20 Reasons for the World to Love Halloween

©2020 All photos Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

“I love Halloween, and I love that feeling:  the cold air, the spooky dangers lurking around the corner."— Evan Peters

Will Soy Sauce Be Cheaper in Britain Due to the UK-Japan Trade Deal?

©iStock/fortyforks

It was Japanese week on The Great British Bake Off and the The Department for International Trade (DIT-UK) has been causing something of a stir on social media, after tweeting about the Bake Off. 

At first they said, "The bakers used a lot of soya sauce in the first challenge on #GBBO, so it's a good thing it will be made cheaper thanks to our trade deal with Japan."

Then the DIT clarified:

"Thanks to the UK-Japan trade deal, soya sauce will be cheaper than it otherwise would be under WTO [World Trade Organization] terms, on which we would be trading with Japan from 1 January if we had not secured the UK-Japan trade deal."

But here's the funny thing:  Most soy sauce in the UK does not come from Japan.

Oh boy.  Read more.

On a more serious note, Britain and Japan sign post-Brexit trade deal.

England Also Wants to Build Back Better Following the Global Pandemic

©iStock/Chalabala

The government in England recently announced a package of measures to help businesses in England build back better following the pandemic.

The plan includes a £38 million Internationalisation Fund for small businesses, which will help up to 7,600 SMEs in England grow their overseas trading and strengthen their business.

Review the full list of measures here.

A Global Letter to Bruce: I'll See You in My Dreams

Don't Ever, Ever, Ever Bribe Foreign Officials to Obtain Lucrative Business Contracts

©iStock/Yumi mini

For bribing foreign officials to obtain lucrative business contracts, a global financial institution, namely Goldman Sachs, and its Malaysian subsidiary have agreed to pay more than $2.9 billion in criminal fines, civil penalties, and disgorgement.  This is according to a Department of Justice (DOJ) press release report. 

Here's the thing:  A DOJ official said this represents the largest monetary penalty ever paid to the U.S. in a corporate criminal foreign bribery resolution.

Don't ever, ever, ever bribe foreign officials to obtain lucrative business contracts.  I write about this in my book, Exporting:  The Definitive Guide to Selling Abroad Profitably.  No ands, ifs or buts on this deal.

Learn more about the law firm who reported this case and discover other companies and countries that are involved in bribery cases.

Today in Global Small Business: Pathways to a New Global Economy

©iStock/alekseystemmer

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

• Market of Tomorrow:  Pathways to a New [Global] Economy by the World Economic Forum.  
• A few Israeli startups are on the path to provide solutions for a post-covid world.
• Quote of the week:  “Exercise, prayer, and meditation are examples of calming rituals. They have been shown to induce a happier mood and provide a positive pathway through life's daily frustrations." ― Chuck Norris
• The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) transformed into the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (IDFC).  New name.  More tools.  More resources to invest.
• Brush up on the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
• U.S. International Trade Data (the latest).

Watch the Leaves Turn

©2020 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn.” – Elizabeth Lawrence

4 Lessons for New Global Leaders

©iStock/ismagilov

Erika James assumed leadership of the Wharton School amidst a pandemic — a crisis of global proportions. 

I relocated to Philadelphia after choosing a place to live online, and I was meeting my colleagues virtually over Zoom. I was two months into the job before I was able to take an in-person tour of the campus — and as I now end the first 90 days in my role, I can essentially count on one hand the number of colleagues, not to mention students, with whom I have been able to meet in person. To say this has been a truly unique onboarding experience would be an understatement.

Dean Erika James reflects on the start of her tenure as Dean of Wharton – 90 days into it as of September 28, 2020 – and offers four lessons for new global leaders.

When People Are Connected to the Internet, They are Connected to Global Opportunity

©iStock/Feodora Chlosea

As Katie Watson Jordan, Internet Society says in her Opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal, "Remote Classes Need Good Internet Service."

The Covid-19 pandemic has underscored that the internet is an indispensable tool for keeping us connected, informed, working, innovating and learning. Improving access is paramount because when people are connected to the internet, they are connected to [global] opportunity. 

We could not agree more Katie.  Thank you for saying that.  

Learn more about the Internet Society – the place of possibility and opportunity.

World: We Can Work It Out

In the Year of a Global Pandemic, Here Are 8 Marketers You Should Follow to Improve Your Marketing

©2020 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

A good global marketer wanting to master his craft needs to run A/B tests, experiment with new tools, share his or her thoughts with the community, debate and learn from others while exploring numerous marketing venues.  The list below is a good one but let us not forget the great Ann Handley.  After all, we are seeking diversity and inclusion, right?

And I'd be remiss for not bringing up one of my all time favorite marketing geniuses:  David Ogilvy.  From the book, "D.O., The unpublished David Ogilvy – a selection of his writings from the files of his partners:"  Here's a clip.

To Cliff Field, a great copywriter, on his seventh anniversary with the company:

September 21, 1963

Cliff:

I see you have been here for seven years.  I've been here for twice as long.  God knows what this proves.

D.O. 

Return to the other 6 greats in marketing. 

Today in Global Small Business: Shift Your Perspective

©iStock/anatolly_gleb

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

• Strengthening women's voices at business forums is key to success.  This was suggested by experts from public and private sectors while speaking at the online meeting on ‘Challenges of women-led exporting enterprises amid COVID-19,’ organized by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI). 
• Small businesses make up 90% of Georgia exporters.
• Quote of the week:  “Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.” ― C.G. Jung
• Everything you should know about a global marketing strategy.
• The latest stats on the corona virus from the John Hopkins University of Medicine.
• Feeling overwhelmed?  Shift perspective.

Every Leaf Speaks Bliss To Me

©

2020 Laurel Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Every leaf speaks bliss to me / Fluttering from the autumn tree." – Emily Brontë, in her poem Fall, Leaves, Fall

The Global Covid Economy

©iStock/monsitj

Welcome to the [global] Covid Economy.  See how the coronavirus pandemic is impacting all areas of our lives, from food to housing, health care to global small business. 

The first focus is on North Carolina, with rapid economic growth — and growing inequality — since the last recession to learn how residents are weathering the economic consequences of this once-in-a-lifetime health crisis.

Take a deep dive here.

Risks and Uncertainty Remain High in the Global Marketplace

©iStock/Fokusiert

According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation Development (OECD), restoring confidence will be crucial to how successfully all economies can recover, and for this we need to learn to safely live with the COVID-19 virus.  Policymakers reacted rapidly and massively to buffer the initial blow to incomes and jobs. But the pace of recovery has lost momentum over the summer.

Read more about how the global outlook is less pessimistic, but risks and uncertainty remain high.  Governments need to be more targeted and flexible enough to adapt to changing conditions. 

The OECD also noted a new chaos of digital taxes and tariffs that could cut global output by 1%. 

5th Annual Global Small Business Forum Hosted Virtually on 10/16/20

@2020 Global TradeSource, Ltd.  All rights reserved.

Please join us for the world's biggest Global Small Business Forum – #BeAGlobalUnicorn – hosted virtually on Friday, October 16th from 7:30AM – 11:30AM Central Time.  Hear from 4 CEOs (refer to graphic above and link below) on how they are successfully navigating their global businesses through the global pandemic, trade wars, trade tariffs and just about every other imaginable challenge in 2020. They will prove to you that if they can steer their businesses effectively during turbulent times, you can too! 

You will also hear from special guests Marc Schulman, President, Eli's Cheesecake and Richard Paullin, Executive Director, ITAGC. 

To learn more and to register, please visit:  http://globalsmallbusinessforum.com.  

Associated Bank (lead Gold sponsor), Multilingual Connections (Bronze sponsor) and Foley & Lardner (Host sponsor) are the proud sponsors of this event.

How About a Break to Have a Covid and Science Conversation with Nobel Laureate Jennifer Doudna?

©iStock/Gio_tto

A conversation with the U.C. Berkeley professor Jennifer Doudna who shared the Nobel Prize in chemistry with Emmanuelle Charpentier, now the director of the Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens in Berlin, for their work on Crispr-Cas9, a method to edit DNA.

Who would want to miss this?  She explains how the technology works and more.

Today in Global Small Business: Bridging the Gap on Economic Inequality

©iStock/Moussa81

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

• How Amazon Prime claims to help small businesses get to the million-dollar level.
• Hey global small business owners, it's okay to not to be okay in front of your employees.
• Quote of the week:  "Where you see wrong or inequality or injustice, speak out, because this is your country.  This is your democracy.  Make it.  Protect it.  Pass it on. – Thurgood Marshall
• Economic inequality is pervasive inside and outside of companies. Some CEOs, like Bank of America’s Brian Moynihan , have made efforts to bridge that gap. 
• Check out the top ten fastest growing searches – by global small business owners who feel these services will help them succeed in a more online first world – on a global scale over the previous six months according to Fiverr.
• All it takes is one good TikTok video to be discovered worldwide and achieve viral fame. 
• Happy Columbus Day 2020.

I'll Get You, My Pretty

©2020 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog too!" – The Wizard of Oz, #99 in the American Film Institute's list of the top 100 movie quotations in American cinema

Music for Global Brain Power

What's Your Brand's Global Shelf Life?

©iStock/Michall_Petrov-96

Whether you’re launching a new product or rebranding an existing one, marketers often spend months analyzing data, conducting interviews, and carrying out research to find the best name to set themselves apart from competitors.

No matter how thorough you may be, if your research is biased toward your home market, you’re likely to run into challenges when you expand internationally. 

What can marketers do to set a brand up for global success from the start?

Read on to find out.

How Did Wendy Shen Do it?

©2020 Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®  All rights reserved.

How did Wendy Shen do it – grow from a one-woman shop, to a Disney deal, to a running a global e-commerce powerhouse?  Find out when Wendy Shen, President and CEO, FLOMO/Nygala Corp. presents a wegginar® for Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global today, October 7th, at 11AM CT.  She'll also discuss the global pandemic:  a wakeup call on global supply chain management.

The program is free of charge thanks to wegg's sponsors: Associated Bank, FedEx, APCO Worldwide, Greensfelder, GlobalCare Clinical Trials and Union Pacific.

To learn more and to register, visit:  

https://womenentrepreneursgrowglobal.org/2020/09/16/the-global-pandemic-a-wakeup-call-on-global-supply-chain-management/ 

Online Marketplaces Adapt During the Global Pandemic

©iStock/Kwangmoozaa

E-commerce has never been more important than now.  As many brick and mortar stores close their doors, some permanently, e-commerce offers an opportunity to not just sustain a business but thrive in 2020.

The ecommerce opportunity is ripe, 45 per cent of online shoppers globally say they plan to spend more time shopping online after the pandemic is over. Online marketplace searches in particular, have increased by 46 percent year on year, with search data showing that 84 per cent more Australians are Googling marketplaces from January to July 2020.

Read more about how online marketplace have enjoyed success through their ability to adapt. 

Today in Global Small Business: USA President Trump Has Covid-19

©iStock/olya_steckel

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

• LIVE updates from The New York Times on President Trump's condition.
• How President Trump's diagnosis could affect markets.
• Quote of the week:  "On self-knowledge: "Unless a man is master of his soul, all other kinds of mastery amount to little." – Theodore Roosevelt
• Will President Trump's condition shape the race (requires subscription)?
• The US President is not well.
• Will President Trump be discharged from hospital on Monday, October 5, 2020?  Hard to believe.

Awaken Your Soul

©2020 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Until one has loved an animal [like Mellie] a part of one's soul remains unawakened." – Anatole France

Every Challenge Comes With Rainbows

“Life throws challenges and every challenge comes with rainbows and lights to conquer it.” ― Amit Ray, World Peace: The Voice of a Mountain Bird

Destinations for U.S. Exports Span the Globe

©iStock/Waldemarus

On a state by state basis, exports can be a significant source of revenue.  Further, the U.S. economy is far less dependent on trade than most countries. The total value of all U.S. exports accounted for just 11.7% of GDP in 2019 – a fraction of the 30.6% global average. 

Destinations for U.S. exports span the globe. The largest markets for American goods were Canada, Mexico, and China, as of 2018. However, due to the trade war between the U.S. and China, the total value of products shipped to China has likely declined considerably in recent months.

Read the entire article to learn the top selling products from each state in the United States.