Pinch Yourself! The Chicago Cubs Win the World Series

©2016 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

Chicago Cubs, World Series Champions.  Congrats!  Inside a win that will bond and last for generations.

Finding Creativity in Your Global Small Business Work

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Stuck?  In a rut?  Everyone reaches a point where they can't imagine doing the same thing one more time, whether it be servicing the needs of a customer you've had for more than a decade, conducting an export training seminar for the umpteenth time, or attending a networking event that guarantees you will land new business.  What is one to do?

Shake it up.  Here I talk about five ways to spark creativity in your international trade work.

Discover Global Markets in Chicago With the Help of the U.S. Commercial Service

I had the great privilege to attend the Discover Global Market Business Forum 2016 Building Smart Cities, Chicago, Illinois, November 1-3, 2016 event in Chicago and hosted by U.S. Commercial Service.  What a robust program to learn more about international sales opportunities.

The event brought together leaders in smart cities industries to examine global market trends, learn about best practices and make connections for future business deals.  The program took place at the Swissôtel in Chicago.  And I am always glad and honored to see the Mayor of anything to do with international trade in Illinois:  Richard Paullin, Executive Director, The International Trade Association of Greater Chicago and Chairman, Illinois District Export Council.

In 2015, Illinois exported more than $2 billion of goods alone to India, the Philippines, Vietnam and Qatar (all countries were represented with buyer delegations at the forum).

In addition to dynamic keynotes, cool workshops and plenary sessions, attendees had the opportunity to conduct B2B matchmaking on-site with foreign buyers.

To learn more, visit:  http://2016.export.gov/discoverglobalmarkets/buildingsmartcities/index.asp

Photos courtesy:  ©2016 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

A Story About How Going Global Isn't Easy

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CEO and Co-Founder of Los Angeles, CA-based Enplug, Nanxi Liu, makes going global easy but it wasn't always that way. At 26, she leads a company that develops digital display software for Fortune 500 companies and small businesses around the globe.  How did she convince top management at her firm to take the plunge globally?

I had to show them that expanding our licensing internationally would be worth the risk. I also thought it could be helpful in motivating our development team if they saw our software being used abroad. When we got positive feedback from our new European distributor, it was definitely motivating for our team.That initial spark helped me convince the other founders to expand our international presence.

Read more:  How Does This 26-Year-Old CEO Negotiate Business Globally?  With Respect

The Relationship Between Language and Culture

Today in Global Small Business: Local Payments, Global Reach

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

• What are ways to lose import-export customers? Find out here with an article I wrote.
• Small businesses that export sell more and grow faster and bigger.
• How to ensure a successful global product launch.
• How to create a successful global brand.
• Get paid faster, here's how.
• Local payments, global reach.

Sweet Home of Chicago Cubs

©2016 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"I would want to go to the future, 25 years in the future, and see if the [Chicago] Cubs ever win a World Series." -- Jake Johnson

Get Your Boots On the Ground

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Oh there are so many ways to reach out to the world for business, especially if you have an Internet connection and know how to do a good job with online marketing.  But at some point, as we all know it based on our "local" experiences, you have to meet face-to-face with people you intend to do business with.

Think of the notion of getting married without ever dating the person.  Not going to happen.  The same principal holds true with developing a customer relationship.  You've got to meet in person, get your boots on the ground, to experience the real deal.

Think I'm wrong?  Read on:  6 Tips For Expanding Your Startup Internationally

The Global Small Business Blog Is a Top Tech Blog Winner in 2016

©2016 Broadview Networks.  All rights reserved.

The Global Small Business Blog is proud to be amongst the prestigious group of winners at the Top Tech Blogs 2016.  Broadview Networks (BN) chose 37 Top Tech Blogs from almost 300 nominations.  Do we need to mention that choosing winners for BN gets more difficult every year?

Take a look at the winners here and their answers to three questions.  The blogs mentioned, including The Global Small Business Blog, have demonstrated an inside knowledge of their industry, and they offer readers legitimate, detailed analysis.  Congratulations to our peers.  We are in good company!

And thank you to BN for pulling this together!  We are proud and humbled to be named a winner.

Global Expansion at QuickBooks

©iStock/Jacob Ammentorp Lund

Intuit, the developer of QuickBooks, cited a study of small businesses in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia that shows a dramatic increase in cloud, app and mobile usage amid small businesses over the past few years.

Findings from the study:

• 62 percent of small businesses operate in the cloud, up from 37 percent
• 68 percent use apps, up from 50 percent
• 63 percent run their business with a smartphone, up from 43 percent

Intuit's strategy is to expand globally by focusing on developer input and at the same time help developers improve app user experience.

Learn more:  QuickBooks Online drive developer outreach to fuel global growth

Ex-Im Bank Reduces Risk

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If an American small business can’t find some way to cover financial risks (e.g., getting paid), typically they won’t bid on the projects, and the buyer will purchase their goods from another nation. Sad but true.  Although that's where Ex-Im Bank comes in handy.

“We reduce the risks,” [Fred] Hochberg [president and chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the United States] told a packed room of Inland business leaders Monday [10/24/16]. “If you sell goods abroad you have to think about the financial risks.”

Ex-Im Bank was responsible for more than 52,000 American jobs in 2015.

Read more:  Ex-Im chair touts global trade to Inland leaders

Today in Global Small Business: Why Going Global Is An Important Goal for Australian Startups

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

• Join me at the WEGG Workshop in Chicago on November 9th to learn more about how to take a business global.
• Why you should engage a zero-defect, zero-effect model of manufacturing.
• Why going global is an important goal for Australian startups.
• Research shows that USA is now prime location for UK retailers in global e-commerce.
• DocuSign Payments simplifies collecting payments and signatures.
• Learn how Myanmar shifts gears to drive global growth in small business.

Tree House's Black Cat Ball

©2016 Laurel Delaney.  All rights reserved.

I'll be attending the Black Cat Ball, will you?  It is put on by Tree House and honors volunteers, supporters, staff and 45 years of companion animal rescue and adoptions, life-saving services and programs.

The event takes place today, October 22nd.  It's not too late to grab your ticket.  To learn more and to register, visit:  Black Cat Ball

There's a Lot More Opportunity Outside the United States

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When the going got tough for PureFit, a three-employee, just under $10 million Irvine, California-based company that makes nutrition bars, they took their business outside the United States. Why not?  There's plenty of room for growth outside your own borders.

Today, PureFit exports to 20 countries from Switzerland to Singapore. Foreign sales rose 53 percent in two years, accounting for a quarter of revenue and making up for domestic losses.

Find out how international business saved PureFit.  See how it can save or grow your business too.

Read more:  How hard is exporting?  Here's how one small Irvine business went global

Alert:  Watch Twitter's Hashtag:  #MakeTheWorldYourBusiness to see what's up at the 2nd Annual Global Small Business Forum!

What's Driving Global Payment Ecosystem Innovation?

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With the Internet opening up new buying and selling avenues, SMEs are now expanding their business outside their national boundaries.  So it only makes sense that SMEs will drive the payment revolution.  The biggest reason being that the new global SMEs are being run by tech-savvy young generation entrepreneurs and secondly that the business model allows for global scalability.

Read more:  Small and Medium Enterprises to Drive Global Payment Ecosystem

A Sense of True Accomplishment When You Open Your First Overseas Office

©iStock/KatarzynaBialasiewicz

When do you know it's time to take the leap and open an overseas office?  It can be an exciting thought but also a challenge to implement.  So why do it?

Well, imagining the payoff is as simple as spinning a globe. "The siren song of being in another market that's twice the size of your current market can be really strong," says Greg Schott, CEO of MuleSoft, which provides application networks for enterprise companies. MuleSoft earned its "unicorn" $1.5 billion valuation in part by making the leap abroad early on: Today the 10-year-old company has eight international offices, stretching from Hong Kong to Amsterdam to Buenos Aires.

Oh, and that's not all.

Read more:  What to Do Before You Open That First Office Overseas

Only 3 Days Left to Register for the 2nd Annual Global Small Business Forum in Chicago

Discover how you can make the world your business at the 2nd Annual Global Small Business Forum held in downtown Chicago on Friday, October 21st from 7:30 a.m. -- 4:30 p.m. Central time. Here's what you will get out of the program:

• Listen to more than a dozen experts and business owners talk about what they have done to expand their business internationally.
• Network, learn and have fun with more than 75 entrepreneurs, small business owners and service providers on what strategies and methods you need to put into place to be successful in the global marketplace.
• Receive a copy of the 2nd edition of my Exporting book endorsed by best-selling Good to Great author Jim Collins.
• Enjoy a continental breakfast and box lunch.
• Win an iPad Mini or a MIO Global health watch. 

Can't wait to see you there! 

To learn more and to register, visit:  http://www.globalsmallbusinessforum.com

Illustration credit:  ©2015 GSBB Media LLC.  All rights reserved.

Today in Global Small Business: Jack Ma's Future of Commerce

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

• Alibaba founder Jack Ma's future of commerce.
• Why UK small businesses aren't thinking globally.
• Four (4) days left to register for the 2nd Annual Global Small Business Forum held in Chicago 10/21.
• Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker says "small businesses are leading the way."
• Is it too early to be planning your 2017 e-commerce holiday calendar (I don't think so).
• The silver bullet for helping small businesses trade: Plurilateral agreement on de minimis.

The Second Spring

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower." -- Albert Camus

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

Trade Is the Foundation of Peace

©iStock/Hibrida13

When John R. Kasich, governor of Ohio, talks about the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), he believes there is only one path to take in order to keep the United States a global leader:

"For me, the only common-sense direction is forward, because trade is the foundation of peace. Not only will the TPP promote peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, but also it will help maintain the United States’ essential strength in that hemisphere at a time of increased Chinese and Russian assertiveness."

Read more:  Refusing to ratify TPP risks America's role as the world leader