The Son of a Poor Man Podcast

Are you hiring based on paper (or digital) applications, or do you actively search for talent? Tom talks about a young man he knows who got a great job because he was knocking it out of the park in his previous job, and the owners of a company saw him working and offered him his new, better career. And it's worked out great for all involved.

Tom and Ty get the culture trilogy started with the view of working from the point of view of the employee in today's episode. What makes work bearable -- or even enjoyable -- for an employee? And on the flipside, what are we doing that's pushing our employees out the door? 

Tom and Ty talk about the 5 top reasons people quit their jobs, which causes you to have to hire and train new people, lose revenue, and other bad stuff. 

Tom talks about beating the system today. There are three things you have to do to be able to be successful: Financial planning Do the work Deciding when to bring people on And by the way, the other podcasts Tom alluded to are "The Accordion Theory," Season 1, Episode 26, and "Sometimes the Dragon Wins," Season 1, Episode 30.

Tom sits down with Sarah Urbanek, the executive director of CASA of Laramie County, to talk about the importance of giving back to the community as well as the similarities between small businesses and non-profit organizations.

Tom and Ty talk about the importance of "showing up." Not just getting yourself to the job physically, but going in to every job with a positive attitude. If you haven't been doing that, you'll be surprised at how much that positivity will bleed over into every other aspect of your life.

Tom is left on his own again, but he's proving he can be left without adult supervision. Today he's talking about the importance of making someone's day better. It might help your business, but it shouldn't matter. The important thing is to be a good person. Your customers will feed off your energy, and if you're making folks' days better, what you give will eventually be what you get.  

You're going to get bucked off from time to time. Tom and Ty talk about how to minimize the damage from these spills. Work the problem Follow your system Do all the things -- do the reps

Tom's on his own again, because Ty's off hustling on the side. Today Tom talks about how you present yourself and the importance of having a professional appearance. You may not think it's a big deal, but you might never know how many customers use you once, don't like how you're dressed, and just never call you again.

Tom brought up the statistic that most people don't have $400 extra in the event something goes wrong and they need a little extra cash. Or $1,000, or even just a couple hundred. But if you have a side hustle, you can start stacking some cash away to use in the event of an emergency, or help pay down debt, or many other things. Some side hustles might be better than others, but there are a lot of...

Tom sits down with Ron Kailey, the driving force behind the Cheyenne Grizzlies collegiate baseball team that brought baseball to a new level in Cheyenne for 10 glorious years. Ron's emphasis wasn't on making the team profitable, but some of the lessons he learned running the team will resonate with those of us who are trying to make a go of a small business.

Tom's on his own again today, and he discusses some of the things that most turn off your customers. He talks about these hot-button issues and gives you advice on how to: Knock it off; Fix your process; and Retrain yourself and your staff

Ty's on vacation this week, so Tom's on his own. There is no adult supervision on the show. Tom's talking about Attack Mode in today's episode.

With Tom off on vacation, Ty and Brian talk about how Mr. B's Heating and Cooling came about. It's a good reminder that no matter where you are in your life, you can start something new that will grow to a successful venture if you work at it.

Brian joins Tom for today's episode, and they talk about being problem aware. The longer you're in business, the quicker you'll spot the problems on the horizon, but you need to keep your eye out for them before the job, during the job, and at the end of the job.

Tom and Ty talk about the beginning steps of starting your side hustle or alternate business. They cover: Flying your own flag Being loyal to your day job Working that teeter-totter

Here's Part II of Tom's interview with Stan Hartzheim. In this episode, Stan gets into some of the community outreach he's involved in, and how it has helped him with his business. He didn't get into the outreach with the aim of getting more business, but it has been an unintended positive outcome.

Tom and Ty talk about getting out ahead of your skis, and how that can be the downfall of a business, especially in the early days. Make sure to stay within your means, and don't make decisions based on what could happen -- be sure to base the decisions on what is happening.

This is the first of a two-part interview with Stan Hartzheim of Double H Morgage. Tom and Stan talk about a lot of really interesting financial stuff -- much of which Tom and Ty wish they'd known when they were starting out in the world.

Tom and Ty talk about hunger -- how hungry are you as a business owner? If you're not hungry enough, you could be passing up some opportunities to grow your business.

Tom talks with Nina Wajrowski, the owner and operator of Bear Forestry. Nina shares some of the challenges and successes she's had in her journey from being an employee of other companies and agencies to now being the owner of her own tree care service.

Tom and Ty talk about why "mojo" is so important, and what to do to get it back if you feel yours has slipped away.

In this special episode of The Son of a Poor Man Podcast, Tom changes things up a bit to bring Tate Schrock back in, this time with a few friends, to talk about an exciting project he's collaborating on with the Cheyenne Children's Museum. This coming Saturday, his company, EdgeFlyte, will be launching a balloon (complete with streaming video cameras and a payload made by kids) to the edge of spac...

Tom and Ty talk about what the perceived value of your services are, and whether or not your customer sees that value. If they don't, you might have to ask yourself some hard questions, or maybe work harder to show your customers the value you bring.

Tom and Ty talk about what they mean when they refer to "bootstrapping," and why they think it's the most effective and safest way to get a service-based business off the ground.