Today in Global Small Business: Entrepreneurship Is For Everyone, Even Later in Life

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

• It is a myth that entrepreneurship is for the young. Later-in-life business owners are blurring the line between their working years and retirement.
• Smithsonian ponders what it means to be an American.
• AI isn't a substitute for human skills.  It's a multiplier.
• Quote of the week:  “I alone will decide when I'm retiring." – Jupp Heynckes
• From principles to practice: How McKinsey is helping Ownership Works scale employee ownership.
• Leading through uncertainty in the age of AI.

Note:  The Global Small Business Blog has been in operation since 2004 and is ranked number one in the world for entrepreneurs and small businesses interested in going global.  As of May, 2026, we average between 700,000-900,000 readers a month.  Thank you for your engagement! 

Women Entrepreneurs Have the Fastest Growing Businesses in the United States

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From small shops to bold startups, women are trailblazing into entrepreneurship and making things happen on their own terms. But the playing field isn’t quite equal yet. Behind the breakthroughs, female founders still see more doors closed than opened regarding funding and fair chances. The percentage of women who started a business in the last year was 47%, compared to 44% for men.

Businesses owned and operated by black females in the United States between 2014 and 2019 increased by 50%. About 2.7 million enterprises in the United States are owned and managed by black women.

Learn more about the top major women entrepreneur statistics.  And see how many women entrepreneurs are turning to global expansion for growth.

Today in Global Small Business: Finding the Way in Your New Global Business

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

• Finding your way in your new global business.
• Why it's important to plant the seeds for entrepreneurs.
• Building a brighter policy future for American entrepreneurs.
• Quote of the week:  "As an entrepreneur, you have to be OK with failure. If you're not failing, you're likely not pushing yourself hard enough." – Alexa von Tobel, founder of LearnVest
• Expert advice and insights for older entrepreneurs on starting a small global business and running it successfully.
• Build your business. Live your dream.

Why Millions of People Started a Business During the Pandemic

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One new small-business owner said, "When you're not sure what's going on, you make the best of it that you can."  That about sums things up.

During the pandemic, entrepreneurs opened their own businesses at more than twice the rate seen in pre-pandemic times, thanks to government support programs and improved remote technology that weren't available during other economic downturns such as the Great Recession.

Read on to discover how entrepreneurship becomes a power booster during economic uncertainty.

Define Your New Overseas Market in Detail

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According to certified trainer in entrepreneurship Yaneek Page, the biggest mistake entrepreneurs tend to make with global expansion is to broadly define their goal as exporting to a new market. You have to be very specific about which market you want to enter and why.  Particularly the 'why'!

Read more tips about expanding to a new market.

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.

Entrepreneurship is An Integral Component of African Economies

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Entrepreneurship is an integral component of African economies – it is not surprising that the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report for 2014, ranked Uganda as the World’s top entrepreneurial country.

With a high market value and uses in cooking and cosmetics, Shea butter has become known as Burkina's gold. By training groups of entrepreneurs in the best processing methods and how best to sell their end product, TREE AID is turning an everyday tree product into meals, medicines and schooling.

Most business entities in Uganda are small-scale ventures and operate extensively in the informal sector – young entrepreneurs have low growth expectations as not many of them innovate or develop new products.

Learn more about the challenges and prospects of SMEs and entrepreneurship in Africa.

Entrepreneurs Are Responsible for Almost All Net New Job Creation

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There been a lot of talk about a possible recession, about protection of jobs from global competition, about income inequality, about interest rate cuts, tax cuts, and increased tax incentives.  What's left out of the analysis?

Missing almost entirely from the national discussion is entrepreneurship. This despite the fact that entrepreneurs, not big businesses, are responsible for almost all net new job creation. 

Policymakers have pushed entrepreneurship to the side, prioritizing support for big business over new and small businesses.

See what this author thinks is ahead and is a good start for bringing entrepreneurs into the conversation.

Entrepreneurship is a Fundamental American Value That Unlocks Opportunity Globally

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USA President Obama speaks at the 7th annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES), bringing together over 700 entrepreneurs from every corner of the globe—and from all across America.

Entrepreneurship is a fundamental American value, and it is also a force that has the ability to unlock opportunity for people globally. 

Read more:  FACT SHEET: As the Global Entrepreneurship Summit Begins in Silicon Valley, New Announcements to Support Inclusive Entrepreneurship & Innovation at Home

The Importance of Entrepreneurship For Global Development

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President Obama announced this week (March 31st) that he will visit Kenya for the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) in July.  It will be his first trip to the country and his fourth to sub-Saharan Africa during his presidency.

The Global Entrepreneurship Summit brings together business owners, educators, policymakers and investors to support the growth of new enterprises in developing regions.  President Obama has supported the annual meetings since 2009.

Entrepreneurship can transform the world by solving problems, creating jobs and boosting economies.

Learn more:  Obama Will Visit Kenya For Global Entrepreneurship Summit in July [2015] 

Tweets about #GES2015 hashtag on Twitter

Why Global Entrepreneurship is a Good Career Move

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In many parts of the world, especially in the U.A.E., entrepreneurship is viewed as a good career move that offers high status, which also helps enable favorable media attention.

“Entrepreneurs in the UAE are looking eagerly for [business] opportunities in different sectors. They feel that they can improve their standard of living by owning a business rather than be employed,” al Mutawa told INSEAD Knowledge. “The type of business ranges from the regular to the innovative, and we even have lifestyle entrepreneurs.”

Read the entire article at INSEAD Knowledge here.

How to Inject Fresh Energy Into the Royal Family: Practice Entrepreneurship

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Enlightening commentary by John Berlau for The Wall Street Journal titled, "The Entrepreneurs' Princess."  The reason I find it enlightening is that speaks about how Kate Middleton's family embody a noble tradition of their own:

... a tradition of bettering oneself and one's family while improving the lot of society.

In other words, entrepreneurship.

Learn more about the story of the Middletons rise to wealth and its implications for British culture, public policy and the world at large.  It's a wonderful read.

And while you are at it, visit Carole Middleton's family business:  PartyPieces.co.uk

Africa Grows

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Data recently released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reveals that while other regions of the world are experiencing economic decline, Africa has experienced significant economic growth over the past five years and is expected to maintain a positive growth rate of 3.5% for 2009.

To advance trade and investment flows between the U.S. and Africa, Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) -- a nonpartisan 501 (c) (3) membership organization of nearly 200 U.S. companies dedicated to strengthening the commercial relationship between the U.S. and Africa -- is gearing up to host its 7th Biennial U.S. – Africa Business Summit at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. from September 29 – October 1, 2009, to which senior U.S. officials, including President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, have been invited.  President Paul Kagame of the Republic of Rwanda will be attending.

Entrepreneurship will be the hot topic at the Summit, throughout various sectors such as infrastructure, natural resources, agribusiness, financing, power, health and tourism.  The event is expected to attract more than 1,500 participants, bringing together U.S. and African heads of state, cabinet ministers, Fortune 500 CEO’s, and heads of international organizations. Participants will have the opportunity to attend more than 50 industry-specific sessions and workshops.

Go here to register and get involved.

Diary of a Fellowship in China

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Over at The New Entrepreneur, BusinessWeek, Stacy Perman, who is on a two-week fellowship in China, reports on entrepreneurship in a series of blog posts.

Check it out here.

Are You a Dreamer and a Doer?

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Aspire to become a global entrepreneur? Yes, you can. If you are a dreamer and a doer, then you might want to check out Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts where entrepreneurial students talk shop throughout the day and night in the E-Tower.

The E-Tower is a community for Babson students who wish to pursue entrepreneurial endeavors while attending school.

As one student says, "Any school can teach entrepreneurship, but at Babson, we live entrepreneurship."

To find out more about Babson's program, visit here. To learn what ventures E-Tower members are currently creating and growing, go here.

Have Ones Entrepreneurship and Innovate Too?

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According to Forbes reporter Sramana Mitra, entrepreneurship and innovation don't always go hand in hand -- at least not in India.

Read more here and weigh in with your comments.

And if you have a moment, pay a visit to Sramana's blog.