

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

Sep 8, 2023 • 21min
Working With Your Spouse
In this episode of Business Brain, we discuss the concept of “no phone Friday” for improved focus and productivity. We address imposter syndrome and the importance of self-awareness. We talk about transparent salary expectations in hiring and working with spouses. Our sponsor, FastGrowingTrees.com, offers a 15% discount to listeners. Lastly, we highlight the value of bringing unique skills to the business when working with a spouse.
00:00:00 Business Brain – The Entrepreneurs’ Podcast #482 for Casual Friday, September 8th, 2023
00:00:57 …Or is it CAUSAL Friday?
00:02:33 David-480-Imposter Syndrome based upon budget
00:09:13 SPONSOR: Fast Growing Trees. Save 15% off your entire order at FastGrowingTrees.com/BusinessBrain, but only through October 15th! <https://fastgrowingtrees.com/BUSINESSBRAIN>
00:11:11 Working with your spouse
Business Brain 94
The right spouse is a Force Multiplier
00:18:57 BB482 Outtro
feedback@businessbrain.show
Dave on Mastodon: @DaveHamilton@PodcastIndex.Social
Dave on Bluesky: DaveHamilton.com
Shannon on Twitter: @ShannonJean
If your email is featured in an episode, you’re entered to win a MacBook Air in 2023
The post Working With Your Spouse – Business Brain 482 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Sep 6, 2023 • 19min
Hiring Your First Employee
When is the right time to hire your first employee? How do you decide what role they need to play? Do you need a salesperson, an admin, or an assistant? Listen in to episode 481 of Business Brain to hear your hosts, Dave Hamilton and Shannon Jean, discuss this topic and more!
In this episode of Business Brain, we discuss the importance of work-life balance for entrepreneurs. We share our recent staycation experience and the concept of “structured enjoyment.” We also talk about hiring the first employee and building an online presence.
00:00:00 Business Brain – The Entrepreneurs’ Podcast #481 for Wednesday, September 6th, 2023
00:01:04 Take a Staycation!
00:08:45 SPONSOR: Fast Growing Trees. Save 15% off your entire order at FastGrowingTrees.com/BusinessBrain, but only through October 15th!
00:10:42 Robert-First Employees
Business Brain 356
Hiring a Salesperson…or an Assistant!
Or, hire a generalist who is just a talented person.
00:17:41 BB481 Outtro
feedback@businessbrain.show
Dave on Mastodon: @DaveHamilton@PodcastIndex.Social
Dave on Bluesky: DaveHamilton.com
Shannon on Twitter: @ShannonJean
If your email is featured in an episode, you’re entered to win a MacBook Air in 2023
The post Hiring Your First Employee – Business Brain 481 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Sep 1, 2023 • 20min
The Business of Snoop + Imposter Syndrome
On this episode of Business Brain, we discuss how artists are monetizing their stories through storytelling in the music industry. We highlight our sponsors, Miro and Zinch, for their collaboration and lending services. We share personal experiences with imposter syndrome and the importance of seeking external input and collaboration. Listeners are encouraged to provide feedback and share their own experiences with imposter syndrome for a chance to win a MacBook.
00:00:00 Business Brain – The Entrepreneurs’ Podcast #480 for Casual Friday, September 1st, 2023
00:01:12 The Business of Snoop Dogg
00:06:37 SPONSOR: Miro is your team’s visual platform to connect, collaborate, and create — together. Your first 3 Miro boards are free forever when you sign up at Miro.com/podcast.
00:08:19 SPONSOR: Zinch. A direct lender that makes financing fast, simple, and built around your needs. Zinch is waiving their $250 application fee for BB listeners when you sign up at FinancingThatWorks.com
00:09:58 Managing Imposter Syndrome
00:18:59 BB480 Outtro <https://businessbrain.show/>
feedback@businessbrain.show
Dave on Mastodon: @DaveHamilton@PodcastIndex.Social
Dave on Bluesky: DaveHamilton.com
Shannon on Twitter: @ShannonJean
If your email is featured in an episode, you’re entered to win a MacBook Air in 2023
The post The Business of Snoop + Imposter Syndrome – Business Brain 480 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Aug 30, 2023 • 21min
Tips from Atomic Habits Author James Clear
In this episode of Business Brain, we discuss the emotional impact of leaving a leadership role and offer valuable advice on finding fulfillment afterward. We emphasize the importance of building your own community, taking small steps toward goals, and creating a positive environment. We also share insightful ideas from James Clear inviting listeners to watch the linked video for more insights.
00:00:00 Business Brain – The Entrepreneurs’ Podcast #479 for Wednesday, August 30th, 2023
00:01:07 Claude 2 AI LLM allows you to upload files for it to parse/process
00:02:44 Jeff-Grieving the loss associated with a good decision
00:07:41 SPONSOR: Miro is your team’s visual platform to connect, collaborate, and create — together. Your first 3 Miro boards are free forever when you sign up at Miro.com/podcast.
00:09:24 SPONSOR: Zinch. A direct lender that makes financing fast, simple, and built around your needs. Zinch is waiving their $250 application fee for BB listeners when you sign up at FinancingThatWorks.com
00:11:03 James Clear-You Don’t Have To Be The Victim of Your Environment, You Can Be The Architect Of it
Atomic Habits
00:20:40 BB479 Outtro <https://businessbrain.show/>
feedback@businessbrain.show
Dave on Mastodon: @DaveHamilton@PodcastIndex.Social
Dave on Bluesky: DaveHamilton.com
Shannon on Twitter: @ShannonJean
If your email is featured in an episode, you’re entered to win a MacBook Air in 2023
The post Tips from Atomic Habits Author James Clear – Business Brain 479 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Aug 25, 2023 • 18min
Slippery Math and The Focus Trap
What is Slippery Math, and how can it help you live a pre-tax lifestyle? And should you be focused on focusing? Listen in and learn why Shannon doesn’t want you to fall into the Focus Trap.
Join us for episode 478 of Business Brain, where we tune our brains together each week!
00:00:00 Business Brain – The Entrepreneurs’ Podcast #478 for Friday, August 25th, 2023
00:01:03 Slippery Math
Pre-Tax Lifestyle
Charmed Life
00:07:50 SPONSOR: Zinch. A direct lender that makes financing fast, simple, and built around your needs. Zinch is waiving their $250 application fee for BB listeners when you sign up at FinancingThatWorks.com
00:09:29 Focus Trap
Sometimes It’s Good To Go With The Flow
00:15:37 BB478 Outtro
feedback@businessbrain.show
Dave on Mastodon: @DaveHamilton@PodcastIndex.Social
Dave on Bluesky: DaveHamilton.com
Shannon on Twitter: @ShannonJean
If your email is featured in an episode, you’re entered to win a MacBook Air in 2023
The post Slippery Math and The Focus Trap – Business Brain 478 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Aug 23, 2023 • 24min
The Master Mind Hack and Your X/Twitter Profile
In this episode of Business Brain, we discuss strategies for avoiding procrastination and maximizing productivity. We share our personal experiences and emphasize the importance of self-awareness. We also explore the benefits of using X-Twitter for personal and business branding, including the use of lists and growing followers.
Listen in for an episode of Business Brain that could change your life!
00:00:00 Business Brain – The Entrepreneurs’ Podcast #477 for Wednesday, August 23rd, 2023 00:01:31 Mind Hack: I’m a Master at…
ConvertKit
00:07:29 SPONSOR: Zinch. A direct lender that makes financing fast, simple, and built around your needs. Zinch is waiving their $250 application fee for BB listeners when you sign up at FinancingThatWorks.com
00:09:19 TwiX is NOT just for kids
Have Multiple Accounts
Business Brain on X/Twitter
Shannon Jean on X/Twitter
Dave Hamilton on X/Twitter
Have at least one anonymous account
Use Twitter Lists! Here are Shannon’s and Dave’s
Live In The Comments
00:23:21 BB477 Outtro
feedback@businessbrain.show
Dave on Mastodon: @DaveHamilton@PodcastIndex.Social
Dave on Bluesky: DaveHamilton.com
Shannon on Twitter: @ShannonJean
If your email is featured in an episode, you’re entered to win a MacBook Air in 2023
The post The Master Mind Hack and Your X/Twitter Profile – Business Brain 477 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Aug 18, 2023 • 21min
Barefoot Investor and Attracting Luck
It’s Casual Friday on Business Brain! Listen in as we discuss the Barefoot Investor series of books for adults and kids to learn about finance and money. Then it’s on to a discussion about attracting luck in your business and personal life. It’s a great way to spend a few minutes on Friday – join us!
00:00:00 Business Brain – The Entrepreneurs’ Podcast #476 for Friday, August 18th, 2023
00:01:08 Andrew-474-Book Recommendation: Barefoot Kids by Scott Pape
The Barefoot Investor
Shrinking: “Things Always Work Out For Me”
00:08:30 SPONSOR: Shopify – For anyone to sell anywhere, sign up for a one-dollar-per month trial period at Shopify.com/BusinessBrain and take your business to the next level today!
00:10:42 SPONSOR: Pearl Diver. Do you wonder who is visiting your website? Pearl Diver is a cutting-edge platform that provides in-depth visitor identification, enabling you to uncover valuable insights about your website visitors.
00:11:57 David Dawson…Are you guys having trouble with the Intro?
00:19:00 BB476 Outtro <https://businessbrain.show/>
feedback@businessbrain.show
Dave on Mastodon: @DaveHamilton@PodcastIndex.Social
Dave on Bluesky: DaveHamilton.com
Shannon on Twitter: @ShannonJean
If your email is featured in an episode, you’re entered to win a MacBook Air in 2023
This AI-generated Business Brain summary can provide more background and resources related to this episode.
In this episode of Business Brain, we delve into the importance of teaching kids about money and entrepreneurship. We receive a book recommendation called “Barefoot Kids” by Scott Pape, which showcases inspiring stories of Australian children who have started their own businesses and managed their finances. We wholeheartedly agree that this book is a valuable tool for teaching kids about money in an engaging and visual manner. The book covers topics like saving, running a mini business, and the significance of kindness. Reflecting on our own experiences, we express the wish that we had such a resource when our own children were younger. Furthermore, we emphasize the importance of instilling a positive mindset in children and reminding them that the future holds promising opportunities. Throughout the episode, we share personal anecdotes about how our own kids are navigating their early twenties. Ultimately, we strongly believe that educating kids about money and entrepreneurship can empower them for a successful future.
Shifting gears, we discuss the power of adopting a positive mindset in various aspects of life. Inspired by a phrase heard on a TV show, “things always work out for me,” we acknowledge that while it may not magically alter the universe, it can certainly affect our perspective and approach to different situations. Notably, we highlight a friend who consistently proclaims that things will work out for her, and more often than not, they do. Intrigued by this mindset, we have started incorporating it into our own lives. This mindset aligns with the “we’ll figure it out” mantra commonly associated with entrepreneurship, emphasizing the importance of taking action and believing in the eventual success of our efforts. We observe that even our daughter has embraced this mindset, confidently expecting positive outcomes in challenging situations. It encourages proactive behavior and diminishes the fear of failure.
Transitioning to a discussion about our recent challenge in the merch business, we reflect on the importance of having a reliable e-commerce platform. Facing a problem, instead of panicking, we turned to Shopify, a commerce platform renowned for providing control over sales channels and ensuring a seamless shopping experience for customers. With Shopify’s assistance, we successfully tackled our business hurdle. Taking a moment to acknowledge our sponsor, PearlDiver, we highlight the value this tool brings to businesses by converting anonymous website traffic into high-quality leads. Through PearlDiver, businesses gain insight into the identities, emails, and company details of their website visitors, facilitating effective engagement with potential customers.
Responding to an email from a listener named David Dawson, we address the topic of consistency in our podcast’s introduction. Acknowledging the struggle to explain the meaning behind the podcast name, we share an idea suggested by the listener – creating a script based on a brief description of the podcast. This script would serve as a consistent and engaging introduction, similar to the approach of “Business Made Simple,” another podcast. Recognizing the importance of a consistent introduction for branding purposes, we explore different descriptions in recent episodes to gauge listener resonance. While leveraging Chat GPT to develop ideas, we face difficulty finding a concise description that captures the essence of the show in our own voice. Nonetheless, we express our affection for the name “Business Brain” but clarify that it does not imply we are the sole experts of business. To better define our target audience, we propose amalgamating notes from ideal listeners. Our ideal listener is someone hesitant about venturing into entrepreneurship, currently working a nine-to-five job, and not solely motivated by stories of grand success and wealth. Ultimately, our aim is to grant permission to these listeners to experiment and discover if entrepreneurship suits them. We acknowledge the challenge of encapsulating this concept in a few words.
Sharing a personal anecdote about having lunch with a friend, we discuss the evolution of our lives since the pandemic. It prompts a realization that we have successfully created flexibility in our lives, not just for pursuing our passion, but also for cherishing moments with our family. Balancing our love for playing the drums and spending quality time with our loved ones, we embrace the opportune choices granted by flexibility. It dawns on us that our motivation for pursuing our passions was never solely about making money. We express a desire for feedback from listeners who may have divergent experiences or established expertise in different fields. For those interested, please reach out to us via email at feedback@businessbrain.show. Additionally, we invite our audience to participate in our upgraded newsletter by answering a question found at the bottom. We sincerely appreciate your continued support and encourage you to explore our sponsors, Shopify.com/businessbrain and pearldiver.io. As we sign off, we urge you to keep embracing the joys of life and remind you that we will be back next week with more engaging content.
The post Barefoot Investor + Attracting Luck – Business Brain 476 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Aug 16, 2023 • 24min
Running Your Business as a Shareholder
In this episode of Business Brain, we discuss various topics, including surge protection, e-commerce platforms, understanding website visitors, transitioning from employee to shareholder, and personal growth in business. We share personal experiences, insights, and recommendations to help tune our Business Brains together.
00:00:00 Business Brain – The Entrepreneurs’ Podcast #475 for Wednesday, August 16th, 2023 00:00:58 Happy Birthday Shannon!
00:02:06 When it rains…Dave’s hardware dies!
00:09:13 SPONSOR: Shopify – For anyone to sell anywhere, sign up for a one-dollar-per month trial period at Shopify.com/BusinessBrain and take your business to the next level today!
00:11:26 SPONSOR: Pearl Diver. Do you wonder who is visiting your website? Pearl Diver is a cutting-edge platform that provides in-depth visitor identification, enabling you to uncover valuable insights about your website visitors.
00:12:41 Run Your Business Like A Shareholder
Try to run your business like you’re going to sell it tomorrow
00:23:29 BB475 Outtro
feedback@businessbrain.show
Dave on Mastodon: @DaveHamilton@PodcastIndex.Social
Dave on Bluesky: DaveHamilton.com
Shannon on Twitter: @ShannonJean
If your email is featured in an episode, you’re entered to win a MacBook Air in 2023
The post Running Your Business as a Shareholder – Business Brain 475 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Aug 11, 2023 • 20min
Procrastination and A Business Brain for Kids
Are you a Pro at Procrastination? Join us for episode 474 of Business Brain for tips on fighting the battle to get stuff done.
We then jump into a discussion about using your Business Brain to turn your kids into extraordinary adults. Join us!
00:00:00 Business Brain – The Entrepreneurs’ Podcast #474 for Friday, August 11th, 2023
00:01:05 How Do You Manage Procrastination?
00:08:44 SPONSOR: Zinch. A direct lender that makes financing fast, simple, and built around your needs. Zinch is waiving their $250 application fee for BB listeners when you sign up at FinancingThatWorks.com
00:10:33 PODCAST: TWIT’s Apple-focused shows: MacBreak Weekly, iOS Today, and Hands-On Mac, all at TWIT.tv/Apple
00:11:41 Passing Down your Business Brain
The Slight Edge
00:19:14 BB474 Outtro
feedback@businessbrain.show
Dave on Mastodon: @DaveHamilton@PodcastIndex.Social
Dave on Bluesky: DaveHamilton.com
Shannon on Twitter: @ShannonJean
If your email is featured in an episode, you’re entered to win a MacBook Air in 2023
The post Procrastination and A Business Brain for Kids – Business Brain 474 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Aug 9, 2023 • 22min
The Avoid at All Costs List
In this episode of Business Brain, we delve into various topics related to technology, marketing, and personal development. We start by discussing the availability of Apple Business Essentials through CDW, a tech company specializing in smart home setups. We also explore the use of URL shorteners and tracking URLs for marketing purposes. We acknowledge the potential security risks associated with URL shorteners in emails but suggest embedding the link within the text as a solution.
Next, we discuss an inspiring tweet by Blake Burge, who suggests creating an “avoid at all costs” list of the top 25 things to achieve in the next few years or in a lifetime. This idea is inspired by a conversation between Warren Buffett and his pilot. We reflect on the lesson we learned from Buffett, emphasizing the importance of prioritizing our top five tasks and developing a plan to accomplish them. Focusing on these top priorities and avoiding distractions can lead to greater success.
00:00:00 Business Brain – The Entrepreneurs’ Podcast #473 for Wednesday, August 9th, 2023
00:01:18 Apple Business Essentials available through CDW
Jeremy Butcher talks Apple Business Essentials on Business Brain
00:02:20 Robert-Is it OK to track People who visit my links?
00:09:53 SPONSOR: Zinch. A direct lender that makes financing fast, simple, and built around your needs. Zinch is waiving their $250 application fee for BB listeners when you sign up at FinancingThatWorks.com
00:11:41 PODCAST: TWIT’s Apple-focused shows: Mac Break Weekly, iOS Today, and Hands-On Mac, all at TWIT.tv/Apple
00:12:49 Blake Burge – Avoid at All Costs List
00:21:20 BB473 Outtro
feedback@businessbrain.show
Dave on Mastodon: @DaveHamilton@PodcastIndex.Social
Dave on Bluesky: DaveHamilton.com
Shannon on Twitter: @ShannonJean
If your email is featured in an episode, you’re entered to win a MacBook Air in 2023
The post The Avoid at All Costs List – Business Brain 473 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.


