Damian explains — without politics — 5 reasons America’s businesses need an expectation on when they can go back to work. So far, our businesses have withstood the challenge of coronavirus. But uncertainty leads to irrational behavior and panic. Without a timeframe to plan around, businesses will begin folding in massive numbers. Government bailouts won’t be enough, and frankly how long can government fund a shuttered economy? The CDC and other medical entities suggest self-quarantining may be n...
Mar 26, 2020•24 min
Businesses — particularly small businesses — are getting rocked by the coronavirus response. Government is instructing citizens to avoid certain enterprises while governors in many states are going a step further and instituting "mini Martial Law." When the government doesn't allow your business to open, you suffer. Damian Mason understands entrepreneurs and he delivers a message of understanding. Watch over the next four weeks as he shares tips, insights, and information to help you navigate th...
Mar 24, 2020•24 min
Coronavirus is forcing many people to work from home who previously haven't. As a seasoned veteran of tele-meetings (Zoom for client consulting meetings), Damian Mason shares 6 tips to make your teleconferences more productive.
Mar 23, 2020•7 min
If you’re in business, you suddenly face a marketplace reality you barely had time to prepare for. Your income will likely take a hit. You’ll be forced to make a lot of adjustments at rapid speed over the next few weeks. And, you’re likely to have slack time on your hands that you hadn’t anticipated. Success — possibly even survival — depends on how you invest your “corona time.” No, I’m not referring to time spent drinking Mexican beer. Although I certainly encourage time for ice cold Coronas, ...
Mar 17, 2020•22 min
If you run your own business - or even if you don’t - it’s normal to feel overwhelmed. From time to time, you just don’t know for sure where you should be allocating your time. This episode will help you prioritize your time based on the return, and will help you better manage your daily activity. If your goal is success, longevity, and less stress over what to do first, use the ROCKY method of task prioritization. Yes, it’s an acronym (sorry!) but it stands for Revenue, Outreach, Creativity, Kn...
Mar 10, 2020•25 min
Lisa Hudson has run Fitness By Design with her husband for 29 of the company’s 31 years. She rejoins the Do Business Better podcast to shed light on what it takes to be a good employer. More importantly, she provides tips on how to get and retain good employees. How to hire, how to fire, and realizing when it’s just not working out…. If you have employees, you likely have struggled with all those decisions. My small biz friends (and big biz too) tell me employee management can be a real challeng...
Mar 03, 2020•23 min
A 2019 Gallup survey found that 43 percent of Americans work from home occasionally. U.S. Census data indicates that 5.2% of U.S. workers — approximately 8 million people — completely worked from home in 2017. Add to that the 15 million people The Bureau of Labor Statistics defines as self-employed and the millions of others participating in the Gig Economy, and you have a pile of people earning money from their domicile. The problem for many people who work from home or aspire to run a homegrow...
Feb 25, 2020•18 min
My friend Rik Roberts rejoins us on the Do Business Better podcast to provide lessons learned in a successful career comedy spanning since 1991. Rik tells us how to utilize on travel time, why downtime is a productive use of time, and how to capitalize on you and your employees' “zone time.” Rik has made a business out of something where most folks never get beyond open mic night. His tips on time discipline have propelled him, and they can help you. And with Rik you won’t hear any starving arti...
Feb 21, 2020•27 min
Ruth Gerdes was a young mother with 18 month old twins when she started her own business in 1985. She was married to a farmer who also had an off-farm job to make ends meet. Ruth looked at her farming operation’s crop insurance and decided she could do better for customers like herself. She did. Ruth discusses ups and downs of starting and running her business — The Auburn Agency Crop Insurance Company. She provides lessons about being an employer, success in a small rural town, the need to stay...
Feb 13, 2020•27 min
The Waste Management Phoenix Open golf tournament is a festive, well-attended event that some in the golf community deem “too raucous” for their tastes. Maybe it is. There’s plenty of beer flowing, and the music and crowds can be loud. But the tournament markets itself as "the greatest show on grass.” You don’t become the greatest show on grass by being a staid and solemn event — there’s a reason 220,000 people don’t attend croquet tournaments. Some of the professional golfers complain about the...
Feb 04, 2020•9 min
I help companies and individuals ReInvent themselves. Many business owners say, “Why do I need to reinvent? My business is thriving.” That may be true but there’s no guarantee success will last forever. Kodak and Sears were both successful companies at one time but where are they now? Customers go away, businesses get typecast, marketplaces evolve. Are you prepared to thrive next year and next decade? In this episode I lay out the reasons we all must reinvent — personally and professionally — an...
Jan 31, 2020•21 min
Ed Nichols is a former Investment Banker with an MBA. He joins us to share Wall Street wisdom we can all apply to our own business. Ed gets it, he’s now an independent business person — actively buying, renovating, and operating rental properties in Chicago. You’ll love the frank talk and lessons from a varied work background and you’ll definitely glean several practical, useful insights you can use to create a life and business by choice.
Jan 24, 2020•28 min
Chas Wilson is a believer in networking. As a real estate business owner he belonged to a professional networking group for years. Then, after missing a few meetings due to complications with the birth of his twin boys, Chas was dropped from the network.That’s when he decided to start Master Networks — a nationwide organization created to help business owners and the self-employed establish mutually beneficial relationships. Master Networks is also an educational organization with weekly curricu...
Jan 16, 2020•35 min
In early January, everyone is going to do everything with their business in the new year. But…by June…or March…or third week of January, the exuberance fizzles. So, how can you accomplish everything you set out to this year? Truth is, you probably can’t if you’re a business person who thinks like me. You’ll never get everything accomplished because you probably were a little overzealous when you came up with your list to begin with! In this episode I provide strategy for gleaning lessons and bui...
Jan 07, 2020•25 min
We talk a lot about branding in business. As in, what does your brand stand for, what do you think your brand is, and then what do your customers think your brand is? Then there are the questions of “What does my brand look like?” Etienne Sanz de Acedo is the CEO of the International Trademark Association. He joins us to discuss what a trademark is, and how you can benefit and build your business by having one (or many!). In a world with intellectual property disputes running rampant while the i...
Dec 23, 2019•24 min
Maria Pesin was a blue collar kid who always knew she wanted to be rich and wanted to be in business. She started out as a clerical employee, worked her way up to assistant buyer, then eventually was managing and running fashion brands. When Maria struck out on her own 6 years ago, she was managing Jessica Simpson’s apparel product line. Maria shares lessons from the fashion industry we can apply to our own business. She explains the need for differentiation, how to create aspiration for our bra...
Dec 19, 2019•33 min
Chris Mittlestaedt wanted to be a writer but with a pregnant wife and a job delivering faxes, necessity forced him to become an entrepreneur instead. He had experience running a business — in college he ran painting crews. So, at age 27 he started The FruitGuys, a fruit delivery business. Chris has an awesome story about starting from scratch and growing a business. Today, The FruitGuys has 180 employees delivering produce to offices throughout the U.S. Mr. Mittlestaedt has never had a business ...
Dec 13, 2019•35 min
Karl Mecklenburg played in the NFL for 12 years and was all pro for half of those years. Not bad for a college walk-on who was the 310th draft pick in 1983. Put frankly, the guy was an over achiever. But what does a professional football player do when his career ends in his mid 30s? Karl joins me to discuss how he made the transition from football field to running his own business. He talks about the preparation we need to do now so we can perform when given the opportunity. Karl has brilliant ...
Dec 11, 2019•25 min
Jason Hewlett started his career in show business as a Ricky Martin impersonator at Legends In Concert in Las Vegas. Today he is a business speaker, author, and busy father of 4. He’s never forgotten the lessons learned from the showbiz stage. Mr. Hewlett joins me to discuss business lessons learned from a career on stage. He tells us what businesses get wrong, what they get right, and why customers get mad. Jason talks about the promise we all have to our customers and how we can improve on del...
Dec 03, 2019•34 min
"It’s not what you know, it’s who you know!” “The best advertising is word of mouth.” They’re old sayings we’ve all heard. But what do they really mean for you and your business? Likely not what you or what most people think. At least not on the surface. In this episode we examine two verses in the common vernacular and interpret them for the success of you and your enterprise.
Nov 27, 2019•19 min
Vartan Seferian was a top achiever in surgical sales, then he was let go by his company. After plotting his next step, he decided to go with his gut and start his own business. 22 years later, his enterprise, Ambassador Fine Cigars is thriving. Vartan owns two retail cigar stores and prospers even in a world of online shopping. Mr. Seferian discusses his early challenges, going “all in,” the art of creating a customer experience through personal touch, and the need for constant reinvention to di...
Nov 18, 2019•26 min
I was prepared to lay out business lessons from the folks at Maui Jim sunglasses. Then, something interesting happened. My friend Scott McKain (who’s previously been on the Do Business Better podcast) shared an article about Madonna. The aging pop star seems to have forgotten her fiduciary responsibility to her fans. On her recent Vegas performance she showed up four hours late and was less than respectful to her customers. So, just as I was prepared to tell you how awesome Maui Jim sunglasses a...
Nov 12, 2019•21 min
If you’re in business, you probably have or consult with a CPA. CPAs crunch numbers, they provide business advice, and they oftentimes tell us what we’re doing wrong. So, imagine being a corporate CPA for a large company, then starting your own enterprise. Jennifer Peek of Peek Advisory Group did just that. And like most folks who leave corporate to pilot their own ship, she found out it was harder than she thought it would be! Jennifer joins us to talk about the lessons she’s learned in 9 years...
Nov 04, 2019•23 min
In this episode we discuss the downside of listening to the wrong people and how it can harm our life and business. We also discuss who you should seek out for advice, counsel, and feedback and how you can create your own “advisory group.” In running our own business, we often turn to the banker, accountant, and attorney for advice. These are competent professionals who can help our businesses. But be careful — all three of those occupations are defined by playing defense. These folks will help ...
Oct 22, 2019•21 min
Andy Ambriole had his first business — a pumpkin patch — at age 9. His parents made him pay rent for the 2 acres and rent their equipment for his endeavor. He was keeping records and understood cash flow by age 10. At age 16 he bought a green house and started an organic tomato business. Upon graduating from high school, Mr. Ambriole determined the ROI on college didn’t pencil out. So, he expanded his organic farming business. Which, as he points out, was a business decision — niches are necessa...
Oct 17, 2019•17 min
Andy Ambriole had his first business — a pumpkin patch — at age 9. His parents made him pay rent for the 2 acres and rent their equipment for his endeavor. He was keeping records and understood cash flow by age 10. At age 16 he bought a green house and started an organic tomato business. Upon graduating from high school, Mr. Ambriole determined the ROI on college didn’t pencil out. So, he expanded his organic farming business. Which, as he points out, was a business decision — niches are necessa...
Oct 17, 2019•21 min
I have 3 beliefs that guide my life and work. I call them the "ivity" principles. They are: Productivity Breeds Productivity. Activity Creates Activity. And, Positivity Inspires Positivity. Three simple statements I say weekly in running my own business and moving the ball forward in my own life. I share the principles with examples in this episode. You can benefit from applying the "ivities" to your own life and work too!
Oct 10, 2019•10 min
Are you a good listener? Do you listen to your customers? How about your employees? Listening is a skill many people struggle with and it’s costing them money. Oscar Trimboli, an Australian deep listening expert, shares the 5 levels of listening. He tells us how we can improve our listening and why we need to do so. You’ve probably heard the old saying, “most people listen with the intent of responding, not with the intent of understanding.” That’s true but in the smart phone era it’s gotten eve...
Oct 08, 2019•31 min
If you’ve read my book or seen my graphics on social media, you’re familiar with Angie. Angie is beginning her 13th year in business, and I’m proud to say I was one of her first clients. She started IBA Design with a laptop and a card table working from her rental house. Now she has five employees and a thriving enterprise. She shares with us how she transitioned from freelancer to business owner, the hard lessons learned from firing bad employees, and the realization that no one shares the comm...
Oct 04, 2019•25 min
We toss around the words “potential” and “talent” pretty freely in business but do those things really matter? Is natural talent a real thing and is it the difference between success and failure? The answer is yes, it’s a real thing, and no, it’s not the only difference between success and failure. That’s the talent myth: the misguided belief that success is based solely on natural talent. In reality, most people’s lack of accomplishment has more to do with a lack of drive than a lack of talent....
Oct 01, 2019•16 min
