Business Brain – The Entrepreneurs’ Podcast

Shannon and Dave share their own thoughts about marketing as it relates to their businesses. In Part 1 of the Small Business Marketing show, advertising is a focus with discussions about pay per click, display ads, podcasts and reviews. What marketing methods have worked for you? Share your story with us in the comments below or feedback@businessshow.co The post Small Business Marketing – Ou...

Ever had a million-dollar idea? Shannon and Dave discuss what that actually means and the realities behind bringing an idea to fruition. Kickstarter is a big part of that discussion, from both good and bad angles. But first, your two business geeks share a little tax talk about what you should be doing now to be sure you’re ready for the New Year’s ball to drop! The post Kickstarter, t...

With just a few weeks left before the calendar ticks over to 2016, it’s time to start thinking about a few things: what to do for your employees? What do do for your customers? What to do for yourself? Taxes, health insurance, gifts, bonuses and more are the seeds for today’s topics. Listen to your two favorite business geeks discuss these things and get  your questions in before time...

Shannon and Dave dig into the mailbag today to answer a trio of questions from folks dealing with departing employees. Various reasons and scenarios led to the departures, and those each play a huge part in the advice and thoughts shared by your two favorite business geeks. On top of that, Dave spends a little time at the beginning of the show discussing the value of time pressure: sometimes you&#...

Mick Guinn started Mick’s Macs ten years ago and has learned a lot about being a small business owner during that time. He has always made sure to keep a focus on what his employees actually need, being careful not to project his own desires onto others. He also shares some advice on how to foster a healthy business relationship with your team while still allowing an appropriate and healthy...

David Sparks, long time attorney and long-time geek left the practice he had been with for decades to branch out on his own. Using his geek skills to build the foundation for his nascent practice’s infrastructure, David is able to better service his clients and carve out that valuable time to spend with family and on other projects. “I knew I wanted to go out on my own, but I was terri...

Juan Collao from My Auto Home discusses home automation as a business. His company helps customers dissect and decipher the best way to automate their specific homes, right down to which light switch to use. Juan’s business is new and he’s already a very astute businessperson. Some great insights in this episode – well worth a listen for business owners at every stage! Highlighted quot...

Shannon and Dave talk through the benefits of having someone unrelated to your business act as a sounding board. Almost like creating your own, mini Board of Directors, it’s valuable to have a trusted confidant or two who can give you honest advice, even if it’s from outside your business, looking in. Then it’s on to social media. Dave and Shannon discuss the merits of being your...

Marilyn Weinstein, founder and CEO of Vivo , says “When you’re the owner, you don’t have the confidence that somebody else’s money gives you.” One trick is building a small business management team so that you’re the “other person” with the money, and delegating those decisions to someone else. Having a partner can mitigate that from day one, so long...

Brian Friss joins us today on the Small Business Show. Brian co-founded DIGISTOR back in 2001 and one of the first things he did was to throw away the business plan he had. Instead he followed and guided his business through an evolution reflective of his marketplace, even changing his core products as necessary throughout time. Still, a chunk of business relies on optical storage, a product that...

Kyle Baccus , founder of KC Tool, America’s number one German tool distributor joins Shannon and Dave on the podcast today to talk about how he started his business. He talks through a number of things he’s learned, including how it pays off to be thoughtful before you start, considering how being in a small niche and having the best products can lead you down the path of becoming numb...

A good chunk of Shannon’s business revolves around selling in various marketplaces like eBay and Amazon. As such, he’s learned a few tricks over the years that can help anyone selling in these marketplaces, large and small. Learn why it might be good to diversify your public brand in each marketplace; learn why it’s good to get started right away (even before you’re ready);...

Doug Sassaman of RepriceIt.com joins Shannon and Dave today to talk about how solving his own problem of repricing the items he was selling on Amazon led to quitting his day job and solving the same problem for others. Doug talks a lot about maintaining the work/life balance and ensuring he always reaps the benefits of flexibility associated with being an entrepreneur. Dave and Shannon learned som...

Shannon and Dave intentionally run with no agenda today and the result is them discussing the intangible benefits of running a small business. Some of the best benefits don’t appear on your profit and loss statement, at least not in an obvious way. Opportunities like travel, attending special events, writing off the purchase of your next iPhone and more are some of your hosts favorites, many...

What small business shopping cart is right for you? What type of business insurance do you need? Learn this and more on the Small Business Show today. Plus Shannon Jean & Dave Hamilton, your two small business advisors & hosts, talk about their most productive times of the day. Stuff mentioned: Squarespace Weebly Tim Cox from ZingPR X-Cart OpenCart Minimum Viable Product Sunk Costs Inland...

Tim Cox from ZingPR joins Shannon and Dave today to talk about what it’s like to tell other people’s stories while still making sure to tell his own. That, plus what it’s like taking over a business from one’s spouse! All of this and more in today’s Small Business Show! The post Tim Cox from ZingPR – Helping Everyone Find Their Voice appeared first on Business B...

Every business will encounter “disaster” scenarios. The real question is about how you, the business owner, handles them? Shannon and Dave have been through them and talk through some of their favorites, using war stories as a basis for sharing the lessons they’ve learned. Communication is the key to solving problems… and about learning to solve them! The post Disaster Stri...

Listener Stephan asks which accounting package is right. Shannon and Dave talk about why double-entry accounting isn’t scary (and explain what it is!), and discuss Account Edge, QuickBooks, Freshbooks and more for you. The post Choosing The Right Accounting Software appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast .

Formal agreements are helpful in that they allow you to document your ideas, goals and parameters at a moment in time. What gets interesting is when one of the parties either interprets it differently from the others or wants to change it entirely. This can be a good time for everyone involved to reflect upon the agreement and redraw it… or it can be a way to lose focus on what you’re...

Shannon and Dave let loose on their favorite pricing secrets, and then let loose on customers who don’t want to follow them (except they really do!). You might agree or disagree with what your two favorite business geeks have to say, but you’ll definitely want to listen! The post Pricing: When The Customer Is Rarely Right – Small Business Show 25 appeared first on Business Brain...

Business banker Paul Knowlton joins Shannon and Dave today to talk business banking, including how relationship transparency is important… as well as the Beer Test. Learn why it’s important to create a paper trail for your business early on, and learn how to be realistic when heading in to talk to your banker! The post Business Banking with Paul Knowlton – Small Business Show 24...

Delegation is probably the  most important thing you need to do in order to grow your business. Problem is, it doesn’t come naturally to most anyone who has what it takes to start a business. With that in mind, Shannon and Dave talk through their experiences (successes … and failures!) with delegation, and Shannon explains just how important it is to create an org chart. The post The D...

Mike DeGoey originally bought Mendocino Glove through business broker, BizBen.com . Since then, though, he’s really made the business his own, and now is going through a rebranding process to call it Workman Glove and Safety , better reflecting what his business does now. We learned some great things from Mike, including that we all need to learn what our business is: Solve people’s pr...

Digging into the mailbag this week, Shannon and Dave answer YOUR questions. How best do you handle cold-calling? Is that a necessary part of growing one’s business? And then it’s on to what to look out for when heading into a joint venture. Do you need an attorney and what other steps should you take? Shannon and Dave share their stories and answer these questions and more! The post Li...

Jon Barretto at FullyLaced.com  joins Shannon and Dave today to tell all his stories and share his secrets to success. Learn just how far the skill of building relationships can take you… and learn when to stash your cash! You can learn more about Jon and follow FullyLaced on Twitter , Instagram and Facebook , too. The post Jon Barretto from Fully Laced, Building Relationships & Stashin...