Ever have problems getting paid by your clients in a timely manner? We’ve all been there – that’s why it’s worth joining us today on the Small Business Show for tips and tricks that can improve your cash-flow by getting you paid on-time and in full.

Oh, and there’s also another rant from Shannon about online banking and restrictions – you’ve heard these before, but he’s got a bit of a different take on it this time. Specifically, the inefficiency of banks when it comes to sending wire transfers on a regular basis.

We then jump into the best way to bill for your product or service and how to make it so easy for your customers that they won’t have any excuse but to get you paid quickly. Of course, there will be those that still have problems and those folks require some special attention. Dave makes the case that an unpaid invoice is a customer service opportunity (or a disaster) and if you handle the payment collection correctly, you can solidify a customer relationship for a lifetime.

We close the show with our thoughts on when to stop providing products or services to a company that has one or more past due invoices and some ways to negotiate a payment plan.

Listen in and then send us your tips for getting paid on time! And if you’re looking for some cool Small Business folks to hang out with, jump over to our Facebook Small Business Support Group to learn more and to share your knowledge.

Chapters/Timestamps:

• 00:00:00 The Small Business Show #142 for October 25, 2017
• 00:00:36 Dave The Nerd’s Consulting Business… Kicks Back Into Gear!
• 00:03:17 Finding the right bank
  • Online bank
  • “High yield” savings
  • Money Market Accounts and The Regulation D 6-Transaction Limit
• 00:06:16 Then the Roadblocks start
• 00:09:28 Approving your transactions
• 00:11:55 Wire transfer efficiency
  • SWIFT Code
• 00:13:56 Contact your two favorite business geeks
• 00:15:37 Set yourself up to be paid easily!
• 00:21:28 What to do when they’re not paying
• 00:22:43 Keep emotions out of the process
• 00:25:30 An unpaid invoice is a customer service opportunity
• 00:26:42 What to do when someone doesn’t pay?
• 00:31:31 Radio silence is easy… and painful!
• 00:31:59 SBS Outtro
  • The Small Business Support Group

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Ever dream of driving an exotic sports car? How about having a dozen of them parked in your garage, all being paid for by your rental customers? This week Shannon and Dave meet two entrepreneurs who have built a fast-growing and successful Small Business using the Turo car rental platform. If you’ve ever dreamed of that new Porsche or Jaguar, but couldn’t figure out a way to pay for it, this is the show you don’t want to miss!

Gurjit Singh and Kevin Chou started The Gentleman’s Garage about two years ago and have expanded it to a dozen sports cars with availability in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Vegas. The guys share their story today, talking about the challenges of getting started, dealing with problems and removing obstacles to growth.

You’ll learn about managing risk, protecting yourself (and your cars) and the importance of having a strong platform that backs you up with insurance and background checks. We discuss how Gurjit and Kevin divide up their duties and how they have fine tuned their rental business to insure that each car is profitable – removing older, slower performing vehicles and adding newer models to keep their fleet fresh.

One key aspect becomes clear during the interview, Singh and Chou are focused on creating and managing the customer experience for customers that value convenience over price. By distinguishing there rentals with concierge style service, they have built a strong reputation with continued plans for growth.

Join us today to learn about these topics and more, then join the discussion on the Small Business Support Group!

Chapters/Timestamps:

• 00:00:00 Small Business Show #141 October 18, 2017
• 00:01:36 Gurjit Singh & Kevin Chou – Using Turo as a Small Business platform
• 00:03:46 It all starts with two Mustangs … and a BMW
• 00:04:25 Turo covered the repair!
  • Shift – online car buying and selling
• 00:05:36 Beware the damage claims
• 00:06:47 Think about how people will drive your vehicles
• 00:07:58 Turo manages the risk
• 00:08:46 Turo valet service
• 00:09:20 Each car makes 2-3x monthly payment
• 00:11:31 The logistics of management
• 00:13:34 One-way fee
• 00:14:41 With affluent customers, you’re managing an experience
• 00:17:17 If you’re going to rent it out, don’t buy new!
  • Certified Pre-Owned works very well for Turo
• 00:20:23 Managing the fleet – new cars, selling cars, registrations
• 00:21:38 The bankers slow you down!
• 00:24:46 Did making it a business ruin your hobby?
• 00:25:44 “The cars are still a thrill to drive”
  • Converting to a membership business
• 00:27:45 Visit Gurjit and Kevin’s The Gentleman’s Garage on Turo … and Facebook
• 00:28:57 SBS 141 Outtro

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Ever been surprised by the small print in a contract that you signed for your Small Business? Join us today for episode 140 of the Small Business Show for tips on how to respond when companies try slip egregious terms and conditions into their contracts, how to shut down automatic bank withdrawals by using the Revoke Authorization tactic and much more.

Dave and Shannon then jump into a discussion about setting up clear and concise payment terms to be sure you get paid quickly for your products and services. Setting a clear payment policy that is shown up front to your customers is critical to avoiding problems with getting paid in full and on time.

Stay tuned in the coming weeks for part 2 of our Getting Paid discussion when we’ll discuss the best ways to manage debt collection.

Next week, we’ll be joined by a pair of Small Business owners running their company on the Turo car sharing platform. Listen in and then jump over to the Small Business Support Group to comment and ask your questions.

Chapters/Timestamps:

• 00:00:00 Small Business Show #140 October 11, 2017
• 00:01:20 Follow-up on Phone systems – Get enough data!
  • Small Business Phone Systems – PBX, VOIP and Mobile
  • Mac Geek Gab
• 00:04:20 Credit Card Follow-up
• 00:06:51 Pay attention to contracts
• 00:09:50 Learn about “Revoke Authorization” compliance
• 00:13:46 Send important emails with the recipient on the phone – to confirm verbal receipt.
• 00:16:45 Watch out for the arbitrary fees
• 00:17:52 Mind the details
• 00:19:15 Things you can do to make sure you get paid
  • Brittany Alwerud from Handlr Business Management
• 00:20:32 Have a very clear payment policy
• 00:23:56 Get comfortable discussing money
• 00:24:45 “The value of your skill drops precipitously once you perform it”
• 00:27:12 Have a pre-services info sheet/agreement
• 00:28:16 Make sure to bill for your time
• 00:30:12 Debt Collection coming up!
• 00:30:40 Turo.com car sharing platform interview coming up next week
• 00:31:00 SBS 140 Outtro

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What’s the best Small Business phone system? Join Dave and Shannon today on episode 139 of the Small Business Show to hear about options ranging from pricey PBX systems, to Voice Over IP services like Phone.com, RingCentral and Grasshopper.

During the discussion, Shannon spends some time pointing out how critical your phone auto-attendant can be when showing your customers what type of company you are. Current and potential clients will quickly learn about your business, based on how they are treated when calling your Small Business.

We then jump into a discussion about mobile phone plans using traditional carriers, along with new offerings from Xfinity Mobile. Watch out for hardware compatibility issues and be sure to do the math correctly when comparing plans.

Join us today and then share your phone tips at the Small Business Support Group!

Chapters/Timestamps:

• 00:00:00 Small Business Show #139 October 5, 2017
• 00:01:08 Beware of too much time on your hands
• 00:02:30 Gone is the $10,000 PBX Phone System!
• 00:05:25 Are wired phones obsolete for your business?
  • Phone.com
  • RingCentral
  • Grasshopper
• 00:12:14 Your phone system’s auto-attendant defines you
• 00:15:53 Question your existing systems
• 00:18:57 Beware the snowballs
  • Beware T-Mobile and iPhone Spectrum
• 00:23:26 Xfinity Mobile
• 00:27:15 Make sure you do the math!
• 00:29:14 SBS 139 Outtro

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