Oh It's Beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas!

©2025 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

Strolling along in the Loyola University Chicago area of Rogers Park Lake Shore Campus.  Beautiful holiday decorations are already up for everyone to admire.  

Prosperity Through Global Entrepreneurship

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Building on the momentum of MIT's 2025 conference, the MIT Kuo Sharper Center for Prosperity and Entrepreneurship (KSC) will once again in 2026 bring together a dynamic community of entrepreneurs, policymakers, corporate leaders, academics, and investors from across Africa, Latin America, the Arab region, Central Asia, and South and Southeast Asia—regions defining the future of the global economy.

Discover more:  Innovation in Global Growth Markets: Prosperity through Entrepreneurship

Moving Factories From China to Elsewhere

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A trade truce between the United States and China has calmed nerves, but it won’t stop the broader movement of companies to countries like Vietnam.

When President Trump started a trade war with China during his first term, Simon Lichtenberg decided to ride it out. He owned factories making leather sofas in China since the 1990s and figured the two sides would resolve the dispute.

He doesn’t think that anymore. Mr. Lichtenberg invested around $20 million to move his factory for American clients to Vietnam this year. Now, not even the cease-fire Mr. Trump has reached with China has changed his outlook that deep-seated animosity between the countries has altered the economics of his business.

Read:  Why Factories Will Keep Looking for Alternatives to China

International Expansion Plan For Paris Pop-Up

©iStock/Elena Zolotova

The American brand founded by sisters-in-law Veronica Swanson Beard and Veronica Miele Beard is moving into a 270-square-foot space fitted with picture frame moldings, curved brass hanging rails and a travertine table that wouldn’t look out of space in a Parisian interior.

With reason: the pop-up on the department store’s first floor, which runs through Dec. 8, is the opening play for the brand ahead of a permanent retail base in the City of Light, Veronica Beard president Stephanie Unwin said in an exclusive interview. 

Alaska Airlines Reshapes Its Identity Into a Globally Recognized Carrier

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Alaska Airlines (AS) is reshaping its identity from a West Coast staple into a globally recognized carrier. With its base at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), the airline’s network growth, new aircraft, and the Atmos Rewards program mark the next stage in its transformation.

The past year has redefined Alaska Airlines’ growth strategy. After acquiring Hawaiian Airlines, the Seattle-based group launched the unified Atmos Rewards loyalty program and a premium cobranded credit card, signaling a shift toward a more global brand identity.

Today in Global Small Business: A Guide to Expanding Your Business Globally

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

• A guide to expanding your business globally.
• Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global's 10-year anniversary on Thursday, November 6, 2025 was a HUGE success.  Photos coming soon – stay tuned.  For those who couldn't attend and want to support the organization, go here.  Become a wegg® Angel!
• Quote of the week:  "The limits of my language mean the limits of my world." – Ludwig Wittgenstein
• I took my company global this year. Here are 3 things I wish I did differently.
• Today, 78% of global companies are using AI in their daily operations. 
• Amazon takes low-cost e-commerce service global.

It's That Time: Marshall Field's Walnut Room Christmas Tree 2025

©2025 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

About the experience visiting the Walnut Room at Marshall Field's (now Macy's) in Chicago, Illinois.

"We would go have lunch in the Walnut Room and sit by that beautiful tree with those waitresses in their black dresses and their white aprons ... It just had such great memories this time of year."

"It was simply magic going to Fields during the Christmas season and eating lunch by the tree in the Walnut Room. No internet, no iPhones just people enjoying the company of other people. The memories are indelible."

"The cherry on top of it all was being able to get a seat right near the Christmas tree and feel a sense of peace and joy, basking in the warmth and glow of it all."

"We would always eat in the Walnut Room and somehow we always got a table that was so close to the tree that I felt I could reach and touch it." 

Learn more about the history.

Photo courtesy:  Laurel J. Delaney and taken on 11/7/25.

Global Corporate Sustainability Report 2025

©iStock/Khanchit Khirisutchalual

Corporate sustainability means integrating  environmental and social considerations into a company’s strategy, operations and disclosure. It fosters sound governance and decision-making, while helping investors better understand a company's long-term risks and opportunities.

The OECD Global Corporate Sustainability Report 2025 provides insights on how companies are implementing the sustainability-related recommendations of the G20/OECD Principles of Corporate Governance. These recommendations cover disclosure, shareholder-company dialogue, board responsibilities, and stakeholder engagement. 

Access report here.

President Trump Has Imposed the Highest Tariffs Since the Great Depression

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The tariffs at the heart of this week's Supreme Court case are raising tens of billions of dollars for the federal government. They're also costing consumers, frustrating businesses and hurting the manufacturers they're supposed to help.

About half those import taxes are being challenged this week at the U.S. Supreme Court as unconstitutional.

Does the President have a Plan B?

Dexter GBS CEO Fre Rammeloo Will Discuss Procurement and Global Supply Chain (wegginar® 11/5/25)

©Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®.  All rights reserved.

JOIN us today, November 5th at 11 AM CT for a wegginar® with Fre Rammeloo, CEO, Dexter GBS Inc.  To learn more and to register, visit: https://womenentrepreneursgrowglobal.org/2025/10/01/procurement-and-supply-chain-your-secret-growth-and-profitability-weapon/.

Some points that Fre will cover:

• Procurement: Ensure robust contracts with your suppliers and utilize them to support your business goals, financially and otherwise
• Supply Chain: A data driven, optimized supply chain does not only delight customers, it also prevents from incurring a lot of hidden, significant costs
• Growth: Savings in procurement and supply chain can fuel growth, from investment in pricing through to investment in clever technology including AI

Hope to see you there!   

Bryan Sansivero Photographs America's Abandoned Homes

©iStock/nathanaparise

For a decade, the New York-based photographer Bryan Sansivero has sought out forgotten, dilapidated homes across the United States — each with its own story to tell. Inside deserted clapboard farmsteads, palatial Antebellum-era plantation houses and maximalist Queen Anne-style structures, Sansivero has discovered many residences that were never emptied, offering a portal into another life.

Sansivero says, "I like the mystery of not knowing what you’re going to find."  Next, he's setting his sights overseas, exploring chateaus and castles in Europe whose histories can stretch back much further in time.

Discover Sansivero's work here.

Today in Global Small Business: Heated Electoral Contest in New York City Brought To You By S.N.L.

©iStock/PaulMcKinnon

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

• A satirical debate by S.N.L among the three major candidates for NY mayor, played by Miles Teller and two former “S.N.L.” hosts.  Oh what fun!
• The tactics used in Trump's deportation drive.
• Quote of the week:  "It is ridiculous to set a detective story in New York City. New York City is itself a detective story."  – Agatha Christie
• Strategic approaches for today's global market.
• Unlock international trade by managing global risk.
• How to support international expansion.  It starts by pushing boundaries.

You Know It's [the Day After] Halloween

©2025 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"You know it's [the day after] Halloween.  I guess everyone's entitled to one good scare." – Dr. Loomis in Halloween (1978)

A Model for Expanding Your Business Into Foreign Markets

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Harvard Business Review, 5/17/24:  It used to be thought that globalization would flatten out cultural differences among countries and regions of the world, making it easier than ever for companies to move into foreign markets. 

According to a new study by the author [Joshua Conrad Jackson] and a colleague, however, cultural differences are greater today than they were 40 years ago, which explains why some major corporations have failed in their recent efforts to establish a foothold in new countries.

Companies need to adapt, the author argues, and to that end in this article he presents a general model for global leadership in the face of cultural divergence.

Is Global Trade Rewiring Without the United States?

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The fragmentation of the global trade system is leading to the rise of new trade coalitions and corridors, said economists in a joint IMD-Hinrich Foundation webinar. 

The webinar discussed three overriding questions:

• Question 1: What have we gained and what have we lost?
• Question 2: What strategies are being deployed by economies?
• Question 3: What policy dilemmas lie ahead?

Find out the answers here.

Note:  We've hit more than 442,000 monthly readers at the Global Small Business Blog!

Success On Her Terms: "Finding Your True North" With Shelly Sun Berkowitz, CEO of Founder 2 Founder

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

Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global unveils its newest and most exciting program yet!  "Success On Her Terms," a dynamic four-part series presented by Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global® in collaboration with Merrill’s Baldwin Marcovici Group and moderated by Alex Didac.

It is designed to spotlight high-potential, growth-stage women entrepreneurs who share their personal journeys and offer actionable insights on how to align purpose, people, and profit while building and scaling a business.

Join wegg® for the *first session* – Finding Your True North – in our four-part series on Tuesday, November 4th at 11 AM CT with Shelly Sun Berkowitz, founder and Executive Chair of BrightStar Care, a national home care franchise system she built over 20 years, scaled to over 400 locations, and led through a majority sale in 2025. 

Shelly now serves as CEO of her advisory firm, Founder 2 Founder, where she is helping other founders scale, sell, and secure their business legacies. Through her family office, Next Phase Capital (NPC), Shelly offers patient, values-aligned capital to franchise businesses. 

Shelly will be talking about clarity, resilience, and redefining success in a way that protects both your ambition and your well-being.

To learn more and to register (free of charge) for the first session that Shelly is kicking off, visit: https://womenentrepreneursgrowglobal.org/programs/success-on-her-terms/

I [Laurel Delaney] hope to see you there!  

Bracing for the World's Strongest Storm on the Planet in 2025: Hurricane Melissa

©iStock/Trifonov_Evgeniy

Three people have died already in Jamaica as it braces for the world's strongest storm this year - and possibly the strongest on record for the island - with US meteorologists warning of "catastrophic and life-threatening" conditions.

With wind speeds of up to 175mph (282km/h), Hurricane Melissa is a category five storm - the maximum strength. It is intensifying and expected to make landfall on the Caribbean island early on Tuesday, October 27, 2025.

Hurricane Melissa is now the strongest storm on the planet in 2025.

Today in Global Small Business: The Global Small Business Forum Turns 10 — and It’s More Powerful Than Ever!

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

• Photo collage from the super successful 10th Annual Global Small Business Forum held in Chicago on Thursday, October 24, 2025 – sponsored by Associated Bank and hosted by Foley & Lardner.
• How CEOs can play the long game in a shortsighted world.
• Quote of the week:  "When someone says, 'let's impose tariffs on foreign imports', it looks like they're doing the patriotic thing by protecting American products and jobs. And sometimes, for a short while it works, but only for a short time." Ronald Reagan (not exact order of how Reagan delivered this but they are his exact word)
• The 100 best books of the 21st Century.
• Many older Americans are financially comfortable but pessimistic about the economy because of their children’s struggles with jobs and affordability. Is the American economy doing that great?
• Punishing a country again ... President Donald Trump said on Saturday (10/25/25) that he plans to hike tariffs on imports of Canadian goods by an extra 10% because of an anti-tariff television ad aired by the province of Ontario.  Here's President Reagan's radio address from 1987 on Free and Fair Trade.

Eli's Cheesecake Company Celebrates the 10th Annual Small Business Forum in Chicago (10/24/25)

©2025 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

The best:  Eli's Cheesecake Company in celebration of the 10th Annual Global Small Business Forum (10/24/25).  Event supported by:  Associated Bank and Foley & Lardner.

Taylor Swift: Life of the Showgirl Explained (2025)