Will Your Brain Be Outsourced Next?

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Should you prepare to either work in India or lower your salary to the level of those in India? Due to tough times, many people feel it's time to redefine the "American Dream." Others think we should just sit tight and wait for the next big prosperity bell to ring and then act on it.

What do you think? See what's on the minds of others here.

Does Offshore Outsourcing Affect Customer Satisfaction?

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Outsourcing has taken the heat lately. Many claim there are language problems and the exporting of jobs.

What do you think? Let us know!

Unsure? Read more here. Find out exactly how offshore outsourcing affects customer satisfaction. You'll be surprised.

Going Local

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You can't do it all on your own, especially in a new country. Even with global knowledge, you need a team of local service providers. They are your point people who can facilitate global trade.

How To Do Business in China

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This informative workshop on doing business in China presents numerous case studies synthesized with more than 20 years of first-hand experience with conducting business in China.

Issues to be addressed include but are not limited to: cultural sensitivities, steps to company formation in China, negotiation with the Chinese government and business community and more.

The workshops will be conducted in six different key cities within the United States. Find out if yours is scheduled here.

Go Global, Go Green

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With a sluggish U.S. economy, rapid economic growth in Asia and other international markets, and a currency exchange rate favoring U.S. exports, U.S. small- and medium-sized businesses are increasingly looking to markets overseas. For those who haven’t taken the plunge, the time is NOW.

A major obstacle standing between smaller businesses and the global marketplace is complicated documentation involved in international shipping and returns. In fact, the #1 reason packages are delayed in Customs is missing or incomplete paperwork. What's more, research shows 70% of businesses don’t have a formalized process to handle international returns.

Want a quick fix? When you go global, go green, or paperless with your international documentation. Find out more here. It will save you time, money and trees while you’re at it.

American Knowledge for Global Power

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A whole new world of educational opportunities is being offered by Cornell Medical School, Northwestern, Carnegie Mellon, to name just a few, to Middle Eastern, South Asian and East Asian students .... and to think the best is yet to come.

• Education City Qatar
• Dubai's Knowledge Village
• Saadiyat Island (where the likes of the Sorbonne, the Guggenheim and soon New York University will all join in on developing cultural and education programs).

The full article, authored by Martha Bayles, can be found at Strangers in a Foreign Land.

When you achieve your worldy degree, find your global job here.

Burj Dubai

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Dubai Tower (pictured by Michael Travica) is a skyscraper under construction in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and is the tallest man-made structure on Earth. It is expected to be completed and ready for occupation next month: September 2009.

Are you looking at Dubai for business?

Reaching Beyond Borders

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We've been preaching the value of using technology to go global for a long, long time. Here's a good article that backs us up!

What's Happening Around The World?

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Contributors from around the world at Globespotters write about what's happening in their cities, from cultural events to hot new restaurants.

Before you take off to button down that overseas deal you've been working on for months, take a minute to see what you can do in between your business appointments. You won't be disappointed.

Very nice.

What's China Buying?

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As the fifth largest importer in the world, China is a country worth doing business in.

Not sure where to look to see if your product is a good fit? Try the World Importers Net, a trade promotion website aimed at promoting international trade by providing both Chinese and overseas companies with trade information. It is a part of the China national public information service system for international trade and economic cooperation -- funded by the Chinese government, with all services provided free of charge.

You must register first (complimentary) to access data.

Exporting to India Gets a Whole Lot Easier

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The Commercial Service's Trade Information Center (TIC) has a established a new business information center for India. It will help U.S. companies take advantage of emerging market opportunities and the fast-growing purchasing power of the middle class in India.

A Web portal contains up-to-date information about doing business in India. They have a toll-free number 800-USA-TRAD(e) for counseling and are taking the initiative to raise awareness of opportunities in India for U.S. businesses.

Have you been waffling over whether to look at India for new business? Well now is your chance to get on board! Contact Abdul.Shaikh(at)mail.doc.gov if you require personalized assistance.

Is Going Global Right For Your Small Business?

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Have you been feeling the itch to take your small business global? Then maybe this article will motivate you to get started.

Great Global Productivity Starts With No Complaining

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In a world where everyone is connected 24/7, being positive is a powerful force that enables people to get things done.

Whether you are based in Mumbai or Memphis, this new book, authored by Jon Gordon, helps you establish positive ways to deal with negativity at work.

Find out more here.

Invest In Emerging Market SMEs

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The Social Equity Venture Fund (S.E.VEN), just launched a competition to develop new indicators and models for investment in emerging market small and medium-sized enterprises.

The competition is open to everyone, and is offering U.S. $50,000 in funds awarded for the best ideas. Entrepreneurs in developing markets often cite a lack of financial capital as the biggest barrier to growing their business. This competition, and its results, are one concrete step in demonstrating the power of entrepreneurship, and business, as a sustainable solution to world poverty.

S.E.VEN hopes that by opening up the discussion to anyone interested in participating that they can come up with more diverse and effective ways of looking at investment in emerging market SMEs.

Full details of the competition are available here.

Best-In-Class Global Trade Compliance

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In an increasingly global marketplace for manufacturers, the role of trade compliance is taking on more prominence in separating the winners and the losers.

Find out why here.

How To Foster Successful Cross-Border Mergers

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Try a little cultural due diligence. It works. Read Worlds Apart.

Living Unbuttoned Goes Global

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Levi's offers a campaign and a jean fit for all 110 markets. Think it will work?

Catch the story here: Levi's Marketers Hope One Size Fits All

Ireland's Love Affair With Entrepreneurship

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Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Mary Coughlan T.D. launched the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) Report for Ireland for 2007. The report found that 8.2% of the adult population living in Ireland is engaged in entrepreneurial activity, an increase on the 2006 level of 7.4%. So don't let the peaceful photo above fool you. Ideas are flourishing here and the Irish (my people) are making it happen.

Directed by Babson College, GEM reviews entrepreneurial activity and perceptions of 42 countries and is the world’s largest research project focusing on entrepreneurs and how they affect national economic growth.

The report findings include:

The number of entrepreneurs in Ireland increased in 2007. In 2007, 1 in 12 of the adult population in Ireland (aged 18-64) was involved in actively planning or had recently started a new business. This rate of 8.2% is an increase on the 2006 level of 7.4%.

The 2007 report shows a significant increase in the number of women entrepreneurs. Over 1,000 women in Ireland are starting new businesses each month. The number of women setting up new businesses or actively planning to do so increased to 5.9% (of all women aged 18-64) in 2007, up from 4.2% in 2006.

The level of informal investment (investing in someone else’s start-up business) was 3.3%. This is the highest rate reported by GEM in the last five years and brings Ireland into the top 10 of 20 selected OECD countries.

The 2007 GEM Report is available on www.enterprise-ireland.com and www.forfas.ie as well as on www.gemconsortium.org.

Trade Shows Attract Global Customers

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Trade shows are an important vehicle for finding overseas customers. Sometimes you have to start local to go global.

Trade Show Handbook claims to be the most comprehensive online resource guide for the trade show, exhibition and event industry. See what you think here.

Your USA Economy

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The Edward Lowe Foundation has created an online resource that tracks business activity in communities across the United States.

Visit www.YourEconomy.org, and you can see the breakdown of business establishments-along with the jobs they generate-at state, MSA and county levels.

New features and information (e.g., available early 2009, the entrepreneurship view will track establishments and jobs according to key entrepreneurial indicators to be determined) will be added to YourEconomy over the next few months.

Check it out.

Bring Overseas Customers To Your Door

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If you run a service business, instead of exporting, think about bringing overseas customers (hopefully a lot of Europeans) to your door.

This article does a good job talking about how it's done and why you should consider.

Take On The World

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Should a big company like Sony appoint the midsize ad agency that helped make Bravia flat-panel television famous in Europe, Fallon Worldwide, to lead a global ad campaign?

If it were your decision, would you run ads for every part of the world with one unified message? Is it better to make ads that can run anywhere in the world or to tailor spots to regional sensibilities?

Tough questions. Find out more here.

Minority Businesses Matter in the Global Marketplace

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The Minority Enterprise Development (MED) Week conference, initially instituted by President Ronald Reagan in 1983, is the largest federally sponsored event held on behalf of minority businesses.

Small businesses can learn about the U.S. Small Business Administration’s International Trade initiatives, including its first-ever International Trade Symposium with the Department of Commerce during this year’s 26th Annual MED Week conference. MED Week is co-hosted by the Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency and the SBA and will be held on September 3-5, 2008 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C.

The theme for this year’s event is: "The Power of Strategic Alliances in the Global Economy." There will be an SBA/MBDA workshop on Free Trade/Export Enforcement entitled: "Small Business Benefits - Free Trade Agreement." The workshop will be held on the afternoon of September 5. For more information, visit MED Week 2008.

Express Yourself Globally

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First, there was Second Life.

Now, there's Lively by Google (beta).

Express yourself globally.

One World Yellow Pages

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Let your fingers do the clicking at One World Yellow Pages (in beta stage).

Law in China

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From the New York offices of Global Trade & Technology Center:

Join "Lawyer in China" on Facebook -- your online legal advisor!

The Chinese economy is booming. Have you considered exploring the business opportunities in the People's Republic of China? Do you need legal advice for your business in China? If so, register on Facebook and join the group "Lawyer in China," the online legal advisor for your business in China.

If you are a lawyer interested in the Chinese legal service market, you are welcomed to join the group too. The group is looking for lawyers to serve the group members, they will appoint one to two lawyers for each major city worldwide: i.e. Shanghai, Beijing , Shenzhen, New York, Tokyo, London, and Berlin. Lawyers can submit their vitas and profiles to the members to illustrate their legal expertise by answering questions submitted by members.

Please note that only one to two lawyers will be appointed for each city. Their policy is on a first come first serve basis for lawyers to be listed for respective cities.

Description of the group:

• A platform for legal professionals to demonstrate their legal expertise;
• A platform for non-legal professionals to seek legal advice.

If you have any legal questions, please feel free to post it on the homepage of the group so that the moderator, officers or even other members may respond with valuable assistance.

Note from Laurel: Be careful here. No clue as to the expertise of the site creator nor the legitimacy of the platform itself. We are not endorsing the work, rather, just letting you know about it.

Separately but related and with the help of an expert IP attorney, just finished working on a great article for Entrepreneur magazine on global trademarks which I think will be very helpful to you, especially if you are thinking about protecting a logo, slogan or product name internationally. Watch for it in October.

Small Businesses Outsource Work Around the Globe

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Have you considered outsourcing some of your work overseas to free up time that could be spent developing a great global strategy? It is worth a look, especially to see what these folks are doing to improve their businesses' bottom line.

The article, Mom-and-Pop Multinationals, mentions a couple of places to begin your outsource search. If you have other destinations that are currently working for you, please share, thanks.

Happy Birthday, America!

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Happy 4th of July to all Americans. We invite everyone around the world to celebrate freedom and independence with us by way of barbecues, picnics, family gatherings and watching, of course, a little fireworks. Enjoy and be safe.

MultiLingual

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Complimentary subscription offer to eight issues for first-time subscribers of MultiLingual. Sign up online here and choose "MultiLingual print" and enter promotional code GSBB.

Go for it!

Finding Top Salespeople Abroad

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Locating top sales performers abroad is not easy but this brief piece sheds light on how to go about it.

After you line up potentials, take a trip and meet with them. Nothing beats being on the ground and seeing what's happening first hand.

50 Most Influential Women

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I am honored -- Laurel Delaney -- to have been nominated for the Irish Voice's 2008 50 Most Influential Women by The Irish Voice Newspaper. This is a celebration of Irish-American women success in corporate America, the local business world and the Irish community.

Many thanks to the folks at Irish Voice Newspaper, especially to the Consul General of Ireland who is generously hosting a celebration gathering at his residence in New York on July 10th.

Why do I feel a little luck from the Irish coming my way?

A Relationship Begins With a Global Sale

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We hope you like this: Building global bonds one customer at a time.

Thanks to all of you for your readership!

And much appreciation to Anita Campbell at Small Business Trends for featuring our article.

World Connectedness

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Here's a great way to start. Get more work done when traveling from country to country.

Called Regus Businessworld, the program provides varying levels of access to professional day offices, business lounges and cafés in 950 business centers in 400 cities in 70 countries to help small business professionals get work done in a secure and productive environment no matter where they are.

For example, for U.S. $500 a month (or $20 a day), you can have drop-in access to a private, ready-to-work office nearly anywhere in the world. Or, for $300 per year, you can use any of Regus' business lounges in these locations.

Not bad.

Tagging Your Website to Go Global

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In the global search engine optimization (SEO) market, just because you come up first in the United States does not necessarily mean you will in the UK.

To find out what we are talking about, read this.

Water Pen Saves Lives and Goes Global

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With 6,000 children dying a day from waterborne diseases, the LifeStraw -- a $3 personal, portable water purifier made by Vestergaard Frandsen that eliminates virtually all waterborne bacteria and most viruses responsible for causing diarrheal diseases -- looks simple but has the potential to save lives worldwide.

Are you working on a life-saving product or service that will change the world?

Water, water everywhere ...

Why the Greenback Matters

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The dollar's fate affects the lives of billions of people including small business owners.

Read Day of the Dollar: A Global Connection

And don't miss the Dollar around the world piece either.

Books to Build Your Business

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Globality: Competing With Everyone From Everywhere For Everything

Doing Business in 21st Century India

The Answer: Grow Any Business, Achieve Financial Freedom, and Live an Extraordinary Life

How to Do Business in Central America and the Dominican Republic

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Authored an article for Small Business Success Magazine on Doing Business in Central America and the Dominican Republic.

To download the PDF file, visit GlobeTrade.com and click on the Just Released button. Let me know what you think of it.

Top 20 Revenue-Generating Nations

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Guess who's No. 1? United States. Find out more here.

What Are Considered the Most Livable Countries?

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The most recent Human Development Index (HDI) -- Trends, published annually by the U.N., has much to offer in the way of measuring development by combining indicators of life expectancy, educational attainment and income into a composite index. It seems that the higher a listing, the easier to do business -- I would imagine.

Learn more but be ready to take time out of your busy schedule to explore. Fascinating information. And it's endless. Wikipedia definition here.

Beijing Club of the Moment

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As the Summer Olympics draw near and you are finishing up a special order (hopefully!) before you head out there, the club of the moment, Lan has local tastemakers gawking. See why (be patient ... a very slow load).

Exporting for Smaller Firms

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Kiplinger.com has launched a Small Business Center as part of its Business Resource Center, which offers expert advise and useful resources to help small businesses succeed.

What we are happy about is they included information on expanding internationally such as this video "Exporting For Smaller Firms."

Let's hope they continue offering useful information to "go global."

Has Offshoring Hit the Global Small Business Market?

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Well it surely has hit Madison Avenue. More work is being shipped to little-known businesses in such places as Costa Rica and Bulgaria. If the ad guys and gals can do it, so can you.

Take a look.

Smart and Safe International Travel for Students

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Ready to buckle up, put on your headphones, peruse your in-flight magazine, and begin your travel adventure?

Exchange students and young U.S. citizens now have a Web site called Students Abroad to use as a resource for smart and safe international travel!

Lots of good information, including but not limited to, what to do in case of a natural disaster, locations for United States embassies, travel alerts and warnings, preparation and packing checklists and how to vote in United States elections while abroad.

The site is created and maintained by the State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs.

Find out more here.

Other places to check out if you are interested in detailed training, becoming a host family or exchange student: Northwest Student Exchange and Center for International Career Development (international training). If you go to our Wiki and sign up, one of our members runs these programs and can help you out.

The Global Show Must Go On

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The last two decades have brought the world more trade, more globalization and more economic growth than in any previous such period in history. Few commentators had believed that such a rise in trade and living standards was possible so quickly.

More than 400 million Chinese climbed out of poverty between 1990 and 2004, according to The World Bank. India has become a rapidly growing economy, the middle class in Brazil and Mexico is flourishing, and recent successes of Ghana and Tanzania show that parts of Africa may be turning the corner as well.

Despite these enormous advances, however, there is a backlash against globalization and a widespread belief that it requires moderation.

Find out more, here.

Is Your Company World Class?

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When I read this interview with Dr. Robert Hisrich, Garvin Professor of Global Entrepreneurship and Director, Center for Global Entrepreneurship at Thunderbird, I had to ask myself that same question. I'd like to think so.

It sounds as if Dr. Hisrich has his work cut out for him -- you too -- but at least he's got his priorities in order ...

The real heart-beat of the economy is [global] entrepreneurship.

The Road to Global Business

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An opinion piece published in BusinessWeek (coupled with what looks like the launch of a new website: The Welch Way) by Jack and Suzy Welch talks about how local competition -- which includes an educated workforce, affordable sources of energy and supportive trade policies -- is a prerequisite for global success.

Go World

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Visa, Inc., one of the Olympic Games' biggest sponsors, is taking a feel good advertising approach that focuses on the international goodwill that springs from the Games.

The first TV spot, called "Come Together," (sounds like the Obama camp might be helping out!) shows fans from all over the world cheering during past Olympic Games.

Go world!

Pulling Out All Stops On Outsourcing

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Outsourcing firms like Keane Inc. in India are constantly trying to recruit new college graduates and lure young talent away from one another.

Are you attempting to convince new hires to look at outsourcing opportunities as one of the most attractive career options for them?

Competition is getting stiff and labor short. Time to pull out all stops on outsourcing.

Global Value Network 101

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Are you managing your value (er, supply chain) networks? Read more here to find out what you should be doing to ensure you don't fall in the category of companies who still aren't global.