7 MAY 2024 · This week, in episode 194, Shawn Busse, Jay Goltz, and Jaci Russo talk about the new rules that may—or may not—ban non-compete clauses, increase the number of employees who must be paid overtime, and eliminate TikTok in the U.S. How much would those changes matter to each of their businesses? What might the owners do differently? Do the changes make sense? And why does it so often seem as if it’s small businesses that get caught in the cross-fire when the government tries to rein in abusive big businesses? On the question of non-competes, Shawn says he thinks they are often used by lazy businesses that haven’t done the real work of building loyalty with employees and customers. Plus: Do Shawn, Jay, and Jaci ever regret starting a business? Have there been times when they’ve thought about packing it in and trying something else? And also, are the terms “business owner” and “entrepreneur” interchangeable? Or do they carry different connotations? Might there be a better term? Jay thinks there is.

6 MAY 2024 · This week, Shawn Busse talks about his belief that, for all kinds of understandable reasons, business owners have been fixated on marketing tactics that amount to a losing battle of digital trench warfare. Over time, he says, those tactics have come to cost more and return less. But there are alternatives, and Shawn takes us through some examples. Plus: Are there lessons for smaller businesses in Walmart’s decision to place a big bet on a premium line of food.

30 APR 2024 · The wrong way to make innovation happen, Ty Hagler says in this week’s special bonus episode, is to have a great idea and then go all-in trying to create it. That, he says, is a really expensive way to find out if your idea works. The right way to pursue innovation, he says, is to take your idea to customers so you can assess the pain points and opportunity spaces before proceeding. Hagler, who is founder and CEO of Trig, an innovation and design firm in North Carolina, also says he’s learned that the problem with focus groups is that the more people you have in the room, the less valuable the conversation tends to be. In fact, he says, one-on-one is best. He also says that brainstorming remotely can actually work better than in-person. Oh, and by the way, if your Mom tells you she loves your idea and will definitely buy your product as soon as it’s available, she’s probably lying.

29 APR 2024 · Okay, maybe not every business, but this week, Gene Marks tells us about a little known program in the Department of Defense that is dedicated to helping small businesses find contracting opportunities at all levels of government and even with prime contractors. The service is free, it includes one-on-one counseling, and the advisors will help you through every step of the often-frustrating application process. You might be surprised by the opportunities out there. Plus: Is inflation still a problem for business owners?

23 APR 2024 · This week, in episode 193, Sarah Segal takes Paul Downs and Jay Goltz through her recent QuickBooks nightmare. Right before tax season, Sarah ran her P&L, and it showed a profit of $250,000—but she knew right away that that couldn’t be right. It then took a bookkeeping SWAT team to figure out what exactly had gone wrong. “I was literally on the verge of tears,” Sarah tells us. “How am I going to do this and not be late on filing my taxes? And credit to this woman, who, I swear to God, was like my therapist and my bookkeeper. She was like, ‘Don't worry, Sarah. We're going to figure it out.’” Which they did—and which brings an important reminder: Not every dollar that comes in the door should be counted as revenue. Plus: What do you do when a new employee isn’t working out? When is the right time to intervene? Do performance improvement plans actually work? Are grace periods a good idea? Also: Jay emphasizes a little understood reason why it can be important to fire fast. And Paul explains what he likes about the AI search engine Perplexity.

22 APR 2024 · This week, Victor Hwang, who is founder and CEO of Right to Start, talks about what he and his organization are doing to bring down the barriers that make it harder than it has to be to start and build a business. Among other things, we discuss the state-by-state progress Right to Start has been making, the drivers behind the recent surge in business starts, and the need for capital sources beyond banks and venture capitalists.

16 APR 2024 · This week, in episode 192, special guest Jenelle Etzel, who majored in weaving, tells Shawn Busse, who majored in ceramics, why she believes attending art school and managing a punk rock band were perfect preparation for building a thriving real estate business. Her agency, Living Room Realty, has 130 brokers, roughly $5 million in revenue, and a market position that stands out among the big boys. While she once considered business a dirty word, she has embraced entrepreneurship and learned lots of important lessons, mostly through trial and error. For one, she figured out that there was a segment of the housing market—or the potential housing market—that more traditional brokers were ignoring. She also figured out, somewhat counterintuitively, that her real customers aren’t the people who buy and sell homes. Her real customers, she says, are her brokers, who happen to be independent contractors: “I can't tell anybody what to do,” Jenelle tells us. “So it's like being a politician, in a way. I've got a lot of responsibility with very little authority, and that's an interesting leadership challenge.”

15 APR 2024 · This week, Shawn Busse talks about how much harder marketing keeps getting, especially for do-it-yourselfers. The cost of everything keeps going up, and the likely returns keep going down. As Shawn points out, it’s even getting expensive to advertise on podcasts. Wait! People pay to advertise on podcasts!!!!????

9 APR 2024 · This week, in episode 191, Liz Picarazzi, Jaci Russo, and Laura Zander talk about what it’s been like building a business in partnership with a spouse, and they all agree on some important things. For one, they all say that, had their husband been just another employee, he probably would have been fired. All three say that in their relationships, they are the gas that drives the business, and their husband is the brake that sometimes keeps them out of trouble and sometimes frustrates their entrepreneurial instincts. And all three agree that some things are best left undiscussed. For example, says Jaci: “Michael doesn’t even know what we make. He also doesn't know what any of the employees make.” But the three CEOs also agree on this: In the final cost-benefit analysis, they wouldn’t want to build a business any other way.

2 APR 2024 · This week, in episode 190, Jay Goltz tells Shawn Busse and Jaci Russo that, while he’s always been good with numbers, he’s never really enjoyed tracking his finances. It’s not what drove him to start a business, and over time, he stopped paying close attention. But now, after seeing his inventory levels and some big expenses get out of control, he’s diving back into the numbers and pretty much serving as his own chief financial officer, something he says he should have been doing all along. Plus: Shawn explains how one book and a specialized accounting firm and a monthly routine have gotten him comfortable with his numbers. And Jaci says it took years for her to learn to ignore the accountants who always gave her the same advice: Cut expenses. Instead, she tells us, “We've spent the past probably eight years really right-sizing what we charge. And now I feel like I can breathe.”