Small Business

©iStock/LDProd China has more than a billion people and is tapping into markets such as India and Africa -- capturing markets that account for more like three to four billion users, in places with fast emerging middle classes. "If you are banker and you are in transaction banking, you are foolish if you think in five years' time the majority of your customers' transactions will be conventional supply chain transactions, or conventional trade transactions. They and a growing host of new businesses, often global SMEs, will be trading through platforms like Alibaba. So the banking side of the business will gravitate towards Alibaba, and there may be one or two other platforms competing alongside them." For example, if we are leaning toward a platform-based global commerce economy, what about Google, Facebook, eBay and Amazon?  Don't underestimate their capabilities. Read more:   Alibaba advances:  How China is using fin tech to take control of global trade

©iStock/killerbayer When it comes to online activities, Amazon changed the way we shop, especially on books.  Just look at the state of Borders who turned over its online keys to Amazon back in the early days and Barnes and Noble who seems to operate only in big cities.  How are they fairing?  Now Amazon is not only opening brick and mortar bookstores but is changing the way we ship, or at least the choices we make when we buy from Amazon and have our merchandise delivered. ... Amazon has moved openly and aggressively to increase its reach, capabilities and capacity in the logistics and distribution arena. The Seattle-based company purchased thousands of trailers blazoned with Amazon logos in the U.S., registered as a non-vessel-operating common carrier to better manage the flow of goods from China to the U.S. and leased 20 U.S. domestic cargo planes from Air Transport Services Group. Are we in for market disruption in the logistics industry?

©iStock/BobYue The secret to billions of customers finding you is to build a world stage comprising of a combination of social tools such as a blog (like this one), Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest, as well as cultivate a brand presence on a website, mobile apps and other online databases. Using a proven e-commerce platform such as Amazon, eBay or Etsy is beneficial too, provided its visitors are in line with your ideal target market.   Just remember that each of these platforms takes a percentage of the transaction profits and, in some cases, they even charge a monthly subscription fee. I always caution people to read the fine print when it comes to your costs. After you test your products in new online marketplaces and enjoy significant revenue returns, it is then time to advance and create your own ecommerce platform to sell to the world and pocket all the profits. -- Source:   Business Success Strategies Q&A with Laurel Delaney: Going Global for Bus