It's Getting Ugly For Global Small Businesses

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As the first wave of US aid runs short – and landlords and lenders lose patience – lawmakers are in tense negotiations over a new round of stimulus, which could include more money for global small businesses.

Most firms have already run out of the money they secured from the $600 billion Paycheck Protection Program, according to a survey released this week from the National Federation of Independent Business, a leading trade group for small US firms.

Learn more how US small businesses, especially those in the hospitality, food and retail space, face mass closures without more pandemic aid.

Can Big Global Companies Conduct Themselves in a Neutral Way?

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Heads of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google testify on big tech's power in the online global economy.  Can big global companies, when the pressure is on, conduct themselves in a totally neutral way?

Read more.  See what you think.  I wonder... are they squashing competition, especially the little guys, in favor of their own service?

Who Was the Aid (PPP) Intended For?

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The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was billed by the U.S. Treasury Department as a way for small businesses with generally fewer than 500 employees to cover overhead, retain employees, and rehire those who had been laid off as a result of the pandemic.

But data released earlier this month by the U.S. Small Business Administration shows large PPP loans were received by District-based companies that have global business interests, pay some of their employees six-figure salaries, and, in certain cases, appear to have other means of raising money. (Precise loan amounts weren’t specified in the data; the SBA reported loan ranges up to $10 million.)

Explore more about how big D.C. companies scooped up pandemic aid intended for small businesses.

Take a Time Out to Remember Who We Are: Americans (Video)

Today in Global Small Business: Let's Fix This Because the Pandemic Hurts Working Mothers

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

• The New York Times asked students, from kindergarten to 12th grade, what it’s like to learn from home. Here’s what they had to say, in their own words — and drawings.
• Women’s careers could take long-term hit from coronavirus pandemic.  
• Quote of the week:  "It's more pressure on women to - if they marry or partner with someone, to partner with the right person. Because you cannot have a full career and a full life at home with your children if you are also doing all of the housework and child care. – Sheryl Sandberg
• Even before pandemic, working parents struggled to achieve the 'Dreams Of The Overworked'.
• The pandemic is hurting Canada's working mothers.
• Guilt-ridden and exhausted, parents are wary of another home-front battle.

Cultivate the Garden for the Nose

©2020 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"It is a golden maxim to cultivate the garden for the nose, and the eyes will take care of themselves." – Robert Louis Stevenson

Grab Your Out of This World Free Constellation Prize

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The Hubble Space Telescope has roamed galaxies for far away, capturing stellar snapshots of distant planets, exploding stars, and other cosmic wonders.  To mark the project's 30th anniversary, NASA went back through all those shots and chose 366 – one for every day of the year – for an online gallery.

Enter your birthday or any day and get ready to see something out of this world.

Visit:  https://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/hst_bday/

Where Women Made History

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Any idea where Emma Willard established the country's first secondary school for women?  Or where America's first female dentist set up shop?

In honor of the centennial of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote, the National Trust for Historic Preservation is crowdsourcing 1,000 locations where ladies made history – including sites both landmarked (the home of Susan B. Anthony where she was arrested for voting in 1872) and overlooked (the house where Juliette Gordon Low held the first-ever Girl Scouts meeting).

Plus, the National Trust's African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund has awarded grants to 27 organizations to help them preserve Black history.

To help put women on the map and enrich our future, visit:  SavingPlaces.org

TradeDepot: eCommerce Platform for Consumer Goods in Africa

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Since its launch in 2016, TradeDepot, the B2B eCommerce platform for consumer goods in Africa,  has built a network of more than 40,000 micro retailers in Nigeria. Working with global distributors and manufacturers including Nestlé, Unilever, GB Foods and Danone, TradeDepot makes household supplies, such as milk, soap, detergent and other essentials more accessible and affordable for the informal urban retail networks it operates in.

Cooler than all that is this:  TradeDepot has raised a further $10 million in a pre-Series B equity round co-led by Partech, International Finance Corporation, Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi) and MSA Capital.

Learn more about how a new investment will enable access to credit for retailers and Africa expansion.

Mask Guidance and Requirements: USA

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Masks are effective in minimizing the spread of COVID-19.  In an attempt to curb a recent spike in cases, many USA governors have issued orders requiring masks to be worn in public.

As is the case with many corona-related issues; however, guidance related to mask-wearing consists of a patchwork of rules across counties and states, which undermines consumer confidence and thus slows the recovery of economic activity. 

Learn state by state mask guidance and requirements here.

Today in Global Small Business: The World Has Lost a Legend

©2020 Laurel J. Delaney photo.  Pin courtesy Bob Marovich.  All rights reserved.

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

• How to build an anti-racist company (requires a free trial).
• Walt Disney recently named company veteran Jill Estorino president and managing director of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products International, effective immediately.
• Quote of the week:  "When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up. You have to say something; you have to do something." – John Lewis
• Register for the Women Presidents' Organization Digital Conference July 22-23, 2020.
• This is what chief economists (a WEF offering) think about the global economy right now.
• The world has lost a legend:  Rep. John Lewis, a force in the civil rights movement, dead at 80. 

Let the Soul Be Strengthened, Ambition Inspired and Success Achieved

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"Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved." –  Helen Keller

Big Scooter Company in Taiwan Preps for Global

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Gogoro is probably best-known internationally for its electric SmartScooters, which are now the category’s top-sellers in Taiwan.

While less known outside of the country, however, scooter-sharing startup WeMo has grown steadily since launching in 2016. It now has a fleet of more than 7,000 scooters in three of Taiwan’s biggest cities and says users take about one million rides per month.  As result of this robust activity, WeMo is gearing up for international expansion, launching first in Southeast Asian countries.

In Taiwan, WeMo competes with iRent, a car and scooter rental service, as well as GoShare, the mobility-sharing platform Gogoro launched a year ago.

Learn more about how WeMo is focused on creating smart tech specifically for sharing scooters.

Open a New Window to the World

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A little surprise for you.  Visit WindowSwap.

Small Businesses Must Expand Their Global Footprint to E-Commerce

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If small businesses expand their footprint from their physical location into the digital space, then they can reach a level playing field with big-box retailers and meet today’s consumers’ needs.

Learn more about why it's time for global small businesses to utilize e-commerce.

Tracking the Global Pandemic

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According to National Public Radio (NPR), more than 3 million people in the United States have tested positive for the coronavirus and more than 130,000 have died. Though growth in new cases slowed in late spring, by mid-June new cases began to trend upward nationally.

Explore the trend in new cases in your state to see whether cases are rising, falling or staying level. You can view the data via a heat map, a curve chart and a table with details on each state's case trends over the last three weeks. Or to see states' total cases and deaths on a map, click here.

Today in Global Small Business: How Leaders Can Chart a Course For Their Organizations and Guide Their Teams Through Tumultuous Times

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

• Microsoft launches initiative to help 25 million people worldwide acquire the digital skills needed in a COVID-19 economy.
• The coronavirus first hit large, globally connected cities, but is now spreading rapidly throughout the South and in smaller places.
• Quote of the week:  "I do not think that there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance.  It overcomes almost everything, even nature." – John D. Rockefeller
• The pandemic has dramatically changed the world we know. Here’s how leaders can chart a course for their organizations and guide their teams through tumultuous times.
• Mark your calendar now for next Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global® #wegginar 8/12 at 11AM CT.
• Everyone worldwide can now sign up for our 5th Annual Global Small Business Forum held VIRTUALLY on October 16, 2020 (morning program).  Whether you are based in South Africa, Ireland or the United States, you may join us!  Hooray!  To learn more and to register, visit, http://globalsmallbusinessforum.com.  

The World Is Waiting For You

©2020 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"The world is waiting for you.  Good luck.  Travel safe.  Go!" – Phil Keoghan

During COVID-19: Turn Your Love Around

TikTok Challenges

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Beijing-based ByteDance, TikTok’s owner, recently launched a new platform to court small business advertisers is fraught with challenges, especially after the Trump administration's threat this week to impose a ban on China-based social media apps.

The new self-service ad platform, which lets companies purchase ads without needing to speak with a sales team, is key to TikTok’s ability to turn its red hot short video sharing app into a viable advertising business.

Learn more here.