Join us today on the Small Business Show to listen in on our conversation with Steve Baines, Co-Founder of Forcivity, a software development firm focused on simplifying how you access your data in cloud based applications like SalesForce. Steve’s years of experience working with data as both a consultant and previous business owner led him to launch Forcivity with a group of like minded folks that have a mission to free your data from apps and present it to you in a much more useable format.

Steve shares his experience moving from consultant to business owner and how becoming your own customer can lead to a new business venture. We also spend time discussing motivating yourself to power through tough times, how to pick a (good) partner, how to pick the right employees and one of our favorite topics: creating your own reality to nudge you along towards success.

Listen in and learn about Steve’s journey and more on episode 95 of the Small Business Show! Questions, comments or need help? Visit the Small Business Show Support Group on Facebook.

Chapters/Timestamps

00:00:00 Small Business Show #95 November 30th, 2016
00:01:11 Steve Baines, co-Founder of Forcivity
00:01:26 Incubation turns founders into co-founders
00:02:37 Managing the Flow of Salesforce Data
00:04:38 Scratching your own itch to start a business
00:05:24 Consulting business becomes 8 years of market research for new company and new solutions
00:07:39 Hone your Focus. Develop a system to build a successful product – adjust, repeat
00:09:32 Turn down a job offer, become a consultant
00:11:57 Consulting often lacks leverage: find an exit!
00:12:28 Identify your passion and don’t forget it
00:13:24 Second-time entrepreneurs are crazy
00:16:00 Create your own reality
00:17:18 Not every day is a good day
00:18:13 Find like-minded co-founders
00:20:31 …and employees!
00:21:27 Can’t do it alone!
00:21:53 Quickly identify the fish out of water
00:24:52 Choose wisely… when choosing partners
00:27:39 SBS 95 Outtro

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One of the most trusted people in your life can be a huge help with your Small Business success – your spouse! But, there’s some important details to work out to insure success when working together.

In this episode of the Small Business Show, Dave and Shannon share their experiences working with their spouses and their tips for maximizing the benefits while minimizing potential problems that may come up. A critical first step: manage expecations, roles and clearly lay out who will be responsible for which tasks in your business.

We also discuss deciding who’s the “boss”, how to promote good communication, using humor to remove tension and keeping the right perspective during the workday.

Join us today and them share your story at the Small Business Support Group on Facebook!

Chapters/Timestamps:

00:00:00 Small Business Show #94 November 23rd, 2016
00:01:30 Working with your spouse!
00:02:11 Hiring your spouse
00:04:23 Firing your spouse!
00:05:22 Managing expectations – roles, responsibilities, each other
00:08:01 Keep your marriage out of the office and your office out of your marriage.
00:11:10 Who’s the Boss?
00:13:06 Communication is Key
00:15:00 Humor can go a long way to dissolve tensions
00:16:12 Perspective
00:18:00 Make the right hiring decision, regardless of who it is.
00:20:09 Employees with benefits!
00:21:05 Your spouse can double your charmed life

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Has your Small Business lost it’s edge? Has your past success enabled people to slow down the pace of work? How do you beat back complacency and invigorate your team to take on new challenges and grow your Small Business? Maybe hiring a consultant will do the trick – someone to evaluate your team from the outside and offer an unbiased opinion and tips to shake things up.

Should you encourage your employees to go out and “side-hustle” to make some extra cash and learn a new skill? We like this idea, but you need to be aware of the pros and cons of promoting outside work in your Small Business.

Listen in to episode 93 of the Small Business Show as Dave and Shannon discuss these topics and more!

Chapters/Timestamps:

00:00:00 Small Business Show #93 November 16th, 2016
00:00:51 Living by your favorite catch-phrases
00:03:10 Never stop stopping…and thinking about your business.
00:03:41 Identifying that your personality is not right for every role in your company
00:05:00 Keeping your edge – getting an outside opinion
00:07:22 Dave Hires a Consultant
00:11:17 Complacency is the enemy .. and the cousin of success
00:13:59 It comes back to change
00:16:04 Side Hustles
00:18:57 Mentoring your employees as entrepreneurs
00:21:12 Invest in the future
00:23:18 Leave us a review!

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Welcome to episode 92 of the Small Business Show! On today’s show, we spend some time getting updated on Shannon’s social media business experiment that he started back in June. The goal was to start a new business solely using social media and selling apps on an iPhone. No computer and no website.

So, how’s it going? Listen in for more detail, but a quick snapshot looks like this:

• 28,0000+ followers gained since starting mid-June
• Selling 3-10 designer handbags (the product chosen to experiment with) per day
• Net is currently $150-500 per day with about 60-90 minutes of time spent each day on the business
• Significant profit margin increase with new, “upstream” supplier relationships
• At the point where the business is becoming scalable

We also discuss the current “political theatre” as it relates to Small Business, developing an org chart even if your name fills every role and managing supplier relationships.

Join us today for these topics and a few more as we work to help your grow your Small Business and expand your Charmed Life!

Chapters/Timestamps:

00:00:00 Small Business Show #92 November 9th, 2016
00:01:00 Political Theater as it relates to Small Business
00:01:56 Jacob: How is Shannon’s “Run it from your phone” business going?
00:04:08 Poshmark
00:04:38 Building a business with someone else’s leftovers
00:07:52 Develop an org chart even when it’s just you
00:10:27 The org chart is your roadmap
00:12:23 Capital and contacts
00:13:49 Follow the cardboard!
00:15:32 Shannon’s trick: “I’ll take everything you have, as is, and promise no returns.”
00:17:29 Find the right sales venues
00:21:12 Free boxes!
00:22:06 Delight your customers, then make them your followers
00:23:33 Shannon’s the Small Business Vampire!
00:24:35 Enjoy what you do

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How do you find topics for your Small Business blog and social media posts? Would you like to be able to tie in your content with what people are already searching for online? Sounds pretty cool, but maybe expensive? Yes, and no. It is cool and it’s free! Dave and Shannon get the Small Business Show started today with a discussion about Google Trends and how using timely search data can not only help you come up with ideas for your content strategy, but also make those posts more successful by including content that your potential customers are already searching for. This is powerful stuff, people!

The Google Trends topic first came up in our Small Business Support Group on Facebook, so be sure to join the group to share in the discussion.

We then jump into a chat about how to make it easier to just Get Things Done. An article in Bottom Line Personal has some great tips that Dave and Shannon analyze and discuss – agreeing with some, completely disagreeing with others and in typical fashion, adding their own personal twist to some others.

The show wraps up with the critical question of the day: When’s the last time you changed the side of the bed you sleep on?

Listen in for these topics and more on episode 91 of the Small Business Show!

Chapters/Timestamps:

00:00:00 Small Business Show #91 November 2nd, 2016
00:01:24 Google Trends – using trending search data to create timely content for your small business
00:06:00 JungleScout
00:09:18 Small Business Support Group
00:09:49 Bottom Line Personal
00:10:51 Make small choices
00:15:30 Break it down into steps
Shannon’s paper trick – write down notes on the paper – what has to happen to get it off your desk?
00:17:12 But see the big picture!
00:19:13 Goals vs. Systems
00:22:04 Smarter To-Do lists?
00:22:44 Avoid Information Blindness
00:26:00 Be ruthless with your time
00:28:36 Procrastination is prioritization
00:30:12 Make your bed
00:31:53 Shift your habits – change the side of the bed you sleep on, the spot you sit at the dinner table.
00:32:19 Change your language!

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