How can a small business go GLOBAL?

How can a small business go GLOBAL?

Even if you have a small business with less than 10 employees engaged in consumer or scientific products, which you have been selling locally, you can consider going global. You can either import and distribute products from abroad or export products made in America to international markets or both.

First, you have to be part of, or at least familiar with, a particular industry, such as housewares, hardware, or ....

If you have been manufacturing and selling products in the American market, then you want to become familiar with markets in Europe, the Far East, Latin America, etc. by reading the trade press.

Probably the most important way to make actual contacts with buyers and sellers from abroad is through industry trade shows in this country and abroad because

-- people from all over the world can visit your booth and see your products so that you can begin a discussion of mutually NS YOU  advantageous trade opportunities

-- you can walk around and see what products are available from other countries -- what products appeal to you? what is the competition? who is distributing these products in the US? does anyone else have exclusivity for distribution? could you?

-- alternatively, foreign buyers could approach you about selling your products in their country -- then you would want to know what other products they carry and from which country? what are their distribution networks?

-- as you speak to people who have products attractive to you, be prepared to indicate your successes in your market and your potential for enhancing markets for your products and theirs.

The process requires a lot of research, but can lead to global possibilities you had not imagined before.

5 steps to get ready to launch a small global business:

1. Research your industry and market -- what are the new products? what kind of distributors and stores are likely to carry them? who will be the most likely end users?

2, Attend trade shows in your industry and talk to as many people as possible -- which are the major producers and distributors? what are their specialties?

3. Learn to observe and listen first before talking too much about yourself and your products

4. be ready to discuss the markets intelligently and, if possible, to tell success stories about your own business.

5. Financing -- where possible, begin as an agent of one or more other companies, where they carry the costs for production, import/export, warehousing, etc.

After you have learned the ropes, you will be in a better position to become your own boss as an importer/distributor and exporter.

If you consider global business an exciting adventure as a way to see and learn more about the world and to enlarge your profit-making potential, then go to it with hard work and imagination!

Why Not Extend the "Giving Pledge" to the Merely Wealthy!

The "Giving Pledge" for Billionaires has received wide publicity. Since Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett promulgated it in 2010, over 100 billionaires have signed on. But why should the central idea of pledging to give away half one's assets while still living or in one's will and estate be confined only to the super rich?

The concept of sharing half of one's resources with others for good causes might also be appropriate for those people having assets in nine, eight or even seven figures. Now that the cachet of the wealthiest people sharing a good portion of their fortunes to benefit society has caught on, why not extend giving more widely?

The Foundation Center could establish a national register of very wealthy donors divided by regions or states or other categories. Similar pledges could also be encouraged from wealthy people all over the world.

The major benefit of this campaign would be to encourage people to enrich their lives by pondering how to help others in a big way. They would not be legally bound to actually give half of their assets while alive, but they would signal that they really want to contribute to other people and society in a significant way.

SCAMS: How To Avoid Being Taken In

Scams are always lurking after emergencies like 9/11 and Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy. Then there are the con-artists who post pictures of hungry children far away or the semi-celebrities who set up their own "foundations" to battle cancer or other life-threatening diseases. The scams multiply at holiday times when well-intentioned people want to be especially charitable.

What can we do to avoid being taken in by scams (although some may slip through despite all our efforts)?

1) Direct your support to well-known, legitimate charities, or to organizations you know and related agencies they recommend.

2) Instead of just following your emotions, take some time to reflect about your priorities for your charitable efforts and to research several organizations in the area that interests you the most to find the one that has the greatest impact.

3) Since bogus charities often adapt names similar to bona fide ones, check out the exact name and leadership of the soliciting charities through the watchdog agencies, such as Charity Navigator (www,charitynavigator.org), GuideStar (www.guidestar,org), and Charting Impact (www,chartingimpact.org). 

Consult  Giving Is Not Just For The Very Rich: A How-to Guide for Giving and Philanthropy  by Dr. Susan Aurelia Gitelson for further guidelines.

Giving is at its best when it encourages other people to give

I established the Gitelson Award for "Human Values in International Affairs" at the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) a number of years ago. Originally it was interpreted by the SIPA awarders as a prize for human rights scholarship and action. Nonetheless, I maintained that the core concept went beyond just "human rights" and was applicable in all fields when people treated others from different backgrounds in a humane way. It was essential, moreover, to consider human values in economics, finance and other areas where the emphasis is usually more on profit and cost-benefit analyses than enhancing other peoples' lives.

As the award has evolved through the years, the winners have really come from a variety of disciplines. Lately, the prize has gone to collaborative groups in workshops often traveling to other countries on thoughtful missions. This year (2012) the award went to a workshop project on "Avoiding the Resource Curse in Uganda" under the supervision of Professor Jenik Radon. Eight students from Canada, India, Norway, the US and elsewhere worked in Uganda with Members of Parliament and others to emphasize that the revenues from newly discovered oil should not be concentrated among the elites, as happens in so many Middle Eastern, African and other countries, but rather should be distributed widely for the benefit of people throughout Uganda. They could find models, for example, in Canada and Norway.

When I met the awardees and their parents at the SIPA commencement in May, it was obvious that they had formed close bonds with each other and with the people they had met on their Uganda workshop. So much so that the eight recipients decided rather than keeping their prize money for themselves, together they would give all the funds to build wells in Ugandan villages so that the people would have easier access to essential water.

It is thrilling to know people who have taken what they have received and given it joyfylly to a project where it can make a difference. They demonstrated that they are likely to continue giving effectively to others in the future!

Nigerian businessman/banker promotes local entrepreneurship

Tony Elumelu, a successful Nigerian businessman, has started a foundation and invested $5 million with colleagues in 1997 to buy a weak Nigerian bank and then merge it with another group to become the most significant bank in West Africa. His approach is to encourage African businesses to promote economic growth and thereby to alleviate poverty. He calls this promoting of entrepreneurship "Africacapitalism". The effort combines supporting entrepreneurship, advocating government policies friendly to new enterprises, and providing capital to business with social purposes. (see "The Giveaway," by Caroline Preston, http://www.philanthropy.com/, May 30, 2012)

This African-led approach is spreading throughout the continent through the Tony Elumelu Foundation, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation (originating in the Sudan, but headquartered in London), and other African-led efforts. For more on African self-reliance approaches, see http://www.tonyelumelufoundation.org/.

Empowering local people is central for international aid

American foreign aid under Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and USAID has moved from just feeding the hungry to "providing tools to spur long-term economic growth," according to Dan Glickman (NY Times, letter to the Editor, July 23, 2012). The writer, who was agriculture secretary in the Clinton administration and is now chairman of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, reports that the current emphasis in the Obama administration is agriculture development, just as global health was the priority in the George W. Bush administration.

I have always advocated international aid that empowers local people rather than keeping them dependent on foreign experts or on handouts ever since I spent a year doing research on UNDP assistance to Uganda and Tanzania in the 1960s and published the results in Multilateral Aid for National Development and Self-Reliance.

The results can be significant. Glickman reports many African economies are growing 5 to 7 percent a year, which benefits Africans. It also strengthens potential markets and allies for the US.

Children in foster care or gifted students?

Do you ever wonder about whom you should support:  the neediest children or the brightest? On the one hand, it is obvious that children lacking parents or coming from disadvantaged homes need assistance to go to school and possibly to have enough to eat. On the other hand, it is not fair to neglect very bright children who are bored when teachers aim for the lowest possible level and don't provide intellectual stimulation.

This set of choices came to mind through the contrasts in two Wall Street Journal "Donor of the Day" columns on succeeding days: "Guiding Gifted Students" by Melanie Grayce West was about Dr. Kelly Posner Gerstenhaber's contributions to founding a school for gifted children on Manhattan's Upper West Side and then using it as a model for the Speyer Institute to spread its ideas nationally (June 12, 2012). The next day Alexander Heffner wrote about Dr. Samantha Miller who is aiding children in foster care by supporting an "Afternoon Academy" with an academic support program combining rigorous academic stimulation with emotional counseling (June 13, 2012).

Both approaches are worthwhile and needed. Since we can't help everybody, however, we have to prioritize our causes. In this situation, which of these causes would you support and why? Or would you approach K-12 education from an entirely different angle?