The $100 MBA Show

It’s easier (and less costly) to keep your current customers than to earn new ones. When you think of the importance of customer service, always remember that equation. Too many entrepreneurs put too many resources into product development, marketing, and sales, and far too little into customer service. Your customers are your lifeblood. Taking care of them should be a high priority. Today, we off...

Hindsight is a beautiful thing. What would we do differently? We’ve learned so much over the course of building and running our SaaS business, WebinarNinja. Of course, like many entrepreneurs, we wish we knew then what we know now! For this week’s Q&A Wednesday, we’re letting our mistakes be one listener’s guide — and yours. From our tiny two-person startup, we’ve built a team of 30 that now admin...

In life, patience is a virtue. In business, it’s a necessity. We all want success as quickly as possible — especially those of us who take the risk of striking out on our own as entrepreneurs. We want to reach our goals yesterday, and have the life we want now. But too much ambition can cross over into something counterproductive: impatience. Today, we discuss how to overcome the desire for instan...

Keep. Your. Customers. As entrepreneurs, we spend a lot of time and resources on customer acquisition. We pour effort into getting more and more new customers, because that’s how we grow our business. But in doing so, we cannot neglect the customers we already have. To sustain our growth and set our business up for long-term success, we have to delight the buyers we already have. Our special guest...

It’s FREE RIDE FRIDAY!!! Today, we discuss the most important thing an entrepreneur can do to reduce stress, increase efficiency, and genuinely enjoy your business: trusting your team. When it’s your business, the temptation to micromanage is strong. But too much involvement in your team’s work can be counterproductive, draining, and — worst of all — it can disable your employees, keeping them dep...

No one said this would be easy. Business is tough. Entrepreneurship can be even tougher. We think it’s healthy, productive, and good for your business for you to acknowledge this struggle. If we can’t face the valleys, we won’t reach the peaks! That’s why we’re devoting today’s episode to helping you work through the dark times, the times when your path to success is the hardest. We’re all about p...

Ideas: we all have them. Some of them are even good. But is your idea good enough to sustain a business? You don’t have to guess. If you have an idea for a great product or service, you can find out — in the real world — whether it can actually sell. You can take concrete action to determine if your business idea has a decent chance of working. In today’s digital economy, it’s easier than ever to...

Public speaking is many people’s biggest fear. But for entrepreneurs, it can be one of your most powerful tools. As intimidating as it can be, getting up in front of people and explaining yourself does wonders for your marketing, sales, and personal branding. It’s taken our host Omar 6 years of study and practice to become the competent, engaging public speaker he is today. From hosting our daily...

Nervous about sales? There’s a Must-Read Book Review for that. Exactly What to Say by Phil M Jones is exactly what the title promises: a collection of phrases that will help you make sales. These key phrases encompass sales strategies that work for every kind of business and product. It’s a short, easy read that you’ll refer to again and again when crafting your personal sales strategy. These phra...

Ready to make your side gig your full-time career? Yesterday, we laid out the first phases of our detailed action plan for building your own business on the side while maintaining your regular 9-to-5 job. Today, we continue that lesson with the final instructions you’ll need to transition out of conventional work and into entrepreneurship. Last time, we covered the foundational steps of organizing...

You want to build your own business, but you already have a job. And you don’t want to lose it (just yet). You’re not the only one. Building your business on the side while maintaining your primary income isn’t just common, it’s smart! So how can you invest the time and resources necessary to really start a business? Can you make real progress with nothing but your nights and weekends? We’ll show...

It’s Q&A Wednesday, and we’re here to help! Today, we address a question from a listener with a very common issue: they’re not exactly an expert in sales. For new entrepreneurs, salesmanship is often the first stumbling block. Per our listener’s request, we’ve put together a collection of go-to resources for beginning sales people that we’ve found most useful and valuable over the course of our bu...

Decisions, decisions. Entrepreneurship means having more control — and more responsibility — than your average person. Sometimes, the sheer importance of the decisions you have to make can be overwhelming. All too often, the anxiety and pressure that comes with make-or-break decisions can lead to “analysis paralysis.” Today, we show you how to shake it off and make the call. We have a precise we m...

We’ve said it before, and it remains true: the relationships you build are the greatest asset you’ll ever have in business. Through ups and downs, from one business to another, your relationships are the one constant resource you can rely on — but only if your nurture and maintain them. As this week’s guest teacher, Jordan Harbinger, likes to say, “Dig the well before you’re thirsty.” If you reach...

Times change, and so do prices. If your business is growing, you’ll eventually have to raise rates for your products or services. Even if it’s just to keep pace with inflation or the cost of living, your prices just can’t stay flat forever. Of course, breaking the bad news to customers can be a scary thought. No one likes to pay more, even for something they love. That said, you might be surprised...

Sit down for this one: your email list might be too big. When it comes to email contacts, quality beats quantity every time. Besides that, excessive quantity can actually hurt your bottom line. Making sure you have a “lean list” is crucial to getting a good ROI on whatever you’re paying for email services (you’re not just using your personal email, right?). Today, we discuss how to make sure you h...

Family is family, but business is business. Should the two mix? Many entrepreneurs have to ask themselves this very question. What’s the risk/reward balance of hiring and managing the people closest to you? For some businesses, it can work beautifully. Take the husband & wife team of our host Omar and producer Nicole, for example. For others, it can raise complications that hurt the business — or...

We all know online business is fertile ground. But is there still room for entrepreneurs to thrive in the physical world? If you’re considering taking on a good ol’ fashioned brick & mortar business, you already know that it comes with risks and challenges the online space is mercifully free of. So should you go for it? Is small business fully digital, or can a scrappy player still make it on the...

Marketing not your forte? Well, have we got a book for you! Despite the title, Allan Dib’s The 1-Page Marketing Plan is an entire book, and it’s made our list of entrepreneurial Must Reads for very good reasons. This book offers a strategic, intentional, universal marketing plan that any entrepreneur can apply, no matter the type of business. The plan is sound, straightforward, and effective. Best...

We all love traffic on our websites. But what are we doing with it? If you’re not converting, your visitors may as well not visit! To make your site effective, you’ve got to keep the endgame in mind: sales. By creating and engaging new contacts, you move your visitors down the funnel towards becoming customers. So how can you optimize your sales page to capture those emails and start the conversat...

Why launch alone? When you’ve got a new business, product, or even just a new feature, teaming up with another company might be the best way to spread the word. By sharing your news with a bigger audience than your own, you can maximize the impact of your new release. You just have to find some fellow business people willing to team up. Today, we offer 5 tips to help you identify the best launch p...

What’s love got to do with it? It’s Q&A Wednesday, and that’s what one listener is wondering. Can you run a business if you don’t exactly adore your customers? Does serving your customers require…y’know, liking them? We all have a few customers we wouldn’t invite to dinner, but how much distaste for the people supporting your business is too much? Today, we discuss the level of love necessary to b...

What’s in a name? Everything. Choosing the right domain name can have huge implications for your branding, marketing, and SEO. Your web address matters! For customers to be able to find you, you’ve got to make it easy, and that starts with the right domain. Today, we discuss the “do’s” and “don’ts” of selecting your domain name, including three MAJOR no-no’s that are guaranteed to hurt your websit...

Ready to sell? You don’t want just anyone pushing your product. You want the best. You want people with innate selling skills, including the kind of drive and self-motivation that can’t be taught. You want a hunter. Dr. Christopher Croner knows salesmanship. He’s exhaustively analyzed the qualities that make a great salesperson, finding common threads that only the truly capable share. Today, he’s...

Go high, or go low? When it comes to the price of your product, the decision you make will dictate your approach to everything from marketing to sales to customer service. While both the high-end and the affordable markets have their ups and downs, each comes with unique challenges and totally different customer expectations. Today, we discuss all the factors involved in deciding whether to pursue...