It's the Irish Flu

©2026 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"This isn't a hangover, it's the Irish flu." – Classic Irish saying

It's Tom Ford Mania at Paris Fashion Week

©iStock/lKvyatkovskaya

Zoomers are snapping up Tom Ford from has past collections for a bunch of reasons. It has just the right price-to-vibe ratio – it’s relatively affordable but packs a punch. The clothes also speak to an authenticity of the pre-social media age they never got to experience, where style was perhaps more honest and instinctive says Samuel Hine for GQ.

But it's Haider Ackermann who is the truest steward of Ford's legacy.  

As they say, "Oh, those jeans!"  All coming off Paris Fashion Week.

Love Reading About Pete Hegseth's Past

©iStock/Nomadsoul1

Oh the troubles we carry ... from Wikipedia on Vets For Freedom where Pete Hegseth was involved.

In 2007, Pete Hegseth became president of Vets For Freedom, and when its finances became bleak, the donors arranged a merger that took over management, and Hegseth left in 2012.[13]

And the latest is that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said the Pentagon would end funds supporting active-duty service members at Harvard where he graduated in 2013 with a master's degree in public policy. The school is offering military students alternatives to defer or go elsewhere.

Do you think Pete Hegseth cares about declaring Anthropic a supply chain risk?  “Designating Anthropic as a supply chain risk would be an unprecedented action – one historically reserved for US adversaries, never before publicly applied to an American company,” Anthropic wrote.

I think we should declare Pete Hegseth a serious risk to our country.

One-Size-Fits-All International Expansion Is Over

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If you can get through the ads in this article, you can uncover some new perspectives on international expansion. The big one the author claims: a one-size-fits-all international expansion is over.

• One-size-fits-all global hiring is obsolete. Today’s expansion leaders strategically blend three workforce models — entity-based employment, EOR solutions and contractor relationships — choosing the right fit for each market, role and business objective.
• Flexibility is now a competitive advantage because market uncertainty demands agility, compliance complexity is accelerating and local nuances determine success.
• Companies that scale globally most effectively master compliance that adapts to local requirements, payments infrastructure that works everywhere and the ability to shift models as strategy evolves.

Read the entire article here.  If you want to learn about a new international playbook, watch this.

Creating Value With AI Around the World and Using AI in Ecommerce (wegginar® 3/4/26)

©2026 Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®.  All rights reserved.

Looking for real and tangible AI and AI in ecommerce help?  Then you do not want to miss this Thought Leadership Series wegginar® with experts Kati Suominen and Fabian Stachelin when they will discuss:  "How are businesses creating value with AI around the world and using AI in ecommerce?"

Here's what you need to know about the presenters.

Kati Suominen, Founder and CEO, Nextrade Group

Kati is the Founder and CEO of Nextrade Group that helps governments, leading technology companies, and multilateral development banks enable trade and private sector development through technology. Author of 140 articles and 10 peer-reviewed books, she works on trade in goods and services, digital trade, digital payments, digital competition, and AI policy, among others. She has ideated and built dozens of data and analytical products and pilot initiatives as well as eight global initiatives and public-private-partnerships to enable digital trade. Dr. Suominen serves as Adjunct Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Non-resident Senior Fellow at the Visa Economic Empowerment Institute, and Adjunct Professor at UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Fabian Stachelin, Founder of e-traid

Fabian has dedicated his career to developing e-commerce in emerging markets, notably as the driving force behind the partnership between eBay and the International Trade Centre (ITC). After eight years at eBay, he founded e-traid, where he leads e-commerce projects funded by the EU, World Bank, and USAID, primarily partnering with Nextrade Group and the ITC. His work across Africa, Latin America, and Central Asia includes training over 800 SMEs and helping 250—many women-led—achieve their first international sales.

 

A seasoned presenter and facilitator, Fabian has hands-on expertise across global marketplaces (eBay, Amazon, Etsy), store platforms (Shopify, WooCommerce), and service sites (Upwork, Fiverr). He holds an M.A. in International Relations from the Graduate Institute (Geneva) and is fluent in German, English, and French.

What Kati and Fabian will discuss

• How are small and large businesses using AI around the world - what use cases are emerging that you could learn from?
• How are businesses integrating AI into their ecommerce?
• How is AI use helping businesses create entirely new monetization models?
• What policy frameworks are emerging around AI that online sellers and globalizing businesses need to be aware of?

To learn more and to register free of charge thanks to the generous sponsors at Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global, visit:  https://womenentrepreneursgrowglobal.org/2026/02/04/creating-value-with-ai-around-the-world-and-using-ai-in-ecommerce/

See you there.  I [Laurel Delaney] will moderate the Q&A.  Really looking forward to this high level talk.

Today in Global Small Business: 7 Signs You Have the Napoleon Complex (Also Called Short-Man Syndrome)

©iStock/z_wei

What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners:

• Discover the seven key signs of the Napoleon complex (also called short-man syndrome), its psychological roots, and how to overcome it.  Break free from insecurity.
• Empathy unlocked:  Understanding how to develop emotional intelligence.
• Quote of the week:  "Power is my mistress. I have worked too hard at her conquest to allow anyone to take her away from me." – Napoleon Bonaparte
• The war for kindness (book).  Building empathy in a fractured world.
• Strategies for mental resilience. 
• Getting started in meditation and learning about its benefits with a calmer state of mind.

Note:  The Global Small Business Blog has been in operation since 2004 and is ranked number one in the world for entrepreneurs and small businesses interested in going global.  As of February 1, 2026, we have more than 900,000 readers on a monthly basis.

Shadows Will Fall Behind You

©2026 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Keep your face always toward the sunshine – and shadows will fall behind you" – Walt Whitman

Cocaine Is Back on a Global Scale

©iStock/Rafa Jodar

Cocaine is back on a global scale and here's what you need to know.

• Global cocaine production has hit an all-time high, along with record seizures, consequences, and deaths.
• Cocaine accounts for nearly one-third of U.S. overdose deaths.
• Cocaine enforcement has intensified, targeting maritime routes and cartel leadership to reduce access and use. 

Read more about how the global glut in cocaine shocks the world.

Well, Take That Supreme Court!

©iStock/Nuthawut Somsuk

By the WSJ Editorial Board (2/23/26) ... 

"Well, that will show the Supreme Court—or something. President Trump is reacting to his Friday tariff defeat not by calming the trade waters but by roiling them further. He is aiming in fury at the Supreme Court, but he will end up hitting the economy and Republicans in Congress.

The larger reality is that Mr. Trump is so bull-headed about tariffs that he’s going to re-impose them any way he can. Along with Section 122, he’ll fire up more Section 201, 301 and 232 (national security) studies and tariffs. But as our friend Don Luskin points out, these are pea shooters compared to the IEEPA tariffs the Court struck down. They are limited in scope and duration."

Access full commentary here on The Unending Trump Tariff Mess.

Big Detail On Claiming Tariff Refunds: Were You the Importer of Record?

©iStock/aprott

From the law firm Foley & Lardner as of 2/24/26:

Contractual Issues for Companies That Are Importers of Record …

The importer of record is the entity that initially pays all tariffs and thus is the entity that would receive any IEEPA tariff refunds. Nonetheless, behind the scenes there often are a variety of mechanisms importers of record may have used to handle the often unexpected tariffs, including pushing back on suppliers for price concessions, using surcharges to pass along tariffs, or general price increases. In many cases, other parties may be looking to share any potential refunds. For importers of record potentially facing this situation, we recommend working through the following steps.

Read on to learn more about the specific steps.

Winter Wonderland in NYC's Central Park

Today in Global Small Business: We Are Told the Global 15 percent Tariffs Announced by Trump on 2/21/26 Are a “Very Durable” Tool Legally

©iStock/ktsimage

What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners:

• We are told that the global 15 percent tariffs announced by Mr. Trump on Saturday, 2/21/26 are a “very durable” tool legally, as reported on ABC's "This Week."
• CEOs go back to company war rooms to access what they can do to reclaim billions in paid levies. 
• Quote of the week:  "If you follow the devil, your journey will end up in the hell! This is what happens to those who follow the dictators!" – Mehmet Murat ildan
• We can't sit still:  Small businesses benefit from international trade.
• e.l.f. Beauty and rhode are giving the beauty business a makeover.  Key lesson:  "The leaders who watch, listen, and build are the ones who stay ahead." 
• Gold medalist Mikaela Shiffrin is making the whole world shimmer!

Note:  The Global Small Business Blog has been in operation since 2004 and is ranked number one in the world for entrepreneurs and small businesses interested in going global.  As of February 1, 2026, we have more than 900,000 readers on a monthly basis.