winner is Peace Dividend Trust with a mission to:
Making peace and humanitarian operations more effective, efficient and equitable so that they deliver cheaper, faster, smarter missions - resulting in a stronger peace and a larger peace dividend. 
Learn more here about their fascinating approach to get more money to SMEs worldwide and change the way aid and peacekeeping is delivered.

Posted by:  The Global Small Business Blog

Saturday, November 13, 2010

The Internet Is Revolutionizing the Import-Export Business

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The Internet is revolutionizing the import-export business, affecting everything from how small firms compete with larger ones to how much a husband or wife might pay in alimony.

Read more about this here.

Posted by:  The Global Small Business Blog

Friday, November 12, 2010

10 Notable Photos From the World Entrepreneurship Forum 2010

Mr. Inderjit Singh, Member of Parliament (Singapore)
World Entrepreneurship Forum Team (France)!
Mr. Claude Robichaud (L), President, Falpaco Plastic and Rubber Inc. (Canada) and Dave Frood (R), Author, The Thinking Corporation (Australia)
Innovation and the Development of High-Growth Organizations Workshop Team
Prof. Riadh Zghal (microphone), Senator, Tunisian Chamber of Councillors (Tunisia) and Ms. Lisa Fecteau (right front), President, Groupement des chefs d'entreprise du Quebec (Canada)
Mr. Antti Kangaslahti (microphone), Founder, Finntastico.com (Finland) and Mr. Dan Evans (right), Chief Innovation Officer Executive Education Emlyon, Professor in Entrepreneurship (France)
Mr. Liu Chuan-Zhi (L), Chairman of the Board of Directors of Lenovo Group (China), Interpreter (China), Ms. Bhatt (India) and Mr. Steve Strauss (United States)
Ms. Ela R. Bhatt, Founder, Self-Employed Women's Association (India)
Mr. Yves-Henri Robillard, Director, World Entrepreneurship Forum (France)
Mr. Steve Strauss, The Strauss Group, Inc., United States
Photo credits: Laurel Delaney, Founder, GlobeTrade.com; pioneering member and appointed Board member of the World Entrepreneurship Forum.  Watch for recap of the World Entrepreneurship Forum 2010 coming soon.  Quick take here.