Startup BizCast

People like to call social media the new town hall, and it truly is.  Whenever there’s a big news event, people hop onto sites like Facebook and Twitter to talk about it.  But, what should your business do with its social media presence during a national tragedy or massive news event?  In this episode of […]

Having too much work is a great problem to have, until it’s so much that you don’t have time to actually do the work.  In this episode of Startup BizCast, host Steve Mullen gives some advice on what to do when that “great problem to have” gets out of control. To ensure you don’t miss […]

As the owner of PR and social media firm, Startup BizCast host Steve Mullen knows where a lot of the landmines are hidden in that world, and how to avoid them.  In this episode, he talks about he biggest mistakes that can be made in several different areas of public relations. To ensure you don’t […]

Working from home is fantastic, but for many people it’s a serious struggle.  How do you get past the idea that there are other things you could do around the house OTHER than working?  In this episode, host Steve Mullen runs down some of the problems related to having a home office, and gives some […]

Have you ever gotten yourself in a long conversation with someone you thought could end up being a client, and they asked question after question about how you would handle certain situations?  Have you wondered whether you should really be giving out that information for free?  In this episode, host Steve Mullen talks about when it’s […]

Setting your prices for potential business is a hard thing, because most of the time the potential client doesn’t tell you how much they’re willing to pay you.  So, how can you make sure you’re not under-charging, or asking for so much that you don’t get the work?  Host Steve Mullen has some tips. To […]

If you want to speak to your audience through traditional media relations, advertising, or social media, you need to know where to find them.  In this episode of Startup BizCast, host Steve Mullen talks about a new survey on the subject that has some groundbreaking results. If you’d like to read more about the survey, […]

It’s tough being the owner of a micro business or sole proprietorship.  In many cases, you’re the only one doing the work and you don’t have anyone to consult or bounce ideas off of.  In this episode, EndGame PR President Steve Mullen gives advice geared directly toward this type of business. To ensure you don’t […]

Your business is probably on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.  You may even be on Instagram.  But, are you actually communicating, or are you just making announcements?  In this episode, EndGame PR President Steve Mullen gives some advice to ensure your social media efforts truly are social. To ensure you don’t miss a single episode of […]

It’s completely understandable that it’s hard to find time for social media when you’re a small business owner, but not doing it is a mistake.  In this episode, host Steve Mullen gives some advice to streamline your business social media processes and make sure you keep up to date. To ensure you don’t miss a […]

This episode is all about who your friends are on social media, or, more specifically, who your friends should be.  Most business owners and social media managers maintain personal accounts that they don’t want to (and probably shouldn’t) mix with their business accounts.  While they may have figured out who they should connect with in […]

Our country has a fake news problem.  A lot of people use the term to describe news stories they simply disagree with, but truly the spread of incorrect news is a growing issue.  As a social media manager or business owner, how do you avoid making it worse?  Host Steve Mullen talks about fake news […]

Customer service isn’t something that’s just done face-to-face or even over the phone anymore.  Customers have more of an upper hand now, because they can broadcast their complaints to the world via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.  How do you, as a business owner or manager, deal with it?  In episode 94 of Startup BizCast, host […]

In this episode, I mix it up a little and tackle a topic that’s more about internal communications than PR or social media.  When you have a business that employs people who may be from FOUR different generations, how do you deal with all of their different ways of communicating?  In this episode, host Steve […]

No matter what kind of business you have, there’s a chance that something will happen that will lead to the media reaching out to find you for a story you didn’t really want to be a part of.  How you handle that is called crisis communications, and in this episode, host Steve Mullen runs through […]

It’s no secret that the traditional news media isn’t nearly as powerful or even healthy as it was just a decade or two ago.  Most people get the at least a portion of their news from social media these days.  So, is it really still worth the time to try to get coverage about your […]

I frequently have discussions with clients about which social media outlets they should be using to promote their organizations.  Most small to medium-sized businesses don’t have the time to focus on all of them, so how do you choose?  In this episode, host Steve Mullen will give details about each of the largest social media […]

A social media content strategy is a great idea for organizations of all sizes, but at some point or another, it’s likely you’ll run out of ideas of what to write about.  What do you do then?  Panic?  Hopefully not.  In this episode of Startup BizCast, host Steve Mullen gives some tips to avoid social […]

While Facebook has been a blessing for businesses trying to build an audience, over the past few years we’ve seen those blessings limited as the social media giant makes it more and more obvious that it wants you to pay for the right to access your audience.  In this episode of Startup BizCast, we examine […]

It’s been a long wait for Episode 87 of Startup BizCast, but that wait is over.  After nine years, I’m publishing all new episodes, starting today.  Startup BizCast began in 2007, and offers advice for owners of small and medium-sized businesses. This episode reintroduces the show and talks about the new direction I’m taking, and […]

There has been quite a gap between episodes 85 and 86.   The reasons for that are plentiful, but one of the biggest is that I’ve been doing a lot of speaking engagements that have taken away the time I would normally have spent on this podcast.   For this episode, I wanted to make […]

Between hardware like mobile phones and new social media tools, there’s so much new technology coming out every day that it can be hard to keep track.   If you’re able to harness some of these tools, however, it can make your work more profitable and sometimes even easier.   The topic of this episode […]

The social media landscape changes so quickly … almost every day!   The pace of change is so fast, in fact that it’s sometimes hard for professionals to keep up, let alone small business owners who have other things to worry about.   For that reason, in Startup BizCast #84 I decided to revisit the […]

It’s no April Fools … tax day in the U.S. is rapidly approaching.   That means you’d better be getting to work on your tax returns.   If you’re not, you may need to think about filing for an extension.   Our guest on this episode of Startup BizCast is Ryan Thompson from FileLater, an […]

After a bit of a long hiatus, Startup BizCast is back with episode 82!   In this show, we take the pulse of entrepreneurship.   How are things going out there?   Our guest is Chris Benjamin from Rogue CFO.   He’s a contract CFO, working with companies that need someone in that position, but […]

It’s tough to hire new employees these days.   It may seem like a strange statement, and it’s not top on the list of concerns of most people, but it’s something to consider.   If you’re one of the small businesses that’s actually thriving in this weak economy, and you put an ad in the […]

Back in the 1990s, all you needed to do if you wanted funding for your business was show up with an interesting company name and slogan … and you’d get all you wanted.   These days … not so much.   With the economy withering, so is the amount of funding available.   To gain […]

After missing a week of the show … I’m back!   This week we have our promised episode on how small business owners can use Twitter.   I’m a member of the micro-blogging site and use it quite a bit, but I decided to bring in a guest who is even more immersed in the […]

This week we welcome back one of our favorite guests.   Ken Colburn from Data Doctors joins us to talk about this year’s Consumer Electronics Show.   Ken was at the show in Las Vegas, covering it not only for his own newsletter but also for CNN!   He gives us the rundown on a […]

Happy New Year everyone!   Startup BizCast is back from the Christmas and New Year’s break, and ready for action! In this episode, I give a few suggestions for resolutions for this year for small business owners.   More importantly, however, I’d like YOUR input.   What do you think small business owners should resolve […]

There’s a large portion of the population that would probably rather take a bath in a tub full of those newly-discovered cyanide spitting pink millipedes than speak in front of a room full of people.   Public speaking is one of the top fears out there, but when you’re asked to talk about yourself and […]

Free is good … free is great!   With times as rough as they are for small businesses, we need to save money wherever and whenever possible.   This week on Startup BizCast Ken Colburn from Data Doctors and I run down some of the best FREE resources on the `net for your small business! […]

This week we tackle small business websites, and what they need.   I go solo to discuss three different types of small biz sites, and the integral parts of each.   Included are the online business card, the online store, and the social media hub.   This is a shorter episode, as I’m slammed trying […]

Note: I’m publishing a day earlier than usual this week, partly because there was no episode last week and partly because of the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S. This week we have not one piece of advice … but five!   The guest for Startup BizCast’s small business advice segment is Jim Tracy, founder and […]

A few weeks back I was one of the presenters in two different webinars from PRWeb.   Each of the presentations was about small business marketing, and during each I talked about business blogging.   And … after each I received a number of emails from people who were confused about how to do it. […]

Local, state, and federal U.S. government contracts are NOT easy to get.   However, they tend to bring in good money, particularly for small business owners who aren’t used to multi-thousand or million dollar deals.   And, it’s unlikely our government is going to go out of business any time soon — a major consideration […]

This week, I welcome a good friend and guest from the first handful of Startup BizCast episodes.   The topic of the week is SEO for press releases.   More and more people are catching on to the fact that news releases can be used for SEO purposes, but many people don’t know how to […]

Despite having a bigtime name behind them, businesses like McDonalds, Hair Cuttery, and Century 21 are all small businesses.   They’re franchises, and most of the time they’re owned by someone in your area.   There are challenges inherant to marketing a franchise small business, however, not the least of which is that people don’t […]

This week, we’re talking about how to manage the flow of money going out the door, while the poor economy worldwide may be limiting the amount of money that’s coming in the door.   My guest is Toffer Grant, founder and CEO of PEXCard, a company that offers prepaid VISA cards for use by businesses […]

Almost a year and a half ago, in episode five of Startup BizCast, I reviewed a list of online news release distribution services.   These sites will post and distribute your news release across the web, bringing benefits like SEO and potential media coverage.   Since it’s been so long since that episode, and a […]

A recent study from ABI Research indicates that the number of people watching videos online has doubled in the past year.   It’s obvious that people are becoming more comfortable using this technology.   What that means, is that you should be using it for your business!   My guest this week is Benjamin Wayne […]

Are the worst enemies to your small office computer network banging on the gates, or walking around inside the castle?   Truly, there are plenty of people out there trying to harm your business, either by writing viruses or actively trying to gain access to your data.   You need to protect yourself from those […]

Fall isn’t a time when you normally think much about taxes … unless, that is, you filed for an extension back in April.   If you did, that means your taxes are due next month.   Additionally, the more thinking you do NOW, the higher the chances you’ll lower your tax burden when you file […]

These days, if you only use your cell phone to talk to other people, you’re considered behind the times.   Today’s cell phones email, text, surf the web, and much more.   My guest this week is Mark Asnes from Wireless Zone.   He has tips for how you can use your cell phone to […]

I love it when someone emails a friend about my business.   How would you like it if thousands of people were emailing friends about something you created?   When something on the Internet gains that kind of traction and gets spread around from friend to friend, it’s said that it’s “gone viral”.   In […]

It feels good to get back into the studio chair after taking a couple of weeks off this month — one due to workload and one due to vacation.   This week we’re talking about another new media tool that you can use to promote and brand your small business.   Rich Baker, CEO of […]

This is a packed show! In this week’s interview segment: What if one of your customers became the victim of identity theft … and you were the cause?   Needless to say, it wouldn’t be good for your business.   This week we’re talking about protecting the personal information of your customers.   As someone […]

This week we’re joined by an honest-to-goodness double agent.   It’s true.   Double Agent Derek Meister is with the Geek Squad, a service that provides technology solutions for consumers through Best Buy’s retail stores.   He joins us to talk about must-have technology for different types of small business owners.   If you’re anything […]

I’m back!   After a one week hiatus, Startup BizCast returns for episode 58.   This show ran a touch long, due to having listener feedback and a longish interview.   Both were so good, however, that I just couldn’t chop any more out.   So … the show is 15 seconds longer than my […]

On this week’s episode, we’re talking about small business owners who also happen to be stay-at-home moms. My guest and her partner call them “Mompreneurs”. These moms are running service or product businesses as a source of secondary or even primary income for their household, and they’re balancing it with taking care of the kids. […]

I didn’t really know what to call this abbreviated episode, but it came to me as I was reading a story about the White House needing to apologize to the Premier of Italy after they released a less-than-flattering biography about him.   I decided to talk about tips to help you avoid mistakes with email […]