Comments? Suggestions? Text the show here! Collaboration is an often overlooked driver of business growth. It can spark innovation, expand your market reach, and turn challenges into opportunities in ways you might not expect. Yet, many small businesses struggle to find the right partnerships. So what do you need to do to start collaborating effectively to propel your business forward? What are the strategies that can help you turn obstacles into opportunities? ...

Comments? Suggestions? Text the show here! Every construction project starts with a contract—but not all contracts are created equal. If you overlook critical details or skip negotiation, you could face unexpected liabilities, payment delays, and disputes that stall progress. Poor contract management can lead to financial setbacks, strained relationships, and missed opportunities for future projects. So, how can you identify risks before signing? What strategies help you negotiate fair terms...

Comments? Suggestions? Text the show here! Hiring and onboarding a sales team can either make your business or break it. If you don't have a solid hiring process in place, you'll end up guessing who’s right for the job instead of making an informed choice and hoping they’ll figure it out on their own. But wrong hires or weak onboarding cost money because it leads to high turnover, frustrated salespeople, and lost sales. You need a clear process to find the right talent, get them up to ...

Comments? Suggestions? Text the show here! One of the toughest conversations you’ll have as a leader is terminating an employee. Whether you’re dealing with someone who’s struggling or changes in your business, getting this process right is make-or-break. One wrong move could land you in legal hot water or send your team's morale into a nosedive. So, how do you know when it’s the right time to let someone go? How can you have these hard conversations with honesty and fairness? An...

Comments? Suggestions? Text the show here! Growing your business is on every entrepreneur's mind. Maybe you're eyeing new markets, or you've set your sights on doubling revenue in the next few years. Sounds exciting, right? But if your business isn't ready for that growth, it can backfire fast. What happens when you're not prepared? Production delays start piling up. Your team burns out. Worse, you start losing the customers you worked so hard to get. So, how do you know if your business...

Comments? Suggestions? Text the show here! Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) is a powerful method to improve your sales communication skills. If your sales team isn't closing as many deals as you'd like, the problem might not be the product or service—it could be how effectively the salesperson communicates. Misunderstanding the customer’s needs, speaking at the wrong pace, or failing to connect can lead to missed opportunities. Ineffective communication can also create friction wit...

Comments? Suggestions? Text the show here! Getting your pricing strategy right is crucial to business success. And though it might seem as simple as choosing a random number - it’s not. Pricing is more complex and understanding the psychology behind your customers’ buying decisions plays a huge role in getting it right. If your prices don’t match the perceived value of your products, you might lose customers, miss out on sales, or damage your brand's reputation. So, how do you price...

Comments? Suggestions? Text the show here! Customer retention is an often overlooked aspect of business success. When you focus too much on attracting new customers, you risk neglecting the ones you already have. This could mean lost revenues and damaged trust. To fix this, businesses need to turn to customer journey mapping. By mapping out key interactions, you can improve customer experiences, build loyalty, and increase engagement. But what is customer journey mapping exactly and how can...

Comments? Suggestions? Text the show here! Franchise audits are vital for maintaining the financial health of your business. However, many new franchisors find this process challenging, struggling through it due to a lack of preparation and understanding of what it’s all about. This can lead to compliance issues, financial discrepancies, and even damage to the brand’s reputation. So, what exactly is franchise auditing? How does it work? And why is it so important for the financial health o...

Comments? Suggestions? Text the show here! Is your business growing but struggling with outdated tools, systems, and processes? ERP systems can help streamline operations and boost efficiency. But, ERP, or Enterprise resource planning, is more than just adding new technology. It requires careful planning and proper change management. When is the right time to implement an ERP system in your business? How do you get started, and how do you help your team transition smoothly? In this...

Comments? Suggestions? Text the show here! Your small business is poised for growth, but lurking legal risks could derail your success. It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of growth and overlook the legal side of things. From employment laws and tax codes to those contracts that seem clear until they aren't, any of these can lead to expensive and time-consuming disputes. So, how do you make sure your business is legally protected? Do you hire a full-time lawyer or a consulta...

Comments? Suggestions? Text the show here! Great businesses thrive by investing in their people. When companies face tough times, it's often due to a lack of workforce development. If employees don't feel supported or aren't given chances to grow, it can lead to demotivation, higher turnover, and team dysfunction. So, what is workforce development? How does it function, and how can you implement it effectively? In this episode, Michelle Arentz and I chat about why workforc...

Comments? Suggestions? Text the show here! Employee retention lies at the heart of every successful business. It's the lifeline that keeps productivity high and morale even higher, making your team feel valued and appreciated, and motivating them to do their best. Yet, many companies struggle with keeping their best talent. Even businesses that seem great on paper often face high turnover rates. So why is it becoming harder to retain your employees? Why is this a recurring issue? Wha...

Comments? Suggestions? Text the show here! When your financial records are not accurate or organized, it can lead to poor decisions, financial problems, and stunted growth. So how do you keep your books clean? What should you look for in a bookkeeper and accountant? And how do you make sure that your financial records are accurate and up to date? In this episode, Jennifer Yousem and I talk all about the challenges of messy accounting for small businesses. We break down why this ...

Comments? Suggestions? Text the show here! Expense management is a must for any business. Every dollar spent can either contribute to your growth or drain your resources. And while it seems like a simple thing to do, many businesses struggle with it - causing bigger financial problems down the road. So what can you do to avoid this in your business? In this episode, John Krebsbach and I go very deep into effective expense management. From managing credit cards and checks ...

Comments? Suggestions? Text the show here! Transforming your construction business can be a challenging yet rewarding process. Is it time to scale up? Well, you've got customers to deal with, suppliers to find, building codes to follow, and a team to keep on point. All these moving parts directly affect your finances. Things can get chaotic fast, and if you neglect any of these areas, it can really hurt your financial stability and growth. So, how do you keep everything on track ...

Comments? Suggestions? Text the show here! When people talk about business innovation, the top of their minds is new tech or new products. However, small business innovation particularly, is so much more than that. It's also about fresh ideas, seeing things from a different perspective - including how you use your products, making smart choices, and strategic growth. So what does innovation look like in small businesses? Are there any tools or techniques that can enh...

Comments? Suggestions? Text the show here! Running a business can be very stressful, as you may already know. When stress kicks in, it can impact both your body and mind, affecting how well you work. If it’s not managed, it can lead to loss of focus, missed opportunities, and even burnout, which can prevent your business from growing. The good news is, there's a simple yet effective way to manage stress called Breathwork. This technique helps you regain control and ...

Comments? Suggestions? Text the show here! For your business to grow, you need a recruitment strategy or recruitment process in place to get the right team in place. If you don’t find the people that can best fit your business needs, you might end up with higher turnover and lower productivity, making it harder to hit your goals. So what can you do to get it right? You can optimize your job listings, cultivate the right culture and even adjust your salary ranges to attract g...

Comments? Suggestions? Text the show here! Workforce planning is a vital strategy for your growing business. It makes sure that you have the right people fill the right roles at the right time. But applying workforce planning concepts to your operations might be challenging, especially if it's something you've never had in your business before. So, what exactly is workforce planning? How does it integrate into your business structure? And how do you know if it's...