Breaking Down Your Business | Small Business | Business Owners | Entrepreneurship | Leadership (business)

What’s In This Episode:

"How much does it cost to work with you?" is a question Brad hears a lot. Jill and Brad discuss this and why you can't have just one price (and what to do instead) on this episode.

"I bought a book for $200." - Brad

Brad discusses a mysterious book which he purchased for $200. Think that's crazy? Because of it, he made $60K. Is it still crazy, or a great investment? When you give people price options, you'd be surprised at how many will choose the highest option because of the value they get from it. Listening and understanding what the customer needs allows you to create options that actually work for them. And when you create a connection with your customers, it pays off in the long run.

"You are taking the time to learn me, to get to know me." - Jill

Do you have questions about pricing or do you think Brad is insane? Let us know! 

Sponsor:

This episode is sponsored by Netblaze, LLC. Do you need help with your digital marketing? If you want to get more customers from the internet but don't know who to trust or what to do, check out Netblaze - a digital CMO for your company. Netblaze watches over your entire online presence, detects any issues you're having, and displays content on how to get rid of those issues fast. Breaking Down Your Business listeners can try it for FREE.

Direct download: Breaking_Down_Your_Business_EP_275.mp3
Category:Business -- posted at: 2:00am CDT

What’s In This Episode:

Jill is hiring! What's your top-notch process for hiring the best people? Jill and Brad talk about how to hire the best people (and why it's hard) in this episode.

"Good hiring is hard. Bad hiring is easy." - Brad

The Founding Moms is looking for a Host Director to facilitate all the host meetings and coordinate all the offline community. Jill knows what a successful person in this role would look like, but may need some help in setting up the systems for the position. They talk about ways to make the hiring process easier, including casting a wider net of applicants, asking the same questions, and tips for screening your interviewees.

How do you make decisions when hiring? If you have questions about hiring, let us know! 

Sponsor:

This episode is sponsored by Netblaze, LLC. Do you need help with your digital marketing? If you want to get more customers from the internet but don't know who to trust or what to do, check out Netblaze - a digital CMO for your company. Netblaze watches over your entire online presence, detects any issues you're having, and displays content on how to get rid of those issues fast. Breaking Down Your Business listeners can try it for FREE.

Direct download: Breaking_Down_Your_Business_EP_274.mp3
Category:Business -- posted at: 2:00am CDT

What’s In This Episode:

Does public speaking terrify you? Jill learned to speak in public thanks to the Wizard of Oz. But she's relatively comfortable in front of a crowd. Brad was in speech and debate in high school and had a lot of practice. It's important to remember that professionals don't "wing it" even though it looks like that. When someone's good at speaking, it's because they've practiced like crazy.

 "If you're not scared, you're not taking it seriously. The stakes aren't high enough." - Brad

Stylist Suze Solari helps people change the world one outfit at a time. She helps people evaluate what pieces of clothing actually serve them. She has a speaking opportunity and wants to maximize it, but needs a better call-to-action to get people to sign up for her newsletter. Jill and Brad advise her to think about her ideal client and the benefit they'll get and the CTA will write itself.

"I practice a lot with the audience in mind." - Jill

How do you feel about public speaking? Do you have any tips? 

Sponsor:

This episode is sponsored by Netblaze, LLC. Do you need help with your digital marketing? If you want to get more customers from the internet but don't know who to trust or what to do, check out Netblaze - a digital CMO for your company. Netblaze watches over your entire online presence, detects any issues you're having, and displays content on how to get rid of those issues fast. Breaking Down Your Business listeners can try it for FREE.

Direct download: Breaking20Down20Your20Business20EP20273.mp3
Category:Business -- posted at: 2:00am CDT

What’s In This Episode:

Why do you subscribe to an email list? What makes you stay? Jill and Brad let you in on a little secret to a highly engaged email list.

 "I don't love email, but I enjoy really good email lists." - Jill

Recommendations are HUGE when it comes to subscribing to an email list, and Jill will often sign up if she's heard a particular email list is awesome. Of course, sometimes she subscribes because of the freebie she'll get by doing so (with plans to unsubscribe later).

Brad might hear someone on a podcast and want to know more so he'll subscribe to hear more from that person.

But then, why stay? There are so many emails out there that are bad, that if they're actually good, it's GREAT. Jill says she looks forward to the content and she learns from them - how to write better herself. (Check out Betches.)

"Know your audience really well." - Brad

Brad's a fan of Verne Harnish because he curates a really good list of resources and respects people's time. He thinks the personal connection is important.

When Jill decided to write a daily newsletter, she was terrified. She was worried everyone would unsubscribe (they didn't). By doing so, she learned what worked. And people respond way more now than they did when she was sending out an email every two weeks.

 

What email lists are your favorite and why? Let us know! Listen in

Sponsor:

This episode is sponsored by Netblaze, LLC. Do you need help with your digital marketing? If you want to get more customers from the internet but don't know who to trust or what to do, check out Netblaze - a digital CMO for your company. Netblaze watches over your entire online presence, detects any issues you're having, and displays content on how to get rid of those issues fast. Breaking Down Your Business listeners can try it for FREE.

Direct download: Breaking20Down20Your20Business20EP20272.mp3
Category:Business -- posted at: 2:00am CDT

What’s In This Episode:

Is being an "idea person" a good thing? Saul has some listener questions.

Jill says that being an idea person is always talked about as if it's a real negative thing. But she LOVES IT. Brad has a list of ideas, but finds them hard to choose or sort it out. But Jill says that those sorts of decisions just come with experience.

 "If you have lots of ideas, it's not because you're distracted and can't pick one. You just have a good idea!" - Jill

Listener question from Sam:"When you're in a rut, what do you do to get yourself out of that rut?"

Jill: I go and talk to people; I get motivation from them.

Brad: I go out into nature with electronics off. It's like a hard reboot for my brain.

Saul's question: "When you have ideas, how do you ensure that they're not forgotten or lost?"

Jill:EVERNOTE! Or for those less technologically inclined, just write it down.

Brad: I don't feel like I have to capture every idea.

"If it's a really good idea, it'll come back." - Brad

Direct download: Breaking_Down_Your_Business_EP_271.mp3
Category:Business -- posted at: 2:00am CDT

What’s In This Episode:

How do you engage your team? When your team is engaged, they're getting a psychic benefit from the work. They're into it!

But even when you have the most engaged team, in the summer months, it can be tough. In this episode, Jill and Brad discuss how to keep your team engaged when they want to be outside.

 "I'm looking forward to being the old guy sitting in the coffee shop." - Brad

Brad tries to solve his personal engagement problem by taking more Fridays off in the summer so he can enjoy long weekends. Doing so allows him to be more engaged at work and then at home with his family.

Jill points out that the more time she takes off (whether it's three or four days), the more she dreads Monday. And there are some days she just wants to sit and chill out.

So how can they convince employees to stay engaged when they understand being checked out themselves?

"I don't want to take the joy of summer or breaks away from them." - Jill

It might be a good idea to check in on your employees, not nannying them constantly, but to make sure that everyone is still on track. Maybe the expectations should be lowered in the summer, but does that mean you make less income because of it? And how do you get back into the swing of things?

How do you stay engaged? How do you keep your team engaged?

Direct download: Breaking_Down_Your_Business_EP_270.mp3
Category:Business -- posted at: 2:00am CDT

What’s In This Episode:

How do you change things up with your business? Jill's revamping her website. Brad recently changed pricing. Change can be good, but sometimes when you don't think things through all the way, you can be surprised at the details that you miss.

Jill has a highly collaborative relationship with her team. Brad pretendsthat he does - he's collaborative-ish - but what works in some areas might not work in others. Since he hasn't asked his employees how they feel about certain changes, he doesn't know what their feedback is. But he feels like because his tactics are working, people are willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

 "Sometimes you've got to break what's working really well in order to turn it into something new." - Brad

Brandon Bruce, former rower, and cyclist across 508 miles of Death Valley, now owns a business called Cirrus Insight, which sells sales software to salespeople. Up to this point, they've focused on inside sales but they want to branch out to have more of a field presence in the bigger cities and get more face-to-face time with customers and prospects. So how does he build up a sales force?

Brad suggests hiring more inside sales with the expectation that they'll become outside sales. Jill says to run a mini-boot camp and figure out who might be best on the outside and test in multiple cities to figure out what's actually working.

"Leading only one way never helps anybody." - Jill

How do you get your team on board with new ways of doing things? Do you listen to their feedback?

Direct download: Breaking_Down_Your_Business_EP_269.mp3
Category:Business -- posted at: 2:00am CDT

What’s In This Episode:

How do you measure and improve your own performance? Jill uses external measures but also uses her gut instinct. She also asks a few people what they think, because feedback can be helpful. How does one get better as a business owner?

Brad believes that it's a balancing act. As he gets better in one area, he gets worse in another. And as a business owner, you have to know so many things. But you can definitely hire out for things you're not so good at.

 "Email is not your job." - Brad

Meditating leader and company owner Rob Dube calls in. His company Image One was recently named a 2017 Small Giantby Forbes. But with all the good news, he really just has one problem: How does he manage the influx of email? Between his team and customers, it can be overwhelming.

Jill wants to know if he has any systems set up to filter through emails and he does have a filing system. Is response or reception the problem? Brad reminds Rob that email responsiveness is not a measure of effectiveness when it comes to being a CEO. Plus, the more emails you send, the more you get back. Not everything requires an immediate response. Jill thinks that Rob may be suffering from CEO anxiety and that he can practice not responding to people - no matter how much it hurts.

"There are lots of ways to educate yourself as a business owner." - Jill

How do you measure and improve your own performance as a business owner? What are your tactics?

Direct download: Breaking_Down_Your_Business_EP_268.mp3
Category:Business -- posted at: 2:00am CDT

What’s In This Episode:

Jill and Brad are doing things a bit differently in this episode and talking about networking vs. building business relationships. A lot of people feel like networking is an ugly word, but only feel that way in a business context.

 "But isn't that what relationships are - just mutually benefitting?" - Brad

Jill doesn't believe that you can succeed without relationships, and Brad thinks that the reason people disdain networking is that it's viewed as a competition. It took Jill a long time to change her mind about working by herself. She didn't realize how beneficial it was to have face-to-face interactions with people until she went out for coffee meetings and was able to see how energized she was about her own business.

Brad intentionally scheduled meetings - lunches, breakfasts - so that he could see other people. When Jill began The Founding MomsMeetups, she got feedback almost immediately about the positive impact it was having on the other business women in the room.

"Relationships are the reason the world goes round." - Jill

There's a lot that people miss from nonverbal communications and there's so much to be gained from face-to-face interactions. Granted, there are those out there who meet face-to-face only to swap and collect business cards. But Brad remembers how he ended up doing business with those whom he was truly vulnerable with and invested in. It's important to remember that at the end of the day, people connect with human aspects - not how much you earn or what you do, but that you've shared similar experiences.

It's also worth noting that networking takes time. You need to build up trust and do it regularly. You won't walk out of an event with a ton of new business.

What are your thoughts on networking vs. building business relationships? Do you value it or do you believe it's a waste of time?

Direct download: Breaking_Down_Your_Business_EP_267.mp3
Category:Business -- posted at: 2:00am CDT

What’s In This Episode:

Are you fun? Jill recently ran a webinar and heard from someone afterward who said, "I love this, but I'm not very fun." Jill realized that people feel like they're boring or not enough in some way and that it prevents them from joining a group they really feel connected to. Don't do that thing! If you want to try out The Founding Moms Community for free, go to The Founding Momsand use code awesome1moto get a free 30-day trial. If you're a mom entrepreneur, become a part of the FMC and get advice from other mom entrepreneurs, video courses, an accountability program, and so much more.

 "People are weird." - Brad

Saul, producer of BDYB, has a listener question for Jill and Brad. Bruno writes, "Hey guys. I love the wacky, crazy vibe of the show. I was wondering if you could share some of your craziest customer stories."

Jill thought about her favorite podcast guest: Erika Kerekes of Not Ketchup, who took Jill's interesting marketing advice and it worked out for her! She also has a story about a guy who had a very creative way to get someone to sign up for life insurance.

Brad had a customer who got ghosted by an employee. They passed each other as they were going in and out of an elevator, but the customer didn't realize that the employee had quit until she got to her floor. He also knew a guy who would send phones out to people via FedEx, then call those people once the package had been received.

Saul's takeaway? "Weird works."

"They need instruction. They need guidance. Is there something you need that can make your job easier?" - Jill

Jill and Brad then discuss the top 5 ways managing employees needs to change:

  • Everyone needs to use Slack.
  • Ask them what they need more often.
  • Listen when employees tell you something is not working.
  • Be a proponent of having your employees work together more often.
  • And the number one thing is something you really should be doing...
Direct download: Breaking_Down_Your_Business_EP_266.mp3
Category:Business -- posted at: 2:00am CDT