Business Brain – The Entrepreneurs’ Podcast

Jay Gentile has a passion for saving time, his clients as well as his own! What began as a mobile product repair business, led to SEO and web design and finally into application development and the BoosterBots family of marketing apps. Join us today on the Small Business Show and learn how Jay made the transition from his first two businesses to ultimately creating a company that gives him the reward of helping people succeed along with the freedom and flexibility to lead his own Charmed Life. During the interview, we discussed leaving the corporate world to begin a new business, learning about SEO and PPC advertising to help clients and then using it to grow his own company and why following his interests has been so important. We then jump into discussing the importance of telling your personal story when marketing your company, how to offer long term support on products sold with a one-time fee and sticking to niche markets where you can have a big impact. Listen in to learn about BoosterBots success and more on this episode of the Small Business Show, then come over to the SBS Support Group to continue the discussion! Chapters/timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #103 January 25, 2017 00:01:18 Interview: Jay Gentile from BoosterBots  00:02:11 Another story of an HP employee branching off 00:05:04 The “problem” was, I didn’t own my own business 00:05:42 Led to SEO, PPC, Affiliate and online marketing 00:06:49 Transition from one business to another 00:08:39 Following your interests 00:10:23 Making your small business about you -telling your story 00:11:47 Supporting a one-time-fee product 00:15:13 Identifying and using your talent stack 00:16:24 Always be marketing! 00:17:25 Intentional marketing with private software 00:19:00 Niche specific software markets 00:20:36 Success is doing the things you want to do when you want to do them! 00:23:02 Best mistake: not delegating quickly enough 00:24:12 Stressed-out people do bad customer service 00:26:34 Don’t fear change! Evolving your business requires it. 00:28:10 Split test your ass off! 00:29:39 SBS 103 Outtro The post Small Business Interview with Jay Gentile of BoosterBots – Small Business Show Episode 103 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

When Tyler Merritt noticed that his good friend was running a growing appliance repair business with no software to track accounting, schedules or workers, he did what good friends do: he offered to help build a customized application for the business. The guys spent about a year putting together the app and since they figured that most small service businesses had the same problems, they decided to launch Field Harmony to help service companies manage all aspects of their operations.  The goal was to help their own business, contribute to the success of others and then use the revenue from Field Harmony to “purchase our time back from the world”. On this episode of the Small Business Show, Dave and Shannon spend time learning about Tyler’s journey and what it took to get Field Harmony from an idea to an actual product that could be sold. We discuss partnerships, marketing, trusting your employees, the importance of asking potential customers if they would actually use your solution and much more. Listen in and then share your thoughts on our Small Business Facebook group! Chapters/Timestamps 00:00:00 Small Business Show #102 January 18, 2017 00:01:11 Interview: Tyler Merritt from Field Harmony 00:01:25 smallbusiness Subreddit 00:02:00 Solving a problem – managing service people in the field 00:05:20 Taking your internal solution and selling it to others 00:07:23 The perfect partnership: one has the industry connections, other with technology 00:08:38 Separating yourself from the solution 00:12:30 “We want to purchase our time back from the world” – with the business revenue 00:13:48 Making the leap: when can we quit our day jobs and focus 100% on this business. 00:15:29 Marketing focus – pay per click, word of mouth, email marketing 00:16:43 Running your business on a spiral notebook 00:18:40 Trust people to do what you hired them to do… and only that! 00:19:37 Ask potential customers “Does anybody want this?”   00:21:25 “Your time is the only thing you can’t print more of!” 00:23:32 Best mistake: forgetting that other people – even your business partners – are not you, don’t think like you and don’t know what you’re thinking. 00:26:38 Measuring success: Positive feedback from our customers & contributing to the success of others. 00:28:59 Let the good stuff in … and out! 00:31:54 Field Harmony 00:32:54 SBS Outtro   The post Small Business Interview with Tyler Merritt from Field Harmony – Small Business Show Episode 102 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

What’s more difficult? Starting up a new company or taking over and changing the culture of a 4th generation small business? Join us today on the Small Business Show with our guest Rick Stuart from Listo, a company founded in 1921! How would you handle taking over and managing employees that have known you since you were a kid? What about “updating” the culture of a company almost a century old? Would you rush in and be in a hurry to make changes to take advantage of current market opportunities, or would you take your time before you started making changes? Dave and Shannon explore these questions and more on today’s show. During the conversation with Rick, we learn about the importance of pivoting into new markets (sound familiar?), going “low-tech” and getting smaller to grow. Listen in to learn about how Rick adapted himself and his small business to keep it moving beyond the first 100 years. Chapters/Timestamps/Stuff Mentioned 00:00:00 Small Business Show #101 January 11, 2017 00:01:18 Interview: Rick Stuart from Listo Pencil Company <http://www.listo.com/pencil.htm> 00:02:01 Multigenerational (4x!) business 00:04:22 Low-tech is a quandary… or is it? <http://www.listo.com/pencil.htm> 00:06:21 Pivot, pivot, pivot! It’s (still) all about customer service 00:07:46 Started with… and returned to the family business 00:09:56 Running a company – and people – older than you are! 00:11:23 Changing (updating?) the company culture 00:15:07 “Go have fun with it, kiddo!” 00:16:33 Real estate as a hedge 00:17:56 Estate planning as part of a business plan 00:19:54 Looking at things from a different perspective – split out manufacturing 00:22:35 Shrinking to grow 00:25:33 Evolve: don’t hang on too long! 00:28:17 Let the brand live its own life “Be a steward of the brand” It’s OK to let a small business be small 00:31:09 Take time to Earn (trust) and Learn (the business) The post Managing and Stewarding a 4th Generation Small Business – Rick Stuart from Listo Corp – Small Business Show 101 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Welcome to the 100th episode of the Small Business Show! As they begin 2017, Dave and Shannon take a look back at some of the highlights from last year in the advice and how-to categories. Your hosts revisit tips and tricks from 8 of their favorite episodes and wrap up the show with a reminder about finding ways for your business to enrich your personal life. Join us today and then share your story on the Small Business Support Group! Chapters/Timestamps 00:00:00 Small Business Show #100 January 4, 2017 2016 Year in Review: Advice/How-to 00:01:13 Small Business Support Group 00:02:32 Ep52 – Executive Summary – Get ready to do yours. Then share with us! 00:07:15 Ep55 – The Sammy Hagar show! – Learning from Sammy to make your customer feel like they are the most important to you. 00:09:25 Ep57 – Slack – you need to be using it if you are not already. 00:12:35 Ep65 – Scott Adams’ “How to Fail at Almost Everything & Still Win Big” – Definitely the most mentioned book of 2016 for us. 00:15:16 Ep68 – Tax/IRS Advice – Hang up and call back to get the person you want. Talk to them. 00:18:53 Ep87 – Starting our Small Business Support Group 00:20:09 Ep73 – Build Your Success List! – Don’t forget just what a bad ass you really are. Shannon’s article can help! 00:21:01 Ep49 –  Credit card tips and naming your business – Worth mentioning again the important of CC programs as part of your Charmed Life System (CLS) 00:24:25 Finding ways for your business to enrich your life The post Small Business Show Advice and How-to Year in Review – Small Business Show 100 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

As we wrap up 2016 with our last Small Business Show episode of the year, Dave and Shannon take a look back at some of the highlights of their favorite interviews from the past 12-months. Join us today we we revisit some of these moments that stuck with us! Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #99 December 28, 2016 00:02:06 Year in Review Interviews 00:03:06 Ep79 – Greg Mercer of JungleScout – Still one of my favorite interviews of the year. 00:08:25 Ep89 – Harald Sinow – Still impressed by his victory lap 00:10:09 Ep56 – Paul Goodman/PuraVida – The Beer Test in action! 00:14:07 Ep61 – Bob Grewal of Seapoint Business Advisors – selling your business. 00:16:10 Ep83 – Paul Downs & “Boss Life” 00:18:42 Ep63 – Bryan O’Connell from Meras Engineering – managing growth and finding and advisory group 00:21:10 Ep77 – Tim Cote – Commonwealth Foreign Exchange. – Another beer test success story – killer execution. 00:24:34 Ep58 – Jason Snell – Resiliency – adjusting to changing conditions to succeed – eventually realizing he needed to control his own destiny and start Six Colors Personal stuff 00:27:27 Ep54 – Dave & Shannon Interview Each other 00:28:45 Ep75 – Shannon’s Closet Begins! 00:30:58 Ep64 – Dave’s Expert Witness business, and… 00:34:04 Ep66 – Talk about a crappy week… The post The Best Small Business Owner Interviews of 2016 –  Small Business Show 99 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

What would happen if a favorite business that you visit often suddenly began introducing political comments in the mix of their marketing or posting political signs in their store. Would you respect their right to do so, even if you disagreed with their politics? Join Dave and Shannon on episode 98 of the Small Business Show as they discuss the pros and cons of mixing politics with your Small Business. The discussion begins with Shannon discussing one of his favorite, daily news sites that has recently begun introducing political links and commentary into their daily content. Can you successfully mix your political beliefs and your business? Maybe that attracts customers to you or maybe it’s a disaster? Your hosts try to look at all angles of this topic as well as throwing in a few tips about creating your Charmed Life along with your Small Business. Listen in and then share your thoughts on our Facebook Small Business Support page! Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #98 December 21, 2016 00:01:05 Should politics be mixed with your business? 00:03:37 Daring Fireball … adds politics? 00:05:30 Curating your business’s audience 00:10:22 Politically agnostic or simply politically quiet 00:13:01 Contract of Respect 00:14:15 Priorities and Respect 00:18:43 Don’t be distracted from creating your OWN reality – your Charmed Life 00:21:05 When lodging a complaint, know your audience 00:24:12 What’s your business do with politics? Is it part of your niche? The post Politics and Your Small Business – Should you mix them? – Small Business Show episode 98 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

As Small Business owners, we have a duty to uphold. That duty, to our employees, partners, suppliers and service providers is to communicate in a timely manner and pay our bills on time, among other things. What happens when we fail at this? Well, that depends on how you handle the situation. Join Dave and Shannon on episode 97 of the Small Business Show to discuss a real world example of how NOT to handle things when they go wrong. We also discuss the impact of employees, suppliers and customers having their own audiences to share their experiences with – are you OK with word getting out about how you treat your employees? We hope you are, because that is just a few clicks away for every Small Business. Listen in to the show and then join the conversation on the Small Business Support Group! Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #97 December 14th, 2016 00:02:44 What happens when the boss goes sideways? 00:08:18 Communication and Transparency is key 00:11:52 What to do when you can’t pay 00:16:11 Creating your own reality #charmedlife 00:17:36 The Dark-Side of being overly optimistic 00:20:53 Running a business when employees/vendors/customers have their own audiences 00:24:57 It comes back to transparency The post What happens when a small business owner doesn’t solve problems and lets employees down? – Small Business Show 97 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Think you can do it better? The jobs at your company, that is. Do you remember when you did every job at your business? If it’s been awhile since that time, join us today on the Small Business Show as we discuss how this “job swap” can energize you, allow you to reconnect with employees and provide some valuable insight into what’s really happening behind the scenes each day. On Episode 96 of the Small Business Show, Dave and Shannon discuss how they have both benefitted over the years when they had to jump in to do an employees job. Wether it’s due to a vacation or unexpected vacancy, getting your hands dirty by working in the warehouse, or making sales calls again can be a very positive thing. We also touch on using humor in the workplace, realizing we need to do an entire show on that topic! Finally, if you enjoy the show, please give us a quick click and a review on the iTunes store. It really helps!   Chapters & Timestamps 00:00:00 Small Business Show #96 December 7th, 2016 00:00:57 Coming up: Best Of! 00:02:07 Stepping in to do your employees jobs 00:07:12 Finding the inefficiencies and improving processes 00:09:12 Reconnecting with the nuts and bolts of your business 00:10:28 Your employees will solve problems, but maybe not in the best way 00:11:00 Sweep the dust out of the corners 00:13:58 It’s all about showing your employees that you’re all on the same team 00:18:57 Modeling – setting the workflow pace 00:21:19 Proving the pudding. 00:22:19 Getting back to basics is exciting 00:24:40 Humor in the workplace? 00:25:37 We need your reviews – As Jerry Maguire said “Help us help you..” The post Do Your Employees Job to Gain Some Valuable Insight – Small Business Show 96 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Join us today on the Small Business Show to listen in on our conversation with Steve Baines, Co-Founder of Forcivity, a software development firm focused on simplifying how you access your data in cloud based applications like SalesForce. Steve’s years of experience working with data as both a consultant and previous business owner led him to launch Forcivity with a group of like minded folks that have a mission to free your data from apps and present it to you in a much more useable format. Steve shares his experience moving from consultant to business owner and how becoming your own customer can lead to a new business venture. We also spend time discussing motivating yourself to power through tough times, how to pick a (good) partner, how to pick the right employees and one of our favorite topics: creating your own reality to nudge you along towards success. Listen in and learn about Steve’s journey and more on episode 95 of the Small Business Show! Questions, comments or need help? Visit the Small Business Show Support Group on Facebook. Chapters/Timestamps 00:00:00 Small Business Show #95 November 30th, 2016 00:01:11 Steve Baines, co-Founder of Forcivity 00:01:26 Incubation turns founders into co-founders 00:02:37 Managing the Flow of Salesforce Data 00:04:38 Scratching your own itch to start a business 00:05:24 Consulting business becomes 8 years of market research for new company and new solutions 00:07:39 Hone your Focus. Develop a system to build a successful product – adjust, repeat 00:09:32 Turn down a job offer, become a consultant 00:11:57 Consulting often lacks leverage: find an exit! 00:12:28 Identify your passion and don’t forget it 00:13:24 Second-time entrepreneurs are crazy 00:16:00 Create your own reality 00:17:18 Not every day is a good day 00:18:13 Find like-minded co-founders 00:20:31 …and employees! 00:21:27 Can’t do it alone! 00:21:53 Quickly identify the fish out of water 00:24:52 Choose wisely… when choosing partners 00:27:39 SBS 95 Outtro The post Interview with Steve Baines of Forcivity – Small Business Show 95 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

One of the most trusted people in your life can be a huge help with your Small Business success – your spouse! But, there’s some important details to work out to insure success when working together. In this episode of the Small Business Show, Dave and Shannon share their experiences working with their spouses and their tips for maximizing the benefits while minimizing potential problems that may come up. A critical first step: manage expecations, roles and clearly lay out who will be responsible for which tasks in your business. We also discuss deciding who’s the “boss”, how to promote good communication, using humor to remove tension and keeping the right perspective during the workday. Join us today and them share your story at the Small Business Support Group on Facebook! Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #94 November 23rd, 2016 00:01:30 Working with your spouse! 00:02:11 Hiring your spouse 00:04:23 Firing your spouse! 00:05:22 Managing expectations – roles, responsibilities, each other 00:08:01 Keep your marriage out of the office and your office out of your marriage. 00:11:10 Who’s the Boss? 00:13:06 Communication is Key 00:15:00 Humor can go a long way to dissolve tensions 00:16:12 Perspective 00:18:00 Make the right hiring decision, regardless of who it is. 00:20:09 Employees with benefits! 00:21:05 Your spouse can double your charmed life The post Find Success Working With Your Spouse in your Small Business – Small Business Show Episode 94 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.