Business Brain – The Entrepreneurs’ Podcast

Making sure your company surfaces in search results for “near me” searches is critical for local search engine optimization. What local SEO search optimization techniques will help your local customers find you above your competition? Listen to episode 343 of The Small Business Show to learn more! Then it’s time to take a deep dive into how to turn customer returns into a competitive advantage for your Small Business. Learn from co-host Shannon Jean’s 30+ years of managing returns and creating policies that thrill customers and build loyalty and why co-host Dave Hamilton’s famous quote about “All businesses are in the customer service business.” is especially true when it comes to your return policies. 00:00:00 Small Business Show #343 for Wednesday, September 1, 2021 00:01:11 SBS Listener Survey – Win $50! 00:03:00 Local SEO Search Tips and Managing Customer Returns 00:03:52 Local SEO “Near Me” Search Tips Claim Your Business How to Claim Your Business on Google Maps How to Claim Your Business on Yelp How to Claim Your Business on Bing How to Claim Your Business on Apple Maps Don’t Use an 800-number, Use a Local Area Code Get a Google Voice Number Manage Individual Locations Encourage and Respond to Reviews feedback@businessshow.co – “Near Me Searches” 00:11:26 SPONSOR: SaneBox. SaneBox’s Artificial Intelligence monitors your Inbox. Automatically, knucklehead email is moved to your SaneLater folder. All that’s left is the important stuff and your smiles. Use SaneBox.com/smallbusiness for 14-days free and a $25 credit. 00:14:44 Managing Customer Returns into a Competitive Advantage Make it EASY to return products to you and you’ll get less The Two Tokens of Customer Service Measure your %age of returns and the reasons. Promote your unique Return Policy as part of your story 00:30:10 SBS343 Outtro The post Local SEO Search Optimization and Managing Customer Returns – Small Business Show 343 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

What’s the Best Small Business phone system for your business? Join us this week on The Small Business Show as we discuss how answering your phone can be a competitive advantage! Then it’s on to a deep dive into the benefits of using affinity credit cards to enhance your lifestyle while using them for your Small Business. Listen in to your hosts Shannon Jean and Dave Hamilton to hear how they have lived a Charmed Life with the help of credit card points.   00:00:00 Small Business Show #342 for Wednesday, August 25, 2021 00:01:28 What is the best office phone system? Phone.com RingCentral Grasshopper AirCall.io The Two Tokens of Customer Service Obi200 00:10:13 Sponsor: LinkedIn Jobs will help you hire the right person for your role. Post your first job for free at LinkedIn.com/SBS. Terms and conditions apply. 00:12:15 Credit Cards Make Inter-Statement Payments It’s YOUR Personal Guarantee, Not Your Company’s Travel Cards American Express Bonvoy Hotel Rewards Card Barclay’s JetBlue Business Mastercard Citibank AAdvantage Mastercard  Cash back Cards Chase Ink Business Unlimited Credit Card Citi Double Cash Card 1-3% back with $200 bonus for signing up Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards: 1.5% cash back, no caps, $200 bonus Amex Blue Cash Preferred The Plum Card from American Express Costco Anywhere Visa BusinessShow.co/RewardsCards 00:37:00 SBS342 Outtro The post Best Small Business Phone Systems and Credit Card Rewards – Small Business Show 342 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Are you living a “before-tax” lifestyle? What other accounting secrets are you missing out on that could improve your life while saving money for your Small Business? Is a Trademark important for your small business? When should you file for one and can you do it yourself? What happens if your Trademark is challenged? All this and more on The Small Business Show this week!   00:00:00 Small Business Show #341 for Wednesday, August 18, 2021 00:01:08 Small Business Accounting Hidden Secrets – Living a Before-Tax Life Putting Family on the Payroll Expensing Trips — You get an annual board meeting! Retreats Expensing Your Cars Managing Your Hobby-related expenses What is your rewards-based feedback@businessshow.co 00:09:02 The Business Model of The Burnham 00:16:20 SPONSOR: Streak is a CRM designed to help you stay on top of each part of your process — and your inbox — without ever leaving Gmail. Visit Streak.com/SBS to get 20% off your first year of Streak’s Pro Plan. 00:17:53 SPONSOR: Bambee – Let Bambee help with your dedicated HR Manager! Go to Bambee.com/SMALL right now to schedule your free HR audit. 00:19:25 Trademark Lessons Trademarks vs. Service Marks Search for an Existing Trademark LegalZoom Trademark Assistance DIY: Apply for your own Trademark Weak vs. Strong Trademarks Send a Cease and Desist Remove from Facebook Remove from Instagram Remove from Twitter Remove from YouTube Research Your Brands 00:32:55 SBShow 341 Outtro New Voicemail/Text Number: 567-274-6977 or… 56-SBSHOW-77 The post Small Business Accounting Secrets and All About Trademarks – Small Business Show 341 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

What’s the best way to take care of your Small Business Payroll? Should you do it yourself or use a service? Join us during the introduction to Episode 340 of The Small Business Show to find out what your hosts Shannon Jean and Dave Hamilton think! Then, it’s on to a discussion about how to create and make presentations that have an impact. How not to bore or confuse your audience and why we think less is more when it comes to great presentations. You will also get a chance to learn about Guy Kawasaki’s secret 10/20/30 rule of presentations. Listen in for all this and more!   00:00:00 Small Business Show #340 for Wednesday, August 11, 2021 Small Business Payroll and Creating Impactful Presentations 00:01:23 Maine Lobsters vs. Atlantic Lobsters 00:04:28 What’s the best way to do Small Business Payroll Dave (currently) uses Quickbooks Payroll Shannon says Consider a Local Payroll Service feedback@businessshow.co 00:11:55 SPONSOR: SaneBox. SaneBox’s Artificial Intelligence monitors your Inbox. Automatically, knucklehead email is moved to your SaneLater folder. All that’s left is the important stuff and your smiles. Use SaneBox.com/smallbusiness for 14-days free and a $25 credit. 00:14:25 SPONSOR: HelloFresh. Visit HelloFresh.com/sbs14 and use code sbs14 for up to 14 free meals and free shipping! 00:17:00 Creating Impactful Presentations Stack the deck: prep an attendee or two for questions Engage the crowd early Have a question policy Offer people a “secret” Guy Kawasaki’s 10/20/30 rule of Presentations “Funny Slide” Practice! Go for a walk Pick someone to address at a time feedback@businessshow.co 00:38:11 SBS 340 Outtro The post Small Business Payroll and Creating Impactful Presentations – Small Business Show 340 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

What’s the best printer for your Small Business? Multi-function, Inkjet, Laser – we discuss the pros and cons of each printer type with real-world experiences from your hosts Dave Hamilton and Shannon Jean. Then it’s on to a discussion about Customer Privacy – what are your responsibilities as a keeper of data at your Small Business? How can we keep our privacy policies simple and is there a way to use our customer data handling as a selling point? Can you build trust and credibility with your customers by showing them that you value their privacy, their time, and their intelligence? Join us for episode 339 of the Small Business Show to find out! 00:00:00 Small Business Show #339 for Wednesday, August 4, 2021 00:01:09 The Best Printer for Small Business Shannon’s Inkjet Pick: Epson EcoTank Shannon’s Label Printer Pick: Dymo Labelwriter 4XL Dave’s Laser Printer Pick: Lexmark MB3442adw MultiFunction Laser Printer/Copy/Fax/Scan feedback@businessshow.co 00:09:21 James-What do you know about trademarks? 00:10:35 SPONSOR: Bambee – Let Bambee help with your dedicated HR Manager! Go to Bambee.com/SMALL right now to schedule your free HR audit. 00:12:04 SPONSOR: Visit LadderLife.com/sbs today to see if you’re instantly approved for Term Life Insurance. Do it today! 00:13:40 Two sponsors to help you protect your business and your family 00:14:23 Managing Customer Privacy “We will only use your data to fulfill your orders and offer you incredible customer service as it is related to order. Period.” Use Privacy as a Feature “The only tracking we’re involved with is the tracking number we send you when we ship your order.” GDPR and CCPA Compliance Apple’s iCloud Relay Protects You From Attribution Tracking 00:27:11 SBS 339 The post The Best Printer for Small Business and Managing Customer Privacy — Small Business Show 339 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

How many steps does it take for a customer to speak to a human at your business? How about placing an order? How easy is it for a return to be processed or a refund to be issued? Over time, all of us can fall into the complexity trap of making things too complicated for our customers, our employees, and ourselves. Let’s call it Complexity Creep. As you work on solving problems, it’s easy to add “just one more step” or “one more option” to take care of a specific issue. Today on The Small Business Show, your hosts Shannon Jean and Dave Hamilton start off with an update on what you need to be doing to get your PPP Loan forgiven before jumping into a discussion about why simplicity is so important for your Small Business success. Join us! 00:00:00 Small Business Show #338 for Wednesday, July 28, 2021 00:00:57 PPP Loan Forgiveness for the Second Round 00:07:43 SPONSOR: SaneBox. SaneBox’s Artificial Intelligence monitors your Inbox. Automatically, knucklehead email is moved to your SaneLater folder. All that’s left is the important stuff and your smiles. Use our link for 14-days free and a $25 credit. 00:09:11 SPONSOR: HelloFresh. Visit HelloFresh.com/sbs14 and use code sbs14 for up to 14 free meals and free shipping! 00:10:49 The Simplest Steps are the Ones You Don’t Take What is the minimum number of steps for you or your customer to do something? Avoid Complexity Creep Turn your returns into a competitive advantage Avoid Anecdotal Problems 00:19:47 Speaking of Simplicity: SBS 338 Outtro Greg McKeown Effortless Download Mistakes The post PPP Loan Forgiveness and Simplicity In Your Business — Small Business Show 338 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Having an area for work, exercise, or just to get away is critically important. We have discussed ways to carve out space when working from home, and both Dave and Shannon have discussed how having an area outside of your home can increase your productivity and sanity. Today on the show, we are chatting with Eric Benavides, Founder and CEO of Backyard Workroom – a company building and installing structures in as little as 2-3 weeks that can give you that space we’ve been talking about.   00:00:00 Small Business Show #337 for Wednesday, July 21, 2021 Eric Benavides, Founder, and CEO of Backyard Workroom Necessity is the mother of invention! Being an entrepreneur is a blue-collar job How do you get this into somebody’s backyard? What do you have that’s patentable? 11:36 Sponsor: LinkedIn Jobs will help you hire the right person for your role. Post your first job for free at LinkedIn.com/SBS. Terms and conditions apply. The patenting process Start big, let them steer you small The provisional patent Working with Family You can’t do it all yourself! Grow your company through your employees and let THEM make mistakes The 80% Rule with Garry VonMyhr The 33-minute Assembly Video SBS 337 Outtro The post Eric Benavides Founder of Backyard Workroom – Small Business Show 337 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

If you switched to a work from home business model during the pandemic, you may now be working on a plan to get your team back into the office. What’s the best method to start in-person schedules again? How do you transition those workers that don’t want to work in person anymore and what about hybrid work schedules? Today we are going to tackle these challenges and more as we discuss a few different hybrid models, their pros and cons, and how to be meet the needs of your employees AND your business. Join your hosts Shannon Jean and Dave Hamilton as we explore the challenges of getting people back to in-person work schedules. 00:00:00 Small Business Show #336 for Wednesday, July 14, 2021 “Nana and Grandad” Book 00:05:06 Getting Back to the office Work from Home Research from Harvard Business Review 00:12:40 Hybrid, Employees Decide 00:18:04 SPONSOR: Streak is a CRM designed to help you stay on top of each part of your process — and your inbox — without ever leaving Gmail. Visit Streak.com/SBS to get 20% off your first year of Streak’s Pro Plan. 00:20:03 Hybrid, Manager Decides Schedule to Pick: Mon, Tues, Thurs in office New employees pick an extra day per week Be aware of your employees’ work from home setups WFH Stipend = 6% of their salary 00:31:29 SBS 336 Outtro feedback@businessshow.co The post Managing Hybrid Work Schedules for your Small Business – Small Business Show 336 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

We love getting a chance to talk with business owners that have carved out a successful niche for themselves. Today we’re sitting down with Dean Hung, Founder of Orchid Insanity. Dean has built a successful business selling Orchids on his website, eBay and Etsy. Listen and learn about the challenges of selling products that have to stay alive when shipping them worldwide and more! 00:00:00 Small Business Show #335 for Wednesday, July 7, 2021 Dean Hung from Orchid Insanity The riches are in the niches! A Hobby Gone Wild: From obsession to addiction to… profit! Failure: Business cards We don’t control the weather Etsy is slick, fast, and easy-to-use. Learns from everyone else’s mistakes 00:16:35 SPONSOR: Custom Comet creates custom merchandise for your business. Air fresheners, coasters, coffee sleeves, stickers, and more. Let Custom Comet help your brand create a unique and memorable promotional product. Mention Small Business Show for 5% off! 00:18:22 Plants are low-stress! Managing customer expectations is the trick Leveraging the Scotty Principle with Your Website Photos Learning from Seinfeld’s J. Peterman Make sure you care Be a nerd! Make mistakes Get a free copy of Mistakes! SBS 335 Outtro The post Orchid Insanity Founder Dean Hung – Small Business Show 335 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Today on The Small Business Show we check in with David Carpenter, Founder of Gamiotics and the Seize the Show entertainment group. But first, it’s listener Q&A where your hosts Shannon Jean and Dave Hamilton give advice to a parent of a first-time entrepreneur. Join us!       00:00:00 Small Business Show #334 for Wednesday, June 28, 2021 00:02:40  00:03:57 Kelly-Advice for a first-generation entrepreneur feedback@businessshow.co Don’t Make Fear-Based Decisions Listen to Yourself Take Action Make use of SCORE Ask questions everywhere Listen to Small Business Show and ask us questions! Persistent Passion is the Key! Understand and Expand Your Talent Stack 16:09 SPONSOR: HelloFresh. Visit HelloFresh.com/sbs14 and use code sbs14 for up to 14 free meals and free shipping! 19:13 David Carpenter from Seize the Show, Gamiotics, and Tilted Windmills Theatricals David Carpenter on Small Business Show SBS 334 Outtro The post Advising a Young Entrepreneur and Gamiotics Check in – Small Business Show 334 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.