What’s In This Episode:

Brad started his business because he wanted to be free. He didn't want anyone telling him what to do! And then he sits down in front of his computer and thinks, "What should I do?" Sound familiar?

"I love that every day is different and that I choose priorities based on how I feel." - Jill

As business owners, you could have 1000 things to choose from, when really three of those things may help move your business forward. How do you choose? Jill goes with her gut. She loves that every day brings something new and that she can choose priorities based on what she's really invested in. Overall, her business is her priority and the work is never done because she's running a business.

Brad doesn't like that strategy because he feels like there's no way to know when you can stop something. But he often looks back at the end of the day and wonders what he got done.

"Should I spend time selling? Recruiting? Monitoring my team?" - Brad

So what's the best way to get things done? Setting priorities? Building systems? Seeing how you feel on any particular day? Do you need to delegate more or focus? Should you concentrate on the one area that makes you a lot of money? So many questions! Jill and Brad talk it through (and find a little help from Warren Buffett and the word "no").

Do you have a process for getting things done? How do you decide what to do next and choose what's right for your business? Let us know!

What’s In This Episode:

How do you celebrate Thanksgiving? And how does it apply to business owners? Jill looks forward to the beginning of (vegan) egg-nog season, the Macy's Day Parade, cooking, spending time with family, and on and on.

Brad likes the family time and all, but he doesn't think that we'd ever practice gratefulness unless we carved out a day for it.

"It's a moment to remind us all to stop, eat too much food, and be grateful for what we have." - Jill

Jill's got a book coming out on November 24th called The Best Business Book In The World* (*according to my mom). She'll pretty much be working through the holiday (you can pre-order it here, or buy it on Amazon when it comes out). She's grateful to her team - she sometimes gets told she says "thank you" too much.

Brad's impressed with that because he's not as grateful for his crew as he should be. He's very future-oriented and it's hard for him to reflect on the past and the present. As a result, he tends to feel more isolated. He's already moved ahead when everyone else is finishing up the last thing.

"I think it's interesting that Americans have to stop and be forced to be grateful." - Brad

But taking the opportunity to pause and reflect on the fact that he never would have made it as far as he did without his team does soften things a little for him. Jill suggests that maybe they celebrate "giving thanks" one day a month as a way to instill the practice (and they wouldn't even have to eat turkey to do it.

What do you think? Would you celebrate "giving thanks" this way? Let us know!

What’s In This Episode:

If you're like Jill, you love marketing but hate sales. If you have brands you really love though, do you trust them? And when you notice they are selling to you, what's your reaction? Are they marketing well or poorly?

What's the difference? Brad thinks that when marketers are trying to convince you of something you don't really need or want, those are bad examples. But when you believe in what you sell, you want other people to believe in it with you. And when you're really good at marketing (like Apple), you can clearly craft an identity around your brand that makes people feel good.

 "Offer what they need, but at a higher price." - Brad

Rachael Kay Albers, founder of RKA Ink and host of Awkward Marketing, is going into her tenth year of business. She's looking to scale up and be more of the creative director for her business, but she has her hands in all aspects of everything. She needs to hire more people for her team, but she needs more money to do so. But to do the sales she needs to do, she needs to be doing less work.

RAISE YOUR PRICES, RACHAEL!

"Charge what you're worth." - Jill

So, do you sell products or experiences?

Guest:

• Rachael Kay Albers is the founder and creative director of RKA ink. Her sweet spot is the space where business, marketing, and design meet. She is also the host of Awkward Marketing, which blends storytelling and comedy with marketing and business advice for entrepreneurs who want to build epic, unforgettable brands online.

What’s In This Episode:

What do you do for bonuses in your business? It's the time of year when year-end bonuses become a focal point. Jill and Brad talk about that, and a listener question involves asking if you canbuy loyalty. (We're never going to escape this loyalty debate.)

"It's so exciting from an employee perspective but it's so burdening for a boss." - Jill

There's so much anxiety surrounding bonuses, especially when employee and employer expectations don't match. But Brad believes there's no reason to start giving bonuses. Gifts are good when warranted, but he thinks that some employers think they are buying loyalty by giving out bonuses.

"A bonus means you're giving something unexpected." - Brad

But bonuses can be given for performance. A general bonus rewards the lowest paid employee more than the highest paid employee. A lot of employers fall into the trap of treating everyone equally like you'd want to treat your own family, and Brad wholeheartedly disagrees with that. But introducing that doesn't allow for any accountability.

When bonuses are given for performance, however, it bridges the gap for an employee who works for a small business and shares the risk of getting (or not getting) that extra perk. If you're going to give out a surprise bonus, Brad advises that you don't do it in December because there's more expectation that time of year. Make the bonuses proportional.

What’s In This Episode:

Ever needed help finding your tribe? What does that even mean, anyway? Is it customers or colleagues?

"Your tribe are the people that need that special thing that you have." - Brad

It's a common misperception that your tribe - in this instance - is your group of friends. But to find loyal customers, you want to be authentic. Does every brand need a tribe? Not necessarily.

If customers are responding to you, what do they have in common? Where do they congregate? That's where you can be your authentic self. It's very rare that your tribe turns out to be people just like you, which Jill was surprised by when she started The Founding Moms, and it took some testing to figure out what worked best. Brad spends a lot of time with trade groups and that's how he finds his tribe.

"Go out there and test what you think it might be." - Jill

And once you've found them, how do you get them to engage and commit? Jill constantly reaches out and checks in to foster the relationship. Brad looks for hot-button issues that he consistently hears his clients talk about so that he can talk about them passionately and offer solutions to those problems. If you can give a voice to people who are thinking and feeling what you are thinking and feeling, it's a great way to resonate with your tribe.

Then, to turn the tables, Saul has some listener questions and some followup on last episode's employee battle betweenJill and Brad.

What’s In This Episode:

Jill and Brad are talking about what to do when one of your team quits! What hurts more: the ego punch or the extra work? (Brad's voting for extra work.)

"I don't want them to have loyalty to me. I want them to have loyalty to the mission." - Brad

It does hurt when one of your team members quits. You get used to them being reliable and a good employee. When they leave, you have to cover their responsibilities while hiring someone else. It's a lot to take on.

Does loyalty factor into it? Jill seems to think so. Brad disagrees.

"When employees collaborate with the boss, I would hope that the employee doesn't look at it as a transactional experience in their day." - Jill

At Anchor Advisors, the greater good is to help small business owners run their business because they believe small business is a better place to work. A better offer is not always the best idea. So ideally, creating an environment of trust where employees can talk about their dissatisfaction helps to cultivate engagement. Hopefully, that means a team member wouldn't quit unnecessarily. But if they found an opportunity that worked out better for them, Brad understands.

What’s In This Episode:

How many businesses are too many? Have you ever thought to yourself, "How many businesses can I run at once?" If you have, listen in!

Pop culture references Jill makes during this episode that may or may not have anything to do with the episode: Sarah Koenig, Jeff Bezos, Julia Child, and Beyonce.

Sometimes people run more than one business simply because they think they can handle it. Sometimes they get bored with the one business that they run, not realizing that the "boring" business is the one that actually makes them money. And the more you do it, the better you get at it, the more money you make, and making money is fun!

Neither Jill nor Brad thinks running more than one business at a time is a great idea, but it took personal experience for them to learn. Jill used to have the perspective that, if the businesses enhance each other, why wouldn't you run them simultaneously? Brad now thinks that a business owner lacks confidence because they don't think they can profit off of just one main business.

"When you figure out you're talking to a different audience, kill the idea. It's not working." - Brad

If you have product lines and they're all to the same audience, then it's possible that everything contributes to one focus. And it may take some time to realize that you're actually not focusing on one audience, no matter what you think. Jill experienced that when she offered Founding Kits for The Founding Moms, a product-based offering that ultimately failed.

Brad has run three businesses all at once, and it didn't work out for him. He kept trying to revise and rework his projects to make them fit, and it just didn't. But he had spent so much time and money, he was unwilling to let it go. Sometimes, you just need to.

What’s In This Episode:

What do you do when your team member quits? That's the topic of discussion today. Plus, Jill and Brad get the best review ever.

It sucks when you do all the work to hire someone, then train them, and then they quit. Then you have to do their job in the interim, not to mention the morale dip. But there are also upsides.

The biggest advantage of having people quit is that it forces you to have systems. When people quit, it's an opportunity for new ideas. Sometimes you can find someone even better. And in terms of cost, turnover gives you an opportunity to reset salaries to the market.

 "You're already making your marketing easier by specializing." - Brad

Zach Ventresca is an Army veteran and serial entrepreneur. He's having difficulty scaling his newest company, Command SEO, because it's a very saturated market. Brad suggests that he tailors the SEO company to serve lead generation needs of the target market of his other company, which deals with window-washing and power-washing. Once that gets going, get into other niche markets.

"Write down the process you use and create a playbook for your role in this company." - Jill

If you want to explore employee turnover, check out this postthat Brad was inspired by.

Do you have systems for when people quit?  

Guest:

• After a full and decorated career as a leader in the US Army, Zach Ventrescabegan a second career as an entrepreneur. Beginning with a small government contracting company and later purchasing a residential and commercial cleaning company, he entered the world of digital marketing out of his own frustration with achieving his marketing goals. Zach’s vision has brought together leaders in all aspects of digital marketing in order to provide a comprehensive solution to Command Placement’sclients. This ensures that businesses achieve their full potential even in the middle of this digital jungle, and allows business owners the freedom to focus on what they do best.

What’s In This Episode:

On this episode, Jill and Brad talk about VAs, contractors, employees and how to hire.

"If you're doing so many things and you're doing it after so many years, why on earth would you hand it to someone else?" - Jill

When Jill first started the Founding Moms Community, she did everything herself. She ran the online platform and the offline meetups. Was it hard to make the decision to get help? Jill says it's nearly impossible. She finally decided to hire out when certain processes became too overwhelming.

Brad decided to hire out for his company, Anchor Advisors, when he realized that by doing so he could make more money. He was spending 8 hours a week scheduling appointments and he realized he could just hire someone to do that for him. People may not be able to do the job 100% as well as you can, but it's worth it to save yourself some time and sanity.

"If they can do the job 80% as well for 20% of the cost, it's a no-brainer." - Brad

A lot of business owners, having decided they need help, feel like failures. But the opposite is actually true! If you're getting close to making the decision to hire, what do you do? Jill usually goes to a community of people and asks if anyone knows anyone. For her most recent hire, she started thinking about contractors and virtual assistants. She's got two VAs now, and life is so much better!

Brad offers recruiting as a service, and he hired someone who's just a recruiter. It's a major difference than having someone who's a business advisor fill the role of recruiter. This person in the position is in her element, and she has so many great insights which has been helpful to Brad and his business.

Do you have questions about hiring? Let us know!

What’s In This Episode:

What causes sales? And how do you get new clients? Jill sends lots of emails or schedules events to build momentum. Both she and Brad like to announce things first - if they announce an event, they're more likely to commit to it. She'll also reach out to PR and press people to get coverage.

Brad suggests using referral partners or reaching out to past clients to build case studies.

 "What are they thinking before they sign up? What is the problem that they're having that makes them think, 'I need someone to help me with this?'" - Brad

Ari Meisel helps successful people become more successful and productive. He started his company, Less Doing, about seven years ago, and three years ago, he sidetracked and built a VA company called Leverage. About 9 months ago, he left Leverage and is in the process of rebooting Less Doing and honing in on what the brand offers. He's built the business through client referrals as well as through his book and his podcast, but it's all been very passive. Now he wants to scale lead generation, but he's not sure who his target is.

Jill suggests repurposing the content he already has and to be more direct. Better calls to action that are emotionally based will help to convert people, Brad says.

"My target market is not at all me." - Jill

Brad's got a four-step plan to help service-based businesses get new clients.

1. Demonstrate expertise to your target market.
2. Invite people to raise their hand.
3. You've got to follow up.
4. Close the deal.

Do you have trouble getting new clients? 

Guest:

• Ari Meiselis a best-selling author, productivity expert, CEO, real estate developer, green building consultant, and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Business. Several years ago, Ari encountered and ultimately overcame severe personal roadblocks and that journey transformed his life. His discoveries about personal and professional productivity have improved the lives of thousands of individuals and businesses. His proprietary process, the Less Doing System, is the foundation of his company Less Doingwhich offers individuals and enterprises road-tested methods to optimize, automate, and outsource everything. The goal is to learn how to work smarter, instead of harder.