Open For Business

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Latest Episodes:

Live Show - Hiring, Firing, and Scaling: Creating a Workplace Culture Apr 27, 2017

A big part of building a business is hiring and then creating a workplace culture where your team members want to stay and grow with you.

Maybe you're a business of one, and you're thinking about making your first few hires. Or maybe you’re a team of 20 trying to double your staff to meet new demand. Whatever your situation, how you hire can impact who you hire and who you hire can impact your company culture in a big way.

In this episode of Open for Business recorded before a live audience in Austin: How to create a company where people want to work and then scale that culture as your company grows.

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#12 Who You Are, Not What You Sell Apr 20, 2017

Every company knows what they sell. What’s harder to define sometimes is why? What motivates you beyond...money? A great mission captures that reason behind why your business exists today. But it also leaves room for your company to aspire for more in the future. It can guide every single decision you make - whether you’re a business of one or one-thousand. In this episode we hear two very different businesses who have figured out how to present their company to the world and one that’s just starting out.

This episode features:

Andrew Linderman - founder of The Story Source

David Malott - co-founder of Space Factory

David Riedel - co-founder of Space Factory

Michael Bently - co-founder of Space Factory

Tanya Moss - owner and founder of Tanya Moss jewelry

Stephanie Shore - Chief Marketing Officer of Moo

For tools and information about how to start or grow a business on eBay, visit ebay.com/openforbusiness.

Thanks so much to Natalya Sverjensky, partner at Within People.

Learn more about the SHINE Awards for Small Business and share your story for a chance to win at eBay.com/shineawards.

Check out ofblistener.com to take our survey and enter for the chance to win a Gimlet membership.

Our Sponsors

This episode is brought to you by BigCommerce — get a free, three-month premium store subscription by visiting bigcommerce.com/openforbusiness

This episode is also brought to you by ShipStation. Try it free for 30 days and get an additional month free by visiting visit ShipStation.com, clicking on the microphone at the top of the homepage and typing in “ebay”.

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#11 Embrace the Place Apr 13, 2017

Recent research indicates that U.S. entrepreneurship is increasingly clustered in just a few metro areas. What can we learn from entrepreneurs outside those hubs? We hear from entrepreneurs in three very different places about how to make the most of wherever your business is located.

This episode features:

Chris Henry, Owner of Ear Candy Music

Marty Babayov, Founder and Owner of The Suit Depot

Channing Moreland, Co-Founder and CEO of EVAMore

Makenzie Stokel, Co-Founder and COO of EVAMore

Marcus Whitney, Founding Partner of JumpStart Foundry

This episode also cites facts and information from the studies and research:Economic Innovation Group: “The New Map of Economic Recovery”The Brookings Institution: “Metro Monitor: An index of inclusive economic growth in the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas” eBay Public Policy Lab: “Platform-Enabled Small Businesses and the Geography of Recovery”

For tools and information about how to start or grow a business on eBay, visit ebay.com/openforbusiness.

This episode is brought to you by BigCommerce — get a free, three-month premium store subscription by visiting bigcommerce.com/openforbusiness

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#10 Surviving Failure Apr 06, 2017

What happens if it all falls apart? Learn how to weather the storms of failure from two entrepreneurs who refused to give up, and have survived to tell their stories.

Episode Notes:

This episode features:

Andrea Gönner - Co-founder of Garnwelt

Bo Fishback - Founder and CEO of Zaarly

Jamin Jantz - Director of Marketing at Zaarly

Jeff Morris - Early Zaarly employee, currently the Director of Project Management - Revenue at Tinder

For tools and information about how to start or grow a business on eBay, visit ebay.com/openforbusiness.

Thanks so much to Mashable, watch the clip that we featured in the episode here.

This episode is brought to you by BigCommerce-- get a free, three-month premium store subscription by visiting bigcommerce.com/openforbusiness

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#9 Bootstrapping 101 Mar 30, 2017

Less than 1% of companies get seed money from either venture capital or angel investors. So, how do regular people find the money they need to get their businesses off the ground? We bring you stories of how three entrepreneurs did it, complete with all the nitty gritty financial details.

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#8 Customer Service in the Digital Era Mar 23, 2017

It’s easy to satisfy your customers when everything’s going well, but how do you handle it when things go wrong? We’ve got stories from small business owners who’ve learned the hard way about how to get customer service right.

Episode Notes: This episode features: Laura Raposa, baker/owner of The Foodsmith in Duxbury, Massachusetts. Jim "Griff" Griffith, seller engagement, community, and education at eBayKarida Collins, founder of Neighborhood Fiber Co. in BaltimoreTony Brocato, co-owner of Frederickson’s Tire & Appliance in Sheffield, Alabama.

For tools and information about how to start or grow a business on eBay, visit ebay.com/openforbusiness.

This episode is brought to you by BigCommerce-- get a free, three-month premium store subscription by visiting bigcommerce.com/openforbusiness

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#7 How to Reinvent Your Business Mar 16, 2017

In this episode, we hear stories and lessons from two entrepreneurs who had to reinvent their companies in order to survive.

This episode features:

Debbie Marriott Harrison, Global Officer, Marriott Culture and Business Council

Betsy Helmuth, Founder, Affordable Interior Design

Ray Wayman, Founder, JR Boutique.

For tools and information about how to start or grow a business on eBay, visit ebay.com/openforbusiness.

Thanks so much to CEO and Cofounder of Homepolish, Noa Santos. Thanks also to Kim Shanahan, founder of Book Bouquet and to Paulina Grzechnik, designer at Affordable Interior Design.

Read more about the ‘hidden competition curve’ here and the concept of the ‘USP’ here.

Sponsors:

This episode is brought to you by BigCommerce— get a free, three-month premium store subscription by visiting bigcommerce.com/openforbusiness

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Season 2 Trailer Mar 09, 2017

From eBay and Gimlet Creative, we return with season two of Open for Business, a show about building your business from the ground up. This season, we’re diving even deeper and exploring essential topics from financing to how to kill it at customer service to how to pivot when things don’t go as planned.

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We're back, and we’d love your ideas! Dec 12, 2016

We'll be returning in March with Season Two of Open for Business, and we'd love to hear what you want us to cover. Visit ofblistener.com to share your thoughts.

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#6 The Future of Work Aug 04, 2016

The gig economy is growing so fast, it might just be the future of entrepreneurship as we know it — but it is also still a work in progress. We explore its past, present, and future with two entrepreneurs who ditched the traditional idea of work to launch their own companies on gig economy platforms.

This episode features:

Redd Horrocks, voice over artist on Fiverr

Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, Director of the Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution

Cori O'Steen, Founder and CFO of UPakNShip

Laura Chambers, Vice President of Consumer Selling at eBay

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#5 How to Make It in America Jul 28, 2016

Immigrants to the United States make up about 13% of the U.S. population. And yet, from Silicon Valley to Main Street America, they make up a disproportionately large number of American business owners. In this episode, we explore why this is.

This episode features:

Chinedu Echeruo, CEO and founder of Gigameet

Samuel Lu, Owner of New Green Nutrition

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#4 Every Launch Is a Movement Jul 14, 2016

How do you tell your company’s story in a way that resonates with customers? In this episode, we learn marketing lessons from a failed Silicon Valley pioneer and two entrepreneurs who gained major success with minimal marketing budgets.

This episode features:

Chodi McReynolds, former Vice President of Operations at Osborne Computer Corporation

John C. Dvorak, author of Hypergrowth: The Rise and Fall of Osborne Computer Corporation and host of No Agenda

John Lawson, CEO of 3rd Power Outlet and Shoe String King and author of Kick Ass Social Commerce for E-preneurs

Slava Menn, Co-Founder of Fortified Bicycle

Jonah Berger, Associate Professor of Marketing and author of Contagious and Invisible Influence

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#3 Price Is Right? Jul 07, 2016

Setting your prices is harder than it sounds and making a mistake can be costly. We outline concrete steps to get to the right number, starting with one of the most incredible wins in game show history.

This episode features:

Terry Kniess, Price Is Right contestant and author of Cause and Effects

Zoher Karu, Chief Data Officer at eBayMickey Goodman, Professor of Business and Entrepreneurship at Savannah College of Art and Design and Co-Founder/Partner at e2Advisors

Jonathan Wirt, Head of Marketing at Pushd

Savio Clemente, beta tester

Ruth Bolton, Professor of Marketing at the W.P. Carey School of Business

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#2 How to Hire Jun 23, 2016

No one hires the wrong person on purpose. In this episode, we hear some hiring horror stories and about how to learn from our mistakes.

This episode features:

Jordan Insley, Co-founder of QuickShip Electronics

Elana Krieger, Head of HR at Boxed

Adam Robinson, CEO of Hireology

Katie Christiansen, Director of People Operations at Gimlet Media

Brina Bujkovsky, Co-founder of PopUpsters

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#1 The Entrepreneurial Mind Jun 16, 2016

What makes a successful entrepreneur? If you are one, were you born that way?

**Warning, this episode contains adult language.**

This episode features:

Corri McFadden, owner and founder of eDrop-Off

Nsi Obotetukudo, co-founder Alley NYC

Scott Shane, author of Born Entrepreneurs, Born Leaders

Logan Rockmore, founder of SportsTap

Show Notes:

This podcast features a clip from the a16z Podcast: Investing in (Business and Career) Change

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Trailer Jun 08, 2016

Open For Business is a branded podcast from eBay and Gimlet Creative, about building a business from the ground up. Open For Business launches Thursday, June 16th.

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