She Builds: Stories of Immigrant Women Entrepreneurs

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Three initiatives within McGill Desautels, the Laidley Centre for Business Ethics and Equity (LCBEE), the Desautels EDI Team and the Entrepreneurship & Innovation Initiative (E&I) joined forces to co-host She Builds: Stories of Immigrant Women Entrepreneurs on March 19, 2026.

The event opened with a screening of How She Dares by McGill alumna and Vietnamese-Canadian filmmaker Zoonie Nguyen (BEng’89). The film traces Nguyen’s extraordinary journey from war refugee to corporate leader and global advocate for women entrepreneurs, a deeply empowering story that set the tone for the discussions that followed. 

As the event concluded, Nguyen encouraged audience members to share their stories, no matter how small, because “by doing so,” she said, “you may give courage to people who need to hear it.”

Drawing the Line On Price Increases

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Yesterday, I debated on whether to buy a box of De Cecco 16-oz. premium, authentic Italian linguine for $3.79!  I couldn't believe it.  I can get a similar box of pasta for 99¢ at Walmart.  Not made in Italy mind you but pretty darn good.  

Take this story. When Shannon Johnson-George’s personal laptop went bust in February, she decided not to spend the roughly $1,000 it would cost to replace it. She plans to rewear an old dress for her son’s college graduation next month after being shocked by the $100-plus prices at the online retailers she frequents. Yet over the next five months, the 40-year-old from Cincinnati has a Disney cruise, a visit to Lake Erie and a trip to New Orleans for a Bruno Mars concert booked.  

Struggling?  Not so much.  Cutting back?  Yes.  

People are spending money on things they will remember, precious memories, like a Disney cruise or Bruno Mars concert.

Across the American economy, consumers are making similar calculations.

Having De Cecco pasta doesn't fall into the bucket list of a precious memory for me so I skipped that brand and went for the 99¢ product. The wine made all the difference 😋.

If Convicted, Cole Allen Faces the Prospect of Life In Prison For Attempt to Assassinate the USA President

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Secret Service agents responded to a shooting at the annual White House Correspondents' Association Dinner at the Washington Hilton on Saturday evening (4/25/26).  President Trump and other administration officials were rushed out, and a suspect, Cole Allen, was arrested.

Federal prosecutors formally charged the alleged gunman Cole Allen at the White House correspondents' dinner with three counts on Monday, including attempting to assassinate the president.

Read on to learn some very surprising facts about Cole Allen.

Today in Global Small Business: You Don't Have to Be Rich to Enjoy An Airport Shower Worldwide

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

• Affordable arrivals lounges offer amenities like nap pods and showers where weary passengers can freshen up. You may never start a vacation the same way again, nor do you have to be rich to enjoy an airport shower on that worldwide vacation.
• The hottest ticket in town according to Trump, turned deadly. All I see is a lot of women left unprotected.
• International tourists are turning away from the United States despite a global travel surge.
• Quote of the week:  “Everyone who's ever taken a shower has an idea. It's the person who gets out of the shower, dries off and does something about it who makes a difference." – Nolan Bushnell
• Tariff refunds put businesses on the spot.
• What Americans are worried about.  CEOs need to pay attention. 

Geese Always Support Each Other

©2026 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Geese always support each other. When a goose gets injured two birds always accompany it down to the ground. Just as geese do, we must support each other." – Emma Hayes

Times Are Changing: TikTok Drives American Expats to Southeast Asia

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Chad Dunn used to spend his days on the floor of a Hyundai plant in Savannah, Ga., watching the clock, feeling the pressure, and wondering how long he could keep going.

"Life in America was pretty unfulfilling and pretty stressed out," he said. "Like most folks, just in a rat race."

Now, he lives in Da Nang, a coastal city in Vietnam, and makes a living helping other Americans leave.

Find out why.

Becoming an Emotionally Intelligent Global Business Leader

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Booth’s Advanced Management Program helped Deepa Sethi, business development lead at Elevo Global, build a diverse global network and further grow as an emotionally intelligent, mindful leader — something she sees as critical in these complex times. She shares some of her key takeaways from the program here. 

Brilliant Global Marketing Move For the Day

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Last week, more than 1,000 people received PR packages from Lancôme. Many were content creators who had received free products from the [French-based] L’Oréal-owned beauty brand before.  But something was different this time: the mailers were addressed to A-list actresses Demi Moore and Zoe Saldaña.

If you received a package with Demi Moore's name on it, would you open it?  Or, if you ignored the addressee's name, opened it accidentally and realized quickly it was for Demi Moore, what would you do?

Find out why Lancôme's global marketing strategy worked.

What You Should Know About Filing for IEEPA Refunds Using CAPE

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Law firm Foley & Lardner has received numerous requests for guidance on Phase 1 of the CAPE system. CAPE is the platform that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is beginning to use to process refunds of the IEEPA tariffs that the Supreme Court has ruled unlawful. Unlike standard tariff refunds, which generally are pursued through post-summary corrections or protests, refunds for entries that fall in Phase 1 must be sought through CAPE. 

Read on to learn more about key points.

Today in Global Small Business: The Human Side of AI Adoption

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

• The human side of AI adoption:  Lessons from the field.
• Why great ideas come from nowhere.
• One of these Trump threats is not like the others (requires free trial subscription to read full story).
• Quote of the week:  “Artificial intelligence will be the most transformative technology of the 21st century." – Jensen Huang, CEO, NVIDIA
• The decline of daily dialogue.
• Are factories the new frontier of big tech? 

The Day the Lord Created Hope

©2026 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day he created Spring." – Bernard Williams

An Oldie But Goodie: 20 tips to Grow a Global Business by Laurel Delaney

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Six years old and still pretty relevant.  It's an article I [Laurel Delaney] wrote for GoDaddy.  From choosing the right market to having a payment plan in place, this is your cheat sheet to growing a global business.

Instacart to Acquire Retail Tech Platform to Fuel International Expansion

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The deal for Instacart to acquire Instaleap will give Instacart a grocery-specific fulfillment solutions services platform.  It will also expand access to established retailer relationships outside of the United States, including with major grocers such as Cencosud in Latin America and Continente in Portugal.

Instacart said the acquisition is part of its efforts to advance its presence internationally and that it is seeing demand outside the U.S. for its enterprise offerings, which include its e-commerce, in-store, advertising and data technologies. 

Set Boundaries to Stay Healthy

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As I wrote over at the Exporting Guide, we set boundaries when we decide on and communicate our personal and professional limits.  To help people enforce their limits in healthy ways, some therapists direct them to books. These five titles offer insights and tools for safeguarding your needs, especially as you grow your global business. 

How Section 122 Tariffs Are Being Challenged

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At least two separate cases have now been filed at the Court of International Trade seeking to stop the Trump administration from utilizing Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act to impose tariffs on all imports into the U.S.

Learn more about Section 122 and ST&R's update.

Today in Global Small Business: Artemis II Crew Reunites with Families

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

• The four astronauts on Artemis II made an emotional return to Houston a day after splashing down in the Pacific Ocean at the end of their 10-day lunar journey.
• Sources say a stalemate persists over the Strait of Hormuz, where the US said it began mine-clearing operations (4/11/26).
• How to not embarrass yourself in a British pub.
• Quote of the week:  “Looking back at Earth…it truly emphasized how alike we are." – Christina Koch
• In the first weeks of the war, the Chicago-born Pope Leo was initially reluctant to publicly condemn the violence and limited his comments to muted appeals for peace and dialogue.  But the Pope has stepped up his criticism.
• Melania Trump throws her husband under the bus. 

Owe To My Angel Mother

©2026 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother." – Abraham Lincoln 

6 Leaders On What Is Actually Scaling When It Comes to AI

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Artificial intelligence is finally crossing a threshold. Companies have long talked about AI as a transformational force, but most activity stayed in sandboxes and innovation labs. In 2026, that balance has begun to shift.

As more than 300 corporate strategy leaders gathered in Munich for the World Economic Forum's Industry Strategy Meeting this month, the question was less “Can AI work?” and more "Where is it already changing how we operate at scale?"

Find out more on what it takes to scale with AI.

Eat An Orange. Be Happy.

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Eating an orange a day may lower a person’s depression risk by 20 percent, according to a study led by Raaj Mehta, an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School and a physician at Massachusetts General Hospital. 

That might be because citrus stimulates growth of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii (F. prausnitzii), a type of bacteria found in the human gut, to influence production of the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine – two biological molecules known to elevate mood.

In this edited conversation with the The Harvard Gazette, Mehta discusses key takeaways from the study.

Superintelligent A.I. Is Arriving Faster Than Anticipated

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You heard it here second, after Thomas L. Friedman, Opinion Column, The New York Times (4/7/26):

"Holy cow! Superintelligent A.I. is arriving faster than anticipated, at least in this area. We knew it was getting amazingly good at enabling anyone, no matter how computer literate, to write software code. But even Anthropic reportedly did not anticipate that it would get this good, this fast, at finding ways to find and exploit flaws in existing code."

Read the entire Opinion Piece here.

Meet Divya Behl and Register For Her wegginar® 4/8/26

©2026 Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®.  All rights reserved.

How can a company be more than a business?  How can a true company's value extend beyond financial metrics?  How can you always lead with values first, letting principles guide every decision?

Find out during Divya Behl's wegginar® on Wednesday, April 8, 2026 at 11 AM CT, Build and Lead a Global Business with Influence (registration is free of charge thanks to wegg's generous sponsors as shown in the graphic).

To learn more about Divya and to register, visit: https://womenentrepreneursgrowglobal.org/2026/03/19/build-and-lead-a-global-business-with-influence/

Today in Global Small Business: Use AI to Expand Your Imagination and Pursue a Meaningful Life

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

• We should teach young people to use AI to expand their imagination and pursue a meaningful life.
• What's your next brilliant move?  Ideas here.
• Swiss industry body says US tariffs on pharmaceuticals will harm patients.
• How can AI scale our capabilities at work?
• Quote of the week:  “Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word happy would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. It is far better take things as they come along with patience and equanimity." – Carl Jung
• Going global in 2026 – it's possible!
• Understanding e-commerce: The key trends rewriting consumer expectations and experience.

Note:  The Global Small Business Blog has been in operation since 2004 and is ranked number one in the world for entrepreneurs and small businesses interested in going global.  As of February 1, 2026, we have more than 900,000 readers on a monthly basis.

The Gift of Easter

©2026 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"The great gift of Easter is hope." – Basil C. Hume 

Contempt Is the Trumpian Way. But It's Not the American Way

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Frank Bruni is a contributing Opinion writer who was on the staff of The Times for more than 25 years.  He writes, "I Hold Pam Bondi in Contempt."  Worth a read.

Artemis II Launched From the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on 4/1/26 (Video)

The Iran War: Serious Harm to the Global Economy

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Opinion Columnist for The New York Times Thomas L. Friedman writes:  This [Iran war] is imposing serious harm on the global economy, including the U.S. stock market, and Trump has no clue how to get out of the mess that he has created by starting a war without thinking through the implications.

What to do?  Read Mr. Friedman's entire opinion here.