That Toddlin’ Town

©2024 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Chicago, Chicago, that toddlin’ town.” – Fred Fisher “Chicago,” (1922)

IMF Chief Urges U.S. Policymakers to Pay Off the Deficit

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International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Kristalina Georgieva recently urged U.S. policymakers to take advantage of the U.S. recovery from the pandemic and pay off the deficit.

Georgieva said policymakers should put the U.S. national deficit on a “decisive downward path,” in part to ensure investors do not start losing interest in U.S. treasuries. 

The IMF has a more positive outlook for U.S. inflation than the Fed does, expecting it to renormalize to 2 percent by the middle of next year. The Fed does not expect inflation to normalize to 2 percent until 2026

Why Did Apple Suspend Temu From Its Digital App Store in 2023?

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A lawsuit filed by State Attorney General Tim Griffin in Cleburne County is targeting the holding company of an online shopping service, Temu, and its business dealings, citing consumer privacy risk as a byproduct of the company making a profit.

"While this is my [says Griffin] first state lawsuit against Temu over its deceptive trade practices, it is not the first time Temu's tactics have been called into question. Apple suspended Temu from its digital app store in 2023, prompting multiple investigations into the company's dealings, including an ongoing investigation being conducted by the U.S. Congress."

Griffin also outlined some of the data he says Temu is obtaining, saying biometric data, which includes fingerprints stored in devices, and location are some examples.

Globalization: Connectedness and Interdependence of Economies

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For those new to globalization, it is a term used to describe the increasing connectedness and interdependence of world cultures and economies.

National Geographic gives us an education on when globalization began, and the benefits and disadvantages of globalization.

Chatbots Will Play a Major Role in Customer Service for 25% of Companies by 2027

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Gartner predicts that by 2027, chatbots will play a major role in customer service for 25% of companies. 

For marketplace owners, it's an opportunity to engage with their online audience in real-time. There are three types of technology to meet the challenges of the industry: 

1. Based on artificial intelligence
2. Rule-based 
3. Hybrid

Learn about all the other top digital marketplace trends 2024.

Today in Global Small Business: How Small Business Owners Make It Happen

©iStock/Drazen Zigic

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

• How small business owners make it happen.  Impact in action.
• Small business owners spot opportunities to boost productivity.
• Quote of the week:  "Supporting small businesses is not just about commerce, it's about community." – Michael Dell, Founder of Dell Technologies
• Global Small Business Study surveyed the owners and IT decision makers at small businesses across six countries to discover their thoughts and behavior around cybersecurity.
• Trade directly benefits small- and medium-sized businesses according to FedEx study. 
• Google favors e-commerce sites and user-generated content, study finds.

The Store That Helped Build Chicago

©2024 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Right or wrong, the customer is always right." – Marshall Field

Ecommerce Market Expected to Gross $930 Billion This Year

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The U.S. e-commerce market is projected to gross $930 billion this year, up 15% from 2023, and constitute 25% of the world's total online retail sales. 

However, Statista data analysis indicates the Asian e-commerce industry, spurred by online retail giants such as Alibaba, AliExpress, JD.com and Rakuten, will gross $1.93 trillion in 2024, 16% more than in 2023 and accounting for more than half of global e-commerce revenue.

Statista expects around 300 million more people to utilize e-commerce sites and shopping apps this year, pushing the total user count to more than 3.4 billion, or 42% of the world's population.

Read more here.

Challenges in Going Global, One Is Execution

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Despite their ambitions, few companies are ready to build and run truly global organizations. Globalization may be their goal – it may even form the backbone of their strategy – but only a tiny fraction have the execution capabilities needed to bring that strategy to life.  Why is that?

According to a recent Global Readiness Survey of 362 executives, only 10% of companies think that they have the full complement of capabilities required to win overseas, with most barely mastering the basics. 

If execution is everything, why aren't more companies perfecting this skill?  Learn more about how to get it done.

The Struggle for Freedom

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Juneteenth remains a day to reflect on the enduring struggle for freedom, equality, and self-determination in the African American experience. 

Learn more about what it is and what it means.

Think With Google and Move Your Business Into International Markets

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With more than half the world’s population now online, the opportunities for businesses to reach new customers abroad have never looked brighter. But how should companies prepare for international expansion? And just how easy is it?

Google guides you by looking at your potential customers. 

Today in Global Small Business: Father's Day Traditions From Around the World

©iStock/Lesla Larionova

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

• Father's Day traditions from around the world.
• Celebrating Father's Day - the day after – because it is dedicated to all the fathers, grandfathers, and step-dads and recognizes their love, support and guidance. 
• Quote of the week:  "My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me.” – Jim Valvano
• A fun history of Father's Day: traditions and languages around the world.
• How people celebrate Father's Day around the world.
• Father's Day dates around the world.

Flowers Always Make People Better

©2024 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

“Flowers always make people better, happier and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul.” – Luther Burbank

Transforming Anonymous Global Users into Loyal Customers

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To grow in new territories, businesses must build faith with new target audiences.  Trust signals are key to transforming anonymous global users into loyal customers.

When a business is ready to expand internationally, establishing reputable online security is vital. Users want to know that all their data, especially financial data, is effectively protected online. With vast diversity in security standards across territories, online businesses in different regions have their own ways to gain credibility from target audiences.  This can cause challenges for companies looking to move into new markets.

Find out why. 

Winning New Exports

©iStock/Alberto Marrupe Gutierrez

Whether you are based in Ireland or the United States, winning new exports comes in handy for newfound growth at your business.

In this case, the Going for Growth program, which Enterprise Ireland and KPMG support, is designed to help female entrepreneurs achieve their growth ambitions by growing their sales, creating additional employment, and winning new exports. 

Over the past 16 years, over 950 businesswomen have participated in this unique program.

Check it out here.

Calm the Mind (Music video)

Supporting Women in Tech Across the Globe

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Women in Tech® Global is built on four foundational pillars: education, business, digital inclusion, and advocacy.  This came about by challenges women face in the tech industry,

Its mission is to create a strong, supportive network for women in technology, while also implementing practical programs that empower women to succeed in the tech industry. By addressing these key areas, Women in Tech Global aims to create a more inclusive and equitable tech industry for women across the globe.

Read the interview with Ayumi Moore Aoki, Founder and CEO of Women in Tech Global. 

Today in Global Small Business: FedEx Awards More than $230,000 to 10 Small Businesses

©iStock/Olivier Le Moal

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

• FedEx boosts 10 small businesses with award dollars.
• Global e-commerce revenue to hit record-breaking $3.64T in 2024.
• How to drop ship on Shopify.
• Quote of the week:  "If you really look closely, most overnight successes took a long time." – Steve Jobs
• How to master international payments (sponsored content).
• Take your social media strategy to new heights.

Adult on a Bicycle

©2024 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race." – H. G. Wells

Alibaba Courts the U.S. and Europe to Get Global Growth

©iStock/Robert Way

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is ramping up its global expansion with new services aimed at attracting small businesses in the U.S. and Europe.

Alibaba.com — the company’s business-to-business platform which sells to companies outside China — is launching “Alibaba Guaranteed.”  The new service will provide buyers with greater certainty on delivery, payments and dispute settlement.

How to Use AI Right For Transforming Global Small Business Marketing

©iStock/Khanchit Khirisutchalual

iStock (which we use at the Global Small Business Blog for images), an e‑commerce platform offering images, videos, and illustrations to small and medium‑sized businesses (SMBs) and enterprises (SMEs), today unveiled new data‑backed tips to help businesses of all sizes navigate the use of generative‑AI in marketing to customers. 

They just released a new study which captured the sentiment of over 30,000 adults in 25 countries to understand the impact for small businesses of using generative AI visuals in their marketing.

Discover their key finding here.

Need a CFO? Freelancing Goes Global

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What once was incidental and supplemental is now routinely baked into companies’ operating model. An astonishing 72 million Americans, or about 45% of the workforce, reaped at least some of their earnings from independent contracting last year. 

Need a CFO?  The highest-profile fractionals would be C-suite-level executives, ranging from part-time, long-term CFOs to M&A specialists who pop in to help close specific deals. The category also includes anyone who receives a retainer, from a foreign correspondent to a training specialist.

A major hiring shift is transforming how businesses find and utilize talent and how that talent finds and establishes relationships with companies that need its skills. Outsourcing work to freelancers is by no means a new phenomenon, but as the figures indicate, in the past five years it has jumped to an entirely new level. 

Read, "Use of freelancers of all types, even temporary CFOs, has mushroomed in the last five years. Here’s why more employers around the world are moving away from the full-time staff model."

Sisu Global Health's Gillian Henker Presents "Providing Access to Blood for a World in Need" (wegginar®)

©2024 Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®.  All rights reserved.

Gillian Henker, Co-Founder & President is a two-time founder with a proven track record of execution. Gillian is the primary inventor of Hemafuse and two other medical technologies. She led Hemafuse development, global regulatory clearances (including FDA), and launch in 5 countries across Africa, Asia, and Europe.

She has been published in the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, has presented at the Midwest Biomedical Engineering Career Conference and Appropriate Healthcare Technologies for Developing Countries Seminar in London, and was named Baltimore Technologist of the Year. 

Wouldn't you love to meet her and pick her brain?  Now is your chance. Attend Women Entrepreneur Grow Global's free of charge wegginar® with Gillian presenting, "Providing Access to Blood for a World in Need," on Wednesday, June 5th at 11 AM CT.  The free of charge program is due to wegg's amazing, supportive sponsors as noted in the graphic.  

See you there!

Today in Global Small Business: What the New China Tariffs Mean for World Trade

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

• What the new China tariffs mean for world trade.
• U.S. import tariffs have dealt free trade a heavy blow.
• The impact of U.S.-China trade tensions.
• Quote of the week:  "The benefits of a tariff are visible. Union workers can see they are "protected". The harm which a tariff does is invisible. It's spread widely. There are people that don't have jobs because of tariffs but they don't know it." – Milton Friedman
• Musk opposes US tariffs on Chinese electric cars.
• Biden outdoes Trump with ultra-high China tariffs.

I Need to Be Outside

©2024 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

“I need to be outside. I need to be in the world and to remember that I am of it.” – John Green