Full show notes: https://b50p.info/uattr034 Monday I didn't even take calls for work and I went from random task to random task not getting anything done. That's how the week started for me. Here's the story in my head "This week has been…" unproductive a bummer wasted low vibration hard disappointing I wasn't inspired for a topic for the livestream/podcast. That isn't where I wanted to be. I realized that there are times when you really do have to just put your energy to the task and just do it...
Apr 02, 2020•26 min•Ep. 34
Full shownotes: https://b50p.info/uattr030 If you're in business long enough you're going to have to endure some kind of economic crisis. In my professional career we haven't gone more the eight years without a major disruption to the economy. While the current crisis regarding COVID19 is serious, it only represents another in an unending series of external challenges any business owner will face. Understanding how a crisis impacts you and what you can do about it is vital to the survival of you...
Mar 26, 2020•39 min•Ep. 33
Full Show Notes: https://b50p.info/uattr032 "When you stop growing... you start dying!" Seriously...?! This is what we have to offer the people who have the courage to create value in our economy? Instead of setting your sights on arbitrary business 'growth'... let's talk about what you want out of your business and design a system to bring you there! Let's get growing... in the right direction! Why did you REALLY start your own business? Have your reasons for business ownership changed over tim...
Mar 19, 2020•18 min•Ep. 32
As a small business owner, it can seem difficult to compete with the benefit packages of well established, larger corporations. Startups can share this problem as well when they begin trying to attract talent. How do you design a benefits package for your team when you don't have the financial resources required to put a competitive package together? Let's scale those benefits! For more detailed information listen to the audio version of the podcast or watch the livestream recording. Business Pr...
Mar 11, 2020•29 min•Ep. 31
Find the show notes at https://b50p.info/uattr030 Open Book Management shares financial information with employees with the expectation that they use that information to feel confident that the owner trusts them and that they can see where the company is spending money and how they might be able to help. Let's get open... or maybe not? Benefits • Positive Employee/Employer Relationship - sets a stage of trust • Helps employees understand the company as a whole • Assists them in performing their ...
Mar 04, 2020•27 min•Ep. 30
See the full show notes: https://b50p.info/uattr029 Productive mobility allows us to add value to our businesses when we aren't in the office. This gives us the freedom to work from a wider variety of locations improving our quality of life. But how do we make the most of this time? I've been using this kind of mobility for quite a while now and I've developed a kit that really works for me that I thought I'd share with you. Let's get mobile! For more detailed information listen to the audio ver...
Feb 26, 2020•30 min•Ep. 29
See the full show notes: https://b50p.info/uattr028
Feb 19, 2020•39 min•Ep. 28
I'm on a mission to stop structured ineptitude this week and I have my sights on policies! It makes me crazy when I get on the phone, chat, personal conversation or email exchange that results in the customer support person on the other end is basically hogtied so they can't actually assist me in solving my problem. "I'm sorry... I don't have access to that information..." "I'm not allowed..." "I spoke with my manager and he/she said 'No.'" "We can't do that..." Yeah it goes on and on and I know...
Feb 15, 2020•28 min•Ep. 27
Visit the show notes page on our website! https://b50p.info/uattr026 Well the 2nd Livestream went great... except that I streamed it on the wrong Youtube channel! Noob mistake #1. I also forgot to record the audio separately so I had to rip it from the stream. It worked but not quite the quality I shoot for. In this livestream/episode I wanted to talk about what it takes to move a small business from one location to another and some of the things you need to keep in mind as you go through the pr...
Jan 13, 2020•41 min•Ep. 26
See the show notes: https://b50p.info/uattr025 Welcome to the recording of my first livestream! There were a few hiccups in the beginning but we got through it! In this livestream/episode I continue the discussion from the last episode (audio only sorry) of Up and to the Right when we talked about the definition of a business model. This time I talk about how to get practical value out of a business model in the context of small business. Can small businesses get value out of business modeling? ...
Dec 21, 2019•35 min•Ep. 25
See the full show notes: https://b50p.info/uattr024 It’s time to roll up our sleeves and get to work with another episode of the Up and to the Right Podcast. Have you ever tried to explain how your business makes money? At first it might seem like a silly question. But let's take a closer look and see if we can get some value out of the business model! “I buy stuff from a wholesaler and sell it to the public…” “I make awesome furniture and sell it…” We describe the process of creating or adding ...
Dec 16, 2019•24 min•Ep. 24
See the show notes: https://b50p.info/uattr023 Let’s see… A little something from our personal account… A little from our business account… Let’s just give it a little mix here... Hi, I’m Stephen Krausse with Beyond 50 Percent and it’s time to roll up our sleeves and get to work with another episode of the Up and to the Right Podcast. When you’re running a small business it may seem easier to just use your personal checking account and credit card to operate your business. It may not seem like a...
Dec 05, 2019•17 min•Ep. 23
M&A or mergers & acquisitions might not be on the tip of your tongue as a small business owner but as we plan for retirement or other transitions, acquisition begins to find its way into our world. Hi, I’m Stephen Krausse with Beyond 50 Percent and it’s time to roll up our sleeves and get to work with another episode of the Up and to the Right Podcast. Over the course of the last twenty years I’ve been involved in four acquisitions and each time I had a different role to play. In 2000 I ...
Jun 26, 2019•25 min•Ep. 22
http://b50p.info/uattr021 On February 13, 2017 I published Episode 13 of Up and to the Right… I should have known that the 13th episode published on the 13th day of the month was a bad omen. Anyway, after Episode 13 I started planning... and stopped producing... ...and it took over a year for me to get back on track! In episode 21 of up and to the right we’ll: put off talking about Plancrastination! We’ll avoid talking about what it is. We’ll mindlessly scroll through our social media feed inste...
Apr 22, 2018•49 min•Ep. 21
http://b50p.info/uattr020 Show Notes I have three places I really push organization my electronic files my backpack my office/podcast production desk I could do better but these are my major work areas so while I have piles of office supplies or old records that could definitely use a good purge… they don’t effect my day to day work. In episode 20 of up and to the right we’ll talk about why and how to get organized. It’s not as hard as you think and we’ll get some great help along the way!...
Apr 15, 2018•28 min•Ep. 20
Show Notes: http://b50p.info/uattr019 Do you have customer service skeletons in your closet? Does the skeleton of your patronage linger in the closet of a business that just plain blew it? For me, sadly… both are true. Episode 019 of Up and to the Right we’ll take a look at some moldering bones in my own customer service closet along with two examples that made an impression on me as a customer. The good news is that by acknowledging problems, listening to customers and treating customers with t...
Apr 09, 2018•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 19
http://b50p.info/uattr018 If you put all the clever marketing campaigns aside does it really matter if you’re Mac or Windows? Episode 018 of Up and to the Right is about my journey from Windows to Mac; how and why it matters to business owners and what you need to think about when it comes to deciding on a technology platform for your business. Spoiler alert: if you’ve already chosen... you made the right choice... and even if you feel you didn’t the costs to change are lower than ever. For most...
Apr 02, 2018•45 min•Ep. 18
http://b50p.info/uattr017 Do you use social media to promote your product, service or business? Did you know that there or over 300 social media websites and that number is growing?! Whether your a social media luddite like yours truly... or a social media maven there's simply no ignoring the power and impact of social media. In episode 17 of Up and to the Right we'll see if we can surf the social media channels and keep our entrepreneurial sanity at the same time! We'll talk about how to answer...
Mar 26, 2018•44 min•Ep. 17
It’s unanimous… according to article after article service providers should have pricing listed on their websites. Funny thing though… if you start looking at many professional service provider’s websites there is a distinct lack of transparent public pricing. In episode 16 of Up and to the Right we’ll explore this apparent conflict and I’ll share my own journey that started when I decided to cover this topic.
Mar 18, 2018•26 min•Ep. 16
About 58 years ago Edmund Jerome McCarthy introduced us to the ‘four P’s of marketing’. It could be argued that a lot has changed since then. In this episode of Up and to the Right we’ll adapt this easy to remember marketing tool to our modern mar
Mar 11, 2018•40 min•Ep. 15
Have you ever heard someone talk about running their business by ‘keeping all the balls in the air’? Now I can’t juggle… but I can certainly relate to the feeling that running a business can seem like a circus! So, how can one person keep “all the balls in the air”? In episode 14 of Up and to the Right I’ll share my 5 Moleskine Notebook Hack, how I set it up and how I work with it to run my business.
Mar 04, 2018•32 min•Ep. 14
http://b50p.com/2017e04 How do you measure the importance of the work that you do in your small business? Sometimes I value the work I do by its impact on revenue; sometimes I value it based on how much I am interested in that particular activity and sometimes I value an activity by how long it can occupy me before I have to do something I've been avoiding. Over the years I have been found that the work that we do can be described by one of three categories. In this episode I share this and the ...
Feb 14, 2017•18 min•Ep. 13
Get the show notes: https://b50p.com/2017e03 One of the most common reasons for small business failure is problems with cash flow (not having the cash you need to operate your business when you need it). Looking at this another way... by learning when to incur expenses you can turn this risk for other small businesses into an asset for your own. The secret sauce: operating profit drives expense The world of marketing would love for us to continue believe differently but we're not falling for it ...
Feb 02, 2017•23 min•Ep. 12
//b50p.com/2017e02 Hiring can be rewarding when you've found just the right person with the right skills and experience that will fit perfectly into the culture of your business. It's a big commitment though... for both of you. As a business owner, there are a few strategies you can use that will increase the chances that your hiring process will go as smoothly as possible. The Three Question Test Determining & Evaluating the Cost Preparing to Hire and Bringing Them On-Board Where do I Look?...
Jan 26, 2017•32 min•Ep. 11
It's true. We all need help. Whether it's seasonal sales cycles, end of year accounting or a full time staff position... there's always more to do that hours in the day. How do you decide what help you need, how to prioritize getting it and finally who you gonna call? In this episode our focus will be on outsourcing work without adding a permanent position at your company. What is outsourcing? How does it apply in a small business situation? What should I outsource? Where do I start? In Episode ...
Jan 14, 2017•39 min•Ep. 10
Still using @gmail, @aol, @yahoo or another generic email for your small business? Does it matter? In the 2016 Week 51 episode of Up and to the Right we're going to go over why using this seemingly economic choice for small business owners may actually be costing you more than you think. We'll also talk about how easy and inexpensive it is to get up and running with your own custom email address that will put a professional touch to the emails you send to customers, prospects and business partne...
Dec 23, 2016•26 min•Ep. 9
What are Financial Ratios? Can they be used to run a small business or are they only for big companies and stock traders? In the 2016 Week 50 episode of Up and to the Right we'll learn the Secret Life of Ratios and how they can be used to operate and improve your small business. The tool this week is a ratio analysis calculator. All you have to do is download it from beyond50percent.com/2016w50 and enter 12 values from your own financial statements. Ratio analysis just got easy! In the Reading R...
Dec 23, 2016•30 min•Ep. 8
Cash is king as they say and the Statement of Cash Flows is a key report that bridges the gap between the Balance Sheet and the Income statement. In this episode of Up and to the Right I'll discuss how to get the most out of the Statement of Cash Flows without investing hours of time or going to night school to understand the accounting behind it. I've provided some examples of both the entries on this report and the calculations used to arrive at the numbers. The point; however, is to understan...
Dec 09, 2016•27 min•Ep. 7
So much for reducing the time huh? I am committed to getting these down to bite size pieces! Alright, I underestimated how much I had to cover when it comes to the Income Statement. Yeah... this episode is long... but the truth is that this is an important and probably the most widely talked about (if misunderstood) report of the three standard reports. What is an Income Statement? The income statement is, as its name suggests, a report that focuses on the sales (income) we receive from our cust...
Dec 02, 2016•53 min•Ep. 6
How often do you review the three standard accounting reports for your business. Accounting gets a bad rap but the reports that they generate are the first place to go to find measured results that you can use to improve your business. The Balance Sheet, Income Statement and Statement of Cash Flows can be a wealth of information and a great place to start looking for ways to improve as well as a great mechanism to monitor the results of changes you make. Why should you review your Balance Sheet?...
Nov 23, 2016•44 min•Ep. 5
