Small Business Naked Nick May & Johnny Erbert / Mammoth Enterprise

This week, we brought back one of our favorite guests to talk more about small business marketing:  Tim Reid from the Small Business BIG Marketing podcast.  Tim comes from a background of corporate marketing, but helps small businesses all over the world by encouraging them to take action.  Tim can often be found saying: "There has never been a better time to market a small business."  But before you market your business, you need to know your WHY and figure out WHAT your message is before you figure out WHERE to put it...and that is exactly what we talk about today.

https://youtu.be/tRfrJ-4iwJk

To listen to the entire interview, please visit us on iTunes or Stitcher or at our website, smallbusinessnaked.com.  Small Business Naked is one of the best free small business podcasts to listen to if you are an entrepreneur, a small business owner, or you are stuck working for The Man and are looking for small business ideas.  Please give us a review on iTunes and follow us on Facebook.

Ever want to know how to start a music school?  BUT, this is not your "normal" music school!
Today, Nick and Johnny Battle interview Danny Thompson who owns The Music Factory from Orange County California.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIgCnDJp2H4

We talked about how he got into owning a music school, how they found their focus, and what separates them from the competition.  They know what they know best, and they do it with style.  They also know who they are, and who they are not.  In small business, we have a hard time saying no to customers, but when you say no to some, you are able to say yes to exactly what kind of customer you want to work with, because they only have 11 teaching rooms, they need to find the students that will be there every time.

As we got into the business, we talk marketing.  Danny told us about online advertising, their referral program, building a new website, as well as tracking and ROI on marketing.

If you own a business that caters to parents or kids, there are some great lessons in here to learn.  Danny tells us how he has done it.  How he has learned what to do, and how to give good service.  He also mentioned how he has employed a software system to help manage his business that is specifically designed for dance and music schools.

Check out this video that they created with their students.  It's an Alice in Chains song!  This is not what I remember music to be like from my childhood.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HsuaDDz6y0

To listen to the entire interview, please visit us on iTunes or Stitcher or at our website, smallbusinessnaked.com.  Small Business Naked is one of the best free small business podcasts to listen to if you are an entrepreneur, a small business owner, or you are stuck working for The Man and are looking for small business ideas.  Please give us a review on iTunes and follow us on Facebook.

Summer of 2015 was hard on us, but WE'RE BACK!!

I hope you missed us.

In today's podcast we talk about how the wheels fell off for both of us this summer.  Some good, some bad.  This lead to a great discussion about managing a small business:  do you work on your business or in your business...OR both!  John has decided to take a step out, and let his team run the business without his constant input.  Nick has had to go the other direction and be more integral in the day-to-day due to his field manager leaving.  Both have experienced some new and interesting dynamics in their businesses.

Then we went on to talk about minimum wage and how to best compensate employees.  Some think raising the minimum wage to a liveable level is better, but we disagree.  We believe that it is better to pay someone more based on the value they bring to the business.  But businesses like Costco and The Container Store have have raised the bar, and have higher expectations on their employees, and so they just pay those team members more.  You get what you pay for I always say.

Look for a new podcast every OTHER week, as we are trying to set a feasible rhythm for the podcast moving forward.

We have some good stuff planned (and we talk about a little of it), so stay tuned the the Fall Season of Small Business Naked.

We are a little behind with getting episodes us, but today we talk about why that is the case.  This week, we talk frank.  Both are having a tough go in their businesses with employees, cash flow, hiring, retention, production, and just about anything related to people.  Maybe you can relate.    So often, all people want to talk about is how well their businesses are going, but if you have been in business a while, you know that is not always the case.  Hopefully we learn in the tough times and grow from it.

To listen to the entire interview, please visit us on iTunes or Stitcher or at our website, smallbusinessnaked.com.  Small Business Naked is one of the best free small business podcasts to listen to if you are an entrepreneur, a small business owner, or you are stuck working for The Man and are looking for small business ideas.  Please give us a review on iTunes and follow us on Facebook.

 

This week Johnny and Nick talk to Donnie Shelton from Triangle Pest Control in North Carolina.  Donnie has a unique story on getting into business ownership...the MBA cost too much and he thought killing bugs sounded better.  Now Donnie is a smart guy and a hard worker.

To listen to the entire interview, please visit us on iTunes or Stitcher or at our website, smallbusinessnaked.com. Small Business Naked is one of the best free small business podcasts to listen to if you are an entrepreneur, a small business owner, or you are stuck working for The Man and are looking for small business ideas.  Please give us a review on iTunes and follow us on Facebook.

On today's podcast of Small Business Naked, we talk about podcasting, working in and on your business, how to retain a employee, how different the United States is from Australia, and Johnny gets a really strange accent.

No, today, Nick is joined by Warrick Bidwell from The Tradies Business Show podcast.  Warrick is a co-host with Michaela Clark, and together they host a podcast dedicated to helping Tradies (tradesmen and women in Australia) get off the tools, and into real business ownership. Warrick is a business coach, speaker, and obviously a podcaster...and one good looking bloke!

Johnny is so slammed with work, that today, he had to get on the tools and away from the tools.  Maybe he needs to meet Warrick?  But in all seriousness, Johnny is just in the weeds, and I asked Warrick to come on the show and have a bit of a chin wag, as they say Down Under.

To listen to the entire interview, please visit us on iTunes or Stitcher or at our website, smallbusinessnaked.com. Small Business Naked is one of the best free small business podcasts to listen to if you are an entrepreneur, a small business owner, or you are stuck working for The Man and are looking for small business ideas.  Please give us a review on iTunes and follow us on Facebook.