Small Businesses Can Go Global Fast

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Are you paying attention to the big trends that underlie the entire global economy?  No business is immune to global competitive forces, no matter what sector they are in or how localized their customer base.  For instance:

But perhaps even more an issue for small businesses than the macroeconomic environment is the capacity for so many businesses to go global fast, competing across borders. In a sense, unless your business does something that can only be done standing in a specific location, like a barber, your competition is every similar business on the planet.

Read more:  What every business [in Australia] should know about the global economy

The News That Rattled the World: Brexit

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The UK has left the European Union.  They are looking for a better future.  This is an outcome many of us are shocked over.  What does it mean?

Learn more:  Stunned:  UK Votes to Remove Itself From EU

Cultivating a Strong Level of Entrepreneurship Globally

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Dell is one company that shares in the common goal that young people aged 18-35 years old believe job creation and entrepreneurship should be the no. 1 priority for the United Nations going forward, and to date has been working with the UN to cultivate a strong level of entrepreneurship globally. For instance, Dell founder Michael Dell was named the UN's first global advocate for entrepreneurship in 2014.

Learn more:  Dell invests millions to support global startups and women entrepreneurs

Today in Global Small Business: Kwik Goes After Amazon Dash

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

• The news that rattled the world:  UK leaves the EU.
• 2nd Edition to my Exporting book is almost ready!
• How global trade is carrying pests worldwide.
• How Kwik is going up against Amazon Dash and plans international expansion.
• Advertisers want to tell global stories and the Atlantic will help them do it.
• Nepal will start exporting products instead of people.

Artists of the Wall Festival 2016 in Rogers Park, Illinois

The Artists of the Wall Festival is a celebration of community, creativity, and music. Each year over Father’s Day weekend, neighbors of all ages come together to collaborate on a 600-foot mural at Loyola Park Beach at 6850 North, between Farwell and Morse Avenues.  The festival has become an annual celebration that the Rogers Park community has come to love.

These are the few of the murals I photographed.  Be sure to visit in person to see all the art and to appreciate the creativity.  The theme this year is "Drawing on the Lake."

Learn more:  Artists of the Wall Festival 2016

Photos courtesy:  ©2016 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

Entrepreneurship is a Fundamental American Value That Unlocks Opportunity Globally

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USA President Obama speaks at the 7th annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES), bringing together over 700 entrepreneurs from every corner of the globe—and from all across America.

Entrepreneurship is a fundamental American value, and it is also a force that has the ability to unlock opportunity for people globally. 

Read more:  FACT SHEET: As the Global Entrepreneurship Summit Begins in Silicon Valley, New Announcements to Support Inclusive Entrepreneurship & Innovation at Home

85 Percent Probability Chance of a Leave Win on the Referendum of the UK's Membership of the EU

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Not expected.  A big surprise.

UK awaits decision in EU membership referendum

The Pound tumbles (lowest in 31 years) against the dollar.  The vote is on knife-edge.  What it means for USA exporters to the UK.

Trash the Traditional Model of Higher Global Education

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Christine Ortiz is on to something.  Here's her thinking.  Her ideal university she sees “no lectures, no classrooms, no majors, no departments."  It will exemplify a trend that is reshaping how some students learn.  So we can begin to think about trashing the traditional model of higher global education.

Curious?  You should be.  Ortiz, after six years as dean of graduate education at MIT, the materials scientist will leave to found a new university. It should open in the next five years.

Discover more:  A new crop of hands-on universities is transforming how students learn

Meanwhile, check out an example of another cool school concept, the Design Factory, part of Aalto University on the outskirts of Helsinki and inspired by Stanford's "d.school."

Entrepreneurship Is the Spark of Prosperity

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According to the World Bank Group:

• Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) account for more than half of all formal jobs worldwide.
• SMEs provide effective solutions to critical development issues, like access to clean energy and water, health services, and education.
• The World Bank Group will show its support for innovative SMEs, start-ups and entrepreneurs at the 2016 Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Silicon Valley

The World Bank Group has twin goals of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity.

As President Barack Obama said when opening last year’s Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Kenya, “Entrepreneurship creates new jobs and new businesses, new ways to deliver basic services, new ways of seeing the world—it’s the spark of prosperity.”

Read more:  Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses Spur Economic Growth and Create Jobs

Walmart and JD.com Work Together to Leverage Their Supply Chains

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Walmart, America's big box store where each week, nearly 260 million customers and members visit their 11,527 stores under 63 banners in 28 countries and e-commerce websites in 11 countries, and JD.com, China’s largest e-commerce company by revenue, announced that they have formed a strategic alliance to better serve consumers across China through a powerful combination of e-commerce and retail.

For Walmart, the alliance greatly expands its opportunity in China e-commerce and provides its stores and Sam’s Clubs with potential traffic from JD.com’s significant base of online customers and vast same-day delivery network to serve its customers. JD.com will leverage Yihaodian’s strong brand and business in eastern and southern China and in key product categories such as high-quality grocery and household goods, both of which complement its own geographical and product strengths. In addition, JD.com’s customers will gain access to a wide range of new and imported items from Walmart and Sam’s Club.

Read more:  Walmart and JD.com Announce Strategic Alliance to Serve Consumers Across China

Today in Global Small Business: The Real Price We Pay For Cheap Jeans

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

• China exports:  growing brand recognition first locally (webinar 7/13; no charge).
• Learn why it's important to work your website to do business with the world.
• Why you have to be global in UT.
• All the crazy things going on at Facebook, including whether Zuckerberg is a lizard, Oculus and Jerry Seinfeld.
• Alibaba's Jack Ma wants to establish an Electronic World Trade Platform (e-WTP) for global entrepreneurs but before he does that maybe he should stop commenting that his site's counterfeit products are often better quality than the originals.
• The real (ethical and moral) price we pay for cheap jeans.

Summer Afternoon

©2016 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

“Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” ― Henry James

Carving Your Own Path in the World

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Successful global entrepreneurship is more than just an outburst of passion or even an act of will. It requires knowledge, skill, and opportunity that can oftentimes only be found through academia.

Why?  Find out here:  Why education is an essential ingredient for successful entrepreneurship | Study International

As the article says:  "... ultimately, it is about carving your own path in the world – self-expression through business; a reflection of your ambition and character."

Global Game Changers: TPP and TTIP

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Two major global trade agreements, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade Investment Partnership (TTIP) will positively impact the way American businesses, even small ones, interact with Europe and Asia.

Tomas Hult, professor at Michigan State University and Byington Endowed Chair in international business in the Eli Broad College of Business, says this:

"Any agreement that the U.S. enters into will have consequences for these smaller firms," Hult said. "In fact, the TPP agreement has established a specific section … that deals with the advantages and operating issues for small businesses. This is a first for a U.S. trade agreement."

Find out just how these trade agreements might impact you and other American businesses.

Read more:  Global Trade Agreement Set to Impact U.S. Entrepreneurs

Related article:  5 Benefits to the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement

The Digital World Is Global

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Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania marketing professor David Bell says, "Most people spend most of their money within a very small geographic area."  What does that mean?  That most of the money that the owner of a small hair salon or small service business will make will come from someone right outside her door.

To professor Bell:  Knock, knock.  Who's there?  The world.  Start thinking about how to respond so you can take your business global.

Read more:  Why local, local, local matters for your online business.

Australian Toy Retailer Wins EY Global Entrepreneurship Award

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Who won?  Melbourne, Australia-based Moose Enterprise who produces its You-Tube friendly Shopkins.  Shopkins (see Shopkins World) is a range of miniature toy characters fashioned on typically mundane items found in a supermarket.

The brightly coloured figurines are no more than three centimetres tall. Kids can collect, share and trade the figurines, which have unique faces and names. For example, there is a chocolate chip biscuit named Kooky Cookie, a candy bar named Cheeky Chocolate and an apple named Apple Blossom. They are sold with tiny plastic shopping bags and baskets, ready to be filled, much to the delight of parents worldwide.

Rumor has it that Moose products are sold in more than 80 countries and is currently the fifth largest toy manufacturer in Australia and fourth largest in the United States.

See how Moose Enterprise won the EY award and continues to carve out a global marketplace for its products.

Read more:  Shopkins success:  Toy retailer Manny Stul wins EY global entrepreneurship award

Today in Global Small Business: Uber's Head of Global Customer Support Is Out

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

• How to develop best export pricing.
• How to create a winning social media strategy.
• A new venture from Nigerian serial entrepreneur Simeon Ononobi goes global.
• China exports:  Growing brand recognition locally first (no charge webinar 7/13).
• Winklevoss twins' Gemini Exchange starts international expansion (e.g., Canadian customers first).
• Uber's head of global customer support is OUT.

When It Rains, It Pours

©2016 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

Morton Salt (1350 N. Elston Avenue, Chicago, IL, USA).  Worth its salt.  How long will they be at this location?

Going Global: Visit the Market

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According to Tom Chalmers, founder and Managing Director of several publishing and publishing related companies, and contributor at Black Enterprise, "The possibilities of global business are now huge. But to actually achieve them requires hard work and a focused strategy."

Below Chalmers provides five tips for growing a global business, one being to visit the market.

How to Expand Your Global Business With These Easy Tips

Let Us Introduce You to Staten Island, New York (USA)

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Beyond the Ferry Business to Business Expo, a new collaboration between the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce and KDDI/Telehouse -- will introduce global businesses to the borough on June 23, 2016 at the Teleport in Bloomfield.  The focus is on:

• Introducing national and international businesses to Staten Island.
• Providing a local networking opportunity for small businesses across Staten Island.
• Adding value for attendees with breakout sessions and guest speakers.

To learn more, visit:  Expo to introduce global companies to Staten Island

Architecture At Its Best the World Over

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Brutalist architecture is a movement in architecture that flourished from the 1950s to the mid-1970s, descending from the modernist architectural movement of the early 20th century.

Here's a look at ten brulatist buildings that all tie to a new book, "This Brutal World," by Peter Chadwick.

How Do You Know When an Overseas Company Is Legit?

©2016 Women Entrepreneurs GROW Global.
All rights reserved.

Louise Kern knows her stuff.  She's presenting at an upcoming WEGG webinar on June 8th at 11:00 a.m. Central time on "Avoiding Scams, Fraud & Deceit in Your International Business:  How to Conduct Effective Due Diligence."  Here's her bio:

Louise M. Kern, Managing Director, GloBIS, Global Business Information Services, Inc.

With over 30 years of international experience, Louise M. Kern began working in the business information industry in 1996. She has lived in mainland China, Austria, Germany, and France, speaks fluent Mandarin and German, and is conversant in French. Louise has a Bachelor’s degree in East Asian Languages and Civilizations and Master’s degree in the Social and Political Dynamics of Economic and Political Reforms in China, Former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, both from the University of Chicago, and a graduate diploma in Chinese International Relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Nanjing (China) University campus.

Seeing the surging need for high quality business information in the increasingly global economy, and leveraging her extensive first hand cultural knowledge of and educational background in various countries, Louise founded Global Business Information Services, Inc. (GloBIS) in 2003, initially with a China due diligence focus. The company’s development has been a direct response to customers’ needs to learn about the foreign affiliates of Chinese companies, and its coverage quickly became global.

Louise has served on the boards of the International Trade Association of Greater Chicago; International Women Associates, Chicago; the Chicago Sister Cities China Committee, and the US Chapter of the United Nations Development Fund for Women.

To attend her webinar, you must register.  Go here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3785897085114894084  I'll be moderating the call (full disclosure:  I serve as the Executive Director for WEGG).  See you there!

Today in Global Small Business: The World Pays Tribute to the Great Muhammad Ali

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

• TPP e-commerce rules 'template' for future global agreements.
• From shoplifter to queen of e-commerce:  Sophia Amoruso is the new the global fashion phenom.
• Today's guide to the obscure, including news that tattoos above the neck are not allowed in the Marine Corps.
• How 3-D printing takes shape.
• Four global risks facing the middle market.
• The world pays tribute to the great Muhammad Ali who has died at age 74.

Which Bridge to Cross

©2016 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"The hardest thing in life to learn is which bridge to cross and which to burn." -- David Russell

Are You Global By Default?

Phil Libin, CEO of Evernote, talks about how to make products that are globally great.  As a side note, he breaks a record by using the word "global" twelves times in his two-minute presentation.  I counted.  And made a note.  Evernote that is.

Global Entrepreneurs Do Good and Make a Profit

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The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor's (GEM) Social Entrepreneurship Report is the largest comparative study of social entrepreneurship in the world. The report confirms social entrepreneurship is taking root in both developing and developed nations, with more entrepreneurs focusing on doing good, rather than solely making a profit.

According to American University's Kogod School of Business Professor Siri Terjesen, who is also the AU Innovation Center Research Director, "Social entrepreneurship is about people starting any initiative that has a social, environmental, or community objective."  She goes on to say, "It could be students who are starting a product that's based on recycled materials, or a group working to find a solution to irrigation problems in their neighborhood."

Read more:  New study reveals the worldwide reach of social entrepreneurship

The Smallest of Businesses Can Go Global If They Can Access the Internet

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The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) ended the World Trade Organization’s (WTO's) first ever dialogue with the business community as an important step towards strengthening the global trade agenda.

The event identified a broad range of possible WTO initiatives to help boost trade-led inclusive growth, including, but not limited to:

SME growth
Business leaders encouraged the WTO to explore possible initiatives to make trade easier for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), going beyond trade facilitation reforms to identify where harmonized rules and end-to-end standards can help small businesses access global markets. Access to financing was also highlighted as a priority to support SME trade growth.

Adding to that, the International Chamber of Commerce's First Vice-Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said:  "The global nature of e-commerce means that the WTO has a vital role to play in the further development of rules and standards for this area. E-commerce has the potential to revolutionize global trade flows. Today, even the smallest of businesses can go global if they can access the internet."

Read the entire article:  ICC welcomes new dialogue with WTO; highlights options for multilateral trade