Does your Small Business rank high for “Near Me” searches on Google, Siri and Bing? Join us on this episode of the Small Business Show for tips and tricks to be sure you are optimizing your website, your address and your business map records to steer more customers to your location.

Local search is a critical part of Small Business success. Dave Hamilton and Shannon Jean focus on getting your company name to come up when potential customers are using the terms “near me” when searching for a product or service that you may be offering. You’ll learn about setting up local resource pages, how to hack your address, phone verification tricks, using reviews to show activity and much more.

Join us for episode 160 of the Small Business Show, then tell your story, comment and ask questions in the Small Business Support Group!

Chapters/Timestamps

• 00:00:00 Small Business Show #160 for Wednesday, February 28, 2018
• 00:01:20 Optimizing your business for “Near Me” searches
• 00:02:39 Create or Edit Your Business listing on Google Local Search
  • Apple Maps Listings
  • Local “Bing Places” Listings
• 00:03:54 Remember that this is all local – use your local number
• 00:05:14 Staying within the Google and/or Apple Maps framework
• 00:07:49 Different photos for each location
• 00:08:36 Requires regular attention
• 00:10:58 Consider your physical address
• 00:12:23 The UPS Store gives you a “Suite Number”
• 00:13:07 Phone number verification can be a problem
• 00:14:13 SPONSOR: Visit TextExpander.com/podcast for 20% off your first year.
• 00:17:35 end sponsor block
• 00:17:39 How to verify your phone number and your account
  • Phone.com
• 00:21:08 Make sure your business name, local address, and local phone are on every page of your website
  • Remove “Inc.” or “LLC”
• 00:21:48 Create different local pages
• 00:24:33 Become a resource
• 00:25:30 Your Local SEO Management System
• 00:26:27 Cross-linking your Google Reviews
• 00:29:20 Promote even some of the criticisms
• 00:30:09 Link Yelp, BBB, Chamber of Commerce on your Local pages
  • Small Dog Electronics
• 00:32:00 Working to gain trust
• 00:33:33 Be sure to mention your location regularly on your blog
• 00:34:31 Contact us!
  • feedback@businessshow.co
  • Small Business Support Group
• 00:35:01 SBS 160 Outtro

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 36:05 — 16.6MB) | Embed

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Does your website communicate in ways that potential customers can quickly grasp your story, what your services or your product line are? How do you simplify your message to capture the short attention span and should you rely on your Terms and Conditions to “protect” you from your customers?

If your Small Business is getting interest from a larger company that wants to acquire you, who should you focus your energy on? The Deal Sponsor concept can help you narrow down your focus on which person you need to work closely with to make your merger or acquisition a success.

Join us today on episode 159 of the Small Business Show for these topics and more!

Shannon and Dave also revisit the “Beer Test” to insure that you have a cultural fit before entering into a partnership, joint venture or acquisition and why you need to have all office doors open during a crisis. We spend some time discussing Mihir Shah’s 5 C’s of a Turnaround and why these points surely apply to all businesses.

Listen in and then join us in the Small Business Support Group to share your story or ask questions.

Sponsors

• Jamf Now is a device management solution for your Apple devices at work. We make management tasks simple and affordable, so you can support your users; no IT required. Visit JAMF.com/SBS to get your first 3 devices free for life!

Chapters/Timestamps:

• 00:00:00 Small Business Show #159 for Thursday, February 22, 2018
• 00:02:00 G4 Design – benefits of telling your story, and having people comment on it.
• 00:05:39 Teasing out the message
• 00:07:00 “Wow! I didn’t get that from your website at all!”
• 00:07:46 Learn to simplify your message
• 00:08:40 Don’t rest on your T&Cs
• 00:10:48 SPONSOR: Visit JAMF.com/SBS to get your first 3 devices free for life!
• 00:13:05 Mihir Shah from Drobo on Small Business Show
• 00:13:54 Mihir’s concept of a “Deal Sponsor”
• 00:15:44 “The Beer Test”
• 00:17:12 Spouse/Family Buy-in
• 00:17:37 Due diligence on your Deal Sponsor
• 00:18:32 What’s the “cost” of working with your acquirer?
• 00:19:16 “The business needs someone else”
• 00:20:36 Mihir Shah’s 5 C’s of a Turnaround
• 00:22:12 “Talk to 500 Customers per year”
• 00:23:45 Cash is King
• 00:26:22 Accepting when it’s time for Plan B
• 00:28:14 Culture is the “Fatalyst”
• 00:28:44 Your partners need to believe in your vision
• 00:29:29 Forced Vesting
• 00:31:42 “Nobody’s Door Gets Closed”
• 00:32:41 Owed money can’t be the elephant in the room
• 00:34:08 Jean-Louis Gassée’s Two Tokens Customer Service
• 00:37:34 The Hubris of Apple
• 00:38:30 A Customer problem is a customer opportunity
• 00:39:35 SBS 159 Outtro

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 40:19 — 18.6MB) | Embed

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Are you ready to be acquired? Is your Small Business in a position to deal with a larger company that is interested in buying you for your products, your technology or your service revenue? Join us today on the Small Business Show to hear from an expert in mergers and acquisitions, Mihir Shah, CEO of Drobo.

Mihir has had years of experience helping companies to analyze possible acquisitions and mergers, working to implement policies and procedures to insure a successful combining of two entities. You’ll learn about the two most important aspects of creating a successful acquisition and how your work on the front-end of the deal can help to insure things go right after the paperwork is signed.

We also dig deep into supply chain management and how embracing change and understanding that a crisis is just another problem to solve can propel your business success.

Listen in for this and much more on this episode of the Small Business Show, then visit the Small Business Support Group to ask your questions or to comment on the show!

Sponsors

• Jamf Now is a device management solution for your Apple devices at work. We make management tasks simple and affordable, so you can support your users; no IT required. Visit JAMF.com/SBS to get your first 3 devices free for life!
• TextExpander. Summon your snippets in any app on Mac, iPad, iPhone, and Windows using a quick search or by typing your custom abbreviation. Share your snippets with your team, and keep them up to date together. Visit TextExpander.com/podcast for 20% off your first year.

Chapters/Timestamps

• 00:00:00 Small Business Show #158 for Wednesday, February 14, 2018
• 00:01:03 Mihir Shah from Drobo
• 00:02:19 Cadavers are … not for me!
• 00:04:15 Going into the generation-old family business … of business!
• 00:04:56 Acquisition advice: Find a product market fit
• 00:06:25 Ensure a cultural fit
• 00:07:21 Beware science projects
• 00:09:09 If you’re being acquired, understand your acquirer’s Business Case
• 00:12:04 Understand that process is instrumental
• 00:12:51 Get to know your deal sponsor!
• 00:14:25 Deal sponsor and founder should understand each other’s companies
• 00:15:44 Sit on the same side of the table
• 00:16:30 Use “We”
• 00:17:01 SPONSOR: Visit TextExpander.com/podcast for 20% off your first year.
• 00:18:28 SPONSOR: Visit JAMF.com/SBS to get your first 3 devices free for life!
• 00:20:35 Mihir’s arrival at Drobo
• 00:21:27 Hurry up and get money
• 00:25:17 Dialing for Dollars
• 00:25:35 “My Brand is Crisis”
• 00:28:00 Find revenues and expense-to-revenue ratios for a similar, larger company
• 00:28:45 Favorite mistake?
• 00:29:27 Don’t underestimate the hardware business
• 00:30:05 How quickly can you adapt to a mistake?
• 00:31:16 Everything’s a challenge! Embrace it.
• 00:33:38 Don’t stop learning!
• 00:35:21 SBS 158 Outtro
  • www.Drobo.com
  • Drobo on Facebook
  • Drobo on Instagram

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 36:22 — 16.8MB) | Embed

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Need help with your Small Business Online presence? How about branding, marketing, search engine optimization and the overall look and feel of your company website? Listen in to today’s episode of the Small Business Show to hear how Corey Gauteraux of G4 Design House created a company to help Small Businesses prosper online.

G4 Design House was created to leverage the skills of an in-house team of programmers and designers that had been creating websites and doing online marketing for 15+ years. They focused their efforts on Small Businesses, with an affordable subscription model that encompasses everything from logo and website creation, hosting, SEO, social media and other marketing efforts.

After discussing what G4 does and how their services work, we spend time talking about how Corey markets G4 services, how they came up with their pricing structure and the value of referrals. Dave and Shannon ask about competing in what seems like a crowded design marketplace and how G4 distinguishes itself and Corey shares his “favorite mistake” that leads into a discussion about clear communication with clients.

We wrap up the show with a talk about retaining staff and the pain that hiring the wrong person can cause. Join us today for this and more, then visit the Small Business Support Group to ask your questions and comment on the show!

Chapters/Timestamps:

• 00:00:00 Small Business Show #157 for Wednesday, February 7, 2018
• 00:01:20 Corey Gauteraux from G4 Design House <https://www.g4designhouse.com/>
• 00:02:15 Taking a developed skill and turning it into your product
• 00:04:00 Tweaking the model from flat-upfront-rate to monthly plans
• 00:05:12 Ramp-up period to demonstrate value
• 00:07:06 If you build it… they don’t necessarily come.
• 00:07:30 Building the website is just the first step
• 00:09:29 Behind the curtain
• 00:10:35 Handling your sales and marketing with SEO
• 00:11:00 Cold-calling works, too!
• 00:11:29 Gauging each business: new, small, large, old
• 00:14:45 Homogenized pricing model
• 00:17:42 Return clients and referrals as your yardstick for success
• 00:19:11 Favorite mistake: not getting the details upfront
• 00:23:27 A WordPress-based Business
• 00:23:56 What’s the best part of your day?
• 00:26:01 Retaining staff and avoiding turnover pays off
• 00:27:31 Do what you can to avoid having the wrong staff
  • Intern program is the “100-Hour job interview”
• 00:29:15 G4 Design House on Facebook

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:08 — 13.9MB) | Embed

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