Tue, 26 December 2017
What’s In This Episode:Christmas is over, but Jill's not giving up on making eggnog a year-round thing. What are the things they loved most from the holiday? Jill's still basking in the hugs from her daughters (and eggnog), while Brad's happy about the slippers he received. "If you spend all your time on your personal brand, then the business can never really move away from you." - BradEric Paul Olson, chief marketing officer for Clever Stilettos, an online magazine for women entrepreneurs, calls in to discuss his dilemma. He can't figure out what he wants to devote time to -- his personal brand or the Clever Stilettos brand. He has a team of eight people to help him run Clever Stilettos, but he runs a podcast to go along with the magazine. Furthermore, Eric's also an actor on Chicago Fire and Chicago Med, so Brad and Jill suggest that maybe he should hire someone to help him with Clever Stilettos while he focuses on acting. Jill says that hosting a podcast is great, but he needs to hand it off to the team once he's done lending his time to it. His team can promote on all sides - both the Eric Olson brand AND the Clever Stiletto brand. Brad says that some fans of Eric Olson, the actor, will be interested in the fact that he ALSO has a digital marketing interest. Basically, it comes down to knowing who your audience is and distributing content accordingly. "I want to pay more attention to my space next year. I used to care less about clutter, but I need more space now." - JillJill and Brad then discuss the top 5 non-money-driven goals for next year:
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Tue, 19 December 2017
What’s In This Episode:The end is near! The end of the year, that is. And, as the year draws to a close, Jill's in love... with a pitch. She appreciates a pitch she received via email was so personalized via audio that she could tell the person really put time and effort into it. Brad had the opposite reaction: he disliked that he had to click and figure out the message, and thought the sender could have just written things out. "Why would I listen to two minutes and thirty-six seconds of yapping?" - BradFrank Ford, author of Happy Accidents: The Transformative Power of "YES, AND" at Work and in Life, improviser, and owner of Four Day Weekend, a comedy space in Fort Worth, TX, calls in to discuss how to open up a new location. He has the opportunity to open up a second location in Dallas, but wonders how to bring the quality and the value to the new digs. Brad says to replicate exactly. Once you can get the quality up to par, then you can innovate. Secondly, he suggests that Frank doesn't have to work with entirely new staff. Transfer some over from the original location so the feel and vibe are there. Thirdly, he says that Frank can follow the example of the Blue Man Group and reconvene frequently to see what's working for best practices. Jill says face-t0-face meetings will be invaluable. And to keep structure, but don't have hard-and-fast rules. Think of SNL, she says. The structure has been carried through for decades and the brand is apparent, but everyone has done it a little differently. "Take some freakin' time off!" - JillJill and Brad then discuss the top 5 things you need to do before year end:
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Tue, 12 December 2017
What’s In This Episode:How long is a long break? In some industries, Brad says, you can take a really long time off. College professors can take sabbaticals. Some professionals can take up to three months! What does Jill think of that? Genius idea. It never hurts to give your brain a break. It's helpful every time. Could Brad take a year off? Well, he could, but he wouldn't have any income. But he's trying to incorporate some sort of sabbatical into his routine. He's going to try it and report back. Good luck, Brad! "As somebody who's taken time off, you'd have to plan in advance. But there's a way to manage it so that it's doable." - JillRuben Ocampo of Conic, an innovation consultancy, calls into the show to ask how to diversify his client base. For years, he's worked with Fortune 500 companies, but now he's looking to also work with smaller companies and non-profit organizations. He's worked really hard to market his brand, and it's finally starting to pay off. But where does he take the business from here? Brad wonders, "Well, if you were one of your clients, what would you tell them to do?" Ruben has a clear vision of where he wants to go, but he's trying to work out the path to get there. He knows that he doesn't have to focus on the little things in business (he has an employee to whom he can hand off tasks!). Ultimately, he wants to establish himself as a thought leader. The good news is that his business is doing well, so Brad suggests that if he wants to take on a business partner, he has to be careful because partnerships can be tricky. If he wants to become part of a larger company, the advantage is that he can get access to larger clients, but he needs to get to know the culture first. Find a place that will value his creativity. However, he might get the largest traction for his ultimate goal by just simply reaching out and saying that he's available for speaking and writing opportunities, and looking for possible projects to collaborate on. "Saying no to this one is saying yes to the next one that might work." - BradJill and Brad then discuss the top 5 ways to plan for a long break:
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Tue, 5 December 2017
What’s In This Episode:Did you ever work with a workaholic? Jill did, and it was not fun. Brad considers himself to be a recovering workaholic, and now operates under the assumption that if you don't answer e-mails right away, the world won't end. Michael Asare of FeeBelly calls in for help on how to convert the free users of his app to paid users. Jill suggests that Michael is giving too many keywords away on the free version, and so he can cut back on that and offer more information on the paid version. Brad says that for a B2C user who doesn't need to go through pages of loan documents every month, it may be worth it to have a one-time price for one document instead of someone who doesn't want to pay for a monthly subscription. "Get some rest so that you can be more creative." - BradJill and Brad then discuss the top 5 ways taking time off makes you a better business owner:
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Tue, 28 November 2017
What’s In This Episode:Jill and Brad are continuing their series on taking time off. They discuss Thanksgiving, and neither believes that visiting family counts as a vacation. They don't think the occasion is bad, but Brad can't really talk about business while he's around his family, and Jill has to explain to hers why she doesn't eat turkey. She says that, as a vegan, sides are where it's at anyway. And she's making a supposedly delicious vegan pumpkin cheesecake, so maybe desserts are a close runner-up. "Why are we encouraging working on a Saturday? Why isn't it Small Business Wednesday?" - JillThey then talk about Small Business Saturday, which was created by American Express to get more people to shop local ... and therefore, get more of a percentage from the transaction. Jill has to admit that the marketing is clever. After all, it's not every day small business owners get to celebrate themselves. Brad's conflicted because it does get people to shop local, but it was created in self-interest which benefits a big corporation. "Boredom does good things for your brain." - BradJill and Brad then discuss the top 5 ways taking time off makes you a better person:
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Tue, 21 November 2017
What’s In This Episode:Jill and Brad are still talking about taking time off, 'cause business owners NEED it. They ponder the longest they went without taking a vacation. For Jill, her longest span was 2 years. Brad went 4 years without taking a bonafide vacation. If it's been more than six months, please, please, please book a vacation (or a staycation, or just a break where you don't do work). You need it. "If you start small, you might accomplish all of the things you want to do." - JillAmelia Forczak of Pithy Wordsmithery calls in and has two related problems. She wants to be able to help the clients who reach out, but who can't make the investment that ghostwriting a book calls for. Secondly, she needs to figure out how to make her business scalable. She's thinking of starting a course for people to write and edit books on their own, but she doesn't quite know how to begin. Jill's advice: start small. Brad says that if she coaches clients to do the work, then that serves as practice for the eventual course Amelia wants to create. Overall, though, she needs to decide what market she wants to serve. "I hope you get rich. And when you do, send us 5%." - BradJill and Brad then discuss the top 5 excuses for not taking time off:
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Tue, 14 November 2017
What’s In This Episode:Who needs a break? Jill 'n Brad are on a mission to make sure that business owners take more time off. Jill thinks that some people don't want to take time off because they don't want to miss anything (FOMO, anyone?). Others fear that the business won't survive without them. Or worse, people think that their customers will hate them if they take time for themselves. Brad also points out that it takes so much momentum to get started again once you've gone away for a little bit. "You have to connect the dots and make sure that I know that if I'm spending money on you, you're going to improve my ROI." - JillRenee Epstein and Lisette Kreuzer of B-Well Wellness Events started their business three years ago and have been doing well in their primary market. They want to branch out and do more corporate events, so they ask Jill and Brad how to get more exposure. Jill suggests that they make a good 30-second video to avoid having 17 pages of e-mail testimonials in order to pitch to the right people, and follow up repeatedly. Brad says that corporate stuff always takes time to come to fruition because it needs to get onto budgets. He also points out that even if you have a contact in the business, or names of people on your lists, they may not be the right people to talk to. So you need to find a way in and then get to the person who cares. Lastly, he suggests they may want to check out wellness fairs (that's where that video would do REALLY well). "It's like walking in a forest where you realize that you're a very small part of this large thing." - BradJill and Brad then discuss the top 5 reasons you need more time off:
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Tue, 7 November 2017
What’s In This Episode:What are your bad habits? For Jill, she says yes to things she doesn't need to say yes to (coffee dates can wait). Brad overschedules himself and has too many piles of papers on his desk. And while they both agree that social media is a bad habit, Jill thinks that's sort of a necessary evil for small business owners. "I'm really good at pretending that things are going well in certain areas when they're not." - JillMuhga Eltigani, creator of the fresh fruit hair care line NaturAll Club, calls in to ask how to expand her product line. Customers are asking for more product and since she promotes a subscription-based service, she's wondering how to best launch new product. On top of that, her product is refrigerated which might add a logistical problem. Brad suggests she uses a line of credit to introduce new products to select customers. This way her inventory doesn't get crazy. Jill suggests pre-orders, but Muhga is worried that they might not be able to fulfill the orders within a certain timeframe. The easiest way to get money is to sell things to people who already buy from you, and you don't need to tell them a timeframe - if they want the product, they'll wait for it. "It's okay to adjust your scope to their budget, but you can't give away the whole shebang." - BradJill and Brad then discuss the top 5 things you should do less often:
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Tue, 31 October 2017
What’s In This Episode:What do you believe in? Jill believes in the gut-check. Brad believes in giving in any interaction - that a client or a prospect walked away with more than they came with. Both are essential to business. "As a business gets bigger, your gut gets disconnected with what's happening in the business." - BradJared Hecht, superstar to his 11-month-old son and tech guru, calls in to talk about his new startup, Fundera. He's really proud of what Fundera has accomplished, and how they're helping people all across the country with small-business pitfalls. But he has a problem with hiring. Since the company is located in NYC, it's hard to compete dollar-for-dollar with the bigger-name companies out there (Facebook, Google, the list goes on). They want the best talent. Brad and Jill suggest that he look at the areas he can compete: the mission, the autonomy involved in changing people's lives - which you might not be getting at a major company - and the mindset of employees when it comes to workplace culture and recognition. "If you're able to create a fun story that your PR team will go out and tell, people will gravitate toward applying to you." - JillJill and Brad then discuss the top 5 things you should never quit doing:
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Tue, 24 October 2017
What’s In This Episode: Does practice make perfect? Brad seems to think so. Not only because we practice, but because the benefit increases the more we do something. Jill agrees, especially when it comes to business: the operations and managerial tasks get easier, as well as figuring out how to pitch properly so that you get a response! In fact, that might be the difference between a bad entrepreneur and a good one. "Good entrepreneurs pay attention and aren't mindlessly doing the same thing over and over again." - Jill Author and teacher Kimberly Johnson calls into the show because she doesn't have enough time and she's not the best at delegating. Brad says that you need to make a list - who can do things for you? Then write down procedures. Furthermore, Jill says to put a timeframe on it. If you write down 5 things, pick the first item and say, "I'm handing this off in the next 12 hours." And when you hand things off, you're actually allowing people to share in your success. "You're more likely to get referrals the fifth time you ask than the first time you ask." - Brad Jill and Brad then discuss the top 5 things that are better the more frequently you do them: E-mail marketing. The more frequently you e-mail, the more people respond. Listener question: Will asks, "Do you have any tips for taking a break from your business due to moving?" Think about your clients. Will they go anywhere? You can bring on contractors to cover some things for you. Phone calls can be done from the road. Guest: Kimberly Johnson is the author of The Start of Something BIG:: Your Ultimate Guide to Writing a Dynamic Business Plan, now in its second edition. She founded U3I, a management and marketing consulting firm which provides business development, project management, and management/technical assistance to small, medium, and large private businesses, government agencies and not-for-profit organizations.
Direct download: Breaking20Down20Your20Business20EP20229.mp3
Category:Business -- posted at: 11:00am CDT |