The How of Business - How to start, run, grow and exit a small business.

Henry Lopez
  • 4.7 (504)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Weekly

The How of Business - how to start, run and grow a small business - is a weekly show for aspiring Entrepreneurs and existing Small Business Owners. If you are looking for actionable advice, tips and techniques on how to start (including launching or buying your first small business), run and grow your small business, this is the podcast for you! In each episode we either discuss a business topic, or interview an existing small business owner or business service provider. The How of Business is hosted by Henry Lopez who shares the knowledge and experience he has acquired over his corporate and entrepreneurial careers.

  1. 1h ago

    Closing the Knowing-Doing Gap with Shawn Feurer

    Why small business owners know what to do but still don't do it: Shawn Feurer, creator of the Inner Blueprint, explains how the beliefs behind your decisions shape your results, and how to change them. Show Notes Page: https://www.thehowofbusiness.com/626-closing-the-knowledge-doing-gap/  Experienced small business owners know exactly what to do, but still don't do it. They know they need to raise prices, let go of the wrong person, hire a new one, or bring in a coach, and yet something holds them back. Shawn Feurer calls this the knowing-doing gap, and he says it isn't caused by a lack of information. We have AI, Google, and YouTube at our fingertips. The gap is caused by the subconscious beliefs, or set points, that were programmed into us long before we started our businesses. Shawn spent 20 years in his family's home improvement business in Salt Lake City and later became a top coach at a business coaching company working with 70 companies. Across all of them, he saw the same pattern: the right processes, the right best practices, and owners who still got in their own way. After losing nearly everything about 10 years ago, he studied under Bob Proctor and went on to create the Inner Blueprint. In this conversation, Henry and Shawn talk about why only about 5% of our mind is conscious, while the other 95% runs on programmed beliefs, habits, and experiences. Those beliefs set the limits on money, health, and relationships, the three areas Shawn calls the power trifecta. That's why "just work harder" so often fails. As Shawn puts it, if you suffer from not enough time, not enough money, not enough you, "that's a program on the inside. You can't outwork that." Shawn shares a simple exercise to reset your money set point: take the most you've ever made, double it, divide it by 12, and make it a monthly affirmation. He also explains why you should forget about the how until you have the belief, and why committing to 30 minutes of daily mindset work is what separates people who change from people who stay stuck. Key Takeaways: - The knowing-doing gap is a belief problem, not an information problem. If you know what to do and aren't doing it, a limiting belief is in the way. - Awareness is the first step. Pause and ask: I know I should be doing this, so why am I not doing it? - Working harder can't fix "not enough." That feeling is a program on the inside. - Set your number by doubling it. Take the most you've ever made and 2x it; a 10x goal invites resistance. - Forget about the how at first. Starting with the how keeps you inside the limits of your current thinking. - Interested is not the same as committed. Change takes consistent, daily repetition. - E + R = O. You can't control events, but you can choose your response and change the outcome. How to get started: - Rate yourself from 1 to 10 on finances, health and wellness, and relationships, and define what a 10 looks like for you. - Write a monthly money affirmation based on doubling your best year. - Listen for the voices that push back, and answer them with "I am" statements. - Commit to 30 minutes a day: a big goal, affirmations, and gratitude. About Shawn Feurer: Shawn Feurer has spent more than 20 years helping business owners, executives, and leadership teams break through the invisible barriers that limit growth. He is the creator of the Inner Blueprint, a framework built on the principles of Think and Grow Rich that helps leaders identify and change the subconscious patterns driving their results, and host of the Inner Blueprint podcast. This episode is hosted by Henry Lopez. The How of Business podcast focuses on helping you start, run, grow and exit your small business. The How of Business is a top-rated podcast for small business owners and entrepreneurs. Find the best podcast, small business coaching, resources and trusted service partners for small business owners and entrepreneurs at our website https://TheHowOfBusiness.com

  2. Oct 26

    The Time Value of Money

    Time value of money for small business owners: why waiting to pay cash can cost you far more than the interest on the right loan. Show Notes Page: https://www.thehowofbusiness.com/625-time-value-of-money/ Paying cash for everything is great personal finance advice, but in business, it can be the very thing that keeps you small. Henry Lopez explains the time value of money and why leverage is a key to entrepreneurship. In this episode of The How of Business, Henry goes one level deeper than episode 566, "Good Debt, Bad Debt," into the why behind smart business borrowing. With a simple example, he shows why putting all cash in, or waiting until you have the cash, can give you the worst return, even after paying interest on a loan. Henry starts with a practical test: something is an asset if it generates income, and we should only borrow to build or buy assets. A profitable small business is an asset. He also shares Harvard professor Howard Stevenson's definition of entrepreneurship: "the pursuit of opportunity beyond resources controlled." By that definition, entrepreneurs go after opportunities bigger than the cash they have. The core idea is simple. A dollar today is worth more than a dollar in the future. Henry walks through a $100,000 piece of equipment that produces $30,000 a year in added profit. Paid in all cash, it returns 30% cash-on-cash. Put 20% down and finance the rest at 9%, and the return on your cash rises to 50%, even after the loan payments, while you keep $80,000 for working capital or the next opportunity. Then there's the cost of waiting. Saving for five years to pay cash means giving up roughly $150,000 in profit to avoid about $19,600 in interest. As Henry puts it, "Borrowing is buying time." The biggest cost isn't interest. It's waiting. Key takeaways: - Your personal finance mindset can hold your business back. - Only borrow to build or buy assets that generate income. - A dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow. - Measure your cash-on-cash return, not just the interest you pay. - Waiting has a cost: the profit you don't earn while you save. - Never borrow to fix a broken business model. - Know your debt capacity: many lenders look for a debt service coverage ratio of at least 1.25. - Be clear-eyed about the risk, including personal guarantees on SBA loans. Before your next growth decision, ask three questions: Am I building an asset? What does waiting cost me? Do I have the capacity to borrow? This episode is hosted by Henry Lopez. The How of Business podcast focuses on helping you start, run, grow and exit your small business. The How of Business is a top-rated podcast for small business owners and entrepreneurs. Find the best podcast, small business coaching, resources and trusted service partners for small business owners and entrepreneurs at our website https://TheHowOfBusiness.com

  3. Oct 19

    Conscious Listening for Business Leaders with Julian Treasure

    Conscious listening for leaders: Julian Treasure explains why poor listening costs businesses trillions and the simple habits that fix it. Show Notes Page: https://www.thehowofbusiness.com/624-julian-treasure-conscious-listening/ Conscious listening is the leadership skill most business owners never practice, and Julian Treasure explains what poor listening costs your team and your bottom line, plus simple habits like RASA and "tell me more" that you can use to listen better starting today. Julian Treasure, author, international keynote speaker, and one of the most watched TED speakers of all time, returns to The How of Business to show small business owners why listening is a skill, not a given, and how to get better at it. Most of us think we're good listeners. Almost nobody is. Julian calls this "the wall of denial." Because we treat listening as part of being a nice person, few of us ever see it as something we can practice. That gap is costly. When leaders don't listen, their teams disengage, miscommunication grows, and good people leave. In this episode of The How of Business, Henry Lopez is joined by Julian Treasure to explore the other half of communication: listening. It's why most leaders, including small business leaders, are not doing it well, what that can cost us, and how to fix it. This episode is hosted by Henry Lopez. The How of Business podcast focuses on helping you start, run, grow and exit your small business. The How of Business is a top-rated podcast for small business owners and entrepreneurs. Find the best podcast, small business coaching, resources and trusted service partners for small business owners and entrepreneurs at our website https://TheHowOfBusiness.com

  4. Oct 12

    How Language Shapes Business Perceptions with Daniel Hieber

    The way we speak, from formality and filler words to conversation styles and accents, shapes how customers, employees, and job candidates see us, and linguist Daniel Hieber explains how small business owners can recognize those perceptions and communicate more effectively. Show Notes Page: https://www.thehowofbusiness.com/r428-daniel-hieber-language-perception/ Research linguist Daniel Hieber, founder of Linguistic Discovery, shows small business owners how the way we speak shapes how others see us, and how to use that awareness to lead, sell, and hire more effectively. Every interaction in your business runs on language: a sales call, a customer complaint, a new hire's first day, an email to a client. How formal we are, how we take turns in a conversation, how direct we are, and how we sound all send signals. Most of us read those signals without realizing it. For a small business owner, a misread can strain a customer relationship, create friction on a small team, or cost you a great hire. In this episode of The How of Business, Henry Lopez is joined by Daniel Hieber to look at linguistics, the study of human language, as a small business topic. Henry calls it "a completely different topic than I've ever addressed over 400-plus episodes." Danny got hooked on languages as a kid. He learned Spanish, Latin, and Swahili, studied abroad in Kenya, and found linguistics in a William & Mary course catalog. He knew right away: "That's what I'm doing with the rest of my life." He spent five years with Rosetta Stone's Endangered Language Program, earned his PhD at UC Santa Barbara, and works today with the Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana to revitalize their once-dormant language. Danny opens by rejecting the idea that language works differently at work and in social settings. "Business is a social context," he says. All day long we move between formal and informal registers, adjusting to the person, the relationship, and even the room. Problems start when two people read the situation differently. A small business owner may keep things casual to welcome a new hire, while that new hire, nervous on day one, is actually looking for structure. The same thing happens with conversation styles. High-involvement speakers jump in to show they're engaged. High-considerateness speakers wait their turn. Each can read the other as rude or disengaged. Even filler words have a job: they signal you have more to say. Henry shares how his direct South Florida style came across as brusque to customers in Texas, and how he learned to "speak toward" the point. Accents raise the biggest blind spots. Danny cites studies in which people were turned away based only on how they sounded, often by people who didn't realize they were doing it. He reminds us that everybody speaks with an accent, and that an accent says little about education or ability. The conversation closes on writing, which Danny treats differently from speech. Standard written conventions matter for credibility, and they can be taught. As Danny puts it: "Your attitudes about the way people speak are never really attitudes about language. They're always attitudes about people." This episode is hosted by Henry Lopez. The How of Business podcast focuses on helping you start, run, grow and exit your small business. The How of Business is a top-rated podcast for small business owners and entrepreneurs. Find the best podcast, small business coaching, resources and trusted service partners for small business owners and entrepreneurs at our website https://TheHowOfBusiness.com

  5. Oct 5

    From Home Kitchen to Seven Figures with Addison LaBonte

    How Addison LaBonte launched Sweet Addison's - a desert brand specializing in gluten-free and dairy-free cookies and brownies. Addison shares how she built an audience before launching her first product, bootstrapped without giving up equity, and grew her brand to seven figures in its first full year. Show Notes Page: https://www.thehowofbusiness.com/623-addison-labonte-seven-figures/ Many entrepreneurs start with the product and hope the customers follow. Addison did it the other way around. She spent years building a following online and becoming a trusted authority. When she finally launched, she already had customers asking for her product. That approach isn't required, but as she puts it, "If you have it, you're going to get a jump start, for sure." In this episode of The How of Business podcast, Henry Lopez is joined by Addison LaBonte to explore how she launched and grew Sweet Addison's. They cover audience building, an MVP launch, pricing, landing wholesale accounts, and the mental toll of the startup years. Addison never expected to become an entrepreneur. She majored in mathematics, worked in finance, and planned to follow her mother into a CFO role. After college she was a Division One soccer player at the University of Maine. While training for her first marathon she was diagnosed with compartment syndrome. Within three days of going gluten-free she could run normally again. She started the Instagram account Organically Addison to share what she learned, and then her "25 Days of Christmas Cookies" series went mega viral, and people all over the country started asking to buy her cookies. She spent 2023 getting ready to launch. That September she was unexpectedly laid off, which she calls "the biggest blessing in disguise." She launched Sweet Addison's in January 2024 with one product: a chocolate chip cookie that took 27 recipe variations to get right. She took an MVP or iterative approach, listening to that feedback and then adjusting. Her audience asked for brownies, so she launched them in month three, and they quickly outsold the cookies. Addison bootstrapped the business, still owns 100% of it, and has cash flowed from day one. She didn't write a business plan. She studied competitors' price per ounce and worked back from her cost of goods sold. Most of her wholesale accounts have come to her as inbound leads. For founders trying to get on shelves, her advice is to be "relational instead of transactional," and to remember that "no one is going to be a better salesperson than the founder." The hardest part wasn't physical. It was the mental battle of 18-hour days, and there were months when she didn't even see the sun. What kept her going was taking the emphasis off herself and putting it on the customers she serves. This episode is hosted by Henry Lopez. The How of Business podcast focuses on helping you start, run, grow and exit your small business. The How of Business is a top-rated podcast for small business owners and entrepreneurs. Find the best podcast, small business coaching, resources and trusted service partners for small business owners and entrepreneurs at our website https://TheHowOfBusiness.com

  6. Sep 28

    Getting Started with Claude Code & Agentic AI

    Getting started with Claude Code and agentic AI doesn't require a technical background, as Henry Lopez and applied AI specialist Colin Rhoades explain the shift from AI chatbots to AI agents that complete tasks for your small business. Show Notes Page: https://www.thehowofbusiness.com/622-claude-code-agentic-ai/ You don't need a technical background, or to have ever written a line of code, to get started with agentic AI. Henry Lopez is joined again by his son-in-law Colin Rhoades, a corporate AI and data analytics specialist, for a primer on the shift from AI chatbots to AI agents that can actually get work done for your small business. Most business owners have tried ChatGPT, Claude Chat, or Gemini by now, and those tools are genuinely useful.  But there's a newer, less familiar layer: Agentic AI, tools that don't just answer a question but go do the work to implement it. Understanding the difference, and knowing how to take the first step, matters right now, because the businesses that start experimenting are the ones that will get the leverage first. Colin's analogy captures the shift well: chatbot AI is like having a very smart consultant or research assistant at your fingertips, while agentic AI is more like giving that consultant a desk, access to your tools, and an assignment to go do. An AI chat gives you answers. Agentic AI gets things done. The clearest example in the episode is Henry's daughter Makena's business, Final Curtain Finishing, a needlepoint finishing service with a Shopify ecommerce site. Native Shopify isn't built for configured products, so the site needed custom HTML code. Makena has no coding background, but using ChatGPT and then Claude Code, she generated that code herself with plain English instructions. This was work that otherwise would have cost thousands of dollars in outside development. Now that Claude Code is connected directly to her Shopify account through a connector, it can read the site's configuration and make changes on its own based on her instructions. That connection is the real unlock: Agentic AI plugged into or connected to your systems (a CRM, email, a Shopify store, QuickBooks) can do its own lookups and extracts instead of you exporting reports and pasting screenshots into a chat window. Colin saw this firsthand the first week he connected Claude Code to his company's CRM: the manual process of finding a report, exporting it, and cleaning the data disappeared, and he could go straight to deciding what the data meant. But getting started doesn't mean diving in blind. Henry and Colin both stress starting with controlled access and a human in the loop, the same way you'd onboard a new employee, and expanding autonomy only as trust builds. As Colin put it, "the goal isn't AI can do everything, it's having an AI that you can trust to do one defined task well." And getting started is simpler than it sounds: pick one repetitive task you already understand, document it (even just by speaking it into Claude), and teach the AI that one process first. This episode is hosted by Henry Lopez. The How of Business podcast focuses on helping you start, run, grow and exit your small business. The How of Business is a top-rated podcast for small business owners and entrepreneurs. Find the best podcast, small business coaching, resources and trusted service partners for small business owners and entrepreneurs at our website https://TheHowOfBusiness.com

  7. Sep 21

    5 Reasons NOT to Start a Small Business

    Five common reasons not to start a small business yet, from escaping a bad boss to fearing sales, give aspiring entrepreneurs a readiness check before they quit their job and put their savings at risk. Show Notes Page: https://www.thehowofbusiness.com/621-5-reasons-not-to-start/ Part of helping you start a small business is helping you decide if and when you should start one, and these five reasons not to start a small business yet will help you go in with your eyes wide open. The reality is that about one in five new businesses with employees closes in the first year, and about half are gone within five years, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In his years of coaching aspiring business owners, Henry has found that those who struggle most very often started for the wrong reasons, or before they were ready. As he puts it, it's best to know before you take that leap, before you make that investment and sacrifice, rather than end up completely frustrated or even financially ruined. In this episode of The How of Business, Henry Lopez shares the top five reasons not to start a small business yet. Each one comes with a question to ask yourself and what to do instead. "I'm not here to talk you out of starting your first small business," Henry says. "I just want you to go in with your eyes wide open." Five Reasons NOT to Start a Small Business: 1) You mainly want to escape your bad job or your horrible boss. Am I running from something or toward something? 2) You're following your passion. Is there a business here that customers will pay for, or is this just something I love doing? 3) You can't afford it yet. Do I have the runway without risking my family's financial security? 4) You can't handle uncertainty or pressure. How do I really react when things are uncertain and it's all on me? 5) You hate or you're afraid of selling. Am I willing to ask people for their money? This episode is hosted by Henry Lopez. The How of Business podcast focuses on helping you start, run, grow and exit your small business. The How of Business is a top-rated podcast for small business owners and entrepreneurs. Find the best podcast, small business coaching, resources and trusted service partners for small business owners and entrepreneurs at our website https://TheHowOfBusiness.com

  8. Sep 14

    The Trust Factor

    How to Build Trust Fast. Trust runs every small business relationship. One simple formula, the trust equation, shows small business owners how to earn it faster without faking it. Show Notes Page: https://www.thehowofbusiness.com/620-the-trust-factor/ On this short episode Henry Lopez shares his thoughts and experiences related to why trust matters so much in business relationships, and one variable or technique that can have significant positive impact on how quickly people trust you. People don't buy from, partner with, or make deals with people they don't trust. That's often true even when you have the better product or the better price. Most small businesses don't have a big brand name doing the work for them. The owner or a key employee is the face of the business, and word of mouth and referrals, the lifeblood of new opportunities, depend on trust. The challenge is that trust takes time to build. You often get only one sales call, one first meeting, or one negotiation to start. In this episode of The How of Business, Henry Lopez explains the trust equation from The Trusted Advisor by David Maister, Charles Green, and Robert Galford. Henry taught this book throughout his sales training and enablement career. He also covers the one variable in the equation that can speed up trust more than any other. The formula is simple. Trustworthiness equals credibility plus reliability plus intimacy, divided by self-orientation. Credibility asks, "Can I believe what you say?" Reliability asks, "Can I count on you to do what you say?" Intimacy asks, "Do I feel safe sharing my real problem, budget, and concerns with you?" Self-orientation asks, "Whose interests are you really focused on?" This episode is hosted by Henry Lopez. The How of Business podcast focuses on helping you start, run, grow and exit your small business. The How of Business is a top-rated podcast for small business owners and entrepreneurs. Find the best podcast, small business coaching, resources and trusted service partners for small business owners and entrepreneurs at our website https://TheHowOfBusiness.com

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The How of Business - how to start, run and grow a small business - is a weekly show for aspiring Entrepreneurs and existing Small Business Owners. If you are looking for actionable advice, tips and techniques on how to start (including launching or buying your first small business), run and grow your small business, this is the podcast for you! In each episode we either discuss a business topic, or interview an existing small business owner or business service provider. The How of Business is hosted by Henry Lopez who shares the knowledge and experience he has acquired over his corporate and entrepreneurial careers.

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