Small Business Conversations

A family business; a wonderful situation if everyone is working together. But often there are situations; parents that won't give responsibility to a child; siblings that can't agree or siblings where one works very hard and the other does not. These are just a couple of examples. Tom Hubler visits to share an hour full of ideas of the important components of a family business. This was a...

With all the changes in the way people act and shop, what do you need to do differently with your point of sale system? What is the number one concern you should have for your business? What opportunities are there for you to take advantage of in your business? Can you easily handle cashless transactions? Dick Calio, POS expert, spent the hour with us to answer your questions about what opportunit...

You utilized your gut feeling when you decided to purchase or start your small business. All small businesses have opportunities for growth that come their way. There are also what appears as an opportunity that turns out to be a trap. Jacob Curtis, CPA shares his methodology for determining how to make the decision in your small business.

Heidi Kaisand has quite the story that she shares on Small Business Conversations. A decade ago she started a quilting store. Eight years ago she added to those responsibilities her work with the industry magazine, American Quilt Retailer. A year later she purchased the publication and is now the publisher and editor. She also creates online academies for other business owners in the trade. Her bu...

The July Small Business Conversations brings a very unique perspective to looking at small business. Dave Wendland has seen and worked with thousands of small businesses through his company Hamacher Resource Group. We ask Dave to share his experiences of the traits of the best small business owners he has seen and worked with; easy to understand with ideas of how you can duplicate these special tr...

Do customers identify your business because of low prices? Is it because it is you, the owner, is seen and heard in your advertising? Perhaps your business is known for supporting a local animal rescue organization. None of these are brand voicing. Listen as Devon Clements of J Schmid Creative Agency explains, discusses and shares examples of how developing the way you connect with your customers...

As we finish the first quarter of 2023, we are finding an increasing number of articles telling of large businesses facing challenges of theft. Is it internal theft? Is it accounting errors? Is it individuals stealing or is it organized theft? With the reports of big businesses we take the opportunity to invite our favorite loss prevention person, Jerry Obarski, to share his thoughts and experienc...

The SBDC (Small Business Development Centers) is the best resource a small business owner could ask for. The bonus is that their services are free to new and existing small business owners. During this episode, Tee Rowe, president of America's SBDC and Greg Jordan, state director of the Kansas SBDC spend an hour with Tom Shay to tell of the many services that your business can receive assistance w...

Ken Banks, branding, marketing and advertising expert with a career of  having worked with a "who's who" in the world of big business. Ken  visits to discuss with us what small businesses can learn for the  efforts of big businesses. We discuss trends with social media and  traditional advertising. Listening to our hour with Ken Banks is like  your having hired your own pe...

Soon we will all be bombarded with articles and television interviews telling us how to establish goals for the new year. Are goals only to be established to begin on January 1? Can you adjust a goal? Can you abandon a goal? Are all goals good? How do you measure your goals? Some goals are outcome based while others are activity based; what is the difference? These questions and many more during o...

A little known aspect of the CARES Act from the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic is the existence of the Employee Retention Credit (ERC). Does your business qualify for these funds? How is the amount of ERC determined that you receive? If you received PPP funds is your business disqualified? Are there certain employees that disqualify you? Should I use one of the firms I find on the Internet offering to pre...

Of course you know that there is going to be the day when you transition out of your business. Other than closing the business, you may sell the business to a family member, an employee, create an employee stock ownership plan, or sell to a third party. With any of these options one of the biggest questions is determining the value of the business. Ah, that is the big challenge. And, that is what...

When was the last time you examined the fees your business was being charged for processing bank card transactions? Are you aware of the "add on services" that are a part of the transaction fees that you might not need? Just how does the bank card transaction system work? What should I look for in having the right company to handle my bank card transactions? And very importantly, how can I get the...

Every business faces risks; some risks you know; some risks you don't know. Our guest, Ivy Walker, for this episode of Small Business Conversations is also a small business owner. She authored the book, Twelve-Minute Risk Management, is a "must read" for small business owners. You will learn how to identify and address existing and potential risks in your small business.  The book is written...

You want people to think of you and your business as the experts within your industry. Today the easiest and best way of doing so is by way of your having a podcast for your business. During this program, Tom Shay visits with Cliff DuVernois, expert on podcasting and the host of the website Experts on Podcasting.  With Cliff having interviewed hundreds of podcasters, he shares with us the man...

The SBDC (Small Business Development Centers) is a tremendous source of information and assistance for your small business. With most all services provided at no cost, this department of the SBA (Small Business Administration) has offices in all fifty states. Our guest for the March 2022 program is Tee Rowe, president of America's SBDC and Greg Tucker, director of the Missouri SBDC. During the pro...

Ken Banks has had an amazing career in advertising; Circuit City, PetsMart, Levitz Furniture, Eckerd Drugs and one of the largest ad agencies in the USA. Ken joins us for the March 2022 Small Business Conversations with Tom Shay to examine television advertising messages and discuss how the experience and sizable dollars spent by these businesses can give us ideas of how we can advertise. While no...

This program was unique as we asked listeners to share with Ron and Tom the details of their business so that during the program we could provide suggestions of a premium loyalty reward program for customers. The traditional loyalty program is often a, "buy a certain quantity of an item and be rewarded with a free one". A premium loyalty program is one where the customer pay a fee to be a member o...

Pam Danziger is a prolific author, columnist and speaker. During this program we discuss how the four Ps (product, price, promotion and placement) have become the four E's (Experience, Exchange, Evangelism and Everyplace). Listening to this one hour program with Pam Danziger can have a sizable affect on how you position your business - product or service oriented - in your effort to attract and re...

Goldman Sachs 10000 Small Businesses is a school for entrepreneurs. Think of it as getting a masters degree in owning your business. Daniel Pitts Winegarden, lead faculty, join us for an hour to share the details of how our listeners can apply to be one of the scholars. Daniel explained what was taught and how scholars are held accountable for their efforts and the follow up. Goldman Sachs is maki...

Listeners of Small Business Conversations know that Tom Shay loves to stress the importance of understanding financial information and being able to make decisions based on numbers instead of just guessing. Ruth King joins Small Business Conversations to bring additional and unique thoughts on financial understanding.  During the program, Ruth explained the need to create a budget by starting...

Motivation or burnout - What has been the reaction of your business and yourself during the corona pandemic? Dr. Frank Wood visits Small Business Conversations and Tom Shay to share methods of adapting to your individual situation. With the anticipated strong economic recovery, we want everyone and their business to be prepared mentally as physically to take advantage of the upswing. Dr. Frank sha...

Our favorite accountant, Mike McCormick does an encore performance as he  comes to introduce his latest book, "Why didn't my CPA tell me that? Small Business Write offs conventional tax advisors miss'."  As always,  Mike provides a lot of ideas that small business owners can use to keep  more of that profit in their checking account while reducing their tax  liabilities.

Phillip M. Perry has written over 3,000 columns for a wide variety of small  business magazines. This conversation had us asking the writing expert  about the experts he quotes in his many columns. We discussed the future  of print magazines as well as what the experts are telling Phil are the  biggest concerns among small business owners.

Karl Stearns is an expert on digital engagement. During our hour, we  discussed Mail Chimp, Constant Contact, email marketing, social media  and how to have all of them work together so that your business can  engage your existing customers to do more business with you. We talked  about how this would also allow your business to gain new customers.