Small Biz Life: Recent Episodes
Kristin & Jeffery Ingram
YOU STARTED A BUSINESS! YOU ARE AMAZING AT WHAT YOU DO.
But there is a lot more to running a successful business: accounting, marketing, IT, sales, management. You wear so many hats. Add family, friends, health, home…no wonder you are tired!
WE GET IT! We have been small business owners for the past seven years and have worked with small business owners for the last fourteen years.
We know the challenges of finding the right solutions and juggling all the responsibilities.
We know how hard it is to put YOURSELF on the to-do-list.
YOU ARE NOT ALONE. COME JOIN THE COMMUNITY. TOGETHER WE CAN GROW AND THRIVE.
Today's Topic – Why they travel and Why it matters Please Subscribe, Rate and Review us on iTunes
For complete Fantasy Worldbuilding, show notes go to Gardul.com
Podcast Show Flow 1. From the point of view of the Agrarian Society 2. Why it is so important 3. War 4. Trading 5. Migration 6. Jobs / Education 7. Religion 8. Curiosity / Holiday 9. Biological evolution from our Hunter Gather past?
WBT Plan a trip for your character to go there and back again
RW Task The Hobbit Read or audio Michael's Resources Use Gardul.com/Amazon when shopping online to help support the show
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Today's Topic – Part 3 on Worldbuilding culture nouns Please Subscribe, Rate and Review us on iTunes
For complete Fantasy Worldbuilding, show notes go to Gardul.com
Podcast Show Flow * The parts of Culture + Characters served up last season + People Starting in the last episode of season 4 + Religion * People Questions + Where does the religion exist? + Who uses the religion + What happens in the religions + When are your holy times + How does the worship happen + Why does the worshipping happen
WBT When the gods are failed
RW Task Have some purpose to this new year
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This was the toughest week for us at Small Biz Life We started this project with being ambitions, however, we had to make the tough choice to close it done. We love our members and hope that the future access to this content will help you as you grow in your businesses.
This website and podcast will not go down and the Focus Master Plan and Mastering your Time is still available to our members and for sale if you want to get started on those systems to help your business. Ingram Digital Media is not going away we have just stopped publishing new episodes and have closed the membership group.
Kristin will be focusing on Accounting in Focus Kristin will be spending more time helping college students thrive in their mandatory accounting classes in college at AccountingInFocus.com and teach all college students to get more studying done in less time at CollegeSuccessHacks.com.
Jeff will be focusing on world building and focus more on releasing his first book. Jeffery will continue advocating on the Worldbuilder's Anvil Podcast at Gardul.com and finishing up his first fantasy fiction novel.
Both of us will still continue to service clients as well. If you are looking for Business strategy, Tax Services, or help with your WordPress site email us at support@SmallBizLife.com
For complete show notes check out the podcast on @ smallbiz.life/160
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Kristin and Jeff start a new series about productivity systems, techniques, tools, or hacks. Join us as we review what is important to look at when you are trying to improve your productivity.
For complete show notes check out the podcast on @ smallbiz.life/159
Making shared responsibility work in your family and your business * Systems, techniques, tools, or hacks * What is the problem you are trying to solve with the new system? * What problem does the system solve? * How complicated is it? * How hard is it to adjust on the fly? * How long to set up? * How long to use once it is set up * Who do we think it would benefit?
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We all have failed at creating new habits. We maybe even think that we are not good at creating habits. Join Kristin and Jeff as we look at how to make those new habits stick.
For complete show notes check out the podcast on @ smallbiz.life/158
Making shared responsibility work in your family and your business * How long to make habit stick * James Clear's The 3 R’s of Habit Change: How To Start New Habits That Actually Stick
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Sales can be a problem for many small business owners. Jeff was no exception. The problem most of the time was knowing when a client was ready to close. If you struggle with your sales system, join Jeff and Kristin as we talk about our system to know when a lead is ready to close.
For complete show notes check out the podcast on @ smallbiz.life/157
Making shared responsibility work in your family and your business * Qualifying leads and the problem with BANT * Why should you use MARKETS? * M is for Money * A is for Authority * R is for Risk Tolerance * K is for Knowledge * E is for Eagerness * T is for Timeframe * S is Stories
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Episode 156 - What to look for in a small business cellphone
Have you ever thought about what you really need your cell phone to do? Some phones are better than others in key areas that affect your business. In this episode, we discuss what to look for in a phone and give some recommendations for each area.
For complete show notes check out the podcast on @ smallbiz.life/156
Making shared responsibility work in your family and your business * Everyone must buy-in to the team mentality * We must accept that things may not get done exactly the way we want them * Understanding how our brains are wired and appreciating everyone's contributions * Practicing mutual respect and positivity
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We often get asked how we do it all (raising our son while running two businesses and Kristin's teaching and being director of a graduate program) and still get along with each other. Today we discuss one of our most important tools: responsibility sharing.
For complete show notes check out the podcast on @ smallbiz.life/155
Making shared responsibility work in your family and your business * Everyone must buy-in to the team mentality * We must accept that things may not get done exactly the way we want them * Understanding how our brains are wired and appreciating everyone's contributions * Practicing mutual respect and positivity
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The 4 tips to help you to think differently about your marketing * New prerecording time on Facebook Wednesdays 3:30 EST Small Biz Life Community * Patreon for content providers * Udemey for selling courses and books * Look at companies who serve your client * More than gift cards
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As a solopreneur or small business owner, it is common to get caught up at your desk and as the digital world makes it easier to work from home. It can lead to chronic loneliness. Join Kristin and Jeff as we talk about the signs of loneliness and what we can do to avoid the seclusion.
For complete show notes check out the podcast on @ smallbiz.life/153
Signs of loneliness 1. Trouble sleeping 2. Spending lots of time on social media 3. Binge-watching TV 4. Taking lots of long, hot showers 5. Increased spending on "stuff" 6. Weight gain 7. Increased frequency of illness 8. Experiencing symptoms of depression
9 Secret Signs of Loneliness @ Everyday Health
Tips for fighting loneliness 1. Meet with a person or small groups 2. 1. Virtual coffee break 2. Meetups 3. Coworking space 4. Online hangouts 1. Networking groups 2. Chambers of Commerce 3. Kids playgroups 4. Industry groups 3. Larger groups of people 4. Civic groups 5. Nonprofit volunteering
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Small business owners are work very hard. Very quickly most learn that it will not be a simple 9 AM to 5 PM job. Join Kristin and Jeff in this episode giving five tips to prevent your small business from becoming a 24/7 job.
For complete show notes check out the podcast on @ smallbiz.life/152
The 5 tips no prevent your business from a 24/7 work lifestyle 1. You have to learn realistic expectations about what you can get done in a day. 2. Set realistic expectations for your customers 3. Systems in place so you are not working 90 hour weeks 1. Last work block should be review and catchup work for the day 4. Set a stop time 1. Get a business line cellphone if you cannot help yourself 2. Always respond to clients in your preferred method of contact 3. Do not disturb mode or Mute your phone 5. Cell phone tips
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Episode 151 - Contentment vs. Complacency https://www.smallbizlife.com/blog/151-contentment-vs-complacency
Episode 148 - Learning to sell like a mother with Renee Hribar https://www.smallbizlife.com/blog/148-learning-to-sell-like-a-mother-with-renee-hribar
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In this episode, we discuss how to find contentment in your business without becoming complacent. We will also discuss why working 90 hours per week and never be getting any sleep is not the goal.
For complete show notes check out the podcast on @ smallbiz.life/151
- How you can become content with your small business
- Be content, not Complacent
- Avoiding Complacency
- Going from the service provider to selling information without killing yourself
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Are you stuck how to use and grow Instagram for your small business? Check out this episode as Kristin and Jeff interview Roota Mittal to get the secrets of Instagram for small biz owners.
For complete show notes check out the podcast on @ smallbiz.life/150
- Why is Instagram important for Small Business Owners?
- What strategies should a business consider when using Instagram?
- How do you choose good hashtags?
- What's the best/fastest way to do that without paying for it (buying followers)
- What was her mix of personal/business posts like?
- Why is the 10k number of followers so important?
- Does she have a larger following on other social media platforms that she leveraged to get to 10K on IG?
- Now that she's there, how is planning to use what she can do on IG with this many followers?
- How did she do that same activity before she got to this milestone?
- Any idea why one IG account has stop-motion feature, but another (linked business accounts) does not have this super cool feature?
- Any thoughts on IGTV?
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hashtag research https://hashtagify.me/
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Whether you want to be a digital nomad, need a vacation, or need to travel for your business. You get to have a time when small business owners will need to work when they are on the road. Join Kristin and Jeff as they talk about the basics of what you need to consider when traveling.
For complete show notes check out the podcast on @ smallbiz.life/149
- Why do you want to be able to take your business on the road?
- What kind of work will you need to do?
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- Will you be streaming?
- Download before you leave
- Cloud vs. local
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- G-Suite
- Office 365
- How to protect yourself?
- Watch out where you stay
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If you are learning to love the word sales, or you just want to learn how to improve your sales process, join Kristin and Jeff as we learn how to sell like a mother with Renee Hribar.
For complete show notes check out the podcast on @ smallbiz.life/148
If you are learning to love the word sales, or you just want to learn how to improve your sales process, join Kristin and Jeff as we learn how to sell like a mother with Renee Hribar.
- How did you get started and why do you love it when so many people think selling is a four letter word?
- You focus on helping women with sales, what are some of the differences in sales for women compared to men?
- What is the biggest mistake people make with sales in their small businesses?
- Is it possible to make sales less scary or maybe even fun for owners?
- What is the most important thing people need to start selling more?
- What is the thing people should avoid when looking to improve their sales?
If you want to learn more about Renee or you want to improve your sales. You must go to www.reneehribar.com and improve your sales now!
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With all of the privacy concerns, it is no surprise that Chrome version 68 will start punishing sites with the "Not Secure" label. Join Kristin and Jeff as they talk about SSL and how you can protect your site from being labeled "Not Secure" by the chrome browser.
For complete show notes check out the podcast on @ smallbiz.life/147
- The SSL Chrome Shakeup
- What happens when you talk to a WordPress site
- What happens when you talk to a WordPress site
- Getting a certificate
- Why your website is not yet secure
- 3 Things you need to do to get SSL setup
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A secure web is here to stay https://blog.chromium.org/2018/02/a-secure-web-is-here-to-stay.html
More on How HTTPS works https://robertheaton.com/2014/03/27/how-does-https-actually-work/
More on How HTTP works https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypertext_Transfer_Protocol
man-in-the-middle attacks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man-in-the-middle_attack
Certificate authority https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Certificate_authority
Website Hosting Service https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_hosting_service
Let's Encrypt https://letsencrypt.org/
Really Simple SSL https://wordpress.org/plugins/really-simple-ssl/
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On June 21, 2018, the supreme court sided with the state of South Dakota in their suit against Wayfair. On the surface, it appears to be a fair ruling.
But for small online businesses, it is not that simple There are over 12,000+ sales tax jurisdictions in the United States, and that should leave you concerned about your business. So join Kristin Ingram, CPA, MSAT and Jeffery Ingram as the discuss the potential impact of the ruling on your small business.
For complete show notes check out the podcast on @ smallbiz.life/146
- SOUTH DAKOTA v. WAYFAIR, INC., ET AL.
- Sales Tax Nexus risk after the Wayfair Case
- Types of nexus
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SOUTH DAKOTA v. WAYFAIR, INC., ET AL. https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/17pdf/17-494_j4el.pdf
Sales Tax Nexus risk after the Wayfair Case https://www.salestaxinstitute.com/sales_tax_faqs/what_is_nexus
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Episode 145 - Extensions that make chrome amazing
Opening your browser can be dangerous as a small business owner. However, so many parts of our business exist online. So join Kristin and Jeff this episode as discuss extensions that will help make your browser start working for your small business.
For complete show notes check out the podcast on @ smallbiz.life/145
- Security
- Time Saver
- Web Research
- SEO and Web Design
- Clippers and saving plugins
- Money and shopping
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Today Kristin and Jeff will be discussing what you should do when your client is not your ideal client.
For complete show notes check out the podcast on @ smallbiz.life/144
- MARKETS
- 15-minute discovery call
- Proposal Secrets
- Know when to walk away
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Discuss the questions you should ask, how the process works, and what you should have when the project is over.
For complete show notes check out the podcast on @ smallbiz.life/143
- Before you start the search
- Red Flags
- Caution
- Things to consider
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Small business owners work a lot of hours, but why? In this episode, Jeff and Kristin will look at how small business owners define full-time and why it might be time for a new definition.
For complete show notes check out the podcast on @ smallbiz.life/142
According to SCORE, various polls show that 25 to 39% of small business owners work more than 60 hours per week. Based on our experience, we believe it's more than that. In this episode, we will explore some critical questions:
- How do small business owners define full-time?
- Why do small business owners work twice as much as employees?
- Where are small business owners spending their time?
- Are you working below your pay grade?
- How can we reverse this trend?
Some interesting research:
32% of time spent on the business vs. 68% spent in the business and other great data.
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In this episode, we discuss Fiverr, a website where you can purchase tasks for your business. There is some controversy regarding Fiverr. We discuss why you should check out the site if you need work done for your business or possibly even if you are a service provider.
For complete show notes check out the podcast on @ smallbiz.life/141
- What we are talking about?
- Look at all the tasks you do over the next 30 days
- What can you eliminate?
- What can you batch?
- What can you outsource?
- What can you automate?
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When's the last time you actually paid attention to all the crap you do each day, week, or month in your business? Today, we challenge you to do some busy work spring cleaning.
No, we don't mean do some spring cleaning as busy work, but let's clean out that list of busy work that's keeping you from actually doing the important stuff in your business. You know, like marketing and selling.
The challenge: In the next two weeks, identify, eliminate, batch, delegate, and automate!
For complete show notes check out the podcast on @ smallbiz.life/140
- What we are talking about?
- Look at all the tasks you do over the next 30 days
- What can you eliminate?
- What can you batch?
- What can you outsource?
- What can you automate?
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If you have a business that serves people online in 2018, the chances are you chunks of your business on Facebook. Starting with Ads, we have messenger bots, groups, and pages. Join Kristin and Jeff as they tackle the question, "Have we built too much of our platforms on Facebook?"
For complete show notes check out the podcast on @ smallbiz.life/139
What are the alternatives? * Ads? * Community? * Forums? * Messenger? * Events?
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Kristin and I are excited to talk with Michelle Lowery from michelleloweryva.com about Virtual Assistants and how they can aid your business. So join Kristin and I as we learn more about how to hire and start using virtual assistants in our business.
For complete show notes check out the podcast on @ smallbiz.life/138
What we are talking about Why did you become a VA?
What should people look for when hiring a VA? Are there any warning signs people should be aware of?
What does the onboarding process look like?
How do you handle access to client accounts?
How do your clients assign work to you?
What type of things can you do for a client?
What's the biggest misconception people have about VAs?
Join Michelle Lowery in Small Biz HQ and learn why she is so excited!
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Getting picked to speak can be exciting and maybe even a bit frightening. We scramble to get it all ready to give the speech of our life. However, it can be easy to forget a few necessary steps to support our events. Join Kristin and Jeff as we talk about the 5 things you need to remember BEFORE your speech.
For complete show notes check out the podcast on @ smallbiz.life/137
What we are talking about 1. Business cards 2. Bring a friend to take pictures 3. Know the tech landscape (what is available to you for your presentation) 4. Simple URL to get people on your list 5. Know if you can sell from the stage
If you need help starting your business and feel lost ask the CPA and IT Wizard in Small Biz HQ
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As business owners, we often feel the pressure to give away our work for free. For new service providers, it can feel especially tempting.
This idea does make us feel good in the short term, however, they can lead to stress later on when we are desperately trying to get more money to feed our families. Join Kristin and Jeff as they look at three things will allow you to help people while growing your business.
For complete show notes check out the podcast on @ smallbiz.life/136
What we are talking about * Networking * Share your knowledge * Build your own business
If you need help starting your business and feel lost ask the CPA and IT Wizard in Small Biz HQ
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Kristin always likes to talk about the problems of tax season. However, for most of you, it is not a season, but a rush of pain to get information to your accountant to fulfill you're a duty to your country. Listen now, as Kristin, with the help of Jeff, will talk about the 4 easiest ways to save time and stress preparing your taxes!
What we are talking about 1. Know what to expect 2. Simplify your bookkeeping 3. Update everything at least monthly 4. Summarize - do not give detail unless there is a question
If you are looking for more on how to create better mental checks and triggers. You need to check out Small Biz HQ
For complete show notes check out the podcast on @ smallbiz.life/135
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When we are surrounded by problems it is easy to get frustrated or flounder. Join Kristin and Jeff as they discuss ways you can do things without burnout and the drama that can accompany any changes that we make.
What we are talking about 1. Assess what you can control 2. Set expectations 3. Be Present 4. Make small changes 5. Check-in regularly
If you are looking for more on how to create better mental checks and triggers. You need to check out Small Biz HQ
For complete show notes check out the podcast on @ smallbiz.life/134
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If you are like us, time is a premium and you do not have a team dedicated to social media strategy. Maybe you have become too reliant on social media scheduling tools. Join Kristin and Jeff in this episode of Small Biz Life as they consider important questions for their social media usage. What we are talking about * What do I want to get from social media? * How can I convert social-media followers into customers? * What are the best social networks for my small businesses? * What types of content should I post on which social platforms? * How can I measure the success of my social media marketing efforts? * What is my budget?
What should I do? Look at the current state of your small business social media presence come up with a plan on how you can use a platform. Create tools and use tools to save time making better content.
If you struggle to create a marketing strategy, we invite you to join us at Small Biz HQ this month we will be talking about how to make a marketing plan for your business. There will be 4 life calls where you can ask questions and network with other small business owners.
For complete show notes check out the podcast on @ smallbiz.life/133
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The business cycle can be crazy. We can work nonstop and it can feel like we are not getting anywhere. Have you ever stopped to ask yourself if you are working on what is important? Join Kristin and Jeff as they explore this important topic. What we talk about in this episode * 5 ways we waste our time * The 3 things all small business owners should spend their time on * 5 things we can start doing now to stop the cycle
For complete show notes check out the podcast on SmallBizLife.com
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Do you have tax liabilities in another states or countries and not even know it? Nexus is a term that you might have heard but you aren't really sure what it is. Most small businesses don't think about it because it must be something only bigger businesses deal with but states and other countries are getting smarter. What we talk about in this episode * What is nexus? * How is nexus created? * Do I have presence in the European Union (EU)? * What is taxable? * What do I do if my shopping cart doesn't collect taxes? * How do I determine if I have nexus?
How do I get more help with this? First, I would talk to your CPA. If your CPA is not knowledgeable about nexus issues, find a consultant who is. If you need help with this, feel free to email Kristin@smallbizlife.com to book an appointment to discuss if you have nexus issues. For general support and questions join our Small Biz HQ Community
For complete show notes check out the podcast on SmallBizLife.com
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Kristin and I have both created many proposals in our 30 years of experience. We have seen a growing trend in proposals. Listen to today's episode as we discuss this trend and why, if you use it, this tactic it is hurting your business and different ways to change it to your advantage.
What we talk about in this episode * Kristin's Trade show blues * The problem tactic that needs to be fixed: Proposals without end dates * Why is it used? * Other times we have seen it * Problems with the tactic * + Either risk future margins or unduly raises the price you can offer today + A customer accepts your offer 5 years down the road + Focuses time and energy on inquiries that might never be hot leads + lose scarcity advantage + Might cause * Counterpoint: Should you use it? * + You have anchored the price in their head (Sticky prices) + Really need evidence * How can it be modified? * Focus on upping your proposal game
For complete show notes check out the podcast on SmallBizLife.com
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https://www.smallbizlife.com/blog/episode-130-the-one-thing-every-proposal-must-have
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Proposal Secrets https://juliestoian.co/proposal-secrets?affiliate_id=961037
Kristin and I easily have hundreds of discussions a year about websites with Small biz owners. So in this episode, we will be talking about the most common myths we hear about websites and give some simple advice on how to deal with your website.
- Homepages need to cover everything
-
- This is like the avatar problem, if you have it all on one page, the page will fail to serve anyone.
- Advanced marketing websites are very expensive to set up or
- Yeah but they are too difficult to DIY
- You get a boost to traffic when you launch your website
- You need to wait until your website is Completed to launch it!
For complete show notes check out the podcast on SmallBizLife.com
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https://www.smallbizlife.com/blog/episode-129-5-myths-about-small-business-website
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HostM for hosting and SSL https://www.hostm.com/
Wordpress https://wordpress.org
NameCheap https://www.namecheap.com/
Mailchimp https://mailchimp.com/
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We started our email list because everyone says that you need an email list. However, we found most of the platform gurus fail to explain how to use it. Join us in this podcast episode as we talk the 3 most common problems we see with companies' email strategies.
- Your idea of what an email list is is wrong
- Avatar
- You do not have a strategy
For complete show notes check out the podcast on SmallBizLife.com
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Join Kristin and Jeff as they look at this new tax deduction, that can reduce your small biz profits by $20,000. However, beware if you do not have wages and you make 1 dollar too much... It can cost you the entire deduction.
- How the government is incentivizing you because of tax reform of 2017
- Deduction tipping point based on all income sources in the household
- If your business profit is $100,000 you will get a $20,000 tax deduction
- If you can get the deduction and you exceed the tipping point of household income
- IRS has not determined if the shareholder's wages for corporations will count as of the recording of this episode on 2/16/2017
- Why the Federal government wants you to have employees?
- Dangers of having large clients for businesses.
- Benefits of converting subcontractors to employees
- Misconceptions of hiring subcontractors
- What you must have to get started
For complete show notes check out the podcast on SmallBizLife.com
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Gusto https://gusto.com/
Episode 101 - Saving for your retirement https://www.smallbizlife.com/blog/episode-101-saving-for-your-retirement
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Kristin and I understand that we will spend the rest of our lives raising our new son. Let us share with you what we have learned to improve our company so far after having a new child.
- Have procedures and checklists for EVERYTHING
-
- Daily focus planner
- Baby Brezza Formula Pro
- On Becoming Baby Wise: Giving Your Infant the Gift of Nighttime Sleep
- Purchase tools that make your life easier and automate things
- Trello
- Butler
- Create a schedule and task lists
- Do the most important tasks first – smart agility
- Always allow more time that you think you need and don’t wait until the last minute so you can give yourself some grace when needed
For complete show notes check out the podcast on SmallBizLife.com
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https://www.smallbizlife.com/blog/episode-126-5-things-being-new-parents-has-taught-us-about-small-business
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Daily focus planner https://www.smallbizlife.com/focus
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Butler https://butlerfortrello.com/
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We have been seeing all the headlines about how social media and how it hurts people. So Kristin and I pulled together the list of how we thought social media was hurting our small business and did some research.
So check out the latest episode and learn what shocked us... how our business is really being hurt by social media and how to fix the problem.
For complete show notes check out the podcast on SmallBizLife.com
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Why Instagram Is the Worst Social Media for Mental Health http://time.com/4793331/instagram-social-media-mental-health/
How Social Media Is Wrecking Your Sleep http://www.health.com/mind-body/too-much-social-media-could-mess-up-your-sleep-study-finds
6 Ways Social Media Affects Our Mental Health https://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2017/06/30/a-run-down-of-social-medias-effects-on-our-mental-health/#74bf494d2e5a
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It happens every year! Kristin and I start hearing or getting tagged in questions about people who are stuck finishing off their accounting books every year. We decided to ask our Small Biz Life Community for their questions to answer here!
How to get the most out of your small business bookkeeping without wasting time I get it. I hate bookkeeping and I am cheap. I do not like "paying" monthly fees. I am a cheapskate. However, this is one of those areas I have evolved. Kristin has managed to keep the books for all of our companies and families in about an hour a month.
Listen to this important episode that will free up your time, and all you to MAKE MORE MONEY NOW!
For complete show notes check out the podcast on SmallBizLife.com
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Quickbooks Online - https://quickbooks.intuit.com/online/
Stripe by Sush.io for Quickbooks online https://apps.intuit.com/app-b7qzxwhc5t
Freshbooks https://www.freshbooks.com/
Wave https://www.waveapps.com/
Xero https://www.xero.com/us/try/online-accounting/
So often we hear that spouses are not respecting our dreams, but then in the next post we see people angry with their spouse for wasting your time. Respecting each other is a key to having a happier marriage and is key to living the small biz life.
For complete show notes check out the podcast on SmallBizLife.com
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Focus Planner updated for 2018 https://www.smallbizlife.com/Focus
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As a business owner, no one knows your business better than you do. That's why you need to know the basics of income taxes.
I know. I know.
It's annoying.
It's complicated.
It's worse than a root canal.
So is paying too much in taxes because you don't know the rules. Yeah, that hurts, too.
For complete show notes check out the podcast on SmallBizLife.com
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Focus Planner updated for 2018 https://www.smallbizlife.com/Focus
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Tax Webinar for Small Biz Owners https://www.smallbizlife.com/HQ
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Are you stuck in a funk growing your small biz? Have you been putting off improving your health? Have your relationships suffered? Have you not been sleeping? It is the time that we all start living the small biz life and stop being lived by it. #NoExcuses
You are not alone Kristin and I have spent much of 2017 with you. We have had many excuses. Some real, but most where just extensions of our fear. Leading us to waste a lot of time, that is so precious. Join us in this podcast episode as we look at some of our biggest excuses, and some of the excuses we hear all the time. And how we can start working past them to live a year with no more excuses.
For complete show notes check out the podcast on SmallBizLife.com
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https://www.smallbizlife.com/blog/episode-121-no-more-excuses
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Focus Planner updated for 2018 https://www.smallbizlife.com/Focus
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Kristin and Jeff extend this hand of invitation for you to start planning for success in your business. However, before you join Planning Club, you need to accept the 4 rules of Planning Club.
- Rule 1 - Do not talk about planning club
- Rule 2 - Understand the problems with goals and planning
- Rule 3 - Plan smarter, not smart
- Rule 4 - Create good foundations for your plans
For complete show notes check out the podcast on SmallBizLife.com
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Episode 15 - Creating goals that are SMART https://www.smallbizlife.com/blog/episode-15-creating-goals-that-are-smart
Episode 98 - What to do when your plan fails https://www.smallbizlife.com/blog/episode-98-what-to-do-when-your-plan-fails
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The key to sales is effectively communicating your message. In this episode, Kristin and Jeff discuss tips for improving your communication online and in-person.
For complete show notes check out the podcast on SmallBizLife.com
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Episode 4 - Who is your ideal customer? http://www.smallbizlife.com/blog/episode-4-who-is-your-ideal-customer
Episode 113 - Why you need an avatar https://www.smallbizlife.com/blog/episode-113-why-you-need-an-avatar
Episode 12 - Are you speaking your customer's language? http://www.smallbizlife.com/blog/episode-12-are-you-speaking-your-customer-s-language
Episode 97 - How to deal with unhappy customers https://www.smallbizlife.com/blog/episode-97-how-to-deal-with-unhappy-customers
SEO Yoast WordPress plugin https://yoast.com/wordpress/plugins/seo/
Flesch Reading Ease Tool http://www.readabilityformulas.com/free-readability-formula-tests.php
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Kristin and I are always looking for ways to grow our online business. So we have started researching creating an online conference or summit. They offer much of the benefits of a real-life conference with networking and sales. However, the can be put together at a fraction of the cost.
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How to Earn Six Figures from a Virtual Summit https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/250580#
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Join Kristin and I as we go deeper into the future trend of small biz retail. The destination location.
Why are destination locations become so appealing? * Are you a destination or location? * + Destinations rely on people to make a conscious decision to stop at your business + Locations rely on high traffic areas to bring in customers * Creates a larger potential audience * Become a place people must see if near your area * Not just for craft stores
For complete show notes check out the podcast on SmallBizLife.com
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Especially if you run a small business. In the United States, it seems the craziness from Thanksgiving through New Year's Day can destroy us. However, we do not have the Rocket War Day every Easter Day like in Chios island in Greece. It takes surviving the holidays to a whole new level.
Survival is key if you want to thrive a holiday season like we talked about in Episode 67 - Thriving through peak season. However, not everyone is busy during the holidays. If we are slow sometimes survival is more difficult so this year Kristin and I decided to look at both.
For complete show notes check out the podcast on SmallBizLife.com
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https://www.smallbizlife.com/blog/episode-116-surviving-the-holidays
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Episode 67 - Thriving through peak season https://www.smallbizlife.com/blog/episode-67-thriving-through-peak-season
Episode 82 – Breaking out of your burnout https://www.smallbizlife.com/blog/episode-82-breaking-out-of-your-burnout
Rocket War Day https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IR7K-s2Z4sA
The Rocket War of Chios (Full Documentary) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDb_7hPNIoM
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Facebook keeps changing how it shares information with its users. Many times they make these very attractive for business owners and then when more people use it throttle it back page grew and then groups. However, Facebook reduced the usefulness without paying for Ads.
Do not get upset, change your focus to Facebook Events. Join Kristin and Jeff as the look at how you use facebook events to grow your business.
For complete show notes check out the podcast on SmallBizLife.com
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Why is it when Kristin and I talk to business owners about problems with marketing and sales they always seem adverse to the idea of building an audience in any fashion. Many will spend time developing content for platforms and leave the content hidden among the billions of sites on the internet and billions and billions of post in social media.
Many owners will:
- Create content
- Look at engagement
- Look at page views
- Look at followers
- give up if creating the material does not generate an audience
Building an audience takes effort It is marketing. It takes energy, strategy, and persistence. There is NO easy button. However, why spend the time creating valuable content without spending the time to turn that content into a marketing guru for your company.
You can build a machine that will generate you a predictable number of leads a month, which will lead to anticipated sales. We should all be looking for more predictable sales. So join Kristin and I as we talk some strategy about building an audience.
For complete show notes check out the podcast on SmallBizLife.com
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How to Build a Loyal Audience Online [Infographic]
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/build-audience-online
What You Think You Know About the Web Is Wrong
http://time.com/12933/what-you-think-you-know-about-the-web-is-wrong/
Link Building in 2017
https://ninjaoutreach.com/link-building-2017/
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Small business owners can be funny. We spend so much time trying to find better ways to run our businesses, we overload ourselves and get overwhelmed and avoid getting the basic work done that our business needs. We need to a few strategies when starting that we have to get done and in this episode, we are going to explain one, avatar.
Yes, we have talked avatars before Back in Episode 4 - Who is your ideal customer? and we also talked about your avatar in the sales process in Episode 79 - The 4x4x3 Insight Guide for Sales. If you do not believe us, Russel Brunson covered the subjects in Dot Com Secrets and more in his follow up book Expert Secrets.
The truth is Avatars, Ideal customers, or Perfect customers are not a secret So Kristin and I decided to do an entire episode talking about why having an avatar is important.
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Episode 4 - Who is your ideal customer? http://www.smallbizlife.com/blog/episode-4-who-is-your-ideal-customer
Episode 79 - The 4x4x3 Insight Guide for Sales https://www.smallbizlife.com/blog/episode-79-the-4x4x3-insight-guide-for-sales
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The human brain is funny. It will do many things to protect us. The worse thing it does is lie to us on our behalf. And to be honest Kristin and I see this a lot when business owners share content or try and sell online. We tell ourselves we are launching; however, we are really just checking off a to-do list item.
Sharing on Facebook and saying we are done is a failed launch! Even if we get a few people into our sales process and make a few sales and most people will not do even that. They will complain that they tried to do it and the people just did not want it. The Truth is we just lied to ourselves, we spent so much time creating something of beauty for the world, we spent no time trying on the marketing and sales process. We wished for success and did set ourselves up for failure.
Start planning for your success Join Kristin and I as we talk about some actionable steps you can take now to improve your next launch. and talk about some of the tools we use to try and improve our odds of success. Stop letting your fear of failure ensure it happens, listen to the show now and learn about:
For Complete Shownotes go to SmallBizLife.com
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7 key elements to a perfect product launch: https://marketingland.com/7-key-elements-perfect-product-launch-134634
6 elements of a successful product launch: https://labs.openviewpartners.com/successful-product-launch/#.WfdN7mhSxhE
Episode 47 - Trolls, haters, and critics https://www.smallbizlife.com/blog/episode-47-trolls-haters-and-critics
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I have been working on web applications for over a decade. It is an ever-changing environment that can be confusing for a person that has created apps and websites for a living.
So, I am not surprised for a second that many entrepreneurs are confused by the technical side of their website.
Most website owners fail to understand that there is that SEO optimization is about much more than Keyword strategies. Search engines like google want their users to not only find the best articles on a search. They want them to have a great experience on the site they are going to. Mobile friendly and website speed are essential parts of this experience.
So, join Kristin and I as we talk about the complete picture of Website Optimization. And the simple SBL WordPress Optimization Checklist to get started with the easiest problems to fix.
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Kristin and I always talk to our Facebook group members. The other week the topic of Facebook ads came up. We talked about small business owners about their experience and/ or problems with Facebook ads.
What are the 3 top reasons your Facebook ads do not meet your expectations? 1. No expectations 2. No objective for the Ad 3. Do not understand how to target an audience
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Episode 4 Who is your ideal customer https://smallbizlife.mykajabi.com/blog/episode-4-who-is-your-ideal-customer
Facebook Blueprints https://www.facebook.com/blueprint
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Kristin and I have been working with each other in small business since 2005. We have seen lots of good and bad times since we started working together. We have learned the most important truth about working with your spouse.
A family business is no place for a weak marriage The truth is maintaining a great marriage is work. No matter how much you love each other. Between survival, family, and friends many marriages strain. In 2015 16.9 divorces happened per 1,000 married women according to researchers at Bowling Green State University. That is over 1.1 Million woman in 2015 alone and that was a good year.
You risk going from husband and wife to business partners. However, all is not lost. There have been many family businesses that have stood the test of time. They have not only survived the marriage, they have not gone out of business. And to be honest, even if your spouse is not officially part of your small business they often help out the entrepreneur of the family run their business.
The most important thing you can do is learn your 3 Rs Not the 3 Rs of school. The 3 Rs of working with your significant other.
- Roles
- Respect
- Responsibilities
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DIVORCE RATE IN THE U.S.: GEOGRAPHIC VARIATION, 2015 https://www.bgsu.edu/ncfmr/resources/data/family-profiles/anderson-divorce-rate-us-geo-2015-fp-16-21.html
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Small businesses are formed for many reasons. We started ours because we loved our hobby of teaching, inspiring, and entertaining people. There are many reasons to start a small biz. You might want to work for yourself or make some more money. However, we live in a changing world. We cannot afford to lose track of the trends in small business or we risk losing the business we love. So we need to understand, where small business if going.
What is the biggest change coming to small biz? There are many changes that will continue to happen with Small Business. Record numbers will be starting up and failing every year. However, the biggest change is that the older definitions will start disappearing. Local business versus international business and online business versus offline business will merge into business.
It really has been changing with the invention of the online business and people growing more connected to the internet via their mobile devices. The great thing is the growth of this technology provides great opportunities to those willing to keep changing.
These opportunities will create a huge challenge for small biz We will no longer be able to hide from competition. They will invade our communities and try and lure away our customers. So, we need to adapt and move our business into this space before someone else occupies it.
Join Kristin and me as we look at this vital topic in this weeks episode of the Small Biz Life podcast. Also, check these articles referenced in the episode "Small Business in 2020: Dramatic Shifts Predicted", "10 Businesses That Will Boom in 2020", and "Why Small Businesses Should Prepare For 2020"
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https://money.usnews.com/money/careers/articles/2012/09/10/10-businesses-that-will-boom-in-2020
http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/305-small-business-trend-shifts-predicted.html
https://www.digitalistmag.com/cio-knowledge/2017/09/25/why-small-businesses-should-prepare-for-2020-05359724
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Have you ever had that day where you work for hours, and check off dozens of items off your to-do list and feel like you have achieved nothing? I have. I have had so many days I started to look at this years ago when I worked at UPS. I started to find that we have a way of creating busy work for ourselves. We create so much of it, we start to use systems to create track it. And private industry has responded with those applications. The task management apps and website.
Listen to the show on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube, Google Play Music, iHeart Radio, or with the player below.
Task Management software can be great It can make you get more work done. I am a big believer in getting more done in less time. However, It appears the systems can become a burden. I have worked with many large businesses and government agencies that would start creating more and more applications to track the work that then left the workers in a bind.
If you spend more time tracking yourself, then you have less time to complete the work you were hired to get completed. For more check out the show notes on SmallbizLife.com
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Episode 106 – 3 major mistakes getting tasks done, and how you can start fixing it now https://www.smallbizlife.com/blog/episode-106-the-3-major-mistakes-we-make-with-task-how-you-can-start-fixing-it-now
Google task https://mail.google.com/tasks/canvas
Trello https://trello.com/signup
Asana https://asana.com/
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Stop floundering creating task Have you ever been told that if you work hard you will succeed? I was. I believed it. For years whenever I had an issue I just started to work more. Work more hours! Push! Push!
I kept moving.
I would do great for a while and then I would burn out. Sometimes I would kill it and prosper, but to be honest most of the time I seemed to go nowhere.
It was frustrating. However, I just kept doing it. I would also get very focused on the work. I was told if I just work smarter. all my problems would go away. I just needed to focus on the type of work I was doing. However, that failed to make my life better, or my business larger.
I also went through a period, where I cut out all the work that I didn't like, that was the worse mistake. I lost touch with so much that was important to my business because I did not want to do work I did not like. I would store up all that crappy work until I was forced to do it. I managed to 10x the work I hated. This is a 10x you never want, please trust me.
How to fix it? It all started with a great piece of advice from Brendon Burchard. I figured out what I needed to look like to live the life I love.
It freed me from a trap I was in. I was trapped spending so much time, trying to find new hacks, apps, and techniques to improve my time management. I missed the root problem. I needed to get over myself.
The first part of troubleshooting is finding the problem. If you get stuck in a GTD hell. You need to identify, what you are screwing up. From my work with clients and myself, it appears most people's task management issues is because of one of these mistakes:
- You Focus on the work
- You focus on our immediate feelings
- How hard we are working
What we should focus on for better task management 1. We should focus on the result the output of task 2. How the task moves us forward in our life our goals 3. Think about your next task before you start
This Week in the Small Biz Life Podcast Kristin and I look at these mistakes and go into much more detail about how we should look at our task management. If you have not, I would also check out episode 104 – How to get it all done. Also read "Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity" by David Allen.
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episode 104 – How to get it all done https://www.smallbizlife.com/blog/episode-104-how-to-get-it-all-done
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Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen http://amzn.to/2wNmfTi
Before you panic Yes, it is best to be concerned about your data. Between all of our smart devices and services that connect our data over the web. It seems like it is only a matter of time before we have our identity stolen.
However, panic is never a plan. We need to understand how the latest breach effects us and what we need to do to protect ourselves better.
My biggest concern with the Equifax Breach Equifax is one of the three credit reporting agencies in the United States. This breach exposes the name, address, birthday, and Social Security number of 143 million people. 209 thousand people had their credit card information lost. And 182 thousand lost documents by Equifax according to www.equifaxsecurity2017.com. The first thing you need to do is go to www.equifaxsecurity2017.com and see if you or your children have been affected.
What to do now? Chances are you or someone in your family have been exposed. Here are the quick steps you need to do if you are part of the 143 million.
Ways to protect yourself 1. Check your credit reports for free on www.annualcreditreport.com 2. Place a Fraud Alert or credit freeze on Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion 3. File your tax return ASAP 4. Signup for a service like Credit Karma 1. The market leader is LifeLock 2. Or what we use ID Shield which is like LifeLock with extra SSN protection 5. Or better yet higher a service that will help resolve problems if you are compromised 6. Protect your passwords and track all the sites you have bad or duplicate passwords with LastPass. 7. Always use VPNs when you are not in a secured network. Try NordVPN
24 other reasons to protect yourself Since 2016 there have been 25 major data breaches with at least 900 Million records lost. And out of those numbers, there have been many companies who do not know or did not state how many records have been lost. There could have also been other breaches that have not been publicly released.
In these days of an interconnected world, you should consider the best ways to protect yourself and assume that at some point you or a family member will have their identity stolen. Please consider a service like Identity Shield as a way to protect yourself.
- Equifax 2017
- Taringa 2017
- Grozio Chirurgija 2017
- Erie County Medical Center 2017
- Friend Finder Networks 2016
- Commission on Elections 2016
- Weebly 2016
- Taobao 2016
- 21st Century Oncology 2016
- KM.RU 2016
- Nival Networks 2016
- Verizon Communications 2016
- Apple Health Medicaid 2016
- University of California, Berkeley 2016
- University of Central Florida 2016
- Central Coast Credit Union 2016
- Cox Communications 2016
- Department of Homeland Security 2016
- Democratic National Committee 2016
- Inuvik hospital 2016
- EyeWire 2016
- Gyft 2016
- Ofcom 2016
- Rosen Hotels 2016
- TaxSlayer.com 2016
Other Sources Get An Identity Protection PIN (IP PIN)
https://www.irs.gov/individuals/understanding-your-cp01a-notice
The Equifax Data Breach: What to Do
When Information Is Lost or Exposed
Best Identity-Theft Protection 2017
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https://www.irs.gov/identity-theft-fraud-scams/get-an-identity-protection-pin
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https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2017/09/equifax-data-breach-what-do
https://www.identitytheft.gov/Info-Lost-or-Stolen
https://www.tomsguide.com/us/best-identity-theft-protection,review-2083.html
https://nordvpn.com/free-trial/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_data_breaches
https://www.equifax.com/personal/?/
http://www.experian.com/
https://www.transunion.com/
https://www.creditkarma.com/auth/logon/
https://www.lifelock.com/
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We all have so much to get done. Our small businesses can turn us into workaholics. Our family and friends are always trying to distract us. And all those hobbies take time. So can we really get it all done?
Human nature says no Think of how much life has changed for humans since the dawn of recorded history. We have created air conditioning, air planes, escalators, teddy bears, the Theory of Relativity and all those major changes happened in the first 5 years of the 20th century.
As a species, we are driven to make our life, and the life of our family members better. It has taken humans from small tribes of hunter gatherers to data scientist in ~5,500 years. So stop worrying about getting it all done, until we reach a utopian state we will always come up with new tasks to do next.
So stop trying to get it all done Your time is better spent trying to learn how to figure out what to do and how to do what you are doing better to get to your next goals. And understanding our nature will force us to pick new goals and create new tasks along the way.
So join Kristin and Jeff in this episode as we look how we work to get the most done every day so we can maintain our momentum allowing us to focus on what is important to us and enjoy our this crazy thing that we call life.
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As a CPA, Kristin is asked many questions about how small business owners should deal with money and tax issues for small businesses. There is one question that she is asked to most.
How should I form my company? Well, as with most questions involving the government and taxes it is never quite that simple.
The common options:
- S Corporation (S Corp)
- Limited Liability Company (LLC)
- Sole proprietorship
- Partnership
There are many reasons to pick any of these selections. However, the first thing you need to understand is an LLC is considered a disregarded entity for tax purposes. That means that if you have one owner, your business will be treated as a sole proprietorship by default. Have two or more owners? Your LLC will be a partnership by default. You can elect that your LLC be treated as an S Corp as well. If you ever decide to move your sole proprietorship or partnership to an S Corp you will save yourself paperwork if you become an LLC.
THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE TO REMEMBER The time you should really consider paying a bit more to set up your S Corp is when your compensation equals the reasonable salary to replace you in the business, including an additional amount for your management function. The best place to learn your reasonable salary is Salary.com.
There will be some additional cost as an S Corp You will need a payroll service like Gusto, plus pay for unemployment taxes and additional tax filings. Email Kristin@SmallBizLife.com to get set up in Gusto today.
There are more considerations in the process. Check out the episode to get all the financial impacts for free. It is also a good idea to discuss the legal implications with an attorney. We are not lawyers and do not offer legal advice in this episode.
If you would like to set up a call or a video call to get Kristin's help with your situation create an appointment with Kristin today.
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Public speaking is an important skill for small business owners because it gives us another opportunity to show the world we are an authority and is great free publicity. In this episode, we discuss small biz speaking tips with Aurora Gregory, co-author of Get Picked and owner of Aurora Gregory Consulting.
About Aurora As an 8th grader, Aurora was a finalist in a speech contest. She didn’t win but that just might have been the start of her career as a communicator. Some of the biggest brands in business have worked with her to get their message right, create communications programs that connect with target audiences and set marketing strategies – all achieving stellar results. Aurora’s gotten high marks as a communications trainer, helping people develop skills to deliver their most important messages to customers, media and presentation audiences. She has years of experience in leading speaker’s bureau programs that have placed hundreds of speakers at local, national and international conferences. When she’s not talking, you’ll likely find her hiking the foothills in her hometown or on the sofa watching classic movies.
To find out more about Aurora, check out her website.
Purchase your own copy of Get Picked: Tips, Tricks, and Tools for Creating Irresistible Speaking Proposals.
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There are a lot of retirement plan options for small business owners. How do you determine which one is right for you? In this episode, we discuss all the options to help you find the right plan for your biz.
All the numbers in this post are valid for 2017. Each year, these numbers are updated by the IRS.
Individual Retirement Plans (IRAs) If you are just starting to save, an IRA might be an easy way to get started. An IRA will allow you to save up to $5,500 in 2017. If you are over the age of 50, you can make an additional catch-up contribution of $1,000.
There are two types of IRAs: a traditional IRA and a Roth IRA.
Traditional vs. Roth It's important to understand the difference between these two plans to ensure you are achieving your goals.
Traditional With a traditional plan, you put the money in pre-tax, which means you get a tax deduction now. However, when you take the money out at retirement, you must pay taxes based on your normal tax rate. With a traditional IRA, you are also required to take "required minimum distributions" starting at age 70 and a half even if you don't need the money.
Roth Roth IRA contributions are made with after-tax dollars. You won't save on taxes today but the money will be withdrawn tax-free at retirement. There are also no required minimum distributions required.
SEP IRA A SEP (Simplified Employee Pension) IRA allows you to put away a lot more money if you have a lot of profit. A SEP IRA allows you to put away $54,000 per year. However, in order to do that you must have a profit of $216,000. For a SEP IRA, you are limited to putting away 25% of your profit. Also, if you have qualifying employees, you must put the same percentage of their pay into their plan that you put into your plan. That can quickly add up. You can put in less than 25% but you are also limiting your own contributions to the plan.
A SEP IRA allows you to put away $54,000 per year. However, in order to do that you must have a profit of $216,000. For a SEP IRA, you are limited to putting away 25% of your profit. Also, if you have qualifying employees, you must put the same percentage of their pay into their plan that you put into your plan. That can quickly add up. You can put in less than 25% but you are also limiting your own contributions to the plan.
Solo 401(k) A solo 401(k) is designed for single-owner or husband/wife owned businesses. This plan allows you to put away a lot of money but is more costly to set up and maintain.
This plan is a hybrid between a contribution plan and a pension plan. The owners can put in up to $18,000 per year, plus another $6,000 if 50 or older. An additional contribution of up to 25% of profit can also be added to the plan for a maximum contribution of $54,000. It's nice because you can put up to $18,000 (or $24,000) away each year without having to worry about having a high profit. You can also elect to have a Roth option for the $18,000 (or $24,000). The pension portion would need to be traditional.
However, if you hire employees that would qualify for your plan, you'll need to discontinue this plan and choose something else. You could pick a 401(k) without the profit sharing option or one of the other plans discussed. All 401(k)s have higher fees than the other options but it may be worth it for the amount of money you can put away.
SIMPLE IRA The SIMPLE IRA is a popular option for many small businesses because it is a plan that works whether or not you have employees and still allows for a nice annual contribution.
A SIMPLE IRA allows you to put away $12,500 per year plus an additional $3,000 if 50 or older. Plus, you will also put an additional 3% of your profit.
If you have qualifying employees, you will need to match their contributions but only up to 3% of their wages, which keeps the costs low. Also, the fees are typically paid by the employee (but are very low).
Retirement Savings Contribution Credit In addition to any tax deductions you might qualify for, you might also qualify for the Savers Credit. If you meet the income limits, you can even take this credit if you make a ROTH contribution.
This credit is designed to encourage low-income households to save for retirement. The maximum credit is $2,000 for a couple filing jointly, but your adjusted gross income cannot be more than $37,000 and the credit is only 50% of the contribution. As the credit phases out, the percentage and the maximum credit amount both decrease. If your income is $62,000, your maximum credit is $200 and 10% of your contribution. Luckily, if you put money into a tax-deductible plan, which lowers your AGI.
That's why it's important to work with a CPA who can help you maximize your tax deductions.
All figures are taken from Bankrate.com.
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We can't believe it's been 100 episodes and almost two years since we started Small Biz Life. In this episode, Jeff and Kristin reflect on where they were on episode 1 and where they are today.
A lot has changed since we launched the show on September 15, 2015. Join us as we discuss what we've learned and how our lives have changed.
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Money and Budgets affect every aspect of out a small business owners and our lives.
Personal Finances matter as much as business finances for small biz owners Kristin and I have a discussion with Melissa about controlling budgets, working towards our dreams, and her new book, "Building My Yellow Brick Road: Life Lessons from Pursuing a Dream".
Listen to a great interview and get out and Building My Yellow Brick Road: Life Lessons from Pursuing a Dream and learn more about her business Melissa the Coach and how to deal more about your personal finances.
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We all experience failure at one time or another. Successful business owners learn from their failures and keep going. In this episode, we discuss how to learn from failure to increase your success next time.
What to do when your plan fails Jeff and Kristin discuss the following items this week:
- First thing is to accept that your plans can (and sometimes will) fail
-
- Understand there is risk
- Go in with eyes wide open
- Try not to risk it all for an opportunity
- Own it!
- Understand the damage
- List out what when wrong
- Determine what can be salvaged
- Determine if there are other wins
- Make a new plan to move forward
- Breathe and smile
- Keep moving
- Learn from it
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None of us want to deal with unhappy customers but it is inevitable as a small business owner. In this episode, we discuss how to save your sanity and your reputation next time you must deal with one.
Before you respond Many of us get a negative email, message, or review and want to instantly respond while we are seething mad. Probably not the best way to respond. Before you reply:
- Breathe
- Empathize
- Do not take it as a personal attack
- Think of solutions
How to respond * Listen objectively and get to the root of the problem * Come up with a quick resolution * Implement the resolution quickly * Don't be a pushover * Sometimes you cannot make them happy, no matter what you do
Sometimes you must fire customers If a customer is too demanding or gets out of line, you can fire customers. Make sure you have disengagement language in client contracts where applicable.
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Small business owners typically struggle with pricing their products, especially digital products. In this episode, we discuss the factors that must be considered when setting your prices.
For more information about pricing your services, check out episode 90.
The components of pricing There are four components of pricing:
- Direct materials - These are the materials that go into each unit of your product. This might be the cost of a product that you have someone else manufacture for you or bonus items you give away with the cost of a digital course (maybe you mail a welcome packet or t-shirt). Direct materials can also be the cost of software that is incurred on each sale (if you are selling software as a service or other products with incremental software costs).
- Direct labor - This is the direct cost of labor to make or provide the product. An example of this would be the cost associated with your labor to record videos for a monthly membership site like Small Biz HQ. This would also be the cost of editors and graphic designers for your new book.
- Overhead costs - Overhead costs are all of your other costs associated with running your business. This includes other materials, labor, selling, and administrative costs. This definition is slightly different than the traditional accounting definition but it helps to simplify things.
- Profit - Yes, you must actually figure profit into your calculations. There are a few different ways to do this. The most common way is to calculate your monthly desired profit or profit over the life of the product. For products with a longer lifecycle, I want to include monthly profit. Your profit should include your take home pay, any savings you wish to retain in the business, and your taxes.
You must also estimate how many units you can sell per month or over the lifecycle of the product (if it is short). Typically, we are very conservative with our estimates. If you estimate too high, you may end up not being able to cover your costs. If your estimates are conservative and you sell more units, your profit will be higher (which is a really good thing!).
Total Costs + Profit / Estimated Number of Products Sold = Price
Delays and procrastination will cost you Time really is money. As the time you take to get a product to market increases, so do your costs. All of these costs, including the cost of your time, must be recovered. Here are some tips to minimize delays and procrastination:
- Have a plan to get new products to market in 30 to 60 days.
- If longer, minimize costs as much as you can.
- Work off your strengths to develop new products more quickly.
Additional advice for physical products * Look for price breaks on order quantity but balance with storage and other costs. * Look for print on demand for books. * Discuss your plans with an accountant to avoid headaches, especially when working with affiliates or fulfillment in another state. * Discuss your plans with an attorney for intellectual property, claims, and safety issues.
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Why do we always look at numbers that mean very little?
Vanity metrics are the numbers that push most online businesses. However, they are just that vanity. They can make us feel great when they look good or grow. However, if they are low then we feel horrible. It makes us what to stop.
However, we need to remember that good or bad they mean nothing on their own. Views, downloads, likes, views, and hearts all mean nothing on their own.
VS what we need to know What we need to look at is revenue, customers, conversion, cost or ultimately profit.
However, when we start a business those numbers are bad. They are the numbers of "old" business. They are not as sleek and sexy as these more modern metrics that make us feel like we are at least helping others even if we are not yet making money.
We understand We are looking for validation as well. We want profits. However, we do this to help people. However, the less money we make, the less help we can give people.
So we need to look at metrics that tell us the complete picture of our business.
Use these to use get the most value out of your vanity metrics * Per Customer * Per dollar of revenue * Per dollar of profit * Per hour * Cost per Metric * Earnings per Thousand Metric
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As small business owners, we often forget to take care of ourselves in the midst of our busy schedules. Join us for some wisdom from integrative health and wellness coach, Emily Olson.
Health and Wellness for the Small Business Owner During this discussion, we cover food, movement, and energy so you can more effectively run your business. We had a lot of fun doing this interview and Emily provided some great tips.
If you are interested in finding out more about Emily and working with her, check out her website and sign up for a free 30-minute Breakthrough call. You can also sign up for her free 7-Day Whole Food Challenge.
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Vega protein powders
Ancient Nutrition Bone Broth Protein (this is what Kristin uses)
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Shakology
7-Minute Workout App for Apple or Android
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Episode 87 - 5 keys to creating connections
Scheduling client meetings, interviews, and other appointments can be time-consuming. In this episode, we discuss appointment scheduling apps that can help you save time and get paid faster.
Why should you consider an appointment scheduling app? There are many reasons to use one of these apps. Here are some of the most important ones:
- Allows clients to schedule appointments with you without the back and forth of email scheduling.
- Allows clients to pay for appointments before the meeting.
- Automatically sends appointment reminders.
- Allows clients to reschedule if needed.
- Allows you to set up classes or workshops with multiple attendees.
You can also use these systems to book other types of appointments like discovery calls and podcast interviews. Really any situation where you need to meet with someone else, you can use one of these systems.
Key features There are a lot of apps out there. In this episode, we only discuss a few of them. When looking at different systems, you must determine which features you need. Most systems include:
- Web and mobile apps
- Payment processing (make sure to compare rates)
- Appointment reminders
- Online scheduling
- Calendar management (some systems are better than others)
- Checks your calendar for conflicts
Other features These features may be important for some businesses. Not all systems have these features.
- Group scheduling
- Meeting room booking
- Multi-location support
- Free/trial version
- Live support
- Annual plan savings
- HIPPA compliant
Popular options SetMore * All key features * Free option * Annual plan savings * $25/mo (accept payments, reoccurring appointments, SMS, and other features) * No group/room/multi-location booking
Yellow Schedule
- All key features
- HIPPA compliant
- A place for case notes
- $29.95 for 1 user / $49.95 up to 3 users / $99.95 for a team of 7
Schedule Once
- Starts at $5 per month (can be as high as $49 per month)
- No reoccurring
- No trial version
- No mobile apps
Acuity Scheduling
- All key features
- HIPPA compliant
- Starts at $10 per month (19/mo for up to 6 calendars and text messaging)
- No mobile app
Is there another scheduling app that you use? Tell us about it in the Facebook group.
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SetMore https://www.setmore.com/
Yellow Schedule https://www.yellowschedule.com/
Schedule Once http://www.scheduleonce.com/
Acuity Scheduling https://acuityscheduling.com/
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We spend a lot of time trying to simplify our businesses, but how often do you think about simplifying your life? In this episode, we discuss tips for simplifying your life.
Simplify your home * Minimize your stuff * Automate your home maintenance * Have a cleaning kit * Pick up 15 minutes each day * Choose quality first
Simplify your money * Automate your bills * Pay off your debt * Have an emergency fund * Wait 24-48 hours for major purchases * Live simply * Be grateful * Find the root reason for overspending
Simplify your routine * Having a morning and evening routine * Create a monthly meal plan * Recreate leftovers * Have a few Plan B meals in the freezer or pantry * Don't get the mail until you are ready to deal with it
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Episode 86: Finding your daily focus: https://www.smallbizlife.com/blog/episode-86-finding-your-daily-focus
Episode 33: Quick dinner tips: https://www.smallbizlife.com/blog/episode-33-quick-dinner-tips
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo: http://amzn.to/2sH2jhT
72 ways to simplify your life by Zen Habits: https://zenhabits.net/simple-living-manifesto-72-ideas-to-simplify-your-life/
Dyson cordless vacuums: http://amzn.to/2rsYwB3
The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life (Before 8 AM) by Hal Elrod: http://amzn.to/2sMyBrI
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There have been some significant updates to email list managers in 2017. In this week's episode, we'll discuss what to look for in an email list service and what the major small business providers are now offering.
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Mailchimp http://mailchimp.com
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Convertkit http://convertkit.com
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ActiveCampaign http://activecampaign.com
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When you set the rates for your services, how much did you think about it? How did you come up with that figure? In this episode, we discuss how to set a rate for your services that allows you to achieve your goals and plan for the future.
Are you a price taker or a price maker? In the area of pricing, there are two types of companies: price takers and price makers.
- Price takers are businesses with lots of competition that do little to differentiate themselves from the competition. Because of the lack of differentiation, rates are set by the market.
- Price makers are businesses with little competition in their field or that have worked hard to differentiate themselves from their competitors. Because they create additional value, these businesses are able to set their own rates. This is where you want your business to be.
If you have ever studied accounting, you probably know that revenue - expenses = profit. This is a commonly taught formula and is the basis for the income statement (also called a profit and loss statement). Unfortunately, this method also encourages us to think of profit last. This is a misguided strategy which causes many small business owners to stay broke or never achieve their dream of full-time, self-employment.
There is a better way. Rather than settling for whatever profit is left over, we need to determine how much we want to make and develop a plan to get there.
Price taker If your company is a price taker, you should be thinking about your expenses as your bottom link. Your formula looks like this:
Revenue - Desired Profit = Expenses
Since price takers have little control over what they charge, they must work hard to keep their expenses in check or else profit will disappear. By staying in the mindset that expenses must be paid with what is left over after you get paid, your business will become more profitable immediately.
Price maker Hopefully, you have created differentiation in your business to become a price maker, even if most of your competition are price takers. Your formula looks like this:
Desired Profit + Expenses = Revenue
In this case, you will use profit and your expenses to determine how much you will charge for your services.
Know your expenses It's important to understand how your expenses behave as your revenue increases. There are four different types of cost behavior:
- Variable expenses: These are expenses that increase or decrease depending on your revenue. These are things like sales or affiliate commissions and pay-per-user software services.
- Fixed expenses: These are expenses that do not change based on your level of sales. The total amount is fixed. These are things like your monthly internet bill, web hosting fees, and insurance.
- Mixed expenses: These expenses have a fixed and variable piece. Therefore, even if there is no usage or sales, you will still pay the fixed fee. As your sales or usage increase, the total monthly amount increases. Most of your utility bills work this way. There is a flat customer service fee plus charges for your usage.
- Step expenses: Step expenses look a lot like fixed expenses but they increase over large increments as usage increases. One of the best examples of a step expense is your email list management software. Typically, you pay a fixed amount as long as your list is less than 2,000 people. When you go over 2,000 people, you jump to the next plan which may cover you until you have 5,000 people on your list. The price does not increase as each new subscriber joins but rather when you jump to the new tier.
Knowing how your costs behave allows you to plan better as your sales increase. It also allows you to more accurately set your hourly rate.
How much do you want to make each month? Have you ever asked yourself this question? Maybe you've thought about how much you would like to make to replace your income or pay off additional debt, but have you really developed a plan?
When setting your rate you must ask yourself two important questions:
- How much profit do you want to make each month?
- How many billable hours do you want to work each week?
Most business owners just work, work, work without a plan to stop. Other business owners have no plan for how many hours they need to bill out each month and therefore can't understand why they aren't hitting their goals. Answering the questions above will create a lot of clarity in your life and your business.
Let's say you want to take home $5,000 per month and have 25 billable hours per week. That's approximately 100 billable hours per month.
$5,000 / 100 hours = $50 per billable hour for profit
This does not mean that you will bill $50 per hour. This $50 is just to pay yourself. You must add expenses and other items to get your full billable rate.
What about taxes? if you want to bring home $5,000 per month, you need to make more than that to pay your taxes. To calculate the total amount of profit needed to take home the amount you want and pay your taxes:
Desired Take Home Pay / (1 - Effective Tax Rate) = Total Desired Profit
What is your effective tax rate? Your effective tax rate is the percentage of your income you pay in taxes, both federal and state. Typically, you can get this off a summary or comparative report on last year's tax return. Add your federal and state effective tax rates together to determine your total effective tax rate. Typically for a small business owner, the effective tax rate is 20 to 35%.
Calculating your total desired profit Let's use our $5,000 per month tax home pay and an effective tax rate of 30%. Let's plug these numbers into our formula:
$5,000 / (1 - .30) = $5,000 / .70 = $7,145 rounded
If you want to take home $5,000 per month, you will need $7,145 in profit. By building your hourly rate with your taxes included, you should never be short to pay your taxes again.
If we divide this amount by our 100 monthly billable hours, we need $71.45 to cover profit and taxes.
How much are your expenses? Most of your expenses are probably fixed costs, which makes this much easier. Calculate your average total monthly expenses. To do this, look at all of your expenses each month and add them together. Don't forget to budget for your annual expenses as well. You can also look at your total annual expenses and divide by 12 to get your average monthly expenses.
What about variable expenses? There are two ways to deal with variable expenses. You can either directly bill client-based variable expenses to your clients (like software fees or mileage) or you can calculate the average annual amount and add this to your fixed expenses.
Let's say your average monthly expenses are $3,000. If you bill 100 hours per month, you must add $30 per hour to the $71.45 we calculated for profit.
So far, we have an hourly rate of $101.45 but we need to add one more thing to get our final rate.
Allowing room for growth All small business owners need to set money aside for upgrades, education, and new equipment. Imagine what you could do with $10,000 per year to improve your business. Does that seem impossible? It's a lot easier than you think.
$10,000 / 12 months = $833 per month
$833 per month / 100 billable hours = $8.33 per billable hour
That's right. If you want to save an additional $10,000 per year for upgrades, expansion, and education and you bill 100 hours per month, adding $8.33 per billable hour will get you to your goal. If you only want $5,000 for growth, it's a little over $4 per billable hour. It sounds much more reasonable now, huh?
Adding it all up $71.45 + $30.00 + $8.33 = $109.78 or $110.00 per billable hour.
This would be your hourly rate based on the numbers we used. This would allow you to take home $50 per billable hour, set aside $21.45 per billable hour for taxes, pay your monthly expenses, and set aside $10,000 per year for growth and education.
Do you think this is something you could do? Frankly, it's something you can't afford to not do.
But it's too much... When we do this calculation with new businesses, we often hear, "But I can't possibly charge that much!"
Before you go there make sure that is really the case and it's not just your fear. Often, we undervalue our services. Jeff tells an awesome story about how a fellow author increased her sales by raising her prices.
If you do find that your rate is too high, there are ways to still achieve your goals:
- Increase your billable hours: if you bill additional hours you will lower the rate needed to achieve your goals (but you also need to work more which is not ideal).
- Decrease your expenses to lower your rate.
- Sell affiliate products to increase your revenue without additional hours.
- Decrease non-billable hours through automation so you can increase your billable hours without working more hours.
Make sure you know what you are worth and what others are charging. You might be surprised that you are charging far too little which may be hurting your sales. Don't set your rate low in the beginning. It's hard to raise your rates later.
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When selling products and services, we often spend lots of time focusing on the technical aspects of what we sell. However, we should be spending more time focusing on the benefits of what we are selling.
What are you really selling? Every product or service we sell benefits our customers. When you look at Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, everything we sell fits into one of the five categories:
- Physiological needs - the most basic needs for food, water, warmth, and rest.
- Safety needs - the need to feel safe and secure.
- Belongingness and love needs - the need to have friends, family, and community.
- Esteem needs - the need for prestige and a feeling of accomplishment.
- Self-actualization - the need to live up to one's potential, including in creative endeavors.
Where do your products fit into these needs? Are you using these needs to sell your products?
In this week's episode, we discuss how to use benefits in your sales process and some companies that do this well.
Other links How You Decide: The Science of Human Decision Making (Great Courses)
DotCom Secrets: The Underground Playbook for Growing Your Company Online by Russell Brunson
IT Professionals of Iowa
Listen now Listen to the show on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube, Google Play Music, iHeart Radio, or with the player below
Most of the business owners I have met start thinking about their website in the wrong terms. They worry about how modern or "beautiful" their website looks.
However, this is the wrong thing. We start creating the site our first concern should be how our visitors can find the content, product, or service they are looking for and then focus on how it looks?
Build your website for the audience you want to attract. I do believe that the style of a website is important. I have left sites that look hideous. However, I mean hideous, not less the perfect or because it looks old.
The most common reason I leave websites is that I cannot find what I am looking for or it is not usable. As soon as I am confused and annoyed, I bounce.
It is not too late for your site You do alone if you want your site or be modern and pretty. I far too often do not think about what the user will experience will be on my site. Check out the episode below and learn about the navigation of your site. Start getting considered with the user experience.It will level your site from average to great.
It will level your site from average to great.
Listen to the show on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube, Google Play Music, iHeart Radio, or with the player below.
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Internal links best practices https://www.orbitmedia.com/blog/internal-linking/
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People want to do business with people they like and trust. The only way to create those relationships is to build connections. In this episode, we discuss the 5 keys to creating connections.
How can we create meaningful connections? Many small business owners struggle with customer acquisition. Traditional advertising doesn't work and many are leery about social media or just don't know what to post.
Today, people want to do business with brands they like and trust. However, many small business owners are waiting for a prospect to become a client before attempting to build relationships. When you start relationship building earlier in the process, it is more likely that a prospect will become a long-time customer.
In this week's episode, we go in depth on the 5 key components to building connections. These components can be used online and in live networking scenarios.
- Be authentic
- Show authority
- Bring your personality
- Provide value
- Be accessible
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Most small business owners state that focus is one of their biggest daily struggles. In this episode, Jeff and Kristin discuss why we struggle with focus and how we can achieve more of it.
You aren't the only one struggling In a 2005 study of workplace efficiency, the average employee was able to focus on a task for just 11 minutes before becoming distracted. Once distracted, it took an average of 25 minutes to get back to the original task; sometimes, the employee never got back to that task! The most shocking stat for us: on average, we switch tasks every three to six minutes.
This explains a lot when you understand the effects of distraction.
Why are we so distractable? Our brains have not evolved as quickly as technology has. As part of our survival mechanism, we were programmed to respond to stimulus. Today, there is so much stimulus that our brains get easily overwhelmed. We are also overconnected. According to David Rock, author of Your Brain At Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long, always being connected has the same impact on your IQ as not getting enough sleep or getting high.
If we are programmed to respond, then clearly, we must be doomed. Well, not really. There are things we can do in order to strengthen our focus and get more done.
How to stay focused throughout the day Start the night before Kristin is a huge fan of reflection before bed. Each night, she pulls out her journal and writes down 4 key items:
- Random thoughts - these are not tasks but random thoughts that are cluttering up her brain. Sometimes they are new ideas, reflections on conversations, or quotes.
- Tomorrow's must-do-list - This is a list of three things that must get done tomorrow to move the business forward. These don't always end up being the must-do's for tomorrow, but it is the starting point.
- Today's wins - Every day we have at least one win. Sometimes it's as small as getting out of bed or clearing out the day's emails. Write down your wins.
- Something to be grateful for - Practicing gratitude every day helps give us a sense of contentment, something that a lot of small business owners struggle with.
This seems like a lot, but usually, this is less than one journal page. This exercise should take about 5 minutes each night once you get the hang of it.
Starting your day off right Each time we switch tasks, we must refocus which burns a lot of energy. This is why we get burnt out quickly when we are trying to accomplish many different things on the same day.
Each email or social media post you engage with requires you to refocus. That means you might refocus over 100 times before you even start your work in the morning burning through most of your energy. This is why we suggest avoiding email and social media until your most important task of the day is completed.
Since focusing requires a lot of energy in the form of glucose, it is important to make sure to have a healthy breakfast. Skipping breakfast will start your day with a focus deficiency.
We start each work day with a planning session using our Small Biz Daily Focus Planner (free download). This allows us to figure out our most important tasks and to plan our day. This is the first thing we do when we arrive at our desks. When planning, start your day with the tasks that require the most focus.
Keeping your momentum You are off to a great start, but distraction will tempt you throughout the day. Here are some tips for staying focused.
- Stay out of your browser and your email box. Each time you go into your browser, it's like a carnival for your brain. Social media, the news, and cat videos will distract you. If there are tasks you can perform without going into your browser, do it. For example, write blog posts and other documents in Word and then paste them into your blog. You can also do this with social media posts. Once you have done everything you can offline, batch process everything that needs to be posted. Schedule time for checking your email and close the window when your timer says time up!
- Use paper to track your "ah-ha" tasks. We all think of new tasks to do as we are working. Instead of going into your browser to add them to Evernote, Nozbe, or another task scheduler, write them down on paper. This will do two things: it will keep you out of your browser and it will instruct your brain that the task can move out of the forefront of your brain. Our brains respond better when we write things down than when we type them out (have you ever stored a note somewhere on your computer and couldn't find it later?). You can use the back of the Daily Focus Planner for those notes.
- Take breaks. We use the Pomodoro Technique, working in 25/5 or 50/10 blocks. This means we focus for 25 or 50 minutes and then take a 5 or 10-minute break. This allows your brain to focus because it knows the break is coming. You can use those breaks for stress relief, moving around, or getting some of those distracting things done. Just make sure you set a timer so you don't fall down the rabbit hole!
- Have a catch-up hour each day. Your last hour of the day should be for catching up on things you did not get done. It might be tasks from your "ah-ha" list or other tasks you really want to finish that day. This hour can also be used for email and social media. In the last 10 minutes of my catch-up hour, I put any unfinished tasks into my online task manager to consider for the next day.
Creating more focus is just like learning any other skill. It takes practice and there will be times when you slide back into your old routines. Don't beat yourself up. Just try again tomorrow.
Other Mentions * Great Courses Plus * My Pillow * David's Cold 911 tea * Your Brain At Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long * David Rock's article from Psychology Today
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David's Cold 911 tea https://www.davidstea.com/us_en/cold-911-37
David Rock's article from Psychology Today https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/your-brain-work/200910/easily-distracted-why-its-hard-focus-and-what-do-about-it
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Being a small business owner can be stressful. Sometimes, our businesses can add conflict in our relationships with significant others. In this episode, Jeff and Kristin discuss ways to minimize this conflict so you can start building dreams together.
Even if your significant other does not work in your business, conflicts can exist. These conflicts usually stem from a lack of understanding between the business owner and non-business owner significant other. Creating more understanding between the two of you will allow for more joy and less stress.
Understanding yourself Conflicts often arise because the business owner does not have a clear vision for her business and how it will affect her life. Here are a few questions to ask yourself if you are in this position:
- What are your dreams?
- How will your business help you achieve these dreams?
- What steps are you taking to achieve those dreams?
- Are you setting deadlines?
We also recommend that you take the 5 love languages assessment. This will give you some interesting insight into what acts make you feel loved. We recommend that you also ask your significant other to take the assessment. For more in-depth information about the 5 love languages, consider purchasing the book.
Listening and learning Now that you've gotten some clarity on your own life, it's time to get some clarity on your significant other. Often, we complain that our significant other does not understand our point of view, especially when it pertains to our business. However, how often do we ask if we really understand our significant other's perspective?
We often assume that those around us understand our business and our plan. Is that really true? Do we know our loved one's goals and dreams? Here are some tips to start the conversation:
- How will your business benefit your loved one?
- How will your business affect your loved one?
- Does my significant other understand my business and my dreams?
- What are my significant other's desires and dreams?
- How can we find connections between our goals and dreams?
Understanding your loved one's drives and concerns can help open a dialog to aid in building your dreams together.
Minimizing conflict When conflicts do arise, we need to step back from the emotion and look for valid concerns. Opening up a dialog makes it easier for your significant other to voice concerns. Unless we are willing and able to hear those concerns in a rational manner, your loved one will not be willing to share. This causes resentment and small things blow up into huge arguments.
It is difficult to hear criticism; however, if we are not open to our loved one sharing honest concerns, this will lead to conflict. Don't let your first response be defensiveness. Ask yourself if there are valid points in those concerns.
Holding yourself accountable Over the past 15 years working with small business owners and mediating conflicts between couples, many conflicts stem from delayed or broken promises. We often set deadlines for ourselves and watch those deadlines pass. When this happens repeatedly, your significant other will lose confidence in you, especially if you are not sharing reasons why these deadlines are being missed.
Sometimes we don't like to share what is going on in our business because we are disappointed in our own progress. We shut our significant other out because we don't want them to see our mess or our failure. This will just cause further conflict down the road. Would you treat your customers this way? We should never treat our partner worse than our own customers.
Holding yourself accountable, not only to yourself but also to your partner may help you achieve more. Ask your partner for insight in some areas of your business. If you are struggling with something, ask if you can run the problem past your partner. It may give your partner some important insight into how hard you are working.
Don't use this as an opportunity to have a complain-a-thon. Allow this to be a conversation that can help you complete something constructive.
If your conflicts involve money, check out Melissa the Coach. She teaches a money management system which is very similar to the one we used to pay off over $220,000 in debt. Without getting our financial house in order, we would have never been able to get Jeff out of his 9 to 5 and working full-time for Ingram Digital Media.
NOTE: This post contains affiliate links
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5 Love Languages Free Assessment http://www.5lovelanguages.com/profile/
Melissa The Coach http://www.gochangethat.com/
Ingram Digital Media https://ingramdigitalmedia.com/
Dream Catcher Assessment https://www.smallbizlife.com/dreambig D Free for a limited time
Small Biz HQ https://www.smallbizlife.com/store/5CQukiiy
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The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts http://amzn.to/2pjOmDU
Do you have an advertising plan? Do you have an advertising budget? Are you just throwing things at the wall to see what sticks? In this episode, we discuss steps for putting together an advertising plan and some of the best options for advertising no matter how big or small your budget is.
Most small businesses do not have an advertising strategy; they just throw ads out into the world hoping that something will work. If you want to stop throwing money out the window, you need to have a plan.
Five things you need to know before you start running ads What is the purpose of the ads? Why are you running ads in the first place? Don't automatically say it is because you want to sell people things. Depending on your price point, you may need to develop a relationship with your potential customers first. Not all ads are designed to sell. Some introduce you to a new client, while others start building a relationship. You can even run ads that provide value as a service to potential customers.
What is your budget? It's important to know how much you will spend on advertising each year. Businesses should budget 10 - 20% of their revenue on marketing and advertising, depending on the cost of providing their product or service. If your profit margin (price - cost of the product) is high, you can afford to spend a bit more on advertising. If your profit margin is lower, spend a smaller percentage of sales.
We always caution small business owners against spending money they do not have in the bank to run ads, hoping that lots of revenue will come in before the credit card bill arrives. That's an awesome way to go broke! Especially if you are new to running ads, there is going to be a lot of trial and error. Don't bank on your first few ad campaigns bringing in a ton of money, especially if you are running ads to build awareness or relationships or if you have a higher priced product. Spend smaller amounts to learn what works and perfect your message.
What do you want your leads to do? When developing your ad campaign, how do you want your potential customers to respond? Do you want them to sign up for a newsletter, visit your website, call you, watch a video, attend a webinar, or buy a product? Do you have a funnel in place to guide them through that process? When leads arrive at your website, will it guide them where you want them to go or as there so many options, they will leave your site quickly?
Making sure you have a clear call to action and a website that encourages them to respond the way you want them to is essential to your ability to convert potential customers into paying customers. Do not start running ads until you have a clear funnel in place to get the response you want.
Who are you targeting? Recently, Kristin was scrolling through her Facebook feed and saw an ad related to child behavior. If she saw this ad, clearly the targeting was poor (we don't have any children). Once of the awesome things about Facebook ads is that you can specifically target people based on geographic area, demographics, and interests. However, to do this, you must know who you want to target.
We have said many times that you need to know who your ideal customer is, especially if you are running ads online. If you don't know who your ideal customer is, you can't target them.
Do you know how to track your progress and improvise? When placing ads, especially on the web, you need to track how your ads are performing and make changes as needed. Even if you are running traditional advertising and you aren't getting the response you want, you should make changes to your ads.
Tracking performance is very easy on the web. All good advertising venues will give you statistics on clicks and your website stats can show you conversions. If you don't know how to do this, YouTube and Google are magnificent teachers. Also, most advertising platforms have great training programs (because they want you to spend money with them).
With traditional advertising, this becomes a bit more complicated, but it's still possible. You can purchase custom domains that you use in your ads or ask people to mention a code when interacting with you, allowing you to see how effective your ad is.
When making changes, change one thing at a time. Do not completely revamp the ad. Making a small change to the headline or image can sometimes cause a huge difference in response rates. We have even found that changing your font can make a difference.
Six types of advertising In this episode, we discuss six types of advertising and marketing that small business owners can consider. This is in addition to other forms of marketing you can do, like speaking, webinars, and free content.
Traditional advertising (print, broadcast, radio)
Online advertising (Facebook, YouTube, Adwords, Geofencing)
Affiliates
Guerilla (Gamification, flyers, giveaways)
Product placement
Referrals
We discuss each of these in the episode, including why some are better options than others and what to look for if you engage in any of these types of advertising.
NOTE: This post contains affiliate links
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https://www.smallbizlife.com/dreambig D Free for a limited time
https://www.smallbizlife.com/store/5CQukiiy Small Biz HQ
https://smallbizlife.mykajabi.com/blog/episode-4-who-is-your-ideal-customer Episode 4
https://www.smallbizlife.com/blog/episode-79-the-4x4x3-insight-guide-for-sales The 4x4x3 Insight Guide for Sales
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Have you cut out hobbies to get more done, think again! In today’s episode, we will be talking a lot about the benefits of hobbies, and they are real. You can promote the increase of eustress, and decrease your distress. Essentially, help remove the bad stress and try and replace them with positive stress.
As this happens you will see less of that horrific morning and work fatigue. So much like sleep, hobbies are a great way to promote increases in productivity, improved social supports, and do it while having fun.
Want to be successful like Warren Buffet, try the ukulele After all, don’t all the gurus tell us to model successful people before they sell us a complex system on helping improve our productivity? And how many of them told us to spend more time having fun with hobbies.
I am still looking for that guru. I am so sick of trying to work smarter practicing systems that might help my productivity in about a month of intense practice. I have been looking for magic bullets for years which lead to more work, less fun, worse relationships, and finally burnout.
Do not look for productivity systems that ignore basic human needs And at the same time, I had less time doing the thing that all humans need living life. It is the relationships that lead us to push to improve ourselves. It is fun and movement that give us the energy to not just get crap done, but live life to the fullest.
Put the credit card down today, stand up and scream with me, “I will not spend another dollar on productivity systems until I have some fun, sleep, and love my life.”
Okay now if you have forgotten how to have fun, where should I start Now, we have very similar views on this. However, our view might be work for you. If not check out what other people do that would interest you. Or check out this list of hobbies. Just be careful and seek out professional help when needed before starting out hobbies that might be dangerous for you. If they are really dangerous, it might also cause problems getting insurance. And for Pete’s sake, have fun but be safe.
Kristin choice for people looking for hobbies is reading It works the brain, and can educate and entertain you. If you can get a physical book, ebooks are great for backup access to reading, but there is nothing like an old fashion book in your hand.
However, do not read books to make you better at your business for a hobby. You need to keep it separated.
Jeff closes his eyes and suggest fantasy worldbuilding Okay, this might be a bit self-serving since he also host’s the Worldbuilder’s Anvil podcast. However, there is more to it than the selfless self-promotion.
Worldbuilding is the portion of storytelling that builds the setting for stories. It ranges from interesting characters in any story, entire fiction world’s like Gardul, or universes like in Star Wars. The can be strange, futuristic, or realistic.
The reason worldbuilding is a great hobby is it feed curiosity. It prompts people to learn more about how the real world works and exercise our creativity.
Join Kristin and Jeff as they look at the using fun to increase productivity.
Mentions Dream catcher assessment (Free until
Gardul and the Worldbuilder’s Anvil Podcast http://gardul.com/category/worldbuilders-anvil/
Famous people hobbies http://www.businessinsider.com/hobbies-of-successful-people-2015-11/#actress-angelina-jolie-collects-daggers-2
Hobbies that make you smarter
List of hobbies https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_hobbies
Don’t cause your loved ones to write letters http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/dear-gt/help-my-husband-is-putting-his-hobby-before-our-marriage
Links ((((((((((((((((((((((((((( Visit Show notes )))))))))))))))))))))))))
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https://www.smallbizlife.com/dreambig Dream catcher assessment Free for a limited time
https://www.smallbizlife.com/store/5CQukiiy Small Biz HQ
http://www.businessinsider.com/hobbies-of-successful-people-2015-11/#actress-angelina-jolie-collects-daggers-2
Eustress Study https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26227991
http://www.cofcogroup.com/want-more-productivity-get-a-hobby/
Finding Hobbies
http://www.lifespan.com/7-hobbies-will-make-smarter/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_hobbies
http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/dear-gt/help-my-husband-is-putting-his-hobby-before-our-marriage
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Hi my name is Jeff, and I spent years burned out. If I was ever going to start a self-help group. It would start off saying that statement.
About a couple of years ago, I started breaking out of nearly permanent burnout. My work was suffering, my relationships were suffering, and I was just not happy.
I question my ability to be a proper husband. Maybe, I was a total failure. I believed it was only a matter of time before every else knew the level of failure that I had achieved.
I even spent several long afternoons with a therapist trying to figure out why I felt guilty not getting killed in a war.
The therapy helped some. I knew part of why I felt so guilty. However, I did not break out of my funk. I was stuck. I was burned out, and to defend my therapist, I never asked for help with burnout. I just wanted to get past my survivor’s guilt.
Then I finally recognized that was burned out. My wife, Kristin shared with me Jon Acuff’s book call “Start”. I read it, I loved it. It woke me up. It made me question myself. I realized that I had hopes and dreams. I had buried them so far, I was started to cripple myself.
I knew that I had to change, I needed to start sharing. I jumped on my first love, fantasy fiction. I wrote my first novel and then I got stuck again.
Thank Jon, Things started to change. I made some changes. I would get a great burst of energy and knock out work, however I would end up getting frustrated and burning out.
The burnout was no longer sticking. It would set in, I would lose a weekend or a week. However, I would pick up the pieces and keep moving. I launched my fist podcast, the Worldbuilder’s Anvil. I started sharing. I would pick up momentum, however I would still get frustrated and burn out and lose all of the momenta that I build up.
Finally, I had my aha moment I was in San Diego, I had escaped the cold days of early march in 2017. I went to the Brendon Burchard's High Performance Academy Live. You heard me, I was in one of the best places in the world for weather and I spent 10 hours a day inside a conference room.
I had given in when he talked about the idea of high performance versus peak performance. My skeptical mind said, give this all a chance. I knew what I had to keep changing. I liked the way I was moving, I wanted more. And thankfully, he backs up many of his ideas with the science and research to keep my cynical side at bay.
If you are not familiar with Brendon, I would suggest reading “The Charge”. I had been trapped in the caged life, I broke myself out and moved in the comfortable life.
Comfort might work for lots of people. However, when I was at HPA 2017 I was introduced to a friend I had not seen in years, I understood why even comfort lead to my burnout.
I stood in front of my old friend and waved into the mirror I am a scout, explorer, podcaster, and author. I have a burning desire to entertain, educate, and empower people. I cannot do that if I am living a comfortable life. So, I invite you to join Kristin and I as we look at our stages of breaking through burnout. Escaping the burn out cycle does not have to take you years like it did for me. Once I understood that the root cause of my burnout was grief. I wasted so much time grieving. DO NOT DO THIS. Understand your burn out and break through it and start living a life that you love.
And yes, they are based on the stages of grief. Because, I realized that I was trapped in grief. I was grieving for my dreams never achieved.
However, we learned that it is crazy to grief for yourself. If you breathe, you can and should increment changes to get you moving towards your dreams, do it now before you regret it.
Here are our 4 stages of the burnout cycle and the 3 steps you need to take to escape it now: * 4 stages of burnout! + Denial + Guilt + Anger + Hopelessness * 3 Steps to escaping burnout + Recognition + Reconstruction + Hope
Mentions: 7 STAGES OF GRIEF Through the Process and Back to Life http://www.recover-from-grief.com/7-stages-of-grief.html
23 of the Most Amazingly Successful Introverts in History
https://www.inc.com/john-rampton/23-amazingly-successful-introverts-throughout-history.html
16 Super Successful Introverts http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/08/15/famous-introverts_n_3733400.html
https://www.smallbizlife.com/dreambig Dream Catcher Assessment (Free until the end of April 2017)
https://www.smallbizlife.com/store/5CQukiiy Small Biz HQ
High Performance Live http://brendon.com/hpalive/
Start.: Punch Fear in the Face, Escape Average, and Do Work That Matters http://amzn.to/2nu1iI4
The Charge: Activating the 10 Human Drives That Make You Feel Alive http://amzn.to/2odMdHL
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7 STAGES OF GRIEF Through the Process and Back to Life http://www.recover-from-grief.com/7-stages-of-grief.html
23 of the Most Amazingly Successful Introverts in History
https://www.inc.com/john-rampton/23-amazingly-successful-introverts-throughout-history.html
16 Super Successful Introverts http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/08/15/famous-introverts_n_3733400.html
https://www.smallbizlife.com/dreambig Dream Catcher Assessment (Free until the end of April 2017)
https://www.smallbizlife.com/store/5CQukiiy Small Biz HQ
High Performance Live http://brendon.com/hpalive/
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Start.: Punch Fear in the Face, Escape Average, and Do Work That Matters http://amzn.to/2nu1iI4
The Charge: Activating the 10 Human Drives That Make You Feel Alive http://amzn.to/2odMdHL
Episode 81 – Sleep: Your greatest productivity tool
What!!! I cannot sleep, I have too much work Hey we understand. Jeff resisted this notion for years. Because, the idea that if you sleep more you can get more work done in less time is truly counter-intuitive. However, when Jeff was researching content on the basics of improving performance. We found lots of evidence that sleep is really the foundation of performing at a higher level.
Really, sleep is the foundation of better performance? Yes, since adopting a few new strategies. May of which we learned at Brendon Burchard’s live High Performance Academy, not an affiliate. We have both found an increased level of energy, to get rid of time loss to low energy and increased focus for the entire day.
The results have been so astounding we have rescheduled our entire content plan at Small Biz HQ to dedicate April 2017 to help our friends and peers.
While researching, why we had the improvement. The true importance of sleep became apparent. If you do not know, Jeff is a skeptic. So, he follows up success with research. He looked at all the things we did to improve. He found that without the sleep, nothing else would have worked as well. So Really, sleep is the foundation of better performance? Join us as we look at the science of sleep. The benefits of 7 – 9 hours of sleep a night. We also invite you to some of the links below
We challenge you to find a system, trick, or technique that could help you become more productive than a good night of sleep. If you do share it in the comments below. Jeff would love to research that as well.
NOTE: This post contains affiliate links
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https://www.smallbizlife.com/blog/episode-81-sleep-your-greatest-productivity-tool
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http://brendon.com/hpalive/
Small Biz HQ https://www.smallbizlife.com/store/5CQukiiy
https://www.smallbizlife.com/dreambig D Free for a limited time
What happens during sleep
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/28/brain-sleep-_n_5863736.html
https://sleep.org/articles/brain-during-sleep/
Get better sleep
http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/sleep/art-20048379
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/17/better-sleep-tips-best_n_4958036.html
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Why is listening to customers still important online? A business online is moving the way of the dinosaurs. Even in the smallest businesses, 73% are expected to have websites by the end of 2017. As the move to online happens, it becomes more difficult to perform the most important task of a business owner. We do not know how to listen to people we never meet.
Why is it difficult? Clutch looked into this in 2016.
Even if we interact with some people in social media. How many of those move to the website? How many of those buy from us or ever purchase one of our products?
We completely understand the problems of feeling lost when you interact with only a small portion of your online traffic. Across out platforms we served people a little more than 990,000 times, and from that we had under 10,000 interactions with people in social media.
So, we looked to better listen to the people we educate online. We knew we needed to up our listening skills. We knew we need to find a new way to listen.
We started looking to Web Analytics to allow us to listen Really, we knew web analytics were always where there. We even had times we obsessed with the numbers of downloads, views, sessions, and users. And there is no better way to increase your dopamine like seeing these numbers increase.
The dirty secret is total reach means very little. If I walk into a bar with a megaphone and get more people to hear me. It would not benefit me. Heck, it might get me punched in the face.
So, it is high time to stop screaming online and start listening.
Using web analytics for listening Join Kristin and Jeff as we look at what we have started looking at to stop screaming and start listening to the people we reached online:
- Total Reach (Okay we still love the dopamine)
- Bounce Rate and Drop offs
- User Flow
- Facebook Pixels
- Conversion Rates for opt-ins, contacts, sales pages
- ROI of tools
Mentions Clutch https://clutch.co/web-designers/resources/small-business-websites-2016-survey
Wicked Reports http://www.wickedreports.com
Google Analytics https://analytics.google.com/
Facebook Pixel https://www.facebook.com/business/help/200000840044554
Facebook conversion pixel plugin https://wordpress.org/plugins/facebook-conversion-pixel/
Google Analytics Plugin for WordPress https://wordpress.org/plugins/googleanalytics/
Search Engine Land http://searchengineland.com/7-conversion-rate-truths-will-change-landing-page-optimization-strategy-191083
Links ((((((((((((((((((((((((((( Visit Show notes )))))))))))))))))))))))))
https://www.smallbizlife.com/blog/episode-80-how-to-listen-to-your-customers-online
((((((((((((((((((((((((((( Mentions links )))))))))))))))))))))))))
Clutch https://clutch.co/web-designers/resources/small-business-websites-2016-survey
Wicked Reports http://www.wickedreports.com
Google Analytics https://analytics.google.com/
Facebook Pixel https://www.facebook.com/business/help/200000840044554
Facebook conversion pixel plugin https://wordpress.org/plugins/facebook-conversion-pixel/
Google Analytics Plugin for WordPress https://wordpress.org/plugins/googleanalytics/
Search Engine Land http://searchengineland.com/7-conversion-rate-truths-will-change-landing-page-optimization-strategy-191083
https://www.smallbizlife.com/dreambig D Free for a limited time
https://www.smallbizlife.com/store/5CQukiiy
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How where your sales today?
Ever wonder why those other businesses seem confident when the make an advertising buy for their business. Heck are you too scared to even try to buy and add because you think it will just waste your money?
It can be scary to create a funnel or a process for converting prospective clients into sales. We are looking will have to measure what we are doing. We will see all of our mistakes. Just follow me for a moment as we start to look at the benefits of a funnel and learn to make your business start working for you.
Stop being scared, invest your time creating a sales funnel If I asked you how many sales would you get if I could introduce you to 100 people, how many people would buy your product or service? Ten? One? Thirty? Could you even answer?
I have not met many small businesses that can some do not even what a sales funnel is. And many who do think that is something big businesses do to create sales, or a thing that online marketers talk about, and it will not work for them.
Here is why you need a funnel today You need a way to predict how many people you need to meet, to make the money needed to run your business and feed your family. Check out the benefits and learn 4x4x3 of sales funnels.
And ultimately, if you knew that you would convert 20 of the next 100 people that walked into your store. Would it be easier to grow or maintenance your business?
You could spend less time stressed out about the next sale and more time about getting to meet more people. Because you know if you can just get another 100 people to your store, you should double your sales.
The 6 Benefits of having a sales funnel * Helps reduce negative stress? * If results are tracked, you can quickly fix problems in new funnels * Helps you find more people to serve. * Helps you maximize sales revenue * Opens up the possibility of creating evergreen or subscription services.
The 4x4x3 Insight Guide to Sales Funnels Join Kristin and Jeff in this podcast episode. We will go through the 4x4x3 of a sales funnel and a bonus tip for stabilizing your revenue.
The 4 phases are part of the sales funnel. The 4 needs are the skills or items you will need to create a funnel, And finally we will look at the 3 most common approaches to sales that we see today.
The 4 Phases
- The Introduction Phase
- The Relationship Phase
- The Decision Phase
- The Service Stage
The 4 Needs
- Plan
- Products
- Platform
- Psychology
The 3 Approaches
- Direct Sales
- Walk-ins
- Value 2 Sale
- Networking
- Live Launch
- Events
- The Value^3 Launch
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Amy Campbell
Pew Social Media Stats http://www.pewinternet.org/2016/11/11/social-media-update-2016/
Snap Chat https://www.statista.com/statistics/326452/snapchat-age-group-usa/
YouTube https://fortunelords.com/youtube-statistics/
Use our framework to dream big and start moving towards your dream visions for free https://www.smallbizlife.com/dreambig
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In our journeys in real live and networking with people we keep running into the problem of perfectionism. And yes it is a problem. We know and love improving processes. We also know that the sooner we can identify and correct errors the easier they are to correct. However, we have noticed that most incarnations of perfectionism are holding back many of the people that we have met. They approach the problem of perfectionism with good intentions. However, as they fill up their life with more and more task they end up with hurting themselves. They trap themselves in a loop that makes it impossible to move forward in life.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Do not let your perfectionism be the pavement
In order to better address the issue. We found a wonderful series of articles over at the website Personal Excellence. Celes put together three wonderful articles on the subject on these topics.
- How to Overcome Perfectionism: Your Complete Guide
- 11 Signs You Are a Perfectionist
- 6 Hidden Downsides of Perfectionism
Join Kristin and I as we look at the problem of perfectionism and how it can infect all of us causing pain and trouble in our small biz life. And please go check out these articles for more information.
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Use our framework to dream big and start moving towards your dream visions for free https://www.smallbizlife.com/dreambig
https://www.smallbizlife.com/store/5CQukiiy Small Biz HQ Car Crash Flash Sale code MARCHFOR5 expires on March 31, 2017.
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Whether you are planning your first day working full-time for your business or you had your first day ten years ago, this episode is for you. We discuss Jeff's plans for his first day working for Ingram Digital Media, Inc. and the three pillars of success for our business.
Your first day If your first day in your business was tomorrow, what would that day look like? If you've been running your business for years, how would your first day and first week be different if you restarted today?
Jeff has spent a lot of time working on his time budget and master schedule (get our Mastering your Time course free and try Small Biz HQ for 30 days for just $5 with coupon code MARCHFOR5) to ensure that he can hit the ground running. We've also spent a lot of time planning what we want the next few months to look like.
You may not know this, but we actually have three active brands in our business: Small Biz Life, Accounting In Focus, and Gardul/Worldbuilder's Anvil. We've got a lot of ideas floating out there for each of these brands. We could sit down, plan for weeks, and still not get all of our ideas on paper. At some point, the long-range planning needs to be set aside and action needs to take over.
All of this planning can cause overload. I'm sure you have felt this before and are maybe are in this place right now. Unless you have a focus on your priorities, the overwhelming feelings you have will stop your momentum. Jeff plans to focus on three pillars for success.
Our 3 pillars of success We have said multiple times on the show that revenue generation and product development should be priorities in your business. Those are two of your pillars. The third is customer experience.
Jeff is most excited about increasing his role in customer experience for our brands. He loves interacting with people and helping them achieve their goals. This is one thing he has not had much time to do because of his limited schedule. Customer experience creates raving fans and happy paying customers. How much time are you devoting to customer experience?
The second pillar Jeff will focus on is increased revenue generation from our existing offerings. Customer experience is an important part of this but we also know we must improve our sales funnels and marketing practices. Taking potential customers through a defined sales funnel will help increase our revenue. Do you have a defined sales funnel? What does your sales process look like?
Our third pillar is product development. This includes a few new products and adding content to our existing products. It is our goal to add one new major product per brand per year. We could develop lots of new products but that would take time away from the other two pillars. If you are only developing new products, don't be surprised when those products don't sell as well as you hoped. Unless you spend time marketing, all the products in the world are not going to make you the kind of income you want. Are you spending too much time on product development? Are your products and services well defined?
It's not all lollipops and unicorns Since we announced that Jeff was leaving his job, we have had many trials and tribulations. Every week, something popped up that made us question our decision. Every time, we recommitted to Jeff coming to work with the business full-time. We knew we were making the right decision even though there were many personal challenges.
We could really use some lollipops and unicorns in March, though.
Other mentions Ronei Harden - Jeff's book editor
Episode 75, where we discuss Recurpost
Episode 74, where we discuss priorities
Episode 69, where we discuss how we were able to have Jeff come work for the business full-time
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https://www.smallbizlife.com/blog/episode-75-social-media-scheduling-update
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https://www.smallbizlife.com/blog/episode-69-making-the-leap
https://www.smallbizlife.com/store/5CQukiiy Small Biz HQ Car Crash Flash Sale code MARCHFOR5 expires on March 31, 2017.
https://www.smallbizlife.com/store/X5iVpMtD time budget and master schedule
http://gardul.com/
http://accountinginfocus.com/
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There are always new players in the social media marketing world. In this episode, Jeff and Kristin look at two new players in the market: Tailwind and Recurpost. We also discuss our requirements for social media scheduling apps.
Our social media scheduling requirements There are a few key items we always look for in social media scheduling apps:
- Library building for Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn - we want a social media scheduling tool that will allow us to build libraries of content which will automatically repost. We can load content to manually or via RSS feeds and reuse the content.
- Ease of setup - we want something that is easy to setup and use.
- Ease of scheduling - scheduling your libraries should be easy.
Bonus items we look for are good analytics and finding the best times to post our content.
This week, we look at two new players in the marketplace, Tailwind and Recurpost.
Tailwind Tailwind is a social media scheduling app for Pinterest and Instagram. The software does allow you to repost content but not automatically. Frankly, this was not very important because we don't often recycle content on Pinterest and Instagram. Jeff found it easy to set up his account during the free trial although scheduling content was a bit confusing. We were disappointed that it does not automatically post to Instagram for you. It sends you a text message similar to the way Buffer handles Instagram.
The navigation was a bit complicated if you are only using it for one or two accounts, but we could see the value for larger businesses. The small business market seems to be a bit of an afterthought with this app. The pricing confirmed this for us. There are two pricing options listed on the website: Plus and Professional. The Plus option is for one account (Pinterest or Instagram, but you can add more accounts. The pricing is $15 per month or approximately $120 per year if you pay annually. At $9.99 per month on an annual plan, it is a bit expensive for one social media platform; but if you are all in with Instagram or Pinterest, it might be worth looking at.
For Instagram, we will be sticking with Grum. It is very easy to use, automatically posts to Instagram and is $9.95 per month for up to two Instagram accounts. Plus, you don't have to pay annually to get that pricing.
If you are looking to schedule things to Pinterest, Buffer allows it for paid accounts. Plus, you can use Buffer for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+.
Recurpost Recurpost is a social media scheduling tool for Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. The creator states that they are also working to add Pinterest. The app allows you to build libraries and reuse the content.
Recurpost is a strong competitor for Edgar. We loved how easy it was to schedule posts and the app will find the best times to post your content. You can bulk upload URLs or use an RSS feed to add posts. There is a hashtag insert tool to suggest replacing terms in your post with hashtags you set.
The biggest advantage is the pricing. Edgar is $79 per month or $588 per year ($49 per month) for up to 25 accounts. Recurpost has a free option for three social media accounts and up to 100 scheduled posts. For $25 per month or $250 per year (two months free), you get up to 10 social media accounts and 1000 scheduled posts. For $49 per month or $490 per year, you get unlimited accounts and posts.
We were very impressed with Recurpost and are looking into it for our own scheduling needs. We think it is a viable alternative to Edgar.
Try Small Biz HQ for $5 and help us with some unexpected car expenses On February 17th, Jeff and I were driving to an event and were hit by another driver. Luckily, we are both okay but there was extensive damage to my car. There is also some question about whether the other driver has car insurance. We will need to advance the deductible and pay for a rental car while our insurance figures everything out.
Therefore, we thought it would be a great time to offer a deal on your first month of Small Biz HQ. Use code MARCHFOR5 to get your first month of Small Biz HQ for only $5. This code expires on March 31, 2017.
Small Biz HQ is our monthly subscription experience. Each month we deliver content on a new topic. In March, we will be covering content creation options like video, podcasting, and blogging in order to get your message out to the world. You'll also get access to all of our previous content and our Mastering Your Time course.
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We all have way too much on our to-do-lists. Trying to determine what takes priority can be difficult. In this episode, Jeff and Kristin discuss how to prioritize all the things you need to get done.
Often, we try to get everything done at the same time and end up getting nothing meaningful done. Knowing your priorities is an important step to finding the meaningful tasks in your business. Your top priorities should always be products and people.
Products include everything you sell. If you don't have something that will generate income, you won't be in business for long.
People are those who will assist your business and those who will become customers. Focusing on relationship building is an important part of your business. How much time are you focusing on it?
Don't get caught up in perfection. Don't get caught up in the technology. There are always ways to simplify the process so you can get started easily. If you are getting bogged down in the details, tells us about it in the Facebook group. Jeff and I are always here to help.
Mentioned in this episode The Thank You Economy by Gary V
Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger
Episode 31 - Networking
Episode 50 - YouTube Basics
Dream Catcher Assessment
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http://amzn.to/2kIkorb The Thank You Economy by Gary V
http://amzn.to/2kA1nVo Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger
In this episode, Jeff and Kristin discuss the basics of affiliate marketing and how to get started if you wish to add affiliate income to your revenue sources.
What is affiliate marketing? Affiliate marketing is an arrangement between an online business and a website owner, that pays a commission to a website owner for traffic or sales referrals. The website owner can place links or ads on their website, social media, and in emails (depending on the terms and conditions with the online business). In simple terms as an affiliate, you promote other business's products and receive money from those businesses for doing so.
Affiliate marketing is not just for bloggers anymore. Many businesses with an online presence are using it to supplement their income with products and services they do not provide or wish to provide to a larger audience. Affiliate marketing does not require you to place ads on your website. Many people just use links to the products in content, on resources pages, on social media, or in emails. Make sure you read the terms and conditions with each affiliate program to see how you can use your affiliate links. For example, Amazon's terms state that you cannot place affiliate links in emails because they are considered offline content.
Who can participate? Many states have passed affiliate tax laws aimed at large online retailers, like Amazon, which could limit some of the programs you can participate in. Currently, residents from Arkansas, Colorado, Missouri, Maine, Rhode Island, and Vermont are not eligible for Amazon's affiliate program because Amazon does not have physical presence in those states. You may find that you will not be able to join other affiliate programs for the same reason.
All affiliate programs have different requirements for acceptance. Some programs accept most applicants. Some are more selective, wanting to know current website or social media traffic. Others will ask you questions about how you plan to promote their products.
Which companies should you work with? When you use affiliate links, you are recommending products and services to your audience and customers. Just like any recommendations you make, you must be able to stand behind them. If you refer products you do not believe in, you are risking your reputation.
Typically, we only refer products we use. In our business, we often look for affiliate programs after we have worked with a company and we have already determined that we will be recommending it to our audience and customers.
How can you find out if a company has an affiliate program? Most businesses use an affiliate network to host their affiliate program. An affiliate network is a website that allows you to apply for multiple affiliate programs within one site. You are also paid for all affiliate sales hosted by that network in one payment. Some popular networks are:
- Rakuten Linkshare
- CJ (Formerly Commission Junction)
- ClickBank
- ShareASale
Amazon hosts its own affiliate program.
The best way to figure out if a brand has an affiliate program is to search for the name of the company and "affiliate program". This will help you find out if the company has a program and how to apply.
Questions about affiliate marketing?Head over to the Facebook Group.
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According to a 2012 survey in the U.K. Daily Mail, most people give up on their New Year's resolutions by January 10. If you are still working on your goals and your dreams, well done! In this episode, we discuss how to keep your goals and dreams alive into February and how to keep going for the rest of the year.
If you haven't done the Dream Catcher Assessment yet, we highly recommend you download it. It will help you keep your dreams and goals close. Even if you are using another method to create your goals, reviewing them on a regular basis is important for your success.
When reviewing your dreams and goals, it is important to see if they need to be modified. Do you need to dream bigger? Are any of your goals no longer relevant?
Take a look at your monthly contract sheet on the last page of the Assessment. You will want to print a blank copy of the page so you can do your contract for February. If you need to download the Dream Catcher Assessment, just click the link and enter your email again.
First, review last month's contract. How did you do with your action items? We both completed at least a portion of each of the items. Having the contract taped to the wall really helped keep them front and center. Some of them were completed just a few days ago but reviewing them often helped keep us on track. Note any action items that may need to be worked on again next month.
In the Dream Catcher Assessment, look at your dream for each category to make sure that you don't need to increase the scope of your dreams. Are these all items that you still want to accomplish? Are you still passionate about them? If not, go back in the Assessment and reset your dream for that area.
Now, look at your areas of improvement indicated in the contract. How are you doing in those areas? Have you mastered them or should you devote more time? When we completed our February contract, some of our areas of improvement stayed the same, some changed to another area listed in the second section of the assessment, and some were completely new areas of improvement that were not previously considered. The beauty of the Dream Catcher Assessment is that it allows you to change course while still working on your big dreams.
Finally, set your action for the next month. What will you work on in February to help you strengthen your area of improvement? In January, Kristin wanted to visit four new restaurants in the Lifestyle Category. That was actually much harder than we thought it would be because in order to find new and interesting restaurants, we would need to travel a fair distance from our house. That actually made us a feel better about our previous adventures because we realized we have tried a lot more restaurants than we had thought. This month, Kristin's goal is to go on a "walk-about" in a city she has not explored before.
The purpose of the Dream Catcher Assessment is to help you expand your boundaries and enjoy life. We hope that you will continue your work with the Assessment.
One more tip: Keep your old contracts. Use them to look back and see how much progress you've made. This will help inspire you to keep dreaming big.
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Your task list can say a lot about your business and your mindset. In this episode, we discuss what your task list says about your business and how to design a task list for success.
Types of Task Lists We believe there are three types of task lists: the nonexistent, the mundane, and the dream vision task list. Each of these types of task lists tells us something about your business.
The nonexistent task list As the name suggests, this is not having an organized task list. You may have scattered pieces of paper or no list of any kind. These businesses are reactive and operate without a plan. These business owners may have created goals but these goals are often not achieved because there is no plan to achieve them.
These business owners may believe they have a level of freedom but are often frustrated by their lack of progress. They may have a slow start each morning trying to decide what to do or may get lost in email or social media due to not knowing what the next step should be.
The mundane task list This is where most small business owners exist. They have the list but it is full of mundane tasks that bring no excitement and little progress to their business. The tasks are administrative and routine.
Without a connection to dreams and goals, these task lists often lack any growth items. The list looks the same each week, because of repetitive tasks or tasks not completed in previous weeks. Tasks are boring, and the business owner typically lacks focus and desire.
Businesses run on this type of task list is not growth focused. There may be a lack of concern for customer experience. These businesses are in survival mode or worse desperation mode. Customers pick up on this vibe, negatively affecting the business.
The dream vision task list When business owners align their dreams and goals with their task list, something magical happens. Productivity increases and businesses grow. Why does this make such a difference?
When we create dreams and goals, we get excited. That excitement tends to fade as we get stuck in the day-to-day operations of our businesses. We forget to make the connection between our dreams and our tasks. We tend to think that the mundane tasks must be completed before we can focus on goals but we take extra time on those mundane tasks because we are not excited by them. At the end of the week, there is no time for goal-focused tasks because we procrastinated, got distracted, or tuned out.
The key is to get excited about all of the tasks. That may seem impossible. Some tasks just suck. However, when you can connect your tasks to your dreams and goals, you can get excited about every task. When you look at a task on your list, ask yourself which of your dreams or goals this task relates. Even mundane tasks, like updating your accounting transactions, give you valuable information to achieve your business and financial dreams. Billing brings in money which also helps with these dreams.
When you become excited about mundane tasks, you can get them done more efficiently which creates time for the needle moving tasks. Bringing emotion to your tasks creates momentum.
This month in Small Biz HQ, we are covering task and project management, plus weekly and daily planning. If you join Small Biz HQ before January 30, 2017, you can get all of our Founder's bonuses including special pricing for life.
For more information about dreaming bigger, check out our free Dream Catcher Assessment.
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In this episode, Jeff and Kristin discuss limiting beliefs and how they might stop you from reaching your potential. We also discuss a way to eliminate your limiting belief.
What are limiting beliefs? A limiting belief is an internal belief you have about yourself that limits your potential and ability to dream. Unlike fears, limiting beliefs are generally focused on you and your abilities. These are the voices in your head that tell you you aren't good enough, smart enough, or worthy enough. Often, these are voices from our past and you will hear them in other people's voices. Sometimes, these voices are our own voice from the past. These moments in our life have cemented a belief about ourself, very often a negative one.
Identifying and eliminating limiting beliefs Typically, limiting beliefs pop up when we challenge ourselves and unknowingly challenge the limiting belief we hold. Many people encountered this when taking the Dream Catcher Assessment. If this was the case for you, we challenge you to go back to the assessment. When you hear the limiting beliefs and fears, write them down. If the voice is not your own and you can identify the person who said it, write that down as well.
Once you have started to identify your limiting beliefs, it's time to start assessing them. Think back to when you first heard that voice. You may be able to identify the specific memory. Think about the circumstances where you or someone you know made that statement. Have you changed since that comment was made? If someone else said it, should you have taken it so deeply to heart? Process your feelings and determine if this limiting belief from your past should have so much impact on your present and future.
Journaling is a great way to get our thoughts down and works well for identifying fears and limiting beliefs. We recommend that every time you write in your journal, you identify three things that you are grateful for in addition to refuting your fears and limiting beliefs. Another way to eliminate your limiting beliefs is to be a continual student. Have a budget for education and learn something new, even if it is something small every day. The more you expand your mind, the less room you have for limiting beliefs. Look for ways to hold yourself accountable and be willing to seek help if needed. None of us are on this journey alone. Find an accountability partner, mastermind group, or coach to walk the journey with you. Check out our Facebook group for more accountability on your journey. In this episode, we mentioned Life's Golden Ticket. It's one of the best books Kristin read in 2016. It's fiction but it teaches us a valuable lesson about limiting beliefs. If you are ready to invest in some business education, check out Small Biz HQ, our monthly service to help you take your business to the next level. Listen to the show on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube, Google Play Music, iHeart Radio, or with the player belowResources Use SmallBizLife.com/Amazon when shopping online to help support the show
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http://amzn.to/2jmcOCo Life's Golden Ticket
On January 3rd, Jeff gave his notice at his job to come work for the business full-time. In this episode, we discuss why we decided that now was the time, the planning we have done to get here, and why we gave up half our income to create our dream.
Are you having trouble with sticking to your goals? You may be thinking too small.
Why is dreaming big better for success? When we dream big, we get excited about our lives again. We see an amazing vision for ourselves and that vision allows us to push beyond those goals we made in prior years.
If you want to start dreaming bigger, check out the Dream Catcher Assessment we have developed to help you dream bigger in six key areas of your life and create an action plan to move in the directions of your dream vision.
Every business has a peak season, whether it is a natural part of your industry or because you are doing a launch. In this episode, we discuss strategies for having a more productive and profitable peak season.
Starting a podcast can seem very overwhelming, but it's actually easier than it appears. In this episode, we discuss how to start a podcast, what equipment you'll need, and how to get it out to the world.
We are often so excited about creating new goals we reflect on previous ones. In this episode, we discuss how to review old goals before setting new ones. We also discuss a few things you should add to your goals this year.
We have a simple choice to make each morning: do I want to live my life full of negativity or do I want to be a positive person? In this episode, we discuss how to change your attitude to allow more joy and prosperity in your life.
Are you displaying gratitude in your life? Do you take time each day to reflect on the things you are grateful for? In this episode, we discuss why gratitude is important and how you can show more of it in your daily life.
When you can't focus, everything takes more time. Since we can't create more time, we need to create more focus. In this episode, we discuss how to improve your focus so you can get more done in less time.
How often do you check out what your competition is doing? How often do you look at leaders in your industry to see how they are innovating? In this episode, we discuss how to do market research to strengthen your competitive advantage.
As small business owners, we think we need to GO, GO, GO!!! In this episode, we discuss why downtime is important for you physically, mentally, and emotionally.
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We all wish every call and meeting led to a new sale, but hearing "No" is common in business. In this episode, we discuss how to use rejection to push your business forward so you may hear more "Yes" in the future.
Learn to say "No" Most small business owners are terrible at saying "No". That is part of the reason that our schedules are overloaded. As you become better at saying "No", it becomes easier for you to hear it. It helps give you clarity, knowing that not every proposed business relationship is a good fit. It will also help you better assess if a customer is a good fit for your business.
Incorporate rejection into your metrics Good sales people do not just look at how many deals they close. They also look at number of connections made, meetings set, and follow-up calls. This allows them to see how many proposals must be made to book a sale. When you move away from sales metrics and start focusing on other key goals, it is easier to hear rejection because you know that one additional rejection gets you closer to the "Yes" you are looking for.
Listen and ask questions When you get a rejection, examine if that opportunity was a good one for your business. Was the client the right fit? Were you too focused on the additional revenue? Ask for honest feedback. Ask questions. Do not get defensive and do not try to sell again. Having a post proposal survey might be an excellent way for you to get the feedback you need at a distance.
Look for opportunities to grow After following up, are you seeing a pattern in those potential customers who are not working with you? This is a great opportunity for you to assess if you are going after the correct market and to see if your message may not be resonating well with those potential customers. You should also assess if you are targeting the correct potential customer. Assessment is an important part of the process.
Be nimble One of the best parts of being a small business owner is that we can pivot quickly. After you have assessed the feedback and the quality of the potential customer, you can quickly make changes. Before making changes, make sure the potential customers giving you feedback are aligned with your ideal customer. Don't make changes until you see patterns. If you change your business based off the feedback of one business (unless you know it is an issue), you might be moving farther away from your ideal customer.
Have you wanted to automate a task for your business, but had no idea how to start? We believe there is a simple place to start. IFTTT is an online service that allows you to connect other online applications with two simple formulas. IFTTTT has over 350 channels, which is what it calls the other online applications.
First, you can use the channels with the first simple formula. If This Then That, of IF something happens THEN do something. So when something happens in a channel, do something in the channel of your choice.
Also, You can create a more simple task with the Do formula, or just do a task in a channel.
If you are looking for more solutions that preforms similar tasks, we are also a fan a zapier.com.
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There are so many apps out there to help you run your business. Which ones are worth downloading? In this episode, we share our favorite small business apps.
In this episode, we discuss how to create systems and use automation to cut your task list, save time, and reduce your stress. What could be better than that?
Everyone tells you that stories sell but few people really explain how to do that. In this episode, we discuss how to tell stories in your business and the six elements needed to develop a compelling story.
Everyone says you need an email list but few people really tell you how to start one or what to do with it once you have it. In this episode, we will discuss email list basics to help you get started or to more effectively use your list. We will also discuss the basics of the Can Spam Act, which is the law that regulates commercial email.
Having a disaster recover plan is important for your business. In this episode, we discuss practical tips for preparing your business for natural disasters, loss of key employees and subcontractors, and keeping your electronics safe.
As we get into the final stretch of the year but before the holidays begin, Jeff and Kristin are starting to work on planning products and services for 2017. This is a great time to discuss developing new offerings for your business. We discuss how to begin the process of developing new products and services.
Many small business owners and customers are sending their kids back to school. As fall approaches, what effect does this have on your small business?
YouTube is a very powerful platform for small business owners, however very few actually utilize it for growing their business. In this episode, we discuss why you should be on YouTube and some of our top YouTube tips.
We all have a lot of hurdles that keep us from growing our businesses. In this episode, we address a number of those hurdles including time, money, skills, and fear.
We see life lessons all around us, and the Olympics are no different. In this week's episode, we discuss 5 things the Olympics can teach us about small business.
When you put yourself out there, you face critics. We discuss how to assess critics to determine if the criticism is valid and how to deal with it.
There are two types of people in this world, the Whys and the Why Nots. In this episode, we discuss these two types of people so you can identify which type you are and see who you are surrounding yourself with. Don't confuse this with your purpose which is often called your why.
For the full show notes, go to SmallBizLife.com
There is more to content creation that writing or recording content. In this episode, we discuss how we create content and give you tips for creating your own content schedule.
Check out the full show notes at smallbizlife.com
If you are watching the news or following social media, you are being bombarded by so much negativity. There have been a flurry of tragedies, both in the U.S. and around the world. As a small business owner, how do you keep going? In this episode, we discuss this very important topic and give you suggestions to keep pressing on.
Did you create goals at the beginning of the year? Have you been reviewing them on a regular basis? In this episode, we discuss how to review your goals as we reach the middle of the year to celebrate your wins, tweak your goals, and do some introspection to see why you haven't achieved your goals.
Are you looking at your website stats? What are you looking for? Do you see the numbers and aren't sure what they mean? In this episode, we discuss where you can find your website stats, what you should be looking at, and what you can do with them to grow your business.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is constantly changing. In this episode, we discuss the top SEO tips for 2016. If you haven't looked at the rules for a while, you might be shocked to see how much things have changed in the past few years. We look at two major categories that effect your ranking: technology and content.
We have seen so many businesses fail because they are not focusing on the two most important aspects of their business: building an audience and providing products and/or services.
In this episode, we discuss 7 simple ways to wow your customers. So often we get focused on the next big thing that will move our business forward that we forget the small things. These are 7 business fundamentals that you can begin improving upon today. We give suggestions for many types of businesses to improve your communications with clients.
In this episode, we discuss business cards. While some sites believe that the business card is dead, we believe it is still a necessary marketing tool for business.
In this episode, we discuss the value of mastermind groups, how to get your own group started, and how to run them. We are huge fans of mastermind groups and believe they are one of the most important tools to have in your tool box. We also discuss accountability partners.
In this episode, we discuss getting ready to step away from your business to take a vacation. It may seem impossible, but really it is not. We all need to step away from our businesses to take a break. we discuss things you can do before you leave so that you can enjoy your vacation.
In this episode, we cover 12 things in WordPress that you should be doing with your site that no one ever told you to do or maybe they did but you forgot about it. We discuss settings and plugins that will make your site more user-friendly, increase your search engine results, and protect your site from hackers.
Have you ever had those days when you just don't think you can keep going? Days when you wonder if you should keep going? We all have those days. In this episode, we talk about what to do when you are having a day (or week) like that.
Sometimes, it is really hard to get dinner on the table when juggling all your responsibilities. In this episode, we discuss some tips and tricks for getting dinner on the table quickly.
In this episode, we discuss how to get the most out of attending a conference. Doing some planning before you go and some follow up after you return will help you get a higher return on your investment.
In this episode, we discuss various ways to find networking opportunities and how to work those opportunities to grow your business.
In this episode, we discuss 9 ways to increase your confidence and why it is so important in every small business.
In this episode, we discuss our favorite brainstorming technique using Post-it Notes. It's low-tech, easy, and a great way to organize your next project.
In this episode, we discuss why you need an email list, how to get started, and what to do once you have one.
In this episode, Jeff and Kristin discuss stressful and crazy situations they encountered this week and the process used to get back on track: Pause, Reflect, Reset. They also discuss ways to track your efforts on social media and in advertisements to make sure your time and resources are going to the right places.
As small business owners, our businesses are a huge part of our life. Our families are also a huge part of our lives. You cannot run your business without buy-in from your family. In this episode, we discuss tips for improving communication with your family regarding your business needs.
In this episode, we discuss something pretty controversial, the argument about privacy and security. We read and discuss the court ruling instructing Apple to unlock the phone used by one of the San Bernadino shooters. We also discuss why this is such an important issue for all users of technology, but especially business owners.
We get so wrapped up in our businesses that we often forget to protect ourselves online. In this episode, we discuss some common sense ways to protect yourself and your business.
In this episode, Jeff and Kristin discuss what you should look for in a new accountant. We also discuss copyright law and the recent IRS outage.
In this episode, Jeff and Kristin discuss fear, how it can hold you back, the excuses you make because of it, and how to get past it to move your business forward.
Check out the full show notes at http://smallbizlife.com
In this episode, Jeff and I discuss ways to increase your energy levels. We take you through an entire day with tips to use in the morning, afternoon, and evening.
In this episode, Jeff and Kristin discuss the basics of Facebook profiles, pages, and groups. We also discuss some best practices for each of these and when and how you would want to use each of these.
In this episode, Jeff and Kristin discuss taxes (ewww, right?). Kristin reveals five common tax errors that could cost you big time and three opportunities that could save you a bundle.
In this episode, Jeff and Kristin discuss the new year and new beginnings: focusing on what worked last year, areas of improvement, and thankfulness.
Lots of small business owners are in goal setting mode for 2016, but we believe you should do a SWOT analysis before setting your goals in order to create goals that will really propel your business. Find out more at http://smallbizlife.com
If you are struggling with growing your business, it may be because you are allowing too much flexibility in your life and your business. For more information, check out SmallBizLife.com.
In this episode, Jeff and Kristin discuss why you might not be connecting with your customers: you aren't speaking their language.
This week, we discuss how to use surveys to grow your business and better serve your customers. We also discuss tools you can use to create free surveys and how to promote them.
In this week's episode we discuss how to survive the holidays with your sanity in tact. We give you 10 tips to thrive during the holidays. Some of the tips are business related and some are personal but all are really useful. We had a lot of fun recording this episode and we hope you enjoy listening to it.
In this episode, Jeff and Kristin discuss reaching those goals you made last week. We also discuss providing solutions for your clients and how to make dinnertime a snap.
In this episode, Jeff and Kristin discuss the importance of goals and how to start creating them.
In this episode, Jeff and Kristin discuss how to stop allowing others to prioritize your schedule. We discuss strategies for dealing with interruptions from family and friends, the phone, and email.
In this episode, we discuss password security, the October 15 tax deadline, the requirements for making estimated tax payments and avoiding penalties, and creating requirements for purchases in your business. For the full show notes, go to www.smallbizlife.com.
It is almost impossible to be successful in business if you don't know who your ideal customer is. Jeff and Kristin discuss how to discover your ideal customer.
In this episode:
In the news
10 Ways to Repurpose Your IT Investments
Federal Reserve decision on interest rates was a "close call"
Question from the mailbag
Carla asked, "I just formed an LLC. When do I have to file my taxes? Aside from not having a separate business account, what is the next biggest mistake start ups make?" Kristin tackles this question regarding LLC's, estimated taxes, and the biggest mistakes she's seen.
Topic of the week
Kristin and Jeff discuss ways to recover your time. See smallbizlife.com for all the apps and services we mentioned during the show.
In this episode, we discuss what's in the news, IRS profit data for small businesses, why having a profit is important, and balancing information consumption and getting things done.
In this episode, we discuss the Apple announcement, deducting travel expenses, why you need a home base online, and self-care tips.
See the full show notes at smallbizlife.com
In this episode, Jeff and Kristin introduce themselves and discuss what we plan to do on the show.
More about Jeff and Kristin
Podcast Movement and Jared Easley
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Check out the show notes at smallbizlife.com