Small Business Conversations

Don Schwerzler, founder of the Family Business Institute, and the  Internet organization, Family Business Experts, joined Tom to  discuss issues with businesses that have multi-generations, siblings,  cousins, partners, or other situations where there is room for  "challenging discussions". We talked about getting out of the business  as well as how to deal with disputes w...

Christine Corelli, author of Wake Up and Smell the Competition ,  brought an interesting topic to tonight's program. The discussion  centered on her comment, "shoppers are good but buyers are better". This  is a recording you will want all of your staff to hear - probably  several times.

Michael Kalscheur of Castle Wealth Advisors spoke to a packed phone line  that had more questions than we could cover in our hour. We talked  about planning for the time you want to sell your business. We also  talked about maximizing the price for the business. Surely, all small  business owners will come to that point in time where they sell the  business to an outsider,...

The saying may be, 'April showers may bring you flowers'.  With this call, we think it is, 'April taxes bring you May  accountants'. Are you one of those who have gathered all of your tax  information in the first quarter of the year and given it to your  accountant? Did you also sit with your accountant during that time and  discuss your taxes? Our guest for May's convers...

Joyce Weiss, an expert on conflict in the workplace is  the guest for the June conversation. We are discussing conflicts between  employees and customers; employees with each other; partners; siblings;  and parent/child; all within the workplace. If you have experienced any of these, you will want to listen to the wise advice that Joyce shares with listeners.

July is Independent Retailer Month. Our guest for the  e-ret@iler conversation was Kerry Bannigan, co-founder of the event as  well as the individual who is the driving force of the event. The big question of the night; 'What are the  advantages an independent retailer has over a box store, chain store or  mass merchant?'

Kathy Walsh of Coast to Coast Insurance in Tampa, Florida visited as an  expert on small business insurance needs. We discussed how to determine  what types of insurance you and your business needs as well as how to  determine how much insurance you should purchase.

Did you know that how a person sees your blog, email or  website makes a big difference as to whether or not your message is even  read? With an increasing number of people using their smart phone to  'showroom', "webroom", read emails, view websites, and maybe even talk,  any message you have needs to be mobile friendly. Karl Stearns returns to the conversations program to dis...

Randy Dean, the e-mail sanity expert, joined Tom Shay to discuss how you  can get more control of your time by managing all of those things that  intrude into your day - phone calls, emails, tasks, calendars, and  people. There was a lot to be learned and implemented from the ideas  Randy shared with us.

Every small business owner comes to that point in time when they are  thinking about getting out of the business. You may think of selling the  business, closing the business, or transferring the business to a family  member. There are a lot of considerations in your transitioning out of  the business; from both a personal and financial standpoint. That's why  we are visit...

Deb Brown, the expert on small town business and communities joins us  for the final program of the year. We talk about small towns,  communities, Main Street programs and neighborhoods which allow a group  of businesses and citizens to work together. We talk about the  advantages and disadvantages of being small.

Scott Newberger, vice-president of Regions Bank brought valuable  information with regard to the relationship between a small business and  the bank. We discussed borrowing money, processing credit cards, using a  banker as an advisor and other aspects of your business that a bank can  help with.

Cathy Nagle-Ervin joins the conversation as we discuss how the various  generations can work with, and for each other. If you think your  generation is having problems with a generation older or younger than  you, this is a great program to gain some insight.

Christopher Dicenso, of Growth Strategy Partners, joins Tom as  we discuss the value of a business coach. Could you handle the  relationship and the expectations the coach will have of you as well as  your expectation of the coach. Taking advantage of our conversation with  Christoper, we also discussed how to differentiate your business.

Becky McCray, the small business survival expert, rejoins Tom  as we discuss the many reports that show Wal-Mart and other big box  stores as having issues. What is happening? And can your small business  take advantage of it? You will want to listen to this program.

Scott Neal, from Fast Track Computer Solutions brought us a lot of  information about the current dangers our businesses can face on the  Internet. We also discussed off site storage and backup of the  information of our businesses.

Ann Baldwin of Baldwin Media Marketing joined Tom to discuss how  a small business can utilize the media so that the business is seen as  an expert within their industry. Ann also talked about crisis  management; when the media is in your face and you are looking to do  damage control. Ann has some great ideas. She speaks from experience as  she was a part of the media for...

Ron Friedman returns to discuss the new laws affecting credit card  acceptance and the credit cards themselves. Ron explained what is  required to accept the new cards as well as the penalties a business  will incur by not being ready for the new format.

Barbara Crowhurst of Retail Makeover in Canada  visited with Bill and me. It was a whirlwind hour as we covered many,  but just a piece of Barbara's knowledge of retail. Barbara was our first  Canadian guest expert and we welcomed her to the program in a grand  manner. You will want to listen to this replay.

Michael Kalscheur, CFP (Certified Financial Planner) of  Castle Wealth Advisors was the guest expert as we discussed the  transition of a business from the current owner to a partner, child,  employee, a competitor, or outside individual. Michael commented on 'add ons' and how to prepare  your business for the sale. He explained how far in advance you should  be making the...

Gene Sower of Samson Media was our guest expert. Gene's area of  expertise is social media, websites and search engine optimization. Gene  gave a great explanation of the social media using the making and  consumption of a donut. We discussed what was free and what you paid for  within the social media. Gene also explained why a business should not  turn some teenager loos...

Steve Drake, the "causeaholic", is the guest for this e-retailer  conversation. You have likely heard of cause marketing; it is the event  in which your business joins with a non-profit to raise funds or  awareness. Steve will give some examples of how you can make a  difference in your community as well as make your business stand out  from others because of your efforts.

Need cash? Got some inventory and equipment you need to  get rid of? How about your business has multiple locations and you want  to close a location? Maybe you have decided you want to just close the  business as compared to selling it. The guest was Bob Nelson of Power Retailing. Bob's  company specializes in solving the very problems that was mentioned in  the previous...

Branding your business; Shelly Brander (yes, that is her real last name)  is an expert on the topic as well as being the owner of two retail  operations and Internet based business integrated with her retail  operations. During this conversation, Shelley explained how branding and  advertising are linked. She also told about logos and updating them.  This was an hour packe...

Ever think about how much your business loses, financially, because   of  theft, shoplifting, losing equipment, or just not tracking inventory and equipment properly? Jerry Obarski, a 37 year veteran of loss prevention with major department stores joined  Tom Shay to share ideas of what a business can do to eliminate this 'hole' in your business.