Rieva Lesonsky writes “2026 Predictions and Insights:  How Small Businesses Will Build, Adapt, and Grow.”  She also includes a section I wrote titled, “Global Trade: Powering the New Global Economic Reality,” which reads as follows.

Global Trade:  Powering the New Global Economic Reality

What used to be pretty straightforward on how to take a business global has become far more complicated due to tariffs, regulatory compliance, data privacy rules, classification of workers (employment laws), localization of offerings for each region’s cultural and legal norms and the fact that it’s just plain hard to find customers willing to buy your products in a highly competitive world market.

What’s a business owner to do in 2026? Fight it off! Push harder on the e-commerce front, where the rise of that industry and remote work are making it far more realistic for even small firms to sell and hire internationally.

Key trends to watch:

The biggest trend is that small businesses will have to be more intentional and deliberate with their planning than in previous years to power the new global economic reality.

Second, with technology advancing rapidly, specifically AI, smart tech is becoming the backbone of global expansion strategies, with most small businesses investing in AI, automation, cloud tools, and CRM to manage operations and customer relationships across borders. These tools help small firms localize marketing, support global customers, and coordinate distributed teams without building heavy physical infrastructure in every market.

Third, the humanistic side of business will become ever more important as we overuse AI to boost efficiency and revenue. Where business owners think they are serving their customers better with AI, they may not be. In the end, customers won’t be asking for more bots—they’ll be looking for genuine human attention and clear proof that they’re valued and respected.

Lastly, I see additional trends in high-growth niches such as tech-enabled services, sustainability, health, veteran support, and other innovation-driven areas that will give small businesses a chance to differentiate and plug into larger global value chains.

View global expansion as one of the many powerful tools in your growth strategy. Don’t bet everything on it, but use it strategically to gain that extra edge in 2026.

—Laurel Delaney, Founder and President, Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global® and Founder, GlobeTrade.com