In My Defense

©2026 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"In my defense, I was left unsupervised." – The phrase is a popular humorous idiom often used as a playful excuse for mischievous, impulsive, or chaotic behavior. 

Tariffs Have Caused Disdain For American Businesses

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Export trouble.  One year in, many wine producers say tariffs have not helped them, and some countries are rejecting U.S. wine altogether.

The resistance to American products overseas has been especially painful for wine producers who had significant export markets, like Kutch Wines, which makes small amounts of exquisite pinot noirs and chardonnays from the Sonoma Coast and the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Another California winemaker, Ridge Vineyards, a much bigger producer than Kutch, produces 28% of its sales through exports.

“Export has always been a big part of our business, and we’ve seen the effects,” he said. “The reaction was immediate and severe. Canada just stopped importing. It was our third-largest export market after the United Kingdom and Japan, and it just went away," says John Olney, Ridge's chief executive and head winemaker.

Since taking office last year, President Trump imposed tariffs on virtually all products imported into the United States. These tariffs have caused disdain for American businesses.

A Quiet Transformation in the American Economy: The Elderly

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There has never been a better time in America to be old. Yet it also exposes our disjointed national priorities. We keep pouring resources into making the elderly comfortable and happy when the economy’s pressure points lie elsewhere. 

According to Greg Ip for The Wall Street Journal, here's what else is happening on the quiet transformation in the American economy:

The elderly are mostly out of the job market and thus need not worry about being replaced by artificial intelligence. The majority own their homes, often debt-free. Everyone worries about health costs, but the elderly have publicly funded Medicare. None of this is true for young generations.

The elderly are a nation of optimists.  

If you are over 65, congratulations.  You own the economy. 

RIP Fellow Chicagoan Rev. Jesse Jackson

©iStock/fumiko Inoue

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, whose impassioned oratory and populist vision of a “rainbow coalition” of the poor and forgotten made him the nation’s most influential Black figure in the years between the civil rights crusades of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the election of Barack Obama, died on Tuesday (2/17/26) at his home in Chicago. He was 84.

Visa Supports: Cash Flow and Business Resilience With 'The Visa and Main' Launch

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Visa, a global payments network, is moving beyond card transactions into tools that support small business operations and access to funding. The "Visa & Main" launch and the US$100 million working capital facility with Lendistry focus on practical needs such as cash flow and business resilience, areas many founders cite as ongoing pressure points.

In addition, Visa has entered a milestone partnership with UnionPay International to extend Visa Direct reach into Chinese Mainland.

See how all this fits in with the Visa narrative.

Note:  The Global Small Business Blog has been in operation since 2004 and is ranked number one in the world for entrepreneurs and small businesses interested in going global.  As of February 1, 2026, we have more than 900,000 readers on a monthly basis.

Today in Global Small Business: Honoring Our Founding Fathers on Presidents' Day

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

• Officially called Washington's Birthday at the federal level, the meaning of Presidents' Day and why we celebrate has shifted over the years.
• Nominate someone who you think is a great global leader to earn the Gail Adinamis wegg® Award for Exemplary Global Leadership – deadline 2/20/26.
• Quote of the week:  "When one of us falters, we all falter. When one of us rises, we all rise.” – Barack Obama
• Here's what the national archives say about George Washington's Birthday.
• Wikipedia's interpretation of Presidents' Day.  
• How Americans mark the holiday, Presidents' Day.

Note:  The Global Small Business Blog has been in operation since 2004 and is ranked number one in the world for entrepreneurs and small businesses interested in going global.  As of February 1, 2026, we have more than 900,000 readers on a monthly basis.

Love Chicago

©2026 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"I love Chicago three out of four seasons a year." – Anonymous

[Happy Valentine's 💞 Day to all!]

Cultural Localization Is Vital to the Success of International Brands

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“Cultural localization is vital to the success of international brands because tapping into local expectations leads to more brand awareness,” explains Christopher D. Peace, PhD, assistant teaching professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business, who specializes in intercultural communication.

But it's more than that.

Companies that want to engage in international business expansion face an uphill battle. They need to apply cultural intelligence in business to preserve their brand’s authenticity while respectfully embracing local culture. Doing so requires a thoughtful global brand strategy that incorporates cross-cultural marketing and meaningful, ongoing local collaboration. 

To succeed, it’s essential to have a thoughtful strategy to avoid the missteps that can land a brand engaged in international business expansion in hot water.

Important Career Advice From Warren Buffett

©iStock/Thomas Faull

The billionaire investor Warren Buffett says the most “important” career advice he ever received – and later passed on to his own children – came from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s 1841 essay, “Self-Reliance.” The essay advises choosing work that fits your nature, not parental expectations or society’s approval.

Read his critical insights that were passed down through generations of his family. 

Nominate an Exceptional Woman Business Owner for the Gail Adinamis wegg® Award for Exemplary Global Leadership® 2026

©2026 Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®.  All rights reserved.

The Gail Adinamis wegg® Award for Exemplary Global Leadership® honors and celebrates Gail Adinamis, who has been crucial to the growth and success of Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®.

About the award

The annual award honors a wegg stakeholder who has gone out of her way to connect, create, contribute, and collaborate with wegg, and forge alliances that have proven helpful.  These are traits that define an exemplary global leader.

Successful entrepreneur Gail Adinamis was founder and CEO of GlobalCare Clinical Trials, LLC.  Established in 2010, GlobalCare Clinical Trials brings Phase I-IV clinical trials to patients, instead of the other way around.  Today, the company’s in-home and alternate-site nursing services can be found in more than 65 countries.  The company was acquired by LabCorp in July, 2020, further expanding it’s decentralized clinical trials capabilities globally.

True global leaders like Gail Adinamis and many others who will follow in her footsteps 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.

Past awardees can be found here.

Nominations are now open! Please submit your nomination by no later than February 20, 2026.  

World Champion Ilia Malinin Clinches GOLD for Team USA (Video)

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Watch the video here of world champion Ilia Malinin who clinches the gold for Team USA.

Today in Global Small Business: Our Prayers for Lindsey Vonn's Full Recovery

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

• Lindsey Vonn’s magnificent comeback is over, in the most devastating way possible.  We wish for her full recovery just as soon as humanly possible.  She dared greatly.
• Nominate someone who you think is a great global leader to earn the Gail Adinamis wegg® Award for Exemplary Global Leadership – deadline 2/20/26.
• Quote of the week:  "Follow your dreams. If you have a goal, and you want to achieve it, then work hard and do everything you can to get there, and one day it will come true." – Lindsey Vonn
• Sounds like a good time to read the book, Daring Greatly.
• Either she would write a winning story for the ages – Lindsey Vonn, one of the greatest of all time with nothing to prove, literally nothing, a ferocious competitor out there because she could, and should, be, vying for one more golden moment on her favorite hill, 41, no ACL in that left knee after a fall in Switzerland days before.  Or – she would crash out.
• Never give up.  Live updates from Milan Cortina 2026.

Note:  The Global Small Business Blog has been in operation since 2004 and is ranked number one in the world for entrepreneurs and small businesses interested in going global.  As of February 1, 2026, we have more than 900,000 readers on a monthly basis.