Why (Global) Small Business Owners Are Optimistic about 2025

Inflation Still Concerns Global Small Business Owners

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Inflation is the single most important problem for many global small-business owners, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) said, despite price rises slowing to their lowest level in two years in June. Many owners are also reporting a struggle to fill job openings, the federation said.

The percentage of owners expecting an improvement in business conditions in the next six months rose by 10 points to a net negative 30, the highest reading in nearly two years but still very low compared with the historical average, NFIB said.

Read more about how confidence for global small business owners ticked up in July but inflation concerns still weigh on businesses.

Be a Global Leader, Not Just a Boss

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Global small business owners must keep improving and try to be a global leader rather than a boss to ensure employees feel comfortable opening up to you about the challenges they are facing at work. This allows you to build deeper connections with them and support them. This will ultimately lead to higher employee satisfaction which will significantly enhance their productivity.

Read more about 7 practices every global small business must follow.

Global Small Business Owners: Secure Your Future into 2021 and Beyond with a Grant from eBay and Hello Alice

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Starting November 23, 2020, eBay, in partnership with Hello Alice, is giving back to the global small businesses that power America and is awarding more than $500,000 in grants and education resources to help small businesses stay up and running online and secure their future into 2021 and beyond.  The program is called Up & Running. 

Learn more here.  Program closes December 11, 2020 at midnight ET.

Global Small Business Owners Are Feeling the Pain

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The bills are now coming due for big companies and millions of laid-off workers. Decisions made in the next few days will shape how coronavirus impacts the economy.

“Rent is due. Utilities are due. Credit card bills are due April 1,” said Hadley Douglas, who has laid off two workers from her liquor business, The Urban Grape. “The deadline is looming large and it is petrifying.” She said her landlord turned down a request to temporarily pay half the rent but said to keep in touch as it was focusing first on smaller, harder hit businesses.

The questions for small business owners become:  Which obligations do they pay and which can they put off? How many employees can they afford to keep on the payroll? Can they get a break on rent?

Read on about America's make or break week.

Jittery Global Business Owners and Consumers

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Businesses from pet hotels to tour operators to smartphone repair shops and fashion brands, among others, are facing challenges tied to corporate, government and consumer response to the novel coronavirus.

While fears over the growing global coronavirus outbreak sparked widespread economic worries and wild stock market swings last week, small business owners have felt the ripple effects of canceled travel reservations, scrapped conferences, closed factories and jittery consumers.

Learn more about how global small business owners are facing and attempting to overcome hurdles caused by the naval coronavirus (COVID-19).

New Mexico Small Business Owners Are Exploring International Trade

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New Mexico has seen steady growth in foreign trade in recent years yet it can still be an intimidating prospect for a small business owner.

While international trade has more than doubled as a portion of the United States’ gross domestic product over the past six decades, [David] Glaccum [associate administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of International Trade] said many small businesses opt not to export goods and services due to a lack of expertise, as well as a level of comfort in domestic markets. 

Glaccum also indicated as few as 1% of American small businesses export goods or services to other countries, even though 95% of consumers live outside the United States.

Read more about how international trade is within reach for New Mexico small business owners.

Getting Global Small Business Owners to Transition from Cash to Digital Payments

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The Indian economy thrives on 50 million micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that account for 37% of the country’s GDP.  This percentage could be higher, if 97% of the Indian retail transactions were not conducted in cash, like they currently are.

Extensive research has shown that use of digital financial services has many advantages over cash – it leads to higher reserves and business output. This means, small business owners in India could be more profitable if digital payments were more widely used. 

How do you get them to transition?  Read more about how SMEs transition from cash to digital payments.

Global Small Business Owners Must be Flexible and Adaptable

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Flexibility and adaptability are characteristics Janet Zablock often observed in the small business owners she served as former head of global small business for Visa. It also described her own career, one that required her to reinvent herself several times.

What she learned offers lessons both for those trying to grow a global business, as well as those building their careers.

Read more about how Zablock went from shampooing hair to running small business for Visa.