What Is a Micro-Multinational?

©iStock/Geribody

According to The Globe and Mail, a micro-multinational is a small to medium-sized company that uses technology to do things like export and off-shore in a way that was once limited to large corporations.

Find out what a Canadian business owner did to turn his mindset and business from local to global and into a micro-multinational.

Read:  Entrepreneur turns side project into thriving micro-multinational

How to Make Money On Your Bike When You Are Not Using It

©iStock/Nisangha

You've heard of Airbnb, Uber and NeighborGoods.  Now say hello to global bike-sharing company called Spinlister.

Here's how it works:

In 90 seconds or less, anyone can list their bike on Spinlister.com through the app or website, set a rental price and select accessories to include with the rental.

Worldwide, Spinlister already has 15,000 people who use the site to rent bikes.

2015 a Breakout Year for Small Businesses

©iStock/Asafta

The National Federation of Independent Business reported that optimism among small businesses in December reached its highest level in eight years.

Considerably more small business owners said now is a good time to expand, NFIB reported, with capital investments and hiring both on the rise. Some 60% reported capital outlays, with 42% reporting spending on new equipment, 23% acquiring new vehicles and 16% expanding or improving their facilities.

Let's hope 2015 is a breakout year for small businesses.

Read the entire article:  NFIB Reports Small Business Optimism Grows in December

Hungarians Want Successful Companies With Global Clout and the Ability to Speak English

©iStock/Kaycco

Hungary has some work ahead.  Only one in seven Hungarians speaks adequate English.  As a result, people having difficulties expressing themselves in English, which can be perceived as less capable than the self-confident communicators with a good command of English.

Here's what else the article below says:

This may all sound trivial but still, Hungary is one of the laggards in foreign language skills not just in Europe as a whole but in the Central and Eastern Europe region as well. The latest (2012) Eurobarometer survey showed that merely one in five Hungarians is able to have a conversation in English with 40% of those prepared for the most basic situations only. 

Read the entire article:  Only one in seven Hungarians speaks adequate English

Today in Global Small Business: Going Global Means Going Local

©iStock/Alexaldo

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

• How to implement effective strategies to combat growing pains when going global.
• How to take your small business global (YouTube).
• Why going global means going local.
• How going global becomes a literacy, a process and a call to action.
• How to leverage opportunities when working abroad.
• Why small businesses are concerned over declining oil prices.

Outside the Frost Will Bite

©2014 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"We shall achingcold be here
Not singing.
Outside, the frost will bite, thaw, then return;
Inside, the candle will burn." - Philip Larkin

Which Country Is Filled With Optimism About the Economy?

©iStock/Jeremy Richards

Grant Thornton’s global survey indicates business confidence across the world has fallen at the start of the New Year but businesses in India are the most optimistic.

The survey shows 98% of India Inc is optimistic about the economy, which is well above the global average of just 41%. The global average is low because there is lack of optimism in the United States where business confidence has dropped to 59% and in China it’s even lower at 22%, while in Japan it’s in the negative.

Read more at:  Global business optimism falls but not in India

10 Steps to Localizing a Website

©iStock/Michael Jay

Are you targeting international customers with your website?  Then you better learn how to localize your website, as well as translate it.

How to localize a website in 10 easy steps

Another good article by the same author, Christian Arno, is:

Localization Is the Key to Going Global

Adopt Globalization As a Key Driver For Business Growth

©iStock/Onishenko-Galina

According to findings of an in-depth study conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) on behalf of DHL Express, the majority of SMEs see growth opportunities internationally and expect to derive up to 50 percent of their revenues internationally in five years’ time.

What else was discovered?  Those SMEs that trade internationally are likely to perform better than their single market counterparts.

The study also reveals that severe obstacles remain for smaller businesses with global aspirations, these challenges include political instability, cultural factors, different market environments and inadequate infrastructures.

Learn more:  The importance of global connectedness for SMEs

Download report:  Most SMEs planning to be global by 2019

In the World of Food, Some Like It Hot!

©iStock/stshank

No matter where you travel in our world, one thing remains constant in the cuisine area:  some like it hot (spicy)!

And food cultures across the world have come up with countless ways to dry, crush, smoke, pickle, brine, and confit chilies into condiments, developing hot sauces that give dishes extra dimension and heat. In the U.S. alone, hot sauce is a $1.3 billion industry.

Below is a global history on hot sauce along with an illustrated tour region by region that spans Asia, the Caribbean, Europe and the Middle East and Africa.  In some examples even recipes are provided to make your own hot sauce.

Around the World in Hot Sauce:  An Illustrated Tour of 18 Varieties

Today in Global Small Business: See Why There Will Be Exports Aplenty in 2015

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

• Find out why Laurel Delaney sees plenty of sparkle in exports in 2015.
• Discover the books that every entrepreneur must read.
• Looking for new year inspiration?  Catch How I Changed My Life By Creating a Global Virtual Company.
• What is art?  What is a global entrepreneur?  Can they both be tossed into the same league?  (Read the fascinating comments!)
• See how making low-cost smartphones with great designs can thrust you into the global marketplace. 
• Do investments in innovation pay-off for global companies?  

David Bowie Is (Chicago)

David Bowie Is

Tomorrow, January 4th, is the final day of the Museum of Contemporary Art's extraordinarily popular exhibit "David Bowie Is."  I went to see it this week but couldn't really cover every single exhibit detail in the suggested 90 minute timeframe - there was just too much, which happily exceeded my expectations a hundred times over.  The exhibit presents a completely new perspective on Bowie's creative work and collaborations.

What I saw was absolutely amazing, including a richly illustrated catalogue edited by Victoria and Albert Museum curators Victoria Broackes and Geoffrey Marsh, which includes contributions from leading experts in musicology and cultural history.  I'm a huge Bowie fan and the MCA doesn't let you down on offering Bowie's music either. You are loaned a headset upon arrival to listen to Bowie tunes and hear historical perspectives provided by a number of people who worked with Bowie.  I highly recommend the exhibit.

Visit:  David Bowie Is | MCA Chicago

Photos courtesy:  ©2015 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

What's in Store for World Trade in 2015?

©iStock/Wragg

Who knows what's in store for world trade in the new year.  A lot depends on economic factors, your will, your way and other wildly speculative factors.

But somebody has to come up with something that leads the way to our future.  So I curated a couple of pieces that make sense and I even threw in a couple of my own forecasts for 2015 as they relate to global trade.

The Year Ahead:  From Laurel Delaney, Import and Export Expert

Happy 2015 Global Small Business Readers!

©iStock/Cienpies

"Wishing you a year filled with joy, peace, good health, prosperity and global ambitions." - Laurel Delaney, Founder, The Global Small Business Blog

Robinhood: The New Fremium Model

©iStock/lculig 

Robinhood is a zero-commission brokerage app for the iPhone, and is unlike any existing stock-market app.  What sets it apart is - it's mobile first, has no human traders to pay, doesn't charge a commission for standard trades and does does not require a minimum deposit - kissing the middleman good-bye.

Who does Robinhood work best for?  Someone in their twenties who wants to invest a couple hundred bucks here or there to put into the market.

Their “freemium” model allows customers to buy and sell US-listed stocks and ETFs, place market orders and limit orders, track data in real time, and customise watchlists for free. The app will, however, charge customers for premium services like margin lending.

Learn more:  Snoop Dogg and Marc Andreessen Backed This No-Fee Trading App Launching Today [12/12/14]

Is Robinhood global?  If not now, it will be.

Small Business Trends in 2015

©iStock/Rasica

Here's what we are seeing for small business trends in 2015:

• Alternative capital flows will gain traction.
• 3D printing will enable small batch manufacturing.
• Big data analytics will see increased adoption.
• The Internet will continue to be important.
• The Cloud will be critical.
• Content will be king.

Source:  6 Small Business Trends To Watch Out For in 2015

• The shaping of the economy begins to mature.
• Mobile payments come of age.
• Startups on the side.

Source:  3 Trends Will Drive Innovation in 2015

• Mobile SEO
• Local SEO

Source:  2015 SEO Trends You Need to Know

• Bitcoin will not go away.
• More small businesses will go global.
• Live online events will become more important.
• Apps will take a new life form.
• Global mobile commerce is set to explode.
• Wearable/shareable devices will heat up fast and show huge increases. 

Source:  Laurel Delaney, President, GlobeTrade.com

Person to Watch in 2015: Jennie Smith

©iStock/Ivz

Hometown girl Jennie Smith went from growing beautiful heirloom tomatoes on her three-acre farm called Butcher Crick Farms, and selling them at the downtown farmers market and to local restaurants - to taking a job as a sales manager at Kemin Industries in a new division called crop technologies, which the Des Moines-based company plans to launch next year.

Her passion for food and farming, and the drive that has taken her from running a small tomato farm to joining a life science company with a global footprint, makes her a person to watch in 2015.

Read the entire article:  Jennie Smith:  From tomato farm to global science company

Today in Global Small Business: Marketing Trends to Keep Your Eye On

©iStock/Rawpixel

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

• Eight ways to supercharge your international trade activities in 2015.
• Ten marketing trends to keep your eye on.
• What to keep in mind when you expand your online store to Brazil.
• Going global in 2015 - ten startups to watch.
• What to know before you go global.
• Who were the "disruptors" in business in 2014?

In Chicago, You Honor Fallen Heroes and Horses

Horses of Honor Public Art, a celebration of Chicago's heroes:

Since 1853, over 500 Chicago Police officers have sacrificed their lives to protect our city. In honor of those who we have lost, Wintrust has partnered with the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation for a public art installation to benefit our fallen heroes. Designed to resemble Chicago’s Mounted Patrol Unit horses, the Horses of Honor will stand for providing support and assistance to the families of those men and women who have been killed or catastrophically injured in the line of duty.

Learn more:  Horses of Honor Public Art | Chicago Police Memorial Foundation

Photo credit:  ©Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

Trends That Are Shaping the Traditional Holiday Shopping Season

©iStock/Bikeworldtravel

How will the country’s biggest retailers fair this holiday shopping season?  It's too early too tell but there are some identifiable trends that are shaping the traditional holiday shopping season.  For example, one is that retailers are starting their sales a lot earlier now.

Find out what the others are here.

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

©iStock/Iznogood

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

©iStock/HconQ

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

©iStock/Merznatalia

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

iStock/Thinkstock

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

iStock/Thinkstock

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

iStock/Thinkstock

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

iStock/Thinkstock

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

iStock/Thinkstock

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.