Exporting: The Dollar's Upside

iStock/Thinkstock

Boom time for small business exporters.

Social-Networking Sites Going Global

iStock/Thinkstock

MySpace, Facebook and other social-networking sites aren't just slugging it out for customers in the USA. They're expanding aggressively overseas, where a vast majority of Internet users live.

Find out more here.

And don't forget to join our new wiki.

Next-Gen Artisans Fuel New Entrepreneurial Economy

iStock/Thinkstock

Another one of my favorite reports has just been released: The third installment of the Intuit Future of Small Business Report™, which looks ahead 10 years and examines the prospects, influences and profiles of small business. The report is sponsored by Intuit Inc. and authored by the Institute for the Future.

Check this out:

The Next Wave of Globalization Will be Driven by Small Business

The number of U.S. small businesses trading globally will substantially increase, fueled by cross-border business opportunities, technological advances leading to broader social networks, and reductions in export costs. More specifically:

• Almost half of U.S. small businesses will be involved in global trade by 2018. As the costs associated with doing business globally continue to decrease, small businesses will make no distinction between domestic and international commerce.

• Social networks will fuel borderless commerce. Online and offline social networks will help remove soft trade barriers, such as language and cultural differences. These networks will introduce small businesses to new markets and facilitate cross-border trade.

• Globalization will increase small business diversity and amplify its economic value. Small business diversity will help increase market growth in the U.S. and abroad and will unlock new opportunities for all small business owners.

Clearly, borderless business is going to become BIG.

Special kudos to the main authors of the report: Steve King, Anthony Townsend, and Carolyn Ockels who also, in addition to writing the Intuit report, publish a nifty blog at Small Business Labs.

For a shortcut to the report, visit here and look for Phase Three: The New Entrepreneurial Economy.

Note: We contributed a tad to the report.

Going Online to Lure Foreign Shoppers

iStock/Thinkstock

Retailers in the U.S. are turning to the Internet to sell to shoppers abroad in hopes of easing the pain of an economic slowdown at home. As featured here -- preview only unfortunately -- in the WSJ 2/8/08.

When I read the article entitled, "Going Online to Lure Foreign Shoppers," I could not help but think of the days when Sears Roebuck published the one and only world's largest print catalog offering everything from toys to garden supplies to the best all cotton underwear for the entire family. These two clips provide context on what I'm talking about: Sears archive and a book about the catalog. If the catalog were still around, you can bet Sears would be thinking about luring foreign shoppers to it.

Could it be that retailers are just now thinking along the same line as Sears back then? Isn't that what Amazon has become: the world's biggest online catalog? Sears had its global day in the sun too (refer here when they formed a Sears World Trade company in the 80s) attempting to become the world's biggest global supplier but it fell far short of shareholder expectations. Since they had the global suppliers already in place, why not offer retail products on a wholesale basis to the world? Sounded like a good idea at the time but it didn't work out. One forgets just how complicated it can be. Even now with supplier chain management tools in place it's difficult to manage.

Where am I going with this? Don't think about piece-mealing exports on your products through someone else's efforts. Say you sell Macy's. And Macy's is thinking about luring more international customers to its online store (as the article states). Great. You see more of your widgets sold all over the world so how could you not be happy about that? Now you can attend business networking events and claim you are really, really global instead of just global -- through Macy's initiatives, that is.

But wait a minute. Wouldn't you rather sell a million units of your own product to a key customer in an overseas market and pocket the profit than sell a handful of units a month through Macy's and share in the profit? Just think what happens when you open up to other market opportunities?

One of the ways I moved a lot of products -- a couple of 40 ft. containerload quantities every month -- back in the days when I was exporting gourmet foodstuff was to work with importing wholesalers in foreign markets where I wanted to sell products. Those importing wholesalers sold to all the mass merchandisers, independent mom and pop stores and supermarket chains in their homeland. All I had to do was get product to them for marketing and distribution! My oh my was I on a roll and a very fulfilled small business exporter.

And you can be too. Regardless of whether you are selling direct or indirect, your customers will tend to fall into five categories: overseas agent or representative (importer), distributor or importing wholesaler (which mine were), overseas retailer, overseas end-user, and trading company.

Take a look here at how the process is managed.

6 Questions For Your Global Shipper

iStock/Thinkstock

I wrote an article, "Leaving the Country" for PARCEL magazine that talks about the reluctance of small businesses to expand their businesses internationally and why. One of the key concerns that always rises to the top of the heap is: "How will I ship my product? I'm clueless."

That issue is addressed near the end of the article with six questions small businesses should ask to help find the right shipping partner.

No. 1: Are you familiar with my industry and the markets where I want to do business?

The article along with the other five questions can be found here.

Got the Urge to Go Global?

iStock/Thinkstock

Well you've come to the right place -- that's for sure!

Read about how a chief executive plans to take the Harlem Globetrotters more global.

Global Misunderstandings

iStock/Thinkstock

Fascinating stuff! Don't miss a bit. I even added my own little story to the discussion list of working with people around the globe. Add yours too, if you have the time.

Here's the originally published article: Global-Market Woes Are More Personality Than Nationality. Quite a few people thought Jared, the author, was way off base. What do you think?

New GlobeTrade Community Wiki!

iStock/Thinkstock

Please join us on our new GlobeTrade Community Wiki (http://globetrade.wetpaint.com/) -- your place to build, connect, communicate and grow global with your peers!

We hope you like what you see, learn a lot in the process and discover there are no boundaries to growing your business.

Sign up (takes just a minute). Create a profile. Add your photo. And start net-borderbustering.

Ask For The United States Dollar Rate

iStock/Thinkstock

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.

Gear Up For Globalization: Answers From Real People (#3)

iStock/Thinkstock

Question from:

Laurel Delaney, Founder and President, GlobeTrade:

"Do you think Ex-Im Bank will cut back or be more willing to extend loans to SMEs (that qualify on exports) this year in light of a possible recession?"

Answer from:

Tess Morrison, Director, Illinois International Trade Center, University of Illinois, College of Business, Champaign, Illinois.

"Exim (and SBA) will not cut back for SMEs, whether or not there is a recession. Exim is committed to serving at least 20% of their business as SMEs.

All companies need to adhere to the financial guidelines, but they have as much to do with the buyers as the sellers. Exim must (by law) act as a bank. For example, they can only do business where there is a reasonable expectation of repayment. The onus is on the buyer. Otherwise, we, the U.S. taxpayer has to pick up the slack. Exim looks at the seller to make certain that they do not appear about to go under (to give an excuse to not repay by the buyer.) Exim is committed to SMEs."

Delaney (clarification):

"So Exim will not be in the same league as all the other banks on being super cautious with loans to SMEs due to the mortgage meltdown?"

Morrison:

"That's correct. They don't do the same kind of lending as regular banks. Their focus is on the buyer being able to repay so that we the U.S. taxpayer isn't stuck with the repayment."

Note: I am still waiting to hear back from two other experts (one from Chicago and one from headquarter office) at Exim Bank on the same question.

Weak Dollar Has Small Businesses Thinking Globally

iStock/Thinkstock

The New York Times now reports on how the weak dollar has small businesses thinking globally. If you make your products in the U.S.A., think exports.

A hat tip to friend and colleague John Yunker at the Global By Design blog for the nudge.

Up next: Another guest expert weighs in with her comments about the 'R' word tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Just Go For It: Take Your Business Global!

iStock/Thinkstock

I participated in this fabulous program UPS (along with Inc. and IBM) put on in November. I can't encourage you enough to take the time to listen to these podcasts where global small business owners share their successes that will inspire and empower you to take your business to the next level: global. If you can't tune-in to all of them, pick one or two that appeal to your interests.

And don't forget to download and read the invaluable Business Monitor Reports (refer to the upper right hand side of the site) to find out what's really holding small businesses back on going global.

GEM 2007 Executive Report: Six Questions With GEM Research Director

iStock/Thinkstock

I had the great pleasure to thoroughly read the GEM 2007 Executive Report again over the weekend. If you haven't already, I suggest you do so here. It is a gem -- filled with all sorts of amazing insights on the state of early-stage entrepreneurship. After digesting it all, we reached out to I. Elaine Allen, PhD, Research Director, Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship, Associate Professor of Statistics & Entrepreneurship, Babson College to ask her a series of questions about it since she is largely responsible for directing its research and contents.

We narrowed our questions down to six so it becomes a little like Cliff Notes -- providing you with a fresh take on the report. We thank Babson College (especially Elaine for her valuable time), the London School of Business and all the university teams from each participating country for their hard work on this immensely complex topic concerning the role of entrepreneurship in national economic growth. Here are the questions along with Elaine's responses.

1. Question: How is it possible for low-income countries to exhibit such high rates of early-stage entrepreneurial activity?

Answer: In our survey we divide early stage entrepreneurship into Necessity-driven entrepreneurs who are pushed into starting companies because all other options for work are either absent or unsatisfactory and Opportunity-driven entrepreneurs who start companies to exploit a business opportunity. In low-income countries, Necessity entrepreneurship is driving individuals to start companies. These high rates do not incorporate the value or potential revenues of the new company so these may be quite small endeavors started with micro-financing. Our definition of early stage entrepreneurship is nascent entrepreneurs who plan to start a company in the next three months or have a new company less than three months old that is not paying wages and new entrepreneurs who have companies less than 42 months old.

While the dichotomy between low/middle and high-income countries is striking, there are also dichotomies that remain in all countries between male and female entrepreneurship. While rates are lower for female early stage entrepreneurs in all countries, in low/middle-income countries the motivation is almost entirely necessity while in high-income countries women are opportunity motivated entrepreneurs who cite independence, rather than increased income, as their reason for starting a company.

2. Question: Why does the United States exhibit such high rates of early-stage entrepreneurial activity? What's leading that surge?

Answer: When you look at our figure of the rate of entrepreneurship plotted versus the GDP per capita, in general you see a U-shaped curve with high rates of early entrepreneurship in low/middle income countries, very low levels of entrepreneurship in most high-income countries but an increase in entrepreneurship rates as you move to countries with some of the highest rates of entrepreneurship, such as the US, Iceland, and Hong Kong. This pattern has persisted throughout the 10 years of the survey. Reasons for the US continuing high rate of entrepreneurship can be partly explained by cultural values but economically it probably has to do with some of the lowest levels of perceived ‘red tape’ involved in starting a business and also the lower cost involved in starting a business in the US compared to other high-income countries.

Although the US rate is high for high-income countries (it ranks 3rd behind Iceland and Hong Kong with a rate of early stage entrepreneurship of about 10%), it is in the middle of the pack among all countries where there the highest rates are in Peru and Venezuela (greater than 20%) and the lowest rates in Austria and Sweden (less than 3%).

3. Question: How does an individual's perception affect his/her ability to start a business in the area where they live? What factors are involved?

Answer: We see in our survey that both individual perceptions and contact and familiarity with business and other entrepreneurs have a great deal to do with whether you start a company. A low perception of any fear of failure is key to becoming an entrepreneur and knowing an investor in early-stage companies or other entrepreneurs is cited as a reason for starting a new business.

When we examine entrepreneurship regionally and in cities across the world, a slightly different picture of entrepreneurship appears as rates of entrepreneurship are very high in some of the high-income countries. The Top 10 cities for entrepreneurship are: Bangkok, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Auckland, Los Angeles, Toronto, Melbourne, Sydney, New York, and Hamburg. A new initiative starting in 2008 by GEM will be a closer examination of cities and entrepreneurship to identify what the business sectors are for early stage entrepreneurs and what their characteristics (immigrants, education, age, income) might indicate.

4. Question: If you could lump it into one thing, what is the single greatest factor that keeps an individual in any part of the world from starting a business? What's the one thing that entices them to get them started?

Answer: It is hard to pick just one thing that discourages someone from becoming an entrepreneurs but perhaps the two most important are access to capital and being employed. Access to business funding is interesting because the overwhelming majority of early stage businesses are funded by the founders own money or money from family and friends, even in countries with strong programs and policies to encourage entrepreneurs. The GEM survey (through a separate survey of experts in entrepreneurship worldwide) has found that it takes a long time for individual entrepreneurs to learn and take advantage of government programs designed to encourage entrepreneurship.

A final big factor is the perception that most early-stage businesses will fail. The GEM Survey shows, by comparing the rates of early and established entrepreneurship, that in some countries the conversion rate for businesses (how many new business last longer than 42 months) can be as high as 80%. In the US, our survey estimates this to be between 45% and 60%, a much higher than is often quoted.

Being employed is a counter-intuitive finding and is strongest in low/middle-income countries. Having a job (even part-time employment) is highly correlated with perceiving lower risk levels in starting a business. One interpretation of this is that being employed allows an individual to understand the market and business better as well as coming in contact with other entrepreneurs and acquaintances who could invest some money in a new business.

If we examine motivations in high-income countries, such as the US, it is clear that individuals start a business when an opportunity is seen in an area with few competitors and fast growth. The ability to use new technology and the view that this may include globalization also appear to drive US entrepreneurs.

5. Question: How does an open international trade system -- sales to other countries -- benefit entrepreneurs?

Answer: Our survey asks early-stage business owners as well as established business owners to estimate how much of their business will be from other countries and we classify a business as being ‘global’ if at least 25% is not in their country. There is an inverse relationship between the World Bank’s classification of a country’s barriers to international trade and its rate of entrepreneurship. Also, those companies that have identified global marketing as part of their early-stage entrepreneurship, also are more likely to have plans for higher growth and higher revenues.

6. Question: Based on the GEM 2007 Executive Report findings, what does the future hold for global entrepreneurs?

Answer: Global entrepreneurship continues to grow and countries with very low rates of entrepreneurship like Japan and the Netherlands have seen increases in early-stage entrepreneurship over the last 5 years (Japan, 2.0% to 4.3% and the Netherlands, 4.0% to 5.2%). The US rate has been stable (between 10% and 12% over the last 5 years) with some gender trade-offs in growth by more women entrepreneurs starting businesses.

The World Trade Organization and the World Bank’s figures predict a growing global economy with increased open international trade. Micro-financing in low/middle-income countries is clearly responsible for some of the high rates of early stage entrepreneurship in these countries but this may also be due to an increased number of countries embracing national policies encouraging company start-ups while a reduction of red tape in some high-income countries with very low rates of entrepreneurship (i.e.; Greece and Belgium) may increase start-ups in these countries.

Just in (1/31/08): Due to our summary report featured here, we have been added to the Babson College press release.

Updated (2/6/08): Elaine Allen's podcast with BusinessWeek online about GEM. It's headlined "What Helps and Hinders Entrepreneurs."

Gear Up For Globalization: Answers From Real People (#2)

iStock/Thinkstock

Question from:

Laurel Delaney, Founder and President, GlobeTrade:

"Do you think Ex-Im Bank will cut back or be more willing to extend loans to SMEs (that qualify on exports) this year in light of a possible recession?"

Answer from:

Harvey Bronstein, Senior International Economist, U.S. Small Business Administration, Washington

"As far as ExIm Bank, you'll have to talk with them.

As far as recession, the US is not in a recession, which is commonly defined as two quarters, that is a period of six months, over which the size of the US economy actually shrinks. For the third quarter of 2007, that is through Sept. 30, the economy actually grew almost 5%, far above the long-term average growth rate of the economy. Although growth will almost certainly be slower in the fourth quarter of 2007 than it was for the earlier part of the year, one quarter of slow growth does not equal "recession."

Concerning job creation, small businesses often create well over one-half of all net new jobs in the economy. Please refer to the link below on our website:

6. How many new jobs do small firms create?

Over the past decade, small businesses created 60 to 80 percent of the net new jobs. In the most recent year with data (2004), small firms accounted for all of the net new jobs. Firms with fewer than 500 employees had a net gain of 1.86 million new jobs. Large firms with 500 or more employees lost more jobs than they created, for a net loss of 181,122 jobs. For information on employment dynamics by firm size from 1989 to 2004, see www.sba.gov/advo/research/data.html#us.

On small business and exporting, 2007 will be a record year with small businesses racking up over $400 billion in exports. While in the third quarter of 2007 the economy grew 5%, exports grew by 19%. So long as the dollar remains weak and other countries' economies strong, the outlook for exports is bright."

Note from LD: Interesting "definition" of Export-Import (Exim) Bank at Answers.com.

Globalization, Small-Biz Style

iStock/Thinkstock

Young entrepreneurs in emerging markets find the Internet allows them to scale up operations without huge financial outlays. Read all about it here.

Can You Be Semi-Global?

iStock/Thinkstock

Everyone knows you can't be semi-pregnant but can you be semi-global?

Read the interesting post by Benjamin Sargent at Global Watchtower covering book theories about semi-globalization versus the world is flat.

Gear Up For Globalization: Answers From Real People

iStock/Thinkstock

Question from:

Laurel Delaney, Founder and President, GlobeTrade:

"Do you think Ex-Im Bank will cut back or be more willing to extend loans to SMEs (that qualify on exports) this year in light of a possible recession?"

Answer from:

Chad Moutray, Chief Economist & Director of Economic Research, U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy:

"Small businesses are increasingly sophisticated global players who are able to spot opportunities, whether these are found in their local communities or across the globe. The depreciated dollar has given entrepreneurs -- many of whom had not looked at the export market before -- a golden opportunity to pursue sales abroad."

Regarding the possibility of a downturn, Moutray referred us to this study (be prepared for an immediate PDF file download) by Craig and Kohlhase that had been released in December 2006. Note the research summary's overall finding: "Small firms play a vital role in maintaining economic growth in urban areas."

Moutray does not follow the movings of the Ex-Im Bank so there was no comment on the loan policy.

Sign up for Advocacy's ListServ here.

Add on from LD (1/26/08): Interesting "definition" of Export-Import (Exim) Bank at Answers.com.

Gear Up For Globalization

iStock/Thinkstock

We are gearing up to rally the global small business troups to export like mad in 2008 -- a year when the U.S. dollar is so low that it makes exports of all American goods a flashing blue light special.

In getting started, we have been working behind the scenes to create a new global platform for small businesses that will help them connect, collaborate and do more business internationally but you must first sign up for Borderbuster to learn about the launch on February 5th. Yes, word will get out fast, but why wait? Go here.

Next, we decided to reach out by email to the best of the best of global business experts and ask their opinion relative to the following question:

Do you think Ex-Im Bank will cut back or be more willing to extend loans to SMEs (that qualify on exports) this year in light of a possible recession?

My belief is that entrepreneurs and small businesses are typically the ones who create jobs in a downturn (refer to WSJ commentaries here and here) and that they most certainly lead the way on exports.

Let's see what some of our experts weigh in with starting tomorrow. You won't want to miss this.

And saving the best for last, on Tuesday, January 29th, we will be interviewing GEM Research Director I. Elaine Allen, PhD, on the latest key findings from the GEM 2007 Executive Report.

Be sure to stay tuned on all these great channels of global small business information.

World Trade Organization 2007 Data and Foreign Trade Statistics

iStock/Thinkstock

Due to reader inquiries (and the media), we went on a virtual mission to find direct links to trade data. The WTO has released two updated statistical publications. This year’s edition of the annual “International Trade Statistics," released electronically on 12 November 2007, has a more user-friendly presentation and expanded content on trade in services

Also available electronically is a fabulous updated “Trade Profiles," which offers a quick but comprehensive look (197 pages!) at WTO members’ trade statistics and policy measures and those of countries negotiating WTO membership.

Go here to access WTO information.

If you want or need more data, the best of the best is published by U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Statistics.

International Trade (2006)

iStock/Thinkstock

We received the following trade statistics for 2006 from our friend Myles Matthews, President and CEO of Global Trade & Technology Center. He indicated it will take a few months to analyze trade information for 2007.

The United States trade set a record for total trade which includes total exports, imports, and total trade deficit in 2006. In 2006 exports surpassed a milestone exceeding $1 trillion for the first time. Fewer than 5% of all countries (11) held almost 80% of the US trade deficit. The 5 leading countries in order of these 11 where China, Canada, Mexico, Japan, and Germany.

The US probably surpassed $3 trillion in total trade in 2007. US trade with 39 nations exceeded $10 billion in 2006, an increase of 5% over 2005.

The 25 leading ports of entry and exit in the US for 2006 where:

1 Los Angeles -- $329.4 billion total trade +12.3%
2 New York/New Jersey -- $295.0 billion total trade +10.2%
3 Detroit -- $238.5 billion total trade +3.7%
4 Houston/Galveston -- $162.2 billion total trade +18.9%
5 Laredo -- $157.4 billion total trade +13.0%
6 New Orleans -- $152.8 billion total trade +17.4%
7 Chicago -- $120.6 billion total trade +11.1%
8 Seattle -- $119.9 billion total trade +19.2%
9 San Francisco -- $111.1 billion total trade +12.3%
10 Atlanta/Savannah -- $82.5 billion total trade +13.7%
11 Buffalo -- $82.2 billion total trade +6.0%
12 Cleveland -- $77.6 billion total trade +11.1%
13 Miami -- $72.1 billion total trade +9.4%
14 Philadelphia -- $69.2 billion total trade +19.3%
15 Dallas/Fort Worth -- $58.2 billion total trade +17.5%
16 El Paso -- $52.3 billion total trade +9.0%
17 San Diego -- $50.8 billion total trade +17.0%
18 Charleston -- $49.2 billion total trade +2.6%
19 Norfolk -- $44.5 billion total trade +10.4%
20 Ogdensburg, New York -- $44.4 billion total trade +7.2%
21 Great Falls, Montana -- $40.3 billion total trade +9.3%
22 Baltimore -- $39.6 billion total trade +2.6%
23 Tampa -- $37.6 billion total trade +27.8%
24 Boston -- $33.3 billion total trade +3.7%
25 San Juan -- $32.6 billion total trade +11.4%

These numbers will continue to improve for exports based on the value of the dollar.

"I Have a Dream"

iStock/Thinkstock

If Martin Luther King, Jr. were still alive today, his dream of racial equality would be more relevant than ever and global in reach.

Today, in honor of Dr. King, I will be out of my office learning all I can about what inspired him, and for those worldwide who wish to know more about his dream, visit here.

Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Report (GEM) 2007 Released

iStock/Thinkstock

Dawn has broken in Chicago and as promised (and corrected), below is the latest GEM Report.

Download it here.

The World's Most Comprehensive Entrepreneurship Report

iStock/Thinkstock

We will be releasing the best of the best in global entrepreneurial research reports here tomorrow at the crack of dawn Chicago (CDT) time.

Stay tuned.

Found in Translation

iStock/Thinkstock

The more global you are, the more you need a good translation service and I am not talking about free online translation tools where you get a sentence translated. I am referring to translating important things such as your entire website, company's collateral material, legal documents and even email communications to ensure communications are understood.

Take a look at this article. Think the author is on target?

Operation China

iStock/Thinkstock

How do you go from idea stage to strategy to doing business in China? Well a good portion of those answers can be found here.

Although Operation China focuses on multinational corporations, you can still, even as a global small business, pick up good insights (for example, as the authors note: even the best strategies are only as good as their execution) and winning tips on how to do business in China.

Co-authors Hexter and Woetzel have been consultants in McKinsey's offices in Greater China for more than fifteen years and are considered experts on the subject matter. Check it out. Take full advantage of what this book has to offer.

What Sets The Best Apart?

iStock/Thinkstock

When Subroto Bagchi and nine other colleagues launched Mindtree Consulting in 1999, he believed he had two responsibilities. The first was to build the company as a global information technology and research and development services firm. The second was to document his entrepreneurial experience, not with 20-20 hindsight -- as many businesspeople do -- but as it unfolded.

Want to know what he did and how he did it? Go here.

Global Tip of the Week

iStock/Thinkstock

"Never assume that what plays in the States will resonate in the world."

Read where it came from here. Great story. Many lessons to be learned (when to open an overseas office?) and many great ideas to act on (who should open it for you?).

And don't think milk is the only thing you should shake for a winning global recipe! Dig deep into this article ... some truly great nuggets of advice but you have to look for them.

Disruptive Innovator: Is That You?

iStock/Thinkstock

Calling all global small business owners!

If you are an owner (and disruptive innovator on technology), president, or chief executive of a company with 100 employees or less that has driven a significant change and/or developed a competitive advantage in delivering superior customer value and experience, Dell wants to hear your story. In addition, they want you to share customer testimonials to show how technology has helped you improve customer relationships.

The International Council for Small Business (ICSB) (www.icsb.org) announced that it is partnering with Dell and Endeavor (www.endeavor.org) to expand the Dell Small Business Excellence Award internationally (www.dell.com/ceaward). Small businesses in countries around the world will be eligible to compete by demonstrating how they use information technology in innovative ways to better serve customers. Additional countries participating in the award program will be announced in the coming weeks.
Winners will receive ... up to $50,000 in Dell solutions, a lifetime ICSB membership and the opportunity to engage with Endeavor's network of business leaders and high-impact entrepreneurs in emerging-market countries world-wide.

Get ready, get set, go here.

Deadline: February 29, 2008!

Chicago's Place In the World

iStock/Thinkstock

Is Chicago a hub to the world? To outsiders, possibly. To natives, probably not. Find out more here and let us know what you think.

2008 Global Trend Toolkit

iStock/Thinkstock

Happy New Year! May it be your year for doing business with the world.

We hope this 2008 Global Trend Toolkit that we put together below provides a road map to your future!

Get ready, get started, go global!

Prediction for 2008: Business and Website Globalization, Technology, and Business Models

Web Globalization Predictions: 2008 and Beyond

Resolutions To Do Business Globally in 2008

Keeping You at the Forefront of Global Business

Eight Business Technology Trends To Watch

2008 Small Business Trends and Predictions

Advertising Trends to Watch in 2008

Top 10 Marketing Trends for 2008 (look for the listing and PDF file to download)

10 Media Trends to Watch in 2008

2008 Top Hotel and Restaurant Trends to Watch

Ten Wine Trends to Watch in 2008

Six Enterprise Application Trends to Watch in 2008

5 Wireless Trends to Watch in 2008

Small Business Trends (constantly updated)

Five Tech Trends to Watch in 2008

8 Important Consumer Trends for 2008
Seven Virtualization Trends to Watch in 2008

E-commerce Trends to Watch in 2008

E-business Trends to Watch in 2008

Packaging Trends to Watch in 2008

Pantone Fashion Color Report for Spring 2008

Financial Trends for 2008 by Wall Street & Technology

Stuck? Visit Google's Trends Lab

Have we missed your trend report? Let us know and we will post it.

Resolutions To Do Business Globally in 2008

iStock/Thinkstock

Hope you had a very Merry Christmas and that these resolutions I wrote about for Small Business Trends inspires you to take your business global in 2008!

Back with you in the new year. Enjoy.

World Greetings

iStock/Thinkstock

One of the real joys of the holiday season is the opportunity to say thank you to all our readers and wish you the very best for the new year.

Our toast to you is this: Here's to taking your business global in 2008!

Global Small Business is BIG Business

iStock/Thinkstock

Very powerful video.

A hat tip to the Women Presidents' Organization for turning us on to this clip.

A stat not mentioned in the video clip is that global small businesses play a HUGE role in global trade. They typically generate 29 percent of the U.S. export sales in a given year, and in 2005, they accounted for nearly $300 billion of the $906 billion generated by all U.S. exporters.

Here's our mantra for next year ... Get it straight in '08: Go Global!

Gambling Market Is Part Global

iStock/Thinkstock

The United States has reached a deal with the European Union, Japan and Canada to keep its Internet gambling market closed to foreign companies, but is continuing talks with India, Antigua and Barbuda, Macau and Costa Rica, U.S. trade officials said on Monday.

Read more here.

Web Design and Marketing Solutions

iStock/Thinkstock

At GlobeTrade, we make going global easy. In his new book, "Web Design and Marketing Solutions For Websites," Kevin Potts makes web design and marketing solutions simple. I wish we would have had this book on hand when we redesigned GlobeTrade!

Note: Globalization is covered briefly on Page 22.

Interesting Column By Thomas Friedman

iStock/Thinkstock

A fascinating post by one of my favorite minds: Thomas Friedman. It's a little off course to our work here but once in a while you just to have go with it -- provided it's that good. And it is.

Demand for U.S. Products Abroad Outpaces Supply

iStock/Thinkstock

Despite demand for American-made products abroad, small-business owners’ reluctance to export often means that their products do not find their way into global markets, trade experts told GlobalAtlanta.

Find out what the danger is in not going global here.

Keeping You at the Forefront of Global Small Business

iStock/Thinkstock

What's really holding you back from going global in 2008? Probably a lot of things but most of all I suspect it's knowledge.

But if knowledge is power, why not harness it by reading these very insightful reports that shed light on international issues affecting businesses around the world?

I read them once, twice and even gave a talk about the amazing results in Atlanta on November 13th.

So don't let the length of the reports intimidate you. It's worth it to explore. Dig deep. After all, 95 percent of the world population resides outside the United States. Are you tapping into it to grow your business?

Read more here. Spread the word.

How To Dress Globally

iStock/Thinkstock

Yellow in China is a don't and so is leather in India. Want to know more? Read Where Yellow's a Faux Pas and White is Death.

12 Days of Christmas in a Web 2.0 World

iStock/Thinkstock

On the first day of Christmas,
my cool colleague sent to me
A tip to expand my business globally

On the second day of Christmas,
my cool colleague sent to me
Two social networks,
And a tip to expand my business globally!

On the third day of Christmas,
my cool colleague sent to me
Three Del.icio.us bookmarks,
Two social networks,
And a tip to expand my business globally!

On the fourth day of Christmas,
my cool colleague sent to me
Four YouTube videos,
Three Del.icio.us bookmarks,
Two social networks,
And a tip to expand my business globally!

On the fifth day of Christmas,
my cool colleague sent to me
Five Second Lives, ...

Read more here.

Networking Is Going Global

iStock/Thinkstock

Whether you live in Kansas or Kuala Lumpur, networking is going global and many Chamber organizations in the United States are encouraging it. Why?

Sharing ideas on a regular basis helps support economic development, job creation and the marketing efforts of area cities.

But for many chamber organizations in Greater Kansas City, networking is going global.

The potential for tapping into huge overseas markets, including India and China, is becoming increasingly important for chamber members, particularly ones with expertise in the biosciences and information technology.

Read more.

Small Businesses Going Global

iStock/Thinkstock

Question: Why does the U.S. Small Business Administration, an independent domestic agency of the federal government, have an international trade mission?

Answer: Because doing business internationally is where future growth lies for many small businesses!

Read more here and be sure to get yourself a complimentary online copy of Breaking Into the Trade Game: A Small Business Guide to Exporting.

Separately, but related, be sure to check out our new Globe Tour (right side panel) on our blog!

Hoping to Grow Global in 2008?

iStock/Thinkstock

Better start planning now.

Best Countries for Global Business

iStock/Thinkstock

The World Economic Forum (WEF) each year handicaps the economic-development race. The Global Competitiveness Report tallies 113 factors that contribute to an economy's competitiveness -- a buzzword that roughly boils down to how well a country is positioned to squeeze efficiency out of its businesses and attract companies and investment from abroad.

Components of the resulting Global Competitiveness Index range from the quality of a nation's roads to the independence of its judiciary to the incidence of tuberculosis to how easy it is to hire an engineer. Parts of the index are culled from official data; many others are drawn from a survey of 11,000 international business executives. This year TIME partners with the WEF to bring you in-depth data on 37 key countries at time.com/globalbusiness.

Note, this is different from what we reported October 10, 2007 on the World Bank's Doing Business 2008.

The ABCs of Foreign Trade Zones

iStock/Thinkstock

Manufacturers familiar with foreign-trade zones know the obvious benefits, namely no duties on goods exported from the foreign-trade zone (FTZ) and the deferral of duties until goods are moved outside the FTZ. But, according to Greg Jones, corporate secretary and senior consultant with Foreign-Trade Zone Corp., there are other key points to consider.

Read more here.

Doing Business in China

iStock/Thinkstock

An easy and fun place to start on how to do business in China.

Doing Business in China for Dummies

Global Ideas Come In All Shapes and Sizes

iStock/Thinkstock

I had the great privilege and honor to participate in the world famous UPS Out-of-the-Box Small Business Contest and conference in Atlanta earlier this week. What an exciting time!

Congratulations to all the award winners! View their inspiring growth stories here.

And we will be posting highlights of the event over the next couple of weeks. Watch for YouTube videos, UPS Business Monitor Reports and more.

Grow or Die

iStock/Thinkstock

Interesting. The New York Times here talks about if you Google the expression "Grow or die" you get more than 11 million hits. Then they go on to suggest ideas to keep your company thriving.

How about if you Google "Go global or die?" See what comes up. I think they missed a HUGE opportunity in their story.

What do you think?

The New Year of the Tiger

iStock/Thinkstock

With a population of 1.3 billion whose per capita income is expected to double over the next 10 years, and a consumer market that is expected to grow to $14 trillion by the year 2025, it's no wonder foreign companies are investing billions to reach today's Chinese consumer. Research reveals a growing demographic of generally younger, affluent, urban Chinese consumers who are willing to consider foreign brands.

Think you can translate your brand for the savvy Chinese shopper?

Find out more here.

What's Ahead in Our Brave New Cyberworld

iStock/Thinkstock

Here's a post I did for the Small Business Trends blog which focuses on social media tools, globalization and what's ahead in our brave new cyberworld.

... My interest has always been to track trends before they affect us. I like to be way out in front, and that’s why I follow closely anything that has to do with global small business trends.

Let me know what you think. Direct link here.

We Make Going Global Easy

Welcome to the new GlobeTrade ... a leading management consulting and marketing solutions company dedicated to helping entrepreneurs and small businesses go global. Our mission is simple: to make going global easy by giving you the tools, resources, and knowledge you need.

We hope you like our new look.