Business Brain – The Entrepreneurs’ Podcast

Shannon Jean & Dave Hamilton

5.0 (66)
Entrepreneurship
Updated Weekly

Two long-time small-business owners, Dave Hamilton and Shannon Jean, come to you each week to talk through the trials, success, pitfalls and tips it takes to successfully run a small business in today’s world. Hear real-world folks talk about real-world problems, letting you know not only what it takes to get it done but that you’re not alone in doing it!

2d ago

FridAI - Muse and AI Dumbing Down

In this episode of Business Brain, we dive into Muse, the new agent-first AI platform that does things for you instead of just answering questions. You’ll hear why QuickBooks and Shopify are opening their doors to it while Amazon is shutting it out, how we think about security when connecting an agent to your email, and why you own every mistake your agent makes, just like you would with a human assistant. Connect it to Slack, Zoom, and Notion, and your morning dashboard practically builds itself. Then Dave raises a concern that’s not the one you’d expect: he’s learning less now than he was six months ago, and he can draw a straight line to AI. We debate whether that’s a real problem or just the calculator argument all over again, what it means for the people who won’t adapt, and whether we’re headed for a new renaissance. The question for your Charmed Life: are we learning less with AI, or just learning differently? 00:00:00 Business Brain – The Entrepreneurs’ Podcast #795 for Casual FridAI, October 9th, 2026 October 9th: Curious Events Day 00:01:56 Muse (vs. Instinct) Amazon blocks Muse Shopify lets Muse in 00:11:12 SPONSOR: Eleven Labs: ElevenAgents can help build experiences that your customers will actually love. If you handle customer interactions, you can start with a demo at https://elevenlabs.io/businessbrain 00:13:25 SPONSOR: Hims. With Wegovy® at Hims, lose up to 20% of your body weight when combined with diet and exercise. Visit https://hims.com/businessbrain to get a personalized, affordable plan that gets you. 00:14:56 Dave has some concerns about AI Mark Cuban says there are 2 types of AI users: you’re either using it to ‘learn everything’ or ‘so you don’t have to learn anything’ Optimus Robots 00:30:58 Business Brain 795 Outtro This Episode’s Big Takeway: Are we learning less with AI? Or just learning differently? Check out Business Brain Blueprints Tell Your Friends! Business Blueprints Review Business Brain Subscribe to the show feedback@businessbrain.show Call/Text: (567) 274-6977 X/Twitter: @ShannonJean & @DaveHamilton, & @BizBrainShow LinkedIn: Shannon Jean, Dave Hamilton, & Business Brain Facebook: Dave Hamilton, Shannon Jean, & Business Brain The post FridAI – Muse and AI Dumbing Down – Business Brain 795 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.
4d ago

Review Inflation + Intentional Deprioritization

In this episode of Business Brain, we tackle the broken five-star review system and why it holds your business hostage. You’ll hear how Airbnb can pull a listing that dips below 4.3 stars, why five stars has become the baseline instead of the ceiling, and why responsiveness, not perfection, is what earns you those top marks. We also dig into Airbnb shifting fees onto hosts, the growing push to book direct, and why the contractor who never calls back is about to get their lunch eaten by competitors using AI to respond instantly. Then we get into intentional deprioritization. You can’t grow everything at once, so why not choose what lives in maintenance mode instead of letting it happen by accident? We share how a monthly check-in on what gets your focus, and an honest look back at the last 30 days, can lift the mental load that wakes you up at 2 a.m. Make room to think, wander through your projects, and get back to living your Charmed Life. 00:00:00 Business Brain – The Entrepreneurs’ Podcast #794 for Wednesday, October 7th, 2026 October 7th: National LED Light Day 00:03:41 Revisiting 5-Star Reviews on AirBnB On AirBnB anything less than 4.3 stars gets you delisted 5-Star Reviews on Business Brain 00:07:29 Responsive hosts are the key Elk View at Tahoe 00:13:57 SPONSOR: Eleven Labs: ElevenAgents can help build experiences that your customers will actually love. If you handle customer interactions, you can start with a demo at https://elevenlabs.io/businessbrain 00:16:07 SPONSOR: Hims. With Wegovy® at Hims, lose up to 20% of your body weight when combined with diet and exercise. Visit https://hims.com/businessbrain to get a personalized, affordable plan that gets you. 00:17:40 Intentional de-prioritization Managing your own mental load Leave some free time for creative business thinking Pebble Ring 00:25:57 feedback@businessbrain.show 00:26:21 Business Brain 794 Outtro This Episode’s Big Takeway: Learn to lesson your mental load with intentional deprioritization Check out Business Brain Blueprints Tell Your Friends! Business Blueprints Review Business Brain Subscribe to the show feedback@businessbrain.show Call/Text: (567) 274-6977 X/Twitter: @ShannonJean & @DaveHamilton, & @BizBrainShow LinkedIn: Shannon Jean, Dave Hamilton, & Business Brain Facebook: Dave Hamilton, Shannon Jean, & Business Brain The post Review Inflation + Intentional Deprioritization – Business Brain 794 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.
Oct 2

FridAI - The What am I Missing Prompt

In this Casual FridAI episode of Business Brain, we kick off National Body Language Day with a reminder that your business should keep evolving until its current version is its best one. Then Shannon shares his favorite prompt for getting beyond your own brain: what am I missing? Left alone, AI inherits your biases and tells you what you want to hear. Push it past your blind spots and it will surface things like sponsor categories you’d never considered, or a consulting contract where everyone was indemnified except you. Dave takes it a step further: hire yourself an AI agent. Give it a name and its own inbox, then forward it the maybe-opportunities you’d normally delete. It follows up on your behalf and only pulls you in when it matters. If it speaks out of turn, you step in and smooth things over, just like you would with a human hire. You chase down more leads without spending more of your time, and that’s the Charmed Life. Get Business Blueprints on both ideas at businessbrain.show/blueprints. 00:00:00 Business Brain – The Entrepreneurs’ Podcast #793 for Casual FridAI, October 2nd, 2026 October 2nd: National Body Language Day 00:02:31 Always be your favorite version 00:03:24 Beyond Your BrAIn Ask your LLM: Are you Sure? Also ask: What am I missing? 00:09:40 SPONSOR: Shopify: Own your customer relationships. Own your revenue. Start with a free trial at Shopify.com/BusinessBrain. 00:11:01 SPONSOR: Factor, America’s #1 Ready-To-Eat Meal Kit, can help you fuel up fast with ready-to-eat meals delivered straight to your door. Head to FACTORMEALS.com/businessbrain50off and use code businessbrain50off to get 50% off your first box. 00:12:45 “Hire” an AI Employee, give it an inbox, and a name! 00:18:45 Business Brain 793 Outtro This Episode’s Big Takeway: Ask your LLM, “What am I missing?”…and Hire an AI employee! Check out Business Brain Blueprints Tell Your Friends! Business Blueprints Review Business Brain Subscribe to the show feedback@businessbrain.show Call/Text: (567) 274-6977 X/Twitter: @ShannonJean & @DaveHamilton, & @BizBrainShow LinkedIn: Shannon Jean, Dave Hamilton, & Business Brain Facebook: Dave Hamilton, Shannon Jean, & Business Brain The post FridAI – The What am I Missing Prompt – Business Brain 793 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.
Sep 30

Building in Reverse

In this episode of Business Brain, we celebrate International Podcast Day by talking about building your business in reverse. Before you build the app, the community, or the program, talk to the people you want to serve. Shannon launched his first cohort after conversations with more than a hundred people who told him what they needed, how they wanted to get it, and what they’d pay. It was far more successful than he expected. Dave spots the secret ingredient: a well-managed ego that lets you admit you don’t know and lets your customers shape the vision. Then ask the hard question about your existing business: who wants this? You’re probably not your customer anymore, and when you really listen, the answer is usually about service, not price. We close with a quick tip that’s really a mindset shift. Get a tall tripod for your phone and get comfortable on camera, because unpolished, founder-led video beats AI slop every time. That’s how you show up, connect, and keep living the Charmed Life. 00:00:00 Business Brain – The Entrepreneurs’ Podcast #792 for Wednesday, September 30th, 2026 00:01:27 September 30th: International Podcast Day 00:03:05 Building in Reverse Vision combined with beginner’s mind …with a well-managed ego Who wants this? 00:14:33 SPONSOR: Shopify: Own your customer relationships. Own your revenue. Start with a free trial at Shopify.com/BusinessBrain. 00:15:55 SPONSOR: Factor, America’s #1 Ready-To-Eat Meal Kit, can help you fuel up fast with ready-to-eat meals delivered straight to your door. Head to FACTORMEALS.com/businessbrain50off and use code businessbrain50off to get 50% off your first box. 00:17:38 Buy a tripod for your phone ShiftCam SnapStand Max 00:22:35 Business Brain 792 Outtro This Episode’s Big Takeway: Get Comfortable In Front of a Video Camera and Record Check out Business Brain Blueprints Tell Your Friends! Business Blueprints Review Business Brain Subscribe to the show feedback@businessbrain.show Call/Text: (567) 274-6977 X/Twitter: @ShannonJean & @DaveHamilton, & @BizBrainShow LinkedIn: Shannon Jean, Dave Hamilton, & Business Brain Facebook: Dave Hamilton, Shannon Jean, & Business Brain The post Building in Reverse – Business Brain 792 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.
Sep 25

FridAI Building an AI Harness

In this Casual FridAI episode of Business Brain, we explain the harness, the app layer that sits between you and the AI model. The model is static. The harness is where your context, memory, and prompts get packaged up and sent along with every request. Dave learned how hard that layer is to build when a single-prompt ad-script tool for his BackBeat Media team took three days of agentic coding to get right. After that, the huge price tags on harnesses like Cursor made perfect sense. Then we dig into Instinct, the beta AI that lives in your messages app and just gets to work. There’s no lengthy setup and no data dump. Ask it one question about last-minute tickets or Friday night comedy, and it keeps tracking the answer for you on its own. Shannon now starts each morning like a conductor, directing multiple AI tools instead of delegating to people. Your takeaway is to learn how each harness connects you to the models so you can use it to build your Charmed Life 00:00:00 Business Brain – The Entrepreneurs’ Podcast #791 for Casual FridAI, September 25th, 2026 00:01:27 September 25th: One Hit Wonder Day 00:04:08 Building a harness 00:11:52 SPONSOR: Keeper Security’s Password Manager. Right now, Keeper is offering our listeners 60% off personal and family plans at https://Keepersecurity.com/BRAIN 00:13:08 SPONSOR: Perplexity Computer. Start your free trial of Perplexity Computer today at PPLX.ai/brain and experience the next phase of AI. #ad makeup 00:14:33 More work with Instinct (we still have invites!) 00:22:01 Business Brain 791 Outtro This Episode’s Big Takeway: Learn how each harness works with models AND with you Check out Business Brain Blueprints Tell Your Friends! Business Blueprints Review Business Brain Subscribe to the show feedback@businessbrain.show Call/Text: (567) 274-6977 X/Twitter: @ShannonJean & @DaveHamilton, & @BizBrainShow LinkedIn: Shannon Jean, Dave Hamilton, & Business Brain Facebook: Dave Hamilton, Shannon Jean, & Business Brain The post FridAI Building an AI Harness – Business Brain 791 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.
Sep 23

The People Who Change Your Life

In this episode of Business Brain, we unpack what happens when a conference forgets who it’s for. Fresh off Podcast Movement’s first run in New York, Dave explains how splitting creators and business folks into separate events left everyone hunting for coffee shops to meet. Before you book the flight, figure out what value an event is built to deliver. Then show up with a plan, define success for yourself and your team, and stay loose enough to catch the moments you can’t schedule. Shannon brings it home with a favorite Steve Jobs idea: you can’t plan on meeting the person who will change your life. He’s heading to New Orleans with ten friends he first met on X, and a deal walked right up to Dave at a cocktail party, so we make the case for skipping the early exit and working one more room. Opportunities dance with those already on the dance floor, and that’s how you keep living the Charmed Life. Grab this week’s Business Blueprint at businessbrain.show/blueprints to prep for your next event, work it, and follow up afterward. 00:00:00 Business Brain – The Entrepreneurs’ Podcast #790 for Wednesday, September 23rd, 2026 September 23rd: National Great American Pot Pie Day 00:02:29 Dave just got back from Podcast Movement and has thoughts Have a Conference plan for you AND for your team What does success look like? What’s your definition of success? 00:12:34 SPONSOR: Keeper Security’s Password Manager. Right now, Keeper is offering our listeners 60% off personal and family plans at https://Keepersecurity.com/BRAIN 00:13:51 SPONSOR: Perplexity Computer. Start your free trial of Perplexity Computer today at PPLX.ai/brain and experience the next phase of AI. #ad makeup 00:15:17 “You Can’t Plan on Meeting The Person Who Will Change Your Life” – Steve Jobs “Opportunities dance with those already on the dance floor.” 00:21:11 Business Brain 790 Outtro This Episode’s Big Takeway: Keep Expanding Your Network Check out Business Brain Blueprints Tell Your Friends! Business Blueprints Review Business Brain Subscribe to the show feedback@businessbrain.show Call/Text: (567) 274-6977 X/Twitter: @ShannonJean & @DaveHamilton, & @BizBrainShow LinkedIn: Shannon Jean, Dave Hamilton, & Business Brain Facebook: Dave Hamilton, Shannon Jean, & Business Brain The post The People Who Change Your Life – Business Brain 790 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.
Sep 18

FridAI - Instinct + $10K AI Update

In this episode of Business Brain, Dave hands ten grand to an AI and gets out of its way. The proceeds from his domain sale became a 90-day experiment: Claude designed a static, formulaic trading system — 60% crypto, 40% equities, running through MCP connectors into Kraken and Alpaca — with lightweight weekly check-ins, a heavyweight strategy review at day 45, and a 48-hour rule that lets the system act if he doesn’t respond. Day 69, up 11%. But the number isn’t the win. The win is an operation where the founder is no longer the bottleneck and the emotion has been engineered out entirely, right down to cutting a 25% loser without waiting for a recovery that may never come. Shannon’s running his own version, parking creator revenue in X Money at 6% until it’s big enough to deploy. Then Shannon walks you through Instinct, a private-beta assistant with no app at all — it lives in your text messages. It read his insurance renewal, caught his son listed as primary driver on a new truck to the tune of $3,118, and drafted the email to his agent. Then it spotted his wife’s girls’ trip on the calendar and had flowers and a charcuterie board on her doorstep by three o’clock Friday. We get into what it costs you to build this yourself versus letting someone else own the infrastructure, and why your job is quietly shifting from doing to conducting. The takeaway: don’t wait for the perfect tool. Start now, learn what genuinely matters to you, and accept that your assistant will miss a few things while it learns you. That’s the charmed life on the other side of a little experimentation. 00:00:00 Business Brain – The Entrepreneurs’ Podcast #789 for Casual FridAI, September 18th, 2026 September 18th: National Tradesmen Day 00:01:40 Dave’s Barbell AI Investing Update X Money 00:10:04 SPONSOR: SomniPods 3 sleep earbuds from Fitnexa: Flat enough to sleep on, and the app is the real prize: https://go.fitnexa.com/brain automatically applies $10 off (or use code BRAIN). 00:11:37 SPONSOR: Hims. With Wegovy® at Hims, lose up to 20% of your body weight when combined with diet and exercise. Visit https://hims.com/businessbrain to get a personalized, affordable plan that gets you. 00:13:26 Instinct AI, your personal assistant 00:21:43 Business Brain 789 Outtro This Episode’s Big Takeway: Train your AI assistant to actually be your assistant Check out Business Brain Blueprints Tell Your Friends! Business Blueprints Review Business Brain Subscribe to the show feedback@businessbrain.show Call/Text: (567) 274-6977 X/Twitter: @ShannonJean & @DaveHamilton, & @BizBrainShow LinkedIn: Shannon Jean, Dave Hamilton, & Business Brain Facebook: Dave Hamilton, Shannon Jean, & Business Brain The post FridAI – Instinct + $10K AI Update – Business Brain 789 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.
Sep 16

Domain Negotaiting and HCIH Follow Up

In this episode of Business Brain, we take you inside both sides of a domain negotiation. Shannon wanted resellerrocket.com, found it sitting on a generic affiliate parking page, and opened at $2,300 against a $4,000 ask — then used AI to land on an oddly specific counter just under $2,700 that got accepted on the spot. Dave plays the other side: an unsolicited inbox offer on a domain he’d been paying registration fees on for twenty-plus years, a Claude-assisted valuation, a $15,000 ask, and a $10,000 close with the buyer eating the escrow fees. The rule you can steal today — buy with math, sell with emotion. And when someone tries to turn a price into a monthly payment, remember what FFE really stands for. Then we put your favorite management line on trial. How can I help sounds generous, but it hands your team a blank slate and makes them do the work of delegating to themselves. You’ll hear why specific beats open-ended, why Shannon walks the floor every morning emptying trash cans while he reads the room, and why he lets his people set their own KPIs instead of handing them down. The upgrade is straightforward: tell your team you’ll do anything you can to help them succeed, then put your skills, your network, and your tools on the table as resources they’re allowed to use. Expect it to take a while before they believe you. Getting there is the charmed life — a team that finally tells you what they actually need. 00:00:00 Business Brain – The Entrepreneurs’ Podcast #788 for Wednesday, September 16th, 2026 September 16th: Working Parents Day 00:02:04 Domain Negotiating ResellerRocket.com Spaceship.com (hopefully they’re a domain broker!) 00:11:56 SPONSOR: SomniPods 3 sleep earbuds from Fitnexa: Flat enough to sleep on, and the app is the real prize: https://go.fitnexa.com/brain automatically applies $10 off (or use code BRAIN). 00:13:29 SPONSOR: Hims. With Wegovy® at Hims, lose up to 20% of your body weight when combined with diet and exercise. Visit https://hims.com/businessbrain to get a personalized, affordable plan that gets you. 00:15:17 Revisiting “How can I help?” 00:24:26 Business Brain 788 Outtro This Episode’s Big Takeway: Be Mindful of How You Can Offer Help To Your Team Check out Business Brain Blueprints Tell Your Friends! Business Blueprints Review Business Brain Subscribe to the show feedback@businessbrain.show Call/Text: (567) 274-6977 X/Twitter: @ShannonJean & @DaveHamilton, & @BizBrainShow LinkedIn: Shannon Jean, Dave Hamilton, & Business Brain Facebook: Dave Hamilton, Shannon Jean, & Business Brain The post Domain Negotaiting and HCIH Follow Up – Business Brain 788 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

See All (793)

Dave Hamilton

Host
Shannon Jean

Host

out of 5

66 Ratings

A High Level Show for Higher Level Business Owners

Aug 7

KingDave22

I found this podcast from other project of host Shannon Jean. He is just as great here as he is in $5 Mastermind and his numerous appearances on The Koerner Office Podcast. Here you truly will tune your Business Brain. The FridAI segments are very actionable and set this show apart. Every episode has a nugget that will get you closer to that charmed life!
Great podcast!

Jan 6

CC_Jeepher

I’m a new listener and loving it so far.
Great show

12/24/2025

936Brian

Love this show. Great insight and it has inspired me to take the plunge into being an entrepreneur
Love this show

12/20/2025

Joeygator

I listened to one of Dave’s other shows, and finally took the time to look this one up and listen in the summer. One of the best choices I’ve made with regards to podcast. Under 30 minutes on most shows and full of great valuable content. And I love the addition of the Friday ai content. Things are happening so fast with AI and this helps me to try and keep up and learn about new opportunities to use AI in my life!