Business Brain – The Entrepreneurs’ Podcast

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 quest...

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...

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 be...

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...

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...

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 com...

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...

Should you be worried about only using a .COM domain name for your Small Business? How do you deal with coming up with a domain name if your Small Business name is not available as a .COM web address? Join us for episode 137 of the Small Business Show to find out what longtime, serial Small Business owners Dave Hamilton and Shannon Jean think about this and much more. We then jump into a riveting...

Do you take the time out to attend Small Business conferences and trade shows? Would you like to make some powerful connections, meet some great people and renew your energy? Listen in to episode 136 of the Small Business Show to find out how you can have all this and more! Shannon just returned from the Paypal cNow conference in Chicago and he’s ready to talk about the people he met and wha...

Do you run your Small Business from your home? Are you tempted to wear sweatpants everyday and move your desk close to the refrigerator for convenience? Join us today on the Small Business Show to get some great tips on how to stay motivated and disciplined while working from home. Long-time home office Small Business owner Dave Hamilton answers questions today as Shannon transitions from going in...

What’s the best way to build your companies brand and create fans that are passionate about your products? Cory Fosket and Doug Butcher took a company focused on a single product line and expanded it over the last 13-years into a trusted brand for waterfowl hunters and outdoor enthusiasts. Along the way, they’ve learned about the importance of quality and how to step outside the busine...

What’s the best method for naming your Small Business? Go with your instincts, listen to friends and family or use an online tool? Listen to this episode of the Small Business Show for tips to come up with a great name for your business and avoid some common mistakes with the help from our friends at Entrepreneur magazine. We also discuss the power of Taglines to enhance your Small Business...

Do you know the signs that tell if a person is an Employee, Self-Employed or an Entrepreneur? Join Dave and Shannon for this episode of the Small Business Show to find out! During today’s episode, we get to spend time dissecting personality types so you can understand who would make a good employee vs. who would make a good business partner. We discuss Do’ers vs delegators and ways to create a Wor...

What’s the best way to find real value in attending Trade Shows, Conferences and Workshops? Do you sit in the back row and head right back to the hotel after the event? You can probably guess what your Small Business Show co-hosts would say about that. Join us for this episode to discuss maximizing your time at these types of events as Shannon discusses attending eBay Open 2017 in Las Vegas...

Could you make the leap from dog walker / poop-picker-upper to creating a software platform for service related Small Businesses? Well, Britt Alwerud did just that, creating the Handlr Business Management suite of tools to help manage your employees or contractors, communicate with customers, generate reports and perhaps most importantly, get paid on time! Join Dave and Shannon for episode 130 of...

Are you making a living with your Podcast? We need to talk. Join us today on the Small Business Show and learn about the business of podcasting. Specifically, what’s happening in the world of Podcast advertising, what are sponsors looking for and how is success being measured. Dave shares his expertise about how a typical Podcast audience is made up of Intentional Listeners that have made th...

What is the most important thing to remember when selling your business? Today on the Small Business Show, we continue our discussion about selling your business with advice from Abbi Vakil, inventor of the U-Socket USB wall plug . Listen in to hear us discuss cash-flow vs. profits and which is most important and what do to when you’re business is not succeeding OR failing. We touch on one o...

What happens when you realize that you’re NOT the best owner for your Small Business? Join us today for episode 127 of the Small Business Show to hear the story from one of your co-hosts that made just such a discovery after 13-years of being at the helm of TechRestore . Dave and Shannon discuss how finding the “right” buyer is critical to any sale, tips to find that person (or c...

Longtime listeners of the Small Business Show know that we embrace optimism with a passion. However, today we’re talking about failure. Specifically, why Small Businesses fail and how to avoid it. Dave and Shannon jump right into today’s Small Business Show with a discussion of your ROE, or Return on Energy for projects within your business, or new ideas that may not make you a profit,...

Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality are popular buzzwords we read and hear about a lot these days. Much of it sounds like it “will be” great someday, but what about Small Businesses that are in the VR/AR space and creating businesses TODAY? Joining us for episode 125 of the Small Business Show is Chase Dittmer and TJ Dishaw, co-founders of GrowpoVR Studios and GovRed . GrowpoVR began as an arcad...

You know the name, you’ve accepted the payment method. But, did you know that Paypal has a team of people focused solely on Small Business advocacy and public policy ? Joining us today on the Small Business Show is Paul Disselkoen , Paypal Public Relations Specialist. Paul is charged with getting the voices of Small Business owners heard by politicians that are setting public policy that imp...

Are you a Closer? On the Small Business Show, we often say that all business owners are in the Customer Service business – but, we’re also in the Sales business. Wether you’re selling a product or service, you’ve got to sell to make your business grow. This week on the Small Business Show, you’ll get to hear the story of Ryan Stewman, Founder of HardcoreCloser.com . R...

What’s your Exit Strategy? You have one, right? That’s the question a business mentor asked of Kyle Baccus a few years ago that led to the eventual sale of one of his businesses. Today on the Small Business Show, Kyle joins us for a second guest spot to discuss the sale and to spend some time exploring our Revenue Stack concept of developing multiple streams of revenue as part of your...

Stop for a moment. Think about your day. Are you doing work that should be delegated to your employees or contract workers? Small Business owner Robert is feeling overwhelmed and looking for tips to save time and increase his profits at the end of each month. Would you be surprised to hear that your Small Business Show co-hosts have experienced this situation a few times? Dave and Shannon offer Ro...

You’ve got questions about your Small Business and we’re here to help! Join Shannon and Dave today on the Small Business Show to hear their thoughts on setting up data sharing for a virtual office and the pros and cons of freelancers vs a business partner that has the skill set you are missing. If you need to share real-time data with your team that is working from different locations,...