Business Brain – The Entrepreneurs’ Podcast

As Small Business owners, building and keeping trust with potential and existing customers is critical to our success. Join us today on the Small Business Show for an interview with Bjorn Burnett, a Small Business owner in the insurance and financial planning field. Bjorn has transitioned to a 2nd career in the insurance and finance field and shares how he came up with a system to add value to clients to gain referrals and then convert those referrals to future clients. Listen into the show, then ask questions and comment in the Small Business Support Group. We look forward to seeing you there! Chapters/Timestamps 00:00:00 Small Business Show #176 for Wednesday, June 20, 2018 00:00:42 Second (or third!) career 00:01:17 Interview: Bjorn Burnett 00:02:30 Putting out fires… and not the business kind! 00:03:00 What else can I do with my life? 00:05:06 Made my own stupid financial decisions… and then took a class 00:06:12 What does it take to be an advisor? 00:06:37 The reality of not making any money right away 00:08:43  Preparing for the Cash Flow Shift 00:12:00 The Referral Key “Bring us 300 People to Call” 00:13:22 Discipline and Consistency: Be Prepared to Ask for the Referral 00:15:34 Add Value First 00:17:42 Become a therapist – Get used to heavy conversations 00:18:56 How do you build trust? 00:22:10 Consistency in approach across multiple clients 00:23:07 Identify the idea client 00:24:46 Favorite mistake? 00:27:45 Expanding to the non-local solopreneur 00:29:03 SBS Outtro The post Building Trust and Using Referrals to Grow Your Small Business – Bjorn Burnett Interview– Small Business Show 176 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Getting started with your Small Business can be challenging. Finding the initiative to power through obstacles is a critically important step on your path towards Small Business world domination. Join us today to hear our tips on startup initiative as well as steps to keep initiative going when you get in a slump and how to keep the fire of initiative lit with your employees’ and partners. We have talked about creating your own reality and “tricking” your brain to turn it into a machine that will propel you to success when you’re just getting started, but what about when you hit the inevitable “rut” of running your Small Business? We can help you with that, as well. And then there’s the people around you, your employees’ and partners that you may have to re-charge their initiative from time to time. Listen in and hear how your hosts Dave Hamilton and Shannon Jean have kept that fire lit over the years. How about you? Share your experience, your tips and ask questions in the Small Business Support Group. Join 300+ Small Business owners, get and give help and find ways to rekindle that initiative we’re all looking for. Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #175 for Wednesday, June 13, 2018 00:02:22 Don’t be afraid of what you don’t know 00:03:42 Shannon’s Get-Started List Pretend there are no barriers Unlimited Resources Don’t let “common sense” to get in your way 00:06:00 Share carefully Share your ideas with Shannon and Dave – feedback@businessshow.co 00:07:53 Getting out of a rut Make a Task List Manage Yourself 00:11:31 Use Calculus every day 00:12:00 When The River of Momentum Dries up Write it down! 00:13:33 Create a success list 00:14:30 Look at your system 00:15:43 The time to talk 00:18:03 Be comfortable being vulnerable 00:19:33 SPONSOR: Simple Contacts – Get $30 off at https://simplecontacts.com/sbs or enter SBS at checkout 00:21:18 SPONSOR: Visit TextExpander.com/podcast for 20% off your first year. 00:22:58 Creating initiative in others 00:26:15 Changing/Breaking Habits 00:29:11 Have the freedom to talk freely with your partners 00:31:13 What is your passion project? Fuel sideways thinking Employee success lists 00:34:49 Give people autonomy TextExpander for Controlled Autonomy 00:37:43 SBS 175 Outtro The post Finding and Keeping Initiative for Your Small Business – Small Business Show 175 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

What happens if your Small Business partnership fails? What is the best way to handle ending a partnership to avoid a major battle and to keep your focus on the continued success of your company? Join us today on the Small Business Show to hear how Shannon Jean and Dave Hamilton have ended partnerships without destroying friendships, finances and entire businesses. So, you’re a regular listener to the Small Business Show, followed our advice and created your own reality with a thriving business and have started to live a Charmed Life when out nowhere, your business partner begins to lose interest and stops managing their part of the business. Despite your best attempts to fix the problem, you’ve come to the conclusion that ending the partnership is the only way to save your Small Business. How do you proceed? On this episode of the Small Business Show, we discuss some creative ways to end a partnership while respecting all parties involved. Listen in and then visit the Small Business Support Group to comment and share your own tips! Chapters/Timestamps 00:00:00 Small Business Show #174 for Wednesday, June 6, 2018 00:01:43 “Almost halfway there” 00:04:35 Creating your own reality 00:05:01 “You’re almost finished!” 00:05:36 About our sponsorships, and benchmarks of success 00:07:33 SPONSOR: Simple Contacts – Get $30 off at https://simplecontacts.com/sbs or enter SBS at checkout 00:09:22 SPONSOR: GoDesignerGo.com/SBS – SBS50 00:10:54 end sponsor block 00:10:54 Ending a partnership 00:12:43 Don’t skip the Working Agreement 00:14:03 Approach is everything 00:15:06 Make the business and the end of it real 00:18:25 Side business can suffer lack of attention 00:20:00 Find an internal mediator 00:20:34 Separate personal loyalty from business loyalty 00:23:34 Don’t carry animosity 00:25:15 Work on it together – “Same side of the table” 00:27:30 Before hiring an attorney, talk through an earn out 00:31:28 The value of walking away for $1 00:33:41 Communication is key 00:36:14 SBS 174 Outtro – feedback@businessshow.co The post How to End a Small Business Partnership – Small Business Show 174 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

small business systems and gdpr compliance       Why are systems more important for your Small Business than goals? Join us today for episode 173 of the Small Business Show to learn more about this awesome technique to accelerate your success. After the systems discussion, we jump into details of the recently enacted GDPR privacy and data management laws enacted by the EU. Does your Small Business need to worry about the GDPR? You’ll want to listen in to find out if you do and how to comply. Listen in for all this and more, then join us on the Small Business Support Group to share your thoughts! 00:00:00 Small Business Show #173 for Wednesday, May 30, 2018 00:01:30 Goals vs. Systems 00:07:12 Breakthroughs come from Systems 00:07:58 Treat the carrot as the byproduct 00:12:00 Your business is not THAT business, it’s YOUR business 00:13:40 Contact Shannon and Dave: feedback@businessshow.co or Small Business Support Group 00:13:52 The GDPR Talk 00:18:38 The burden of GDPR Xero.com GDPR Small Business Guide 00:21:02 The eventual poster child 00:26:27 Act in Good Faith, Follow the Instructions 00:28:06 Passwords are insufficient FileVault 2 TrueCrypt is dead! Check VeraCrypt or CipherShed 00:30:00 Protecting Customer Data and Privacy 00:32:53 On the internet, we need speed limits, stop signs, and maybe even speed bumps 00:35:58 SBS 173 Outtro The post Small Business Systems vs. Goals and Complying with GDPR – Small Business Show 173 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

What essential Small Business Tools can you not live without? Join us today on the Small Business Show to hear from Shannon Jean and Dave Hamilton about the hardware, software and more they use to make their businesses run smoothly each day. Check the show notes below for a list of tools we discuss and join us to hear in detail why we believe these are essential for our success. Chapters/Timestamps 00:00:00 Small Business Show #172 for Wednesday, May 23, 2018 00:01:36 Small Business Support Group 00:02:30 Freedom vs. Flexibility 00:03:19 FileMaker 00:09:00 MacBook Pro and iPhone 00:11:01 Mail Act-On 00:13:29 SaneBox 00:16:31 SPONSOR: Visit TextExpander.com/podcast for 20% off your first year. 00:20:17 Synology DiskStation Synology Drive Synology Office 00:23:38 Slack Fastmail AOL Instant Messenger (RIP) 00:28:56 Trello Trello-Slack Integration 00:31:04 Microsoft Excel (or any Spreadsheet) Google Sheets Apple’s Numbers 00:33:25 Pixelmator ImageOptim 00:35:49 Music while you work! iTunes 00:39:19 Free time 00:43:25 SBS 172 Outtro The post Essential Tools for Small Business Owners – Small Business Show 172 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

The strength of your relationships with vendors and suppliers is critically important for the success of your Small Business. What’s the best method and when is the right time for you to start these relationships? Join us on episode 171 of the Small Business Show to hear our tips about this topic and more! Listen in and you’ll hear why timing is important and ways to make a human connection with all your vendors. Learn why Shannon Jean and Dave Hamilton believe that a good personality fit is important and why you should not be looking for professional help when you really need it (like in an emergency). Taking the time to find the right vendors and support partners for your Small Business can make all the difference. You’ll also hear how good communication can keep vendor relationships strong, how to leverage one good vendor to find another and the story behind why Shannon’s accountant fired him as a client! Join us today for the Small Business Show and then share your comments on the Small Business Support Group! Chapters/Timestamps: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #171 for Wednesday, May 16, 2018 00:01:00 We want you to come on the show: feedback@businessshow.co 00:01:53 Forge Relationships with your Vendors 00:03:11 Get on their radar Use your affinity credit cards 00:07:29 When shipping: Beware the fees! 00:09:58 Find your vendors before you need them 00:12:30 Find the right vendors that fit your business 00:14:00 Create a litmus test 00:17:03 Find a good graphics person 00:17:50 SPONSOR: GoDesignerGo.com/SBS – SBS50 00:20:34 Keep your vendors up-to-date 00:23:15 Shannon Got Fired! (by his accountant) 00:24:43 Using Slack with your clients Large slack groups 00:27:07 Don’t forget the humanity 00:30:10 SBS 171 Outtro The post Forging Small Business Relationships with Vendors and Suppliers – Small Business Show 171 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Should you cut corners to speed up starting a new business? If so, what corners can you safely cut that won’t create problems for you in the future? Join us today on the Small Business Show to get our take on what you should cut and what you should not! We start this episode off with a rant from Dave about unreconciled accounts and leaving cash on your suppliers books (hint: don’t do this). Shannon discusses his experience with business people that didn’t think refunds should actually be, well refunded, and why the stuff you least enjoy doing (accounting, for example) might be just the stuff you need to pay the most attention to. Our focus on this show is all about moving things forward. Not letting problems, delays or other peoples obstacles get in the way of your Small Business. Listen in and then join us at the Small Business Support Group to share your thoughts! Chapters/Timestamps 00:00:00 Small Business Show #170 for Wednesday, May 9, 2018 00:01:02 Whine: Not catching an unreconciled deposit…. For 2 years! 00:07:30 Managing Refunds 00:09:57 When accounting isn’t your favorite! Brian O’Connell on Small Business Show 00:12:03 SPONSOR: Visit TextExpander.com/podcast for 20% off your first year. 00:14:47 Cutting Corners – Taking the Liberty of Convenience 00:20:51 Move things forward! 00:23:25 Waiting for Permission is much worse than Taking the Wrong Action 00:26:39 Our Small Business Support Group on Facebook 00:28:50 aSBS 170 Outtro The post Removing Obstacles to Your Small Business Success – Small Business Show 170 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Longtime listeners know that we believe that saying Yes more can help your personal brand and your business, but is there a point where saying No becomes more important? We think there is, and that part of your own Success Cycle is knowing when to say No and how it impacts your Small Business. Join us today as Shannon Jean and Dave Hamilton share their experiences using No to manage projects and take on just the tasks that will fuel your own achievement system. We discuss the differences between saying no in your personal life and in your Small Business and how you can easily fool yourself into thinking you’ve being productive, rather than just filling up your schedule. You’ll also hear about ways to say no to the request, not to the person making it, how to use a “conditional yes” to manage situations and we’ll help you stand strong against prioritizing other people’s emergencies. Join us today for all this and more on this episode of the Small Business Show. Then, visit the Small Business Support Group to share your thoughts, ask questions and join the conversation. Chapters/Timestamps 00:00:00 Small Business Show #169 for Wednesday, May 2, 2018 00:01:49 Shannon and Dave are here for the No Show 00:02:59 The Personal “No” 00:06:43 Managing your system 00:09:24 The “Fill my Schedule” trap 00:12:00 Procrastinating with Productivity 00:14:53 Harvard Business Review: “Say no to the request, not the person” 00:18:15 SPONSOR: GoDesignerGo.com/SBS – Save 50% off the start of your subscription with SBS50 00:22:04 Understanding the “Conditional Yes” 00:25:30 Is someone else going to have to do the work? 00:26:23 Do you have the confidence to say “no”? 00:27:39 Prioritizing Other People’s Emergencies 00:29:41 The Empowered “No” 00:31:01 Sometimes Exceptions become policy 00:35:55 SBS 169 Outtro The post The Power of Saying NO – Small Business Show 169 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Running your Small Business is not always glamorous and full of inspiration. There’s going to be days (weeks, months) that you have to resign yourself to slogging through the muck, solving what may seem like insurmountable problems, all the while keeping yourself and your team motivated to make it through the day. On this episode of the Small Business Show, Dave Hamilton and Shannon Jean discuss adversity, sharing their own stories and offering some tips on how to endeavor to persevere. On a recent episode, we focused on the Charmed Life that can be created by owning one or more Small Businesses. We got called out a bit in the Small Business Support Group from a business owner that was frustrated that we were forgetting about the struggle that many Small Business owners face each day, that living a “Charmed Life” just wasn’t an option for these folks. Based on that feedback, this episode focuses on the struggle, grinding it out each day when you need to and how to power through tough times. All the while, we remind the commenter that they were already creating their own Charmed Life by being able to make their own decisions, to control their own destiny by solving those problems, by battling through the struggle. Join us today for a special episode of the Small Business Show, then visit the Support Group to take part in the conversation! Chapters: 00:00:00 Small Business Show #168 for Wednesday, April 25, 2018 00:01:05 Shannon and Dave get called out! 00:02:04 All About that Grind 00:04:31 Parable: The Flat-Panel TV Débâcle Buy everyone’s problems 00:07:41 Tip: Be able to adapt 00:08:21 Scott, on Facebook: “Some of us haven’t gotten there yet!” 00:08:53 Parable: “This will put us out of business.” 00:12:44 When your self-worth is wrapped up in your business’s success 00:13:34 Tip: Bull-headed persistence Endeavor to Persevere 00:18:46 Parable: The sleep-aid story 00:20:14 Tip: Embrace the stress (at an acceptable level) 00:21:10 “Find other people’s Problems” (translates to Dave’s “Take People’s Headaches Away”) 00:22:48 SPONSOR: Visit TextExpander.com/podcast for 20% off your first year. 00:26:02 The grind never ends 00:26:31 Do you want to hear Dave and Shannon whine? feedback@businessshow.co 00:28:01 Tip: Accept the definition of insanity 00:28:58 Tip: Try new things and document them 00:29:43 Tip: Force yourself to look at what’s not working 00:31:33 Tip: Accept good fortune, but don’t count on it! 00:33:53 Tip: Keep yourself mentally strong 00:38:14 Tip: Embrace small successes Create a Success List 00:42:17 Tip: Program your moist robot 00:42:54 Tip: Look in the mirror, even when things are going bad Stuart Smally By Golly People Like Me 00:44:55 SBS 168 Outtro The post Powering Through the Daily Grind of Running Your Small Business – Small Business Show 168 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

What’s the secret to living a Charmed Life and using your Small Businesses as fuel to create it? Join us today on the Small Business Show to learn how Dave Hamilton and Shannon Jean have founded a multitude of Small Businesses over their lifetimes to bring them much more than profits. We’ve mentioned the Charmed Life on our show many times, in fact, it’s usually a sign-off message at the end of each show, encouraging you to “Keep living that Charmed Life!” It’s such an important part of our experience that we thought it was time to dig deep into the details and explain just what we mean with that phrase and how you can join us on this awesome journey. You’ll learn about creating a Success Cycle that keeps you moving forward, enriching your life along the way, how to create simple Working Agreements that not only keep things clear between prospective business partners, but act as a “test” when you are just at the beginning of a potential partnership. We then jump into a discussion about Freedom vs. Flexibility and why understanding the difference can, well, make all the difference in your perception of just what success is. Join us today and you’ll also gain some valuable insight on our concept of creating your own reality and why being able to write your own story is a huge part of the Charmed Life experience. During the discussion, we also touch on the financial benefits of your Small Business and why we believe that making money is secondary and that you will ultimately build more wealth with this method. We wrap up the show with a discussion about “selfishness” and why it’s a positive thing to enrich your own self so you can help others along the way. You don’t want to miss this episode of the Small Business Show!  Listen in, then come join hundreds of other Small Business owners in the Small Business Support Group. Chapters/Timestamps 00:00:00 Small Business Show #167 for Wednesday, April 18, 2018 00:02:31 You’re building a set of stairs 00:03:35 Why do you want to do this? 00:06:09 When setup right, success comes quickly 00:07:26 The nuts and bolts of that Working Agreement 00:09:29 The Success Cycle 00:10:26 Living the Charmed Life Freedom vs. Flexibility 00:11:29 Tell your own story, create your own reality 00:13:11 Time is our most precious commodity 00:14:47 Don’t feel guilty about the charmed life! 00:16:52 Flexible financial picture 00:18:38 90% of my life is tax deductible 00:20:00 Creating your second family 00:21:30 Be selfish about making yourself feel good when helping others 00:22:35 Book a trip for someone else 00:23:52 And then book a trip for yourself 00:25:17 Non-taxable income 00:25:25 Enjoy laughter “We have a great time working very hard” 00:28:00 The money is secondary 00:29:39 SBS 167 The post Enriching Your Life Beyond Profits With Your Small Business – Small Business Show 167 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.