Global Small Business Forum 2015 Was a HUGE Success!

Thank you to sponsors Chicago Expert Importers (CEI), Endicia and TradeUp Fund for their generous sponsorship to the first Global Small Business Forum held in Chicago at Navy Pier on Friday, October 23, 2015 with the theme "Up Your Global Game." We also thank ATA Carnet | Boomerang Carnets for their Executive Sponsorship.  We had a terrific turnout with very engaged participants who asked a lot of great questions.  The speakers/panelists/moderators were was follows:

• Richard Paullin, Executive Director, International Trade Association of Greater Chicago; Chairman, IL District Export Council
• Kevin Drost, Director of International Strategy, Reverb.com
• Marianne O'Brien, Regional Administrator, U.S. Small Business Administration
• Rajiv Khatau, Founder and Managing Director, LODAAT LLC
• Kati Suominen (pictured third photo from top), Founder and CEO, Nextrade Group, LLC — keynote speaker!
• Marc Schulman (pictured above), President, Eli’s Cheesecake Company — headliner -- read his post!
• Lisa Bitsky, President, Automated Design Crop.
• Zach Person (bottom photo-front to the right), Program Manager, IL International Trade Center for Entrepreneurship, College of DuPage
• Sophia Leaguedi, President, Ameroc Export Inc.
• Jim Snediker, Co-Founder and CEO, Stock Manufacturing Co.
• Roy Donoso, President, Sumac
• Timo Lukkarinen, CEO, Horizon Educational
• Sergei Kozyrenko, Co-Founding CTO, Parknav
• Rob Wray, CEO, mp3Car
• Morgan Coghill, International Sales Manager, Simmons Knife and Saw
• Doris Nagel, President, Blue Sky Consulting Services

Here's what attendees said about the conference:

• Terrific conference!  Congratulations – certainly the 1st Annual – it must be repeated.
• You did a great job with the Global Small Business Forum.
• Thank you again for a wonderful event.   I am sorry to have had to leave prior to the end but what I was there for was really well done and such good interaction.
• Without your vision and guidance it wouldn't have been possible.  From what I saw, the event seemed rich with valuable information.
• It was a real honor to be invited.  I know it takes a tremendous amount of effort, and you put on a successful event.  
• I really enjoyed the discussion. Hope we [as a panelist] get to do it again soon.
• You have surrounded yourself with such amazing people.

We are also grateful to our Major Partners and all the vendor companies that purchased tables and further supported our event.  Special hat tip to Small Business Trends for their "19 Tips for Taking Your Small Business Global."  Laura Fairman at Blue Canvas did an amazing job on the website, program and posters.  Thank you to everyone who made this event a tremendous success.  We look forward to next year's forum with the anticipated date of:  Friday, October 21, 2016.  More soon!

Photos courtesy:  GSBB Media LLC.  All rights reserved.

19 Benefits to Selling in International Markets

©2015 GSBB Media LLC.  All rights reserved.

With the Global Small Business Forum taking place today (10/23) in Chicago at the historic Navy Pier, it only seems fitting that Small Business Trends, one of our Major Partners on the event, would write a fantastic feature on "19 Tips to Take Your Small Business Global" by Annie Pilon.  We love that our headliner on the event, Marc Schulman, President of Eli's Cheesecake is quoted.

Are you looking to expand your business internationally?  These tips should help you get there faster.  A BIG thank you to Small Business Trends for supporting small businesses, including ours, that wish to take on the world with their businesses.

Today in Global Small Business: Why Unilever's Online Sales Are Zooming

©iStock/rvisoft

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

• 3 days left to sign up for the Global Small Business Forum held in Chicago at Navy Pier on Friday, October 23 (only a few seats left -- don't miss out on learning a brave new way of doing business with the world).
• How does a U.S. business protect its rights when merely trying to shop online in China?
• Why Unilever's online sales are zooming at twice the rate of the global ecommerce market.
• Why New England firms fear loss of international sales.
• The small business guide to growth hacking (would like to have seen more talk about global growth here in the article).
• Can ecommerce giants deliver during festive season?

Only 9 Days Left to Register for the Chicago-based Global Small Business Forum 2015

©2015 GSBB Media LLC.  All rights reserved.

Anyone who wants to cross borders with a product or service must attend this event at Chicago's historic Navy Pier on Friday, October 23rd.  Here’s a snapshot of who plans to participate as moderators, panelists and speakers (http://globalsmallbusinessforum.com/speakers/):

1. Richard Paullin, Executive Director, International Trade Association of Greater Chicago; Chairman, IL District Export Council
2. Kevin Drost, Director of International Strategy, Reverb.com
3. Bo Steiner, District Director, U.S. Small Business Administration, Illinois District
4. Rajiv Khatau, Founder and Managing Director, LODAAT LLC
5. Kati Suominen, Founder and CEO, Nextrade Group, LLC — keynote speaker!
6. Marc Schulman, President, Eli’s Cheesecake Company — headliner! -- love this post!
7. Lisa Bitsky, President, Automated Design Crop.
8. Zach Person, Program Manager, IL International Trade Center for Entrepreneurship, College of DuPage
9. Sophia Leaguedi, President, Ameroc Export Inc.
10. Jim Snediker, Co-Founder and CEO, Stock Manufacturing Co.
11. Roy Donoso, President, Sumac
12. Timo Lukkarinen, CEO, Horizon Educational
13. Sergei Kozyrenko, Co-Founding CTO, Parknav
14. Rob Wray, CEO, mp3Car
15. Morgan Coghill, International Sales Manager, Simmons Knife and Saw
16. Doris Nagel, President, Blue Sky Consulting Services

You won’t want to miss this!  More than 16 experts/practitioners talking about what it takes to grow a business globally.  The program can be found here:  http://globalsmallbusinessforum.com/program/  To learn more and to register, visit:  http://globalsmallbusinessforum.com/tickets/

We thank our generous and supportive sponsors and major partners:
http://globalsmallbusinessforum.com/sponsors/

I'll be there.  Will you?  (Hashtag:  #UpYourGlobalGame)

Last Chance For Early Bird Discount on Global Small Business Forum Held in Chicago 10/23

Don't miss out.  You have until close of business today (Central time) to receive a discount on our Global Small Business Forum.  If you plan to attend, why not grab a savings while you can?  The Global Small Business Forum guarantees you will learn how to boost your business through exports and network with your peers.

To learn more and to register, visit:  http://www.globalsmallbusinessforum.com  See you there!

Up Your Global Game

©2015 GSBB Media LLC

Global TradeSource, Ltd. invites startups, entrepreneurs and small business owners to learn the secrets to financial global success at a one-of-a-kind forum with the theme "Up Your Global Game" at the historic Navy Pier in downtown Chicago on Friday, Oct. 23, 2015.

The Global Small Business Forum will inspire attendees to get out of their own backyards and transition from local, regional or niche-market players into global titans. Event attendees will gain the knowledge and insights they need to market, sell and fulfill orders internationally by taking full advantage of the Internet and the opportunities it creates. Attendees will be able to boost their revenues by learning how to expand beyond borders.

For more information and to register, visit:  The Global Small Business Forum 2015 (http://www.globalsmallbusinessforum.com)

Listen In: Illinois Exporters Say It's a Struggle With No Export-Import Bank

©iStock/Marcoscisetti

WBEZ morning shift on August 31, 2015 interviews Richard Paullin, Executive Director, International Trade Association of Greater Chicago on the impact for Chicago business owners concerning the lapse in the reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank of the United States.

IL exporters say it's a struggle with no Export-Import Bank

Meanwhile, our Global Small Business Forum 2015 (registration OPEN) held in Chicago at Navy Pier on Friday, October 23rd, will help small business owners boost their exports and gather alternative methods for financing their sales.  Richard Paullin will be participating in the event.

Today in Global Small Business: An Answer to the Big Language Problem

©iStock/Tashatuvango

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

• How to turn global customers into true believers on your brand.
• Attend the world's biggest Global Small Business Forum gathering held at Navy Pier in Chicago on 10/23/15.
• How to keep global campaign costs under control.
• A year of global shipping routes mapped by GPS.
• To understand what's going on with China's turbulent currency markets, follow the bacon.
• How machine translation can answer the big language problem and aid in expanding a brand’s global and multilingual footprint.

Registration is OPEN for the Global Small Business Forum Held in Downtown Chicago 10/23/15

Registration is OPEN for our Global Small Business Forum held at the historic Navy Pier in downtown Chicago on October 23, 2015. The Forum is for all entrepreneurs and small business owners – the makers, movers and shakers in our world – who want to export successfully and network with their peers.  This year's theme is:  "Up Your Global Game" (Twitter hashtag:  #upyourglobalgame).

For more information and to register, visit:  http://www.globalsmallbusinessforum.com

Hope to see you there!

Screenshot:  ©2015 GSBB Media LLC.  All rights reserved.