How Small Business Merchants Can Leverage Innovation to Sell Successfully Globally

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Small business owners have tremendous opportunity to sell to a global audience through their company website, blog, Facebook account, Twitter handle or any other web presence. The good news is that it never has been easier for small businesses to setup an online store, or more cost-effective, to reach prospective customers globally.

Here's how:  How Small Businesses Can Easily Use Innovations in Ecommerce to Grow

How to Lower the Credit Risks to Exporting

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Congress extended the Export-Import Bank's charter through the middle of 2015 as part of a compromise between supporters of the agency and those who want to eliminate it. Generally, the reauthorization period is extended for multiple years at a time.

Many small business owners rely on the credit agency to lower the risks of exporting.

Find out how some business owners are dealing with the uncertainty on Export-Import Bank's assistance, or eventual lack thereof, by reading:  Exporters Fear Credit Crunch

Today in Global Small Business: How America's Big Cities Have Prospered Under Existing Free-Trade Accords

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

• How pro-trade policies could create 10 million new high-paying trade-connected jobs in the U.S. over the next decade.
• Why trade clearly has the potential to create jobs.
• How America's big cities have prospered under existing free-trade accords.
• What country would you pick to expand overseas and why?
• How do you know when it's time to go global?
• How global flows are creating new degrees of connectedness among economies.

A Look at Lyon, France

Here's an assortment of pictures I took during my trip to Lyon, France to attend the World Entrepreneurship Forum.  The multicolored building is the hotel where I stayed - the Novotel Lyon Confluence, which is situated in the heart of the trendy district between the Rhône and the Saône.

All the other photos are taken within walking distance from the hotel.  It's an absolutely beautiful area.

Photos courtesy:  @2014 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

Tell Stories at a Global Scale

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Carrier Kerpen, a contributor at Forbes, interviews Sonia Carter, Head of Digital and Social Media Marketing for Mondelez Europe on her podcast, “All The Social Ladies.”

Here are a few insights from her interview with Sonia:

1. Cast a wider net.
2. Tell your stories at [global] scale.
3. Disseminate your learning globally.

Each point comes with its own takeaway.  On No. 3, for example, the takeaway is:

Use what you learn from the successes and failures of your campaign to inform the rest of your business across global markets.

Read the entire article:  3 Sweet Tips From the Lady Behind Cadbury's Social Media Success

To Go Global, What's Your First Country to Enter and Why?

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I've been a member of LinkedIn for a number of years and one group out of many that I joined is International Trade Network.  Recently, member Bill Elmer posted a question to the group:  If you were to expand overseas, which country would be your first choice and why?

The article below highlights twelve of the answers. I have intentionally left out the members’ name attributed to a comment to protect their interests. If you would like to review the more than 225 comments to date, I highly recommend you join the group; I’ll see you there.

Read:  If you were to expand overseas, which country would be your first choice and why?

Around the World, Kids Can Learn By Tinkering

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What happens when you give a roomful of kids a stack of tablet computers?  With no instruction whatsoever, you'd be surprised how fast students figure things out.  That information is according to Leslie Engle Young, who was at a schoolhouse in Agorhome, Ghana when she witnessed this firsthand.

Young is the director of impact for Pencils of Promise, a New York City non-profit that has built nearly 250 schools across Ghana, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Laos.

To learn more, read:  Going Global?  The Growing Movement to Let Kids Learn Just by Tinkering

How An International Brake Manufacturer is Accelerating Ahead in North America

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International brake maker Brembo S.p.A. is accelerating ahead in North America, Homer, Michigan to be exact.  A little history on Brembo:

Brembo is now a fully fledged multinational with operations in three continents and production facilities in sixteen countries.  It also has commercial branches in Sweden, France and Germany and markets its products in a remarkable seventy nations worldwide.  The group has a workforce of around 7000 employees, approximately 10% of whom engineers and product specialists engaged in vital research and development activities.

The company has determined that the North American market will be the its largest by the end of this year (2014).

Find out the how and why here.

Blogging LIVE From the World Entrepreneurship Forum at La Sucriere

©2014 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

©2014 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

Today we are at the famous La Sucriere (as shown above) where we will be a part of an exciting and engaging experience that combines online and face-to-face activities:  The World Entrepreneurship Crowd's Den, sponsored by the EMLYON Incubator.

We will hear from five talented start-up founders - from Singapore, Barbados, Turkey, Poland and France - who will pitch a panel of six experienced Lion investors who, in turn, will assess each founder's innovative business plan.

On a side but related note, I am thrilled that my World Entrepreneurship Forum colleagues are featuring copies of Planet Entrepreneur, a book I contributed to last year!

For more information on the World Entrepreneurship Forum and on how to get involved, visit:
http://www.world-entrepreneurship-forum.com/

Blogging LIVE From Lyon, France at the World Entrepreneurship Forum

©2014 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

I am blogging live from Lyon, France at the World Entrepreneurship Forum 2014.

We just had the opportunity to listen to a presentation by Marwan Mery (pictured), an expert in lie detection, behavioral reading, understanding of emotions and influence within the realm of interpersonal relations, complex negotiations and interrogations.

Fascinating talk.

Today in Global Small Business: Watch Walmart Hop To It on E-Commerce

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

• Why there is a multimillion dollar quest to brew the perfect cup of coffee worldwide
• View a video on how to get export ready.
• Watch Walmart and how they are rapidly ramping up on e-commerce.
• Watch PayPal and how it keeps gaining momentum in the marketplace.
• Find out how selling to Alaska and Hawaii can help small retailers learn about international e-commerce (yes, you read that right).
• How to use a free-trade zone to your advantage.

To The Year That Was

©2014 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"The spring, summer, is quite a hectic time for people in their lives, but then it comes to autumn, and to winter, and you can't but help think back to the year that was, and then hopefully looking forward to the year that is approaching." - Enya

How to Leverage Offshore Outsourcing

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With offshore outsourcing, small businesses can accomplish more, level the playing field and accomplish it all economically.  In the following article, the author provides four steps to maximize your outsourcing options and expand your business globally.

One quick tip from the article:

Your offshore outsourcing partner should be able to measure success and provide a solution that meets your needs instead of just a cookie cutter approach. 

Read:  4 Steps to Leverage Offshore Outsourcing for Global Expansion

Getting Started in Exporting. Are You Ready?

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View the latest webinar I presented for Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP): Getting Started in Exporting. Are You Ready? (requires a 5-second log-in).  Here's what you will learn:

• Why this is the best and easiest time ever to export!
• What you need to do to get your business export ready
• How to craft a back-of-the napkin export business plan
• How to create a social media and networking presence
• How to market your business worldwide
• How to use e-commerce sites as stepping-stones to export success 

Getting Started in Exporting.  Are You Ready?

The No. 1 Mistake to Avoid When Manufacturing Your Product Overseas

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Shark Tank's Lori Greiner, inventor of the smash-hit earring organizer, talks about the No. 1 mistake to avoid when manufacturing your product overseas.  She says:

Manufacturing overseas -- in say in Cambodia, China, Bangladesh, Honduras or India -- is often cheaper. But it’s not necessarily easier. Making the leap is the business equivalent of a trust fall.

She goes on to say that when you manufacture overseas, you trade lower cost for higher risk.

Read the entire article:

Shark Tank's Lori Greiner on the No. 1 Mistake to Avoid When Manufacturing Your Product Overseas

Related articles:

• 9 Importing Mistakes to Avoid When Sourcing a New Product
• The Biggest Mistake Importers Make
• 8 Tips for Newbie Importers

Entrepreneurship 3.0: Creating Unlimited Opportunities

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I am really looking forward to returning and participating in the World Entrepreneurship Forum 2014 held in Lyon, France (as shown) October 19th-22nd.  It's such an amazing experience to reconnect with entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurs, political decision-makers and international experts from all over the world.  This year’s forum is about no limits.  According to the World Entrepreneurship Forum's website:

Entrepreneurship 3.0

Entrepreneurship is heading towards a new paradigm, a third industrial revolution based on renewable energy and hyper-connectivity.

Unlimited

Today, with skills and motivation, entrepreneurs of any age, experience, gender or background can reach beyond the old frontiers.

Opportunities

New rules and new leaders accelerate the transition toward the new world order. While traditional employment markets shrink, entrepreneurs seize new sources of opportunities to generate positive change.

To learn more about the World Entrepreneurship Forum and to become a member, visit here.   Check out the brochure.

Related posts to the World Entrepreneurship Forum.  Here's one of the first posts I wrote back in 2008.

Today in Global Small Business: Why Businesses Are Thinking Globally From the Start

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

• How the U.S. government is trying to get more businesses to go international.
• With the launch of Apple Pay, is time running out for physical cash?
• IMF survey tells us what's in store for global growth.
• Why businesses are thinking globally from the start (hint: global mobile).
• How IBM is going global with its artificially intelligent computer system that processes vast amounts of big data to answer questions asked in natural language to the global corporations.
• How the economic recovery has given the richest countries in the world a boost.

Is Your State's Reputation As a Premier Global Business Destination Growing?

©2014 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Utah's reputation as a premier global business destination is growing." - Gary R. Herbert, Governor, State of Utah, October 7, 2014

Empowering Entrepreneurs and Their Communities Around the World

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Ever heard of UP Global?

We are on a mission to make the world a more innovative and prosperous place, one community at a time. We believe that entrepreneurs are critical to driving a strong global economy and a better world. We do our part by supporting the grassroots leaders who are at the core of every strong entrepreneurial community. 

Get involved:  UP Global

Separately but related, take the next step in your entrepreneurial journey and learn more about the Global Accelerator Network.

Top Export Destination for British Firms?

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More than fifty-percent of small and medium-sized companies in the UK sell their products to the U.S., making it the top export destination for British firms.  Why?  To keep their businesses growing, they must look to foreign markets and the U.S. just happens to be a ripe one.

Research, by Barclays Business, shows that 37 per cent of small firms reach a growth ceiling in the UK within the first three years of trading, which is leading business leaders to turn to foreign shores.

Read the entire article:  U.S. Is the Top Destination For Small British Firms

For Global SMEs, Transformation is a Strategic Necessity

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As the recent study by Oxford Economics, sponsored by SAP, says, "SMEs [small and medium- sized businesses] are thinking and acting globally, competing with rivals of all sizes, and investing aggressively in technology to improve operations and make themselves more nimble."

For most [global] SMEs, transformation is understood as a strategic necessity, and perhaps as a key to survival.  Nearly two-thirds say they must transform to stay ahead of the competition, and over half say that technology developments are making traditional ways of doing business obsolete. 

Read the study:  How successful SMEs are reinventing global business.

How to Simultaneously Attract a Cash Investment in Your Business and Expand Internationally

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How do you infuse cash in your business and take it international at the same time?  Take, for example, DocuSign, the e-signature software company with operations in Seattle and San Francisco.

Three Japanese firms – NTT Finance, Mitsui & Co. and Recruit Holdings – all made strategic investments in DocuSign as a part of a $115 million series E financing round.

The three companies will each begin using DocuSign’s software to power their businesses, and Mitsui will also market DocuSign’s technology to its affiliate businesses and customers. In addition to the infusion of cash, the deal also will help DocuSign expand internationally.

There you have it.

Read the entire article:  DocuSign raises $115 million, attracts cash from Japanese backers

Today in Global Small Business: International Trade Will Increase by 20 Percent in 2016

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

• Smart ideas for doing business internationally (and we are happy to be quoted).
• Mexico is the third largest trading partner with the United States - what that means.
• Nine tips for doing business globally.
• Issues that arise when you are conducting business across borders.
• Why international trade will increase by 20 percent by 2016.
• Overview on export statistics released October 3, 2014

World's Biggest Pumpkin (Almost)

©2014 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion." - Henry David Thoreau

Got Pork?

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Remember the "Got Milk?" ad campaigns?  Now you can look forward to The National Pork Board revving up to market U.S. pork on a worldwide basis.

The USA is trying to come up with a tailor-made international marketing strategy to tap a bigger share of pork sales, now growing at an estimated 13% globally from 2013 to 2018, said Kevin Waetke, vice-president for strategic communication at the country's National Pork Board (NPB).

Read the entire article:  US to formulate separate international marketing strategy for pork

What Is Global Distance Selling?

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DHL recently launched a survey with 11,000 consumers in 20 countries to better understand consumer attitudes toward global distance selling (better known as shopping the world or cross-border commerce) – and the study shows significant differences between countries.

... the study suggests that businesses must understand their customers’ decision-making processes and align their business accordingly. Being aware of cultural and structural differences is a key success factor, particularly for cross-border commerce.

In the study, you will find out:

• Who is participating in cross-border shipping and in/with what countries are they most likely to engage?
• How are consumers finding retailers?
• How are consumers buying online? 
• How are consumers' returns handled?

Download the study (requires quick registration):  "Shop the World: DHL Charts the Journey of the Online Consumer."

China National Day Golden Week

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Hong Kong protests swell at the beginning of the China National Day celebration, also known as the Golden Week when government offices and many businesses are closed.

[China National Day] is celebrated on October 1st every year to commemorate the founding of People’s Republic of China. On that day, lots of large-scaled activities are held nationwide. Besides, the seven-day holiday from Oct. 1st to 7th is the so-called "Golden Week”, during which more and more Chinese people go traveling around the country.  - Source:  Travel China Guide

Learn more about what it's about and what to expect here.

A Six-Step Entrepreneurial Process to Lean Exporting

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I had the great opportunity to meet Cristina Hernandez, a part-time Professor at Tecnologico de Monterrey, Guadalajara campus in the department of International Business and the Department of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, at the recent Utah Global Forum (9/24/14).  She is also the founder of Managed Strategies, an international sales and market entry consultancy.

When I conducted a little research, I discovered that Cristina authored an interesting paper entitled, "An Entrepreneur's Guide To Lean Exporting."  In it, she talks about how to validate opportunities in a foreign market quickly and gain new sales sourced from abroad.

Read the entire paper here.

Today in Global Small Business: Time to Go

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

• How GoDaddy is radically shifting the global economy toward global small businesses (It's time to go!).
• How Ex-Im Bank fills the gap in the trade finance market for U.S. Businesses.
• Why the future of global search is personalized and local.
• How Rework America will help job seekers and small businesses.
• Why more Americans will be optimistic about their chances for learning, training and employment.
• Five tips for a successful international launch campaign.

Utah Global Forum 2014 Huge Success

©2014 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

©2014 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

©2014 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

©2014 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

I had the wonderful opportunity to serve as a lead speaker at the Utah Global Forum on September 24th talking about "Export Readiness." It was a fantastic experience.  I met so many incredible people - all interested in boosting international trade.

The photos above cover what the room looked like the night before (setting up) and during the program when my Exporting book was made available to all attendees and Utah Governor Gary R. Herbert spoke.

Here's the latest news on the program:

Utah Global Forum sees 7 billion potential customers

Embrace the World Through Localization

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Connecting with customers all over the world is easier said than done. According to Heidi Lorenzen, "One thing is simple: speaking a customer’s language is the most fundamental and effective element of personalized communication."  She goes on to ask a key question:  "How can marketers overcome language barriers to excel at delivering all the right content, to all their audiences, in all the languages they speak?"

Bottom line:  It pays to localize.

Find out why:  It Pays to Globalize:  Why Marketers Must Embrace Localization

Is Globalization In Retreat?

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A growing number of business analysts have been arguing that we are entering a new era of global manufacturing, with the US at center stage.

... the Boston Consulting Group, following up on an earlier survey that suggested “reshoring” of factories back to the US was the new name of the game, issued a report that argued that the US had the lowest manufacturing costs among major exporters in the developed world and was nearly competitive with China.

What do you think?  Is globalization in retreat?

Meanwhile, read:  With manufacturing returning to US, is globalization in retreat?

Global Flows Are Robust

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Global flows are creating new degrees of connectedness and to be unconnected is to fall behind.  As the McKinsey Global Institute noted in Global flows in a digital age, with the exception of cross-border finance, global flows are just as robust now as they were before the crisis.

One key to this rebound was that, in contrast to the 1930s, the global economy maintained existing conditions: trade barriers remained low, as did restrictions on foreign direct investment, and cross-border exchange continued to spread with the internet.

Read the entire article:  Why the global economy is stronger than you think

Neiman Marcus Steps Up Its Efforts to Go Global

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How do you cater to the wealthy around the world without opening physical stores?  You buy an existing successful online business.

The luxury retailer [Neiman Marcus], which only operates department stores and outlet stores in the United States, has announced a rare acquisition: a deal to buy the Munich-based Mytheresa.com online luxury business from founders Christoph and Susanne Botschen and Acton Capital Partners.

As part of the deal, Neiman Marcus is also buying Theresa’s flagship store in central Munich.

Look out Net-a-Porter and The Corner.  The competitive heat is on.

Read:  Neiman Marcus goes global thanks to an e-commerce deal

Today in Global Small Business: The State of the World According to Bill Clinton

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

• Is Alibaba's stock (NYSE:BABA) a long-term buy?
• Why entrepreneurs worldwide have reasons to be optimistic.
• What is Alibaba?
• Why folks in Utah are interested in increasing exports.
• Are Americans incoherent on foreign policy?
• The state of the world according to Bill Clinton. 

More on "It's the economy stupid! ..."

Being Ridiculous in a World Definitely Beats Boring

©2014 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring." - Marilyn Monroe

A California Firm Attests to the Impact of Ex-Im Bank's Export Financing Programs

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Steve Wilburn, CEO of FirmGreen in California, can attest to the impact the Ex-Im Bank’s export financing programs has had on his company, allowing him to continue developing innovative energy solutions and expand internationally.

Learn more:  Uncertainty in Washington roiling small businesses

Is Alibaba a Global Company?

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In "A Short Course on Alibaba," I discuss some of the more prominent businesses within China-based Alibaba, but the questions posed today shortly before their IPO are these:  Is Alibaba truly a global company? Can it expand efficiently beyond China?

CNBC's Cadie Thompson writes a provocative take on those very same questions:  "For Alibaba, going global means new frontiers."

Related article:  Is Alibaba coming to America?