Today in Global Small Business: Carbon Neutral Shipping For Ecommerce Merchants

©iStock/Sakorn Sukkasemsakorn

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

• Carbon-neutral shipping for ecommerce merchants during the holiday season.
• Ecommerce report holds warning signals for holiday retail.
• Quote of the week:  "I look forward to the holiday season every year." – Cate Blanchett
• U.S. ecommerce sales will grow just 2.5%.
• What lies ahead for the 2022 holiday season.
• What are people shopping for during the 2022 holiday season?

Eat Chocolate

©2022 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Stress out and eat chocolate." – Anonymous

Retailer's Huge Holiday Wish?

©iStock/pialhovik

Retailers’ biggest holiday wish is to get rid of all that excess inventory.  As some of the nation’s largest retailers report quarterly earnings and revenue, Wall Street is paying close attention to another number, too — inventory levels.

Who isn't carrying a great deal of inventory lately?  And who isn't experiencing issues with goods ordered pre-pandemic that are finally arriving now?  Yes, you read that right.  It's been one helluva ride for many companies.  

Whether it be Walmart, Target, Gap or Kohl's, they are all trying to sell through a glut of extra merchandise piling up in store backrooms and warehouses.

All retailers want for Christmas is diminished inventory levels.

Happy Thanksgiving 2022 From the Global Small Business Blog

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We thank you for your readership since 2004.  Have a day filled with gratitude and beautiful blessings.

Respect For the Individual

©iStock/sanfel

One of the basic beliefs upon which Sam Walton founded Walmart is “respect for the individual.”  His strategy was built on an unshakeable foundation: the lowest prices anytime, anywhere. 

Walmart conducts retail and/or e-commerce operations in 24 countries around the world and sources product from more than 100 countries, each with its own unique cultural, economic, social, and political institutions and practices.

Learn more about Sam's basic beliefs (and history of Walmart) here.

What Drives Globalization?

©iStock/nadia_bormotova

The author of "De-globalization – Myth or reality?" sees three forces that drive globalization. 

The first is the ability to shorten distances in both transport and communication. The second is the commitment of nation states to establish and adhere to rules, standards and safeguards that ensure that goods, services, capital and labor can move relatively freely across borders. The third is the incentive of firms and consumers to push the boundaries of what is possible in the ever-present quest for profits and pleasure.

Drill down on all three points to learn more, especially about what drives globalization.

Today in Global Small Business: Gratefulness Edition

©iStock/Olga Beliaeva

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

• Gratefulness:  a necessary ingredient for relationships (and in business).
• Why gratitude matters in our world.
• Quote of the week:  "Always remember people who have helped you along the way, and don't forget to lift someone up." – words from Roy T. Bennett's book The Light in the Heart
• Five ways to accept gratitude.
• Nine ways to feel truly grateful for Thanksgiving.
• Why be grateful?

Her Angel's Face

©2022 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Her angel's face, As the great eye of heaven shined bright, And made a sunshine in the shady place." – Edmund Spenser

Taking a Trip Abroad? Get Some Foreign Cash Before You Land

©iStock/Dilok Klaisataporn

Taking a trip abroad?  It’s wise to get some foreign cash before landing at your destination. And while currency exchanges at airports are convenient, you’ll get less bang for your buck due to their poor exchange rates.  To exchange your currency more affordably, skip the airport kiosk and look for another foreign currency exchange nearby. 

Here’s how to find one.

Globalization's Next Phase is a Rewiring

©iStock/Sofiia Potanina 

According to a new report from consulting firm McKinsey, globalization is changing course — that much is clear.  But don’t call it a retreat, it’s just “reconfiguring," or "rewiring."

Today, international businesses are confronting the “complexities of an increasingly contested global order” where war, national security, supply-chain disruptions and technological change are all driving a shift in global trade flows.  The result of this shift, according to McKinsey, is that some supply chains could “shorten and become more regional” in the coming years.

Read more about globalization's next phase of rewiring.  Read the full McKinsey report, "Global flows:  The ties that bind in an interconnected world."

Has Globalization Impacted the Legal Profession?

©iStock/BCFC

How has the globalization of economic activity and the movement of a significant amount of that activity from the traditional centers in the Global North to the emerging economies in the Global South, impacted the legal profession?

Discover more here.

Global Supply Chains Have a New Bottom Line

©iStock/trekandshoot

The endless drive to reduce costs by relocating production facilities has resulted in a globalized, vertically integrated, and highly specialized manufacturing model that benefits specific countries and regions. Willingly and consciously, we have created unbridled globalized supply chains that focus on maximizing value.

From economic value to social and environmental values, global supply chains have a new bottom line.  Find out why.

Today in Global Small Business: TikTok Shop Launched Invite Only In-App Ecommerce Feature

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

• In addition to its most recent shopping features, TikTok has just launched TikTok Shop, where users can now make purchases directly through the app.
• Volkswagen hires Google exec to head global marketing.
• Quote of the week:  "E-commerce is a powerful means to connect the unconnected to global trade." – Arancha Gonzalez
• Globalize your online sales.
• Using AI to translate speech for a primarily oral language.
• Shipping industry is facing a new problem – too many containers!

Life Is Like a Cocktail

©2022 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Life is like a cocktail, made up for the most part of sweet things, and tinged with a dash of bitters. We must drain it to the dregs to get at the cherry, just as we must live a full and rounded life to know all its pleasures." – Edgar Guest

Don't Overestimate the Staying Power of the Pandemic’s E-commerce Boom

©iStock/A stockphoto

During the pandemic, businesses of all sizes, from mom-and-pop shops to big box retailers, invested heavily in growing their digital footprints — including through advertising on social media — to reach the rapidly expanding online customer base.

Instead, the digital shopping revolution appears to have stalled.

Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg made a startling admission on Wednesday during a private Zoom call for the 11,000 workers his company had just laid off: They were losing their jobs partly because he overestimated the staying power of the pandemic’s e-commerce boom.

Don't make the same mistake.  Focus on your core business and think now, more than ever, about innovation.  How to make your core sing.

We salute all veterans today, 11/11/22.  

Is Bad Customer Service Killing Your Brand?

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What steps can companies take to make sure that they have a strong customer support strategy? How does it impact a company's growth?  Do you think selling via marketplaces such as Amazon has changed customer support?  Is there is a generational divide when it comes to expectations around customer satisfaction?  

Those questions and more are addressed in the interview with CEO of eDesk Ray Nolan and conducted by Gary Drenik.  Access it here.  Also pay a visit to a recent wegginar®.

Without Internet Connectivity, Global Small Businesses Miss Out

©iStock/metamorworks

Digitalization opens new possibilities to connect, engage and share with others, to earn, learn and socialize, to find solutions that can reduce our climate impacts.

Without connectivity people miss out on access to education, jobs and social activities, while micro, small, and medium businesses lose their competitive edge. 

The B20 Digitalization Taskforce will focus its message to G20 leaders on universal connectivity, digital skills and the digitalization of businesses of all sizes. To accomplish these goals, networks need to be put in place at scale, fast and affordably.

Learn more on why we must drive universal connectivity and extend digital to global small businesses, without delay.

What Would a One-Party America Look Like?

©iStock/Creative_Outlet

Paul Krugman has been an Opinion columnist since 2000 for The New York Times and is also a distinguished professor at the City University of New York Graduate Center. He won the 2008 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his work on international trade and economic geography.

Here's what he has to say about a one-party America.

Today in Global Small Business: How CSR and ESG Can Fuel a Strong Company Culture

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

• How corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental, social and governance (ESG) fueled strong company culture at Kyndryl.  Lessons to learn.
• Mistakes that can happen in the global marketplace.
• Quote of the week: “People like to know that the companies they interact with and buy from are companies that do good in the world.” – Hendrith Vanlon Smith Jr, CEO of Mayflower-Plymouth
• How investors feel about ESG initiatives.
• By prioritizing ESG today, SMEs can look forward to a successful future.
• Why you should care about ESG.

The Year's Last, Loveliest Smile

©2022 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Autumn ... the year's last, loveliest smile." – William Cullen Bryant

Globalization's Next Phase

©iStock/coffeekai

Globalization is not over. There may be retrenchment in some areas such as critical technologies and reshaping in others such as onshoring or regionalization.

But this new globalization is also a unique opportunity to rethink the current framework where we maintain the benefits garnered from an open flow of trade, people, information, and culture. It is a chance to reestablish the partnership between the private and public sectors to ensure we achieve the optimal balance between efficiency and risk mitigation, corporate profits, and income equality. And prioritize social concerns such as human rights, climate change, and workforce prerogatives.

Read the entire article about globalization's great reboot.

Companies Combating Climate Concerns Benefit With Additional Revenue Growth and Earnings

©iStock/Petmal

The EY organization announced the release of the 2022 Sustainable Value Study, a survey of over 500 chief sustainability officers and equivalents representing companies worth more than US$1b around the world.

The survey finds companies taking decisive action to combat climate concerns are benefiting from unexpected financial value in areas like revenue growth and earnings, with 7 in 10 seeing financial benefits that exceed their expectations. 

Those companies taking the boldest steps are also seeing unexpectedly positive benefits in areas like staff retention, recruitment, brand perception and customer purchasing behavior.

Read more on how businesses are finding unexpected benefits from climate initiatives.

Figuring Out Financing on U.S. Exports

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Finally, a guide to help navigate all the options available for collecting money from customers overseas.  Yes!  

This particular edition spotlights commercial trade finance instruments as well as U.S. government export financing resources available through the U.S. Export-Import Bank (EXIM Bank), U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). 

Best part of the whole report?  The following:

Tips for Exporters

• Be mindful of emerging trends that could reduce the complexity, cost, and processing time of trade finance transactions.
• Inquire with your current trade finance provider about available or planned digital options that could enhance efficiency and reduce costs.
• Explore trade finance options, including consulting new fintech-based trade finance providers about both traditional instruments and innovative offerings.
• Be cautious of potential fraud and cyber security risks that may accompany new technologies and online trade finance platforms.

And there’s plenty more as outlined in the 17 chapters!  Access the Trade Finance Guide (PDF) here.

Yearning to Return to Immigrant Roots with a Global Company (wegginar®)

©2022 Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global.  All rights reserved.

Are you yearning to return to your immigrant roots as you grow a global company?  Then join wegg® on Wednesday, November 2nd at 11AM CT to hear Dena Javaras's journey brought out by a friendly chat led by Moji Eagan, Senior Vice President, Bank of America.  Dena is President of LED Tranquility, Inc.

The wegginar® is powered by Associated Bank, Bluedog Design, FedEx and GlobalCare Clinical Trials, which makes it free of charge.

To learn more and to register, visit:  Yearning to Return to Immigrant Roots With a Global Company.

Today in Global Small Business: Boo! Happy Halloween!

©iStock/RomoloTavani

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

• You can operate a scarily successful Halloween global small business!
• 30 Halloween costume memes.
• Quote of the week: “Halloween is not only about putting on a costume, but it's about finding the imagination and costume within ourselves." – Elvis Duran
• Halloween marketing ideas for your global small business.
• How to start a Halloween business out of the trunk of your car.
• Some top selling Halloween costumes around Nashville, Tennessee.

Where There Is No Imagination

©2022 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Where there is no imagination, there is no horror." – Arthur Conan Doyle

Boost Engagement At Your Meetings: A Little Less Conversation, a Little More Action

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Opening meetings with free-form questions that participants can answer on their phones or laptops can ignite people’s curiosity and boost engagement.

Do it Elvis style:  “A little less conversation, a little more action,” Elvis Presley sang in a 1968 hit.

Learn how to turn your meetings into jam sessions bursting with ideas and action oriented plans.

Calm Your Nerves By Listening To Classical Music (Video)

Do You Understand Our Planet?

©iStock/Petmal

What is climate change?  How do we know climate change is real?  Why is climate change happening?  What are the effects of climate change?  What is being done to solve climate change?

I certainly want to know.  So should you.

Technology Fosters Globalization

©iStock/FeelPic

A conversation with Pol Antràs, the Robert G. Ory Professor of Economics at Harvard University.  He discusses the 8 questions below, international trade flows and what the evidence suggests about the world economy and the accompanying debate about whether an era of deglobalization may be at hand.

1. What is globalization?
2. Is the world entering an era of deglobalization?
3. Have we gone through deglobalizing phases in the past?
4. Are reshoring and near-shoring picking up momentum?
5. Is technology spurring or slowing globalization?
6. Supply chains faltered in the pandemic. Will companies hold larger inventories in the future?
7. How has globalization affected inequality across countries and within countries?
8. If trade is a net positive but still creates winners and losers, how can we compensate the losers?

Read the complete interview to appreciate that globalization remains a force despite pandemic and political strains.

Today in Global Small Business: Is Anyone Deglobalizing Trade?

©iStock/valiantsin suprunovich

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

• The age of globalization is ending, to be replaced by an era of localized business that will keep operations more sustainable and linked to national interest, says financial journalist Rana Foroohar, a CNN analyst and associate editor at the Financial Times.  The question that begs to be asked:  Is anyone deglobalizing trade?
• Quote of the week: “We should keep on going along the path of globalization.  Globalization is good... when trade stops, war comes." – Jack Ma
• The benefits of going LIVE on video for your business.
• How global small businesses grow faster in Covid time.
• Creating the right path for net zero.
• How global small businesses can outgrow the global supply chain phenomenon.

Autumn Is My Favorite Season

©2022 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Autumn is my favorite season." – Johnny Kelly

How Social Media Influencers Can Rock Your Global Business

©iStock/NataliaAlkema

What a story!  And one that everyone can learn from.  White Claw's rapid (overnight) success was due, almost entirely, to a social media influencer.  White Claw is a hard seltzer.

"He [the influencer] came up with a slogan, 'ain't no laws when you're drinking Claws', and it took off from there," said [Chris] Taylor, a Hilton College associate professor. "The last thing a company wants is their alcoholic product associated with law breaking, but it started selling out everywhere."

As the story goes ... "The influencer, with millions of followers, flooded social airwaves with the slogan, even putting it on T-shirts. It created a fervor for a product that wasn't on the radar of the beverage industry at all. Demand went through the roof and soon White Claw was selling out everywhere."

Something to think about.  Taylor goes on to say, "But with the explosion of social media influencers, it's truly a worldwide trend that I believe is here to stay."

Read the entire article on how researchers discover a viral trend in global marketing.

The Rewards of Cross-Border Trade

©iStock/Jovanmandic

There are challenges to overcome in international business but there are also enormous rewards when you make progress.

The first thing you need to do is prioritize when expanding abroad.  For instance, focus on important issues like tax, customs, and the necessary infrastructure to deliver goods on time and keep customers happy. 

In this article, the authors look at why expansion is a good choice, and how automation can help you expand successfully.  They also offer a guide.

Only 3 Days Left to Register for the Biggest and Best Global Small Business Forum on the Planet

©2022 Global TradeSource, Ltd.  All rights reserved.

Don't miss the biggest and best 7th Annual Global Small Business Forum on the planet held virtually this Friday, October 21st from 8:00AM-11:30AM CT.  The theme is:  #rebootyourbusinessforglboalgrowth.  Register NOW!

Lead (Gold) sponsor is Associated Bank with support from Foley & Lardner.

Below is a listing of the speakers.  If you look at the graphic above with the circle, follow top left clockwise.  

• Steve Greenspon (top left), Chief Executive Officer, Honey-Can-Do International
• Michael Jones, Michael A. Jones, II., International Sales Division Leader, Avlon Industries, Inc. 
• Shital Daftari, Founder and CEO, Saris and Things & SNT Biotech 
• Tom Britz (lower right), President and CEO, Glacier Hops Ranch 

Additional speakers who are also award-winning exporters (look at graphic in the lower area):

• David Kniepkamp (bottom left), President and CEO, Smart Controls LLC (lower left)
• Amy Bosco, Director of Global Business Development, Beekley Medical (lower right)

Speakers will discuss how they are leveraging the lessons from the global pandemic, the war in Ukraine, high inflation, global supply chain challenges, and a rise in interest rates – all while still growing and focusing on the future of global business.  During panel discussions you will learn their best-kept secrets to driving results for a business.

Special guests include, but are not limited to:  Marc Schulman, President of The Eli's Cheesecake Company and Richard Paullin, Executive Director, International Trade Association of Greater Chicago.  We've also invited Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot.

Full lineup of speakers can be found here.

Added to our list of specialness, is e-vendor, Boomerang Carnets.  They've supported us before and we look forward to working with them again this year during our breakout rooms.  

We also have Il SBDC International Trade Center, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville as a supporting organization this year.

Tickets run from $10 (student ticket), to $20 (general ticket), to $200 (ticket and one e-vendor table). 

Visit the website for more details and to register: https://globalsmallbusinessforum.com.  Network like crazy, learn what it takes to thrive in the global marketplace, and walk away with new insights to bring your business to new heights.

Note: The forum is also known for its fun raffle prizes at the end. Who knew by attending that you could potentially win a world famous Eli's Cheesecake, Tiffany's article or cool houseware item?  You must be present to win!  See you there.    

Build a Global Brand That Reaches a Wider Audience Via Ecommerce

©iStock/Chainarong Prasertthai

Alexis Jae's family has been in the jewelry business for more than 75 years. When she entered her family's occupation, she started her own business, Alexis Jae, by establishing an ecommerce website via Shopify, allowing her company to reach a much larger audience with its jewelry staples such as gold hoop earrings and statement necklaces.

Read the interview where she discusses what made her start an ecommerce website, how she decided on its appearance, and what steps she took to define her audience.

Today in Global Small Business: Talk Sells, Especially on Social Shopping

©iStock/RedVector

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

• Two billion people made a purchase on social media last year. That’s two-thirds of all social media users around the globe. Some predict the current $492 billion global social commerce market will become a $1.2 trillion industry by 2025.  Talk sells.
• Quote of the week: “The great thing about social media was how it gave a voice to voiceless people." – Jon Ronson
• The secret behind Apple's simple yet effective global marketing strategy.
• As the pandemic continues to show signs of decline, the global educational landscape also continues to change. Educational institutions are increasingly realizing the need to market their brand just like any other business. Learn how to do it.
• How a female venture capitalist is creating billions in a new world of work beyond the office.
• Hooray!  Chuck E. Cheese makes a big international push.  Finally.

Get Away From the Unreal Things in Life

©2022 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Spring is beautiful, and summer is perfect for vacations, but autumn brings a longing to get away from the unreal things of life, out into the forest at night with a campfire and the rustling leaves." – Margaret Elizabeth Sangster

Deep Dives Into Globalization

©iStock/Heiko119

Explore how the movement of talent impacts creative quality, new expansion opportunities, why partnerships matter for global domination and more. Take your deep dive into globalization here.

Watch What Is Next for TikTok

©iStock/hapabapa

TikTok has been intensifying competition with Meta and other rivals, luring younger users as well as popular influencers.  Now it appears to be deepening its foray into e-commerce with plans to operate its own warehouses in the United States — the kind of packing and shipping facilities more associated with Amazon or Walmart than the social media platform best known for addictive short videos.

Check out how job listings offer a clue on what moves TikTok will be making next on US e-commerce.

Only 9 Days Left to Register for the Biggest and Best Global Small Business Forum on the Planet

©2022 Global TradeSource, Ltd.  All rights reserved.

You won't want to miss the biggest and best 7th Annual Global Small Business Forum on the planet held virtually on Friday, October 21st from 8:00AM-11:30AM CT.  The theme is:  #rebootyourbusinessforglboalgrowth.

Lead sponsor is Associated Bank with support from Foley & Lardner.

Below is a listing of the speakers.  If you look at the graphic above with the circle, follow top left clockwise.  

• Steve Greenspon (top left), Chief Executive Officer, Honey-Can-Do International
• Michael Jones, Michael A. Jones, II., International Sales Division Leader, Avlon Industries, Inc. 
• Shital Daftari, Founder and CEO, Saris and Things & SNT Biotech 
• Tom Britz (lower right), President and CEO, Glacier Hops Ranch (winner of 2022 Small Business Exporter of the Year Award!)

Additional speakers who are also award-winning exporters:

• David Kniepkamp (bottom left), President and CEO, Smart Controls LLC
• Amy Bosco, Director of Global Business Development, Beekley Medical (recent winner of The President's "E" Award!)

Speakers will discuss how they are leveraging the lessons from the global pandemic, the war in Ukraine, high inflation, global supply chain challenges, and a rise in interest rates – all while still growing and focusing on the future of global business.  During panel discussions you will learn their best-kept secrets to driving results for a business.

Special guests include, but are not limited to:  Marc Schulman, President of The Eli's Cheesecake Company and Richard Paullin, Executive Director, International Trade Association of Greater Chicago.  We've also invited Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot.

Full lineup of speakers can be found here.

Added to our list of specialness, is e-vendor, Boomerang Carnets.  They've supported us before and we look forward to working with them again this year during our breakout rooms.  

We also have Il SBDC International Trade Center, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville as a supporting organization this year.

Tickets run from $10 (student ticket), to $20 (general ticket), to $200 (ticket and one e-vendor table). 

Visit the website for more details and to register: https://globalsmallbusinessforum.com.  Network like crazy, learn what it takes to thrive in the global marketplace, and walk away with new insights to bring your business to new heights.

Note: The forum is also known for its fun raffle prizes at the end. Who knew by attending that you could potentially win a world famous Eli's Cheesecake, Tiffany's article or cool houseware item?  You must be present to win!  See you there.    

Benefits to Branching Into Foreign Markets

©iStock/metamorworks

Global markets offer tremendous potential for developing new customers.  Globalization isn’t a trend, it's a necessary strategy for expansion.  Presently, some 96 percent of the world’s consumers live outside the U.S.  Taking business abroad, therefore, is not only irresistible, but an essential requirement for any future-focused company’s growth strategy.

Here are 5 benefits to branching into foreign markets. 

Today in Global Small Business: Why SMEs Must Cross Borders

©iStock/cybrain

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

• Why SMEs must cross borders.
• 3 obstacles to globalizing a digital platform.
• Quote of the week: “E-commerce is a powerful means to connect the unconnected to global trade." – Arancha Gonzalez
• A strong cross-border strategy is key to sustaining e-commerce growth post-pandemic.
• Global expansion and the international tax challenges businesses face.
• How digital multinationals innovate across borders. 
• Happy Columbus Day 2022 in the Americas and elsewhere.

Chicago Screening of the Movie Till

©2022 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

The true story of Mamie Till-Mobley's relentless pursuit of justice for her 14-year-old son, Emmett Till, who was brutally lynched in 1955 while visiting his cousins in Mississippi.

The Till movie stars Danielle Deadwyler as Mamie Till and Jalyn Hall as Emmett Till, alongside Frankie Faison, Haley Bennett, and Whoopi Goldberg. It was directed by Chinonye Chukwu, written by Michael Reilly, Keith Beauchamp, and Chukwu, and produced by Beauchamp, Reilly, and Goldberg. 

The film premiered at the New York Film Festival on October 1, 2022, and is scheduled to be released in the United States on October 14, 2022, by United Artists Releasing.

Great sensitivity and contribution by Bob Marovich for his suggestion on what song to play during the funeral scene:  "It Is Well With My Soul."  Very, very sad and touching.  Not a dry eye in the audience, including mine.

Photos are taken from the screening that took place in Chicago on Thursday, October 6, 2022.

Whatever You Are Worrying About Right Now, Forget About It (Music Video)

Despite a Cloudy Outlook, Global Trade Is Still Resilient

©iStock/RusianShevchenko

According to DHL and the NYU Stern School of Business, forecasts for global trade indicate:

• Trade is expected to grow slightly faster in 2022 and 2023 than it did over the previous decade.
• Many companies backed away from reshoring and nearshoring plans, leading trade to grow faster in emerging economies close to China.
• Vietnam, India, and Philippines are benefitting, with Vietnam the biggest winner.

Trade is expected to grow slightly faster in 2022 and 2023 than it did in the previous decade, despite the headwinds of Covid, a global economic slowdown and the war in Ukraine.

Read on about how globalization of trade isn’t ending, despite Covid, war and inflation.

Let's Push for Better Opportunities for Women in Trade

©iStock/jacoblund

According to three international trade bodies, for a more inclusive approach to rebuilding the post-pandemic economy, women need to participate more in the most profitable exporting sectors.

At the World Trade Organization (WTO) Public Forum in Geneva last week, WTO director general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, International Trade Centre (ITC) executive director Pamela Coke-Hamilton and Institute of Export and International Trade (IoE&IT) director general Marco Forgione highlighted the importance of an inclusive economic recovery, with a particular view to getting more women into the world’s most lucrative – but male-dominated – industries of STEM, automotive, aerospace, manufacturing and finance.

Read more about how the WTO, ITC and Institute of Export and International Trade push for better opportunities for women in trade.

How to Better Serve Global Customers On An E-commerce Site With Nita Lathia (wegginar 10/5/22)

©Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®  All rights reserved.

Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global® has its next wegginar® coming up tomorrow, 10/5/22, and this one will be a winner for anyone who currently runs an e-commerce business; or, for anyone who should be running an e-commerce business (e.g, retailer).  If you are pressed for time, link to it now to learn more and to register:  https://bit.ly/3fg7Vth.

Nita Lathia, Head of Marketplaces, Passport, will be presenting, "How to Better Serve Global Customers on an Ecommerce Site."

Who doesn't have issues with trying to provide exceptional service to their global e-commerce customers?  We all want to treat our customers like kings and queens when they make an online purchase – from anywhere in the world – but what separates a positive global shipping experience from one that goes sour?

We will find out on Wednesday, 10/5 at 11AM CT.  Nita will share her best-kept secrets on how to better serve your global customers and more.  She will talk about:

• Why should retailers consider cross border trade?
• How is this different from the domestic model?
• What does a good solution look like?

A little about the impressive Nita Lathia – let's just say she has a bit of experience in this industry.  She has been in logistics, shipping systems, and cross-border #ecommerce for the last 20 years. Last 10 years exclusively in the product management function for all aspects of cross-border #ecommerce, including eligibility, duty, and tax calculation, and building robust organic networks.  Her full bio can be found here:  https://womenentrepreneursgrowglobal.org/2022/09/28/how-to-better-serve-global-customers-on-an-e-commerce-site-with-nita-lathia-october-5-2022/

All the clients I [Laurel Delaney] work with and groups I manage have been encouraged to sign up for the free of charge wegginar.  Hope you will, too.  It's complimentary thanks to the supportive wegg® sponsors as highlighted in the graphic.

To learn more and to register (free of charge), visit:  https://bit.ly/3fg7Vth 

See you there!

Today in Global Small Business: Why Study Global Business?

©iStock/yacobchuk

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

• Why study global business?  Check out 5 benefits.
• 10 alternative funding sources from Tennessee to consider if you are trying to start a new business but lack access to funding.
• Quote of the week: “The Internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow.”— Bill Gates
• Get your grant Mississippians, that is, if you are trading internationally.
• As India small businesses expand their presence globally, it is essential that the global financial ecosystem supports their needs and requirements for low-value transactions, which currently presents a number of challenges.
• McKinsey and Company economist Ezra Greenberg says the global economy is at a “historic crossing point,” as it emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

There's a Guinness Waiting For Me

©2022 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"I'm an early riser. I work out really hard. I push myself; I get my job done, and at the end of the day, there's a Guinness waiting for me." – Jason Momoa