Beginning in April 2009, Small Business Conversations has been a one hour conversation with information for your small business. Tom searches the world of small business experts to find the individual that you might not find on your own. If you did find them, you would not have the opportunity to visit with them for free as you do with the Small Business Conversations.

The monthly event is free. To participate, the toll free number is 855-212-0212 for those in Canada and the USA. Others can join the call by dialing 1-530-881-1212. The meeting id is 693029355#.

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Small Business Conversations

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These are some of our favorite Small Business Conversations in which Tom Shay invites the readers of the Small Business News to send in their questions for the guest expert. Links are provided for you to hear the program.

 

September 21, 2023 - We heard Tom Hubler speak at a conference on the topic of family dynamics in a small business. It is a message not only to be heard, but to be discussed. Learn how to watch out for the pitfalls as well as how to build on the positives of working with family.

August 17, 2023 - Jacob Curtis, CPA wrote an article that peaked our interest. The subject was giving an impartial evaluation of opportunites and tasks for your small business. The August program shares what can be a valuable tool for your business.

July 6, 2023 - Dave Wendland sees a lot of small businesses. This is because he is a part of Hamacher Resource Group, a company where the sole purpose is to help a wide variety of businesses. Dave visits to share with us his observations of a select group of these small businesses - the ones that are the best at what they do. So, what are these characteristics? Dave has a lot to share.

May 18, 2023 - One frequent posting we enjoy reading and learning from is that from J Schmid, a marketing firm headquartered in Kansas City. We have read articles from several of their staff and the basis for the May 2023 Small Business Conversations is no different. Devon Clements wrote a piece about your business having a "voice"; a message of speaking to your customers. Or, is your message one of price? Whether you offer services or products, Devon's thoughts are valuable to all of us. If you are a service person who is tired of just giving quotes, or if your business sell products and you are tired of constantly going "off full price"; this is a conversation you want to listen to.

April 13, 2023 - We read of an increased concern and challenge with loss by big businesses. We see this as a call to action for us to bring in our favorite expert on loss prevention - Jerry Obarski. We review some of the articles we have read and we discuss situations we have both experienced. We share thoughts on what your small business should pay attention to so that you are not finding yourself with the challenges of loss from both external people and internal employees.

March 16, 2023 - Our annual celebration of SBDC Day as we invite Tee Rowe, president of America's SBDC and Greg Jordan, director of Kansas SBDC to share with you how the SBDC can be of service to your business. They explain how your business can have a personalized advisor, and the many resources they can bring to your small business at no cost.

February 16, 2023 - Ken Banks, branding, marketing and advertising expert with a career of having worked with a "who's who" in the world of big business. Ken visits to discuss with us what small businesses can learn for the efforts of big businesses. We discuss trends with social media and traditional advertising. Listening to our hour with Ken Banks is like your having hired your own personal advertising consultant.

December 15, 2022 - Within two weeks we can all expect to repeatedly hear guidelines on how to create our goals for the new year. If only they spoke from experience! Gwen Bortner joins us for a fascinating hour as we discuss good goals and bad goals; measurements for goals; how and why to change goals as well as when to abandon a goal. Gwen is a repeat guest on Small Business Conversations and this is another fascinating and informative program.

October 20, 2022 - We heard of the ERC (Employee Retention Credit) only within the past couple of weeks. We understand it to be a component of funding from the CARES Act from the pandemic that began in 2020. To find answers for you we called Mike McCormick, CPA to join us for the October Small Business Conversations program.

We heard a concern of firms calling on small businesses with a promise of being able to get ERC funds for that small business. We have also heard that many small businesses do not qualify for the funds. Hence, we ask Mike McCormick to provide some insight.

September 15, 2022 - As a small business owner, when you transition from your business don't you want to do so on your schedule using your plans and with the money you want? That is why the September 2022 guest is Kurt Tobin a CVA (Certified Valuation Analyst) who helps busines ownersunderstand and realize their business value through detailed valuation analysis, exit planning, and execution on the sale of their business. Listen to the wise words from Kurt as he shares how to plan ahead for your exit; regardless of how many years from now it will be.

August 4, 2022 - Stu Kehler, director of merchant services for Retail Control Systems and Mocha Payments visits to discuss who you are using to process your credit card transactions. A recent conversation with a group of small business owners allowed us to hear their concerns for the sizable amount of bank card fees.

We know that when business has been very busy for many of our readers because of the pandemic there is a tendency to not pay close attention of operating expenses. We were referred to Stu as we heard multiple reports of his helping businesses do a great job of shopping their credit card transactions to other providers. This program is worth the listen as his company has a 99% retention rate of their customers!

May 12, 2022 - You purchase insurance for your small business to protect you from various risks. However, there are other risks your business faces. Ivy Walker, a small business owner and author of Twelve-Minute Risk Management, is our guest to discuss how to detech potential risks to your business and what you can do to diminish or eliminate these risks. This program is filled with questions and alerts so that you can sleep easier at night knowing you have done your best to protect your business from challenges such as cyber attacks, workplace violence, fraud, theft, and other challenges you may have never heard of or given any thought to.

April 21, 2022 - A few months ago we received notification that our podcast was one of the top 20 podcasts for small businesses. While thrilled at the honor, suddenly the flood gates opened and we have been contacted by multiple public relations firms, marketing people, and individuals asking to be on our program. Then we received a call from tonight's guest, Cliff DuVernois, asking to interview us for his podcast program in which his focus is interviewing podcasters to find what the best are doing. We must be doing something right as Cliff told us our program, Small Business Conversations, has been in existence for more years (13) than most podcasters have programs (10).

Which got us to the point of this program; how can you create a podcast and use the program as a marketing piece for your business. Cliff has interviewed a lot of podcasters and he will have a lot of secrets to share.

March 17, 2022 - This is our annual Small Business Development Center (SBDC) show as we celebrate SBDC Day. Our guests are Tee Rowe, president of America's SBDC and Greg Tucker, director of the Missouri SBDC. Your local SBDC (located in every state) provides no cost individualized advising assistance to individual small businesses across the country. This program will introduce you to the program; the services offered; and how you can sign up to have your SBDC advisor.

February 10, 2022 - What can we learn from the advertising that is done by a big business? The big business spends lots of men in research, development and the creation of their messages. We can we wise by investing time in observing their efforts to learn how to have their efforts become a "school" for us. To that point, we have invited the best of teachers in marketing - Ken Banks - to join us as we disect the big messages to develop messages for our small businesses.

January 20, 2022 - Within the past few months we are hearing more and more about premium loyalty programs. These are the reward programs of which your customer pays a monthly fee to be a part of (think Amazon Prime). Ron Friedman visits for what is a very unique program. More than just a discussion, listeners provide information about their business as Ron Friedman and Tom Shay quickly create an idea of how a rewards program could work for the listener's business. Even if you did not participate in the live program, there are many ideas you can pick up to use in creating a premium loyalty program for your business.

December 2, 2021 - Pam Danziger is a very knowledgeable person through her studies of how marketing influences customers. She has written multiple books of which the discussion for this Small Business Conversation will be her most recent writing, "Luxury Marketing Disrupted". Palm does an excellent job of helping us to understand how the traditional marketing pillars of product, price, promotion and price have been replaced by experience, exchange, evangelism and everyplace.

This program will twist the way you think about positioning your products and services. Considering the way the pandemic has affected all of us, the twisting offered in this program is right on schedule.

October 28, 2021 - We have frequently heard reports of the Goldman Sachs 10000 Small Business program; a school for small business owners. As a previous guest of Small Business Conversations told of their wonderful experience during the school we decided we wanted to learn more and share it with our listeners. Daniel Pitts Winegarden is the lead faculty person who spent the evening with us explaining how the school works and how you can apply to be a part of the school. We hear the school is a great investment of your time and energy from others. You will learn a lot from what Daniel is sharing.

September 2, 2021 - Ruth King, "The Profitability Master" easily shows her passion, concern, and knowledge for small business owners. In the past four decades she has owned eight businesses. She has worked with multiple organizations whose focus is assisting small business owners go get profitable and stay profitable. She has written multiple books including, "The ugly truth about cash" and "The courage to be profitable". We invited Ruth to be our guest so you can hear ideas about cash, financial statements, and profitability from a different perspective.

July 29, 2021 - Heidi Kaisand is a business owner that we can all learn from. Not only does she own a small business, she owns the trade magazine for her industry and she creates schools for other owners in her industry. Heidi is very dedicated to learning and experimenting in her business. The July program is filled with great insight which is provided by our extraordinary guest.

June 17, 2021 - Scott Wagman has been a personal friend for over 30 years. I have known him to be an exceptional small business owner and an individual who knows how to give back to his community. If ever there was a model for a small business owner, Scott Wagman would be that individual. During the June Small Business Conversation we asked Scott what he credits his success to. Scott's story is an amazing experience that we can all learn from. His story is a model for our personal involvement as well as our business. Listening to this program is a great investment of your time.

May 13, 2021 - Your business has a sizable investment in your information systems and point of sale. What you had and the way you were using it was probably appropriate for 2019. However, that was two years and there has been a pandemic; much has changed. Have you made any changes to how you are using the hardware and software? Dick Calio is a specialist on the topic and he joins us to share his insight on what we need to be doing to take advantage of the post-pandemic business world.

April 22, 2021 - We celebrate the start of our 12th year of Small Business Conversations as we visit with Dr. Frank Wood, psychologist to discuss stress and the various forms of response shown by small business owners. Not from a political or medical standpoint, but from the perspective we expect the suggestions by Dr. Wood can help small business owners push through the challenges we have all been facing over the past year.

March 11, 2021 - We celebrate SBDC day a bit early by visiting with Tee Rowe, president and CEO of America's SBDC and Laura Fine, the state director for Arkansas SBDC. The SBDC is a federally funded program which provides advisors and counselors for your small business who have specialities in everything from social media, QuickBooks, personnel, and finances, to marketing and management. This program answers a lot of questions you may want to ask before you call your local SBDC office (There are over 1,000 of the local offices nationwide.)

February 18, 2021 - Have you noticed a change in the tone of advertising in the past 12 months? We have and we are bringing in Retail Advertising Hall of Fame member, Ken Banks, to discuss what we see in the changes. We are looking at the television advertising of both Christmas 2020 and the Super Bowl of 2021. These examples allow us to share ideas from these big advertisers that you can utilize in your business. The world has changed; has your advertising?

January 14, 2021 - Chris Ramey returns to share his expertise in attracting affluent customers. Whether your business is products or services, wouldn't you like to have some of that market. During the program we discussed how Dollar General Stores is opening a new store format called Popshelf, we think it is an appropriate time to discuss this with the best known expert on affluent customers.

December 10, 2020 - Harold Havard is not a household name, but he is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to small business. His experience runs from mass merchant management to small business owner. Harold is a business owner who is very creative and willing to try many new ideas in his business. We invited Harold because of the opportunity the pandemic gives to small business owners to try new things in their business. He shared some of the ideas he has tried as well as some ideas he is planning to implement.

November 12, 2020 - A recent report anticipates that 80% of all Christmas shopping will be done online for 2020. That means your social media and online presence is more important than ever. Sommer Leigh visits to discuss the many options and forms of digital media you can use for your business, as well as how to use them. With some six weeks in the season, listening to this program can be a valuable hour that is wisely spent.

October 15, 2020 - Hey! We are back. The virus has been challenging for us and our guest experts as well. To address that we have invited Beth Montpas to share her insight on stress management and attitude with all of us. The traditional Christmas selling season will be different as "Black Friday" will not exist. Your business probably looks different after six months of dealing with the pandemic. Our discussion for the program is YOU. How do you prepare yourself for the balance of 2020?

July 9, 2020 - Tee Rowe, president and CEO of America's Small Business Development Center (SBDC) visits to explain the CARES act recovery program. The Small Business Administration has allocated $192 million to the SBDC to create additional programs and support for small businesses. Tee explains how the program works and how you can get this free assistance for your business as a result of the pandemic.

June 18, 2020 - Does your business have a rewards or loyalty program? The reports we are reading about such programs show they can produce amazing results. Ron Friedman visits to discuss what should be a part of your program; a free or paid reward program; and how to develop customer loyalty with your program.

May 28, 2020 - Marketing can and should be different because of the Corona virus. There is an opportunity to do something different than the usual "item and price" advertising. To discuss this, we invited Ken Banks to join us for the May conversation. Ken was elected to the Retail Advertising Hall of Fame, and has an amazing list of businesses he has worked with during his career.

You probably have noticed the more "homey" feel of the messages from some of the progressive businesses. (This as compared to the, "we are all in this together so you should come buy something from us"). We think you will see this as a way to better connect with your customers and give them new reasons to do business with you.

April 16, 2020 - Corona virus; Covid 19; Your business; Is there anything else to be talked about right now? We visit with our Certified Public Accountant and former small business owner to discuss protecting your personal wealth, your business, and the recent acts of Congress that affect your business. We are finding that the various help packages are not being delivered to small business owners as quick as they were promised. Mike McCormick provides insight and his unique ability to take the complex and make it understandable.

March 12, 2020 - March 18 is Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Day. We have a tradition of joining in the celebration by inviting members of the SBDC team as our guest experts for the March Small Business Conversations. This program has Lisa Shimkat, state director for the Iowa SBDC, visiting and sharing how their services can benefit your business. We have found that most small business owners are not aware of SBDC and the many free services they can offer.

February 6, 2020 - Joe Baer of ZenGenius visits with Tom Shay for the February program. Joe and his firm are specialists in making a businesss attractive. With a substantial list of endorsements from business owners, we asked Joe to share an hour of his expertise that you can put to use in adding that special touch of visual appeal.

January 23, 2020 - We start a new year and decade with a very important issue for every small business; the transition of ownership from one family member to another. Our guest expert, Henry Hutcheson, explained the transition could also be with people who are not related but have been in business together. Listen to this program as Henry explains the three "gates" that all family businesses need to address for the succession to work correctly.

December 12, 2019 - Gwen Bortner has a very unique task that relates to your business; she is a part time, virtual Chief Operating Officer for your business. She helps you as a leader, manager, and owner to accomplish things that otherwise might not get completed. It is a fascinating hour of conversation with an expert who is teaching us about the three positions most of us hold.

November 21, 2019 - SCORE; Service Corps of Retired Executives is a free service to small business owners provided by the Small Business Administration. SCORE provides counseling with an expert from your industry. Ron Friedman, a SCORE volunteer, shares how the program works and what it can do to help your business.

October 24, 2019 - Beth Montpas wrote an article for a trade magazine that caught our attention. Her topic suggested that in addition to your having a "to-do" list, how you can and should create a "to-be" list for yourself and your business.

This is the first time the Small Business Conversations has addressed what we have found to be a very important topic.

September 12, 2019 - Larry Pfarr joins the program again to share ideas of what a business can do in the next 75 days which will get us to the start of the holiday season. We had lots of questions posed to Larry that can help make those last minute changes, as well as take advantage of opportunities to increase sales.

August 22, 2019 - Several years ago we met Jacinda Trask at a trade show as she attended a session I taught. A friend had told me to expect her to be there and said when I spoke with her I would be impressed by her business knowledge. The friend was right. Months later I got to the the operation she manages. With 14 locations she has a lot going on and does an excellent job. When we visited I found she had spent years in the Wal-Mart organization.

This month's Small Business Conversations has Jacinda telling us and answering questions about what she learned from Wal-Mart that she has applied to the small business she now manages. These is a lot of information in this hour that all of us can apply to our businesses.

July 18, 2019 - There is one common trait that every small business shares; they have a legal entity for their business. Your business may be a partnership, corporation or sole proprietorship. In Canada there are four choices and in the United States there are six choices. Do you have the right one for your business today? Perhaps the entity you chose when you started your business is no longer appropriate. Mike McCormick, author of, "The Entrepreneur's Guide to Forming a Business Entity" joins us for the July Small Business Conversation.

June 13, 2019 - Chris Ramey joined our program to discuss the techniques of selling to the affluent customer. We have found many businesses are challenged in selling to this customer because their sales staff is intimidated, or as the salesperson can't afford the product or service, they do not think anyone else should spend the money. If you have faced this challenge, you will want to listen to this program.

May 16, 2019 - There has been a movie about having a bucket list. Many people have a bucket list of what they want to do in their lifetime. What about the lifetime of your business? John Wheeler and Michael Kalscheur spend an hour with us fielding questions about what the bucket list for your business should include. Listen to this program and plan wisely; you may need to have a bigger personal bucket!

April 25, 2019 - Does your business have a "strategic intent"? Let's ask the question a different way; For your business, is there a difference in "what you do" and "what business you are in"? Most likely you will want to hear how Steve Drake defines each of these and how it applies to you and your business. As Steve explains it you are likely going to find that the businesses selling services or products that have connected very well, and are more profitable, are those that understand and utilize what Steve is talking about during this program.

March 14, 2019 - Ever heard of the SBDC (Small Business Development Center)? This organization was created by the Small Business Administration and is a service that can help your business! Most all of what they do is provided at no cost. The SBDC has individualized counselors and educational events designed specifically for a small business.

This program has Tee Rowe, president of America's SBDC and Jill Kline, state director of SBDC for Wyoming as guests. While they did share some statistics, we discussed how the SBDC can help your business.

February 7, 2019 - We are thrilled that Ron Friedman joined us for this program. Ron has so many awesome ideas that can affect your small business in a positive way. We have used many of Ron's ideas; the format of this calendar of past programs of the Small Business Conversations was Ron's idea.

With this program, we introduce the 47th calculator on the Profits Plus website; it was Ron's idea. We look at how discounting affects your business in a negative manner. Instead, Ron suggests your using gift cards as a way to protect your margins as well as get repeat and referral business.

January 24, 2019 - We begin the new year with a return visit by Ken Banks. Ken was last with us seven years ago. Ken is a member of the retail advertising hall of fame. (Quite an accomplishment) His expertise comes from his experience with these names where he was head of marketing for Folgers Coffee, Circuit City, Eckerd Drugs, PetsMart, and Levitz Furniture. Ken co-authored the book Brain-Branding.

December 13, 2018 - Pam Danziger of Unity Marketing is the last guest of 2018. Pam's studies the most powerful consumers in the world - the affluent. During the hour we ask Pam how to attract this person or should a person shift to attract this person. We ask if this type of customer remains loyal to a business and if the customer is a price shopper. Lots of questions answered by a very intelligent person.

November 29, 2018 - Neal Schuler, the creative director for J Schmid, a catalog, branding and marketing, with the mantra of, "helping companies sell their products to customers", visits to discuss the content of all the print messages you send to your customers. We talked about print newsletters, postcards, catalogs, emails, and signage. What can you do to get the customer to notice your message?

October 18, 2018 - Michael Kalscheur visits as we discuss the transition we all make from our business as we move to new challenges or retire. Whether the business goes to a next generation, employees, an outsider, or if you decide to shut the business down, there are a lot of things to consider. You have worked hard for what you have earned and you want to get as much as you can from the business. Michael, of Castle Wealth Advisors, shares his expertise in this program.

September 6, 2018 - Larry Pfarr is our resident expert on merchandising. He comes to us from KSTP in Minneapolis. Larry shares in this program his five easy things to get ready for fourth quarter sales. He also discussed with us the cohesiveness your business needs to have from the website, social media and in person experience that you present to your customers.

August 23, 2018 - Independent We Stand is a nationwide movement of independent small business owners whose mission is to inspire other small business owners to better understand and celebrate their locally-owned status while educating consumers and elected officials about the importance and strong economic benefits of supporting them. Our guest this evening was Bill Brunelle, the director of Independent We Stand.

June 21, 2018 - Mort Haaz of My OTB Plan visits. We think of Mort as the individual with the most experience and knowledge of inventory control. We discussed the "how", the "why" and the fine tuning of inventory control which increases the inventory turns and the gross margin return on inventory investment (GMROII).

May 10, 2018 - Gene Sower of Samson Media returns as we discuss where you are spending your social media dollars. We spent part of the hour looking at making the decision based on demographics or keywords. While we focused on Facebook and Google AdWords, we did discuss how the other social media can and should be a part of your advertising efforts.

April 12, 2018 - Mac Fulfer is a very interesting person. He is an attorney from Texas who, in working to do a better job of selecting jurors, found there is a lot you can learn about a person just by looking at their face. What an amazing talent! Think how this would be helpful in talking with your customers.

Mac gave us a very engaging hour filled with many examples of what a face can tell you about a person. Sales skills everywhere are definitely increasing because of this program.

March 15, 2018 - Dick Calio of RJ Calio Consulting visits to tell us of his unique niche. Dick is a specialist who helps a small business owner select the point of system they use in their business. Dick tells of how he helps you to dig through all of the possibilities to choose the system that best solves the challenges of their business.

February 15, 2018 - There is a new tax code for 2018 that will impact individuals and their businesses. We invite Mike McCormick, Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Certified Tax Coach (CTC) to explain the changes most likely to affect small business owners.

December 7, 2017 - Troy Patton is an expert on determining the value of a small business. All of us as owners will be leaving our business at some point. The question will be, "How much money do you get from the business?"

Whether you transition the business to a family member, an employee, or an outsider, Troy has the ability to give you insight in how to determine what your business is worth.

November 9, 2017 - Beth Carroll had an experience shopping in Charleston, South Carolina which prompted her to create a website to help people in North America find locally owned businesses to shop with. We discussed her experiences in retail in both corporate retail and independent retail which led her to becoming an advocate and activits for independent retailing.

October 12, 2017 - Craig Melby of LeaseSmart was our first guest who spoke on leases. Is location the most important factor? Are there other things to consider? What if you have problems with your landlord? What is "build-out"? We get answers to these as well as answers to questions from our listening audience.

September 14, 2017 - Michael Kalscheur of Castle Wealth Advisors returns. Michael had the highest rating of all guests to have visited the program. The discussion for this program is getting out of business; whether it is selling to an employee, an outside individual, or transitioning to another family member. We also discuss partnerships and buyouts.

August 17, 2017 - Pat Johnson and Dick Outcalt, co-founders of Retail Owners Institute join the August program. Pat and Dick are legends in the retail arena. Both are very knowledgeable with most everything that relates to the bottom line of your business. They have a very informative insight with lots of tools as well as hosting a weekly program called, "Topical Tuesday".

July 5, 2017 - We think Sam Allman is the master of selling. Not just because he wrote the book, "Heart and Mind Selling", but because he elevates selling to another level. Sam is a student of selling which makes him a fascinating guest; we talked about selling to the person instead of selling the product or service

June 22, 2017 - Excellence is a word that describes our June guest from Retail Excellence. Natalie Tan has an impressive resume of skills and using them to make a difference in how customers see your business and more importantly - what, and how much, they buy.

May 4, 2017 - Crystal Vilkaitis, teacher of social media was the guest on the program for this show. The discussion focused on the strategy of using social media; which to use and those to not use. This was an hour full of questions and answers that will surely help any business.

April 6, 2017 - HeadCount's Mark Ryski spoke to our listeners about important measuring points in a business. Perhaps surprising, comparing to "same day last year" is not a fair measurement. Mark shares his years of experience dealing with traffic counts and conversion rates. There is a lot to be learned from the individual who wrote, "When Retail Customers Count" and "Conversion - The last great retail metric".

March 30, 2017 - Henry Hutcheson of Family Business USA and author of Little Dirty Secrets of Family Business spent the evening with Bill and Tom as we fielded questions from listeners about challenges in their businesses. Henry also spoke to how families can prevent challenges in daily business as well as transition of ownership.

February 16, 2017 - We are joined by Dan Jablons of Retail Smart Guys. With only one hour to visit, we focused our conversation on marketing and staff management.

January 19, 2017 - Larry Pfarr, who spent 24 years with Bachman's of Minnesota and is know for being an extraordinary merchants was the guest for January as we discussed merchandising and displays.

December 8, 2016 - Deb Brown, the expert on small town business and communities joins us for the final program of the year. We talk about small towns, communities, Main Street programs and neighborhoods which allow a group of businesses and citizens to work together. We talk about the advantages and disadvantages of being small.

November 10, 2016 - Bill Kendy and Tom Shay had a unique program for this evening in that they fielded questions as asked by our audience. We packed the hour with as much information as we could. It's a great session to listen to.

September 8, 2016 - The Small Business Book; 10 Ways to Improve Your Small Business written by Dave Fellman. Yes, that is our guest for this e-retailer conversation. We discussed all 10 ways (you'll want to listen to this recording) of things you can do in your business to make a difference in your bottom line.

August 11, 2016 - Scott Newberger, vice-president of Regions Bank brought valuable information with regard to the relationship between a small business and the bank. We discussed borrowing money, processing credit cards, using a banker as an advisor and other aspects of your business that a bank can help with.

July 7, 2016 - Cathy Nagle-Ervin joins the conversation as we discuss how the various generations can work with, and for each other. If you think your generation is having problems with a generation older or younger than you, this is a great program to gain some insight.

June 16, 2016 - Thinking of selling your business to an employee, family member, or an outsider? How do you calculate the value of the business? Are there multiple ways of valuating the business? Mike McCormick, Certified Public Accountant and Certified Tax Coach answered questions on how to get the most from this transaction.

May 19, 2016 - Christopher Dicenso, of Growth Strategy Partners, joins Bill and Tom as we discuss the value of a business coach. Could you handle the relationship and the expectations the coach will have of you as well as your expectation of the coach. Taking advantage of our conversation with Christoper, we also discussed how to differentiate your business.

April 14, 2016 - Becky McCray, the small business survival expert, rejoins Bill and Tom as we discuss the many reports that show Wal-Mart and other big box stores as having issues. What is happening? And can your small business take advantage of it? You will want to listen to this proram.

March 10, 2016 - Scott Neal, from Fast Track Computer Solutions brought us a lot of information about the current dangers our businesses can face on the Internet. We also discussed off site storage and backup of the information of our businesses.

February 11, 2016 - Joe Waters, the leading expert on cause marketing joined us as we discussed how to maximize the efforts of your small business so that your business and the community get the most from it. A great hour of discussion with a first time guest who helps us to do more with what we are already doing.

January 14, 2016 - We start the new year with Ben Muldrow as our guest. Ben's expertise is branding. We look at the colors and fonts used for a name as well as any tag line the business may utilize. It's a great lesson of how to do things right with the image of your business.

December 10, 2015 - Every small business owner comes to that poin in time when they are thinking about getting out of the business. You may think of selling the business, closing the business, or transfering the business to a family member. There are a lot of considerations in your transitioning out of the business; from both a personal and financial standpoint. That's why we are visiting with Mike McCormick, CPA to discuss the many components you should consider with selling or closing your business.

November 12, 2015 - Jeff Milchen, co-founder and co-director of AMIBA, the American Independent Business Alliance visited with Bill and Tom as we discussed the many movements that have been started over the years to promote doing business with a local independent business.

October 8, 2015 - Randy Dean, the e-mail sanity expert, joined Tom Shay to discuss how you can get more control of your time by managing all of those things that intrude into your day - phone calls, emails, tasks, calendars, and people. There was a lot to be learned and implemented from the ideas Randy shared with us.

September 17, 2015 - Did you know that how a person sees your blog, email or website makes a big difference as to whether or not your message is even read? With an increasing number of people using their smart phone to "showroom", "webroom", read emails, view websites, and maybe even talk, any message you have needs to be mobile friendly.

Karl Stearns returns to the conversation to discuss how to make your blog, emails, newsletters and website mobile friendly.

August 13, 2015 - Kathy Walsh of Coast to Coast Insurance in Tampa, Florida visited as an expert on small business insurance needs. We discussed how to determine what types of insurance you and your business needs as well as how to determine how much insurance you should purchase.

July 23, 2015 - July is Independent Retailer Month. Our guest for the e-ret@iler conversation was Kerry Bannigan, co-founder of the event as well as the individual who is the driving force of the event.

The big question of the night; "What are the advantages an independent retailer has over a box store, chain store or mass merchant?"

June 11, 2015 - Joyce Weiss, an expert on conflict in the workplace is the guest for the June conversation. We are discussing conflicts between employees and customers; employees with each other; partners; siblings; and parent/child; all within the workplace.

If you have experienced any of these, you will want to listen to the wise advice that Joyce shares with listeners.

May 14, 2015 - The saying may be, "April showers may bring you flowers". With this call, we think it is, "April taxes bring you May accountants". Are you one of those who have gathered all of your tax information in the first quarter of the year and given it to your accountant? Did you also sit with your accountant during that time and discuss your taxes?

Our guest for May's conversation, Mike McCormick, CPA, tells us this may be the wrong arrangement. Mike says you should visit with the accountant after the tax season to determine how you can learn from what happened last year as well as what has happened in the first few months of the current year.

Listening to what Mike has to say may change the way you do business with your accountant.

April 9, 2015 - Ron Friedman made his second visit to the e-ret@iler conversation to tell us about a book is writing. The subject of the book is the selling and using of gift cards in your business. We talked about the accounting aspect of the transaction as well as how you can use gift cards to promote your business. Ron said a gift card can be the best selling item for any business. Listen to this recording to hear how you can do it.

March 12, 2015 - Michael Kalscheur of Castle Wealth Advisors spoke to a packed phone line that had more questions than we could cover in our hour. We talked about planning for the time you want to sell your business. We also talked about maximizing the price for the business. Surely, all small business owners will come to that point in time where they sell the business to an outsider, an employee, or transfer the business to another family member. You will want to listen to this program.

February 12, 2015 - Christine Corelli, author of Wake Up and Smell the Competition, brought an interesting topic to tonight's program. The discussion centered on her comment, "shoppers are good but buyers are better". This is a recording you will want all of your staff to hear - probably several times.

January 15, 2015 - Independent We Stand is a big cheerleader of independent businesses. Tonight we visited with Bill Brunelle who heads the drive. He told us how an independent business benefits the community more than the 'big guy' competition. Bill explained how to use this information as you get your message to your customers.

Whether you are product or service oriented, Bill's message will help you to get that advantage over the competition.

December 18, 2014 - Brent Niemuth of J Schmid, a boutique branding and marketing firm visited with us tonight. Brent is a recognized authority on multichannel marketing. Our discussion helped us to understand the discovery process so that a small business can do a better, and less costly job, of getting their message to their customer. It also helps so that the image of the business is retained by the customer when they are ready to make a decision about spending money.

October 9, 2014 - Dr. Frank Wood, psychologist, came to the program with this concept; there is always going to be stress in your life. For some, the stress can be painful and challenging. Others may be able to have stress become a tool to help you achieve your goals.

We posed many interesting questions to Dr. Frank as we work to understand how stress is present in our daily lives.

September 25, 2014 - Don Schwerzler, founder of the Family Business Institute, and the Internet organization, Family Business Experts, joined Bill and Tom to discuss issues with businesses that have multi-generations, siblings, cousins, partners, or other situations where there is room for 'challenging discussions'. We talked about getting out of the business as well as how to deal with disputes within the business.

August 14, 2014 - Karl Stearns is an expert on digital engagement. During our hour, we discussed Mail Chimp, Constant Contact, email marketing, social media and how to have all of them work together so that your business can engage your existing customers to do more business with you. We talked about how this would also allow your business to gain new customers.

July 24, 2014 - Phil Perry has written over 3,000 columns for a wide variety of small business magazines. This conversation had us asking the writing expert about the experts he quotes in his many columns. We discussed the future of print magazines as well as what the experts are telling Phil are the biggest concerns among small business owners.

May 22, 2014 - Our favorite accountant, Mike McCormick does an encore performance as he comes to introduce his latest book, 'Why didn't my CPA tell me that? Small Business Write offs conventional tax advisors miss'. As always, Mike provides a lot of ideas that small business owners can use to keep more of that profit in their checking account while reducing their tax liabilities.

April 24, 2014 - Jill Kline, the Wyoming state director of the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) spent an evening with us to tell about the SBDC and how it can help your businesses. We found there are many services that are provided, free of charge, for small businesses. Jill is a wealth of knowledge for small businesses and there could be one like her in your area.

March 20, 2014 - Ann Baldwin of Balwin Media Marketing joined Bill and Tom to discuss how a small business can utilize the media so that the business is seen as an expert within their industry. Ann also talked about crisis management; when the media is in your face and you are looking to do damage control. Ann has some great ideas. She speaks from experience as she was a part of the media for many years.

February 20, 2014 - Ron Friedman returns to discuss the new laws affecting credit card acceptance and the credit cards themselves. Ron explained what is required to accept the new cards as well as the penalties a business will incur by not being ready for the new format.

January 9, 2014 - Barbara Crowhurst of Retail Makerover in Canada visited with Bill and me. It was a whirlwind hour as we covered many, but just a piece of Barbara's knowledge of retail. Barbara was our first Canadian guest expert and we welcomed her to the program in a grand manner. You will want to listen to this replay.

December 19, 2013 - Michael Kalscheur, CFP (Certified Financial Planner) of Castle Wealth Advisors was the guest expert as we discussed the transition of a business from the current owner to a partner, child, employee, a competitor, or outside individual.

Michael commented on 'add ons' and how to prepare your business for the sale. He explained how far in advance you should be making the plans to transition out of the business.

This was an awesome hour with a lot of information being shared.

November 21, 2013 - Gene Sower of Samson Media was our guest expert. Gene's area of expertise is social media, websites and search engine optimization. Gene gave a great explanation of the social media using the making and consumption of a donut. We discussed what was free and what you paid for within the social media. Gene also explained why a business should not turn some teenager loose with handling the social media of a business just because the teenager enjoyed the social media.

October 17, 2013 - Our favorite CPA, Mike McCormick made a repeat visit to the e-ret@iler conversation. In addition to questions, Mike talked about his book, "The Entrepreneur's Guide to Forming a Business Entity'. Mike talked about the issues to be discussed when talking with your accountant about how your business show legally be established.

Mike also discussed how a business owner can outgrow their accountant and how grey is his favorite color. (You'll want to listen to the recording to understand this comment and how accounting is not all 'black and white'.

September 26, 2013 - Robert Natoli and Jeff West of Seattle Central Community College (SCCC)joined Bill Kendy and Tom Shay as they discussed a new online class being offered by the college. The 11 week class was created specifically for small business owners and prospective owners. The course details writing a business plan, budgeting and cashflow, advertising, the legal entity of a business, franchising, and all of the components of sound financial management.

The course utilizes a 201 page book written by Tom Shay. This e-retailer conversation explains how the online system, called CANVAS, works at the college and how business owners can sign up for the course.

August 15, 2013 - Steve Drake, the "causeaholic", is the guest for this e-retailer conversation. You have likely heard of cause marketing; it is the event in which your business joins with a non-profit to raise funds or awareness. Steve will give some examples of how you can make a difference in your community as well as make your business stand out from others because of your efforts.

July 18, 2013 - Need cash? Got some inventory and equipment you need to get rid of? How about your business has multiple locations and you want to close a location? Maybe you have decided you want to just close the business as compared to selling it.

The guest was Bob Nelson of Power Retailing. Bob's company specializes in solving the very problems that was mentioned in the previous paragraph. Listen in as Bob shares has dozen steps to increasing your odds of success and his top 10 biggest mistakes that business owners make. This session is definitely worth your time.

June 20, 2013 - Branding your business; Shelly Brander (yes, that is her real last name) is an expert on the topic as well as being the owner of two retail operations and Internet based business integrated with her retail operations. During this conversation, Shelley explained how branding and advertising are linked. She also told about logos and updating them. This was an hour packed with lots of information that is invaluable to those that hear the message.

May 16, 2013 - Ever think about how much your business loses, financially, because of theft, shoplifting, losing equipment, or just not tracking inventory and equipment properly? Jerry Obarski, a 37 year veteran of loss prevention with major department stores joined Bill Kendy and Tom Shay to share ideas of what a business can do to eliminate this 'hole' in your business.

April 25, 2013 - Georganne Bender and Rich Kizer joined Bill Kendy and Tom Shay in a discussion about the differences in how women and men shop. We discussed what kind of signs are most attractive for each as well as what colors draw the most attention. This was one hour that was packed with a lot of information that you can put to use immediately.

March 14, 2013 - Shawna Schuh was the guest for March. The discussion was on professionalism. We talked about why people skills should be important to a small business; how to network at events; nametags; hand shakes; telephone usage and other things that you might not think your existing and potential customers might notice about you and your business.

February 14, 2013 - This Valentine's evening, Cam Marston brought his expertise on generation interaction to the conversation. We discussed how to sell to each of the generations as well as how to best work with people from your own generation as well as other generations. Cam shared how to recognize each of the four generations and other important insights to maximize the inter generation interaction.

January 17, 2013 - We begin a new year by inviting Mike McCormick, CPA to return to the conversation. Mike's specialty is small business. Participants were invited to send questions about their business, their plans to sell their business, their retirement, and even their 'concerns' about the accountant they are currently using. Mike has great advise and we are thrilled to have found someone who has a specialty in small business.

December 13, 2012 - Dr. Joseph Michelli, author of The Starbucks Experience, The New Gold Standard, When Fish Fly and other business books, visited with Tom Shay and Bill Kendy to discuss his experience in the research and writing of these books. You will hear how his observations of a single location small business, a chain store, and an online store are appropriate to your business.

November 15, 2012 - Ron Friedman of Damomics joins Tom Shay and Bill Kendy. Ron's company, Damomics, sells point of sale systems for small businesses. During the conversation we discussed Small Business Saturday for 2012 as well as how to create customer loyalty programs and utilizing gift cards in a number of unique ways to build your sales and customer base. This was a fast paced hour as Ron was full of great ideas.

October 18, 2012 - D. Wendal Attig was the guest. Along with Bill Kendy and Tom Shay, D. Wendal discussed his newest book, Make Your Marketing Mobile. D. Wendal and Tom Shay have known each other and worked together for many years. D. Wendal designed the Profits Plus branding materials. This call had some great questions from individual businesses who were looking for ways to take the mobile marketing of smart phones to make their business mobile marketing work even better for them.

September 13, 2012 - Tom Shay and Bill Kendy were joined by Robbie Brown as our guest. The majority of the evening was spent answering questions from businesses about their vendors. We talked about vendors understanding your business, partnering with your business, and other aspects of how they can be a part of increasing the profit in your business.

We also discussed inventory returns and writing orders. If you have any questions about your vendors, this call should address those concerns.

August 16, 2012 - Linda Cahan was our special guest as Bill Kendy and I spent the hour asking Linda about visual merchandising. Not just window displays and end caps; we talked about the social media and the presentation a person makes when they are selling - be it in a store or as an outside salesperson.

July 26, 2012 - What a change of pace with our guest during this call. Dave Doucette was our guest as we discussed business partnerships; how to pick a partner and how to divorce yourself from one. It was a great call with a lot of insight being shared that many people have asked about. If you missed the call, download it now.

June 28, 2012 - Jon Schallert, creator of the Destination University was the special guest for our June e-retailer conversation conference call. He spoke on his unique 14 process of making a business or community a destination; a business or community that is different from those who are dependent on others to bring customers in close proximity to the first business. This was a great session that you will definitely want to listen to.

May 10, 2012 - The start of our fourth year of e-retailer conversations conference calls with our special guest, Anne Obarski. Host Bill Kendy joins Anne and Tom Shay as they discuss shopping the competition, having your business shopped - by professions or individuals you select, and focus groups for your business.

April 12, 2012 - Ken Banks - Member of the Retail Advertising Hall of Fame. Head of marketing for Folgers Coffee, Circuit City, Eckerd Drugs, PetsMart, Levitz Furniture and co-author of the book Brain-Branding. Ken explains how your brand is more than a logo or advertising campaign.

March 22, 2012 - This call is taking on two individuals. The "taxman" and the person that assists your business with issues of taxation. During part of the call we are going to discuss what this 'accountant person' should be doing for your business. In the second segment of this conference call, we are going to look at how, and why, you should conduct an interview to find the right person to be partnering with you regarding the accounting and tax issues of your business. Our special guest for the evening was CPA, Mike McCormick, the "Cincy Tax Coach". Mike shared some great information about how your relationship with your accountant should work.