Market Uncertainties Cause a Slowdown in International Trade for UK SMEs

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The future outlook for international trade looks gloomy going into 2018 for UK SMEs, with 75 per cent of them expecting trade to decline or remain stagnant over the next 12 months.  That is according to WorldFirst's Global Trade Barometer.

“A positive that has come from such a negative year is that UK SMEs are seemingly drowning out the Brexit noise," says Jeremy Cook, chief economist at WorldFirst.

Read more on how UK SME confidence seems to have hit rock bottom when it comes to international trade.

Connectivity is Changing the Face of Global Small Business

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Karen Reddington, regional president for Asia Pacific at FedEx Express, talks with Enterprise Innovation on how rapid advancement of technology is boosting global connectivity and impacting the logistics sector in Asia.  She also addresses what key trends -- e.g., small businesses will flourish in the online marketplace -- in logistics are crucial for Asian businesses to succeed in the world marketplace.

Read the interview about how connectivity is disrupting the logistics in Asia.

Today in Global Small Business: Least Corrupt Countries on the Planet

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

• Should businesses be worried over the global cyber war heat up?
• Co-working grows up and becomes mainstream for small businesses.
• Become your own global distribution solution.  Listen to a WEGGinar™ held on Wednesday, March 7 at 11:00 a.m. Central time and presented by Rebecca Herwick, President and CEO, Global Products Inc. The WEGGinar™ is free of charge thanks to generous support from IBM, UPS and Bank of America but you must sign up to attend: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/144914921515073794.
• Least corrupt countries on the planet?  Here they are.
• Web design trends shaping e-commerce in 2018.
• Seven (7) ways to get paid on overseas deals.

Innovation: A New Idea, Method or Device

©2018 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower." -- Steve Jobs

Singaporeans Have Little Interest in Globalizing

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Ouch.  Almost half of Singaporean small to medium enterprises (SMEs) have no interest in globalizing and taking their business beyond Singapore in the near future.

According to a survey [by global insurer QBE] of SME bosses, 45% said that they will not explore expansion across borders – a figure which rises to 56% for smaller SMEs. Just 14% indicated their intention to internationalize.

Read more about how half of SMEs in Singapore are uninterested in expanding overseas.

Uptick in Overall Optimism in America

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Some 69 percent of leaders from mid-size companies across the U.S. said they were optimistic about the global economy this year, more than double the 30 percent in 2017, according to a new study by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

The 2018 Business Leaders Outlook survey was conducted online among mid-size firms from Jan. 2 to Jan. 19, and included 1,685 executives and 955 small-business leaders across various industries in the U.S. Mid-size companies are defined as those with revenue of $20 million to $500 million, while small firms have $100,000 to $20 million.

There's an uptick in overall optimism in America as U.S. tax cuts and looser regulation improve the outlook for domestic growth, according to the report.

Read more about how U.S. companies are growing increasingly upbeat about world economy.

China's Surging Third-Party Payments Market Is in Trouble

Laurel Delaney's 3 Solutions to the Nagging Question: How to Make Product Imports Profitable

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Whether you line up customers in advance or pre-sell merchandise, trust is a critical factor in the grand scheme of the product imports process.  Further, it is no surprise:  Importing for the first time is complex.  For example do you go this way, that way or the other way?  Yet the rewards for getting started can be lucrative — from access to cheaper products to a stronger competitive stance in the marketplace.

But the biggest mistake importers make is this:  How are you going to sell the product you import at a profit?  Below I provide three solutions to that nagging question.

Read the article so that you, too, can make money on your imports.

Today in Global Small Business: The Global Blockchain Ecosystem

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

• Become your own global distribution solution.  Listen to a WEGGinar™ held on Wednesday, March 7 at 11:00 a.m. Central time and presented by Rebecca Herwick, President and CEO, Global Products Inc. The WEGGinar™ is free of charge thanks to generous support from IBM, UPS and Bank of America but you must sign up to attend: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/144914921515073794.
• Five steps to making it as a global business leader.
• Women making their presence in the global blockchain ecosystem.
• Strategies to help your global brand maintain its domestic roots.
• What it takes for Indian brands to go global.
• Who said?  "We consider a commitment to a disciplined and consistent culture of ethics and fair play to be a competitive advantage in the global marketplace."

There Are Only Side Mirrors

©2018 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"You know what no one tells you about driving a truck? You are driving a truck. There are only side mirrors, and it does not handle like a Prius." -- Ari Graynor

Olympic American Gold Medalist Mikaela Shiffrin

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What's the secret to Mikaela Shiffrin's -- best slalom skier in the world -- success?  She naps. 

I do it on every race,'' Shiffrin said after the race, USA Today reports. "There's always a little bit of time between the first and the second run and I think I had an hour today where I could sort of lie down for an hour on a bench in corner of the lodge."

Something to think about as you run your global small business. Read more about Shiffrin here.

Top 30 Richest Countries (2018)

Lack of Global Rules

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Participants at the recent first ever cross-border e-commerce conference held in Beijing, China had a specific goal:  to discuss recent developments, challenges, and opportunities, as well as the enormous potential of digital trade.

Out of the discussions came three key factors that are currently limiting the positive potential of cross-border e-commerce.  They are as follows:

1. A lack of global rules
2. Customs solutions for the e-commerce age
3. Coordination is key

Read the complete Information Economy Report 2017: Digitization, Trade and Development, issued at a United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), which states 7% of business-to-consumer e-commerce in 2015 crossed national borders, amounting to a total value of around US $189 billion.

Visiting Another Country? Know Your Hellos

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Before you visit a foreign country, there are so many details you should focus -- from how you might strengthen a relationship to what's the appropriate attire for business activities?

In "Ask a Cross-Cultural Expert:  Name 7 Global Trade Tips," Sharon Schweitzer covers:

1. Speak their language
2. Understand the local belief systems
3. Know your hellos
4. Respect local gender roles
5. Be on local time
6. Avoid cultural taboos
7. Dress for success

And if that is not enough.  Ms. Schweitzer also emphasizes, "Be relationship-focused before, during and after your interactions overseas."  I could not agree more.  Read it here.

Today in Global Small Business: How the Year of the Dog Affects Foreign Firms in China

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

• Will the Year of the Dog be strong for foreign firms in China?
• Walmart has been doing business in India for close to a decade now. But the world’s largest brick and mortar retailer is yet to open its signature stores to tap the country’s $670 billion retail market, like those it operates in other parts of the world.
• How do you become our own global distribution solution?  There's only one way to find out.  Listen in on the next WEGGinar™ held on Wednesday, March 7 at 11:00 a.m. Central time and presented by Rebecca Herwick, President and CEO, Global Products Inc. The WEGGinar™ is no charge thanks to generous support from IBM, UPS and Bank of America but you must sign up to attend: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/144914921515073794.
• The case for foreign SMEs to try and crack Chinese e-commerce..
• What do SMEs need to do to tap into international markets?
• How technology leaders become breakthrough innovators (webinar).

Chicago: Mantled With Snow

©2018 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"And finally Winter, with its bitin', whinin' wind, and all the land will be mantled with snow." -- Roy Bean

Aspiring Social Entrepreneurs Find a Niche

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As the world falls behind on some of the Sustainable Development Goals – inequality, consumption, climate change, and clean oceans – there are also places for aspiring social entrepreneurs to find a niche.  Fast Company discovers that four of our biggest global problems are big business opportunities.

Access the Global Opportunity Report 2018.  Another good read: From Global Goals to Urgent Solutions.

Are Google and Facebook Finished? George Soros Thinks So

Help for Indian Firms Going Global

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The new Outward Direct Investment (ODI) policy may contain provisions to make it easy for many Indian firms, with big ambitious plans to transform themselves into multi-national companies (MNC), to go global and expand.

Historical perspective from the Export-Import Bank of India can be found here.

Discover more on how easier norms may help Indian firms go global.

How to Build Your Online Presence: Be Bold

©2018 Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global.  All rights reserved.

Attend the next WEGGinar™, Wednesday, February 7 at 11:00 a.m. Central Time: “Dare to Be Bold! Here’s How,” presented by CamMI Pham, Partner, ThinkRenegade. CamMI will cover how to be found online, be true to yourself and discover new ways of unveiling your strengths.

In addition, you will learn the secrets to how CamMI acquired a million (1 million) followers on Twitter and more than six-five thousand (65,000) Instagram followers. Yes, it takes perseverance but there's more to it than just that.

The WEGGinar™ is FREE, thanks to the generous support of WEGG sponsors: UPS, IBM and Bank of America – go here to register: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/2297562974983287811. For updates, visit: http://tinyurl.com/pzz7xkd

Explore here: http://www.womenentrepreneursGROWglobal.org (@WEGGtoday; Like WEGG on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/womenentrepreneursgrowglobal).

I'll be on the WEGGinar™ to field your questions.

Today in Global Small Business: Knowledge is Power in Global Business

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

• Knowledge is power in global business.
• Easier norms may help Indian firms go global, transforming them into multi-national companies.
• 30-year-old teacher Sirhajwan Idek at Keningau Vocational College has been nominated in two categories for the International Global Educational Supplies and Solutions (GESS) Education Awards on Feb 28.  
• Mana Up, a new accelerator aimed at promoting homegrown Hawaii products, is transforming them into million-dollar companies and brands.
• Game-changing trends in the evolving e-commerce market.
• Learn the secrets to acquiring a million (1 million) followers on Twitter and more than six-five thousand (65,000) Instagram followers.  Yes, it takes perseverance but we all know persistence pays off.  Presenter CamMI Pham will educate us on how to be bold in 2018 and get the world to notice you in the next WEGGinar™ held on Wednesday, February 7 at 11:00 a.m. Central time. The WEGGinar™ is no charge but you must sign up to attend: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/2297562974983287811.

There Is Nothing to Writing

©2018 Laurel J. Delaney.  All right reserved.

"There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed." -- Ernest Hemingway

Teaching Entrepreneurship Worldwide

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The Global Startup Labs (GSL) program from MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI) continues to recruit undergrads and graduate students across the Institute to teach entrepreneurship around the world.  It now enters its 18th year.

Initially launched as a pilot program in Kenya, MISTI GSL now offers projects in 10 countries: Azerbaijan, Belgium, Brazil, Germany, Mauritius, Mexico, Nepal, Peru, Rwanda, and South Africa. Working in teams of three to four, MIT students travel abroad to help other students launch tech-based companies.

Read more about the MISTI Global Startup Labs and how to apply.

Learn the Ropes Before You Travel Internationally

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Thinking about making your first trip overseas?  Before you even begin to plan your trip, first-time international travelers should work with an experienced travel agent who knows the country and can help you make decisions.

Details such as a whether you need a current passport, how to speed up the security process, how to convert currency and get appropriate health vaccinations required in certain countries, which all matter in terms of prepping in advance of your trip.

And don't forget about learning the language (a bit).  Well before and once you arrive in the country, it's time to learn and experience everything you can about its culture.

Read more about immersing yourself in a country before you visit and how to learn the ropes before you show up.