Susie Quesada Presents a wegginar® on Creating a Company Culture That Inspires Global Growth

©2023 Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®.  All rights reserved.

Have you wondered how to grow and learn as a leader?  How to engage teams to give (and get) best results?  Or, how to access a new market before you enter it?

Then you should sign up for our next wegginar® Wednesday, March 1st at 11 AM Central Time.  Susie Quesada, 3rd generation owner and President of Ramar Foods International, will discuss all of the above centered around "Creating a Company Culture That Inspires Global Growth."

As the #1 Trusted Filipino Food Company, Ramar Foods manufactures authentic high quality tropical ice cream, lumpia and sausages that brings the Flavor of the Philippines to supermarkets and restaurants.

Yum.  You won't want to miss this!  To learn more and to register (free of charge thanks to sponsors noted in the graphic), visit:  wegg®.

Today in Global Small Business: A Global Fashion Brand Pairs Sustainability and Growth

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

• A global fashion brand pairs sustainability and growth.
• Steve Jobs said your overall happiness in life really comes down to asking 4 simple questions.
• How a global hospitality brand is making it personal.
• Quote of the week: “Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life.” ― Steve Jobs
• Companies that change the game can change the world.
• 5 tips to become a social global entrepreneur.

It's Never Too Late to Say

©2023 Laurel J, Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"It's never too late to say I love you." – Laurel J. Delaney

5 Reasons Why You Should Study Global Business

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Because global business is such a multifaceted field that’s often studded with high-risk, high-reward opportunities, it can be intimidating to dive in. 

Here’s a look at what global business is, five ways studying it can help you as an organizational leader, and how to kick off your education.

Growing Global Is Inevitable For Prosperous Companies

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Businesses frequently consider expanding “nationally” over time, that is, within their current nation. Many companies will consider international expansion at some point. This is the point at which an expansion turns into a “global” or “international” expansion, even if it is just into a neighboring nation such as Canada or Mexico for USA-based companies.

Although it takes guts to grow your business internationally, most businesses are forced to do so because local growth maxes out and there are greater opportunities elsewhere. 

Internationalization comes with expenses and risks, but with careful planning and a well-thought-out export strategy, overseas markets offer fantastic growth prospects.

Learn why growing global is inevitable for prosperous companies.

Mariah Carey's Black Irish Cream Liqueur Products Go Global

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Legendary songstress Mariah Carey is expanding her Black Irish Cream Liqueur products to both South America and the Caribbean by the spring of this year.  Previously only available in the U.S., it will be the brand’s first glimpse into international distribution.

“I am ecstatic to extend the reach of my cream-liqueur Black Irish to South America and the Caribbean,” said Carey in an official press statement. “My fans there have supported and given so much to me, so of course I wanted to create an opportunity for them to enjoy this delicious liqueur!”

Read more about Ms. Carey's foray into international markets with her products.

Grow From Hard-Earned Lessons

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Even though the four leaders referenced in the article below are from different sectors, there are a variety of similarities in what they’ve gone through over the past two years. They were all tasked with more responsibility and accountability than ever before, and yet they all saw opportunities to grow from those hard-earned lessons.  

When communities and business come together, everyone comes out stronger.  

Read the entire article by Jim Proppe, Managing Partner, Plante Moran.

Today in Global Small Business: Prioritize Profits in 2023

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

• Four (4) low-cost e-commerce growth strategies for 2023, one being prioritize profits.
• Apparel's devastating impact on the climate.
• Get found by international customers – some tips.
• Quote of the week: “Ninety-nine percent of failures come from people who make excuses.” ― George Washington
• Overseas demand continues to affect cargo, exports at Chinese ports.
• Discover a thing or two about importing and exporting (Laurel Delaney's work).
• Enjoy USA's President Day – learn something on how it came about.

Anyone Who Gives You a Cinnamon Roll

©2023 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

Anyone who gives you a cinnamon roll fresh out of the oven is a friend for life.” ― Lemony Snicket, When Did You See Her Last?

Standing Out Globally in the Sea of Swimwear

©iStock/Dmytro Bulanskyi

It's all about size.  Having a wide range of sizes can really be a huge point of difference for a swimwear company.  But to the point of this post, when Natasha Oakley and her best friend, Devin Brugman, created their blog, A Bikini a Day, in 2012, they had no idea their passion project would eventually turn into a multimillion-dollar global brand. 

The site, which expanded to feature fitness, travel and lifestyle content, was, at its core, a platform to celebrate curves and the diversity of women’s bodies. Oakley and Burgman’s ability to cater to that gap in the swimwear market, however, was the catalyst for the duo to launch Monday Swimwear in 2014.

Natasha and Devin are actively growing and expanding Monday Swimwear.  The brand plans to expand into international markets, as well as launch retail locations.

Stay Away From Bribes in International or Any Business

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In 2021, Deutsche Bank agreed to pay $130 million largely to settle allegations that it violated laws against bribery by using middlemen and hiding its payments to them as part of a global effort to win business.

Let me repeat the key part of what they did wrong:  They violated laws against bribery by using middlemen and hiding its payments to them as part of a global effort to win business.

Read on to learn more – about what a bribe is, about the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), how to stay clear of trouble and what you should do if you are part of a bribe.

Do You Temu?

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Did you miss the Super Bowl 2023 commercial – "Shop Like a Billionaire" – by the U.S. shopping app owned by Chinese e-commerce giant PDD Holdings Inc.?

Spending big money like Temu did shows how serious they are about penetrating the U.S. e-commerce market.

The commercial's jingle has a woman saying, “The prices blow my mind. I feel so rich. I feel like a billionaire. I’m shopping like a billionaire.'"

Pricing cheap?  You better believe it.  I did a search on 'purses'.  Here's what popped up.  Pricing averages anywhere from $2.98 – $17.99.  Yes, you can feel like a cheap billionaire or billionaire on the cheap.      

See some ratings on Temu here.  And then look closely at what Wikipedia has to say.  Do you Temu? (Nice tagline, eh?)

The Birth of Globalization. You'll Find It In New Orleans

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New Orleans, the city that was once the world’s gateway to America is betting it can win in a new and different era of global integration.

A critical gateway between the Mississippi River and global oceans, New Orleans has been an entry and exit point for the United States since before the Louisiana Purchase. The city is now betting that position will continue — and even deepen — as the world enters a new era of global integration.

Consider it the birth of globalization.  At least in New Orleans.  The gateway to the world.

Today in Global Small Business: How to Make Your Global Small Business More Sustainable

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

• How to make your global small business more sustainable.
• According to Reuters, shoppers globally are expected to pay even more for branded food items in the coming year as packaged goods production expenses remain high.
• Nearly half of small business owners (47%) say the economy is in a recession already, with an almost equal percentage (48%) describing the economy as “poor.” That’s according to the CNBC|SurveyMonkey Small Business Survey for the first quarter of 2023.
• Quote of the week: "Sustainability has to be a way of life to be a way of business." – Anand Mahindra
• Silicon Valley tech giants in the years leading up to the pandemic collected gleaming office campuses around the world as trophies for what appeared to be boundless growth. Those days of blockbuster real estate expansions appear to be over for now, however, as job cuts and profitability concerns have companies pulling back on investments.
• Here are a few tips to help your business prepare for an international expansion.

Falling In Love

©Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"You can't blame gravity for falling in love." – Albert Einstein

Slowbalization After Global Financial Crisis

©iStock/Anna Shalygina

Globalization has seen ebbs and flows over the decades. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the “Slowbalization” that followed the global financial crisis has been characterized by a prolonged slowdown in the pace of trade reform, and weakening political support for open trade amid rising geopolitical tensions.

As the Chart of the Week shows in this link, globalization plateaued in the decade and a half since the global financial crisis. This latest era is often referred to as “slowbalization.”

Scrollable Short-Video Formats Are on the Rise

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It was only a matter of time before e-commerce companies got on board with the scrollable short-video format like TikTok's.

Now, Amazon launched its own version of this feature, unveiling the new Inspire feed on its mobile Amazon Shopping App. While the company shies away from comparing the new feature to TikTok, the format is familiar.

Oh no one wants to claim that they are riding off someone else's idea and basically trying to improve on it.  No one.

Read on – From Amazon to tech startups, e-commerce takes on the TikTok-style feed.

Getting Paid Quickly Matters to Global Small Businesses

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Global financial infrastructure platform Stripe and global small business platform Xero recently announced the expansion of their partnership to help small businesses worldwide get paid faster. 

Stripe and Xero are working together to build a far deeper integration of Stripe Connect into Xero’s small business platform that will enable greater convenience for customers and automate accounting for transactions.

Getting paid quickly matters.

Xena Workwear Founder and CEO Ana Kraft Talks About Building a Global Brand Beyond Shrink It and Pink It (wegginar® 2/8/23)

©2023 Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global.  All rights reserved.

"Be safe, be you, be a badass." – Ana Kraft

Hello all women badasses (and entrepreneurs).  We invite you to join Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global's next wegginar® Wednesday, February 8, 2023 at 11:00 AM Central Time to hear from badass founder and CEO of Xena Workwear, Ana Kraft. She'll talk about "Building a Global Brand Beyond 'Shrink It and Pink It'." 

Ana's company engineers stylish safety shoes and functional apparel for women in STEM and the Trades. This new category of workwear helps professional women be safe and feel confident in any work environment. 

Transitioning between the office, to the manufacturing floor or construction site has never been so easy.

Ana holds a degree in International Project Engineering from Reutlingen University in Germany and currently resides in Detroit, Michigan. The causes that drive her include sustainable development, education and maximizing opportunities for women.

Ana will cover:

• Building a global brand
• Fundraising
• Scaling
• Working with a distributor
• Shipping
• Packaging
• Collecting payments
• Ecommerce
• Challenges/successes
• + more ...

To learn more and to register, visit, Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®.  wegginar is free of charge thanks to badass (super cool) sponsors Bluedog Design, Associated Bank, FedEx, Global Care Clinical Trials and 1706 Advisors.

I'll [Laurel Delaney] see you there!  

Today in Global Small Business: Global Small Businesses Are the Heartbeat of America

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

• SBA Administrator Guzman in Anaheim recently – showing pride for global small businesses in Anaheim, CA.
• Black-owned brands eye ‘unicorn’ success with McKinsey’s Next 1B.
• Scientists at the University of Padova in Italy have proven that by using a completely non-invasive brain-machine interface technology, those who are fully paralyzed can drive a wheelchair simply by using their minds and a cap that decodes their brain waves.
• Quote of the week:  "A big business starts small.” – Richard Branson
• Three strategies to avoid or curb burnout the world over.
• The number of small businesses in the U.S. reached 33.2 million in 2022, according to the Small Business Administration. That's up from 32.5 million in 2021, 31.7 million in 2020 and 30.7 million in 2019. Many are looking for ways to manage their business in a single location.

Celebrate Your Life

©2023 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate." – Oprah Winfrey

Indian Companies Eyeing Global Expansion

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Small and medium businesses in India have now set their sights on global expansion, with many first-generation entrepreneurs successfully building their companies and looking to grow overseas.

After completing his master’s degree in 1999, 48-year-old Saket Gaurav started working at a Russian company for a while before he moved to Dubai to join another firm. 

Hailing from Patna, Bihar, Saket had no plans to be an entrepreneur. However, the 2007-08 financial crisis forced the company in the Middle East to shut shop.   Saket, who calls himself an ‘accidental entrepreneur’, was left with two options—looking for a new job or building his own company. 

Find out what Saket did and meet some of the other Indian companies eyeing global expansion.

How Jeff Bezos Got Rich When He Understood This

Did You Know? Website Globalization Review Gap Analysis

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The Website Globalization Review (WGR) Gap Analysis service provides technical and strategic assessment of a business’s ecommerce sales channel efforts. This is a SEO diagnostic service designed to help you acquire more international consumers online and is available to CS clients as part of digital strategy counseling with a CS Trade Specialist.

Curious to learn more?  Explore here.