Kauffman Foundation: Supporting Small Businesses and Naming a New VP of Entrepreneurship

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To combat the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation recently committed $2.8 million in aid to support small businesses, entrepreneurs, grantees and educational institutions in the Kansas City region.  In addition, they added a new member to its executive team after a nationwide search.

The foundation named Philip Gaskin its vice president of entrepreneurship.  Gaskin, who joined the Kauffman Foundation in 2016, most recently was senior director of entrepreneurship.

Global Transformation Looms Ahead

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As The Nation says, "the novel coronavirus will not, of course, constitute the sole cause of the global transformations looming ahead. Powerful trends that were already underway will be amplified and preexisting fault lines will be further extenuated."

But if the worldwide developments now being seen are any indication, we can expect, among other things, an accelerated retreat from globalization (and its concomitant, American global leadership), along with the hastened emergence of semi-autonomous regional blocs—one consisting of China and its client states, another centered on Europe, and a third linking North and South America. Transnational institutions that span the continents—think, for example, of the World Health Organization—will atrophy or perish.

Read more ... from globalization to regionalization.

From Our Safe Home to Yours: wegginar® 4/8/20 with AnaOno Founder Dana Donofree

"Forget about work-life balance—focus on doing work you love.  Get out there and hustle [now more online!]. Listen to others, then trust your gut. If I’d listened to people who questioned why women needed comfortable, beautiful bras after surgery, I never would have launched AnaOno," says AnaOno founder Dana Donofree.

Diagnosed with breast cancer at 27, Dana Donofree founded AnaOno out of her own desire for sexy, beautiful lingerie. After a bilateral mastectomy with implant reconstruction, her bras no longer fit and she was certain there must be more than just sports bras and camisoles, as nothing in the traditional lingerie market fit her surgically-altered body anymore. 

Hence AnaOno was born.

Join us on Wednesday, April 8th at 11AM CT when Dana talks straight with us about what it takes to start, launch and grow a successful global e-commerce business.

To learn more and to register (program is free of charge thanks to wegg's generous sponsors:  refer to sponsor listings on graphic), visit:
https://womenentrepreneursgrowglobal.org/2020/03/12/bras-without-bordersdana-donofree-founder-anaonoapril-8-2020/

Today in Global Small Business: How to Stay Happy During Troubling Times

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

• The novel coronavirus can be stopped but only with harsh steps, experts say.
• Thousands of applicants, zero loans.  Let's hope this changes soon for global SMEs.
• Quote of the week: “Through each crisis in my life, with acceptance and hope, in a single defining moment, I finally gained the courage to do things differently." – Sharon E. Rainey
• Do not count on a fast global economy bounce back.
• Why the global recession could last a long time.
• Tips for how to stay happy during troubling times.

My Optimism Wears Heavy Boots

©2020 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"My optimism wears heavy boots and is loud." – Henry Rollins

Times Are Far From Normal When You Are Parenting in the Global Pandemic

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With COVID-19, parents across the world have a new challenge and it's not just the global pandemic, it's grappling with how best to balance being empathetic with their children during a crisis with disciplining for bad behavior.

As one parent says:

"We’re all stressed out," she [parent] said. "We all have the right to express frustration. It'll be unfair to behave as if nothing has changed."

Parenting in the pandemic is challenging.  Find out why (in case you are not feeling it).

Global Small Business Owners Are Feeling the Pain

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The bills are now coming due for big companies and millions of laid-off workers. Decisions made in the next few days will shape how coronavirus impacts the economy.

“Rent is due. Utilities are due. Credit card bills are due April 1,” said Hadley Douglas, who has laid off two workers from her liquor business, The Urban Grape. “The deadline is looming large and it is petrifying.” She said her landlord turned down a request to temporarily pay half the rent but said to keep in touch as it was focusing first on smaller, harder hit businesses.

The questions for small business owners become:  Which obligations do they pay and which can they put off? How many employees can they afford to keep on the payroll? Can they get a break on rent?

Read on about America's make or break week.

Migo Is Closing the Gap in Digital Financial Services

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Globally, over two billion adults lack access to credit. Migo’s innovative business model is seizing the opportunity to close a gap in the digital financial services industry and reach a large, underserved customer base.

And here's some good news:  Endeavor, a mission-driven, global organization leading the high-impact entrepreneurship movement has welcomed a new entrepreneur, Ekechi Nwokah, founder and CEO of Migo, into its global network.

Read more about how the CEO Of Migo has been selected as an Endeavor entrepreneur.

Getting Creative in Face of Global Upheaval

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Through the support of Jewish National Fund-USA (JNF-USA), Israeli artisans and small business owners are sharing their stories and offering unique artisanal products via a new platform called Online Mitzvah Marketplace: Shop Israeli Goods. The initiative will help Israeli businesses operate outside of their traditional business model that relies on foot traffic from tourists.

This effort is the result of small businesses in Israel's north and south who face unprecedented economic hardship, local proprietors have come together to create a U.S. focused online marketplace.

Learn more here and visit then visit Online Mitzvah Marketplace: Shop Israeli Goods.

Today in Global Small Business: Staying Apart to Stay Healthy

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

• Visit The World Bank website to see what they are doing to treat – sustain economies and protect jobs – during the COVID-19 outbreak.
• Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg are working together to fund research for COVID-19 treatments as the pandemic continues to spread.
• Quote of the week relating to the COVID-19 outbreak: “It’s very tough to say to people, ‘Hey keep going to restaurants, go buy new houses, ignore that pile of bodies over in the corner, we want you to keep spending because there’s some politician that thinks GDP growth is what counts,’” Gates said. “It’s hard to tell people during an epidemic … that they should go about things knowing their activity is spreading this disease." – Bill Gates
• New OECD outlook on the global economy.
• A national defining moment – what historians will say about COVID-19.
• Staying apart to stay healthy during the COVID-19 crisis.

Calm Mind

©2020 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Calm mind brings inner strength and self-confidence, so that's very important for good health." – Dalai Lama

EXIM Bank Takes the Lead and Offers Maximum Financial Flexibility to Facilitate USA Exports

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The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) board of directors recently underscored its strong support for new initiatives to inject liquidity into the market and give maximum financing flexibility to facilitate sales of U.S. goods and services abroad.

They agreed to support:

• Bridge Financing Program
• Pre-Delivery/Pre-Export Financing Program
• Supply Chain Financing Guarantee Program; and
• Working Capital Guarantee Program

More detail on each initiative can be found here with links to fact sheets with additional information.

Just in by trade finance expert Ursula Wegrzynowicz, "Those exporters who started applications, but did not complete, should complete those processes asap."