Never, Ever Retreat From Globalization

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Eswar Prasad, a professor of trade policy at Cornell University’s Dyson School and the author of, most recently, The Future of Money, pens an essay for Foreign Policy on how the world will regret its retreat from globalization.

As countries retreat from globalization and begin to look increasingly inward, there could be wide-ranging implications for both economic and geopolitical stability. Just as with the surge in globalization, however, the consequences of this pullback are proving to be unevenly distributed, with low- and middle-income countries bearing the brunt. 

Catch Prasad's essay here.

Alibaba Restructures

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The Jack Ma-founded conglomerate, which includes Alibaba, said on Tuesday, March 28, 2023 it was planning to split into six units and explore fundraisings or listings for most of them, marking the biggest restructuring in its 24-year history.

This might be a signal that Beijing’s regulatory crackdown on corporates is ending, propelling the conglomerate's shares higher and boosting investor confidence in prospects for Chinese tech firms.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act

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The proposed legislation or legal framework brought forward by the European Union (EU), the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act, focuses primarily on strengthening rules around data quality, transparency, human oversight and accountability. 

It also aims to address ethical questions and implementation challenges in various sectors ranging from healthcare and education to finance and energy.

Read:  The European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act, explained

Waste-Free Mascara by Paige DeAngelo Gets Global Attention

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Because she couldn’t find a mascara product that fit the bill for quality or safety, Paige DeAngelo created her own.  And now that mascara — and her waste-free mascara story — just might be taking her around the world.

In early May, the Drexel senior will be one of 18 young people worldwide to compete in the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA) virtual semifinals. If she makes it through, DeAngelo and her Aer Cosmetics will represent the United States as one of only six contestants in the final international competition in South Africa. 

Read on to learn how Paige is part of a growing business breed: global social entrepreneurs.

Today in Global Small Business: Loaf Like You Mean It

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

• Leading UK sofa, beds and furniture brand Loaf has launched a major new advertising campaign, positioning loafing as a desirable pursuit, and encouraging people to really take their loafing seriously. 
• Mindshare, driving good global growth for clients.
• The future of ecommerce:  How a product becomes a purchase.
• Quote of the week: "Loafing is easy but "leisure" is difficult." – Peter Drucker
• The impact of ChatGPT on your job.
• Are you a climate "doomer?"

Chicago: Auditioning For the World

©2023 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Chicago is constantly auditioning for the world, determined that one day, on the streets of Barcelona, in Berlin's cabarets, in the coffee shops of Istanbul, people will know and love us in our multidimensional glory, dream of us the way they dream of San Francisco and New York." – Mary Schmich, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist

Globalization Is Working Better

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Globalization has rallied and is even working better but a new report also acknowledges that threats to globalization are real, with today’s “turbulent environment” of geopolitical tensions and other crises not being beneficial to business and policy-making. 

Taking a Family Business to a New Level

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Two siblings took their decades-old family farm business and pulled off a digital transformation.

The story of Perfect Plants Nursery shows how even a decades-old, family-owned business in a historically wholesale niche can pull off a digital transformation and scale quickly. 

Discover how they became a fast-growth e-commerce success story. 

Supply Chain Costs to Normalize in 2023

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Last year, footwear brand Skechers's margins were clipped by high supply chain costs, despite its attempt to raise prices. 

This year Skechers expects supply chain costs to normalize as shipping prices come down, developments that will ease margin pressure and propel the brand to its goal of $10 billion in annual sales by 2026, the company’s CFO John Vandemore said at the UBS Consumer and Retail Conference on Wednesday.

“You saw 40-foot-high cube container rates go from an average of about $3,000 to $25,000. So for an average pair of shoes that took the landed embedded freight cost from something between 25 and 50 cents to $2 and $2.50,” he [Vandemore] said. “Last year quite frankly wasn’t my proudest year from a gross margin perspective, but I do believe you know a lot of those exogenous factors are beginning to abate which should lead to improvement later on.”

Read more here.

Make Your Image Tell the Truth About You Worldwide (TEDxReno)

Today in Global Small Business: Remote Work Is Here to Stay

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

• Take your global remote workforce from policy to practice.
• What's the magic number for working in-office weekly?
• The global talent pool is open for business.
• Quote of the week: "People are more productive working at home than people would have expected. Some people thought that everything was just going to fall apart, and it hasn’t." – Mark Zuckerberg 
• Oh really.  The king of Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, says engineers who joined Meta in-person perform better than those who joined remotely.  Check out his above quote. 
• What are the global workplace trends in 2023?

Keep Breathing

©2023 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"I've got to keep breathing. It'll be my worst business mistake if I don't." – Steve Martin

Happy St. Patrick's Day From Chicago!

True Global Leadership: The Gail Adinamis wegg® Award for Exemplary Global Leadership®

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

True global leaders are defined not only by their worldly knowledge and connections, nor by the global opportunities they seize, but by how they contribute to the improvement and growth of others.

Find out who the wegg® winner (awardee) is when wegg announces on Wednesday, March 22, 2023 at 10 AM CT.  The celebration – The Gail Adinamis wegg® Award for Exemplary Global Leadership® – is free of charge and we welcome your participation.  Register here.  

Globalization Is a Fact

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"Globalization is a fact, not a policy," says Condoleezza Rice.

With growing concerns that globalization is in retreat amid rising geopolitical tensions, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told an audience of policymakers, business leaders, and academics at the 2023 SIEPR Economic Summit that there’s no turning back on the interdependence of world economies.

Globalization is facing headwinds Rice said. The strongest, she said, are coming from China where government leaders have failed to meet international expectations of liberalizing the country’s economy.

Read on for her remarks.

Go Broad, Go Deep, and Go Global

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As countries around the world move forward with strategies to become “crypto hubs,” over the next eight weeks Coinbase is set to accelerate operationalizing its “Go Broad, Go Deep” international strategy in globally recognized markets across six continents.

We state it as:  Go Broad, Go Deep, and Go Global 

Today in Global Small Business: Keep the Bicycle Moving Because Trade Is Still Contributing to Recovery and Growth

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

• No doubt it’s a tough time for global trade, battered by supply chain issues and geopolitical concerns. But there’s a useful metaphor to help navigate our way through these challenges: Keep the bicycle moving.
• Expand into foreign markets and increase e-commerce sales.
• Is English the true language of startups?
• Quote of the week: "You have chosen the wrong path if it's not fun. And you are probably not taking enough risk if it's not hard and rocky sometimes" – Marc Russell Benioff
• The importance of cross-cultural communication in global business.
• Discover why creativity is a big driver to global business success.

Seeing What Is Invisible to Others

©2023 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others." – Jonathan Swift

Intentionality Is Important For Artists and Collectors In Going Global

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Intentionality with artists and collectors they align with is key, and expanding their global presence (whether opening international gallery locations or increasing global exhibitions) is critical—as is obtaining career-changing museum acquisitions for their rostered artists, and continuing to champion Black and POC artists.

Read more:  Black Women Gallerists on Growth and Going Global

The Day After: International Women's Day 2023

©Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®  All rights reserved.

After everyone did their part yesterday showing support for International Women's Day and turned the lights out with satisfaction at midnight 3/8/23 for their effort, this organization keeps cranking on behalf of women because every day is International Women's Day for Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®.

Join wegg® on their next two programs:  wegginar® and The Gail Adinamis wegg® Award for Global Exemplary Leadership®.

wegg's lights are always on.  Offering a bright path forward for women yearning to take their business global.

The World Is Your Market For Talent

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Those who want to stay on the bleeding edge need to look for ways to capitalize on (rather than minimize) the remote work experience. One of these ways is by expanding beyond traditional talent pools and recruiting from across the world.

Here are a few reasons why there has never been a better time to build a global workforce.

Direct Impact by FedEX on Small Businesses

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FedEx supports thousands of SMEs and millions of jobs around the globe through its direct and indirect employment and through its extended supply chain—88% of FedEx suppliers are SMEs, collectively employing 810,000 people.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the foundation of the global economy, representing about 90% of all business and employing half of the world’s workforce, according to the World Bank. FedEx is committed to helping these vital companies succeed and grow.

Read the Global Economic Impact Report 2022 – Measuring the FedEx Effect

Today in Global Small Business: 6 Global Business Trends to Watch in 2023

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

• According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, here are 6 global business trends to watch in 2023.  Also watch Laurel Delaney's Global Trade Trends Report 2023.
• Watch out Shopify.  Here comes Global-e Online.
• FX:  Thinking outside the dollar.
• Quote of the week:  "Trends, like horses, are easier to ride in the direction they are going." – John Naisbitt
• Try this on Friday – to make your weekend sing.
• Building resilience in a poly crisis world.

Bright Ideas Closer Together

©2023 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Everyone is a genius at least once a year. The real geniuses simply have their bright ideas closer together." – Georg C. Lichtenberg

The Way of the Future Is Through AI

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First there was ChatGPT, then DALL-E 2 and Midjourney, and now Blue Mail.  Artificial Intelligence (AI) is coming into our world fast.  If you are not familiar with any of these, check them out.

AI technology will become the way of the future soon – sparking creativity and expanding the range of what's possible.

Americans Know the Best Way to Learn About Wine Is To Drink It

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"The United States confirmed its role as the driving force behind French wine and spirits exports," the Federation of French Wine and Spirits Exporters Chairman Cesar Giron told Reuters.  

French wine and spirit exports rose 11% last year to hit a new record, mainly boosted by a rise in prices, and the trend should last this year as Chinese consumers return to restaurants and resume travel, industry group FEVS said.

Exports to the United States, France's largest market for wine and spirits, jumped 14% last year to 4.7 billion euros and now accounted for over a fourth of total exports in value.

Americans know the best way to learn about wine is to drink it.

I'll drink to that.  Cheers.

Get Out of Your Own Backyard: Explore a New Market

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There are a plethora of resources right at your fingertips for taking a business global.  Why not explore a few of them?

1. Market diversification tool
2. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) tariff tool
3. Customs Info Tariff Database
4. Foreign Retaliatory Tariffs
5. Global Market Finder (Census)

Take a deep breath.  One step at a time.  

Start with the Market diversification tool which can help you identify potential new export markets using your current trade patterns; enter the products you export and the markets you currently export to, and the tool uses an algorithm with data from 11 indicators to score and rank potential markets.  Cool.

And then work your way through the rest of the resources.  Knock 'em down.  You'll be global in no time at all.