Today in Global Small Business: The Ford Mustang Is Officially Global

©iStock/Hayes Photography

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

• Ford is exporting the pony car from the plant in Flat Rock, Michigan to markets around the world.
• Unearthing the importance of small business success in international trade.
• How to determine when it pays to outsource your production?
• Why international trade is a big deal for our economy.
• How to do business in the top two U.S. export markets - Canada and Mexico.
• Why most SMEs expect to go global in a big way.

Skate Your Troubles Away

©2015 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Style is that which indicates how the writer takes himself and what he is saying.  It is the mind skating circles around itself as it moves forward." - Robert Frost

Pictured:  The magnificent new Maggie Daley Park Skating Ribbon in Chicago.

Is Going Global a Goal For You in 2015?

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With 23 days into a new year, have you set going global as one of your top goals for your business?

Mark Murphy, author of Hard Goals: The Secret to Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be offers a great test to assess whether your goals are too tough or lame by asking the following five questions.  Think of each of these as it relates to taking your business global:

1. Totally within my comfort zone. (“I could do it with my eyes closed.”)
2. Pretty much within my comfort zone. (“My eyes are open, but I’m not excited.”)
3. A little outside my comfort zone. (“I’m feeling a twinge of nervousness.”)
4. Outside my comfort zone. (“I’m on pins and needles.”)
5. Way outside my comfort zone. (“I’m so anxiety-ridden that I can’t even respond.” )

As Shelly Levitt says in Are Your Goals Tough Enough?  Or Too Tough?, you should aim for No. 4, a goal that takes you into uncharted territory but doesn’t leave you feeling hopelessly lost.

Doesn't that sound like going global?  Go for it!

International Trade Plays a Key Role in Small Business Success

©iStock/Lee Yiu Tung

Why does trade matter for small businesses, entrepreneurs, and for our country?

While many think trade is the domain of big business, 98 percent of the 300,000 American companies that export are small and medium-sized businesses. These firms account for one-third of U.S. merchandise exports, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. The number of small and mid-sized companies that export has nearly tripled over the past two decades.

The fact of the matter is that international trade plays a key role in small business success.

Read the entire article:  The little-noticed role of trade in small business success. 

In 2015, Having a Strong International Presence Will Be Essential For Success

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According to Sissy DeMaria for The Miami Herald, to form an international network, you have to have skin in the game. You must spend time researching, traveling, interviewing companies, and getting to know people to ensure that their business culture and vision mirrors yours.

She also expects globalization will increasingly play an important role in the growth of small to midsize businesses.

Read the entire article:  The importance of globalization for local businesses in 2015

By 2016, the Richest 1% Will Own More Than 50% of the World's Wealth

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The the anti-poverty charity Oxfam said it would use its high-profile role at the World Economic Forum to demand urgent action to narrow the gap between rich and poor.

The charity’s research, published on Monday [1/19/15], shows that the share of the world’s wealth owned by the best-off 1% has increased from 44% in 2009 to 48% in 2014, while the least well-off 80% currently own just 5.5%

Oxfam says that on current trends "the richest 1% would own more than 50% of the world’s wealth by 2016."

Read the entire article:  New Oxfam report says half of global wealth held by the 1%

Today in Global Small Business: How to Nip Ethnocentrism in the Bud

©iStock/Ray Tango

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

• How to nip ethnocentrism in the bud.
• Find out why Facebook has become the global Yellow Pages of present day.
• Is small beautiful (remember where the concept came from)?
• How not to get lost in translation.
• Why the growing global wealth of the super-rich is an economic problem.
• Why Chinese executives and entrepreneurs more than ever are planning to take their business global in 2015.
• How Martin Luther King was ahead of his time on inequality.

Know What You Are Gonna Do Tomorrow, and The Next Day, and The Next Year ...

George Bailey: "I know what I'm gonna do tomorrow, and the next day, and the next year, and the year after that." - from It's a Wonderful Life

Photos courtesy:  ©2014 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

What Is a Micro-Multinational?

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According to The Globe and Mail, a micro-multinational is a small to medium-sized company that uses technology to do things like export and off-shore in a way that was once limited to large corporations.

Find out what a Canadian business owner did to turn his mindset and business from local to global and into a micro-multinational.

Read:  Entrepreneur turns side project into thriving micro-multinational

How to Make Money On Your Bike When You Are Not Using It

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You've heard of Airbnb, Uber and NeighborGoods.  Now say hello to global bike-sharing company called Spinlister.

Here's how it works:

In 90 seconds or less, anyone can list their bike on Spinlister.com through the app or website, set a rental price and select accessories to include with the rental.

Worldwide, Spinlister already has 15,000 people who use the site to rent bikes.

2015 a Breakout Year for Small Businesses

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The National Federation of Independent Business reported that optimism among small businesses in December reached its highest level in eight years.

Considerably more small business owners said now is a good time to expand, NFIB reported, with capital investments and hiring both on the rise. Some 60% reported capital outlays, with 42% reporting spending on new equipment, 23% acquiring new vehicles and 16% expanding or improving their facilities.

Let's hope 2015 is a breakout year for small businesses.

Read the entire article:  NFIB Reports Small Business Optimism Grows in December

Hungarians Want Successful Companies With Global Clout and the Ability to Speak English

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Hungary has some work ahead.  Only one in seven Hungarians speaks adequate English.  As a result, people having difficulties expressing themselves in English, which can be perceived as less capable than the self-confident communicators with a good command of English.

Here's what else the article below says:

This may all sound trivial but still, Hungary is one of the laggards in foreign language skills not just in Europe as a whole but in the Central and Eastern Europe region as well. The latest (2012) Eurobarometer survey showed that merely one in five Hungarians is able to have a conversation in English with 40% of those prepared for the most basic situations only. 

Read the entire article:  Only one in seven Hungarians speaks adequate English