Today in Global Small Business: International Growth Is Being Driven By a New Breed of Business

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

• International growth is being driven by a new breed of business: the emerging multinational.
• How the Shiga Bank is driving regional growth through global strategy, sustainability and SME support.
• How businesses can leverage Hong Kong’s advantages to expand overseas.
• Quote of the week:  “These guys have shut down the Straits of Hormuz.  This is what Iran is saying:  We will shut down the straits, no one can go through, no country in the world can go through unless we allow you to go through, and you have to pay us, but our ships can go through – meaning the Iranian ships – as much as they want.  That’s crazy.  Who would agree to that?" – Secretary of State Marco Rubio (5/5/26)
• Updates from the NY Times on the war in the Middle East.
• Iran asserts sole control of Hormuz, warns challenges will bring more violence.

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! 

Is Your Global Strategy Focused on the Wrong Things?

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In today’s ultra-competitive business climate, companies expanding their global footprint need to manage resources efficiently and base their plans on validated options so goals are achieved and expectations are met.

Some questions to ask yourself:

1. Is your leadership aligned from the onset?
2. Are you seeing the big picture and thinking holistically?
3. Are you focusing on the right drivers and challenges?

You want to make sure you are navigating the right path to global growth. To get the details on assessing and improving your global enterprise strategy, download this e-book.

Going Global Doesn't Have to be Complicated

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To go global, businesses must navigate complex regulatory environments, cultural differences, language barriers, and logistical issues, not to mention the task of finding customers and getting paid.

Given the potential benefits of expanding internationally, the effort is worth it on mastering the above.

How can businesses best prepare for and navigate the inherent challenges of global growth?  Prepare a global strategy and take the time to consider all aspects of going global to ensure success. 

Today in Global Small Business: Why Study Global Business?

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

• Why study global business?  Five benefits to consider.
• Why developing a global strategy is important.
• Quote of the week:  "We must ensure that the global market is embedded in broadly shared values and practices that reflect global social needs, and that all the world's people share the benefits of globalization." – Kofi Annan
• An excerpt from Euromonitor’s Q4 economic forecast 2022.
• How Alibaba, Amazon, and Mercado Libre compare in the global marketplace.
• While a significant downturn is forecast for 2023, the labor market remains strong and consumer spend elevated — suggesting that any recession hitting the U.S. will be mild.

Why Sell Globally?

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A company that does business only within its own country will find itself at a long-term competitive disadvantage if it does not have a global strategy. Companies will need to eventually find new customers – and to be successful, global expansion is the only path to continued growth says Mark Waring. 

The easiest way to extend a global footprint is to sell on the web. It’s especially easy for sellers of subscription-based services and other digital goods (gaming, for example). Indeed, TSG noted in a recent study that the growth of the ‘Subscription Economy’ is a noteworthy, permanent trend. Even internet-based marketplace sellers of physical goods are finding it easier to set up warehouses and shipping solutions in other countries. 

Read on to learn about trends in North American cross-border commerce. 

Global Strategy: McDonald's

5 Steps to Maximize Your Global Strategy

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Are you NOT inspired to go global?  Read this (PDF file):

GO SMART
Before You Global Global

How to Push Your Business to Get Growth From Developing Markets

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In a recent Wall Street Journal Article, "Philips's CEO Urges Local Strategies for Emerging Markets," reporter Paul Glader interviews Philips Electronics NV Chief Executive Gerard Kleisteriee.

Kleisteriee shines a magnificent light on his firm's global strategy. The company aims to boost emerging-market sales from 30% to 50% by 2015 by focusing on China.

An interesting snapshot:

WSJ: What do companies have to do differently now in emerging markets?
Mr. Kleisterlee: It does not suffice to serve only the metropolitan areas. In India and in China you need to have good rural distribution.
Increasingly we, and also our competitors, develop products in these emerging markets for the emerging markets. So it is not a European or a U.S. concept that gets sold in China or India but things that we have designed, engineered and manufactured locally for the local market.

Read the entire interview here.

By the way, I did not know Philips has an online store.

The Driver Of Our Global Growth Is Not To Make Money

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Don't you find this hard to believe?

"The driver of our growth is not to make money, but to continue investing in this market." ~ Harish Manwani, president of Unilever's Asia, Africa, Central and Eastern Europe division.

It may be a planned global strategy but is it sustainable over the long haul?

Read more about Unilever's growth strategy here.

Unilever in China

Innovation | Unilever Global

Research and Development Centers

Buying on a Global Scale

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What are corporate decision-makers thinking about global services and outsourcing? Are they planning to increase or decrease their spending? Does your organization lead its peers in global sourcing? Or is your enterprise a follower?

The article, Is Global Sourcing an Item on Your Strategic Plan of Action, examines what buyers are thinking when it comes to sourcing services on a global scale.

Going Global By Going Green

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Which comes first: going global (global strategy) to get green or going green (green strategy) to get global? Trick question. Find the answer (sort of) here.