Resolve to Be Happy

©2023 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Your success and happiness lies in you.  Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties." – Helen Keller 

Global Market Entry Strategies for 2024

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Earlier this year, Elon Musk’s Starlink expanded operations into Nigeria – Africa’s largest country. In 1990, McDonald’s explored Russia and opened its first outlet in Moscow. In 2006, Vodafone – a UK-based company – launched in Italy.  Why?

Find out here to discover how you too can enter international markets.

Splashy AI-Powered Wearable

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Humane recently announced that the AI Pin, its splashy AI-powered wearable, will start shipping in March 2024. People who placed priority orders will get their devices first, and Humane says it will ship orders based on the date of purchase, according to a post on X (formerly Twitter).

The device can pick from different AI services to respond to your queries — all without forcing you to look at a screen.

Cool but not cheap.

Female Founders: A Missed Opportunity That The World Needs to Wakeup On

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Investing in women entrepreneurs and founders is a huge opportunity that both financial and ESG strategies have historically missed. Women-led companies yield better returns on investment (ROI), generating 78 cents for every dollar of funding; male-founded startups generate just 31 cents, according to research by BCG and MassChallenge.

Women entrepreneurs are also more likely to create innovative solutions to address social needs. These impact-driven businesses grow faster [especially if they expand internationally] and make more money while solving real-world problems, a win-win on all accounts.

Women leaders, on average, hire more women, and retain talent by supporting the people on their teams and checking in on their overall well-being. At their best, women foster a culture of good intentions, empathy, acceptance, inclusiveness, and non-judgment.

Holiday Destinations the World Over

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Tokyo, India and the Caribbean are among the best places to go at Christmas — but there are plenty of destinations closer to home too.  Whatever you are looking for, you will find it here.

Merry Christmas To All!

©2023 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"May the spirit of Christmas bring you comfort, peace, love, and happiness." – Laurel J. Delaney

Peace on Earth and Goodwill To All

©2023 Laurel J. Delaney.  Chicago, 12/22/23.  All rights reserved.

"Season's greetings and happy holidays to all!" – Laurel J. Delaney

Love, Peace and Joy This Holiday Season

©2023 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Wishing you love, peace and joy this holiday season." – Laurel J. Delaney

How Food Globalization Serves Up the World on Your Plate

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When people hear the word “globalization” they probably think of giant container ships, wonky economic terms like “offshoring” and “trade deficit,” or geopolitical tensions and agreements. 

And, to be sure, Cato’s Defending Globalization project covers all of that stuff and more. Yet, as Cato explains in a new essay for the project, there may be no better symbol of real globalization—and its many benefits—than the restaurant down the street. 

How to Make the Biggest Impact Based on Cultural Norms

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Adeola Adewusi credits his “cultural dexterity” to living and working on five continents. 

The senior HR director, Americas at Stanley Black & Decker told HR Brew it has served him well as a people professional because he “can understand the dynamic of a particular culture and what’s important to them.” 

With Stanley Black & Decker, Adewusi oversees about 2,500 employees along the supply chain in nearly a dozen countries. All of Adewusi’s work on HR policies and programs and how he leads is informed by his cultural competencies, and it’s important to him that HR professionals don’t forget the human connections that make the function so special.

Oh the Power of Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global® (video)

Today in Global Small Business: Top Books 2023 From Foreign Affairs' Reviewers

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

• The best of books 2023 from Foreign Affairs' reviewers.
• NFL's global expansion plan.
• Thai-based Minor Hotels made a global splash in 2018 and it plans to keep growing in whatever way it can.
• Quote of the week: "Today a reader, tomorrow a leader." – Margaret Fuller
• Solutions for avoiding freight congestion at the U.S.-Mexico border.
• Priorities for an early stage AI strategy.

Oh! Like a Wreath

©2023 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Oh! like a wreath, let Christmas mirth To-day encircle all the earth, And bind the nations with the love That Jesus brought from heaven above." – Maud Lindsay

Best Classical Music 2023

Outlook for Worldwide eCommerce Sales in 2023 and Beyond

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What is the outlook for worldwide and country-by-country retail and ecommerce sales in 2023 and beyond?

Worldwide retail and ecommerce sales will see a decent rebound for digital sales and a slow deceleration for overall retail this year. Most national markets are also returning to normalcy, but a great deal of country-by-country variance remains.

What's next?

What Role Does Digitization Play in Global Expansion?

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Apurva Palnitkar, Senior Director Marketing, GoDaddy India says that in today's technology-driven world, the adoption of digital tools and strategies has become paramount for small businesses seeking to thrive and expand their presence beyond local boundaries.

SMEs are successfully integrating digital tools into their operations in order to gain competitive edge, improve efficiency, reach a wider customer base, and most importantly in order to go global more effectively. 

Discover the few advantages of going digital as a global SME and make sure to assess your needs, budget, and resources when selecting and implementing digital tools to ensure they align with your business goals. 

Who Are the Top eCommerce Companies in USA?

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The US is considered the world's most developed market for online shopping and is a global standard for eCommerce. The eCommerce segment accounts for over $1 trillion in annual retail sales in the US, or 13% of the total retail industry and $5 trillion globally.

Here's a list of the top eCommerce companies in the US in terms of web sales. 

Today in Global Small Business: The New ChatGPT Challenger

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

• The new ChatGPT challenger.
• Meta launches new AI tools for Facebook.
• The future of AI through the lens of the recent OpenAI debacle.
• Quote of the week:  "No one technology [OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard] has ever surpassed everything else."– iRobot co-founder Rodney Brooks
• The promise and potential pitfalls of increasingly powerful AI tools.
• The North star for the future of AI (requires subscription).

Hope for the World

©2023 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"[Christmas] means not just hope for the world, despite all its unending problems, but hope for you and me, despite all our unending failings.” ― Tim Keller

Christmas Playlist To Put You In the Mood for the Holidays

Moving From the 'Take-Make-Use-Waste' Model to an Efficient Circular Economy

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The circular economy is pivotal for achieving climate and sustainable development goals and must be included in the COP28 outcomes. 

With this paper, International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), on behalf of the global business community, underscores the importance to move from the 'take-make-use-waste' model to a sustainable, resource-efficient circular economy.

A Recalculation of Globalization

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The current interconnected global economic system just isn't working, some economists say. They are calling for a recalculation of globalization, and what it means to be wealthy, independent, and secure.

Globalization has had a rough time lately. Worldwide, just-in-time supply chains suffered under stiff tariffs. COVID-19 shutdowns and travel restrictions caused further distress. Now, the war in Ukraine and sanctions on Russian companies are making matters even worse. Inflation and price increases have made energy and food more expensive. Ordinary customers, especially the poor, are suffering.

Does Germany in particular have to rethink globalization?

Gnara: Innovative Solutions to Apparel Problems For Active Women (wegginar® 12/6)

©2023 Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®.  All rights reserved.

Pee zipper?  What's that?  Find out 12/6 at 11 AM CT at the next wegginar®, "Building and Scaling a Global IP-Protected Brand," with co-founders of Gnara, Georgia Grace Edwards and Charlotte Massey.

Let's discuss the cool factor about each of the co-founders.

Georgia Grace (GG) Edwards is the CEO and Co-Founder of Gnara, a venture capital-backed, Colorado-based startup whose mission is to help everyone answer nature’s call – quite literally. GG got the idea for the GoFly – Gnara’s internationally patented zipper technology – while working as a glacier guide in Alaska. Prototyped from her college dorm room, the GoFly can now be found in Gnara apparel on the floors of the largest retailers in North America, including Moosejaw Mountaineering, Title Nine, and REI. GG grew up in the Appalachian Mountains and brings experience as a Fulbright Fellow, Wild Gift Fellow, Futurist Project Fellow, economic consultant, and TEDxTalk speaker. 

Charlotte Massey is the Co-Founder and COO of Gnara Inc, an award-winning apparel and zipper technology brand making the outdoors more accessible through internationally patented pee zipper designs. Gnara won the 2022 and 2023 Outdoor Retailer Innovation Awards, $100,000 MassChallenge Diamond Award, and Women’s Health Fitness Awards. Charlotte is a Tory Burch Fellow and Thomas J Watson Fellow with a professional background in digital marketing and community organizing. Charlotte grew up mountaineering in Washington and has been part of expeditions to high peaks around the world, including Argentina’s Acongaua. She was named 2023 Forbes 30 Under 30 Local Seattle.

Beyond learning what a pee zipper is, here's what else you will discover during the wegginar:

• How to decide if IP is right for you
• Navigation of global trademarks and patents through the IP process
• How to go from granted to garnering licensing interest

Join the wegg® team and GG and Charlotte on Wednesday, December 6th at 11 AM to stay in the know about Gnara and what it takes to build and scale a global IP-protected brand.  Free of charge I might add!  Yes! 

To learn more and to register, visit here.

Today in Global Small Business: Navigating Global Divergencies

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

• Navigating global divergencies.
• Global growth to slow in 2024.
• Banks predict slower growth for global economy in 2024.
• Quote of the week:  "Only those who will risk going too far can find out how far one can go." – T.S. Eliot
  
• Prepare for stalling or divergent global growth in 2024.
• Finding pockets of growth in fashion as uncertainty reigns.

Weather in Ireland

©2023 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"We may have bad weather in Ireland, but the sun shines in the hearts of the people and that keeps us all warm.” – Marianne Williamson

Innovation Capability Has a Positive Impact on International Expansion for Global SMEs

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According to the research paper, "Pace of innovation and speed of small and medium-sized enterprise international expansion, there is compelling evidence that innovation capability has a positive impact on the international expansion of SMEs.

Unsurprisingly, the relevant literature displays an increasing interest in SME innovation activities and how they influence a firm’s international activities. Hitherto, research has focused on the earliness of entry into a foreign market. For example, the literature on born globals argues that SMEs with innovative products internationalize soon after their inception to benefit from opportunities emerging before competitors enter the same markets.

The authors go on to say that SMEs with a greater propensity to innovate by introducing new products and processes tend to internationalize in a wider range of foreign markets. This extensive internationalization in turn, allows these firms to gain new insights from diverse foreign markets, in turn improving their technological learning and innovation capabilities.

Read the entire research paper:  "Pace of innovation and speed of small and medium-sized enterprise international expansion."