Business, Beer & BS with Mike & Blaine

Send us Fan Mail Richard Branson is credited with the quote, “You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing and falling over.”  Mike and Blaine put their unique spin on this quote and break it down.  Is it ok to break the rules? Is the only way to learn by doing?  These are the questions being debated in today’s episode of Mike & Blaine. Don't miss out on the latest insig...

Send us Fan Mail If there ever was a company that delivered more than is expected, it’s Google. This quote by Co-Founder Larry Page sums up why you receive millions of search results in milliseconds on the web.  But more importantly, it applies to everything you do in business and your personal life.  Mike and Blaine bring this topic to life in Episode 63 of Nobody Told Me with Mike & Blaine....

Send us Fan Mail Warren Buffet’s famous quote, “I don't look to jump over 7-foot bars: I look around for 1-foot bars that I can step over” contains a ton of wisdom for business owners. Too often, we want the big win and fast!...but sometimes the easy route is the best. Mike and Blaine unpack this logic in this episode of Nobody Told Me. Don't miss out on the latest insights and entertain...

Send us Fan Mail Blaine went to a workshop this week and came back with this nugget.  You’ve heard that an owner should eat his own dog food, but maybe we should be thinking about it as if we don’t know if our product or service is even dog food yet.  This week we talk about product market fit on Nobody Told Me with Mike & Blaine. Don't miss out on the latest insights and entertaining dis...

Send us Fan Mail This is an episode on timing the release of your products or services.  Timing is an art, but it takes the ability to identify an MVP (minimum viable product).  The MVP has a sole purpose of helping your set the foundation for your product/service and then evolve it into the market expectations.  Mike and Blaine take about timing and what happens if you wait too long. Don't m...

Send us Fan Mail If this isn’t the best thing you hear all day, then listen to this episode!  With the introduction of automation and access to tons and tons of data, it’s time to start listening to the story in the numbers.  Two Cash Flow Software dudes, Mike and Blaine, dig into the meaning of data beats emotions in this episode. Don't miss out on the latest insights and entertaining discus...

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever tried, better yet hoped something you did went viral?  Man if we only knew the secret formula.  The truth is, viral is such a random chance of events, that usually have nothing to do with a business.  They are usually dumb things people do.  So maybe our goal shouldn’t be to go viral.  This quote by Peter Shankman is the topic of conversation between Mike and Blaine....

Send us Fan Mail It’s back to back wisdom from Spencer Fry.  One of the hardest things in business to do is hire the right people.  There are just so many things that could go wrong and set your business back to the beginning.  In this episode, Mike and Blaine talk about the employees who made a difference and those who didn’t. Don't miss out on the latest insights and entertaining discussion...

Send us Fan Mail Could there be a truer statement than the one Spencer Fry made about running a small business?  Every day you wake up ready to fight and succeed, and your team and customers are the reasons you do it.  From the outside looking in, the life of the small business owner looks pretty good.  But step inside the ring and be ready to fight.  Mike and Blaine talk about the difficulty of r...

Send us Fan Mail This quote by Bob Parsons is the premise of leadership.  It can be translated in a whole host of ways, but the meaning remains the same.  If you want to do something great, you have to be willing to create a plan and hold your team accountable to results.  Mike and Blaine discuss the ways this has rung true in their businesses in this episode. Don't miss out on the latest ins...

Send us Fan Mail Seth Godin nailed it with this quote.  There is nothing worse than being afraid to take a chance and start a project.  Especially if it’s a killer idea.  One thing we know about founders is that nobody in the world cares more about the idea than them.  That is the prime contributing factor for success.  In this episode Mike and Blaine talk about what it's like to take that fi...

Send us Fan Mail Of course we would pick one of the longest quotes ever as the title of a podcast episode.  We will probably just go with Blaine’s version of “The 10 Year Overnight Success.”  That’s better.  In this episode, Mike and Blaine dive into the illusion that successful businesses happen overnight.  This quote by Biz Stone exemplifies that fact.  In reality, running a business and making...

Send us Fan Mail How could you not like Guy Kawasaki? This quote is spot on!  Anyone can have a great idea, but the talent lies in bringing that idea to life.  It’s the execution of the idea that matters.  Implementation is where ideas go to live or die. In this episode, Mike and Blaine add their own spin on this quote as they apply to their own lives. Don't miss out on the latest insights an...

Send us Fan Mail Tony Hsieh’s famous quote, “Don’t Play Games That You Don’t Understand, Even if You See Lots of Other People Making Money From Them,” rings true for entrepreneurs. It’s a hard enough journey when you’re an expert in your venture. But it sure looks easy and enticing! ….from the outside. Taking on a battle you really don’t understand is a recipe for disaster, or at least a long stri...

Send us Fan Mail Isn’t that the truth?  In this episode, Mike and Blaine break down this quote from Michael Arrington.  There are several different reasons that people start businesses, but there is always a driving factor.  Maybe you have a cause you are passionate about, or you’re just tired of not being heard at your current job.  Whatever your motivation is, there is an itch that needs to be s...

Send us Fan Mail Paul Rand is credited for this quote, but its a bold statement that can be highly debated.  If you look at any social media platform, everyone is competing for views, this means being original.   However, original doesn’t always work, you have to be good.  This chick versus egg situation is discussed by our hosts Mike and Blaine in this week’s episode of Nobody Told Me. Don't...

Send us Fan Mail This quote by Tom Kelly has become a conference room mantra in so many start-ups.  It costs money to travel down the wrong path for too long while you are trying to make a bad idea succeed.  Mike and Blaine talk about letting your ego go, so you can find something that works in this episode of Nobody Told Me with Mike & Blaine. Don't miss out on the latest insights and en...

Send us Fan Mail Simplicity always seems to be the fastest way to innovation and market acceptance.  If you want people to get on the same page as you, you have to give them a bite size nugget of information to wrap their minds around.  Then innovation happens.  Look at the iPhone.  Did you know that the most popular phone on the planet was born by someone asking the question: what if the iPod cou...

Send us Fan Mail Trust but verify isn’t just a political statement, it’s a playbook for success.  This simple sentence can be interpreted as the essence of management.  Meaning, you empower your team to do the right thing and move the company forward, but a little bit of oversight can be motivating as well.  This simple statement, made famous by Ronald Reagan, is the topic of today’s episode of No...

Send us Fan Mail Remember those restful nights sleep you used to get?  Those will be few and far between as you are trying to build your business.  Every minute your brain will be firing with ideas and strategy wargaming.  Mike and Blaine talk about what it’s like to be fully immersed in your business and whether it's good or not.  Tune into this episode?  If you are anything like us, then yo...

Send us Fan Mail It’s easy to remember all of the struggles you’ve had in a small business, but what about the wins?  Even the small wins make for great days and it is the thrill of the win that keeps you coming back day after day.  In this episode, Mike and Blaine discuss celebrating every win.  It’s the motivation we all need to handle the days when you get kicked in the face by the world. Don&a...

Send us Fan Mail Some of us think about how much our companies are worth as a part of curiosity or planning.  You should take the time to find out what drives the value of your company on a regular basis.  Why else are you running a company if not to make money, or be able to sell it later for your retirement funds?  The last thing you want is to be surprised to find out what it's worth when...

Send us Fan Mail In a perfect world, we would have so many customers that losing one here or there wouldn’t mean as much.  Besides, it’s super hard to make everyone happy all of the time.  But as a small business with just a few customers or a limited sized market, every customer matters and even losing the wrong one could spell disaster.  In this episode, Mike and Blaine talk about managing custo...

Send us Fan Mail When we start our businesses, we all have dreams that the market will love our offering.  They will wait in line outside the doors to  buy what we have to sell.  It’s a great dream, but Nobody Tells You how companies do just that.  Companies like Apple have customers camp out on the sidewalk for weeks just to get a new product first.  Mike and Blaine take a look at creating evange...

Send us Fan Mail When you say that out loud it makes perfect sense.  Of course I have to differentiate myself from the competitors.  But all too often we end up walking the same path that they do because we convince ourselves that they are doing it right or they are doing it better.  They are many ways to play in the same space, but differently.  Mike and Blaine discuss the need to differentiate y...