Expanding Trade

With expanding trade comes expanding opportunities for growth. As the global economy continues to grow, countries are going to look to import items, as well as export products. The desire for Western goods remains strong, and while countries such as China export cheap material to the United States, it also imports more than $55 billion worth of goods, according to Daniel Griswold, the Cato Institute's director of the Center for Trade Policy, in a 2007 address before the U.S. House of Representatives.

Technology

One way that small business enterprises can compete in the global marketplace is by keeping up with current technology. By keeping down operating costs through advances in software and by keeping an eye on inventory pricing, small businesses can operate efficiently. To use technology to its full advantage, productivity must be increased. The downside of purchasing software that allows one person to do the job of two people is that one of the two people must be either laid off or assigned to another part of the business.

Social Networking

Through social networking, small businesses are given access to many customers and vendors. Sites such as Facebook allow a small business to literally reach out to millions of potential customers, and by using business sites such as LinkedIn, a small business owner might manage to begin a business relationship with the CEO of a multibillion-dollar company. Naturally, it requires the business owner to actually put forth the effort to make the connection.

Niche Marketing

By finding a niche market, a small business can beat out a competitive global business. Although a bookstore owner might not be able to compete with Barnes and Noble or Amazon, he can focus on one specific area and become as knowledgeable as possible in that area. If he decides that his niche is going to be horror novels, he can have a logo reflecting his business and put it on his website. He can add content to his website pertaining to horror novels. By building a reputation for a specific niche, it is possible to even attract customers from around the world, thanks to the Internet.