Instruxo's Go Global Blog

An Introduction to Exporting

2011-02-22T16:12:00.000-05:00

Interested in Exporting? Then check out the "Introduction to Exporting" seminar scheduled for March 9 in Orlando, Fl. Topics will include:

1. Organizing Export Procedures
2. Protecting Your Interests Abroad
3. Export Payment Methods & Financing
4. Export Logistics
5. Building an Overseas Infrastructure

I'll be speaking about ways companies can use social media to communicate with customers around the world. The event costs $45 to attend and will run from 9am to 3:30pm. To register, click here.

Rafael Gerena is the author of the "Go Global" blog and a former Economics Reporter at The Wall Street Journal. He can be reached at info@instruxo.com, www.linkedin.com/in/rafaelgerena or Twitter @instruxo

China's Achilles Heel

2011-02-16T18:11:00.001-05:00

By Rafael Gerena, Instruxo

I was on a conference call today with Ian Bremmer, president of Eurasia Group, a global political risk research and consulting firm. He spent most of his 1-hour talk focused on China. His first main point: China will drive global economic growth for the next 5 to 10 years, but lose steam after that. He highlighted 3 key weaknesses: 1) China's working age population is set to decline in 15 years or so. This means the country's supply of low-cost manufacturing labor will be constrained. 2) China doesn't foster innovation or entrepreneurship- which hems its ability to create a world-class company ala Google or Apple. 3) China has a poor corporate governance system.

As for Latin America, Ian says Brazil should continue ascending as an economic power. And Mexico's economy should rebound as the U.S. economy does.

You can find Ian's books on Amazon by clicking here.
His Foreign Affairs Article (subscription required) is here.

Florida Airports Prepare for Cuba

2011-02-07T12:22:00.002-05:00

Florida airports are preparing for a New Era of U.S.-Cuba relations: Airport officials in Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, Key West and possibly Orlando plan to seek federal permission to establish direct flights to Cuba under new travel rules implemented last month by the Obama administration. The goal is to prepare for a possible rush of traffic if the two nations remove all travel barriers for American tourists, reports the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. You can read the article here.

The article avoids the elephant in the room: Aside from worthy political considerations, what are the business implications of booming passenger-air travel between the U.S. and Cuba? Obviously, the opening of Cuba's market would represent a major opportunity for U.S. purveyors of, say, financial services, logistics, infrastructure, higher education and consumer goods.

Cool Tools:

Free Webinars on the Basics of Exporting

Rafael Gerena is the author of the "Go Global" blog and a former Economics Reporter at The Wall Street Journal. He can be reached at 407-536-9146, info@instruxo.com, www.linkedin.com/in/rafaelgerena or www.twitter.com/Instruxo

Business Expansion in Poland & Vietnam

2011-01-26T09:56:00.002-05:00

By Rafael Gerena, of Instruxo

Need a job? Well, U.S. companies are hiring thousands of people- overseas. Manpower, a U.S. staffing firm, says virtually all of the more than 100 offices it plans to open this year will be in emerging markets such as Poland, India, China and Vietnam. (It's a great time to be a Vietnamese temp worker :) Yum!, a U.S. fast-food company, says roughly 80% of the 900 KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell stores it plans to open this year will be in emerging markets, the Wall Street Journal reports. The reason? Emerging markets over the next two years are expected to grow almost three times faster than "advanced" markets, such as the U.S. and Europe. (See graph above.) Consider this: GM sold more cars in China last year than in the U.S.

WSJ subscribers can read the article here.

Bottom Line:
Smart U.S. companies are expanding in fast-growing emerging markets.

Rafael Gerena is the author of the "Go Global" blog and a former Economics Reporter at The Wall Street Journal. He can be reached at 407-536-9146, info@instruxo.com, www.linkedin.com/in/rafaelgerena or www.twitter.com/Instruxo

New College Syllabus: Portuguese and Chinese

2010-12-12T18:08:00.002-05:00

By Rafael Gerena, of Instruxo

As China and Brazil experience strong economic growth...

Chinese and Portuguese now rank among the Top 5 foreign languages with the fastest-growing enrollment rates at U.S. colleges. College enrollment in Arabic classes boomed 46% in the three-year-period ending in 2009. The jump resulted from the U.S. government's recruiting of Arabic interpreters to help with communication in the Middle East.

But Spanish (864,986 enrollees) remains the the most popular foreign language studied on U.S. college campuses in terms of total enrollment.

Instruxo LLC Selected Among Florida’s Most Innovative Companies

2010-11-28T22:29:00.000-05:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Instruxo LLC Selected Among Florida’s Most Innovative Companies to Demo at TechVenture 2010

Demonstrators represent growing number of next-generation technologies being developed across Florida at TechVenture 2010

(Orlando, Fl., November 28, 2010) – Florida Technology Journal, a leading source for business technology news, is proud to announce its list of companies demonstrating at this year’s TechVenture 2010. The companies selected for this year’s event represent the growing number of next-generation technologies being developed across Florida in multiple industry sectors. Instruxo LLC is recognized for its pioneering technology and is now given the opportunity to showcase its product to a room full of industry influencers and investors at this year’s event, taking place December 2-3 at the Sonesta Orlando Downtown Hotel.

TechVenture’s line up of company demonstrations represents a wide array of growing technology industries in the Southeast region such as alternative energy, cleantech, cloud solutions, digital media, information technology, medical device, software, web applications and wireless. Those companies selected all met the criteria of being headquartered in Florida, privately owned with 1-50 employees with annual revenues from pre-revenue up to $50 million. In addition, proprietary technology and the product or solution has been commercialized, in trials or beta testing stages.

“We had a large pool of truly innovative companies submit for this year’s competition, making the selection process extremely difficult,” said David Glass, publisher of Florida Technology Journal. “Those selected will have the opportunity to not only showcase their technology at TechVenture but also will connect with some of Florida’s most influential decision-makers. We congratulate them as their technology demonstrates the most competitive advantages in the marketplace.”

More than just your average technology conference, TechVenture connects early stage high-tech companies with growth resources such as corporate buyers, university researchers, incubators, entrepreneurs and other sources of capital. It is a premier conference showcasing the rapidly changing technology landscape within the southeast region.

Sponsors for TechVenture 2010 include, TriNet, Vantage Communications, University of Central Florida and Atlantic.net

Complete information on TechVenture 2010, including registration and conference agenda, is available at: http://www.floridatechnologyjournal.com/tech-venture-2010

About Florida Technology Journal:

Florida Technology Journal is a leading publication for business technology news, serving as the go-to source for more than a quarter million high-tech professionals. Based in Tampa, Florida, the publication’s mission is to promote, educate and connect Florida's high-tech community. Along with TechVenture, Florida Technology Journal also hosts After Five, the Internet Technology Summit and the Florida Technology Leadership Conference. Each event brings together Florida’s technology leaders and entrepreneurs. For more information on the Florida Technology Journal, visit: www.FloridaTechnologyJournal.com.

Orlando: International Markets Event

2010-11-28T21:47:00.001-05:00

By Rafael Gerena, of Instruxo

Dr. Antonio "Tony" Villamil (a former U.S. Undersecretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs) will moderate a panel in Orlando exploring "International Market Trends and Opportunities." The discussion will be one part of an all-day economics forum being held at Orlando International Airport's Hyatt Regency Hotel. Other panelists will include Dr. Robert Cruz (Miami-Dade County Office of Economic Development & International Trade) and Michael Aller (Rollins College).

The event costs $50 to attend if you purchase a ticket in advance, or $65 at the door. For more details - or to register - click here.

CALENDAR NOTE:
The international economics event is Friday afternoon. But Friday morning, you can check out our company's (Instruxo's) exhibit at TechVenture 2010, which will be held at the Sonesta Hotel Downtown Orlando. We'll be discussing ways for Florida companies to boost exports overseas.

The Internet's Multilingual Revolution

2010-11-21T20:42:00.000-05:00

By Rafael Gerena, of Instruxo

John Yunker put together this cool map showing the approved International Domain Names (IDNs) by region. He writes: "Notice the wide range of scripts over India and the wide range of Arabic domains... Right now, more than half of the content on the Internet is not in English. Ten years from now, the percentage of English content could easily drop below 25%."

Today, he points out, web surfers can find Yandex, a Russian search engine, by visiting yandex.ru. And clicking on Яндекс.рф redirects to Yandex.ru. "But flash forward a few years and these Latin URLs (though they’ll still exist) may no longer function as the front doors into these markets, " Yunker says. "In a few years, I doubt this redirection will exist."

You can read John's full blog post here.

Bottom Line: Companies need to adapt to a new business era in which global customers are demanding to be served in their native language. English-language dominance of the Internet is fading fast.

Your Child's First Pro Job? Overseas?

2010-11-09T17:34:00.000-05:00

The spread of international air travel - and the ability of cell phones, Skype and FedEx to link economies worldwide - suggest your child's first professional job may be overseas. Forget about visiting your kid in Jersey or California- Start thinking Hong Kong, Sydney or Buenos Aires. A recent Marketplace Radio program predicts white-collar jobs of the future will require global work experience. And competition for those jobs will be fierce. Parents: Time to pair the abacus with those Rosetta Stone language CDs you've been considering :)

Listen to the Radio Program by clicking here.
To help your child land their first international job or internship,
visit www.goinglobal.com.

Good News to Share:
My company, Instruxo, beat some stiff competition and was selected to demo at the TechVenture 2010 exhibit Dec 2 & 3 in Orlando, Fl. The event will be overflowing with ideas, entrepreneurs and investors. We will promote the idea of doing business globally. Should be fun. Stop by if you can.

best, ralph

Rafael Gerena is the author of the "Go Global" blog and a former Economics Reporter at The Wall Street Journal. He can be reached at 407-536-9146, rg@instruxo.com, www.linkedin.com/in/rafaelgerena or www.twitter.com/Instruxo

Orlando Event: International Business Breakfast

2010-10-26T18:43:00.000-04:00

Carmenza Gonzalez (Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission) will be one of four speakers who will discuss overseas business opportunities at the Sheraton Orlando Downtown. The panel will discuss the do's and don'ts of international trade and related topics. This should be a nice networking opportunity for Central Florida's exporting community. (The event will be held Nov. 5, 7:30 - 9am).

For more information, click here.

Scheduled Panelists:
Carmenza Gonzalez
Vice President, international business development, Metro Orlando EDC

Larry Chastang
CPA, managing principal of international services, Larsonallen

Morgan McGrath
Head of international banking, JPMorgan Chase

Tom Raleigh
Shareholder, Akerman Senterfitt, specializing in cross-border transactions, m&a, and business immigration planning and compliance

I'll be there.
best, ralph.

Rafael Gerena is the author of the "Go Global" blog and a former Economics Reporter at The Wall Street Journal. He can be reached at 407-536-9146, rg@instruxo.com, www.linkedin.com/in/rafaelgerena or www.twitter.com/Instruxo

20 Global Trends Shaping the Next Decade

2010-10-15T10:30:00.000-04:00

One billion new middle class consumers enter the global economy from emerging markets. Healthcare becomes the largest expense for the world's consumers. Cloud computing brings the end of the brick-and-mortar office. That's a vision of the world in 2020, described in a new report that looks at demographic, social, economic and technology shifts shaping the next decade.

These global trends will require companies to become comfortable conversing with customers who speak different languages, play different sports and eat different foods.

Read report summary here.
Entire report: Twenty Trends that will Shape the Next Decade

Bottom line:
Entrepreneurs will need to blend hard-technical skills and soft-cultural skills to reach billions of new customers in emerging markets.

Rafael Gerena is CEO of Instruxo LLC, and author of the the "Go Global" blog. He is a former Economics Reporter at The Wall Street Journal.

Foreign Flavor Spices Stock Price

2010-10-07T15:32:00.000-04:00

The company's stock price is up more than 30% this year. Why? Because Yum! Brands - owner of Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC - sells food to consumers in more than 100 countries. The U.S. market may be slow, but Yum's tacos, pizza and fried chicken are selling fast in Asia and Latin America. Within 5 years, Yum expects to sell twice as much food in China than in the U.S.

Did that sink in? Told another way: An American company is going to be selling more American fast-food in China than in America. (The blue bar in the graphic above tells the interesting story.)

Bottom line:
Consumer spending power is shifting to markets outside of the U.S. Companies that meet this new demand are being rewarded with higher stock prices.

Cool Tool: Free Webinar
Hot Export Market for U.S. Telecom Manufacturers
Oct. 14, U.S. International Trade Administration

Asia is Twitter King

2010-09-28T15:53:00.000-04:00

America is not the center of the Twitter Universe: Asia is Twitter King :)

Users in Asia (mainly Japan, Indonesia and South Korea) account for 37 percent of all tweets out of roughly 3 million messages tracked in a recent study by Semiocast. Even more interesting: North America's Tweets are declining. Hmm...

Separately, Channelnewsasia.com reports that "Asians are muscling their way into traditionally Western-dominated social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter and Internet blogs, prompting major players to sit up and take notice."

Obama Picks Orlando Mayor for Trade Panel

2010-09-21T21:30:00.000-04:00

President Barack Obama tapped Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer to serve on an advisory panel on international trade. That's nice news for Orlando, which is working hard to diversify its economy.

As I wrote in a recent Orlando Sentinel Editorial, Central Florida needs to work harder to boost exports and raise its global business profile. The world needs to know there's more to Central Florida than theme parks. Dyer's appointment to the federal panel should help. He will be joined by global business leaders from FedEx, Procter & Gamble Co., and U.S. Steel.

Maybe Dyer can make new business friends who could invest in Orlando? Read more here.

www.instruxo.com

Partners include

Instruxo's Go Global Blog

An Introduction to Exporting

China's Achilles Heel

Florida Airports Prepare for Cuba

Business Expansion in Poland & Vietnam

New College Syllabus: Portuguese and Chinese

Instruxo LLC Selected Among Florida’s Most Innovative Companies

Orlando: International Markets Event

The Internet's Multilingual Revolution

Your Child's First Pro Job? Overseas?

Orlando Event: International Business Breakfast

20 Global Trends Shaping the Next Decade

Foreign Flavor Spices Stock Price

Asia is Twitter King

Obama Picks Orlando Mayor for Trade Panel

The Path to Fast Sales?

Facebook: A Global Communications Beehive

Hotels.com's Global Growth Spurt

Global Housing: Booming Beijing, Declining Dubai

Can Florida Double Exports in 5 years?

3 Technology Tips for Global Sales

Blackberry Phone Death in the Middle East?

Asia Dominates Global Internet Ranking

Google Struggles in China

Central Florida's Uncertain Global Future

3 Tips for Doing Business in China

Exporting Education to the Middle East

Twitter in Global Tongues

5 iPad Steps to Global Sales

Facebook: World's Top Social Network

Florida Keys: Selling Internationally

Asia's Spending Spree

Non-Latin Internet Addresses Go Live

FedEx View: Europe's Glass is Half-Full

Can China Top the World by 2050?

When Sales Shift Globally

4 Steps to Global Sales

Internet Names: A New Global System

Video: Orlando Connects to Global Economy

Pushing U.S. Exports to New Heights

Global Finance Tips

Global Shipping Boom: Port Canaveral, Fl.

Global Newsletter: Orlando, Fl.

Google Market Share in China

Global Newsletters

Seminar: Small Business Exporting

Seminar: Global Trade Financing

Google Ranked World's Best Website

U.S. Lags in Internet Ranking

Florida: Fun, Sun and Global Trade

Global Retail Giants

Owning a Piece of America

Market Brief: Saudi Arabia

China: The New Exporting Champ

Global Branding

Sunny Economic Forecast

Teaching Chinese in Cleveland

India's Horsepower

Sonic Boom

China's Car Bazaar

World's Factories Wake up

Global Stocks Boom in 2000s

The Internet speaks Chinese and Espanol

U.S. Centers of Global Trade

Apple Stumbles In China

Stop Global Burglars

The Internet's New Age for Language

Booming Investment Overseas

Global Google Searches

Global Apple Trees

Intel inside Global Computers

Tweeting in French

Global Assembly Line

Global Bookshelf

Global Showplace

Giant Adjustments

Two-Headed Chinese Dragon

The Grass is Greener...

Learn From Goliath

Global Recession Ending