When there’s a disagreement with a customer, supplier or someone else, what is the best way to resolve the problem while keeping your Small Business running strong? Have you been sued or are you contemplating suing someone? Join us today on the Small Business Show where we discuss Alternative Dispute Resolution methods like Arbitration and Mediation.

If you are a party to a lawsuit, either plaintiff or defendant, chances are you’ll be pushed into mediation by a judge in an attempt to keep you out of court. Dave and Shannon have both been parties to mediation and as you can imagine, they have much to talk about when it comes to making the most out of your mediation experience.

Listen in to episode 164 of the Small Business Show to hear their stories and pickup some tips, including how to keep everyone’s ego out of the process, including your attorney’s, how to pick the right attorney to represent you, how the process works and why timing is so important for success.

After the show, keep the conversation going by joining us at the Small Business Support Group to share your mediation story, ask questions or comment on the show.

Chapters/Timestamps:

• 00:00:00 Small Business Show #164 for Wednesday, March 27, 2018
• 00:01:09 Facebook Local
• 00:02:00 Mediation vs. Arbitration
• 00:05:03 Alternative Dispute Resolution
• 00:07:18 Mediation brings a possibility that you can work things out
• 00:09:27 The (painful) process
• 00:10:41 Co-mingling the parties
• 00:13:27 Picking the right attorney
• 00:15:50 Finding an outcome that’s livable
• 00:17:08 Avoid being intimidated
• 00:20:59 SPONSOR: Visit TextExpander.com/podcast for 20% off your first year.
• 00:23:24 SPONSOR: Visit JAMF.com/SBS to get your first 3 devices free for life!
• 00:27:05 Mediation leads to a lesson
• 00:32:19 The turning point
• 00:35:24 Avoid awkward elevator conversation
• 00:38:05 Avoiding the egos!
• 00:38:52 Beware the attorneys (and their egos)
• 00:41:01 Moving on is important
• 00:44:26 Focus on the resolution
• 00:46:07 Be aware of the lifespan
• 00:46:34 Dave’s Valuable Negotiation Lesson
• 00:48:42 SBS 164 Outtro

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If your business includes shipping products, having a strong relationship with a packaging and logistics company is critically important – In our experience, you can “leak” a tremendous amount of your cash out through your packaging and shipping costs.

To talk more about the importance of this topic, we’re thrilled to have Caitlin Corkill with us today. Caitlin is the founder of Paq-Source, a company that provides packaging and equipment, as well as logistics consulting to help you manage your shipping, packaging and warehousing. 

There’s a lot to learn on this episode, join us, then visit the Small Business Support Group to ask questions and share your own story.

Chapters/Timestamps:

• 00:00:00 Small Business Show #163 for Wednesday, March 21, 2018
• 00:00:56 Caitlin Corkill – Paq-Source
• 00:02:01 Worked for a family friend and then time to leave.
• 00:02:27 Eight months notice led to … not leaving!
• 00:03:37 Finding an overlooked city
• 00:04:10 Consolidating two offices
• Finding reliability inside efficiency
• 00:05:13 You learn so much about a business by being on a sales call
• 00:06:04 Are you ever surprised?
• 00:07:40 It’s like toner!
• 00:08:33 The importance of customer referrals
  • Kyle Baccus from KC Tool on Small Business Show
• 00:09:50 No Catalog, Just Solutions!
  • Avoid the bottom-feeders
• 00:11:38 “We sell commodities but we are not to be commoditized!”
• 00:12:50 Growing companies are our bread-and-butter
  • “The companies where we thrive are the companies that are growing.”
• 00:13:35 What’s your sales/marketing process?
• 00:15:11 “Making money is easy, making it worth something is the fun in running a business.”
• 00:15:55 CARES = Customer Centric Adaptable Experts Solid.
• 00:16:19 Ten Paq Commandments (h/t to Biggie Smalls)
• 00:17:40 It’s a community you have, not just a business
• 00:21:27 Process, Process, Process (Process!)
• 00:24:40 Running between two cities
• 00:25:23 SBS 163 Outtro

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What does it take for your Small Business to rank high on search engines when customers are looking for your products or services? Should you be allocating most of your ad budget to search, or are there better methods for your particular business to connect with customers? Join us on this episode of the Small Business Show for these topics and much more!

Don’t miss the episode where your co-host Shannon Jean admits: “I hate search, it makes me feel stupid.” Hear his story and either laugh at or commiserate with him as he shares his frustration about ranking high on page one of search results. You’ll also learn why he feels that search engines are just another marketplace, like eBay or Amazon, only focused on selling your business information and how that changed his focus and approach to success with search.

Dave Hamilton shares his story of battling scraper sites that market his own content, while blocking the original posts on search engines and how he is working to solve the problem.

We then spend time helping you to focus your SEO priorities to better achieve success with tips and tricks about using SEO companies, consultants and in-house talent to raise your rankings. We wrap up the show with advice about ignoring your competitors that you don’t want to miss.

Listen in to episode 162 of the Small Business Show and then join us at the Small Business Support Group to share your story and get your questions answered.

Chapters/Timestamps

• 00:00:00 Small Business Show #162 for Wednesday, March 14, 2018
• 00:01:17 SXSW Conference and Festivals
• 00:03:22 Watch your intake
• 00:04:51 Drunk words are sober thoughts
• 00:06:29 Managing the party
• 00:07:40 Building a Different Bond
• 00:09:08 Near Me Searches on Small Business Show
• 00:09:51 SEO and Keyword Optimization
• 00:12:48 Value vs. Relevance
• 00:13:34 SPONSOR: Visit TextExpander.com/podcast for 20% off your first year.
• 00:16:48 Dave’s SEO Story with Duck Duck Go
• 00:18:52 Bing and Yandex feed Duck Duck Go
• 00:20:20 Scraper sites are the worst!
• 00:21:56 Your site has a block on it
• 00:23:28 DMCA Requests to the scrapers
• 00:24:45 Defining your SEO priorities
• 00:26:31 Is SEO the best method for you to connect with your customer?
• 00:27:52 Bring your SEO in house if it’s that important
• 00:29:10 Use Free SEO Consultations as Sales tools
• 00:30:00 Beware Black Hat SEO
• 00:32:05 Don’t forget the human aspect
• 00:33:59 Avoid Competitive Keyword Battles
• 00:35:26 SBS 162 Outtro

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With just about a week to go before tax filings are due for LLC and S-Corp Small Businesses, it’s time to discuss what to do when your NOT ready to file and the repercussions of missing a tax filing deadline. Join us for episode 161 of the Small Business Show as we dive back into the world of Small Business taxes!

On this episode, Dave and Shannon spend time discussing tax extensions, how they work, why you would want to use one and what do in the event that you don’t have the cash to pay your tax bill. We share our thoughts on relationships with Accountants and why a few weeks before taxes are due is not the time to be searching for a new one. You’ll also find out why keeping your Accountant involved in both your personal and business life can help you save money when filing your taxes.

If you’re already having IRS problems, we’ve got some tips and tricks for changing the relationship you have with the them and what to do if you are not getting the kind of help you think you should be getting from a particular IRS agent. We wrap up the show with advice on how to not miss important deductions, tracking expenses and using retirement accounts as well as hiring your kids to lower your taxable income.

Join us today for all this and more on the show that is by, for and about Small Business!

Chapters/Timestamps

• 00:00:00 Small Business Show #161 for Wednesday, March 7, 2018
• 00:02:23 Taxes can be fun!
• 00:03:52 Find an accountant you enjoy talking with
• 00:05:30 Tax Deadlines for 2017
• 00:06:43 Understand Tax Extensions
• 00:10:00 Why aren’t you ready?
• 00:11:06 When should you send your forms to your accountant?
• 00:12:35 Let your accountant file your extensions
• 00:13:32 SPONSOR: Visit JAMF.com/SBS to get your first 3 devices free for life!
• 00:16:26 Don’t hire an accountant today
• 00:17:14 Humanize your Relationship with the IRS
• 00:18:40 You are the IRS’s customer
• 00:20:20 Request a different agent
• 00:20:48 Communicate with the IRS
• 00:23:07 The new 2018 Tax Laws
• 00:24:00 Tracking – and finding – your deductions
• 00:27:00 Put your business owner hat on and ask for NFL tickets
• 00:29:45 Look at your personal retirement accounts and options
• 00:31:37 SBS 161 Outtro

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