Today in Global Small Business: Small Table Maker Vintage Industrial Takes on Alibaba's Fakes

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

• Learn five takeaways from the ICC World Trade Agenda Day.
• Jack Ma's bold promise—that Alibaba would help create 1 million jobs in the U.S. over five years.
• Souq.com — which sells health and beauty products and electronic goods — has become the highest-valued internet company in the Middle East.
• Why should you export?
• The financial and cultural considerations to importing for small businesses.
• How a small table maker Vintage Industrial takes on Alibaba's flood of fakes.

The Future is Female

©2017 Laurel Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"The future is female; so how do we get there?" -- Chicago Reader

Congrats to SBA's National Small Business Week Awardees!

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The head of the U.S. Small Business Administration, Linda McMahon, announced the 2017 National Small Business Week awardees for 16 different categories ranging from exporting, outreach, contracting, lending, disaster recovery to manufacturing and research and development.  Small Business Week is set as the first week in May.

The National Exporter of the Year 2017 award goes to:

Rose Morris, President

Abram's Bed LLC

Dba The Safety Sleeper

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Rose's story goes like this:

I am a loving mother of three children the middle of which is Abram who is on the autism spectrum. Like many other families who have a loved one with special needs, I struggled with finding a good solution to protecting my son at night.  There was no product on the market that could support my son's sleeping issues, night wanderings, temper melt-downs and give us the freedom to be a typical family.

I feared for Abram’s safety and out of that fear, The Safety Sleeper™ was developed.

To learn more about the other awardees, visit here. Congratulations to everyone!  We are proud of your accomplishments.

When Was Globalization Discovered?

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Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492 with a quest to sail west until he reached Asia (the Indies) where the riches of gold, pearls and spice awaited.  One could say that is when globalization occurred.

Regardless of the exact point in time, Andrew Sheng, for The China Post, says:

Globalization had lifted billions from poverty and the logic of free trade and capital flows was accepted from Beijing to Zanzibar. But in 2007, when the North Atlantic financial crisis revealed the flaws of excessive financialization, doubts about globalization began to creep in.

The reality is that globalization cannot be stopped; rather, it must be managed better as Sheng adds. Read more here.

Europe is Where Most UK SMEs Go First on Exports

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Europe is the market most UK small business exporters go to first. Over half say it’s easier to trade with versus elsewhere.  The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) reveals through its research a trade deal with Europe is top of the list for UK small businesses post Brexit.

Nine out of 10 (92%) exporting small businesses and 85% of importers trade with the EU. It is also the first foreign market many small firms go to: exporters are twice as likely to have exported to the EU for the first time, than another market. 

Read more here.

Saudi Arabians Have a Cultural Affinity Toward Entrepreneurial Activity

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The 2016/17 GEM Saudi Arabia Entrepreneurship Monitor report -- an initiative of the Babson Global Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership (BGCEL) at Prince Muhammad Bin Salman College of Business and Entrepreneurship (MBSC), with BGCEL supported by a grant from Lockheed Martin -- shows that Saudi Arabia is a fertile ground for entrepreneurs.

The report shows a strong cultural affinity in Saudi Arabia toward entrepreneurial activity. More than two thirds of the working-age population believe starting a business to be a good career choice and 25.8 percent are considering starting up a new business within the next five years. 

The report also shows a noticeable increase in female entrepreneurship: 38.6 percent of entrepreneurs in the Kingdom are women, a proportion that has increased rapidly in recent years.

Saudi entrepreneurs are poised for success.

Learn more here.

Today in Global Small Business: Trump Organization Kisses International Markets Goodbye

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

• Small businesses search out new trading destinations amid currency volatility.
• FedEx gives China SMEs a chance to win U.S. $120,000 in grants.
• Learn how a woman business owner takes her business global (n/c webinar 4/5).
• New news:  Trump Organization no longer expanding internationally.
• Tim Cook, CEO of Apple says Europe and U.S. way behind China on mobile payment.
• Positioning a business for global success -- 12 ways to do it.

Every Woman is a Rebel

©2017 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Every woman is a rebel, and usually in wild revolt against herself." - Oscar Wilde

Happy St. Patrick's Day, My Favorite Day of the Year

Top of the morning to you!  Have a Happy St. Patrick's Day -- my favorite day of the year.  These are scenes in Chicago along the river front (Wacker Drive).  You can find out why they dye the river green in Chicago here.

Photos courtesy:  ©2017 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

How Do We Learn In This World?

How Many Steps Does It Take to Go Global?

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Successful international expansion means meeting, and overcoming a range of new challenges - and involves careful, effective planning. To help your business prepare for its journey, to any corner of the world, David Warrender put together a guide to some of the most important first steps.  And if you want to take a couple more, pay a visit here.

Get Out of Your Comfort Zone and Explore Global Markets

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To obtain sustainable growth, you must pursue challenges and one of them is going global.  The good news is there are benefits. All it takes is perseverance and a determination and commitment to break the market barriers.

Razzak Dawood [former commerce minister of Lahore, Pakistan] said it was only after exploring the global markets that one learned how to be internationally competitive. It is only after rubbing shoulders with competitors from various regions that one learns the secret of success by achieving efficiency.

Read more here.

Today in Global Small Business: Think Bigger (Global)

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

• Small business?  Think you can't go global?  Guess again. Here it from a pro.  N/C webinar on 4/5.
• For goodness sakes, think BIGGER (global)!
• Intuit rolls out its goods and services tax (GST)-ready software product with focus on India, Malaysia and Australia.
• Guess how many people there are in the world who are in the process of starting or running their own business?
• Why Chinese startups are pushing into foreign markets.
• How the simplest mistakes can have an extremely negative impact on an international expansion project.

Irish Blessings You Need Most

©2015 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"May the blessings of each day be the blessings you need most" - Irish Saying

Supporting Small Businesses in the U.S. Economy

LIVE STREAM:  Senate Confirmation hearing for Linda McMahon for U.S. Small Business Administration.

How to Be the King or Queen of Accessibility

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In the article below, I talk about twelve (12) ways to position a business for global success.  One of them is this:

11. Be the king or queen of accessibility.
Positioning for success worldwide means making sure when your employees, customers, suppliers and colleagues need you, they get you. Nothing gets accomplished without constant communication. That means going back to your website or blog and eliminating an info@email address and adding a real person’s email address to address questions, concerns or raves about your company’s products or services.

Read all the takeaways here.

Get Flexible Chatting With Microsoft Teams

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Look out Slack for here comes the new grown-up on the block: Microsoft with Microsoft Teams and they ain't staying local, no way.  Global is the target.  And MT claims that with their new offering you can see content and chat history anytime, including team chats with Skype that are visible to the whole team. Private group chats are available for smaller group conversations too.

But isn't this all what Slack does?  Sorta.  Slack is an instant messaging and collaboration system that a lot of small business owners like and use.  To counter MT's release, Slack upped its game by launching a service for large corporation called Enterprise Grid, which allows companies to connect multiple workspaces under a single network. It also provides more security than before, and allows companies to adjust data security features across workspaces.

Put up your dukes [fists] and let's get fighting.  Love the global competitive spirit!

Learn more here.

Women Do Wonders for Entrepreneurship Worldwide

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International Women's Day is right around the corner: Wednesday, March 8.  What better time than now to highlight the successes and challenges faced by women around the world and the need to support them, reinforce their confidence, and encourage their abilities so that they can become strong leaders.

The International Business Times, India spoke to multiple successful female entrepreneurs who have become torchbearers in their field and can lead the way for other women.

Read more here.

And what better time than now to also mention Women Entrepreneurs GROW Global, a nonprofit I [Laurel Delaney] started June, 2015, with a mission to educate women business owners and entrepreneurs worldwide on how to go global so they can run healthier businesses and create a new future for themselves, their families and their community.

Our vision is a world where every woman business owner has the opportunity and ability to take their business global wherever they may be located.

Learn about our educational programs here.  Our next N/C webinar is 3/8.

Today in Global Small Business: Didi Chuxing Ascends to the Global Stage

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

1. Should you protect your trademarks?  Attend trade shows? Go direct or indirect on global sales?  Find out by attending an upcoming N/C webinar on 3/8 and hosted by nonprofit WEGG.
2. If we view technology as an enabler of business growth, how do we make the most of it?  Say hello to NextTECHnow.
3. According to McKinsey, digital trade is taking over; see how you can get involved (access report here).
4. What's of concern on global e-commerce these days besides cybersecurity?
5. How to go from a global star to a normal life?
6. See how Chinese ride hailer Didi Chuxing is taking steps to ascend to the global stage.

Being Irish Is Very Much a Part of Who I am

©2017 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Being Irish is very much a part of who I am.  I take it everywhere with me." - Colin Farrell

Is There Such a Thing as the Ugly American?

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Ugly American?  What's that you ask?  That surely isn't me! According to Maya Hu-Chan:

We all have a mental picture of the “Ugly American” — brash and arrogant, with an ethnocentric belief in America's singular greatness. When ugly Americans travel, they tout Big Macs over local cuisine and offer firm handshakes no matter the local greeting customs.

Is that you?  I hope not.  But as Maya goes on to say, "When working across cultures, sometimes it's less important to be “right” and more important to be aware of the impression you create."

I could not agree more.  Read the entire article here.

Idiot-Proof Website Builder By Global GoDaddy

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Global GoDaddy, an Internet domain registrar and web hosting company, is passionate about empowering SMBs to manage their business needs. They should be because small businesses see a website as a crucial tool for driving awareness for a brand, not just locally but globally.

With their new Website Builder, you can create a new website in lickety-split time and have it be mobile-friendly and integrated with your social pages so it can be viewed anywhere, anytime.

Read more here.

The Mother of all Mixups: The Global Oscars 2017

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In case you missed the global Oscar ceremony 2017, here's BBC's take on it and Time magazine's.

• Oscars error shouldn't overshadow a groundbreaking victory
• Oscars 2017 recap:  Surprise Mistake, Moonlight, La La Land
• Watch the best picture mixup on video

"Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty presented "La La Land" as the winner of the best picture award, and the celebration began on stage but was quickly ended when one of the "La La Land" winners pointed out that in fact "Moonlight" had won the award." Source: CNN

Gator Guard Makes Huge Splash Into Global Markets

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Small businesses are the key to keeping local communities afloat and also for driving a healthy number of American exports.  Take Farmington, Illinois based Gator Guard.  They are a USA-maker of premier marine protection products.  Sue Smith, President and CEO, stands at the helm of the business.

She [Sue] knew there had to be a better way. None of the products on the market at the time provided the quality she thought was necessary in order to protect her boat. So since Day One of Gator Guards inception, Sue and her team have worked tirelessly to research, develop and bring the best protective technologies and products to the marine industry.

Gator Guards has done so well internationally that it earned the Governor's New Exporter Award for Manufacturing in 2016.  Since Smith began focusing on exporting in 2013, she has seen international sales grow annually -- to the point that they could meet or exceed Gator Guard's domestic sales in the next 5 years.

Learn more here.  Go Gator Guards!  And congrats on your award.

Today in Global Small Business: How to Power Cross-Border Payments On Your Online Platforms

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

1. How to break into an overseas market.
2. How to take your business global in a heartbeat.
3. The trials and tribulations to running a growing global business (webinar 3/8; no charge).
4. FedEx helps small businesses achieve their dreams of growth and success with a grant contest.
5. For many Canadian small businesses, the talk of the new NAFTA might impact them.
6. How to power cross-border payments on your online platforms.

Fill Your Own Shoes

©2017 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"You have your own shoes.  Don't worry about filling someone else's." - Anonymous

What's On the Horizon for Commerce Trends in 2017?

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Commerce marketing automation provider Bronto asked experts inside and outside their company to talk about what's on the horizon for commerce trends in 2017.

In a nutshell: Get ready for global ecommerce, a more visual approach to marketing to customers, the emergence of cost- effective browse recovery technology and virtual dressing rooms, a more thoughtful approach to omnichannel marketing and, as always, a keen focus on personalization.

Read the full report here.

Middle-Market Leaders Across America Are More Optimistic About the Global and National Economies

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JP Morgan surveyed more than 1,400 middle-market executives, and 80% said they were optimistic about the national economy.

The 2017 Business Leaders Outlook found that business executives from small and mid-sized firms across the US are more optimistic about the global and national economies and think that the Trump administration will be a positive for the country.

What's the cause for the positive outlook?  President Trump is said to be at least part of the optimism.  There's good and bad here.  The good is the possibility of tax reductions and less regulation - positive impact. The bad is over the more protectionist trade policies - negative impact.

Read more here.

What Is Flex Global View?

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As UPS says, "If global shipping and supply chain management responsibilities have you overloaded, Flex Global View can help."

You'll get total visibility even across multiple modes of transportation--with a suite of tools that equip your business with key information to truly set you apart from the competition. With Flex Global View you have the ability to view and respond to shipment information and critical milestones as they occur.

To learn more, visit here.

A Pathway Towards an Agile and Enabled Digital Future

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UK businesses are looking for guidance, a pathway towards an agile and enabled digital future.  The only way out is for the UK government to outline what, if any, their digital strategy will be going forward.

Richard Hurwitz, Tungsten Network's CEO, says:

Many business functions are currently being held back by legacy systems and attitudes causing problems and limiting growth. The back office is, pun intended, holding business back. Will 2017 be the year that digital automations and technical collaboration accelerate across the global supply chain?

Full disclosure:  Tungsten Network offers e-invoicing, invoice finance and spend analytics solutions for AP and AR professionals.

In order to grow, all business owners, especially smaller ones the world over, must have an open global economy.  The fact remains that we must connect the unconnected.  There's no better place to start than through technology-empowered growth strategies.

Read more here.

Today in Global Small Business: Building a Global Community

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

• The challenges and successes to taking a business global (no charge webinar 3/8).
• A word or two, how about more like 6,000, on Facebook's global ambitions.
• Will President Trump's policies send Mexico's economy into a crisis?
• How to win with e-commerce shoppers in China.
• What's a "Digital Geneva Convention?"
• The art of negotiating deals abroad.

Accepting a New Reality

©2017 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Resilience is accepting your new reality, even if it's less good than the one you had before." -- Elizabeth Edwards

Ninety Percent of Trucking Is Made Up of Small Businesses

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Kansas City, Missouri-based Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), which has 158,000 members nationwide, says it is looking forward to working with Linda McMahon as the newly appointed leader of the Small Business Administration.

“More than ninety percent of trucking is made up of small businesses,” said OOIDA executive vice president, Todd Spencer. “Our hope going forward is to have more recognition and appreciation for the unique contributions that small business truckers add to the prosperity of the U.S and the economy.”

OOIDA was established in 1973.  Linda McMahon was sworn in as SBA leader after Trump was voted in as President of the United States.

Read more at Go By Truck Global News

The Story of LEGO, the Largest Toy Company in the World

What UK SME Exports Reveal

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Today, we take a look at reports from two big global shipping companies, FedEx and UPS, on the state of UK SME exports.

FedEx says:

"More than 63 per cent of British small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are exporting and making a significant contribution to rising international trade by taking advantage of declines in the value of the pound, reveals new research of exporting SMEs by FedEx Express."

UPS says:

"The UPS European SME Exporting Insights survey draws on the views of more than 12,800 owners and directors of SMEs in eight European countries. The research shows more small business owners are exporting, and reporting above average revenue growth."

For the FedEx study, "2015 European SME Export Report," visit: http://images.fedex.com/downloads/small-business/FedEx_EuropeanSMEExportReport_July15.pdf

For the UPS report, "2016 European SME Exporting Insights Study," visit: https://www.pressroom.ups.com/assets/pdf/pressroom/white%20paper/European%20Exports%20Study_2017_0118_FinalUKPanEU.pdf

SMEs are the Bedrock of the Global Economy

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PYMNTS takes a good look at the latest statistics on SME health, optimism and finance for markets in the U.S. and beyond, including the U.K., Australia and South Africa.  Here are their top six highlights:

1. 84% of U.S. SMEs visit bank branches to make deposits, according to a new survey by Mercator Advisory Group that examined how small business owners interact with their banks.
2. 76.2% of Australian SMEs say they are confident in their prospects for the next three months, said the Bankwest Future of Business: 2017 Outlook report. 
3. 67% of U.K. small business accountants say better integration of software is a key focus for them this year, even more important than replacing physical paper forms with digital ones, the latest report from Exact said. 
4. 66% of U.K. SMEs expect revenue growth of at least 4% this year, said American Express’ Global SME Pulse report. 
5. 48% of South African small businesses are negatively impacted by late B2B payments, the latest analysis from Xero found. 
6. 24% of big U.S. banks approved small business loans last month, Biz2Credit found in its most recent Small Business Lending Index. 

Read more here.

Today in Global Small Business: How to Win Global E-Commerce Customers in China

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

• How to take an alcohol business global (webinar 3/8).
• What does American business on-shoring do for international business?
• How to win global e-commerce shoppers in China.
• Speaking of global e-commerce, here's a report predicting it will grow at twice the rate of domestic e-commerce through 2020.
• How to get your small business booming in global markets.
• How the founder of McDonald's, Ray Kroc, turned the enterprise into a global phenomenon.

Laugh Out Loud, Be Grateful and Follow Your Heart

©2017 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

Oh just do all these things to have a good life.

What Is Dodd-Frank and How Does it Impact Small Businesses?

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President Trump has made a ton of executive orders and one of them has been to direct the Treasury to review Barack Obama’s 2010 Dodd-Frank financial regulatory law.  According to Small Business Trends, opinions appear to be split over the impact some of these policies will have on small business. But what exactly is Dodd-Frank all about and what are its implications?

Small Business Trends covers it all here.

Dream Big, Set Goals, and Make the Top 10 Blogs for Entrepreneurs List

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We are always happy (and honored) to make a top 10, 50 or 100 list for our Global Small Business Blog.  In this case, we made the Top 10 Blogs for Entrepreneurs to Read Daily.  Here's how they put the list together:

The criteria for making this determination was the richness of experiences, the depth of knowledge and the breadth of all aspects entrepreneurial.  These are entrepreneurs that have chased the same goal as your business and successfully succeeded both personally and professionally.

Discover the other great blogs featured here.  We are in good company.  Thank you to Deskhub, a coworking and office space, for putting the list together.

Tapping Into Global Markets Empowers People Worldwide to Share a Better Economic Future

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How many global scaling opportunities are you missing today? That is the question that begs to be asked and puts the elephant right on the table.

According to CEO & Founder of Startup Professionals, Inc., Martin Zwilling, there are six key risk factors when scaling a business to go global.  He bases the article below on NYU Stern School of Business scholar and leader Robert Salomon's recent book, “Global Vision."  The six factors are as follows:

1. Size market potential granularly based on local economics. 
2. Assume large and frequent economic swings.
3. Currency exchange fluctuations can wipe out gains.
4. Factor in basic infrastructure quality and services. 
5. Evaluate the political climate and operational processes. 
6. Honor cultural sensitivities and assumptions. 

Read more here.

Alibaba's Jack Ma Promises to Help Australian Small Businesses Grow

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Jack Ma, CEO of Alibaba and considered China's richest tech boss, with a net worth of about $US28 billion, promises to use funds he received from the Australian government to help Australian small business grow and expand offshore.  He just cut the ribbon on a brand new Alibaba HQ in Australia.

It's understood the Daniel Andrews state government has provided a number of "incentives" to Alibaba to set up its Australia-New Zealand headquarters in Melbourne but the ecommerce giant refused to reveal the exact nature of these concessions or the size of the investment.

Read more here.

Today in Global Small Business: Rewiring the Global Economy

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

• The importance of global brand ambassadors (webinar on 3/8 - n/c).
• USA President Trump's plan to fuel small business growth.
• Can Xero, the cloud accounting provider, rewire the global economy?
• Weak dollar, strong dollar:  what it means for small business exporters.
• Will Canada lead the new global economy?
• How the World Bank sees stronger global economic prospects along the horizon.

Forgive Yourself

©2017 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"If God forgives us, we must forgive ourselves."  -- C.S. Lewis

Small Businesses Are a Big Part of the Global Economic Pie

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Are men and women different in their outlook of what level of success they can achieve running their businesses?  Bhakthi Puvanenthiran thinks so. And she bases it on experience in her role as an editor of My Small Business at The Age while interviewing quite a few small business owners in Australia.

During her conversations, men would say, "we will go global in 18 months" or "we're the market leaders in this field."  Whereas, when she interviewed women, they expressed finding a work/life balance, having control over their own lives and, hiring people.

Regardless, small business owners march to their own drums.

In closing, Bhakthi Puvanenthiran says:

Sole traders, small businesses and start-ups are carving out a much bigger part of the economic pie. They deserve all the support they can get.

Read more here.

How to Improve Your Reach in the Global Marketplace

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If you run a global small business like I do, it's tough to pull out of the area where you live and work to merely have better and greater access to the world marketplace.  Yet bigger companies, with bigger budgets, are able to do so.

Take Caterpillar Inc. with their HQ office located in rural Peoria, Illinois.  There has been a lot of talk lately on whether it might be better suited for Cat to take its business to a bigger city in Illinois, like downtown Chicago.  Here's the latest:

The plans to build a new office complex in Downtown Peoria have been scrapped [1/31/17], and the company will move its global headquarters to the Chicago area by the end of the year. -- Source:  Journal Star

Will Peoria still be the center of the universe for Caterpillar?  After all, they want to remain local and global.  If you are a customer based in India, do you think it makes a difference?  A lot depends on where a specific product is manufactured -- Brazil, the UK or downtown Chicago?  Your guess is as good as mine.

Reigniting the Global Entrepreneurial Spirit

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President Trump is trying to get the American dream back for entrepreneurs.

President Trump signed an executive action Monday (1/30/17) that will result in a reduction of federal regulations on small businesses. He said the executive action would “knock out two regulations for every new regulation” adopted by federal agencies.

We are not inclined to hold our breath on what comes next concerning international trade.

Read more here.