Small Business

©iStock/FeelPic Over 250 million companies around the world transact goods and services worth US$120 trillion annually - making the opportunities in international trade tremendous for the businesses involved. The potential for a single business to transact with hundreds to thousands of buyers or suppliers around the world should be the dream of any business owner. However, it is typically the larger corporations - and even so only a fraction of them - that are able to internationalize successfully. Come 2019, businesses will be able to access, retrieve and exchange key information relating to themselves and their trading partners through the Mastercard Track Trade Directory, a secure central database with over 150 million companies registered worldwide. Learn more about Mastercard Track Directory and how to make the business of doing global business easier . from The Global Small Business Blog https://ift.tt/2rdLCbx The Business of Doing Global Business Easier-Small B

©iStock/siraanamwong Despite their scope and impact, SMEs have a harder time getting financing than larger established firms. According to the World Bank, it is estimated that their global financing shortfall is around $2.6 trillion. “The potential benefits are vast and global in scale,” said Gerry Tsoukalas, Wharton professor of operations, information and decisions, who was part of the team [from MIT, Wharton and Boston College]. Small and medium-size enterprises, he said, represent the backbone of many economies in the world, and they account for more than half of the jobs as well as a third of global GDP. This leads to the creation of a new blockchain-based system that has the potential to disrupt the global supply chain. Called ‘ b_verify ,’ the system is designed to help small and medium-size enterprises — especially those in developing nations — get financing from lenders at potentially better terms while mitigating warehouse deposit fraud. Learn more about 'b_

from The Global Small Business Blog https://ift.tt/2BEeBey NASA's Insight Spacecraft Landing on Mars-Small Business

©iStock/MillefloreImages Giving Tuesday is trying to go global. Which, according to a Brit, is a tough sell, given what it considers its links to the all-American festival of Thanksgiving. Here in London, my friends and I have been bombarded with advertisements for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. (What Amazon can flog in Boston, Amazon will flog in Belgravia.) Small Business Saturday has also taken off, largely as a social media opportunity for UK politicians to be photographed enthusiastically at small businesses in their constituency. (The basics of local politics also cross borders.) Unmoored from any connection with Thanksgiving, it is marked on the first Saturday in December as a build-up to Christmas shopping. The USA serves as a role model by paving the way to interconnect with the world. "The culture of American exceptionalism that has graced this nation since our founding encourages risk-taking. In the U.S., more so than anywhere else, success born of risk-ta

©iStock/DaLiu What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners: If you aren't doing something uncomfortable, you aren't growing.  Ready to change that?  Register for an absolutely free-of-charge wegginar®  on 12/5 to put yourself out there.  UNCTAD is making trade data freely available through a user-friendly interface called HelpMeTrade.org . DataReportal offers hundreds of free reports packed with data, insights, and trends to help you make more informed decisions. Quote of the week:  "May your walls know joy, may every room hold laughter, and every window open to great possibility.” -- Mary Anne Radmacher A Swedish restaurant is named Best Small Business Business In America. Beautiful destinations around the world -- from a Pinterest board .  from The Global Small Business Blog https://ift.tt/2DZqcY9 Today in Global Small Business: Beautiful Destinations Around the World-Small Business

Founded in Chicago in 1997, Pick Me Up Cafe was one of the first restaurants in the city to offer vegan and vegetarian fare. PMU Cafe prides itself on being able to serve people with all types of food preferences.  The food is delicious with plentiful portions.  Plus, you can see by the photos what a treat it is to visit.  Oh, and did we mention it's within walking distance of the 'L' red line train stop at Addison near Wrigley Field? Photos courtesy:  @2018 Laurel J. Delaney .  All rights reserved. from The Global Small Business Blog https://ift.tt/2AiO5pg Pick Me Up Cafe: Open in Chicago When You Are-Small Business

©iStock/Prykhodov Before you develop your LinkedIn strategy and promote your domestic business to a global audience, here are five things you should consider. Understand who your prospect is and go beyond local limits. Understand LinkedIn specifics and how you can best leverage them to go global. Write your LinkedIn headline in a way that will leave your international prospects thinking, "Yes!" Write an attractive LinkedIn summary -- not a resume, but something that might help the reader with a specific need. Understand the cultural habits and customs of the people you are trying to reach. Read the entire article here . from The Global Small Business Blog https://ift.tt/2qXoD4q Using LinkedIn to Grow Your Business Globally-Small Business