Grow A Small Business Podcast

In this week's Quick Fire Friday (QFF) episode, Rob Cameron interviews Brian K Wright, an esteemed host of Success Profiles Radio and publisher of Ultimate Achievers Magazine. He's based in Northwood, Iowa, United States. He also helps people write their books. Brian shared his journey from being a teacher to working in call centers before pursuing his passion full-time. He emphasizes the importance of effective communication through writing and speaking and believes anyone can improve these skills with practice. Brian's main clientele consists of established entrepreneurs who want to amplify their message. He advises against merely writing a book about one's life and suggests focusing on how the book can benefit the reader. Instead of writing a car manual-type how-to book, Brian first asks important questions to his clients, which can make the content more relevant and engaging. By addressing specific issues, even a seemingly mundane topic, like gutter cleaning, can be transformed into an interesting and informative book. One of Brian's key pieces of advice for small business owners is to create and repurpose content consistently. He recommends leveraging social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to reach a broader audience. By repurposing content from previous posts or leveraging ideas from a book, one can maintain a strong online presence and increase authority in the industry. Ready to dive deeper into this topic? Tune in to this week's podcast episode, where we tackle the importance of business structures and the implications for tax. Link to listen now! Don't miss out on this game-changing insight. 👇 ___________________________________________________________________________ Quotes: "With a lot of practice, you can get good at whatever you want to get a lot of good at." — Brian K Wright. "How can you move them from not knowing you at all very well to Yes, I trust you?." — Brian K Wright. "It's about having a structure for your book and fitting the stories within that structure." — Brian K Wright. "Don't make the reader work that hard." — Brian K Wright. "A confused customer will never buy anything from you." — Brian K Wright. __________________________________________________________________________

Exciting opportunity for small to medium business owners employing 5-30 team members. Are you ready to learn, grow, and invest in your ongoing development? Don't miss out on our latest podcast featuring a special guest who shares invaluable insights for business success. In this episode, Troy Trewin asked Michael Nuciforo, the founder of Thriday based in Melbourne, Australia, the final five questions: 1. What does Michael believe is the hardest thing when growing a small business? Michael feels that overcoming your fears can be quite tricky, particularly if one is building a business while being a perfectionist. To stay focused, he emphasised the significance of understanding how to cope with obstacles and the be a constant positive force for the team. 2. Michael's favourite business book is "The Great CEO Within" by Matt Mochary as it hits all the key points regarding running a company of any size. For individuals who aren't avid readers or podcast listeners, he also suggests watching YouTube videos on the subjects they are interested in. 3. Michael believes that having optionality can de-risk the business and ensure good progress. This involves avoiding doing everything yourself and utilising collaborations, as some excellent companies could complement what you are providing your clients. 4. Michael suggests an effective tool for small business growth is mastering ChatGPT and AI. In terms of describing how they launch their products, those tools, in Michael's opinion, made their lives a lot easier. And with the aid of artificial intelligence, time consuming processes like blog writing or creating email copy has significantly been reduced. 5. Finally, if Michael could go back to day one of starting, he would advise himself to not feel sorry for himself when things go wrong. If you always look at things as a learning experience, you can examine what you could have done differently the next time. One of the last things you should have to do is spend hours each week managing financial administration, typically after hours. To address this issue, Grow A Small Business and Thriday have teamed up. Thriday automates banking, accounting, and tax using artificial intelligence. Take advantage of Thriday's special offer today for all listeners of Grow A Small Business, and you'll save $100 on your yearly subscription, reducing the cost from $299 to $199 with one-month free access. Book a 20-minute Growth Chat with Troy Trewin to see if you qualify for our upcoming course. Don't miss out on this opportunity to take your small business to new heights! Enjoyed the podcast? Please leave a review on iTunes or your preferred platform. Your feedback helps more small business owners discover our podcast and embark on their business growth journey. 👇 Quotes: "Don't go too fast too quickly and make sure that everything you do is working." —Michael Nuciforo "Even if bad situations come up, if you actually try to twist it to focus on the positive, you will learn from it." —Michael Nuciforo "Leaving a legacy of building business that employs people, treats them well, and that they can actually grow in the company is highly motivating" —Michael Nuciforo "Don't limit yourself to your strength or an area that you feel comfortable with, really explore what's out there." —Michael Nuciforo "If you are a good communicator and can inspire people, you can probably cover a lot of cracks." —Michael Nuciforo

Exciting opportunity for small to medium business owners employing 5-30 team members. Are you ready to learn, grow, and invest in your ongoing development? Don't miss out on our latest podcast featuring a special guest who shares invaluable insights for business success. In this episode, Troy asked Emily Ciardiello, Co-founder of Foil Me based in Adelaide, Australia, the final five questions: Question 1: What is the hardest thing about growing a small business? Emily believes the biggest challenge is not allowing the business to consume every aspect of one's life. In the early years, she found herself completely absorbed by her business, neglecting her health, family, and personal life. She emphasizes the importance of being present and avoiding being overwhelmed by the business. While not a traditional business book, Emily recommends Eckhart Tolle's "The Power of Now" for personal growth, which she found to be valuable in her business journey. Emily mentions Troy's podcast as a valuable resource for professional development. She also recommends "Diary of a CEO" by Steven Bartlett, which features guests with diverse perspectives and insights. In terms of online learning tools, Emily finds marketing-related emails from Shopify and social media insights from Later to be helpful. Emily suggests utilizing social media as a powerful tool for business growth. Emily's mantra is "GSD" - Get shit done. She emphasizes taking action and getting things done right away. Book a 20-minute Growth Chat with Troy Trewin to see if you qualify for our upcoming course. Don't miss out on this opportunity to take your small business to new heights! Enjoyed the podcast? Please leave a review on iTunes or your preferred platform. Your feedback helps more small business owners discover our podcast and embark on their business growth journey. 👇 Quotes: "Our brand was built on relationships and trust." — Emily Ciardiello. "You got to be consistent and you have to engage, you can't just expect to post and then disappear." — Emily Ciardiello. "It's not like you've failed because you have to reach out to banks to help you fund your business. It's just what you need to do in order to grow." — Emily Ciardiello. "A squeaky wheel will come off if you don't fix it straight away." — Emily Ciardiello.

In this week's Quick Fire Friday (QFF) episode, Michael Denehey interviews Nathan McGrath, the Head of Accounting and Tax at Collins SBA, based in Hobart, Australia. Nathan shares his 20 years of experience in public practice, helping small and medium business owners with their accounting needs. The main focus of the discussion is the importance of business structures and their tax implications. Nathan emphasizes the significance of proper communication with clients to understand their goals and objectives, which is crucial in setting up the proper business structure. He also highlights the need to consider asset protection when choosing a suitable structure. Nathan highlighted the importance of reviewing business structures regularly, especially as businesses grow and change. He recommends business owners ask a lot of questions to their trusted professionals to ensure their structure aligns with their goals and that they're not paying unnecessary taxes. It's essential to have the right business structure in place; a feat that can be achieved by asking lots of questions of the pros. The more questions you ask, the better insight you're going to have. Ensuring their desires are granted. Ready to dive deeper into this topic? Tune in to this week's podcast episode, where we tackle the importance of business structures and the implications for tax. Link to listen now! Don't miss out on this game-changing insight. 👇 __________________________________________________________________________ Quotes: "Whenever you're talking about any business structure, you need to get an understanding of who the lawyer is for the client." — Nathan McGrath. "Most people are setting up a structure or going into business with a short-term view." — Nathan McGrath. "Having the right people in the right room at the right time." — Nathan McGrath. "The best option is to get the structure right in the first place." — Nathan McGrath. "The more questions you ask, the better insight you're going to have." — Nathan McGrath. __________________________________________________________________________

Exciting opportunity for small to medium business owners employing 5-30 team members. Are you ready to learn, grow, and invest in your ongoing development? Don't miss out on our latest podcast featuring a special guest who shares invaluable insights for business success. In this episode, we asked Adam Kirk, the CEO of Oostas based in Lancaster, United States, the final five questions: What is the hardest thing about growing a small business? According to Adam, making decisions alone as the owner and CEO can be a significant challenge. He shares his experience of building a small leadership team, which proved to be an incredible decision for their business's growth. Adam recommends several great books, including "The Millennial Whisperer" by Chris Tuff, which offers insights on effectively leading millennials. Other notable mentions are "E-Myth," "Built to Sell," and "Good to Great" by Jim Collins. He highlights three valuable resources. Firstly, he mentions the Grow A Small Business Podcast. Additionally, he recommends "The How of Business" with Henry Lopez and "Agents of Change," offering practical interviews and insights beneficial for small business owners. While not a physical tool, he emphasizes the importance of having a business mentor. He highlights the value of having someone who can walk alongside you, providing guidance and acting as a sounding board throughout your entrepreneurial journey. Adam's response is simple yet powerful—don't give up. He acknowledges the challenges and tough moments that all small business owners face but encourages perseverance and resilience to overcome obstacles. Book a 20-minute Growth Chat with Troy Trewin to see if you qualify for our upcoming course. Don't miss out on this opportunity to take your small business to new heights! Enjoyed the podcast? Please leave a review on iTunes or your preferred platform. Your feedback helps more small business owners discover our podcast and embark on their business growth journey. 👇 Quotes: "Build it on recurring revenue." — Adam Kirk. "There was a lot of revenue made, let's invest it back into the business." — Adam Kirk. "Utilize social media." — Adam Kirk. "It's a challenge managing people, there's a lot of joy in it." — Adam Kirk. "Ask for help and have a business mentor or a business coach or something like that." — Adam Kirk.

In this episode, Troy interviews James Price the Founder, and CEO of Mirus Australia based in Sydney, Australia. James has set up an advisory and technology business in the aged care sector to help fix business problems for clients by using technology business processes that they call "business co-sourcing arrangement" that allows teams stay on top of those revenue management issues. With over 9 and a half years at PwC and towards the end of that tenure, James works in the health space with his partner Rob Covino to solve a key problem for aged care clients. And after about a year they decided to take the plunge and then go out and build business themselves. Mirus Australia was established in 2010 and has been in operation for about 13 years already with over 55 FTEs. Jame has said that growing a small business involves focus and repeatability. So he mentioned, "Focus and repeatability are very important because you're a small business and you're very agile, there's a temptation to have a go at lots of different things." This Cast Covers: Running an advisory and technology business in the aged care sector. Been working out for almost 13 years already. Maintaining full entitlements from the government for aged care funding. Started off in a revenue space in terms of government subsidy, then moved into CRM marketing. Helping manage rostering and workforce management. Created a method called 'process companion' to support the regular routine of financial analysis reporting throughout the month. The effectiveness of business-to-business marketing in the early stage of your small business. Practical tips for an easier bank funding deal. Benefits and efficiency of putting a process into an IT system. Discussing the importance of knowing what you can do and what you can't do. Links: James Linkedin James Twitter Additional Resources: Mirus Australia Quotes: "When you're a small business, you've got to recognize what your strengths are." —James Price "If there's a good business process, let your clients hear." —James Price "You can't be all things to all people." —James Price "If you're putting a process into an IT system, then you immediately get the benefits." —James Price "You have to sit back from time to time and look at the bigger picture." —James Price

In this week's Quick Fire Friday episode, Rob interviews Ethan Singer, co-founder at Fundabl based in Sydney, Australia. Fundabl was founded in 2021 by a passionate team on a mission to support the Australian ecosystem to thrive and scale by offering a suite of fast, flexible and non-dilutive funding solutions to growing businesses. Fundabl's funding solutions caters to a wide range of businesses, in particular software and tech-enabled businesses, professional services businesses and other online businesses. The team can provide funds within in as little as 24 hours and is typically used to smooth cash flows, accelerate business growth and to bridge or complement a capital raise. The current macro environment has made it challenging for many businesses to obtain funding. Alternative funding options continue to play a vital role in supporting the growth of businesses. "It is so important that business owners are aware of the funding options available to them, their various characteristics, benefits and flaws. There is more than one way to construct the capital stack, and you want to make sure that you go with a capital partner that best suits your needs" Ethan said. This Cast Covers: Background to Ethan Singer and the inspiration behind Fundabl Difference between dilutive and non-dilutive funding. Advantages of maintaining equity ownership. The differences between various debt products – what to look for. Fundabl's offering Which business owners are using Fundabl and what Fundabl are solving for these businesses Benefits to getting capital from Fundabl to a big bank. The simple process to get funding from Fundabl. Built their own proprietary underwriting model to quickly assess and analyse clients and to provide them with a trading limit and the cost of funds. What Fundabl requires in order to support a business and what is sometimes missing when clients come to Fundabl Ethan shares advise to business owners to navigate the current funding environment Links: Ethan's Linkedin Additional Resources: Fundabl Quotes: "Don't leave things too late to approach your potential funder, put yourself in the best scenario, and have the greatest chance of being able to receive funding." - Ethan Singer "There is more than one way to construct your capital stack." – Ethan Singer " Founders and business owners might not necessarily be the most naturally skilled capital allocators so there are lots of resources and people to speak to that can support in choosing the most optimal funding option." – Ethan Singer "See if there is a more optimal and effective way to grow your business using alternative funding options." – Ethan Singer

In this episode, Troy interviews Dr. Ben Jansen, former Executive Director of Cronos Australia. Dr. Ben co-founded a business to provide a seamless approach to patient treatment pathways, streamlined pharmacist access to legal medications, and unparalleled prescriber education, developing industry-informed clinicians. From being a trained doctor in New Zealand, Dr. Ben Jansen ended up in the cannabis space as it had a lot of interest back in the day and ministered to cannabis and still is. Dr. Ben has said that growing a small business requires a routine around knowing your space because things can change. "Don't ever set and forget, things will change depending on your space. And medicine and health, it'll change pretty rapidly. Some will come and just do the market. And you still have to be agile enough to move around and develop" he added. This Cast Covers: Running the largest wholesaler of medicinal cannabis in Australia. Focusing on the field of medicine and business management. Providing a seamless approach to patient treatment pathways, streamlined pharmacist access to legal medications, and unparalleled prescriber education. Went from having six people family business to about 122 employees within the company in just 7 years. Discuss the efficiency of considering work as if it is not your job but an opportunity to help other people's lives. Shares how learning your craft, knowing your legislation, and your space can help you in marketing a fast-growing business. Practical tips on how to adequately fund your business with your own money and through crowdfunding. Emphasizes the difficulties and potential problems in managing a rapid growth business. Benefits of crowdfunding in starting up a small business. The necessity of developing and maintaining a routine around knowing your space. Links: Dr Ben's LinkedIn Additional Resources: Cannabisdoctorsaustralia.com.au ——————————————————————————————— Quotes: "You have to keep your finger on the pulse, especially if you're spending your own money at the beginning." —Ben Jansen "Success is when you get a client come back, and they give you a phenomenal story, that's probably the most important one." —Ben Jansen "Know your craft, know your legislation and know your space." —Ben Jansen "If you're not running correctly, you just end up putting your handout for more money again, and again." —Ben Jansen "You need to learn how to spend less than you earn." —Ben Jansen ———————————————————————————————

In this Grow A Small Business Podcast episode, Troy interviews Troy Trewin interviews Ben Cashman, the owner of Tinkle, a bamboo toothbrush and dental floss subscription business based in Hobart, Australia. Ben also talks about his background and the journey that led him to start Tinkle. He also discusses the business model, which focuses on reducing plastic waste in Australian bathrooms. He also mentions his other ventures, including The Project Lab, a management consulting business, and Electric Highway Tasmania, a for-profit business that installs electric vehicle charging stations. The conversation concludes with Ben discussing the habit of not getting comfortable and complacent in business and the importance of consistent business development. Finally, he shares his hiring advice, emphasizing the importance of hiring slowly and firing fast while focusing on cultural fit and core competencies. This Cast Covers: How they've known each other Where the idea of a sustainable toothbrush came up Overview of Tinkle's business model and its mission to remove plastic waste from Australian bathrooms Troy Trewin sharing his experience as a Tinkle subscriber and the enjoyment he and his daughter have with the bamboo toothbrushes The challenges they had The most stressful point of the small business growth journey How he handled balance Why Consistency is key in a business The moment he felt like he had succeeded How The Project Lab and Electric Highway Tasmania was started and funded Links: Ben's LinkedIn Additional Resources: Tinkle The Project Lab Electric Highway Tasmania The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz Culture is Everything by Tristan White Quotes: "The whole mission of Tinkle is to remove plastic waste from Australian bathrooms."—Ben Cashman "My biggest lesson is to hire slowly and fire fast and in a nice way politely." —Ben Cashman "It's going to get hard before it gets easy. So stick with it." —Ben Cashman "Tinkle was started with the sole purpose of working out whether we can do it, like can we actually create a passive income business?" —Ben Cashman "Some things you'd think you'd never make a mistake on, can get you." —Ben Cashman

In this week's Quick Fire Friday episode, Rob interviews Troy Trewin, based in Hobart, Tasmania. Troy is the founder of Grow A Small Business. His current mission is he sits on a handful of boards of directors of different companies, helping them get established; growing their small businesses into something bigger by teaching them the ways to generate funding through coaching. There are different ways to generate working capital for a business venture. A few examples are Venture Capital, Grants, and Crowdfunding. Among the three, the latter has gained significant traction in recent years, because crowdfunding has enabled businesses to raise hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars from anyone with money to invest; a prime example would be Zero Co, in which they managed to raise $5 million in six hours and 27 minutes. Troy helps small-medium business owners who choose to go down this path, by working on the pros and cons, the dos and don'ts, and the overall plan of the crowdfunding campaign to make sure it is a success. This Cast Covers: Raising working capital for a business venture through crowdfunding. Experience that Troy has in the field of crowdfunding. How crowdfunding works and the various forms it can take. Cases of effective crowdfunding campaigns. Steps a small-medium business owner should take before crowdfunding. Positive aspects of crowdfunding campaigns. The drawbacks of crowdfunding campaigns. Considerations for small-medium business owners before using crowdfunding for growth. Links: Troy's Linkedin Troy's Company Website Additional Resources: GASB - Crowdfunded Crowdfunded by Mark Pecota, Brad Enright Quotes: "There are two ways you can crowdfund, pre-sales and equity crowdfunding." — Troy Trewin. "You shouldn't be desperate, you need to plan it out." — Troy Trewin.