Transformational: 8th Annual Global Small Business Forum 10/20/23

©2023 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

If you missed the 8th Annual Global Small Business Forum 10/20/23, all you can do at this point is check this out, LinkedIn post, and then sign up for next year's:  10/18/24 – scroll down and look for Subscribe for Updates.  The forum is all about learning how to take your business to the next level, global.

Today in Global Small Business: Setting Up Your Ecommerce Strategy

©iStock/gorodenkoff

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

• Setting up your ecommerce strategy.
• Uniting a divided workforce.
• How does AI think?  We are only starting to understand that.
• Quote of the week:  "People tend to think of the web as a way to get information or perhaps as a place to carry out e-commerce. But really, the web is about accessing applications." – Marc Andreessen
• Best money transfer apps.
• US economy is largely unchanged; but other markets are experiencing turmoil.  

Picture Heaven As a Vast Library

©2023 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

“I picture heaven as a vast library, with unlimited volumes to read. And paintings and statues to examine" – Anne Rice, The Mummy, or Ramses the Damned

Think Global to Drive Success: Here's How to Scale

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How can companies find the best talent, regardless of where they are located, to meet their business needs while navigating the fundamental economic changes impacting global workforces in the world today?

The digital economy, along with the transition to more remote/hybrid work, has provided opportunities to find the best talent globally. However, companies need expert guidance and technology to enable strategies.

Here's how to prepare for the global shift to global growth.  It starts with thinking global to drive success.

Geoeconomic Fragmentation

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Advanced economies are expected to slow from 2.6 percent in 2022 to 1.5 percent in 2023 and 1.4 percent in 2024 as policy tightening starts to bite. 

The baseline forecast is for global growth to slow from 3.5 percent in 2022 to 3.0 percent in 2023 and 2.9 percent in 2024, well below the historical (2000–19) average of 3.8 percent.

Given increasing concerns about geoeconomic fragmentation, part of the report assesses how disruptions to global trade in commodities can affect commodity prices, economic activity, and the green energy transition.  The report does not factor in the recent Israel-Hamas war – the latest Gaza conflict.

LAST CHANCE to Register: 8th Annual Global Small Business Forum (Hybrid) 10/20/23

©2023 Global TradeSource, Ltd.  All rights reserved.

LAST CHANCE to attend the 8th Annual Global Small Business Forum: Navigate Turbulence in the Global Marketplace (hybrid) on Friday, October 20, 2023.  To sign up, visit here. 

New York Enables Small Businesses to Expand Their Global Reach through STEP

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The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) provided Empire State Development (ESD) nearly $1 million in funding in the latest round of the State Trade Expansion Program (STEP).

STEP connects businesses in New York state to exporting opportunities abroad through grants for qualifying small and medium-sized businesses.

Learn more about how STEP enables small businesses to expand their global reach and competitiveness.

For information on STEP and to apply for funding if you are a business based in New York, click here.

Today in Global Small Business: The Conflict Between Israel and Hamas Puts Pressure on the Global Economy

©iStock/Oleksandr Baranov

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

• The conflict between Israel and Hamas risks embroiling other Middle East nations and has the potential of fueling another bout of inflationary pressures and even tipping the global economy into a recession.
• Global outlook during turbulent times.
• Some say troubles are coming to the world economy.
• Quote of the week: “The speed of light does not merely transform the world. It becomes the world. Globalization is the speed of light." – Paul Virilio
• China's economic headwinds.
• Confronting inflation and low growth – global economy. 

Jump On My Scooter

©2023 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

My perfect day is to get up at 5:30 A.M., jump on my scooter and go to the beach." – Goldie

Global Free Zones of 2023

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The iteration of fDi Intelligence’s flagship Global Free Zones of the 2023 awards recognize the best free zones across geographies and specializations among the 69 that participated in the awards this year. 

The 'Best zones for SMEs' category crowns the world's best zones, as well as the best ones in each single region for their strategy to attract small and medium enterprises (SMEs) tenant.

Find out more here. 

U.S. SBA Awards Washington State a $1 Million STEP Grant to Fuel Exports

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The Washington State Department of Commerce again tops the list of states awarded funding from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to help state small businesses grow through exporting. Washington’s $1 million State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) grant is the largest awarded from a total $20 million to 49 states in this 11th year of the program.

Read on to learn more.

Meet Divine Jazz Singer Melody Gardot

Three Common Obstacles to Scaling Innovations and Ways to Overcome Them

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According to authors for the HBR, innovations — including new products, new HR policies, and new production processes —developed in one part of a business stay there. Other groups that could benefit from them don’t know they exist. 

This leads to lost revenues and higher costs, since teams around the world often end up duplicating (or triplicating, or quadruplicating) investments in solving common problems. 

This article identifies three common obstacles to scaling innovations and describes a way to overcome them. 

Today in Global Small Business: Columbus Day or Indigenous Peoples’ Day?

©iStock/Vanesa Ayala

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

• Depending on where in the United States you live and whom you work for, Columbus Day, 10/9/23, may be a day off with pay, another holiday entirely, or no different from any other Monday.
• McCarthy weighs in on Trump's involvement in House speaker race.
• More than 250 bodies found at site of Israeli Supernova festival - rescuers say.
• Quote of the week: “It is well that war is so terrible, otherwise we should grow too fond of it." – Robert E. Lee
• Israel is battling Hamas militants for a second day after a surprise attack.
• Americans may be among the dead and those taken hostage in Israel-Hamas war, Blinken says. 

Miller High Life Beer

©2023 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"My first commercial was for Miller High Life beer." – Casey Kasem

Building a Global Economy of the Future

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“In Indiana, we’re focused on building a global economy of the future, and our Hoosier entrepreneurs and small businesses will be critical to advancing future-focused innovations and solutions,” said Indiana Secretary of Commerce David Rosenberg. “Indiana ranks in the top 15 states for exporting, and the IN-STEP program aims to build on this momentum, helping more Hoosier small businesses reach customers in international markets and find success in the global economy.”

Learn more about how the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) secured $300,000 in competitive grant funding from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to support the export activities of Hoosier small businesses through the Indiana State Trade and Export Promotion (IN-STEP) grant program.

Global Marketing Is Essential for Modern Businesses

©iStock/invincible_bulldog

In an era where businesses (both large and small) can sell and ship their products and services to consumers across the globe within a matter of days, it can be easy to forget how markets functioned before the digital age and the innovations in transportation.

In this article, you will learn: The definition of global marketing (in case you are living in a cave), the importance of it, some effective strategies, examples of campaigns, and other important points related to fully understanding the significance of marketing to expand your business globally.

Arab Funk Is Going Global

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In recent years, global interest in Arabic music has surged. TikTok and Instagram have helped a new wave of Arab talent such as Saint Levant, Issam Alnajjar, and Wegz reach tens of millions of people.

This has prompted the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, the global body for recorded music, to launch in November the first ever regional MENA music chart. 

Read on to learn more.

wegginar®, Korean-American Beauty: Building a Direct-To-Consumer Enterprise (10/4/23)

©2023 Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®.  All right reserved.

Alice Kim (shown above and below) is a female entrepreneur and the founder of two beauty companies, Elizabeth Mott, and Hanalei. She started Elizabeth Mott in 2010 with the goal of creating Korean-inspired beauty products for U.S consumers. A few of Elizabeth Mott’s best-selling products include: a mascara with built-in fiber technology to help elongate even the shortest eyelashes, and an eye primer that lasts for over 12 hours. Elizabeth Mott’s eye primer, and matte face primer often rank in the #1 category on Amazon.

After years of successfully building out Elizabeth Mott, in 2016 she launched a second beauty brand called Hanalei. Her goal with Hanalei is to infuse the power of the Hawaiian and island botanicals with high performing skincare products. Hanalei creates products inspired by the islands’ lush landscape, and natural botanicals. Some of the Hawaiian grown ingredients formulated into the skincare products include: Kukui nut oil, coffee berry, and spirulina. Hanalei partners with local and global retailers that love and value Hawaiian lifestyle. The company has over 100,000 glowing reviews on Amazon.

Alice is presenting a wegginar® for Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global, "Korean-American Beauty: Building a Direct-To-Consumer Enterprise," on Wednesday, October 4, 2023 at 11 AM CT.  The event is free of charge thanks to sponsors:  Fed Ex, Associated Bank, Bluedog Design, 1706 Advisors and Union Pacific – all companies that back women business owners and entrepreneurs who aspire to grow bigger via globalization.

In the wegginar, you will learn:  

• How to start a direct-to-consumer business
• How to outsource employees globally
• The ins and outs to e-commerce

To learn more and to register free of charge, visit the direct link at Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®.

Today in Global Small Business: What the World Needs Now Is Love Sweet Love

©2023 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

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

• What the world needs now is love sweet love:  Dionne Warwick, 1966 (music video).
• A courage to change the world, Claudine Gay, Harvard's 30th president.
• U.S. averts government shutdown.
• Quote of the week: “Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love." – Mother Teresa
• iPhone 15 Pro owners are complaining about overheating problems.
• Costco planning to expand in U.S. and overseas over next 10 years.