Business Infrastructure - Curing Back Office Blues

According to Jay Hassell, "Getting things done requires a culture of learning." As the COO of Novologic, he advocates for people and company culture as the key ingredients for improving operations. His H.R. background gives him a strategic advantage in driving learning and training initiatives. In this episode, Jay explains how a focus on people, products, and processes leads to increased profit and performance. He also announces a new learning experience platform to assist companies in pivoting from live to virtual events.

We did it – this is our 100th episode! And joining us to celebrate this milestone is Jared Easley, the co-founder of Podcast Movement. In this episode, Jared reveals how his military experiences and background in project management served him in helping to build the world's largest community of podcasters. He not only shares the behind-the-scenes operations of their annual conference, but we also talk about the history of podcasting, current trends, and what it all means for the future. Meanwhile, Alicia gives a heartfelt tribute to listeners and supporters.

Marshall Freeman is the COO of the Atlanta Police Foundation (APF), a non-profit organization on a mission to make Atlanta America's safest large city. In this episode, he details why the APF's public-private partnership model enables them to pivot and act quickly leading to one of the lowest reported cases of COVID-19 for police officers. Discover what goes on behind-the-scenes as Marshall describes the crime prevention playbook and business infrastructure that serve as the cornerstone and foundation of the APF's successes.

TV Producers have more in common with COOs and Project Managers than you might think. As Emmy-nominated producer Janice Jensen explains, "We're all responsible for putting together the pieces" to deliver a profitable product on time and within budget. In this episode, Janice draws from her experience in producing hit shows like Tiny House, Big Living to explain what goes on behind the scenes in coordinating the people, processes, and tools required from pre- to post-production. You'll also hear be among the first to learn more about her revolutionary new video-based app.

Jon Reid's exposure to operations, auditing, and finance began during his tenure at General Electric. That experience serves as the cornerstone of his longevity as a C-suite executive and advisor. In this episode, Jon draws from his experience working with various Fortune 500 companies to give small business owners an operational model to aspire to. He explains why introverts make great COOs, why you should surround yourself with people smarter than you, and why small businesses must be creative when expanding since they can't always access lines of credit the way enterprises can.

"If you don't have customers, you don't have a business," and this is why "You have to always think about continuous improvement." Wise words from Adam Hayes, a civil engineer who now consults and serves as an operations advisor across various industries. In this episode, Adam reveals the three types of customers every business should consider as well as internal questions you should ask yourself as a guide to meet customer expectations, measure what matters, and ultimately increase profitability.

Operational excellence and business infrastructure are common threads throughout Elzie Flenard's career. As a former electronics engineer and operations manager, turned podcast producer, he can attest to how important company culture along with a validated improvement model is in getting things done. In this episode, Elzie breaks down the correct order in building business infrastructure as he emphasizes the importance of securing the right people first, then processes, and last the tools. Learn why he says operations can be your company's profitable differentiator.

As technology and customers become smarter so does the expectation for companies to be faster, better, and cheaper. Back-office workflows now go beyond order-to-delivery, procure-to-pay, and intake-to-discharge. They also include customer engagement – a task once owned by marketing. In this episode, David Ellin taps into his experiences as a COO and VP of Customer Success to give a crash course on the importance of retooling processes, measuring what matters, and conducting kaizen events to enhance customer experience and profit.

With a background in cultural anthropology, certified coaching, and leadership development, Marvell Allen brings a distinct perspective to her C-suite clients. She has a particular knack for helping them eliminate egos and silos as barriers to getting things done. In this episode, Marvell explains how COOs (or anyone in charge of operations) can keep CEOs off the ledge. But, she says, they in turn need support in executing on strategy and keeping the entire supply chain intact. Discover the business infrastructure techniques she says can help.

"Operations is the most important part of doing your business," says Joseph Powell. As the founder of TenDollarTutors.com and the creator of the ThinkSmart Whiteboard app, he knows firsthand the importance of operational excellence. In this episode, Joseph candidly shares the story of his roller-coaster tech journey and why he decided to step down as CEO of his company and serve as the COO instead. He also provides insights on the business infrastructure necessary to brace for change and stay the course.

Maria Jones describes Chief Operating Officers (COOs) as the "Innovators of execution." Their role as second-in-command to CEOs is vital to business continuity and delivering on sales promises. Yet, many leaders don't understand what they do and overlook operations as the core of any business. In this episode, Maria kicks off Season 8 by debunking common myths about COOs as well as operations using analogies and examples that make their value undeniable. She also shares key metrics every business should measure to assess performance.

Disaster comes in many forms and we don't always know when it will strike. Developing contingency plans to plan for and recover from the aftermath isn't an easy sell, especially when companies are riding high on profits. No one likes to think about what can happen if/when things go wrong. In this episode, host Alicia Butler Pierre shares her personal story of how she forfeited income for nearly a year to help her parents after they narrowly escaped death from a major flood. Two years later, she emerged as a podcaster, one of the world's leading experts on business infrastructure for small businesses, and the author of a 2x bestselling book. She also shares resources to minimize the impact of a crisis on your small business.

Wingman. The No. 2. The Second-in-Command – all of these terms describe the Chief Operating Officer (COO). When Bill Shepard pivoted from a 25+ year tenure in the C-suite to independent consulting, he couldn't find a supportive group of COOs. So he started his own. 15 years later, The COO Forum boasts 35 chapters and 18k members in their online group. In this episode, Bill describes the three areas that drive businesses forward, debunks myths about COOs, and defines the role COOs play in driving execution.

Business partnerships don't have to end badly. K.L. Scott & Associates is proof. When Keith L. Scott started this process management consultancy, he wanted to do everything himself. Two years in, he found himself struggling to keep up with the pace. That's when he decided to strategically partner, but he did his research first. In this episode, Keith shares how law firms inspired his business model, why he prefers a team of sub-contractors vs. employees, and how to profitably structure an operating agreement.

After getting blacklisted from a Silicon Valley company, Chitra Lele decided to start her own software consultancy. She realized entrepreneurship was the only way to achieve her vision of working for profit, people, and the planet. But it required capital and lots of it. So she and her team sprang into self-funding action. In this episode, Chitra details the people, processes, tools, and techniques she and her firm relied on to grow past the bootstrapping phase and on to scaling up.

Great leaders surround themselves with smart people. But when it comes to business partnerships, "Proceed with extreme caution," warns Jason Duncan. As the founder of a fast-growing lighting company that's made the Inc. 5000 list twice, he has personal experience with starting and terminating partnerships. In this episode, Jason explains why it's important to read the fine print of operating agreements and understand all of its terms. Discover the people, processes, and tools he now relies on to make better decisions.

Dr. Terica Pearson spent her first year in business learning the ropes and getting key processes in place. By year four, she had a full staff of people to help scale her insurance agency. But after tracking their performance, she realized that productivity had actually declined and was negatively impacting the bottom line. In this episode, Terica details her decision to scale back the team she built and instead focus on more hands-on mentoring and training one agent at a time. She also shares her business growth revelations as her mindset shifted from employee to business owner.

Meredith Moore isn't afraid to pivot. As the CEO of Artisan Financial Strategies, she realized she'd have to break free of the traditional financial planning model if she was to realize her dream of scaling and hiring a junior associate. Undeterred by naysayers, she assembled a team of various experts, conducted primary research with academia, and even changed the name of her company. In this episode, Meredith describes the process she underwent to carve out a niche for her business and its positive implications.

When Mike Moll's social media consultancy grew rapidly, he immediately hired more people. But he soon realized he didn't have the bandwidth or business infrastructure to scale at the same rate as his clients' varied requirements. Payroll expenses rose and, eventually, he had to downsize most of the team he built. In this episode, Mike details the specific actions he took to rebuild his team as he fine-tuned his pricing model, simplified and automated key processes, and became stricter about the clients his company works with.

Have you ever put your business on hiatus so that you could recalibrate? That's what Don Sevcik, CEO of MathCelebrity.com, did and it paid off handsomely. After five years in business, his company reached a plateau of 250k visitors per month. Although things were going well, there were certain math problems that his site could not solve. In this episode, Don explains how the decision to take that hiatus led him to not only reach 3.75 million unique visitors but also to solve any math problem in 1/3 of 1 second!

"We just made really good money while being on the beach!" exclaimed Phoebe Cornog, CEO and Co-Founder of the Pandr Design Co. She recounted the day she and her business partner realized the impact of outsourcing. Determined to not be starving artists, they cracked the code for cloning their murals without a loss in quality control. In this episode, Phoebe explains how she and her business partner cast their fears of outsourcing aside to meet the growing demand for their services and scale sustainably.

Marco Champion thought he'd have to forfeit his dream of being a professional skateboarder when he was struck and run over by a car during his teens. Told he'd never walk again, he decided rather than feeling sorry for himself, he'd train his mind to focus on walking again – and succeeded! In this episode, Marco shares how his personal story of triumph led him to create and scale two successful businesses and how, at just 23-years-old, he guides others in moving past obscurity into influencer positions.

When Dr. Lewena Bayer and her friend worked in hospitality, they complained to each other about how rude people were. They never imagined they would start a company to teach civility in the workplace. But nearly 10 years into the business, their partnership would end when Lew learned of her partner's illegal actions. In this episode, Lew explains how she retained most of the rights to the company since she had documented the majority of the I.P. Now her company includes over 400 affiliates in 46 countries. Listen to the advice she gives for the value of painstakingly documenting processes and why she says job descriptions are not just "unnecessary paperwork."

"Life is like a bleep," explains Karla Nelson. When the market crashed in 2008, she sprang into action and shifted careers. A year later her husband, and the CFO of their three businesses, was diagnosed with cancer. Together, and undeterred, they continued running operations from his hospital room. In this first episode of Season 7, Karla details her courageous decision to scale despite losing her husband and while raising an infant and a toddler. Learn her formula for staying the course and how it led to her WHO-DO productivity model being used in 25 of the Fortune 100 companies.

Process maps are more than just boxes connected with arrows. When done correctly, they can help you understand where bottlenecks exist, how long it takes to make your product or deliver a service, and where opportunities to streamline, automate, and/or outsource may exist. In this Season 6 finale, host Alicia Butler Pierre describes how she used process mapping to increase her company's cash flow. She also shares the people who can help in your mapping efforts as well as recommended tools.

Thalia Toha has cracked the code for setting and achieving your BHAG (Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal). As a long-time trusted advisor to high earners and achievers, she knows what it takes to focus on the things that matter in creating the life and business you desire. In this episode, Thalia describes her visual "reversing the timeline" process for identifying overarching goals and the specific tactics, people, and tools necessary to achieve them.

Every business needs money to grow and sustain itself. Did you know that 75% of all business loans are denied because of fraud? Jenny Jones learned this the hard way after repeated loan rejections. The reason? He and his wife share the same first and last names! This prompted him to leverage his background as a stockbroker and financial advisor to educate others on the ABCs of building business credit. In this episode, Jenny shares his proven process for increasing fundability as well as the key people and tools needed to educate yourself and access capital.

When it comes to marketing data, your small business might have more in common with Google, Facebook and Amazon than you think. According to Love Hudson-Maggio, whether you're collecting data from two customers or two million, the science of analyzing it is the same. Data tells a story and paints an accurate picture of sales results. In this episode, Love describes the three stages of her process to develop a data management protocol that reveals what you are really selling, standardizes collection methods, and establishes protection controls. Find out why she says that "the data you're looking for, you already have."

What do peanut butter, gas gauges, coffee, and flat tires have in common? Leave it to Wes Graham to explain. As an Industrial Engineer and Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, he uses clever analogies to assert the value of processes and why, if not properly defined or followed, "Everybody will always follow the path of least resistance." In this episode, Wes dons his training hat to offer a crash course on Lean and Six Sigma - two process improvement methodologies rooted in customer-centricity and increasing quality and value. Listen as he takes a complex subject and breaks it down using everyday examples that we can all relate to.

As demand increases for your tangible goods, you will inevitably have to streamline your order-to-delivery process to ensure customer satisfaction. Outsourcing inventory management represents an opportunity cost when considering your small business no longer has the capacity to fulfill orders in a timely manner. Storing inventory in your basement, garage, or closets is no longer an option. In this episode, Gifford Pace explains a process his employer implements to help people "get their garage back" and ensure their order fulfillment is not compromised during sales peaks.

Good things come to those who wait…and persistently work toward their goal. Damon Burton knows this all too well. As the founder of SEO National, he made a conscious decision to scale and increase his company's capacity to work with large clients. It worked! SEO National now works with Inc. 5000 companies as well as various NBA teams. In this episode, Damon shares the realistic time commitment as well as the daily operational processes, people, and a robust list of tools he leverages to make it all possible.

"al·li·ance - a union or association formed for mutual benefit." Mariela Dabbah says every leader should have 10-15 strong alliances to assist in career navigation and professional development. As a leadership and career development expert, she has built an entire movement around this principle. In this episode, she describes the 5-stage process her company, Red Shoe Movement, implements to empower and steer upward-bound women within large organizations toward success. Learn how the pillars of mutual mentoring and self-leadership can take your relationships beyond networking and yield more fruitful results.

Calvin Williams, Jr. is on a mission. He believes wealth management services should be accessible to all people, not just the uber-rich. As such, he started Freeman Capital – an award-winning FinTech company with rapid expansion goals and high visibility. In this episode, Calvin details the service delivery process he implements to maintain a positive customer experience while managing a 100% remote team. He also shares the different technologies he leverages to keep it all together.

Positioning your company for hyper-growth requires "leveling up" people as well as processes and tools. Many leaders (and investors) interpret leveling up as replacing existing personnel with more qualified people. But the onus is on these leaders to create a culture of continuous education rather than blaming people when things go wrong. In this episode, Anne Sugar, an executive coach for Harvard Business School's Executive Program, provides an in-depth case study of a hiring process she coached an H.R. executive through as she set out to answer four key questions in preparation for expansion.

When Trace Blackmore started getting information out of his head and onto paper, great things happened in his business. His 16-year-old industrial water treatment company has defied the small business failure odds and he attributes some of that longevity to having procedures that remove guesswork and promote high standards. In this episode, Trace shares his process for identifying and documenting key standard operating procedures (SOPs) and more importantly, hacks for getting people to actually follow them.

As a former Financial Times executive with a background in economics, Diana Wu David knows a thing or two about pricing. The price you charge for your product or service directly reflects its perceived value and is one of the quickest ways to increase profitability. Yet, some find it difficult to raise prices. In this episode, Diana explains her formulaic process for testing pricing strategies that include developing a minimum viable product, segmenting customers, and performing A/B testing. Breakthrough the psychological factors preventing you from greater profitability.

EVERY business exists to make money. Without it, they will surely fail. This #1 need kickstarts the sales process and it's the reason we're kicking off Season 6 (Profitable Processes) with the topic. In this episode, sales guru Jason Smith shares his sales synergistics process for aligning all business units of a company to maximize revenue potential. Learn about his 5-ring framework for achieving this alignment and how to implement it in your business to prevent sales and operations silos as your company grows.

Think the lean methodology is only for large corporations and government entities? Well think again! John Kamp is an entrepreneur, Lean Six Sigma expert, Project Management Professional, instructor at Purdue University, and U.S. Navy veteran. In this episode replay, John draws from his wealth of experience to explain the lean methodology (including its principles and tools) and how you can apply it to improve your company's processes.

Processes not only ensure consistency with how you make a product or deliver a service, but they directly impact your customer's experience. In this Season 5 finale, Alicia Butler Pierre, host of the Business Infrastructure show, shares what a process is, its importance in building business infrastructure, and the one thing you need to know about improving one. Listen in as she describes the stages of her podcasting process to illustrate how to execute process improvement. It might be a fun exercise to go back to previous episodes to determine if you can detect the improvements she talks about from season to season!

As you lead your company through growth spurts, you may realize that it's time to "level up" your business infrastructure. But how you communicate the need to upgrade people, processes and tools is just as important as the upgrade itself. Change is difficult, even in a faster-paced small business environment, and you can unknowingly create more chaos if you deliver news about change improperly. Liz Kislik has spent the past 30 years helping leaders work through change in fast growth environments. In this episode, she dons her conflict resolution hat to share best practices in delivering difficult news. One of the tools she recommends might surprise you - it's something you likely use everyday.

Estate planning is NOT just for wealthy people. In fact, Estate Planning Attorney Deshonda Charles says, "An estate plan is your strategic plan to preserve and protect your business and assets over your lifetime." It's never too late to get one in place and it ensures you don't leave a burden behind after you die or become unable to operate your business. In this episode, Deshonda not only dispels common myths about estate plans, but she defines the specific people, processes, and tools to help you get an estate plan documented and backed in a court of law. With her down-to-earth approach, she removes the stigma and fear of estate planning, making it accessible to business owners and families alike.

Who will take over your business when you're no longer able to? Your answer to this question is the foundation of your exit plan and EVERY entrepreneur should have one. In this episode, exit and succession planning expert David Shavzin defines what an exit plan is and the people, processes, and tools needed to create and update it. As someone who helps business owners build value around their life's work, David also candidly talks about the sensitivities of and multiple ways to transition ownership. Learn why business infrastructure is key to proving value to potential buyers.

Leading and/or operating a business is a road less traveled. It can take you on an emotional roller coaster you might not be mentally prepared for. This is where Silke Glaab comes in. As a psychologist and executive coach, she helps entrepreneurs and executives reset self-limiting beliefs. In this episode, she describes her proprietary Elevate Intensive Therapy process as well as the people and tools needed to live free of burnout, stress, and anxiety. Find out why she says we need to "SNEASE" more to elevate ourselves as we scale our businesses.

Be careful about the labels you put on yourself," warns Josh Cary, "Because people are willing to validate them." A hard, but valuable lesson he learned after spending 40 years in hiding. In this episode, Josh, a former actor turned podcaster and business coach, explains the moment he realized he was hiding his power and ability as a leader. Tune in to learn the specific people, processes, and tools he leveraged to reclaim his power and why he says it's imperative you do the same as you lead your company through growth spurts.

Are you someone I can trust? Jodi Daniels says the answer to this question determines whether potential customers will do business with you. As a data privacy expert, she keeps her finger on the pulse of privacy policies that affect every sized business. In this episode, Jodi details the business infrastructure required to support a strong data privacy strategy. Find out why she says your company needs to comply with GDPR and CCPA legislation even if you aren't in the business of selling data.

If you think that "conscious" and "capitalism" don't go together, you might change your mind after listening to Corey Blake. As a leading voice in the conscious leadership movement, he defines conscious capitalism as "an operating system for not harming the planet as we grow our businesses." In this episode, Corey explains how conscious capitalism can profoundly change the electricity of a company. He also shares the unique people, processes, and tools he uses to inspire companies to bring about that change.

Like entrepreneurship, podcasting is not for the faint of heart. It requires patience, commitment, and consistency – all of which is challenging since it takes a while before you know who your audience is. In this episode, nationally recognized speaker, bestselling author, and podcaster extraordinaire Doug Sandler shares the most important thing you need to know about podcasting. He also reveals the business infrastructure required for a successful production. Discover which types of podcasts tend to do really well and how you can monetize them.

According to professional speechwriter and speech coach Dez Thornton, "A high stakes conversation is anytime you have to communicate and your reputation is on the line." The successful outcome of your communication depends on your delivery. In the most quotable episode to-date, Dez shares the most important thing you need to know about having high stakes conversations and the people, processes and tools you should leverage to close the interpretation gap (what you say vs. what your audience hears).

Vlogs, blogs, links, tags, hashtags…these are more than just buzzwords. They are the digital currency of the Information Age and businesses seeking to grow who ignore it, do so to their detriment. In this episode, social media consultant Marie Incontrera shares the most important thing you need to know about social media as well as the people, processes and tools needed to implement a sustainable posting strategy. Find out why she says you need a customized plan because there is no one-size-fits-all approach to social media.

Making physical products can be prohibitively expensive and requires careful coordination of the right people, processes and tools. No one knows this better than Eric Lange. As an engineer in the toy industry, he's taken more than sixty products from various stages of development to production for retail stores like Target and Walmart. In this episode, Eric not only defines what a prototype is, but also tells us about the one thing we need to know for successful prototyping without wasting money.