Expanding your Marketplace: Taking your Business Global

Author: Dr. Cheryl Cottle 

Entrepreneurs regardless of gender need to be thinking about taking their business global regardless of geography. Canadian business women for example should think of taking her business from her tiny enclave within the province she lives in to neighboring communities and to other provinces overall. In addition to this level of expansion, she can also take her business global to other countries across the globe. The same applies to women in business in the USA. You can exploit the marketplace by going outward from your small community to others and extending to other States; as well as expanding into other parts of the world. Similarly, women business owners from other parts of the globe including the Caribbean, for example can also expand their market to other parts of the Caribbean, into Europe, North America, Latin and South America, Africa, India, and China to name a few of the world's market.
 
In today’s global economies with the advent of computer technology, the internet and social media, you must change, or you will be forever left behind; and this is not a cliche: It is a fact. Businesses regardless of size must get onto the bandwagon of technology. You no longer need a mobile phone and a fax machine; you also need a website, e-mail, access to the internet over all, and high speed internet connection. Technology is here and it is here to stay. With the advent of computer based technology business has become more competitive, but it has also provided people with greater opportunity to leverage what they can do ― their services and products. If you are also into selling your product and you will like to take your product and services to a wider market, then you will have to think about integrating e-commerce into your business strategy. This allows your customers, regardless of their geographical location, time, and currency exchange, to access your product and make a purchase. 

What technology, the internet and social media have done for the entrepreneur?

1. It has opened up connections and removed the barriers between individuals in different countries and continents who want to trade with each other. 
2. You can easily conduct a detailed search of a company so that you know with whom you are doing business.
3.  If you are looking for that special product or services, a search of the internet can put you in direct contact with the best in the market. 
4. The internet and computer-based technologies enable you to do business twenty four hours a day from where ever you are in the world and with whom you want to. 
5. It also enables you to make contact with people with whom you might never have met. 
6. The internet also puts you in direct contact with your supplier, or buyer thus reducing cost and time as in traditional business transaction.
7. Essentially the internet removes national boundaries thus opening a global gate-way to commerce. 

The advice that I will give to small and micro business owners, particularly those with a special commodity, is to extend your market globally, regardless of where you are located geographically. You will no longer be stuck in your small village in a remote part of a third world country relying only upon some of the local people to buy from you. Or perhaps a foreign visitor, who by chance has come face to face with your work, or that foreign agent who promises to take your work internationally claiming to give you international acclaim; and often times never seeing them again after entrusting them with some of your best pieces of creations. Accessing the internet and the technology available will provide you with the tools to take your business global.

I will also like to advice small business owners and micro business owners, the time has come to adopt some structure and formality to your business, if you are expected to achieve maximum benefit from the technologies available to the twenty first century entrepreneur. I will like to recommend that you do the following:

• Register your business
• Give your business a name. 
• See your entrepreneurial venture as a business and not a hobby
• If possible trade mark your product. Create a signature emblem of your work
• Create some marketing material for your work including business cards, flyers or brochures is a great place to start
• Get a telephone number associated to your business
• Open a business account
• Get a social media account 
• Build an online presence
• Let people know you and your work. Brand your work and you
• Get exposure through your local radio programs, television and newspaper
• Attend local craft shows and community events
• Join your local Chambers of Commerce

These are some things that you can do to gain visibility and be known for your product.

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This article was first written and published by Dr. Cheryl Cottle in 2010. It has been revised for this publication.

How to Succeed, Unemployed, Now What

Author: Donya Zimmerman

When I had to give up my law practice in 2012, I was lost and confused because I did not know what I was going to do for work and income. It took me about 3 months to figure out what I could do next in my life. As soon as, I closed my law practice, I began to take courses on how to do a resume, dress for an interview, and prepare for an interview. I think I took three courses on looking for and obtaining employment. 

When I started to apply for jobs in August of 2012, I came to realize that there are more individuals unemployed than available jobs. Also, I was getting pressure from family members that stated I needed to find a job, but they failed to realize that I had been my own boss since 2001 and had not worked for anyone else since 2006. I felt that I needed to find a 9 to 5 job to please my family, so for about 4 months I was applying for jobs and attending courses and workshops on how to apply for jobs. But after that 4 month period, God made me realize that I was not cut-out for the 9 to 5 job and I was more of an entrepreneur and small business owner.

In February 2013, I began to attend seminars and workshops offered by Small Business Administration (SBA) teaching individuals how to start their own business. Also, during February 2013, I was accepted into the Women Entrepreneurs of Baltimore, Inc. (WEB) course that taught individuals how to start their own business. The key to the WEB program was that they taught you how to write your business plan for the business you would like to start. I completed the course in June of 2013 and I was very glad that I took the course because it provided me with the tools I needed to start my second business.

If you are unemployed and have been looking for a job for at least 6 months, it is time to take an inventory of all the skills and talents you have right now. Once you have made a list of all the skills and talents you have, it is time to sit down and create a plan on how to start a business, and earn an income with your skills and talents. In today’s job market, there are less jobs for individuals. That is why the federal government, state governments, and local governments are setting up programs to assist individuals with learning new job skills and starting their own businesses. One thing you must remember is that “can’t” is not an option and should not be included in your vocabulary. What should be included in your vocabulary is “can” because you can achieve anything your heart desires. 

If you cannot find a job, here are few options you can do to supplement your income: 

• See if any of your family or friends’ jobs are hiring and ask them to put in a good word for you. 
• If there is a job that you desire to have and you don’t have the necessary skills for the job, go back to school and take the necessary courses needed to get the skills required for that particular job. 
• Volunteering for certain organizations or companies is good way to get noticed by the hiring manager when there are openings for jobs within the organization or company. 
• If need be, go back to school to improve, enhance, and upgrade your jobs skills to compete in today’s job market. For example, if you are not good at working on computers, take a computer class. 
• Always attend classes and courses that teach you how to write a resume, dress for a job interview, and prepare for the job interview. 
• Also, if you have some skills and talents, start working on your own business to increase your income. 
• Never ever be afraid to ask someone for assistance with seeking a job.