Small Business

©2016 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved. "The American flag is the symbol of our freedom, national pride and history." -- Mike Fitzpatrick

©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/ramzihachicho The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Dubai have long been considered the gateway to global markets, especially with entrepreneurs who inherit or can tap into some serious money. The D.C.-based startup incubator and seed fund 1776 signed an agreement to open an outpost at the Dubai Museum of the Future Foundation , a new organization formed to promote innovation in the United Arab Emirates. The campus will showcase museum exhibits, host events and incubate startups. Read more:   1776 to open first international campus in Dubai

©iStock/NLshop Who is Korean-based Naver ? As the nation's largest web portal, Naver attracts more than 26 million visitors who enter over 300 million search queries and stream 18 million videos every day. As a business and content platform, it has 1.6 million local businesses, more than 400 professional webcomic authors, 150 web novel writers, 10,000 illustrators and 3,300 indie musicians. For content creators, Naver plans to help small businesses work in a sustainable environment and ultimately encourage them to go global as a way to motivate their creativity. Read more:   Naver vows to support small businesses, content creators

©iStock/francisLM What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners: China's new import regulations . Seven (7) ways to turn your cross-cultural understanding into a global competitive advantage (webinar 5/4; no charge). What is the Clover Online Store and how can it benefit you with an online presence? Manage your corporate relocation process with g lobal relocation software, tax compliance and expense management services . Tip of the week:  a tool to manage your international growth . Youths get hands-on lessons in going global.

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