PODCAST · business
Small Business Minute
by Greg Weatherdon
Real advice from someone who has done it!
Episodes
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SBM #104 – Inflation the destroyer
Inflation is much like rust. Left unchecked it can quietly eat away at your buying power and can turn a profitable business into one that struggles and a struggling business into non-existence. For many of us, you pretty much had to be a Boomer living in an industrialized world to fully…
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SBM #103 Complacency
For Thanksgiving we decided to get the whole family together and rent an Airbnb. Since our family has grown significantly over the last few years with marriages and the explosion of grandchildren, we now require a much larger accommodation. For the most part, many of the larger places also come...
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SBM #102 Passion vs Passionate
An often published piece of advice to aspiring and to lesser extent existing entrepreneurs is to follow your passion. By doing so, riches or success will surely be yours. But, as with most of these sound bites, this is rarely the case. Let’s be honest. There’s lots of things that people have a...
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SBM #101- Get ready for year-end
I’m always surprised at how many small business owners don’t prepare for their business’s year-end. Sadly, it’s more of a case that “they don’t know what they don’t know!” But spending some time on this annual event can potentially save you a lot of money. As to why so many entrepreneurs are...
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SBM #100 – How much time do you really have?
One of the biggest challenges of a service business is managing your inventory. Now you might wonder what inventory, besides a few stationary supplies you may have, that need to be managed? Well, unlike a manufacturing, retail or a distribution business, where you have physical inventory that…
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SBM #99 Are You Ready?
With the vaccine rollouts well under way in many countries, the talk has turned to the reopening of the economies. One of the biggest issues facing many entrepreneurs, is the return to the workplace. At the start of the pandemic, millions of office workers were sent home to work remotely. Once…
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SBM #98 Why industry experience matters
There are lots of reasons start-ups fail, but one that I see far too often is the lack of industry experience. Industry experience can be summed up as having substantive knowledge working in the area of the planned start-up. As an advisor, I have met with hundreds of budding start-ups and one of…
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SBM #97 Think
“Five percent of the people think; ten percent of the people think they think; and the other eighty-five percent would rather die than think”. This often repeated quote is regularly but wrongly attributed to Thomas Edison, Henry Ford and philosopher Bertrand Russell, all big thinkers in their own...
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SBM #96 Where’s Your Wealth?
For newly minted entrepreneurs, the biggest priority is to generate revenue, any revenue in an effort to transition from struggling to profitable enterprise. To those of us who have made the crossing, we have more often than not sacrificed our own financial needs in order to create a proper…
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SBM #95 What 3 things could put you out of business?
A year ago, had you asked small business owners what 5 things could put them out of business?, I would have bet a pandemic would not have been on their top 10 let alone their top 50 things. But a lot has changed in just over a year. According to the CFIB (Canadian Federation of Independent...
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SBM #94 – Advice
For some time now I’ve have taken issue with the advice given small business owners on social media platforms under the guise of motivation and advice. Sadly, much of this advice being spewed forth by many of these so called experts is, in my opinion, nothing more than hype to grow their...
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SBM #93 Pivot
Pivot! Just pivot! That’s what your being told if you’re having challenges running your SME. It’s another one of those words that actually had value once upon a time. Now, it’s so abused that’s it’s nothing more than a throwaway statement by individuals who want to sound like they’re offering...
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SBM #92 The 2 Biggest Mistakes
This is a guest post by Dennis Geelen of Zero In. Take a minute and think of a few companies that pop into your head that were once seen as leaders in their industry but, for one reason or another, eventually came crashing back down to Earth. Maybe they have since been surpassed and are no longer…
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SBM #91 The Money Business
Money, it’s one of those personal topics that many people are uncomfortable discussing. Why that is, varies from person to person. Even inside a business that uncomfortableness exist, but that needs to change. Generally speaking, the only time the subject of money seems to ever comes up is in the...
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SBM #90 Google Reviews Matter
I’ve been wanting to golf at a rural course for a number of years now. The reason is that this golf course now sits upon farmland that was once owned by two of my uncles. I had spent a lot of time of these farms as a kid growing up and I had only played the course once many years before and my...
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SBM #89 Work From Home
Work from home is not a new concept. People have been looking for any excuse to do so since the turn of the century. Initially, Friday’s was the defacto work from home day. It’s popularity was driven mostly to get a jump on the weekend, more so than trying to get distraction free time in order to...
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SBM #88 Discounts
For many Covid-19 has temporarily changed the way business is done and for others those changes will be permanent. This is both good and bad. The good is that for those that adapt, they will find news ways to do business. The bad is that for those who remain steadfast in their ways, they may not...
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SBM #87 – Where have all the experts gone?
Those of you that know me and have either purchased my book or attended an event that I have spoken at, know that the advice I share is based on getting the basics right. By getting the basics right, you can grow your business and your leadership skills that allow you to attain a high level of...
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SBM #86 – Entrepreneurs in Crisis
Covid-19 is creating utter chaos for many small business owners. Fear is taken hold of many owners as they wonder what’s next? No one knows when or if they’ll reopen. Most don’t want to admit out loud what they are secretly thinking-bankruptcy. It’s just too difficult to fathom. Making any kind…
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SBM #85 – Entrepreneurs guide to conference calls
The outbreak of Covid-19 has got the world on lock down and many employees have transitioned to working at home. With that, many entrepreneurs are holding daily conference calls to keep teams connected. The upside is many employees are having greater communication with their managers than they...
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SBM #84 – Go Slow to Go Fast
A few months ago, I finally did something that I had longed to do but just never got around to it. Not quite a bucket list item, but pretty close. That something was to drive a race prepared car on a closed road course. Calabogie Motorsports offers just such a program. The road course is just a...
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SBM #83 – Shrink to Greatness
Shrink to greatness is a phrase I’ve often had to use when working with clients. To be honest, it’s rarely received well by those I’ve had to tell because everything we read about how to be successful in business says you must grow. So, this contrarian approach can be a little challenging for the...
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SBM #82 – Starting Over
What if, you had the chance of starting over? What if you could reboot your business? What would you do differently? Theses are questions that I regularly ask small business owners, especially when I come across those that are struggling, stressed out and unhappy. The answers I get range from…
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SBM #81 – Burnout
Burnout is one of the leading causes of small business failures. The thing about burnout is that it usually gets justified as just hard work. Of course, entrepreneur knows that being self employed is going to require sacrifices and therefore, burning the candle at both ends is the price of...
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SBM#80 – e-Transfers Security with Rob Fraser
This is a guest post by Robert Fraser of Senior Exec Consulting an IT expert. e-Transfers have been a wonderful convenience, especially as a small business, however there are some startling security issues. So lets be honest, most of these can be traced back to lousy security habits on behalf of...
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SBM #79 – Opportunities
Opportunities are like buses, if you miss one, another one will be along in a minute. That saying has a lot of truth in it, and although I hate missing an opportunity, I’ve found out over the years, not to lose any sleep over it, because it probably wasn’t meant to be. Good or bad, I’m wired to…
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SBM #78 – Trust
I recently had some time to kill between meetings and I was hungry. So, I decided to go to a local diner. I figured I could use the time to do some writing. One of the reasons I chose this location is that I knew they had free Wi-Fi and I needed to access some information online with my laptop....
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SBM #77 – The Customer Goes First
I’ve been considering this topic for quite some time but wasn’t sure it was worth addressing until a recent trip to New York City. Having been out to dinner, we returned to our hotel and were waiting for the elevator to make its way to the ground floor. When the door finally slid open there was a...
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SBM # 76 – Pick Up the Phone
Technology has been an amazing boon for businesses of every size, but none more so than for small businesses. Having come of age as an entrepreneur through the technology evolution, it’s truly amazing that what once took days by many, is now done in minutes by one person. The development and ease...
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SBM #75 – Get Clear Air
In the movie Top Gun, Maverick and Goose are flying in close formation with Iceman in a training manoeuvre as they try to shoot down a much nimbler fictitious Russian MiG fighter. Maverick having been accused of abandoning his wingmen in the past, is sticking tight to Iceman but clearly has “the...
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SBM #74 – Average or Great
We all know how much work it takes to survive, let alone thrive as an entrepreneur. We have all put in the long hours and have faced disappointments along with the successes that come with the territory. Some days, you’re just freaking awesome. On others, not so much. It just feels like you’re...
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SBM #73- Incentives, the Owners Dilemma
Small business owners are faced with a myriad of challenges every single day. If it isn’t sales, then it’s receivables and if it isn’t receivables, it’s operations. Add to this the hundreds of thoughts they are juggling trying to sustain their enterprises. Always at the top of their worry list is...
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SBM #72 – Sales, Play the Long Game
We all learn lesson throughout our working lives. Some are good lessons, some are a little painful. Some of those lessons we remember, some we forget. Hopefully, we learn to apply the good lessons as frequently as possible and not repeat those painful ones too often. One of those lessons I…
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SBM #71 – The One Thing
In the movie City Slickers, Jack Palance’s character Curly and Billy Crystal’s character Mitch are riding along having a bonding moment, when Curly turns to Mitch and asks, Curly: Do you know what the secret to life is? Mitch: No What? Curly: This! (As he holds up one finger) Mitch: Your finger?...
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SBM #70 – My Kodak Moment
In its heyday, the Kodak company used the following tagline in their advertising: “Make it a Kodak Moment!” This phrase was used when taking a picture of someone at a particular moment that will never be forgotten. It even made its way into everyday use to highlight anything good or embarrassing...
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SBM #69- They Should Know Better
A constant refrain that I hear from business owners is “they should know better!” “They” of course being any or all the employees that screwed up. Naturally, when I hear this statement, I just can’t leave it alone and therefore I need to challenge it. At which point the conversation goes…
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SBM #68 Discipline Equals Freedom
READING TIME: 5 minutes Discipline is not always a strong suit when it comes to describing many entrepreneurs, it just goes against their rebel nature. One of the main reasons they went out on their own is because they figured they could do a better job, make more money and have a better life…
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SBM #67 – Demand More
I have worked with hundreds of entrepreneurs helping them to shape their businesses into their vision. One problem that I frequently come across is the quality or I should say, the lack thereof of some 3rd party service providers e.g. bookkeeping, IT specialists, etc. For the record, I’m all…
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SBM #66 – Change Someday to Today
Someday I’ll be able to slow down. Someday I’ll be able to take more than just a couple of days off. Someday, someday, someday. This refrain is repeated daily by millions of overworked and underpaid entrepreneurs. Some feel trapped in a design of their own making. Others feel they have traded…
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SBM #65- Decision Making-Engage Your Employees
Why is it that so many owners think they and they alone have all the answers, to every problem in their business? When you consider that most owners started their companies as the only employee, it’s easy to understand how this attitude got started but why it continues is the question? Granted,...
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SBM #64 – Defining Moments
Reading time: 3 minutes Many successful entrepreneurs get asked, “What was their defining moment?” or some similar question. Several have never even thought about it, nor can they easily identify that special moment. Those that do, will admit that they didn’t recognize it at the time as a…
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SBM #63 – Don’t worry about the competition
Read Time: 5 mins Don’t worry about your competition. Pretty unusual advice to receive for any business owner. To be sure, we need to know some things about our competitors like: • Who they are • What products they sell • Their pricing strategy i.e. cheap or expensive • Their reputation i.e.…
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SBM #62-10 Questions to Help to Overcome Business Failure
Successful entrepreneurs share many things in common. Hard work, focus, belief in themselves, hungry for knowledge and so on. One trait that doesn’t get much mention is the ability to accept and overcome failure. As entrepreneurs, failure can be a daily occurrence, but the worse is when a…
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SBM #61 Training Your Team
Reading Time: 5 mins We all have our own definitions of training for our team, but in all honesty, most of it sucks. Sure, for customer facing team members, we do the mandatory, how to acknowledge a customer stuff, with all the expected please and thank you’s. It also goes without saying that we...
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SBM #60 Be Visible for More Sales
Reading Time: 6 minutes Be visible is really nothing more than the opportunity to get in front of the customer in some meaningful way. Unfortunately, it is proving far more difficult to do so. B to C or B to B businesses are equally challenged in getting through to their customers, because there...
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SBM #59 Quit Digging!
Read Time: 3:58 minutes I often get approached by entrepreneurs who are facing significant challenges in their businesses. By significant I mean – They’ve dug themselves into a hole so deep that they’re going to go out of business if something doesn’t change! So, my first piece of advice courtesy...
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SBM #58 You Might Want to Check
We all spend time, money and other resources making sure we put forth the right professional imagine. Many people limit their definition of image to how we look, dress and speak and for the most part that would have been acceptable once upon a time. But not anymore. In our connected digital…
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SBM #57 Recognition
Recognition is the easiest and most effective way to motivate employees, yet remarkably, one of the least used.¬ Entrepreneurs spend endless hours trying to figure out how to motivate their teams, yet ignore this basic human need. A little research will show that there are an untold number of...
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SBM #56 Delegate not Abdicate
Every business has lots of moving parts. By default, an owner must have a wide ranging skill set if they hope to achieve any success with their enterprise. Those skills include, but not limited to, sales, marketing, human resources, bookkeeping, production and administration. Of course, at the...
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SBM #55 – Are You Ready?
The economy is humming along and your sales are doing just fine. As a matter of fact, things are actually pretty good. That’s why this is exactly the time you should heed that famous Boy Scout motto to “Always be Prepared”. Great advice, but be prepared for what? Every seven years On average…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Real advice from someone who has done it!
HOSTED BY
Greg Weatherdon
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Small Business Minute have?
Small Business Minute currently has 114 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
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Real advice from someone who has done it!
How often does Small Business Minute release new episodes?
Small Business Minute publishes regularly with 114 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
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Who hosts Small Business Minute?
Small Business Minute is created and hosted by Greg Weatherdon.
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