A Model for Expanding Your Business Into Foreign Markets

©iStock/peshkov

Harvard Business Review, 5/17/24:  It used to be thought that globalization would flatten out cultural differences among countries and regions of the world, making it easier than ever for companies to move into foreign markets. 

According to a new study by the author [Joshua Conrad Jackson] and a colleague, however, cultural differences are greater today than they were 40 years ago, which explains why some major corporations have failed in their recent efforts to establish a foothold in new countries.

Companies need to adapt, the author argues, and to that end in this article he presents a general model for global leadership in the face of cultural divergence.

Is Global Trade Rewiring Without the United States?

©iStock/kvkirillov

The fragmentation of the global trade system is leading to the rise of new trade coalitions and corridors, said economists in a joint IMD-Hinrich Foundation webinar. 

The webinar discussed three overriding questions:

• Question 1: What have we gained and what have we lost?
• Question 2: What strategies are being deployed by economies?
• Question 3: What policy dilemmas lie ahead?

Find out the answers here.

Note:  We've hit more than 442,000 monthly readers at the Global Small Business Blog!

Success On Her Terms: "Finding Your True North" With Shelly Sun Berkowitz, CEO of Founder 2 Founder

©2025 Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®.  All rights reserved.

Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global unveils its newest and most exciting program yet!  "Success On Her Terms," a dynamic four-part series presented by Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global® in collaboration with Merrill’s Baldwin Marcovici Group and moderated by Alex Didac.

It is designed to spotlight high-potential, growth-stage women entrepreneurs who share their personal journeys and offer actionable insights on how to align purpose, people, and profit while building and scaling a business.

Join wegg® for the *first session* – Finding Your True North – in our four-part series on Tuesday, November 4th at 11 AM CT with Shelly Sun Berkowitz, founder and Executive Chair of BrightStar Care, a national home care franchise system she built over 20 years, scaled to over 400 locations, and led through a majority sale in 2025. 

Shelly now serves as CEO of her advisory firm, Founder 2 Founder, where she is helping other founders scale, sell, and secure their business legacies. Through her family office, Next Phase Capital (NPC), Shelly offers patient, values-aligned capital to franchise businesses. 

Shelly will be talking about clarity, resilience, and redefining success in a way that protects both your ambition and your well-being.

To learn more and to register (free of charge) for the first session that Shelly is kicking off, visit: https://womenentrepreneursgrowglobal.org/programs/success-on-her-terms/

I [Laurel Delaney] hope to see you there!  

Bracing for the World's Strongest Storm on the Planet in 2025: Hurricane Melissa

©iStock/Trifonov_Evgeniy

Three people have died already in Jamaica as it braces for the world's strongest storm this year - and possibly the strongest on record for the island - with US meteorologists warning of "catastrophic and life-threatening" conditions.

With wind speeds of up to 175mph (282km/h), Hurricane Melissa is a category five storm - the maximum strength. It is intensifying and expected to make landfall on the Caribbean island early on Tuesday, October 27, 2025.

Hurricane Melissa is now the strongest storm on the planet in 2025.

Today in Global Small Business: The Global Small Business Forum Turns 10 — and It’s More Powerful Than Ever!

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

• Photo collage from the super successful 10th Annual Global Small Business Forum held in Chicago on Thursday, October 24, 2025 – sponsored by Associated Bank and hosted by Foley & Lardner.
• How CEOs can play the long game in a shortsighted world.
• Quote of the week:  "When someone says, 'let's impose tariffs on foreign imports', it looks like they're doing the patriotic thing by protecting American products and jobs. And sometimes, for a short while it works, but only for a short time." Ronald Reagan (not exact order of how Reagan delivered this but they are his exact word)
• The 100 best books of the 21st Century.
• Many older Americans are financially comfortable but pessimistic about the economy because of their children’s struggles with jobs and affordability. Is the American economy doing that great?
• Punishing a country again ... President Donald Trump said on Saturday (10/25/25) that he plans to hike tariffs on imports of Canadian goods by an extra 10% because of an anti-tariff television ad aired by the province of Ontario.  Here's President Reagan's radio address from 1987 on Free and Fair Trade.

Eli's Cheesecake Company Celebrates the 10th Annual Small Business Forum in Chicago (10/24/25)

©2025 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

The best:  Eli's Cheesecake Company in celebration of the 10th Annual Global Small Business Forum (10/24/25).  Event supported by:  Associated Bank and Foley & Lardner.

Taylor Swift: Life of the Showgirl Explained (2025)

Together, Let's Go, Go, Go Global! Final Call for Tickets!

Join us in person tomorrow, Friday, October 24th in Chicago at the 10th Annual Global Small Business Forum, "Playing to Win in the Global Marketplace," hosted at Foley & Lardner and sponsored by Associated Bank – from 8:00-11:30 AM CT.

Why just look at this lineup of amazing speakers!

1. Ellen Wheeler, Partner and Litigation Attorney, Foley & Lardner LLP
2. Sebastien Villon, Managing Partner, BBInc
3. Jamie Shah, President, Chem-Impex International
4. Marc Schulman, President, The Eli's Cheesecake Company
5. Angie Kappel, VP, FX, Associated Bank
6. Ken Wasylik, Managing Director, E.M. Wasylik Associates
7. Mikę Sankowski, VP, FX, Associated Bank (Moderator)
8. Dave Shogren, President and Co-Owner, US International Foods, LLC
9. Ashley S.H. Moy, President, Cast21
10. Chris R. Straw, Founder and President, Team Quality Services
11. Richard Paullin, Executive Director, International Trade Association of Greater Chicago
12. Nancy McHenry, COO, Wigeteer 

They are going to rock the house with their knowledge and grit on what it takes to go global.  To learn more and to purchase tickets, visit: https://globalsmallbusinessforum.com/

I'll [Laurel Delaney] will be there.  Hope to see you, too!

Let's Make Sure Watchdogs Do Their Jobs

©iStock/cynoclub

Timing is everything.

Parisa Salehi, Export-Import Bank's Inspector General, was the kind of internal watchdog who had earned a strong reputation for digging up fraud, waste and abuse during her 15 years in government service. She had risen through the ranks at inspectors general offices at the State Department and U.S.A.I.D., eventually taking over internal investigations at the Export-Import Bank of the United States, where her office reported saving tens of millions of dollars.

But last week, she got a notice that President Trump had fired her, effective immediately. The reason she was given? A vague line about the administration’s changing priorities, according to two people familiar with the matter.

There's more.

Repeat: 50 Ways to Go Global

©iStock/Bjoern Wylezich

LOVE 💟 this old post from 2007:  50 Ways to Go Global!  You can see who is still around and who isn't.  Fascinating.  Lots of 404 errors but that is to be expected.  Check it out.  And we keep going! 

Today in Global Small Business: India's Biggest Holiday of the Year, Diwali Day

©iStock/StarLineArts

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

• Happy Diwali Day – Diwali, or Dipawali, is India's biggest and most important holiday of the year. May your days be as bright as the Diwali lights.
• No Kings movement – I [Laurel Delaney] participated in the Chicago gathering 10/18/25.
• The world can see the 'No Kings' nonviolent protests.
• The 'No Kings' movement proves how vulnerable Trump is.  Not by the event itself but by the attacks on it by Republicans (including Trump).
• Celebration of the week:  "Wishing you a very Happy Diwali! May this festival of lights bring you prosperity, health, love and good fortune." 
• Three weekend habits that are ruining your brain.

Showcasing the Most Beautiful City in the World: Chicago

 

Diverse • Innovative • World Class 

"In Chicago, we value unity over division.  Our city's beauty comes from its people, and we support policies that honor that." – Laurel Delaney

  

Photos courtesy of:  ©2025 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

Come Celebrate With Us – wegg® Turns 10!

©2025 Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®.  All rights reserved.

Secure your tickets today for the Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global® 10-year anniversary gala hosted at the swanky Tortoise Supper Club in Chicago on Thursday, November 6, 2025 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. CT

Enjoy exceptional food, signature cocktails, lively conversation, and a soundtrack curated entirely by women artists – plus gift bags filled with products made by women. And to top it all off, the evening will be emceed by the sensational Whitney Reynolds of the Whitney Reynolds Show.

This women-focused event is to celebrate women entrepreneurs and women business owners and is made possible by the generous support of sponsors APCO and JPMorgan Chase.

Hurry – more than half the house is already sold!

Purchase your tickets: https://womenentrepreneursgrowglobal.org/about/10yr-anniversary/

And if you are unable to attend, I hope you will consider making a gift. Your generosity helps wegg maintain the sustainable, responsive resources that empower women business owners like you.  Join us in giving the gift of growth!

• Unable to attend, visit:  https://womenentrepreneursgrowglobal.org/about/10yr-anniversary/ – to make a donation.
• Become a wegg® Angel:  https://womenentrepreneursgrowglobal.org/donate/

Thank you so much.  Full disclosure:  I [Laurel Delaney] am the founder and president of wegg®.

What's the Biggest Threat to Global Business In 2025?

©iStock/Ilya Lukichev

In a BBC World Business Report podcast episode, journalist and host Sam Fenwick takes a look at the soaring cost of cybercrime, as attacks sweep across industries and threaten global business stability, spotlighting Japan’s Asahi Breweries, one of the latest victims. 

Cybersecurity Ventures predicted cybercrime could cost as much as $10.5 trillion annually by 2025. Some forecasts put that figure even higher.

Learn more here.

Just 10 Days Left Until the 10th Annual Global Small Business Forum, 10/24/25!

Tickets are moving fast – grab yours when you can.  Learn more here. There's a phenomenal lineup of speakers and this marks the 10th consecutive year of hosting the Global Small Business Forum!

Tiny Desk Concerts: Gloria Estefan

©iStock/Meinzahn

As Gloria Estefan embarks on a 50-year retrospective of her career, this Tiny Desk takes on the same tone, heart and air of reflection. After all, the pioneering vision, authentic insistence and undeniably captivating rhythms of Estefan created the path for Spanish-language music to thrive in the U.S.

Today in Global Small Business: All Things Columbus Day 2025

iStock/MR1805

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

• Columbus Day is a federal holiday in USA.
• Columbus Day meaning and facts.
• Quote of the week:  "Following the light of the sun, we left the Old World." – Christopher Columbus
• Columbus statues get a new life.
• How are you celebrating the holiday?  It depends on your worldview.
• Christopher Columbus – early life and more.

High Thinking

©2025 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Simple living, high thinking." – associated with Mahatma Gandhi

The Game of Chicken Can Become Global

©iStock/Natalia Bodrova

It's the ninth day of the federal government shutdown (10/9/25).  The House is currently not in session this week.  Right now, it appears to be a game of chicken, with the way out likely coming down to who wins the messaging battle – Republicans or Democrats – and which side feels the most pressure.

As we enter another week with a lapse in federal funding, here's what we know. 

Will There Be a Serious US Market Correction?

©iStock/Galeanu Mihai

Jamie Dimon, who leads JP Morgan, America's largest bank, said he was "far more worried than others" about a serious market correction, which he said could come in the next six months to two years.

Asked later in the interview about his political ambitions, Dimon said it "wasn't on the cards", and his focus was on keeping JP Morgan as a "healthy and vibrant company."

"If you gave me the presidency, I'd take it," he joked. "I think I'd do a good job."

Tariff Analysis By Alex Yancher, Founder of Passport

©iStock/Dilok Klaisataporn

Alex Yancher, who helps brands go global via Passport, writes about the odds of the Supreme Court knocking down Trump's tariffs.

Read his analysis here.

Life of a Showgirl

Today in Global Small Business: World Teachers Day 2025

©iStock/Atstock Productions

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

• World Teachers Day 2025 (was technically on 10/5/25) but we can still celebrate all the teachers around the globe.
• Does your company need a Chief AI Officer?
• Quote of the week:  "A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops." – Henry Adams
• Europe's next mobility leap.
• Check out the latest wegg® showcase™for October, 2025 with Julie Van Brunt.
• Nearly 1,000 people are trapped on the slopes of Mount Everest, the world's tallest mountain.

Life Starts All Over Again

©2025 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall." – F. Scott Fitzgerald 

Paul Krugman: How Stone-Faced Generals, Wall Street Pushback, and Government Shutdown May Save America's Quickly Declining Democracy

©iStock/lineartestpilot

Paul Krugman says, "If America still had a fully functioning democracy, Donald Trump’s speech Tuesday (9/30/25) to the assembled generals would have ended his presidency. Trump treated the event like a political rally and was clearly taken aback by the refusal of the audience to applaud or laugh at his jokes. Delivering a nakedly partisan speech to a mandated assembly of military officers was a gross violation of the Hatch Act. The content – telling the officers to be ready to use force against U.S. citizens – was clearly an impeachable offense. In an earlier era, Trump’s incoherent ranting would have paved the way for his immediate removal from office under the 25th Amendment."

Read more from Krugman.

Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global 10th Anniversary Gala 11/6/25 in Chicago!

Secure your tickets today for the Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global® 10th anniversary gala, featuring Whitney Reynolds of the Whitney Reynolds Show as emcee. This women-focused event is made possible by the generous support of sponsors APCO and JPMorgan Chase. Hurry – half the house is already sold!

Grab your tickets: https://womenentrepreneursgrowglobal.org/about/10yr-anniversary/

Full disclosure:  I [Laurel Delaney] am the founder and president of wegg®.

Sky Is the Limit? Not for Poles!

©iStock/DanielPrudek

After just coming back from a trip to Poland, I was amazed (and impressed) to learn that Polish skier Andrzej Bargiel, 37, became the first person to complete the feat of climbing Everest and then skiing down without extra oxygen.

In the videos, Mr. Bargiel is then seen peacefully gliding through pristine snow, almost as if he were a recreational skier on a ski resort’s trail, not on the highest mountain in the world.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk of Poland commented on the feat, saying on social media: “Sky is the limit? Not for Poles! Andrzej Bargiel just skied down Mount Everest.”