Small Business Startup Essentials

In this episode, I was able to interview a long time LinkedIn favorite of mine, John Nemo.

I first came across John three years ago and was a regular …

In this episode, we're going to hear from Danielle Jefferson, from Jefferson James Consulting about her transition out of her Corporate job and into …

In this episode, I talk to Dennis Geelen about his journey from working in the Corporate realm to finding himself without a job and creating a new …

Friends, today, I have with me someone that I find very interesting that I came across on my favorite platform, LinkedIn. Michael J Penney. Michael J. Penney is a proven, battle tested leader.

Michael is a combat veteran …

Friends today I have with us Marc Miller, the best selling author of Repurpose Your Career a Practical Guide for the Second Half of Life, Podcast host of the Repurpose your Career Podcast and a huge advocate for …

I came across mind mapping years ago and it’s always helped me to see an overall plan in a great visual way. Always.

If you’re not familiar with mind mapping, what is it?

Well, if you’ve ever drawn out a diagram on a …

We all have a past, right? Not something we can forget about or ignore, even if we try. And it’s always a mix of all the ups and downs in life. We’ve probably got more of the downs than we’d like to remember, but, …

Friends, there are times in our lives when we have to make a decision. We can think about stuff all day long and put things off, but eventually…eventually, we somehow come to the point of ‘I’ve had enough of this. …

I spend a lot of time on LinkedIn. And I think LI is fantastic.

But I see a lot of people’s profiles that totally miss the mark on the message it …

You’re Not Alone

If you’re in the planning stages of starting a solopreneur type business, or maybe you already launched one, you’ll more than likely …

In the last episode, I covered the topic of ‘should you create a webinar for your business’. I did an overview of the process and how much is …

Webinars seem to be the new rage lately, right? More and more, we’re seeing them pop up all over as a source of providing information by video for a wide spectrum of industries and businesses.

And for good reason, I …

I don’t know about you, but there are times in my life when I think I need to make a serious course correction. 

Sometimes it’s about personal things. Sometimes it’s about my business and whether or not to keep going in …

We live in a time where information and influence comes as easy as breathing. Whatever we want to know or learn about, we can pursue it and either read or watch videos on it. No topic seems to be untapped.

But because we …

What Is a Personal Brand?

Well friends, I’m sure that there are a lot of people that already have this personal brand stuff figured out, but there may be some of you listening that need a bit more clarification to what …

Is there a ‘right’ time to start a business?

Hello again friends, I have a topic here today that is a very popular one for sure. When should you start …

If you’ve been listening for awhile, you may have heard in episode 58 titled ‘the tools we use’, I briefly went over some of the software tools I use …

Imposter syndrome. It can be very real. And it keeps coming up in conversations that I have with people. Feeling like a phony. Feeling like you …

So, you want to finally go forward with starting a business. This is something you’re sure about and you’ve got the confidence and determination to work through the problems and find a way to succeed. 

But you’re finding …

Hey friends and loyal listeners. I’ll be taking a 2 week break from the Podcast while I’m on vacation. After almost 100 episodes, I’m still far from finished talking about one of my favorite subjects…helping people get …

In this episode we hear about how Alexis started his entrepreneurial journey and how he initially started as a consultant in a large firm, but …

Gina started out as a Financial Advisor in 2014 and wondering if she really wanted to do this long term even though she was successful in this role. …

Friends, I just had a thought about competition lately and I was reminded of a conversation I had with a professionally trained and educated photographer a few years ago. She wasn’t practicing her trade, even part time …

Having the dream

It’s great to have a dream. Right? I think we all have some sort of dream that we’d like to accomplish someday. And having that dream of a better life is always a good thing. Because not everyone can …

Welcome back to part 2 of the 7 P’s to profitability. In the first part of this 2 part session, we covered

Personal story, Platform and then positioning. Next, we’ll be going over

1.    Product

2.    Packaging

3.    Pitch …

You want to start an online personal brand business. That’s great! I converted my business from offering on site services to other businesses to an online business and I must say, that it’s a lot better to make money …

We go through the workforce doing so many things, right? I mean after a few decades of having different roles we can sort of be really good at a …

Podcasts seem to be everywhere. Right? They’re being played in the subway, in cafes, in the gym, wherever you go. And you can listen to them everywhere, whenever you want.

I’ve been listening to them for about 15 years… …

Have you ever thought of reinventing yourself? Maybe you’ve been in a situation that forced you to do that. Maybe you’re thinking about doing it …

You know, it can get a little overwhelming sometimes when we see everybody around us jumping up and down about the latest social media craze. Not long ago…like just a few months ago, people were actually telling me that …

Jeff talks about his early years an an entrepreneur turning his part time side hustle into a full time business and then started his Podcast, Read to …

Very pleased to have with us today, Martin Barnes, the Startup Pitch Coach.

So, do you have a small business but pitching make you feel anxious at the thought of being the center of attention?

Are you a bit confused about …

Paul Davis is a gifted intuitive personal advisor, an entrepreneur, a best-selling author and an award-winning business growth consultant and speaker.

Kaisha spent decades working up through the ranks of Corporate Management, but then decided the timing was right for her to start her own business.

She saw the need to show people how to do what she did for over 20 …

Show Notes

Paige Wilson left the Corporate financial banking realm a number of years ago after her mom passed away. She looked back on her time of trying to take care of her mother while still working and decided to come …

Show Notes

·       His transition from the Corporate Management realm to becoming an Entrepreneur.

·       He initially, really didn’t see himself as a business owner, but came across an article from a business coach that …

Show Notes

Tiya and I talk about a number of topics relating to her transition out of the Corporate life as an Engineer and how she worked through …

Show Notes

It’s time. It’s finally time to start something new in 2022. You’ve been thinking about this for a while now and you want to make a change in your life.

You’re tired of the status quo and you have a vision of …

Show Notes

Increase Your Chances

Most startups fail after 5 years. Why? Mainly because of cash flow problems. There’s more going out, than coming in. …

Show Notes

Getting older often means taking fewer risks. It shouldn’t. I’m not saying that we should take up sky diving in our 60s or invest our …

Show Notes

In this episode, I interview Gayla Scrivener from Scrivener Solutions. Gayla made that 'later in life' transition from the Corporate world …

Show Notes

There are times when we realize that, looking back we see that we really didn’t accomplish much the past year. And now that currently, it’s late November, the end of the year is approaching and I’ve noticed …

Show Notes

When it comes to having an online business, you have to put together a solid plan of attack when it comes to becoming and staying …

Show Notes

Hello again friends, and welcome to another episode…a very important episode today…sales funnels.

Well, what is a sales funnel anyway? Well for those of you that already know, please bear with me, I won’t dive …

In the last episode I brought up the topic of ‘The Fear of Failure’. But now, I think the topic to come after that should be… ‘The Fear of Success’. …

Show Notes

Friends, this week I’d like to talk a little about fear and how it can really get in the way of our hopes and dreams and success.

Now we all have fear, and I’m not going to even suggest that I don’t have fears. …

Show Notes

Hello friends. I’d like to talk a little today about overcoming obstacles. Now, I’ve been around awhile and have experienced a lot of things but I won’t pretend to be a know-it-all in this situation. I’ve been …

Show Notes

How to Find Your Calling When You Don’t Know What You Want

Some people could go their entire life, or at least a few decades, working in a …

Show Notes

Getting 'There'

Friends, we see it all the time. The social media world is full of people that either flaunt their success or fake their …

Do you want to start your own Podcast? Download the FREE E-book I have for you 'Starting a Podcast Mini-Course'.

Need help getting your online business started? Book a call with Tom's Online Calendar

Show Notes

Some people …

This week I interview Shannon Greenwood, founder of Rebelle Community.

I really enjoyed hearing Shannon’s inspirational story about how she made a huge life pivot transition and went from burnout to thriving business …

Friends, if you’ve been listening to this Podcast for awhile, I’m sure you’ve heard me say a number of times that I encourage you to think big and dream big and not to be discouraged… and DON’T GIVE UP, right? And …

Doing Something Different

So many people today feel trapped in dead end jobs that offer no hope for the future. They cling to the illusion of security while subconsciously aware of the reality that, according to the …

Today I’d like to talk a little about the small business planning process and how it can be easy to get caught up in the process and hit a wall. 

Planning to Plan

There's no shortage of big goals or ideas. And most of the …

Here is the link for the FREE Guide you can download The Tools We Use.

I mentioned in the last episode that I have a free resource called ‘The Tools …

Whether you’re just thinking about starting your business or even after you’ve launched, I think this episode will be of interest for you today. 

You see, we all need to form relationships with people in the business …

I’ve talked to a number of people throughout the years about starting on online business and some of them were real close to stepping into some major startup landmines. 

And today, I’d like to help you avoid some major …

For those of us that are over 40…or 50, I’m sure you don’t have to think too long to remember some sort of opportunity you had that you either missed, didn’t recognize right away, or just plain passed up. Maybe you even …

Business success is different for everyone.

Creating a strategy and outlining what success looks like for you gives you a way to measure your success.

The 2 ingredients to the recipe of success are hard work and …

There’s pros and cons to every decision, that’s nothing new. And I’ve done both sides of the coin here in having my business be full time and part …

You never know where it’ll hit you. You have a great idea for a new business and you’re really excited about it. 

It might happen when you’re walking down the street or when you’re just laying in bed or just …

Friends, I spend a lot of time creating positive, can-do content that focuses mainly on how and when to start a business. I talk about mindset reset issues and the different types of entrepreneurs…all of that. 

And I’m …

Over the years, I’ve tried my hand at different business models. For the most part, I’ve been successful, but there have been some struggles and ups …

In today's Internet-driven, mobile phone society, where everyone’s more connected through the Internet, small businesses need to evolve with consumer …

I prefer to focus on a positive mindset and to focus on success. We really don’t need encouragement to dwell on failure. For some reason we seem to gravitate toward the negative thoughts and actions and need to be …

In this episode, I interview the Boss of Branding, Mike Kim about his new book ‘You Are The Brand’.

The book gives great insight as to how he has helped people with their personal brand image and how to use that branding …

This week I’d like to talk about how you can build and grow your email list on your quest to have a portable, but profitable business. 

Now for today, …

Do you want to start your own Podcast? Download the FREE E-book I have for you 'Starting a Podcast Mini-Course'.

Need help getting your online business or Podcast started? Book a call with Tom's Online Calendar

Show Notes

…

What do you need to build a website?

You’ll need the following three things to start your WordPress site.

• A domain name – this is the name of your …

This week I’d like to talk about getting to know ourselves better and the benefits of using a personality test so we can focus on our strengths instead of developing our weaknesses.

Because when we focus on our …

Do you want to start your own Podcast? Download the FREE E-book I have for you 'Starting a Podcast Mini-Course'.

Need help getting your online business or Podcast started? Book a call with Tom's Online Calendar

Show Notes

…

Do you like this Podcast and want to start your own? Download my 'Podcast Startup Mini-Course'.

In episode 39 of the Podcast, I discussed the need to have a platform for your voice and why the option of having a Podcast …

Gaining Influence

In this episode, I’d like to take your story…your message to another level. Today, I’d like to continue the theme of how you can have a significant influence and impact in people’s lives, and promote …

Gaps and building bridges

The goal of every business is sales. Without it, the business dies. Plain and simple. You need to sell your products or services one way or another. There are a lot of ways to do this, but …

Making a decision

I mentioned in a much earlier episode that I made a later in life pivot.. a few of them actually and so I sort of know what it’s like to face change and to step out of the comfort zone. 

Now for some, …

I’ve found that, over the years, it can be easy to focus on the more tangible parts of a business. The parts that we can see and feel. The parts that we can have a more direct impact on:

• Sales

• Marketing

…

What Is a Personal Brand?

A personal brand is much more than a flashy logo or a color palette. A personal brand goes far beyond having a nice-looking …

Marketing has gone through quite an evolution over the past 20 years or so. With so many businesses transitioning to Internet based products and …

What is an email list?

An email list is a special list of names and email addresses of people who gave you permission to send them updates and promotions from your business.

Many expert marketers say their biggest mistake …

Before we talk about products and services, we need to talk about sales. You need to sell your stuff. Whatever it is. Products or services, you need sales. Sales is what keeps businesses alive. So what do we do when we …

5 Components Every Website Should Have

So let’s look at the 5 elements every website should have using basic copy techniques. 

1. Pass the Grunt Test

If …

Vision or Dream?

So..What’s the difference between dream and vision? Aren’t they basically the same thing? Dream and vision are not the same thing.

A dream is a more lofty idea you have in your head without a lot of …

Social media has evolved quite a bit over the years. Not too long ago, having some sort of social media account was considered to be something …

We live in a time where it's very easy to get discouraged and think that only the wealthy can have opportunity and success. We seem to have a knack for dwelling on the negative, not the positive.

We have to be taught to …

Emily is a former philosophy professor who left the world of academia and teaching, but found that she could utilize her research skills when she …

Below are the show notes for this episode on the 7 major building blocks for starting a personal brand business. Are you required to have all 7? No. But I strongly recommend all 7 and use these and more in my business.

…

Here are just 4 benefits to starting a business later in life, based on my own experience and conversations that I have had with other older …

Every day, more people are using the internet to start a side business, full time self employment or create a new revenue stream. There are always …

What makes up your brand? What is “branding?” well Sarah talks about what branding is, the strategy behind your brand, and how it influences every part of your business.

She's a Brand Specialist and the creative mind …

Episode 22 of the Small Business Startup Essentials podcast with an interview of Jen Groover, personal mindset coach and world class serial entrepreneur-you won't want to miss this one

Jen talks about her new book 'The …

In this episode, John Welch from Skymouse Studios gives us a peek inside the realm of website marketing, design and function and how other marketing companies just don't come through with what they promise.

Skymouse …

Nick Loper is an author, speaker, side hustle guru that started out with a blog in 2009 promoting ways for people to have a part time business and …

Sean Castrina is a serial entrepreneur, having started more than 20 companies over the last 20 years, and still seeks to launch a new venture annually. He is an investor, teacher and highly-sought-after speaker who …

Matt Crump, is a author, business coach/consultant, certified empowerment life coach & a purveyor of hope (cancer survivor) ready to meet another …

Episode Notes

Donna believes confidence is what is needed to stop playing small and step up into life. Working with entrepreneurs allows her to …

Episode 16

In this episode, Kris Hughes tells us how he started as a Content Marketing Strategist and how he learned SEO, website strategy and traffic acquisition and combining these elements to help build your business.

…

Episode 15

Wesley Dean is the founder of Intermotion Media. He’s travelled around the world doing promotional work for non-profits and is currently based out of the Washington DC area. 

Listen in on this episode where …

Wendy Gilhula is an educator, writer, kindness app creator, and best-selling author of the Pika Bunny Learning Series. Holding a Bachelor’s Degree in …

Episode 13-Interview with Justin Batt-Fatherhood Disruptor | Healthcare Innovator | TEDx Speaker | OCR Athlete

Justin Batt is one of the fortunate …

April Shprintz has spent over two decades driving growth for companies through Generosity. She started her career in the Air Force and went on to specialize in sales, operations, and marketing, supporting Fortune 500 …

Episode 11 Notes:

Does the task of starting a business seem either vague, or daunting, or expensive, or something that just takes too much time or money?

Does any one…or ALL of these things stop you in your tracks so that …

What if you could determine who in your audience is your best client in 180 seconds?

Juliet Clark is a dynamic and sought -after speaker and podcaster …

Markus Copeland is from Lynchburg VA and currently has a fitness training business SELF Dreams, in Colonial Heights VA, helping people of all ages …

Christine J. Gilbert shares how one book led to another and how she was able to build upon each book to have 2 very different 3 book series for both …

Kari Schwear has spent most of her professional life helping people find the story they want to tell about the choices they make in their lives. For the past two decades, she has helped companies grow by finding new …

Finding Your Zone of Genius

Have you reached your true potential? If not, what is holding you back?

Do you know what your true potential is?

In this …

Show Notes

Finally!

Yes, you’ve finally decided that you want to have your own business doing what you love to do. No matter what others may say or think, this is what you want. You’ve been thinking about this for awhile …

Show Notes

Some people may be struggling with not only developing your mission, but not even knowing what the mission is supposed to be. But where does the ‘mission’ fit into the bigger picture here of our lives?

I like …

Show Notes

As I talk to people about the startup process, I hear a question over and over ‘How do I decide if I should start a business?’

This all …

Show Notes

We all have those times in our lives that we wish we could take back and do over again, right? Well, that’s how I feel about my startup …

Well hello, and welcome to the Small Business Startup Essentials Podcast. I’m Tom Clairmont, a small business, personal brand, startup coach and I am honored to have you here today. 

I just wanted to dedicate this first …