Inaugurating New Mayor of Global City Chicago

Before Rahm Emanuel (pictured above) officially becomes Mayor of global city Chicago -- any minute now -- ... a picture taken of him October 23, 2010 at the Apple store opening Lincoln Park, Chicago.

Photo credits:  ©Laurel Delaney.  All rights reserved.

The Global Aspect of Business

The Pennsylvania School for Global Entrepreneurship (PSGE) at Lehigh University (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) brings American high school students (ages 15-18) together with International high school students from all regions of the world for a five-week residential global learning experience.

The purpose of the PSGE program is to expose students to the topics of entrepreneurship, globalization, team building, project management, leadership and working within a culturally diverse environment and to ignite the students’ spirit of creativity, innovation and learning.  

This makes me so happy to see!  The notion of getting people interested in entrepreneurship and globalization at a young age is fantastic.

How to qualify?

The program is open to all current high school sophomores and juniors (ages 15-18).  Application to PSGE is a competitive process. The selection committee evaluates each application individually, and looks for evidence of academic ability, leadership, entrepreneurship, and community service.  Students of any nationality are welcome to apply.  To date, the program has had participation from international students representing Afghanistan, Antigua Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Belarus, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Columbia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Netherlands, Palestine, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe.

Get involved!  Learn more here. 

Download applications:

•  International

•  United States

Spring Has Sprung: Free Screensaver For Everyone on the Planet!

"Every spring is the only spring - a perpetual astonishment." ~ Ellis Peters

Photo (click on to enlarge) credit:  Laurel Delaney ... right near the Old Water Tower, downtown Chicago ... and feel free to use as a screen saver!  

Posted by:  The Global Small Business Blog

Transitioning Your Illinois Business From Local to Global

If you operate an Illinois-based company, the link below is right up your alley!  It covers where to turn for help in taking your business from local to global.

Read:

Starter Kit for Illinois Businesses Looking to Export
by Laurel Delaney, for Crain's Chicago Business

Photo credit:  Laurel Delaney, John Hancock Building, Chicago

Posted by:  The Global Small Business Blog

Note:  We are experiencing some technical problems with our blog platform.  If you encounter a delay in posts, that's the reason.

How to Attract International Visitors to Your Local Business

Once upon a time there was a woman business owner who claimed her little cupcake shop in Chicago was drying up.

She bakes cupcakes from scratch in every imaginable flavor and size from her small bakery ...

Find out how she can increase sales and profitability so her business doesn’t shrivel up and even take her business to a whole new level (global).

Read my latest contribution:  From Cupcakes to Moneycakes:  3 Ways To Increase Sales and Profitability published at the American Express OPEN Forum via Small Business Trends

Photo credit:  Laurel Delaney

Posted by:  The Global Small Business Blog

Tariff on Pistachios in India

How to reduce the tariff on pistachios in India?

High tariffs can stagnate an otherwise ripe market. There is no better example than the tariff on pistachios in India, which, until this year, carried one of the highest pistachio tariffs in the world at just over 30 percent.

What happened?

Ultimately the combination of commercial and governmental advocacy, diplomatic efforts, and an India-focused approach paid off, and nearly two months ago Indian leadership reduced the tariff on pistachios from 30 percent to 10 percent. This news resulted in tremendous excitement ...

Read more here.

Posted by:  The Global Small Business Blog

How to Take Your Business to the Next Level By Going Global