Today in Global Small Business: Global Small Business Phone Systems Market Overview

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

• The global “Small Business Phone Systems Market” 2022-2027 study provides information related to the global, regional, and top players including Small Business Phone Systems market share analysis, winning strategies, recent developments, and financials.
• Answering top questions about Covid-19 and vaccines.
• The CEO of Abbott, the company whose voluntary recall of several widely sold baby formula brands helped trigger a nationwide formula shortage, has apologized for the crisis, as the first overseas shipment of formula approved by President Biden arrived in the U.S. Sunday, May 22, 2022.
• Quote of the week: “Utility is when you have one telephone, luxury is when you have two, opulence is when you have three - and paradise is when you have none." – Doug Larson
• 15 Forbes Business Council members shared their best tips for businesses considering international expansion.
• Getting close, Apple's AR/VR headset.

A Global Supply Chain Nightmare

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One in five container ships is now stuck at ports worldwide, with 30% of the backlog coming from China. And Lars Jensen, the CEO of the shipping container industry consulting firm Vespucci Maritime, told Fortune that the full impact of China’s policies will only begin to reveal itself over the coming weeks.

Experts say that China’s strict COVID-19 lockdowns will exacerbate global supply chain woes and add to inflation in the coming months.

The economic effects are starting to show.

Global Small Businesses Are Feeling the Squeeze With the Global Supply Chain Crisis

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The timing couldn’t be worse. With the winter holiday in full swing, late shipments and bare shelves could be disastrous for the busiest sales season of the year for global small businesses.

The outcome could be even more grim for companies that were counting on this period to help them rebound from COVID-19 closures and even stave off bankruptcy.

Read on to learn how small businesses are feeling the squeeze left by the global supply chain crisis.

Life Is Not Easy. Doing What You Love, That's What Makes Life

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“Life is not easy,” says Mexican pastries and bread business, Clementina’s Sweets founder Esmeralda Jimenez. “Doing what you love, that’s what makes life.”

The pandemic has disproportionately affected women, with significant numbers laid off, leaving their jobs or reducing work hours to care for children being schooled at home or other family members.

So if you are dreaming of becoming your own boss, these women made it happen during COVID-19.

The Delta Variant Is Rippling Across Companies Worldwide

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Still unclear: whether the Delta variant of Covid-19 will be a momentary stumble in an improving global economy—one that businesses and consumers are now better equipped to handle—or something more serious.

What is clear:  the Delta variant is leaving its mark on global business (subscription might be required).

Hello to the Year of the Ox

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Happy Lunar New Year 2021 Global Small Business Blog friends.  Good riddance Year of the Rat and welcome the Year of the Ox.

Lunar New Year – also known as the Chinese New Year or Spring Festival – begins today, ushering in the second animal on the Zodiac with the second new moon after the winter solstice.

Here's what to know about the holiday and what may change with COVID-19.

Cushioning the Financial Blow for Global Small Businesses

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Developing-market small and midsize enterprises (SMEs), which have long competed for funding against bigger corporations, are counting on help from governments and multilateral lenders to keep afloat. 

Full recovery from the Covid-19 crisis will be critical for three developing regions – Southeast Asia, Africa and the Middle East and it will come with challenges. 

According to a 2018 research paper by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), SMEs accounted for 96% of all businesses and provided two out of three private sector jobs in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. And in that region, SMEs generated 42% of GDP in 2015. These companies are especially important players in APAC cross-border trade, accounting as of 2015 for over 40% of export values in China and India, 26% in Thailand, 19% in South Korea and 16% in Indonesia.

Learn more about global small businesses and the big challenges they face. 

How Not to Lose Your Way and Fall Behind the Global Competition

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By closely monitoring your business planning (which should include a component to going global), keeping a pulse on the economy and observing short-range and long-term financial and nonfinancial metrics, you will be able to weather economic uncertainty that is out of your control.

If you aren't agile and don’t adapt as the landscape changes [especially during COVID-19 times], you can lose your way and fall behind the competition. 

Find out how to work through uncertainty and manage unpredictable times.

Fighting the Common Global Enemy, the Coronavirus

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"Today [12/8/20] marks the start of the fightback against our common enemy, the coronavirus," says UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

The reason?  A UK grandmother named Margaret Keenan, who turns 91 next week, has become the first person in the world to be given the Pfizer Covid-19 jab as part of a mass vaccination program.

It was the first of 800,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine that will be dispensed in the coming weeks.

Laurel Delaney Says Gratitude is the Key to Fulfillment

©2020 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

Forming new relationships and strengthening existing ones have been great gifts to me [Laurel Delaney] in 2020. They have kept me sane, motivated and feeling very much alive, all with a greater sense of purpose. Gratitude is the key to fulfillment. Here is my shortlist of what has kept me going during COVID-19 and what am I most thankful for in 2020.

Qingdao, China: Can You Contract Covid-19 From Ship Workers or Contaminated Cargo?

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The New England Journal of Medicine reports out on a rapid response to an outbreak in Qingdao, China.  The outbreak alarm was triggered on October 11, 2020, when three cases of Covid-19 were reported in Qingdao, a coastal city in Shandong Province. 

The probable source of this cluster was determined to be two dock workers from the city’s port, who were determined on September 24 to have asymptomatic infection. They had no history of travel or contact with anyone confirmed to have Covid-19, but they may have contracted the virus from ship workers or contaminated cargo. These dock workers tested positive during regular biweekly screening for high-risk groups, which was part of the city’s Covid-19 surveillance. 

Read on to see how this case was handled.

Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW): November 16-22, 2020

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Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) will cover a variety of topics on such current and future business challenges as how to pivot, rebuild or reopen during COVID-19. 

Discover tens of thousands of events, activities and competitions that are taking place all over the world.

Today in Global Small Business: USA President Trump Has Covid-19

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

• LIVE updates from The New York Times on President Trump's condition.
• How President Trump's diagnosis could affect markets.
• Quote of the week:  "On self-knowledge: "Unless a man is master of his soul, all other kinds of mastery amount to little." – Theodore Roosevelt
• Will President Trump's condition shape the race (requires subscription)?
• The US President is not well.
• Will President Trump be discharged from hospital on Monday, October 5, 2020?  Hard to believe.

Today in Global Small Business: Emerge Stronger Post COVID-19

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

• Four questions (and answers) about Covid-19’s lasting impact on business (Bain & Company).
• As stores reopen, which customers are most likely to return (MIT Sloan Management Review).
• Quote of the week:  "Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." – Winston Churchill
• Special issue on digital transformation (California Management)
• Emerge stronger post COVID-19 (pwc).
• Digital marketers race to meet the needs of a new era (Boston Consulting Group).

How Small Businesses Are Adjusting to COVID-19

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How are America’s small businesses navigating the economic disruptions resulting from COVID-19, and how will the CARES Act affect their decisions and future prospects?

To explore these questions, we [the National Bureau of Economic Research] conducted a survey of more than 5,800 small businesses that were members of the Alignable business network. The survey focused on assessing (1) the current level of financial fragility among small businesses, (2) the extent to which small businesses have already temporarily closed and laid off employees, (3) expectations about how long the crisis will last - and how this is affecting business decisions, and (4) decisions about whether to seek funding through the CARES Act, and how this will impact layoff and closure decisions.

Discover the survey results and themes that emerge.

Today in Global Small Business: Are the COVID-19 Pandemic and Digitalization of Export Promo Services Here to Stay?

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

• Are the COVID-19 pandemic and digitalization of export promotion services here to stay?
• Why study abroad?
• Quote of the week: "A lot of people, including business leaders, think the future belongs to China. Globalization is not a zero-sum game, but we need to hone our skills to stay in play." – Jon Meacham
• New book:  Saving Face by Maya Hu-Chan on how to preserve dignity and build trust.
• China's exports are surging despite tariffs and the coronavirus.
• Coronavirus tests future of Japan's yellowtail exports.
• Happy Labor Day to all American workers.

Navigating Business Disruption During COVID-19

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 COVID-19 has shown us that it is the interconnectedness among companies tied to a just-in-time supply chain that is designed to meet immediate consumption needs.

Covid-19 has caused a massive disruption to business operations up and down the supply chain, including to the operations of growers, producers, manufacturers, processors, and distributors, as companies struggle to generate revenue amid government shutdowns, closed schools, and abrupt changes to consumption patterns.

There are two critical factors necessary to ensure that a company’s business disruption does not trigger a legal process that impairs recoveries for creditors and undermines a distressed company’s ability to reorganize.

Read more about how to navigate business disruption in uncertain times.

World Entrepreneurship: Keep Your Eye on Young Entrepreneurs in 2020

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The year 2020 has been an emerging year for the world of entrepreneurship, specifically amongst teenagers. From being quarantined due to COVID-19 and away from their peers, there has been a growing number of teenagers starting businesses this year. Here are the top 10 young entrepreneurs to keep an eye on in 2020.

Read more about ten young and emerging entrepreneurs you should become familiar with in 2020.

How the Global Crisis Will Affect the African Entrepreneurship Sector

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The entrepreneurship field is characterized by its ability to turn every crisis into an opportunity. With the help of the local governments and smart investments, entrepreneurs can use the COVID-19 situation to advance the field to new heights, affecting hundreds of millions of people. In order for that opportunity to arise, one major player that must take the lead:  VCs and investment funds.

Read more about how the African entrepreneurship sector was severely hit by the coronavirus yet it is still very early to assess how the global crisis will affect the sector.

Mask Guidance and Requirements: USA

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Masks are effective in minimizing the spread of COVID-19.  In an attempt to curb a recent spike in cases, many USA governors have issued orders requiring masks to be worn in public.

As is the case with many corona-related issues; however, guidance related to mask-wearing consists of a patchwork of rules across counties and states, which undermines consumer confidence and thus slows the recovery of economic activity. 

Learn state by state mask guidance and requirements here.