Breaking Down Your Business | Small Business | Business Owners | Entrepreneurship | Leadership

What’s In This Episode:

Are you a rule follower or a rule breaker?

That's the topic of the day for Jill and Brad. They discuss if entrepreneurs are, by their very nature, rule breakers or rule followers. Both consider themselves to be rule breakers, but rule followers shouldn't feel left out: Followers are vital to entrepreneurship. (Hooray!)

Sara Lingenfelter, entrepreneur and all-around awesome person, calls into the show and asks for help with finding her target audience. This leads to a conversation about the best methods for networking using LinkedIn, Facebook, or getting feedback via Google Forms or Typeform to spread the word.

"If somebody says, 'Here's the boundary' you say, 'Let me move it for you.'" - Jill

Jill and Brad discuss money rules to follow:

  • Don't run out money. This causes suffering and exasperation that you just don't need.
  • Money gives you choices. Be prudent about yours.
  • Don't borrow money, especially if you're a service-based business.

"When you borrow money, you put someone else in charge of your business." - Brad

  • If you need money, ask for it. Send your invoices on time, follow up with those who are late paying you, or raise your prices.
  • And then there's that old saying about money...

Want to know what it is? Listen in

Guest:

Direct download: Breaking_Down_Your_Business_EP_225.mp3
Category:Business -- posted at: 2:00am CDT

What’s In This Episode:

In this episode (the first in a series about that cash money), Jill and Brad talk about the things they don't know but everyone else seems to: For Jill, it's accounting. For Brad, it's fashion (thank God we just have to hear him, then, right?).

They talk with Karen M. Carlson, the "absolute best, therapeutic relaxation expert east of the Mississippi" who calls in to discuss whether some of the products she's offering should be on a separate website other than the one she has now. This spurs a great conversation about what people will be drawn to when visiting your business website (hint: keep it clear and simple).

"Wait... you didn't get into business to make money?" - Brad

Jill and Brad discuss why we don't know our numbers: we're multitaskers, not accountants. (Brad likes Zapier to help with that.)We might not even know what a P&L statement is. We're not good at tracking your time.

"You can hire people, you can ask friends to look at your numbers, you can even have machines come up with reports for you." - Jill

Entrepreneurs like to try the same thing hoping for different results (spoiler alert: it won't work). And then there's always that pesky problem about numbers...

Want to know what it is? Listen!

Guest:

  • Karen M. Carlson is the founder of Be Well and Renew, and is a massage therapist and author. She offers guided meditation, and makes eye pillows for adults and children to help them to be calm, quiet and comfortable in their bodies. A new children's book, which accompanies the eye pillows, will be out soon! Find her on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
Direct download: Breaking_Down_Your_Business_EP_224.mp3
Category:Business -- posted at: 2:00am CDT

What’s In This Episode:

We all hear about the speed of business and how we need to be faster, but is that speed good in itself? Jill gets a bit math-y and talks sine curves and parabolas, but eventually shares that we fall into the same pattern. You start off in a big rush trying to get everything done and figure it all out, but then something changes. Maybe it's burn out, tons of success, or simply age and experience -- whatever it is, you eventually realize you can slow down. We should trust our guts more because in our anxiety of trying to be faster, we inherently know the pace we should be working at. Brad and Jill chat more about why you should ease up in the Top 5 Reasons To Slow Down in this episode and they welcome coach, speaker, and author Karen Friedman to the show. Listen in! »

Guest:

  • Karen Friedman is the founder of Karen Friedman Enterprises, providers of speaker and communication training programs across the globe.
Direct download: Breaking_Down_Your_Business_EP_223.mp3
Category:Business -- posted at: 2:00am CDT

What’s In This Episode:

What was the best team you were ever a part of? Jill was part of a powerhouse team at Elektra Records; they pushed each other to be better, could make fun of each other, but most importantly, were respectful of one another. For Brad, each person on his team thought they were the worst performer so they worked hard to not let the group down. That kind of respect for each other is a big part in making a team successful. Do you already have a strong team but want to push them to go further? Jill and Brad talk about the Top 5 Ways To Get Your Team GOING in this episode and they welcome billboard visionary Matthew Olivieri to the show. Listen in! »

Guest:

  • Matthew Olivieri is the founder of AdSemble, a self-service billboard advertising marketplace.
Direct download: Breaking_Down_Your_Business_EP_222.mp3
Category:Business -- posted at: 2:00am CDT

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