The $100 MBA Show

Being stuck in lockdown doesn’t have to stop you from networking.  Even though we can’t go to conferences and the like, networking is still possible — and it’s still incredibly important. It’s one of the most powerful methods for building your business, one that’s worth an intentional investment of time and effort, pandemics be damned. So how can you network from home? Today, we’ll lay out a speci...

Price hikes can be scary. Will you turn customers off? Will people feel betrayed or surprised — especially during a global crisis? It’s Q&A Wednesday, and we’ve got one listener who can’t get his business in the black without some fresh revenue. With no room for paid ads in the budget, and the lockdown depressing business generally, it seems like bumping up prices is the only option. Or is it? Tod...

This year isn’t all bad. I mean, it’s bad. It’s awful. But if every crisis presents opportunities, the Year of COVID is no exception. Through pandemics, murder hornets, and whatever fate dreams up next, success comes to those who adapt the quickest. So how can you navigate the new normal in a way that grows your business? Today, we’ll discuss 4 specific ways you can lean into the new reality, and...

Communication is everything when you’re leading a team. So how can you better explain why everyone’s work matters? With a bicycle. Rich Allen is an entrepreneur, writer, speaker, and consultant whose success in small business has a lot to do with great team management. His bike analogy is the centerpiece of a results-driven approach that lets every employee know where they fit into the bigger pict...

Digital advertising is suddenly a lot cheaper. But it’s no less confusing. When you’re deciding how and where to spend your advertising budget, it’s important to have a clear strategy. What are your priorities? One of the first, most fundamental decisions you have to make is to choose between the two super-powerhouses of online ads: Facebook and Google. You definitely need one or the other, or bot...

Just getting started? Here’s what not to do. So far this year, we’ve seen various businesses make some of the same blunders. The mistakes aren’t just holding people back; they’re a mortal threat to any company trying to get off the ground. These are potentially devastating mistakes that negate all the hard work people put into their independent success. So let’s do something about it. Today, we’ll...

Analysis Paralysis: it’s that frozen feeling you get when there’s so much to do, you can’t do any of it.  Sometimes, just knowing where to start is the first challenge, and the key that unlocks all your forward progress. When your business has multiple areas in need of help, what’s the priority? What takes precedence when everything seems important? How can you be sure?  It’s Q&A Wednesday, and we...

There’s only so much time and money. A bookkeeper can save you tons of both. Today, we’ll explain exactly what a bookkeeper does, and why one is so vital to your business after a certain point. Different from a full-blown accountant, a bookkeeper helps you handle what no one should tackle solo — that is, once your business reaches a certain volume. We’ll explain how to recognize that volume, and k...

How powerful is video? As a medium, it’s quickly gone from a marketing “maybe” to a “must.” Video can’t replace written content for every purpose, but used strategically (and created efficiently), a little video can be a huge differentiator. Oli Bridge specializes in using video content in ways you might not have considered — for results that might surprise you. Today, Oli stops by the podcast to...

Entrepreneurship isn’t just about innovation. Sometimes, understanding that which doesn’t change is just as important. Real long-term success requires a strategy that’s built around a few key principles; eternal truths about your industry that aren’t subject to the whims of the market. No matter what, consumers will always want their food to be tasty, their apps to be user-friendly, their trains t...

Your business needs good reviews.  These days, people don’t buy a paperclip without seeing how many stars it got on Amazon. We live in the “social proof” era, where consumer opinions carry far, far more weight than any of your marketing or advertising.  If people can’t find reviews of your product, it creates uncertainty, if not outright suspicion. More importantly, you can’t stop people from voic...

Every business needs a website. But does every business need an “About” page? Yes. It’s Q&A Wednesday, and we’ve got a listener who’s building their (very) small business website, and wonders whether showcasing his tiny “team” sends the wrong message. Can an About Page backfire, or make visitors take you less seriously? Not if you do it right. Today, we’ll discuss the real value of your About Page...

Ever get annoyed when businesses try to tack on little upsells?  What if we took a different approach, one that puts added value first and added revenue second? That’s a better way to approach the optional features customers can add to your product – or not. Today, we’ll explain how to determine what should be the core base of your product, and what should be reserved for add-ons, as well as how t...

The book isn’t new, but the review is timely. This is the best guide to running a remote team available, from two guys who helped pioneer and popularize the concept. Fried and Hansson are the co-founders of Basecamp , the tool we use here at The $100 MBA to coordinate the work of about two dozen employees on four different continents. Their approach can be described as radical, and the pair haven’...

Our company has always been remote, and we’ve always worked from home.  With millions suddenly forced to do business from the same building they live in, we figured a little advice on effective home office setup might be helpful. The good news? It’s pretty easy, and not that expensive. If you’re used to working in a conventional office, you may not be going back to it for a long time — or ever.  T...

YouTube: ignore it at your peril.  It’s the world’s second largest search engine, and its content often dominates the results of that other search engine. It’s a powerful marketing channel, as powerful as any blog or social media account. So how do you get started? Today, we’ll explain how to get your own YouTube channel up and running with minimal hassle. With step-by-step instructions and loads...

Standing out as a writer is tough.  Fortunately, you don’t necessarily have to shoot for the New York Times ’ best-seller list. You just have to find your audience, and grow it. But for today’s authors, that begs the question: does Amazon help with that, or hurt? Or both? It’s Q&A Wednesday, and one of our listeners is a fiction author who’s not sure whether to even build their own website, since...

No matter what you’re selling — product or service, physical or digital — a great video can be a marketing game-changer. Videos are an efficient way to get attention, get your message across, and nurture leads faster. As content goes, video is almost as important as the written word these days, and will almost certainly keep trending up. And by the way: it’s ok if you’ve never made a demo video be...

You’ve heard of B2C and B2B. But H2H is still important, no matter what kind of business you run. Angela Henderson is a business coach, keynote speaker, and podcaster who helps women business owners from around the world earn consistent 5-figure monthly revenue and multiple 6-figure years… without burning out in the process. Her focus on the human aspect of lead nurturing and customer relationship...

You’ve built a business. Congratulations! Now, it’s time to stop building it. Seriously. One trap entrepreneurs fall into is failing to take Marshall Goldsmith’s old advice: “What got you here won’t get you there.” In this case, it means hanging on to responsibilities that shouldn’t be yours anymore — things you handled at the beginning, but only because there was no one else. In other words, it’s...

What happens to your company’s Customer Support during holidays?  More importantly, what happens when it’s a holiday for some of your employees or customers, but not for others? It’s a global economy, and if you run a global business like ours, this becomes an issue. With a couple dozen employees and thousands of customers scattered around 4 different continents, the holidays can be a puzzle.. For...

If you’re anxious about letting employees go, you are not alone. Unemployment rates are at absurd levels, as company after company is forced into mass layoffs. Small businesses are no exception. The only difference? Axing team members can hurt more when the team is small. Timing can make a huge difference. When you let employees go affects how you let them go, and the difference can be life-alteri...

Whether you blog or vlog, work in words or graphics, it’s time to turn the content machine up to 11.  Like, now. It’s not just a way to pass the time while we’re all cooped up inside. For all the downsides, the current lockdowns aren’t just a way to save lives — they’re a business opportunity no entrepreneur should ignore. You not only have time to create more content; your audience has more time...

One of our favorite authors is back with another mindset-altering book we can’t wait to share with you.  Ryan Holiday’s Stillness Is The Key is required reading for anyone looking to be their best in business and life. No, it’s not a meditation instruction manual. It’s a guide to addressing the overwhelm and anxiety common to running a business, and finding the calm you need to make the right call...

Cybersecurity has never been more important, as COVID-19 forces more and more business online. As we learned from the Zoom debacle, leaving your business vulnerable can lead to some serious losses, potentially losses you can’t recover from. Let’s protect your baby. There are three online “gates” cyberjerks can hack their way through, if you let them. We’ll discuss each way in, and how to properly...