The $100 MBA Show

How ‘bout a sales boost to kick off the year? It’s the perfect time to warm up your list, nurture leads, and get a first-quarter sales bump! Today, we share 3 email campaigns that can do all that and more. No matter what you’re selling, these 3 campaign types can do the trick. All you have to do is tailor the specific content of each email to your product or service, send them out, and see what ha...

Public speaking is impossible to avoid. That’s just as true for introverts as everyone else. But if speaking doesn’t come naturally, you don’t have a disadvantage. You simply have an obstacle to overcome! Today, we show you how. It’s Q&A Wednesday, and we’ve got a side-hustling listener with a pretty significant problem: public speaking terrifies them. Whether it’s for the day job, potential inves...

How you start the year is a huge factor in how you’ll end it. 2022 is here, and you want to give your business the best chance of success. In our experience, that means hitting the first quarter hard .  By putting some extra oomph in up front, you can generate the kind of momentum that’ll carry you to new heights of success. But what does that look like, exactly? Today, we offer a concrete plan fo...

The more you give, the more you’ll get. That’s the core philosophy of Akbar Sheikh , a wildly successful entrepreneur in the coaching space. He’s here to rewire your approach to success with a system that turns generosity into growth. Get your notepad ready! With Akbar’s 7-step system, you can take what’s uniquely valuable about you, use it to grow an audience, and turn that audience into a loyal...

You have something to teach. So how do you find your students? Online courses are the most valuable informational products you can sell. But if you’re not getting the traffic or conversions you need to fill the “classroom,” all the knowledge and experience in the world won’t make your business profitable. Today, we show you how to solve that problem. There’s a simple, straightforward way to get pe...

Paid ads can suck the money out of your business, quickly. But you should still use them. Today, we discuss how to walk the tightrope between spending too much and spending too little on paid marketing and advertising campaigns. The fact is, if you don’t know what you’re doing, you can quickly run out of money and get little in return.  …but it’s just as dangerous to be too conservative with your...

When you niche down, how far down should you go? It’s Q&A Wednesday, and one of our listeners is about to open up a new e-commerce store. But first, we need to determine just how specific the target market is. There are advantages and disadvantages to extreme niching. But when it’s done right, you won’t paint yourself into a corner. You’ll create the momentum necessary to move beyond your niche —...

Is Content still King? Nothing works forever. So how’s the whole “content marketing” model holding up? In the earlier 2000’s, it was the beginning of a new era in marketing. Has anything changed? If so, what? It’s time to update our outlook. Today, we discuss what trends are changing content marketing — specifically, what types of content your business should focus on going into 2022. We’ve done t...

Welcome to Branding 101. A strong brand is the foundation of all your marketing efforts. But what is a “brand” anyway? Spoiler alert: it’s more than a logo. Today, marketing consultant Jason Byer explains the concept of branding, and why it’s much more powerful than you might think. The sheer psychological impact of a carefully cultivated brand can do more for your business than more direct effort...

Rule #1: your idea alone won’t get you funding. Whether you’re looking for an angel investor, a bank loan, or a favor from a wealthy uncle, getting outside funding takes strategy.  In particular, the timing of your pitch matters almost as much as the content.  When you ask for money is just as important as how. Certain things have to be in place before any reasonable investor can say yes — and a g...

…and you thought 2020 was weird. It’s the end of the year, and it’s time for our annual round-up of the most important lessons learned during this particular trip around the sun. 2021 brought new challenges — some of them pretty tough. But every challenge comes with a prize: the wisdom you earn by navigating it. Sometimes you win, sometimes you don’t. But you can always take something away with yo...

It’s a classic founder’s problem: the belief that more work is always better.  It’s not. It’s Q&A Wednesday, and we’ve got a listener who just can’t turn themselves off. In fact, they work so hard for so long that they often fall ill, and only get real rest when disease forces them to. It’s clear what the problem is, but how does one fix it? We have a few ways. Today, Omar shares several strategie...

In business, connections are everything. That means — now that it’s possible again — making sure to get out to those conferences, meetups, and other networking events.  But how do you make sure they’re worth it? You spend time and money getting to in-person events, and you need to leave with an ROI. It’s not about the cocktails or the hors d’oeuvres, but the new connections you walk away with. Tha...

You need your managers. But they need you too. That’s especially true for a first-timer. As your company grows, it’s perfectly natural to promote employees from within, rather than seek more experienced outsiders. But you have to make sure your newly-minted manager has the guidance they need to succeed. Today, an expert stops by to show us how. Mikil Taylor understands what it takes to make a mana...

You don’t just want the right skills. You want the right people.  In fact, the latter might be even more important than the former. But how can you tell who someone really is from one or two interviews? How can you get an accurate sense of their reliability, creativity, and ability to problem-solve? Today, we explain how. In this episode, we share 3 types of questions you should ask in every inter...

Profit: it’s the only way a small business can survive. One of the reasons so many new businesses don’t survive is because new entrepreneurs don’t focus on it enough. Sounds weird, right? Making money should be an obvious priority. But it might be too obvious — so obvious we forget all about it. In this episode, we discuss how to keep your mind on the “P” side of your P&L (Profit and Loss) sheet....

When you have no reputation, why should anyone trust you? It’s the age-old challenge for a brand-new business. And it’s especially problematic for one of our listeners.  It’s Q&A Wednesday, and this listener has a business that depends heavily on partnerships with other companies. Unfortunately, this fledgling business has no track record they can use to prove their value to potential partners.  H...

Ready to freshen up your company’s look? We just did. Today, we share the process of overhauling our marketing design, from the logo to our color scheme and everything else.  Our software company went years without any significant tweaks to the branding. With big changes to the product on the horizon, we decided it was the right time to try on some fresh looks.  In this episode, we detail what wen...

We’ve all heard about the “buyer’s journey.” But what does it really look like? Every once in a while, you read something that sticks with you. That’s the case with Bob Moesta’s Demand-Side Sales 101, one of the most mind-opening books we’ve seen in a while. This book completely realigned our concept of selling.  It’s a total reversal of the typical sales model, which has you blasting features and...

You want to make money. But you can’t make time. If you’re not careful, the million little things that come with running a business can suck your hours, days, and weeks away — a few minutes at a time.  We often feel comfortable getting sucked into day-to-day work that takes up time, but doesn’t necessarily grow the business. It’s time to change that. Today, we share a simple system for using every...

Have you raised prices lately? We just did, and it was no easy decision. We revamped all plans and upped the prices for our webinar software, WebinarNinja. It was scary. It was anxious. It involved months of thorough research and consultation.  …and we should’ve done it a long time ago. Today, we explain exactly what led to this major change, and why we’re convinced it was the right move. We’ll ex...

It’s the first, biggest question every aspiring entrepreneur asks: “Will this work?” No one has a crystal ball, and no one can say with 100% certainty whether a new business will succeed or fail.  But there are ways to get an accurate sense of whether your idea has a reasonable chance of success.  It’s Q&A Wednesday, and we’ve got a listener who spent months developing a new business idea. But the...

Some say “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”  But something doesn’t have to be broken to be improved — or left behind. Every time you’re scared to change something about your business, think of this episode! Too much risk aversion can have the same effect (or worse) as excess risk. Today, we explore how businesses fail when they don’t make bold changes.  With specific examples, we demonstrate how i...

You have more control over your mind — and therefore your performance — than you think. If you’re not sure what’s holding you back from certain goals in business or life, it might just be your mind. And according to today’s guest teacher, there’s something you can do about it.  David Ibarra is a business consultant, author, and speaker who specializes in mental training for peak performance. He te...

The new year can bring more than one kind of hangover. So many businesses see a huge bump in sales around the holidays, only to suffer a serious dry spell right after. In some cases, the post-holiday drought can almost cancel out the gains that preceded it.  The worst part? For many businesses, it doesn’t have to happen. Today, we offer a few ways to avoid that first-quarter slump. The beginning o...