

Business Brain – The Entrepreneurs’ Podcast
Shannon Jean & Dave Hamilton
Two long-time small-business owners, Dave Hamilton and Shannon Jean, come to you each week to talk through the trials, success, pitfalls and tips it takes to successfully run a small business in today’s world. Hear real-world folks talk about real-world problems, letting you know not only what it takes to get it done but that you’re not alone in doing it!
Episodes
Mentioned books

Apr 13, 2022 • 42min
Transparency for Fun and Profit
Being Transparent in your Small Business can be a key tool to gaining customers, attracting the best talent, and building your personal brand.
Make transparency part of your company culture:
For your Employees
For your Customers
For your Suppliers
For your Partners and Advisors
Join us today on The Small Business Show as we discuss just how Transparency can help you on your path towards taking over the world.
00:00:00 Small Business Show #375 for Wednesday, April 13, 2022
00:00:47 What’s In a Name?
Techniques, Tips, and Tactics
00:05:20 I made a mistake…you should pay for it!
00:14:02 Finding our Show!
00:14:28 SPONSOR: Shopify – For anyone to sell anywhere, Shopify is giving you a fourteen-day trial and full access to Shopify’s entire suite of features. Visit Shopify.com/sbs to get yours!
00:16:27 Transparency vs. Authenticity
feedback@businessshow.co
“One Number!”
Two Tokens of Customer Service
Small Business Show Working Agreement
00:40:42 SBS 375 Outtro
feedback@businessshow.co
The post Transparency for Fun and Profit – Small Business Show 375 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Apr 6, 2022 • 50min
Defined Benefit Plans and Taking the Employees Perspective
Join us for a fresh-squeezed edition of the Small Business Show as we dive into a grab back of topics today including Defined Benefit Plans that can help both employees and employers lower tax liability, a look at how some employees feel about their relationship with your Small Business and news from SXSW 2022.
00:00:00 Small Business Show #374 for Wednesday, April 6, 2022
00:01:47 What is a Defined Benefit Plan?
00:09:29 The employEE perspective of being laid-off
Sponsors
00:21:06 SPONSOR: RateTracker, your credit card processing rate watchdog presented by Skysail Solutions, your trusted payments partner
00:22:52 SPONSOR: Bambee – Let Bambee help with your dedicated HR Manager! Go to Bambee.com/SMALL right now to schedule your free trial!
SXSW Small Business Movies
00:24:46 SXSW-2nd Chance
00:30:23 SXSW-Mickey: The Story of A Mouse
00:33:13 SXSW-The Pez Outlaw
The Problem Solving Mindset
The Doctrine of First Sale
00:43:51 The Bose Hubris Story
00:47:37 SXSW is back!
00:49:06 SBS 374 Outtro
feedback@businessshow.co
The post Defined Benefit Plans and Taking the Employees Perspective – Small Business Show 374 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Mar 30, 2022 • 39min
The Problem with Giving Employees What They Want
Small Business owners want happy and productive employees. Can you get those types of employees by giving them everything they say they want?
Do your employees really know what they want and if you plan on asking them, what’s the best way to phrase the question? Join us today on The Small Business Show where we discuss the problem with giving employees what they want along with more topics you don’t want to miss!
00:00:00 Small Business Show #373 for Wednesday, March 30, 2022
00:02:00 Back to Travel…and Back to Work!
00:03:45 Traveling Productively With a Portable Screen
Lenovo ThinkVision M14
ASUS ZenScreen 15.6”
00:08:46 SXSW-Interview with Reggie Fils-Aimé, President and COO of Nintendo (retired)
Sponsors
00:17:02 SPONSOR: Novo: Get Your Free business banking account in just 10 minutes at BankNovo.com/SBS.
00:18:37 SPONSOR: Hunter Douglas — Visit HunterDouglas.com/SBS today for your free “Style Gets Smarter” design guide to see their smart solutions for dressing your windows.
00:19:57 The Problem with Giving Employees What They Want
The arrival fallacy – “The false belief that reaching a valued destination can sustain happiness.” – Dr. Tal Ben-Sharar, Harvard psychologist.
What would you decide (if you were the manager)?
00:25:18 The Santa Story
00:28:16 Giving employees ownership
We base our salaries on results and impact to the company’s profitability
Separate performance reviews from salary reviews
Keep perks temporary and/or rotational
00:37:43 SBS 373 Outtro
feedback@businessshow.co
The post The Problem with Giving Employees What They Want – Small Business Show 373 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Mar 23, 2022 • 40min
Delegating for Success
You can’t do it all. As Small Business owners, we may have started out taking on every role and doing all the work but the only way we can build a successful business is to create teams and delegate tasks.
Join your hosts Dave Hamilton and Shannon Jean as they discuss the importance of delegating and how to use it as one of your Small Business Superpowers.
00:00:00 Small Business Show #372 for Wednesday, March 23, 2022
00:01:53 Beware Falling in Love with Titles
Sponsors
00:11:52 SPONSOR: RateTracker, your credit card processing rate watchdog presented by Skysail Solutions, your trusted payments partner
00:13:47 SPONSOR: Hunter Douglas — Visit HunterDouglas.com/SBS today for your free “Style Gets Smarter” design guide to see their smart solutions for dressing your windows.
00:15:20 Time to Delegate!
The E-Myth
Get Comfortable Giving Up Control
Think like a boss
Think like a pilot!
People want trust and autonomy
What job do you want next?
00:33:38 Autonomy creates opportunity
“It’s not important that you have the answer, it’s important that you know where to find the answer.” – Mark King, President of Taco Bell
There’s no growth without delegating
00:39:10 SBS 372 Outtro
The post Delegating for Success – Small Business Show 372 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Mar 16, 2022 • 37min
What is Decoy Pricing and how can your Small Business use it?
We have done a few episodes recently about how to manage cost increases and how to raise your prices. Dave recently came across the concept of Decoy Pricing that is worth looking at.
What is Decoy Pricing?
Decoy pricing is a strategy that aims to guide a potential customer towards a specific product or service by presenting an inferior choice. Listen in to learn more!
00:00:00 Small Business Show #371 for Wednesday, March 16, 2022
00:01:00 Ben Thompson’s Stratechery Newsletter about Shopify
00:02:41 Traveler’s Tips!
00:06:53 Expensive stuff!
Sponsors
00:08:08 SPONSOR: Novo: Get Your Free business banking account in just 10 minutes at BankNovo.com/SBS.
00:09:49 SPONSOR: Shopify – For anyone to sell anywhere, Shopify is giving you a fourteen-day trial and full access to Shopify’s entire suite of features. Visit Shopify.com/sbs to get yours!
00:11:30 Decoy Pricing
The Popcorn Example. Large is the most profitable
Small – $3.50
Medium – $6.50
Large – $7.50
Service Providers: Use Bundling and Features
The Economist example
Digital Edition: $59
Print Edition: $125
Print + Digital Edition: $125
The Amazon Example
Search BusinessShow.co for “Story”
Tobi, the Snowboarder who started Shopify
00:30:35 Anchoring
“F*** the cup, pour it in my hand for a dime!”
00:35:45 SBS 371 Outtro
Next week: Delegating
The post What is Decoy Pricing and how can your Small Business use it? – Small Business Show 371 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Mar 9, 2022 • 38min
Using Fear as a Compass
One of our favorite sayings on The Small Business Show is “Don’t make fear-based decisions” – Brian Friss from Digistor
But we want to take another look at fear and how it may help guide you to what you SHOULD do.
If you are afraid of it, that may be a sign that success lies in that direction. Join us today as we tackle the fear and redirect it to power us forward.
00:00:00 Small Business Show #370 for Wednesday, March 9, 2022
00:01:43 Think about what your customers need
SquareMouth travel insurance finder
Sponsors
00:10:11 SPONSOR: RateTracker, your credit card processing rate watchdog presented by Skysail Solutions, your trusted payments partner
00:12:23 SPONSOR: Bambee – Let Bambee help with your dedicated HR Manager! Go to Bambee.com/SMALL right now to schedule your free trial!
00:14:20 “Use Fear as a Compass”
Fear of Failure
Fear of Rejection
“I never fail. I either win, or learn.”
The biggest one: The Fear of Success
Embrace Extreme Accountability
Create a Fear List
00:35:03 SBS 370 Outtro
Next week: Decoy Pricing
feedback@businessshow.co
businessshow.co/linkedin
The post Using Fear as a Compass – Small Business Show 370 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Mar 2, 2022 • 46min
How to Create Meetings that Matter
You may not be fond of meetings at your Small Business, but they can be productive and serve a purpose. Today your hosts Shannon Jean and Dave Hamilton jump back into this topic to discuss strategies that can help to make your meetings less painful and perhaps even useful. Join us!
00:00:00 Small Business Show #369 for Wednesday, March 2, 2022
00:01:31 Can You Play? — I Don’t Meet My Company’s Diversity Requirements
Sponsors
00:16:50 SPONSOR: Hunter Douglas — Visit HunterDouglas.com/SBS today for your free “Style Gets Smarter” design guide to see their smart solutions for dressing your windows.
00:18:31 How to Create Meetings That Matter
Do We Need to Have a Meeting?
“What exactly are we meeting about?” – Everyone should be able to answer the question in 5 words or fewer – Christopher Frank, VP @ American Express.
Stack the deck: ask each participant to figure out a question about a relevant topic?
Start on time
Have an end time
Avoid Status Updates
Every Task is Assigned a DRI (Directly Responsible Individual)
00:44:47 SBS 369 Outtro
feedback@businessshow.co
businessshow.co/linkedin
The post How to Create Meetings that Matter – Small Business Show 369 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Feb 23, 2022 • 43min
Creating a Culture Focused on Results
The power of focusing on results instead of effort. Join us today as your hosts Dave Hamilton and Shannon Jean share their experiences with getting your team focused on systems that produce results instead of those that reward hard work without achievement.
00:00:00 Small Business Show #368 for Wednesday, February 23, 2022
00:02:48 Chuck-366-The Importance of Employees in “The Great Resignation”
Sponsors
00:09:52 SPONSOR: Novo: Get Your Free business banking account in just 10 minutes at BankNovo.com/SBS.
00:11:23 SPONSOR: Hunter Douglas — Visit HunterDouglas.com/SBS today for your free Style Gets Smarter design guide to see their smart solutions for dressing your windows.
00:12:45 Build a culture where you Focus on results, not recognition.
Working hard is great, but there’s a big difference between 90% and 100%.
Systems over Goals
“What is measured improves”
Focus on Less
Create a To-Did List
00:41:38 SBS 368 Outtro
feedback@businessshow.co
Our LinkedIn MasterMind Group
The post Creating a Culture Focused on Results – Small Business Show 368 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Feb 16, 2022 • 46min
Dissecting the Wordle Business + Developing a Problem Solving Mindset
It’s a grab bag of topics for episode 367 of The Small Business Show this week! First, we jump into a discussion of Wordle and their business model, then we talk about the Problem-Solving Mindset and how to develop it if you don’t already have it.
Join your hosts Shannon Jean and Dave Hamilton for another Small Business Show extravaganza!
00:00:00 Small Business Show #367 for Wednesday, February 16, 2022
We are SmallBusinessing.com
00:03:26 Dissecting the Wordle Business
Solo-preneur, Josh Wardle (at least for Wordle)
Target audience of one (at least initially)
Lean-and-mean development (Wordle runs in your browser, not on a server)
Got game play right, then social
As a software engineer at Reddit, he created The Button and Place
Greg from Jungle Scout on Small Business Show
00:19:05 SPONSOR: Shopify – For anyone to sell anywhere, Shopify is giving you a fourteen-day trial and full access to Shopify’s entire suite of features. Visit Shopify.com/sbs to get yours!
00:20:55 No Problems…No Business!
PSM: The Problem-Solving Mindset
“Do you want help? Or do you just want to talk it out?”
The Obstacle is The Way by Ryan Holiday
feedback@businessshow.co
Brian Friss from Digistor – “Don’t Make Fear-Based Decision”
00:44:39 SBS 367 Outtro
The post Dissecting the Wordle Business + Developing a Problem Solving Mindset – Small Business Show 367 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Feb 9, 2022 • 42min
Managing Your Small Business During a Labor Shortage
Your employees are the life of your business. But what happens when you must operate in a tight labor market with increasing costs? How do you attract and keep employees during a labor shortage?
Let’s look into the reasons we are having a labor shortage in the first place, then how to deal with it related to your employees and how it impacts your customers. We then look to the future to predict the long-term impact on Small Businesses.
00:00:00 Small Business Show #366 for Wednesday, February 9, 2022
00:01:47 Today’s Tip: Get Free Shipping Supplies from USPS, UPS, FedEx
00:08:26 SPONSOR: Bambee – Let Bambee help with your dedicated HR Manager! Go to Bambee.com/SMALL right now to schedule your free trial!
00:10:07 Labor Shortage Forgiveness and Loyalty Building.
The “End of Cheap”
There’s No Such Thing as Free Shipping
Far less kids work
00:29:19 How to keep your employees
00:40:13 SBS 366
The post Managing Your Small Business During a Labor Shortage – Small Business Show 366 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.


