Radio Obsession

©2017 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"I'm obsessed with radio.  It's a good start to Sunday morning." -- R.L. Stine

Be Local. Sell Global.

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Hassle-free exporting is on the way thanks to the Amazon Marketplace.  Amazon claims they can help get you on the world stage.

The Amazon Academy took place last month at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) in Edinburgh with the goal of helping small business owners navigate the world of ecommerce and exports.  If you couldn’t make the event itself, below is a round-up of some of the key points highlighted during the event.

Thanks to the internet and technology, Katie McQuaid, Director of Amazon Marketplace UK believes we can now be local and sell global.

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Internet Giants Are Transforming Trade

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While the Internet giants such as eBay, Amazon and Alibaba are transforming trade, global small businesses are doing their best at making it work too.  But the biggest barrier to a large-scale increase in SME cross-border trade is lack of finance.

E-commerce platforms are shrinking the world. Research by eBay estimates that whereas a 10% increase in distance between two trading partners reduced conventional trade by 18%, this number reduces to only 3% over the eBay marketplace. 

The question that begs to be asked is:  What are banks doing to review their own SME and trade finance models to make more funds available for international trade.  This will help SMEs transform their global trade activities too.

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How to Sustain Global Business Success

Finding a Spark to Identify Solutions for Contemporary Problems

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More and more universities are promoting global entrepreneurship.  According to Katia Passerini, Ph.D., Dean, College of Professional Studies at St. John's University, an innovation and entrepreneurial movement is taking place around the world and is building environments that encourage new, forward-thinking approaches.

“By connecting with students from different parts of the world, my hope is that they find that spark to identify solutions for contemporary problems,” said Dr. Monteiro [Basilio Monteiro, Ph.D., Associate Professor of International Communication at St. John's University]. “The future of business is in small enterprises, and entrepreneurs are the ones who are best prepared to respond to the needs of the marketplace, and particularly promote effective sustainable development goals.”

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Today In Global Small Business: How Can We Better Support Global Female Entrepreneurs?

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

• Amazon buys Whole Foods for more than $13 billion.  Forget groceries.  It's now about more important things.
• Which country accounts for 40 percent of global ecommerce transactions?
• How to finance export sales (WEGGinar™on 7/12 - no charge).
• The entrepreneurship bug is spreading in Canada.
• How can we better support global female entrepreneurs? And then there is WEGG.
• Do you have a global mindset?  And then there are other characteristics that lead to overseas success.

Save the World

©2017 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"I can save today, you can save the world." -- Steve, from the Wonder Woman movie (2017)

Canadian SMEs Get Help From Their Government on Exports

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How do Canadian SMEs boost their exports?  They turn to Export Development Canada (EDC), Canada's export credit agency, offering trade finance, export credit insurance, bonding services, and foreign market assistance.

Here's a look at some of the expertise offered by EDC:

• Country Risk Quarterly
• ExportWise
• Canada Tariff Finder
• Export and Business Plans
• Competitive Strategies
• Knowledge Center
• Country Information
• Compliance in International Trade ...

and there's more, visit:  Export Development Center (EDC)

7 Steps to Take a Business Global

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Career advice expert Margaret Francis talks about how to transform a local business into a global brand that has the potential to impact billions of lives across the globe.  She focuses on seven (7) key steps to take a business global:

1. Get ready and be prepared.
2. Be focused.
3. Use technology.
4. Find reliable partners.
5. Educate yourself about other cultures.
6. Start slow.
7. Utilize trade shows.
8. Oh, there's one more:  Read a good book.

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The Global Courtship of Female Entrepreneurs and Business Owners

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Facebook is catching up to Women Entrepreneurs GROW Global's (WEGG's) mission of wanting to help women entrepreneurs and small business owners achieve a more global reach.  Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook COO, says "People are worried about technology, worried about change, worried about globalization, and that worry is really centered on jobs and opportunity for themselves and their children."

The article cites:

Now in the U.S., women make up 40% of new entrepreneurs, the highest percentage since 1996, according to the Kauffman Index of Startup Activity. And across 51 economies, rates of women’s entrepreneurship increased 10% from 2015 to 2016, compared to 5% for men, according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor survey.  “As we give more people access to tools, we help use the full talent of the population and we give women a voice,” Sandberg said.

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New Growth Engine: Exports

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Aiming for global markets from the beginning and investing aggressively in research and development are key to the overseas success of small and medium-sized enterprises.  Korean-based Dr. Jart+ is living proof.

Known for its cosmetics products packaged in containers that look more like medicine than makeup.  Doesn't matter.  It worked.  The products have been featured in Vogue and InStyle, sold in Sephora, and in 2015, it became the first Korean cosmetics brand to receive equity investment from Estee Lauder.  Dr.Jart is now available in 15 countries across Asia, the Middle East, Europe and North America.

Wait.  There's more.

According to the analysis [a report released by the Korea International Trade Association], the biggest booster for SMEs going abroad was tackling foreign markets from its early stage of business just as Dr. Jart+ had. “While the globalization of local companies used to be based off a strong domestic business, born-global companies tackle markets at home and abroad at the same time,” the report said. 

It is essential for a company and a country to find a new growth engine:  exports.

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Today in Global Small Business: Why Global Technology Companies Are Setting Up Shop in Miami

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

• How to finance export sales (WEGGinar™on 7/12 - no charge).
• Most small businesses think policy changes will have a positive effect on their businesses.
• Eighty percent of small businesses have not automated their processes.
• How people have found their lives transformed since 2008.
• Britain has added another anxiety-provoking variable to our global economy.
• Why global technology companies are choosing Miami as their U.S. base.