Operating Across Borders

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Find out what happened when an Italian retail company wanted to send an employee to the U.S. to oversee the rollout of new locations in the New Jersey region.  Think it was hassle-free?

Read:  Going Global:  International clients create a growing niche

Today in Global Small Business: Capital for Globalizing Firms

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

• Ten years from now, 75 percent of Americans will have Internet access as fast as ...
• How to profit from China's super consumers.
• How to steer a global buyer to a payment site from a tweet.
• Why West Coast ports are no longer the Gateway to America.
• Do your homework if you want to succeed overseas.
• Start up loans for companies and capital for globalizing firms.

Snowwoman in Chicago

©2015 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

Don't ask me how I know it's a snowwoman as opposed to a snowman. She just is.  I took this photograph at Delaware and Michigan Avenue, Chicago.  Somebody was in a creative mood.  Thank goodness!

Watch for Disruption in the Global Accounting Software Space

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Who hasn't heard of American software company Intuit?  They've been around since 1983 doing a great job providing easy and convenient accounting solutions to businesses of all sizes.  Now comes the disruptive part and enough that Intuit better not ignore.  It's clear that Intuit CEO Brad Smith is already on it with his recent article "Intuit's CEO on Building a Design-Driven Company," in the January/February 2015 - Harvard Business Review.

Now there's New Zealand-based software company Xero that develops 'beautiful' cloud-based accounting software for small and medium-sized businesses. The company has offices in New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

And there's accounting software company The Sage Group who just recently announced a global agreement with Salesforce.com that goes like this:

Sage has agreed to start using the Salesforce Customer Success Platform. Implementing the cloud based CRM system shows that Sage want to get close to Salesforce and get some kind of symbiotic partnership with the cloud giant. - Source:  The Sage Group Plc announces global agreement with Salesforce

Watch all these companies for future global competitive activity.  Bring it on as they say for each wants to play in every country!

Take Your Business Global With a Good Trade Finance Strategy (Video)

The Intuit Quickbook Interview: Why Small Businesses Are Poised To Expand Big Time Overseas

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Below I discuss seven questions with Suzanne Kearns for Intuit Quickbooks:

1. How much in U.S. goods gets exported each year, and has that figure increased in recent years?
2. Are there indicators that show when a small business is ready for global trade?
3. How should business owners determine which markets to expand in?
4. What are some things business owners can do to attract foreign buyers to their website?
5. How should business owners handle foreign currency transactions?
6. What should small business owners know about shipping products overseas?
7. Where can business owners learn about customs duties and foreign taxes?

Read the interview: Can Your Small Business Expand to a Global Market?

What Challenges Do Importers Face?

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What is the one thing that will throw everything off on an import? Mistakes!  In this article, I talk about seven other critical issues affecting importers today and what you can do to avoid them.

Read:  8 Big Import Compliance Challenges

Today in Global Small Business: And the Award Goes To ...

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

• How to thank people at your business as if they are winning an Academy Award.
• What is the real impact of great power and influence in our world?
• How the CEO of Entertainment One Ltd. built a global entertainment giant.
• Read the list of 50+ global issues that makers can solve.
• How to prevent surprises through your ecommerce site.
• How to bring your business into the digital age.

Chicago Modern Skyscraper: The Aon Center

©2015 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

The Aon Center is a modern skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois (third tallest building in IL) and designed by architect firms Edward Durell Stone and The Perkins and Will partnership.  It was completed in 1974 as the Standard Oil Building.  There's talk about new owners ...

How to Eliminate the Surprise Factor Via Global Ecommerce

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If you design your ecommerce site in such a way that your customer comes first, business should flow through nicely no matter what part of the world your customer resides.  But the way to really build a seamless and enjoyable online buying experience is to pay attention to a couple of other important details.  Here they are.

5 Ways to Prevent Surprises in Global Ecommerce

Michele Ferrero, The Man Who Brought Nutella to the World, Dies

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Tic Tac mints.  Ferrero Rocher chocolates.  Nutella spread.  All these delicious confectionery products are produced by Ferrero SpA, a $30 billion company, and brought to life by Michele Ferrero, who died at the age of 89.

He was a family man and had a great, global vision for his firm (well ahead of his time):

It was Michele Ferrero’s vision to expand internationally. In the 1950s, he opened production plants and offices in Europe. He expanded to the rest of the world starting in the 1970s. All the while the company shunned acquisitions, breaking into foreign markets by introducing products catering to local tastes.

Ferrero is the world’s fourth-biggest chocolate confectionery company, with 8% of the global chocolate market. No. 3 Nestlé has 12%, according to consumer research group Euromonitor’s data from 2013.

Read the obituary:  Italian Chocolatier Found Success with Nutella

And what a sweet ending ... he passed away on Valentine's Day.

Borders Are Blurring and the World Is Getting Smaller

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With the world getting smaller and borders blurring, this presents new opportunities for retailers to reach potential customers.

How is the future of global e-commerce going to develop?