Future Ship: An Economic Advantage

Today in Global Small Business: Is Tariff a Dirty Word to Business Owners Who Trade Globally?

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

• Is tariff a dirty word to business owners who trade globally?
• Quote of the week:  “To create something exceptional, your mindset must be relentlessly focused on the smallest detail.” – Giorgio Armani
• wegg® is helping women entrepreneurs create jobs and achieve global goals.
• Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship (GAME) and Facebook have announced a partnership that aims to ramp up job creation and to further empower entrepreneurs in India.
• The air cargo industry faces slower growth, declines in general cargo shipments, and criticisms about being slow to adapt and innovate to evolving customer needs.  Yet e-commerce is still the hot topic.
• Learn why the international world requires an international mindset.

Hope, Renewal, and New Life

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"Easter is meant to be a symbol of hope, renewal, and new life." – Janine di Giovanni

India Presents a Huge eCommerce Opportunity for Walmart

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Retail giant Walmart continues to be committed to the Indian market given the huge opportunity that the country presents.  It's been nearly a year into Walmart buying Flipkart for USD 16 billion.

We're looking at Flipkart, Walmart India, Walmart Global Sourcing and Walmart Labs.  That's a substantial presence in India.

Here is what's at stake:

[CEO Doug] McMillon is visiting at a time when Flipkart is locked in an intense battle for market leadership in India with American giant Amazon. India's richest man Mukesh Ambani has also announced ambitious plans of an e-commerce platform to tap into the country's digital shopping segment that is forecast to touch USD 200 billion in the next few years. 

Read more how Walmart is committed to India.

Looking to China for Global E-Commerce Growth

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China is already a global force in e-commerce and digital technology, but it’s not too late for retailers to get into the game and win big.  According to eMarketer, 24 percent of China’s digital shoppers will make a cross-border purchase this year, lifting the market’s value by 15 percent year over year to $115.5 billion.

Cross-border shopping is becoming a way of life for Chinese consumers who put high value on securing brand-name and luxury items directly from the manufacturer.

To succeed in China, you must learn the ropes and keep certain strategies in mind.  Here are a few that address why retailers should focus on China for global e-commerce growth.

Improving People’s Health While Supporting the Environment and Animal Welfare

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The Meatless Farm Co., a British start-up food company, is expanding nationally across the UK with the launch of a vegan mince product and a vegan patty product into 95% of Morrison’s stores, and has further plans to expand internationally.

The Meatless Farm Co. – with a tagline 'lovingly made from plants' – was founded in 2016 by Morten Toft-Bech, with the aims of improving people’s health through better eating, whilst supporting the environment and animal welfare.

The British company has also received global acclaim, launching into Spinneys stores in UAE and with further territories on the horizon.

Learn more about how Meatless Farm plans to expand internationally.

Turning Small Indian Firms into Global Entrepreneurs

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Many home-grown Indian manufacturers and sellers are profiting from the business models and facilitation offered by India-focused multinationals such as Walmart and Amazon.  Mumbai-based Indo Count Industries is one of them -- considered the fastest-growing suppliers of home textiles in the US and European markets.

Walmart, with its sourcing model, and Amazon, by offering a Global Selling Programme, are raising the aspirational bar on small Indian businesses, elevating them to earn the coveted tag of ‘global entrepreneurs’.

Additional points highlighted in the article below:

• Walmart sets up global sourcing centre in Bengaluru that sources India-made products for catering to 14 foreign markets; it procures over 95 per cent of the goods sold in Best Price stores from local companies.
• Amazon takes ‘Make in India’ to the world, bolstered by its Global Selling Programme; it is empowering sellers from small towns in India by scaling up their businesses and leveraging the digital economy.

Read more about how Walmart and Amazon are turning small Indian firms into global entrepreneurs.

Today in Global Small Business: Bill Gates's List of Inventions That Will Change the World for the Better

©2019 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

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

• Bill Gates's list of inventions that will change the world for the better.
• Quote of the week:  “Instructions for living a life: Pay attention.  Be astonished.  Tell about it.” – poet Mary Oliver (1935-2019)
• A White House global economic program for women.
• The Johannesburg Business School (JBS) is looking at the global landscape.
• A family business is taking Welsh cider to a global audience.
• DHL launched an e-commerce app called DHL Africa eShop for global retailers to sell goods to Africa’s consumers markets.

The Human Soul is Apt to Revive

"The beautiful spring came; and when Nature resumes her loveliness, the human soul is apt to revive also." – Harriet Ann Jacobs

Photos courtesy:  @2019 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

Global: The First Image of the Black Hole

Treat Every Overseas Sale Like Its Your First

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Innovator and designer Julia Christie of the multi-award-winning baby nail trimmer – the Nail Snail, has recently expanded her business outside of Australia and says that “Done right, it can be the best thing for your business.”

After selling over 20,000 nail trimmers since launching her product in 2017, going global was a natural naturally the next step.  In order to expand, Julia needed to have an understanding of the export industry.

One of the issues Julia wanted to be extra careful on are export contracts.  She consulted with a lawyer to ensure all relevant aspects to a sale were covered.

“I treat every overseas shipment like it was my very first. I methodically go through the procedures to ensure that my Nail Snails are distributed in a safe and timely manner. Shipping to an unknown destination can be a tad stressful but with tracking numbers, references and internationally recognised barcodes, I feel secure knowing that my shipment will go smoothly from start to finish. Understanding the different technologies used in the process was all part of my learning curve,” Julia said.

Learn more about Julia's (ad)venture in going global here.

How to Future Proof Your Global Small Business on Technology

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Around half of small business owners find today’s biggest tech trends – such as cloud computing, AI and data analytics – complicated. But there are actionable steps you can take to better understand your options and position your business to take on the changes on the horizon.

Read more about how to future proof your global small business on technology.

To Become More Competitive, Focus on Exporting

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India's economic growth has come largely from domestic demand and its exports were about one third of its potential, says a World Bank official.  The next government needs to focus on export-led growth.

Praising attempts to liberalize markets within India, Hans Timmer, World Bank Chief Economist for the South Asia Region said "that is what is needed to become more competitive."

Read more about India's focus on exporting to reduce dependence on domestic activity.

Today in Global Small Business: If You Have Armpits, You Will Love This wegginar® 4/10

©Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global™.  Used with permission.

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

• Co-founder Sarah Ribner talks about how to create a strong personal care brand (deodorant) with worldwide appeal; wegginar® 4/10/19.  Free-of-charge but you must register to attend.
• Quote of the week:  “This is a very exciting time in the world of information. It`s not just that the personal computer has come along as a great tool. The whole pace of business is moving faster. Globalization is forcing companies to do things in new ways.” – Bill Gates
• How to give your competitors no time to respond.  Practice SODA.
• Case study:  Mature markets as engines of export growth.
• 5 ways to keep your team open to change.
• Beware of darkening clouds hanging over global trade.

Chicago Neighborhood Restaurant Whipping Up Classic Vegetarian Indian Food

Udupi Palace Restaurant, a pure vegetarian Indian restaurant in Chicago.  Worth a visit.

Photos courtesy:  ©2019 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

From Theranos Whistleblowers to Ethical Entrepreneurs

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Erika Cheung and Tyler Shultz’s actions led to the unveiling of one of Silicon Valley’s biggest scandals ever – Theranos.  Now they’re hoping to prevent it from happening again.

Erika Cheung is the former Theranos lab worker who tipped off the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to look into the company. Together with Tyler Shultz, the ex-research engineer who helped the Wall Street Journal find the truth, Cheung has launched the international organization Ethics in Entrepreneurship.

Learn more about their history and their new venture, ethics in entrepreneurship.

Women Entrepreneurs Are Lifting the Developing Economies

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The Asian Correspondent reports that although barriers facing women-owned SMEs are not dissimilar to those that male entrepreneurs face, there are significant gender differences in the reasons that women give for not scaling up — such as loans, innovation, expansion or exporting. These differences have policy implications for government and business stakeholders in understanding the enabling factors and barriers that women entrepreneurs face.

Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global™, a leading USA nonprofit which educates women entrepreneurs and business owners on how to go global believes that to succeed in today’s economic climate — and beyond — it’s more essential than ever for women business owners to be informed and inspired to grow global. 

Asian Correspondent goes on to say that having an entrepreneurial mindset plays a critical role when women SME owners decide not to apply for a loan, not export or not expand their business. The number one reason given for not exporting was that the owner was content with the current state of business. For not applying for a loan, it was an aversion to taking on any debt.

Read more about how female business owners face a unique set of challenges.

Big Tasty McDonald's in Egypt

The New World of Artificial Intelligence

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Africans are ready for the fourth industrial revolution, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa confidently asserted at the World Economic Forum (WEF) conference in Davos earlier this year.

WEF founder Klaus Schwab sees the fourth industrial revolution as being shaped by the emerging digital technologies that will “fundamentally alter the way we live, work, and relate to one another."

The new world of artificial intelligence, which requires the cultivation of independent thought and self-learning skills at the school level to prepare children for a world where life skills are critical, is conspicuous by its absence in Africa.

As the article below goes on to say:  "Africa is not short of young entrepreneurs with good ideas, ambition, energy and talent, which can be harnessed to drive more inclusive growth."

Read more about the new world of artificial intelligence and how Africans are eager to engage with technology to create new opportunities for themselves and their country.

Today in Global Small Business: More Than 50 Big Brands Controlled by 10 Unheard of Companies

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

• Finding global success by listening to global changemakers.
• Create a strong personal care brand with worldwide appeal; wegginar® 4/10/19
• Quote of the week:  “You have to be constantly reinventing yourself and investing in the future.” – Reid Hoffman
• 10 companies control more than 50 brands worldwide.
• One piece of advice to budding entrepreneurs from successful entrepreneur Nick Ogden. 
• Here's your chance to scale globally Indian startups.