Compete More Effectively and Succeed in the Global Marketplace

©2019 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

What is your commitment to customers? Does everybody in the company understand this commitment inside and out? Do you provide exemplary service? Friendly service? Accessible service? The service goal of online retailer Zappos is “Delivering happiness.” Define yours and carry through on it every step of the way.

Ours is:

"Everything we do is to help our customers compete more effectively and win in their marketplace.”

The customer service mentality should permeate your entire organization.  Here's how to go about it.

The Strategy of Expanding Across Borders With a Nice Little Disney Ad First (Video)

Today in Global Small Business: Let's Build a Global Currency for the Internet!

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

• Now is our chance to build a global currency for the Internet.  That's according to Jack Dorsey.
• Quote of the week: “It doesn't make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do.  We hire smart people so they can tell us what to do." – Steve Jobs
• How new legislation in Latin America benefits U.S. entrepreneurs.
• Barriers female business owners encounter when trying to grow their sales beyond Canada’s borders - a new study is being worked on.
• It's time for global businesses to accept local responsibility.
• Is America losing its small businesses?

Chicago Impresses

©2019 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"I'm impressed with the people from Chicago.  Hollywood is hype.  New York is talk.  Chicago is work." – Michael Douglas

The $50 Billion International Company That Know One Knows About

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Ingram Micro, an international company with roughly $50 billion in annual revenue, works primarily in the hardware distribution business. It buys devices from OEMs and provides them to its “value-added reseller” clients, who sell them to the end users.

Technology distributor Ingram Micro has established itself in asset disposition in recent years. Now, it is rolling out a program to grow by leveraging its subcontractor companies.

Learn more about how Ingram Micro's partnership model helps the firm expand ITAD (IT asset disposition) globally.

How to Balance Times Zones and Leverage Your Digital Savviness to Communicate More Effectively No Matter Your Location

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Tackling the challenges of working overseas is no cakewalk.  Digital news editor for the Wall Street Journal, Josée Rose says:

While the positives outweigh the negatives, living overseas when working for a U.S.-based company comes with obstacles, especially when working for a 24/7 organization in a nonstop news cycle.

After two years as a digital news editor at WSJ in London, Josée shares her tips for balancing time zones, advocating for yourself when you’re not in the room where it happens, and leveraging your digital savviness to communicate more effectively (no matter your location).

How to Understand the Economic World Around You (Podcast)

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Marketplace is a podcast hosted by Kai Ryssdal, which is about providing context on the economic news of the day.  Through stories, conversations and newsworthy numbers, Marketplace helps listeners understand the economic world around them.

According to Wikipedia, Marketplace is the third-most-listened-to radio program in the US by weekly listeners (14.8 M).

Tune in.

Eight Elements of an Effective Export Compliance Program (Video)

Today in Global Small Business: Discover the Design of Japanese Toilets

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

• Global regulators say tougher bank rules do not curb small business lending.
• Quote of the week: “Let us find out what is desperately needed, although people may not know it, let us find out what will beautify the world, although people may not know it, then let's learn and learn and teach ourselves and support each other in doing that until we lose ourselves in those tasks." – 20th century inventor Edwin Land
• On Instagram @toilets_a_go_go, Hidefumi Nakamura documents the astounding breadth of public-toilet design in Japan.  International travel exposes you to different cultures yet even doing your routine daily activities can broaden your horizons :-).
• Global finance leaders meeting in Japan recently said they were increasingly worried that the trade dispute between the United States and China, which shows no signs of abating, could propel the world economy into a crisis.
• The retailer Ulta Beauty will be going international in order to "establish Ulta Beauty as a successful global brand," CEO Mary Dillon said in a statement. The first step of that process is launching operations in Canada, according to Dillon.
• President Donald Trump dangled the prospect of renewing his tariff threat against Mexico if the U.S. ally doesn't cooperate on border issues, while some of his Democratic challengers for the White House said the last-minute deal to avert trade penalties was overblown.

Radio Gives Birth to Chicago

©2019 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"TV gives everyone an image, but [WBBM Chicago] radio gives birth to a million images in a million brains."

Market Power Drives Harder Bargains. Can SMEs Compete Globally?

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Is there a widening difference between the profitability of small businesses and large?  Some say there is and blame globalization. Milton Ezrati, contributor for Forbes thinks otherwise:  "The winner-take-all character of global trade seems to get the blame for just about anything unfair or inequitable these days. But it would be a mistake to reach for this easy answer."  He goes on to say ...

Rather than drag out the perennial whipping boy of globalization, a better explanation might well lie with questions of market power. All may have access to the same suppliers, but larger firms, such as Walmart and Amazon, can drive harder bargains on price and delivery terms than smaller or mid-sized firms.

Is America losing its small businesses?  Read more.

Evolve Your Business to What Is Relevant in the Global Marketplace

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Small business aren’t easy to launch or maintain, and they take commitment and positive thinking to stay successful. Here are some surprising warning signs your small business could be headed for disaster, along with solutions for how you can ward off trouble.

And as Shanna Goodman for Thrive Global says, "A successful small business always need to evolve with what’s relevant in the [global] marketplace."

Discover the 9 signs your business is headed for disaster and what you can do to turn things around.