The $100 MBA Show

All things come to an end, including employment. When the inevitable parting of ways occurs, you shouldn’t just wing it. For the sake of your team, you need a plan.Today, we discuss what procedures your business should have in place when someone moves on, retires, or has to be let go. Intentionally managing the effects of a departure on your team is smart business, and reinforces the kind of thoughtful, respectful company culture you want to instill.We’ll explain how to handle the practical and emotional aspects of losing a team member — from changing passwords and managing access to protecting the feelings of all concerned. Having exit plans built into your company from the start will serve your business as it grows, but it’s just as important when your team is small and relationships are closer. Plan for amicable goodbyes. You won’t regret it. Click Play!SUBSCRIBE ON APPLE PODCASTSSpotify| Podcast Feed| How To SubscribeGive us a Rating & ReviewShow LinksThe post MBA1309 Your Procedure When Someone Leaves Your Company appeared first on The $100 MBA. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Every entrepreneur tries to validate their product idea before they try to sell it. But what about validating your potential business model?Today’s special guest teacher, Justin Lokitz, believes that business model validation is just as important as product idea validation. And just as the idea validation process can reveal tweaks or alternatives that improve your initial idea, your business plan should be flexible and open to improvement, too.By arming yourself with a toolkit of different business model options, you can quickly adapt your marketing strategy to whatever works best. Lokitz is an author, speaker, and consultant with a flexible approach to business. He sees different marketing components as moveable pieces that can adapt to the market itself, as you test and validate strategies along the way. Today, he’ll explain (in great detail), how to create your own multi-optional framework.Get the notepad out, friends. Today’s episode is a crash course, an in-depth lesson from a deeply knowledgeable expert. Plus, Lokitz has a special discount on his business model workshop for our listeners. Click Play!SUBSCRIBE ON APPLE PODCASTSSpotify| Podcast Feed| How To SubscribeGive us a Rating & ReviewShow LinksBMI (Business Models Inc.)BMI Masterclass 30% DiscountBusiness Model GenerationDesign a Better BusinessThe post MBA1308 Guest Teacher: Justin Lokitz- How to Create a Go-To Market Strategy by Developing Multiple Business Model Options appeared first on The $100 MBA. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

If there’s one quality every entrepreneur needs, it’s decisiveness.Going into business for yourself is a bold decision, the first of many. As an entrepreneur, you’ll have so many important decisions to make — and you don’t have time to mull them over for too long. For every huge call you have to make, there’s another one coming just around the corner, so confidence is key.With the stakes high, doubt can creep in. That leaves all of us at risk for a common entrepreneurial ailment: Analysis Paralysis.We can help. Today, we’ll help you learn the difference between healthy self-questioning and harmful self-doubting. We’ll discuss specific, strategic ways to deal with Analysis Paralysis, and where to reach out for support. This episode will help you win the psychological battle that every entrepreneur has to fight sometimes.As independent business people, we don’t have someone making decisions for us. Learn how to focus on decision-making as a skill, rather than obsessing over individual decisions. Learn what it takes to make the call, every time, with confidence. Click Play!SUBSCRIBE ON APPLE PODCASTSSpotify| Podcast Feed| How To SubscribeGive us a Rating & ReviewShow LinksThe post MBA1307 How To Stop Second Guessing Yourself + Free Ride Friday! appeared first on The $100 MBA. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Sales is changing. As business models evolve, and lean startups do more with fewer people, is the dedicated sales team a thing of the past?It depends.Today, we discuss when businesses need a full-time sales team, regardless of the product. In some cases, the ROI simply isn’t there. In others, it’s well worth the investment. We’ll help you decide whether your business would thrive best in a traditional sales team structure, or whether integrating sales into other job descriptions makes more sense.It may be smarter and more efficient to let sales be an aspect of everything from product development to marketing. It might not take much “selling,” in the traditional sense, to move your product. Either way, the first step in ensuring great sales is figuring out which approach fits your market. Learn how to gauge where your business is on the “low touch” to “high touch” sales spectrum, and decide what resources to apply. Plus, we’ll offer tips on building your sales team efficiently, from the ground up. Click Play!SUBSCRIBE ON APPLE PODCASTSSpotify| Podcast Feed| How To SubscribeGive us a Rating & ReviewShow LinksWP EngineDan Martell (YouTube Channel)Product-Led GrowthThe post MBA1306 Does Your Business Need a Sales Team? appeared first on The $100 MBA. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Mastermind groups are all the rage, but are they worth the (sometimes hefty) price tags?This week’s Q&A comes from a listener who has an opportunity to attend a pretty exclusive Mastermind, at a pretty substantial cost. At $5,000, it’s worth taking a moment to make sure it’s a good investment. Fortunately, our intrepid host Omar has participated in enough Masterminds to develop a way to gauge the ROI.Today, we’ll share our framework for assessing the cost/benefit ratio of a Mastermind group, at any price. We’ll describe the number one factor that truly determines the value of a Mastermind, and how to assess that value in the context of your own business.With your own budget and business experience in mind, you can evaluate each Mastermind for what it’s really worth to you. Learn how to make the call with confidence, plus hear about alternatives, for when the price isn’t right. Click Play!SUBSCRIBE ON APPLE PODCASTSSpotify| Podcast Feed| How To SubscribeGive us a Rating & ReviewShow LinksThe post MBA1305 Q&A Wednesday: Should I attend a mastermind retreat that costs $5K? appeared first on The $100 MBA. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Is your business leaking?We’re gonna say it: Customer retention is just as important as customer acquisition. If you’ve got a churn problem, the time, money, and effort you put into attracting and converting is being wasted. Let’s put a stop to that, now!Whether you run a subscription or service-based business that depends on monthly revenue, or you just want to keep your customers coming back, the churn has got to go. Customer retention protects the investment you make in your business, and acts as a hedge against slow growth periods. Today, we discuss how to make sure your customer turnover isn’t outpacing your growth. We share our system for identifying and plugging any “leaks” that hurt your stability. Create a stable basis for long-term growth by creating lifetime customers. Make all that marketing worth it. Click Play!SUBSCRIBE ON APPLE PODCASTSSpotify| Podcast Feed| How To SubscribeGive us a Rating & ReviewShow LinksThe post MBA1304 How to Improve Customer Retention Quickly appeared first on The $100 MBA. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Your product might be the most important employee.There’s a new approach to product development and marketing. Rather than focus on features, or even benefits, this new outlook takes it a step further. Your product has a job. The customer is the employer. Your success will depend on what kind of “employee” your product is.If it sounds outside the box, it is. The approach is all laid out in a deeply detailed, paradigm-shifting book called Jobs to Be Done by Anthony W. Ulwick. It’s based on decades of research — and despite how academic it is, this book has serious practical implications. This Must-Read book offers an alternative (or supplement to) the “pain points” approach of solving customer problems. Today, we discuss the philosophy behind the book, and offer the best examples of this theory in practice. Bottom line: this book will help you focus on what matters most to customers, by seeing your product from the most customer-centric perspective. Click Play!SUBSCRIBE ON APPLE PODCASTSSpotify| Podcast Feed| How To SubscribeGive us a Rating & ReviewShow LinksJobs to Be Done by Anthony W. UlwickWebinarNinjaThe post MBA1303 Must Read: Jobs to Be Done by Anthony W. Ulwick appeared first on The $100 MBA. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

At this point in the content marketing game, video isn’t an option: it’s a requirement.Video content works to help you build an audience. As we like to point out, YouTube is technically the world’s second-largest search engine after Google. But we also know how difficult, intimidating, and time-consuming video production can be. We’ve struggled with equipment, software, and all the rest.So we decided to make it simple.Today, we’ll explain how to streamline your video content production. By making some key choices and focusing on the basic essentials, you can take the hassle out of filming videos. The result? Consistent, effective content that does what it’s meant to: drive traffic.Tune in, and hear how we learned the hard way that trying to do too much is counter-productive. You don’t have to be Spielberg to produce quality, engaging content that’ll boost your business. You just have to know some key basics. Click Play!SUBSCRIBE ON APPLE PODCASTSSpotify| Podcast Feed| How To SubscribeGive us a Rating & ReviewShow LinksWebinarNinjaCamtasiaScreenflowSony VegasEasyCourseThe post MBA1302 How to Make Video Creation Easier + Free Ride Friday! appeared first on The $100 MBA. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

For entrepreneurs, time is the single most valuable resource. So how can you get more of it?Executive assistants are not just for Fortune 500 CEOs. Any time you can get work off your plate, it’s an opportunity to spend more time doing more important things. To hire an assistant is to buy time — and that’s always a fantastic investment.Today, we’ll explain how to go about finding the right assistant for you. Whether it’s local or digital, full-time or part-time, there’s probably someone who can free you from some menial tasks. As you focus on what matters most, your business thrives — thanks in part to your assistant.We’ll discuss how and where to find your EA, just as our intrepid host Omar is doing now. Since he’s in the market, we figured sharing our experience would be helpful to those listeners who are also considering bringing an assistant on board. Click Play!SUBSCRIBE ON APPLE PODCASTSSpotify| Podcast Feed| How To SubscribeGive us a Rating & ReviewShow LinksDan MartellLastPassWe Work RemotelyThe post MBA1301 How to Hire a Great Executive Assistant appeared first on The $100 MBA. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Go it alone, or get some help? Every entrepreneur has to ask this question, and the answer isn’t always obvious.It’s Q&A Wednesday, and one listener is weighing the ups and downs of full independence. When you “bootstrap” your business (as we did), you have total freedom, and total control. No investors, no loans, nada. You answer to no one, and can take your business in any direction you wish. You also accept all of the risk.Is there a time when it’s best to get outside investment? We’ve found that for some businesses, the freedom is worth the risk. But for others, the loss of equity is well worth the stability that comes with external help. Today, we’ll explain when it’s smartest to accept a helping hand, and when it’s best to go it alone. Then, you can make the best decision for yourself and your company. Click Play!SUBSCRIBE ON APPLE PODCASTSSpotify| Podcast Feed| How To SubscribeGive us a Rating & ReviewShow LinksThe post MBA1300 Q&A Wednesday: What are the pros and cons of bootstrapping my business? appeared first on The $100 MBA. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.