Health Epidemics are a Global Risk

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At the end of January, Tesla CEO Elon Musk had downplayed the risk of Novel Coronavirus, but two more weeks with it, the health epidemic instilled a new fear that caused a change of mind.

Tesla’s latest annual 10-K filing revealed a new risk to its business: “health epidemics.” In the filing, the electric automaker said its gigafactory in Shanghai was closed for a brief time as the coronavirus spread in China. “It is unknown whether and how global supply chains, particularly for automotive parts, may be affected if such an epidemic persists for an extended period of time,” the company said. “We may incur expenses or delays relating to such events outside of our control, which could have a material adverse impact on our business, operating results and financial condition.”

Read more at CNBC's update and get live Novel Coronavirus updates here and here.

What Are Small Business Owners Doing to Minimize the Impact of the China-US Trade War?

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According to CNBC's Small Business Playbook, here are the facts:

• The China tariffs have increased the cost of doing business for more than one third, or 37%, of small businesses across the U.S.
• In a recent survey by new survey by BizBuySell, 43% of small business owners said a 25% increase on tariffs in the U.S.–China trade war will increase their business costs.
• Of those, 64% said they would deal with the higher costs by raising prices and 65% of those surveyed said they would consider switching to suppliers outside of China.

How can you avoid being a victim in the escalating trade war? Read on.

Today in Global Small Business: How to Adopt a Small Fish Culture

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

• The big fish are looking to adopt a small fish culture.  There is great value in the startup culture.
• Our Singaporean friend and colleague, Inderjit Singh, continues to advocate for global SMEs.
• Global business travel in 2017 can be complex.  Find out how to simplify it via a free WEGGinar™ on 10/11: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/6874264726093775875.
• The CNBC and SurveyMonkey latest quarterly business survey.
• FedEx poised to win big with global e-commerce growth that seems to be on steroids.
• Join us for the 3rd Annual Global Small Business Forum held in Chicago on Friday, October 20. Check out the amazing speaker lineup!  This forum is for and about entrepreneurs and small businesses who are running global e-commerce businesses.