Going global, the small way
With my background in tech, it's sometimes hard to see where trends that have been common in information technology for years are starting to break in the larger marketplace. This article on Smallbiztrends.com "Introducing the Tales of Micro-Multinationals" is a sign that the outsourcing phenomena that has been allowing small high-tech companies to compete way above their headcount for years is starting to trickle over into mainstream small business.
The story isn't new; the confluence of remote work, global job markets, and Internet-based marketing, sales, and payment systems that make physical location all but superfluous for most purposes, is well-known and possibly even over-hyped in business reporting. What is new is that it's getting easier and easier to use all these things, and they are starting to be designed expressly to support non-tech businesses. And that is leading to an explosion of potential, even as the economy as a whole still finds itself on rocky ground.