Small Businesses Going Global

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Question: Why does the U.S. Small Business Administration, an independent domestic agency of the federal government, have an international trade mission?

Answer: Because doing business internationally is where future growth lies for many small businesses!

Read more here and be sure to get yourself a complimentary online copy of Breaking Into the Trade Game: A Small Business Guide to Exporting.

Separately, but related, be sure to check out our new Globe Tour (right side panel) on our blog!

Hoping to Grow Global in 2008?

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Better start planning now.

Best Countries for Global Business

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The World Economic Forum (WEF) each year handicaps the economic-development race. The Global Competitiveness Report tallies 113 factors that contribute to an economy's competitiveness -- a buzzword that roughly boils down to how well a country is positioned to squeeze efficiency out of its businesses and attract companies and investment from abroad.

Components of the resulting Global Competitiveness Index range from the quality of a nation's roads to the independence of its judiciary to the incidence of tuberculosis to how easy it is to hire an engineer. Parts of the index are culled from official data; many others are drawn from a survey of 11,000 international business executives. This year TIME partners with the WEF to bring you in-depth data on 37 key countries at time.com/globalbusiness.

Note, this is different from what we reported October 10, 2007 on the World Bank's Doing Business 2008.

The ABCs of Foreign Trade Zones

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Manufacturers familiar with foreign-trade zones know the obvious benefits, namely no duties on goods exported from the foreign-trade zone (FTZ) and the deferral of duties until goods are moved outside the FTZ. But, according to Greg Jones, corporate secretary and senior consultant with Foreign-Trade Zone Corp., there are other key points to consider.

Read more here.

Doing Business in China

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An easy and fun place to start on how to do business in China.

Doing Business in China for Dummies

Global Ideas Come In All Shapes and Sizes

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I had the great privilege and honor to participate in the world famous UPS Out-of-the-Box Small Business Contest and conference in Atlanta earlier this week. What an exciting time!

Congratulations to all the award winners! View their inspiring growth stories here.

And we will be posting highlights of the event over the next couple of weeks. Watch for YouTube videos, UPS Business Monitor Reports and more.

Grow or Die

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Interesting. The New York Times here talks about if you Google the expression "Grow or die" you get more than 11 million hits. Then they go on to suggest ideas to keep your company thriving.

How about if you Google "Go global or die?" See what comes up. I think they missed a HUGE opportunity in their story.

What do you think?

The New Year of the Tiger

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With a population of 1.3 billion whose per capita income is expected to double over the next 10 years, and a consumer market that is expected to grow to $14 trillion by the year 2025, it's no wonder foreign companies are investing billions to reach today's Chinese consumer. Research reveals a growing demographic of generally younger, affluent, urban Chinese consumers who are willing to consider foreign brands.

Think you can translate your brand for the savvy Chinese shopper?

Find out more here.

What's Ahead in Our Brave New Cyberworld

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Here's a post I did for the Small Business Trends blog which focuses on social media tools, globalization and what's ahead in our brave new cyberworld.

... My interest has always been to track trends before they affect us. I like to be way out in front, and that’s why I follow closely anything that has to do with global small business trends.

Let me know what you think. Direct link here.

We Make Going Global Easy

Welcome to the new GlobeTrade ... a leading management consulting and marketing solutions company dedicated to helping entrepreneurs and small businesses go global. Our mission is simple: to make going global easy by giving you the tools, resources, and knowledge you need.

We hope you like our new look.

Benefits to Globalization

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In his weblog for May 7, 2007, Dani Rodrik takes us to task for exaggerating the benefits of globalization in raising US household income and GDP. Professor Rodrik long ago established his reputation as a globalization skeptic; today he is the favorite Harvard economist among the backlash crowd. Eight years ago, Francisco Rodriguez and Rodrik (1999) notched their academic guns against Jeffrey Sachs and Andrew Warner (1995), expressing a skeptical view of the benefits of liberal trade policy to developing countries. As targets of Rodrik's latest outburst of skepticism, we share good company.

To debunk globalization proponents, Rodrik uses ...

read more here.

P.S. Dani has a great sense of humor. The picture of him on his blog states, "This is what the WSJ thinks I look like." When you visit his blog, you'll see the real Dani.

Podcast: Solutions For Your Small Business

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Listen (or read all about) a new -- thanks to UPS -- customs clearance and international returns solutions for small businesses.

Here's a clip from the beginning of it:

Gardner: Let’s start with Laurel. Help us understand some of the issues facing small businesses, those seeking to expand their addressable markets and how they can start doing more business overseas.

Delaney: Actually, there are two forces at work right now for small businesses. One has to do with the issue of globalization. I think we all know the buzz that’s going on about going global that has been driven largely by Thomas Friedman with his book, "The World is Flat." He’s caused mainstream America and all small businesses to step up to the plate and consider the world as your market. The second force is technology, and technology is making it easier now to go global.

Visit here if you want to listen to the podcast or read the transcript. Go here if you want to simplify international trade.

Separately but related, we are about to unveil our redesign on GlobeTrade.com. Watch for it shortly! We hope you like it.

Five Practical Strategies for Building a Chinese Workforce

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Wanted: Talented people in China.

There is a severe shortage of senior managers in China.

Read more here.

Why Global Brands Work

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Harvard Business School professor John Quelch writes a blog on marketing issues, called Marketing KnowHow, for Harvard Business Online. Join in on the debate on whether Ford will make a comeback on their global brand. The post is reprinted on HBS Working Knowledge here.

(Global) Marketing Moves to a Digitally Focused Business System

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Marketers and their agencies must change as the convergence of media and technology, combined with the fragmentation and personalization of media, changes the connection between marketers and end users.

As the media environment becomes increasingly complex and rooted in the digital space, the existing marketing agenda and capabilities need to be re-tooled and marketing organizations, agencies and media companies are having to change at an unprecedented pace. A new cross industry study details how marketers and their agencies must change as the convergence of media and technology, combined with the fragmentation and personalization of media, changes the connection between marketers and end users.

Download the 15-page study produced by ANA (Association of National Advertisers), IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau), AAAA (American Association of Advertising Agencies), and management consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton here.

And we first wrote about this new media revolution here with a story about Mel.

Then McKinsey & Company conducted serious analysis of the phenomena here.

It's about using social networking and social media to build a global presence or what the more traditional folks call global marketing.

Detroit at the 2007 Regional Chamber Small Business Conference Report

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The 2007 Detroit Regional Chamber Small Business Conference was a huge success. What impressed me the most was the number of small business owners in attendance and how driven, enthusiastic and passionate they are about using Web 2.0 media to build a global presence. More information on the Detroit conference, including many of the speaker's PowerPoint slides, can be viewed here.

After my talk, I had folks from UPS, Google and Crain's Detroit Business come up to me to discuss additional opportunities. Eager to keep moving in this new global media direction. Everyone should.

Are You Missing Out On Global Trade?

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Most of America's small- and mid-sized businesses have failed to explore the significant growth opportunities offered by an increasingly global economy. Indeed, a new survey conducted for UPS shows 67 percent of the nation's small-to-mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) are still chaining themselves to the U.S. economy.

Is that you? If it is, I encourage you to read this press release and get ready to dive into the UPS Business Monitor United States 2007 Report when it is released November 1st. I will post more about it then.

World Bank's Doing Business 2008

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The World Bank's annual "Doing Business 2008" has just been released. It provides objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement across 178 countries. The team works closely with thousands of professionals around the world.

Highlights from Doing Business 2008: As countries reform their business regulation, more businesses are starting up. Eastern Europe has witnessed a boom in new business entry that rivals the rapid growth in East Asia in the past. Large emerging markets such as India, China, Egypt, Turkey, and Indonesia, are reforming fast and investors are taking notice. This year Egypt is the top reforming country worldwide, while Singapore is #1 on the ease of doing business for the second consecutive year.

Download report here.

P.S. Separately, just returned moments ago from the 2007 Detroit Regional Chamber Small Business Conference (where at the VIP breakfast, I sat next to Joe Dumars, famed Detroit Pistons player, businessman and current president of the Detroit Pistons' Basketball Operations (I did not even know this!) and will report on all of it soon! Amazing conference.

Greetings from Asha in India

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Dear Laurel,

We at Kashmir Handicrafts (websites www.Kashand.com and www.Kashand.org) wish to thank you for your nice and informative Blog which we regularly visit and read. We are India based manufacturers and exporters of handicrafts and intricate Pietra dura tabletops, medallions and Taj Mahal replicas are our specialty. The issues confronting exporters are, in many cases, identical whether one is based in the US or in India. Many things on your Blog are noteworthy and make us learn a lot.

All of us thank you for your initiative and look forward to your continued writings. If at any time you or your friends require any items that we make, we would be glad to offer you our best attention and prices.

Thanks and regards,
Asha

Who Moved My Client Base?

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I wrote this story, "Who Moved My Client Base?" special for Small Business Trends.

It's about a business owner named Mel who is faced with a slowing small business. He uses social media to turn things around and grow his business by tapping into a global client base.

Hope you like it and if you do, please comment and then pass the story along to someone you know who might benefit.