Small Business Show

Let’s face it, not every decision you’ll make for your Small Business is going to be a good one. What can you do to avoid bad decisions in the first place and how can you quickly recover from the ones that slip through? Join us today on episode 197 of the Small Business Show where your hosts share their own bad decisions and tips for minimizing yours! Bad decisions can hurt your Small Business, kill your cashflow or destroy your reputation. The first step we discuss on today’s show to minimize the destructiveness of bad decisions is making sure you have enough information to make an informed decision. Shannon uses an example from his super-bad decision to get into the TV business of how not having enough info in hand should have stopped him from make that decision. We then move onto to a discussion about timeliness and being sure you don’t get suckered in to a “limited time offer” situation, being sure that the data you are using is not out of date, not letting your emotion

From time to time we discuss the tools we use to run our own Small Businesses and why we couldn’t live without them. Join us today for our second installment of Tools for Small Businesses to hear from your hosts Shannon Jean and Dave Hamilton about their favorite business products. We start out with a detailed discussion of Trello and how Dave’s team uses it for managing content creation on the MacObserver. while Shannon uses the Kanban style of project management that Trello visualizes to manage various projects throughout difference businesses. Then it’s on to Google Hangouts and how bringing your team together on video is a powerful way to keep everyone focused and connected. The next set of tools comes from the good folks at Iwascoding with their GarageSale and GaragePay products – both essential tools for managing listing and product sales on eBay along with cashflow and reporting via Paypal. Dave jumps in with his recommendation of Arlo Cameras and the Synergy Surveillance Statio

We love answering listener questions. Not only does it make us feel much smarter than we actually are, it also allows us to connect with our listeners and help them solve problems. Send your questions to be featured on the Small Business Show! On this episode, we hear from Louis with a question about setting up his website, selecting a domain name and getting help with both. We then talk about some options for your office software and how to keep older PC hardware running strong with alternative operating systems. Carol then asks for help with a lawsuit caused by a dog being hurt at her boarding business. We discuss lawyers, insurance options and the best way to proceed to minimize the impact on her Small Business. Then we’re on to a question from Jacob about options for selling his Small Business. His partner wants to pay a large up front fee to a business broker and Jacob is not as comfortable with that option. Be sure to see the show notes for links to previous episodes where we discuss these situati

Change is coming for you and your Small Business! How you manage change and how you integrate change into your company culture is an important part of your long term success. Join us today for episode 194 of the Small Business Show as we take a deep dive into welcoming and benefiting from change. We start the show with a discussion about SCORE Mentoring and your co-host Dave Hamilton’s decision to connect with his local SCORE representatives to discuss changes in his business and how having an accountability partner can dramatically increase your productivity. Then, it’s on to tips for using small changes in your personal life to get you comfortable with larger changes that are inevitable and eventually heading your way. Shannon’s premise is that these small changes help to “re-wire” your brain so you welcome larger changes and use them in a productive manner. Once you find yourself embracing change, it’s time to work on your Small Business! You’ll hear how to make ch

How important is creating content to share with your existing and potential customers to your Small Business success? And what are some of the keys to being successful with a content marketing plan? Join us today for episode 193 of the Small Business Show to hear how your co-hosts Shannon Jean and Dave Hamilton have used relevant and timely content in their businesses to connect with followers, drive new business and keep in touch with their existing customers. We jump right into what we believe is one of the most important aspects of getting the biggest impact with content marketing: consistency. Creating a plan and sticking to a publishing schedule will make your content marketing exponentially more successful than just posting random content every now and again. You’ll hear more tips and real-world examples about tapping into your employees expertise, why newsletters and mailing lists are so powerful and why being authentic and sharing your personal stories are ways to fast track your success. Listen

Ever thought of starting a Small Business from your hobby? We often hear about home beer brewers taking the leap and launching a company built around their love of beer, but what about Cider makers? Join us today as we talk with Ben Schroeder, founder of Santa Barbara Cider! Many of us follow our interests and passion from hobbies to Small Business owner. Ben Schroeder spent 7-years perfecting his different cider flavors in his garage before opening the Santa Barbara Cider taproom with his sister, Twilight and close friend Niklas. Today they create over 60 flavors with 12 rotating taps at any one time. Ben shares how he made steady, methodical steps to get the business off the ground and to grow it to where it is today, serving a large community at their tap room and expanding into other local venues. Listen in and you’ll hear about the importance of creating an experience your customers will love, how asking for help can get people on your side and how starting with your neighbors is the key to getti

What’s the best way to handle conflict when things go wrong with a customer, partner or employee? Join your hosts Shannon Jean and Dave Hamilton for this episode of the Small Business Show to hear about their experiences in managing, resolving and de-escalating conflicts that will inevitably try to ruin your day. One of the cornerstones of most conflicts is the misunderstanding of the intention of one or both parties. You’ll learn about methods to be sure your good intentions are interpreted correctly and when sometimes you or your employees will just have to pickup the phone to clear the air. Next, we jump into a discussion about how to make written correspondence (email, text, chat) show empathy and how creating templated responses can help you set the correct tone you want your customer service department to use when solving conflict. Then it’s on to a discussion about your sense of justice and why it has no place when trying to resolve conflicts with your customers! You’ll hear us

Start a business and you become a leader. Not just for employees, but to your customers, suppliers and other partners. What type of leadership style creates the most successful Small Businesses? Join your hosts Dave Hamilton and Shannon Jean today to learn about different leadership styles and why you’ll need more than one type for success. Should you be a constant cheerleader, or a steady, persistent force that your followers count on? We’ll discuss why you’ll need to be both and when it’s appropriate to use each style. You’ll hear about prioritizing relationships over tasks and how you’ll get better results from your followers this way. Shannon discusses his favorite “Mirror vs. Window” analogy for praise and accountability and Dave discusses the differences between leadership and just working hard. We share our tips about granting autonomy, how ethics play a role in what your followers think of you and how persistence needs to be your super power. We wrap up

Getting paid might be the most important task for your Small Business. Processing payments quickly for your customers, avoiding fraud and managing your cash are all critical and daily tasks. Today’s guest on the Small Business Show has a wealth of experience in the payments processing business and is currently the COO of PayPal. Bill Ready joins your hosts Shannon Jean and Dave Hamilton to talk about PayPal’s new Funds Now service and much more. Listen in to hear how Small Business is part of Bill’s DNA, starting out by working for his parents auto repair business and taking those lessons to become an “accidental entrepreneur” that eventually led him to be involved with five startups, including Braintree and Venmo, eventually landing at Paypal and to the Chief Operating Officer role that he fills today. We all know that getting access to your cash is paramount for Small Business Owners. Bill discusses PayPal’s new Funds Now service that allows for instant access to funds fo

Time is arguably our most important asset as Small Business owners. You can’t create more of it, but you can increase your efficiency and hack how you use time each day to make it work in your favor. Today on episode 188 of the Small Business Show, your hosts Dave Hamilton and Shannon Jean share their tips and strategies for getting the most out of your 24/7. The subject of time and the lack of it was brought up by longtime listener Todd McCann of the The Trucker Dump Podcast. Todd has the same problem we all do: not enough time in the day. You’ll hear our thoughts on making some changes that could open up more hours for Todd, along with some questions we ask of Todd that just might help your day become more efficient. Join us today and you’ll also hear about sacrificing some things to succeed, flexibility vs. freedom, learning to Spotlight your time and ignoring those time-killing distractions, scheduling time with yourself, why communicating your time needs to others is critical and if mon

Everyone knows that coffee is an important part of every Small Business startup, right? With 400 million cups enjoyed every-single-day in the United States, this seems like a great opportunity for a Small Business. But, how do you get your voice heard in this crowded market? How do you create a niche where you can build a unique brand focusing on quality coffee and customer experience? Join us today for this episode of the Small Business Show to meet Tristan and Jackson Bredehoft, founders of Café Rica, a fast growing local and online coffee business located in Battle Creek, Michigan. Tracing their family origins back to Costa Rica, the Bredehoft brothers decided to import a unique Costa Rican coffee to share it with customers in the U.S. Literally bringing back two suitcases stuffed with coffee to get things started. You’ll hear the Café Rica founders discuss the benefits and challenges of working with a sibling, how they decided to build a Local, Craft Coffee business and why they wound up building th

Being persistent is a critical part of making your Small Business succeed. From the very start, you will face obstacles that you’ll have to break through and go around to create something from nothing. Some of these will be mental, some physical and some logistical. Join us today for episode 186 of the Small Business Show to hear how your co-hosts Dave Hamilton and Shannon Jean have used their bull-headed persistence to overcome those obstacles during their careers. We discuss the importance of confidence and believing in yourself with tips on how to use your Success List to remind yourself of your achievements to build up your confidence, as well as learning how to maximize your strengths and minimize weaknesses with strategic partners or employees. Shannon then reminds us that patience needs to be a part of your plan – as long as you are moving along the path you set for yourself and your Small Business. Success takes time. You’ll hear about how immersing yourself in your Small Business is

What’s more important for your Small Business, profits or cashflow? If you’re a regular listener of the Small Business Show, you know what we think! Join us today as we dig deep into to the importance of managing your available cash and how to get through the inevitable cash-crunch when it hits you. Your co-hosts Shannon Jean and Dave Hamilton share their tips, strategies and stories about the why and how of using your accounting software correctly to help with cashflow reporting, why it’s important not to fall in love with your P&L and why you need to avoid the “shiny object” trap that can suck much needed cash out of your business. We then jump into ways to raise cash when you need it quickly, how to use unconventional methods to raise short term cash and ways to manage longer term funding from banks and other lenders. The show wraps up with a discussion about the importance of measuring and different methods to measure all aspects of your business – including your ca

Getting customers to spend their hard earned dollars at your Small Business is tough, right? How about if you had to convince them to eat insects to get those dollars into your bank account? Join us today as we visit with James Rolin of Cowboy Cricket Farms and hear how this Small Business has used education, creative marketing and stubborn persistence to succeed. Listen in to learn about how feasibility studies can guide you to the right business model, how we’re all eating insects (we just don’t know it), how community outreach as a marketing tool can be powerful and some great tips for working with your spouse and teaching your kids about how to succeed. You’ll also hear about using the Score Mentoring program as a powerful and free tool to grow your business. You’ll learn a lot, but your co-hosts Shannon Jean and Dave Hamilton continue to think they are learning the most from our awesome guests. Join us today, then share your story at the Small Business Support Group! Chapters/T

A common misconception is that it’s the great idea that makes a Small Business successful. Join us today on the Small Business Show to hear us dispel that myth and discuss taking Action to propel your business to success. Don’t wait. You’ll hear that message over and over again on this episode of the Small Business Show as Shannon Jean and Dave Hamilton share tips to get yourself started – to help move you from Idea to Implementation. Listen in and you’ll hear about the power of removing limits (most of them in your head) to get your business concept on paper, how to create and use an Action Plan to figure out what steps you need to take to make your idea a reality and why we believe creating an Org Chart (even if your name is in every box) is key to planning out the structure of your Small Business. We wrap up the show with a discussion of the ever important Working Agreement and why sometimes you just need to throw structure out the window to just start….Start today. Join

If you own a Small Business, it’s bound to happen: a long-time employee drops a bomb by telling you they are leaving to take a position at another company. How you react can have a dramatic impact both inside and outside your business. Your actions will send a message to both your employees’ and your customers. Join Dave Hamilton and Shannon Jean for this episode of the Small Business Show where they discuss their methods for handling a surprise departure of a key employee. Listen in for tips about not taking things personally, how to gauge the short and long-term impact, managing the timing of the employee’s departure, and why your customers are more concerned about who’s staying vs. who’s leaving. After the show, stop by the Small Business Support Group to share your story and join the discussion! Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #182 for Wednesday, August 1, 2018 00:01:37 Carr Fire 00:02:13 “Poor Me” is the wrong attitude 00:04:37 Surprise, I quit! 00:07:18 F

Creating a lifestyle business that funds your Charmed Life is a goal for many Small Business owners. Today on the Small Business Show, we’re joined by Kimanzi Constable, business owner, author, consultant and coach who has created a lifestyle business that we can all learn from. Shannon Jean and Dave Hamilton learn how Kimanzi started out small and then built up his business as his credibility grew to the point where he typically travels to 25+ countries each year consulting for Fortune 500 corporations. During our discussion we cover topics including how to power through being told no and being ignored, how the power of small earnings can propel you to larger profits, becoming a knowledge worker, using an email list as the core of your online business, self-marketing tips and much, much more. Listen in and then join the discussion on the Small Business Support Group! Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #181 for Wednesday, July 25, 2018 00:01:04 Kimanzi Constable 00:02:37 25 Countries per

Keeping focused while dealing with multiple tasks can be a challenge for any Small Business owner. Join Dave Hamilton and Shannon Jean as they discuss how they keep focused on the critical parts of their businesses each day. You’ll also learn about the power of taking a break, how to measure productivity and how keeping simple lists can keep you on track each day. Shannon offers up a powerful question to ask yourself when trying to refocus you or your team on a task and we discuss the System vs. Goals approach to be sure you are focusing on the right tasks to fuel your success. It’s then on to a discussion about how to get help to keep your focus with resources like the Small Business Support Group being a great place to get started. Listen in for all this and more on this episode of the Small Business Show!   00:00:00 Small Business Show #180 for Wednesday, July 18, 2018 00:01:54 Focusing on Focus 00:03:49 Value in Play Time 00:05:56 Feeling productive 00:08:09 The immense power of simple

  Join us this week on the Small Business Show for a discussion about current news that could impact your Small Business. Listen in and hear our thoughts about the new Supreme Court ruling regarding online sales tax rules, Amazon’s new Prime delivery business opportunity and our thoughts about mixing your politics with your business.           00:00:00 Small Business Show #179 for Wednesday, July 11, 2018 00:01:47 The Supreme Court changes online sales tax rules 00:05:13 Streamlined Sales Tax 00:07:03 TaxJar 00:09:33 Amazon seeking entrepreneurs for their Prime delivery business 00:14:18 A small business with one customer is not a small business. Walmart pricing with Tiffany-level service 00:16:13 Contact us: [email protected] 00:16:32 SPONSOR: Visit TextExpander.com/podcast for 20% off your first year. 00:18:44 The politics of mixing politics with your business 00:26:05 The nuances of communicating politics 00:28:37 SBS 178 Outtro The post Small Business News Rou

Join us this week on the Small Business Show for an insightful interview with Winemaker Tony Biagi to hear his story of moving from being employed by wineries to starting his own consulting business and eventually creating his own wine label, Patria. During this episode, you’ll learn about how Tony built his own brand equity with his consulting business and how Tony learned early on to “not chase money, let it chase you”. Shannon Jean and Dave Hamilton discuss with Tony the challenges of stepping into situations where you are there to solve problems and how he works through the “because we’ve always done it this way” mentality. Tony talks about how nature plays a huge role in his business and how he has adapted to take advantage of the good and downplay when things don’t go right. We ask Tony about his favorite mistake and we were not surprised to hear a common answer of “apprehension” and not taking the jump early enough to go out on his own. Listen in fo