Breathtakingly Beautiful Views of the Chicago Skyline

©2019 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

360 CHICAGO observation deck, located 1000 feet above the famed Magnificent Mile in the iconic John Hancock Building, offers breathtaking 360 degrees views of the city skyline and Lake Michigan.  Plan your visit.

Questions to Ask Before You Global

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Oh it is so nice to see our friend and colleague Dr. Jana Matthews, ANZ Chair in Business Growth, Professor, and Director of the Australian Centre for Business Growth at the University of South Australia’s Business School talking about questions you need to ask before you go global.

She says:

While there are many benefits to taking a company global, there are also many pitfalls. Answering these questions should help identify whether you have the people, processes and systems in place to successfully “go global."

Read the entire article to learn whether your product will be relevant in a different market, what pitfalls you are likely to experience, how much cash you will need to ensure success.

And for more on going global, visit the best of the best here.

Embrace a Digital Strategy to Thrive Locally

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As much as this blog is about thriving globally, Chris Porteous has a different take on marketing for a small business. He says, "The first key to success when it comes to local business marketing is finding or creating your local niche and then exploiting it for all it's worth. Countless corporate empires have been spawned by clever CEOs who had an idea which succeeded locally, then regionally, then nationally, before spreading all over the globe."

Read more about how to transform your business with local marketing.

College of DuPage: Become a Digital Rock Star on 2/19/19

©2019 College of DuPage.  All rights reserved.
Used with permission.

If you are in the neighborhood, please join us at the College of DuPage for an engaging, educational and fun time learning from Laurel Delaney on how to become a digital rock star on Tuesday, February 19 at 1:00 p.m. Central time.  For more information, contact Bev Carlson.

Where to Turn for Global Trade Help

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I [Laurel Delaney] have prepared a list of 15 places to look for help in taking a business global.  Check it out here.

Today in Global Small Business: Embrace Free Trade

©2019 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

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

• To beat Trump, former chairman and president of Exim Bank USA Fred Hoch says "embrace free trade."
• Are the United States and China heading for a new Cold War?
• Quote of the week:  “Differentiate yourself! Why are you different? What's important about you? Why does the customer need you?” – Sara Blakely, founder and CEO of Spanx
• Brits are already feeling the impact of Brexit -- and it hasn't even happened yet.
• Global horse racing calendar for 2019.
• Uruguay's attempts to enter the global cannabis market fall flat as marijuana shortages abound.

Get Back to the Polish Style

©2019 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

Chicago-based White Eagle offers Eastern European and American comfort foods in an old-school carpeted space with booths, tables and a nice little bar.  The delicious Polish food, especially the desserts, is worth a visit.

Are Global Trade Deals Really About Trade?

Smaller Can Be Better When it Comes to Business and Personal Happiness

iStock/AlexStar

The allure of building a BIG business can seduce even the most grounded person.

In spite of this, Paul Jarvis [a designer and writer who deliberately kept his business small over the span of two decades because of the personal freedom it gives him] wants to change the narrative with his new book, Company of One. He challenges the belief that bigger is better and offers a smarter, smaller solution that replaces the hustle with happiness — while still being highly profitable as a business.

Jarvis goes on to provide five pointers:

1. Embrace the “company of one” mindset.
2. Value what’s important to you.
3. Choose how you prefer to engage with your audience.
4. Teach everything you know.
5. Know the difference between more and enough.

Read more about how one entrepreneur built a big career by staying small .

Once a Small Business with Only Five Employees and Now a Global Behemoth

©iStock/bkkm

It's hard to imagine that Generac Power Systems was once a small business with only five employees, especially when you drive past its sprawling, newly remodeled corporate headquarters off Genesee and Hillside roads southwest of Waukesha, Wisconsin.

Today the company employs 5,600 — 3,800 at plants in Jefferson, Eagle, Whitewater, Berlin and Oshkosh, and its headquarters in Waukesha.  The rest of its employees can be found in plants in Mexico, Brazil, Poland, Italy, Germany, India and China.

Read more about how Generac Power Systems went from small business to global player.

There is Money in Global Podcasting

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Podcasting may be a relatively small industry in the U.S, but if anyone had to guess, Spotify has bigger ambitions than that.

Spotify is in advanced talks to acquire Gimlet Media, the Brooklyn-based narrative podcast company, for more than $200 million in cash, according to Recode.

The U.S. podcasting industry brought in $314 million in ad revenue in 2017. Yet the global picture is much different.

Read more: no, podcasting is not a small business.

Oh, and check out the ultimate guide to the best business podcasts here.  They forgot one:  The Worldly Marketer.

Today in Global Small Business: Taking a Personal Care Company Global (weggchat™)

©2019 Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global™.  All rights reserved.

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

• Join Jacqueline Smith, CEO, Kiesque on her weggchat™where she will discuss how to take a personal care product global.  It's free and all you need is a Twitter account.  Go here to find out why you should join the chat and how to do it.
• Quote of the week:  “One of the only ways to get out of a tight box is to invent your way out.” – Jeff Bezos, founder, chairman, CEO and president of Amazon
• Lessons from McDonald's global trademark battles.
• Learn about Populous, a P2P (peer-to-peer) invoice discounting platform. It is a global invoice trading platform built on Blockchain’s distributed ledger technology.
• Colorado cannabis companies eye the global marketplace.
• Familiarize yourself with Bitcoin Magazine.