Grow A Small Business Podcast

In this episode, I had a follow-up chat with Bob Moesta, the Founder, President, and CEO of the Re-Wired Group. The Re-Wired Group specializes in Demand-Side Innovation and they help companies and individuals grow by enabling innovation from the Demand-Side; Changing buying and consumption behavior. They identify, design, and execute marketing, selling, and buying systems for growth and focus on fast, high impact actions that lead to immediate results, growth, and insight. Their approaches, methods, frameworks, and software have helped companies grow more than 20% when their current market was down more than 50%. Bob is a founder, maker, innovator, speaker, professor, and the author of the New York Times Best-Seller, "Demand-Side Sales 101" He is an entrepreneur at heart, engineer and designer by training, and has started, built, and sold several startups. Bob and I will be joined by James Baker from Varicon (A SaaS-based business in Tasmania) and Ben Crowley from Bulk Nutrients (Who we had on the podcast in Episode 10). James and Ben will ask Bob some hard questions about demand-side sales and share how they have each benefitted from the strategies and tools they learned from Bob's recent book. Wanna learn how to kill it with your sales and scale your business? This is the episode you'll wanna listen to. Stay tuned for more. This Cast Covers: How James and Ben have used some of the tools and strategies in Bob's book. Making sure you reflect your customers' value systems when you're marketing. The success that came with applying demand-side sales in Ben's business. Understanding the true needs of customers before building a product around it. The six steps that customers go through before they decide they wanna buy a product as a solution to their problem. Bringing together customer discovery and the sales process in an effective way. Why so much of marketing involves not trying to solve problems that customers have. The questions you should ask yourself to understand what your customers are buying. One out of the 3,500+ products that Bob has been responsible for that he's proud of in terms of solving a problem. Having a thousand paintings before starting a gallery: One of Bob's core hobbies Some really great tips on how to build a high-performance team. Additional Resources: The Re-Wired Group Demand-Side Sales 101 By Bob Moesta and Greg Engle Music from https://filmmusic.io "Cold Funk" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com). License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this episode, I interview Renae Bunster, the Founder and Global President of Bunsters Hot Sauces. An ex Television journalist, Renae fell in love with hot sauces while in Mexico in 2011. She couldn't find anything hot enough back in Australia so she started making her own at home in 2012 aged 34. She now sells her hot sauce all around Australia and in America through Amazon and is about to sell her chili vodka in Russia. The business' sales started at $83,000 in the first year and then doubled every year to crack $1 Million in 2019. With one to five full-time employees, they made 35 tonnes in one week last year through a contract factory, which will double this year. Initially self-funded, they started dipping into mortgage and did a KickStarter pre-sales crowdfunding in 2015 to sell $200,000 of hot sauce and last year took on angel investors who then suggested an equity crowdfund. In mid-2020, they raised $2 Million from the crowdfunding. She approached two great mentors who are very successful female business owners. She felt she had succeeded when she made a bottle of Vodka with "Shit the Bed" on it and raised $2 Million in crowdfunding. Renae believes the hardest thing in growing a small business is finding customers when you have no budget. She says the one she would tell herself on day one of starting out in business is, "This is going to be huge, but only if you have fun and laugh the whole time, and don't take it too seriously" Ladies and gentlemen, Shit the Bed creator, Renae Bunster. Enjoy the episode. This Cast Covers: Building a hot sauce empire and making the lion's share of their money from their flagship Shit the Bed Hot Sauce. The holiday to Mexico that brought it all about. Big markets in the US and Australia, and the ones coming up in the UK, Europe, Hong Kong, and Singapore. The huge role that Fulfilled By Amazon has played in their sales success. From $83,000 a year in 2014 to the current over $1 Million in global sales. The successful crowdfunding campaign that has seen them raise up to $2 Million in equity. Their wife+husband+VA team with an additional food technologist, IT person, and another support person. Creating the Shit the Bed Vodka and having nearly 2,000 people invest in her company. Using contract filling (Contract manufacturing) to cost-effectively and flexibly do and sustain their manufacturing. The power of social media and staying on top of the trends. How authentic influencers are the ones who are getting real returns. Self-funding the business every way they could until the point where they started crowdfunding. Where the crowdfunding idea came from and the effort they had to put into it to make it a success. How she got two very successful female businesswomen to mentor her. What it's really like to make money from the food business. The role that everyone on her team plays to add value to the business. The strategies they use to get the best virtual team members. Why work/life balance does not exist for Renae and the value of having a great scheduling tool. Additional Resources: Bunsters Hot Sauces Losing My Virginity By Richard Branson Finding My Virginity By Richard Branson Small Business Big Marketing By Tim Reid Music from https://filmmusic.io "Cold Funk" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com). License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this episode, I interview Kate Toon, an award-winning SEO copywriter and SEO consultant and speaker with over two decades of experience in all things advertising, digital, and writing. She has worked with big brands such as Sanitarium, eHarmony, Curash, and Kmart. She has helped countless small businesses produce great content and improve their copywriting and SEO. She's also the founder of The Clever Copywriting School and The Recipe for SEO Success eCourse, as well as a co-host on the Hot Copy Podcast. In 2009, five months pregnant and aged 34, Kate quit a corporate communication job for more flexibility with her own business. The business focuses on digital education, SEO, copywriting and mentoring. Over 10,000 people have been through her online courses and currently have 600 paying members. 2 years in, she dropped all her clients to focus on mentoring, courses, and an annual conference. In 2013, she earned $150,000, and in 2018 she hit $500,000 then $1 Million in 2020 with 75% net profit. She started out the business with one full-time employee and now has three. Kate has consistently bootstrapped the business, growing it purely from profits. She felt she had succeeded when she was on stage at her own conference (CopyCon) looking down at the 200 attendees. She says the hardest thing about growing a small business is motivation and that the one thing she would tell herself on day one of starting out in business is, "Stop looking at what everyone else is doing and just get on with it" Stay tuned to enjoy and learn from Kate's small business ownership journey. This Cast Covers: Her backstory and the different revenue streams that keep her business running sustainably. Serving small businesses, service providers, and eCommerce store owners. Moving from a successful advertising career to starting her own "Jill of all trades" business Becoming one of the best-known copywriters in Sydney and pivoting into doing workshops and courses. How her transition to passive income was like. The beauty of being the creative director in her business rather than just the CEO. Where SEO is at the moment: Is it still relevant? Funding the business with nothing but herself. Learning the importance of working on herself to overcome impostor syndrome and other things that deterred her from focusing on her customers. Overcoming procrastination and doing more creative work. The benefits of getting into an abundance mindset. Why having employees is just not her thing and how outsourcing helps with that. Building a great community of customers by keeping them engaged and facilitating conversations. Continuously working on achieving some work/life balance and learning from her customers. Additional Resources: Deep Work By Cal Newport Music from https://filmmusic.io "Cold Funk" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com). License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this episode, I interview Alex Burke, the visionary CEO of New Zealand EduTech company, Education Perfect (EP). A passionate storyteller, Alex boasts an enviable twenty-year track record in driving technical excellence and team-building across multiple industries, including airlines, banking, government, telco, education, and retail. He was previously the CEO of Tigerspike, a technology services business that he sold in 2017. Founded in 2008 by brothers Craig and Shane Smith, Education Perfect (EP) is a toolkit for teachers in the classroom. Alex joined the company as CEO in May 2019. At the start of Covid, they tested a free trial and picked an extra 500,000 additional students with 10% of those converting to paid. They have grown 40% in the last year with international at an amazing 350% and have expanded from 18 to now 58 countries. Craig and Shane started out as the only full-time employees and EP now has 180 full-time employees. They are very profitable with their gross profit at over 80% and operating margin more than 30% on AUD30 Million in annual sales. They bootstrapped the business since its inception and 3 years ago they sold 80% of it to a private equity firm. Alex believes the hardest thing about growing a small business is, "Keeping your people together, keeping good governance, and keeping focused on opportunities" The one thing he says he would tell himself on day one of starting out in business is, "Everyday is really different. You've got to get up and end today excited by tomorrow" Stay tuned for a ton of small business growth wisdom from Alex. This Cast Covers: Building an online learning platform that serves as a toolkit for teachers within the classroom. How they took the opportunity to put out their product during the pandemic and how it accelerated their growth plan. Achieving profitability with 30% operating margins and growing organically by running purely from cash flow. The two brothers who came up with the idea for Education Perfect to support their learning efforts. Why success for Alex is all about being driven by continuous improvement. Measuring the success of a business by the way it's able to retain its team members. The importance of being good at execution and pushing things through. Using multiple methods of metrics to get customer feedback and the overall power of obsessing over the customer. How the founders of Education Perfect started it and bootstrapped it until they sold 80% of it to a private equity firm. The digital services tech company (Tigerspike) that Alex bootstrapped until he exited it in 2017. The difficulty of growing a business while maintaining a certain level of governance and balance. The value of having clear roles and responsibilities, and accountability in a business. Dealing with the challenges of cash flow and getting the business known in the market. How obsessing over quality and reputation can really pay off for a business. Lifting the bar for the business by bringing in people who can inject some additional experience and skillset. Early to rise, early to bed: How Alex maintains some work-life balance. Developing himself professionally by building out his own network and working within a business. The lessons he learned from managing Tigerspike and exiting the business. Additional Resources: Education Perfect (EP) Built to Last By Tim Collins E-Myth By Michael E. Gerber Emotional Intelligence Book By Daniel Goleman Good to Great By Jim Collins Music from https://filmmusic.io "Cold Funk" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com). License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this episode, I interview Dr. Sonia Sonia, the Founder, and CEO of Kallangur Dental Surgery, a successful dental practice. In late 2013, aged 32 and while on maternity leave, Sonia decided to go on her own after everyone told her not to. She promptly quit a corporate job in a dental chain and with a $5,000 loan from her husband, opened her first clinic. She now has up to four locations. She also got further funding from a small bank loan and the business grew from 2 full-time employees to now 17 with sales burgeoning from $0 to $3.2 Million per annum. Dr. Sonia felt she had succeeded when she won a customer service award and a business of the year award. She says the hardest thing about growing a small business is letting go and shares that the one thing she would tell herself on day one of starting out in business is, "Learn more about management and HR" Ladies and gentlemen, please help me in welcoming Dr. Sonia to the show. Enjoy her incredible small business ownership story. This Cast Covers: Running the place that most people usually don't like to go and killing it. Meeting people who actually like going to the dentist. How believing in delivering world-class service inspired her to start her business. Quitting her job, buying a failed dental practice, and going all in to grow it to the current 4 locations. From a goal of making $400 a week to actually turning over $3.2 Million a year. Taking 6.5 hours to apply for a customer service award and winning among 300 businesses. The marketing strategies that have led to her immense success. Reaping from the relationship that healthcare businesses have with financial institutions. The HR conundrum that almost made her give up and how she overcame it. Learning the art of delegation to deal with the lack of enough time to run everything herself. Loving the personal touch of engaging with patients/clients every day. Giving proper attention to each of her team members' health and wellbeing. The importance of being clear with your team about where the business started, where it's going, and what is expected of them. Embracing the struggle that is trying to achieve work/life balance. The value of learning more about management and HR. Additional Resources: The Leader Who Had No Title By Robin Sharma Savvy Dentist By Dr. Jesse Green Healthy Numbers Podcast Music from https://filmmusic.io "Cold Funk" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com). License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this episode, I interview Sarah Riegelhuth, the Founder and CEO of Growmotely, the first all-in-one platform for sourcing, growing and managing remote teams. Sarah is also a serial entrepreneur, professional speaker, published author and investor in startups, having founded 8 companies since 2009. She's personally fueled by a passion for changing the status quo of how we work, conscious culture and leadership, community, gender equality and living life on one's own terms. Aged 19, she started a financial planning firm with her father. In 2008, she started her own private wealth management firm and sold it in 2015. In 2012, inspired from advising millennials, she started a firm focusing on that niche, the first in Australia. She did $250,000 in the first year then $1 Million a year for the next four years before two pivots saw them reach $2 Million annual recurring revenue. She then sold the business to her business partner and ex-husband in 2018. She had 5 full-time employees to 18 with all the non-financial planners offshore in the lower cost countries. Sarah is the co-founder of the league of extraordinary women which has 200,000 members globally and has bootstrapped every one of her businesses except the current one, raising investment to grow into a billion dollar company. She closed the fundraise at 32% over and has sold three companies for over $2 Million. Sarah felt she had succeeded when she sold the first company and her personal wealth tipped over $1 Million when she was aged 32. She feels the hardest thing about growing a small business is, managing your own energy and building resilience. Sarah says the one thing she would tell herself on day one of starting out in business is, "Keep going" Sarah has had a phenomenal business ownership journey that will surely inspire you. Stay tuned. This Cast Covers: From working in financial planning to becoming a high-flying entrepreneur. How she started Wealth Enhancers and grew it from zero to $250,000 in first year revenue. Successfully starting a service-based business and how that is reasonable validation that one has got a viable business. The difference in customer retention rates when they used a commission-based model and how the lessons from that helped her pivot and grow the business. One of the hindrances that keep service-based businesses from growing as expected. Moving to a global employment model which allowed them to access many more resources affordably. Why she had to sell her stake of the company when she was in a great position to scale and grow it. Selling three companies for over $2 Million and the joy of having her personal wealth reach over $1 Million. Building her personal brand so she can leverage it to market her businesses. The pros and cons of bootstrapping based on her entrepreneurial experience. The importance of small business owners/entrepreneurs keeping track of their energy levels to ensure they don't get burned out. Facilitating better performance from her team by ensuring that everyone is aligned and engaged. Building the necessary resilience to deal with the pace of fast growth and the overwhelm that can come with it. Looking for alignment in potential hires to determine who is a fit and running things based on transparency and honesty. The A player versus the B player: Who's the best? Being intentional about culture and communicating it clearly. Re-centering and grounding by switching off her phone regularly and taking retreats several times a year. The difficulty in a small business owner managing their own energy. Additional Resources: Growmotely The League of Extraordinary Women How I Built This Music from https://filmmusic.io "Cold Funk" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com). License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this episode, I interview Bryan Clayton, the Founder, and CEO of GreenPal, a web and mobile app that instantly connects homeowners with home service professionals. Bryan started out in business In 1994 when he was just 15 and while in high school. He started a lawn mowing business and grew that to one of the largest in the state of Tennessee with 150 full-time employees and $10 Million in annual sales. He sold that business in 2012 aged 33 and in the next year launched Greenpal, the Uber for lawn mowing. They had 22 customers in their first year and now have 200,000 customers serviced by 11,000 lawn mowing business owners and it generates $20 Million in annual sales. They had three full-time employees and now have 22, and their initial 12 competitors in 2015 went down to 3. He funded the business solely from bootstrapping and felt he had succeeded when forty people signed up for the app one Saturday and none were friends or family. He feels the hardest thing about growing a small business is getting started and the first $100,000 in revenue. The one thing he says he would tell himself on day one of starting out is, "Look at it like it's an infinite game. The way to win is not to give up" Ladies and gentlemen, help me welcome Bryan Clayton to the show to share his experience in starting, building, and selling companies. This Cast Covers: How Bryan turned lawn mowing from a way of earning a little extra cash in high school aged 15 to a successful business venture. Learning the fundamental principles of running a successful business like customer satisfaction, reliability, delivering quality, and more The inception of GreenPal and investing in proper market research before venturing into your own business in order to avoid creating a business that's based on assumptions. The power of having patience in creating a solid and perfect business foundation before expanding and rolling out into different markets. How to Stay Afloat and close the gaps when running a seasonal business. Building a business that not only acquires monetary success but creates a lasting impact on society. Experimenting early on in the business, figuring out your strengths, and specializing in them as a key factor in growing and marketing your business. Learning the ins and outs of your business to help you in making the right decisions across the board. Investing in creative and innovative ways of marketing and distributing your product to ensure your business stays ahead of the competition. Adopting a think bigger attitude and getting inspiration and insights from people playing on a higher level than you and applying that to your business. Additional Resources: Built to Sell By John Warrillow The E-Myth By Michael E. Gerber Music from https://filmmusic.io "Cold Funk" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com). License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this episode, I interview Jennifer O'Farrell, a Senior Associate at Dobson Mitchell Allport. Jennifer is a commercial litigation and dispute resolution lawyer. She has a particular interest in insolvency, personal property securities, administrative and local government law. She began her legal career as a judge's associate in the Federal Court of Australia. In that role, she gained experience in a wide range of areas, including constitutional and administrative law, insolvency, tax, and general commercial disputes. She added to that experience by then working for a national law firm in Melbourne for 7 years. Jennifer is a Professional Member of the Australian Restructuring Insolvency and Turnaround Association. She has a first-class honors degree in Law from UTAS and is the recipient of both the Tasmanian National Undergraduate Scholarship and the Tasmanian Honours Scholarship. She joins us in this episode to demystify the topic of insolvency and restructuring in relation to small businesses. Enjoy! This Cast Covers: From a judge's associate to a solicitor at a national law firm, and how she was attracted to the world of insolvency. Doing general litigation and also acting for insolvency practitioners like liquidators, administrators, and receivers. Australia having some of the harshest director penalties in the world for insolvent trading. The current low number of insolvencies due to the federal government's initiatives aimed at discouraging businesses from entering into insolvency. Identifying the critical problems earlier on to ensure one has the resources to fund a restructuring plan when their business is in financial distress. Why proper cash flow management is critical to ensuring the sustainable success of a business. The wisdom in making sure you pay your tax debts on time. Voluntary administration to maximize the prospects of a business continuing in existence. Preventing your debtors from getting away from you so you can ensure you have enough cash to meet your overhead needs. Additional Resources: Jennifer on Linkedin Dobson Mitchell Allport Music from https://filmmusic.io "Cold Funk" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com). License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this episode, I interview Gillian Horton, the owner of Colleen's Lingerie and Swimwear and the Co-Owner of Treat Me Treasure Me. Colleen's offers post-surgery pocketed bras and swimwear along with a wide range of large cup and front opening bras; gifts; turbans; wigs and beautiful leisurewear. After treatment for breast cancer, Gillian got back to a toxic government job in 2013 and one day looked out the window and asked herself, "I'm never ever going to get this minute back. What I'm I doing?" After a shop that specialized in offering bras and products for women after breast cancer surgery was shutting down in January 2014, she decided to buy it at age 54. They have the widest range in Australia and only 10% of sales are currently online with no focus on it yet. They moved from an industrial location into the city in between two hospitals, and even with rent doubling, the move propelled growth. Sales have doubled in six years and the team has grown from 1.8 full-time employees to 6. She funded the business from an initial bank loan and then bootstrapped from profits. Gillian felt she had succeeded when she was recognized as an expert in her field and was nominated for the Telstra Business Woman of the Year award. She says the hardest thing about growing a small business is knowing when to let go. The one thing she says she would tell herself on day one of starting out is, "Strap yourself in. It's going to be a hell of a roller coaster ride" Tune in to learn more from Gillian. This Cast Covers: Making money from offering products that positively impact the lives of women. Being in a niche market where they are among very stores that offer post-surgery pocketed bras and swimwear. Generating 90% of their sales from their traditional brick and mortar store with 10% coming from their online store. From disillusioned public servant to a successful entrepreneur who overcame cancer. How she ended up owning the only bra shop she could ever go to. Taking over to grow the customer base and revenues by a hundred percent within six years. Being proud to be recognized as an expert and influencer in her field. Determining what your customers' pain points are and offering solutions to them coupled with exceptional customer service. Investing very little in Facebook and Google ads but seeking an expert to help her implement them. Buying the business with credit financing and growing it purely from profits. Considering franchising as an option for opening up new locations. How and why they moved from their previous location into the city. Serving women who have undergone breast cancer-related surgery and normal women. Holding true to her own vision by working on her own resistance. The decision making freedom of being a small business owner. Being passionate about serving others and overcoming fear. The great results she has gotten from investing in digital marketing. Some of the best and actionable staff hiring tips from Gillian. Putting family first and building their culture around that. Struggling to achieve work-life balance and how she slowly started working towards achieving it. Additional Resources: Colleen's Lingerie and Swimwear Treat Me Treasure Me Dare to Lead By Brene Brown The Life Coach School Podcast Your Digital Coach Bootcamp Music from https://filmmusic.io "Cold Funk" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com). License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this episode, I interview Gavin Hodgins, the CEO at FloatPac Pty Ltd, a company that offers technologies to a diverse range of pioneering ideas and products across air, land, and sea. The company was founded in 1982 and the founders were making lift bags for the Australian army, pioneering high-frequency welding. Gavin started out in the company in 2002 as a welder aged 22 and is now the group CEO. They are the Mercedes Benz of fish air transport, the only company in the world with a product to transport fish with oxygen (FishPac). They also have other products like Flexitank Australia fish farm liners, pillow tanks, bladders, inflatable marker buoys, and lift bags, and RainPac under house rainwater bladder tanks, and in 2015 they launched a floating solar business (FloatPac) When Covid hit, to be able to keep all their team members, they pivoted to producing face masks while fish transport stopped overnight. Demand was so high that they had to add 50 more team members. People on their website at any one time grew from 500 to 100,000 after being featured on two news channels. Their full-time employees grew from 2 to 65, and are now down to 12 after changing strategic focus and giving their manufacturing to a partner in Queensland so they can focus on their strength; marketing. Their profit growth has been 5 to 7% year on year, and they have funded their business purely from profits and a few research grants. Gavin felt he had succeeded when they got through Covid with a massive pivot and he feels that the hardest thing about growing a small business is intestinal fortitude. The one thing he says he would tell himself on day one of starting out in business is, "Build your website and spend the first eight weeks so you don't need to touch it for a while after that" There's a lot to learn from Gavin's awesome business ownership story, so don't miss this episode. This Cast Covers: Starting out as a plastics business (lift bags) and diversifying into revolutionary products that have seen the business thrive since 1982. Joining the company as a welder and moving up the ladder to become CEO. Diving into the huge solar (Renewable energy) market in Australia with a brilliant product. Making water transporter liners for the billion-dollar Salmon industry while focusing mainly on the coral trade industry. Facilitating an environmentally friendly way of shipping through their products. How they went into the manufacturing of reusable face masks when Covid-19 hit. The seven seconds of fame that had traffic to their website blowing up so much that they had to get a dedicated server to keep it from crashing. Maintaining a strong position all through the Covid-19 recession brought about the pandemic. How going into a joint venture with a manufacturing business has enabled them to grow their business by focusing all their efforts on marketing. Reducing their workforce from 65 to 12 and helping their outgoing employees find other jobs. Navigating through the loss of their revenue streams within 24 hours to pivot and succeed. Discovering the effectiveness of email marketing and the huge return on investment they get from it. Funding their business with a combination of profit reinvestment and R&D grants/refunds. Running a strict line of credit, only dealing with clients who pay deposits and are excellent payers, and how that has helped them build great relationships. How diversification ensures their continuous ability to keep the business running sustainably. People who do their job well versus people who are invested in their job. Learning and enjoying sales before building his skills in marketing. Why employing people is what he loves most about growing a small business. How he has been able to get rid of impostor syndrome while also knowing where his place is. Finding out that potential employees may look good on paper but not be the best candidate. Building a great company culture by buying everybody coffee every day. Having a hard time achieving some work-life balance but making sure he doesn't work weekends. His fascination with reading the biographies of big business people like Richard Branson and Bill Gates. Why they moved away from using MailChimp and settled on ActiveCampaign. Additional Resources: FloatPac Pty Ltd MaskPac The Industrial Marketing Show Music from https://filmmusic.io "Cold Funk" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com). License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/