Trust Starts Here

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Six trusted colleagues weigh in to tell us why trust matters and how to get, keep and maintain it.

Read it here -> How To Build Trust -- over at the OPEN Forum by American Express Open.

Snap Out of It; Global Trade Isn't Going Away

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One of my favorite classic scenes in the movie Moonstruck is when Loretta (Cher) says to Ronny (Nicolas Cage), "Snap out of it!" (view clip here -- it's toward the end -- nice diversion). Well that scene plays in my head when I say to all the folks who are reporting bad news about global trade:

"Snap out of it!" Global trade isn't going away any time soon.

In the meantime and if you are a glutton for punishment, read more downer news at the NYTimes.com, "Trade and Hard Times."

Verio, Veriglobal

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Check out this resource that is inspired by Verio, the global leader in hosting: Websites.com, your source for web success.

You'll discover, among other great tips, resources and white papers, the following:

• Website planning
• Things You Need to Know About the 404 Error Message (at last!)
• Web Hosting Explained. Not all Hosting Providers Are Created Equal
• Why You Must Have a Site Map and How To Create One
• How To Select a Web Site Designer

Take a tour here.

Kudos to International Trade Administration (ITA)

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BLOG

ITA has finally started a blog. Great to hear. The more the merrier and the far more productive we can be on the global frontiers.

Blog can be found here. Here's a good entry on Trade Stats Express. No RSS feed yet but I'm sure it's coming.


Just in direct from ITA (4/7/10) ...

Thank you for highlighting the ITA Blog but if you could please replace the old emblem (as shown at the very top) with the new one (seen here: http://trade.gov/trade-topics.asp) that has been in use since 2007, we would very much appreciate your support.

Many thanks,

Office of Public Affairs
International Trade Administration

Japan: Why Some Companies Are Hot in a Down Market

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Not all companies are performing poorly in Japan.

Take a look at these:

Toyo Suisan Kaisha -- Japanese site (profile snapshot)
Nitori (Japanese site) -- Reuters stock quote
Fast Retailing (parent of Uniqlo)
Ryohin Keikaku (parent of Muji -- pictured is a Muji house)

Find out why (value is a large part of it) a select few, such as those noted above, are doing better than others at The Economist, "Winner's In Japan's Recession: Gloom and boom."

Global Social Entrepreneurship

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Global social entrepreneurs are empowered by a mission. Success is not driven by creating economic value, but a social value.

In this case, discover how Chinese leaders learn about corporate social responsibility from American companies such as Nike and Starbucks here.

Photo: Guo Xin dines with Wilson Wewa Jr. (on left), chief of the Confederated Tribe of Warm Springs, and Corkey Ambrose, chief of the Yakama Tribe, during a community powwow.

What You May Not Know About Memorial Day

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In honor of today, read "Ten Facts about Memorial Day."

New Discovery: Global Trade Helps Economy

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I wish I would have thought of that! Seriously, in case you didn't know, experts (myself included) say that global trade helps economy; and, that tearing down barriers to global trade is the answer, not the problem.

Read more here. Fabulous material. Great quote by Rick Wade, senior analyst and deputy chief of staff of the U.S. Department of Commerce:

"While the challenges we face are deep and real … and unrivaled in half a century, American companies are world leaders in technology, innovation and entrepreneurship. Exporting and importing are essential to creating jobs and growing the economy."

Less Risk Taking?

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The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) says the current crisis will stall globalization.

Excerpt from news:

The current crisis will have a significant impact on business environments. The global business landscape will be characterised by lower cross-border capital flows, tighter regulation and less risk-taking. As measured by the BER, the deterioration in the global business environment reflects worsening market opportunities, increased macroeconomic and political risk, and problems in financial systems.

As an entrepreneur and global small business owner, I find taking less calculated risks hard to swallow. What about for you?

Read more here, especially the key findings from report.

Download the full special report: Globalisation stalled [PDF 443KB]

Punch Above Your Weight

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Jim Stike, CEO of Materials Innovation Technologies spoke at a business luncheon and offered some interesting stats:

The U.S. ranks eighth in global innovation with Singapore ranking first, he said. Small businesses are innovative job creators with 70 percent of new jobs generated annually in the U.S. coming from small businesses, Stike added.

“India and China are transforming the playing field and competing on cost alone won’t cut it anymore,” he told a group of 50 business people. “A skilled, educated work force is a key element to an innovative work force.”

And the "punch above your weight" comes from a story Stike tells about a company he worked for at the time asked the British businessmen who were interested in buying them why they were so interested and they said, "‘Because you punch above your weight.'"

Read more here about what that means and also learn about Stike's three principles of entrepreneurs that all people should keep in mind.

Global Trade Can Be Peachy

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We preach the global trade gospel all the time via this blog but learn what the folks in Atlanta, Georgia have to say about scaling your business globally.

Read more here.

Show Me the Opportunities!

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Although they (meaning us!) would appreciate more support from government, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) may be the most optimistic group in America with regard to the economic recovery, according to a study released today at National Small Business Week. One out of four SMBs expects the turnaround to begin in late 2009.

The study, Understanding Growth Priorities of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses, was conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit and sponsored by Verio Inc., the leading provider in delivering online business solutions to SMBs worldwide.

More about the study:

In April 2009 the Economist Intelligence Unit (news release here) conducted an online survey of 328 executives from small and medium-sized businesses worldwide to understand how they are approaching business strategy during the global recession. Of the respondents to our survey, 45 percent held CEO, president or managing director titles; 66 percent of all respondents held c-level titles. About 27 percent were directors, department heads and other managers. Worldwide, 29 percent work at companies based in North America, 29 percent in Asia-Pacific, 19 percent in Western Europe, 10 percent in Eastern Europe, 9 percent in the Middle East and Africa, and 5 percent in Latin America. Forty eight percent work at firms with less than $5M in annual revenues; 31 percent have revenues between $5M and $50M; 21 percent have revenues between $50M and $50M. Respondents represented a range of industries.

To receive a complimentary copy of Understanding Growth Priorities of SMBs, visit here (immediate download of briefing paper => Understanding Growth Priorities of SMBs free of charge [PDF 548 KB]).

To learn more about the above news, go here or here.

A World Free of Corruption

Transparency International offers hope to victims and brings people together in a powerful worldwide coalition to end the devastating impact of corruption on men, women and children around the world.

Find out how to create change towards a world free of corruption => here.

Don't Take It to the Mattress; Take It Global

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Young at heart or age and interested in global issues and creating positive change? Then you might like this:

TakingITGlobal

How Much Will China Grow?

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You can do a Google search asking the same question and come up with a zillion answers; however, we think this report is a good start and worth a read.

China, the world's largest surplus country and one of the world's most export-dependent economies, faces great uncertainty about its outlook amidst the current crisis. Over forty experts offer their predictions for China's 2009 GDP growth rate.

Download PDF file here: "How Much Will China Grow?"

Adding this too (it touches on China) ... A De-Globalized World?

The United States of Small Businesses

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America's 5th Annual Small Business Summit is underway this week and already we learned that one of the breakout sessions focused on how to do business internationally. Interestingly enough, the moderator for that session, Leslie Schweitzer, is a friend and colleague of mine. She serves as one of our many talented contributors on Women Entrepreneurs GROW Global (WEGG) which The Global Small Business Blog sponsors. Additionally, she was a panelist in Chicago a couple of years ago when I moderated a discussion on the very same subject of going global.

Great quote from Leslie:

One of the misconceptions of trade is that the only beneficiaries of trade are large companies, and that's not true. 97% of international traders are small businesses.

Read more about what went on during the international business session here.

Reap the Benefits of Global Trade

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By the President of the United States of America ... a proclamation ...

When the world's consumers fly in a U.S.-manufactured airplane, eat a steak from America's heartland, watch a Hollywood movie, or visit the Grand Canyon, they are helping to create and maintain good jobs for Americans.

World Trade Week is an opportunity to reaffirm the benefits of trade and to emphasize America's commitment to a global marketplace that creates good jobs and lifts up American families. The United States and our trading partners stand to gain when trade is open, transparent, rules-based, and fair, showing respect for labor and environmental standards.

The United States is well-positioned to reap the benefits of trade. America is a leader in the global marketplace and ranks at the top of almost every measure of global competitiveness. Our businesses, workers, and farmers remain the most innovative, productive, and adaptable in the world. The United States is also the world's largest exporter.

Trade is a significant and increasingly important contributor to U.S. economic growth. Exports accounted for 13 percent of U.S. economic activity in 2008, and they support millions of jobs in the United States. In difficult economic times, it is even more important for American industry to take advantage of every opportunity for export-driven growth. That is why I will work to open more markets to U.S. exports, including in such important job growth industries as energy efficiency, clean energy, and health information technology.

Read more here. World Trade Week runs from May 17 through May 23, 2009.

Globalize Entrepreneurship Education

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How important is teaching entrepreneurship within schools? Very important. There's a direct correlation between entrepreneurship education and success.

Read more here.

Download report (PDF file) “Educating the Next Wave of Entrepreneurs.”

Global Hoteliers Look to China, India and The Middle East for Growth

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As the recession bites, global hoteliers are looking to the east's underserved leisure markets. It will take time because of barriers to entry. For most, this target for now takes up only a small fraction of overall business.

China, the world's fastest-growing economy, is expected to expand 6.5 percent this year, according to the International Monetary Fund. That's a slowdown from 9 percent growth last year but way ahead of the 2.8 percent contraction forecast for the United States in 2009.

Find out what U.S. based Marriott, Starwood, Intercontinental Hotels and France-based Accor are doing to go after a slice of the global pie -- here.

How to Dethron Your Competitor in a Global Marketplace

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Due to the downturn, is growth slowing in your home market? Do you have any particular advantage over your competitors' businesses both online and offline -- locally and globally?

How would you define your business success thus far relative to those who compete in your space?

Read the article, "Metro Plots to Overtake Best Buy by Closing the Gap in China," for ideas on how the big guys duke it out to snatch a No. 1 position in the global marketplace.

"It's not a completely unrealistic claim," said Thomas Roeb, a retail professor at the University of Applied Sciences in Bonn Rhein-Sieg. "Best Buy's success is largely an American success, while Metro has successfully expanded abroad."

Western Hemisphere Will Recover Faster Than Advanced Economies Despite Global Turmoil

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Latin America and the Caribbean are expected to emerge from the financial crisis earlier than the advanced economies, according to the latest Regional Economic Outlook: Western Hemisphere report of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Expect growth the second part of 2009. While growth in advanced economies may not turn positive until the middle of 2010.

Read more here.

Going Beyond Global Financial Facts and Figures

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Just found out about this site:

Shibui Markets

Does anyone have knowledge about it? They claim:

ShibuiMarkets is a leading Global Financial Portal built on the spirit of Shibui, that is, going beyond simple facts and figures and into understanding financial information. It offers hard-to-find fundamental financial information about companies from all over the world as well as quotes for Foreign Currencies, Emerging Market Bonds and selected international Equities.

Test it out and let us know what you think. I did a search on General Electric using their Company Data Base Screener and the information seemed outdated.

Forbes at one time featured it as Best of the Web.

Detroit Assumed That Americans Would Never Buy Foreign Cars

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They were wrong. Here's a story that BBC tells on its Global Business repeat (run two years ago and more relevant than ever now), with an insider's commentary on the story from the chairman of Toyota, Fujio Cho.

This story is of interest to people worldwide -- in any industry -- not just car buffs. It's particularly intriguing to anyone who questions whether their business model still works for our current times.

Have you asked yourself lately: Are we relevant? Answer honestly. If you are not, it's time to exit what you are doing or make massive improvements to your existing operation to get with the times.

After all, aren't we all out to change the world?

Read more here.

Added May 8, 2009:
What is an 'American' Car?

Globally Protect Your Property

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The mission of the Global Intellectual Property Center, an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, is to champion intellectual property as vital to creating jobs, saving lives, advancing global economic growth, and generating breakthrough solutions to global challenges.

Find out more here.

Check out the "Fight the Fakes" poster contest here.

The Worst Global Online Oppressors

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Here's a list of the 10 worst countries to be a blogger. Be thankful for your freedom of speech, that is, if you have it.

1. Burma
2. Iran
3. Syria
4. Cuba (e.g., Generacion Y, pictured)
5. Saudi Arabia
6. Vietnam
7. Tunisia
8. China
9. Turkmenistan
10. Egypt

Read more here about the dishonor roll of countries who oppress blogging worldwide.

Eliminate World Protectionist Impulses

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Great quote:

"Global trade has sponsored two decades of dramatic growth and increased prosperity in countries everywhere," says UPS CEO Mr. D. Scott Davis. He goes on further to say, "Now is the time to back away from the progress that has been achieved in the mistaken belief that any one economy can regain strength independently of the rest of the world."

Read the entire article here.

Postive Effects of Globalization for Companies in India

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With globalization, countries can become integrated through foreign trade and investments.

India, for example, is a country that is growing consistently over the last several years -- proving that globalization has many positive and negative effects on culture, society or a country's economy.

Read more here.

A World of Opportunity

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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reports that the world is in the grips of a deepening recession. I look at it that we are in the grips of a world of opportunity. We just have to work smart at finding it.

Read more here.

Separately, I was a part of a vibrant panel discussion on global business early yesterday morning for Crain's Chicago Business. I met so many interesting people and I just want to say, "thank you" to all who came up to me after the talk to say nice things. One attendee, a trained psychologist who specializes in family business said, "One of your statements really resonated with me." And I quickly asked, "Oh, you mean the one about 'begin with the end in mind?'" He said, "No, the one where you declared 'make it very hard for people on the Internet not to find you." To him and everyone else who attended, I say, "nice to meet you and thank you for listening!"

How To Close An Export Deal

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I am not sure if you are following my export series over at OPEN Forum by American Express. If you are, ignore this post. If you aren't, pay a visit to my latest two-part installment:

The Art of Closing the Export Deal

And as always, let me know what you think of it.

How To Position Your Business Now For When Exports Recover

As exports declined, China's Alibaba.com came up with a strategy to make its service a lot more affordable.

A lesson for us all is in this story: How to position your business now for when exports recover.

Read more here.

Don't Be Taxed By International Taxes

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There is much to wonder about and learn from the Obama administration on a balanced approach to international taxation and global competitiveness.

Take a timeout to read, "Taxing Times For Global Business," which covers the administration's crackdown on tightening perceived loopholes.

Home Alone or Abroad

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Whether it's Dubai, Beijing or Cape Town, Americans abroad know how to make a home for themselves.

Read more here and take a tour of three homes for expatriates here.

Language Learning Firm Grows Global

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It goes to show you how important speaking more than one language is to our world (growth potential appears to be enormous). The Arlington, VA-based language instruction company, Rosetta Stone, saw its share prices soar last week in its debut on the New York Stock Exchange.

As reported in the WSJ on Friday, April 17:

"We have a real opportunity to grow globally," said Rosetta Chief Executive Tom Adams after the stock began trading.

Read more here.

Protect Our Planet

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Make a difference. Do your part to protect our planet everyday. Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.

Learn more here and here.

Over the Global Trade Rainbow

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Interesting post over at Crisis Talk, The World Bank Group, on searching for bright spots in trade.

According to Caroline Freund, the global trade rainbow comprises of:

Necessities:

• Medical equipment trade is thriving (such as catheters and pacemakers in the U.S. and MRI equipment and artificial body parts in Japan).
• Various foods items are up (bananas and meat in both nations, grains and rice in Japan).
• Tobacco is up over 100 percent in the U.S. and 30 percent in Japan. Vodka imports are up 37 percent in the U.S.

Innovations:

• Cell phone imports are up 24 percent in the U.S. and 12 percent in Japan. Proof that improved technology still sells—the new generation of smartphones are really cool.
• A number of chemicals are ahead in both countries. For example, heterocyclic compounds (a big category, $600m in February in the US) are up 48 percent in the US and 67 percent in Japan—these are used for a wide variety of things, such as drugs, pesticides, dyes and plastics.
• Wind-powered electric generating sets are up 18 percent in the United States.

Read more here.

Linking Globally

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Check out a new global business network for small businesses called GlobalLinker and then let "us" know how the following companies are affiliated:

British Airways
USA Today
hotels.com
Cisco WebEx
Adobe
priceline.com
skype
Quicken

Impressive roster. What's in it for them? More important, what's in it for us (how is it different from LinkedIn, Facebook (check this out), MySpace, Twitter, etc.)?

And don't confuse it with Global Link DEC or GlobalLink Network!

Spirit of Global Cooperation

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If there is one thing that came out of the 34-nation Summit of the Americas, it's the spirit of global cooperation to America's hemispheric neighbors.

Read more here and here.

How to Track Your Competitor's Suppliers

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Tap into the right resources and the world can become your oyster. We wrote about one way to track your competitor's suppliers a while back here (excerpt):

Another excellent way to tap new geographical markets, to minimize your expenditure of time, money, and energy, and to help focus your overseas sales and marketing efforts is to use the Port Import/Export Reporting Service (PIERS). PIERS (www.piers.com) is the only information service that provides names of U.S. consignees or shippers as well as overseas suppliers, along with detailed descriptions of import or export shipments for the commodity of your choice. This information is taken from ships' manifests by a nationwide corps of reporters and is loaded weekly into a computer database.
I once used PIERS on behalf of an American window blind manufacturer to find customers who were importing window shades into Capetown, South Africa. My client wanted to effectively compete with an industry giant already exporting to Capetown. After securing a list from PIERS that showed who was buying the competitor's goods there, we created a direct mail package specifically for those customers. Using the PIERS list gave us the competitive advantage we needed to show the South African prospects the superiority of my client's product and win them over as customers.

This week we stumbled upon a new resource that appears to be similar to PIERS: Import Genius -- a search engine for U.S. customs data. We have no experience with it so we leave it up to you to explore.

Another resource is The Journal of Commerce which has been around forever. They have lots of useful global transportation (commerce) information too.

We suggest you check out all of the above, compare capabilities and let us know what you think.

And if you know of other best-kept secrets, please share (comment). Or maybe you prefer to keep the secret to yourself?

Global News You Can Use

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We are delighted to have been selected to be highlighted (RSS feed) in the Commerce page of globalpost! According to John Wilpers, Global Blog Coordinator, they had a hard time finding really good global business blogs, especially about global small business, and ours really stood out.

globalpost is a new international news organization that launched on Jan. 12. They have been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio, MSNBC, MediaShift on PBS, the Columbia Journalism Review, the Online Journalism Review, and many more. Here's what else they told us:

By appearing on Global Post’s exciting new international news website, your words, viewpoints, and pictures would gain worldwide exposure. In barely two months, we have had 250,000 unique visitors and 1.1 million page views. Our readers have come from every country in the world except North Korea, Chad, and Eritrea!

Your posts would not only appear instantly on globalpost.com but also possibly on the sites of our partners, including the Huffington Post (7.8 million U.S. and 9.7 million global monthly unique visitors) and other news and information websites.

We are thrilled to be a part of this exciting consortium of international news sources.

Take a peek when time permits.

The World Wide Warhol

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An exhibition coordinated by the Reunion des Musees Nationaux in collaboration with The Andy Warhol Museum and sponsored by LVMH / Moët Hennessy / Louis Vuitton (Paris).

Exports Rise

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United States exports rose in February for the first time in seven months. Is this a sign of better times ahead?

• Exports increased to $126.8 billion in February from $124.7 billion in January. Goods were $84.7 billion in February, up from $82.2 billion in January, and services were $42.1 billion in February, down from $42.5 billion in January. ~ Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Statistics, April 9, 2009

Let's hope so. Read more here.

United States 2009 Small Business Exporter of the Year

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Exim Bank of the United States named water purification equipment supplier Aquatech International Corp. of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, its 2009 Small Business Exporter of the Year.

"In today's challenging global economic environment, Ex-Im Bank support of our exports gives us opportunities that we otherwise would not have," said Aquatech President and Chief Executive Officer Venkee Sharma.

Congratulations to Aquatech! Read more here and here.

Photo: Aquatech's engineers in Hartland designed these towers for the Enel SpA energy utility in Brindisi in southern Italy. The plant uses desalination technology to recycle large volumes of water.

Limeade For the Global Entrepreneur

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Just posted "Turning Limes to Limeade: Entrepreneurship Can Surface in Many Ways," over at the OPEN Forum by American Express OPEN.

See what you think.

Township Funk Has Global Appeal

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What is the biggest global dance hit (keep your volume down on your computer!) of the past year?

We won't keep you guessing. Go here. You never know when your local efforts will go global.

China Entrepreneur's Order Book Is Emptying

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See how one China entrepreneur rode China's expansion but is now struggling to adapt as exports slow.

Check out the World Bank's outlook on China here.

I wonder if learning how to adapt quickly is more important than innovation this year? Or, do you think we need both in order to thrive in this new economy?

The World Has Changed

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The G20 summit has invited more of the world into the global decision-making process and hence, the world has changed.

Find out why here.

Goodbye Kitty?

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In a bid to raise its international profile, Tokyo has appointed three young women as cultural envoys because they represent Japan's long-running craze for all things cute.

Does that mean Hello Kitty (pictured above) is history? Let's hope not.

Read more here.

How to Ease the Global Crisis

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According to Simeon Djankov, Chief Economist at the World Bank Group's Crisis Talk blog, of all the possible things the G20 Summit leaders could have done, this one would ease the crisis the most: a commitment to triple the amount of money the IMF has for lending to $750 billion.

The G20 has also committed about $250 billion to boost global trade.

See why Djankov thinks the IMF lending notion (there are doubts about the global trade boost) is a good idea here.

Some Like It Cold

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Remember the movie A Christmas Story where Ralphie's friends Flick and Schwartz dispute over whether a person's tongue will stick to a frozen flagpole? They give a "triple dog dare" to find out. Well forget about that thought right now because otherwise you will need a "quadruple dog dare" to check out the Ice Hotel (including the Ice Bar) in Sweden.

Ivan Misner reports on his experience staying at the Icehotel in Sweden -- a worldwide franchise co-developed by an entrepreneur turned international entrepreneur with Absolut Vodka. The Ice Bar concept has spread to locations in Stockholm, London, Tokyo and Copenhagen. With more to come, I'm sure.

Read the blog entry here.