Business Brain – The Entrepreneurs’ Podcast

What’s the best method for naming your Small Business? Go with your instincts, listen to friends and family or use an online tool? Listen to this episode of the Small Business Show for tips to come up with a great name for your business and avoid some common mistakes with the help from our friends at Entrepreneur magazine. We also discuss the power of Taglines to enhance your Small Business name and just how much effort should you put into that killer logo? Then we’re on to listener questions with a discussion on how to power yourself up so you can best represent your Small Business during the sale process and a quick primer on why Cash is King to keep the gears of your business turning smoothly. Join us for these topics and more on episode 133 of the Small Business Show! Chapters/Timestamps 00:00:00 Small Business Show #133 August 23, 2017 00:00:41 Breaking your routine to keep you fresh 00:02:08 Should you be able to do each job? 00:05:16 Naming your business Infographic from Entrepreneur.com Fuzzywigs? 00:09:05 Make sure you and your team are happy with the name/logo 00:10:36 Taglines matter 00:12:49 Your online profile matters more than the SEO of your name 00:16:15 Find a name you like, and go! 00:16:43 Shary-Finding a buyer for your business 00:21:42 Jay-Cash Flow issues 00:27:03 Use credit cards instead of HELOC 00:28:00 Cash flow first, profits second 00:29:46 SBS Outtro The post Tips for Naming Your Small Business + Listener Questions – Small Business Show 133 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Do you know the signs that tell if a person is an Employee, Self-Employed or an Entrepreneur? Join Dave and Shannon for this episode of the Small Business Show to find out! During today’s episode, we get to spend time dissecting personality types so you can understand who would make a good employee vs. who would make a good business partner. We discuss Do’ers vs delegators and ways to create a Working Agreement to help you find out if you all have what it takes to build a successful partnership. Communication is key and your hosts speak about methods to keep the dialogue going when their is an inevitable problem with your business partner (Partner Therapy, anyone?). Find out why how much risk and accountability your employees are willing to take starts with YOU, the business owner and just how to get past the Superhero complex that is so common. We wrap up the show with a discussion about getting-out-of-the-way of your employees so they can do their jobs and grow your business along with the importance of sharing your crazy ideas (business or otherwise) with the right type of people if you expect to get a useful response. Join us for episode 132 of the Small Business Show and then visit our Small Business Support Group to talk about the show! Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #132 August 16, 2017 00:00:55 Love What You Do and You’ll Never Work a Day In Your Life 00:01:31 Passion vs. Motivation vs. Discipline 00:02:58 The Peter principle The E-myth 00:04:58 The differences between employees and entrepreneurs and self-employed people 00:06:00 Finding a good business partner: someone who is good at what you are not 00:06:23 Do’ers vs. delegators 00:07:15 Create a Working Agreement 00:11:34 Similar financial needs and goals 00:13:00 Beware the double-dippers, even yourself 00:17:17 Partner therapy 00:17:44 Different Mindsets: Employee vs. Business Owner 00:19:38 Mirror vs. Window Risk vs. Accountability 00:22:34 The Superhero Complex as it relates to Solopreneurs vs. Business Owners 00:27:02 From Business Owner to Investor 00:27:58 Give your employees autonomy 00:29:03 You are your own impediment 00:32:31 Break out of your own bubble Rich Dad, Poor Dad Don’t live your life by someone else’s dogma 00:35:47 SBS 132 End The post Employee, Self-Employed or Entrepreneur – who makes the best partners? Small Business Show 132 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

What’s the best way to find real value in attending Trade Shows, Conferences and Workshops? Do you sit in the back row and head right back to the hotel after the event? You can probably guess what your Small Business Show co-hosts would say about that. Join us for this episode to discuss maximizing your time at these types of events as Shannon discusses attending eBay Open 2017 in Las Vegas a few weeks ago. During the eBay discussing, we touch on eBay’s dramatic shift during the last 2-years regarding their attitude towards the Small Business seller community and how your business can benefit from it. We discuss the new eBay Concierge customer service platform, ways to reach eBay’s 171 million buyers and new initiatives like eBay Authenticate, Shop with Images and Direct Shopify Integration to sell your products on eBay. Shannon believes that it’s time for another look at selling on eBay if you’ve been away for a few years. Dave then jumps in to discuss the critical difference between Motivation and Discipline and how you need both (but maybe discipline more!) to keep yourself successful as you work hard on your systems approach to achieve what you want with your Small Business. We wrap up the show with a discussion about working smarter with Bob Levitus’s tips from the Small Business episode 109 interview and just what the heck is the Pomodoro Technique? Listen in the find out all this and more! Want to join in the discussion? Visit the Small Business Support Group on Facebook and find answers and help others in the SBS community. Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #131 August 9, 2017 00:00:56 Being busy is better than the alternative 00:01:17 eBay Open Show eBay’s attitude towards the seller community again 00:06:16 Big change starts with lip service eBay Concierge Platform 00:09:17 Most people want to help you if they can 00:12:15 Connection with people – the real power of conferences 00:14:00 New stuff coming from eBay eBay has 171 million buyers eBay’s Designer Brand Authentication Program Shop with images on eBay Direct Shopify Integration 00:18:10 Don’t forget to “Use the Box” to acquire customers! 00:19:54 Motivation vs. Discipline 00:23:18 Systems are important 00:26:38 Feeds and Trends are your friends 00:28:00 Find – and Redefine – your own currency 00:29:40 Barter with yourself Bob Levitus’s Working Smarter SBS 109 Interview Pomodoro Technique 00:31:43 Next week: The differences between employees and entrepreneurs and self-employed people The post Being Productive at Conferences, selling on eBay and Motivation vs. Discipline – Small Business Show Episode 131 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Could you make the leap from dog walker / poop-picker-upper to creating a software platform for service related Small Businesses? Well, Britt Alwerud did just that, creating the Handlr Business Management suite of tools to help manage your employees or contractors, communicate with customers, generate reports and perhaps most importantly, get paid on time! Join Dave and Shannon for episode 130 of the Small Business Show and our awesome interview with Britt from Handlr. During our talk, you’ll hear about how Britt had to hit rock bottom and be told by a client that she was “…not a businesswoman, you’re a dog walker” before she realized she needed to create a software platform to help manage her company so she could become the businesswoman she knew she could be. We jump into a discussion about marketing (cold calling!) and we hear about mistakes (lessons learned) made along the way during the creation of Handlr. We explore what it takes to find and hire a reputable software developer and what methods Britt and her team are using to expand Handlr to create a complete ecosystem of businesses and customers that can benefit from using the platform. Wrapping up the interview, we discuss using Asana and SCRUM to keep your tasks moving forward and on time and the importance of advisors and mentors to help bring a product to market. Join us for all this and more before jumping over to the Small Business Facebook Support Group to comment and ask your own questions! Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #130 August 2, 2017 00:00:47 Next week: Shannon’s eBay conference experience 00:01:02 Brittany Alwerud from Handlr Business Management 00:01:58 From dog poop scooper to business owner “You’re not a businesswoman, you’re a dog walker” 00:05:06 Britt hit a wall… and needed a system DogZenergy 00:07:27 Uber for running your business on demand 00:09:02 Freemium… for businesses! 00:09:43 Find an ecosystem and then build it 00:11:47 Cold calling and SEO 00:13:27 $10MM/year from Dog Walking! 00:13:59 Make money by judging people’s appearances 00:14:41 Launch quickly, but not too quickly 00:16:26 Finding a reputable and reliable developer 00:18:37 Expanding the platform 00:21:38 Cross-promotion as a growth path 00:22:44 Letting your customers be your advisors Asana SCRUM Management 00:26:49 Steer clear of technology and invent a poop-eliminating spray! 00:28:26 Finding Handlr 00:28:58 SBS Outtro The post Brittany Alwerud from Handlr Business Management – Small Business Show Episode 130 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Are you making a living with your Podcast? We need to talk. Join us today on the Small Business Show and learn about the business of podcasting. Specifically, what’s happening in the world of Podcast advertising, what are sponsors looking for and how is success being measured. Dave shares his expertise about how a typical Podcast audience is made up of Intentional Listeners that have made the effort to seek out your content, subscribe and in many cases, download it to their device for future listening. These people are valuable and they have put their trust in your hands. How do you educate advertisers (and ad agencies) about that value and protect that trust at the same time? Listen in to hear some tips! We round out the show by revisiting the 1000 true fan concept and how it might apply to Podcasting and what additional value your Podcast can bring to you, beyond revenue. Join us today on the Small Business Show for all this and more. Then, visit the Small Business Support Group on Facebook to join the discussion. Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #129 July 26, 2017 00:01:00 Being intentional with your time 00:02:35 Deadlines are awesome motivators 00:04:32 Recognizing the value of obsessing over the future “Did I achieve something today that moved things forward?” 00:05:34 Podcast sponsorship is changing 00:06:19 Intentional listeners – no accidental subscribers – leveraging that value to sponsors 00:08:03 The value of podcast sponsorships Cost per thousand subscribers: $15-50 for advertising 00:11:50 Tailoring the sponsor message to your listeners 00:13:44 QA to “test” the effectiveness of the advertisement 00:18:20 …and again! 00:23:14 You can’t quantify trust 00:24:00 You can’t leverage a relationship if you micro-manage it 00:25:36 Beware of the low-hanging fruit. 00:27:29 What’s your value? 00:30:30 1,000 true followers at $10/month is a living 00:34:57 SBS Outtro The post The Business of Podcasting – Small Business Show Episode 129 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

What is the most important thing to remember when selling your business? Today on the Small Business Show, we continue our discussion about selling your business with advice from Abbi Vakil, inventor of the U-Socket USB wall plug. Listen in to hear us discuss cash-flow vs. profits and which is most important and what do to when you’re business is not succeeding OR failing. We touch on one of the tips from ReWork about ignoring your competition, since you don’t know what’s going on inside their business or if their profitable. Continuing on the tip from episode 127 of the Small Business Show, finding the right buyer and making it “easy” for them to buy your company is brought up with some tips on how to make this happen. Finally, we discuss how to keep growing your “Revenue Stack” after you sell your business with some creative ways to handle investing in startup companies. If you think (dream?) about selling your business now or someday, you’ll want to join us for this episode! After, click over the the Small Business Support Group on Facebook and share your thoughts and comments with Abbi, Shannon and Dave! Chapters/Timestamps 00:00:00 Small Business Show #128 July 19, 2017 We need your iTunes reviews 00:01:12 Abbi Vakil from AllMac 00:02:18 Abbi sold U-Socket 00:05:00 The hamster wheel of fame & cash flow, but no profit 00:06:18 Not succeeding or failing… what to do? Rework 00:08:13 When should you give up? 00:10:31 Finding the right buyer 00:13:26 The relief of selling mixed with losing your baby 00:15:18 The Todd Rundgren $1 Royalty 00:16:28 Never sell to your staff and finance that same staff 00:19:11 Valuation of U-Socket 00:22:06 Make it easy for this person to buy your company 00:22:30 What happens to the revenue stack after you sell 00:25:00 Startup Investing in what you know Asset investing 00:28:37 [email protected] or our Small Business Support Group 00:29:00 Keep good books … and have pride! Don’t drop your shorts! 00:32:12 SBS Outtro The post Selling Your Small Business – Interview with Abbi Vakil of U-Socket– Small Business Show 128 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

What happens when you realize that you’re NOT the best owner for your Small Business? Join us today for episode 127 of the Small Business Show to hear the story from one of your co-hosts that made just such a discovery after 13-years of being at the helm of TechRestore. Dave and Shannon discuss how finding the “right” buyer is critical to any sale, tips to find that person (or company) and what requirements will you have after the sale is completed. Shannon talks about separating assets to streamline the sale, how to quantify “soft” assets like goodwill and reputation as well as working with your accountant to be sure to limit your tax exposure based on how you allocate assets in your purchase agreement. We spend time discussing how to be sure the sale keeps moving forward to completion and how history shows (in both your co-hosts cases), how things can go sideways at the last minute. Along the way, you’ll hear about making the sale more of a partnership with the buyer and seller – working in everyone’s best interest towards success can help accelerate your sale and keep everyone working closely together in a positive manner. Shannon gives his usual “watch out for bankers and lawyers” speech that can kill a sale quickly, even though you’ll need to have both involved to close your deal and we spend some significant time discussing how to actually figure out what your business is worth, before you start the sale process. Join us today and then visit the Small Business Support Group on Facebook to comment and ask questions about selling YOUR business! Chapters/Timestamps 00:00:00 Small Business Show #127 July 12, 2017 00:01:13 We need your iTunes reviews <http://businessshow.co/itunes/> 00:01:50 Shannon sold TechRestore! 00:02:54 It only takes one buyer 00:03:41 The slow realization that the best owner … is not you. 00:05:31 How to find a buyer 00:08:09 Sticking around after you sell 00:09:58 What’s the asset for YOUR buyer? Not just physical. Goodwill counts! 00:15:11 How to tax-leverage the sale 00:17:38 Get to know your buyer so they can get to know your business 00:18:39 Make sure you have a plan B for your funding structure Time Kills All Deals! 00:20:36 Dave and Shannon almost sold a company once! 00:21:42 Watch out for bankers …and lawyers! 00:23:23 Make the sale feel like a partnership 00:26:14 The emotional struggle of the sale: The Story of TechRestore 00:28:50 How to value your business The charmed life doesn’t necessarily look good on paper 00:33:33 The post-sale intensity 00:37:13 SBS Outtro   The post Thinking of selling your Small Business? Don’t miss this episode of the Small Business Show – SBS 127 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Longtime listeners of the Small Business Show know that we embrace optimism with a passion. However, today we’re talking about failure. Specifically, why Small Businesses fail and how to avoid it. Dave and Shannon jump right into today’s Small Business Show with a discussion of your ROE, or Return on Energy for projects within your business, or new ideas that may not make you a profit, but can make you a better person and help to increase your energy levels throughout your Revenue Stack. Then, it’s on to a detailed discussion of a report published by Small Business Trends that focuses on why businesses fail. The great news is that there’s never been a better time to start a new business, however, studies show that about half of all Small Businesses will fail within the first 5-years. Half! We think that number is much too high, so we’re digging into this report to help you avoid the pitfalls of the “other” 50% of Small Business owners that won’t make it to their 6th anniversary. Listen in to episode 126 of the Small Business Show to learn how to adapt, how to change, when it’s time to trust your gut and how to build a culture of change within your company. Join us, then click over to the Small Business Show Support Group to share your comments! Chapters/Timestamps 00:00:00 Small Business Show #126 July 5, 2017 00:00:54 Small Business Support Group 00:01:10 “Return on Energy” – ROE 00:03:16 Always chasing $100 bills 00:04:05 Half of all Small Businesses Fail Within 5 Years 00:05:00 Restaurants do not fail more than other businesses 00:05:47 Don’t make assumptions that customers aren’t going to like your product 00:06:30 If you’re not adapting, you’re failing 00:08:03 You’re making a choice not to change, too. 00:08:47 Trusting your gut 00:11:36 Building a culture of change 00:13:30 A Players hire A Players… B Players hire C Players But if an employee can’t adapt, you need to leave them behind 00:17:21 Transparency with your employees 00:19:17 99.7% of all businesses in the US are “small” 00:20:50 Only 19% are outcompeted Rework Make your customer experience unbelievable! Cash is King 00:24:33 P&Ls are living documents 00:25:10 Don’t ignore your customers 00:26:40 Listen to your customers 00:36:53 SBS Outtro The post How to keep your Small Business from joining the 50% of companies that fail within 5-years. Small Business Show episode 126 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality are popular buzzwords we read and hear about a lot these days. Much of it sounds like it “will be” great someday, but what about Small Businesses that are in the VR/AR space and creating businesses TODAY? Joining us for episode 125 of the Small Business Show is Chase Dittmer and TJ Dishaw, co-founders of GrowpoVR Studios and GovRed. GrowpoVR began as an arcade/studio business, offering up VR experiences for consumers. When Chase and TJ noticed lots of Police officers using the equipment, they quickly realized there was an underserved demographic, so of course, they launched a new business, GoVRed to focus on military and government agency VR use. During the show, we also got a chance to learn about the Iowa Startup Accelerator and how GoVRed became a part of this 12-month startup program. We discussed how the business incubator provides support for design and engineering as well as legal and marketing areas. The co-founders discuss how their youth has been a benefit as well as a challenge when developing their business and meeting new customers. One thing is for sure, there’s no lack of enthusiasm from either Chase or TJ. Listen in to this episode of the Small Business Show to learn about their *fast* journey, the problems they have faced and how they are making changes to their “virtual” business plan almost daily as they bring their new business to fruition. After the show, be sure to join us at the Small Business Support Group on Facebook to share YOUR story!   Chapters/Timestamps 00:00:00 Small Business Show #125 June 28, 2017 00:01:19 Chase Dittmer and TJ Dishaw – GrowpoVR Virtual Reality Studio and Govred Starting with the iPhone… of course 00:02:36 Having the right tech means… a partnership was born! 00:04:28 VR Arcade…to the military! 00:05:44 Attracting the Military with Facebook 00:07:08 Beware of being tied to your business plan 00:07:26 Iowa Startup Accelerator Accelerator provides Legal, Marketing, Design, Engineering Clerky 00:09:45 Don’t make assumptions about your customers 00:11:47 Make your mentors be mean… or at least honest 00:13:28 Age as a benefit as well as a negative. 00:15:01 Use your product to sell yourself 00:16:15 Be ready to move! 00:18:00 Support your family, even when they’re crazy 00:19:56 VR for your ice cream store 00:21:07 VR/AR to enhance any business 00:22:27 Use Vive for your Meetings 00:24:58 HoloLens is Fake AR – more of a 360 viewer 00:27:03 Learn about Govred, Chase and TJ 00:28:25 GG Outtro The post Small Business Interview with co-founders of GrowpoVR and GoVRed – Small Business Show episode 125 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

You know the name, you’ve accepted the payment method. But, did you know that Paypal has a team of people focused solely on Small Business advocacy and public policy? Joining us today on the Small Business Show is Paul Disselkoen, Paypal Public Relations Specialist. Paul is charged with getting the voices of Small Business owners heard by politicians that are setting public policy that impacts Small Businesses throughout the country. Join your hosts Dave Hamilton and Shannon Jean to learn about what Paypal is doing to insure that it’s not just the big companies that are sending lobbyists to Washington. You’ll get a chance to find out about the Paypal Small Merchant Advisory Delegation and how YOU can join and get your message heard and get some great publicity for your Small Business. Paul takes us through the role that Paypal plays in helping to set policies that are favorable for Small Business owners and discusses the types of businesses they are looking for to connect with lawmakers locally, as well as in their annual trip to D.C. to connect with legislators on Capitol Hill. Listen in to learn more and find out how you can join the Small Merchant Advisory Board to protect and promote your Small Business. After the show, click over to the Small Business Support Group to share your thoughts about the show! Chapters/Timestamps 00:00:00 Small Business Show #124 June 21, 2017 00:00:49 Paul Disselkoen, PayPal Government Relations Specialist 00:02:45 Small Business Merchant Advocacy Delegation (SMAD) 00:03:48 Lobbying for Small Business – getting the voice of Small Business owners heard 00:05:26 Introducing SMB owners to their representatives in govt. 00:08:17 How do businesses join SMAD? Finding good stories from passionate SMB owners 00:09:28 What makes a good SMAD member? 00:11:09 Use PayPal to vet overseas suppliers 00:12:38 Using SMAD to overcome challenges Paypal SMB research report 00:17:00 Thought leaders in the Small Business area 00:18:21 PayPal hosts local events for Small Business Owners as well as trips to D.C. 00:19:24 Small Business Pitted Together with Politics 00:21:52 PayPal Public Policy on Twitter 00:24:05 Check the “Join” Link at PayPal.com/publicpolicy 00:24:34 SBS Outtro The post Interview with Paul Disselkoen of the Paypal Small Merchant Advisory Board – Small Business Show 124 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Are you a Closer? On the Small Business Show, we often say that all business owners are in the Customer Service business – but, we’re also in the Sales business. Wether you’re selling a product or service, you’ve got to sell to make your business grow. This week on the Small Business Show, you’ll get to hear the story of Ryan Stewman, Founder of HardcoreCloser.com. Ryan is an incredibly enthusiastic sales trainer and motivator that has overcome numerous obstacles to create a successful business that helps others succeed. Listen in to learn how Ryan started out washing cars and moved up to selling mortgages before the “Police kicked in the door” and everything came to a screeching halt. Keeping motivated and overcoming adversity propelled Ryan and before long he was back on top and running his own company. As the Founder of Hardcore Closer, Ryan teaches salespeople and business owners how to succeed using social media, the sales funnel concept and all about grinding-it-out everyday to create the life you deserve. You’ll hear about going from $25 a week to $20-50,000 per month in Facebook ads and what that gets you, along with what Ryan wishes he would have done sooner as a Small Business owner. Join us today on the Small Business Show to listen to a guy who has dedicated his life to “creating millionaires” and then click over to the Small Business Support Group to comment and connect with other Small Business owners! Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #123 June 14, 2017 00:01:17 Ryan Stewman – Hardcore Closer 00:02:11 From Car Wash to Mortgages… just like that! 00:03:42 Hooked! 00:04:13 The Police Kicked in My Door 00:05:23 $770k in 2005 – all came to a screeching halt. 00:06:08 Then the laws changed… and I couldn’t work. 00:07:18 Putting that G.E.D. to Good Use 00:09:34 Practicing for your business while on the clock 00:10:24 Pivot OFTEN 00:11:45 Keep the momentum going 00:12:05 Daymond John – The Power of Broke 00:13:18 Put your mask on first … but then make sure you help others! 00:14:25 Dedicating to creating millionaires 00:16:43 “I advertise heavily” “Advertising is the thing that propelled me” Facebook Ads Retargeting 00:20:14 You have to learn your market 00:21:18 Writing the first book 00:22:54 I write every day Emails, Social Media, Books, Blog Posts 00:24:00 I am a prolific mistake maker 00:26:00 Embracing your mistakes -empowering yourself and others with your story 00:26:56 Don’t be a lone wolf for too long: get help faster! 00:28:53 SBS Outtro The post Small Business Show Interview with Ryan Stewman, Founder of HardcoreCloser.com – Small Business Show episode 123 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

What’s your Exit Strategy? You have one, right? That’s the question a business mentor asked of Kyle Baccus a few years ago that led to the eventual sale of one of his businesses. Today on the Small Business Show, Kyle joins us for a second guest spot to discuss the sale and to spend some time exploring our Revenue Stack concept of developing multiple streams of revenue as part of your path towards world domination. We get a chance to learn about the three different types of business sales that Kyle has been involved in and what he’s learned from each of them, with the concept that you should “Keep saying Yes until there’s a reason not to” as a guidepost during the transactions. Business owners should consider going to a business-sales seminar to learn about selling a company, but be weary of paying cash up front to a business broker when you area ready to sell, according to Kyle. We then jump into a conversation about what is the most difficult part about selling a Small Business and how to avoid some of the usual pitfalls. Shannon and Dave then steer the conversation towards the Revenue Stack that Kyle has developed over time, how he’s moved from being self-employed, to being a business owner and finally an investor. We dig deep into how a missing revenue stream can be replaced with a varied Revenue Stack. Finally, we wrap up the show discussing how wealth can make you fear risk, how to leverage your strengths to overcome weaknesses and we discuss time management – or the lack thereof. Join us today for episode 122 of the Small Business Show, then visit our Small Business Support Group to leave your comments! Chapters/Timestamps 00:00:00 Small Business Show #122 June 7, 2017 00:01:43 Kyle Baccus – KC Tool 00:03:32 It’s a lot harder to count the failures than the successes 00:04:17 Selling 3 Businesses 00:05:19 Selling to a stranger is a different animal 00:06:55 What is your Exit Strategy? 00:08:00 Keep saying Yes until there’s a reason not to 00:09:26 Go to a business-sales seminar when you don’t need to attend 00:10:18 Learn how to price a business 00:12:41 The Most Difficult Part About Selling 00:14:33 Employees are the biggest challenge Be appreciative of the fact that they are working for you 00:15:35 Do Your Research! Google “Business Selling Horror Stories” Avoid the pitfalls 00:17:00 When a sale goes south 00:19:20 Avoid the embarassment of failure 00:19:46 “I’m self-employed and working towards being a business owner” Rich Dad, Poor Dad 00:22:36 Replacing a missing revenue stream and building a revenue stack 00:26:04 Money makes you fear risk 00:27:10 Leverage your strong suit 00:30:20 Maximizing your Time… For You Mr. Money Mustache 00:34:38 Avoid Wipeout Risk 00:36:07 SBS Outtro The post Selling Your Small Business and Developing Multiple Revenue Streams – Kyle Baccus of KCTool Revisits – Small Business Show 122 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Stop for a moment. Think about your day. Are you doing work that should be delegated to your employees or contract workers? Small Business owner Robert is feeling overwhelmed and looking for tips to save time and increase his profits at the end of each month. Would you be surprised to hear that your Small Business Show co-hosts have experienced this situation a few times? Dave and Shannon offer Robert some advice about delegating and keeping the phrase “Who is going to do this for me?” in his thoughts as he moves from working IN the business each day to working ON the business to become the manage and leader his company needs. Additional tips include saying no more often, raising your prices to reach an equilibrium between revenue and profit that works for you and your business and developing an Organization Chart to really see who’s doing what each day. We then jump into a question about the impact of an impending increase of the minimum wage to $15 on Gail’s local Ice Cream business. The guys suggest offering more self-serve options, “gamifying” your product to incentivize customers to spend more, starting a membership or loyalty program and more. Just as important, your co-host remind Gail to be unique; “Don’t sell Vanilla”, with some examples of other food small businesses that have succeeded by being different. Join us today for episode 121 of the Small Business Show! Then, follow us over to the Small Business Support Group to get YOUR questions answered. Chapters/Timestamps 00:00:00 Small Business Show #121 May 31, 2017 00:00:44 Happy to be alive…and take care to share the important details in case you’re not! 00:05:49 Our overflowing mailbag: [email protected] 00:06:20 Robert-We’re working a ton but not making enough money Scott Adams – How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big The E-Myth Who is going to do this for me? Rework Learn to say No Increase your Prices Don’t Just be a Sales Business 00:16:20 Gail-Will Rising Minimum Wage Kill My Business? SBS 59 – Would a $15 Per Hour Minimum Wage Impact your Small Business? Offer more self-serve Gamify your product: Incentivize customers to spend more Membership/loyalty program – Find perks Borderland Books membership Don’t sell Vanilla: be unique! Voodoo Doughnuts Yaks Create the story Give it away… once! 00:28:00 Take a breath Reactive vs. Proactive mode 00:31:08 SBS Outtro The post Delegating more in your Small Business, learning to say no and surviving the $15 minimum wage increase – Small Business Show 121 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

You’ve got questions about your Small Business and we’re here to help! Join Shannon and Dave today on the Small Business Show to hear their thoughts on setting up data sharing for a virtual office and the pros and cons of freelancers vs a business partner that has the skill set you are missing. If you need to share real-time data with your team that is working from different locations, what’s the best solution? Dropbox? Google Drive? How about a private solution like the Synology CloudStation? Your hosts spend time discussion these options and more to help one listener keep the data flowing between team members. We’ve spoken at length on the Small Business Show about outsourcing talent to help your business. Todd M. wants to hear what we think about hiring a freelancer vs bringing in a business partner for his technical needs. The guys talk about their experiences in this area and what to look out for with both solutions before making their recommendation. Listen in to episode 120 of the Small Business Show for all this and more! Then, join us in the Small Business Support Group to get your questions answered. Chapters/Timestamps 00:00:00 Small Business Show #120 May 24, 2017 00:00:57 Hustling is a good thing 00:01:42 Sunk Costs aren’t just financial 00:02:16 Send in your questions! Small Business Support Group 00:02:33 Jeremy-Virtualizing Your Office Dropbox Google Drive Google Docs Synology Cloud Station Synology DiskStation Business apps 00:13:00 Todd-Hiring a web developer? Guru JobRack The post Answers to your Small Business questions – Small Business Show 120 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Have you used outsourced talent for specific tasks in your Small Business? Ever run into quality problems? We thought so. Neil Napier ran into so many problems outsourcing that he realized there was a business opportunity to minimize headaches and increase the quality of the talent pool and thus, JobRack was born! Listen in to episode 119 of the Small Business Show and learn about the importance of having systems and procedures in place BEFORE deciding to outsource projects and how to get help if you don’t have either. We also discuss the pros and cons of outsourcing and what type of tasks lend themselves to using outsourced talent. Neil offers up some great tips to increase the likelihood of success with your outsourcing by developing Key Performance Indicators to insure that all progress is measurable. We then jump into ways to use larger companies to jumpstart your business, riding on the “coattails” of a larger company to launch your own, how to educate your customers about quality over quantity and Neil takes the time to share with us how outsourcing is just like sex. Don’t skip ahead to this section! Join us today for these tips and more, then click over to the Small Business Support Group to comment and get your questions asked! Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #119 May 17, 2017 00:01:23 Neil Napier – JobRack Forced to become a business owner – lost job and found inspiration 00:05:00 Instant International Businessperson 00:06:19 Systemizing Outsourcing 00:08:36 Marketing Tool: Offering guidance 00:09:22 Who benefits from Outsourcing? 00:10:11 Managing expectations of your customers 00:10:50 KPI: Set Key Performance Indicators for tasks within your business 00:12:27 Riding on the coattails of a larger business to launch your own Joining business forums to market your business. 00:14:49 Quality over Quantity: Going beyond connecting people 00:19:28 Difficulty turning brand evangelists into affiliates 00:22:00 Best Mistake: subscription model priced too low 00:24:38 Beware the ego of the entrepreneur! 00:25:30 Outsourcing is like sex! 00:26:39 Educating your clients – critical to growing your business 00:27:45 Lesson: Be ready to serve each client individually Be more aggressive! 00:29:29 SBS Outtro The post Small Business Interview: JobRack Founder Neil Napier on Outsourcing – Small Business Show 119 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

It’s as simple as it is powerful. If we were using clickbait headlines, this one would read: This One Tip Will Make Your Customers Love You! But, since we don’t do that stuff on the Small Business Show, join us this week as we dive in deeper to the Two Tokens concept of Customer Service, as so eloquently described by Jean-Louis Gassée in his Monday Note. Gassée, who has a storied history at Apple and founded Be Computing and the BeOS, uses the United Airlines customer service disaster to shine the spotlight on the concept of Two Tokens when solving customer service problems. In a nutshell, the Two Tokens concept states that: “When a customer brings a complaint, there are two tokens on the table: It’s Nothing and It’s Awful. Both tokens are always played, so whoever chooses first forces the other to grab the token that’s left.” Your Small Business Show co-hosts were so impressed with how Gassée explained this concept and how important it can be when solving problems, that they spent the entire Small Business Show today digging into the practice and discussing how powerful it is. Listen in, and then join us in the Small Business Support Group to discuss and learn more! Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #118 May 10, 2017 00:01:43 Balancing multiple businesses 00:02:53 Dangling the Carrot 00:03:40 Every business is the customer service business Helpscout 00:05:54 Jean-Louis Gassée and Customer Service Tokens 00:09:11 The customer is ready for a fight. They already don’t trust you 00:12:02 Get excited. Be demonstrative. 00:16:26 SBS 118 Outtro The post How to change the conversation when solving customer service problems in your Small Business – Small Business Show 118 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Can you work from anywhere? Is your dream to create a business that can be managed from Thailand, Europe, Florida and anywhere in-between? If so, you need to meet the folks from Jumpanzee. Join us on episode 117 of the Small Business Show! After spending years working for Ginormous Corp, David Denning and his wife Elle wanted to own a business that would give them the flexibility to live anywhere on Earth for months at a time. Jumpanzee, a branding, design and web management firm, allowed them to do just that. After spending time discussing the challenges of running your business from an island, we jump into a discussion of distinguishing yourself in a crowded marketplace without getting into a race to the bottom on pricing, how to manage customer expectations and understanding that you can’t be everything to everyone and still be the best at what you do. It wouldn’t be a Small Business Show interview without finding out about David’s “best” mistake that taught him some powerful lessons about making yourself accessible 24/7 and learning that time is your most precious commodity. We then talk about the obstacles in the way of scaling Jumpanzee and how David and his team are overcoming them. Shannon and Dave wrap up the show with a discussion about just what exactly an “Explainer” video is and how Jumpanzee uses them to market their customers businesses. Listen in and learn, then jump over to the Small Business Show Support Group to comment and connect with Jumpanzee!   Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #117 May 3, 2017 00:01:32 David Denning from Jumpanzee <http://jumpanzee.com> 00:03:27 Goal: Start a location independent business 00:04:53 The ups – and downs – of being a digial nomad in business 00:06:35 Managing time zones Helps if you are a night person. Bad internet access 00:07:57 Managing customer expectations 00:08:52 Balancing project work with ongoing revenue 00:10:10 You can’t be everything to everybody and still be good 00:11:28 Jumpanzee? 00:13:05 Buying a 3-month old business 00:14:00 Differentiating yourself without using price 00:16:35 But still post your prices! 00:22:37 Favorite mistake: live chat! 00:25:00 Biggest obstacle: How to scale 00:26:45 Explaining “explainer videos” 00:29:48 SBS 117 Outtro The post Small Business Interview with David Denning Co-Founder of Jumpanzee – Small Business Show 117 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

We’re strong proponents of finding something you love to do and creating a business around it. Lance Lewsader had such a great time getting out of an escape room attraction a couple of years ago that he decided to create his own and Bolt NWA was born! Bolt NWA is an Escape Room Experience where customers have one hour to find clues, solve puzzles and work together to escape the room. Bolt has three rotating concept rooms, including Locked!, The Vault and Day Dream. Lance and his team have created a successful business while getting involved closely with their community to serve multiple “bottom lines”. We start the show with your co-hosts Shannon and Dave getting educated about the Escape Room phenomenon, a fast growing attraction that is increasing in popularity around the country. Lance spends some time discussing Bolt’s history and how they have grown the business quickly, while connecting with their local community and charity organizations. Not content to just enjoy fast growth of Bolt on his own, Lance has franchised the business concept and explains how that process works. Your hosts are impressed that what usually can be a very complicated process, is just one more way to grow the business to Lance. But enough about success, we also want to know about those all important mistakes that teach Small Business owners so much. For Bolt, it was partnering with friends that got the business off to a rocky start. We wrap up the show with a talk about measuring success, what’s important beyond profit and what obstacles stand in Bolt’s way and how Lance plans to overcome them. Join us today for a fun show about a fun business concept! Listen in and then visit the Small Business Support Group to comment and ask questions. Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #116 April 26, 2017 00:01:18 Ghost Pepper Salt! 00:01:49 Lance Lewsader – Bolt NWA Escape Room 00:04:37 Ride the wave! 950 to 2,500 in 18 months! 00:07:40 The F word: Franchising 00:11:09 Leverage your specific expertise 00:13:07 Repeat business? Keep it fresh! 00:14:51 When in doubt… and when in trouble: consult with a lawyer 00:18:00 Charity is success 00:22:56 Advice: make mistakes! 00:24:08 Can you Bolt? The post Small Business Interview with Lance Lewsader of Bolt NWA – Small Business Show 116 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Are you using video to market your Small Business? What problems does it solve and how about problems it can create? Join us today on the Small Business Show where we meet Adam Rahn of Droi Media to find answers to these questions and learn about Adam’s journey from freelancer to Small Business owner. Adam shares his surprise at just how many “hats” he is now wearing to get his business up and running and how to manage those non-billable hours that can eat up your time as a Small Business owner. Dave and Shannon suggest diving into the EMyth book to learn more about working “on” your business instead of always “in” it and developing an org chart, even if your name fills every job duty. We also spend some time talking about ways to promote yourself as an expert in your community, how to say no to new business when it is not in your (or your clients) best interest and what methods work well for communicating with new clients. Winding up the show, we focus on the importance of digging deep to find your niche and keeping yourself creative when creativity is your business. Join us today on the Small Business Show for these topics and more, then jump over to the Small Business Support Group to share your thoughts! Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #115 April 19, 2017 00:01:28 Adam Rahn – Droi Media 00:04:33 Wearing many hats 00:06:09 EMyth – Working ON your business, not just IN it 00:07:08 Non-billable hours 00:08:04 “15 Minutes is Too Long” – Finding out what the client wants 00:11:37 Turning away business is sometimes a profitable decision 00:13:44 Position yourself as the community expert 00:17:20 Choose the right communication tools with your clients 00:20:13 When your creativity is your business 00:22:37 Becoming a grunt! 00:24:07 Future planning: carving a deeper niche 00:27:19 SBS 115 Outtro The post Using Video to Promote Your Small Business – Adam Rahn from Droi Media – Small Business Show 115 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Have you been trained in Human Resource management? Things like legal hiring practices, at-will employment, harassment policies and employee manual development? We didn’t think so. HR issues can plague small businesses of all sizes, especially once you hit the magic 50-employee number that activates all kinds of regulations and requirements. You need some help! Today on the Small Business Show, Dave and Shannon meet and talk to Kelly Loudermilk, founder of BuildHR, a human resource outsourcing and consulting firm that can make your Small Business life much better. Come along for the discussion and learn how a few quick questions at a Rotary function set Kelly on the path to launch her own Small Business to help other business owners succeed, while not having to worry about their HR compliance issues. We touch on topics including recognizing your own expertise to create a business, why you need an employee manual and best practices during the hiring process – because you just never know if that question you really want to ask is actually legal. Finally, Kelly shares her marketing experiences with Facebook ads, answering questions on Reddit and getting involved in local Chamber of Commerce events. Join us on episode 114 of the Small Business Show for this and much more, then visit the Small Business Show Support Group on Facebook to discuss the show and get your questions answered! Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #114 April 12, 2017 00:01:40 Kelly Loudermilk 00:02:10 BuildHR <https://www.yourhrsource.com> 00:03:19 It started at the Rotary Club 00:04:42 Recognizing Your Expertise 00:05:13 Growing businesses need help from 15 employees and up! 00:07:07 Good HR means better recruiting – offer the Cadillac package 00:08:51 Marketing BuildHR Facebook ads lead to success! Networking, local chambers Reddit! 00:10:37 What you can’t ask during an interview! 00:13:07 Did you New Yorkers know you can’t ask about salary? Kelly did! 00:14:09 Get yourself an employee handbook… and more… templatized! 00:20:20 Being a consultant means still serving the client in the end Objective Key Results 00:25:16 Starting a business is all about the journey 00:27:20 YourHRSource.com Twitter.com/yourhrsource Facebook.com/yourhrsource The post Small Business Human Resource Interview with Kelly Loudermilk of BuildHR – Small Business Show 114 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

In your Small Business, do you value being told when you are wrong? Would you like to have a Revenue Stack that generates cash from multiple sources? Do you know what the Scotty Principle is? Join us on Episode 113 of the Small Business Show for these topics and more! We all love it when we’re right. But as you know, Dave and Shannon love hearing about mistakes, the “wrongs” that teach us all so much. Are your employees or colleagues comfortable telling you when you’re wrong? Do you encourage it? Dave spends some time on the show explaining a new policy he’s enacted to be sure this happens in his Small Business. During the past year, we’ve discussed Scott Adams’ book and his Talent Stack concept. Shannon takes the stack concept and applies it to Revenue, discussing concepts to insure you’re not relying on just one source of cash to fuel your Charmed Life. We’ve invited some excellent guests to join us on the Small Business Show in the near future to discuss how they have developed their own Revenue Stacks – stay with us, it’s going to be awesome. Finally, when you have a Revenue Stack, you’re often faced with hiring outside service providers and contractors to help support those businesses. The guys discuss the Scotty Principle and frustrations with Small Business owners that don’t get the concept of under-promising and over-delivering. Join us today on the Small Business Show, then head over to our Small Business Support Group to discuss the show and ask questions! Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #113 April 5, 2017 00:01:00 Surrounding yourself with people who will tell you when you are “wrong” No “yes men” Requesting “You’re Wrong…” 00:05:48 Scott Adams’ Talent Stack 00:07:23 Key to Success: The Revenue Stack 00:08:35 Digging into the Serial vs. Parallel Entrepreneur Concepts 00:14:16 Revenue Stacks require the use of service providers/contractors – Can be frustrating 00:16:50 You’re gonna get paid: show up to do the work! 00:19:17 The Scotty Principle! – Underpromise and overdeliver if you can Managing your customers’ expectations. 00:22:28 Contact us at the Small Business Support Group The post Developing a Small Business Revenue Stack and being told when you are wrong – Small Business Show 113 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

We often ask our guests on the Small Business Show to tell us about their biggest mistake in business, as well as what advice they would have given themselves if they could go back to when they were just getting started. A very common response: Better accounting, better bookkeeping! On today’s episode, we are thrilled to have Justin Sisley of Digidern Bookkeeping as our guest to discuss the how and why of keeping track of your cash, as well as lessons from his own business experiences. The show begins with a discussion about what makes a good bookkeeper, how NOT to choose one and what to look for when searching for someone to help guide your accounting decisions. We quickly move into business strategy topics such as pricing your services, replicating yourself to grow (can you?) and the best marketing practices for service and consulting businesses. As the show proceeds, we get back into some accounting basics, such as not doing your own payroll and how critically important it is to keep up with your bookkeeping so you can catch mistakes, problems and opportunities early. Join Dave Hamilton and Shannon Jean on episode 112 of the Small Business Show for these topics and more. Then, head over to the Small Business Show support group on Facebook to meet Justin and get your bookkeeping questions answered.   Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #112 March 29, 2017 00:00:55 Justin Sisley from Digidern Bookkeeping 00:03:11 How did that begin? 00:05:04 Anyone can be a bookkeeper… what separates you? 00:06:19 Take someone’s headaches away 00:08:00 Target the bootstrappers! Brian Tracy 00:09:26 You can’t replicate yourself, don’t try! 00:12:18 Pricing yourself: show that you’re serious 00:13:42 Marketing yourself as a solopreneur consultant Thumbtack Using social media to connect with small business owners – find businesses that you are passionate about. 00:16:39 You’re in a niche, target another niche 00:18:14 Stay the course, or use the shotgun approach? Following different business ideas Designated Driver business concept – first business. 00:21:21 Putting off Accounting – #1 mistake 00:23:34 Don’t do your own Payroll! 00:25:40 Back in time with advice! Resist the shiny objects – focus on your core business Don’t half-ass two things! 00:28:46 Uniquely Qualified … Unfair Competitive Advantage! 00:30:37 Finding Justin The post Small Business Interview with Justin Sisley of Digidern Bookkeeping – Small Business Show 112 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Today on the Small Business Show, we discuss the launch of the Apple Market Forum, Dave’s new business venture with longtime colleague, Paul Kent. Shannon gets a chance to quiz Dave about the impetus for starting AMF and some of the juicy details behind the concept for the event that will be held this summer in Silicon Valley. During the course of the show, we discuss some critical aspects of partnerships including differing skill sets, mutual expectations and managing different types of communication. Other topics include finding an expert in a different field than your own to partner with, limiting the launch size of a new business and developing no-nonsense, clear communication with your business partners. We wrap up the show with a discussion about feeling nervous or apprehensive can be a good thing and the trick of insuring your success (or failure) by your thoughts. Join us today for these topics and more! Then jump over to the Small Business Show Support Group to share your comments. Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #111 March 22, 2017 00:03:18 Apple Market Forum – Dave’s & Paul Kent’s new gig 00:06:08 How long have you been planning? 00:08:06 Partnering with an expert 00:11:20 Limiting your launch in size – easier to manage, scarcity 00:13:25 Be careful of overwhelming yourself 00:17:39 Believing is Creating. Success/Failure 00:17:58 Do good partners make good partnerships? 00:25:27 Teach yourself to crave apprehension 00:26:52 SBS Outtro The post Dave Launches Apple Market Forum, Partnerships and Embracing Apprehension – Small Business Show 111 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

What’s in a name? Everything when it comes to your company or brand! As founders, owners and stewards of Small Businesses, we all know how important your company or brand name is. Joining us today on the Small Business Show, Mike Pile, Founder of Uppercase Branding discusses his own business as well as sharing tips and methods for coming up with great names. Mike discusses how prioritizing tasks and projects when you are the boss can be one of the most challenging adjustments after leaving a corporate job, along with being sure to disconnect at the end of the day to keep your creative juices flowing. We then move on to discussing how Uppercase got its start and what marketing methods worked the best for them. You might be surprised to hear what traditional methods produced the best results. Later on the show, we spend time talking about how to come up with a great name for your business or brand with some examples of good and bad. Listen in to your co-hosts Dave Hamilton and Shannon Jean and then post your comments and questions to our Small Business Support Group on Facebook! Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #110 March 15, 2017 00:01:09 Mike Pile from Uppercase Branding joins us today 00:01:50 “Verbal Identity Consultancy” 00:03:42 Pulling out stories from companies 00:05:18 Prioritizing tasks and projects 00:06:43 Being your own boss: scary and liberating 00:07:49 Disconnecting to keep your creativity flowing 00:10:21 Marketing YOUR B2B Marketing business – using existing connections 00:13:43 A gift in the mail 00:18:09 “Brainstorming is a waste of time” Strategy and discovery 00:23:09 “A great name won’t help a bad business model” A bad name can be a distraction 00:25:09 Vetting your name is just as valuable as creating one 00:26:23 Norman Awards – Great new brand names. Good: “Adwash” – Samsung. Not so good: “Scion” – Hotels 00:30:07 Set a big stretch goal The post Small Business Interview with Mike Pile of Uppercase Branding – Small Business Show Episode 110 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

We began episode 109 of the Small Business Show with a plan to chat with Bob LeVitus about his new book, Working Smarter for Mac Users. We talked about the book of course, but we also covered a treasure of information about being a “Solopreneuer” for 20+ years and how creating discipline techniques can be a path to success. Bob considers himself to be “virtually unemployable” and perhaps that has opened the doors for him to become an author with over 80 books to his name, a regular contributor to the MacObserver and a tech columnist for the Houston Chronicle. We jump right into one of the most critical issues to being successful when working on your own: being disciplined enough to get the work done on and done on time. Bob uses the Pomodoro technique that blocks out 25-minute time-frames with no interruptions to keep on task. Join us today if you find yourself easily distracted and have trouble getting things done – there’s some great tips that we think will benefit all of us Small Business owners. Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #109 March 8, 2017 00:01:16 Interview with Bob LeVitus – Author, Entrepreneur and Small Business owner 00:02:37 Virtually unemployable 00:04:53 The power of saying “yes” 00:06:34 The hardest part about being a _______ is keeping your ass in the chair 00:07:20 Crazy glue on my buttocks – developing a system that works to motivate and discipline yourself. 00:08:44 Pomodoro Technique 00:10:00 Making ADHD work for you – Why the rabbit holes are so attractive 00:11:26 A Plan for the Day – isolate things that are the most important. 25 min work sessions 00:12:28 The most important deal you make … is the one with yourself 00:15:06 “Driven to Distraction” 00:16:36 Bob’s Book: “Working Smarter for Mac Users” 00:18:43 No stupid PC tricks! Partnering with other experts, using your brand. 00:24:42 Set yourself up for success – using quotas to keep you disciplined. 00:28:49 Working Smarter for Mac Users, the website! 00:31:46 Invent something! The post Small Business Interview with Bob LeVitus – Managing Distractions and Being Disciplined for Success – Small Business Show episode 109 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Problems – we all work on solving them every-single-day. Maybe the solution to a problem is the entire reason for your business to exist in the first place? Today on episode 108 of the Small Business Show, join Dave Hamilton and Shannon Jean as they focus on problem solving for your Small Business. Here’s some of the good stuff we covered on the show today: Tips to get you and your customer on the same side when trying to solve a problem – a critical maneuver to remove the “us and them” mentality when problem solving. Managing customer expectations to avoid problems in the first place. How to deal with problems when your Small Business is the customer. Getting past the automated systems to work with real humans. Using Google Docs to document, share and track access to your problem. Using storytelling to get people on your side that can help solve your problem. And much more! Join us on the Small Business Show and then click over to the Small Business Support Group to share your thoughts! Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #108 February 29, 2017 00:03:05 Solve your problems with your customer – be on the same side 00:04:29 Make sure you manage your customers’ expectations 00:09:02 Solve problems together 00:10:46 What happens when you’re the customer with a problem? 00:12:12 Don’t let the robots win! 00:13:36 When complaining, Lead with love 00:14:36 Use Google Docs to track your issue 00:20:21 If I treated my customers the way you treat me, you wouldn’t have me as a customer 00:20:54 Always tell a story 00:21:12 Play the reasonable man 00:23:20 “You are better than this” 00:24:48 Make the document live and breathe 00:26:49 Using LinkedIn InMail for Customer Service 00:29:50 SBS Outtro The post Effective Problem Solving with Your Customers and Suppliers – Small Business Show 108 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

What if you were tasked with taking a thriving brick and mortar business with an established clientele and transitioning it to an ecommerce business selling a completely different product line to a new demographic? How would you handle the stress of trying to keep existing customers happy while attracting new customers to grow the business? Sara Beznicki and Isabelle Tan jumped into this situation in 2015, leaving the corporate world to successfully launch A Gilded Leaf to find new customers and growth, while protecting the companies existing customer base. Join us today on the Small Business Show to hear about how the company sells on multiple marketplaces and converts customers to direct purchasing from their website, how independent user testing helped to change their website design and how focusing on specific customer groups rather than just sheer numbers has helped the business grow. After the show, join in on the conversation on the Small Business Support Group! Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #107 February 22, 2017 00:00:58 Sara Beznicki from A Gilded Leaf Jewelry <https://www.agildedleaf.com> 00:02:52 Changing your parents’ business 00:03:24 moving from corporate to small business – doing it all. Many tasks – 00:07:02 Going to where the customers are 00:10:13 Try, try and try again. Don’t get stuck. 00:10:41 Use UserTesting.com to test your site <https://www.usertesting.com> 00:12:24 Shopify Platform <https://www.shopify.com> 00:14:02 Use Pinterest and then boost 00:16:00 Brick and mortar to Appointment Only 00:17:24 Robots don’t buy your products! 00:19:33 Customer feedback as a success metric 00:21:06 Stay Calm The post Small Business Interview with Sara Beznicki of A Gilded Leaf – Small Business Show 107 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

How many tasks are you “managing” at one time? How effective are you while doing those things and how does multitasking impact your creativity? Join us this week on episode 106 of the Small Business Show and find out how your hosts deal with the urge to instantly respond to Slack posts and Messages. Dave brings up the concept of Spotlighting vs. Multitasking after Shannon explains his typical method of quickly jumping in and out of many different tasks during the day. We also discuss ways to push back on distractions and how to bring back some of that missing downtime in your life. Finally, since the guys love “Spotlighting” from one topic to another, you’ll here about the concept of allocating as much time to the news as it impacts your life. This proportional allocation can help to put things in perspective. So, turn off all those distractions and listen in to this episode of the Small Business Show! Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #106 February 15, 2017 00:02:16 The power of powering through 00:04:20 Why You Shouldn’t Multitask 00:07:48 Don’t multitask, Spotlight instead 00:12:45 Implied urgency 00:15:33 Internal vs. External distractions 00:16:22 Downtime is when good ideas come 00:19:13 Allocating proportional time to the news 00:23:08 Understanding your own mental bandwidth… and living within it. 00:27:33 Synchronous vs. Asynchronous Messaging 00:29:48 SBS Outtro The post Evil Multitasking or Powerful Spotlighting to Manage Your Time – Small Business Show 106 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

The thought of even pretending to fail is anathema to your hosts on the Small Business Show. However, Dave came across the concept of the Pre-Mortem and the guys go all-in today to see how it works. “A pre-mortem — also known as a premortem — is a managerial strategy in which a manager imagines that a project or organization has failed, and then works backward to determine what potentially could lead to the failure of the project or organization.” Can you see why this kind of freaks us out? Your Purveyor’s of Positivity, your Champions of the Charmed Life don’t like to let the concept of failure get in the way of their ideas. This has worked for both Dave and Shannon for decades, launching new businesses and letting new ideas develop before they get squashed by negativity. But, we think this Pre-Mortem idea has some real value and on this episode of the Small Business Show, we turn the tables and tear into our own show using the pre-mortem technique. So, how did we do? Listen in to find out and then jump over to our Support Group to share your thoughts on using a pre-mortem on your own business. Podcast Chapters & Timestamps 00:00:00 Small Business Show #105 February 8, 2017 00:03:40 A pre-mortem Apple’s Pre-Mortem Inc. 00:05:14 Is it a good idea? 00:06:18 Balancing optimism and pessimism 00:07:26 Pre-mortem of the Small Business Show 00:09:35 Danger: no financial gain Grow listeners to grow sponsors 00:12:27 Direct vs. Indirect revenue 00:15:17 1,000 True Fans 00:18:25 Danger: Not seeing the numbers 00:22:52 Voicing doubts without being a naysayer 00:28:07 Outtro Articles mentioned: Harvard Business Review: Performing a Project Premortem Riskology: The Pre-Mortem: A Simple Technique to Save Any Project From Failure 1000 True Fans The post Planning for failure? Use the Pre-Mortem technique to test your project or business concept– Small Business Show 105 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

If you had the choice, would you continue the traditions of a multi-generational business that provided decades of support for those that came before you? Or would you turn things upside down and commit to growing the business and challenging yourself (and your company) to embrace new technology, new customers and a new workforce? If you are a Small Business Show listener, we think we know what your answer is. Join us today as we spend some time with David Oliva of RD Appliance Service as he describes the journey from a self-employed entity founded over 50 years ago to a fast growing company that embraces change and challenges traditional methods to become the very best they can be. During our interview, we covered a ton of great Small Business topics such as working with your spouse, expansion with new employees, raising your prices and finding a new high-end service niche and much more. Listen in to episode 104 of the Small Business Show, then jump over to the SBS Support Group on Facebook to share your comments! Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #104 February 1, 2017 00:01:28 Interview: David Oliva from RD Appliance Service 00:02:47 The multi-generational transition 00:03:42 Changing the vision 00:04:38 Working with your spouse 00:05:54 Expansion via hiring and partnerships 00:07:08 The challenge of employees – keeping your “edge” and challenging yourself 00:09:24 It’s time to raise prices … a lot! Being a great Tech does not make you a great business owner. 00:11:58 Making changes with your parent as a partner 00:13:22 Going upscale! Finding your niche – 00:21:02 Best mistake: Worker’s Comp is a variable cost! 00:23:14 Stock parts: arrive prepared for each client 00:24:08 Service providers: watch out for aftermarket warranties 00:25:51 Scheduling time to work on your business 00:26:35 Being the best is the best success 00:28:04 Learn from other Small Business Owners 00:28:31 Don’t underestimate the value of your skills The post Small Business Interview with David Oliva of RD Appliance Service – Small Business Show 104 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Jay Gentile has a passion for saving time, his clients as well as his own! What began as a mobile product repair business, led to SEO and web design and finally into application development and the BoosterBots family of marketing apps. Join us today on the Small Business Show and learn how Jay made the transition from his first two businesses to ultimately creating a company that gives him the reward of helping people succeed along with the freedom and flexibility to lead his own Charmed Life. During the interview, we discussed leaving the corporate world to begin a new business, learning about SEO and PPC advertising to help clients and then using it to grow his own company and why following his interests has been so important. We then jump into discussing the importance of telling your personal story when marketing your company, how to offer long term support on products sold with a one-time fee and sticking to niche markets where you can have a big impact. Listen in to learn about BoosterBots success and more on this episode of the Small Business Show, then come over to the SBS Support Group to continue the discussion! Chapters/timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #103 January 25, 2017 00:01:18 Interview: Jay Gentile from BoosterBots 00:02:11 Another story of an HP employee branching off 00:05:04 The “problem” was, I didn’t own my own business 00:05:42 Led to SEO, PPC, Affiliate and online marketing 00:06:49 Transition from one business to another 00:08:39 Following your interests 00:10:23 Making your small business about you -telling your story 00:11:47 Supporting a one-time-fee product 00:15:13 Identifying and using your talent stack 00:16:24 Always be marketing! 00:17:25 Intentional marketing with private software 00:19:00 Niche specific software markets 00:20:36 Success is doing the things you want to do when you want to do them! 00:23:02 Best mistake: not delegating quickly enough 00:24:12 Stressed-out people do bad customer service 00:26:34 Don’t fear change! Evolving your business requires it. 00:28:10 Split test your ass off! 00:29:39 SBS 103 Outtro The post Small Business Interview with Jay Gentile of BoosterBots – Small Business Show Episode 103 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

When Tyler Merritt noticed that his good friend was running a growing appliance repair business with no software to track accounting, schedules or workers, he did what good friends do: he offered to help build a customized application for the business. The guys spent about a year putting together the app and since they figured that most small service businesses had the same problems, they decided to launch Field Harmony to help service companies manage all aspects of their operations. The goal was to help their own business, contribute to the success of others and then use the revenue from Field Harmony to “purchase our time back from the world”. On this episode of the Small Business Show, Dave and Shannon spend time learning about Tyler’s journey and what it took to get Field Harmony from an idea to an actual product that could be sold. We discuss partnerships, marketing, trusting your employees, the importance of asking potential customers if they would actually use your solution and much more. Listen in and then share your thoughts on our Small Business Facebook group! Chapters/Timestamps 00:00:00 Small Business Show #102 January 18, 2017 00:01:11 Interview: Tyler Merritt from Field Harmony 00:01:25 smallbusiness Subreddit 00:02:00 Solving a problem – managing service people in the field 00:05:20 Taking your internal solution and selling it to others 00:07:23 The perfect partnership: one has the industry connections, other with technology 00:08:38 Separating yourself from the solution 00:12:30 “We want to purchase our time back from the world” – with the business revenue 00:13:48 Making the leap: when can we quit our day jobs and focus 100% on this business. 00:15:29 Marketing focus – pay per click, word of mouth, email marketing 00:16:43 Running your business on a spiral notebook 00:18:40 Trust people to do what you hired them to do… and only that! 00:19:37 Ask potential customers “Does anybody want this?” 00:21:25 “Your time is the only thing you can’t print more of!” 00:23:32 Best mistake: forgetting that other people – even your business partners – are not you, don’t think like you and don’t know what you’re thinking. 00:26:38 Measuring success: Positive feedback from our customers & contributing to the success of others. 00:28:59 Let the good stuff in … and out! 00:31:54 Field Harmony 00:32:54 SBS Outtro   The post Small Business Interview with Tyler Merritt from Field Harmony – Small Business Show Episode 102 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

What’s more difficult? Starting up a new company or taking over and changing the culture of a 4th generation small business? Join us today on the Small Business Show with our guest Rick Stuart from Listo, a company founded in 1921! How would you handle taking over and managing employees that have known you since you were a kid? What about “updating” the culture of a company almost a century old? Would you rush in and be in a hurry to make changes to take advantage of current market opportunities, or would you take your time before you started making changes? Dave and Shannon explore these questions and more on today’s show. During the conversation with Rick, we learn about the importance of pivoting into new markets (sound familiar?), going “low-tech” and getting smaller to grow. Listen in to learn about how Rick adapted himself and his small business to keep it moving beyond the first 100 years. Chapters/Timestamps/Stuff Mentioned 00:00:00 Small Business Show #101 January 11, 2017 00:01:18 Interview: Rick Stuart from Listo Pencil Company <http://www.listo.com/pencil.htm> 00:02:01 Multigenerational (4x!) business 00:04:22 Low-tech is a quandary… or is it? <http://www.listo.com/pencil.htm> 00:06:21 Pivot, pivot, pivot! It’s (still) all about customer service 00:07:46 Started with… and returned to the family business 00:09:56 Running a company – and people – older than you are! 00:11:23 Changing (updating?) the company culture 00:15:07 “Go have fun with it, kiddo!” 00:16:33 Real estate as a hedge 00:17:56 Estate planning as part of a business plan 00:19:54 Looking at things from a different perspective – split out manufacturing 00:22:35 Shrinking to grow 00:25:33 Evolve: don’t hang on too long! 00:28:17 Let the brand live its own life “Be a steward of the brand” It’s OK to let a small business be small 00:31:09 Take time to Earn (trust) and Learn (the business) The post Managing and Stewarding a 4th Generation Small Business – Rick Stuart from Listo Corp – Small Business Show 101 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Welcome to the 100th episode of the Small Business Show! As they begin 2017, Dave and Shannon take a look back at some of the highlights from last year in the advice and how-to categories. Your hosts revisit tips and tricks from 8 of their favorite episodes and wrap up the show with a reminder about finding ways for your business to enrich your personal life. Join us today and then share your story on the Small Business Support Group! Chapters/Timestamps 00:00:00 Small Business Show #100 January 4, 2017 2016 Year in Review: Advice/How-to 00:01:13 Small Business Support Group 00:02:32 Ep52 – Executive Summary – Get ready to do yours. Then share with us! 00:07:15 Ep55 – The Sammy Hagar show! – Learning from Sammy to make your customer feel like they are the most important to you. 00:09:25 Ep57 – Slack – you need to be using it if you are not already. 00:12:35 Ep65 – Scott Adams’ “How to Fail at Almost Everything & Still Win Big” – Definitely the most mentioned book of 2016 for us. 00:15:16 Ep68 – Tax/IRS Advice – Hang up and call back to get the person you want. Talk to them. 00:18:53 Ep87 – Starting our Small Business Support Group 00:20:09 Ep73 – Build Your Success List! – Don’t forget just what a bad ass you really are. Shannon’s article can help! 00:21:01 Ep49 – Credit card tips and naming your business – Worth mentioning again the important of CC programs as part of your Charmed Life System (CLS) 00:24:25 Finding ways for your business to enrich your life The post Small Business Show Advice and How-to Year in Review – Small Business Show 100 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

As we wrap up 2016 with our last Small Business Show episode of the year, Dave and Shannon take a look back at some of the highlights of their favorite interviews from the past 12-months. Join us today we we revisit some of these moments that stuck with us! Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #99 December 28, 2016 00:02:06 Year in Review Interviews 00:03:06 Ep79 – Greg Mercer of JungleScout – Still one of my favorite interviews of the year. 00:08:25 Ep89 – Harald Sinow – Still impressed by his victory lap 00:10:09 Ep56 – Paul Goodman/PuraVida – The Beer Test in action! 00:14:07 Ep61 – Bob Grewal of Seapoint Business Advisors – selling your business. 00:16:10 Ep83 – Paul Downs & “Boss Life” 00:18:42 Ep63 – Bryan O’Connell from Meras Engineering – managing growth and finding and advisory group 00:21:10 Ep77 – Tim Cote – Commonwealth Foreign Exchange. – Another beer test success story – killer execution. 00:24:34 Ep58 – Jason Snell – Resiliency – adjusting to changing conditions to succeed – eventually realizing he needed to control his own destiny and start Six Colors Personal stuff 00:27:27 Ep54 – Dave & Shannon Interview Each other 00:28:45 Ep75 – Shannon’s Closet Begins! 00:30:58 Ep64 – Dave’s Expert Witness business, and… 00:34:04 Ep66 – Talk about a crappy week… The post The Best Small Business Owner Interviews of 2016 – Small Business Show 99 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

What would happen if a favorite business that you visit often suddenly began introducing political comments in the mix of their marketing or posting political signs in their store. Would you respect their right to do so, even if you disagreed with their politics? Join Dave and Shannon on episode 98 of the Small Business Show as they discuss the pros and cons of mixing politics with your Small Business. The discussion begins with Shannon discussing one of his favorite, daily news sites that has recently begun introducing political links and commentary into their daily content. Can you successfully mix your political beliefs and your business? Maybe that attracts customers to you or maybe it’s a disaster? Your hosts try to look at all angles of this topic as well as throwing in a few tips about creating your Charmed Life along with your Small Business. Listen in and then share your thoughts on our Facebook Small Business Support page! Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #98 December 21, 2016 00:01:05 Should politics be mixed with your business? 00:03:37 Daring Fireball … adds politics? 00:05:30 Curating your business’s audience 00:10:22 Politically agnostic or simply politically quiet 00:13:01 Contract of Respect 00:14:15 Priorities and Respect 00:18:43 Don’t be distracted from creating your OWN reality – your Charmed Life 00:21:05 When lodging a complaint, know your audience 00:24:12 What’s your business do with politics? Is it part of your niche? The post Politics and Your Small Business – Should you mix them? – Small Business Show episode 98 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

As Small Business owners, we have a duty to uphold. That duty, to our employees, partners, suppliers and service providers is to communicate in a timely manner and pay our bills on time, among other things. What happens when we fail at this? Well, that depends on how you handle the situation. Join Dave and Shannon on episode 97 of the Small Business Show to discuss a real world example of how NOT to handle things when they go wrong. We also discuss the impact of employees, suppliers and customers having their own audiences to share their experiences with – are you OK with word getting out about how you treat your employees? We hope you are, because that is just a few clicks away for every Small Business. Listen in to the show and then join the conversation on the Small Business Support Group! Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #97 December 14th, 2016 00:02:44 What happens when the boss goes sideways? 00:08:18 Communication and Transparency is key 00:11:52 What to do when you can’t pay 00:16:11 Creating your own reality #charmedlife 00:17:36 The Dark-Side of being overly optimistic 00:20:53 Running a business when employees/vendors/customers have their own audiences 00:24:57 It comes back to transparency The post What happens when a small business owner doesn’t solve problems and lets employees down? – Small Business Show 97 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Think you can do it better? The jobs at your company, that is. Do you remember when you did every job at your business? If it’s been awhile since that time, join us today on the Small Business Show as we discuss how this “job swap” can energize you, allow you to reconnect with employees and provide some valuable insight into what’s really happening behind the scenes each day. On Episode 96 of the Small Business Show, Dave and Shannon discuss how they have both benefitted over the years when they had to jump in to do an employees job. Wether it’s due to a vacation or unexpected vacancy, getting your hands dirty by working in the warehouse, or making sales calls again can be a very positive thing. We also touch on using humor in the workplace, realizing we need to do an entire show on that topic! Finally, if you enjoy the show, please give us a quick click and a review on the iTunes store. It really helps!   Chapters & Timestamps 00:00:00 Small Business Show #96 December 7th, 2016 00:00:57 Coming up: Best Of! 00:02:07 Stepping in to do your employees jobs 00:07:12 Finding the inefficiencies and improving processes 00:09:12 Reconnecting with the nuts and bolts of your business 00:10:28 Your employees will solve problems, but maybe not in the best way 00:11:00 Sweep the dust out of the corners 00:13:58 It’s all about showing your employees that you’re all on the same team 00:18:57 Modeling – setting the workflow pace 00:21:19 Proving the pudding. 00:22:19 Getting back to basics is exciting 00:24:40 Humor in the workplace? 00:25:37 We need your reviews – As Jerry Maguire said “Help us help you..” The post Do Your Employees Job to Gain Some Valuable Insight – Small Business Show 96 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Join us today on the Small Business Show to listen in on our conversation with Steve Baines, Co-Founder of Forcivity, a software development firm focused on simplifying how you access your data in cloud based applications like SalesForce. Steve’s years of experience working with data as both a consultant and previous business owner led him to launch Forcivity with a group of like minded folks that have a mission to free your data from apps and present it to you in a much more useable format. Steve shares his experience moving from consultant to business owner and how becoming your own customer can lead to a new business venture. We also spend time discussing motivating yourself to power through tough times, how to pick a (good) partner, how to pick the right employees and one of our favorite topics: creating your own reality to nudge you along towards success. Listen in and learn about Steve’s journey and more on episode 95 of the Small Business Show! Questions, comments or need help? Visit the Small Business Show Support Group on Facebook. Chapters/Timestamps 00:00:00 Small Business Show #95 November 30th, 2016 00:01:11 Steve Baines, co-Founder of Forcivity 00:01:26 Incubation turns founders into co-founders 00:02:37 Managing the Flow of Salesforce Data 00:04:38 Scratching your own itch to start a business 00:05:24 Consulting business becomes 8 years of market research for new company and new solutions 00:07:39 Hone your Focus. Develop a system to build a successful product – adjust, repeat 00:09:32 Turn down a job offer, become a consultant 00:11:57 Consulting often lacks leverage: find an exit! 00:12:28 Identify your passion and don’t forget it 00:13:24 Second-time entrepreneurs are crazy 00:16:00 Create your own reality 00:17:18 Not every day is a good day 00:18:13 Find like-minded co-founders 00:20:31 …and employees! 00:21:27 Can’t do it alone! 00:21:53 Quickly identify the fish out of water 00:24:52 Choose wisely… when choosing partners 00:27:39 SBS 95 Outtro The post Interview with Steve Baines of Forcivity – Small Business Show 95 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

One of the most trusted people in your life can be a huge help with your Small Business success – your spouse! But, there’s some important details to work out to insure success when working together. In this episode of the Small Business Show, Dave and Shannon share their experiences working with their spouses and their tips for maximizing the benefits while minimizing potential problems that may come up. A critical first step: manage expecations, roles and clearly lay out who will be responsible for which tasks in your business. We also discuss deciding who’s the “boss”, how to promote good communication, using humor to remove tension and keeping the right perspective during the workday. Join us today and them share your story at the Small Business Support Group on Facebook! Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #94 November 23rd, 2016 00:01:30 Working with your spouse! 00:02:11 Hiring your spouse 00:04:23 Firing your spouse! 00:05:22 Managing expectations – roles, responsibilities, each other 00:08:01 Keep your marriage out of the office and your office out of your marriage. 00:11:10 Who’s the Boss? 00:13:06 Communication is Key 00:15:00 Humor can go a long way to dissolve tensions 00:16:12 Perspective 00:18:00 Make the right hiring decision, regardless of who it is. 00:20:09 Employees with benefits! 00:21:05 Your spouse can double your charmed life The post Find Success Working With Your Spouse in your Small Business – Small Business Show Episode 94 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Has your Small Business lost it’s edge? Has your past success enabled people to slow down the pace of work? How do you beat back complacency and invigorate your team to take on new challenges and grow your Small Business? Maybe hiring a consultant will do the trick – someone to evaluate your team from the outside and offer an unbiased opinion and tips to shake things up. Should you encourage your employees to go out and “side-hustle” to make some extra cash and learn a new skill? We like this idea, but you need to be aware of the pros and cons of promoting outside work in your Small Business. Listen in to episode 93 of the Small Business Show as Dave and Shannon discuss these topics and more! Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #93 November 16th, 2016 00:00:51 Living by your favorite catch-phrases 00:03:10 Never stop stopping…and thinking about your business. 00:03:41 Identifying that your personality is not right for every role in your company 00:05:00 Keeping your edge – getting an outside opinion 00:07:22 Dave Hires a Consultant 00:11:17 Complacency is the enemy .. and the cousin of success 00:13:59 It comes back to change 00:16:04 Side Hustles 00:18:57 Mentoring your employees as entrepreneurs 00:21:12 Invest in the future 00:23:18 Leave us a review! The post Fighting Complacency and Regaining your Small Business Edge – Small Business Show 93 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Welcome to episode 92 of the Small Business Show! On today’s show, we spend some time getting updated on Shannon’s social media business experiment that he started back in June. The goal was to start a new business solely using social media and selling apps on an iPhone. No computer and no website. So, how’s it going? Listen in for more detail, but a quick snapshot looks like this: 28,0000+ followers gained since starting mid-June Selling 3-10 designer handbags (the product chosen to experiment with) per day Net is currently $150-500 per day with about 60-90 minutes of time spent each day on the business Significant profit margin increase with new, “upstream” supplier relationships At the point where the business is becoming scalable We also discuss the current “political theatre” as it relates to Small Business, developing an org chart even if your name fills every role and managing supplier relationships. Join us today for these topics and a few more as we work to help your grow your Small Business and expand your Charmed Life!   Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #92 November 9th, 2016 00:01:00 Political Theater as it relates to Small Business 00:01:56 Jacob: How is Shannon’s “Run it from your phone” business going? 00:04:08 Poshmark 00:04:38 Building a business with someone else’s leftovers 00:07:52 Develop an org chart even when it’s just you 00:10:27 The org chart is your roadmap 00:12:23 Capital and contacts 00:13:49 Follow the cardboard! 00:15:32 Shannon’s trick: “I’ll take everything you have, as is, and promise no returns.” 00:17:29 Find the right sales venues 00:21:12 Free boxes! 00:22:06 Delight your customers, then make them your followers 00:23:33 Shannon’s the Small Business Vampire! 00:24:35 Enjoy what you do The post Social Media Small Business Success, Finding Suppliers and Delighting Your Customers – Small Business Show Episode 92 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

How do you find topics for your Small Business blog and social media posts? Would you like to be able to tie in your content with what people are already searching for online? Sounds pretty cool, but maybe expensive? Yes, and no. It is cool and it’s free! Dave and Shannon get the Small Business Show started today with a discussion about Google Trends and how using timely search data can not only help you come up with ideas for your content strategy, but also make those posts more successful by including content that your potential customers are already searching for. This is powerful stuff, people! The Google Trends topic first came up in our Small Business Support Group on Facebook, so be sure to join the group to share in the discussion. We then jump into a chat about how to make it easier to just Get Things Done. An article in Bottom Line Personal has some great tips that Dave and Shannon analyze and discuss – agreeing with some, completely disagreeing with others and in typical fashion, adding their own personal twist to some others. The show wraps up with the critical question of the day: When’s the last time you changed the side of the bed you sleep on? Listen in for these topics and more on episode 91 of the Small Business Show! Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #91 November 2nd, 2016 00:01:24 Google Trends – using trending search data to create timely content for your small business 00:06:00 JungleScout 00:09:18 Small Business Support Group 00:09:49 Bottom Line Personal 00:10:51 Make small choices 00:15:30 Break it down into steps Shannon’s paper trick – write down notes on the paper – what has to happen to get it off your desk? 00:17:12 But see the big picture! 00:19:13 Goals vs. Systems 00:22:04 Smarter To-Do lists? 00:22:44 Avoid Information Blindness 00:26:00 Be ruthless with your time 00:28:36 Procrastination is prioritization 00:30:12 Make your bed 00:31:53 Shift your habits – change the side of the bed you sleep on, the spot you sit at the dinner table. 00:32:19 Change your language! The post Using Google Trends for your Small Business Content and easier ways to Get Things Done – Small Business Show 91 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

You’ve heard us talk about the flexibility vs. freedom of being a Small Business owner many times on the Small Business Show. But what if you actually did have the freedom? Freedom as in “I just sold my business, and now what?” kind of freedom? Our guest last week, Harald Sinow talked about taking a year off (that’s t-w-e-l-v-e full months, folks) to reconnect with his family and take them on an unscripted tour of Europe. Dave and Shannon take that concept and run with it on this episode of the Small Business Show – talking about prioritizing family, decompressing from work stress and working hard to hang onto the things you love. The guys then jump into a discussion about minimizing your weaknesses by hiring someone to manage YOU and the importance of keeping a positive attitude during the normal ups-and-downs of owning a Small Business. Shannon coins a new term as a “Small Business Vampire” due to the fact that starting and running companies provides him with so much energy and a final comment about always being sure to understand that “Your best years are ahead of you!” is a powerful concept that can lead you to that Charmed Life that you so richly deserve. Join us for these topics and more on episode 90 of the Small Business Show!   Chapters/Timestamps and Links: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #90 October 26th, 2016 00:00:57 Harald Sinow on SBS 89 00:01:18 Harald had the wisdom to take a victory lap of sorts 00:03:40 Not really a victory lap – more of a debriefing, a reconnection with kids, decompressing 00:04:55 Prioritizing your family 00:09:20 Teaching as a success metric 00:12:37 Hanging on to the things you love 00:14:30 Hiring your own manager 00:17:24 “Like a Small Business Vampire” 00:22:55 The best years of your life are ahead of you! 00:25:17 SBS 90 The post Prioritizing Family and Keeping a Positive Outlook as a Small Business Owner – Small Business Show episode 90 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

How easy was it for you to make the transition from doing the day-to-day work in your Small Business to teaching others to do it so you could focus on the business? Harald Sinow, co-founder of MacStation in Vancouver, realized that he needed to change his focus from being the best worker to being the best teacher if he wanted to grow his business. Join us today on the Small Business Show to learn how Harald focused on this transition as well as cash flow and hiring to insure his business would succeed. We also discuss creating a “family” from your customers as well as your employees and how to “fire yourself” as quick as you can so your best people can do their best work. We wrap up the show with a discussion of what happened after Harald sold his company, the impact of taking a year off to tour Europe to reconnect with his family and helping to launch young Small Business owners (Harald’s kids!). This was an especially useful show, folks. If you are interested in creating, or continuing your own Charmed Life, listen in! Chapters/Timestamps and Links: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #89 October 19th, 2016 00:01:18 Interview with Harald Sinow – Co-founder of MacStation in Vancouver 00:02:20 Used college classes as development study for MacStation 00:02:52 Timing matters! 00:04:33 Manage your cash flow 00:06:48 Transitioning to management – hire slowly and fire quickly 00:08:24 Have a hiring process that limits your ability to make mistakes 00:10:44 Word of mouth matters. Be diligent about tracking your customers 00:12:00 Manage your referrals. 00:13:00 Build a “family” from your customers – tracking their unique details 00:14:03 “No one can do it better than I can” 00:15:00 Become a Good Teacher 00:16:26 Favorite mistake: “Not firing myself soon enough” 00:17:08 Build a great culture – have fun. Being able to let go – best measure of success. 00:19:48 Make sure your business is Built to Sell 00:22:08 Traveling and exploring helps to find what you’ll do at home 00:24:28 Sending your kids into the Dragons’ Den! 00:27:57 Find an accountability partner The post Transitioning from Worker to Teacher – Small Business Interview with Harald Sinow of MacStation and Creo Development : SBS 89 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Are you involved in every decision that your employees make? Would you like to grow your business, decrease headaches and free up some much needed time? We thought so. Today on the Small Business Show, Dave and Shannon discuss how “not to be in charge” all the time and empowering your employees to make the right decisions. Dave shares some stories about being so concerned about communicating with customers that he would write the email responses and give them to his employees to send out. Dave now says: don’t do this! Shannon brings up the concept of repetitive email templates to handle similar issues that come up over and over with your customer service department as well as using a communication management service like HelpScout to insure everyone is on the same page when it comes to communicating with your customers. We then jump into a discussion of “magic phrases” that build trust with your customers and help convince them that you are on their side and we wrap up the show with a quick discussion on refunds and handling them correctly. Join us today as we discuss letting go and communication across teams with your customers on the Small Business Show, episode 88!     Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #88 October 12th, 2016 00:01:14 How to not be in charge 00:07:19 Singularity of purpose 00:08:47 Empowering People 00:11:41 Resist the temptation to write your employee’s emails 00:16:36 Using Help Scout to homogenize your company’s communications <https://www.helpscout.net> 00:19:35 “Magic Phrases” – words and phrases that build trust and convince the customer you are on their side. 00:22:12 Prioritizing the customer 00:24:00 Refunds are tricky business 00:29:38 Communicating with the customer – ongoing discussion about what is going on. “Show notes” or “tech notes” The post Empowering Employees and Effective Customer Communication – Small Business Show Episode 88 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

On this episode of the Small Business Show, Dave and Shannon talk about the development of the Small Business Facebook Group, what went wrong at the beginning and what is going right with the Group after making some (much needed!) changes. We discuss how Small Business owners are using the new group to get critical feedback on their websites and apps, how a political discussion really can be productive while taking into account different viewpoints and much more. You’ll want to be sure to join the new Small Business Group to get in on the discussion! Dave then shares 5 traits that Apple CEO Tim Cook looks for when hiring employees and Shannon questions the viability of using those tips with every employee type. Read the article, then share your thoughts! We wrap up the show with a quick discussion about the new Facebook Marketplace that is being re-launched this week. Are Craigslist and eBay worried? Will you use the FB Marketplace for your business? We will continue to discuss this new selling venue as it evolves. Join us today on the Small Business Show for these topics and more!   Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #87 October 5th, 2016 00:01:00 Managing time: Look for the busiest person 00:02:47 Lessons learned creating our new Facebook Group 00:05:29 Tim Cook’s Traits of an employee 00:11:00 Rob asks us and you to evaluate his website 00:13:48 Taxes: Legality vs. Morality 00:21:24 Facebook Marketplace The post Building a Facebook Small Business Group – Small Business Show episode 87 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

As we all enjoy the Political Theatre that is our current Presidential Election, Dave and Shannon decide to focus this week’s topic on Politics and how it can (and will) impact your Small Business. Join us as we discuss Dave’s “crazy theory of politics”, looking at the “why” instead of just the “who” when hearing a political message and how to deal with National vs. State and Local politics that might be messing with your Small Business. Of course, no Small Business political discussing would be complete without touching on new laws about Exempt and Hourly employees and the minimum wage requirements for both. Finally, we chat about the concept of it being better to “Ask forgiveness instead of permission” and how it is NOT a good idea when it comes to dealing with local, state or federal laws. Join us today on the Small Business Show for these topics and more! If you enjoy the show, click over to give us a quick review on iTunes. We appreciate it! Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #86 September 28th, 2016 00:00:45 Political Theater 00:01:58 Dave’s crazy theory 00:05:34 Who’s sending the message? 00:08:50 National vs. Local 00:09:46 Healthcare, Minimum Wage 00:10:00 “Exempt” employees 00:14:05 No such thing as forgiveness 00:14:41 Zenefits 00:16:08 The wheels of Congress move slowly, but they move! 00:20:10 As it gets closer to home, pay more and more attention 00:25:19 Tinfoil Hat: Unelected Bureaucrats 00:27:44 Customs can be the worst! The post Politics vs. Bureaucracy and how both impact your Small Business – Small Business Show 86 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

  As Small Business owners, when posting to public social media, what are some things you should look out for? What comments could come back (maybe years later) to cause you headaches, legal problems and money? Dave and Shannon discuss some examples of what NOT to post on social media and that leads into a discussion about Mistakes as Opportunities. When a supplier makes a mistake, Shannon explains, there’s an opportunity to leverage that mistake into a closer relationship (if you want one), a better price and more opportunity for future business. When you are the customer, there are several ways to make the most of a mistake with your supplier or service provider. On the flip side, when you or your business make a mistake with a customer, you have a huge opportunity to earn their trust by making things right. Customers that experience just how good you or your employees are at fixing mistakes and solving problems typically become very loyal and very happy to spread the word about just how good you are. Join us today on episode 85 of the Small Business Show to hear about these topics and more! Chapters: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #85 September 21st, 2016 00:01:43 Being overwhelmed … and powering through it. 00:05:36 Publicly discussing hiring and firing specifics 00:17:59 Maximizing Mistakes 00:26:57 Changing contacts 00:29:29 Offer the return first. The post Turning Small Business Mistakes Into Profitable Opportunities – SBS 85 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Welcome to episode 84 of the Small Business Show! Join us this week as we spend some time following up with our recent interview with Small Business owner, NYTimes.com blogger and author, Paul Downs. Dave and Shannon then jump into a discussion about being “patently unemployable” and how identifying yourself as such can give a boost to the successful launch of your Small Business. Other topics covered on the show today include the tremendous benefit of creating a safe environment for your employees to take risks and experiment. Listen in and then jump over to iTunes to review the Small Business Show! We appreciate your support, the reviews really help!   00:00:00 Small Business Show #84 September 14th, 2016 00:03:14 Paul Downs Recap 00:08:03 Patently unemployable people can be helpful 00:10:08 Creating a safe environment for your employees 00:16:07 “All I had to do was write the book” 00:17:33 Don’t be so suspect about good people with opportunities The post Boss Life Author Follow-up, the benefits of being unemployable appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.