Laugh. Cry. Think. That's a Good Day.

©2017 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special." -- Jim Valvano

Global E-Commerce Explosion Takes Place in Chicago 10/20/17

©2017 GSBB Media, LLC.  All rights reserved.

We are starting to ramp up on our marketing and social media efforts on our forum.  After all, a party, or in this case, our 3rd Annual Global Small Business Forum, is absolutely not as impactful unless key people like you — business owners and entrepreneurs — attend.

Here's what is in store for our program and why you should attend.

GLOBAL E-COMMERCE EXPLOSION (#GEE)!  Third Annual Global Small Business Forum sponsored by: Global Trade Source Ltd.; MB Financial Bank; Center for International Business, Loyola University Chicago, Quinlan School of Business; and supported by the International Trade Association of Greater Chicago and others.

Speakers include: Jennifer Bayon, Vice President of International Sales, Paris Presents; Laurel Delaney, President, GlobeTrade; Logan Hanes, International Account Executive, UPS; James Kornacki, Chief Wine Revolutionary, Ullo LLC; Alexander Lans, Founder and CEO, FOAL LLC; Chantal Wittman Meier, Vice President, International Trade Banking, MB Financial Bank; Lil Mohan, Entrepreneur and Academician; Richard Paullin, Executive Director, International Trade Association of Greater Chicago and Chairman, Illinois District Export Council; Marc S. Schulman, President, Eli’s Cheesecake Company; Andrea Sreshta, Co-founder, LuminAID; Robert S. Steiner, District Director, U.S. Small Business Administration, and Ernie Watts, Executive Director, Global Chamber Chicago.

Why you should attend:

1. Network with entrepreneurs, business leaders, business owners, top executives, young professionals and students.
2. Enjoy and learn from experienced business owners who run multimillion dollar e-commerce companies as they share their perspectives and stories on expanding their businesses internationally.
3. Connect with seasoned international trade experts who can help you grow your business globally.
4. Be eligible to enter an exciting raffle for a chance to win special prizes donated by the speakers' companies.

Time:  7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Location:  The John and Kathy Schreiber Center, Loyola University Chicago, 16 East Pearson Street, 9th floor, Chicago.

Fee:  $125 (Students - $75; Vendor Table - $500). For information and to register, please visit: http://globalsmallbusinessforum.com/.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Small Businesses Going Global Video Challenge

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Have you used the Internet to take your business global?  Can you share your story in under 4 minutes via a YouTube video?  Then you're in.

The proposal is for a video competition inviting micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to share their stories, through a short video, about how they have used internet technologies to participate in trade. The competition will be called the “Small Businesses Going Global Video Challenge.”

The challenge is intended to help show how small businesses can leverage internet technologies to become global exporters.

Learn more at the Small Business Champions initiative.  You've got until October 31, 2017 to prepare your video.  Make sure you follow instructions.

How to Improve the Global Economy? Consider Blockchain Lending Platforms

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According to "Blockchain Lending Platforms Can Bail Out SMEs and Improve Global Economy," SMEs are the cornerstone of economic development.

In most countries, they provide the platform for job creation and economic growth. Therefore, any product or system designed to encourage the entrepreneurial adventure of SMEs or simplify the business environment may as well be recognized as a solution to a global problem.

Blockchain lending platforms are becoming popular across the industry and are being considered by a lot of small businesses. These platforms do not require the kind of strenuous processes that is associated with bank procedures.

How to improve the global economy?  Consider blockchain lending platforms.

Expect the Unexpected When You Take Your Business Global

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Why should you take your business global?  Oh it's so simple.  I've elaborated on nine (9) unexpected reasons to take your business global.  The first reason is to generate greater revenue for less effort.

Read 9 Unexpected Reasons to Take Your Business Global

Today in Global Small Business: Be Innovative and Be Strong Via Global E-Commerce

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

• According to FedEx, the key to growth for SMEs is to think and act global.
• How SMEs can actively re-skill for a tech savvy future.
• What's in store for global business travel in 2017?  Find out via a free WEGGinar™ on 10/11: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/6874264726093775875.
• Be innovative and become strong via global e-commerce.
• Super success for Women Entrepreneurs GROW Global (WEGG) at the recent workshop hosted at KOVAL Distillery in Chicago.
• Join us for the 3rd Annual Global Small Business Forum held in Chicago on Friday, October 20. Check out the amazing speaker lineup!  It's the only forum specifically for and about entrepreneurs and small businesses who are running global e-commerce businesses.

You Work for Coca-Cola?

©2013 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Coca-Cola is the only business in the world where no matter which country or town or village you are in, if someone asks what do you do, and you say you work for Coca-Cola, you never have to answer the question, 'What is that?'" -- Muhtar Kent

80 Percent of Female Billionaires Who Started From Scratch Came from China

©iStock/Electra-K-Vasileiadou 

According to the Hurun Global Rich List, about 80 percent of female billionaires who started from scratch came from China.

Additionally, Zhang [Zhang Yu, CEO of Beijing Operation Center of China-Israel Biotechnology Company] noted that with the high-paced social development, women had difficulties in starting up businesses regarding the needs of technique and energy. She said, compared with men, women were better at interpersonal relations.

The Beijing Women's International Exchange Center and Lean In China jointly desire to facilitate female development, aimed to assist women in their entrepreneurship and innovation and motivate them to fulfill their goals of self-realization and increased social value.

Read more here.

Secrets to How Can You Be Helpful and Keep Growing

Growing on a Global Stage

©iStock/Ildo Frazao

Can a new logo reflect the diversity of the business trades it serves?  An insurance company has undergone a rebrand as it seeks to grow on the global stage.

See you what you think here.

Meeting the Needs of E-Retail Customers

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External demands are being placed on express parcels carriers to meet the needs of e-retail customers and will continue to drive changes in the industry for many years to come. However, this year's "Global Express and Small Parcels 2017" report will take a different perspective - examining how technological forces have the potential to transform the supply side of the industry from within.

Learn more ...

Today in Global Small Business: How a Startup Secured a Big Global Contract with Microsoft

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

• OPEN for REGISTRATIONS:  The 3rd Annual Global Small Business Forum held in Chicago on Friday, October 20. Check out the amazing speaker lineup!  I'll (Laurel Delaney) will be there. Will you?  Theme is on e-commerce: Global E-Commerce Explosion! (#GEE).
• How a small startup secured a big global contract with Microsoft. 
• Making a company environmentally friendly and global.
• Learn to navigate global business travel in 2017 (WEGGinar™ on 10/11 is free of charge but you must register to attend: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/6874264726093775875.
• How a nonprofit is making a global impact.
• Based in Chicago?  Like learning about exporting and sampling a good whiskey? Join us tomorrow, 9/19, in person at Chicago-based KOVAL Distillery!

Shaping the World by Prayer

©2017 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"God shapes the world by prayer. The more praying there is in the world the better the world will be, the mightier the forces against evil." -- Mother Teresa

Photo taken by Laurel Delaney at Madonna Della Strada Chapel, Loyola University Chicago, Rogers Park, Chicago, Illinois, Wednesday, September 13, 2017 at 8:13 p.m. Central time.

Hackers Around the Globe

©iStock/Phaelnogueira

Retired U.S. Air Force intelligence officer Col. Cedric Leighton said the implications of such a large, targeted cyberattack are the warning signs that show how vulnerable internet-based information systems are in today's global society.

The recent data breach of one of the country's three major credit reporting firms can serve as a stark reminder for businesses and individuals nationwide about the increasing threat posed by hackers around the globe.

"The major effort is really going to be focused on how to protect one's self during times where the geopolitical climate is changing around the world," he [Col Cedric Leighton] said. "It's all about mitigating risk and figuring out what's best for individual businesses as well as — to some extent — society at large."

Read more ...

Cultural Differences: So Many Questions To Ask

Top Global News Highlights

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According to Fox News, U.S. small-business confidence shows slight gains last month (August).  In addition, global stocks edged higher following an all-time high for the S&P 500, as fears from Hurricane Irma and geopolitical risk in North Korea continued to ebb.

Why does the market keep going up and what would bring it down?

Learn more ...

Made in India

©iStock/AmitRane1975

Can India become a top global manufacturing hub?  Are they limited on entrepreneurship?

If the call for globalisation and free international market access is vital for export-oriented China's growth and survival, India's biggest challenge to its progress and economic stability is just the reverse — ensuring substantial localisation instead of facing an onslaught of globalisation.

According to Nantoo Banerjee for millenniumpost, "India must manufacture more in the country to find new jobs with a sustainable income for its people."

Read more ...

Today in Global Small Business: Prayers for All Floridians

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

• Prayers for all Floridians -- may they survive the harrowing hurricanes. 
• A business owner said:  "The goal for the company as a whole is to provide a better life for the employees that choose to be part of our family here.”  Is it happening?
• Learn to navigate global business travel in 2017 (WEGGinar™ on 10/11 is free of charge but you must register to attend: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/6874264726093775875.
• How to help the victims of Hurricane Irma.
• The 3rd Annual Global Small Business Forum held in Chicago on Friday, October 20 is OPEN for registrations.  Check out the amazing speaker lineup!
• Based in Chicago?  Like learning about exporting and sampling a good whiskey? Join us!

KOVAL: America's Leading Craft Distillery Is Open For Your Visit on 9/19 in Chicago

What a great opportunity to learn a little about taking a product overseas and visit the best little craft distillery on the planet:  KOVAL Distillery.  I'll be there on September 19th.  Will you?

With over 50 awards, including gold medals on both sides of the Atlantic, KOVAL is considered one of America’s leading craft distilleries. Recently earning the title, Illinois Exporter of the Year, KOVAL has demonstrated a focus on international distribution and growth abroad with availability throughout the EU, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan, South Korea, and in the coming months, Taiwan and China.

To learn more and to register, visit here.  The event is co-hosted by WEGG and SBDC/ICNC with special support from UPS, IBM and B•A•L.

The Challenges of International Business

©iStock/DenijalZemanic

Expanding your business internationally is no walk in the park.  If it were, everyone would be doing it.  Yes, there are some challenges -- from finding customers to getting paid to language/cultural differences.  But with the right mindset, a little preparation and a healthy dose of perseverance, you can master taking your business across borders, I promise.  Here are some challenges you should prepare for before going global.

The Key to Unlocking Global Prosperity

©iStock/illcha

What is the key to unlocking global prosperity?  It may be right under our noses.

Partnering with small and growing businesses -- commercially viable ventures with five to 250 employees, and with significant potential and ambition for growth -- can create social wins even for corporations not explicitly focused on social impact.

Good example?  Unilever has partnered with d.light, a global solar energy company delivering affordable solar-powered solutions to the more than 2 billion people without electricity

Read more ... to find new benefits to collaboration.

How to Achieve Seriously New Highs with Your Business

©iStock/NicoEINino

What's a seriously new high with your business?  It would be taking it global, of course.

“Paul [Dunn -- four-time TED talk presenter] is an expert in the field of small business – he’s great at helping business owners build their businesses and achieve seriously new highs,” Hawke [Kirsten Hawke, CEO of the East Tamaki-based business advisory company, BUSINESS buddy] says.

Learn more here.

The Majority of the World's Commerce Lies Outside the USA

©iStock/Vaniatos

Bill Seward, president of UPS U.S. International says, "The majority of the world’s commerce lies outside the United States, yet exporting remains a challenge for most small businesses."

And UPS is about to help small businesses make a go at exporting with their X-Port Challenge.  The nationwide competition allows qualifying start-ups, entrepreneurs and small businesses to compete for a $10,000  prize in international shipping credits with the company.

According to UPS, less than one percent of American companies export their products. Of that number, 58 percent of U.S companies export to only one country.

If you've got what it takes to export, then sign up for the Challenge.

Read more ...

Today in Global Small Business: Happy Labor Day Americans

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

• Happy Labor Day Americans. 
• How to create high growth women entrepreneurs in South Africa.
• How to win at the international trade game with creative export finance (WEGGinar™ on 9/6 free of charge but you must register to attend: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/4753604763900421122; I'll be on the call).
• How to help people affected by Harvey.
• Israeli firms put new U.S. small businesses on the world map.
• Based in Chicago?  Like exporting and a good whiskey? Join us!

Center of the World

©2013 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Coney Island was the centre of the world for me.  I loved the rides, the hot dogs - I've never gotten over it." -- Harold Feinstein

Finding Funding For Your Global Small Business Through Grants

©iStocketernalcreative

Finding funding for your startup or ongoing global small business can be daunting.  You can do a Kickstarter, Indiegogo, or GoFundMe campaign and see where it goes.  Or, you can turn to friends, angel investors or venture capitalists.  But you can also look for grants -- grants that focus on making a local or global impact.

Have a look at what is available here.