Invent the Universe

©Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe." -- Carl Sagan

A Special Day with Global Star Paul McCartney

Get a Global Perspective

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Everything in business is about solving problems and these skills these can be learned to enable entrepreneurs to excel both within their local and domestic markets, but also be equipped to compete globally.  Beyond being solution-focused, SMEs also must have a global perspective.

“I [Alexandra Tselios is the Founder and CEO of Australia-based The Big Smoke] can’t see how that many companies can survive in the current economy without some sort of global perspective,” she says.  “The barriers of competition for companies has completely changed, your greatest competitor tomorrow could be some small start-up from Ireland.”

Read more to find out what makes a good problem solver.

How to Make Communicating with Global Customers Easier for Small Businesses

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WhatsApp Business app is particularly aimed at making communicating with customers easier for small businesses.

We [in India] are currently testing a solution for larger businesses—like an airline, ecommerce company or bank—to connect with their customers on WhatsApp,” a company spokesman said in an email, adding more than 3 million people globally are actively on WhatsApp Business. 

WhatsApp Business app allows small businesses to scale quickly and offer personalization and engagement.

Learn more about how to keep the conversation going.

An Introduction to McDonald's Shifting Tactics and Branding in Different Global Markets

Today in Global Small Business: Accelerate Your Growth Via Cloud Computing

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

• Google plans global e-commerce debut from India market.
• Small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) are saving Facebook.  No surprises here. 
• Why SMEs should double down on exporting.
• Tough trade love with China, to the tune of tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods.
• None of us ever grows [global] successfully by working alone.
• Join the next WEGGinar™ on 7/11 to accelerate your growth via cloud computing and at the same time find out key growth lessons from more than 50 startup owners using cloud computing.  It's free of charge and you can register here. 

The Pina and the Colada

©2018 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"My point is, life is about balance. The good and the bad. The highs and the lows. The pina and the colada." -- Ellen DeGeneres

The Gilded Age Reboot Has Gone Global

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As Quartz says, "Big business just keeps getting bigger. And the US government’s de facto green-lighting of AT&T’s purchase of Time Warner last week is a sign of more corporate engorgement to come."

The gilded age reboot has gone global.

According to new research by the International Monetary Fund, it has among rich countries.

Read more here.

Small Businesses: The Engine of American Prosperity

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Is the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) a non-partisan organization?  You decide.

Relax and Take a One-Hour Aerial View of the Fiji Islands

What's the Difference Between Hiring Globally Versus Locally?

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If you are operating globally, you need to hire globally yet how is it a different ball game when you’re hiring globally versus locally?

For small businesses it’s hard enough to hire locally let alone recruit globally. For example, around the world, only one in four software developers actually work for software companies. This means that local organizations are now competing with large global organisations for talent. However, they may not have the resources, or the need to bring a full-time person in for it.

Read more about how the Internet has the power to make small business and big business absolutely equal in the world of search.

Today in Global Small Business: Show Respect and Do Business Across Borders

©iStock/Greg Bulla

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

• Just the fear of a trade war is straining the global economy.
• Join the next WEGGinar™ on 7/11 to learn how to harness cloud computing and at the same time find out key growth lessons from more than 50 startup owners using cloud computing.  It's free of charge and you can register here. 
• How to show respect and do business across borders.
• The Trump trade war effect on certain US cities.
• eBay go global platform attracts a lot of Malaysian businesses.
• Don't be vulnerable to big companies -- learn to scale.

Happiness Radiates

"Happiness radiates like the fragrance from a flower and draws all good things towards you." -- Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

Photos courtesy:  ©2018 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

Global Superstar Firms

alluranet

The rise of the global superstar firm.  That is a warning buried at the end of the International Monetary Fund's (IMF's) report on the American economy.

The question becomes:  Are some businesses just too dominant, too big, for the overall good of the economy?

MimaCZ

The IMF - a membership organization of 189 nations - is careful not to name names.

And firms which some might think the target - such as Apple, Facebook or Google - point out that their success comes from providing products and services that consumers want.

"Markets reward success," as the article The rise of the global mega-firms -- why the IMF is worried, states.

Why Go Global? Top Ten Reasons.

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Less than one percent of America’s 30 million companies export – a percentage that is significantly lower than all other developed countries.

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Yet successful small businesses are learning how to master the transition from being a local company to global. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, more than 70 percent of the world’s purchasing power is located outside of the United States.

That’s why many businesses are jumping on the global bandwagon – to capitalize on the potential of tremendous growth. Here are ten reasons to do so.

Top 10 Reasons to Go Global by Laurel Delaney

Britain's SMEs Enjoy Export Boost

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Telford-based Global Freight says the national figures, as noted below, mirror its own experience working with SMEs.

New figures which show that Britain’s small manufacturers are enjoying the fastest growth in export orders in more than a decade.

Nicole Gunter, managing director of Global Freight, said the figures reflected an increased drive by small manufacturers to tap into new markets in the wake of Brexit.

Read more about how SMEs are winning new business around the globe.

Catching the Global Entrepreneurial Bug

Today in Global Small Business: From Startup to Global Expansion

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

• Harness cloud computing and at the same time find out key growth lessons from more than 50 startup owners using cloud computing. 
• For future growth and prosperity, the Brits, especially Prince William, have a big push on exporting.
• States are rolling out the welcome mat for global trade.
• Where are we now on global trade for SMEs?
• How to turn website visitors into customers.
• From startup to global expansion.  A dream come true.
• Listen in on the WEGGinar™, "Grow Globally by Offering Competitive Financing Solutions" and learn how NOT to lose a sale because you don't know how to offer good terms to your overseas customer.

Wonders of a Summer Sunset

©2018 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the creator." -- Mahatma Gandhi

Small Town Businesses Get a Global Presence

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According to the report (PDF) "Platform-Enabled Small Business Formation as a Counterweight Against Forces of Economic Concentration" from the eBay Policy Lab, online marketplaces give small businesses and entrepreneurs access to outside economies in these rural areas. This is driving growth in counties across the country which are not experiencing the same amount of expansion as in the coastal or more popular regions. -- Source:  Small Business Trends

We [eBay] have studied the patterns and growth of enterprises using the eBay Marketplace. Irrespective of where in the world we have looked, we have found micro and small businesses leveraging the online commerce platform model to engage in expansive commerce, often on a global scale. Across more than 50 countries we have studied so far, spanning the Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe, technology is empowering small firms to build operations that serve consumers across an unprecedented number of countries.

Learn more about how eBay is giving small town businesses a global presence.

Rewiring the Global Small Business Economy

©iStock/Worawee Meeplan

By giving businesses and their advisors a way to grow their business through connected accounting and business tools, Xero is soaring.

Herman Man, Vice President of Product and Partnerships at Xero, said: “Xero has long had a vision to rewire the global small business economy by giving small businesses and their advisors access to a powerful, global platform. 

Learn more about Xero's new features to small business accounting, which help accountants and bookkeepers assist their clients by asking the big questions, on cash flow, profit and revenue.

The World Has Lost the Great Designer Kate Spade

©iStock/KreangchaiRungfamai 

Kate Spade, whose handbags every woman seemed to have, is dead at 55.  Here are some articles that related to her company's global growth.

• How Social Media Helped Kate Spade Become a Global Brand
• Kate Spade is a Brand Ready to Boom Around the World
• International Stores for Kate Spade
• Kate Spade New York Announces the Launch of a New Global Lifestyle Brand, Kate Spade Saturday
• Coach Just Bought Kate Spade New York for a Cool $2.4 Billion

In closing, read more about how Kate Spade became an icon and why her fashion legacy will live on despite her recent death.

Been There. Done It.

©iStock/katerinchik73 

British Childs Farm founder and Chief Executive Officer, Joanna Jensen says that making friends with entrepreneurs who have been there and done it is a key to eventual global business success. "Cosmetics can be a lonely place; it's all global pharmaceutical companies," explains Jensen.

[Fast forward ...] Today, the firm has 20 staff and an annual turnover of £5.7m. Bestsellers include its cocoa and shea butter baby moisturizer (£4.50) and a grapefruit and organic tea tree oil hair detangler (£5). It exports to Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

Read more about the mechanisms out there to help build a global business like Childs Farm.

Today in Global Small Business: Women Entrepreneurs Are Pushing Boundaries and Targeting the World for Business

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

• Women entrepreneurs are pushing boundaries, shaking things up, and targeting the world for business.
• If you are based in Des Moines, Iowa, get a lesson from Facebook on how to find customers.
• EU joins global battle against USA Trump tariff onslaught.
• What it is like to travel and meet with startups around the world.
• Why the startup community must defend merit-based immigration.
• WEGGinar™, Wednesday, June 6 at 11:00 a.m. Central Time, "Grow Globally by Offering Competitive Financing Solutions" and presented by Tamara Maxwell, Director, Minority and Women Owned Business & Multiplier Outreach Division, Office of Small Business, Export-Import Bank of the United States.  Q&A fielded by Chantal Wittman, WEGG Board Member and VP of International Trade Sales, International Banking Division, MB Financial.  Special guest:  Laura Blodgett, who holds both the corporate Treasury Analyst role and the Accounts Receivable/Credit Administrator role for one of the divisions of Jergens, Inc.  WEGGinar™ is free of charge, thanks to the generous support of global sponsors: UPS, IBM and Bank of America – go here to register: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/7394069852172520451.

Music and Cats

©2018 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats." -- Albert Schweitzer

Best Countries to Live in the World for 2018