30 Seconds of Calm (Video)

Reopening Business USA

©iStock/SbytovaMN

As America’s businesses look to reopen safely and keep employees and customers healthy and informed, employers are facing countless new questions and unprecedented new challenges.

As part of the Path Forward initiative through the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, this Digital Resources Center provides the latest state guidelines, sector-specific guidance, small business advice, and other tools and resources to help employers and employees return to work safely and successfully.

How to MacGyver Your First Export

©2020 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

My [Laurel Delaney's] latest creation.  Feel free to read, learn, and share.

How to MacGyver Your First Export

FedEx Helps Global Small Businesses Stay Afloat During COVID-19 With a Grants Program

©iStock/Kirkikis

FedEx Corp. recently announced the launch of the company’s #SupportSmall Grants program, awarding grants and services to 200 business owners across the U.S. struggling to stay afloat during the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Each grantee will receive a $5,000 check as well as a $500 credit for FedEx Office® print and business services to help support their small business.

The #SupportSmall Grants program is open to U.S. based small businesses that have fewer than 50 employees and have been in business and selling for more than one year. Applicants must have less than $5 million in annual sales revenue in 2019 and have shipped in the last 12 months and/or plan to ship in the coming 12 months as part of their business.

Learn more and apply here.

Changing the Small Business Ecosystem to Support Global Entrepreneurs

©iStock/Sergil Tverdokhlibov

Updated daily, with real-world funding, resources, and support for small business owners adapting to the impacts of coronavirus. Hello Alice is a small business community helping owners launch and grow.

Learn more here.  This particular page show a commitment to Hispanic entrepreneurs.

About Alice:

Alice began with a conversation. Founders Carolyn Rodz and Elizabeth Gore were discussing the social and economic opportunity that women, minority, immigrant and veteran business owners offer to the world. Inclusivity and accessibility came up time and time again. So, both women made a commitment to do everything in their power to change the existing small business ecosystem to support these entrepreneurs.

Today in Global Small Business: Honoring Those Who Have Sacrificed For Us

©2020 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

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

• "Today we are putting flags on graves of our veterans who have given everything for our nation.  We bring the young people out on Memorial Day to be sure they really understand the sacrifice of war."
• Why we observe Memorial Day.
• Quote of the week: “Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it." – Mark Twain
• Memorial Day:  traditions and activities.
• The obstacles many face on observing Memorial Day 2020.
• Memorial Day 2020 is different this year but don't forget why we observe in the first place: to honor and mourn the military personnel who have lost their lives during service in the United States Armed Forces. 

Honor and Thank the Brave Men and Women Who Served This Country

©2020 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

Contributing to a Global Effort on the Coronavirus

©iStock/rockdrigo68

What are the impacts and consequences of the coronavirus pandemic on our lives and our societies – and what are some of the solutions we can find to boost our healthcare systems, secure our businesses, maintain our jobs and education, and stabilize financial markets and economies?  Find ourtmore from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD):

• Policy response – Supporting livelihoods during the COVID‑19 crisis: Closing the gaps in safety nets.
• Data – International trade outlook points to sharp deterioration in April.
• Perspective – The only way to beat the COVID-19 crisis is if we come together and commit to science.
• Webinar – Global Deal webinar on managing the pandemic: Approaches taken by Global Deal partners.
• Perspective – One World: Global solidarity for recovery and resilience.
• Perspective – Global container shipping and the corona crisis.

Read a full perspective here.

For Revenue Growth Management: CPG Companies Should Be Proactive and Pivot

©iStock/Vladimir Obradovic

The fundamentals of revenue growth management (RGM) remain, but global CPG companies will need to pivot fast to respond to the crisis and lay the groundwork for the next phase.

Plan for the new normal, and that's whether you are running a consumer product goods (CPG) company or any other type of company.  Lead with purpose.

Even as companies work nonstop to stabilize their business, we believe it is critical to allocate significant time to planning for the postcrisis phase. It can be as simple as executives spending a few hours every week thinking ahead, or as committed as assigning a specific team responsibility for creating RGM [Revenue Growth Management] plans for 2021 and beyond. To succeed at RGM in the next normal, CPG companies need to focus on consumers, shoppers, and customers, and define scenarios for each.

According to the authors, experience shows that companies that take a proactive approach, repositioning themselves to navigate the disruption and planning ahead for the post-crisis world as best they can, stand the best chance of not only surviving but coming out on the other side stronger.

More here.

How to Make a No-Sew Face Mask

The Great Lockdown According to Gita Gopinath, IMF

©iStock/LewisTsePuiLung

As a result of COVID-19, the global economy is projected to contract sharply by –3 percent in 2020, much worse than during the 2008–09 financial crisis.

Gita Gopinath, Economic Counsellor at the International Monetary Fund says:

This crisis is like no other. First, the shock is large.  The output loss associated with this health emergency and related containment measures likely dwarfs the losses that triggered the global financial crisis. Second, like in a war or a political crisis, there is continued severe uncertainty about the duration and intensity of the shock. Third, under current circumstances there is a very different role for economic policy.

Read more from the International Monetary Fund on the nature of the pandemic shock:

• Foreword by Gita Gopinath
• Executive Summary
• Blog post
• Chapters (for example, Chapter 1:  Global Prospects and Policies)
• Statistical Appendixes
• Growth Projections Table

Which can all be found here.

Gita Gopinath is the Economic Counsellor and Director of the Research Department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). She is on leave of public service from Harvard University’s Economics department where she is the John Zwaanstra Professor of International Studies and of Economics.

Today in Global Small Business: Pivoting Saves a Global Small Business

©iStock/maxsattana

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

• Colorado-based New Age Beverage acquired a $6.8 million Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan on April 14, during the first round of loan approvals of funds from the SBA.  New Age is among dozens of publicly traded companies across the country that have received the small-business loans. At least 14 of these publicly traded companies are based in Colorado.  Review more here – it's disturbing.
• Small businesses across the United States face dire circumstances following the COVID-19 outbreak. While each individual small business might seem inconsequential to the broader economy, in aggregate, these firms are critical to the country’s financial well-being.
• Quote of the week: “Sometimes you have to see it to be it; you have to know something is a career option in order to aspire to it,” Hannah Storm, an anchor at ESPN’s “SportsCenter,” wrote in an email. “Which means someone has to be first. That was Phyllis George — a true trailblazer.”  Note:  Trailblazing sportscaster and former Miss America Phyllis George passed away, May 16, 2020; may she rest in peace.
• Pivoting to make plexiglass ‘sneeze guards’ for retailers saves a [global] small business in Michigan.
• Small businesses will need to find innovative ways to mitigate economic impact due to COVID-19.
• Global Graphics' owner Jason Withrow and his team wanted to do something to encourage businesses to stay strong during these uncertain times.  Here's what he did.

Make the Right Things Happen

©Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Let us not be content to wait and see what will happen, but give us the [unbeatable] determination to make the right things happen." – Horace Mann

Beautiful, Enchanted, and Magical Celtic Music to Relax and Inspire You

How Work May Change Post-COVID-19

©iStock/SeventyFour

Professor Nancy Rothbard called into Wharton Business Daily [a morning show airing live from the Wharton School] to talk to host Dan Loney about the ways some employees are working from home, and how it could shift how we work together after COVID-19 pandemic has subsided.

Interview highlights:

1. Some people are "segments" and some are "integrators" when it comes to drawing the line between work and home.
2. Working from home now is not the same as working from home before the spread of COVID-19.
3. Technology has the ability to connect us, but it can also divide us.
4. Setting clear expectations is the key to ensuring employees stay product while working from home.
5. Business leaders should think carefully about how work will change after the pandemic has subsided.

About Professor Rothbard

Professor Nancy Rothbard received her A.B. from Brown University and her Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior from the University of Michigan. She is the David Pottruck Professor of Management and Chair, Management Department, at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. Prior to joining the faculty at Wharton, she was on faculty at the Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University.

What If?

©iStock/gustavofrazao

By now, everyone knows that the shattering impact of COVID-19 has brought on a business crisis without precedent in recent memory.  To build resilience going forward, the first question to answer is not, “What’s in it for me?” but “What if?”

The following article covers four strategic priorities – levers operating in combination ran than in isolation – as outlined here:

1. Aim for survivability and resilience before economic efficiency
2. Quantify and plan for ecological and environmental threats rather than just describe them
3. Build a strong organizational immune system rather than maximise short-term profits
4. Integrate government politics rather than focusing only on business economics

Read the entire article about how strategies or business owners need to put these priorities on your radar for the years to come.

5 Ways Organisms Respond to Periods of Extreme Adversity and What Insights They Hold for Global Small Businesses

©iStock/klausbalzano

Dr. Stephanie A. Fernhaber is an associate professor of entrepreneurship at Butler University’s Lacy School of Business and Dr. Alyssa Y. Stark is an assistant professor in the biology department at Villanova University.  Below they provide a look at five ways organisms respond to periods of extreme adversity and what insights they hold for small businesses.  Fascinating and relevant!

1. Find new opportunities to grow.
2. Shut down and strengthen.
3. Take advantage of predators
4. Look for leftovers.
5. Launch something new.

Read the entire article here on where small businesses can turn for strategic help during the global pandemic and economic crisis.

Today in Global Small Business: Reset, Restart and Reopen Business

©iStock/LeMusique

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

• Three ways to reset, restart and reopen your business to thrive in the long term.
• Critical lessons leaders need to merge from the COVID-19 crisis.
• Quote of the week: “Invest in where the world is going, not where it is." – Michael R. Milken, American financier and philanthropist
• Pay attention to the signals you’re sending about time when managing remote workers during the coronavirus pandemic.
• A global crisis like no other.
• A roadmap to stability:  resilience, recovery and renewal.

Baking Muffins

"If you're trying to create a company, it's like baking [muffins] a cake. You have to have all the ingredients in the right proportion." – Elon Musk

Photos courtesy:  @Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved. (Jiffy corn muffin mix turned into cranberry pecan muffins.)

Child's Play: A Rock Tumbler

©iStock/Charlie Blacker

It's time to just sit still, stop worrying about COVID-19, and do something different.  Why not tumble rocks in the safety of your own home?  National Geographic has this nifty little hobby tumbler that won't gouge your already frail bank account or interfere with your Zoom calls provided you keep them on mute, and will most certainly afford you with a fun time for you and your family.

Here's what's in store:

• Turn rough rocks into dazzling gemstones with this rock tumbler
• Kit comes with rough rocks, grit, strainer, and jewelry settings
• Includes a learning guide packed with educational information
• A fantastic kit for kids [or adults] interested in geology and rock collecting

Give it a look.  Check out the review.  And no, we don't have any tie to this company.  We just like looking for interesting things to do and explore worldwide.

After you share this intelligent information with your colleagues, neighbors, friends, and family, they will respond with "YOU ROCK!"  Can't beat that!

COVID-19's Effect on Jobs at Global Small Businesses

©iStock/Dan Rentea

Here's the deal.  Thirty million small-business jobs are vulnerable, and firms with fewer than 100 employees are the hardest hit during the COVID-19 crisis.  One of the challenges for policy makers and executives is figuring out how to get these employees back to work.

Discover McKinsey & Company's findings as of May, 2020.

Together We Will Rise Again (Video)

Have a Twitter Account? Join wegg® For a weggchat® 5/6 With Ursula Wegrzynowicz, Founder of Emelev, LLC

©Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®.  All rights reserved.  Used with permission.

If you have a Twitter account and want to take a break from your sequestering to learn about international trade financing from a pro, then join wegg® on Wednesday, May 6th, at 11AM CT for a weggchat® with Ursula Wegrzynowicz, Founder of Emelev when she covers: "EXIM:  what they can and can't do."

Here's how the weggchat works:

Participants use tchat.io or twubs.com to follow the conversation using the hashtag #weggchat.  The purpose of the chat is to educate women entrepreneurs and business owners on how to grow global.

wegg will be chatting with Ursula on:

• Be on high alert for cyber fraud
• Be prudent – check that POs received are still valid
• Minimize losses – this is the time to have all your outside consultants reviewing best practices

Learn more at Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®.

Today in Global Small Business: The Effects of COVID-19 Worldwide

©iStock/Jahisone

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

• Can India's startup and tech economy survive the effects of COVID-19?
• Now that we’re all covering our faces to avoid COVID-19, Israeli innovators are stepping up invention of antiviral masks, shields and stickers.
• Quote of the week: “It Is What It Is." – Dr. Anthony Fauci deploys Scorsese quote to deflect question over Trump’s culpability
• Best Practices when implementing a program for taking employee temperatures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• What you need to know about the novel coronavirus [as of 5/3/20] according to the World Economic Forum.
• Is Sweden a miracle coronavirus model?

When Tiny Changes Occur

©2020 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"True life is lived when tiny changes occur." – Leo Tolstoy

What We Can Learn from Wuhan

©iStock/dk_photos

The Chinese city Wuhan, at the center and beginning of the pandemic, has shown that normal might still be a long way off.

When Wuhan officials eased outgoing travel restrictions on April 8, effectively ending the city's 76-day lockdown, residents and local businesses soon learned that city's actual reopening would be painfully slow.

A quick assessment is that there might be a long way to go yet for Wuhan and the rest of the world before we can return to anything resembling normality.

Read on and brace yourself.