She was my host grandmother in Spain when I lived there and she was an amazing, strong, and very fun woman who loved her family very much.  She gave me a sense of comfort during my stay as she reminded me so much of my grandmother here in the States.

This relationship was based on pure acceptance and love from such a wonderful woman.  I have always felt that my Spanish family is my family by destiny but not by birth.

While our cultures and traditions were very different - their humanity and kindness reached across language barriers and surrounded me in security and love.  This relationship and experience was the beginning of many wonderful cross - cultural relationships.  These relationships have given me so much and started me on my path to today and are certainly inspiration for my blog.

Whatever religion or spiritual beliefs you hold, I know that mi Abuela is in a much better place today probably cooking for everyone and looking out as a guardian angel for her entire family here on this Earth. 

I hope that each and every one of you can have a meaningful encounter with someone from a different culture.

Using a Foreign Trade Zone can be a great help to your import business.. take a listen and find out how!

In a recent article I read, it talked about how many local businesses in Arizona are "thinking" global. 

This article presented three different businesses perspectives on taking their businesses global.  There were a few elements of going global that were highlighted.

Reasons for going global:

1.  Talent

2.  Innovative products

3.  Overseas growth

International risks:

1.  Strong foreign currencies

2.  Cultural differences

3.  Supply chain

4.  Economic instability

5.  Legal systems

Once you have mastered your own local market or see growth outside of your market than you need to keep these things in mind.

1.   Never accept the word "yes" by itself for an answer - listen to what the person says next as an indicator of what the Indian person really means.

2.  There are many ways an Indian can say "no."  Are you paying attention?

3.  Indians say they are behind schedule in various ways and almost always it is not "I am running late" on this.

4.  There are numerous approaches Indians use to say something is possible or they are not available. Including not answering.

5.  Indians don’t necessarily ask for help out right.  They might refer to someone else or the past to indicate help is required.

6.  Indians express negative criticism in very different terms than Americans do, including a loud silence.

7.  Ways to encourage more direct communication with Indians may require constant positive feedback when they show more direct behavior. 

Ultimately, Indians perceive our directness as rude and will need some time to get comfortable with being more direct.  A cultural middleman may help you in certain situations. 

Communicating within our culture can be challenging, patience and understanding are essential to creating an open and direct line to ensure your success. 

I think this is the first step to building bridges and the serious foreign relations gaps that the United States has and is widening every day that the current administration is in power.

The world needs to know that we have learned our lessons and that we desire to be leaders in diplomatic relations like we were after World War II.  The anti-American sentiment that has been created since the Iraq war needs to be reversed.  This is a big hill to climb but I believe that it is possible if we take our freedom to vote seriously in November.

Better foreign relations will help increase business opportunities and business relations for Americans who want to do business globally as well as makes us better citizens of the diverse world we live in.

If you are thinking of entering a global market in the near future, than a great place to start is your local chamber of commerce that is dedicated to the region you want to enter.  Bob talks about how he got involved in the French American Chamber, why it is important for international business folks and what the benefits are of membership.

I am not going to pretend that the current economy has been nice to everyone but the global market is more than willing to buy what we have to offer.  Did you know that 95% of the world’s consumers are outside of the U.S?  Have you thought about how you could take your business to the next level?  If yes, than there are lots of places on the web where you can go and network with no planes to catch, no need to even get dressed up and everything is at your fingertips. 

One forum that I use is LinkedIn to perform research, meet people and ask/answer questions and to recruit resources for IteroText Translation Services.  There are several groups that I belong to on LinkedIn as well that have a global focus.  You need to research and find out which group or groups would benefit you and your business. 

10 Tips to keep in mind when networking globally and I think most of this works locally as well.  

1.  Post an introduction of yourself - tell the group about yourself and your business.  Better yet, I am of the philosophy that you should tell them something unique and interesting about yourself so that you are memorable.  Try to set yourself apart - you never know how many people have the same name as you or are in the same business as you.  Just be sure to keep it professional.  Make sure you include a picture. 

2.  Keep your intro short, simple and interesting or as I like to say compelling.  NEVER launch into a sales pitch right away as this tends to turn people off.  I know this is hard because we are so excited about sharing our business we forget that networking is about establishing relationships first and making sales later.

3. If possible Greet new members when they post an intro.  A short welcome note with a brief introduction of yourself is a nice gesture as well as good public relations for your company.

4. Play by the rules.  Each group has its own set of rules regarding how to post and if it is discussion only or if they allow ads etc.  Follow these rules… otherwise members of the group will see that you do not have proper netiquette and start ignoring your posts.

5. Don’t be a lurker.  If you join a group, participate.  This is the best way to learn, share and establish strong connections with the group.  If you hide, you are only hurting yourself and your sales. This doesn’t mean you need to post everyday - that could get annoying to the membership.  For example, I only post once a week or every couple of weeks, but I am active on the threads that matter to me.  By staying active and visible you will be heard and remembered.  You may need to schedule time to do this on your calendar.

6.  Leave your cultural, racial, and personal biases at the door.  With international memberships it is important for you to be courteous, supportive and respectful of other peoples culture, ideas and opinions no matter how different from yours.  You may actually learn a new way to approach something if you take the time to truly listen.  Don’t be too quick to judge there are really no right or wrong ways to do things, simply different approaches.  These ideas may actually spark a creative idea or business that never even entered your mind - that could be worth millions. 

7.  Keep your language clear and simple.  Not everyone in the world knows English perfectly.  We are very lucky that so many people do understand and have a working knowledge of the language as only 7% of the world’s population’s mother tongue is English.  Writing simply, clearly and having a willingness to rephrase to be understood is essential to success in global business communication.

8.  Be interested in what goes on in the group.  Take the time to learn about another member’s culture or explain something peculiar to your industry or country.  Consider this all part of the exciting education that comes with going global. 

9.  Stay neutral - Understand that people have bad days and sometimes there will be disagreements.  It is always best not to get involved.  In this case, silence is golden.  Be diplomatic.  Most times people need just a bit of space and time to come around. 

10.  Offer help and advice.  Networking is about give and take.  By helping someone now you will win help for yourself in the future when you need it.

Have fun and be adventurous - enjoy going global. 

This 3 day conference is vital to the development of this region as a hub of influence in the world. 

More information to come.