

Business Brain – The Entrepreneurs’ Podcast
Shannon Jean & Dave Hamilton
Two long-time small-business owners, Dave Hamilton and Shannon Jean, come to you each week to talk through the trials, success, pitfalls and tips it takes to successfully run a small business in today’s world. Hear real-world folks talk about real-world problems, letting you know not only what it takes to get it done but that you’re not alone in doing it!
Episodes
Mentioned books

Dec 19, 2025 • 26min
FridAI - Meta Glasses + AI Troubleshooting
In this episode of Business Brain, you take a hard look at the hidden risks of using AI to troubleshoot problems in your business. You learn why trusting confident-sounding answers without context can lead you astray, and how Gell-Mann Amnesia shows up when AI sounds smart outside your expertise. The takeaway is clear: AI is powerful, but only when you stay skeptical, verify results, and remain the final decision-maker.
You also explore the fast-evolving world of AI-powered wearables and what Meta’s smart glasses signal for the future of work and creativity. From short-form recording to deeper app integration, you see how these tools could change how you capture ideas and stay present. The key is experimenting early without blind faith, so you can leverage emerging tech while staying grounded. Done right, this balance helps you build smarter systems and move closer to a Charmed Life.
00:00:00 Business Brain – The Entrepreneurs’ Podcast #711 for Casual FridAI, December 19th, 2025
December 19th: Underdog Day
00:01:14 The 7-11 Coefficient
00:01:40 The Potential Pitfalls of AI Troubleshooting
Gell-mann Amnesia
00:12:27 SPONSOR: The New Rules of Business: The 10 Kimmandments is available exclusively on MasterClass. And they always have great holiday-season offers, sometimes up to 50% off. Visit MasterClass.com/BUSINESSBRAIN to find out more!
00:13:58 SPONSOR: Intuit QuickBooks Payroll – Take control with QuickBooks Payroll today at QuickBooks.com/payroll
00:15:13 Meta AI Glasses
Records in three-minute clips
Meta AI app integrates with the glasses
Google/Samsung Android XR Glasses
Go to a Meta Store and check it out
Billy Clayton
00:25:18 Business Brain 711 Outtro
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Dec 17, 2025 • 24min
Start Before You're Ready + Demand Avoidance
In this episode of Business Brain, you’re challenged to stop waiting for perfect conditions and start before you feel ready. You don’t need every system built or every detail nailed down to make an offer and move forward. You learn why perfection slows momentum, how action creates clarity, and why progress beats polish every time. This mindset shift helps you build confidence, traction, and revenue faster—without getting stuck preparing forever instead of doing.
You also explore demand avoidance and the subtle danger of the comfort zone. When things feel easy or familiar, it might actually be a warning sign that you’re not stretching far enough. You’re reminded that simple tools and clear tracking can keep you honest, focused, and growing. By leaning into a little discomfort and embracing structure, you give yourself the best chance at building a business—and a Charmed Life—on your terms.
00:00:00 Business Brain – The Entrepreneurs’ Podcast #710 for Wednesday, December 17th, 2025
December 17th: National Maple Syrup Day
00:02:05 Start Before You’re Ready
I don’t have an email list… but here’s an offer and I’ll eventually send you email.
Perfect is the enemy of good
Kit.com
beehiiv
Constant Contact
Klaviyo
Mailchimp
00:06:44 Beware the comfort zone
00:07:39 Spreadsheets are your friend
Google Sheets
Synology Office
LibreOffice
00:12:06 SPONSOR: The New Rules of Business: The 10 Kimmandments is available exclusively on MasterClass. And they always have great holiday-season offers, sometimes up to 50% off. Visit MasterClass.com/BUSINESSBRAIN to find out more!
00:13:37 SPONSOR: Intuit QuickBooks Payroll – Take control with QuickBooks Payroll today at QuickBooks.com/payroll
00:14:53 Demand Avoidance
Tips to help:
Reframe demands as choices — “I could do this” works better than “I should do this.”
Lower the activation energy — Define the task as 2 minutes or one tiny step.
Externalize structure without authority — Timers, body doubling, or parallel work beat accountability pressure.
Use novelty or constraint — Change location, tools, order, or rules.
00:22:23 Business Brain 710 Outtro
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Dec 12, 2025 • 24min
FridAI - Limitless and Privacy
In this episode of Business Brain, you dive into the rising tension between innovation, trust, and responsibility in the world of AI. As Shannon and Dave unpack National Salesperson Day, they pivot into the challenge of working with tools that hold immense power but zero accountability. The conversation heats up as they explore the recent acquisition of Limitless and what it signals for the future of AI assistants that promise productivity without sacrificing your Charmed Life.
You also hear why trusting your AI is becoming just as important as the tasks it performs. Apple enters the discussion as a fascinating paradox—highly trusted for privacy yet struggling to compete because that same privacy limits their AI’s capabilities. By the time the outtro rolls in, you’re left thinking critically about which companies deserve your trust and how to balance convenience with control in your business.
00:00:00 Business Brain – The Entrepreneurs’ Podcast #709 for Casual FridAI, December 12th, 2025
December 12th: National Salesperson Day
00:01:12 ChatGPT has no accountability
00:07:09 SPONSOR: Intuit QuickBooks Payroll – Take control with QuickBooks Payroll today at QuickBooks.com/payroll
00:08:26 SPONSOR: Shopify – For anyone to sell anywhere, sign up for a one-dollar-per month trial period at Shopify.com/BusinessBrain and upgrade your selling today!
00:10:03 Limitless being Acquired
00:16:25 Trusting your AI?
Apple is trustworthy…and their privacy keeps their AI from being competitive.
00:21:27 Business Brain 709 Outtro
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Dec 10, 2025 • 23min
Belief Comes Before Ability
In this episode of Business Brain, you learn why belief has to show up before skill ever can. You’re pushed to take action immediately—not by buying gear, courses, or tools, but by selling what you already have to get real-world wins fast. As you move, you build confidence, momentum, and the all-important belief that fuels every entrepreneurial step of your Charmed Life. Listener reviews highlight how authentic, actionable, and inspiring this mindset is, especially when paired with smart discussions about AI and real business challenges.
You also dive into the big question: How long should you give a business idea before you pivot or pull the plug? The hosts break down a practical two-year model—one year to learn, one year to execute—and frame it all as an experiment rather than a lifelong commitment. This approach frees you to test ideas boldly, adapt quickly, and make decisions with clarity instead of emoti
00:00:00 Business Brain – The Entrepreneurs’ Podcast #708 for Wednesday, December 10th, 2025
00:01:00 December 10th: National Lager Day
Wolf by Vanderpump in Lake Tahoe
Trumer Pilsner
00:02:32 Belief Before Ability
Take action right away
For example: in the reselling business, don’t buy anything first. Sell stuff you already have. That way you go through the motions…take some easy wins, and learn the process. And learn to believe!
00:12:03 SPONSOR: Intuit QuickBooks Payroll – Take control with QuickBooks Payroll today at QuickBooks.com/payroll
00:13:18 SPONSOR: Shopify – For anyone to sell anywhere, sign up for a one-dollar-per month trial period at Shopify.com/BusinessBrain and upgrade your selling today!
00:14:57 Iavhill-BB Review-Actionable, Authentic, and Inspiring!
00:16:01 WPooka-BB Review-Love the AI Section
00:16:34 Skylar-Another read of “Don’t Pitch the Bitch”
00:18:44 How long should I give my business a chance?
How long to spend on a proof of concept before you pivot (or kill it).
2 Years: One to learn, the second to execute
Call it an experiment!
00:20:55 Everything we say on the show is something we’re telling ourselves
00:22:15 Business Brain 708 Outtro
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Dec 4, 2025 • 25min
The Work IS the Reward + Overdoing Customer Service – Business Brain 706
In this episode of Business Brain, you’re reminded that the work itself is the reward—and that avoiding the arrival fallacy is key to building a Charmed Life. Shannon and Dave push you to reframe your mindset from have to to get to, reinforcing that shared effort fuels momentum. You’ll see how celebrating your team—especially on Extraordinary Work Team Recognition Day—creates a culture where contribution feels meaningful and progress stays sustainable.
Then you dive into the art of employing confident helpfulness. You’re coached to stop bending over backward until clients walk all over you and to use clarity as your strongest service tool. Sometimes the most helpful thing you can do is tell someone that what they want isn’t the process. You’ll learn to choose a blunt-and-polite mindset—the one that says they’re lucky to do business with you—so you protect your boundaries, elevate your value, and lead with intention.
00:00:00 Business Brain – The Entrepreneurs’ Podcast #706 for Thursday, December 4th, 2025
December 4th: Extraordinary Work Team Recognition Day
00:01:58 The work is the reward
The arrival fallacy
We GET to do this together!
00:11:21 SPONSOR: Intuit QuickBooks Payroll – Take control with QuickBooks Payroll today at QuickBooks.com/payroll
00:12:45 SPONSOR: Rula patients typically pay $15 per session when using insurance. Connect with quality therapists and mental health experts who specialize in you at https://www.rula.com/businessbrain/ #rulapod
00:14:39 Employing Confident Helpfulness
Be aware when you bend over backwards so far that you’re laying down and the client is walking all over you
When trying to help the client through the process, sometimes the best thing to do is to tell them “this is not the process”
Two mindsets: direct and polite… vs blunt and polite
Blunt = they’re lucky to do business with us
Direct = we’re lucky to do business with them
Go with Blunt!
00:24:31 Business Brain 706 Outtro
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Nov 28, 2025 • 27min
FridAI Google Antigravity + Context AI
In this episode of Business Brain, you dive into a Casual FridAI conversation where Shannon Jean and Dave Hamilton explore everything from Google’s playful foray into “antigravity” ideas to the rise of vibe-based coding and whether it helps or hurts creativity. You’re pulled into their energetic breakdown of how intuition and experimentation shape modern work, especially in an era when AI tools push boundaries faster than ever. As the hosts riff on innovation, they challenge you to rethink how you incorporate emerging tech into your entrepreneurial workflow to build your own Charmed Life.
You also get a sharp discussion on contextual AI and why the nAIsaysers may be missing the bigger picture. In this episode of Business Brain, the hosts reveal how understanding context gives you a competitive edge and why resistance to AI often stems from misconceptions, not reality. By the end, you walk away with insights that equip you to navigate new tech, sharpen your strategic thinking, and stay adaptable as the landscape evolves.
00:00:00 Business Brain – The Entrepreneurs’ Podcast #705 for Casual FridAI, November 28th, 2025
November 28th: National Day of Listening
00:01:30 Google Antigravity
00:07:55 Vibe Coding…is it bad?
00:11:25 SPONSOR: Shopify – For anyone to sell anywhere, sign up for a one-dollar-per month trial period at Shopify.com/BusinessBrain and upgrade your selling today!
00:13:26 SPONSOR: SPONSOR: MasterClass. Masterclass always has great holiday-season offers, sometimes up to 50% off. Visit MasterClass.com/BUSINESSBRAIN to find out more!
00:15:31 Contextual AI vs. the nAIsaysers
00:26:00 Business Brain 705 Outtro
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Nov 26, 2025 • 24min
Permissionless UTMs and Persistent Pests
You’re juggling data, marketing, and momentum, and this episode shows you how to turn all three into leverage. You learn why permissionless UTMs let you track audience behavior without waiting for approval, giving you a sharper view of what actually moves the needle. Then you’re pushed to rethink how you approach follow-ups and persistence — not as nagging, but as the habit-forming consistency that makes people naturally want to work with you. This is where you start building your own Charmed Life.
We also explore how relationship shifts inside a company — especially when your point of contact changes — can either stall progress or open a fresh lane of opportunity. Instead of letting transitions derail you, you discover how to re-establish trust, reset expectations, and keep deals alive. It’s a tactical episode that blends marketing precision with human strategy to keep your entrepreneurial engine running smoothly.
00:00:00 Business Brain – The Entrepreneurs’ Podcast #704 for Wednesday, November 26th, 2025
November 26th: National Cake Day
00:01:34 What do you use Business Brain
00:02:05 Permissionless UTMs
https://businessbrain.show/review?utm_source=bb704&utm_campaign=bb704
00:11:04 SPONSOR: Shopify – For anyone to sell anywhere, sign up for a one-dollar-per month trial period at Shopify.com/BusinessBrain and upgrade your selling today!
00:13:02 SPONSOR: MasterClass. Masterclass always has great holiday-season offers, sometimes up to 50% off. Visit MasterClass.com/BUSINESSBRAIN to find out more!
00:15:10 The persistent pest just turns people into habitually working with you
00:19:11 When the point of contact changes
00:23:27 Business Brain 703 Outtro
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Nov 21, 2025 • 23min
FridAI Blind Spot Prompt
On this episode of Business Brain, you explore how to use AI as a tool for revealing blind spots you didn’t even know you had. With prompts designed to surface hidden assumptions and second-order effects, you learn how to turn AI into a sharper strategic partner. The hosts walk you through asking AI to SWOT your life, push for specific examples, and then combine strengths and weaknesses so you can take real corrective action instead of just collecting insights.
This episode also shows you how to redirect AI when answers drift and how to make it ask you smarter questions—especially when building plans or creative projects. The big takeaway: frequent use and strategic prompting erase resistance and unlock the clarity that fuels your Charmed Life. When you know how to steer the conversation, AI becomes a force multiplier for both your business and your thinking.
00:00:00 Business Brain – The Entrepreneurs’ Podcast #703 for Casual FridAI, November 21st, 2025
November 21st: National Gingerbread Cookie Day
00:01:41 AI Prompt to find the blind spots
AI Prompt: What are the blind spots, hidden assumptions, or second-order effects that I might be missing?
00:06:47 AI Prompt: Based upon everything you know about me I want you to SWOT my life.
Follow-up Prompt: Give me three specific examples of each of the 4 categories
Follow-up-follow-up: Take those 12 things and apply the six positives about me to the six negatives so that we can address these issues.
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00:13:20 Robert-Prompting AI to be more effective for you
AI Prompt: I’m a Graphic Designer, I need to write a business plan. Ask me 5 questions about me to make your response more effective:
00:15:06 If you get an answer in the wrong direction, edit your prompt and that effectively erases the answer.
00:15:50 Just use it! Resistance is futile.
DaVinci Resolve
00:21:54 Business Brain 703 Outtro
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Nov 19, 2025 • 23min
Lifestyle Business Complacency
Adding value in business doesn’t always mean solving every problem — sometimes simply naming the issue helps people unlock their own path forward. That mindset protects you from the Consultant Trap, where you feel obligated to deliver solutions instead of insight. Like cognitive behavioral therapy, your real power often comes from reframing the situation, not fixing it. Whether you’re chatting with clients, partners, or even hotel staff when you’re celebrating something special, you’re shaping outcomes through clarity and communication.
We also explore how lifestyle businesses can slip into complacency when comfort replaces intention. You’re pushed to rethink how you manage your money, tapping concepts from Die With Zero and Rich Dad, Poor Dad to shift your focus from hoarding assets to living on profits and maximizing cash flow. You’re encouraged to avoid parking money in a checking account and instead build a structure that supports financial momentum — all so you can consistently design your own Charmed Life.
00:00:00 Business Brain – The Entrepreneurs’ Podcast #702 for Wednesday, November 19th, 2025
November 19th: Women’s Entrepreneurship Day
00:01:22 Tell the hotel front desk that you’re celebrating your anniversary
00:02:57 You don’t always have to have a solution to a problem to add value
The Consultant Trap on Business Brain
Just identifying the problem or situation can be more than enough to help someone seek a solution
Isn’t this what cognitive behavioral therapy is?
00:09:29 SPONSOR: Surfshark. Go to https://surfshark.com/businessbrain or use code businessbrain at checkout to get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN!
00:11:14 SPONSOR: PAKA. Softer than Cashmere and warmer than wool. Visit Go.PAKAapparel.com/BRAIN to grab your PAKA hoodie and free pair of alpaca crew socks.
00:13:02 The lifestyle business mindset and laziness
Die With Zero
00:17:30 Live On Your Profits, Not Your Assets
Rich Dad, Poor Dad
Cash flow is king!
Don’t keep money in your checking account
00:22:27 Business Brain 702 Outtro
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Nov 14, 2025 • 20min
FridAI - GPT Carplay and Context Windows
You’re living in the future now—where ChatGPT rides shotgun and your car’s dashboard becomes your co-pilot. This week, you’ll explore how AI and CarPlay are merging to make driving smarter and conversations with tech more natural. Discover how Shannon and Dave use GPT behind the wheel and why they wouldn’t buy a car without CarPlay anymore. You’ll see how these tools blend productivity and creativity into the rhythm of daily life.
Then, shift gears into understanding the context window—the secret to keeping your AI assistant on track. Learn how to get better, more useful answers by managing context, and why choosing your LLM ecosystem wisely matters. It’s about steering your own digital experience toward your version of a Charmed Life—one where human insight and AI intuition drive side by side.
00:00:00 Business Brain – The Entrepreneurs’ Podcast #701 for Casual FridAI, November 14th, 2025
00:01:06 November 14th: National Pickle Day
00:02:20 ChatGPT widget in CarPlay
00:05:51 Having conversations with ChatGPT
00:08:25 We wouldn’t buy cars without CarPlay
00:09:18 SPONSOR: Intuit QuickBooks Payroll – Take control with QuickBooks Payroll today at QuickBooks.com/payroll
00:10:51 SPONSOR: Shopify – For anyone to sell anywhere, sign up for a one-dollar-per month trial period at Shopify.com/BusinessBrain and upgrade your selling today!
00:12:32 Tips for Overcoming ChatGPT’s Context Window
00:15:00 The walled garden of your chosen LLM
AI for customer support
00:19:09 Business Brain 701 Outtro <https://businessbrain.show/>
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