What’s In This Episode:

As business owners, how do you get it all done?

"Musicians are not famous for their analytical spreadsheets." - Brad

IN-STUDIO (!!!!) guest and trumpet player Victor Garcia stops by and talks about being a musician and with it, being as organized as you can as well as how to figure out time-management (while still taking time for yourself).

But how do you put a price on what you offer? Jill and Brad discuss the perils of "exposure" and how to charge what you're worth.

"I remember certain things better when I'm constantly interrupted." - Jill

Brad frequently gets interrupted, and he loves when he can turn his phone off and not be bothered by anything. How do you manage interruptions and get things done? Jill and Brad talk about all the interruptions and notifications that go along with being in the modern world... and how time batching and blocking to get more done will help.

How do you feel about interruptions? 

This episode is sponsored by Spoka.com. Spoka Meet is a video conferencing tool perfect for small businesses for those who need to get more done with less. Anywhere you can find an internet or phone connection, you're simply able to meet. When your signal is spotty, Spoka's eco-mode fixes it like magic. You get unlimited meetings, unlimited recordings, and dial-in/dial-out capabilities for 45 countries all for $11.99/month! Try it for free for 30 days at Spoka.com.

Guest:

• Victor Garcia is a musician who is as versatile as he is creative. His trumpet talent heralds his international acclaim. He sings and plays percussion and bass and congas. His songwriting, arrangements, and charts have led him to professorial positions at Roosevelt University, Loyola University and the University of Illinois in Chicago. Visit his websiteor follow him on Instagram.

What’s In This Episode:

Today, Brad's not handing out money, but he and Jill are brainstorming ways to make business owners more of it.

"That's your moment to shine and tell them why you're more valuable." - Jill

Pat Porrey calls in to talk about hiring staff. The women who work for her are going from 1099 contractors to actual employees. As this happens, she's not able to compete well with other agencies in her area. So how can she handle it? It all comes down to mindset.

"Every deal that you don't close is a missed opportunity." - Brad

How many different ways can Jill and Brad think of for business owners to make more money?

• RAISE YOUR PRICES!
• Offer multiple price points.
• Customer retention
• Get creative in your offerings
• Close more deals - get better and sales
• ... and more

How can you make more money? 

This episode is sponsored by Spoka.com. Spoka Meet is a video conferencing tool perfect for small businesses for those who need to get more done with less. Anywhere you can find an internet or phone connection, you're simply able to meet. When your signal is spotty, Spoka's eco-mode fixes it like magic. You get unlimited meetings, unlimited recordings, and dial-in/dial-out capabilities for 45 countries all for $11.99/month! Try it for free for 30 days at Spoka.com.

What’s In This Episode:

Jill and Brad are in a new studio, and it's much cooler. In this episode, they're talking about strategic partnerships and what they actually mean.

"Figure out what's in it for them." - Brad

Relentlessly practical Randy Kirk calls in. He started a new business of mastermind groups, and it's been going well. But he's looking for referrals from group members, and it's not happening. So far he's been reminding them in a group, but not doing much else outside of it. Jill and Brad talk him through why that might be - and one of the reasons is that business owners are very future-oriented.

"Optimism is a beautiful thing at the beginning of a partnership." - Jill

Partnerships can be planned out with the best of intentions, but you really have to think about it. Try doing one thing instead of everything, because there are a million reasons your partnership might not work.

Are you thinking about growing a strategic partnership?

This episode is sponsored by Spoka.com. Spoka Meet is a video conferencing tool perfect for small businesses for those who need to get more done with less. Anywhere you can find an internet or phone connection, you're simply able to meet. When your signal is spotty, Spoka's eco-mode fixes it like magic. You get unlimited meetings, unlimited recordings, and dial-in/dial-out capabilities for 45 countries all for $11.99/month! Try it for free for 30 days at Spoka.com.

What’s In This Episode:

Jill's email list is prodigious. What's that like? She's always pleasantly surprised when people respond.

"It's scary but it focuses you like nothing else." - Brad

Gerald Jones calls in and tells Jill and Brad about his podcast, Buy Black | The Voice of Black Business. Through his podcast, he created a business coaching program and he wants to transition to doing that full time. The problem is, he's got a full-time job, a family, and a mortgage to pay. How can he do it? Jill and Brad offer some tips.

"Write the thing that you would love to get in your own inbox." - Jill

Brad recently changed the frequency of his email list and lost half of his subscribers but he feels good about it because the people who are there are super engaged. He and Jill talk about email tips and why you shouldn't be afraid to start your own email list.

Do you need tips on how to grow your email list? 

This episode is sponsored by Spoka.com. Spoka Meet is a video conferencing tool perfect for small businesses for those who need to get more done with less. Anywhere you can find an internet or phone connection, you're simply able to meet. When your signal is spotty, Spoka's eco-mode fixes it like magic. You get unlimited meetings, unlimited recordings, and dial-in/dial-out capabilities for 45 countries all for $11.99/month! Try it for free for 30 days at Spoka.com.

Guest:

• Gerald Jones is a veteran, consultant, and coach who has spent his life leading teams and empowering people. He specializes in helping business owners free themselves from self-employment and become the CEOs of DOPE BUSINESSES. He is passionate about service and teaching people to develop a servant leadership style. In everything he does, he believes in giving people the tools to bring their dreams to life and being there to help them overcome obstacles along the way. Listen to his podcastor visit his website.

What’s In This Episode:

Saul turns the tables on Jill and Brad.

"It's very dependent on the situation." - Jill

Saul wants to talk about virtual assistants and has the co-hosts (and those of us at home) do an Iron Triangle exercise. On each corner of the triangle, he has them write the words good, fast, or cheap, saying that they can only pick two of the three. He wants to know, when is it advantageous to do something that is cheap?

"What is the difference between hiring an employee vs. a non-employee? They're both people we need to manage." - Brad

Jill works with a lot of startup entrepreneurs and small businesses who don't have a budget for anything other than a cheaper option. Brad's chosen the cheap option twice: once when considering buying a desk from Ikea, and then when considering hiring a designer for an e-book he's writing. Jill lists examples of what's considered affordable, but Saul points out that affordable and cheap might be two different things.

Brad thinks that people need to manage the virtual assistant the same way you'd manage an employee. And the investment in the relationship is the same.

Looking at the other side of that, where did they spend a lot of money? And what did they regret more: When they went cheap or went more expensive?

What do you think? 

Sponsor:

This episode is sponsored by Spoka.com. Spoka Meet is a video conferencing tool perfect for small businesses for those who need to get more done with less. Anywhere you can find an internet or phone connection, you're simply able to meet. When your signal is spotty, Spoka's eco-mode fixes it like magic. You get unlimited meetings, unlimited recordings, and dial-in/dial-out capabilities for 45 countries all for $11.99/month! Try it for free for 30 days at Spoka.com.

What’s In This Episode:

Do you remember your favorite manager? What made them so great? Jill and Brad swap stories.

"I like trial by error." - Jill

Dr. Michelle Mazur calls in and tells Jill and Brad all about the 3 Word Rebellion, which also happens to be the title of her new book. The book's been doing really well, and she finds herself overwhelmed. Where does she begin to get more help in freeing her up so that she can focus on the business that the book is bringing in?

"It's not a job we ever signed up for, but we're in it." - Brad

Jill and Brad talk about whether they would consider themselves to be good managers and what that means. And if you want your business to grow, being a good manager is one of the ways to do it, Brad suggests.

Are you a good manager or do you want to be a better manager? 

Guest:

• Dr. Michelle Mazur is the host of the Rebel Rising podcast, and the author of three books, including 3 Word Rebellion: Create A Message that Is Bigger than Your Business. She is the founder/CEO of Communication Rebel, helping change-making business owners, entrepreneurs and speakers become thought leaders by taking a stand with their 3-word rebellion.

Talk to us! Leave us a Google Voicemail or text us with your burning business question so that we can read it in a future episode at 708.872.7878. Or tweet at us using hashtag #jillnbrad. And leave us a review on iTunes — pretty please? Over here!

What’s In This Episode:

It's everyone's favorite topic: hiring! But why do business owners hate hiring?

"This isn't who we are; what's going on?" - Brad

Alex Membrillo is a Forbes expert, speaker, and digital marketer. His problem is that his A-team is complacent. How can he get everyone motivated again? When everyone was motivated, his team was doing things that intrigued and interested them. By looking at values and identity, and examining friendship and inspiration, changes can be made.

"We've all convinced ourselves it's a crapshoot." - Jill

Brad finds that a lot of business owners won't hire until they absolutely need to. Jill says that yes, every business owner has had a bad hiring experience and hiring isn't something that's really talked about when people launch businesses. Jill thinks it's luck, and Brad doesn't understand why people invest in sales and marketing, but not hiring.

Help Brad understand! As a business owner, do you hate hiring? Why? 

Guest:

• Alex Membrillois the CEO of Cardinal, a digital marketing agency focused on growing multi-location companies. Membrillo’s innovative approach to digital marketing has transformed the industry and delivered remarkable results to clients of all sizes and markets. He has been featured in leading national publications including The Business Journals, Entrepreneur, Search Engine Journal, and The Wall Street Journal. He has also served as an expert speaker for conferences including the American Marketing Association, SouthWired, and Vistage Executive Leaders, where he spoke on his unique approach to Millennial Management to over 400 CEOs.

What’s In This Episode:

Brad's got an employee problem. He's got a great guy, company wouldn't be what it is without him, but there are some performance issues. He's late on assignments... basically, he's the worst.

Also, Brad is talking about himself.

"The type of people who become business owners are not very good at getting things done." - Brad

Brad's gotta handle some things on his own. He hired employees to help him, but he still doesn't get all the things he needs to get done in a timely manner.

Jill wants to know why he has to finish one task to move onto another. Maybe, she suggests, that's not how he works.

They talk about what it means to be the boss, how employers are generally bad employees (or not), and how maybe he should fire himself from the tasks he's not doing.

"I guess that's how the Kardashians are famous." - Jill

Producer Saul turns the tables and asks about publicity. Is there such a thing as bad publicity in podcasting?

Brad thinks there's such a thing as bad press, but people who hate you aren't part of that. Jill wonders if a review like that deters someone from listening. Saul says, if anything, it might make someone more interested.

How do you respond to dealing with your worst employee?

What’s In This Episode:

IT'S EPISODE 300!!!!! Jill and Brad go meta and talk about the podcast on the podcast.

"This podcast has made us Debbie Downers." - Jill

When Brad gets asked, "Should I create a podcast?" He always tells people no. Jill likened the experience of recording this podcast to running a marathon, where you expect everyone will cheer for you, but they don't all the time.

"We almost got made into a reality TV show." - Brad

They're always surprised when they hear back from anyone about the podcast. They've got 62 reviews -- and 60 of them are nice! And if you want to start a podcast but haven't yet, just be a podcast guest.

But if they haven't convinced you not to start a podcast:

• think about the topic very carefully. Ideally, it should be something you have knowledge about and a passion for sharing.
• don't think too much about the audio. Hire someone to do it for you.
• make 10 podcast episodes - then throw them away. Then record 10 more.
• but seriously. become a podcast guest. You'll learn how you sound to yourself and others, and how you interact on the fly. (Have you heard anyone speak as fast as JVN? Listen to Getting Curious)
• Have an audience in mind.
• Make sure that what you're putting out there is helpful.

How do you increase your creative output?

What’s In This Episode:

As Jill and Brad close in on nearly 5 years of podcasting and almost 300 episodes, they reflect on how to increase your creative output.

"Here's a growth secret: Don't keep your business a secret." - Brad

If you've got a business, you've got to be creating things to put out into the world, Brad says. Jill hates the question, "How do you do it?" because she wants to ask the same question back. At The Founding Moms, Jill writes a daily email, she hosts this podcast, she has a monthly video course, a monthly webinar, a weekly Facebook live... she creates a lot. How? She does it with the help of her team, scheduling, and implementing systems.

Brad recently upped his monthly email to 3x/week and finds it easier. Writing once a month was stressful but writing every week has just become something he does. And it doesn't mean that he's always inspired to write, but with practice, everything becomes easier. They liken it to going to the gym: if you do it consistently, you just get used to it. In fact, Brad doesn't really believe in inspiration. Jill does... and thinks that you can even find inspiration in your competition.

"You can't run a business without creating." - Jill

What drives someone to create? This leads to a discussion around content, a word that Brad hates. People don't consume content. People don't create content. What they do is inspire, teach, and entertain.

How does someone do all the things they have to do? Where do they get the energy? Jill says that as long as she's communicating, she's fine with it. She was nervous about things when they first got started, but over time it's gotten easier. And the more you create, perhaps the more efficient you get.

How do you increase your creative output?