Tuesday, August 31, 2021

Ahava Zarembski Discusses How to Build a Manufacturing Company at 9/1/21 wegginar®

©Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®.  All rights reserved.
When you want to learn directly from a women business owner or entrepreneurs (think of it as experience sharing) on how to export, finance a global deal, find customers, create an ecommerce business or ship products, Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global® is the go-to-place to learn how to go global.

On September 1st at 11AM CT, Sun Bucket CEO Ahava Zarembski will present a wegginar® on, "Building a Manufacturing Company: Coordinating, Establishing Global Offices and the Learning Curve Between Them." 

Here's what you can expect to learn:

  • The ins and outs to building a manufacturing company
  • Coordinating a global team
  • Establishing global offices
  • Leading pro-active social change
  • Aligning business needs with social needs

Please feel free to join us [Laurel Delaney will be moderating the Q&A].  It's FREE thanks to our caring and generous sponsors (refer to graphic).

To learn more and to register, visit: https://bit.ly/3iqPtNY

Connect with you on 9/1!

Monday, August 30, 2021

Today in Global Small Business: The Hurricane Edition

©iStock/MikeMareen
What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners:
  • What are hurricanes?
  • What does it mean when a hurricane continues to 'rapidly intensify?'
  • What's in store for Hurricane Ida when it hits Louisiana?
  • Quote of the week:  “Through meteorology, we know essentially how hurricanes form, even though we can't say where the next storm will arise." – Eric Maskin
  • 2021 Atlantic Hurricane season fast facts.
  • The 10 most damaging hurricanes in U.S. history.
  • Prayers for Louisiana residents.

Saturday, August 28, 2021

Lives Are Like Rivers

©2021 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.
“Lives are like rivers:  Eventually they go where they must.  Not where we want them to.” – Richard Russo, author and screenwriter

Friday, August 27, 2021

Transforming the Way a Brand Communicates During a Global Pandemic and Afterwards

©iStock/Tashatuvango
With the upheaval the global pandemic has caused, not every brand has been able to adapt — especially in the way they communicate with their audiences.  And it’s not about making an old plan fit the new mold; it’s about truly transforming the way a brand communicates.

Some businesses perished, while small businesses emerged to cater to the needs of certain demographics under lockdown. 

Why is that?  Could it be that you have failed to adjust your company to a new culture that addresses how your target audience has evolved?

Read on to discover how to begin the digital transformation process in marketing and communications.

Thursday, August 26, 2021

Disruption in the Fashion Industry: Gray Market Digital Sales Emerge

©iStock/Grosescu Alberto Mihai
Want to be a player in the multibillion-dollar luxury “gray” market, a fast-growing sales sector that has historically operated out of sight of most Western consumers?  Think of is as a secretly discounted modern luxury digital market. 

Try these on for size:  Baltini (Italy), Italist (USA), FarFetch (London), and Cettire (Australia).

Gray market sales – or what used to be known as parallel importing – have been ending up in millions of digital shopping baskets. Read on to learn more.

The Fashion Law is a website exploring the legal and commercial challenges facing the gray market industry.

Tuesday, August 24, 2021

Shipping Companies Expect the Global Crunch to Continue

©iStock/chuyu
The shipping crisis is getting worse.  Here's what that means for holiday shopping.

More than 18 months into the pandemic, the disruption to global supply chains is getting worse, spurring shortages of consumer products and making it more expensive for companies to ship goods where they're needed.

Shipping companies expect the global crunch to continue. Unresolved snags, and the emergence of new problems including the Delta variant, mean shoppers are likely to face higher prices and fewer choices this holiday season.

Monday, August 23, 2021

Today in Global Small Business: Starting Global and Why It's Important Post Brexit

©iStock/lluzishan
What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners:
  • When it comes to growing and expanding a business or startup internationally, there are essentials to take care of and mistakes to avoid that you should know about.
  • Starting global: why international business presence is the key to post Brexit success.
  • An estimated 4.7 million fewer girls are expected to be born globally in the next 10 years because of sex-selective practices in countries with a cultural preference for male offspring, a trend that could undermine social cohesion in the long term, research recently showed
  • Quote of the week:  “Maintaining confidence in international trade will be critical to the broader economic recovery in the post-Covid world." – Liz Truss
  • The instant collapse of Afghanistan represents a major change in the global balance of power, threatening America and the major democracies.
  • Rethinking the economy – new approaches to economic challenges.

Saturday, August 21, 2021

Happiness Is Like a Butterfly

©2021 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.
“Happiness is like a butterfly, the more you chase it, the more it will evade you, but if you notice the other things around you, it will gently come and sit on your shoulder.” – Henry David Thoreau

Friday, August 20, 2021

Delivering On Your Promises in the Global Marketplace

©iStock/fizkes
Delivering on your promises is doing what you say you are going to do when you say you are going to do it.  Every time you follow through on a commitment, small or large, you build trust.  And if you go above and beyond, you make an even stronger impression. 

So, if you say you are going to email prices to your customer by tomorrow, try for today. If you say you are going to air-ship sample products within a week, ship within a week—or sooner.

Give your customer the ultimate experience:  Over-deliver and be realistic about what you can or can’t do for them.

By Laurel J. Delaney for The Balance.

Thursday, August 19, 2021

There Is No Escape to Globalization

©iStock/Halfpoint
Both the ongoing COVID-19 and accelerating climate change are manifestations of globalization and the reality of a world increasingly defined by the vast and fast cross-border flows of just about everything, from goods, services, and capital to data, terrorists, and disease.

There is no escape from globalization; the only question is whether and how we choose to manage it.

Wednesday, August 18, 2021

What the Big Guys and Gals Are Reading

©iStock/Anastasia Gubinskaya
It’s perhaps unsurprising that—among the 100-plus books shared by more than 40 leaders and personalities with McKinsey Global Publishing’s Raju Narisetti—the most robust categories are fiction, history, and politics.

The one they are missing is this.  But read on.

Tuesday, August 17, 2021

The Delta Variant Is Rippling Across Companies Worldwide

©iStock/Lazy_Bear
Still unclear: whether the Delta variant of Covid-19 will be a momentary stumble in an improving global economy—one that businesses and consumers are now better equipped to handle—or something more serious.

What is clear:  the Delta variant is leaving its mark on global business (subscription might be required).

Monday, August 16, 2021

Today in Global Small Business: How the Pandemic Will Be Over One Day – But the Way There Is Different Now

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

Saturday, August 14, 2021

How to Park a Bike

©2021 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.
"An intellectual is a man who doesn't know how to park a bike." – Spiro T. Agnew

Thursday, August 12, 2021

South African Women Entrepreneurs Persist Despite Daunting Challenges

©iStock/jacoblund
A recent study conducted by Lionesses of Africa reveals how South African women entrepreneurs persist despite daunting challenges due to the global pandemic. The research found that women entrepreneurs responding to the survey lead enterprises while managing family responsibilities with 76% having children in their home.

The pandemic affected female employers to the extent that Covid-19 negatively affected their revenues by 82%.

Despite this, South Africa’s women entrepreneurs expressed optimism about their revenue outlook for the remainder of 2021, with 76% of respondents expecting to increase their revenues.

Read more how female entrepreneurs are weathering the COVID-19 storm.

Wednesday, August 11, 2021

Being and Staying Relevant in Africa

©iStock/Ben1183
South African-based North West University Business School is performing a careful balancing act with its international growth. The school has created a niche for itself in SA business education. Now it has its sights set on the rest of Africa, and beyond.

“We will carry the cost in order to get our footprint out there,” he [director Jan van Romburgh] says. “We will test the market for acceptance and ask people what they would like us to offer. We are very serious about being relevant in Africa.”

Read more about North West University Business School's aim at a wide global reach.

Tuesday, August 10, 2021

Global Climate Change is Accelerating and Becoming Deadly: Let's Stop Burning Fossil Fuels

©iStock/Halfpoint
Global climate change is accelerating and human-caused emissions of greenhouse gases are the overwhelming cause, according to a landmark report released by the United Nations. There is still time to avoid catastrophic warming this century, but only if countries around the world stop burning fossil fuels as quickly as possible, the authors warn.

The effects of that warming are obvious and deadly around the world. 

Heat waves, droughts and floods are killing people and disrupting lives around the world this summer. Wildfires are burning with unprecedented frequency and intensity, including in places that used to rarely burn. Smoke and smog are choking people in cities and towns from Asia to the Arctic. Ocean heat waves are threatening entire ecosystems and supercharging hurricanes and typhoons.

Read the article here.  Access the landmark report by the United Nations here.  Banks funding fossil fuels.

Monday, August 09, 2021

Today in Global Small Business: 8 Tips for Building Brand Awareness Around the World

©iStock/chris-mueller
What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners:
  • 8 tips for building brand awareness around the world (by Laurel J. Delaney).
  • Global ecommerce tools for small businesses market 2021 and forecast 2029.
  • The global small electric vehicles market survey was conducted to better understand the competitive environment.
  • Quote of the week:  “Focus on building the best possible business. If you are great, people will notice and opportunities will appear.”  – Mark Cuban 
  • Password management is a particular challenge for crypto investors who must store their keys somewhere they can retrieve them.  For that there is Singapore-based Torus which specializes in “cryptographic key management.“
  • There's an explosion of pet care companies starting up due to the global pandemic.  Fuzzy, a newcomer, is poised to empower and educate pet parents to enrich and extend their pet’s lives. They're working to change pet care from episodic to everyday, to evolve pet care from the vet clinic to anywhere and to change pet care from reactive to proactive.

Saturday, August 07, 2021

How Do You Fly?

©2021 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.
"It's impossible to explain creativity.  It's like asking a bird, 'How do you fly?'  You just do. – Eric Jerome Dickey

Friday, August 06, 2021

Apple eCommerce Store Redesign Plus Other New Software

©iStock/ViewApart
The Apple Store has been redesigned and the company restored the dedicated Store tab in its navigation bar.

The new Store web page, which includes a carousel of product categories and quick links for shopping with specialists or locating nearby Apple stores, mirrors the iPad and iPhone version of the Apple Store app.  What's noticeably different is that Apple has brought back the company's iconic products with big photos against white backgrounds. 
Apple has redesigned its product category pages using a card-based look on some product lines, including Mac, iPad, iPhone and Apple Watch. Apple is also calling out the so-called “Apple difference,” an initiative that focuses on customizing products before you buy them, gift wrapping and personal online sessions to learn more about the device.

Finally, Apple will launch new software later this year that will analyze photos stored in a user’s iCloud Photos account for sexually explicit images of children and then report instances to relevant authorities.  

Wednesday, August 04, 2021

How Marriott Deals With an Uneven Post-Pandemic Revival

©iStock/tranglap
Marriott, the world’s largest hotel company by rooms, is staggering the rollout of its 'Power of Travel' global marketing campaign for its Bonvoy loyalty program in Asia-Pacific because the world is dealing with an uneven recovery from the global pandemic

While the campaign has been launched in some markets, where the recovery is more evident, its rollout could be delayed to September or beyond in other markets across the region.

Is the Marriott global campaign perfectly timed - for the United States, Europe and Asia-Pacific?  Find out here

Tuesday, August 03, 2021

Export With Confidence, a wegginar® 8/4/21 That Will Turn You Into an Exporting Pro

©2021 Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global.  All rights reserved.
Are you nervous about making the jump into exporting? Worried about getting paid on overseas deals?  Clueless about what resources are available to help you get started in exporting?  We've got you covered!

Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global® and the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) invite you to join their free wegginar®:  Exporting Uncertainty to Confidence: Featuring Hayes Manufacturing.

Here's what to expect: 
  • Hear from Penny Challender, President of Hayes Manufacturing, on how they went from hesitant exporter to exporting pro.
  • Ensure you get paid on your products and services with Export Credit Insurance (no more sleepless nights!)
  • Access Pre-Export Working Capital for Your Goods
Learn more and register (remember, it's FREE thanks to all of of wegg's generous sponsors; refer to graphic).

Monday, August 02, 2021

Today in Global Small Business: Pandemic Will End When the World Chooses to End It

©iStock/JJ Gouin
What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners: