To The Year That Was

©2014 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"The spring, summer, is quite a hectic time for people in their lives, but then it comes to autumn, and to winter, and you can't but help think back to the year that was, and then hopefully looking forward to the year that is approaching." - Enya

How to Leverage Offshore Outsourcing

iStock/Thinkstock

With offshore outsourcing, small businesses can accomplish more, level the playing field and accomplish it all economically.  In the following article, the author provides four steps to maximize your outsourcing options and expand your business globally.

One quick tip from the article:

Your offshore outsourcing partner should be able to measure success and provide a solution that meets your needs instead of just a cookie cutter approach. 

Read:  4 Steps to Leverage Offshore Outsourcing for Global Expansion

Getting Started in Exporting. Are You Ready?

iStock/Thinkstock

View the latest webinar I presented for Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP): Getting Started in Exporting. Are You Ready? (requires a 5-second log-in).  Here's what you will learn:

• Why this is the best and easiest time ever to export!
• What you need to do to get your business export ready
• How to craft a back-of-the napkin export business plan
• How to create a social media and networking presence
• How to market your business worldwide
• How to use e-commerce sites as stepping-stones to export success 

Getting Started in Exporting.  Are You Ready?

The No. 1 Mistake to Avoid When Manufacturing Your Product Overseas

iStock/Thinknstock

Shark Tank's Lori Greiner, inventor of the smash-hit earring organizer, talks about the No. 1 mistake to avoid when manufacturing your product overseas.  She says:

Manufacturing overseas -- in say in Cambodia, China, Bangladesh, Honduras or India -- is often cheaper. But it’s not necessarily easier. Making the leap is the business equivalent of a trust fall.

She goes on to say that when you manufacture overseas, you trade lower cost for higher risk.

Read the entire article:

Shark Tank's Lori Greiner on the No. 1 Mistake to Avoid When Manufacturing Your Product Overseas

Related articles:

• 9 Importing Mistakes to Avoid When Sourcing a New Product
• The Biggest Mistake Importers Make
• 8 Tips for Newbie Importers

Entrepreneurship 3.0: Creating Unlimited Opportunities

iStock/Thinkstock

I am really looking forward to returning and participating in the World Entrepreneurship Forum 2014 held in Lyon, France (as shown) October 19th-22nd.  It's such an amazing experience to reconnect with entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurs, political decision-makers and international experts from all over the world.  This year’s forum is about no limits.  According to the World Entrepreneurship Forum's website:

Entrepreneurship 3.0

Entrepreneurship is heading towards a new paradigm, a third industrial revolution based on renewable energy and hyper-connectivity.

Unlimited

Today, with skills and motivation, entrepreneurs of any age, experience, gender or background can reach beyond the old frontiers.

Opportunities

New rules and new leaders accelerate the transition toward the new world order. While traditional employment markets shrink, entrepreneurs seize new sources of opportunities to generate positive change.

To learn more about the World Entrepreneurship Forum and to become a member, visit here.   Check out the brochure.

Related posts to the World Entrepreneurship Forum.  Here's one of the first posts I wrote back in 2008.

Today in Global Small Business: Why Businesses Are Thinking Globally From the Start

iStock/Thinkstock

What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners:

• How the U.S. government is trying to get more businesses to go international.
• With the launch of Apple Pay, is time running out for physical cash?
• IMF survey tells us what's in store for global growth.
• Why businesses are thinking globally from the start (hint: global mobile).
• How IBM is going global with its artificially intelligent computer system that processes vast amounts of big data to answer questions asked in natural language to the global corporations.
• How the economic recovery has given the richest countries in the world a boost.

Is Your State's Reputation As a Premier Global Business Destination Growing?

©2014 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Utah's reputation as a premier global business destination is growing." - Gary R. Herbert, Governor, State of Utah, October 7, 2014