Small Business Conversations

Georganne Bender and Rich Kizer joined Tom Shay in a  discussion about the differences in how women and men shop. We discussed  what kind of signs are most attractive for each as well as what colors  draw the most attention. This was one hour that was packed with a lot of  information that you can put to use immediately.

Shawna Schuh was the guest for March. The discussion was on  professionalism. We talked about why people skills should be important  to a small business; how to network at events; name tags; hand shakes;  telephone usage and other things that you might not think your existing  and potential customers might notice about you and your business.

We begin a new year by inviting Mike McCormick, CPA to return to the  conversation. Mike's specialty is small business. Participants were  invited to send questions about their business, their plans to sell  their business, their retirement, and even their 'concerns' about the  accountant they are currently using. Mike has great advise and we are  thrilled to have found so...

Ron Friedman of Damomics joins Tom Shay Ron's company,  Damomics, sells point of sale systems for small businesses. During the  conversation we discussed Small Business Saturday for 2012 as well as  how to create customer loyalty programs and utilizing gift cards in a  number of unique ways to build your sales and customer base. This was a  fast paced hour as Ron was full...

Linda Cahan was our special guest as we spent the hour  asking Linda about visual merchandising. Not just window displays and  end caps; we talked about the social media and the presentation a person  makes when they are selling - be it in a store or as an outside  salesperson.

What a change of pace with our guest during this call. Dave Doucette was  our guest as we discussed business partnerships; how to pick a partner  and how to divorce yourself from one. It was a great call with a lot of  insight being shared that many people have asked about. If you missed  the call, download it now.

Jon Schallert, creator of the Destination University was the special  guest for our June e-retailer conversation conference call. He spoke on  his unique 14 process of making a business or community a destination; a  business or community that is different from those who are dependent on  others to bring customers in close proximity to the first business.  This was a great...

The start of our fourth year of e-retailer conversations conference  calls with our special guest, Anne Obarski.  Anne and Tom discuss shopping the competition, having your  business shopped - by professions or individuals you select, and focus  groups for your business.

This call is taking on two individuals. The 'taxman' and the person that  assists your business with issues of taxation. During part of the call  we are going to discuss what this 'accountant person' should be doing  for your business. In the second segment of this conference call, we are  going to look at how, and why, you should conduct an interview to find  the right pe...

Larry Pfarr, who spent 24 years with Bachman's of Minnesota and is know  for being an extraordinary merchants was the guest for January as we  discussed merchandising and displays.

We are joined by Dan Jablons of Retail Smart Guys. With only one hour to  visit, we focused our conversation on marketing and staff management.

Crystal Vilkaitis, teacher of social media was the guest on the program  for this show. The discussion focused on the strategy of using social  media; which to use and those to not use. This was an hour full of  questions and answers that will surely help any business.

Excellence is a word that describes our June guest from Retail  Excellence. Natalie Tan has an impressive resume of skills and using  them to make a difference in how customers see your business and more  importantly - what, and how much, they buy.

We think Sam Allman is the master of selling. Not just because he wrote  the book, "Heart and Mind Selling", but because he elevates selling to  another level. Sam is a student of selling which makes him a fascinating  guest; we talked about selling to the person instead of selling the  product or service

Chris Ramey has been referred to as America's leading expert on selling to the affluent. As Chris has clients in over 20 countries worldwide, perhaps that reference needs to be expanded. During Chris's visit we discussed the difference in affluent, high end, and luxury.  Chris offered great insight as to how everyone finds something they place a great value on and will spend the money to purc...

Mort Haaz of My OTB Plan visits. We think of Mort as the individual with  the most experience and knowledge of inventory control. We discussed  the "how", the "why" and the fine tuning of inventory control which  increases the inventory turns and the gross margin return on inventory  investment (GMROII).

A report we read recently stated the expectation that over 80% of the sales for the 2020 Christmas selling season would be online. We invited Sommer Leigh of sleighconsulting.com to visit and share her ideas and experience of how your small business should be utilizing social media to get your message to customers and gain your share of the market. We discuss the many social media; what to do and...

The Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) provides a source of information and help for your small business at no cost to you. This is a federally funded organization with over 1,000 offices and 4,000 counselors available across the USA.  Tee Rowe, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the SBDC visits to explain how to find your nearest SBDC office; how to apply for your own SBDC c...

Ron Friedman visits with Tom Shay to discuss what is wrong with the loyalty/reward program that many businesses offer. We share some interesting statistics of how paid loyalty/reward programs are being used by many businesses and how you can make one work for your business.

Ken Banks is a member of the retail advertising hall of fame. As he visited with Tom Shay he discussed how businesses can market differently after the pandemic. We talked about the "retail apocalypse" and what types of businesses were a part of it. Ken shared experiences of being the head of marketing for companies like Circuit City, PetsMart, Levitz Furniture, Eckerd Drug, and as a consultant to...

This program was recorded during the height of the spring 2020 Covid 19 period of isolation. Mike McCormick discussed how small business owners can protect themselves as well as how to utilize the assistance programs being offered by the federal government. We also discussed the challenges with selling a business at this time as well as the changes a business should make in their marketing efforts...

The Small Business Development Center is a service of the Small Business Administration that far too many people know of. There is a SBDC lead center in each of the fifty states. California and Texas have multiple lead centers. On a local level there are over 1,000 local centers staffed with experts equipped to help you with your small business. Whether you see an opportunity for your existing bus...

We are thrilled to have Joe Baer, the co-founder and CEO of Zen Genius, a visual merchandising design firm headquartered in Columbus, Oh. Just before Joe and his staff head to Germany for EuroShop, we ask Joe to share ideas of what a small business can learn from large businesses who have sizable budgets for merchandising and visual display work. We discussed what happens when a customer can first...

While the idea of a "family business" may bring up warm feelings about a business, it can bring challenges and opportunities when the ownership is transitioning from one individual to another. Our guest expert is Henry Hutcheson, author of Dirty Little Secrets of Family Business. Whether the business is a partnership among friends, a business transitioning from one generation to the next, or a tra...