Business Brain – The Entrepreneurs’ Podcast

Do you compartmentalize your business? How do you keep things in perspective when solving problems? We discuss the importance of AMF (always moving forward!) when tackling problems with your small business as well as setting up triggers to help keep you accountable. We then move into a discussion of the new Federal Overtime rules that hike the hourly threshold from $23,660 to $47,476. How will this impact your managers and supervisors that are salaried? Will you adjust pay rates to cover additional overtime payments? Dave and Shannon do their best to be objective and discuss both sides of this new rule. In this episode, you can also find out how to get yourself one of the coveted Small Business Show T-shirts shown below. It’s simple, we promise! And we wrap up the show with some tips on Facebook advertising that you won’t want to miss with information about targeting your audience, getting help and finding out about local Facebook events near you. Listen in, learn and join in the discussion! We would love to hear from you via our voicemail and text line at 401-472-4249 or on our Facebook page. Show links: New Federal overtime rules – article in the NY Post Facebook business advertising info What works best on Facebook? Boosted posts, promoted posts or newsfeed ads? Good article on the CBO blog. Finding local Facebook events to learn about promoting your business on the site.   The post Salaried vs Hourly Employees, Facebook ads and more! – SBS 67 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Does everything always go right with your small business? We didn’t think so. Dave and Shannon have had a bad week and no amount of their patented optimistic self-delusion will get them through without spending some time on the Small Business Show sharing their stories and talking through ways to keep yourself and your team motivated when times are tough. Shannon talks about the risks of being overly optimistic and what to do when donuts just aren’t enough to get smiles back on your employees faces after a setback. Dave share’s a story about using the law to solve a problem when things go really bad. Speaking of the law, we discuss advice from your attorney and why you should take every step possible before you file a lawsuit that will eat up your cash, your time and your mindshare that would otherwise be focused on your small business. We’re big fans of outside advisors and this week we talk about Clarity.fm. Clarity’s service can connect you with business experts on a cost-per-minute basis when you need some quick advice in a specialized area. If you are a business consultant, Clarity also offers a good way to connect with new clients. Where else can you get a phone call from Mark Cuban, even it does set you back $167 per minute! Listen in and you’ll learn about the importance of the destroyed floor photo above and much more on episode 66 of the Small Business Show! The post Small Business Highs and Lows. Overcoming Adversity and Powering Through Problems – SBS 66 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

What happens to your well thought-out Small Business plans if you become incapacitated? Who steps in to handle the myriad of details that you take care of each day. Dave and Shannon have discussed the more formal ways to setup a succession plan, such as disability insurance and Key Man policies, but what about the equally important, but informal information that you may have stuck in your head? We talk about how we setup “bread crumb” trails to help whoever may have to step in to take over our role, as well as ways to share information to help during a management transition. We call this the “Hit By a Bus” plan. Shannon then opens a discussion about a new book by Scott Adams of Dilbert fame, “How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big.” A favorite quote, “goals are for losers,” leads us to talk about Adams’ concept of Systems instead of Goals. You’ll hear about why we think this is right on target and you’ll find out if Dave or Shannon have EVER set a financial Goal for their businesses. We wrap up the show with a powerful story from Dave based on the idea that it never hurts to ask as well as a phone call from Scott that sheds some insight into Dave’s idea of becoming an Expert Witness as a side business. Our favorite comment from Scott: “You’re basically teaching children, using adult language”. Thanks for the call, Scott! The post Small Business Planning for the Worst and Scott Adams Book – SBS 65 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Ever have a crazy idea? Of course you have. Exploring those ideas can be the thing that leads to the next business opportunity. And that next business opportunity might eventually be the thing that puts food on your table. You need to pay attention to those crazy ideas, but you also need to learn how to make sure you don’t just spend your time chasing all the ideas. Shannon and Dave have experience with both sides of this and today’s the day they talk about it. Dave even throws in a new crazy idea of his own… and who knows? Maybe it’ll be lucrative some day soon! We also spend some time talking about how to deal with naysayers, if you should be sharing all your crazy ideas or just waiting to talk about how things are going once you get them started and giving yourself permission to just mess around. You just never know where things will lead and if you don’t let yourself wander a bit, you’re bound to miss opportunities. We wrap up the show by discussing your personal brand, when to start developing it, why you need to in the first place and what you can do with it once everyone knows what a rock star you actually are. Come join us! The post Crazy Ideas vs. Managing Your Time and Naysayers – SBS 64 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Any growth for your small business is good and the faster the better, right? Bryan O’Connell, co-founder of Meras Engineering would disagree! Bryan joins us today on the Small Business Show to talk about managing growth, choosing business partners, finding an advisory group that holds you accountable and more. We also discuss the value of an MBA degree, creating a customer obsessed culture and when to make yourself slow down so you can think. Great show today with some valuable insight and advice from 12-years of building Meras into the success it is today. Join us! Mentions: Alliance of CEO’s The post Managing the Growth of your Business with Bryan O’Connell of Meras Engineering – SBS 63 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Kelan Raph has built a career helping people get their products from point A to point B. With his current venture, Grand Canal Solutions, he and his team have developed Optimize, a service that automatically identifies enhancements and optimizations to your product shipments, warehousing and more. Kelan talks to Shannon and Dave about blending partnerships with opportunities, his marketing experiments, how best to manage interruptions and much MUCH more! Kelan is a big fan of business books, and recommended more than a few, including: Getting Things Done by David Allen (listen on Audiobook) The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker Rework The Lean Startup Join us on this episode of the Small Business Show to learn more about optimizing your business as well as your time. The post Optimizing your Small Business & Your Time: Kelan Raph of Grand Canal Solutions – SBS 62 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Ever thought about selling your business? We thought so! Bob Grewal  of Seapoint Business Advisors sells businesses for a living, and he deals with all kinds of issues you haven’t even considered yet. Recasting financials, dealing with your employees, reducing the perception of risk and distributing revenue are all things you’ll have to deal with and Bob provides some great perspective on all of that and more! Listen today and learn how the process might work, along with some of Bob’s favorite stories of things that have happened along the way. Join us for the Small Business Show! Bob Grewal: Seapoint Business Advisors The post When and How to Sell Your Small Business – Seapoint Business Advisors – SBS 61 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

In 1995 it was predicted that the Internet would kill “the middleman.” Here we are a couple decades later and not only are middlemen still in business, they’re the norm. In fact, as Dave and Shannon discover, everyone is a middleman, even if only for themslves, and that’s OK. Add in a dash about the Gig Economy and a sideline tangent about what the world might be like without vehicle ownership and you’ve got yourself a perfectly-crafted episode of the Small Business Show! Stuff mentioned: In Defense of the Middleman Turo (formerly RelayRides) The post Small Business Middleman – thriving in the internet age? – SBS 60 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Shannon and Dave put on their kevlar vests – and tinfoil hats – and tackle the topic of a rising minimum wage as it relates to small business. Do you hire entry level employees or summer workers? Who will benefit from this? Who will get special exemptions with the government? How will it work? These are the questions Shannon and Dave ask… and they’re brave (foolish?) enough to answer them, too. Listen to what your two favorite business geeks have to say and then send in comments of your own! Stuff mentioned: Swedish town gets an unmanned convenience store Seattle’s Minimum Wage Approaches $15 The post Would a $15 Per Hour Minimum Wage Impact Your Small Business? – SBS 59 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Long-time technology journalist Jason Snell spent 17 years writing, editing and managing teams at Macworld magazine before leaving that behind to start his own small business publishing company, SixColors.com. Along the way, Jason also created and managed various Podcasts like The Incomparable, TV Talk Machine, and Upgrade. Jason joins Shannon and Dave to talk about the experience of moving from manager to business owner, and shares some of his favorite stories along the way. This week’s Small Business Show includes some key moments where things like authenticity, focus, enthusiasm, passion and reliability come up during the discussion.  A podcasting pro, Jason makes for an entertaining and engaging guest… download, press play, and enjoy!     The post Jason Snell from Six Colors: From Magazine Editor to Small Business Publisher– SBS 58 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.