How to Cultivate Global Clients Using the Web

With technology tools and the Internet, everyone realizes it's a lot easier to connect globally and cultivate clients from all parts of the world.

Here's a look at how a couple of small business owners are doing just that.

How Small Businesses Are Going Global - The Network:  Cisco's Technology News Site

Posted by:  The Global Small Business Blog

The Golden Dragon: China's Favorite Pen

When you travel overseas to meet with customers and suppliers, it's always a nice gesture to bring a gift.  It should never be anything too expensive.  Rather, it's the thought that counts. 

Some of the items I have given to customers are Chicago (my home city) t-shirts or baseball caps from a winning athletic team (think the Bulls or the White Sox), special chocolates (e.g., Frango mints formerly produced by Marshall Field and Company and now Macy's) or a nice Parker pen.

If you are traveling to China, it's looks like the Parker Golden Dragon pen is the one to give.  The pricier the better.  And here I thought it was important to give a gift with the cache of America.  Live and learn.

Read:  In China the Pen Is Mightier When It's Pricier

How We Learn Worldly Wisdom

Photo credit:  ©Laurel Delaney 2011

By three methods we may learn wisdom:  First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest. ~ Confucius

Photo credit:  ©Laurel Delaney 2011, "Loyola University Chicago Lake Shore Library, Reflection"

Expand Abroad, Locally: It's Called Selling to An Export Trading Company

Frank Lavin, the U.S. Commerce Department’s former undersecretary for international trade and also a former U.S. ambassador to Singapore says this:

“The smaller the company, the less practical it becomes to learn a new language, deal with new tax codes and currencies and to take a huge global risk.”

Laurel here:  totally do not agree.  Think of it this way:

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." ~ Chinese Proverb

Laurel's version:

"So give a small business owner a local sale with a premium transaction fee attached and you allow them to increase their revenues for a day. Teach a small business owner how to export and you allow them to go global for a lifetime." ~ Laurel's export-related twist on Chinese Proverb

Lavin's solution?  Export Now (his new company).

Here is how it works: American businesses mail their goods, on consignment, to Export Now’s U.S. facilities. From there, items are collected and shipped by sea to a warehouse in China. Once the merchandise arrives in China, business owners are free to begin advertising and selling their items on Tmall.com, an online marketplace similar to eBay.

Catch or cost?

There is an annual fee of $3,000, plus a 10 percent transaction fee on each sale.  Ouch!

Anyone ever hear of the Export Trading Company Act (1982)?

The Export Trading Company Act (ETCA) was created by Congress to enable U.S. firms to collaborate with each other to reduce their exports costs, become more efficient at exporting, and, in turn, compete more effectively in the export market.

Another definition here.

Read the entire article about Lavin's new export trading company here.

Illustration credit here.

Never Sell Globally on Open Account; Here's Why

What is open account? 

Open account means you ship goods or sell services globally without any guarantee of collecting payment on a transaction.

Read more to find out why you should never sell on open account -- no ands, ifs or buts.

Blogs on Entrepreneurs | Crain's Chicago Business

Collecting Payment When Your Customer is 12,000 Miles Away

by Laurel Delaney

Posted by:  The Global Small Business Blog

LIVE From Singapore: The World Entrepreneurship Forum 2011

The 2011 edition of the World Entrepreneurship Forum takes place in Singapore from November 2-5, 2011 at the Shangri-la Hotel, Singapore -- where 150 members from 70 countries, mainly entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs -- will gather for three days to suggest recommendations on "Entrepreneurship -- a Driver For Innovation and Technology."

• Opening session takes place Singapore time on November 2nd at 6.00 p.m.
• "Entrepreneur for the World" Gala Ceremony on November 3rd in the evening
• Closing lunch on November 5th at 12:30 noon

WorldEntrepreneurshipForum2011Presentation.pdf (Download PDF: 2.17 MB)

Watch LIVE here (look at left sidebar where it says DIRECT Access)

Illustration credit:  World Entrepreneurship Forum

Related posts:  World Entrepreneurship Forum

Full disclosure:  Laurel Delaney is a member of the World Entrepreneurship Forum

How a Week in Entrepreneurship Became Global

In two weeks, Global Entrepreneurship Week kicks off with more than 40,000 events spread out over a seven day period in 123 countries with nearly 10 million fans across the planet.

As reported by Jonathan Ortmans for The Policy Dialogue on Entrepreneurship which brings to light various policies and initiatives to advance innovation and drive economic growth:

Above all, what excites me (from Jonathan Ortmans) about Global Entrepreneurship Week is how it has become truly global. While we know innovation itself is blind to national borders, Global Entrepreneurship Week is showing us that the innovators too seem to have more in common with each other than their own elders. They now form a gloriously messy cacophony of informal startup networks fueled by the challenges of a less predictable and more decentralized world. 

Are you involved?  Get going global here.

Illustration credit:  Unleashing Ideas