Small Business Big Challenge

Michelle started her promising career with an MBA in finance and entrepreneurship from Ashford University. Only a few years later, she suffered a life-altering stroke at only 36 years old and had to relearn everything and start her life over again. Far from giving up, she rebuilt her life and is now on a mission to help others find freedom from all the unnecessary tasks, using the strategies and systems she's successfully created for herself. For the last 14 years, she is running “Awesome Outsourcing, LLC “, Combining her strategies with her talents of untangling people's problems and creating actionable and easy-to-follow plans for them to hand things off. Michelle lives in Pendleton, Oregon, with her cat and dog and loves going hiking and biking http://awesomeoutsourcing.com https://www.facebook.com/diakonos23 https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelleethompson/ book: running on autopilot (amazon) --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/smallbusinessbigchallenge/message

My guest today is Brandon Leibowitz Brandon, got his start in digital marketing after graduating from college with a degree in Business Marketing and his first job was to handle the marketing aspects of an e-commerce website, including search engine optimization. Later on, Brandon started his own company called “SEO Optimizers” and he had a friend of his, build a website for his company in exchange for doing SEO for his friend's insurance website. His friend's website got ranked above government websites for all of his major keywords and that's how he started to freelance until he was able to recently quit his day job to concentrate on his company full time. Today, Brandon helps small and medium-sized companies get ranked at the top of Google searches by using search engine optimization tactics and bringing in traffic via social media and paid ads. Brandon lives in Los Angeles, CA, and when he is not doing Search Engine Optimization, he enjoys skating and snowboarding. Free Webinar on SEO: https://seooptimizers.com/gift https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandonleibowitz/ https://www.instagram.com/leibowitzbrandon/ https://www.facebook.com/BrandonLeibs https://www.youtube.com/c/BrandonLeibowitz/videos https://twitter.com/brandonleibs https://losangeles.score.org/author/brandon-leibowitz https://seooptimizers.com/seo/podcast/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/smallbusinessbigchallenge/message

My guest today is, Johnathan McFarlane. Johnathan started in the fitness world, working with big brands and superstar athletes like NFL star Rob Gronkowski and UFC legend George St. Pierre. He is now, director of Strategy at Hybrid Marketing Co, the world's largest cannabis-focused marketing agency where he builds creative marketing and advertising solutions that circumvent the tight restrictions placed on the rapidly growing cannabis industry. Johnathan lives in Denver Co, with his wife and a 4-year-old. In his free time, he is Hiking and fundraising for Ukraine. Links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnathanmcfarlane/ https://hybridmarketingco.com/ johnathan@hybridmarketingco.com Intro: Unlike most states, which have legalized Cannabis via ballot referendum, New York doesn't have much of a tradition or infrastructure around statewide voter initiatives. Therefore, it is up to the State Legislature to propose and vote on new legislation, that will be signed or vetoed by the Governor. The debate generally gains steam every spring during budget negotiations, when the Governor introduces a budget proposal for the following fiscal year. In New York, cannabis for medical use started to be legal in 2014. In 2018, New York state started a comprehensive study to gauge the likely impacts of legalizing recreational sales which concluded that “The positive effects of a regulated cannabis market in NYS outweigh the potential negative impacts.” There were many debates on whether or not municipalities would be able to ‘opt-out' and on the push to ensure a large portion of new tax revenues would be invested in communities of color which have been most affected by what most now see as historically racist and damaging enforcement of cannabis laws. As of today, New Yorkers are now allowed to possess small amounts of cannabis and smoke, ingest, or consume cannabis products. However, the timeline for dispensaries to open and sales to kick off remains distant. The law doesn't provide a specific timeline, but the first sales aren't expected until the end of this year or later and it will take another 18 months for New Yorkers to be allowed to cultivate a small number of plants at home for recreational purposes. While many small businesses are awaiting the state to issue licenses for farming, dispensing, and delivering cannabis products, there are many unanswered questions, and these businesses wonder how they will pivot their business to cannabis and position their product in the market. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/smallbusinessbigchallenge/message

My guest today is Wendy Barlin, Wendy is an immigrant from South Africa who came to this country with nothing but a bag of dirty clothes and a CPA license. Today she is the owner of About Profit (her website is: Wendybarlin.com). She is the author of 2 books: “That's Deductible!” and “Never Budget Again”. She has been an educator for small businesses for over 25 years and has made multiple TV appearances. Wendy lives in Jacksonville, FL with her husband, 2 kids, and a big fluffy dog. Book: That's Deductible! Wendybarlin.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/smallbusinessbigchallenge/message

My guest today is John Cameron, John wanted to follow in his father's footsteps so he started a home-business service company and later and cofounded the “Student Business Launch Program” where he helps students get hands-on marketing, sales, and management experience by starting their first business while they are still in university and get the coveted 2 years of experience by the time they graduate. Discover More about John: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johncameroniv/ https://www.tiktok.com/@itsjohnnyc https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC89u9GoBt2podhvK0X2zz_A https://www.instagram.com/johnnycameron_/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/smallbusinessbigchallenge/message

My guest today is Mitch Gray, Mitch teaches business leaders how to hire and keep great people through strategic recruiting, in-depth development, and great culture design. Mitch is a Leadership and Personal Development Guide and Speaker. He is the author of the book called How to hire and keep great people” and he is the host of the Mitch Gray Podcast Mitch has 3 awesome kids and lives in Clovis, New Mexico Book: How to Hire and Keep Great People Topics: Designing a Great Culture Finding “great” People Building a great Team --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/smallbusinessbigchallenge/message

Being a small business owner brings you a lot of satisfaction including the feeling of independence and creative freedom/ but there is nothing like the satisfaction of hiring someone. This feeling of being part of the economy by creating jobs and supporting families while growing the people that chose to invest their time and efforts helping you grow your business. But for small businesses, that sense of satisfaction is often numbed by the sheer complexity of the hiring process and payroll regulations. Today we'll talk about payroll with my guest, Charles Read. Charles is an accomplished senior executive and entrepreneur with more than fifty years of financial leadership experience / in a broad range of industries. He is a CPA, U.S Tax Court Practitioner, member of the Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council (IRSAC), and the Founder of GetPayroll. He is also the author of four books. His latest book is titled: The Payroll Book: A Guide for Small Businesses and Startups https://www.getpayroll.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/charles-j-read-cpa/ https://www.thepayrollbook.com (enter your info and discount code PODCAST) --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/smallbusinessbigchallenge/message

Our episode this week is about the 4th industrial revolution also called Industry 4.0. Part of the shift of Industry 4.0 will be through the joining of technologies like artificial intelligence, gene editing, and advanced robotics that will blur the lines between the physical, digital, and biological worlds. This week, I offer you an essay that will focus on how our social, political, and financial lives will be impacted by this advance in technology. Today we will focus on the company and particularly on the customer and employees. Later this week, we'll take about the evolution of Trust in our society and the impact it will have on our political systems. The goal of this essay is to pique your interest so you want to find out more about Industry 4.0 and how, as a business owner, you can adapt to this revolution in the making and adapt all your daily processes and strategies. References: 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals https://everytownresearch.org/maps/gunfire-on-school-grounds/ https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/21/us/school-shooting-us-versus-world-trnd/index.html https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/two-arrested-alleged-conspiracy-launder-45-billion-stolen-cryptocurrency https://www.cgi.com/us/en-us/blog/business-agility/american-constitution-lean-and-agile-framework-government https://themarkup.org/privacy/2021/04/01/the-little-known-data-broker-industry-is-spending-big-bucks-lobbying-congress --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/smallbusinessbigchallenge/message

Our episode this week is about the 4th industrial revolution also called Industry 4.0. Part of the shift of Industry 4.0 will be through the joining of technologies like artificial intelligence, gene editing, and advanced robotics that will blur the lines between the physical, digital, and biological worlds. This week, I offer you an essay that will focus on how our social, political, and financial lives will be impacted by this advance in technology. Today we will focus on the company and particularly on the customer and employees. Later this week, we'll take about the evolution of Trust in our society and the impact it will have on our political systems. The goal of this essay is to pique your interest so you want to find out more about Industry 4.0 and how, as a business owner, you can adapt to this revolution in the making and adapt all your daily processes and strategies. References: 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals https://everytownresearch.org/maps/gunfire-on-school-grounds/ https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/21/us/school-shooting-us-versus-world-trnd/index.html https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/two-arrested-alleged-conspiracy-launder-45-billion-stolen-cryptocurrency https://www.cgi.com/us/en-us/blog/business-agility/american-constitution-lean-and-agile-framework-government https://themarkup.org/privacy/2021/04/01/the-little-known-data-broker-industry-is-spending-big-bucks-lobbying-congress --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/smallbusinessbigchallenge/message

Teaser for Episode on Industry 4.0 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/smallbusinessbigchallenge/message

My guest today is Jeremy Streten, Jeremy is the founder and chief executive o­fficer at Business Legal Lifecycle. He is also the author of the book of the same name “The Business Legal Lifecycle” which includes an Australian, a UK, and a US version. Jeremy lives in Brisbane, Australia with his wife and 2 children. https://businesslegallifecycle.com/sbbc Book: The Business Legal Lifecycle https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremystreten/ https://twitter.com/jeremystreten --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/smallbusinessbigchallenge/message

#Storytelling #public speaking #Confidence #Clarity #Credibility #signature story Robert Kennedy, III https://robertkennedy3.com/ http://kennetikkommunications.com/ http://www.instagram.com/robertkennedy3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWRUZwMjMAw Books: Find your Voice: 28 Secrets To Inspire You To Speak Up 7 Ways To Know You Were Meant To Lead --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/smallbusinessbigchallenge/message

Many small business owners and startups don't realize they have trade secrets to protect. This is why we are going to talk about Trade Secrets and how to protect them. I hope that by the end of the episode, you realize you already have or will have TS and will take steps to start protecting them. Here is the official definition:* A trade secret can be a formula (like a recipe), pattern, physical device, idea, process, or compilation of information that satisfies 2 things: 1- provides the owner of the information with a competitive advantage in the marketplace, and 2- is treated in a way that can reasonably be expected to prevent the public or competitors from learning about it, absent improper acquisition, or theft. Basically, it is something that gives you a competitive advantage because it is secret. So you need to recognize it and protect it accordingly. #IP #Trade Secrets #Protection --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/smallbusinessbigchallenge/message

Understanding basic concepts of Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, and Trade Secrets are part of your Asset Protection program because they are arguably the most valuable assets your company owns. While The need for copyright protection is pretty obvious for a book writer and the need for Patents is clear for a pharmaceutical company, you might be looking at your balance sheet and think your most valuable asset is your inventory or your employees if you are a good leader.... Copyrights: Gives its owner the exclusive right to copy and distribute creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work must be in a tangible medium (ex: on paper, computer file) and It is important to note, You cannot copyright an idea, but you can copyright the expression of this idea. #IP #Intellectual Property #IP law #Copyrights Reference: Is the image public domain? https://www.copyright.gov/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/smallbusinessbigchallenge/message

My guest today is Danny Decker. Danny is a direct-response copywriter and marketing consultant for ambitious entrepreneurs. Danny is also the co-author of a new book that came out last week entitled The Automatic Marketing Machine. This book aims to help ambitious business owners learn how to stop wasting money on marketing that doesn't work / and create simple, effective marketing systems that generate a profit. How to get in touch with Danny and learn more about his book "The Automatic Marketing Machine": Website: https://automaticmarketingmachine.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/automaticmarketingmachine/ Email: office@automaticmarketingmachine.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/smallbusinessbigchallenge/message

#Trademark #IP #Intellectual Property #Registered Trademark #Risk Management Resources: https://www.uspto.gov/ https://apps.dos.ny.gov/publicInquiry/ https://domains.google/ www.stopfakes.gov Did you know that Cellophane and Aspirin were Trademarks that became generic terms and lost their TM! We are talking today about: Company Assets Intellectual Property What is a Trademark Types of Trademarks What is difficult to Trademark [Game with sound marks] How to register a Trademark TM Vs R USPTO.GOV Don't infringe another TM Kalyan C. Kankanala: “Every Trade Mark you Build adds to the financial value of your business, much more than your tangible assets” --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/smallbusinessbigchallenge/message

Today we have a special guest, P.J Reilly, who will share his journey. PJ worked for an insurance company, sold supplements, and worked as a personal trainer. He even went to become a kickboxing champion before finding his entrepreneurial path. Today P.J., who lives in Colorado with his wife and 3 kids is an entrepreneur in what he calls the ‘dirt game': Buying and selling land all over the country. His company is called “Wholesale Land USA”. He also owns a clothing line called “Landlife” How to contact P.J. Reilly: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=564097712 https://www.wholesalelandusa.com https://www.shoplandlife.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/smallbusinessbigchallenge/message

References: Mentorship: https://www.score.org/ Video: The social responsibility of business | Alex Edmans | TEDxLondonBusinessSchool Book: Anyone Can do it – Sahar and Bobby Hashemi Video: First give, then receive: Nong Poonsukwattana at TEDxPortland Study: Diversity drives better decisions Video: Are We Automating Racism? Podcast: NPR – The indicator- Companies get political Companion PDF File Put your ideas on paper Think of your business as a responsible Citizen Augment the Other Partner with your customers to solve a problem Adopt Lean or Agile Thinking for every facet of your business Be Comfortable being uncomfortable Embrace diversity Be curious, keep learning & Seek Mentorship Seek expertise and become partner with your experts Don't Give up Keywords: #leadership, #mindset, #lean, #agile, #diversity, #expertise, #entrepreneur, #startup --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/smallbusinessbigchallenge/message

#Small Business #Negotiation #Deals #Ethics #integrity Small Business Big Challenge.com Today, I am taking you to the beginning of the 20th century and I will tell you a story involving the 22nd amendment, copyright infringement, and the interesting negotiation talent of the campaign manager of Teddy Roosevelt "This story reminds us that reaching an ethical judgment is sometimes difficult. True integrity requires you to be able to distinguish all the shades of grey between black and white. But as a negotiator, it matters. Acting with integrity matters! Respecting the other DOES matter! Do NOT believe these books that tell you that bluffing, puffing, misleading, and not correcting wrong assumptions are 'truthful hyperboles'. They are lies and nothing but lies." For more info go to: Small Business Big Challenge.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/smallbusinessbigchallenge/message

#Leadership #Business Plan #Business Model #Business Model Canvas Links: Business Model Canvas: https://www.strategyzer.com/canvas YouTube- Business Model Canvas Explained with Examples YouTube-Osterwalder explaining the Business Model Canvas Score.org- Template Gallery Genalyte – Like Theranos but it works! Training Videos from SBA.GOV- Writing a Business Plan 7 good reasons to write a business Plan: Prove yourself you are ready Give your company better chances to grow Do your due diligence to lower your risks of failure Determine your financial needs Get funding Attract partners, and employees Create a guide to measure future performance 8 crucial elements in your Business Plan: - The elevator pitch - The Team (you, partners, advisory board, future staffing need) - Your operations and user experience - The market need for your item/service - A competitor analysis - Your roadmap with major milestones - Your financial projections for the next 1 to 2 years - The Capital need (how much money are you trying to raise) --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/smallbusinessbigchallenge/message

Today I invite you to listen to an interview between Brian Loucks, a business mentor with SCORE, and our special guest, Lee James. Both Brian and Lee live in Cuba, NY, and are leaders in our community. Lee will answer today, some questions you sent me, on commercial insurance. Lee James: Sales and Office Manager at Lawrence Dye Inc. Since September 1979! Former president of the chamber of Commerce of Cuba, NY and current town attendant. Married with a son and a daughter https://marshallinsurance.net/cuba-ny-insurance/ Phone: (585) 968-1182 info@marshallinsurance.net Brian Loucks: SCORE mentor in Cuba, NY https://score.org Questions: “I want to open a coffee shop on Main Street, what type of insurance should I get?” “There are hundreds of commercial insurance offers online and they all sound the same to me, how do I figure out what I need and which company to pick?” “What are the advantages of working with an independent agent vs a captive agent?” “I started delivering my baked goods directly to my customers using my personal car. Won't my car insurance cover me in case of an accident?” “I am starting my small business; my budget is tight. How can lower my premiums?” “What information should I prepare before consulting with my insurance agent?” “I heard insurance agents have a fiduciary duty. Can you explain what it means?” “I lost all my inventory in a fire; how long will it take for my insurance to process my claim?” “How often should I re-assess my insurance policy?” “I have a small business where I cut hair from my house, won't my home insurance cover me in case of a problem?” “What distinguishes a great insurance agent from an average one?” --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/smallbusinessbigchallenge/message

#startup #Lean #Agile #Smallbusiness #Minimum Viable Product #Sprint Join us at SmallBusinessBigChallenge.com Today, I will keep on stressing the importance of LEAN and AGILE. Lean and Agile are a mindset and a method, and the more difficult part will be to adopt the mindset The conventional way to start a business is the “Build and they will come” method The Lean startup searches what is the right thing to build that customers want and will pay for as quickly as possible. This method is also called the ‘fail fast method' because instead of finding that your assumptions were wrong after you built your product or service, you get rid of your wrong assumptions at the very beginning of your journey and build a startup based on proven assumptions. To discover what business model will work for you, you need to create what LEAN and Agile call a “Minimum Viable Product” or MVP 1. Observe don't ask! 2. Create a Minimum Viable Product (Concept/ Customer Panel/ Smoke and Mirrors) We will steal one great concept from SCRUM, which is an Agile framework. This concept is the concept of SPRINT. A sprint is a time frame, for example, 2 weeks, during which you create your minimum viable product. To think LEAN you have to change your mindset and your company culture and this is will be the most difficult part of the journey. For example, LEAN requires a culture where the team has the freedom to fail as long as they learn something from each failure that helps the team succeed faster the next time. This is a drastic shift from our culture that thinks that people who fail are ‘losers' to a culture where people who fail are called experienced and have better chances to win the next time. To give us some feedback or to contact us to be on the show, go to SmallBusinessBigChallenge.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/smallbusinessbigchallenge/message

A native of Erwin, Tennessee, Dave grew up in a family that enjoyed making music. Dave is the author of 15 piano albums including his famous album titled “Rachel's Songs” that is playing right now. This song is the inspiration behind his new book titled “Touched by Music” Over the years, Dave has written over 120 songs of soft, soothing, and relaxing instrumental music that has touched the lives of millions around the world In episode 6 titled “Are you ready to start your own business” we mentioned that a good business model is to sell your expertise and we mentioned that Malcolm Gladwell states in his book titled “Outliers” that it takes 10 years full time to become an expert. Well, Dave and I share a passion; playing the piano but Dave is a true expert. He has been playing since he was 5 years old. Dave is one of the lucky ones who made a business out of his passion and expertise. But it was not out of sheer luck, Dave crafted a smart business model and tested it with a single store before scaling up and selling his albums in over 1000 stores. At that point, he was able to dedicate himself to music full time. Listen to Dave share his incredible business journey and let his Passion for music inspire you! Connect with Date and find his book: “Touched by the Music” at https://CombsMusic.com https://www.facebook.com/rfoster74/videos/893538858218669 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/smallbusinessbigchallenge/message

#startup #Lean #Agile #Smallbusiness Join us at SmallBusinessBigChallenge.com This episode is for all the entrepreneurs at heart that have not made the first step yet! Questions: Do you fear financial failure? Do you think your gender or your skin color will make it more difficult to succeed? Do you Fear the Embarrassment of failure? Answers: Don't be scared of statistics! Adopt the Lean or Agile mentality You have to plan to succeed but prepare to fail! Put some distance between you and your company It is all about risk management! (See episode 4- How to approach risk) Share the threat and the opportunities Learn a new perspective on risk assessment. HOMEWORK: - Change your relationship with risks. Be Risk-positive. This might be a long process that you might have to study and experiment in your everyday life. - Start learning about the LEAN mentality and methods, it revolutionized the way I think of everything and helped me take on bigger and more complex projects. Instead of taking huge risks, take small bets and test your ideas with well-crafted experiments that will give you quick results. Then analyze your results and craft your next experiment accordingly. Small failures will lead you to an idea that works and then you can easily scale it up. - Don't fear statistics. Statistics are telling a story, but not YOUR story! instead, use them to your advantage! Understand why other small businesses failed so you can better prepare to prevent their story to be YOUR STORY. - Be customer-centric! Dr. W. Edwards Deming used to say: ‘The customer is the most important part of the production line' --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/smallbusinessbigchallenge/message

#startup #Lean #Agile #Smallbusiness Join us at SmallBusinessBigChallenge.com 10 Questions to find out if you are ready to become an entrepreneur: · Q1- Are you meant to be an entrepreneur? · Q2-Are you physically and emotionally ready & able to work hard? · Q3-Do you have the necessary time and energy? · Q4-Are you passionate and resilient? · Q5-Do you have a good idea or an area of expertise that solves an existing problem? · Q6-What makes you unique in your industry or community? · Q7-Do you have the skills to manage a small business? · Q8-Can you assemble the right team to start your small business? · Q9-Do you have the required skills to start a small business? · Q10-Can you secure the proper financing? Here is your HOMEWORK: - Start making a schedule, try to free up some time, and find out how many hours you can dedicate to your project. - During that time, start developing your business idea: what will your item or service solve? - Write down your business skills, add your strengths and weaknesses. Do you know enough of accounting, do you know online marketing, will you be good with employees, are you a technical person? The list will give you the skill gap you will need to fill and the amount of time you will need to dedicate to these tasks. - Start networking with your community and industry to find work partners to bounce your ideas with, get support, collaboration and study your competition. - At this point, don't look at startup cost or set a budget quite yet! You will do this when you complete your business plan. You don't know if your idea will attract other investors or if you can scale it down. Just look at what financing you can personally bring to the table and make sure you have a 6 to 18 months reserve to live on until your business can show some profit or be prepared to work evenings and weekends until you can afford to leave your day job. - Find a mentor or business coach that will help guide you through the startup process and help you create and validate your business plan. And make sure you take your time… business ideas take time to mature. But despite the high failure rates, the long hours, the high-stress levels, and a host of other problems, entrepreneurs report consistently higher rates of happiness than wage-earning employees. And this is mostly due to a stronger sense of meaning, the ability to unleash their creativity and see the direct impact of their decisions. Starting a business may not make most people rich, but it makes plenty of people happy. References: CliftonStrengths Malcolm Gladwell - Outliers SBA.gov- Write a Business Plan From Desire To Mission | Mohammed Al Qahtani | TEDxNUSciTech --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/smallbusinessbigchallenge/message

#startup #Lean #Technology #Disaster Recovery #Smallbusiness Join us at SmallBusinessBigChallenge.com Today, we'll review the 3 pitfalls and 5 questions you need to ask when acquiring a new piece of software or piece of hardware, and I explain why the price should be your last consideration! Pitfalls: 1- No support 2- No Upgrade/ or infrequent upgrades 3- Difficult Conversion to another vendor 5 Questions to ask when selecting a new technology: 1- The company (you are trying to find out if they will be around in 5 years) 2- Is this application a standard for my company size and industry? 3- Does it have all the features I need? (Ask for a demonstration or free trial) 4- What is the level of support? 5- What is the Price (It should represent how critical the app is in your process) What is Open-source, what are the pros and the cons? Importance of a good backup strategy Join us at SmallBusinessBigChallenge.com and leave us a message! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/smallbusinessbigchallenge/message

#startup #Lean #Agile #Smallbusiness Join us at SmallBusinessBigChallenge.com Too often, young entrepreneurs have a limited concept of risks and rarely know the process to mitigate them. They often just disregard them which is definitely the worst approach! For example, there is an estimated 40% of businesses that have no insurance whatsoever! Today, we will go back to the definition of risk and expand on it! We will also learn how to create a good risk management plan. To help you create your plan, download the companion file which includes a template Here is the 6-step process to manage risks: 1- Objective at risk (goal/ what are you trying to achieve? Being successful = use your mission statement) 2- Identify the risks: = what could hinder or help me achieve my goal? = understanding uncertainties in the right context and environment. 3- Assess risks and prioritize them (what is the probability and severity of impact? And which risks are the most important? 4- Create a risk management plan: (What can be done to increase opportunities and decrease threats?) 5- Execute the plan 6- Monitor & Review (did it work, if not what else can we do? / Are risks different today?) 4 ways to act on a risk: · You can eliminate the risk = eliminate the uncertainty = Avoid threat / Exploit the opportunity (ex: skydiving) · Transfer or share the risk = threat (insurance, contract manufacturing) Opportunities (partnership, joined venture) · Reduce/mitigate the risk = lower probability or severity of impact ex: sprinkler system (lower impact) Ex: safety training = lower probability · Accept the risk = include it in the baseline and create a plan B. ex: If my webserver fails, my website will be down until I fix it. Plan B: I will get a backup server. Other key concepts: Risks are natural and everywhere, but we have the ability to managethem! Risks are “All uncertainty that matters” not just threats Some risks might keep us awake at night, but risks are also the opportunities that make us get out of bed in the morning! To see the Video version: https://youtu.be/S7WRrCpszk8 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/smallbusinessbigchallenge/message

#startup #Lean #Commercial Insurance #Smallbusiness Join us at SmallBusinessBigChallenge.com Key info and concepts: An estimated 75% of U.S. businesses are underinsured, and 40% have no insurance at all! There are 3 reasons to have proper insurance: You, your employees, and your customers! insurance agents owe a fiduciary duty to their clients! your goal as a small business owner is not to become an expert in insurance! Your goal is to learn the basic information and team up with your insurance agent to get the best policy for your specific needs, at the best rate. To that goal, here there are 6 fundamentals you need to follow: 1- Have a basic understanding of the different types of commercial insurance 2- Know what insurance is required for your company 3- Understand the risks associated with your specific industry 4- Prioritize coverage over cost 5- Learn what will affect your insurance rates 6- Remember to revisit your policy yearly and when your business is changing Insurance is a tool for risk management and asset protection and it is not something you acquire by spending hours price hunting on the internet but by creating a partnership with an experienced local independent insurance agent whose expertise will be put to the service of your company. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/smallbusinessbigchallenge/message

#startup #Lean #Legal Structure #Smallbusiness #LLC #Sole Proprietorship Join us at SmallBusinessBigChallenge.com Here is what to consider when selecting the proper legal structure - Number of owners in the company - Your need for Asset protection - The Tax implications (income tax, self-employment taxes, deductions) - How you will raise your starting capital - If you want your company to eventually go public - Complexity and cost of forming and running your company Don't run your business as a Sole proprietorship just because it is simple and cheap! If you decide to have a Sole proprietorship don't forget to register your DBA and get all the proper licenses and permits If you select to create an LLC, make sure that: - you have an operating agreement and follow it! - Get EIN - Business Bank account under the name of the LLC. Don't commingle personal and business funds! - Don't think that creating an LLC offers full-proof asset protection against a personal debt File income tax and make your annual and/or Biennial filings! A great resource to learn about creating and filing a small business is https://www.sba.gov/ Make sure you partner with your attorney and tax professional to decide, set up, and maintain your legal structure and more importantly create an asset protection strategy! References: From Sole Proprietorship to LLC in 10 Simple Steps! (Legally) --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/smallbusinessbigchallenge/message

Our country had its dark hours, but the United States of America is still considered a pioneer of human rights in the world. And because of a simple headnote jotted down by a court reporter, the same rights have been extended to our companies and it resulted in the anthropomorphism of these companies that we consider more and more human over the years. We know that the advancement of human rights made people thrive and it is clear today that advancing human rights and responsibilities to companies is doing the same. Our companies are innovative and employee-centric and will flourish in this global market. Therefore, whether your company is a startup or well-established, join the movement by writing down your mission statement, your vision, and your set of values that will make up the conscience of your enterprise. Post them on your walls, in your board room, and on your website, and more importantly, let them inspire you! A great Tedx I would recommend is: From Desire To Mission | Mohammed Al Qahtani | TEDxNUSciTech --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/smallbusinessbigchallenge/message