The $100 MBA Show

Thinking about starting a business? For how long now?Getting honest with ourselves about our motivations — and our fears — might be the most fundamental step toward becoming an entrepreneur. “Am I afraid to do this?” is the first question you have to answer. And you have to answer it truthfully, for better or worse.The alternative? You just keep thinking, to avoid actually doing.It’s true; we protect our alleged goals by never really pursuing them. We strategize, we dream up products, but in the end we stay behind emotional blockers that keep us firmly in our 9-to-5’s.Today, we change all that.In this episode, we discuss the powerful allure of not facing our fears, and how to get over that mental hump. Learn how to train your mindset to embrace failure, rather than fearing it. Decide once and for all whether you’re up for the challenge of entrepreneurship — whatever it brings.Click Play!SUBSCRIBEYouTube | Apple Podcast | Spotify | Podcast Feed Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Business can get emotional — but you can’t let emotions hurt your business.The ability to navigate strong feelings and prioritize relationships over ego is a must-have skill in entrepreneurship. If networking is key, most of us can’t afford bad blood.It’s Q&A Wednesday, and we’ve got a listener who had a falling out with their former business partner. In the past, they had great success. But then things went South in a hurry. Now, our listener wants to mend fences — and potentially work together again.It’s time for a lesson in olive-branching.Today, we explore why diplomacy is so crucial in entrepreneurship, and how to bring about a detente when feelings get in the way. We’ll discuss how to reach out to heal a rift, and how to prepare for whatever reaction may come. Plus, we’ll share a little advice on how to avoid fallings-out in the first place.Learn how to take a centered, fair-minded approach to your working relationships. Click Play!To submit your questions, visit 100mba.net/q.SUBSCRIBEYouTube | Apple Podcast | Spotify | Podcast Feed Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Experts agree a recession is on the horizon. Most small businesses will have to keep a closer eye on their budgets, very soon.Which means now is the perfect time to shore up your reserves, and stockpile revenue to weather the coming storm. But how can you get some extra pennies in the piggy bank, quickly and without burning out yourself or your team?Today, we offer 4 ways.Short-term revenue bursts are almost always possible, if you simply leverage the assets you have a little differently for a while. All 4 strategies in this episode require minimal time and effort to execute — and best of all, you can use them whenever you need a few bucks, regardless of the economy.Hear these 4 methods, and how we’ve applied them to boost our own business in tougher times. Click Play!SUBSCRIBEYouTube | Apple Podcast | Spotify | Podcast Feed Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What kind of leaders do employees love most?According to this week’s Must-Read, the best leader isn’t someone who commands. It’s someone who coaches their people, unleashes their fullest potential, and trusts them to be their best.The Coaching Habit by Michael Stanier is two things at once: a primer on a coaching-based leadership philosophy, and a practical guide to make it happen. Today, we share the best takeaways from this super-valuable book, one you’ll want to keep on the shelf and refer to for years to come. The book revolves around 7 essential questions a great leader-coach should ask, and how the answers inform the path to your team’s greatness.Hear what makes this approach to leadership so powerful, and how it can give you the confidence to be the leader your team deserves — and stays loyal to through thick and thin. Click Play!The Coaching Habit by Michael StanierSUBSCRIBEYouTube | Apple Podcast | Spotify | Podcast Feed Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Don’t dream about starting a business. Do it!You don’t have to start by quitting your job or borrowing a ton of money. You don’t need the “perfect” product or service idea.You just need time, and practice.Today, we share 5 low-risk, low-investment businesses you can literally (yes, literally) start today. With minimal time, resources, and sweat, you can get the ball rolling on a business that can go big down the road. The key is to get the “reps” in, and watch it pay off over time.To prove it, this episode features real-world examples of people who’ve done it!All 5 of these businesses can become a viable full-time living…or even more. Learn from the success of those who’ve started small and simple, and scaled up. Click Play!SUBSCRIBEYouTube | Apple Podcast | Spotify | Podcast Feed Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The written word is still the biggest key to your website’s traffic.Fortunately, nailing the words you need to rank on search engines is much easier than it used to be — especially if your site is hosted on WordPress.With the tools available now, even non-professional writers can get help making sure their page copy, blog posts, and other content is hitting the right notes for Google (and even content & copy pros can get some valuable assistance).Today, we share a few ways you can tighten up your site’s SEO game, from managing extraneous content to nailing the right phrasing based on your audience’s search habits— all without resorting to outdated hacks like keyword stuffing. WordPress and its associated plugins make it (relatively) easy!SEO can unlock the potential of your website, and your business. With a few tweaks, anyone can optimize. Click Play!SUBSCRIBEYouTube | Apple Podcast | Spotify | Podcast Feed Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This isn’t the question you think it is.Normally, pricing coaching comes down to a fairly standard formula. You determine how much a client stands to make based on your training, and set your price at about a fraction of that. “For just $XXXX, you can be qualified to charge $XXXXXX!”But what if your potential clients stand to make…nothing from your training?It’s Q&A Wednesday, and we’re helping a listener who coaches photographers. But here’s the twist: the audience isn’t aspiring pros who want to create income. It’s hobbyists, people who want to take pictures just for the fun and enjoyment of it.So what the heck is that kind of training worth?Today, we help you put a dollar value on skills that don’t have a dollar value. Hear why coaching people in their passion projects can still be lucrative — and why it’s worth every cent to your non-pro clients. Click Play!To submit your questions, visit 100mba.net/q.SUBSCRIBEYouTube | Apple Podcast | Spotify | Podcast Feed Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Risk reversal is a must for most products and services. But inevitably, someone tries to turn a fair shake into a ploy for free stuff — at your expense.So how can you prevent someone from using your free trial offer as a way to get…more than a trial?Today, we share all the ways we make sure that our free trial is used for its intended purpose: to give people a risk-free way to confirm their choice. By digging into the data, and seeing how (and how often) people abuse your refund policy, you can take proactive steps to prevent it.Here’s the good news: you might be shocked at how rarely people pull this kind of stunt.That said, someone, somewhere will eventually try to rip you off by taking advantage of your policies. Put a stop to it before it starts. Click Play!SUBSCRIBEYouTube | Apple Podcast | Spotify | Podcast Feed Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Your customers are out there…somewhere. You just have to give them a path to your door. The art of creating and converting leads takes practice, experimentation, and (of course) a plan. Today’s special guest teacher is an expert at identifying, attracting, and winning over the people who are the best fit for your product or service. Chloe Thomas is a renowned consultant, speaker, author, and expert in e-commerce — but the customer acquisition plan she shares today can work for any kind of business.Join Chloe for a marketing-focused look at how to create and optimize a path for potential customers. One step at a time, you can build a series of “lily pads” that lead to sales — and prioritize the traffic most likely to convert.Get the notepad out for this one, and be sure to check out the special free resources Chloe offers to our listeners. Click Play!eCommerce Master Plan (Free Resources for $100 MBA Listeners)eCommerce Master Plan PodcastKeep Optimizing PodcasteCommerce Marketing: How to Get Traffic That Buys to Your Website by Chloe ThomasSUBSCRIBEYouTube | Apple Podcast | Spotify | Podcast Feed Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

For a small business trying to build a following, every cent counts.Too much of marketing seems like magic, or hack-based advice that makes empty promises of results if you just do x, y, or z. The reality is much more fluid, and requires you to be very careful with your marketing dollars.Today, we share what we know to be true about marketing fails — based on our own failures.These are the marketing truths we wish we’d known from the beginning, but can only be learned the hard way. In this episode, we discuss how not to spend your marketing budget, but also where and when to spend more for better results.By sticking to some tried-and-true fundamentals, you can forget the hacks and start building real marketing momentum — the kind that self-reinforces and multiplies over time. Your business can’t be “lean” if you throw the marketing budget into the wind.Click Play!SUBSCRIBEYouTube | Apple Podcast | Spotify | Podcast Feed Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.