Top 10 Global Sourcing Issues to Consider

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So your small business is experiencing better-than-expected growth, and you're ready to take the next step and expand globally? Think about when you go shopping -- more often than not, you may notice phrases like "Made in Mexico," "Made in Sri Lanka" or "Made in Italy." Perhaps they're on your clothing tags, your daughter's new doll, the towels in your bathroom or the radio on your desk.

Read the article here.

The Worldly UPS

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UPS just launched an interactive overview that illustrates their knowledge, experience and tools in helping small businesses expand internationally. Check it out here.

One other thing. Quit thinking of UPS as just a domestic carrier. They move goods anywhere in the world.

Globe-trotter Handmade Luxury Luggage

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Very cool. See for yourself!

Social Global Entrepreneurship

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"Social entrepreneurs identify resources where people only see problems. They view the villagers as the solution, not the passive beneficiary. They begin with the assumption of competence and unleash resources in the communities they're serving." ~ David Bornstein, author of How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas.

The Skoll Foundation

And meet more new global heroes like Bornstein here.

With your drive to take on the world, are you adding human importance to your bottom line?

Moment of Local, Maybe Even Global Fame

Illustration credit:  Laurel Delaney

Become Exclusive Distributor Of a Foreign Product

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After studying Japanese in college and living in Japan for part of the ’90s, James Allard always wanted to do something in business that was Japan-related. When he and Steve Rosen decided to start a business in 2004, they went to Japan to search for a product they could import to the U.S. In a Tokyo department store bathroom, they spotted an electric hand dryer made by Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi.

Find out what happened here: The One and Only

One World, Two Blueprints

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Two books worth a look: "Making Globalization Work" and "The Next Great Globalization"

Catastrophic Population Shrinkage?

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Yes, shrinkage. True, the total global population has not yet finished increasing. But nearly half the world's population lives in countries where the native-born are not reproducing fast enough to replace themselves. This is true in Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Russia, Japan, Canada and the United States. It's also true in much of East Asia, pockets of Latin America and such Indian megacities as New Delhi, Mumbai (Bombay), Kolkata (Calcutta) and Chennai (Madras). Even China is reproducing at levels that fall short of replacement.

End result: the United States reaches a demographic milestone with an anticipated population of 300 million -- behind only that of China and India -- thanks largely NOT to Lou Dobbs but rather to immigration.

Read the article here.

And how does this impact globalization? Legal immigration is part of our national culture. The United States helps create great global companies like Google, eBay and Intel.

We should not only be proud but lucky to be a part of it all.

How-To Guides (Including Global Help) for Small Businesses

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Dig deep within this new site. There are some how-to guides on importing, exporting, outsourcing and more.

Read the news here: Work.com Launches to Help Small Businesses Tackle Their Most Important Business Tasks

Shortcut: Work.com

(Note:  If a link does not work it means the company changed its servers, sold its domain name or went out of business.)

Taking Your Startup To a Foreign Market

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It’s a global village out there, with marketplaces outside American borders beckoning as never before, even to small and startup companies. Technologies such as the Internet and cheap telecommunications truly have shrunk the world to a point where it’s much easier for a entrepreneurs to get their arms around it.

But opportunity isn’t everything when it comes to entering foreign markets.

Want to rock your business?  Read the article:  Taking Your Startup to a Foreign Market

Abridged Borderbuster: 10/5/06

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CONTENTS

If you are not a subscriber to Borderbuster, here's a glimpse of what you missed this month:

1. Welcome From The Publisher
2. Feedback From Our Readers
3. U.S. REITs Looking Overseas to Expand*
4. Business and Cultural Tips: Have Some Fun!*
5. Design Without Borders*
6. How I Went Global: Ongoing Series // ThomasNet.com
7. A Reader Asks: Q&A*
8. Everybody Loves a Freebie -- repeat: FREE OFFER*
9. Go Global Out of the Gate*
10. Report From The Field: Cairo, Egypt*
11. Taking Over The World*
12. Blog World: Going Global*
13. Laurel’s e-Book: “GODZILLA Global Marketing!”
14. Take A Walk On The Wild Side (TAWOTWS)*
15. Wind Behind Your Sail*
16. Miscellany*
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

*Indicates exclusive to Borderbuster subscribers only.

Sample section:

14. TAKE A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE (TAWOTWS)
*Subscriber Exclusive*

If you can think wild thoughts, then you can most certainly go global.

Ever wish you were a painter? Now you can be one at this site, which lets anyone emulate the late Pollock and his “Jack The Dripper” technique of glopping paint on a canvas from a height. But you do it with your mouse, changing colors with a click.

Visit: Jack The Dripper

(Remember, inaction is the worst kind of failure.)

###

To subscribe to Borderbuster, visit:
Sign Up For Borderbuster!

Grow Global: 5 Ways To Just Do It

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Five ways to find new or hidden markets in the world marketplace.

Read the article here.

P.S. The examples referenced in Nos. 1 and 5 are my own (in disguise) based on client work. That's how I went on to receive the SBA Exporter of the Year award.

(Note: If the link is dead it is because ThomasNet changed its server or removed the article from its website.  Try here for general resources on global trade.)

Think Local When Franchising Abroad

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All politics, it's said, are local. The same often holds true for franchising, despite its reputation as a cookie-cutter, by-the-book way of doing business.

Being able to adapt to local customs, laws and tastes is particularly crucial when a franchise goes abroad.

Read the article here.

Think Globally; Write Locally ...

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I have been a FreePint Newsletter subscriber for at least five years. When you click on the following link, scroll down to the Tips Article and catch a very interesting piece by Kristen Giovanis entitled: "Think Globally; Write Locally: What Source Writers Need to Know About Localization."

Importing from India

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Do I need a license to import home décor from India and sell it in the United States? Find out what Ask Inc. has to say here.

Why Global Brands Matter

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Where is your next competitor coming from?

Globalization, in its many forms, is enabling global corporations to exploit the “economies of simplicity and standardization” to price-out and replace local competition. Or is it?

Successful global brands recognize the value in understanding the diversity of cultures and tastes in global markets and are now addressing the complexities of adapting the customer experience to match. This is the paradox of globalization -- easier access to international markets creates greater challenges in brand and product management.

Attend this web seminar and gain insight into:

>> The Best Global Brands in 2006 and what factors have influenced their success, as researched by Interbrand

>> Changes in how corporations are managing brands and the related management and technology issues, drawing from recent research by the Economist Intelligence Unit

>> How Hewlett-Packard’s One Voice initiative has created significant financial value in many different aspects of its business as well as substantially reducing product costs

The seminar takes place tomorrow, September 19 at 9:00 a.m. PDT; 11:00 a.m. CDT; 12:00 p.m. EDT; 5:00 p.m. GMT DT; 6:00 p.m. CET. Duration: 1 hour. If you act now, there is still time to sign up.

Register here.

(Note:  Companies change servers and remove content.  The link may no longer work.)

Business As An Agent of World Benefit

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A global foum that may be of interest to you.

Read about it here.

And many of the greatest minds (CK, Warren Bennis and Peter Senge) will be presenting.

Doing Business With the World

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The Doing Business database provided by The World Bank Group is fabulous. It provides objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement -- spanning across no less than 175 economies.

And the new "Doing Business 2007: How to Reform" has just been released. Check it all out ... here.

The Innovation Sandbox

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I have been a huge fan of CK's ever since he co-authored "Competing For the Future" with Gary Hamel. He has this unique ability (giftedness) to predict what's around the corner well before the rest of us arrive.

This article tells me he hasn't changed much -- which is a good thing. Care to see what's ahead on cutting-edge "global" innovation? Or, how about learning what it takes to change the world with your next big idea?

Read more >> here.

P.S. Rest assure, when I visit India, I will be staying at the indiOne hotel.

Going Global: Small Firms Take On The Challenge

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Small firms that take on the challenge of selling overseas find new frontiers and untapped opportunities.

Read the article here.

(Note: This magazine may no longer be in existence.)