What’s In This Episode:

Do you need your team to be more committed? And why do you expect that anyone is ever going to be as committed as you, the owner of the business? If you believe that employees or colleagues will be as committed as you are, perhaps you have a realistic expectation that should be met by a "better" team member. On the flipside, perhaps you're putting an unreasonable burden on your team to meet your needs when they're not the ones running the business. That's why Brad and Jill talk about the Top 5 Ways To Have More Committed And Engaged Employees in this episode and they welcome Teen World Confidential's Kim Cook to the show. Listen in! »

Guest:

• Kim Cook is the founder of Teen World Confidential where she offers adolescent sexuality health resources for parents, educators, and other caring adults that encourages honest, open, and intelligent conversation with young people. Find her on Facebook and Twitter.

Tool Intervention:

• Jill thought she'd be presenting a really cool tool, Artisto, that cartoonizes your videos. But Brad and Saul end up staging an intervention to try and get Jill to stop using, and talking about, photo apps. Do you think she mentions too many? Tune in and then send in what you'd contribute to this intervention.

What’s In This Episode:

How long does it take to get into shape? To get rich? To fall in love? It seems to Jill and Brad that everything has to happen quickly in this day and age. Instantaneously. And that's not been their experience as business owners to date. Society at large puts high expectations on us to make things go as fast as humanly possible, but is it sustainable? They address exactly that in this week's episode. Check out their Top 5 Things That Take A Lot Longer Than You Thought (In Your Business) and join them in welcoming Credit Suite's Ty Crandall to the show. Listen in! »

Guest:

• Ty Crandall is the founder of Credit Suite where he's dedicated to helping entrepreneurs obtain credit and financing to build their businesses whether they have good or bad personal credit. Find him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Rant:

• Brad is heartbroken. Tune in to hear about the conversation he had with a boss who's lost control of her business. Even though she's the boss. Hear his suggestions for ways to go about it if you ever feel like you're losing the battle that is your own business.

What’s In This Episode:

Did you ever have a job where you had to go ask for a raise? Did you ever get a big raise at a job you've held? Brad and Jill know that this is a tough area for most small business owners. Whether your employees have to find the courage to ask you for a raise, or you're thinking about doling generous raises out to your team, it's always a challenge to figure out how to do it right. And when to do it. And if you should do it at all. That's why they explore the Top 5 Reasons Your Labor Costs Are Going UP in this week's episode and they welcome Strictly Marketing Magazine's Kerry Heaps to the show. Listen in! »

Guest:

• Kerry Heaps is the publisher of Strictly Marketing Magazine that offers marketing information to help you promote your business. Find her on Facebook and Twitter.

Rant:

• Jill can't stand what's going on in the world of investing. Why are so many venture capitalists supporting companies with millions and millions of dollars when there's barely any market validation for said companies' ideas? Tune in to hear how insane it all is and how it nearly sends her off a cliff...

What’s In This Episode:

Why is it that all pitches we get are so predictable? How come so many business owners and PR folk have decided to make an ask the same exact way as everyone else? Brad and Jill are getting real bored of the same old templates showing up in their inboxes. They talk about what they'd like to see, how they'd like it delivered, and they wanna hear from YOU. If you have an idea about how to pitch a product or service that breaks the mold, send it in to the Breaking Down Your Business podcast so that they can talk about your biz on the air. So it makes sense that they discuss the Top 5 Ways To Get Someone's Attention Without Being A Pest in this week's episode, and they welcome Telesummit Queen LeeAnn Webster to the show.

Guest:

• LeeAnn Webster is the founder of Totally Telesummits where she helps her clients produce telesummits and helps them add hundreds of thousands of subscribers to their email lists. Find her on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Tool:

• Luxe :: It's the Uber for Spothero. Get a valet person to park your car for you, wherever you're going, and have them return it to you wherever you want.

What’s In This Episode:

How do you decide what to do when free time pops up in your work day? Do you finally get to all the work that you've been ignoring? Or do you drop everything to head outside and explore the great outdoors? Jill and Brad talk about the different ways that they take advantage of surprise spaces in their day. The one thing that they can agree on? Not attempting to get to that mythical place called Inbox Zero in the precious time they have. In this episode, find out from our co-hosts what they consider The Top 5 Things To Do When You Have Free Time. And join them in welcoming nonprofit consultant Andrew Schulman to the show. Listen in! »

Guest:

• Andrew Schulman is the founder of Schulman Consulting where he assists small-to-midsize nonprofits and mission-driven small businesses to improve their operations, save time and money, increase revenues and showcase their impact. Find him on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Rant:

• Jill shares a story about a business that's decided to sell in a very unique way. But the way that the business has decided to sell includes the notion that news of the sale has to go viral. Which ANNOYS JILL TO NO END. Can you plan to go viral? Tune in and let her know if you think the business in question is onto something.

What’s In This Episode:

When you see what fellow business owners are wearing, do you ever think to yourself, "Does that person even own a mirror?" Jill and Brad discuss why people get their wardrobes so wrong, where they live (spoiler alert: Las Vegas,) and specifically what body parts should never be revealed in an office space. Do you ever stand at your closet door and wonder what you're going to wear today? How to dress appropriately for that event tomororw night? That's why our co-hosts talk about the Top 5 Wardrobe Mistakes Small Business People Make in this episode and they welcome Principles of Increase's Aja McClanahan to the show. Listen in! »

Guest:

• Aja McClanahan is the founder of Principles of Increase where she mass mentors friends, family and even total strangers.about how to get out of debt. Find her on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Tool:

• Zapier :: Brad loves automation, and he's always loved Zapier. They've upped their game and offer a lot of new opportunities for you to connect different apps that you need to get your work done for you in your business. Test it out and let us know if it improves your work flow!

What’s In This Episode:

Brad says that Vern Harnish says that business owners should say "no" about twenty times more than they say "yes." To everything. Do you do that? (This one's rhetorical.) Might you be one of the millions of business owners who need to say "no" more often? "Yes" should be few and far between, but it can get confusing as to which where when to say it. That's why Jill and Brad talk about the Top 5 Times You Should Say "Yes" in this episode and they welcome coffee shop owner Amanda Neely to the show. Listen in! »

Guest:

• Amanda Neely is the co-founder of Overflow Coffee Bar where she run's Chicago's favorite coffee shop. Find her on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Tool:

• StickerRide :: Get your brand on the streets or drive other people's brands around by putting stickers on your ride. It's effective for advertisers and profitable for drivers. Jill can't wait to get her first logo slapped onto her car and she wants to know if you're gonna sport some logos on your ride, too. Let her know!

Shout-Out:

• We heart CBL88 and Brewla for leaving us iTUNES REVIEWS!!!!!! Handclaps for all. Jill and Brad read 'em on the air and they'll read yours, too. Stop by and leave one here.

What’s In This Episode:

Are there emails that you write over and over and over again? Ever thought about creating a template so that you don't have to re-write the darn thing on repeat? Over time, Jill and Brad have learned that it's good business practice to do so -- and they learned the hard way. While there are well over 285,492 emails that you could keep on file so that you don't have to think them up again, you may as well hone in on the Top 5 Emails You Are Going To Write One Million Times (So Make A Template). It does a body good. Tune in to find out exactly what, where, how, why and when to write those up, and hear all about Clean Forks' Shelley Davidescu and how she impacts thousands of lives. Listen in! »

Guest:

• Shelley Davidescu is the founder of Clean Forks, . Find her on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Rant:

• Stop writing bad emails. JUST STOP. Brad reads to you the worst email ever written -- it was a cold pitch he received -- and you get to cringe throughout the read with him...and then ride through his rant on this type of pitch with him. He needs your support. Go on, tune in.

What’s In This Episode:

Have you ever made solid money decisions for your business? Jill and Brad talk about the little tweaks that have brought in the big bucks and the big mistakes that have brought in next to nothing. There are ways to change up how you pay employees, mistakes to make in how you share value with folks on your team, and plenty of mistakes to be made along the way. Can you make more out of what you're bringing in? You're in charge of your income. It's helpful to remind yourself that from time to time...and that's why Jill and Brad talk about the Top 5 Money Mistakes Small Businesses Make in this episode and they welcome Rose Garden Consulting's Ali Mirza to the show. Listen in! »

Guest:

• Ali Mirza is the founder of Rose Garden Consulting where he works with Atlanta business owners to increase their sales by developing a sales training program or by actually selling for them. Find him on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.

Rant:

• What do YOU think about taking on other people's money to help you with your business? Jill and Brad have some pretty major concerns that they need you to know. Tune in to find out why there are more reasons to stay away from that kind of help than you'd ever guess. (And if you disagree, call in and let them know why you think they're wrong.)

What’s In This Episode:

What does team-building look like in your business? Do you have regular meetings, bonfires at midnight, or cupcake wars to get it done? Jill and Brad discuss the many ways that they build teams: Brad's team is all in one place and Jill's team is spread out around the world so they build up their teams in very different ways. If you take your team to a baseball game, or you host calls with people who can't meet up face-to-face, what are the ways that your team responds to it? Do you find that it helps further your business or is it more of a distraction than anything else? That's why they talk about the Top 5 Ways To Say "Thank You" To Your Team in this episode and they welcome entrepreneur Nathan Hirsch to the show. Listen in! »

Guest:

Nathan Hirsch is the founder of FreeeUp where he helps businesses save time and money through hands-on outsourcing. Find him on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. (And tune in for the code you can use to hire a free worker!)
Rant:

Brad talks about how rich he is. For reals. Tune in to hear just how rich.