The $100 MBA Show

There’s a storm coming. But it’s not time to batten down the hatches and head for the cellar just yet. With a recession on the way, it’s definitely time to prepare — but not to duck and cover. Today, we discuss how to minimize the damage our impending recession will do to your business. But more importantly, we explain how to take advantage of the recession to position yourself for greater success...

It’s the classic conundrum for aspiring entrepreneurs: can I build a truly successful business without ditching the 9 to 5? It’s Q&A Wednesday, and we’ve got a listener who’s caught between the safety of a regular paycheck, and the promise of independence. Their side-hustle is established, but its growth is held back by the demands of a conventional job. Is it possible to reach “escape velocity” w...

What’s top talent really worth? Is it worth giving up a piece of your business? Offering equity can be a smart move. But too many entrepreneurs do it when they think they have to, rather than investigating whether it’s prudent. If you can’t afford a salary that’s tempting enough to assemble the best team, it might be wiser to step back and retool, rather than bet the farm on someone (or several so...

You don’t have to start your own business to run your own business. Franchising is a viable, lower-risk way to get your entrepreneurship on. Instead of building something from the ground up, you can take ownership of an existing, proven business. It may not be entirely “yours,” but a franchise is yours enough to provide the flexibility, autonomy, and financial benefits of independent business. But...

Got a digital product to sell? Get it on Product Hunt. Product Hunt is a wildly popular, seriously trusted resource where real consumers share their thoughts on everything from apps to websites to tech hardware. If you can make a splash there, you can build a customer base. …but of course, you have to know how to stand out. With countless products up for review, it can be a real challenge to rise...

Lifetime deals are the ultimate long-term sales tactic. But can the sales you score now hurt your business years (or decades) later? Like any strategy, offering neverending deals has its strengths and weaknesses. We know — we’ve done lifetime deals for our SaaS company, some of which panned out better than others. If you don’t carefully weigh all the variables, your lifetime deal can be a lifetime...

There’s a flaw in the “funnel” approach. It’s not that marketing and sales funnels don’t work generally, or that they’re not useful. It’s that funnels can only do so much.  With packaged funnel-building programs and software making big promises, it’s easy to think funnels are more powerful than they really are. Can you really set up a few assets, sit back, and watch the conversions roll in? Not ex...

Cold emailing works — just maybe not the way you think it does. Sending an unsolicited message to a complete stranger is…awkward at best. But ask any successful independent business founder, and you’ll find that it’s almost unavoidable. Creating a stronger network (and a stronger business) means you can’t be afraid to reach out, even when it’s downright uncomfortable. You have to power through the...

Are you charging too much? Most small business advice encourages higher prices for higher profits. But the somewhat controversial Price for Growth goes against that grain, suggesting entrepreneurs should play a longer game — even at the expense of profit. And frankly, we’re convinced. Jeff Robinson’s book flies further under the radar than it should. Today, we unpack its growth-centric pricing mod...

If you’re not segmenting, you’re not email marketing. The first rule of marketing is that you can’t say the same thing to everyone. As much as possible, you have to appeal to individuals. If you’re sending the same exact messages to your whole contact list, you’re leaving leads on the table. In fact, the fewer segments you have, the less effective your emails will be. Today, we share an easy way t...

Can lower prices = more revenue? Sure — but only if you do it right. Yes, we spend a lot of time on this podcast advocating for higher prices. “Who can charge the least?” is a race to the bottom that no one wins (unless you’re Wal-Mart). But in certain contexts, a discount can be an investment in your business’ growth. Today, we explain how. We’ll discuss when it’s time to offer a discount, and ho...

The good news: in-person events are a viable option again (finally). The bad news: it’s been a while. Do we still remember how to pull them off? It’s Q&A Wednesday, and we’ve got a listener who wants to organize their very first live, in-person event. As it happens, we’re planning one of our own — and we’ve done a few in the past. Today, we share our best tips. Think of the advice in this episode...

Udemy: it’s got a quarter million courses on just about every topic under the sun — and an audience of tens of millions of potential students. Sounds like a great place to sell your own course, doesn’t it? …or is it? There’s never been a better time to sell your expertise and create a revenue stream as an online teacher, trainer, or coach. But whenever you sell your wares in someone else’s shop, i...

Make the “Sunday Blues” yesterday’s news. If you struggle with getting things done over the course of the week, we have the episode (and the expert) for you. Demir Bentley is a renowned productivity expert who’s helped executives at major companies to…well, get their sh*t together. The problem, according to Bentley, isn’t a lack of effort or even time. It’s that we need a more active approach to t...

Solopreneur-ing or running a small team? Have too much on your plate? Have everything on your plate? We’ve been there. Specifically, Omar knows what it’s like to be the developer, marketer, salesperson, janitor, and everything else you can think of in a small business — all at once. Today, he shares his system for getting it all handled efficiently, and still having time to breathe. The key is avo...

No money in the marketing budget? There’s a way around that. For newer and smaller businesses, relying on content, word of mouth, and other organic marketing is normal (and smart!). But at some point, you’ll hit that growth plateau. With rare exception, most businesses have to invest in marketing to see results. But what if you don’t have any spare revenue? What happens then? You get creative, tha...

Entrepreneurship is about freedom. But if you take investments, how much freedom are you giving up? It’s Q&A Wednesday, and we’ve got a listener in a fairly common pickle. They started a business, grew it, and it’s doing great. The only problem: our listener can see that the business has hit a plateau — and the only way to grow is to get a little help from outside. Is it worth it? Is it possible t...

Every business is vulnerable to hackers. It’s only getting worse. In our many years of online entrepreneurship, we’ve faced multiple attacks from different kinds of saboteurs and assorted badguys. At some point, you just have to accept the reality, and protect yourself. Fortunately, you can do a few (relatively easy) things that make your business much harder to hack. Today, we share the key steps...

Are you ready for your MBA?  First, you need to make sure it’ll be (more than) worth it.  Becoming a Master of Business Administration can take years, tens of thousands of dollars, and a whole ‘lotta sweat. It might be the biggest investment you ever make! Before your first day of class, it’s crucial to take certain steps to ensure you get serious returns. Fortunately, we have an expert on the sho...

What’s your online course worth? That can be a tough question, but it’s one you have to answer. Price it too low, and you’ll cheat yourself out of revenue. Price it too high, and you’ll alienate buyers. So where’s the Goldilocks zone? And how can you find it for your course? If you think our answer is “it depends,” think again. Today, we’re offering a firm answer, based on the one single factor th...

If you haven’t embraced video marketing yet, it’s time. For many, creating (or “producing”) video content can seem intimidating, like something you need special training or experience to pull off. But that’s the wrong approach. Video marketing isn’t about presenting some slick appearance. It’s about documenting and sharing the journey.  Today, we break down exactly why video marketing is so much m...

How do you know when you’ve really struck oil? Product/market fit is the gold standard of business viability. Once you have it, you’re golden. And if you don’t have it…well, an uphill battle is your best-case scenario.   So what defines product/market viability, and what metrics can prove it’s there? It’s Q&A Wednesday, and we’ve got a listener who may or may not be on the cusp of escape velocity....

Don’t let ‘perfect’ be the enemy of ‘launched.’ For any kind of product — from a shirt to a SaaS — the urge to keep tweaking and tweaking before you bring it to market is powerful. But you have to resist it. In business, it’s better to create an MVP (Minimum Viable Product), and get it out the door. From there, you adjust based on real-world feedback, allowing your customers to help shape what wil...

If you’re building your own business, read this book. In 2016, Arvid Kahl founded FeedbackPanda, a SaaS product for teachers. In 2019, he sold it. Using FeedbackPanda as a model, Zero to Sold outlines exactly how to create a SaaS business, grow it quickly, and cash out. If that sounds ruthlessly practical and to the point, that’s because it is. Our intrepid host Omar took one of Kahl’s courses, an...

Saying goodbye isn’t easy — or cheap. At some point, if you run a business long enough, you’ll have to fire someone. Probably several someones.  This is normal, but it should never be done without serious consideration. Before you give someone the ax, it’s imperative to calculate exactly what you’re losing. Even the most sub-par employees can be extremely costly to replace, in terms of money, time...