Small Biz Buzz, by Keap

Bill Harney chats with Clate and Scott about knowing when it’s the right time to make a major change in business model; getting more than ten times the anticipated audience for their very first webinar; and making powerful and confident decisions.

Cate Stillman chats with Clate and Infusionsoft director of content Carey Ballard about building that tribe and speaking to them; marrying desire with action in both life and business; and grappling with the realities of content marketing.

Jack Fackrell talks with Clate and Infusionsoft’s director of content Carey Ballard about how committed he is to seeing his six children grow up instead of being a workaholic.

What did it take to get CEO and co-founder Clate Mask on board with Infusionsoft? Clate always wanted to be an entrepreneur, but first he went to law school and got an MBA. $100,000 in debt, it took almost a year for his brothers-in-law Eric and Scott Martineau to convince him to join the company. Clate talks with Director of Content Carey Ballard about how the business has grown since 2001 and the times that have brought him absolute joy.

Kim Duncan talks with Clate and Scott about business inspiration, the importance of morning routines, and maintaining a positive mindset.

A key factor to business growth is making sales, which is why Clate and Scott say that small businesses must grow a culture of selling. That means you have to get over rejection and become a master closer—like Scott! The key is having a great product. If you do that, then selling really becomes serving, because you’ll know you’re selling something that will improve the quality of someone’s life.

When Bonnie Bowles shares how hard it was to relinquish some responsibility in the business, Clate shares that he thinks a vital step in the business journey is to “fall in love with delegation.” Bonnie also tells Clate and Scott about her work-life balance as an attorney, the consequences of hiring impulsively, and why “sales cures all.”

Jeff Corn's Virtuance now has 10,000 customers, but back in the day the company had one server and it was kept in an employee’s house—and the employee quit in the middle of the day. He chats with Clate and Scott about establishing company values, small business tips, and being named one of the 10 best places to work in Denver.

Clate and Scott have watched thousands of small business owners do all kinds of things to make their businesses more successful. Most of those things fall into two separate ends of planning: the behemoth master plan and the overly idealistic immediate attack. Neither of these work; what works is an iterative approach where you can experience quick wins and build quickly based on what you learn. Listen to hear why this works and how it can keep you from giving up.

Mark Breyer once declared that he would never work with his wife, Alexis, but they’ve been running their personal injury law firm together for 20 years. In retrospect, they found that they set themselves up to have problems scaling their business and fall behind the times. Clate and Scott follow Mark and Alexis’ business journey and talk about going from generalist to specialist, letting half their staff go on one day, and keeping moving goal posts for your business.

Ever heard you shouldn’t go into business with a family member? Clate and Scott (who are brothers-in-law!) think that’s terrible advice, even though they don’t always see eye-to-eye. They find the care and love they have for each other as family members allows them to do things they can’t always achieve with others. Why? Because they had existing love and care before the business side of it started.

After Kay Walten wrote a business plan on a cocktail napkin, she started hosting Mexican vacation rentals online. She shares with Clate and Scott the mistakes she made during the perfect storm, working as an international entrepreneur in a place where phone lines weren’t accessible, and scaling and creating a company culture.

Kathy Fettke’s husband Rich was given with six months to live—and she had to figure out how to take over their finances. Luckily, Rich’s doctor was wrong, but that scare was the impetus to start The Real Wealth Network. She leveraged her existing radio show to learn about investing, and now she and her husband teach people how to grow wealth through real estate.

Firefighter Peter Thorpe had seen a lot of devastating fires started by stoves, so he developed FireAvert, which automatically shuts off stoves. Wes Clark, Peter’s  business partner and our guest in this episode, shares with Clate and Scott what it was like to prepare for—and recover from—being on ABC’s Shark Tank, overcoming rejection, and figuring out the simplest way to solve business problems. Oh—and that time he exploded a can of beans all over the fire chief.

What do Clate and Scott think is the silent killer for small businesses? The inability to cultivate disciplined optimism. Disciplined optimism is a balance between having a positive attitude while being willing to face the brutal facts of your current reality. Clate and Scott talk about why that optimism is so critical to the survival of your small business and how to harness it to help your business and your team succeed.