Breaking Down Your Business | Small Business | Business Owners | Entrepreneurship | Leadership

What’s In This Episode:

Do you remember your favorite manager? What made them so great? Jill and Brad swap stories.

"I like trial by error." - Jill

Dr. Michelle Mazur calls in and tells Jill and Brad all about the 3 Word Rebellion, which also happens to be the title of her new book. The book's been doing really well, and she finds herself overwhelmed. Where does she begin to get more help in freeing her up so that she can focus on the business that the book is bringing in?

"It's not a job we ever signed up for, but we're in it." - Brad

Jill and Brad talk about whether they would consider themselves to be good managers and what that means. And if you want your business to grow, being a good manager is one of the ways to do it, Brad suggests.

Are you a good manager or do you want to be a better manager? 

Guest:

  • Dr. Michelle Mazur is the host of the Rebel Rising podcast, and the author of three books, including 3 Word Rebellion: Create A Message that Is Bigger than Your Business. She is the founder/CEO of Communication Rebel, helping change-making business owners, entrepreneurs and speakers become thought leaders by taking a stand with their 3-word rebellion.

Talk to us! Leave us a Google Voicemail or text us 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!

Direct download: Breaking_Down_Your_Business_EP_303.mp3
Category:Business -- posted at: 2:00am CDT

What’s In This Episode:

It's everyone's favorite topic: hiring! But why do business owners hate hiring?

"This isn't who we are; what's going on?" - Brad

Alex Membrillo is a Forbes expert, speaker, and digital marketer. His problem is that his A-team is complacent. How can he get everyone motivated again? When everyone was motivated, his team was doing things that intrigued and interested them. By looking at values and identity, and examining friendship and inspiration, changes can be made.

"We've all convinced ourselves it's a crapshoot." - Jill

Brad finds that a lot of business owners won't hire until they absolutely need to. Jill says that yes, every business owner has had a bad hiring experience and hiring isn't something that's really talked about when people launch businesses. Jill thinks it's luck, and Brad doesn't understand why people invest in sales and marketing, but not hiring.

Help Brad understand! As a business owner, do you hate hiring? Why? 

Guest:

  • Alex Membrillois the CEO of Cardinal, a digital marketing agency focused on growing multi-location companies. Membrillo’s innovative approach to digital marketing has transformed the industry and delivered remarkable results to clients of all sizes and markets. He has been featured in leading national publications including The Business Journals, Entrepreneur, Search Engine Journal, and The Wall Street Journal. He has also served as an expert speaker for conferences including the American Marketing Association, SouthWired, and Vistage Executive Leaders, where he spoke on his unique approach to Millennial Management to over 400 CEOs.
Direct download: Breaking_Down_Your_Business_EP_302.mp3
Category:Business -- posted at: 2:00am CDT

What’s In This Episode:

Brad's got an employee problem. He's got a great guy, company wouldn't be what it is without him, but there are some performance issues. He's late on assignments... basically, he's the worst.

Also, Brad is talking about himself.

"The type of people who become business owners are not very good at getting things done." - Brad

Brad's gotta handle some things on his own. He hired employees to help him, but he still doesn't get all the things he needs to get done in a timely manner.

Jill wants to know why he has to finish one task to move onto another. Maybe, she suggests, that's not how he works.

They talk about what it means to be the boss, how employers are generally bad employees (or not), and how maybe he should fire himself from the tasks he's not doing.

"I guess that's how the Kardashians are famous." - Jill

Producer Saul turns the tables and asks about publicity. Is there such a thing as bad publicity in podcasting?

Brad thinks there's such a thing as bad press, but people who hate you aren't part of that. Jill wonders if a review like that deters someone from listening. Saul says, if anything, it might make someone more interested.

How do you respond to dealing with your worst employee?

Direct download: Breaking_Down_Your_Business_EP_301.mp3
Category:Business -- posted at: 2:00am CDT

What’s In This Episode:

IT'S EPISODE 300!!!!! Jill and Brad go meta and talk about the podcast on the podcast.

"This podcast has made us Debbie Downers." - Jill

When Brad gets asked, "Should I create a podcast?" He always tells people no. Jill likened the experience of recording this podcast to running a marathon, where you expect everyone will cheer for you, but they don't all the time.

"We almost got made into a reality TV show." - Brad

They're always surprised when they hear back from anyone about the podcast. They've got 62 reviews -- and 60 of them are nice! And if you want to start a podcast but haven't yet, just be a podcast guest.

But if they haven't convinced you not to start a podcast:

  • think about the topic very carefully. Ideally, it should be something you have knowledge about and a passion for sharing.
  • don't think too much about the audio. Hire someone to do it for you.
  • make 10 podcast episodes - then throw them away. Then record 10 more.
  • but seriously. become a podcast guest. You'll learn how you sound to yourself and others, and how you interact on the fly. (Have you heard anyone speak as fast as JVN? Listen to Getting Curious)
  • Have an audience in mind.
  • Make sure that what you're putting out there is helpful.

How do you increase your creative output?

Direct download: Breaking_Down_Your_Business_EP_300.mp3
Category:Business -- posted at: 2:00am CDT

1