Today in Global Small Business: How to Move Toward Greatness

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

• Best cell phone plans for small businesses.  
• Quote of the week: “When [what you are deeply passionate about, what you can be best in the world at and what drives your economic engine] come together, not only does your work move toward greatness, but so does your life. For, in the end, it is impossible to have a great life unless it is a meaningful life. And it is very difficult to have a meaningful life without meaningful work. Perhaps, then, you might gain that rare tranquility that comes from knowing that you’ve had a hand in creating something of intrinsic excellence that makes a contribution. Indeed, you might even gain that deepest of all satisfactions: knowing that your short time here on this earth has been well spent, and that it mattered.”— Jim Collins, Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't
• U.S. small business owners feel 'peachy' over the state of the global economy? 
• Are you using social media to empower your small business?
• Global e-commerce trends to launch your business across borders.
• 18 must-have travel apps for traveling abroad.

PayPal Extends Its Global Reach by Buying iZettle

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Holy cow!  PayPal has reached a deal to buy iZettle, Europe’s answer to the mobile payments company Square, for about $2.2 billion.

PayPal’s chief executive, Dan Schulman, says, "Small businesses are the engine of the global economy and we are continuing to expand our platform to help them compete and win online, in-store and via mobile."

The deal is considered the company’s biggest takeover — and would underscore the arms race in the world of payments, especially as digital and mobile transactions are increasingly being adopted across the world.

Read more about PayPal agreeing to the $2.2 billion deal for European payments start-up iZettle.