21 Hats Podcast
21 Hats
The 21 Hats Podcast presents an authentic weekly conversation with small business owners who are remarkably willing to share what’s working for them and what isn’t. Unlike many business podcasts, which tend to talk to highly successful entrepreneurs whose struggles are in the past, the 21 Hats Podcast features a rotating cast of business owners who are still very much in the trenches fighting the good fight. Every week, our regulars gather to talk about the kinds of important issues many owners won’t even discuss behind closed doors: whether their businesses are as profitable as they should be, whether they are willing to give up some control to an investor in order to grow faster, why they had to lay off employees, how they wound up with way too much inventory, why they don’t have a succession plan, and even why they are concerned about their own mental health. Visit 21hats.com to hear all of our podcast episodes, read episode transcripts, and learn more. The show is produced by Jess Thoubboron, founder of Blank Word.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Nov 1, 2021 • 12min
Dashboard: What’s in the Build Back Better Bill for Small Businesses?
This week, Loren Feldman talks to John Arensmeyer, founder and CEO of Small Business Majority, an advocacy group for entrepreneurs about the seemingly endless negotiations in the senate over what could be the Biden administration’s most important piece of legislation. What’s in the bill that would help business owners? Is there anything that would hurt? Is there anything not in the current version that should be? And will this ever end?
Oct 26, 2021 • 45min
I Track Everything You Could Possibly Measure
Several weeks ago, we had a great conversation about how Jay Goltz, Diana Lee, and Dana White track their financials. It was so good that, this week, in episode 82, we decided to put similar questions to Paul Downs and Laura Zander. “It's funny, I was listening to that episode,” Laura says, “and Diana said she's a freak about the numbers. I'm like, ‘God, does that make me a superfreak?’” Laura walks us through how her labor costs can affect what types of yarn she carries, Paul suggests a quick-and-easy ratio that can signal when a business is in trouble, and Jay explains how an hourly performance indicator that he began tracking 30 years ago transformed his business. Plus: Laura tells us how she got a bank loan that’s almost three times the size of the one she couldn’t get last year.
Oct 25, 2021 • 19min
Dashboard: How Much Can You Fake It Before You Make It?
Every Monday, Loren Feldman and Gene Marks discuss what they learned the previous week that can prepare us for the coming week. We’ve all heard the expression “Fake it until you make it.” But how much faking can a business get away with before it makes it? Plus, Gene has common sense suggestions that can help business owners cope with both the supply chain mess and the labor shortage. And we also talk about where owners can turn when they feel they need a sounding board, and it doesn’t feel right to talk with employees, friends, or significant others.
Oct 19, 2021 • 48min
Holy Crap! This Is All My Dreams Come True
This week, in episode 81, we have a celebration. As many of you will recall, when we started this podcast, Karen Clark Cole was coming off months of failed negotiations with a potential investor in Blink, the business she co-founded. Those months she spent focused on the investor took a toll on both Blink and on Karen, who subsequently took a mental health sabbatical. But, as Karen tells Jay Goltz and William Vanderbloemen, she came back, refocused, and has just sold Blink for $94 million in cash. As you might imagine, we had some questions for Karen, including: Will she stay? How many employees knew what was going on? Was there a bidding war? Is there an earnout? What was it like to wake up one morning knowing that she had taken all of her financial risk off the table? And is she ready to report to a boss?
Oct 18, 2021 • 17min
Dashboard: The Case for Facebook
Every Monday, Loren Feldman and Gene Marks discuss issues confronting business owners. This week, Gene makes the case for Facebook being good – at least for small businesses. We also talk about how even now—amidst all of the supply-chain snafus—businesses should be thinking about going global. Plus: is the Great Resignation headed for The Great Boomerang? And is it really time to take TikTok seriously?
Oct 12, 2021 • 1h 7min
Should I Open My Books to My Employees?
This week, in episode 80, we talk about open-book management, which its proponents call the only sensible way to run a company. To test that theory, we bring together three skeptics and three believers to discuss what it really means for owners to open their books: Do employees know what the boss makes? Do they flee when the numbers turn red? Do they expect to have a say in big decisions? What emerges is an intimate look at how six smart business owners run their businesses.
Oct 11, 2021 • 21min
Dashboard: Looking for Answers
Every Monday, Loren Feldman and Gene Marks discuss the issues business owners should be monitoring. This week, we talk about how car dealers are profiting despite the chip shortage, the dangers of depending on a platform like Facebook, a possible CRM game-changer, and the many questions that remain to be answered about President Biden’s vaccine mandate. For example, are businesses subject to the mandate if they have 100 employees but the employees all work from home?
Oct 5, 2021 • 50min
“Pardon Me. I’m So Sorry. This Is My First Pandemic”
This week, in episode 79, we go one-on-one with William Vanderbloemen. We start off talking about how he saw The Great Resignation coming and what he thinks are the keys to coping with it. Then we step back, and—with the help of many questions suggested by listeners—we discuss his conversion from pastor to CEO, what happened to his company culture when everyone went remote, and why he still reads every single email he gets—even when he’s off on a seven-week sabbatical. Plus: how he hit upon his unconventional social media strategy and his suggestions if you’re looking for a VP of marketing. (Suggestion No. 1: Try not to lose the one you have.)
Oct 4, 2021 • 26min
Dashboard: Is the Startup Party Over?
Every Monday, Loren Feldman and Gene Marks discuss the issues business owners should be monitoring. This week, Gene explains why he thinks inflation and rising interest rates are going to end the recent surge in startups. Plus: Why raising prices is such a challenge for business owners—even when everyone is doing it. And what are we to make of a third straight month of falling consumer confidence? Are other metrics flashing warning signs as well?
Sep 28, 2021 • 54min
I’m a Freak About the Numbers
This week, on episode 78, Jay Goltz, Diana Lee, and Dana White talk about how they manage their financials—what reports they get, what KPIs they track, and how they make sure the sales team isn’t going rogue. We also learn of a new wrinkle in Dana’s growth plan. She’s concluded that—along with rolling out franchises and installing hair salons on military bases from Texas to Germany to Okinawa—she also needs to create her own software platform to manage her salons. “Cha-ching,” responds Jay. Plus: Diana explains how the new digital marketing privacy rules hamstring small businesses—and what they can do about it.
