Today in Global Small Business: The Predictability of Unpredictability

©iStock/Yutthana Gaetgeaw

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

• Trump is not the first American president to deploy an Unpredictability Doctrine.
• Dalai Lama, a global symbol of Tibetan culture and resistance, turns 90.
• How maritime ports can advance industrial climate tech solutions.
• Quote of the week:  "You can have a plan, but you have to be flexible. Every day is unpredictable, and you just have to go with the flow." – Jane Krakowski
• Planning for the unplannable: What supply chain leaders should be doing now.
• Container lines pull back on India-US pricing push.

I Simply Know They're Just One Thing

©2025 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"About Jesus Christ and the Church, I simply know they're just one thing." – Joan of Arc

Honoring Independence Day 7/4/25 and Hoping For a Better, Freer America Soon

©iStock/larissagalles

When You Find Yourself In Times of Trouble, Listen to the Beatles (Video music)

The Winners and Losers in Trump's Big, Beautiful Tax Bill

©iStock/Denis Novikov

The Big, Beautiful Tax Bill (BBTB) is indeed big: 1,116 pages in the House version and 887 pages in the Senate. How attractive it is to you depends largely on how big your paycheck will be in 2026.

What's in the BBTB?  Who comes out a winner?  Who comes out a loser?  Find out here.

The Dollar's Worst Start to the Year in Decades

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The United States’ currency has weakened more than 10 percent over the past six months when compared with a basket of currencies from the country’s major trading partners. The last time the dollar weakened so much at the start of the year was 1973, when the United States made a seismic shift and ended the linking of the dollar to the price of gold.

The combination of Mr. Trump’s trade proposals, inflation worries and rising government debt has weighed on the dollar, which has also been buffeted by slowly sliding confidence in the role of the United States at the center of the global financial system.   

Maybe the dollar isn't that weak after all because it started from such a high level.

Learn more about the state of the dollar, full-scale de-dollarization and how the weaker dollar impacts investments from Americans outside the USA.

Today in Global Small Business: wegg® Accepts All Leftover Gift Donations to Mr. and Mrs. Bezos

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

• Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global® (wegg®) accepts all leftover gift donations to Mr. and Mrs. Bezos.  Please lavish it on wegg!  Donate here. Crypto gifts here.
• Lauren Sanchez and Jeff Bezos are married!  The cost of the wedding estimated between $47 and $56 million.
• Inside Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's pajama-themed wedding celebrations.
• Quote of the week:  "Where there is love there is life." – Mahatma Gandhi
• Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez final wedding party. 
• Venice boat ride for Mr. and Mrs. Bezos.

Never Dull Your Sparkle

©2025 Laurel Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Don't let anyone dull your sparkle" –  Marilyn Monroe

Global Vogue Looks to Fill Some Elegant and Expensive Shoes: Head of Editorial Content at American Vogue

©iStock/ArtMarie

The U.S. magazine Vogue will search for a new editor-in-chief to give Anna Wintour more time to focus on her work as Vogue's global editorial director and parent company Condé Nast's chief content officer.

Wintour's position at Condé Nast has expanded in recent years. In addition to editing American Vogue, Wintour oversees every Condé Nast brand globally - including Wired, Vanity Fair, GQ, AD, Condé Nast Traveler, Glamour, Bon Appétit, Tatler, World of Interiors, Allure and more, with the exception of The New Yorker.

Wintour is considered to be one of the most influential forces in global fashion. 

Winning the AI Race

©iStock/Moor Studio

Facebook parent Meta invested $14.3 billion in AI startup Scale AI and hired its CEO and co-founder Alexandr Wang.  They are spending billions to grab the lead in the AI race, building out the data centers needed to develop and power high-end large language models. 

It's clear Meta wants to win the AI race.  Is that likely to happen up against Sam Altman and his OpenAI?

Read on to learn more about the AI race.

Morgan Uhl, Founder and CEO of Knobez Discusses An Educator's Journey to Inventing a Product (wegginar® 7/9/25)

©2025 Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®.  All rights reserved.

Morgan Uhl, Founder and CEO of Knobez discusses, "From Lesson Plans to Business Plans: An Educator’s Journey to Inventing a Product," on July 9th at 11 AM CT.  Join us!  Have fun.  Learn a lot. Expand your business globally. Complimentary program thanks to wegg's sponsors.  No better deal on the planet.  You'll join a lot of folks who think so too.  See you there!  Register for wegginar® here.

Grease the Wheel: Trump Plans to Make it Legal for Businesses to Bribe Foreign Officials

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Bloomberg reports that Donald Trump will soon sign an executive order to pause the enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, claiming that it hurts American businesses.

The FCPA, passed in 1977, specifically prohibits any person or company tied to the United States from paying money or offering gifts to foreign officials to help their business. In 1998, the law was amended to include foreign businesses, as well as people who facilitated such bribes in the U.S. The DOJ said there were 24 cases related to alleged violations of the law in 2024, and 17 in 2023.

Trump may benefit personally from weakening or discarding the FCPA. The Trump Organization recently announced that it will no longer prohibit deals with foreign companies while he is president, and he might seek to “grease the wheels” on overseas deals without any restrictions.  

It looks like Trump is opening the doors for American companies and individuals, including himself, to pay off foreign officials to better line their pockets.

Thought you'd like to read a blog post from October, 2020 with the headline:  Don't Ever, Ever, Ever Bribe  Foreign Officials to Obtain Lucrative Business Contracts.

My, have times changed.  And to think it's A-OK for the US to accept a luxury jet from Qatar for use as Air Force One for Trump without any strings attached.

Today in Global Small Business: Fred Smith, Founder of FedEx, Is Dead At 80

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

• The mighty entrepreneur Fred Smith.  His vision for how to ship packages overnight led to not just a new company, but also a new sector of the world economy and a now-familiar English verb.  Read the FedEx news: https://newsroom.fedex.com/newsroom/global-english/frederick-w-smith-visionary-founder-of-fedex-dies-at-80.
• Free trade keeps you safe.  Tariffs Won't.
• The 6 miles of water keeping global markets on edge.
• Quote of the week:  "I am not someone who tends to advocate for increased government involvement in the private sector." – Frederick W. Smith
• Now, American President Trump, who promised to be a president of peace, has crossed the Rubicon with direct military strikes on Tehran's nuclear sites – the most consequential move yet in the second term of a president who has prided himself on breaking all the old rules.
• World reacts to U.S. strikes on Iran.

RIP the Mighty Fred Smith, Founder of FedEx

©2025 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

Always, always admired [Laurel Delaney here] and have been inspired by Fred Smith, Founder and Chairman of FedEx.  He truly revolutionized the express delivery system and helped galvanize global trade.

The nonprofit I founded in 2015, Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®, got its momentum from the sponsorship of FedEx in its early days and continues to receive support from FedEx as a Premier Sponsor.

Grateful but really sad that we lost such a great entrepreneur and at such a young age.  He taught me to never pay attention to others on your ideas.  Because if you think it's a good idea, go for it.  You can learn more where that comes from here.

RIP Fred.  Condolences to Fred's family, friends and all the wonderful FedEx employees.  Thinking of you all during this sad time. Truck on. Fly on.  Keep on delivering. 

Artists of the Wall at Loyola Park 2025: All Together Now

©2025 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

A few photos I [Laurel Delaney] took from the 32nd Annual Artists of the Wall Festival at Loyola Park, June 15, 2025 with the theme "All Together Now." 

The Artists of the Wall Festival got its start in 1993, when a group of Rogers Park neighbors came up with a crucial idea. Gangs had been continually tagging graffiti on the 600-foot sea wall to the point where the Chicago park district couldn’t keep up maintenance. The group thought if the wall was painted by the community with art, that it would be respected and could be enjoyed by all throughout the year. And having the event on Father’s Day weekend would make it a family-oriented event that would bring the whole Rogers Park community out.

Learn more.  

Love this:  "While Trump was celebrating his birthday reviewing a military parade, the people of Rogers Park were celebrating their commitment to living together in harmony with works of mural art on the Loyola Park seawall." 

Tariffs Spell Trouble and That Starts With a T

©iStock/Kajornsiri Auimanachai

Food and beverage companies say new tariffs on steel and aluminum will raise the cost of their containers. They say consumers are likely to pay the difference.

New tariffs are reigniting tensions over an object that is critical to the food and beverage industry but that most consumers give little thought. Cans are likely to be more expensive after President Trump’s move to double tariffs on imported steel, the main material used in cans for food, and on aluminum, commonly used for beverages.

Read more here.  

How She Went Global® Podcast with Robyn Zlotkin, CEO of Sword Performance

©2025 Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®.  All rights reserved.

Robyn Zlotkin (pictured), Hydration CEO of Sword Performance, discusses what her company offers, what makes it distinctive, who her ideal customers are, why Australia is a growth market for Sword Performance, and what has been a significant game-changer for her company’s products in the latest How She Went Global® podcast.  Tune in.

Tariff Stacking?

©iStock/zimmytws

When U.S. President Donald Trump adds a new tariff the old ones don't go away. Some companies will pay far more because of a phenomenon called tariff stacking, the latest complication for U.S. importers trying to navigate Trump's on-again, off-again trade war.

The reality for many U.S. businesses is that their tariff bills are often far higher than the headline number touted in trade talks.

Tariff stacking applies to any country exporting to the U.S., but the most extreme cases tend to be with China, where the U.S. has accumulated a long list of sometimes hefty existing tariffs, implemented under different provisions of U.S. trade law.

Read more here. 

wegg® Daughters of Business Owners (wegg DOBO™)

©2025 Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®.  All rights reserved.

Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global® (wegg®) – a Chicago-based nonprofit organization with a mission to educate, inspire, and nurture women business owners and entrepreneurs worldwide – proudly announces wegg Daughters of Business Owners (wegg DOBO™), a groundbreaking initiative designed specifically for women preparing to take the reins of their family businesses.

Learn more here.

Today in Global Small Business: The Art of the Dad Text

©iStock/ferlistockphoto 

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

• The art of the dad text.
• The manhunt continues (as of 6/15/25 at 2:09 PM CT when this was written) for the man who assassinated two democrats and harmed two other democratic who are recovering.  It is said this is a politically motivated assassination.
• Where's the inflation from tariffs?  Just wait, economists say.
• Quote of the week:  “The most important thing in the world is family and love." – John Wooden
• Hershey's trade promotion management transformation yields sweet rewards.
• Why this revolutionary reusable packaging platform failed – except in France.

The Memory Becomes a Treasure

©2025 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"When someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure." – Author unknown

Prayers to the Families of the Victims in the Air India Flight to London That Crashed

©iStock/Kalpit Bhachech

A passenger plane en route to London crashed on departure at an airport in India’s western city of Ahmedabad. The plane hit a hostel for doctors when it crashed, with images showing the tail of the plane protruding from the building.

More than 200 feared dead.  Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims during this tragic time.

How New Tariffs Are Impacting Small Businesses

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Sana Javeri Kadri of Diaspora Co. and Katya Eckert of A Domani return to "CBS Mornings" to discuss how changing tariffs are affecting their spice and sleepwear companies, and what it means for the future of small business. 

Trump: Turning the Military Against American Citizens

©iStock/EyeEm Mobile GmbH

Standing up for American citizens and the Nation’s foundational ban on martial law in peacetime, California Governor Newsom and Attorney General Bonta are requesting the court step in to immediately block the Trump administration’s unnecessary militarization of Los Angeles to include immigration enforcement in communities.

“The President is looking for any pretense to place military forces on American streets to intimidate and quiet those who disagree with him. It’s not just immoral — It’s illegal and dangerous." – Attorney General Bonta

Read more about the lawsuit here. 

What CP Brands Must Do to Reignite Relevance for Consumers, Customers and Capital Markets

©iStock/Mizina

For decades, scale brought success to consumer products (CP companies).  They built mass-market brands that people trusted, believed in and even loved. They became part of the fabric of our daily lives. And they did it globally. But the rules have changed – and many big CP companies are facing a relentless drift toward irrelevance. 

Learn why.

Today in Global Small Business: The Musk/Trump Relationship Is Over

©iStock/Deagreez

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

• It's over.  Trump and Musk are no longer a thing.
• On the campaign trail last year, Donald Trump promised that he was not going to tolerate left-wing lawlessness on American streets and would use the full force of his presidential powers in response. See how peaceful protests can be escalated by people in power.
• The surprising impact of Trump's tariffs on American farmers.
• Quote of the week:  “The primary reason for a tariff is that it enables the exploitation of the domestic consumer by a process indistinguishable from sheer robbery." – Albert J. Nock
  
• Tariffs could reduce federal debt but at what cost?
• Who's paying for the tariffs?  YOU are.

Be Yourself

©2025 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Be yourself; everyone else is already taken." – Oscar Wilde

Calling All USA Global Business Owners: Join the wegg® GPS Conversation on Tariffs 6/11 at 11 AM CT

©2025 Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®.  All rights reserved.

Need help managing tariffs?  Join us 6/11 at 11 AM CT for a candid conversation with business owners on navigating the trade tariffs and on strategies to sustain business momentum.  Experts in legal, banking and shipping will be on the call.  Register to attend (n/c).  I, (Laurel Delaney) will be moderating the discussion.

Register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/Ea16fe9kTYa_CYlKPq6O4Q#/registration

The Cost of the Trade War Is Becoming Obvious

©iStock/EyeEm Mobile GmbH

The costs of the trade war are becoming more obvious. Take, for example, a florist who talks about the challenges of different levies on different supplies—and how he’s passing them along to customers.

Read on ... 

Under Pressure: The U.S. Dollar

©iStock/Leonardo Penuela Bernal

Bernhard Warner reports that President Trump’s tariffs are expected to sock most countries this year and next, the O.E.C.D. said. But the hit to the United States is especially spooking economists and Wall Street, who worry about lower growth colliding with a Republican spending bill that packs big tax cuts — and gargantuan deficits.

All of that is putting pressure on the [U.S.] dollar.

Millennials and Gen Zers Glow-Up a $2 Trillion Global Wellness Market

©iStock/peterschreiber.media

To millennials and Gen Zers, wellness has become a daily, personalized practice rather than a set of occasional activities or purchases.

As this shift takes hold, it’s influencing the direction of the $2 trillion global wellness industry, which is expanding beyond its core categories. 

McKinsey & Company, in its fourth year fielding their Future of Wellness research, which focuses on six dimensions of wellness—health, sleep, nutrition, fitness, appearance, and mindfulness—they surveyed more than 9,000 consumers across China, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Their findings reveal the ways in which younger consumers are redefining the landscape, the five consumer segments that make up today’s wellness customer base, and six subcategories poised to grow.  

Check it out.

Today in Global Small Business: Can America Dodge a Tariff Bullet?

©iStock/Seb Hakimi

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

• Can American dodge a tariff bullet?
• Move to Canada?  Migrants face 'No good options' after supreme court ruling.
• It appears the deals that Trump is negotiating with law firms are not legally valid.
• Quote of the week:  “As history has repeatedly proven, one trade tariff begets another, then another - until you've got a full-blown trade war. No one ever wins, and consumers always get screwed." – Mark McKinnon
• Did he [Elon Musk] or didn't he use drugs during the 2024 presidential campaign?
• EU 'prepared to impose countermeasures' after Trump doubles steel tariffs to 50%.

An Angel Will Be Waiting

©2025 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"When you feel lost, pause and look closely around you.  Somewhere, somehow, an Angel will be waiting to guide you home." – Author unknown

TACO

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The term “TACO,” short for Trump Always Chickens Out, has been used to describe how markets tumble on the president’s tariff threats, then rebound when he gives way.  Here's what happened when Trump was asked about it by a reporter. 

Say It Ain't So: Cuts to SCORE and Women Business Centers (WBCs)

Protect SCORE's funding here.  Read Rieva Lesonsky's post for more details here.  Read the budget yourself.  #StandWithSCORE #StandWithWBCs

Your American Home Without China

©2025 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

Think you can manage your American home without Chinese products?  Many essentials are imported from China – and with tariffs (whether old or new), they're likely to become more expensive.

The New York Times analyzed import data to show where Americans may see product shortages, fewer choices and price increases.

It's surprising where you will be hit hardest.

Tariffs: A Nightmare for Global Small Businesses

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Global small businesses know that tariff rates remain sky high by historical levels and will keep pressuring profits. The 90-day window for a pause on goods from China while negotiations continue offers little clarity on where the levies will ultimately settle, and Trump has warned they could soar again.

Data from the American Bankruptcy Institute showed an April uptick in a type of bankruptcy filing typically used by small businesses, which it said “signals persistent distress.” At the same time, slumping import volumes at the Port of Los Angeles — the nation’s busiest — had warned of a brewing supply shock.

Small businesses that import from China are taking a beating.  Yet, despite this, Trump and his administration write this glorified piece (total misinformation) about how Trump is fixing problems and unleashing a new era of opportunity for small businesses.  If you believe that, then you believe that Pope Leo XIV is not Catholic.