21 Hats Podcast

This week, Gene Marks tells Loren Feldman that he thinks the ban signed by Montana's governor is a political stunt that could do real damage to businesses that have come to rely on the app. And yet, there seems to be momentum for similar bans in other states and even at the federal level. Plus: how to avoid ERTC fraud, why bankruptcies are skyrocketing, and should the business community be doing more to warn against risking default?

This week, Shawn Busse and Loren Feldman talk to John Garrett about his contrarian approach to newspapers, marketing, and competition. Garrett has built a Texas-based chain of print newspapers that has managed to outcompete established news organizations and digital platforms for both community engagement and local advertising. Not surprisingly, when he first took out a $39,000 credit card loan in 2005 and started telling people that his business model would feature a monthly print publication that he would mail to everyone in his target communities for free, he didn’t get a lot of congratulations. And not everything he’s tried has worked. An expansion into Arizona, Tennessee, and Georgia, for example, failed early in the pandemic. But almost 20 years after its debut, a period during which most local publications have been in retreat, Community Impact is thriving. And from his seat as a publisher, Garrett offers a perspective on marketing that any business owner would be wise to consider.

This week, Gene Marks tells Loren Feldman that businesses should be making contingency plans in case there’s a default, especially if they rely on government contracts. Be careful how you spend and how you stash your cash. Plus: Gene gloats a bit about the end of the age of the worker (and then has some second thoughts). He also says reports of the death of the metaverse are greatly exaggerated and that it wouldn’t be so terrible if the government loses the ability to regulate.

This week, in episode 152, Jay Goltz, Liz Picarazzi, and Sarah Segal talk about the inherent conflicts between being an entrepreneur and being a CEO—and the different skill-sets each role requires. Does it make sense for the same person to do both jobs? Is being CEO even a full-time job? And when does it make sense to replace yourself as CEO? Liz says she’s thought about it. Jay, not so much: “Could I have found somebody 10, 15, 20 years ago who was a better manager? Sure. But it just wasn't worth it.” Why not? “It's gonna cost you $250,000 a year,” Jay says. “Is it worth paying that?” Plus: Liz and Sarah talk about positioning a company to be acquired. And Sarah proposes a PR campaign for Liz’s package bins right on the spot.

This week, John Arensmeyer, CEO of the Small Business Majority advocacy group, and Loren Feldman talk about some of the most intractable problems confronting business owners. And John offers some reason for hope -- mostly, he says, because there’s a growing, bipartisan effort to level the playing field for smaller businesses. The debt ceiling, of course, is another matter.

This week, two special guests who have built highly successful companies talk about what they ultimately plan to do with those companies. Ari Weinzweig is co-founder of Zingerman’s Community of Businesses, a collection of mostly food-related companies that are an iconic part of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Brad Herrmann is co-founder of Text-Em-All, a software firm based near Dallas that helps organizations deliver personalized, informational, and emergency messages by text and by phone. Both Zingerman’s and Text-Em-All consider themselves purpose-driven. Both practice open-book management. And so, not surprisingly, the founders of both companies took a hard look at selling to an employee stock ownership plan, or ESOP, in the hope that the cultures they’ve created might live on. But both companies, independently, soured on the notion of creating an ESOP, one after spending more than $200,000 and coming within a week of closing the deal. And now, both have settled on a little known alternative, what’s called a perpetual purpose trust. So far, only a handful of companies have tried to create a purpose trust for this purpose, but Zingerman’s and Text-Em-All are taking the leap. As both Ari and Brad acknowledge, they’re kind of figuring it out as they go.Show Notes:In our conversation, Brad and Ari mention several places where businesses can learn more about perpetual purpose trusts, including Alternative Ownership Advisors, Common Trust, and an attorney, Christopher Michael.Ari has written about the Zingerman’s perpetual trust in his own newsletter.

This week, Gene Marks takes Loren Feldman through a case study of how easy it is even for profitable businesses to get caught in a cash crunch. The problem, Gene explains, is that business owners often have to pay taxes on earnings that have yet to reach the owners. Where does the money go? To inventory, to capital expenditures, to accounts receivable among other places. How can owners avoid the crunch? By staying on top of their finances.

This week, in episode 151, our conversation starts with Shawn Busse and Jay Goltz trying to understand why CEOs keep going viral for their misguided attempts to rally the troops. Shawn suspects CEO screeds have always existed—they just haven’t been recorded. He also thinks they tend to come more from public company CEOs who are beholden to shareholders. Jay thinks they’re just morons. “I really don't understand how someone could be smart enough to run a big company like that,” he says, “and be so completely ignorant. It's shocking to me.” Of course, CEOs of both publicly owned companies and privately owned companies do have to do unpleasant things sometimes, but Shawn and Jay say they’ve learned from their own experiences handling layoffs and recessions. “Do we have to go out of our way to be callous about it?” Jay asks. “I don't think so.” Plus: the very different ways Shawn and Jay manage their hiring processes. Oh, and, what would happen if Jay applied for a job at Shawn’s business?

Yes, demand is tapering, and a recession is looming, Gene Marks tells Loren Feldman, but this is a great economy and a great country and people should stop complaining! Plus: Gene explains how some business owners get the state to pay for their employee training, how restaurants are finally adopting technology, and how to make sure your employees aren’t stealing from you. One tip: if you think an employee is stealing from you, send the employee on vacation.

This week, in episode 150, Stephanie Stuckey tells Paul Downs and Liz Picarazzi how she and her partners have taken their business from $2 million in annual revenue to more than $13 million in three years. What’s frustrating, she says, is that she could be selling a lot more pecan snacks and candies. But with production at capacity, she’s not doing much sales outreach until they can fully revamp their manufacturing operation, which will require a significant investment. “I spend my days doing financial paperwork,” Stephanie says. Plus: Liz explains why her business picks up when the weather warms up, and after a slow start, Paul gets a boost from a big manufacturer.