What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners:
Discover what matters in global trade in 2019. Listen in on Laurel Delaney's annual wegginar® regarding Global Trade Trends Report 2019. FREE. Register here.
An academic survey found that SMEs expect the Thai economy to expand by 3.79 per cent next year. About 84.2 per cent of respondents said they were not ready to undertake digital transformation.
In addition, the survey found that the three most important factors affecting businesses were the:
Post-election political environment
Domestic economy
World economy
However, such factors as a lack of qualified personnel as well as intense competition were also noted as important.
Fast Track Trade (FTT) is the first Singapore-headquartered operator to provide a blockchain-based digital trade platform to the local SME community. They are working with Get Go Global (Go) to promote one another's platforms in an effort to push digitization across the Asia-Pacific region.
“It [the platform] allows SMEs to seek business partners and distributors, buy and sell goods, and track shipments. Additionally, it can receive and make payments, access financing and buy insurance via an eco-system of service providers on the FTT platform.”
Quote of the week: "During the holiday season, it's easy to forget that sometimes the best gift of all is simply the gift of time. I can't think of anything a writer would appreciate more than being given time and space to work." -- Kate Klise
If we took a holiday yeah
Took some time to celebrate
Just one day out of life
It would be
It would be so nice
Everybody spread the word
We're gonna have a celebration
All across the world
In every nation It's time for the good times Forget about the bad times
One day to come together
To release the pressure
We need a holiday
Holiday, celebrate
Holiday, celebrate
You can turn this world around
And bring back all of those happy days
Put your trouble down
It's time to celebrate
Let love shine
And we will find
A way to come together
And make things better
We need a holiday
As the world shrinks and ease of access into other markets increases for entrepreneurs, small and mid-cap companies and leaders, an international profile and connectivity is essential and can mean the difference between business growth and stagnation.
What do three (3) trailblazing Australian female entrepreneurs have in common? They each have built global businesses from the ground up and here's what they have discovered:
We just have to refuse to buy into the stories we tell ourselves about why we can’t, roll up our sleeves and do the hard yards [to go global]!
Millions of Chinese left the countryside and set up businesses in cities or went to work in factories that propelled China to become the world’s second-largest economy.
But the changes also sowed the seeds of many of the problems China faces today.
Sheer determination and superhuman patience will get you to the Japanese border, but it will take a unique product and smart marketing to get you in. Japanese consumers are always ready to sample imported goods, but my [Laurel Delaney's] experience has shown that there are eight common denominators of successful products.
Internationally recognized executive coach, educator and author John Baldoni says, "While confidence is an attribute that every leader must manifest, taken in too large of a dose can cause the ego to inflate. That can lead to a sense of misplaced invincibility, that you can do it all. The challenge is to find balance. Know that you must continue to earn your keep, as well as maintain the sense of accomplishment that you belong."
How do you keep things in balance? How do you keep it real?
Are the Trump administration and Congress doing more for large corporations than they are for small business owners? According to a new national survey of 1,225 entrepreneurs from the Kauffman Foundation, conducted by Global Strategy Group and Public Opinion Strategies, it seems so.
Considering that Trump lost the popular vote in 2016, he will need every scrap of support he can get to win in 2020, and judging from this new survey data, he may not be able to rely on entrepreneurs and small business owners to get there.
Climate change is expected to have consequences worldwide, especially in Africa. Harvests will be affected, threatening agricultural outputs. This is said to hurt farmers and lead to greater food insecurity.
But there hasn’t been much discussion about what effects climate change will have in other areas – like in the continent’s small and medium business sector. This is a worrying oversight.
Research, conducted in Zambia and Botswana, revealed that businesses activities faced major disruptions during the 2015/2016 El Niño event.
When doing business around the world, learning and honoring the way people in other countries greet one another, or give gifts, or even gesture, drink, and speak is just the tip of a cultural iceberg.
Martin J. Smith adds:
But understanding the values that lie beneath those behaviors—the attitudes, beliefs, ideologies, and philosophical or spiritual perspectives—can enable you to negotiate the iceberg rather than plow into it.
He goes on to say "We see things above the surface that look like business etiquette, but which underneath are really driven by some centuries-old cultural ethos."
Ask any Founder/CEO and they will likely tell you something similar to this: the road from entrepreneurship to executive can be daunting and will take time. While this is true, there are ways to make this road a straighter path.
Do you feel comfortable delivering bad news? Do you look forward to speaking in public? Do you enjoy networking? Is it easy for you to speak your mind and be assertive with friends and colleagues? If you answered no to any of these questions, this [free] wegginar can help you on 12/5. Register here and get ready to start the new year with powerful growth.
Quote of the week: "For more than a decade, I led an organization that put on an elaborate Christmas program each December. It was a big production, with over 250 people participating in more than 20 performances. By the end of the season, everyone who participated was exhausted." -- John Maxwell
Being an American brand, and why it matters in a global marketplace.
Crossing the digital border: 4 ways to transform the SME global market (PDF).
The Global Small Business Blog (GSBB) was founded on July 20, 2004 by Laurel Delaney (pictured above) for the purpose of helping entrepreneurs and small businesses expand their businesses internationally. It is ranked No. 1 in the world for entrepreneurs and small businesses interested in going global. Learn more about Laureland visit her company GlobeTrade.com.
VIEW: 8th Annual Global Small Business Forum 10/20/23
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2nd Edition Available NOW (2016) and endorsed by Jim Collins!
"Good to Great" best-selling author Jim Collins says, "Laurel Delaney writes in a tremendous spirit of service to entrepreneurial and small business leaders navigating the opportunities of globalization. Whether leading a fresh startup, a small business, or an entrepreneurial growth company seeking greatness, the question of whether―and how―to go global must be addressed. Delaney shows yet again her passionate dedication to serving her readers with deeply practical guidance.”