Marketing Management & Money: Recent Episodes
Ryan Murray and Ethan Migliori
Welcome to Startup Marketing the audio book. We will be making the entire audio book Startup Marketing available on our podcast followed by an episode that provides commentary and unique insights to the book.
This week will be covering the Introduction to Startup Marketing.
We've got some exciting news to share with you.
First, the audio book Startup Marketing is now available on over 50 different audio book platforms worldwide AND we will be doing the full book with author commentary starting next week right here on the podcast, Marketing Management & Money.
Next, we're now on Instagram so be sure to follow us for awesome content and amazing deals. @MMM_SmallBiz
Finally, we've partnered with JazzJune.com as the place to find all of our digital learning content. Check out JazzJune.com/GBTN for the current sale on our popular training program Growth By The Numbers
When an entrepreneur looks to start a business or do a major growth campaign there is a lot to consider. Unfortunately it often becomes overwhelming, which leads to poor planning. If you find yourself only focusing on things within your comfort level when starting or growing a business, this episode breaks down some great tips to stay focused and have great planning.
We've got some really amazing things that are going to launch in the next few weeks, but we wanted to give our listeners a little sneak peak of what's to come.
This is a very unique side conversation (that really has nothing to do with small business). Ethan asked the question, "When would a soldier in face to face battle get exhausted?". This episode is all about us chasing that squirrel.
Cash is King and MORE is always better...Right?
In this episode we explore how sometimes too much cash can actually hurt your business, especially if you are just starting out. We like to call it the nuances of cash flow, subtle but important things to know about managing cash.
Whether you want to admit it or not, nepotism is found in every business. Now to be clear, that doesn't mean that every business hires their nephew, rather every business shows favoritism based on relationships in the workplace. The reason we decided to focus on nepotism rather than just favoritism is because there are some many times that our close relationships or our blood relationships effect our business decisions. This doesn't mean that all familial decisions and situations are bad, but to avoid the challenges that plague so many businesses, we decided to talk about how best to manage nepotism in your business.
Since we just celebrated Independence Day, we decided to do a side conversation on celebrating our independence. We talk about anything and everything taboo - politics, racism, religion, etc., all in the spirit of freedom, respect, and tolerance for all humans.
This is a topic we're pretty passionate about...not working just to "get your hours in". So many companies require their employees to get all their hours, but this is usually more expensive, less effective, and promotes poor work ethic. This episode goes deep into how to break free from old-school thinking about hours and adjust your company to focus on what really matters...productivity.
Karl Swanepoel is the CEO & Founder of Revolancer Beta, a platform designed to empower independent professionals and freelancers by facilitating the skills exchange to build their service businesses. With a strong background in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Karl studied at Aberystwyth University in Wales.
Karl's entrepreneurial journey began at a young age when he encountered the challenges faced by freelancers. At the age of 15, he founded BuySellJobs and sold it for a modest sum to a company before his 16th birthday.
Karl became the youngest-ever brand ambassador for The Business Show, Britain's largest business conference. He continued to serve as an ambassador and was given the opportunity to have a stall and deliver a keynote speech at the 2018 show held at the Excel Centre in London.
Today, Karl Swanepoel is leading an energetic and passionate team at Revolancer, determined to revolutionize the freelance industry and restore freedom to freelancers worldwide.
Revolancer.com
We decided to go into our take on health and culture in this side conversation. This is a conversation about taking care of yourself that kinda spilled into different aspects of culture. It all ties into business, but as a Side Conversation it's definitely opinionated.
This is a different episode from our normal style. In fact, we debate back and forth as to whether this episode should be a side conversation, but really this episode goes into some pretty advanced concepts about pricing for major expansions. So if you want to dig a little deeper into pricing strategies and all the unforeseen nuances on growth expansion this is a great episode for you. Also, this episode dives into a case study of a current expansion that Ryan is working on. It's a unique listen, we hope you enjoy.
Have you ever struggled with understanding your marketing. If you didn't have a marketing strategy but spent a lot of time and money on marketing anyway, you might be a zombie business. To avoid this devastating fate and fight against the zombies, we'll show you what to do for your marketing. This is the final segment of our 3 part serious on zombie businesses.
Welcome to part 2 in our 3 part Zombie Business series. This episode is all about protecting yourself from zombies that would suck you dry financially. But don't be fooled into thinking that the real threat is from other businesses trying to put you out of business. The bigger threat is YOU! If you want to learn how not be become the living dead with your own business financials, this is a must listen to episode.
At Square Peg Ranch we do different! Our goal is to help those who can’t be helped.
Everybody knows someone who has run out of options either for themselves, their kids, their
husband, etc. Join our interview with Ryan to learn a bit more about what we do and what our
goals are.
We are currently looking for support. There are 3 ways you can help us.
Fundraiser
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/square-peg-ranch-fundraiser/x/30389656#/
Contact us directly sponsor@squarepegranch.com
Share our message with anyone and everyone.
Any way you can help is greatly appreciated!
Instagram
https://instagram.com/sqarepegranch?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091966268540&mibextid=LQQJ4d
Welcome to Part 1 of a 3 part series on Zombie Businesses. This is a term we’ve coined to talk about businesses that are essentially the “living dead”, meaning they’re in business but aren’t really alive or thriving. This is a common issue in small businesses so we want to prepare you on how to not become a zombie yourself and how to stay away from getting infected by other zombies.
Welcome to our side conversation all about custom houses. This is our take on how we should rethink the way we live and how we build (and a few other tangents along the way)
This is our follow up episode on how to effectively compensate your employees (and yourself). If you haven’t already listened to part 1, jump back and catch up. But we hope you enjoy the sequel.
Abagail & Emylee are the business fairy Godmothers behind Boss Project and the hosts of the
chart-topping podcast, The Strategy Hour.
They’re internet-famous for their program, Trello for
Business, which breaks down boring and complicated
systems into bite-size chunks. They have helped over
10k creative small business owners create simplicity
and ease in reaching their goals.
After getting their start in 2015 serving clients in the
marketing and branding space, they now help other
service based business owners reignite their offer,
create systems for client experience, and get more of
their time back inside their program, The Incubator.
Featured in Forbes, HuffPost, Marie Claire and INC.
The team at Boss Project is truly revitalizing the service
based industry through strategies that don’t require
flashy marketing, a huge audience or full-time hours.
This is Part 1 of a 2 part series on how in the world to figure out compensation for your employees. It seems like this is always a difficult topic for entrepreneurs, so in this series we break down the main things to focus on, how to get creative, and paying your employees the most possible while saving the company as much money as possible.
This is definitely just a side conversation full of stories of different times we’ve picked up hitch hikers. So if that’s interesting to you, please join us.
Our guest today is Yash Chavan, a marketer at heart who’s also the founder of SARAL – a tool that makes finding, managing, and monetizing influencers simple for ecommerce brands. He’s an engineer by training, but dropped out of college to work in sales, and eventually started a marketing agency where he scaled many brands and software companies to over $1M in annual revenue. Over the last couple of years, Yash has been exploring the world of influence – driven marketing and has worked with over 5000 influencers. He’s created and perfected a 6-step-system that any brand can apply to start and scale a successful influencer program. With that, said, welcome to the show, Yash!
Yes, this is an episode dedicated to marketing, but we want to look at things a bit differently. In this episode about social media marketing we dive into how to effectively manage this as part of your overall marketing strategy. Sometimes entrepreneurs mistakenly hand over their social media to whoever is posting content. But just like all marketing, we need to understand our goals and how to manage our social media.
We talk often about the importance of training good employees, but we wanted to get into the specific things you can and should be doing to help you and your employees retain the information. It doesn’t matter if it is formal training or simply making sure they understand instructions. So if you’ve ever struggled to get employees to listen, this episode is definitely for you.
Welcome to this side conversation where we talk about using ice baths as a way to better deal with change and other stressors in our lives.
We make decisions constantly, in business, in life, at home, at work, etc. The problem is, most of the time we don’t have good information to base our decisions on. We tend to just decide and hope for the best. That’s not likely going to change, but we can understand how to make better decisions regardless of the situation. This episode is all about making the best decision possible with the information available.
We’ve got a short plug for a marketing research project sponsored by Branden Cobb. If you’re interested in a providing input and data for this project, please contact Branden to sign up. There is no cost to participate.
You can connect with Branden via branden@marketingexec.us or https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandencobb1/
Welcome to another side conversation. This time we explore the topic of genetic modification (which we know nothing about). So if you’d like to get an unofficial take on genetics, ethics, population and all sort of other tangents, join us.
Admit, you are on your phone constantly, but so is everybody else. So the question becomes, are you using your phone as a toy or a tool. Take our quiz in our episode to find out if you are addicted to your phone.
This is another side conversation. This time, we talk about how addicted culturally we are to things looking perfect and what the unintended consequences might be to overly focus on only our sense of sight.
The goal of every manager is to improve their organization. But what happens when the manager is the problem? To some extent we all fall into the pitfalls of “Bad Management”. The important thing is how quickly can we recognize that we’re the problem and do we know what to do to stop being the problem. This episode covers the essentials of how not to be a bad manager.
Branden combines over 15 years in Marketing leadership, has an MBA and great people skills to champion your brand strategy, messaging, and storytelling in both the DTC and B2B spaces. His background includes a proven record of propelling brand reach, sales revenue, profit margin, and business growth. He is passionate about diversity and inclusion, data analytics, and building internal capacities through innovation and thought leadership.
You can connect with Branden via branden@marketingexec.us or https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandencobb1/
Here’s another Side Conversation. This time we’re talking about our thoughts on global consumerism. The primary question we ask, “is our global model of business driven by consumerism really the best model?”. Come explore with us some possibilities of business that aren’t driven by humans just getting more stuff. We hope you enjoy.
This is our final episode in our “All Things Financial” series. This time we discuss business valuation. If you’ve ever wonder how to value your business, we cover it here. This episode is all about the what, when, and how of business valuation.
We thought it would be fun to share our predictions about what to expect for your small business in 2023. We didn’t research this, run a detailed analysis, or even really prepare anything. We just made some predictions. I guess we’ll see in a year how well we did.
We’re back with part 3 of our financial series. In this instalment we get into the specifics of how to draw corelations between business decisions and the impact those decisions can have on your financial statements. Some of the concepts covered in this episode are more advanced so if you haven’t listened to part 1 and part 2 of this series be sure to check those out first.
Welcome to part 2 of our series about all things financial. These episodes focus on…well, everything about finance. This time we get into what you should be looking at when you dive into your financials. So if you’re serious about understanding how money flows through your business check out part 2 of our series.
We decided to take a little side trip on business valuation. If you’ve been following our show you know that we’re doing several episodes on finance right now. Well, just for fun we thought we’d look at some of the odd things that happen when trying to determine what you business is worth. But don’t worry, we’ll do a legitimate episode covering business valuation too.
Yep, that’s right. This episode is everything you need to know about your company financial statements, or least this is our attempt to cover a lot of the essential information when it comes to making solid financial decisions in your company. Whether you use your financial statements or struggle to understand the numbers, tune in to improve how and what you look at to understand the money in your company.
It’s difficult as an owner to understand the value of employees. Some are great! Some are terrible! and there is everything in between. This episode discusses how to correctly evaluate and value your employees. Are they doing a good job? and if so, how can you as an owner sift through those who aren’t pulling their own weight to create a great team?
There has been a lot going on politically so we decided to share our unofficial, non fact-checked opinion on what's going on in the US and the World today. If you'd like to hear our view, join us for this fun side conversation.
This episode is about partnership agreements...and vendor agreements, loans agreements, employee agreements, etc. We make agreements constantly in our business, but most the time we forget to put something tangible in place so that both parties actually agree on the agreement.
If you want the list Ethan uses to have a successful agreement, here it is:
Checklist of Issues in drafting a contract between family members, a general partnership agreement, corporate bylaws, or an operating agreement for an LLC.
What state will the business be formed under? What will be the formal name of the business? Does the proposed name conflict with a name of another business or constitute a trademark infringement? Where will the principle address of the business be? What is the term of the business – how long will it last? Do you have an exit strategy at this time? Do all the principals agree with this exit strategy? What will be the “purpose” of the business? The reason the business is being brought into existence. Will a fictitious name statement be necessary if the business has a marketing name? Who will be the agent for service of process for legal matters? What will be the initial capital contribution of the principals? Will the initial contributions be cash, check, assets, or time? If assets or time how will they be valued? If the business needs additional capital, will the principals be obligated to contribute it? In what proportion? Subject to a cap? Will all the principals need to approve a loan or an outside injection of capital? Will there be principals contributing services to the business? What are the specific services and time commitments? And how will these be valued? Will there be interest paid on capital contributions? If so, what interest rate will be charged? Under what circumstances can capital contributions be withdrawn from the business? How will the withdrawal be valued? Can there be loans made by the principals to the business? What are the terms and interest rates? How are profits and losses allocated among the principals? When are distributions of profits to be made? Who decides? Are there profits that will be retained in the business and not distributed? Will the profits be distributed based on ownership percentages? What is the fiscal year of the business? If it is different than the calendar year when will the fiscal year start? What is the accounting method for the business? Cash or accrual method? How will the business be managed? Will there be Managed Partners? Who are the managers and their titles? What acts will require the majority consent of the principals? What acts will require the unanimous consent of the principals? Who is authorized to handle the funds of the business? What outside activities of the principals are freely permitted? What outside or competitive activities of the principals are restricted? Are the principals entitled to a salary? What is the salary for each principal? How can new principals be added? Can a majority of the principals recommend a new principal or does it need to be a unanimous recommendation? How can existing principals withdraw from the business entity? How can an existing principal be expelled from the business? What actions would cause them to be expelled? Should the value of their ownership be penalized for such actions and how much penalty should be incurred? If principals withdraw, what happens to their interest in the business? What happens on the death or disability of a principal? What happens on a bankruptcy or insolvency of a principal? What happens in the event of a divorce of a principal’s spouse with respect to the business interest? What restrictions are there on the transferability of a business interest? Is there a right of first refusal on transfers of business interests? What circumstances dissolve the business or cause the busines...
Have you ever experienced growing pains in your business? Of course you have because we all have at some point. But what about you personally, are you growing as quickly as your company is? Too often entrepreneurs focus on growing their business but fail to keep up with their own personal growth necessary to effectively be a leader in their own business. Not sure what we mean? Want to learn more? Check out our episode on Leadership Growth.
On our show we usually focus on the analytical side of marketing - we like the data. But in all fairness, there is a creative aspect as well to marketing. Here are our tips on how to stay creative in your marketing without deviating too far from your brand or your target market.
Welcome to another one of our side conversations. This time we explore the environmental impact that water and sand have and how that spirals into a broad discussion about what you and I as entrepreneurs could or should do about it.
We all make decisions daily. Sometimes these decisions are easy, but often we struggle with difficult decisions that seem risky to us. So what is the balance between making real time decisions and not being careless and risky? That's the golden question that we will answer in this episode on understanding risk when making decisions.
This is the final piece to our Customer Engagement training program. If you've enjoyed the program and want access to the full training contact ryan@marketingmanagementmoney.com
This section of our Customer Engagement is the finally step of the 8 steps we've laid out for growing and developing strong, loyal customers.
In this section of our Customer Engagement training we discuss the critical step of fulfilling your end of the agreement. If you have great customer service, but fail to follow through with what you said you would do, you'll lose customers. It's that simple. But sometimes we don't even realize we're falling short on our end, so this section is to ensure that we make commitments we can keep and then keep them to our customers.
This section of our Customer Engagement training is all about asking for the sale. Too often we only focus on the needs of the customer and we forget that this is a two-way relationship where there is an expectation from the customer but also an expectation from the business. It's short and simple, but don't forget to ask.
This section of the Customer Engagement training is all about resolving concerns your customer will have as they continue to engage in business with you and your company. We will cover the key elements of never argue with the customer, have correct policies and procedures in place to resolve concerns and never criticize the customer. Keep in mind that we will reference back to other training segments so if you have not listened to those, jump back and catch up first.
This section in our Customer Engagement training is all about creating value for your customer. This is how you understand the exchange that is taking place between your products and services and what they are willing to pay for it and feel glad they did.
Here is our list of the top 5 financial ratios you need for your business. (Maybe we cheated and did a few more than 5...)
If you've been following our series on Customer Engagement, the next step in the process is to be able to successfully recommend a solution to your customer. This requires a combination of having the right product knowledge, believing in what you sell, cross selling to get to the best solution, and having a unique selling proposition that makes your solution the best solution available.
It's time to get real and get serious. Too many of us think we're doing good market research in our businesses when in reality we're just going through the motions. This episode is all about doing market research and then actually using the data from the research to grow your business.
The next step in the process is to Understand the Customer's Needs. This is seemingly simple, and it should be, but we tend to think we understand our customers and their specific needs better than we actually do.
Welcome to Part 3 where we go through each step of the Customer Engagement process. The first step is Building a Relationship of Trust with the customer. Essentially if they don't believe you or trust you, you won't be able to have a long-term engagement with your customers. This is the first step in customer engagement.
In this section of our Customer Engagement training, we focus on the basis of your customer interactions. We use a model called the 1 part 2 parts model that teaches you how to move from the 1 part or basic inherent actions of customer engagement toward the grow areas of ideas and innovation (the 2 parts).
In this section of our Customer Engagement training, we focus on the basis of your customer interactions. We use a model called the 1 part 2 parts model that teaches you how to move from the 1 part or basic inherent actions of customer engagement toward the grow areas of ideas and innovation (the 2 parts).
Welcome to the first part of our Customer Engagement training. The focus of this section is laying a foundation of how to connect with your customers rather than simply being blocked by them.
Welcome to the first part of our Customer Engagement training. The focus of this section is laying a foundation of how to connect with your customers rather than simply being blocked by them.
We do a lot of training programs centered around customer service. Well we've decided to put together this program for our podcast listeners. But to us, there is so much more than just customer service. That's why we focus on Customer Engagement - building long-term relationships with customers so that they are highly satisfied, continuously refer other great customers to your business and engage in very profitable repeat business.
This is the "introduction" section of this training. We'll be updating new content regularly for the entire training program, adapted specifically for our podcast audience.
We do a lot of training programs centered around customer service. Well we've decided to put together this program for our podcast listeners. But to us, there is so much more than just customer service. That's why we focus on Customer Engagement - building long-term relationships with customers so that they are highly satisfied, continuously refer other great customers to your business and engage in very profitable repeat business.
This is the "introduction" section of this training. We'll be updating new content regularly for the entire training program, adapted specifically for our podcast audience.
How many of us hire a new employee or promote someone into a new position and fail to actually train them on what they are supposed to do. Don't worry, you're not alone. This is a common problem that most businesses have. Businesses continually fall short when it comes to training new employees. But why? We'll answer that question and give tons of great tips on how to effectively train your employees in this episode.
Last episode we talked about titles and the important role they can have on your business. That got us started down the path of how titles can plan a role in how people are promoted within your organization as well as what impact titles can have on your turnover. In this episode, we decided to dig deep on what is going on with people changing positions both in and out of businesses and do a bit of a continuation from last time. And to make the episode even more informative, Ethan found an excellent article that we reviewed about the great attrition and what the data says about people leaving the workforce.
Titles are a part of our world. Every culture in every part of the world uses titles to help distinguish what roles people play in different organizations, but are these just simple descriptors or is there a lot of cultural impact to the organization based on these titles? In this episode we explore what impact titles have in your business and how to maximize the use of your titles to get the most engagement out of your employees.
This episode is a review of the article "How to Spot an Incompetent Leader" by Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic. If you're looking to find good leaders in your business and especially don't want to be an incompetent leader yourself this is a great episode to learn what to do and what not to do in leadership and in business.
In today's world there is no getting around online reviews. Sometimes they're helpful and sometimes they aren't. Regardless as a business you need to have a plan in place on how to manage them. In this episode we share some of the actual stats behind online reviews as well as what to do to make your reviews as helpful as possible for your business.
Content marketing is definitely a buzz topic today for entrepreneurs, but this is our take on how to do it effectively and successfully. All too often, we hear catch phrases like "content is king", but in reality just putting content out to the universe isn't going to grow your business. You have to understand your customer and create content that matters to them. So really content marketing should be part of your overall marketing strategy not just something you throw out and see what sticks.
Are you expanding and growing your business? Are you looking at finding a new physical location? Are you maybe thinking that brick and mortar storefronts are outdated and you're not sure if you should even consider a physical location? In this episode we will answer those questions and more. So join us for understanding the economics of brick and mortar as you look to grow your business.
In this forth and final training on finance, we put it all together. This session is all about understanding the strategic side of making financial decisions and how to make sure that you are using financials to grow your business.
Welcome to another side conversation. Ethan just got back from a trip to Rome and I'm getting ready to go to Germany, so we decided to chat about travel to Europe.
CEO and Founder of the Empowered Financial Planner https://www.empoweredfinancialplanner.com Eunicia is an accomplished financial expert and business owner with over 15 years of experience in the financial services industry. Eunicia first honed her expertise by delivering significant financial improvements to the bottom line of Fortune 500 companies and renowned global brands across multiple industries. Since then, Eunicia has zeroed in on her passion to work with individuals who want to optimize their wealth and are looking to take control of their money, minimize tax exposure, and are motivated to seek the answers that the financial services industry is holding back. She believes that every person should have a holistic and customized financial roadmap that fits their specific goals, needs, and desires for short-term gains and long-term wealth. Eunicia is a strong believer that those individuals seeking more for their money and wealth creation efforts deserve to know the unfair advantages that many financial advisors withhold from their clients. Her Wealth Freedom Formula is a personalized financial consulting program offering insights into secrets that financial institutions (like the banks) do not want you to know. The clients that understand those financial secrets are positioned to experience significant gains to their financial outlook because they become empowered with the tips, tricks, and know-how to grow and protect their money… in a way that feels right to them. In addition to her own business, Eunicia serves as a strategic advisor to several business-oriented groups.
At some point in your business an employee is going to leave. Hopefully this will simply be an chance for them to transition on to a better opportunity. But often times, business owners have to fire employees. Whereas it's never an enjoyable process, there are things you can do to make the transition as smooth as possible for both you and the employee.
If you're curious what books we read here's a little side conversation on the books we're currently reading and what we like. And the book that Ethan couldn't remember...Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell.
This is the third part of our financial series. We covered Credit and Debt in parts 1 and 2. This section is all about equity in your business.
Welcome to part 2 of our training on finance. Part 1 was all about credit and how to use it. Now we're going to discuss debt in your business.
If you're involved in business, at some point you're going to have to give a presentation. This might be a formal presentation or it could be making sure a management meeting flows smoothly. Perhaps you've had to pitch to a group of investors or maybe your interviewing for a new position. Regardless of the situation, there are several things you can do to make sure your presentation is a great one. Join us to find out more.
This is part 1 of a series we're doing on business finance. Today we're talking about your personal and business credit. Be sure to stay tuned for upcoming discussion/trainings as we continue with our series.
A common issue in small business is how to transition from one generation to the next in ownership. It's well known that the rate of success declines each time a new generation takes over. So how do you ensure that you're doing the right things to have a successful transition? What are the strengths and weaknesses between different generations and how do you avoid the pitfalls and find sustainable growth? This episode covers all those topics and more about transitioning from one generation to the next in business.
Welcome to our first Side Conversation. This is where we talk about things other than small business. So if you'd like our take on other issues please join us and tell us what you think.
Dr Deborah Fryer is a money mindset mentor, spiritual business coach, andcreator of the Anatomy of MoneyTM system for holistic wealth and well-being. She helps heart-centered entrepreneurs breakthrough subconsciousmental, emotional and financial blocks so they can create sustainable, soul-aligned 6- or 7-figure businesses with ease, speed, and confidence (withoutworking harder, feeling guilty, downplaying your success, or selling yoursoul).Deborah holds a PhD in Comparative Literature from Princeton, and she isan award-winning filmmaker who has created content for PBS, NOVA,Frontline, the National Science Foundation, and other media channels. Shealso completed a post-baccalaureate pre-medical degree and has beenteaching and practicing yoga and meditation for over 30 years. Her uniqueblend of ancient wisdom and modern science, narrative medicine, andcreative visualization has helped thousands of business owners around theworld change their minds, their mindsets, and their relationship to money,power, and true wealth.Deborah is the author of Best Brain Hacks, Turn on Your Tap, and theforthcoming Anatomy of Money: Your Inside Guide to True Wealth.
Entrepreneurs talk about cash flow like they talk about the weather. There are forecasts and high's and low's, but ultimately they don't really understand what is causing all the changes. They just end up reacting. If you want to get good at understanding cash flow, you need to check out this episode. We'll discuss cash flow in-depth, but we'll also give you the main calculations you need to be using if you want to be a successful entrepreneur who really understands cash flow.
In our last episode we discussed the basics of negotiations. In this follow up episode we dive deeper into the psychology behind the different personalities in negotiations. If you want to be a good negotiator you need to understand who you're negotiating with and how they like to negotiate.
This is a live training we did for the Utah Rural Online Initiative Program. The topic was 'Side Hustles'. We discussed the Who, What, Where, and Why's of doing a side hustle. When it makes sense and when it doesn't. Thanks to Trenton Wilson for inviting me to speak.
Everyday in our lives we're negotiating. When you decide what movie to watch or where to go to dinner, those are negotiations. But it becomes even more important when we're making businesses decisions such as negotiating credit terms, setting price points, or giving an employee a raise. This episode focuses on understand what is taking place when we negotiate, both consciously and subconsciously. If you want to be more successful in your negotiations this episode is for you.
Are you gearing up to pitch your business to investors or for a business competition? If so, you need to check out these tips from a competition we recently judged. Here's what to do and what not to do when making the pitch.
There are both internal and external factors constantly bombarding your business. Often this creates a divide among employees, management, customers, etc. Your job is to manage the political divides that arise. sometimes these are truly political, but many times it's simply internal politics causing big problems. Regardless of your views, you need to have your team trust and respect you and your company. This is the topic of today's episode.
It's that time of year again, the time when everyone starts mapping out their year. It's a time of new resolutions, new goals, and new visions. But in your business, did you actually look at in depth at your financial statements before making those goals? This episode is all about using your financials to guide your goal setting process. This essential skill of using this powerful tool is the single most important thing you can do to be successful in the new year and beyond.
It's the most wonderful time of the year. It's the holidays, the kids are out of school, family is in town, and it's time to reconcile your business financial statements. This year, you owe it to yourself to actually use your financial statements to make smart choices in your business. This deep dive takes you through some of the most critical aspect of financials that you need to be reviewing this year.
Welcome to our guest Devin Miller, IP and small business attorney and host of the Inventive Journey podcast.
In our interview we discuss common concerns of start-ups and small businesses when it comes to legal. Devin provides some great starting points for all entrepreneurs needing to make sure they've covered themselves legally. He also shares some great insight in his podcast. Links from the show are listed below.
If you ever need anything or want to talk about patents or trademarks, feel free to grab Devin's time at the following link:
https://milleripl.com/blogs/milleriplaw/meet-with-devin-miller
If you'd like to share your entrepreneurial journey, you can apply to be a guest on the Inventive Journey podcast
https://milleripl.com/blogs/inventive-journey/apply-to-become-a-guest-on-the-inventive-journey-podcast
Have you ever set up a booth for your company at a trade show? Do you take your team to conferences to learn about best practices? Whether you do or you don't, this episode will walk you through the do's and don'ts of trade shows and conferences.
Every company has a product, whether it is a physical object or a service, but few companies actually manage their products to ensure alignment with strategic company goals and real customer needs. People buy our products because it fulfills one or more of those real needs. Aligning with those needs while remaining true to who you are helps build customer devotion and innovation. It also helps to prioritize your efforts and limited resources to innovate where it really matters.
Brent Willson is the Senior Product Manager for Crozier Fine Arts, which is Iron Mountain's art logistics and services company, where he is organizing product management to help this growing company maintain its client focus and find new and better ways to help them "Do more for their art." With years of program and project management, Brent has found his passion for solving customer needs in product management.
We all have a tendency to think we're great leaders, but we also know so many people who aren't. Should we be looking in the mirror more often and evaluating our own leadership? Of course we should, and this episode is all about understanding our own personal leadership skills. Not only do we discuss leadership from a business perspective, but also how it impacts our personal lives too.
Welcome to part 2 of this two part series on exactly how we create a marketing strategy. If you're looking for the exact process we follow, well this is it. In part 1 we looked internally. In part 2 it's all about external growth opportunities. This is the perfect series on how to actually grow your business using successful marketing techniques.
Randy is a recognized brand strategist, conceptor and creative director with over twenty years of marketing and innovation experience in the client, agency and media worlds, from entrepreneurial to corporate environments.
Randy has worked in the WPP and Omnicom agency networks, Conde Nast Publications, Allied Domecq and E&J Gallo. He also spent several years in the digital start up world in during the height of the dotcom boom.
Most recently, Randy has worked in the boutique agency world, owning and operating two firms, including The Visual Brand, founded in 2013. He has a strong expertise in social media, digital innovation, packaging, industrial and environmental design. You can reach him at randy@thevisualbrand.com or go to their website thevisualbrand.com
We get asked a lot how to create a marketing strategy. Well here it is. In this 2 part episode we've created our process of creating a marketing strategy. We put as much in it as we could, laying out the steps you can take for your own marketing strategy. Hint, part 1 is all about cleaning up bad marketing mistakes and looking internally.
Fabiaan graduated in Banking, Stock Markets and Finance, and has a Master’s degree in Commercial and Financial Sciences as well as an MBA. He wore many hats from 2006-2016 from the insurance sector,industrial sector, human resources, organizational development, HR director, investment manager, etc. In 2017 he co-founded Valpeo, a start-up that focuses on developing leaders of tomorrow. They help to create a sense of belonging and a context in which people and organizations are enabled to unfold their authenticity and full potential. They help to create value and stay relevant.
LINKS
valpeo.comlinkedin.com/in/fabiaan-van-vrekhem-8284161facebook.com/valpeo
We all suffer from limiting beliefs, ideas that stop us or hold us back. But how do we identify our own limiting beliefs and overcome them? In this episode we cover some of the common pitfalls that cause and augment our limiting beliefs and what to do about it.
Do you realize how much influence you have as a small business owner? Your political influence is important and you have an obligation to stay informed and stay active in your local policies. In this quick update we discuss the current debate over vaccinations and how you can use your political influence wisely on these key issues.
In this episode, we tackle the tough issue of Market Research using GIS Data. If you're like most entrepreneurs this is something you're not familiar with and worse, your not using. GIS Data is the process of using geographical and demographic data to make better decisions.
And as promised, below are links to the resources mentioned in the show.
Economic Gardening
Edward Lowe Foundation
ESRI
Data Axle
QGIS
UDig
Do you waste time in your business? Of course you do. We all do. But what are doing to stop wasting time? That's the real question. In this episode we dive into some of the obvious and not so obvious time wasters in entrepreneurship. We'll take you through areas of your business where you can make small improvements that add up to a lot of time working on what matters most.
Go to https://www.rialtomarketing.com/marketing-management-money/ to get free marketing resources from Rialto Marketing as a special gift to our listeners.
Tim is an entrepreneur/business owner with expertise in marketing and business growth. He has 20+ years of entrepreneurial experience with a passion for developing and growing businesses. That passion served him well in operating and managing a wholesale distribution company he co-owned for nine years. The company grew an average of 60% a year before being acquired in 2005.
Since then, he’s had failures and successes that have been valuable learning experiences. He started Rialto Marketing in 2013 and has been helping service businesses simplify marketing so they can grow with less stress. Most people overcomplicate marketing. It doesn't have to be that way
We've all heard that finance is the language of business, but what does that really mean? In this episode we dive into the relationship of finance, accounting, and economics that impact all businesses. We show you what you as a business owner need to pay attention to and what is really important for your small business.
We would like to introduce and welcome Ethan Migliori as the newest co-host of Marketing Management & Money. Ryan Owens is involved in a startup that has been growing and keeping him pretty busy so Ethan graciously accepted the opportunity to share his wealth of knowledge on the show.
Greg Digneo is the founder of Content Guppy where their mission is to turn your content into your single biggest lead gen engine.
Check them out at contentguppy.com
or
Twitter: @gregdigneo
Do you need a quick tip to improve your marketing. Check out our 'marketing sprint'. This is a quick, actionable item that any business can do today to boost their marketing.
Are you strategic in your small business or do you simply just go through the motions, hoping to get somewhere (eventually)? Small business strategy is something every entrepreneur deals with, but most entrepreneurs don't know where to start or what to do. The good news is that it isn't difficult to be strategic so long as you think about your business correctly and know where to start. In this episode, we walk you through the essentials of small business strategy. Even if you're unfamiliar with business strategy the parallels we discuss will make it fully relatable. Join us to learn more.
The buzz word for 2021 is "unprecedented". Unfortunately that's a difficult word for small businesses to work with. This is a quick tip on how to manage your business in weird markets. Whether your on the winning end or the losing end, there are things you can do as a small business to stay ahead and stay strong.
Many people are just burnt out from the pandemic. Here's what's really going on and how you can stay strong in your business.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-asset-driven-enterprise-live-event-with-daniel-priestley-tickets-154741665487?aff=ebdssbeac
Join us Nov 4th.
Promo Code MMAM80 for free access to the event. Register today!
There are various ways to manage a business. Some are better than others, but there isn't necessarily one right way to manage a business. However, it's extremely important to understand the different management styles, their strengths and weaknesses, and how to get the most out of your management team. Join us for a discussion on different management styles.
Do you have someone in your company who oversees the finances? Of course you do. But just because you have someone, doesn't mean they are doing a good job. You might have an official position or maybe you the owner are just covering managing the money. However it's being done (or not being done), the key is to make sure you understand the proper role of the CFO and that you are getting the most of this extremely important position in your company.
When is it time to start planning how to pass your business on to the next person, whether that be a family member, a buyer, an investor, or anything in between? All too often entrepreneurs wait until they are wanting out of their business to start planning how to get out, but that's too late. It's never too early to start planning how you plan to pass on your business. This episode is all about how to start that plan in motion.
Self Leadership is about always looking inside to strategize, problem solve, and excel. You already contain all of the answers you need and will truly excel when you begin to consider what other options you have to grow your organization.
There is always a solution to any problem. It's not the obstacles that you are facing within your organization that are limiting you, it's the options that you never considered.
Contact Sunne to learn more: sunne@iselflead.com http://linkedin.com/in/sunne-couvrette-6236263a
Let's face it, there is a lot more to the success of your business than just the business itself. You have a life, a family, hobbies, your health, and of course your significant other. It doesn't matter if you're married, dating, or looking for someone to share in your business success. These relationships impact your ability to manage the business. This episode is a bit unique in that we tackle the difficult topic of Managing Your Business While Managing Your Love Life.
Welcome to another short discussion to help you grow your business. Today we're covering the topic of how to create your messaging. If you've ever struggled to know how to effectively communicate your marketing message (and we all have at one time or another), this is a great mini training to get you on the right track.
Often times branding your business seem overwhelming and a daunting task. But the reality is there are really only a couple things you need to know and understand to be able to establish a successful small business brand. Sure there are some amazing brands out there that have cost millions or billions of dollars and have taken decades to build. Yet as a small business, there are really only two key factors of branding you need to worry about to improve you overall marketing strategy. Learn more in this week's episode.
The employee crisis is a hot topic currently because so many businesses are struggling right now to get employees. We're seeing restaurants shut down early simply because they can't find workers. People are still nervous to come back to work and be among crowds. And there are potential employees who can make more on unemployment rather than working. If you feel caught in this vicious cycle and need some options, this episode is a great way to think differently about your employees.
Fortune Magazine does an annual ranking of the best companies to work for. Well, we decided to take a deep dive and see what makes these companies so great and how you can model what they do. This episode is all about culture, perks, motivation, and so much more. Find out how great your company would be as one of the best places to work.
By now you've all received your stimulus and we've seen the effects it has had on the markets. As a small business owner it might be challenging to know how to navigate these waters. There's so much fluctuation and change. This quick current event episode covers how to stay ahead of the changes.
We all know how difficult and challenging it can be to price your products and services. Sometimes it feels like a you have a plan, but often times it feels like more like you're just guessing. And even when you think you get it right, it seems like the markets and competition are always changing. In this episode we will walk you through some of the most important aspects to good product pricing. We'll look at both the financial impact of pricing as well as the customer impact.
Jeroen is co-founder and CEO of Salesflare, an intelligent CRM built for SMBs selling B2B, mostly popular with agencies and SaaS companies.
Salesflare itself was founded when Jeroen and his co-founder Lieven wanted to manage the leads for their software company in an easier way. They didn't like to keep track of them manually and built Salesflare, which pulls customer data together automatically.
It's now the most popular CRM on Product Hunt and top rated on review platforms like G2 for its ease of use and automation features.
It's probably not what you're thinking, but this week's episode is all about having a long-term, strategic plan to marketing. Often times entrepreneurs good pulled in to chasing what we call sexy marketing. It's kind of like "keeping up with the Jones". If your marketing is nothing more than following after what everyone else seems to be doing, you don't have a strategic, and you likely won't have much success. If you want to do better, tune in.
Sarry Ibrahim is financial planner and member of the Bank On Yourself Organization. He helps real estate investors, business owners, and full time employees grow safe and predictable wealth regardless of market conditions using a financial strategy that has been around for over 160 years.
Sarry started this journey when he was in grad school completing his MBA. He worked for companies like Allstate, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Healthspring, and Humana before founding Financial Asset Protection, a financial services firm that focuses on one sole concept; the Bank On Yourself Concept, also known as the Infinite Banking Concept.
Everyday you have to make decisions in your business. Some of these decisions are small, but many of them are critical. However, too often entrepreneurs will simply rely on their instincts rather than taking the time to make data driven decisions. Instincts are important, but not flawless. Many serious mistakes are made because a leader ignored the data and just reacted. In this episode we discuss how to get data and how to use it to make data driven decisions in your business.
We often get asked questions about the best way to do your books as an entrepreneur. Where there is no one "right way" we decided to weigh in on our take on accounting software. We hope you enjoy this short discussion.
Welcome to our brief discussion on creating a business plan. This is a quick overview for those of you debating whether or not you need a business plan. This is more of a big picture on how to discussion, not so much a step by step guide. We hope you like it.
In our last episode we talked about the reasons businesses fail. Now it's time to start fixing some of those problems. In this episode we want to take you through solutions to these common small business pitfalls. So much of success is simply not making the mistakes that cause businesses to fail. By learning how to avoid these mistakes, you can learn how to be successful.
Noel Bagwell is an attorney and small business specialist. His program Profit From Legal helps small businesses learn how to be more profitable from using legal counsel the right way. Join us as Noel shares his expertise in this engaging interview.
We reviewed the list put out by CBInsights as to why startups fail It's an amazing data set that outlines exactly what's happening behind the scenes to cause startups to fail. We hope you enjoy our review of these top 20 pitfalls to avoid.
Welcome to our brief discussion on financial statements. This is a quick overview for getting started with understanding financial statements.
It's great to have a really big customer so you don't have to deal with lots of little customers. Well, it's great to have a big customer until it's not. Our rule is that no one single customer should ever represent more than 20% of your revenue. If they do, they have a lot of influence and control over your business. This can be a scary situation. Many small businesses have been put out of business simply because a large customer decided to go with a competitor's offering. But before you go ridding yourself of your top customers, there are many strategies you can employ to guard yourself when dealing with that one big customer.
Join us for another engaging interview. This time with Jason Falls - Author and Creator of Winfluence. We talk with Jason in depth about how to network with influencers in your market to grow your business. He shares his experiences and expertise accumulated for more than 15 years working with influence marketing.
His new book Winfluence will release on February 23. Get your copy today by going to https://jasonfalls.com/get-winfluence/
Are you one of those entrepreneurs focused too much on the moment? Is your marketing based on reacting to trends or do manage to plan for growth? In our fast paced world of social posts and news feeds, we've become short sighted in business. We've become too tactical and we forget how to execute strategically. Remember that tactics win the battle, but strategy wins the war. This episode discusses the longer term approach to marketing. It's not only about being successful today, it's about being successful every day of your business.
We had the awesome opportunity of interviewing the owner of Keys On Main in Salt Lake City. George Kelly shares his wealth of experience in launching a highly successful piano bar in downtown SLC. He talks about some of the challenges and opportunities along the way as well as what it is like to operate in a post COVID market.
Cash is cash, right? Nope. Not all cash is created equal. We've been told that "Cash is King", but what if some types cash flow were better than others. There is cash flow that can grow your business and cash flow that can sustain your business. And knowing the difference can be the difference of being in business or going out of business. If this is the first time you've heard about internal vs external cash flow, this is the perfect episode for you to learn this critical factor in your business. And if you're already familiar with internal vs external cash flow, this episode will deepen your understanding.
Why can't I sell? We hear this question a lot. There are multiple reasons your business could be struggling with more sales, but the first thing to check is identifying a market demand. If your customers don't want what you sell it doesn't matter how artfully you advertise it to them. Imagine if I was trying to sell you tap water and so I put it on sale on social media. You still wouldn't buy it. But if I change my product from tap water to pure mountain spring water, suddenly there could be a demand. Want to learn more? Join us for our episode on Identifying a Market Demand.
Welcome to our current events section of our new format. We like to call it News and Noteworthy.
This quick tip is that now is the time to look at increasing your company's cash balance. Tune in to find out why.
Welcome to our new podcast format for 2021! We've got some exciting new content and we'll tell you all about it in this short segment.
We all want to sell more. But in an effort to drive sales are you making poor business decisions? Did you jump in, hoping everything would work out, only to find you don't have a plan for success? If you're struggling with understanding the difference between selling now or waiting for the perfect opportunity, this episode is for you. We will walk you through how and when to start selling to have the biggest chance for success.
There are a few positions that are required for every company. An accountant, finance manager, or CFO is one of those required positions. But how do you find the Perfect CFO? Is there the ideal person just waiting for you to bring them on to your team? This position is too important to screw up, but unfortunately it gets screwed up often. This is a position that can literally "make or break" a company. So if you want to know how to get the right CFO for your business tune into our episode of The Perfect CFO.
It's hard to stay focused on what's most important in your business. This is a challenge that isn't new. Staying focused is something everyone struggles with. But those who are focused find great success in their business. This week's episode is all about staying focused and understanding the pitfalls that constantly distract us. We discuss what you should focus on and understanding when you aren't focused. This is a must catch episode for all of us.
This week's episode is an interview with Marketing Influencer Anthony Gaenzle. Anthony is a small business digital marketing expert and this is one of our best episodes on understanding digital marketing for your small business.
You can connect with Anthony Gaenzle via:
https://twitter.com/AnthonyGaenzle https://www.anthonygaenzle.com https://www.granitecreativegroup.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonygaenzle/
If Cash is King, how much cash does your business need to enjoy that royalty status? Everyone talks about how important cash is in a small business, but few entrepreneurs take the time to really understand their cash position. Fewer still will be able to know how much cash they actually need to operate their business. Far too many businesses don't have enough cash in their business and just keep moving forward hoping that nothing bad will happen to them. They operate unprepared and don't even know it. And many other businesses mistakenly assume that more cash is always better. They hold too much cash in reserve which actually slows growth and ultimately makes their business less competitive. The correct amount of cash is known as your Targeted Cash Balance. To learn about this amazing yet simple tool, join us for this week's episode.
In our last episode we discussed factors around buying and selling a business. In this episode we continue with our discussion asking the question, should I franchise? Franchising a small business is a great option for the right person. There are also many lessons to be learned about successful franchises. Even if you're not wanting to franchise, you should create a business so well managed that it could be franchised. We discuss this and more in this week's episode of Should I Franchise.
Entrepreneurship isn't only about starting a business. Many people begin their entrepreneurial journey by buying a business. Additionally, many successful businesses want to sell their businesses to people looking to buy. Whether you are looking to buy or looking to sell, there is a lot you need to understand about buying and selling a small business. In this episode we cover the basics about buying and selling a small business and what you need to know to be successful on either side of this equation.
Is debt a good thing or a bad thing for your business? Well...it depends. But you can learn what debt is good and what debt is bad, because not all debt is created equal. In this episode we discuss funding options for your business. We talk about when it's smart to get outside sources of funding and when you want to avoid getting too much.
There are so many external factors effecting small business that as an owner it can be daunting to manage all of them. It can seem as though your business is out of control, but nothing to do with you. When outside pressures are mounting, don't worry. Every entrepreneur deals with external factors such as economics, politics, weather, social pressures, etc. In this episode we discuss what you as an entrepreneur can do to stay on top of all the external factors effecting your small business.
In this week's episode we talk with The Millennial Money Woman all about small business. The Millennial Money Woman (AKA Fiona) shares her experience with starting her small business and founding a non-profit organization. She guides us through types on finance, female entrepreneurship, and even navigating some of the challenges associated with COVID 19. Join us for an excellent discussion or learn more about Fiona at www.themillennialmoneywoman.com
We all want to grow our business. I've never met anyone who told me, "My business is too big. I wish it would shrink a little." But with that growth comes growing pains. One of the biggest challenges is keeping consistent branding while growing your business. Your brand represents you. It needs to be something people recognize and familiar. But it also needs to be consistent. You can't constantly change your brand and expect customers to develop loyalty and trust for your company. But as your company grows, it becomes more and more difficult to keep that balance. In this episode we discuss how to manage the balance of keeping consistent branding while growing.
As an entrepreneur, you want to grow. But you'll never grow unless you are willing to hire people better than you. That's right. You don't know what you don't know in your business and the only way to get past that is to hire someone who does know. But that means you need to leave your ego aside and allow someone else to shine. We discuss the potential mistakes and the ways around them when hiring people better than you.
Success often times requires repeating the same successful actions over and over again. It can get boring, especially to entrepreneurs who crave variety. Many times people leave their high paying jobs to start a business with the primary driving factor being a desire for change and excitement. But the challenge is that successful business starts to become repetitive. It isn't the exciting world of fast deals and quick decisions that everyone talks about. It's more often a consistent dedicated approach over years of doing the same things that work and work well. So with this dilemma what's the key to fighting the boredom of success? We'll discuss that in today's episode.
Cash is King, but as a business owner how do you know if your cash is working for you or against you? In business you need tools. And one of those tools is the Working Capital Cycle. The working capital cycle looks at the big cash drains - Accounts Receivable and Inventory. As a business owner, you can calculate how much cash you have and how long you can last with your cash. Are you doing this in your business? If you want to know how, this is the episode to learn.
We live in a virtual word. Today, more than ever, daily tasks are being accomplished using technology to facilitate those tasks. We're used to seeing this all around us. We are helped virtually at the bank, in the grocery store, when planning a trip, or when we get our news. But are you taking advantage of the virtual workplace for your business? If you're still thinking everything has to be done by someone sitting at the desk across from you, you're missing a lot of growth potential. Join us as we discuss the pros and cons of the virtual workplace.
It's been said that a goal without a plan is just a wish. So when it comes to your marketing do you have a plan or a wish. It's time to start planning. But a plan in the wrong direction won't work either. That's why this week's episode is all about creating a winning marketing plan. This isn't just putting words on a page. This is truly understanding how to market and sell your business. Join us.
Every business needs to funding, but there are many way of funding your small business. Not all funding options are a good idea and in this episode we'll discuss the best practices in funding your small business. We'll look at equity investments vs debt funding. We'll even get into some of the current popular trends of how to get money for your startup or to grow your existing company and take it to the next level.
Getting marketing to be amazing is one thing, but paying for the high cost of amazing marketing is another. This article will help you avoid those costs. Yes, even in marketing you get what you pay for; so stop kidding yourself and start paying up. However, before you go throwing money at every advertisement available let’s look at the right ways to invest in marketing. Step 1: Know what you’re getting in return Anytime you spend any money on marketing you should have in your mind a specific return on that investment. As I work with small businesses they all too often don’t know what they expect from their marketing efforts. For example, the next time you invest in online ads simply ask yourself “if I invest $500 dollars to advertise online, what should I expect to get back?” I’m convinced that if businesses asked this simple question and didn’t spend any money until they could give at least a rough idea answer, their marketing would dramatically start to improve. Not all investments will yield a direct positive return. I personally will do a lot of marketing because it’s good PR even though it doesn’t create immediate sales. But I’ll always have an expectation anytime I put any money into my marketing. If ever a marketing effort doesn’t meet my expectation I either adjust that marketing strategy or simply stop doing it. I know this sounds ridiculously simple, and I wouldn’t even be writing about it expect that I constantly work with businesses that continually buy advertisements that don’t work. Step 2: Know what you’re paying for “free” marketing It’s become a pet peeve of mine to hear people say how social media or blogging or email marketing or search engine optimization is free. It’s not, and if you don’t realize that, you could be loosing a lot of money in your business. One of the biggest expenses you’ll ever have in your business is paying for ignorance. It takes a lot of time and effort to have a Facebook page. Most businesses struggle to keep up with the requirements of having a strong online presence. It’s hard and it’s not cheap. That doesn’t mean it’s not valuable or worth it. Many businesses have seen dramatic increases in their business from social media or being online, but businesses that do it right also know that it’s very demanding. Just remember that time is money and your time as a business owner should is valuable. Step 3: Know the law of the harvest Ask any farmer and they will tell you that you plant seeds first, spend an entire season watering and caring for your plants, and then after much of the work and a long while later you finally get to the harvest. Marketing works the same way. It takes a long time for marketing to start really paying strong dividends. While you are waiting for those benefits to come rolling in with increased revenue you still have to invest in marketing and keep your business afloat. Smart business is the one who understands this principle and builds their strategy to last for the long run. Step 4: Know when to say ‘yes’ and ‘no’ Why are we so easily distracted? We unfortunately don’t grow our businesses in a straight-line progression. We tend to zig and zag, bouncing from one idea to the next only to find ourselves returning to original ideas that we had that were sound, but for some reason we didn’t follow through with them. The key is to know when to say yes and when to say no – much easier said than done. If you have a good marketing strategy say yes to it and don’t let the naysayers, doubters, or well-intentioned friends and advisers convince you otherwise. Say no to distractions. Say no to taking on too much. And especially say no to bad decisions that you know to be bad but are ego driven. You can do it. Step 5: Don’t cheat your budget The last step I’d like to suggest is to not cheat your budget. It’s so easy to under-fund your marketing because marketing is expensive. It always will be regardless of how big your company grows. In fact,
Have you ever tried to move really fast in your company? If you're human, you probably ran into a lot of bumps along the way. Maybe the path was so rocky that you completely abandoned your ambitions and settled back into your old bad habits. It's not uncommon for businesses to struggle to go fast, and one of the biggest challenges is that the processes in place are not great or even bad. Before going fast you have to clear away all the road blocks and this is a slow process. That's why we say "Slow is Smooth, Smooth is Fast".
This week's episode is about dealing with challenges with employees. When should you ignore the problem, or instead fire them, or finally look to train them to be better employees. This may take a little while as they are still learning new skills and understanding how difficult these problems really can become. And if I ever need any help this show will definitely give it. Show Highlights (Beta) We're back with another episode of Marketing Management and Money I'm your host. Ryan Owens I'm your host. Ryan Mary. Thank you so much for joining us. Today. We are going to dive into an interesting topic of whether you should fire everybody on your staff. OR TRAIN THEM OR IGNORE THEM So I I. Love The way that you kicked off this topic, right? Because it really is you know an. All right. To. Understand what's going on here. You got to understand that we're looking at it from the perspective of what you do when someone on your staff. Is Not performing. So. there. There are essentially only three things you can do. You can ignore the problem and pretend that it doesn't exist. You can work with them, which we like to just call train because it can be where you to sit down and kind of do a little bit of Hand Holding or coaching or whatever, or it can be that. You know you're gonNA bring in some really expensive consultant to rearrange your whole organization because apparently nobody knows what they're doing. Or? Just, fire him he'd be like Gonzo. Odd. and. The funny thing is these are your three options like everyone. When when I talked to businesses and they're having problems with their employees. Like what do I do I you know I I've got this and I got this and it's like they want to make the problem bigger than it is but in reality and like well. You either want the person on your team or you don't want the person on your team. Yeah. If you want the person on your team, you gotTa do something about it now. Unfortunately, too many entrepreneurs with the ignore them route. And let's Let's start there because that's the worst option unless just get it out of the way and. When I say let's start there. It's not because I'm not giving any recommendations. I'm not gonNA teach you how to do a good job of ignoring your employees or ignoring problems that are persisting right this is saying, okay these are the red flags to look out for. Are you doing? Are you ignoring stuff that you need to take care of? Yeah and I'm glad that you presented it that way because ultimately it's like Duh don't do it. Right? Don't ignore problems in your business.
I'm like Oh guess what this town is not cursed, right? No, you move to the one town in the entire country that has no good employees. Every other town has amazing employs like no, it's it's not that they're good people and bad people is that there are good company cultures that attract good people and then there are millennials. Just kidding I'm. Technically a millennial so I can make those jobs. I'm just kidding. But you know if you're just ignoring these problems, they're not going to go away and you're going to choke out of your good employees and it just gets worse than it gets worse than he gets worse and so it's like, yeah, you've got to you got to address the problems. And it's tough. It's hard. You know. Emotions oftentimes get involved. I can't tell you how many times. I have seen. Big Tough dudes cry really Oh. Yeah. Yeah.
Do you know what your customers are worth to your business? What is the customer lifetime value of someone who walks in your door or visits your website? Understanding Customer Lifetime Value is critical to understanding your sales and marketing. You could be missing valuable marketing opportunities by simply not valuing what a customer is truly worth. In this episode we break down customer lifetime value, why you need it, and how you understand it.
It's tough to make money as a small business. It's even tougher to make money on tight margins. But how do you know if you should try making money on the margins? How do you know if this is a good strategy to grow your business or a disaster waiting to take you under. Margins can be tricky to understand. In this episode we'll break down what you need to know to improve your margins and make better money in your business.
We've all heard "the customer is king" and that we need to smile every time we greet a customer. But is that real customer service? Should we always give the customer what they want? Are some customers more valuable than others? Do we treat customers differently? In today's episode we're going to talk about what is real customer service and how it relates to the rest of your business. We'll go well beyond a simple smile and a handshake and instead focus on real customer needs and how to meet them to grow your business.
So many businesses struggle to determine how much to charge for their products and services. What are you worth? What are you products and services worth? These are the types of questions we are discussing on today's show. But also what is your time worth? Many entrepreneurs put in excessive time without really valuing what that time is worth and are they spending their time wisely.
What's your process for improving your small business? Is it good, bad, or maybe you don't think you even have a process? Well, every business has a process, but not every business knows, understands, or manages their process. If you haven't yet, it's time to create a process improvement standard in your small business. In this episode we'll cover the essentials of process improvement and how you can immediately start to see positive improvement today in your small business.
Finance is the language of business. That means that if you don't speak the language you don't really understand what's happening in your business. In this episode we discuss the lesser known concept of hidden costs in a business. These hidden expenses are real and can add up to become very costly to a business. Join us to learn more about your hidden costs and what to do to manage them.
In this week's episode, we will explore some of the more insincere, less honest, and sometimes completely unethical marketing practices common in business and discuss how to have ethical marketing in your business. It's challenging to do the right thing in business. Especially when it comes to ethical marketing, it's difficult to always do what is best. It's not only difficult to do what is ethical, but it's also difficult to know what the ethical answer is. Join us for an interesting discussion on what is right and what is best in marketing your business ethically.
Are you looking forward with your marketing plan? Do you have a marketing strategy in place for tomorrow or are you just getting by day after day. The sales you enjoy in your business today come from the marketing you did prior. So it only makes sense that your marketing efforts today will help grow your sales tomorrow. So what's your plan? What's your vision for your marketing? Let's explore together as we uncover our marketing for tomorrow.
If you've ever struggled to find a good web developer to help build your company's website, you're not alone. It seems like there is a significant disconnect between what entrepreneurs want for their website and what web developers provide. Not all web developers are bad. In fact many developers are excellent. But what should you be looking for to separate the bad developers from the good ones? In this episode, we explore the challenges of getting the website you need for your business and how to overcome those challenges.
One of the hardest decisions an entrepreneur has to make is deciding when it is time to quit a failing business. What's the difference between overcoming struggles vs staying on a sinking ship? There is so much to consider with this question. And that's what we discuss in this week's episode. Let's take a deep dive of when to quit, when to hold on, when to push, and when to swallow your pride.
What do you think about when you think about money? What are your beliefs of money? Do you have vision and optimism that propels your business forward or are you trapped in a negative downward spiral centered around poor beliefs of money? Thoughts are things and how you visualize your business financially will effect how you grow your business. This episode goes into the entrepreneur mindset and looks at ways to think about success in your business.
Entrepreneurs are resilient. They have to be. If they weren't, they would go out of business any time disaster strikes. But despite that resiliency, it's difficult rebuilding your business after a crisis. In this episode, we take a hard look at what it means to have to rebuild. Whether you've suffered a natural, economic, political, or even personal disaster, you need to keep going and rebuild. That is the beauty of entrepreneurship. Out of ashes can come the most amazing businesses.
Have you struggled with getting your website to show up in search results? Do you hear everyone talk about how successful their SEO strategy is and wonder what's wrong with yours? Well, in this episode we discuss what's really happening with SEO for the rest of us who aren't having the results that everyone is talking about. In fact, most small businesses aren't ranking #1 on Google for keywords that millions of people are searching for. But despite struggling with the realities of search engine optimization, there are many things you can do for your small business to actually get noticed online.
Money is a funny thing, especially when it comes to making decisions in your business. Have you ever tried to incentive an employee only to have it backfire? In this episode we explore some of the more interesting decisions that are made in entrepreneurship about money. Join us for an discussion about buying happiness, employee performance, motivation by money, and so much more.
You know you need to do it, and you'll be better for it. So why can't anyone seem to get organized already. What are we all waiting for? Wait no longer, because the podcast you've been anticipating is here to rid you of all chaos and clutter in your lives. Well...maybe it won't eliminate all disorganization, but it will put you on the right path to ensure that you run your business smoothly, efficiently, and successfully.
Last week we introduced the 4 types of competition and what they are. This week is a continuation where we will talk in depth on each type of competition and how you can be competitive and make money even in the toughest markets. As we stated last time, this topic is so important to the success of your business that we've devoted two episodes to it. This week is Part 2 of The 4 Types of Competition.
As an entrepreneur, you are always fighting against competition. It's important to know your competition, but there are 4 types of competition you must understand. If you fail to understand all 4 types, you will fail to grow your business because there will always be an unknown force, lurking in the dark, waiting to destroy your business. This topic is so important to the success of your business that we've devoted two episodes to it. This week is Part 1 of The 4 Types of Competition.
Everyone says that with the internet it's easier than ever to start a business. But is it really easier? If so, why are so many of the younger generations less likely to choose entrepreneurship for their livelihood? In this episode we discuss the realities of starting a business in today's world. We delve into what a startup can realistically expect from ecommerce, and we share strategies for mitigating some of those risks of jumping into an online business world.
If you've ever worked for a major corporation, been on a board, or just gone to summer camp, you've had to do team building. But yet, it still doesn't seem to work. That's because in order to build effect teams you need to understand the teams that already exist. Humans always group into tribes, and team building in the office is no exception. If you understand how to control the tribes, you can manage the teams.
With so much noise constantly competing for the attention of your customers, what message are you sending? Marketing is no longer about being catchy or having a great slogan. You need to connect with your customers on their level. In this episode we discuss the importance of your marketing message and how to have a great, consistent message for your small business.