What’s In This Episode:

When you start out, you market broadly. To grow, you must focus. What has helped you focus your attention in life? Brad and Jill's series on scaling your business continues as they share ways to focus that has worked for them. For Jill, it's been other people telling her she has to focus (you mean doing everything and anything all the time is not the way entrepreneurs do it? No!). Thanks Brad for telling Jill she has to focus! Plus, she turns off her wifi to pause the constant flow of pings and buzzes. Brad finds time blocking incredibly effective for him, as well as automation (via Zapier). So, if you need to find Brad on a Monday morning, you know he'll be writing. They also talk about the Top 5 Ways To Focus Your Business As You Grow in this episode and welcome money guy and family man Justin Krane to the show. Listen in! »

Guest:

• Justin Krane is a business money strategist focused on helping small business owners get clarity around their money.

What’s In This Episode:

When you were first starting out, what was the one marketing strategy that worked really well for you? Jill and Brad agree that talking to people face to face ranks pretty high up there. Brad remembers someone telling him "No one is going to crawl through your computer screen and say they want to work with you." You have to meet people! Email newsletters are also tremendously powerful. It's a free way to reach out to folks! If you don't have an email list, stop what you're doing and start one right now. Thanks to the magic of the internet, Jill and Brad hop in a time machine and travel back to 1996, so you'll definitely want to stay tuned for that. They also talk about the Top 5 Ways Your Marketing Changes As You Scale in this episode and they welcome gymnast Rebecca Dengrove to the show. Listen in! »

Guest:

• Rebecca Dengrove is THE Rebecca of Rebecca's Mom Leotards, makers of women's gymnastics leotards. No, really, it is!

What’s In This Episode:

Why did Brad get a shoe in the mail? To be specific, the package (with a handwritten recipient address) contained a kids' size 10 shoe with three Velcro straps, a letter, and a business card. The letter started out with a story about a man with one shoe on the bus. You then learn he didn't lose a shoe but found one, which transitions into a woman asking about your graphic design and photography needs. To Brad, it's a good pitch but to the wrong audience (he has a small team and uses a graphic designer about once a year). To Jill, it's way too much. It gives the impression that the person has too much time or is not using funds in the right areas. She recalls a marketing event she was invited to that involved a limo, babysitter for her kid, wine, and a celebrity guest speaker. Does she remember who the company was? Absolutely not. Less pretty packaging, more effective stuff! Brad and Jill also talk funnel cakes, niching down, and sure enough, raising prices. They kick off their series on how to scale with the Top 5 Things That Need To Change As You Grow in this episode and they welcome marketing guru and dancer Hilary Buuck to the show. Listen in! »

Guest:

• Hilary P. Buuck is a marketing strategist focused on helping service providers get more leads in order to gain more clients, memberships, and students.

What’s In This Episode:

We've been talking a lot about how business owners are the worst employees over the past few episodes, so what's an example of a time you've derailed your business? For Jill, it seems like all she does is derail her business. For example, she's forgetful, calendars badly, and doesn't reach out to people about events she puts together. So, how does she get back on track? She reminds herself to focus! (See below for some tools she uses to help her) Brad is very quick to admit he's a terrible calendarer (yup, we're making that a word) so he's going to hire someone to help him. They share more ways to remain on course in this episode with the Top 5 Things To Get You Back On Track and they welcome mom, writer, and entrepreneur Eraina Ferguson to the show. Listen in! »

Guest:

• Eraina Ferguson is the founder of Good Life, a resource with a mission to empower families with special needs children to live their best life possible. Find her on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Tools:

• Forest: an app that gamifies focusing; don't let your tree die!
• Go...Work: a Chrome extension which blocks sites that keep you unproductive and constantly reminds you to stay on track
• One Big Thing: an app to keep you focused on, you guessed it, one big thing

What’s In This Episode:

How has your most unmanageable employee derailed your business? In an earlier episode, we learned that the business owner is the most unmanageable one of the bunch. So, what have you done? By that logic, what Jill has done is be herself! Fears around not charging enough, not following up enough, or not getting out there more - they're always there. Brad realized he gets bored with training others. He'll do a great job upfront but won't do it continually, resulting in someone being half trained. Take a deep look inside and figure out what's really the problem - like, so deep inside you'll need an x-ray machine. We also get some wise words from Nelson Mandela, talk about your why, and discover how sprints can be good for you. The systems series continues with Brad and Jill discussing How Do You Find Your Way and they welcome financially savvy author Kate Stalter to the show. Listen in! »

Guest:

• Kate Stalter is the co-founder of Better Money Decisions, a financial firm dedicating to helping clients meet their unique financial goals. Find her on Twitter and Facebook, and learn about her latest book here.

What’s In This Episode:

It's a bicentennial celebration with episode 200! How has Jill and Brad stayed on track for so many episodes? For Jill, the answer is Brad. Brad is excellent at keeping her on track, whereas he simply keeps showing up and episodes magically happen! (Just kidding. It takes work!) Send your congratulations and well wishes by calling 708-872-7878 and leaving a message; we're hoping for 200 callers with ideas on how to get to episode 400. The best idea gets a special prize! They also continue with their systems series and share the Top 5 Systems To Keep Your Team On Track in this episode and welcome former YouTube singer and entrepreneur Camila Paola to the show. Listen in! »

Guest:

• Camila Paola is the founder of Bairns & Tots, a store for modern and trendy parenting. Find her on Facebook and Instagram.

What’s In This Episode:

We know business owners don't like to follow rules, but are there ones you choose to follow? Which ones make you a better owner and leader? Jill likes the kindergarten rule, better known as the Golden Rule - treat others the way you'd want to be treated. Let's just all be nice to each other! She's also punctual, showing up at the agreed upon time..on most days. Along those same lines, Brad loves using meeting invites. It keeps Brad on track (since he's a self-confessed moron when it comes to his calendar) and ensures both parties show up at the right time! He pays people on time and won't work them down on their fee too, because he wouldn't want it done to him. Basically, let's all live by the Golden Rule and the world will be a happy place. They also talk about the Top 5 New Business Rules in this episode and welcome coach, speaker, and podcaster Amy Smalarz to the show. Listen in! »

Guest:

• Amy Smalarz is the founder of AmySmalarz.com where she's dedicated to helping women of all ages turn their intentions into action, and creator of the LinkedIn group Women's Biz Accelerator. Find her on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

What’s In This Episode:

Who's the most unmanageable person in your business? You, the business owner! Brad and Jill theorize why - is it because we're control freaks, like to do everything, and don't want anybody telling us what to do? Is it because we just don't fit in a corporate environment? If you know the magic answer, call and tell us why! Jill recalls her time at a super corporate place and how she did everything she was supposed to do and enjoyed it, but then went to grad school and realized she never wanted to go back to corporate. She needs her freedom and thrives in it! Brad shares how he'll sit down with business owners time and time again, explain to them how they're ruining their business, yet they don't do anything about it. They also talk about the Top 5 Systems To Get You Through The Day in this episode and they welcome people development trainer and fairy dust sprinkler Alissa Friedman to the show. Listen in! »

Guest:

Alissa Friedman is a trainer and coach who lifts the fog and helps people get out of their own way. Find her on about.me and LinkedIn.

Talk to us! Leave us a Google Voicemail 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:

What's the best spam you've ever received? Jill got an email from an unknown sender and the first thing she saw was a picture of an adorable dog. Once she read through the copy and got to a sales pitch, she deleted it. BUT, she received more follow-up emails from the company that all included pictures of cute dogs! Considering the emails were memorable enough for Jill to forward them to Brad and talk about them in this episode, but not enough for her to remember the company name or even what they sell, is the approach worth it? Let Brad and Jill know! Call, email, tweet..including pictures of adorable dogs won't hurt either. We also hear from a longtime listener who emailed and expressed how much she enjoyed the short series on hiring we recently did (we hear you Nedra, and thank you for emailing!). She requested more themes, including one on systems and processes around running a business. So, in the first of a short series on systems, Jill and Brad talk about the Top 5 Systems To Keep Your Business On Track  and they welcome photographer Monika Labbe to the show. Listen in! »

Guest:

• Monika Labbe is the founder of Creative M Portraits, a photography studio based in Chicago specializing in luxury custom portraits and personal branding sessions. Find her on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

What’s In This Episode:

Are you aware of the things you do and the way you act? Brad has been paying attention to awareness a lot lately and noticed he acts differently. For example, someone recently told him he tends to interrupt others and ever since then, he's been aware of it happening (and he tries to stop of course). Jill thinks she became much more self-aware when she started her own business. She thought she was pretty normal until a ton of people told her "You're so crazy!" When you hear something over and over again, it might be true. But, embrace it, champion it, and allow it to make you a better leader! Brad and Jill help you get to that point by sharing the Top 5 Things That Will Make You More Self-Aware In Business in this episode and they welcome super mom and super CEO Danielle Dy Buncio to the show. Listen in! »

Guest:

• Danielle Dy Buncio is president and CEO of VIATechnik, providers of technology solutions to the engineering & construction industry. Find her on LinkedIn and Twitter.