Books & The Biz

Waiting for certainty can cost your business. In Books & The Biz episode 44, Dan Paulson and Rich Veltre discuss how shifting federal and state policies could affect taxes, labor costs, pricing, and profitability—and what owners can do now. Hear practical perspectives on updating financial projections, planning capital needs, improving workflows, and helping employees become more productive wi...

AI promises to save time and money. So why is Zoho freezing employee raises as AI costs climb—and who ultimately picks up the tab? On this ep  isode of BnB, we read between the lines: how much can software companies raise prices before customers walk? As businesses build their 2027 budgets, will AI usage limits become standard—and are companies measuring results or just paying for activity? With...

Big corporations are turning to AI to reduce costs and eliminate jobs. But is replacing people with technology always a smart business decision? In this episode of Books & The Biz , Dan and Rich examine the growing push toward AI and what it means for small and midsize businesses. Drawing on their own experiences with AI successes and failures, they discuss where technology delivers real value...

Most employee problems don't start out as major issues. They build over time, often because something small was overlooked, ignored, or never addressed. In this episode of Books & The Biz , Dan and Rich welcome back Kelly Murphy to discuss why everyday leadership habits can make the difference between a business that runs smoothly and one constantly dealing with employee issues. We'll explore...

Thinking about selling your business? What you believe it's worth and what a buyer is willing to pay could be two very different numbers. In this episode of Books & The Biz , Dan and Rich discuss why succession planning needs to start years before retirement. They explore how owner dependency, weak systems, financial risks, and the due diligence process can reduce a company's value or delay a...

Employee benefits are getting more expensive, leaving business owners wondering how to provide meaningful coverage without breaking the budget. In this episode of Books & The Biz, Dan and Rich welcome Benjamin Zang of Transition Health Benefits to discuss traditional health insurance, ICHRAs, health sharing, Direct Primary Care, and other benefit options. They explore the costs, tradeoffs, and...

Hiring the right person starts with understanding what the job actually requires. In this episode of **Books & The Biz**, Dan and Rich discuss how unclear expectations can lead to the wrong hires, costly miscommunication, and disappointing results. From interim and fractional executives to key leadership roles, they explore the questions every business owner should answer before bringing someo...

Most businesses don't have a marketing problem—they have a focus problem. In this episode of **Books & The Biz**, Dan and Rich are joined by Josh Anderson of Marketing Reboot to discuss why better growth often comes from doing less, not more. They explore how eliminating distractions, focusing on the right customers, and aligning marketing with business operations can produce stronger results...

Business owners are often challenged with individual performance. What happens when it seems like every task is done through shortcuts, completed incorrectly, or never finished at all? This is a common complaint heard from all levels of leadership. The old method of, "The beatings will continue until morale improves," doesn't work. Nor does being complacent and hoping the problem fixes itself. It'...

Higher costs, tighter margins, and changing market conditions are creating a new reality for business owners. The question isn't whether things have changed—it's whether your business is prepared to adapt. In this episode of Books & The Biz , Dan and Rich discuss affordability, rising operating costs, interest rates, and why planning ahead matters more than ever. They explore practical ways to...

Is the economy beginning to slow down, or are these just isolated warning signs? More importantly, how should business owners respond? In this episode of Books & The Biz , Dan and Rich discuss what they're seeing across construction, commercial real estate, lending, tariffs, AI, and cash flow. They explore the early indicators of a changing economy, why every business owner should revisit thei...

Good employees rarely become frustrated overnight. More often, it's the result of unclear expectations, inconsistent communication, and leadership habits that slowly wear people down. In this episode of **Books & The Biz**, Dan, Rich, and HR expert Kelly Murphy discuss why employee frustration is usually a symptom of deeper operational and leadership issues. They explore the importance of sett...

Saving money is important—but hiring the wrong expertise can become one of the most expensive decisions a business makes. In this episode of **Books & The Biz**, Dan and Rich discuss real-world examples of how inexperience in accounting, payroll, bookkeeping, and financial leadership can create costly mistakes that go unnoticed for months. They also explore the risks of outsourcing, relying to...

Competing on price might win you a job today, but it can cost you your business tomorrow. In this episode of **Books & The Biz**, Dan and Rich discuss the race to the bottom after seeing competitors slash prices to win work. They explore why discounting is rarely a long-term strategy, the hidden costs of competing on price, and how businesses can stand out by delivering value instead of becomi...

The fractional executive market is growing fast—but so is the number of people claiming expertise they haven't earned. In this episode of **Books & The Biz**, Dan and Rich discuss what separates a true fractional executive from someone with a new title. They cover the experience, leadership, and real-world results business owners should look for, along with the questions to ask before trusting...

Costs are rising, margins are getting tighter, and business owners are being forced to make decisions without a clear playbook. In this episode of Books & The Biz , Dan and Rich talk through pricing, cash flow, tariffs, healthcare costs, and the operational waste that often gets ignored when expenses climb. Raising prices may be part of the answer, but better financial visibility, stronger pro...

AI can generate answers in seconds—but that doesn't mean those answers are correct. In this episode of **Books & The Biz**, Dan, Rich, and Kelly Murphy discuss where AI adds real value and where experience still matters most. They explore why asking better questions leads to better results, how industry knowledge helps you recognize bad answers, and why human judgment is still essential when m...

Why growth often creates chaos. In this episode of Books & The Biz, Dan and Rich welcome HR expert Kelly Murphy to discuss why adding more employees doesn’t automatically make a company stronger. As businesses grow, communication breaks down, expectations become unclear, and informal processes that worked with five employees begin to fail with twenty-five. If your business is growing—or you’re...

This Independence Day, we’re talking about a different kind of freedom—the freedom to step away from your business without everything falling apart. In this episode of Books & The Biz, Dan and Rich share 10 practical ways business owners can gain more freedom, from outsourcing bookkeeping and building a trusted inner circle to setting boundaries with clients, protecting personal time, charging...

Business owners often want better forecasts, stronger profits, and a clear growth strategy. The problem? Those goals depend on having accurate information to begin with. In this episode of Books & The Biz, Dan and Rich discuss what happens when years of neglected accounting, incomplete records, or operational issues collide with unrealistic expectations for immediate results. They explore why...

This is becoming one of the biggest business stories that almost nobody is talking about. Millions of business owners are approaching retirement, but many have no succession plan and no realistic buyer lined up. Studies suggest millions of businesses could change hands over the next decade, while a large percentage of owners still aren’t prepared for transition. What we will discuss: Why revenue i...

Workers' Compensation is often viewed as just another cost of doing business. But what if you're paying more than you should? In this episode of Books & The Biz, Dan and Rich sit down with Bobby Giurintano of Premium Recovery Experts to discuss a problem many business owners don't realize exists: workers' compensation audit errors. Bobby shares why these mistakes occur, where overpayments are...

In this episode of Books & The Biz, we break down why simple processes, clear accountability, and practical execution outperform bloated systems and unnecessary complexity every time. From overloaded SOPs to too many meetings and titles with no ownership, we discuss why businesses slow down as they grow — and how to fix it before the owner becomes the bottleneck again. #BusinessLeadership #Ope...

Most businesses do not fail because people are lazy. They fail because process breaks down under pressure. Bookkeeping falls behind. Reports become inconsistent. Teams stop following procedures. Leadership starts making decisions using incomplete or inaccurate information. In this episode of Books & The Biz, Dan Paulson and Rich Veltre break down how weak process quietly damages operations, fi...

Inventory is supposed to generate cash, not collect dust. In this episode of Books & The Biz, Dan and Rich take a hard look at dead inventory—products, materials, and stock that sit too long, tie up cash, consume space, and quietly erode profitability. Many businesses don’t realize how much money is trapped in slow-moving inventory until margins tighten, cash flow gets squeezed, or warehouse s...