The Smart Business Business Revolution Podcast

If you are in business today, you probably have a website or a blog. If you don't have either, then you can check out now. Hand over the keys to your business and turn off the lights on your way out. But if you do have a website or a blog, then you probably are familiar with the term web traffic. Traffic is the lifeblood of the web. It is, simply put, visitors to a website or a blog, and without them, a website or a blog is pretty much worthless.  It's as good as a glossy brochure promoting your business - sitting in the middle of an empty field. Corbett Barr knows a thing or two about building and growing traffic. The creator of the popular blog Think Traffic and numerous courses related to building web traffic, Corbett has developed a well-deserved reputation as someone who knows what attracts and keeps visitors to a website. In the process, he has built Think Traffic into a thriving and growing business. What I really like about Corbett though is his philosophy is very well grounded. He doesn't try to sell snake oil or get-traffic-quick solutions. He actually is a big proponent of focusing on business fundamentals and treating each reader as you would want to be treated. In the course of my interview for Podcast #5, Corbett and I discussed the following: the importance of treating readers like human beings why he coined the term "Write Epic Shit"and why you need Epic Shit on your website or blog. why he believes good online content is not enough - and why he says you must create content that will improve people's lives. how people who are just getting started online can develop their writing skills, video skills and interviewing skills. why he says most businesses don't put enough effort into the content on their websites or blogs the importance of sharing actual experiences and original research when blogging. how writing for the web is different from other types of writing, such as writing for newspapers or books. the importance of making a personal connection with individual readers. why popular bloggers (and bestselling authors) such as Seth Godin, Gary Vaynerchuk and Chris Guillebeau may spend a majority of their days replying to readers' emails. when networking, why you should put friendship first, before business. the importance of surrounding yourself with others who will tell you what you're doing is perfectly normal for times when you struggle. the importance of having an email list and how to get people to sign up for your email list.   Right Click to download the MP3 Enjoy the show! Click here to subscribe via iTunes   Resources mentioned in this Podcast: Think Traffic Smart Passive Income Copyblogger Sonia Simone Fizzle (not mentioned, but this is Corbett's new project with Chase Reeves and Caleb Wojcik - I am a member and it's a great training program.) Zen Habits Chris Guillebeau The World Domination Summit Seth Godin Gary Vaynerchuk Adam Baker of ManVsDebt.com        

For centuries, reporters needed sources to provide quotes for their stories, and experts who wanted to be quoted in the media had no easy way to get matched up with those reporters. Peter Shankman solved that age-old problem. In this episode of the Smart Business Revolution Podcast, I interview Peter Shankman, who created the Help A Reporter Out website, which matches up reporters and sources. He is also an author, keynote speaker, PR strategist, and one of the most widely quoted experts on social media. If you haven't checked out Help A Reporter Out (HARO), you really should (after listening to the podcast, of course).  I've used it a number of times  - both to get interview subjects for this blog and podcast, and to be quoted in the press. It's no wonder Peter said that within six months, HARO started generating substantial revenue (so much so that he eventually sold it, though he remains involved). Peter is also the author of Customer Service: New Rules for a Social Media World and Can We Do That?! Outrageous PR Stunts That Work--And Why Your Company Needs Them (affiliate links) and was the founder of The Geek Factory, a PR firm based in New York city with clients from American Express to Disney. In this episode, we discuss: why Peter created Help a Reporter Out, even though the website undermined (in a sense) his value for reporters who had previously depended on him to provide sources for quotes in their news stories. the number one reason he tells new new clients they need to have a social media strategy. why he advises clients to get started in social media by just listening how services like Twitter have changed the landscape for businesses easy tips for businesses just dipping their toes in the water with social media, whether it is with Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn and other social media sites. why Peter follows the theory "if you do something great, the universe will reward you."   Right Click here to download the MP3   Enjoy the show! Click here to subscribe via iTunes Photo credit  

In this episode of the Smart Business Revolution Podcast, I speak with Kevin Waldron, a successful entrepreneur, business coach, and exit plan consultant. Kevin has a great life story. He arrived in the U.S. from Scotland in the early 1980s, and stumbled upon working in disaster restoration, which is the general term for companies that go in to clean up the mess after a restaurant or other business has a fire, flood, or other messy disaster. It's dirty work, but turned out to be quite lucrative. Over the course of 17 years, Kevin studied other successful entrepreneurs and methodically put in place their methods and techniques, slowly growing his company organically and through acquisition. At its peak, he took in $24 million/year in revenue, and had over 230 employees and 5 offices. After selling his business in 2005, Kevin decided to go help other entrepreneurs use the techniques he had studied and used to build their own businesses. He is currently the CEO of Waldron Consulting Group, where he coaches and trains a wide range of small to medium size clients - mostly go-getting, driven entrepreneurs like Kevin. I recorded this interview with Kevin a number of months ago, and since then he has become a good friend and my partner on the Business Profit Academy. There was so much good advice in this original interview that I knew I wanted to use it on the Podcast. In spite of all his success, Kevin is still an incredibly modest, down-to-earth guy who just happens to really know his stuff. That's why I like him so much. I bet you can't help liking him either. In this episode, we discuss: how Kevin built his company up to $24M/year in revenue with 230 employees and 5 offices. why he ran the company like he was going to sell it, even years before he ever decided to sell how he burnt out once margins went down and insurance companies started fighting over payments how he created a plan to sell his business why it’s important to make sure your employees have relationships with your key customers why he says “if you have to be there every day to turn on the lights, that’s not a business, that’s a job.”   Right Click here to download the MP3   Enjoy the show! Click here to subscribe via iTunes

In this episode of the Smart Business Revolution Podcast, I had the pleasure of speaking with Doug Lebda, the founder of one of the most successful online businesses to survive through the dot-com era to today, Lending Tree. LendingTree.com was founded in 1996, and was inspired by Lebda's own personal frustration applying for a mortgage. He wrote the business plan for Lending Tree while still in business school, then left a comfortable job as an auditor with PriceWaterhouseCoopers to roll the dice and launch Lending Tree. He later oversaw the sale of Lending Tree to IAC Corp, the innovative and entrepreneurial holding company run by Barry Diller which owns numerous well known online businesses, such as Match.com, The Daily Beast, and College Humor.  He later served as President of IAC Corp from 2005 through 2008. After IAC Corp decided to sell off Lending Tree in 2008, Lebda returned to the company he founded, and oversaw a successful turnaround, helping Lending Tree to thrive and grow once again. In this 23 minute interview, we discuss: how Lebda saw an opportunity for a new business after experiencing personal frustration through the inefficient process of applying for a mortgage to buy a house. how he was able to survive the dot-com meltdown by focusing on improving profitability, cutting costs, and focusing on customer satisfaction. what it was like working with legendary business icon Barry Diller which he described as "challenging and fantastic" the difficulty of doing layoffs to cut costs while simultaneously launching new lines of business. how Lending Tree knew where its revenue was going to come from before it even started - unlike many other dot-com businesses. IAC's business accelerator program - an internal program to fix problems being experienced by companies in IAC's portfolio by bringing together talent across IAC to diagnose and fix the problem during a two-day "bootcamp" at company headquarters. how he was able to supervise hundreds of employees by setting clear goals and objectives, creating a good culture, and empowering employees. how Lending Tree went public in February 2000, just a month before the stock market hit its peak in March 2000. how Tree.com keeps employees motivated (hint: it has to do with providing a gym, catering lunch each day, a pool table, and a bar in the office - sounds pretty good to me.) his experiences as angel investor involved in RecycleBank, a green tech company that was named one of the 50 most innovative companies in the world; StellaService which does online ratings and reviews through mystery shopping of online retailers; and Tykoon, a financial platform for children and families where kids can track savings and earn real money through allowances, chores, etc. Right Click here to download the MP3   Enjoy the show! Click here to subscribe via iTunes

Drum roll please ... I am very excited to present my very first Smart Business Revolution podcast! If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you know there have been a lot of changes in the past year. We basically overhauled the entire site, and adding a podcast was a major goal of mine.  In fact, I have wanted to start a podcast for more than two years now, and it is very satisfying to see it finally up and running. The goal of the podcast is similar to the blog - to help coach entrepreneurs and business owners on how to grow their business in a smart and savvy way that doesn't require their 24/7 attention. One major advantage of this podcast is I will be able to share one-on-one interviews with successful entrepreneurs and business owners. You will be able to hear directly from people who have built large businesses out of very little, and learn from their mistakes and missteps. In fact, we already have a number of these interviews queued up and ready to go.  In future episodes in the weeks ahead, we will feature: an interview with Peter Shankman, creator of "Help A Reporter Out."  Shankman created HARO to meet an unfulfilled need - connecting reporters who need sources with experts who would like to be quoted. He’ll tell us about how his business model doesn’t charge its users anything on either side (reporters or sources), but makes thousands of dollars each month. An immigrant to the U.S. who started a disaster recovery business in a small warehouse from scratch then built it up to 230 employees in 5 offices and $24 million a year in revenue. the owner of a virtual assistant outsourcing business on how virtual assistants can help your business and how she uses information products to supplement her income. the founder of a pioneering and successful dot-com business that helps consumers find lenders to finance the purchase of a home, car, boat, other large items. and many more. I also recently put together an ambitious list of over 50 entrepreneurs and business icons (with the help of my business coach) who I'd like to interview over the next 12 months for this podcast.  Maybe I will write up a blog post listing all of those entrepreneurs so that we can track my progress. As for this first episode, I spent a little time explaining my motivation for the podcast and what I hope to provide.  In this particular episode, you will learn: My commitment to you as a listener of the SBR podcast (in other words, why you might be interested in listening) Why I strongly believe in sharing what I know and have learned from working day in and day out with small businesses and entrepreneurs. Why I am going to use this podcast to share what I’ve done in my business, including what has worked and what hasn’t worked. So without further explanation, here is the podcast. Right click here to download the MP3 (you can also listen directly by clicking "play" at the bottom of this post) One final note: as I mentioned, this project has been many months in development. In fact, even though I wanted to launch a podcast more than two years ago, I always got tripped up on the technology. I'd like to thank Pat Flynn who created a tremendous 6-video podcasting tutorial that helped me finally get this podcast launched. If you are thinking about your own podcast, I suggest you check out his tremendous resource. Enjoy the show! Click here to subscriba via iTunes

One of the biggest barriers to starting or growing a business is having enough money in the bank. Don't we all want to have more money in the bank?  Of course we do. That's where our most recent teleseminar guest comes in. Katy Song is a Certified Financial Planner and advises clients on savvy saving, investing, and ways to make their hard-earned bucks go farther. Many of Katy's clients are entrepreneurs and business owners, and she counsels these clients on how to deal with unpredictable revenue, how to set priorities in their businesses based on family needs and personal needs, and how to implement saving strategies. Katy stopped by to share her advice on entrepreneurship and business ownership, running a business in today's economy, and what it takes to be a successful business owner.  In this teleseminar, Katy explains: How to start a business in a slow economy The #1 Mistake new business owners make when they start a new business How much money to save when starting a business Why entrepreneurs are more likely to live within their means than consumers What personality traits entrepreneurs share   I hope you will enjoy listening to the interview as much as I enjoyed conducting it.  If you prefer to read the interview than listen to it, you can read the transcript after the jump. Enjoy! How to Use Savvy Financial Planning In Your Business - a Teleseminar with Financial Planner Katy Song   John: Welcome, everyone! This is John Corcoran from California Law Report. I’m really excited today to have Katy Song on the line with us. Katy, are you there? Katy: I’m here. Thanks, John. John: Great, great. Okay. Katy Song is a financial planner and she’s going to give us some advice on how entrepreneurs and business owners can implement savvy financial planning strategies in their business in starting a business and that kind of thing. I’ll tell you a little bit about Katy. She’s originally from Rye, New York and she’s a California transplant just like myself. She lived in California for about twenty years now, it seems like. Some interesting things about her background: She worked for the US Department of Commerce in the International Trade Administration. I think I remember you saying, Katy, that you were working with Africa issues. Is that right? Katy: Yeah. I got two—I lived in West Africa for a while working specifically for the state department at that time. John: Oh, very cool! She also worked for Citigroup and they’re an investing banking group, for five years and rose up to the level of Vice President. She’s been a fee-only financial planner since 2008 and is a certified financial planning certificant and she works and lives primarily with clients in the Marin county area which is where I live as well and work. That’s just outside of San Francisco. She focuses primarily on parents with young children but many or a lot or it seems like the majority of her clients are business owners and so she gets into a lot of the issues that we’re going to be talking about today. Also, she’s a graduate of UC Santa Cruz in the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley. So welcome, Katy. Katy: Thank you very much. John: Great, great. So first, tell me a little bit about what is a fee-only financial planner? Because I know that that is a very important distinction in the financial planning world. And also a little about what a certified planning certificant is. Katy: A fee-only planner doesn’t manage any assets. A fee, a flat fee, an hourly fee is charged for either comprehensive financial planning or project-specific advice be it how much money can I afford to spend on a house, what do we need to save for retirement, looking at investments. A CFP, which is a Certified Financial Planner, in order to become a certificant you have to pass the CFP exam which is a pretty rigid, structured exam. And then you also have to have hours in your particular field of financial planning.