Hello Global Small Business Owners: Join a Twitter Chat Today

Ref:  Heroes love company

In celebration of Small Business Week, two of my favorite small business experts, Rieva Lesonsky and Steve Strauss, invite you to join a live one-hour Twitter chat today, May 24th, from 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. EST.

During the chat, Rieva and Steve will discuss a breadth of issues facing small business owners every day including, but not limited to, revenue growth, talent management and retention, economic concerns, business challenges and personal sacrifices small business owners worldwide like you make to run their business.

The chat will be driven by findings from the inaugural Bank of America Small Business Owner Report.

Rieva and Steve will be available to answer your questions and provide insight on any specific pressing issues you may be dealing with.

To participate, check out @Rieva and @SteveStrauss Twitter accounts today (5/24), from 2:00 p.m. -  3:00 p.m. EST and join the conversation by using the hashtag #smallbizreport.

See you there!

Laurel Delaney on Scribd: 300,000+ Global Readers

We want to remind you to visit from time to time Scribd (Laurel Delaney) where more than 300,000 people have read Laurel's work on global small business and entrepreneurship.  Are you one of them?

Here's a sampling of some of the articles you'll find:

• Tip Sheet on How to Go Global (UPS)
• Trade Routes to China (WSJ)
• Go Global Now (Success Magazine)!
• How the Mighty Succeed Globally
• And more!

Posted by: The Global Small Business Blog

What It's Like to Run a Global Small Business in the Czech Republic

A day in the life of a Czech Republic global small business owner:

Czechs are quite technologically advanced. Almost everybody has internet access, and smart phones are widely popular. Also we are one of the few countries in the world where the local search engine is stronger than Google. It´s no wonder that most small business owners bet on internet marketing.

Is marketing a global small business in the Czech Republic done differently than any other part of the world?

Find out here.

Posted by:  The Global Small Business Blog

Tip for Global Small Businesses?

It's our monthly e-newsletter, Borderbuster!  You probably already know about it but just in case, go here to subscribe.

Tips for Small Businesses Going Global

And see what the Federation of International Trade Associations (FITA) says about Borderbuster.  They must like it because they featured it to more than 70,000 readers of their own newsletter!  They also mention The Global Small Business Blog and the About.com Import and Export site.

We are grateful and thank FITA for their support.  Our social media platforms are buzzing!

A Profit Lesson for Global Small Businesses

Wal-Mart (locations noted above) appears to be experiencing international growing pains.  Their strategy for driving global growth is working from a sales stand point but not necessarily from a profit or ease of doing business aspect.

... there’s a big problem with that growth strategy: operating margins are significantly worse internationally then they are in the U.S. In this quarter, U.S. operating margins came in at 7.42%, versus 3.93% for international operating margins. And after taking out currency effects, international operating income fell 3.3% year over year.

The lesson for global small businesses:  Monitor your operating margins country to country.   You may not be the size of Wal-Mart yet this is a common problem for any sized business operating internationally.  Keep your profits strong and healthy worldwide.
 
Read more here.   

Illustration credit:  Wal-Mart stores internationally

How to Run a Global Small Business on a Shoestring

Running a small business that takes on the world does not have to be costly.  Learn how Neil Payne set up his business on a laptop in a studio flat in 2004 and now oversees a company with offices in the UK, USA, Argentina, South Africa, Germany and the UAE.

Read tips on how he did it here.

Posted by:  The Global Small Business Blog

The Most Powerful Force in Business Today: The New Logistics

UPS is sponsoring an international business series over at Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing and Small Business Trends.

Be sure to check out both places for articles on global small business.

Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing:
Hidden Challenges Lurking in Global Business

Small Business Trends:
Become a Micro-Multinational Small Business in 5 Steps

Illustration credit here.

Posted by: The Global Small Business Blog