Going Global: Best Practices For Reaching Key Stakeholders with Pamela Passman, APCO New York

©2021 Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®.  All rights reserved.

How do you identify, align and prioritize the most critical issues—including business, regulatory and reputational opportunities and threats at your business?  How do you identify and prioritize the stakeholders, decision makers and influencers that have the power to affect those issues, and therefore influence your operations and growth?  And how do you develop and execute strategies to monitor, engage and manage priority stakeholders?  

Big, deep questions that we all wrestle with and Pamela Passman, Managing Director, APCO New York will be addressing these and more at her wegginar® tomorrow, December 1, 2021 at 11AM CT, "Going Global:  Best Practices For Reaching Key Stakeholders."

Bring your notepad, thoughts, and an open mind to this engaging and informative wegginar.  The event is free of charge thanks to wegg's generous sponsors (refer to graphic above).  

To learn more and to register, visit:  https://womenentrepreneursgrowglobal.org/2021/11/03/going-global-best-practices-for-reaching-key-stakeholders-with-pamela-passman/

Today in Global Small Business: Workers Tell It Like It Is on the Global Supply Chain Crisis

©iStock/welcomia

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

• Workers telling it like it is on the global supply chain crisis.  Worth of a read and an appreciation of what these folks are handling.
• So very sad to see that Chicago-based hair-care firm founder Chris-Tia Donaldson died November 13, 2021.  She was a fireball of talent.  Our condolences to her family on this heartbreaking time.
• Small Business Saturday keeps small businesses afloat.
• Quote of the week: "Companies “will have a new focus on resilience. That means having more options. Multishoring and higher inventories are two likely outcomes.” – Michael Zimmerman, partner at A.T. Kearney, as quoted in the WSJ
• Global supply chain woes impact small businesses.
• The top ten (10) nations enjoying the fastest growth in small businesses and why it matters.  Spoiler alert:  USA No. 2.

Radically Transform the World

©2022 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

“You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world.  And you have to do it all the time." – Angela Davis

Oh Those Black Friday Deals

©iStock/Vladyslava Yakovenko

The USA Today folks have rounded up the best of the best Black Friday 2021 deals here.  Check back often—they'll be adding new deals and updating their list with the latest sales and savings through Cyber Monday. Happy shopping!  And of course anything you buy they might very well receive a commission :-).

Grateful to Our Global Small Business Blog Readers: Thank you For Your Engagement and Happy Thanksgiving

©iStock/Irisimages

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend." – Melody Beattie

Buy It On the Spot

©iStock/AvigatorPhotographer

At first glance, you wouldn’t know the impact the global supply chain crisis has had on global small businesses.  They are facing delays and high supply chain costs. They’re going up, a lot, and invoices are coming with surprises.

Take a look at some of the experiences small businesses are sharing.  Their best advice to consumers?  "If you really want something, buy it on the spot."

Can't Stop Talking About It: Global Supply Chain Woes

©iStock/Trifonov_Evgeniy

Global small business owners and chief executive officers of big companies can’t stop talking about supply chain, and for good reason — logistical challenges are threatening the very existence of some smaller companies that just got past the worst effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The soaring price of ocean freight has put pressure on most shippers of cargo, but especially on the smaller players that don’t have the cash on hand or scale to combat rapidly rising costs, counter delays or avoid transportation snafus.

Trouble lies ahead.  Make or break time for many.

Today in Global Small Business: Holiday eCommerce Strategies

©iStock/insta_photos

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

• Utah small businesses suffer as global supply chain breaks down.
• Interesting twist:  Why shop local? ‘The work of local artists is not sitting on cargo ships.’
• Prep for the holidays with a few good ecommerce strategies.
• Quote of the week: "Remember, every ‘mistake’ your customer makes, it’s not because they’re stupid. It’s because your website sucks.” – Peep Laja, Founder of ConversionXL
• Have yourself some holiday email marketing trend examples.
• U.S. holiday retail sales outlook seems to bring good tidings according to this article.

Togetherness and Gratitude

©2021 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Thanksgiving is a time of togetherness and gratitude." – Nigel Hamilton

Music to Soothe Your Global Soul

Episode #9: How She Went Global® Podcast from Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®

©2021 Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®.  All rights reserved.

Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global® released Episode #9 of its How She Went Global® (HSWG) podcast featuring Angie Yu, founder and president, Twin Rivers Fisheries.  This month's theme:  Exporting Is Just a Fishnet Away. 

©2021 Angie Yu.

Angie discusses her business of catching, selling and distributing carp globally; how she used SBA and Exim Bank to fuel her business growth; and where she sees the future of carp as an industry.

HSWG podcast is powered by Bluedog with support from Associated Bank.

About HSWG

Successful women entrepreneurs and business owners share stories about going global, and offer new ways to take on the world, stay inspired and have fun! 

You can find HSWG on Apple Podcast, Spotify and Podomatic. Tune in and subscribe.  

Are U.S. Global Small Businesses Slowest to Adopt Better Technology?

©iStock/ipopba

According to Xero, simple changes in habits and process could prove more effective than costly educational campaigns in helping small businesses take advantage of digital technology’s benefits.

The One step study surveyed more than 4,200 small business owners in six countries (Australia, New Zealand, the UK, the US, Canada, and Singapore). Carried out in partnership with behavioural science consultancy, Decision Design, the report found that small businesses which readily adopt new technology enjoy on average 120 percent higher revenue. 

Read on to discover the true risks and rewards of technology adoption, allowing small business leaders to overcome confusion and uncertainty to make more rational decisions about the different options they may face.

Everyday Is Global Entrepreneurship Day For Us!

iStock/wildpixel

At Global Entrepreneurship Week – 180 countries. 40,000 activities – the goal is to remove barriers and welcome all.  Their focus this year for the week is:  November 8-14, 2021.

Everyday is global entrepreneurship day for us.  But to celebrate with GEW2021, we offer all of our work:

• Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global, https://womenentrepreneursgrowglobal.org
• How She Went Global® podcast, https://womenentrepreneursgrowglobal.org/programs/how-she-went-global/
• Exporting Guide, http://exportingguide.com
• The Balance, Import & Export Business, https://www.thebalancesmb.com/import-export-4161447
• wegginar®, https://womenentrepreneursgrowglobal.org/2021/10/06/bringing-fun-hawaii-rooted-footwear-to-the-world-with-kiani-wong/
• Global Small Business Forum, https://globalsmallbusinessforum.com

Tune in, learn and grow global together!  Happy GEW2021!  See our event for wegg® here.

Today in Global Small Business: The Family Experience Store Called Camp

©iStock/josefkubes

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

• E-commerce site Camp calls itself a “family experience store” that uses AI to answer the question, “What should we do today?”
• Three tactics to build on the momentum of Global Entrepreneurship Week.
• Global small businesses are getting hammered from the global supply chain problems.
• Quote of the week: "When e-commerce companies build scale, cost comes down. Companies that can handle scale and reduce costs over time will win. Margins will come from reducing costs over time and not by increasing prices. Technology is the answer at large scale." – Sachin Bansal
• Hive helps teams move faster.
• Create builds companies from scratch.  

The Leaves Grow Old

©2021 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"How beautiful the leaves grow old.  How full of light and color are their last days." – John Burroughs

Bringing Global Small Businesses, Including Global Women Entrepreneurs, Into the Digital Economy

©iStock/anyaberkut

Mastercard’s Digital Doors curriculum helps businesses get online and stay protected, ensuring they have the right tools to maximize their digital presence and integrate e-commerce seamlessly, including the free Small Business Digital Readiness Diagnostic. 

Most recently, Mastercard committed $25 million to help more than five million micro and SMBs digitize through the Strive initiative.

Learn more how supporting small business owners is a continued priority for Mastercard, which pledged to bring 50 million small businesses and 25 million women entrepreneurs into the digital economy by 2025.

Not Many Are Left Unscathed From Global Supply Chain Snags, Especially Global Small Businesses

©iStock/Stock photo and footage

With much of the world’s supply chain still tied in knots due to lingering effects from the global pandemic, many small business owners are finding they can’t buy the products and supplies they need, period. For smaller retailers in particular, many of which rely on the holiday season for the bulk of their sales, months of worry could result in a bleak November and December.

According to the U.S. Census, last month 45 percent of all small businesses reported some level of supplier delays, a steady increase from just under 40 percent of what they had reported earlier this summer. Such disruptions are widespread, including almost two-thirds of manufacturers and more than half of companies in the food service and hospitality sectors. 

Not many are left unscathed from global supply chain snags, especially global small businesses.

How to Give Feedback When the Stakes Are High

©iStock/wwwebmeister

How do you think through and deliver a meaningful feedback message when the stakes are high or the message is hard?

The first thing you can do to improve the feedback you give is simply to prepare for the conversation. Ideally, preparation does two things: 

1. It helps you not respond in a reflexive or reactive way.
2. It helps you focus the content of your message on behavior.

Read on to learn how effective leaders give feedback.

Women Aged 50+ Who Are Shattering Age and Gender Norms Across USA

©iStock/Szepy

Produced in partnership with Morning Joe cohost Mika Brzezinski and her Know Your Value initiative, the 50 Over 50 is a collection of women who reject the conventional wisdom that their best years are behind them. They’re leading a movement.

The 50 Over 50 is a list dedicated to highlighting women over the age of 50 who are shattering age and gender norms across all sectors of the American economy and culture.

The women are all wielding their influence in politics and social entrepreneurship, STEM and the arts, finance and beyond.  But now, it’s time – as we know through this blog – to go even bigger. It’s time to go global.

Learn more here.  When you read the inspiring stories, see if they ring a bell for you.  Nominate yourself or someone else you know. There are some specific nomination guides.  Be sure to review carefully.

Today in Global Small Business: An Embodied Internet

©iStock/Thinkhubstudio

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

• Facebook plans to rebrand as a metaverse company, one that the CEO envisions as an embodied Internet.
• How to help Africans prove their identify online.  Smile Identity has the answer.
• Swiss startup Tide Ocean Material is working with a global network of fishers to upcycle ocean-bound plastic.
• Quote of the week: "Getting information off the Internet is like taking a drink from a fire hydrant." – Mitch Kapor
• Wonder Brands raised $20M to build a portfolio of e-commerce brands that operate in the Mercado Libre and Amazon ecosystems.
• Dubai, The Bahamas, Sweden, and Nigeria have all launched their own digital currency, called “central bank digital currency” (CBDC). Now, 81 countries are exploring doing the same.

What Is Your Potential to Contribute to An Industry?

©2021 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"It's not about charisma and personality, it's about results and products and those very bedrock things that are why people at Apple and outside of Apple are getting more excited about the company and what Apple stands for and what its potential is to contribute to the industry." – Steve Jobs 

First Move on Climate Action By Businesses

©iStock/studio-fi

The World Economic Forum and US Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry launched the First Movers Coalition to take climate action.

Let's face it, our planet is in peril.

Rising temperatures and harsh weather patterns—once risks that were on the horizon—have arrived. Tragic flooding in Europe and Asia this summer, intense storms rolling across the Americas this fall, and record heatwaves in the Arctic this year all tell the same story: climate change is unfolding in real-time.

These are dark developments that need to be treated.  Read on to see what is next to create a sustainable future.

Pandemic Global Small-Business Boom

©iStock/ipopba

The global pandemic has disrupted businesses around the world in vastly different ways, but particularly small and medium-sized businesses (SMB), which make up more than 90% of the total worldwide.  Many businesses closed their doors temporarily and others for good, while some saw unprecedented growth.

What's striking has been the innovation born from this worldwide disruption, as a host of new digitally native businesses were created to meet evolving needs, new market opportunities and a global shift to remote-work environments, which has enabled the entrepreneurial to thrive.

The latest insights from Mastercard’s Recovery Insights: Small Business Reset report corroborate this development, revealing a pandemic small-business boom.

Capacity Building For Women Exporters

©iStock/Ridofranz

The Nigerian Export Promotion Council, through the Export Expansion Facility Program, has begun a capacity-building workshop to train 100 women-owned businesses on how to export their products.

The purpose of the training is to ensure improved packaging, branding standardized certifications and enhancing knowledge of relevant international trade agreements.

To learn more, visit here.  Part of educating female founders on export readiness is Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®'s work, too.  When women succeed, the world succeeds.

Aloha wegg® Fans: Get Ready for Our Next Wegginar® With Kiani Wong from Kakaʻako Kasuals on 11/3 at 11AM CT

©2021 Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®.  All rights reserved.

Kiakahi (Kiani) Wong is the President and CEO of Kakaʻako Kasuals, a Native Hawaiian-owned and operated footwear company based in Honolulu, Hawai'i.  She specializes in B2B wholesale trade, sourcing, inventory management and product development for her company.  During the first year that she ran the business, Kiani grew topline revenue by 40% and online sales by 100%.

Today, Kaka'ako Kasuals is a brand known for its local Hawaiian feel and design, affordability, and comfort.

On Wednesday, November 3rd, Kiani will discuss, "Bringing Fun Hawaii-Rooted Footwear to the World:"

• Climbing the ropes in a family business
• Understanding how the footwear trade works
• Overcoming importing challenges
• Handling global e-commerce fulfillment
• Building strong community ties

To learn more and to register free of charge, visit here.  If you can't make the LIVE presentation, still sign up because you will be notified when the recording is available to listen at your convenience.

The wegginar® is hosted by Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global® and powered by:  APCO Worldwide, Associated Bank, EXIM Bank, FedEx, GlobalCare Clinical Trials,  Greensfelder, Multilingual Connections, Passport Shipping, Union Pacific and Plante Moran.

Today in Global Small Businesss: VCs Adapt to Meet a Global Startup Market

©iStock/peshkov

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

• How VCs are adapting to meet an increasingly global startup market.
• Are Chinese marketers outperforming their western counterparts?
• United Airlines explains its international expansion strategy.
• Quote of the week:  "The smallest company in the world can look as large as the largest company on the web." – Steve Jobs
• Top 5 localization management platforms.
• Taxation on foreign sourced income a significant change and will increase tax bill of companies with overseas ops.