globalEDGE International Business Blog

Next week their are two themes of importance in the global community. We will be highlighting International Education Week, which is an opportunity to celebrate the benefits of international education and exchange worldwide. However, don't forget about Global Entrepreneurship Week, which is an initiative to inspire young people around the world to embrace innovation, imagination and creativity. So please join us next week as we explore the many aspects that make education and  the global exchange so great, and don't forget to continue to innovate, imagine, and create!

Congratulations on your new business! There are a lot of new and exciting opportunities to choose from. How do you know what will be best? By following these tips, your business can avoid frequent run-ins with the phrase, “There’s just one catch.”

It’s hard to deny that the business climate for women is changing. Fifteen Fortune 500 companies are currently run by women, up from twelve last year.  Twenty-eight companies have women doing the top job in the Fortune 1000. Yet challenges still exist for women, namely in the international business world. Recently, Mrs. Evelyn Mungai of Nairobi, Kenya, an international business entrepreneur, visited Indianapolis to speak to the National Association of Women Business Owners about these challenges and how to overcome them. She is currently the owner of Evelyn’s School of Design, an internationally-acclaimed business that has been going strong for 33 years.

It isn’t a secret that many aspects of developing countries are unappealing to the global businessperson. Decrepit urban and rural areas, lawlessness, and violence often cause companies to avoid these areas either out of fear for employee safety, logistics, or simply because they can’t find a way to make doing business there profitable. However, the fact still stands that these areas have hundreds of millions of potential customers lacking many goods and services. Additionally, there have been numerous pioneering companies which have had to modify their business strategies in order to adapt to the economic climate of these regions, and have subsequently thrived there. Here are a few of the issues that have arisen in these areas, and tips from successful companies on how they’ve handled them:

MSNBC gives answers to questions small business entrepreneurs have - but we at globalEDGE like to ponder how this advice would be different if they were overseas. The video presents information that can be helpful to many entrepreneurs and gives advice that can easily be implemented in everyday management activities.

Do you have any thoughts on how the business climate is different internationally?

“Less is more.” It is a phrase often used and many tend not to believe it – especially when it comes to business. This lesson especially applies to small business entrepreneurs would be worried that they do not have enough capital to achieve their goals. When a company is operating on a tight budget, it will tend to have a lean cost structure and accordingly perform much better than a company that has received a lot of cash from venture capital firms.

Recently, CNN Money’s Small Business section featured a great article on the "seven deadly sins" of entrepreneurship. According to SCORE, a nonprofit in support of entrepreneurial success, 2007 saw over 560,000 small business closures and over 28,000 bankruptcies! Additionally, only 31% of small businesses survive for seven years or more.

A recent report done by Small Business Trends highlights the top 10 global small business trends to look for in 2009:

1. Disruptive innovation will be both the coolest and hottest new growth strategy in 2009 because it will transcend all boundaries and transform businesses.

A couple months ago, we posted our very first gE blog series on Global Entrepreneurship. One of the topics we had discussed was the growing ease of not only starting a business, but also expanding your reach internationally due to increased access to computer and information technology. The internet in particular is a key development in this respect.

In today's tough economic climate, many small businesses are worried whether or not they will survive. If the future isn't looking bright, you may want to give exporting another look. A variety of factors make now a better time than ever:

• A weak dollar means, relative to the field, your products are on sale.
• Depression? Not everywhere in the world! Look to other markets to fill in for slumping domestic demand.
• Is your product seasonal? Look to a different hemisphere to fill in off-season sales.
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