Episode 7: Online tools for small business

Jon Swanson - What makes a tool useful?
Jon Swanson, the Entrepreneurial Chicken, shares some philosophy on what makes a tool actually useful.

Becky McCray - 1 tool to get smarter and 1 to share your smarts
Becky McCray, of Small Biz Survival, shares one tool to help you get smarter about managing your business, Will It Fly?, and one tool to help you share your smarts with other small business people, the SmallBusiness.com wiki.

Ben Yoskovitz - 3 online tools for managing your business
Ben Yoskovitz, of the Instigator Blog, reviews 3 online tools that can help you better manage your business. Two are lesser known, but can be quite valuable, and the third is a more recognized application. StikiPad is a wiki-based tool for collaboration and documentation. WebCargo is used for transferring large files easily and quickly. And GoToMeeting is for web meetings online.
Download Ben’s handout.


Chris Brogan - 9 tools Chris uses to manage his online business
Chris Brogan shares the online resources he uses for running Grasshopper New Media. Here’s his list:

• Blogs- Chris likes Wordpress
• Wikis - for example, PBWiki. We used it to build PodCamp.
• Google Calendar. here.
• GMail here
• Skype. here.
• Gizmo Project. 37 Signals for info. Check out BaseCamp, Campfire, Backpack, Writeboard, and more.
• Writely. here
• Technorati. here, for ego-surfing by setting up Watchlists.

Christopher S. Penn - The Financial Aid Podcast
Christopher S. Penn, of The Financial Aid Podcast, drops by with his 40 second pitch for his site. It’s another great online resource.

Ted Demopoulos - Your own website as a resource, and your competitors’
Ted Demopoulos, author of two books on blogging, asks some tough questions about your own site as a resource, and your competitors’ websites as well.

Laura Allen - Email, the ultimate online resource
Laura Allen, co-founder of 15SecondPitch.com, shares her favorite online resource, which is plain old fashioned email. She shares her love affair with email --5 tips to make email your best marketing tool EVER--plus three bonus online resources that you may not have heard of yet.
Her tips include:
5. Keep your email short. 3-4 sentences is ideal.
4. Establish an authentic connection.
3. Do you homework. When you contact someone via email, make sure you know a little bit about them.
2. Have a specific reason or goal for why you are emailing them.
1. Follow-up, Follow-up, Follow-up, some more!
Sites and people referenced:

• Podcamp Boston
• Podcamp NYC
• Lifehack.org
• Odeo
• Jigsaw.com
• Blogger
• Freeconferencecall.com

Tune in next week for Building Client Relationships!
Music for today’s show from http://music.podshow.com.

Episode 6: Organization

This week’s show is all about getting organized, from to do lists, to your workspace, to quick tips. The segments are:

• Really Simple To Do Lists -Ted Demopoulos, the author.
• To Do Lists Go High-Tech - Benjamin Yoskovitz, the Instigator.
  Download Ben's handout
• Organizing Week by Week - Becky McCray, I'm the Small Biz Survivor.
  
• 5 Strong Organizing Tools - Chris Brogan, the Grasshopper.
• Touch Everything Only Once - Heidi Miller, the Shameless Self Promoter.
• Organized in 60 Seconds -Steve Rucinski, the Small Business CEO.
  Download Steve's handout
  
• Advice from a Closet Slob -Colleen Wainwright, the Communicatrix.

Episode 5: Delegation

This week's show is all about Delegating, with a bonus segment on the Multi-Million Dollar Pitch.

The Multi-Million Dollar 15SecondPitch–How to Ask for Millions in under a minute
Laura Allen, co-founder of 15SecondPitch.com, teaches you how to get comfortable asking for millions by using the simple 15SecondPitch formula. Laura shares an actual pitch where an indie film-maker is looking for millions to create a film with an A-list actress as the star.
Laura is also offering a free pitch assessment for GBSBS listeners! Simply send your pitch (no matter how rough it is!) to laura@15SecondPitch.com and she'll send you some suggestions to make it SIZZLE! Even if you never need to ask for a million dollars, you'll still learn valuable tips for pitching your current business succesfully! After all, everyone needs to work their way up to creating a multi-million dollar pitch.

Ten Ways to Delegate Without Hiring
Becky McCray has ten tricks up her sleeve to help even the one-person business to delegate, all without hiring. If you already have a team, think about these ten ways to boost your effectiveness without having to expand your payroll. You'll find more of Becky's small business writings at Small Biz Survival.
Download Becky's handout.

Six Steps to Delegate Effectively
Benjamin Yoskovitz talks about the necessity for small business owners to delegate. As much as we'd like to control everything, we can't. So small business owners must become experts at delegating, and Benjamin offers 6 steps to follow in order to do so successfully. Ben has a new small business blog, the Instigator Blog.
Download Ben's handout.

Delegation in a Virtual World
Today many of us delegate much more to outside service providers and partners than we do employees. How do we do this effectively? Steve Rucinski uses the three C’s to help make good decisions. Take a listen and learn more! Steve is the Small Business CEO.
Download Steve's handout.

The Entrepreneurial Chicken: What can you really delegate?
This week, the Entrepreneurial Chicken Jon Swanson shares what parts of your business to delegate to the people you hire.



Music for this Week
Music for this week's episode is all provided by Uncle Seth, a podsafe band from Canada. You can listen to (and purchase) their great music at http://music.podshow.com
Uncle Seth- A Little Bit More / My Eyes / If I Laugh / Little Pieces / 13 Cloud Song / Out of My Face / and of course, "You Don't Need An Ipod"

Episode 4: Customer Service

Everyone has strong feelings about customer service. We all have stories of really bad service, and a few shining examples. Try this at your next party or cookout: ask the other guests about a story relating to customer service. You'll certainly hear lots of passion in either way.


Heidi Miller
Heidi gives us perspective based on Dr. Stephen Covey's 5th Habit: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood. Among other gigs Heidi had in the past, one was as a motivational speaker, and she worked with customer service clients.
Heidi can be found at Talk it Up!

Steve Rucinski
Steve Rucinski gives us part 1 of a two part series on advisory boards. He explains the value of the expertise of advisors, the benefit of their business contacts, and all the reasons that an advisory board for a small business is better than a standard Board of Directors.

Steve's site is SMBCEO.COM

Ben Yoskovitz
Providing great customer service is essential for small businesses to survive and be successful. One of the key benefits to providing great customer service is cultivating customer loyalty. Ben Yoskovitz provides us 4 ways of providing great customer service with an eye towards developing customer loyalty.
Ben provides a great handout for his presentation here
Ben can be found at IGotNewsForYou.com

Colleen Wainwright
Our new contributor, Colleen, gives us some advice about some of the better tricks one might use to improve their customer service offering. She hints also about a story of bad customer service involving the worlds largest online bookseller. You can email Colleen for that story.
Colleen Wainwright is an L.A.-based designer-writer-speaker who started calling herself "the communicatrix" when she hit three hyphens. When she's not yakking about business-y stuff for GBSBS, she yaks about all sorts of stuff at Communicatrix.com


Chris Brogan
Finally, I talk about Experience Management: Taking your customer into the story of your business. How do you engage your customers in a way that they walk away from your business with a great impression of the experience they had with your product, service, or brand?
I'm all over the place. Stop by [chrisbrogan.com] to learn a bit more about your temporary host.



Music
These tracks were used for background music:
rye soto with Cool Jam
SmilinCynic with Trippin Out My Head
Jeff Shields - Groovalaicious.
Alamantra with Surf Babe

Episode 3: Networking

Great Big Small Business Show- Ep 3- Networking

• Connecting with Connectors- Chris Brogan
• The Networking Survival Guide - Becky McCray
• Interesting Introductions - Marco Terry
• Two Secrets of Networking - Heidi Miller
• 7 Reasons to Have an Advisory Board- Steve Rucinski
• Top 3 Networking Tips for Cowboys, Renegades, Damsels in Distress. -Laura Allen
• Ask for Help - Benjamin Yoskovitz
• Networking Means Trusted Relationships- Bill Gregory

Connecting with Connectors - Chris Brogan

Chris Brogan plays fill in host for this episode, and starts off by talking about what networking isn't. Networking isn't schmoozing, or it isn't when done properly. Networking isn't one-sided withdrawals without reciprocation. Networking is a way to extend your capabilities and the capabilities of others.

Chris talks a little about NEVER EAT ALONE by Keith Ferrazzi, including connecting with connectors and the seven professions where you might find help reaching new connections.

Chris Brogan can be found at [chrisbrogan.com]

Review of The Networking Survival Guide - Becky McCray

Networking is really relationship building, whether at a formal networking event or as a part of everyday life. Becky McCray reviews The Networking Survival Guide by Diane Darling, and shares some of the best tips to help build relationships and survive those formal networking events. Don't forget your networking survival kit: a pen that you can lose, a Sharpie to embolden your name on the name badge, breath mints, and business cards in a case. Diane Darling's website is www.effectivenetworking.com. Becky McCray is publisher of the Small Biz Survival site.

Interesting Introductions- Marco Terry

Guest contributor Marco says the secret trick to powerful networking is all in the introduction. He gives thorough examples, complete with sound effects. Tips included in this segment involve answering some great questions. "How do you help people?" "What results do you produce?"

Marco Terry is president of Commercial Capital LLC, a firm that provides business financing though factoring, invoice factoring and purchase order financing. He can be reached at (866) 730 1922.

Two Secrets of Networking - Heidi Miller

Heidi Miller discusses her introduction to networking by one of the masters, Bob Berg, author of ENDLESS REFERRALS. Two of the most important things Bob taught were a variation on Dr. Stephen Covey's "Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood," which involves being helpful to others first and foremost.

Second, it is always more important that YOU get the other person's business card instead of getting your card out. This way, YOU can send a follow-up email, or send a card. It gives you something concrete, whereas hoping they do something with your card is passive.

Heidi Miller, shameless self-promoter and corporate spokesperson for hire can be found at Heidi Miller Presents.

7 Reasons to have an Advisory Board- Steve Rucinski

Steve Rucinski gives us part 1 of a two part series on advisory boards. He explains the value of the expertise of advisors, the benefit of their business contacts, and all the reasons that an advisory board for a small business is better than a standard Board of Directors.

Steve Rucinski can be found at smbceo.com.

Top 3 Networking Tips for Cowboys, Renegades, Damsels in Distress. –Laura Allen

Top Three Networking Tips for: Cowboys, Renegades, Damsels in Distress and the small business owners who can sometimes feel like a cowboy, renegade or damsel-in-distress while trying to pitch themselves at a networking event. Hear how Wyatt Earp pitched his gunslinging friend Doc Holliday. Learn what Kenny Rogers can teach you about networking. And, Never under estimate the power of brevity. It just might land you in the New York Times, like it did for Laura's partner Jim! Laura Allen, co-founder of 15SecondPitch.com uses lessons from The Wild West as her inspiration to create her Top Three Networking Tips for today. Laura can be found at 15SecondPitch.com

Ask for Help - Benjamin Yoskovitz

Many small business owners and entrepreneurs have a “take on the world” mentality, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. But with the lack of resources small business owners and entrepreneurs have to deal with, asking for help is paramount.

And the key to asking for help is to realize it’s a dialogue between people, not just a
Q&A session where we can ask questions and expect answers. It’s a form of networking and when done properly can yield amazing results. When asking for help, it’s critical to provide something of value in return.

Ben Yoskovitz can be found at IGotNewsForYou.com.

Networking Means Trusted Relationships- Bill Gregory

Networking as a trust relationship. Bill cuts through the clutter of terms to share the bare bones of what networking really means to him.

Bill Gregory is an expert in patents and intellectual property, and he counsels small business people for a living. He is also a great public speaker. This is his first foray into podcasts.

Unfortunately, the audio for this episode is lost! If you happen to have an archive copy somewhere, we'd love to have it back!

Episode 2: Planning

The Great Big Small Business Show Episode 2: Planning


00:43 Listener Contribution: Nuggets from an Entrepreneurial Chicken: Jon Swanson

Following up on Episode 1, listener Jon Swanson encourages you to listen to your customers. Jon Swanson consumes small business products and services in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He has been an administrative pastor for 6 years, following 15 years in higher education. He used to teach communication and organizational management. He now knows how little he knew then. He lives with his wife, college-age son and high school-age daughter.

05:00 The Essentials of Planning: Becky McCray

Planning your path, setting milestones, measuring, comparing and adjusting form a sytem you’ll use over and over in your business. Becky McCray walks you through the system, reminding you of some of the key concepts of successful planning.

08:10 Rockstar Planning: Chris Brogan

Planning projects can be one of the toughest aspects of running a business, but not the way Chris Brogan approaches it! Put on your rockstar attitude and listen in!

13:00 Planning to Avoid “Putting Out Fires”: Benjamin Yoskovitz

Small business owners and entrepreneurs will always be “putting out fires” and “wearing lots of hats.” It’s just the way it is. But that doesn’t mean we can’t be more prepared to handle crisis when it inevitably hits. Ben Yoskovitz provides us with 4 steps to help us get more prepared, keeping in mind that there’s always a shortage of time. Start working through these steps, and in only 30-minutes per day, Ben believes you can get more organized and better prepared to handle crisis. Ben Yoskovitz is co-founder of IGotNewsForYou.com.

18:30 Planning to Protect Your Ideas: Bill Gregory

Protecting your ideas requires planning on a different scale. Bill Gregory prepares you to take stock of and protect your key business ideas.

23:12 More About the Four Marketing Mistakes: Steve Rucinski

When marketing efforts are not successful, many companies wonder why. They sent out direct mail, or refreshed their Web site, or attended a trade show, but are left disappointed and frustrated with languishing sales and underused resources. Why isn’t the phone ringing? Steve Rucinski shares how to improve your marketing efforts in this segment.

28:11 The Four Keys to the Killer 15 Second Pitch: Laura Allen

Do you have trouble answering that eternal question, “So, what do you do?” If so, here’s an easy 4 Step formula to help you create a killer 15SecondPitch that you can start using immediately. One word of warning; you need to be willing to stand out from the crowd in order to create a great pitch. Sample pitches are included from three diverse professionals. Laura Allen shows you how to create a KILLER 15 Second Pitch in 4 easy steps. Laura Allen is the co-founder of 15 Second Pitch.com.

Episode 1: Talking to your customers

The Great Big Small Business Show Episode 1: Talking to Your Customers
Steve Yastrow says that a customer is “anyone whose actions affect your results.” So today’s show covers important information for every aspect of your business communications.

‘I’ is the New Black
The trend in communication is ‘authenticity of voice.’ As a small business person, you have a big advantage as a real person, and you are the message. Heidi Miller explains more about using your voice. Heidi Miller is a Shameless Self Promoter at Heidi Miller Presents.

Podcasting for Your Small Business
Throw out the term “podcasting” for a moment. What if you as a small business owner could have a conversation with a customer you haven’t met yet? The beauty of podcasting is that it starts a digital conversation with customers you didn’t even know you had. Chris Brogan picks a small business in his town, a retail ceramics shop, and gives you and idea of how that store could use podcasting to reach its audience/customers. Chris Brogan is Chief Content Officer at Grasshopper New Media.

The Five Biggest Marketing Mistakes
You know that marketing is critical to your business, and that it is changing rapidly. But do you know what the most damaging marketing mistakes are? In the first part of a series, Steve Rucinski walks you through the five biggest marketing mistakes that small businesses make. Steve Rucinski is a Small Business CEO and can also be found at Small Business Trends Radio.

The Power of the 15 Second Pitch
In a world of instant information, information overload, and a deficit of attention, your window for making a first impression is shrinking. You have to pick one thing to be known for, and then also find a way to be interesting, funny, clever or authentic if you want to get your message through. Laura Allen shows you how to find your one thing to build a powerful 15 second pitch. Laura Allen is the co-founder of 15 Second Pitch.

A Real ‘What’s In It For Me’ Example
Talking with your customers means speaking to them personally, no matter what method you choose to do it. Becky McCray tells a story of two different approaches she received this week, and which one actually got the desired results. Becky McCray is the publisher of Small Biz Survival.