Business Brain – The Entrepreneurs’ Podcast

A good chunk of Shannon’s business revolves around selling in various marketplaces like eBay and Amazon. As such, he’s learned a few tricks over the years that can help anyone selling in these marketplaces, large and small. Learn why it might be good to diversify your public brand in each marketplace; learn why it’s good to get started right away (even before you’re ready); and learn to think like an algorithm, because algorithms control your destiny! The post Marketplaces Require More Management Than Your Own Store appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Doug Sassaman of RepriceIt.com joins Shannon and Dave today to talk about how solving his own problem of repricing the items he was selling on Amazon led to quitting his day job and solving the same problem for others. Doug talks a lot about maintaining the work/life balance and ensuring he always reaps the benefits of flexibility associated with being an entrepreneur. Dave and Shannon learned some valuable lessons from Doug, and you will, too! The post Doug Sassaman of RepriceIt Talks Business … and Life appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Shannon and Dave intentionally run with no agenda today and the result is them discussing the intangible benefits of running a small business. Some of the best benefits don’t appear on your profit and loss statement, at least not in an obvious way. Opportunities like travel, attending special events, writing off the purchase of your next iPhone and more are some of your hosts favorites, many of which are actually quite tangible! Listen today to learn about these and more. The post “My Life Is Tax Deductible” & Other Intangible Benefits of Running a Small Business appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

What small business shopping cart is right for you? What type of business insurance do you need? Learn this and more on the Small Business Show today. Plus Shannon Jean & Dave Hamilton, your two small business advisors & hosts, talk about their most productive times of the day. Stuff mentioned: Squarespace Weebly Tim Cox from ZingPR X-Cart OpenCart Minimum Viable Product Sunk Costs Inland Marine Insurance SBA – Insurance The post Shopping Carts & Insurance appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Tim Cox from ZingPR joins Shannon and Dave today to talk about what it’s like to tell other people’s stories while still making sure to tell his own. That, plus what it’s like taking over a business from one’s spouse! All of this and more in today’s Small Business Show! The post Tim Cox from ZingPR – Helping Everyone Find Their Voice appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Every business will encounter “disaster” scenarios. The real question is about how you, the business owner, handles them? Shannon and Dave have been through them and talk through some of their favorites, using war stories as a basis for sharing the lessons they’ve learned. Communication is the key to solving problems… and about learning to solve them! The post Disaster Strikes! What Do You Do? appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Listener Stephan asks which accounting package is right. Shannon and Dave talk about why double-entry accounting isn’t scary (and explain what it is!), and discuss Account Edge, QuickBooks, Freshbooks and more for you. The post Choosing The Right Accounting Software appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Formal agreements are helpful in that they allow you to document your ideas, goals and parameters at a moment in time. What gets interesting is when one of the parties either interprets it differently from the others or wants to change it entirely. This can be a good time for everyone involved to reflect upon the agreement and redraw it… or it can be a way to lose focus on what you’re actually doing together. Listen to Shannon help Dave through a real-world example of this in today’s show. The post Contracts are a Fickle, Necessary Beast appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Shannon and Dave let loose on their favorite pricing secrets, and then let loose on customers who don’t want to follow them (except they really do!). You might agree or disagree with what your two favorite business geeks have to say, but you’ll definitely want to listen! The post Pricing: When The Customer Is Rarely Right – Small Business Show 25 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Business banker Paul Knowlton joins Shannon and Dave today to talk business banking, including how relationship transparency is important… as well as the Beer Test. Learn why it’s important to create a paper trail for your business early on, and learn how to be realistic when heading in to talk to your banker! The post Business Banking with Paul Knowlton – Small Business Show 24 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Delegation is probably the most important thing you need to do in order to grow your business. Problem is, it doesn’t come naturally to most anyone who has what it takes to start a business. With that in mind, Shannon and Dave talk through their experiences (successes … and failures!) with delegation, and Shannon explains just how important it is to create an org chart. The post The Delegation Episode – Small Business Show 23 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Mike DeGoey originally bought Mendocino Glove through business broker, BizBen.com. Since then, though, he’s really made the business his own, and now is going through a rebranding process to call it Workman Glove and Safety, better reflecting what his business does now. We learned some great things from Mike, including that we all need to learn what our business is: Solve people’s problems, don’t just sell them something. That, plus Mike’s awesome return policy, is why he’s a success! The post Embracing Change and Balancing Risk with Mike DeGoey – DBA Small Business Show 22 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Digging into the mailbag this week, Shannon and Dave answer YOUR questions. How best do you handle cold-calling? Is that a necessary part of growing one’s business? And then it’s on to what to look out for when heading into a joint venture. Do you need an attorney and what other steps should you take? Shannon and Dave share their stories and answer these questions and more! The post Listener Questions: Making Cold Calls & Joint Ventures – DBA Small Business Show 21 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Jon Barretto at FullyLaced.com joins Shannon and Dave today to tell all his stories and share his secrets to success. Learn just how far the skill of building relationships can take you… and learn when to stash your cash! You can learn more about Jon and follow FullyLaced on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, too. The post Jon Barretto from Fully Laced, Building Relationships & Stashing Your Cash – DBA Small Business Show 20 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Three very difficult — and unnatural — tasks for any small business owner involve the hiring, firing and wage-setting for employees. Shannon and Dave talk through their experiences they’ve encountered going through all of this. Hear about the pitfalls and, yes, even some success stories they’ve had, too. Even more important, though, are YOUR stories. Send ’em in to [email protected] and we’ll share! The post Hiring, Firing and Salaries – DBA Small Business Show 19 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

RJ Waldron from Northwind Outfitters joins Shannon and Dave tonight to talk about his fishing and hunting guide business. As always, the conversation turns to the little things that matter, and RJ delivers with some great stories about customer service trumping all. Well, that and Quicken. Listen for details and enjoy! If you have questions or tips, send ’em in to [email protected]. The post Running Out of Gas is The Best Way to Start a Business – DBA Small Business Show 18 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Today Shannon and Dave dig into the mailbag and answer a listener’s email about getting started. What’s the quickest way to accept money from clients in the name of your new company? How should one go about getting incorporated? What structures are there? Consider this a survey course in all of that… and more! The post Starting a Business Quickly – DBA Small Business Show 17 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Having a partner can be key to the success of you and your business. Someone to keep you accountable and someone else to do the work that you can’t makes great sense. But there’s a flipside, too, and not all of it is pretty. Hear from two serial partners about what has worked for them… and what hasn’t! The post Business Partnerships: The Good, The Bad and More! DBA Small Business Show 16 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

In perhaps their most revealing episode thus far, Shannon and Dave tell their stories about fear; how it’s motivated them, paralyzed them and eventually gotten them further along the path of life. Your two hosts learned something from each other in this show, and you get to hear all about it. Plus if you have your own stories about fear, you can share them with Shannon and Dave at [email protected]. The post The Business Fear Confessional – DBA Small Business Show 15 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Shannon and Dave are joined today by John Gautereaux, email list expert extraordinaire, to talk promoting your business the right way (and making sure you don’t do it the wrong way!). Listen to these three chat about all things lists and beyond… plus a quick sneak peek at next week’s topic! The post Managing Business Email Lists and More with John Gautereaux – DBA Small Business Show 14 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Episode lucky number 13 starts out with Shannon and Dave talking about how easy it is to let the fear of the known paralyze you and your business, and what to do about it. Dave shares an anecdote about Comscore (spoiler, he hates it) and why it was valuable to spend the money regardless. Then it’s on to what it takes to increase your own value and that of your employees: professional development and networking. Great stories and advice about learning more … and dealing with the worst case scenario. The post Managing Fear & Professional Development – DBA Small Business Show 13 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Shannon and Dave come together today to talk about setting goals, the importance of it as well as how hard they find it to do some of the time! The episode itself is a meta example of why it’s sometimes important to abandon one’s goals and go with the flow. But goals are important, and your two favorite small business owners talk through all of this and more. We’d like to help make it your goal to send at least one piece of email to [email protected] about your goals (and thoughts on the show). Deal? The post Setting Business and Personal Goals – DBA Small Business Show 12 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Long-time Apple-industry veteran, Abbi Vakil, joins Shannon and Dave today to talk small business. Abbi shares some great stories with some fantastic lessons he’s learned from decades of running some very successful businesses. Learn why the good stuff is accidental, the importance of doing math in your head, and even moreso the importance of saying, “no” (even with it’s Steve Jobs to whom you have to say it!). If you have questions of your own for Abbi, Shannon or Dave, send ’em in to [email protected]. The post Special Guest Abbi Vakil Talks Business- DBA Small Business Show 11 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Shannon and Dave celebrate April 15th by sharing their favorite tax anecdotes (yes, they have favorites!) as well as some of the lessons they’ve learned over the years. You don’t need to check with your accountant before you listen, but you almost certainly will want to do so after. The post Tax Time For Business and Pleasure – DBA Small Business Show 10 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Today Dave and Shannon talk through the benefits and techniques of telling your story all the time. Customers (existing and future) want to know who you are, what you do and what makes both you and your business interesting. Don’t be afraid to share, and always share with comfortable confidence. The post Self-Promotion Is Your Friend – DBA Small Business Show 9 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Shannon and Dave hit the ground running and don’t stop. They both tell some great stories with some even better anecdotes. Listen to hear how you can learn the true purpose of your business from your customers that will help you find your niche. We also talk about how important it is to walk away from a sunk cost. Send in feedback to [email protected] — We’d love to hear from you! The post Find Your Business Niche – The Small Business Show appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Internships can be a great thing for your business on many levels, and are great for your interns, too. Shannon’s not only a user of internships at his business, but is a product of an internship himself. Listen to him and Dave talk through the benefits and how to get set up on your own. The post Navigating Internships for your business – DBA Small Business Show 7 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Shannon and Dave start today with a quick lesson for credit card-taking merchants on dealing with — and avoiding — fraud. Then it’s on to detachment, this time in a good way: what it takes to detach from the process and let your employees own the path to their results. Send us an email to [email protected] if you’ve got anything to say or have ideas for future topics! Stuff mentioned: PayPal Merchant Services Authorize.net (Great merchant provider for small/medium business if Paypal won’t work for your business) FraudLabs Pro Fedex COD FraudLabs Pro The post Fraud and Detachment – DBA Small Business Show 6 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Today Dave and Shannon talk through the benefits of using credit cards, both as a consumer and a merchant. GREAT stuff to digest and comment upon here. Stuff mentioned: SPG AmEx Card Flyertalk Credit Cards AmEx Plum Card AmEx’s 4 card limit Discount Rate Paypal Merchant Account The post Credit Cards from Both Sides of the Counter – DBA Small Business Show 5 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Shannon and Dave dive deep today, first talking about their logo and then chatting through a few life experiences about making sure you notice when your business is changing. Good stuff here, folks! Stuff mentioned: Fiverr 99 Designs Elance MLB Advanced Media (streaming spinoff) Asana came from Facebook The post Fiverr, Pivots, and Sacred Cows – DBA Small Business Show 4 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Shannon and Dave dig in today and nail down a name for the show. Then they talk about compartmentalization, which spins off into several other, fun topics. The post We have a name! DBA Small Business Show 3 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.