This Commerce Life

Traveling podcasters. Phil is in Orlando at Global Pet Expo and Kenny is in Portland. Voodoo donuts, pet store owners, and how brands drive online traffic to their retailers. Kenny has a rant about boring retail.

Phil and Kenny talk about the anxiety of being small business owners. Phil talks about the lessons he's teaching at Global Pet Expo and being alone. They talk about Ecommerce and what small business can do to in ecommerce that helps them grow their business. They also talk Google analytics, and how to get more data to be able to run the business.

Phil talks about leaving Hubba, shifting to being a consultant and what that means and how he wants to help. Kenny and Phil talk about people losing jobs and how to approach the first six months. Phil explains what the heck omnichannel means, and Kenny confirms he's not dead.

Kenny talks about results from the tradeshow, and retailers reaction to his new product launch. A plan to gather the community at the coffeebar - is this what small business needs? Last but not least, what do to when you get listed? (hint: Phil thinks you should stop celebrating and get back to work!)

Phil and Kenny try a new format - they talk about an article written by the @RetailProphet on paid loyalty (article is here http://Thscommercelife.shortcm.li/HZdRqs) and how that could apply to small business. They also talk tradeshow season and what to think about, how to be ready.

Phil tells the story about meeting a friend for lunch and the perils of perception. Kenny and Phil talk price fixing bread and the fine line between 'managing retails' and actually collusion and price fixing. They also talk about Facebook and the recent changes to the newsfeed and what it might mean to small businesses running Facebook ads.

Kenny and Phil talk about keeping Kenny's coffee brand up to date and current, and they talk the future of retail. Phil talks about Hubba's latest whitepaper and how SMB's are going to win. They talk experiential and find out they both love Donald's market. Check out Kenny's Commercial Drive Coffee Company here: https://www.facebook.com/thedrivecoffee/ Check out Hubba's whitepaper here: http://bit.ly/2GwfkPs Visit Donald's Market: http://www.donaldsmarket.com/

Brokers can be a key component of your sales strategy if you know when to use them. Jim Shopland from www.shoplandhealth.ca joins Kenny and Phil to talk brokers, when to engage them, and how they can help you gain an inside track to working with retailers. Find out the difference between brokers and distributors and more.

This episode talks about concept to creation. Kenny and Phil get into distribution strategy, pricing, minimum order quantities, case quantities, and the perils of success and failure. They talk about things like expiry dates, how fast a brand needs to move, and how excited they get about doing new things like this.

Phil and Kenny talk small business and knowing when to size up, and when to quit. They talk about two brands - one that's growing but too ambitious, and the other that's been working hard at it, but should probably choose another path. Phil and Kenny are also looking for listeners to chime in. What do you want these two to talk about? Is there something you're working on?