Are We Being Kept In the Dark?

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The United States does not have a king. In a representative democracy, the people must have confidence in the health of their leader, and in the leader’s capacity to guide the nation. Are we being kept in the dark on President Trump's health?

This is a Guest Essay for the NY Times by Jonathan Reiner, who is the co-author of the book “Heart: An American Medical Odyssey” alongside Mr. Cheney and Liz Cheney. The book details the former vice president’s struggle with heart disease.  Dr. Reiner is also a professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington University.

The Global Order Has Been Altered

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The global order has been altered, and economies are unlikely to simply pick up where they left off before the U.S. and Israel began bombing Iran.

The framework deal between the United States and Iran sets the stage for an end to the bursts of violence and debilitating disruption of energy deliveries and trade in the Persian Gulf. But don’t expect economies around the globe to simply pick up where they left off before the United States and Israel began bombing Iran on Feb. 28.

The war has set in motion changes that will be hard to reverse.

To Grow Successfully, Stick to Your Knitting Worldwide

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Wife and husband team Laura and Doug Zander own Jimmy Beans Wool, a $7 million (2013), 37-employee, online yarn and fabric retailer with a brick-and-mortar store in Reno, Nevada.  They've been in business since 2002.

Their recent big challenge has been a drop in sales.  How do they boost sales and sustain growth without throwing a ton of money into it?

Here is one option:

They also considered simply continuing to build their brand online, possibly with a greater emphasis on international sales. Jimmy Beans could begin advertising internationally and form cross-border partnerships. But growing outside the United States would entail some of the same lifestyle choices as expanding domestically. In effect, Ms. Zander said, they would be starting a new business that would require travel and money to master.

My suggestion for the Zanders is to go back to basics and purely stick to their knitting.  Focus more on e-commerce and international expansion.  To do this, the Zanders do not need to advertise.  Rather, they need to pump up their social media marketing efforts and partner with e-commerce sites outside their own borders to sell their yarns.

Find out what their other options are and what other experts say.

Read the entire article:  Seeking Even Faster Growth, an E-Commerce Company Stumbles

The Hidden Benefit to Globalization

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Below is an article on how globalization increasingly allows companies to avoid United States taxes and regulation.

The Benefits of Incorporating Abroad in an Age of Globalization

Uncertainty Is The Norm When Studying Abroad

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Doesn't that hold true for just about everything these days:  uncertainty is the norm?

Take a look at what's happening with study abroad programs.  To experience life, you have to put yourself out there, take chances, minimize serious risks (hazards) and still move forward on great ideas.  Resiliency and adaptability helps here too.

Read the entire article:
Study Abroad in Hot Spots (NYTimes.com)

The New India

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Who is the new India?

Find out here:

The Ideas Shaping a New India
NYTimes.com || Global Edition
by Anand Giridharadas

Learn more about the author's book, "India Calling:  An Intimate Portrait of a Nation's Remaking," published by Times Books

Where's the Bright Light?

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There's an expectation of a slowdown in export growth ...

Asian companies have been on a tear, but this may be as good as it gets. Despite a stellar round of earnings for the last quarter, the outlook for many of the region’s companies — household names around the world — is dimming.

And a snippet from Alibaba.com:

“We continue to take a cautious view on the global economy and small-business development,” said David Wei, Alibaba’s chief executive, “and expect a slowdown in export growth for the following quarters.”

Read more here:
Pessimism in Asia Despite a Solid Earnings Season

Posted by: The Global Small Business Blog

Wanted: UPS to Help Double SMB Exports

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What a great job to have! The U.S. has asked UPS to help double exports for small and medium-sized U.S. businesses. UPS will use shipping data to identify those SMBs.

President Barack Obama set a goal of doubling exports to more than $3 trillion over the next five years to help create or support 2 million American jobs.
Less than 1 percent of America's 30 million companies export, which is significantly less than in other developed countries, the Commerce Department said in a statement.
Of those that do export, 58 percent export to only one country, providing what U.S. officials see as a big opportunity to expand exports.

A lot of the above stats can be found at UPS Business Monitor.

Read more here.

Another interesting piece: Export volumes: Is it possible to double exports in five years? ~ The Economist

The Do-It-Yourself Global Economy

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There's certainly no good reason why you can't do this same project across borders. An excerpt from Thomas L. Friedman's Op-Ed column in The New York Times (12/12/09):

Two examples, one small, one large: The first is my childhood friend, Ken Greer, who owns a marketing agency in Minneapolis, Greer & Associates. The Great Recession has forced him to radically downsize, but the Great Inflection has made him radically more productive. He illustrated this by telling me about a film he recently made for a nonprofit.
“The budget was about 20 percent of what we normally would charge,” said Greer. “After one meeting with the client, almost all our communication was by e-mail. The script was developed and approved using a collaborative tool provided by www.box.net. Internally, we all could look at the script no matter where we were, make suggestions and get to a final draft with complete transparency — easy, convenient and free. We did not have a budget to shoot new footage, yet we had no budget either for stock photography the old way — paying royalties of $100 to $2,000 per image. We found a source, istockphoto.com, which offered great photos for as little as a few dollars.
“We could easily preview all the images, place them in our program to make sure they worked, purchase them online and download the high-resolution versions — all in seconds,” Greer added. “We had a script that called for 4 to 5 voices. Rather than hiring local voice talent — for $250 to $500 per hour — we searched the Internet for high-quality voices that we could afford. We found several sites offering various forms of narration or voice-overs. We selected www.voices.com. In less than one minute, we created an account, posted our requirements and solicited bids. Within five minutes, we had 10 to 15 ‘applicants’ ” — charging 10 percent of what Greer would have paid live talent.
“Best part,” he said, “within minutes we had sample reads, which could be placed into our film to see if the voices fit. We selected our finalists, wrote them with more specific instructions and within hours had the final read delivered to us via MP3 files over the Web. We could get any accent or ethnicity we wanted. For music, we used a site called www.audiojungle.net,” where he could sample thousands of cuts of music and sound effects with the click of a mouse, and then buy them for pennies.
By being able to access all these cheap tools, Greer got to focus on his value-add: imagination.

Read the entire column here. When you attempt to access cheap tools and focus on your value add, take it global.

Snap Out of It; Global Trade Isn't Going Away

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One of my favorite classic scenes in the movie Moonstruck is when Loretta (Cher) says to Ronny (Nicolas Cage), "Snap out of it!" (view clip here -- it's toward the end -- nice diversion). Well that scene plays in my head when I say to all the folks who are reporting bad news about global trade:

"Snap out of it!" Global trade isn't going away any time soon.

In the meantime and if you are a glutton for punishment, read more downer news at the NYTimes.com, "Trade and Hard Times."

The Global Show Must Go On

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The last two decades have brought the world more trade, more globalization and more economic growth than in any previous such period in history. Few commentators had believed that such a rise in trade and living standards was possible so quickly.

More than 400 million Chinese climbed out of poverty between 1990 and 2004, according to The World Bank. India has become a rapidly growing economy, the middle class in Brazil and Mexico is flourishing, and recent successes of Ghana and Tanzania show that parts of Africa may be turning the corner as well.

Despite these enormous advances, however, there is a backlash against globalization and a widespread belief that it requires moderation.

Find out more, here.

Ask For The United States Dollar Rate

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This never would have occurred to me. Dependent upon where you are traveling to or from, ask for the U.S. dollar rate if it's to your advantage. Good idea. And another interesting tip mentioned in the same article is the Small Luxury Hotels of the World where they do allow you to ask for U.S. dollar rates but not so sure -- even with the weak dollar -- the room rates are affordable to all global small business owners. Worthwhile read though.