The $100 MBA Show

Let’s shake things up. If you’ve been in business for a while, you may have experienced a good ol’ fashioned rut. You’re stagnant. You’ve plateaued. You need a major boost to your biz, but you’re not sure what you can do to relight the fire and make a drastic, sweeping improvement that’ll move all the right needles. This is the episode for you. Today, we discuss how to go big, and make game-changi...

In business today, we don’t just sell our product. We sell ourselves. Personal branding, authentic connection with our audience, and sharing the journey is de rigueur for aspiring entrepreneurs. But where do we draw the line? It’s Q&A Wednesday, and we’ve got a doozy of a question from a listener who’s not sure whether to wear their faith on their sleeve, or keep it behind closed doors. It’s a cha...

What do your customers want? If you don’t have the answer to that question, you don’t have a business. It may sound obvious, but entrepreneurs overlook this question way too often. When creating our products and building our businesses, it’s strangely easy to forget about being customer-centered. We fall in love with our own ideas, our own visions, and we forget that success means discovering, def...

Too much growth can kill your business. That might sound a little crazy to many entrepreneurs, but catastrophic success is a real and dangerous problem. Business after business has shot into the stratosphere, taking in investment and expanding their operations, only to crash and burn — hard. If you’re not careful, your business can literally grow to death. Take it from today’s special guest, Paul...

Business is global, and that comes with incredible advantages. Today’s entrepreneurs can draw talent from all over the world, finding skilled, affordable remote team members wherever they are. But all that far-flung talent comes with one little drawback: time zones. Today, we discuss how to navigate the problem of the clock. With employees in Australia, Eastern Europe, Asia, and America, we know h...

Refunds: they’re gonna happen. More importantly, offering the option of a refund is critical to earning your audience’s trust. With an entire Internet’s worth of competitors to choose from, today’s customers demand more information — and more guarantees — than ever before. As a business owner, you’ve got to create a refund policy that makes your customers feel valued and respected. With a strong,...

Can you do this? Are you entrepreneur material? You’re not the only one asking. In fact, it’s the “Q” in this week’s Q&A! It’s a big, scary question mark for those who want to break out on their own, but haven’t taken the leap just yet. So what makes someone suited for the entrepreneurial life? What skill sets, talents, and dispositions raise the odds of success? With 17 years of entrepreneurship...

Yes, we’re recommending Facebook as a business tool. That may come as a shock to longtime listeners, who know what we think of the overrated, underperforming so-called “power” of social media marketing. Bear with us. Facebook Groups offer a wonderful opportunity for growth. Not revenue growth, not traffic growth, but the most important growth of all: your growth as an entrepreneur. By leveraging t...

Where is your small business going? More importantly, how is it getting there? The author of this week’s Must-Read for entrepreneurs, Gino Wickman, has an answer. Traction: How to Get a Grip on Your Business is far more than its title lets on. It’s not just advice. It’s not just inspiration. It’s an instruction manual with detailed, specific steps any entrepreneur can take to get their business mo...

Online courses are one of the most lucrative products you can sell on the Internet. With price tags in the thousands, selling your expertise to knowledge-hungry customers is a proven business model, one that’s worked well for many an entrepreneur. But how do you know if there’s really an audience for what you’re teaching? Before you pour time and resources into an expensive product, how can you be...

Here’s a golden rule of business, one we can’t stop repeating: people buy a product when — according to their own internal math — its value exceeds its price. That means the only way to move your product is to increase the only kind of value that really matters: perceived value. Adding features and investing in expensive updates is all well and good, but sub-par sales are more often caused by a fa...

Is your business website secure? As more and more business is done online, cyber security is beyond important. It’s Q&A Wednesday, and one listener wants to know if it’s possible to run a successful business with an “http” address, rather than a full on “https.” That little letter makes all the difference, especially in the way potential customers view your business. Before you start to worry, don...

Social media is like fire. It can be incredibly useful and beneficial, but once it gets out of control, it can consume everything. That’s why Omar quit. Our beloved host made a decision, over a year ago, to take an extended break from all things social media. No Twitter, no Facebook, no ‘gram, nothing. For about 15 months, Omar didn’t make a single update, comment, or even take a peek at the platf...

What does a millionaire look like? A trust-fund baby? A hedge-fund bro? Nope. As it turns out, millionaires aren’t the exotic species we think they are. Overwhelmingly, they’re not born into privilege. And shockingly, they don’t tend to have high-powered jobs. Often, millionaires are regular people. So how does Average Joe hit 7 figures? That’s what this week’s special guest teacher is here to tel...

You built it. It succeeded. Now, it’s time to cash in. Maybe you want to retire, or devote yourself to a whole new project. Whatever the reason, saying goodbye to your successful independent business is no easy decision. It’s important to end this chapter on the best terms, with an exit you can be proud of. So what comes next? You’ve got to find a buyer, one that’s willing to do right by your busi...

A product launch doesn’t always go the way you want, or expect. Despite your best-laid plans and highest hopes, sometimes the market takes a look at what you’re offering and gives a resounding “meh.” Now what? In business — especially independent business — flexibility and adaptability are crucial survival skills. When your product doesn’t hit the mark, you need to change course quickly, smoothly,...

We’ve devoted many an episode to the ups and downs of affiliate marketing. Usually, we’re discussing the merits and drawbacks of affiliate marketing for those wondering whether they should get into it. But today, we’ve got a question from a listener who’s already in the affiliate game, and wants to know one thing: whether it’s time to move on. Is affiliate marketing something you “graduate” from b...

Happy New Year! It’s officially 2019, and we’re ready to hit the ground running with all new lesson to help you make this the best year ever for your business. Speaking of which, what are your goals for the year? More importantly, do goals matter? What’s the value of a goal? Is it just an arbitrary milestone, or does it have true motivational value? Many modern experts are abandoning the goal-driv...

Business doesn’t get any bigger than Disney. How did a patch of swampland in central Florida become one of the biggest revenue-generators in the history of American industry? It all starts with the employees, and how they’re motivated. This week’s Must-Read for entrepreneurs is Doug Lipp’s Disney U , a book that details the strategy behind the theme park’s success. Disney park employees — ahem, “c...

It’s a question many would-be entrepreneurs are asking themselves: can you still make a living with a blog? About 10 years ago, people started earning serious money just by blogging. Has the business model survived? Can you still earn enough to live the life you want? The short answer is yes, you can still blog your way to success. The blog is in the middle of a sort of rebirth, with a new generat...

Wish you were making sales? Well it may sound painfully obvious, but…you’re not selling enough. That’s not to say you’re not trying to close. It’s to say you’re not “selling” in the ultimate sense — the 24/7, all-encompassing sense that goes way beyond trying to get a specific person to make a specific purchase. Everything you do — everything — has to be an act of salesmanship, even the things tha...

You can’t judge a podcast by its cover. But your visual branding needs to reflect what your business is offering. It’s Q&A Wednesday, and one listener noticed something different about our little old business podcast. We updated our cover art, changing the visuals around our show and updating its “look” online. Why? What’s the point? Today, we discuss why — and when — a a visual refresh is sometim...

Getting ready to start a new business? If so, you probably know that every cent counts. Having started quite a few businesses ourselves over the years, we’ve learned what skills and abilities can save you the most. If you learn them, you’ll not only have an edge over your competitors — you’ll have a lot more in the bank by this time next year. Specifically, there are 3 skills every new entrepreneu...

No matter what your independent business is, you have to be a sales person. E-commerce, SaaS, freelancing, artisan pretzel-making; whatever the business, you can’t escape the need for salesmanship. It is everything, even if you don’t consider yourself a “sales person” in the conventional sense. Articulating your idea and persuading others to buy in is the essence of business itself, big or small....

No entrepreneur is truly independent. We all need guidance, support, and help. One of the most important relationships you can cultivate in business is a mentorship. The most successful entrepreneurs, big and small, have always had at least one mentor. With less structure and precedent than the conventional job market, entrepreneurship is uniquely suited to the mentor-mentee dynamic. But where do...