Small Business Show

Need help with your Small Business Online presence? How about branding, marketing, search engine optimization and the overall look and feel of your company website? Listen in to today’s episode of the Small Business Show to hear how Corey Gauteraux of G4 Design House created a company to help Small Businesses prosper online. G4 Design House was created to leverage the skills of an in-house team of programmers and designers that had been creating websites and doing online marketing for 15+ years. They focused their efforts on Small Businesses, with an affordable subscription model that encompasses everything from logo and website creation, hosting, SEO, social media and other marketing efforts. After discussing what G4 does and how their services work, we spend time talking about how Corey markets G4 services, how they came up with their pricing structure and the value of referrals. Dave and Shannon ask about competing in what seems like a crowded design marketplace and how G4 distinguishes itself and Co

It’s time for a Grab Bag episode of the Small Business Show! Tips and short topics that Dave Hamilton and Shannon Jean have been waiting for an open episode to share with you. Join us today while we talk about: Why attending conferences and business events can have a huge positive impact on your Small Business and personal brand. The power of Referred Trust and being cautious when using your Social Capital with referrals. Pricing your product and services – is letting your customers set value and price a good idea? Using variable pricing in parts of your Small Business. Using Premium Pricing to up-sell your customers. Customer service and it’s impact on your brand. Using the Apple situation as an opportunity to learn. Listen in to this episode of the Small Business Show for these topics and more! Then, join us in the Small Business Support Group to ask your questions and share your comments. Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #156 for Wednesday, January 31, 2018 00:01:19 Grab

Have an online business? Want to know how to protect yourself against copyright claims, privacy policy litigation and more? Join us today on the Small Business Show as we talk with Richard Chapo, an attorney that specializes in internet businesses, small and large. Richard has been practicing law for over 24-years with a current specialty in advising businesses and keeping them in compliance within the ever-changing legal system. Listen in and discover the most common mistakes internet businesses make when first getting started, as well as how to prepare your company for legal claims and how respond to them when they do arise. Dave Hamilton and Shannon Jean dig deep with Richard when discussing the DMCA and how to use it to protect your business, along with the requirements to insure you’re compliant. We discuss why it’s important to sit down once per year with your attorney to talk about the weak parts of your business that may be exposing you to risk, and why full disclosure with your attorney i

The very essence of business success is all about finding a solution to a problem. When Ladan Davia was searching for employment, she found the process of using online employment websites frustrating and the results less than useful. Like any good Entrepreneur, Ladan founded Beeya.com to make things right. Recently, Dave and Shannon spoke with Ladan during a pre-sponsorship call for Beeya on the Small Business Show. During the call, they realized that Ladan would make a great guest and asked her to come on the show for an interview. Ladan joins us today to share her story. Beeya was founded on the premise that employment sites should be easier to use, provide a better experience and use better algorithm’s to match up prospective employees with employers. Along the way, Ladan wanted to level the playing field and provide everyone the same job opportunities, regardless of connections and to help effect positive social change with her company. Ladan speaks about raising capital to start the business, the i

We’re starting a brand new business year with a brand new tax reform act that will impact your Small Business. Get yourself ready by listening in to this episode of the Small Business Show! On the Small Business Show, we believe that you are a better steward of your money than the government, especially when it comes to investing in your business, your employees and your community. So why not learn the details of the new tax laws and work with your accountant to minimize what you have to send away to the federal government? Dave Hamilton and Shannon Jean jump right in to discuss the details of the tax changes and how you may want to start thinking differently about the structure of your business to take advantage of the new laws. You’ll learn about Pass-through business entities and the new 20% deduction for those types of businesses, along with the restrictions put into place for service businesses such as accountants and attorneys. You’ll be encouraged to ask yourself the all-important que

Everyone is an expert…at something. Listen to this episode of the Small Business Show for tips about using your expertise to start a consulting Small Business that can help you transition from an employee to an employer. Listener James B. asks some great questions about starting his technical support consultant business and Dave and Shannon are happy to spend the entire show discussing consulting as a Small Business. You’ll learn about the importance of getting paid immediately for your work and options for how to make billing your clients simple and efficient. We then discuss accounting software options and service contracts to make your billing happen automagically each month. Dave focuses in on how to respond when problems recur and how to avoid any confusion on repeat work before you leave the worksite. Shannon offers up his theory that communication before, during and after is the critical piece of the consulting puzzle, with tips for each type of communication and how to make it effective. Y

Join us for our last episode of 2017 where we share Small Business tips from our favorite shows of the past year. Dave and Shannon both have their favorite guests, topics and advice from episodes of the Small Business Show that aired during the year. We hope you’ve been able to live a Charmed Life during 2017 and we wish you the best for 2018! Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #151 for Wednesday, December 27, 2017 00:01:34 Lessons learned throughout the year 00:02:04 Jay Gentile from BoosterBots Created a business out of what he was building to help his other business 00:03:15 Jumpanzee – Live anywhere! 00:04:35 Effective problem solving – The key to being successful The Two Tokens concept 00:06:40 Lance from Bolt NWA – such a unique dude. 00:09:13 Mike Pile of Uppercase Branding        “Brainstorming is a waste of time” 00:10:11 Learning to say No 00:11:41 Introduction of the Revenue Stack concept 00:13:05 Interview with Kyle Baccus of KCTool Selling your bu

It’s your first year in business and with just a couple of weeks left in the year, what tasks should you be working on? Join Dave Hamilton and Shannon Jean for this episode of the Small Business show that is dedicated to helping new Small Business owners close out their first year of business. Listen in and learn about making sure you select the right type of entity for your business – should you choose an LLC, S corp or something different? Dave spends some time discussing how Pass-through business entities work and ways to protect yourself while saving on taxes with the entity type you select. We also spend time discussing multi-member LLC companies vs. single member and why you might select one over another. We then jump into a discussion about meeting with or finding a good accountant, identifying and tracking expenses and if you work out of your home, what type of deductions you may be able to take. All decisions that are important to discuss with your accountant, before they get busy with ta

Timing plays a critical role in the success of your business. When you launch your products, when you hire new employees, and in the case of Jarie Bolander, when you publish your book. Join us this week on the Small Business Show as we meet Jarie to discuss his new book,The Entrepreneur Ethos along with his good friend, Mihir Shah CEO of Drobo. Listen in and hear why Jarie felt compelled to create a roadmap for entrepreneurial success by building more ethical, inclusive and resilient companies. We also have a bonus today with Mihir Shah adding his comments to the discussion about the “why” of being an entrepreneur and how stepping in to solve problems can be rewarding far beyond any financial gains. Listen to the show, then join us on the Small Business Support Group to ask more questions and to add your voice to the discussion! Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #149 for Wednesday, December 13, 2017 00:02:17 Mihir Shah – from VC to CEO… always turning things around 00:03:32 It’s

It’s that time of year! With just a few weeks left before the end of the year, there are some important tasks to take care of for your Small Business. Join us on episode 148 of the Small Business Show to hear our take on what you should be doing before the New Year starts! We begin the show by discussing the importance of getting your financials (PL, BS, Cashflow) in order so you can review the data that will guide you in making end-of-year decisions that can impact your profitability, tax liability and much more. Without good data, you’ll have a much tougher time making decisions. If your Small Business carries inventory, now is the time to get your counts straight. You may want to write-down slow moving or old stock that can help to lower your tax liability – but you need to know what is actually on your shelves before you can see what you’re working with. Dave and Shannon then spend time talking about collecting on any overdue Accounts Receivables and making any last minute purchase

Location, location, location. You’ve heard it before – but there’s much more to picking the right spot for your Small Business than just the location. Join Dave Hamilton and Shannon Jean on this episode of the Small Business Show to hear their experiences and tips for choosing the right place. Listen and and hear about Retail, Office, Industrial and Flex spaces – what’s the difference and what to watch out for when considering moving your Small Business into one type of property or another. We discuss hidden costs, competition, being sure you get just the right amount of square footage and much more. It’s then time to learn about leases! The lease is the critical part of any rental contract and can save you, or bury you – depending on what’s in it. Learn about Gross vs. NNN leases, zoning issues, CAM, tenant improvements and more. We wrap up the show by discussing the benefits of owning vs. leasing a space along with a quick survey of other leasing issues you s

How important are the benefits that you offer to your employees? Are they valued more than cash? And how do you keep your benefit expenses down while maximizing the impact to your employees? Join us on episode 146 of the Small Business Show for all this and more! Benefits, beyond salaries and wages can have a dramatic impact on your employees and your bottom line. Dave and Shannon spend time today discussing how to best manage the increasing costs of health care and dealing with the impact of the Affordable Care Act. We also discuss outsourcing health care management before jumping into a discussion of benefits beyond health care. Paid time off – whether in the form of vacation, sick or personal time can be a powerful benefit to offer to your employees. We discuss using flex time and the idea of unlimited vacation and how they both impact your business. Shannon discusses the power of food as a benefit to your employees (and yourself!) – keeping your employees well fed can be a powerful performance

Many Small Business owners would agree, it’s not “if” but “when”. Will you have someone file a frivolous lawsuit against your company, or perhaps have a disagreement with a supplier that winds up in court. Or maybe a disgruntled employee feels like they were mistreated and they want to be compensated. No matter how it comes about, lawsuits can be a tricky minefield that can cause you to take your eye off your business. Join us on episode 145 of the Small Business Show to hear how to avoid getting sued in the first place, how to respond if you are sued and where to turn for help. Dave and Shannon discuss both sides of the courtroom – suing or getting sued and offer some sage advice about leaving your ego at home and not bringing your sense of justice when trying to settle a case. But first, learn about the mechanics and timing of a lawsuit – the more you know the more you can avoid pitfalls that can sink your chances of winning a case. Once you know how things will unf

When the time comes to let an employee go, what are some best practices to keep your Small Business running smoothly during the transition? Should you worry about how it will impact other employees? Are there rules about how you go about firing someone in your state? Should you apologize to the person you are laying off? Join us on this episode of the Small Business Show for answers to these questions and much more! Your co-hosts have been to the party, they’ve seen this movie before and it’s not their first Rodeo. Having experiences with firing and laying off employees during their 25+ years in business has made it clear to both Shannon and Dave that how you handle these “Exit” situations can have a profound impact (both positive and negative) on your Small Business. We start the show with Shannon’s belief that in most situations, it’s ultimately the fault of management (that includes YOU, small business owner) when you have to fire someone – listen in to find out w

When is it time to turn a labor of love into a real Small Business? And what pitfalls do you have to watch out for during the process? Dave and Shannon try to answer those questions and more on episode 143 of the Small Business Show! Join us today as we discuss why we do the Small Business Show and the numbers behind our downloads and subscribers. Information that any potential sponsor of the show would want to know. We also discuss ad rates and how to go about avoiding future conflicts over advertising rates when your show is still small, but growing fast. We then chat about how working with sponsors has us thinking of ways to invest that revenue to make SBS better for everyone. Should we invest in a new website, new advertising to grow our subscriber base or something else? Here’s your chance to give us your two-cents and offer us some advice. Listen in for a behind-the-scenes look at the Small Business Show and the business of Podcasting. Then, join us in the Small Business Support Group to share you

Ever have problems getting paid by your clients in a timely manner? We’ve all been there – that’s why it’s worth joining us today on the Small Business Show for tips and tricks that can improve your cash-flow by getting you paid on-time and in full. Oh, and there’s also another rant from Shannon about online banking and restrictions – you’ve heard these before, but he’s got a bit of a different take on it this time. Specifically, the inefficiency of banks when it comes to sending wire transfers on a regular basis. We then jump into the best way to bill for your product or service and how to make it so easy for your customers that they won’t have any excuse but to get you paid quickly. Of course, there will be those that still have problems and those folks require some special attention. Dave makes the case that an unpaid invoice is a customer service opportunity (or a disaster) and if you handle the payment collection correctly, you can solidify a custome

Ever dream of driving an exotic sports car? How about having a dozen of them parked in your garage, all being paid for by your rental customers? This week Shannon and Dave meet two entrepreneurs who have built a fast-growing and successful Small Business using the Turo car rental platform. If you’ve ever dreamed of that new Porsche or Jaguar, but couldn’t figure out a way to pay for it, this is the show you don’t want to miss! Gurjit Singh and Kevin Chou started The Gentleman’s Garage about two years ago and have expanded it to a dozen sports cars with availability in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Vegas. The guys share their story today, talking about the challenges of getting started, dealing with problems and removing obstacles to growth. You’ll learn about managing risk, protecting yourself (and your cars) and the importance of having a strong platform that backs you up with insurance and background checks. We discuss how Gurjit and Kevin divide up their duties and how they h

Ever been surprised by the small print in a contract that you signed for your Small Business? Join us today for episode 140 of the Small Business Show for tips on how to respond when companies try slip egregious terms and conditions into their contracts, how to shut down automatic bank withdrawals by using the Revoke Authorization tactic and much more. Dave and Shannon then jump into a discussion about setting up clear and concise payment terms to be sure you get paid quickly for your products and services. Setting a clear payment policy that is shown up front to your customers is critical to avoiding problems with getting paid in full and on time. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for part 2 of our Getting Paid discussion when we’ll discuss the best ways to manage debt collection. Next week, we’ll be joined by a pair of Small Business owners running their company on the Turo car sharing platform. Listen in and then jump over to the Small Business Support Group to comment and ask your questions. Chap

What’s the best Small Business phone system? Join Dave and Shannon today on episode 139 of the Small Business Show to hear about options ranging from pricey PBX systems, to Voice Over IP services like Phone.com, RingCentral and Grasshopper. During the discussion, Shannon spends some time pointing out how critical your phone auto-attendant can be when showing your customers what type of company you are. Current and potential clients will quickly learn about your business, based on how they are treated when calling your Small Business. We then jump into a discussion about mobile phone plans using traditional carriers, along with new offerings from Xfinity Mobile. Watch out for hardware compatibility issues and be sure to do the math correctly when comparing plans. Join us today and then share your phone tips at the Small Business Support Group! Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #139 October 5, 2017 00:01:08 Beware of too much time on your hands 00:02:30 Gone is the $10,000 PBX Phone Sy

How important is it to understand and review your Small Business Balance Sheet, Profit and Lose Statement and Cash Flow Statement and how often should you be doing it? Join us today on episode 138 of the Small Business Show for our thoughts on these issues and more! Your financial statements are a window into your business. Failure to understand and review them frequently can lead to some massive headaches (take it from our own experiences!). On today’s show, we discuss where to get help in understanding what the data in your financials means and how to spot red flags that can be addressed early, before they become major issues. We then discuss the pitfall of focusing solely on Revenue instead of Cash flow that is the blood of your business. Many “profitable” Small Businesses have closed up shop for lack of cash. Then it’s time to roll out the idea of sharing your financials with your employees – in ways that protect your information but help to explain just how your Small Busine