The $100 MBA Show

The toughest part about content marketing? All that content doesn’t create itself.

To keep your audience engaged, you have to produce consistent, quality content. And if you’re truly committed to producing podcasts, blogs, pics, and videos week after week, you can run out of ideas fast. Every content marketer needs a system to keep the topics coming, even when inspiration isn’t exactly striking.

It’s Q&A Wednesday, and we’re helping one listener with exactly that problem.

Today, we discuss how to systematize your content creation so that you never run out of creative juice, separating your topic creation from your content execution. Plus, we describe how to identify topics in your own niche, breaking down each aspect of your industry into perfect content fodder. It can be done, with the right procedures in place. Click Play!

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Business is failure, and failure is business.

Knowing when you’ve lost — and how to move on — is an absolute requirement of entrepreneurship. No matter how much success you create, you will also create flat-out duds, products that miss the mark and just plain don’t sell.

No big deal.

Today, we discuss how to know when it’s time to admit defeat. And just to prove it happens to the best of us, we’re using our own company as an example. We recently launched a product that did not perform as expected, forcing us to pull the plug. We put in time, effort, and resources — and it flopped.

Fortunately, product fails are never a total loss. Knowing how to retire a product skillfully will ensure that you get something out of it, even though it didn’t sell. The information and lessons revealed by a flop can be the key to your next, much better idea. Find out how to cut your losses and create new wins. Click Play!

WebinarNinja

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The bad news: you’re on your own. The good news? That’s not such a bad thing after all.

Since the 2008 financial crisis, what’s been called the “American Dream” (along with similar dreams globally) has collapsed. The days of just getting a job and supporting a middle-class lifestyle are, for most, over. To thrive in today’s world, you’ve gotta take the reins of your own financial future.

This week’s Must-Read for entrepreneurs explains exactly how to do that.

James Altucher hosted one of our favorite podcasts, and his book Choose Yourself has made a dramatic impact on the lives of readers. After some very fervent recommendations, we gave this book a shot — and it did not disappoint.

Today, we discuss the big-picture outlook and day-to-day habits that foster independence, success, and self-reliance in a broken economy. Shaking free of poor influences and unshackling yourself from the external opinions that hold you back is the only way to find your path forward. This book is a good place to start. Click Play!

Discover all our must-read book reviews at https://100mba.net/bookreviews.

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As entrepreneurs, it can be hard to define our goals for our business. Do we prioritize growth? Revenue? Reach? What is success, anyway?

Today, we offer one possible answer: longevity.

Every business, big and small, has competition. Companies rise and fall all around us, while a select few just keep trucking along through all the ups and downs. How can you make sure you’re the last man standing? We’ve got a specific formula for longevity that we’ve honed over years in business, from observation and experience.

Competition can drive us, but it can also drain our resources. By avoiding the temptation to compete in a superficial way, we can build the core of our business to last through all the twists and turns the market throws at us. Be the tortoise, not the hare — Click Play!

WebinarNinja

EasyCourse

Basecamp

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Let’s shake things up.

If you’ve been in business for a while, you may have experienced a good ol’ fashioned rut. You’re stagnant. You’ve plateaued. You need a major boost to your biz, but you’re not sure what you can do to relight the fire and make a drastic, sweeping improvement that’ll move all the right needles.

This is the episode for you.

Today, we discuss how to go big, and make game-changing upgrades to your business. Fortunately, we’ve got experience in this department. We’ve been forced to make huge, bold moves that put us back into forward momentum more than once. If you’re ready to leave the rut behind, Click Play!

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In business today, we don’t just sell our product. We sell ourselves. Personal branding, authentic connection with our audience, and sharing the journey is de rigueur for aspiring entrepreneurs.

But where do we draw the line?

It’s Q&A Wednesday, and we’ve got a doozy of a question from a listener who’s not sure whether to wear their faith on their sleeve, or keep it behind closed doors. It’s a challenging topic, and one of the most difficult questions we’ve had to answer. That said, it’s crucial to figure out exactly where your values fit into your business and public persona.

As a founder, you’re a crucial part of your own marketing infrastructure. What parts of yourself you share will depend on the value these details add for your audience. Today, we discuss how to decide if your faith (or lack thereof) is something your customers will appreciate, or if it’s best to keep it between you and the almighty. Click Play!

To submit your questions, visit 100mba.net/q.

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What do your customers want? If you don’t have the answer to that question, you don’t have a business.

It may sound obvious, but entrepreneurs overlook this question way too often. When creating our products and building our businesses, it’s strangely easy to forget about being customer-centered. We fall in love with our own ideas, our own visions, and we forget that success means discovering, defining, and fulfilling customers’ wishes.

Today, we discuss how to keep your eye on the ball of customer desire. By focusing on their problems (instead of your ideas), you can build a foundation of sustainability for your business. We’ll show you how to assess your business for customer-centeredness, and help you figure out exactly what you need to promise (and deliver) to win your audience over.

Remember: it’s not about you. Click Play!

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Too much growth can kill your business.

That might sound a little crazy to many entrepreneurs, but catastrophic success is a real and dangerous problem. Business after business has shot into the stratosphere, taking in investment and expanding their operations, only to crash and burn — hard.

If you’re not careful, your business can literally grow to death.

Take it from today’s special guest, Paul Jarvis. One of our first guest teachers ever, Jarvis is a best-selling author and entrepreneur who focuses on profitability and longevity. His deep analysis of startup success rates has revealed a stunning conclusion: that growth is far too valued among independent business people.

Tune in, and hear how growth for growth’s sake isn’t just pointless — it’s bad for business. Click Play!

Company of One by Paul Jarvis

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Business is global, and that comes with incredible advantages. Today’s entrepreneurs can draw talent from all over the world, finding skilled, affordable remote team members wherever they are.

But all that far-flung talent comes with one little drawback: time zones.

Today, we discuss how to navigate the problem of the clock. With employees in Australia, Eastern Europe, Asia, and America, we know how tricky it can be to align everyone’s schedules. Making sure that distant team members can collaborate across time zones is crucial to reaping the benefits of global business.

Fortunately, there are tools, tricks, and strategies for keeping everyone on the same page, even when they’re not in the same part of the world. Managed properly, your business can be a 24-hour machine, running smoothly as your trusted team handles business whatever time of day (or night) it is for you. Click Play!

EasyCourse

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Slack

Basecamp

Twist

World Time Buddy

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Refunds: they’re gonna happen. More importantly, offering the option of a refund is critical to earning your audience’s trust. With an entire Internet’s worth of competitors to choose from, today’s customers demand more information — and more guarantees — than ever before.

As a business owner, you’ve got to create a refund policy that makes your customers feel valued and respected. With a strong, customer-friendly refund policy, you put your money where your mouth is, guaranteeing by your actions that the product is one you stand behind.

Remember: offering to take your product back is one of the most powerful ways to sell it!

Today, we discuss 3 key factors a good refund policy should include, with specific details on how to make the policy work. You’ll learn how to craft and (more importantly) communicate your policy to create maximum trust. Click Play!

Thrive Themes

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Can you do this? Are you entrepreneur material?

You’re not the only one asking. In fact, it’s the “Q” in this week’s Q&A! It’s a big, scary question mark for those who want to break out on their own, but haven’t taken the leap just yet. So what makes someone suited for the entrepreneurial life? What skill sets, talents, and dispositions raise the odds of success?

With 17 years of entrepreneurship behind him, Omar knows a thing or two about what it takes. Having known and helped guide countless independent business people, he’s identified a few key traits (and understandings) that almost every solid entrepreneur has in common.

Best of all, these traits aren’t genetic or gifted by fate. They’re learned habits, tendencies, and abilities that you can choose to cultivate. Whether you’re running a restaurant, a coaching course, a SaaS, or anything else, these are the basic tools that’ll take you wherever you need to go. Click Play!

To submit your questions, visit 100mba.net/q.

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Yes, we’re recommending Facebook as a business tool. That may come as a shock to longtime listeners, who know what we think of the overrated, underperforming so-called “power” of social media marketing.

Bear with us.

Facebook Groups offer a wonderful opportunity for growth. Not revenue growth, not traffic growth, but the most important growth of all: your growth as an entrepreneur. By leveraging this useful little tool, you can become the entrepreneur you need to be. It’s more than worth your time to devote some effort each week to using social media this way.

With Groups, you can validate ideas, find support, network, and forge seriously valuable relationships with other business people. Today, we discuss what groups to look for, how to get into them, and how to participate in a way that gets you a big ROI. Learn how Facebook can build your credibility in the market. Click Play!

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Where is your small business going? More importantly, how is it getting there?

The author of this week’s Must-Read for entrepreneurs, Gino Wickman, has an answer. Traction: How to Get a Grip on Your Business is far more than its title lets on. It’s not just advice. It’s not just inspiration. It’s an instruction manual with detailed, specific steps any entrepreneur can take to get their business moving.

Whether you’re a solopreneur or helming a large team, this incredibly practical book can teach you how to structure your business and its processes for maximum effect. Even better, Wickman teaches a values-centered approach to business, one that ties your core beliefs and mission to your success.

Anyone starting or running their own business can learn something from Traction. Best of all, it’ll be something concrete. Click Play!

Traction: Get A Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman

Discover all our must-read book reviews at https://100mba.net/bookreviews.

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Online courses are one of the most lucrative products you can sell on the Internet. With price tags in the thousands, selling your expertise to knowledge-hungry customers is a proven business model, one that’s worked well for many an entrepreneur.

But how do you know if there’s really an audience for what you’re teaching? Before you pour time and resources into an expensive product, how can you be sure people will want in? After all, there’s no shortage of how-to blogs, YouTube videos, books, and other resources to learn how to do something.

Today, we discuss how to test the waters, and get genuine proof of concept before moving forward.

We’ve got a step-by-step plan to find out if people will see your course as a wise investment. Follow these steps to find your niche, craft your course, and generate the kind of excitement that makes your fee pale in comparison to the value your course offers.

Before you launch your course, listen to this. Click Play!

EasyCourse

WebinarNinja

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Here’s a golden rule of business, one we can’t stop repeating: people buy a product when — according to their own internal math — its value exceeds its price.

That means the only way to move your product is to increase the only kind of value that really matters: perceived value. Adding features and investing in expensive updates is all well and good, but sub-par sales are more often caused by a failure to communicate.

Are you communicating effectively? Does your audience understand your product’s value?

Today, we discuss the difference between features and value, and how emphasizing the latter can drastically improve your sales. With examples from various industries, we explain how to sell the results your products bring (rather than the product itself) in order to raise the product’s value. Best of all, this approach doesn’t cost a dime. Click Play!

WebinarNinja

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Is your business website secure?

As more and more business is done online, cyber security is beyond important. It’s Q&A Wednesday, and one listener wants to know if it’s possible to run a successful business with an “http” address, rather than a full on “https.”

That little letter makes all the difference, especially in the way potential customers view your business.

Before you start to worry, don’t. This episode isn’t overly technical, and it won’t go over the heads of even the most tech-unsavvy entrepreneurs. But it is crucial to understand the purpose of https URL’s, and what to do if your website doesn’t have one.

Visitors to your site need to be able to trust you with their most sensitive information. This goes beyond security, affecting your payment processing, your SEO and traffic, and ultimately, your sales. Fortunately, there are plenty of resources out there to secure your site and keep your business running smoothly. Find out how it all works — Click Play!

Let’s Encrypt

ssls.com

Stripe

Braintree

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Social media is like fire. It can be incredibly useful and beneficial, but once it gets out of control, it can consume everything.

That’s why Omar quit.

Our beloved host made a decision, over a year ago, to take an extended break from all things social media. No Twitter, no Facebook, no ‘gram, nothing. For about 15 months, Omar didn’t make a single update, comment, or even take a peek at the platforms that dominate so many lives. Today, we discuss what he learned.

On this episode, we unpack the pros and cons of being off social media, and the apprehensions Omar has about going back. The effects of a social-free life on business and personal relationships were surprising. Even more surprising was the addictive pull of social media, and the level of discipline required to break free, even temporarily.

Our outlook on social media has changed drastically. As an entrepreneur (and a human being), should you take a new approach? One way to find out — Click Play!

WebinarNinja

Deep Work by Cal Newport

matthewkimberly.com

News Feed Eradicator

Time Doctor

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What does a millionaire look like?

A trust-fund baby? A hedge-fund bro? Nope. As it turns out, millionaires aren’t the exotic species we think they are. Overwhelmingly, they’re not born into privilege. And shockingly, they don’t tend to have high-powered jobs.

Often, millionaires are regular people.

So how does Average Joe hit 7 figures? That’s what this week’s special guest teacher is here to tell us. Chris Hogan is a best-selling author and podcast host who specializes in debunking the myths around wealth. He has a practical, realistic approach to crushing debt and making the wise investments that turn regular people into “everyday millionaires.”

Hear Hogan’s down-to-Earth approach, and see how significant wealth is more attainable — and less exotic — than you might think. Click Play!

chrishogan360.com

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You built it. It succeeded. Now, it’s time to cash in.

Maybe you want to retire, or devote yourself to a whole new project. Whatever the reason, saying goodbye to your successful independent business is no easy decision. It’s important to end this chapter on the best terms, with an exit you can be proud of.

So what comes next?

You’ve got to find a buyer, one that’s willing to do right by your business. You’ve got to sell it for what it’s worth, getting a worthy return on your massive investment of time and sweat. You’ve got to leave knowing your baby is in good hands, and that you’ve gotten what you deserve for creating it.

Today, we discuss how to set your business up for sale. Whether you’re ready to put it on the market now, or just thinking of your long-term future, you can do things for your business that give it more curb appeal. We explain what buyers look for, and how to make the transition as logistically smooth as possible. Bid your business a fond farewell — Click Play!

EasyCourse

Empire Flippers

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A product launch doesn’t always go the way you want, or expect. Despite your best-laid plans and highest hopes, sometimes the market takes a look at what you’re offering and gives a resounding “meh.”

Now what?

In business — especially independent business — flexibility and adaptability are crucial survival skills. When your product doesn’t hit the mark, you need to change course quickly, smoothly, and effectively. Pivoting is an art and a skill, and every entrepreneur needs to know how it’s done.

Today, we discuss how you can move in a new direction while maintaining the core of your business and mission. With examples from all over the business world, we’ve seen how a good hard pivot can save a company, and bring its vision forward despite a major stumble. Remember, it’s not a failure if you recover and learn. Click Play!

WebinarNinja

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We’ve devoted many an episode to the ups and downs of affiliate marketing. Usually, we’re discussing the merits and drawbacks of affiliate marketing for those wondering whether they should get into it.

But today, we’ve got a question from a listener who’s already in the affiliate game, and wants to know one thing: whether it’s time to move on. Is affiliate marketing something you “graduate” from before launching your own product? If so, how do you know when it’s time?

Affiliate marketing is often sold as easy income — all you have to do is promote someone else’s product, and let the commissions roll in. Easy, right? But experience tells us that affiliate marketing is much more involved, and not nearly as passive as people think. So it’s no small decision to choose whether to invest more fully into it, or to debut your own product.

Today, we discuss how you can simultaneously affiliate market while promoting your own product. Whether it’s a transition to an affiliation-free life, or a balancing act to maintain indefinitely, you can affiliate market while growing your own brand.  See how it’s done: Click Play!

The Smart Passive Income

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Happy New Year! It’s officially 2019, and we’re ready to hit the ground running with all new lesson to help you make this the best year ever for your business. Speaking of which, what are your goals for the year?

More importantly, do goals matter?

What’s the value of a goal? Is it just an arbitrary milestone, or does it have true motivational value? Many modern experts are abandoning the goal-driven approach, arguing instead that habits and intrinsic motivation do more for your success than trying to hit a given target.

Are we living in a post-goal business era?

We don’t think so. Rather than abandoning goals altogether, we think a new understanding of goals is in order. Tune in, and learn how to define your goals, and craft goals that have meaning beyond simple numbers. Learn how to establish goals that produce true growth, and how to meet them. Let’s get this year started! Click Play!

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Business doesn’t get any bigger than Disney. How did a patch of swampland in central Florida become one of the biggest revenue-generators in the history of American industry?

It all starts with the employees, and how they’re motivated.

This week’s Must-Read for entrepreneurs is Doug Lipp’s Disney U, a book that details the strategy behind the theme park’s success. Disney park employees — ahem, “cast members” — are trained and continually encouraged to keep the magic flowing.

Importantly, it’s not just about procedures. It’s about mindset.

Learn how company culture and values form the bedrock of any business’ success. See the inner workings of Disney employee training, and get a textbook example of how the team’s happiness is the best predictor of its productivity. Apply the Disney U strategy to your company, and see how much more fruitful your employees can be. Click Play!

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It’s a question many would-be entrepreneurs are asking themselves: can you still make a living with a blog?

About 10 years ago, people started earning serious money just by blogging. Has the business model survived? Can you still earn enough to live the life you want? The short answer is yes, you can still blog your way to success. The blog is in the middle of a sort of rebirth, with a new generation of writers cashing in.

However, the rules have changed.

Gone are the days of easy keyword-stuffing and low competition. A crowded marketplace, sophisticated search engine algorithms, and a higher standard for writing have changed the game drastically. Even still, there are hugely profitable businesses centered around quality blogs.

Today, we discuss how to blog your way to profit. We explain how to find your subject niche, promote your blog, and stand out from the (very big) crowd by speaking directly to a well-defined audience. The business is different. The readers are different. But the profit is there, if you’re willing to learn where the revenue streams are. Click Play!

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EasyCourse

Nerd Fitness

Backlinko

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Wish you were making sales? Well it may sound painfully obvious, but…you’re not selling enough.

That’s not to say you’re not trying to close. It’s to say you’re not “selling” in the ultimate sense — the 24/7, all-encompassing sense that goes way beyond trying to get a specific person to make a specific purchase. Everything you do — everything — has to be an act of salesmanship, even the things that don’t seem sales-related.

Are you persuading, all the time? Are you promoting your business’ core mission and ideas, with every word? Most new entrepreneurs aren’t selling enough, and it’s holding them back. Today, we discuss the (sometimes surprising) ways businesses sell, so you can learn how to make an argument for your product — all the time. Click Play!

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This Book Will Teach You to Write Better by Neville Medhora

Exactly What to Say by Phil M. Jones

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You can’t judge a podcast by its cover. But your visual branding needs to reflect what your business is offering.

It’s Q&A Wednesday, and one listener noticed something different about our little old business podcast. We updated our cover art, changing the visuals around our show and updating its “look” online. Why? What’s the point?

Today, we discuss why — and when — a a visual refresh is sometimes in order. We’ve had the same cover art since we started in 2014, and frankly, it’s just not as relevant anymore. The show has changed. We’ve changed. And the way we present ourselves has to change, too.

Don’t let your own look stagnate. Stay fresh, and show the market what you really look like. Click Play!

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WebinarNinja

Portrait Store

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Getting ready to start a new business? If so, you probably know that every cent counts.

Having started quite a few businesses ourselves over the years, we’ve learned what skills and abilities can save you the most. If you learn them, you’ll not only have an edge over your competitors — you’ll have a lot more in the bank by this time next year.

Specifically, there are 3 skills every new entrepreneur needs. These are things that can cost quite a bit to hire out for, but require minimal investment to learn yourself. In your crucial first years, learning these skills can save you hundreds or thousands. They’ll also be the skills you fall back on in the future, even as your team grows.

Keep your business lean, and your skill set broad. Click Play!

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This Book Will Teach You to Write Better by Neville Medhora

Exactly What to Say by Phil M. Jones

The Boron Letters by Gary C. Halbert

Kopywriting Kourse

Canva

Lynda.com

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No matter what your independent business is, you have to be a sales person.

E-commerce, SaaS, freelancing, artisan pretzel-making; whatever the business, you can’t escape the need for salesmanship. It is everything, even if you don’t consider yourself a “sales person” in the conventional sense. Articulating your idea and persuading others to buy in is the essence of business itself, big or small.

Fortunately, this week’s Must-Read for entrepreneurs can show you how.

To Sell Is Human rejects the stigma of salesmanship as scammy or used-car-dealer-y, instead explaining the inherent dignity and necessity of the art. It’s not just customers you sell to — it’s your network, your team, even your family and friends. If you can’t sell your vision, you simply can’t do business.

Learn how necessary selling is, even if you don’t have a sales team. Click Play!

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To Sell Is Human by Daniel Pink

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No entrepreneur is truly independent. We all need guidance, support, and help. One of the most important relationships you can cultivate in business is a mentorship.

The most successful entrepreneurs, big and small, have always had at least one mentor. With less structure and precedent than the conventional job market, entrepreneurship is uniquely suited to the mentor-mentee dynamic. But where do you start? How do you find your business sensei?

It might be easier than you think

Your mentor doesn’t have to be an old legend, or even a well-established success. He or she just needs to be someone who knows more than you, and can help you a little further down the path. It may take some time, effort, and resources, but the investment you make in finding a mentor (or several) will be well worth it. Click Play!

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You will fail.

If you’re an entrepreneur, you won’t always hit the mark. It’s part and parcel of independent business to establish a goal, strive for it, and come up short. As the year winds down and we evaluate our performance, we should take stock of how we’ve failed, and whether we let those failures drag us down or power us forward.

For new entrepreneurs, every missed goal can seem like a crisis. With so much riding on your business, it can be tough to get back in the saddle, emotionally. Today, we discuss how to maintain your enthusiasm no matter what happens. More importantly, we explain how to pull something positive from the experience of losing.

Whatever metric you’re chasing — sales, traffic, conversions, whatever — you can always turn a swing-and-a-miss into your next victory. Find out how: Click Play!

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A page by any other name is just as sweet. Whether you call it a squeeze page or a landing page, conversions are the name of the game. A well-constructed squeeze page shouldn’t take too much time or effort — if you have the right tools.

Today, we tell one listener what those tools are, and where to find them.

It’s a follow up from last week’s episode on maximizing your conversion rates via squeeze page. In that episode, we explained how squeeze pages are the key to sales, and how you can make sure they’re working effectively. Now, we point you to the specific software you can use, tailored to your budget and technical expertise.

Find out what to look for in squeeze page software, how to use it, and why you might already have exactly what you need in your existing CMS. Click Play!

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MBA1151: How to Use Squeeze Pages to Maximize Conversions

Elementor

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Thrivethemes

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They say to dress for the job you want. But if you’re already an entrepreneur, you can dress for the job you created! Our host Omar almost always rocks a branded t-shirt featuring our software company, WebinarNinja.

The reasons for doing so, however,  go way beyond the urge to sneak in some extra advertising.

Whether he’s speaking at a conference, on a webinar, or just hitting the gym, Omar’s gear is a reflection of who he is, and what he wants. Wearing the WebinarNinja logo doesn’t just remind others what he does — it helps him stay focused, motivated, and productive.

It all goes back to Omar’s conventional job as an educator, and how the transition from tie to tee was (and remains) symbolic of his hard-earned independence. Find out how much a shirt can mean, plus get our tips on how to create your own company-branded gear. Click Play!

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What can we learn from failure? And not just any failure — total, massive, beyond-epic, multi-billion-dollar failure?

In this week’s Must-Read book for entrepreneurs, we find out.

Bad Blood by John Carreyrou is many things: an engrossing page-turner, an exemplary piece of investigative journalism, and a huge, devastating lesson in how not to launch a product. It’s the true story of Theranos, a startup with a one-time valuation of 9 billion-with-a-”b” dollars that ultimately crashed, burned, and left all involved reeling (and some facing prison time).

Theranos executives claimed that their technology could run hundreds of medical tests with a single drop of blood. The only problem? It didn’t work. At all. But the pressure to succeed and produce a return on some massive investments overcame any sense of responsible R&D —- or common business sense.

Find out what lessons we small business people can take from the missteps of the big boys. Click Play!

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Bad Blood by John Carreyrou

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Sometimes, you just have to bang it out.

Whether you’ve got a webinar, pitch, or demo, a quality slide deck is a must. Despite how daunting it can seem, putting one together doesn’t have to be a nightmare or a monumental task. It can be a simple, straightforward, one-hour process.

It can take less time than an episode of Game of Thrones to get ready for your next big moment — if you have the right system.

Today, we explain exactly how to outline and craft your presentation in record time. It’ll be professional, good-looking, and best of all, done. By prioritizing what matters most about the presentation — and learning how to stop fussing over details — you can bring the goods without breaking a sweat. Click Play!

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UnSplash

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The sales call: is it a lost art? More importantly, should it be?

What’s the role of outbound marketing in an almost completely inbound world? Is there still value in reaching out personally for a conversation? Can the time you and your sales people spend on the phone actually return worthwhile revenue?

The short answer is yes.

We still use outbound calls to supplement our sales strategy, in incredibly important ways. WIth a well-thought-out system, you can set aside time for the calls that matter most. You can gain an edge in new-school entrepreneurship with a touch of old-school methods. Whether your business is on or off-line, a simple conversation can be powerful.

Find out when you should get on the horn. Click Play!

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Calendly

WebinarNinja

Book Like A Boss

ScheduleOnce

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Does every web application need a mobile version? If not, which ones do?

Most major software companies have a version of their product for every device under the sun. But for lean startups, you’ve gotta put your time and effort into what returns the best investment. Today, we discuss exactly how to figure out if you need a mobile app — and if so, how to proceed.

There are a few key questions you must ask to determine whether developing a mobile app is worth your time and money. In fact, it may be the case that you only need a mobile app, and you can forget about laptop, desktop, and tablet versions.

Tune in, and find out what those questions are. Ask them, and you’ll find a path forward for your software. Click Play!

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It’s gonna happen. As your business grows and your team members ponder their futures, they’ll want to know how much you value them. Like, exactly how much.

Whether you employ freelancers, full-timers, or contractors, shelling out the dough to keep the right people on board is a must. Of course, you have your whole business budget to consider, so how can you offer just compensation while keeping your books balanced? How can you avoid expensive turnover and expensive over-compensation?

You need a plan.

Well in advance of any raise requests, you need to have an established playbook for considering them. If you’re caught off guard, you may make the wrong decision — either paying too much, or losing an employee who was totally worth it. Today, we offer our system for evaluating and responding raise requests in a way that works for all parties concerned.

Remember: the cost of losing someone great can exceed the cost of keeping them. Click Play!

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Sometimes, you consult exciting new voices in business leadership. Sometimes, you consult the legends.

Peter Drucker basically invented business management, and is seen as one of the founders of corporate culture. His extensive studies and writings on effective business leadership are the foundational canon for budding executives — and entrepreneurs.

Today, we review his classic The Effective Executive.

This Must-Read teaches you the most important concepts in hiring, delegating, and generally managing. It explores how poor leaders waste time, and great leaders leverage it for maximum effect. The book’s subtitle says it all: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done. Learn how to be the best leader you can be, in small business or big. Click Play!

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The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker

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Your business is growing. Your team is growing. Your space needs to grow, also.

It’s FREE RIDE FRIDAY!!!, and we’re discussing how to scale your business in the one way entrepreneurs often forget to consider. Your office space has to be flexible enough to grow with your staff. Moving from space to space wastes money, time, and effort. So how can you set your space up for growth — without the growing pains?

With our simple tips, you can shave dollars, hours, and stress off of the growth process. From the simplest garage or kitchen table to a full-blown office, you can make a few key decisions now that will pay off later.

Plus, we discuss some unconventional options that can really free you up to grow without fear of bursting at the seams. Grow smart — Click Play!

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WeWork

WebinarNinja

EasyCourse

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Call it a landing page, or call it a squeeze page. Either way, it’s the key to conversions.

These stripped-down, bare-bones pages have one purpose and one purpose only: to collect email addresses. One page can move visitors down the funnel at incredible rates, but only if it’s executed properly.

Today, we discuss exactly how to get it right.

There are times when an ill-placed squeeze page (or a poorly designed one) can do more harm than good. As online entrepreneurs, we’ve got to know when and where to place quality landing pages for maximum effect. Most importantly, we’ve got to design those pages well, with a goal-focused, streamline approach.

Gather those addresses, and move on those leads. Find out how a solid squeeze page can make all the difference — Click Play!

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Conferences are a big investment of time and money. How do you know which ones are worth it?

It’s Q&A Wednesday, and one listener is in a bind: with only enough time and resources for two conferences, choosing the best is no easy task. Fortunately, we’ve been to many a conference, as speakers and attendees. We know what to look for, and what to avoid.

Most importantly, we know what makes a conference worth the investment.

No matter what kind of business you run, or what industry you’re in, there are a few key common priorities to consider when choosing a conference. Truth be told, some conferences are way better than others, and knowing what you’re looking for is crucial. Find out what — and more importantly, who — you should be looking for. Click Play!

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As always, our experience is your guide. Recently, we undertook the difficult — but enlightening — task of launching an entire new product. What we learned was valuable to us, and will definitely be valuable to you.

We’ve got a new product, but this episode isn’t some thinly-disguised plug. It’s a genuine lesson on building and launching something new, and everything that process can teach you. Whether you’re launching your first product, or adding something new to your existing business, listen to this before you release the final version!

Give your product the best chance of selling big. In this episode, we discuss marketing and launching a new software service, and how to balance your current branding with the need to make new and different waves. We get into everything from pricing to beta testing, with detailed information on how to give your new baby the best chance of success. Click Play!

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WebinarNinja

Anytime Webinar

Anytime Webinar ROI Calculator

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We are our habits.

That’s the lesson author James Clear understands, and it’s the topic of this week’s Must-Read book for entrepreneurs. Atomic Habits is a valuable primer on forming the right habits, and ditching the bad ones. One habit at a time, you can improve your results in business and life.

By losing unproductive habits and establishing productive ones, you make the little differences that add up to big success. This is, hands down, the best of the “habits” books out there, based on years of research and careful study. It’s full of useful, valuable advice. And for all its detailed wisdom, it’s a relatively easy read.

Plus, the book includes lots of bonus tools and online extras. As self-improvement goes, this is serious bang for your buck. Find out why — Click Play!

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Atomic Habits

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David Ogilvy invented modern advertising. What can you learn from him?

In a still text-driven online marketplace, effective copy writing is just as important now as it was in the 1960s. As the real-life Don Draper, Ogilvy used meticulous research to find out exactly what drove leads and sales. Everything he discovered about magazine and newspaper ads is directly applicable to websites and landing pages today.

Time Magazine called Ogilvy “the most sought-after wizard in advertising.” But what he accomplished wasn’t magic. It was research-based strategy, and you can master it for your own business.

Learn how a few words can make the difference between a flood of sales and a total flop. Learn how being clever isn’t as valuable as you might think it is, if it’s not customer-centered wit. See how in business, many things change, but some principles are eternal. Click Play!

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Amazon giveth, and Amazon taketh away.

The online retail behemoth is a double-edged sword, a massive marketplace that can give you huge exposure to millions of potential customers — but not without a price. Without a doubt, Amazon makes many things easy, like payment processing and shipping. But just as surely, Amazon takes its toll.

Is it worth it? Is what you surrender to Amazon more valuable than the sales you get in return?

Today, we discuss when Amazon can help, and when it can be the wrong choice. Certain kinds of businesses thrive under Amazon, while others are better off going it alone. Tune in, and see which category your business falls into. Decide whether tying yourself to the biggest name in e-commerce is a move you’ll look back on with satisfaction, or regret. Click Play!

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Breaking up isn’t easy. But sometimes, it’s necessary.

A business partnership is like any other: a mutual investment of time, effort, and resources. When it ends, it can go very badly. But when both partners are forthright and genuinely committed to an amicable split, parting ways doesn’t have to be a traumatic experience.

It’s Q&A Wednesday, and we’ve got a listener who’s ready to pull the plug on a partnership. We discuss exactly how to make sure that all parties concerned get what they deserve, and how to transition from the current partnership to whatever’s next.

No matter the reason, there’s a right way to split, and several wrong ways. Learn why leaving a partnership amicably is an important investment, one that will follow you into the future no matter where entrepreneurship takes you. Learn how to do it right, and you’ll be glad you did. Click Play!

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Ah, the flea market. The tables, the booths, the smells, the locals…the lessons.

These markets are a microcosm of the business world, a stripped-down space where the simple rules of supply and demand are on full display — along with a ton of valuable lessons entrepreneurs can use on and offline.

Our host Omar and $100MBA co-founder Nicole recently took a trip to the Kirribilli Market in Milsons Point, in Sydney, Australia. There, they saw dozens of small business people struggling to turn their hobby into a living. Some were doing better than others, and the reasons for their success (or failure) are applicable to every industry.

Hear the tips and tricks we saw on display, that you can apply to your own company. Whether you’ve got a stall at the market or a site on the web, what works on the street works on the Internet. Find out how — Click Play!

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If you can’t convert, you can’t sell. Turning website visitors into customers is an exact science, one with years of research behind it.

Today, an expert in conversion optimization strategy stops by to give us a thorough breakdown of exactly how to move visitors down the funnel and onto your customer list. Iz El-Bahnasy is the founder of Gather, a conversion app that’s leading the way in…well, leads!

El-Bahnasy understand the buyer’s journey from start to finish, and so can you.

Learn how to maximize your chances of success at every step in the journey, from the first visit to marketing qualification to sales qualification and beyond. Using data from Gather users, El-Bahnasy has honed his strategy to identify weak points in the funnel, and fix them to keep the leads flowing.

See how much better your conversion optimization can be. Click Play!

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Gather

Conversion Rate Optimization Case Study

ROI Calculator

E-Commerce Website Optimization

Google Optimize for Split Testing

Hotjar Heat Map Software

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It’s a big world out there, and the Internet allows entrepreneurs to find the best, most affordable talent wherever it is. But with that freedom comes a unique, modern hassle: losing money as you do business across national borders.

Today, we discuss how exchange rates can cost you hundreds per month — and what you can do about it.

As a remote team with over 30 employees on 4 continents, we’re experienced navigators of the international currency scene. Over time, we’ve learned how to pay our people what they’ve earned, wherever they live, without bleeding cash ourselves.

Learn the tips and tricks you and your accountant can use to save money on payroll, whatever the currencies involved. Learn how payment processors like PayPal can cost you more than you realize, and what better alternatives exist. Find out how to minimize the number of transfers you make, and mitigate the losses those transfers cause. Click Play!

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Easycourse

Transferwise

xe.com

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Sponsors: are they worth the effort? Whether it’s a blog, YouTube channel, podcast, or live event, sponsorship can be your biggest source of revenue. It can also be a major pain in the tuchus.

Yes, sponsors pay you. But that money doesn’t come free, and what you give in exchange can have a dramatic impact on your relationship with your audience. Carefully balancing the needs of your sponsors, your audience, and your business is a delicate thing — and it’s crucial to get it right.

Today, we discuss the benefits and drawbacks of sponsorship. We help you choose the right sponsors for your brand and audience, and offer our insights on how and when to acquire sponsors that add value, not just cash. Learn how it’s done — Click Play!

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