Happy Holidays From The Global Small Business Blog!

©Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

Merry Christmas and

Happy 2015.

Go Take On the World!

As Featured on Illinois Business This Week TV (12/19/14)!

Illinois Business this Week 12/19/14

We are thrilled to be featured on Illinois Business This Week! If you are pressed for time, advance the scroll bar to about 10 minutes into the program and there we are! Feel free to follow the reporter, Sandra Guy (@SandraGuy), for more great stories coming soon.  Meanwhile, we thank her ever so much for the coverage.

Potbelly Goes Global One Nation and One Neighborhood at a Time

©iStock/Rez-Art

According to a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Potbelly, a Chicago-based sandwich-shop chain, will open ten London locations in five years.

The London stores would be the company's first in Europe and are part of Lewis' [Potbelly CEO's] plan to build “a Potbelly global nation one neighborhood at a time.” The sandwich chain, which had 347 stores as of Sept. 28, expanded into the Middle East in 2012, where it operates a dozen franchise stores in Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.

Read the entire article:  Chicago-based Potbelly plans major European expansion

Today in Global Small Business: The Year Ahead According to Mary Meeker

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

• The number of vehicles recalled globally, for all automakers, since 2008 for Takata airbag problems tops 24 million and what it means for the auto industry.
• Leading bitcoin entrepreneur sentenced to two years in prison for helping a Florida man sell more than $1 million in bitcoins to customers on Silk Road, an online black market where users could anonymously buy and sell drugs and other illegal items.
• What the renewed relationship between Cuba and the United States means for businesses and global citizens.
• What's the reality of going global?  Here's a bunch of articles that deal with that very same subject.
• The top ten strategic technology trends for 2015.
• The year ahead according to Mary Meeker, American venture capitalist, prolific author and former Wall Street securities analyst.

Christmas: We All Go Through It Together

©2014 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"A lovely thing about Christmas is that it's compulsory, like a thunderstorm, and we all go through it together." - Garrison Keillor, Leaving Home

Are Yemeni Startups Exaggerating Their Potential?

©iStock/Zanskar

Last year in an interview with the Yemen Times Radio, Jamal Al-Mutareb—a businessman and investor who has backed a number of Yemeni startups in the past said:

Many local initiatives are not taken seriously by investors because their potential is exaggerated. While there is a general interest among Yemeni businessmen to invest in local startups, he said, frustration prevails as information provided by Yemeni entrepreneurs is often unreliable.

Read more about what is needed to generate greater attention to entrepreneurship in Yemen.  Perhaps setting entrepreneurship as a priority by the government might help advance a vibrant entrepreneurship ecosystem in Yemen.

To build an entrepreneurship ecosystem in Yemen

What It's Like to Be a Global Entrepreneur

©iStock/JimmyFam

Four entrepreneurs address the following four questions on what it's like to be a global entrepreneur.

1. What’s your experience and how did you start out in business?
2. What characterizes entrepreneurship and what’s great about it?
3. Can you be creative and make money in business?
4. Can turning what you love into a business help with your success?

Read:  Entrepreneurship:  A global perspective

Importing and Exporting Fashion: How to Handle U.S. Customs

In this video of Fashion Counsel, with partner Anthony Lupo, he talks with International Trade counsel, David S. Salkeld, about customs valuations, trade agreements, and Rules of Origin for textile and apparel goods.

Walgreens Goes Global

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After Walgreen's acquisition of the European drugstore giant, Alliance Boots, Walgreens formed a new holding company with four divisions that include "Global Brands." The other three divisions are:

1. Walgreen Co., which includes the U.S. drugstore chain
2. Boots, which includes the pharmacy and beauty business in the United Kingdom and Ireland
3. The global wholesale operation

According to the Global Powers of Retailing 2014 list by auditing firm Deloitte Touche, "Walgreen is now the eleventh-largest retailer of any type in the world (not just among drugstore chains), one of eight U.S. companies in the top twenty, the sixth-largest retailer of any type in the U.S., and is among the top-fifty e-retailers in the world (again, of any type, not just drugstores)."

To learn more, visit:  Under Pessina, Look For Walgreen to Boost Global Brands

Related article:  Walgreens:  Your Local Drugstore Going Global

Today in Global Small Business: What Bitcoin Technology May Offer to the Future of Finance

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

• Why larger number of small and medium-sized enterprises are joining the global marketplace.
• The reality of going global and why a positive attitude helps.
• How Middle East cloud computing is set to grow at a fast global pace.
• What Bitcoin technology may offer to the future of finance according to American Express CEO.
• How Monsanto is using big data to take over the world.
• Why everything Small Business Labs publishes is worth reading.

Engaging the Whole World

©2014 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

“Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.” - Hamilton Wright Mabie

Guess Who Has More Than 400,000 Global Customers?

©iStock.com/Cherezoff

Gosh that could be any company with almost a half a million customers but in this instance it's software developer Xero (not Xerox) that says it has more than 400,000 customers globally and is "back on track" in its key US market where it wants to take market share of an estimated 29 million small to medium sized business owners.

In 2014, Xero processed more than $250 billion worth of transactions, 95 million invoices and now holds more than a half a petabyte of data collected which covers business performance and gives insight into small business economics and trends, the Wellington-based company said in a statement.

Learn more:  Xero reaches 400,000 global customers

POLITICO Expands to Europe

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POLITICO, an American political journalism organization with a focus on national politics and government, unveiled the first stage of their global expansion: a European edition of POLITICO, launching this spring with a team of 70, as a joint venture with Brussels-based Axel Springer, Europe’s largest news publisher.

Here's the scoop:

POLITICO Europe will be based in Berlin, with reporters in major capitals, and newsrooms and business presences in Berlin and Paris. The goal: to create the largest most influential political and policy publication on the Continent.

WOW.  Great goal for 2015.  All businesses, big and small, should have a goal of going global in 2015.

Read more:  POLITICO Goes Global:  Europe edition launches this spring with team of 70

'Startup Land' Book Is Anything But Conventional

Photo courtesy:  Laurel J. Delaney

I was sent a review copy of "Startup Land:  How Three Guys Risked Everything to Turn an Idea Into a Global Business," because the publicist thought the book was a good fit for The Global Small Business Blog.  She is right.

How could anyone not get something from "Startup Land" or do you not know who Mikkel Svane is and what he accomplished?  Svane cofounded Zendesk -- software for better customer service -- in Copenhagen in 2007 with Morten Primdahl and Alexander Aghassipour.  Today, Svane leads a global publicly traded company with customers in 150 countries and products and services that reach hundreds of millions of people.  Talk about inventing disruptive technology that has inspired a whole new generation of customer-focused companies.

So yes, there are many lessons in this book for you.  Rather than focus on the chapter titles, I'll give you a listing of sub-titles because they are more telling and after each one I want you to ask yourself, "What did he do?"

1. Believing that what you're doing is great and knowing nothing of what's to come
2. Keeping it together when things should be falling apart
3. How to turn down money and keep your company (and your soul)
4. Battling circumstances beyond your control
5. Getting investors and getting along with your partners
6. Chasing the dream - and dealing with the reality
7. Leveraging location and upending our lives
8. Going from building a product to building a company - and messing up along the way
9. From idealist to realist, and the uncomfortable journey in between
10. Becoming a public company and remembering where we came from

Svane gives a complete run-down of what the three cofounders did under each circumstance.  One of my favorite parts in the book is at the end in A Few More Thoughts because Svane talks about how his story is such a small part of the story of Zendesk.  He says, "The story of any startup is actually the story of its customers.  It's about real-life relationships with people who bought what the company was selling."

Whether you are an aspiring global entrepreneur or seasoned global small business owner, if you feel stuck and can't take another step forward without some help, pick up this book and read it.  If you stumble again, re-read it for its how-to aspect -- how to build a great enduring global enterprise. Solutions can be found at every turn of the page.

I'll make it easy for you.  Go here to purchase.  Oh, and the book is co-authored by Mikkel Svane and Carlye Adler who is an award-winning journalist and bestselling author.

America's Best Small-Town Destinations

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Fodor's Travel offers a list of America's best small-town destinations -- Telluride, Marfa and Beaufort, for example -- with populations under 30,000 that have a storied history and year-round appeal. The list is made up of detour-worthy towns all over the U.S. that have strong cultural offerings or great outdoor adventures, in addition to good eats and lodging options. For your next small-town getaway, head to any of these 10 remarkable spots.  Or, perhaps you already live in one of these areas.  If so, remember, whether a town or a business, you may be small today, but you can grow to be large tomorrow!

Read:  America's Best Small Towns

Today in Global Small Business: Beware, Fraudsters Love the Holidays

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

• Why coming to terms with technology is crucial if smaller businesses are to success abroad.
• Why for utilities, international expansion can be a tricky thing.
• We all use the Internet on a daily basis.  Have you used it to take your business global?
• How will China's online boom impact e-commerce?
• Speaking of e-commerce, how do you choose a fraud prevention service?
• How to expand your online store to Brazil.

The Best Damn Coffeecake on the Planet

©2014 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

If you haven't tried O&H Danish Bakery's award-winning Kringle, you are missing out on tasting the best damn coffeecake on the planet.(Secret:  For those who are near a Trader Joe's location - they carry Kringle at special times of the year.  Inquire.  By picking one up, you can save on delivery fees.)

Be Passionate About What You Do and Live Your Legend

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Let's face it.  If you are not into what you are doing professionally, how will you ever ride out the rough bumps along the way?  The only way to sustain what you do for a living is to love what you do.  Oh, and don't forget, failure comes with the territory until you get something to work.

Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes proves it.

Holmes’ company [Theranos, a health technology and medical laboratory services company] has been expanding rapidly, having grown from 500 to 700 employees even since Fortune wrote about it just five months ago [2014]. Its phlebotomists now draw blood from patients by fingerstick at dedicated “wellness centers” at more than 40 Walgreens in Arizona and one in Palo Alto, Calif., often emailing back results to both the patient and physician within hours.

Read:  Young Entrepreneurs Need "a Mission"

Have you got a mission?  If not, find one and get going in 2015! Whether young or old, everyone needs a mission in life.  Live your legend.

Are the Survival Instincts of SMEs in UAE Higher Than Elsewhere in the World?

Moodboard/Thinkstock

According to Alexander Williams, Director of Strategy and Policy Division at Dubai SME, the most important issue faced by any new SME that’s struggling to survive a year after set up is the non-availability of funding.

Williams's advice is as follows:

“Secure necessary funding and always take on an investor or a partner on board,” he says adding that although the failure rate of SMEs in the country could be on par with global standards, the resilience seen here is much higher compared to anywhere else in the world.

Read the entire article:  UAE SMEs more resilient compared to global counterparts

How to Get Started In International Trade

Why Businesses Should Come Clean On Disclosing Their Overseas Deals

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How transparent are the world's most powerful companies?  How is transparency in big companies linked to poverty and instability in the countries they operate in?  Who are the best and worst companies on openness about their business operations?

By now you must curious as all heck.  To find out, take a look at "Transparency in Corporate Reporting," a study that ranks 124 of the world's biggest publicly traded companies based on how open they are about their business operations.

The report assesses the disclosure practices of companies with respect to their anti-corruption programmes, company holdings and the disclosure of key financial information on a country-by-country basis.

Learn more:  Global companies not transparent enough

Today in Global Small Business: A Short, Hard-Hitting Book on Exporting Essentials

©2014 Laurel J Delaney.  All rights reserved.

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

• 10 things every importer and exporter should be grateful for.
• Just the essentials on exporting, a quick read book (my latest).
• Global day of giving - called "Giving Tuesday."
• Why the rain in Spain lies mainly in pain for new entrepreneurs.
• How the Internet is giving Small Business Saturday a competitive edge.
• One CEO's advice on how to take a company global.

Meet Chicago Sculptor and Scholar Garland Martin Taylor

©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.

The day after Thanksgiving was no different in my running schedule - yes I am a runner! - even though the temperatures in Chicago held steady at a brisk 25 degrees F.

When I reached my one mile mark near Berger Park in Rogers Park, Illinois, I discovered sculptor and scholar Garland Martin Taylor (as shown).  The photos you see are of his amazing work.  Imagine doing what he does, passionately but in freezing cold weather.  That's a true and dedicated artist entrepreneur!

Here's a snapshot of his bio:

Garland is a sculptor and independent researcher from Chicago where he earned a Masters in Visual and Critical Studies at the School of the Art Institute. A self-described formalist, in the studio he welds and shapes metal manufacturing industry discards into both, life-sized functional works, and monumental abstract sculptures-heirlooms.

What you see above is a little of Garland's genius in full throttle.  Check out Garland's website and watch a short video of his process here.

Keep up your amazing work Garland and so nice to meet you!

The Path to Doing Business Successfully in Latin America

Albert Costilo | Photo courtesy Lauren Lee Photography.  All rights reserved.

I conducted an interview with Albert Costilo (pictured), CEO and founder of GlobalBusinessFluency (http://www.globalbusinessfluency.com), which specializes in expanding sales for US SMEs in Latin America. What follows is a primer to conducting business successfully in Latin America.  Use it to kick your business up a notch internationally.

An Exporter's Primer to Doing Business in Latin America

Wishing You Peace and Happiness on Thanksgiving and Always

Thank you for your readership.  It makes our world go round.  Have a blessed and Happy Thanksgiving!

The State of Washington: A Place of Global Importance

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Is Washington failing to realize its potential on the global stage?  That’s the premise of a report, "Improving the Washington Region's Global Competitiveness," released by George Mason University’s Center for Regional Analysis, which criticizes the region’s economic reliance on the federal government and suggests ways it can become a bigger player in the global marketplace.

Interesting comment referenced in the article:

“If you’re not looking globally and you’re not realizing your potential in the global marketplace, you’re not in this century,” said Bob Buchanan, the group’s president [referring to the 2030 Group] and head of the development firm Buchanan Partners.

Read the entire 90-page report:  "Improving the Washington Region's Global Competitiveness"

How to Spark Global Entrepreneurship

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The United States has committed to a big, audacious goal to expand economic opportunity for all, especially women and youth.  The U.S. will spark $1 billion in new private investments over the next three years for entrepreneurs worldwide, including social entrepreneurs. Half of these investments will be generated by women and young entrepreneurs.

What this says is that the Administration has delivered on its commitment to greatly expand and support global entrepreneurship and economic opportunity around the world.

Learn  more about some of the U.S.'s signature entrepreneurial achievements in the past five years:
FACT SHEET:  Global Entrepreneurship Summit | The White House

Today in Global Small Business: Amazon Launches in China

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

• Why many SMBs have overlooked key strategies to tap into major international markets.
• Will Uber's international expansion plan fail?
• What's causing Israeli television's surprising global reach?
• How opening Israel to imports made it an exporting powerhouse.
• A mega-selling deceased pop star has a new assignment:  the first global brand of marijuana.
• Wake-up China:  Amazon is knocking at your ecommerce door.

A Mirror to the Sky: Cloud Gate

©2014 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

©2014 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

Cloud Gate is a public 110-ton elliptical sculpture designed by British artist Anish Kapoor, that is the centerpiece of the AT&T Plaza at Millennium Park in Chicago, Illinois.

The sculpture reflects Chicago's famous skyline and the clouds above. In the case of the lower photo, if you look closely to the left, that is me - Laurel Delaney - taking a closeup of the Cloud Gate.

The Global Entrepreneurial Mindset is Always Optimistic

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Amy Schultz, instructor of entrepreneurship and project-based learning at Feather River College in Quincy, California says, "I would describe the entrepreneur mindset as – first and foremost – optimism. Because that will drive everything else."  She goes on to say, "“It gives you hope that whatever your challenge is, you will be able to overcome it. Optimism is what attracts other people. People are naturally attracted to optimists and people with great attitudes.”

Read:  Learning entrepreneurship on a global economy scale

Take It Global in 2015

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I wrote the article below originally for About.com's Import and Export site and then decided to feature it on LinkedIn where I am a key influencer.  That's when it went viral.  On my Twitter account @LaurelDelaney, it was the first time I was "trending in Australia!" Even Pulse picked up the article as a special feature.  Have a look:

7 Unexpected Reasons to Take Your Business Global in 2015

Global Ecommerce Sales Are Expected to Reach $1.4 Trillion by 2016

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According to a report from Deloitte Digital, global ecommerce sales are expected to reach $1.4 trillion by 2016.  Retailers are finally recognizing the huge opportunity of going global with their business.

Discover what the four key trends (drivers) are in global ecommerce growth.

Here's one:

Increase in global shipping: International shipping is seeing its growth driven primarily through flexible shipping options and fulfillment services that provide retailers low-cost/low-risk options for gaining exposure in new areas. With the ability to outsource fulfillment, retailers can reach customers beyond their domestic market without having to invest in building a global infrastructure.

How to Juice Up Exports

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The Obama administration promised to double exports in five years - from 2009-2014.  But we are far short of that goal.  Still, some products including fossil fuels have surged despite policy barriers at the border.

Read:  Obama Looks to Jump-Start Export Push
Note:  If every small business owner had the opportunity to read Exporting:  The Definitive Guide to Selling Abroad Profitably, we would have a better chance at doubling exports in the NEXT five years.

Today in Global Small Business: Singles Day, Divorce Day, Pets Day; Can China Teach the World How to Shop?

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

• How to take your business global by putting your state trade offices to work.
• Singles Day.  Divorce Day.  Pets Day.  Can China teach the world how to shop?
• Why you should consider doing business in Peru.
• Learn why small businesses in London are embracing international trade.
• Discover 5 commerce trends retailers can profit from this holiday season.
• Are wearable gadgets the secret to commercial global success?

The Hourglass of Our Life

©2014 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"The more sand that has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it." - Niccolo Machiavelli

Innocent Until Proven Guilty: U.S. Export-Import Bank

How do you define what is a small (vs. BIG) business?  Is it based on the size of revenues?  Number of employees?  Apparently everyone, including Ex-Im Bank, is struggling with that very same question.  The latest on the trials and tribulations of the U.S. Export-Import Bank.

Ex-Im Misleads Congress and the Public About Helping Small Businesses

But an investigation by the Reuters news agency has found that potentially hundreds of the subsidy recipients categorized as “small businesses” by Ex-Im are actually very large enterprises or units of multinational conglomerates.

Exclusive:  Export-Import Bank admits errors in small biz data - Yahoo News

The U.S. Export-Import Bank has mischaracterized potentially hundreds of large companies and units of multinational conglomerates as small businesses, a flaw in its record keeping that could undermine the export lender's survival strategy.

Export-Import Bank's list of 'small' businesses draws fire from conservatives | TribLIVE

A comparison of about 6,000 businesses characterized by Ex-Im as “small” with information supplied by corporate data collector Dun & Bradstreet, which Ex-Im uses to vet applicants, and other sources turns up about 200 companies that appear to be mislabeled and many more whose classification is uncertain.

How to Build a High-Performing and Truly Entrepreneurial Global Business

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Ever heard of organizing a company around a conceptual framework?  That's the way Haier's leader, China philosopher-CEO Zhang Ruimin, describes how he built a winning global company by continually reframing his management philosophy.  Haier is the world's fastest-growing appliance maker.  Other things Haier excels at:

"... the largest market share in “white goods” worldwide—about 14 percent of a market with at least seven other major competitors. It is also a world leader in business innovation and one of the largest non-state-owned enterprises in China."

Art Kleiner, Editor in Chief of strategy+business writes a wonderful spread on Zhang and his success tips for running Haier.  Before we get to it, the following statement encapsulates how Zhang pulled off leading a high-performing and truly entrepreneurial global business:

Zhang has steadily initiated shifts in the company’s structure, moving consistently toward participative management, decentralized decision making, and autonomous but accountable work teams and platforms. 

Read the entire article:  China's Philosopher - CEO Zhang Ruimin

How South Africa Is Building a Robust Entrepreneurship Ecosystem

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With the launch of Startup Nations South Africa (SA), the initiative joins a global network of Startup Nations such as Startup Britain, Startup Chile, Startup Malaysia, Startup China, Startup Norway, Startup Australia and more recently Startup Brazil, Startup Vietnam and Startup Korea.

The Startup Nations South Africa initiative is a collaborative effort by founding partners, The Innovation Hub, the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and the Wits Business School, aimed at contributing towards building a robust entrepreneurship ecosystem and vibrant sustainable entrepreneurship culture.

Global entrepreneurship is crucial to the vitality and growth of a country and its people.

Read more:  SA Small Business Minister Launches Startup Nations South Africa Initiative

Photo:  Capetown, South Africa

Globally, SMEs Are More Optimistic

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Zurich Insurance recently surveyed 3,800 businesses spanning across 19 countries (200 businesses in each country). Participants were asked to identify up to three out of a possible 15 activities and challenges in their business over the previous 12 months - from expanding activities to target new customers in their domestic market.  UAE-based SMEs were found to be more positive than competitors in other countries about reaching out to new customers, the study showed.

About one third of small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) believed “acquiring new customers is their biggest opportunity at the present time, indicating high levels of confidence in the strength of the local economy,” Zurich said in its 2014 Global SME Survey yesterday.

The 2014 Global SME Survey results are as follows: 

• Survey results (PDF 645.49 KB)

Related article: Small businesses confident in strength of local economy

News release:  SMEs globally see mixed opportunities for growth

Today in Global Small Business: How to Copy Warren Buffett's Global Success

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

• Discover what a middleman (or middle woman) is, what they do and how they work.
• Guidelines to consider before hiring offshore staff.
• How to brand yourself everywhere so the world knows you exist.
• Why Ghanaian entrepreneurs needs to go global.
• What are the four lies that small businesses tell themselves to avoid commerce?
• Want to copy Warren Buffett's global success?*

*One of Buffett's fundamentals:  Encourage small businesses to grow and expand one step at a time, even if haphazardly, as the accumulation of individual achievement can add up to huge enterprises, like the many success stories in building Dairy Queen. 

A Chicago Pizza Faithful to the Authentic Neapolitan Style

©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 pleasure of eating at Spacca Napoli Pizzeria a couple of weeks ago.  It's a great find (I was turned on to it and treated by my designer at GlobeTrade.com) and I recommend it to anyone who loves an authentic Neapolitan style pizza.  For those who don't know, Neapolitan style pizza (Italian: pizza napoletana) is made with tomatoes and Mozzarella cheese.

We ordered the Bufalina pizza, blended San Marzano tomatoes, mozzarella di bufala, basil and extra virgin olive oil (evoo).  It was superb.

As we were leaving the restaurant, the host offered us a plate filled with miniature cannolis.  What a nice way to end a meal.  We each took one for the road and it was outstanding.

When the nights in Chicago get way too long and chilly, pay a visit to Spacca Napoli Pizzeria for a true Italiano pizzeria experience.  It's like visiting Italy.

Are You Based in Tacoma, Washington and Want to Embrace eCommerce in the 21st Century?

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Join Chaitra Vedullapalli, former Microsoft senior director of global sales and marketing and a global director for alliance and channels at Oracle, when she speaks November 11th on “Why every business must embrace e-commerce in the 21st century” at the William Factory Incubator.

To make a reservation, email:  ellis@williamfactory.com

While I have you, you might read:  Going Global is Easy - Tips to Make it REAL and check out Meylah, where Chaitra is currently CMO.

How to Celebrate Your Birthday Perched On Top of the World

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Trying to decide how you can have the most awesome birthday ever? Look no further.  All you have to do is get on a plane and fly to Singapore.  What do you get when you arrive?  Take your pick from the Singapore Flyer:

•  The Full Butler Sky Dining -- For a romantic dinner experience like no other, check out the world's first full butler sky dining with awe inspiring views of Singapore.

•  The Flyer Birthday Bash! -- Plan a sky high birthday experience for yourself or that special someone, 165-metre above ground.

•  The Singapore Flyer and Flight Experience Program -- Take a flight on the Singapore Flyer and learn to fly a Boeing 737.

Wait.  There's more.  Explore here.  Oh, in case you didn't know, the Singapore Flyer, launched in 2008, is the world’s largest Giant Observation Wheel and is poised to become one of Asia’s biggest tourist attractions.

Entrepreneurs See the World Differently; It's All About Creating Opportunities

Photo credit:  Pascal Muradian.  All rights reserved.

The 7th Annual World Entrepreneurship Forum, held in Lyon, France October 19-22nd, brought good things to life for anyone who is an entrepreneur or aspires to become one.  Forty countries were represented with more than 200 members attending from five continents!  Ideas and opportunities came from everywhere - speakers, moderators, members, sponsors, workshop presenters and partners.  Here's a sampling on some of the talented people we heard from over a three-day period:

• Tony Meloto, Founder of Gawad Kalinga, The Philippines on "pitching for social entrepreneurship."
• Abdallah Absi, Founder and CEO of Zoomaal, Lebanon on "pitching for crowd funding."
• Atef Alshabrawy, Founder and CEO of the Islamic M&SE's Bank and SME's advisor to the Federation of GCC Chamber of Commerce, Bahrain, on "pitching for Islamic finance."
• Arnaud Mourot, Co-director of Ashoka Europe, France on "inventing the future of entrepreneurship at the BoP.
• Aishwarya Mahajan, Regional Head Livelihood Education and Regional Manager of Jaipur Office, Aide & Action International, India on "inventing the future of entrepreneurship at the BoP."
• Dylan Wilk,  Founder of HumanNature, United Kingdom, on "inventing the future of entrepreneurship at the BoP
• Colin Jones, Senior lecturer of entrepreneurship at the University of Tasmania, Australia on "Entrepreneurship 3.0:  Critical knowledge and skills for entrepreneurs and how to develop them."
• Mohammad Reza Dayyani, Founder and Chairmain of the Board - Iran Entrepreneurs Forum, Founder and CEO of Entekhab Investment Development Group, Iran on "doing business in Iran."

Other impressive speakers included:

• Letizia Molatti introduced the socio-economic enterprises concept to bridge the gap in society. 
• Richard EU narrated his experience of handling failures in his family business while inducing family values in his organizational hierarchy. 
• Marita Chang, recipient of the young Australian entrepreneur 2012 award, described her journey from a simple university workshop on robotics to starting-up her company Robogals Global. 
• Chief Nyamweya, spoke about how he embedded happiness as one of the core values of his business.

And that's not all.  There were more terrific speakers and awardees from The Award Ceremony Gala Dinner - too many to list here.  To learn more on who else participated at the amazing World Entrepreneurship Forum, see pictures from each day and become a member, visit:  World Entrepreneurship Forum.  Press kits and news releases, go here.

In closing, entrepreneurs see the world differently.  We are all about creating opportunities, especially ones that can change the world. Thomas Edison is a great example of an entrepreneur who went on to create thousands of ideas that created value over time.  In their own right, the World Entrepreneurship Forum members and participants are all budding Edisons.

Note:  I am in the photo above with all the other participants at the World Entrepreneurship Forum 2014 in Lyon, France.  Next year's Forum takes places in Hangzhou, China.  Watch for more details soon.

Bringing Internet Access to Everyone in the World

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The big, bold solution:  "How to deliver basic internet services to everyone by working to decrease the costs of connectivity, building more efficient services that use less data, and by partnering with mobile operators on new models for access that can help the industry grow while also bringing more people onto the internet." - Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, on the challenges and opportunities of a new generation of connectivity platforms.

Read the paper:  Connecting the World From the Sky

Projects:  Internet.org

Today in Global Small Business: The World of Global Mobile According to Numbers

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

• What trips up most small business owners when it comes to importing and exporting?
• How to pick a market for expanding your commerce store?
• Why PayPal Canada launched PassPort for small businesses.
• Are small businesses pulling back on capital spending?
• Why many small businesses in Iowa desire to expand their businesses globally.
• The world of global mobile according to numbers.

Autumn Is Almost Gone

©2014 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"A wind has blown the rain away and blown the sky away and all the leaves away, and the trees stand.  I think, I too, have known autumn too long." - e.e. cummings