There has been quite a gap between episodes 85 and 86.  The reasons for that are plentiful, but one of the biggest is that I’ve been doing a lot of speaking engagements that have taken away the time I would normally have spent on this podcast.  For this episode, I wanted to make available the [...]

Between hardware like mobile phones and new social media tools, there’s so much new technology coming out every day that it can be hard to keep track.  If you’re able to harness some of these tools, however, it can make your work more profitable and sometimes even easier.  The topic of this episode is “new [...]

The social media landscape changes so quickly … almost every day!  The pace of change is so fast, in fact that it’s sometimes hard for professionals to keep up, let alone small business owners who have other things to worry about.  For that reason, in Startup BizCast #84 I decided to revisit the social media [...]

It’s no April Fools … tax day in the U.S. is rapidly approaching.  That means you’d better be getting to work on your tax returns.  If you’re not, you may need to think about filing for an extension.  Our guest on this episode of Startup BizCast is Ryan Thompson from FileLater, an online service set [...]

After a bit of a long hiatus, Startup BizCast is back with episode 82!  In this show, we take the pulse of entrepreneurship.  How are things going out there?  Our guest is Chris Benjamin from Rogue CFO.  He’s a contract CFO, working with companies that need someone in that position, but perhaps not full time [...]

It’s tough to hire new employees these days.  It may seem like a strange statement, and it’s not top on the list of concerns of most people, but it’s something to consider.  If you’re one of the small businesses that’s actually thriving in this weak economy, and you put an ad in the newspaper that [...]

Back in the 1990s, all you needed to do if you wanted funding for your business was show up with an interesting company name and slogan … and you’d get all you wanted.  These days … not so much.  With the economy withering, so is the amount of funding available.  To gain venture or angel [...]

After missing a week of the show … I’m back!  This week we have our promised episode on how small business owners can use Twitter.  I’m a member of the micro-blogging site and use it quite a bit, but I decided to bring in a guest who is even more immersed in the Twitterverse.  Dave [...]

This week we welcome back one of our favorite guests.  Ken Colburn from Data Doctors joins us to talk about this year’s Consumer Electronics Show.  Ken was at the show in Las Vegas, covering it not only for his own newsletter but also for CNN!  He gives us the rundown on a couple of the [...]

Happy New Year everyone!  Startup BizCast is back from the Christmas and New Year’s break, and ready for action! In this episode, I give a few suggestions for resolutions for this year for small business owners.  More importantly, however, I’d like YOUR input.  What do you think small business owners should resolve to do this year?  [...]

There’s a large portion of the population that would probably rather take a bath in a tub full of those newly-discovered cyanide spitting pink millipedes than speak in front of a room full of people.  Public speaking is one of the top fears out there, but when you’re asked to talk about yourself and your [...]

Free is good … free is great!  With times as rough as they are for small businesses, we need to save money wherever and whenever possible.  This week on Startup BizCast Ken Colburn from Data Doctors and I run down some of the best FREE resources on the `net for your small business! Also, in BizCast [...]

This week we tackle small business websites, and what they need.  I go solo to discuss three different types of small biz sites, and the integral parts of each.  Included are the online business card, the online store, and the social media hub.  This is a shorter episode, as I’m slammed trying to catch up [...]

Note: I’m publishing a day earlier than usual this week, partly because there was no episode last week and partly because of the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S. This week we have not one piece of advice … but five!  The guest for Startup BizCast’s small business advice segment is Jim Tracy, founder and president of [...]

A few weeks back I was one of the presenters in two different webinars from PRWeb.  Each of the presentations was about small business marketing, and during each I talked about business blogging.  And … after each I received a number of emails from people who were confused about how to do it.  Since this [...]

Local, state, and federal U.S. government contracts are NOT easy to get.  However, they tend to bring in good money, particularly for small business owners who aren’t used to multi-thousand or million dollar deals.  And, it’s unlikely our government is going to go out of business any time soon — a major consideration in this [...]

This week, I welcome a good friend and guest from the first handful of Startup BizCast episodes.  The topic of the week is SEO for press releases.  More and more people are catching on to the fact that news releases can be used for SEO purposes, but many people don’t know how to maximize the [...]

Despite having a bigtime name behind them, businesses like McDonalds, Hair Cuttery, and Century 21 are all small businesses.  They’re franchises, and most of the time they’re owned by someone in your area.  There are challenges inherant to marketing a franchise small business, however, not the least of which is that people don’t often view [...]

This week, we’re talking about how to manage the flow of money going out the door, while the poor economy worldwide may be limiting the amount of money that’s coming in the door.  My guest is Toffer Grant, founder and CEO of PEXCard, a company that offers prepaid VISA cards for use by businesses in [...]

Almost a year and a half ago, in episode five of Startup BizCast, I reviewed a list of online news release distribution services.  These sites will post and distribute your news release across the web, bringing benefits like SEO and potential media coverage.  Since it’s been so long since that episode, and a number of [...]

A recent study from ABI Research indicates that the number of people watching videos online has doubled in the past year.  It’s obvious that people are becoming more comfortable using this technology.  What that means, is that you should be using it for your business!  My guest this week is Benjamin Wayne from Fliqz, an [...]

Are the worst enemies to your small office computer network banging on the gates, or walking around inside the castle?  Truly, there are plenty of people out there trying to harm your business, either by writing viruses or actively trying to gain access to your data.  You need to protect yourself from those threats.  However, [...]

Fall isn’t a time when you normally think much about taxes … unless, that is, you filed for an extension back in April.  If you did, that means your taxes are due next month.  Additionally, the more thinking you do NOW, the higher the chances you’ll lower your tax burden when you file next year.  [...]

Hey folks.  I had to register a new voicemail phone number today.  My apologies to anyone who tried to call the old one, but ended up getting one of those “fast busy” signals.  I subscribe to a service that gives you a free voicemail and emails any received messages to your inbox.  It’s awesome for [...]

These days, if you only use your cell phone to talk to other people, you’re considered behind the times.  Today’s cell phones email, text, surf the web, and much more.  My guest this week is Mark Asnes from Wireless Zone.  He has tips for how you can use your cell phone to make your small [...]

I love it when someone emails a friend about my business.  How would you like it if thousands of people were emailing friends about something you created?  When something on the Internet gains that kind of traction and gets spread around from friend to friend, it’s said that it’s “gone viral”.  In this episode of [...]

It feels good to get back into the studio chair after taking a couple of weeks off this month — one due to workload and one due to vacation.  This week we’re talking about another new media tool that you can use to promote and brand your small business.  Rich Baker, CEO of Glance Networks, [...]

This is a packed show! In this week’s interview segment: What if one of your customers became the victim of identity theft … and you were the cause?  Needless to say, it wouldn’t be good for your business.  This week we’re talking about protecting the personal information of your customers.  As someone who recently had his [...]

This week we’re joined by an honest-to-goodness double agent.  It’s true.  Double Agent Derek Meister is with the Geek Squad, a service that provides technology solutions for consumers through Best Buy’s retail stores.  He joins us to talk about must-have technology for different types of small business owners.  If you’re anything like me, there are [...]

I’m back!  After a one week hiatus, Startup BizCast returns for episode 58.  This show ran a touch long, due to having listener feedback and a longish interview.  Both were so good, however, that I just couldn’t chop any more out.  So … the show is 15 seconds longer than my self-imposed limit of 15 [...]

Hi all… There will be no new episode of Startup BizCast this week.  Between summer guest scheduling issues, my busy work and family schedule, and a variety of other things, I made the executive decision to not produce a show this week.  I expect to be back next week with a new show, complete with BizCast [...]

On this week’s episode, we’re talking about small business owners who also happen to be stay-at-home moms. My guest and her partner call them “Mompreneurs”. These moms are running service or product businesses as a source of secondary or even primary income for their household, and they’re balancing it with taking care of [...]

I didn’t really know what to call this abbreviated episode, but it came to me as I was reading a story about the White House needing to apologize to the Premier of Italy after they released a less-than-flattering biography about him.  I decided to talk about tips to help you avoid mistakes with email like [...]

I can’t help but laugh when I hear the words “Office Space”, because I love the classic movie of that name.  But, this week’s episode has nothing to do with that great flick.  This week we’re talking about how to find office space for your small business.  Whether you’re leasing space for the first time, [...]

Imagine the worst happens with your business — perhaps one of your employees is caught trafficking goods from your warehouse, or one of your products is tainted and makes a whole flock of people sick. What would you do to handle the crisis? Having a crisis plan in advance can help. In [...]

Sorry for the tardiness of this episode. I have one correction right off the top: There is no Recommended Reading feature on the blog this week. Sadly, I lost my list of links and simply don’t have time to look them up! Apologies! And now … on with the show! Between insane fuel prices and an [...]

Thus far on Startup BizCast, we’ve talked about marketing, advertising, PR and even logo production. In this episode, we’re going to talk about techniques that use all of the above and more. Branding strategies use an across-the-board approach to create a feeling in the customer (or potential customer) about your business. Our [...]

I’ve talked a lot on this podcast about how to make your business blog work for you, but what about using other people’s blogs to promote your business? That’s this week’s topic on Startup BizCast. I go solo to talk about what a successful blogger relations campaign can do for you, and give [...]

I’m celebrating! Startup BizCast is not only celebrating its 50th episode this week, it’s also turning one year old! The premier of the small business advice podcast was on May 30, 2007. To mark this dual occasion, I’m doing the following: 1) I’m introducing the new Startup BizCast theme music and produced open. [...]

The idea of using social networking to promote your small business has come up a number of times on this podcast, and in this episode we’ll get some specific tips on using one of the most popular sites for business — Facebook. John Blown of 6s Marketing, an Internet marketing firm, is this week’s [...]

During the Great Depression of the 1930s a large portion of the world’s population suffered as inflation ran wild and unemployment reached epidemic proportions. But, there was a group of people and companies that actually flourished during the depression, thanks to smart and innovative thinking. With the weak economy nowadays, we can learn [...]

I was racking my about the topic of this week’s Startup BizCast, when Casey Quinlan came along. She suggested talking about business storytelling … and I think it’s a great idea. My guest this week is Casey, who is the owner of Mighty Casey Media. She says if I have to put [...]

I’ve had a lot of “firsts” on this show recently. Just a couple of weeks back I had a co-host for the first time. This week, in episode 46, I have two guests at the same time! Jimmy Vee and Travis Miller are co-authors of the book “Gravitational Marketing: The Science of [...]

It’s time to hear from the winner! This week I interview Grant Mucha, the lucky winner of the Startup BizCast Small Business Week Contest. He was selected next week and wins about $2,000 worth of prizes. In episode 45, I talk with him about his business, Degrama, and how he became a [...]

This is a very special episode of Startup BizCast. Not only is it finally time to announce the winners of the Startup BizCast Small Business Week Contest, I brought in a co-host to help me with it. Plus, we get to talk about advice from our listeners! In this episode I team up with [...]

Corporate Philanthropy is simply “good works” on a slightly larger scale. Instead of an individual volunteering time or money to a local nonprofit or helping a neighbor, it’s the weight of an entire company moving toward the goal of helping the community. This week’s guest on Startup BizCast is Ami Kassar of credit [...]

I’ve been talking a lot about U.S. Small Business Week lately, in relation to the Startup BizCast Small Business Week Contest. This week my guest will give us some details on when Small Business Week got started, why it’s important, and what will be going on that week to celebrate entrepreneurship. My guest [...]

In this week’s Startup BizCast, we’re talking once again about how to get your small business website to rank higher on the search rankings. We’ve talked about news release distribution, and this week the topic is article distribution. The two have some similarities. Mainly, the goal is the same — building incoming links [...]

Ever feel like you run around all day putting out business-related fires? Feel like you’re chasing your tail? Feel like you’re in a game of whack-a-mole? See where I’m going? Sam Carpenter, CEO of telephone answering service Centratel says all of those statements applied to him. He was working 100 hours a week and not [...]

I just checked my feedback hotline number, and found that it was no longer working! The service I use for the number deletes your account if it’s not used for a month. Unfortunately, I haven’t been getting any feedback (hop to it, people!), and thus it was deleted. So, I created a new number. [...]

Just about everyone has stopped denying it. The U.S. economy is at the very least souring, and could already be in a recession. As small business owners, we need to be particularly sensitive to changes in the economy because, generally speaking, our businesses are rather fragile. This week’s guest on Startup BizCast [...]

There’s not much that’s more important in small business management than figuring out how much to charge for the products and services you offer. According to this week’s guest, however, there needs to be a system involved in setting those prices, and the best price for a small business owner is not always the [...]

Most small businesses, with the exception of highly funded dot-coms, start their lives with the owner doing everything. That “everything” includes taking care of the computers. But, as the business grows, that job may become too big, particularly when you consider all of the other things a small business owner has to deal [...]

It’s less than two months from the due date for your 2007 tax forms. Does that panic you? It shouldn’t really, but your 2007 taxes should be something that’s on your mind. Last week we spoke with tax and financial advisor June Walker about deductions and how to find a tax professional. [...]

Tax season is quickly creeping up on us. Personally, I haven’t done anything about getting my tax information in order, but I am at least THINKING about it! Because it’s that season, I wanted to make sure you all get a heavy dose of advice about taxes for your small business. So, [...]

I made some changes to the RSS feed for this podcast that you should know about. I noticed that only the most recent 10 episodes were showing up in the feed, and thus on iTunes and in podcast directories. I fixed that so that henceforth all episodes will show up on the RSS feed. [...]

In this episode, I had the great pleasure of interviewing Corporate and CEO Blogging and Social Media Consultant Debbie Weil, who was not only a wealth of knowledge, but was also nice enough to be patient while I recovered from a coughing fit during the interview! Debbie talked about her claim that 2008 is [...]

Ever wonder how news outlets decide what to report and what not to report on? In this episode of Startup BizCast I go solo, and try to give you an explanation, as well as some tips to beef up the newsworthiness of your news release or story idea. I didn’t mention this in [...]

Most experts agree the United States is in an economic downturn, mostly as the result of the subprime lending fiasco. Whether you think we’re about to go into a recession, are already in a recession, or will never reach recession status, it’s safe to say that small businesses will have to change their tactics. [...]

There’s little doubt that women are succeeding in the world of small business. Women-owned startups are popping up at twice the rate of those owned by men. And, nine out of ten female entrepreneurs plan to expand their business. My guest this week is Susan Wilson Solovic, co-founder, CEO, and chairman of [...]

Partnerships are a big part of small business ownership, mainly because we can’t do everything ourselves. And, whether those partnerships are alliances between supplier and retailer, or two people who agree to run a business together, it’s critical to make sure you have a solid agreement in place. The reason for this is [...]

Happy 2008 everyone! Individuals have New Year’s resolutions, and your business should too! In this episode, I run through a few suggestions and ask for your help! If you have suggestions for Small Business New Year’s Resolutions, please shoot me a voicemail at 206-984-0860 or send me an email at info@startupbizcast.com. I’ll play [...]

Have you ever been so ridiculously busy dealing with the smaller details of your business (scheduling, record keeping, etc.) that you have no idea how you’re going to get it all done? Surely it’s happened to us all. But, does it seem to happen to you frequently? If so, you may be [...]

What’s going to happen to your business if a customer sues and wins? If your business is a simple sole proprietorship, they could take everything … including your house, car, and personal bank account. Scary? For sure. That’s why separating your personal assets from your business assets is so important. [...]

Everyone makes mistakes. But, what if you could be given a “heads up” about those mistakes before they happen? While I can’t stand in your office and hold up a sign warning of impending doom, I do have some help this week. My guest in this episode is Nathaniel Stevens, President and [...]

Get each episode as it’s published: RSS - iTunes - Blubrry - Podcast Alley SHOW NOTES: Podcasting, blogging, and social networks are just a few of many new ways to promote your small business that just a few years ago didn’t exist. This week on Startup BizCast I go without a net and without an interview, [...]

Get each episode as it’s published: RSS - iTunes - Blubrry - Podcast Pickle SHOW NOTES: Small business owners, myself included, have a bad habit of getting so busy doing the actual work that pays the bills, that we don’t plan for the future. Having a clear business plan is a definite plus for anyone because [...]

Get each episode as it’s published: RSS - iTunes - Blubrry - Podcast Pickle SHOW NOTES: What’s going to happen to your small business if all of your computer files go “POOF”? With computer storing nearly all of our information these days, it’s more important than ever to have a way to back up your data. [...]

Get each episode as it’s published: RSS - iTunes - Blubrry - Podcast Alley SHOW NOTES: There are a dizzying array of telephone options for small business owners these days, particularly compared to just a few years ago. From traditional phone service, to individual cell phones, to Skype and Voice over IP, it can get confusing. [...]

Get each episode as it’s published: RSS - iTunes - Blubrry - Podcast Alley SHOW NOTES: First off … Happy Halloween!!! As you formulate plans to promote your small business, you may consider advertising. Unfortunately the advertising landscape is overcrowded and, sometimes, too expensive. If you’re coming to these conclusions, you might look into alternative forms [...]

Get each episode as it’s published: RSS - iTunes - Blubrry - Podcast Alley SHOW NOTES: When you meet someone new and try to describe your small business, do you fumble around? Do you feel like you’re not really impressing them? What you need is a pre-prepared elevator speech. An elevator speech is a [...]

Get each episode as it’s published: RSS - iTunes - Blubrry - Podcast Alley SHOW NOTES: In this episode, we’re talking graphics. A first impression is important in business, and when you have a small business it’s absolutely critical. A great business logo can let people know you have a professional operation. My guest [...]

Get each episode as it’s published: RSS - iTunes - Blubrry - Podcast Alley I’m a bit late posting this, but .. hey .. at least it’s still on Wednesday like it’s supposed to be! In this episode of Startup BizCast, the small business advice podcast that’s shorter than your coffee break, it’s time to discuss when [...]

Get each episode as it’s published: RSS - iTunes - Blubrry - Podcast Alley SHOW NOTES: In this episode of the small business podcast that’s shorter than your coffee break, we talk about etiquette. It’s not how to use your silverware or hold a teacup, but rather EMAIL etiquette. With email being used as a [...]

Get each episode as it’s published: RSS - iTunes - Blubrry - Podcast Alley SHOW NOTES: Startup BizCast is back, after a one week break that was necessitated by my client load from EndGame Public Relations. In this week’s episode, I go solo to give 10 tips to help small business owners who are fortunate enough [...]