Today in Global Small Business: Subway Focuses on Global

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

• Check out the publishing company that is dedicated to growing the U.S. economy, TradePost USA.
• Subway is closing 500 US locations, expanding internationally.  Why is that?
• Who's slaying the e-commerce game?  The millennials, of course.
• Attend the next educational WEGGinar™, Wednesday, May 9 at 11:00 a.m. Central Time: Building Your Global Brand Through Podcasting and presented by Kathrin Bussman, Ph.D., founder and principal, Verbaccino.  Get an earful from Kathrin on how to approach podcasting as a content-marketing effort and how to put one on.  It’s FREE of charge, thanks to the generous support of our sponsors: UPS, IBM and Bank of America – go here to register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3759262530790572546.
• Wetzel's Pretzels is poised to expand into and across China. 
• Finding the right synergy between going global and staying local. 

Make New Rules

©2018 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"My goal is to be myself, and to challenge stereotypes, and to follow the rules, and break them, and make new rules. It’s not about doing something that’s already been done. That would be silly.” – Sasha Grey

CliffsNotes on Small Business Week 2018

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National Small Business Week is April 29- May 5.  Why is it important to recognize small businesses?

Every year since 1963, the President of the United States has issued a proclamation announcing National Small Business Week, which recognizes the critical contributions of America's entrepreneurs and small business owners. More than half of Americans either own or work for a small business, and they create about 2 out of every 3 new jobs in the U.S. each year.

That's why.  But, wait, there's more ...

Make Products That Are Going To Make a Difference in the World

LED Lighting Solution Company Switch Made Opens New Global Hub Office in Dubai

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A leading manufacturer of LED lighting solutions revealed it is further expanding its operations in the UAE with the opening of a new global hub office in Dubai.  The company is Switch Made.

The unveiling of the global base of Switch Made in the UAE complements the call by French President Emmanuel Macron to enhance the role of French companies in international entrepreneurship, it said.

Switch Made has already been associated with several landmark projects in the UAE.  Learn more about them here.

The Grand Prize Winner is Umbulizer

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The annual MIT IDEAS Global Challenge showcase and awards ceremony recently took place.  The grand prize winner of $15,000 went to Umbulizer, a team developing a low-cost, portable ventilator — made by modifying and simplifying the machinery — for patients in rural areas where medical resources are scarce and unreliable.

“High-end ventilators are not affordable for hospitals in Pakistan. We’ve basically simplified the model” to make them less expensive, team member Moiz Imam, a senior in mechanical engineering, told MIT News.

The Umbulizer team — including Sanchay Gupta, a Harvard Medical School student, and Hamza Khan, a Harvard Business School student — is developing an automated ventilator that keeps only four critical functions, reducing the price to around $2,000.

Learn more about Umbulizer and read the entire article to discover all the inventions with social impact that won awards at the MIT IDEAS Global Challenge.  Congrats to Umbulizer!

Today in Global Small Business: Japan's Retailers Benefit From E-Commerce and Overseas Expansion

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

• Stripe is really improving, especially globally. Check out Stripe Atlas.
• A look back on the OECD's Policy Brief on SMEs with local strength, global reach.
• Grow your business global online with Google.
• How MBA students can get more international business experience.
• Japan's retailers get big boost by e-commerce and overseas expansion.
• Attend the next educational WEGGinar™, Wednesday, May 9 at 11:00 a.m. Central Time: Building Your Global Brand Through Podcasting and presented by Kathrin Bussman, Ph.D., founder and principal, Verbaccino.  Get an earful from Kathrin on how to approach podcasting as a content-marketing effort and how to put one on.  It’s FREE of charge, thanks to the generous support of our sponsors: UPS, IBM and Bank of America – go here to register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3759262530790572546.

Candy Heaven

©2018 Laurel J. Delaney.  All right reserved.

The Cafe & Bar, located at Dylan's Candy Bar on Chicago's Magnificent Mile and inside the world-famous Tribune Tower. Visit the Cafe & Bar along with two floors of candy heaven.  A complete Midwest must.

The Inspiration Behind Compas Global

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Knowledge@Wharton interviews Yin L. Yin, founding member and the COO of Compas Global, a three-year-old Silicon Valley provider of enterprise software that lets companies view, analyze and plan their global growth strategy on one aggregated dashboard.

The inspiration behind Compas Global was the ability to help technology companies do global expansion in a more structured and efficient way.

Read the interview here.

The Global Development of the French Economy Report

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The report below by Business France sheds light on the twin aspects determining the international development of the French economy, highlighting the gains to be made by businesses through the interplay between foreign investment and international trade.  BF can already see that companies that invest more often in France are also among those that export the most.

This is the role of BF, which is responsible for helping foreign investors prosper in the country, assisting them at every step of the way, and laying the groundwork for future prosperity.

Go here to access the report, which includes a listing of the top 5 American exporters in France (2016).

Export 24/7

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Despite global economic uncertainty, the spirit of creativity and innovation are still driving the growth of companies globally and that's largely due to perseverance.  Small businesses should take advantage of technological innovations to connect with new customers and look to grow on a global scale. There are so many opportunities out there, waiting to be seized.

Yes, exporting can be intimidating but to help, FedEx compiled a list of tips for successful global expansion.

10 Tips to Get You Ready for International Expansion

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Back in the day when I was selling food products overseas, I [Laurel Delaney] received an order for one million bags of snacks. At the time, I was just getting started exporting food products, and a customer in Japan wanted to import the snacks for sale at a major baseball park.

My reaction? You can probably imagine.  It went from a feeling of euphoria to panic:  how will we ever service the order? 

It was a sign we had to go global or remain local. Let’s use my experience to walk through 10 tips to get you ready — just as I had to — for international expansion.

Read more to find out whether your business is ready for international expansion.

Today in Global Small Business: Factors to Consider When Taking Your Website Global

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

• A 24-year-old online book store is taking Indian sellers to global customers.
• Attend the next educational WEGGinar™, Wednesday, May 9 at 11:00 a.m. Central Time: Building Your Global Brand Through Podcasting and presented by Kathrin Bussman, Ph.D., founder and principal, Verbaccino.  Kathrin will discuss how to approach podcasting as a content-marketing effort and how to put one one.  It’s FREE of charge, thanks to the generous support of our sponsors: UPS, IBM and Bank of America – go here to register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3759262530790572546.
• How to avoid SEO issues when taking your business website global.
• How to find overseas customers.
• Building a global payments infrastructure.

How Electricity Travels Inside Wires

©2018 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"We believe that electricity exists, because the electric company keeps sending us bills for it, but we cannot figure out how it travels inside wires." -- Dave Barry

SMEs Are Increasingly Looking Beyond the EU for the Future Growth Plans

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Brexit is requiring small businesses to fundamentally reassess the way they do business internationally, with small business owners being forced to adjust to a vastly different trading landscape. That means looking beyond the European Union to new international markets to facilitate growth and expansion.

Many are investigating market that have a dedicated Amazon and eBay national site, a useful medium for online retailers seeking to break into new markets. "EU countries are still a major target for SMEs expansion plans, with 50% saying Germany was a priority foreign market, 44% saying France and 24% saying Italy," according to the Financial Director.

However, SMEs are increasingly looking beyond the EU for their future growth plans. 70% said that the US was a key priority for expansion, 41% said Australia and 27% said Canada, clearly indicating that large, developed and English-speaking nations lead the way outside of the EU. Beyond that, 16% said China was an opportunity for expansion, 12% said Japan and 9% said India.

Read more about how SMEs should tackle Brexit.

Artistically Made Maps Show How the World Viewed India Over the Centuries

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As the article published in Quartz says:

Standing in front of these [India] spectacular maps, it becomes all the more clear what we stand to lose as cartography dies out in an era of GPS navigation and apps that do all the work for you. But preserving and protecting these rare maps is a challenge, especially in India where heritage conservation is often an afterthought, and it falls upon private collectors to keep these historic pieces safe.

Discover how a beautiful collection of rare maps shows how the world viewed India over the centuries.

A Quiet Video: Hong Kong

Borders Are A Tumbling Down

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Remember Carol King's song "I Feel the Earth Move?"  Here are the lyrics:

"I feel the earth move under my feet 
I feel the sky tumbling down 
I feel my heart start to trembling 
Whenever you're around … "

Well try some new lyrics:

I feel the earth move under my feet 
I feel the borders tumbling down 
I feel my heart start to trembling 
Whenever I conduct global business … 

In all seriousness, the modern business picture is very different from the old established ways — and your business can take advantage of the potential that going global right from the start can bring to your business.

Let's have a look at why modern businesses should go global.

Today in Global Small Business: How SMEs Are Unlocking Global Growth

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

• How SMEs are unlocking global growth -- brought to you by American Express and Oxford Economics.
• Familiarize yourself with e-commerce company noon.
• The world's biggest arms importers since 1950 (infographic).
• Learn why international payments capabilities is an underrated component of expansion.
• Trade tensions threaten global trade outlook according to OECD.
• Pay a visit to Women Entrepreneurs GROW Global (WEGG), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization where women are learning how to expand their business internationally.  Attend the next WEGGinar™, Wednesday, May 9 at 11:00 a.m. Central Time: Building Your Global Brand Through Podcasting and presented by Kathrin Bussman, Ph.D., founder and principal, Verbaccino.  Kathrin will give us an earful on how to approach podcasting as a content-marketing effort and how to put one one.  It’s FREE of charge, thanks to the generous support of our sponsors: UPS, IBM and Bank of America – go here to register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3759262530790572546.

Let the Path be Beautiful

©2018 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"If the path be beautiful, let us not ask where it leads." -- Anatole France

How Can Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs Implement Artificial Intelligence (AI)?

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Matt D'Angelo, covering technology for Business.com, interviews John Sculley, former CEO of Apple and former President of Pepsi. Sculley helped build these gigantic brands and he now believes that artificial intelligence is going to change the face of small business and marketing.

One of the questions D'Angelo asks of Sculley during the interview is:

Q: How can small businesses and entrepreneurs implement artificial intelligence today?

A: Many marketing services are now embedding machine learning technology into their solutions. Many consumer companies are making the transition to personalized marketing. AI will be foundational for consumer products and services that want to target a specific consumer based on detailed personal data and match it with predictions of what might appeal to them. Oil and electricity fueled the 20th century world. Now smart data is the fuel for the 21st century world. 

Learn more from Sculley on what impact AI will have on small business marketing and discover his new enterprise, Zeta Global.

How to Experience a Master's Degree Program Different From Your Own in Another Country

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A good global education offers students exposure to complex issues facing business and society in different regions of the world.  It also offers a great travel and networking experience.

“I think [the Global Network Weeks] went really well,” de Paz [Managing Director of Global Initiatives] said. “Each school offers a module in which they have expertise, and students benefit from that knowledge that is not available at their home schools. It is always insightful [for students] to learn about master’s degree experiences different from their own in other countries and with different programs.

Learn more about how global education offers international exposure.

Ditching Cash on International Trade Transactions

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Browns of Brockley, southeast London, is among a growing number of small businesses in the U.K. that are ditching cash.

A recent report by ForexBonuses, a global trading website, found the U.K. is the third most cashless country in the world, after Canada and Sweden. Debit cards are forecast to overtake cash payments for the first time ever across the country this year, according to trade association U.K. Finance.

Read more about how a small firm started ditching cash and it's been great for business.

Just say no, that's focus

Today in Global Small Business: The International Trade Tariff Battle

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

• Join us for a WEGGinar™, How a Wicked Road Trip to Minturn, Colorado Inspired a Thriving Global Design Business, held on Wednesday, April 4 at 11:00 a.m. Central time and presented by Julia Knight, founder of Julia Knight Collection.  Julia is the winner of the President's "E" Award for Exports, which was created by the Executive Order of the President of the United States. The WEGGinar™ is free of charge thanks to the generous support from IBM, UPS and Bank of America but you must sign up to attend: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/8918865979114339587.
• Chicago-area businesses are on the opposite side of the tariff battle.
• When it comes to the total number of students who are studying for full degrees at IDC Herzliya at the international school, it makes the IDC Herzliya the most international university in the country.
• Ever hear of IDC Herzliya?  I hadn't until now.
• Ever hear of Hult?  Now you have.
• And then there is Thunderbird where you can stand out in a world of possibilities.