Business Brain – The Entrepreneurs’ Podcast

Has your Small Business lost it’s edge? Has your past success enabled people to slow down the pace of work? How do you beat back complacency and invigorate your team to take on new challenges and grow your Small Business? Maybe hiring a consultant will do the trick – someone to evaluate your team from the outside and offer an unbiased opinion and tips to shake things up. Should you encourage your employees to go out and “side-hustle” to make some extra cash and learn a new skill? We like this idea, but you need to be aware of the pros and cons of promoting outside work in your Small Business. Listen in to episode 93 of the Small Business Show as Dave and Shannon discuss these topics and more! Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #93 November 16th, 2016 00:00:51 Living by your favorite catch-phrases 00:03:10 Never stop stopping…and thinking about your business. 00:03:41 Identifying that your personality is not right for every role in your company 00:05:00 Keeping your edge – getting an outside opinion 00:07:22 Dave Hires a Consultant 00:11:17 Complacency is the enemy .. and the cousin of success 00:13:59 It comes back to change 00:16:04 Side Hustles 00:18:57 Mentoring your employees as entrepreneurs 00:21:12 Invest in the future 00:23:18 Leave us a review! The post Fighting Complacency and Regaining your Small Business Edge – Small Business Show 93 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Welcome to episode 92 of the Small Business Show! On today’s show, we spend some time getting updated on Shannon’s social media business experiment that he started back in June. The goal was to start a new business solely using social media and selling apps on an iPhone. No computer and no website. So, how’s it going? Listen in for more detail, but a quick snapshot looks like this: 28,0000+ followers gained since starting mid-June Selling 3-10 designer handbags (the product chosen to experiment with) per day Net is currently $150-500 per day with about 60-90 minutes of time spent each day on the business Significant profit margin increase with new, “upstream” supplier relationships At the point where the business is becoming scalable We also discuss the current “political theatre” as it relates to Small Business, developing an org chart even if your name fills every role and managing supplier relationships. Join us today for these topics and a few more as we work to help your grow your Small Business and expand your Charmed Life!   Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #92 November 9th, 2016 00:01:00 Political Theater as it relates to Small Business 00:01:56 Jacob: How is Shannon’s “Run it from your phone” business going? 00:04:08 Poshmark 00:04:38 Building a business with someone else’s leftovers 00:07:52 Develop an org chart even when it’s just you 00:10:27 The org chart is your roadmap 00:12:23 Capital and contacts 00:13:49 Follow the cardboard! 00:15:32 Shannon’s trick: “I’ll take everything you have, as is, and promise no returns.” 00:17:29 Find the right sales venues 00:21:12 Free boxes! 00:22:06 Delight your customers, then make them your followers 00:23:33 Shannon’s the Small Business Vampire! 00:24:35 Enjoy what you do The post Social Media Small Business Success, Finding Suppliers and Delighting Your Customers – Small Business Show Episode 92 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

How do you find topics for your Small Business blog and social media posts? Would you like to be able to tie in your content with what people are already searching for online? Sounds pretty cool, but maybe expensive? Yes, and no. It is cool and it’s free! Dave and Shannon get the Small Business Show started today with a discussion about Google Trends and how using timely search data can not only help you come up with ideas for your content strategy, but also make those posts more successful by including content that your potential customers are already searching for. This is powerful stuff, people! The Google Trends topic first came up in our Small Business Support Group on Facebook, so be sure to join the group to share in the discussion. We then jump into a chat about how to make it easier to just Get Things Done. An article in Bottom Line Personal has some great tips that Dave and Shannon analyze and discuss – agreeing with some, completely disagreeing with others and in typical fashion, adding their own personal twist to some others. The show wraps up with the critical question of the day: When’s the last time you changed the side of the bed you sleep on? Listen in for these topics and more on episode 91 of the Small Business Show! Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #91 November 2nd, 2016 00:01:24 Google Trends – using trending search data to create timely content for your small business 00:06:00 JungleScout 00:09:18 Small Business Support Group 00:09:49 Bottom Line Personal 00:10:51 Make small choices 00:15:30 Break it down into steps Shannon’s paper trick – write down notes on the paper – what has to happen to get it off your desk? 00:17:12 But see the big picture! 00:19:13 Goals vs. Systems 00:22:04 Smarter To-Do lists? 00:22:44 Avoid Information Blindness 00:26:00 Be ruthless with your time 00:28:36 Procrastination is prioritization 00:30:12 Make your bed 00:31:53 Shift your habits – change the side of the bed you sleep on, the spot you sit at the dinner table. 00:32:19 Change your language! The post Using Google Trends for your Small Business Content and easier ways to Get Things Done – Small Business Show 91 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

You’ve heard us talk about the flexibility vs. freedom of being a Small Business owner many times on the Small Business Show. But what if you actually did have the freedom? Freedom as in “I just sold my business, and now what?” kind of freedom? Our guest last week, Harald Sinow talked about taking a year off (that’s t-w-e-l-v-e full months, folks) to reconnect with his family and take them on an unscripted tour of Europe. Dave and Shannon take that concept and run with it on this episode of the Small Business Show – talking about prioritizing family, decompressing from work stress and working hard to hang onto the things you love. The guys then jump into a discussion about minimizing your weaknesses by hiring someone to manage YOU and the importance of keeping a positive attitude during the normal ups-and-downs of owning a Small Business. Shannon coins a new term as a “Small Business Vampire” due to the fact that starting and running companies provides him with so much energy and a final comment about always being sure to understand that “Your best years are ahead of you!” is a powerful concept that can lead you to that Charmed Life that you so richly deserve. Join us for these topics and more on episode 90 of the Small Business Show!   Chapters/Timestamps and Links: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #90 October 26th, 2016 00:00:57 Harald Sinow on SBS 89 00:01:18 Harald had the wisdom to take a victory lap of sorts 00:03:40 Not really a victory lap – more of a debriefing, a reconnection with kids, decompressing 00:04:55 Prioritizing your family 00:09:20 Teaching as a success metric 00:12:37 Hanging on to the things you love 00:14:30 Hiring your own manager 00:17:24 “Like a Small Business Vampire” 00:22:55 The best years of your life are ahead of you! 00:25:17 SBS 90 The post Prioritizing Family and Keeping a Positive Outlook as a Small Business Owner – Small Business Show episode 90 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

How easy was it for you to make the transition from doing the day-to-day work in your Small Business to teaching others to do it so you could focus on the business? Harald Sinow, co-founder of MacStation in Vancouver, realized that he needed to change his focus from being the best worker to being the best teacher if he wanted to grow his business. Join us today on the Small Business Show to learn how Harald focused on this transition as well as cash flow and hiring to insure his business would succeed. We also discuss creating a “family” from your customers as well as your employees and how to “fire yourself” as quick as you can so your best people can do their best work. We wrap up the show with a discussion of what happened after Harald sold his company, the impact of taking a year off to tour Europe to reconnect with his family and helping to launch young Small Business owners (Harald’s kids!). This was an especially useful show, folks. If you are interested in creating, or continuing your own Charmed Life, listen in! Chapters/Timestamps and Links: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #89 October 19th, 2016 00:01:18 Interview with Harald Sinow – Co-founder of MacStation in Vancouver 00:02:20 Used college classes as development study for MacStation 00:02:52 Timing matters! 00:04:33 Manage your cash flow 00:06:48 Transitioning to management – hire slowly and fire quickly 00:08:24 Have a hiring process that limits your ability to make mistakes 00:10:44 Word of mouth matters. Be diligent about tracking your customers 00:12:00 Manage your referrals. 00:13:00 Build a “family” from your customers – tracking their unique details 00:14:03 “No one can do it better than I can” 00:15:00 Become a Good Teacher 00:16:26 Favorite mistake: “Not firing myself soon enough” 00:17:08 Build a great culture – have fun. Being able to let go – best measure of success. 00:19:48 Make sure your business is Built to Sell 00:22:08 Traveling and exploring helps to find what you’ll do at home 00:24:28 Sending your kids into the Dragons’ Den! 00:27:57 Find an accountability partner The post Transitioning from Worker to Teacher – Small Business Interview with Harald Sinow of MacStation and Creo Development : SBS 89 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Are you involved in every decision that your employees make? Would you like to grow your business, decrease headaches and free up some much needed time? We thought so. Today on the Small Business Show, Dave and Shannon discuss how “not to be in charge” all the time and empowering your employees to make the right decisions. Dave shares some stories about being so concerned about communicating with customers that he would write the email responses and give them to his employees to send out. Dave now says: don’t do this! Shannon brings up the concept of repetitive email templates to handle similar issues that come up over and over with your customer service department as well as using a communication management service like HelpScout to insure everyone is on the same page when it comes to communicating with your customers. We then jump into a discussion of “magic phrases” that build trust with your customers and help convince them that you are on their side and we wrap up the show with a quick discussion on refunds and handling them correctly. Join us today as we discuss letting go and communication across teams with your customers on the Small Business Show, episode 88!     Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #88 October 12th, 2016 00:01:14 How to not be in charge 00:07:19 Singularity of purpose 00:08:47 Empowering People 00:11:41 Resist the temptation to write your employee’s emails 00:16:36 Using Help Scout to homogenize your company’s communications <https://www.helpscout.net> 00:19:35 “Magic Phrases” – words and phrases that build trust and convince the customer you are on their side. 00:22:12 Prioritizing the customer 00:24:00 Refunds are tricky business 00:29:38 Communicating with the customer – ongoing discussion about what is going on. “Show notes” or “tech notes” The post Empowering Employees and Effective Customer Communication – Small Business Show Episode 88 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

On this episode of the Small Business Show, Dave and Shannon talk about the development of the Small Business Facebook Group, what went wrong at the beginning and what is going right with the Group after making some (much needed!) changes. We discuss how Small Business owners are using the new group to get critical feedback on their websites and apps, how a political discussion really can be productive while taking into account different viewpoints and much more. You’ll want to be sure to join the new Small Business Group to get in on the discussion! Dave then shares 5 traits that Apple CEO Tim Cook looks for when hiring employees and Shannon questions the viability of using those tips with every employee type. Read the article, then share your thoughts! We wrap up the show with a quick discussion about the new Facebook Marketplace that is being re-launched this week. Are Craigslist and eBay worried? Will you use the FB Marketplace for your business? We will continue to discuss this new selling venue as it evolves. Join us today on the Small Business Show for these topics and more!   Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #87 October 5th, 2016 00:01:00 Managing time: Look for the busiest person 00:02:47 Lessons learned creating our new Facebook Group 00:05:29 Tim Cook’s Traits of an employee 00:11:00 Rob asks us and you to evaluate his website 00:13:48 Taxes: Legality vs. Morality 00:21:24 Facebook Marketplace The post Building a Facebook Small Business Group – Small Business Show episode 87 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

As we all enjoy the Political Theatre that is our current Presidential Election, Dave and Shannon decide to focus this week’s topic on Politics and how it can (and will) impact your Small Business. Join us as we discuss Dave’s “crazy theory of politics”, looking at the “why” instead of just the “who” when hearing a political message and how to deal with National vs. State and Local politics that might be messing with your Small Business. Of course,  no Small Business political discussing would be complete without touching on new laws about Exempt and Hourly employees and the minimum wage requirements for both. Finally, we chat about the concept of it being better to “Ask forgiveness instead of permission” and how it is NOT a good idea when it comes to dealing with local, state or federal laws. Join us today on the Small Business Show for these topics and more! If you enjoy the show, click over to give us a quick review on iTunes. We appreciate it! Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #86 September 28th, 2016 00:00:45 Political Theater 00:01:58 Dave’s crazy theory 00:05:34 Who’s sending the message? 00:08:50 National vs. Local 00:09:46 Healthcare, Minimum Wage 00:10:00 “Exempt” employees 00:14:05 No such thing as forgiveness 00:14:41 Zenefits 00:16:08 The wheels of Congress move slowly, but they move! 00:20:10 As it gets closer to home, pay more and more attention 00:25:19 Tinfoil Hat: Unelected Bureaucrats 00:27:44 Customs can be the worst! The post Politics vs. Bureaucracy and how both impact your Small Business – Small Business Show 86 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

  As Small Business owners, when posting to public social media, what are some things you should look out for? What comments could come back (maybe years later) to cause you headaches, legal problems and money? Dave and Shannon discuss some examples of what NOT to post on social media and that leads into a discussion about Mistakes as Opportunities. When a supplier makes a mistake, Shannon explains, there’s an opportunity to leverage that mistake into a closer relationship (if you want one), a better price and more opportunity for future business. When you are the customer, there are several ways to make the most of a mistake with your supplier or service provider. On the flip side, when you or your business make a mistake with a customer, you have a huge opportunity to earn their trust by making things right. Customers that experience just how good you or your employees are at fixing mistakes and solving problems typically become very loyal and very happy to spread the word about just how good you are. Join us today on episode 85 of the Small Business Show to hear about these topics and more! Chapters: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #85 September 21st, 2016 00:01:43 Being overwhelmed … and powering through it. 00:05:36 Publicly discussing hiring and firing specifics 00:17:59 Maximizing Mistakes 00:26:57 Changing contacts 00:29:29 Offer the return first. The post Turning Small Business Mistakes Into Profitable Opportunities –  SBS 85 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Welcome to episode 84 of the Small Business Show! Join us this week as we spend some time following up with our recent interview with Small Business owner, NYTimes.com blogger and author, Paul Downs. Dave and Shannon then jump into a discussion about being “patently unemployable” and how identifying yourself as such can give a boost to the successful launch of your Small Business. Other topics covered on the show today include the tremendous benefit of creating a safe environment for your employees to take risks and experiment. Listen in and then jump over to iTunes to review the Small Business Show! We appreciate your support, the reviews really help!   00:00:00 Small Business Show #84 September 14th, 2016 00:03:14 Paul Downs Recap 00:08:03 Patently unemployable people can be helpful 00:10:08 Creating a safe environment for your employees 00:16:07 “All I had to do was write the book” 00:17:33 Don’t be so suspect about good people with opportunities The post Boss Life Author Follow-up, the benefits of being unemployable appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.