Never Sell Globally on Open Account; Here's Why

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What is open account?

Open account means you ship goods or sell services globally without any guarantee of collecting payment on a transaction.

Read more to find out why you should never sell on open account -- no ands, ifs or buts.

Blogs on Entrepreneurs | Crain's Chicago Business

Collecting Payment When Your Customer is 12,000 Miles Away

by Laurel Delaney

Posted by:  The Global Small Business Blog

Make a Sale, Research Your Market and Satisfy Your Customer: Here's How

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My recent column for Ann Dwyer's entrepreneur blog over at Crain's Chicago Business.

To make a sale, research your market and satisfy your customer

If you've missed my previous Crain's Chicago global business columns, they can be found on the right sidebar of this blog.

Related articles:

Five Ways to Satisfy Your Overseas Customer

Market Research:  Dreaded Chore, a Powerful Tool

Doing Good While Going Global

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Over at the Crain's Chicago Business blog (under the "global" entrepreneurial banner), we interview Kate Koziol, the founder of Chicago-based K Squared Communications, to find out the importance of crossing borders to do good. In addition, Ms. Koziol shares her best practice on how to promote social-agency programs on a limited budget.

Read: Reaching Across Borders For Social Improvements

Posted by:  The Global Small Business Blog

How to Create An Export Action Plan

©Laurel Delaney 2011, Chicago Aon Center and Blue Cross Blue Shield Building

The process of developing a realistic export business plan and relevant activities that support your export vision is discussed in this column for Crain's Chicago Business.

How to Create -- and Act On -- An Export Business Plan

New News: Look For Customers Outside of Your Country!

©Laurel Delaney 2011. Oak Street, Chicago, Illinois, looking up at the John Hancock building

We love a good chuckle but seriously, the article below talks about the importance of looking to the world for your market.

“It makes sense that 10 years ago, if you could sell to your neighbor in Iowa, that was a whole lot easier than having to venture out and sell abroad,” says Roberts. “But I’m confident that our Illinois companies, once they get in the game, they’ll push up their sleeves and it’s no different.”

Exporting Illinois

Moral of the story: Include exports in your business plan!

Related articles:

Small Firms Lead the Way on Illinois Exports

My Top 10 Favorite Global Small Business Web Resources

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Visiting these resources and studying them will help you get on top of your global game.  Here they are (originally published by Crain's Chicago Business (6/8/11):

Laurel Delaney:  Top 10 going-global websites

Do you have a favorite?  Let me know your best-kept secret!

Transitioning Your Illinois Business From Local to Global

©Laurel Delaney.  All rights reserved.

If you operate an Illinois-based company, the link below is right up your alley!  It covers where to turn for help in taking your business from local to global.

Read:

Starter Kit for Illinois Businesses Looking to Export
by Laurel Delaney, for Crain's Chicago Business

Posted by:  The Global Small Business Blog

Note:  We are experiencing some technical problems with our blog platform.  If you encounter a delay in posts, that's the reason.

Small Businesses Lead the Way On Illinois Exports

©Laurel Delaney, John Hancock Building and the Old Chicago Water Tower, Chicago, Illinois (4/2/11)

A recent blog post I wrote for Crain's Chicago Business:

Small Firms Can No Longer Ignore Globalization

Find out how the little shakers and movers -- entrepreneurs and small businesses -- lead the way on Illinois exports.

Snippet:

A total of 16,902 companies exported goods from Illinois locations in 2008. Of those, 15,170 (90%) were small and medium-sized enterprises, with fewer than 500 employees.

Small and medium-sized firms generated over one-fifth (22%) of Illinois' total exports of merchandise in 2008.

Read the entire post here.

Posted by:  The Global Small Business Blog

The Internet: An E-Revolution For the Digital Global Entrepreneur

Photo credit:  Laurel Delaney, shot from car heading East on Wacker Drive about 5:00 p.m. CST on 3/10/11 -- that's the Wrigley Building dead center (clock).

My debut column on global business for Crain's Chicago Business Enterprise City blog (in case you missed it):

In 1998, my book “Start & Run a Profitable Exporting Business” (read it free: http://tinyurl.com/2d5dfm3) was published. Since then, it has become a source for entrepreneurs and small businesses interested in exporting their products and services internationally. But let’s face it — a lot has happened in the past 13 years. Starting an export business was a good idea then, but now is an even better time to take your business global.

What’s been the single most influential change for businesses since 1998?

Read the entire column here:
Laurel Delaney:  The Internet is a Global Entrepreneur's Best Friend

Watch for more on Wednesdays.  Follow @EnterpriseCity on Twitter!  And follow me while you are at it:  @LaurelDelaney!

Have a great weekend!  Back with you on Monday.

Posted by:  The Global Small Business Blog

The Ultimate Global Business Destination: Sweet Home Chicago

Photo credit:  Laurel Delaney, Chicago lakefront

Is Chicago a role model for global entrepreneurship?

Find out here.

Posted by:  The Global Small Business Blog

Inside Secrets To Taking a Business Global

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What's the toughest part of taking a business global?  From what people say, it's usually, "My products are not exportable.  Too complex.  Cost prohibitive."

Excuses, excuses ... don't get me wrong, some of these reasons for not crossing borders might apply but in most instances, you can get up and running with your business internationally within about a day.  I'm serious.

Finding your first good customer is the toughest part of the whole deal.  After that, everything else falls into place from arranging payment (your banker can assist) to transporting your product (contact UPS, FedEx or DHL) to after-service sales (use Skype or email for goodness sakes).

If you want additional secrets to taking a business global, read "Finding Gold in Global Sales."

Ready, set, go global!

Posted by:  The Global Small Business Blog

A World of Opportunity

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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reports that the world is in the grips of a deepening recession. I look at it that we are in the grips of a world of opportunity. We just have to work smart at finding it.

Read more here.

Separately, I was a part of a vibrant panel discussion on global business early yesterday morning for Crain's Chicago Business. I met so many interesting people and I just want to say, "thank you" to all who came up to me after the talk to say nice things. One attendee, a trained psychologist who specializes in family business said, "One of your statements really resonated with me." And I quickly asked, "Oh, you mean the one about 'begin with the end in mind?'" He said, "No, the one where you declared 'make it very hard for people on the Internet not to find you." To him and everyone else who attended, I say, "nice to meet you and thank you for listening!"

Chicago's Place In the World

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Is Chicago a hub to the world? To outsiders, possibly. To natives, probably not. Find out more here and let us know what you think.