The $100 MBA Show

For entrepreneurs, attention-seeking behavior isn’t a bad thing. To widen our reach and attract our audience, we all need press. Everything from brand awareness to SEO is dependent on being mentioned (in a positive light) by industry websites, popular blogs, and even local newspapers. So how do we get the exposure we crave? Today, we offer 3 hard-earned lessons on how NOT to get press — lessons we...

Conferences and other real-world events can be a huge boost for your business. Scheduling such events for maximum attendance takes strategy, planning, and wisdom — exactly the kind we offer on today’s episode. The right time of year makes all the difference to the success of any event, based on the industry, climate, culture, and a host of other factors. To pull off a win, you need to think way, w...

Let’s just say it: no one likes meetings. No one has ever liked meetings. Meetings are things you get through, and if you play your cards right, have as few of as possible. Yes, they’re necessary to get people on the same page sometimes, but there’s a point of diminishing returns. Too many meetings are not only annoying, they’re counterproductive. Today, we discuss specific ways you can reduce the...

Worry: it’s an entrepreneur’s constant companion. But does it have to be? Today, we review another Must-Read business book, an all-time classic from an author whose legacy transcends time and technology. How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie is a treasure trove of life and business wisdom, centered around the need to chill out, let go, and take care of what you can control. From o...

Travel: it’s one of the best parts of being an entrepreneur. Whether it’s traveling for business or pleasure, entrepreneurs get to do more of it. But as we all know, it can get pretty, pretty pricey. Today, we discuss strategies for saving on everything from airfare to hotels to local transport, so you can minimize your travel expenses. From tax breaks to rewards programs to booking tricks, there...

Running a monthly subscription service is a wonderful way to achieve predictable, reliable revenue. Even more reliable is a yearly subscription, which allows you to spend fewer resources on retention and pass the savings on to customers. But how can you convince customers to make that kind of commitment? How can you entice people to go the distance with you on an annual basis? Today, we discuss ho...

Entrepreneurship: how long should you look before you leap? It’s Q&A Wednesday, and we’ve got a great question for everyone on the verge of leaving their day job behind: how do you know when it’s time? Our host Omar was an educator for many years before he finally decided to trade in all that security for a shot at independent success. But he didn’t just drop his chalk and walk out — he created an...

Rise and shine, entrepreneurs! The first few hours of your day are the most important for your overall productivity. A consistent, intentional morning routine is the best thing you can do to reach your short and long term goals. You don’t have to be an “early bird,” but you can’t wing it! Constructing your routine takes a little planning. Today, we discuss how to establish a great morning routine,...

Remote employment isn’t just the future; it’s the present. All over the globe, more and more work is getting done by people who never meet their employers. Naturally, with remote work’s undeniable advantages come some challenges. Rob Rawson is a remote team management expert, creator of remote team management app Time Doctor. Today, Rawson stops by the podcast to offer his best tips on remote team...

What assets matter most? In business, you’ve got plenty to choose from. Your talent. Your expertise. Your inventory. But there’s one overarching asset that binds the rest together, and gives each their value. There’s one asset that can follow you from start to finish, even if one business fails and you move on to another. This asset is the most precious, one that needs to be cultivated, guarded, a...

There’s something else you could be selling. More and more companies offer premium support packages as add-ons to their product. With tech-savviness varying wildly from person to person, some of your customers might need more help than others, especially for digital products. While the urban millennial may have no trouble using your SaaS or implementing your course, the noobs may not be able to ge...

Sometimes, you should just say no — to money. Today on the $100 MBA Show, we help one listener with a question many entrepreneurs face: whether or not to seek a business loan. A big pile of money can be a very tempting thing, especially if it can take your business to the next level. But while some businesses are in a position to scale up via loans, others would only be inviting trouble by sinking...

Let’s click “Refresh” on our traffic approach! While the tried-and-true standards of great content, SEO, and standard promotion still work, entrepreneurs always need an edge. Today, we discuss 4 underutilized, creative traffic-boosters that scrappy startups can take advantage of — before everyone else does. These just-outside-the-box techniques are unique ways to leverage your resources into more...

You have a forté. You want a business. This is how you turn one into the other. Chris Ducker is serial entrepreneur, having been in the business of monetizing skills and expertise for years. He’s the acclaimed author of Virtual Freedom and Rise of the Youprenuer , and the founder of youpreneur.com Today, he stops by the $100 MBA Show to teach us how to leverage your unique experience into a stream...

What do you do? For the conventionally employed, that’s a pretty simple question. But for entrepreneurs, the question isn’t just complicated — it’s an opportunity. Whether you’re networking with other business people, establishing your credibility with potential customers, or just explaining your life to family and friends, it’s crucial to articulate your vision, your mission, your story. Today, w...

Working from home: it can be the greatest. No commute, no cubicles, no dress code! But if your home office isn’t conducive to work, it can backfire. We’ve tried everything from private offices to shared coworking spaces, but in the end, we settled on the convenience of a home office. Today, we discuss how to set up your home office to maximize results, creating a dedicated, minimalist space that b...

Thinking about starting a podcast? You’re not the only one. To stand out, you’ll need to know what you’re getting into. Fortunately, we have *some* experience in the podcast game. 4 years and 945 episodes in, we’ve learned a thing or two about what works and what doesn’t. Some things we learned through experimentation. Some we learned from other exemplary podcasters. Some we learned the hard (and...

Lights, camera, action! Great sales videos are a must for your business website. But many of us are intimidated by the thought of producing one. We think it requires a lot of specialized A/V equipment, including a camera (besides the one in our smartphone). But here’s the twist: you don’t need a camera other than the one in your phone —- because you don’t need one at all. You also don’t need incre...

Do well, by doing good. For most businesses, the endgame is profit. But in recent years, a new model has risen up, one focused on the bigger picture. If your motivation for building a business goes beyond dollar signs, if you have an entrepreneurial desire to improve the world, this is the episode for you. Russ Stoddard is a pioneer in social and environmental responsibility as a business model. H...

Someone is lying to you. Actually, several someones are. They all have one thing in common. They promise something that doesn’t exist. They tempt you with a fantasy whose sole purpose is to empty your wallet. They show you photos of laptops on beaches and screenshots of swollen Paypal accounts. They tell you that wealth is something you can obtain quickly and easily — if you just learn the secret....

Selling is a skill. The good news? It’s easy to learn. Too many folks think that sales are the result of great ideas or “perfect” products. Meanwhile, salesmanship is under-studied. We’re not talking about some slick process of manipulation here. Selling your product — whatever it is — simply requires the right approach. Showing people that your product is worth buying is a practice, one that anyo...

It’s Q&A Wednesday, and we’re helping a listener with a very good, very 21st-century business question: do online businesses need business cards? It’s easy to see why some would question whether paper business cards are still relevant in a digital economy. In fact, our host Omar hasn’t given one out in years! But just because business cards aren’t for every business doesn’t mean they’re not approp...

No, they’re not always right. Some customers are wrong. Some customers do not have valid complaints, or problems that your business can solve. Some customers do not seek solutions, but aim to cause problems. Some customers have issues that have nothing to do with you, but that — if you allow it — can become your problem. Some customers, to put it plainly, are jerks. Just because someone pays you d...

Bruce Springsteen knows music, but he also knows business. From his extremely modest upbringing to the top of the charts, the legendary rocker is a model of financial discipline, business sense, and plain old savvy. While other artists were blowing money on the finer (and more dangerous) things in life, Springsteen kept his business “why” in mind: to never return to the poverty of his youth. Succe...

Someone once said that rules were made to be broken. They were wrong. At least they were wrong about these rules. Today, we discuss 3 immutable, no-exceptions, absolutely unbreakable rules of business. No matter the business type or size, these 3 principles are always true. Violating any one of them is a guaranteed success-killer! Whether you’re trying to sustain growth or simply get your business...