The $100 MBA Show

Metrics matter. But which numbers should you really keep your eye on? If you’re running a SaaS (Software as a Service) business, you’ve got plenty of numbers to choose from. You can study analytics on everything from conversions to daily active users to average customer age to…well, you get it. With so many metrics, what’s the priority? Today is Part I of a two-part series on the metrics that have...

Payment processing fees are part of the cost of doing business. But does the cost have to be so high? Nope. It doesn’t. Depending on your business, you may be able to finagle more preferable transaction charges, lowering the percentage of revenue you lose to payment processing. There are ways to save, without comprising service or customer security. You just have to know how. Today, we discuss how...

GDPR: if you haven’t heard about it yet, you will. The policies take effect in a matter of days, and it’s likely to affect almost every business with an online presence. GDPR is Europe’s reaction to the threat of privacy breaches that have lately made headlines, especially in the US. It’s the European Union’s attempt to protect the user data of its citizens — regardless of where a business is loca...

Ever read a book that changed your whole outlook? That’s the case with our latest Must Read Book Review, this time the true story of the world’s richest man and his landscape-changing company. The Everything Store by Brad Stone tells that tale of Amazon. It’s less a book about money, and more about drive, will, and unstoppable commitment. This is a long read, but worth every second — including the...

Give. Hook. Upsell. Repeat. The Spotify business model is genius. It’s also increasingly common practice, one currently adopted by businesses big and small. Spotify, Pandora, YouTube, and many more take the same approach: provide an incredible free service, then offer a premium version for a relatively small monthly fee. The beauty is that it works at both levels. At the free level, you can still...

You’re starting your first business. Are you nervous? Don’t be! Even though it’s your first time, you’ve got the advantage of our experience, right here on this podcast. There are so many things we wish we knew when we first got started. Today, we share 5 of the most important mistakes we wish we hadn’t made — because we totally did. These are not small mistakes! All five of these screwups are pot...

Goodbyes are tough. When you’re closing your doors, how should you address it with your customers? That’s what one listener asked us for this week’s Q&A Wednesday. There are perfectly good reasons to close a business, from a lack of profitability to plain old retirement. But when you do so, you take something away from a group of people who supported you. As a business owner, you owe it to them to...

They say two heads are better than one. How about two marketing campaigns? Cross-promotion is a smart, simple way to instantly double your exposure, and it costs you almost nothing. All you need is a partner with a complementary product, and you can exchange access to your respective audiences. In our business, we’ve done many a cross-promotion with other entrepreneurs. In fact, we’re doing one as...

If you want to reach the young, you need to speak Snap. Snapchat owns the under-30 market, with more teenage users than Facebook — despite Snapchat being a fraction of the size. As it grows, the temporary image and video-based platform will only extend its reach to the young. For now, though, marketing and advertising on Snapchat is way underpriced. To help you understand how to take advantage of...

Friction (noun): that which slows us down. We all want our businesses to run smoothly. Today, we’ve got some tips on how to identify and eliminate sources of friction, those areas of inefficiency where goals are held up. Friction can come from many places (and people), but there are 3 particular points where a few changes can make all the difference. On this episode, we explain how to make your bu...

Good help is hard to find. But it’s easier when you’ve got staff who care about your business. Whenever it’s possible, finding new hires via your old ones isn’t just cost-effective. It’s ideal! While anyone can comb through resumes and find appropriate skill sets, nothing beats a referral from someone who understands your business, your company culture, and your needs. Not only does your own team...

It’s been a long road, but here we are: 1,000 episodes! Don’t worry — we won’t spend too much time celebrating, because we’ve got business to discuss. Specifically, many of our listeners want to know how our co-founders, Omar and Nicole, balance their personal partnership with their business partnership. Can working alongside that special someone really…work? It sure can! Today, Omar and Nicole di...

Email, email, email. We never miss an opportunity to point out that email is king when it comes to online marketing and sales. Because the recipient has to opt in to receive it, and because every email requires some action to resolve (even if it’s just to delete), emails are your best chance to be seen, heard, and understood. When you’re running a sales promotion, every facet of your email has to...

In business, good advice is worth its weight in gold. For this week’s Must-Read Book Review, we go one better: Damn Good Advice (for people with talent) is a treasure trove of insights, witty observations, and hard-earned truths from George Lois, legendary ad-man and creator of Big Idea Advertising. As the title suggests, Lois’ advice is, shall we say, blunt. Some of it is even controversial. Heck...

Build the list that’ll build your business! Yesterday, we started our 2-part series on email list-building with a talk on website optimization and opt-ins. Make sure you’ve listened to that one, so you have a firm foundation for today’s in-depth lesson on the next steps. Today, we discuss how to segment your leads, nurture them into sales, and onboard those new customers. WIth these proven techniq...

In online business, email is everything. That’s no overstatement. Email remains the single most important tool you can use to turn website visitors into customers. Collecting addresses, starting the conversation, and nurturing your leads requires knowledge and strategy. Fortunately, we’ve got an in-depth, 2-part crash course on exactly how to build your list the right way. We’ve discussed the basi...

Every business needs a logo. A smart, eye-catching symbol that encapsulates your brand and mission can do wonders for your reach. It can generate interest, create associations, and bring your company to mind when potential customers are looking for solutions. It’s Q&A Wednesday, and one of our listeners wants to know how much a good logo should cost. If you’re not into graphic design, you’ll need...

Don’t work too much! That might sound like odd advice from a podcast about building your independent business, but it’s crucial. Burnout kills businesses, and ruins health. Work is like anything else: quality always trumps quantity. By increasing the quality of your time “on the clock,” you can have more time to yourself. Your business will benefit, not suffer, from the downtime you allow yourself...

Selling physical goods online? Setting up your eCommerce store is easier than ever, given the tools available. But whichever service you choose, it’s important to know the basics of creating an online store that’s optimized for sales. Today, we’re trying something new: an interview with an ecommerce expert. We’re talking with Katie Swett, Group Project Manager at Weebly. Weebly is a sponsor of the...

Is your business growing fast enough? If you’re just getting started, that’s a question you might be asking. The answer, though, isn’t as simple as being big enough, soon enough. The right pace of growth isn’t necessarily the fastest pace. In fact, growing too quickly can (and does) end in disaster for businesses that aren’t equipped to go from 0 to 60 abruptly. We’ve actually turned down opportun...

What can artistic performance teach us about sales performance? Quit a lot, we think. And so does our next special guest teacher, Carrie Olsen. Carrie is a veteran voice actor, having provided narration for companies ranging from Tiffany’s to Taco Bell. In her career, she’s had to hone one thing above all: the art of presentation. Carrie uses the same principles of presentation that fuel her voice...

As your business grows, organization becomes more and more crucial. At some point, the systems you establish will be the difference between getting things done and scrambling to keep up. That’s why it’s so important to establish procedures, protocols, and workflows as early as possible. Fortunately, there are tried-and-true ways to establish efficient systems and create repeatable core processes f...

We all need a break. But how do you make sure your break doesn’t hurt your business? Burnout is a real and dangerous thing. It’s not only bad for your health and well-being, it’s devastating to your business. Only the best you — the healthiest, well-rested, most focused version — can run your business. That’s why it’s so crucial to approach downtime the same way you approach everything else: with...

Need to update your SEO strategy quickly? We’ve got the most efficient, to-the-point 2018 SEO guide available. It’s not a best-seller from a renowned author. It’s just something we stumbled on while looking for useful new SEO resources. SEO 2018 (No Bullsh*t) Strategy by Casey Leigh Henry is exactly what the title promises: a no-nonsense, brass-tacks guide to getting SEO right this year. SEO is al...

Email is still king. Even in today’s world of viral social media, email remains the most effective, important tool for online marketing and sales. As they say, “The money’s in the [contact] list.” So how can you maximize the impact of your emails? You’ve got to make sure they get opened, and the calls-to-action inside get clicked. Like many things in business, that’s easier said than done. Fortuna...