The Global Small Business Blog

MARCH 27, 2024

©iStock/Jian Fan Artificial Intelligence is a top emerging technology with applications across industries and implications for our society. It has been reshaping the global economy and national security. The global AI industry is thriving. In 2021 (latest report), AI global funding doubled to $66.8 billion, and a record 65 AI companies reached $1B+ valuations, up 442% from the previous year.

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The Global Small Business Blog

MARCH 26, 2024

©iStock/Suphanat Khumsap Export controls and economics sanction compliance is a key part of any multinational’s international regulatory risk management. The U.S. government has prioritized enforcement of export controls and economic sanctions laws and regulations, and penalties in individual enforcement actions can reach the hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars.

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The Global Small Business Blog

MARCH 12, 2024

©iStock/metamorworks From a global standpoint, almost three-quarters (73 percent) of business leaders are excited by the potential of AI and large language models (LLMs) for business expansion—and this excitement is well-warranted. AI and LLMs are going to enable global growth in a way never before seen. Learn more how AI will shape global business expansion in 2024 and the top 4 trends to watch.

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The Global Small Business Blog

MARCH 2, 2024

©2024 Laurel J. Delaney. All rights reserved. "Love is like wildflowers; it’s often found in the most unlikely places.

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The Global Small Business Blog

FEBRUARY 27, 2024

©iStock/Thinkhubstudio What was globalization meant to be? Brining the world closer together, enmeshing advanced and developing economies in a web of mutually beneficial economic and financial linkages. From about the mid-1980s, trade and financial flows between countries expanded rapidly as governments dismantled barriers to these flows. Not everything went according to plan.

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Government 215

The Global Small Business Blog

FEBRUARY 26, 2024

©iStock/FeelPic What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners: Global small businesses need financial services , not charity. Today’s small businesses face extraordinary multi-layered challenges on local, state, national and global levels. Here's why. China holds the key to speeding up debt relief and ending the “silent crisis” that is holding back attempts to tackle poverty in the world’s poorest countries, a senior World Bank official has said.

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The Global Small Business Blog

FEBRUARY 22, 2024

©iStock/tomertu Ground breaking event! Consumers in the United States can now pre-order a genetically engineered plant for their home or garden that glows continuously. At a base cost of US$29.00, residents of the 48 contiguous states can get a petunia (Petunia hybrida) with flowers that look white during the day; but, in the dark, the plant glows a faint green.

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Engineering 199

The Global Small Business Blog

FEBRUARY 21, 2024

©iStock/Dzurag May Alexei Navalny's heroic sacrifice be a wakeup call to all. Note: Photo is of a young girl putting her hand to a frosted wall in support of Alexei Navalny during a rally against his arrest in Moscow on January 23, 2021.

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The Global Small Business Blog

FEBRUARY 16, 2024

©iStock/Jirsak If you’re looking to increase your revenue and see real conversions, Amazon audience targeting helps maximize your ad budget. Amazon provides the perfect opportunity to sell to millions online, extending reach far beyond a brick-and-mortar storefront. Due to the sheer volume of web traffic that Amazon receives each month, many sellers focus all of their efforts exclusively there rather than open their Direct to Consumer (DTC) website. eCommerce brands will see greater success by n

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The Global Small Business Blog

FEBRUARY 12, 2024

©iStock/ma_rish What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners: What you should expect in the Year of the Dragon 2024. The Year of the Wood Dragon 2024, an explainer. The Year of the Dragon, predictions for your Chinese zodiac sign. Quote of the week: "You’re a Dragon, and of all the signs only a Dragon can tame the fates.

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The Global Small Business Blog

FEBRUARY 8, 2024

©iStock/Stock photo and footage Building a global company is easier, but also more nuanced and complex, than ever before. In the past, companies could limit expansion in a more controlled fashion to just one market at a time. In the digital age, global growth is far more continuous and incremental in nature. But with this new approach comes risk: If your customers in one market receive less value than those in another, they perceive your offering differently.

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Marketing 196

The Global Small Business Blog

FEBRUARY 7, 2024

©iStock/IR_Stone The Dubai government’s $136 million SME push to help small business to globalize will trigger an immediate influx of entrepreneurs and top talents from around the world to either expand or set up new businesses in the emirate, before taking them global, because of the inclusivity of the initiative, experts and industry players said.

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The Global Small Business Blog

FEBRUARY 2, 2024

©iStock/LewisTsePuiLung A Hong Kong court on recently ordered the liquidation of Evergrande, the heavily indebted Chinese property giant. The decision comes two years after the company defaulted, setting off a financial crisis at other developers and adding to the challenges facing the world’s second-largest economy. The company’s dissolution raises questions about fairness for overseas creditors — which could have wider implications for foreign businesses operating in China.

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The Global Small Business Blog

JANUARY 19, 2024

©iStock/Author In a recent policy brief published by the Dag Hammarsköld Foundation and the United Nations, the common approach to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has been to track progress on a global and country-by-country basis and to argue for policy change, for more investment, and more innovation. These are important elements of a strategy to achieve the SDGs, but what has been missing is to design, fund, and implement investment programs in a way that systematically and

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The Global Small Business Blog

JANUARY 15, 2024

©iStock/Kirkikis What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners: Tree of life celebrates MLK with Ebenezer Baptist Church. 9 places where you can walk in MLK Jr.'s footsteps. Celebrating MLK Day in Metro Atlanta, Georgia. Quote of the week: "Everybody can be great. because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve.

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The Global Small Business Blog

JANUARY 2, 2024

©iStock/Aliaksandr Bukatsich Save these for next year :-). Here are the best wishes, messages and quotes to share. And I don't think they are ChatGPT generated. But I wouldn't bet on it.

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The Global Small Business Blog

JANUARY 1, 2024

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The Global Small Business Blog

DECEMBER 28, 2023

©iStock/CoreDesignKEY Humane recently announced that the AI Pin , its splashy AI-powered wearable, will start shipping in March 2024. People who placed priority orders will get their devices first, and Humane says it will ship orders based on the date of purchase, according to a post on X (formerly Twitter). The device can pick from different AI services to respond to your queries — all without forcing you to look at a screen.

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Service 174

The Global Small Business Blog

DECEMBER 27, 2023

©iStock/fizkes Investing in women entrepreneurs and founders is a huge opportunity that both financial and ESG strategies have historically missed. Women-led companies yield better returns on investment (ROI), generating 78 cents for every dollar of funding; male-founded startups generate just 31 cents, according to research by BCG and MassChallenge.

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The Global Small Business Blog

DECEMBER 14, 2023

iStock/CherriesJD What is the outlook for worldwide and country-by-country retail and ecommerce sales in 2023 and beyond? Worldwide retail and ecommerce sales will see a decent rebound for digital sales and a slow deceleration for overall retail this year. Most national markets are also returning to normalcy, but a great deal of country-by-country variance remains.

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The Global Small Business Blog

DECEMBER 6, 2023

©iStock/Gerard1610 The current interconnected global economic system just isn't working, some economists say. They are calling for a recalculation of globalization, and what it means to be wealthy, independent, and secure. Globalization has had a rough time lately. Worldwide, just-in-time supply chains suffered under stiff tariffs. COVID-19 shutdowns and travel restrictions caused further distress.

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The Global Small Business Blog

NOVEMBER 27, 2023

©iStock/master1305 What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners: The Italian Made in Italy apparel and accessory brand Vicario Cinque is ready to further expand globally through a series of strategies in-keeping with its own identity, expertise, love for the environment, quality, savoir-faire. It's a bet on a lifestyle brand.

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Banking 193

The Global Small Business Blog

NOVEMBER 20, 2023

©iStock/Thinkhubstudio What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners: China, the new globalization and its ongoing transition. Is the U.S. trying try to shape a “ new economic world order ” around protecting workers? What is the Global South ? Quote of the week: “Globalisation has made us more vulnerable. It creates a world without borders, and makes us painfully aware of the limitations of our present instruments, and of politics, to meet its challenges."

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The Global Small Business Blog

NOVEMBER 10, 2023

©iStock/Peach_iStock November 2022 marked a mainstream shift in the release and adoption of various generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools and products. ChatGPT became the buzzword in the world’s boardrooms, on social media and at dinner parties, ushering in an AI divide, where a segment of the population fully embraced this technology, another was wary, and everyone else unsure.

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The Global Small Business Blog

NOVEMBER 1, 2023

©iStock/DKosig It goes without saying that intellectual property assets are the heart of a tech company's competitive advantage. So, you have to value them accurately to make informed decisions during global expansion. Before scaling, you need to conduct a thorough IP audit first. By assessing the strength, uniqueness, and market potential of your IP assets, you can determine your value in a global marketplace.

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The Global Small Business Blog

OCTOBER 30, 2023

©2023 Laurel J. Delaney. All rights reserved. What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners: The history of Halloween. Spooky Halloween traditions around the world. Halloween is gathering popularity around the world. Quote of the week: "It's Halloween; everyone's entitled to one good scare." – Brackett, Halloween There's so much to talk about regarding Halloween.

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The Global Small Business Blog

OCTOBER 19, 2023

©iStock/metamorworks Advanced economies are expected to slow from 2.6 percent in 2022 to 1.5 percent in 2023 and 1.4 percent in 2024 as policy tightening starts to bite. The baseline forecast is for global growth to slow from 3.5 percent in 2022 to 3.0 percent in 2023 and 2.9 percent in 2024, well below the historical (2000–19) average of 3.8 percent.

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The Global Small Business Blog

OCTOBER 18, 2023

©2023 Global TradeSource, Ltd. All rights reserved. LAST CHANCE to attend the 8th Annual Global Small Business Forum: Navigate Turbulence in the Global Marketplace (hybrid) on Friday, October 20, 2023. To sign up, visit here.

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The Global Small Business Blog

SEPTEMBER 29, 2023

©iStock/NVS In this interview with Boris Rütten, head of global ecommerce at CPG giant Henkel, he discusses the ever-changing landscape of global ecommerce , emphasizing the need for continuous adaptation and staying attuned to market trends in order to achieve sustainable growth. Three (3) key takeaways: Establishing successful partnerships in business requires a collaborative approach.

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The Global Small Business Blog

SEPTEMBER 28, 2023

©2023 Global TradeSource, Ltd. All rights reserved. ? ? ? Let's take on the world 10/20/23! ? ? ? Registration is OPEN for our 8th Annual Global Small Business Forum ( [link] ) brought to you by lead sponsor Associated Bank and hosted by Foley Lardner. Full disclosure: I [Laurel Delaney] serve as the Director for the Forum. We can't wait to see you Friday, October 20 from 8:00 AM CT – 11:30 AM CT.

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Banking Legal Services Finance Sourcing 228

The Global Small Business Blog

SEPTEMBER 27, 2023

©iStock/Iryna Imago Archana Sharma discovered EXIM bank at a trade show and it opened up new opportunities for her company [that is not mentioned in the article below]. I believe it is: AKAS – EXIM's Exporter of the Year in 2021. Back in her office, “I [Sharma] said, Hey, we can get credit insurance for exporting, so you know what? Next time let's tell them to buy $15,000 worth instead of $5,000 because we're going to give them insurance.

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The Global Small Business Blog

SEPTEMBER 26, 2023

©iStock/antonbrand The chorus of big names in tech who have weighed in on the question of risk around artificial intelligence now includes Bill Gates. Here's a few fresh ideas from Gates in an article by Will Douglas Heaven for MIT Technology Review.

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The Global Small Business Blog

SEPTEMBER 7, 2023

©iStock/melitas If you want to build a successful relationship with your customers, it is essential that you take time out to satisfy their needs, regardless of whether they understand your language. You could use picture cues if written or spoken communication is optional. Hiring a professional translation company or a linguist to help you is the most effective way to communicate efficiently with a foreign client.

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Efficiency 164

The Global Small Business Blog

AUGUST 29, 2023

©iStock/Choreograph Xero’s Future Focus AI research “surveyed over 3,000 small business owners from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States on what they are thinking, feeling and doing about AI.” The research has revealed that 80% of global small business owners are concerned AI development and adoption is “outpacing regulation, as generative AI tools permeate various industries and the workforce.

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Regulations Research 220

The Global Small Business Blog

AUGUST 28, 2023

©iStock/titoOnz What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners: Empowering entrepreneurs that light up the world. It's not just about kissing , there's a pattern here of emotional abuse by Spanish soccer federation president Luis Rubiales. A Kremlin-orchestrated hit: Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was on the plane that recently crashed and killed all ten on board.

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The Global Small Business Blog

AUGUST 9, 2023

©iStock/Yellow Man Inflation is the single most important problem for many global small-business owners, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) said, despite price rises slowing to their lowest level in two years in June. Many owners are also reporting a struggle to fill job openings, the federation said. The percentage of owners expecting an improvement in business conditions in the next six months rose by 10 points to a net negative 30, the highest reading in nearly two years b

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The Global Small Business Blog

AUGUST 8, 2023

©iStock/Sundry Photography Grace Owa, creator of Miss Nile Beauty Products , has a dream to take her homemade deodorant worldwide. "It is scary, but I'm not scared. If other people can go global, I can go global," Owa said. So she didn't hesitate to jump at the opportunity to try and sell her products at Walmart. After all, Walmart is global. If you think like Grace, Walmart is accepting open call applications through August 18, 2023 and encourages businesses of all types to apply.

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