The $100 MBA Show

Latest Episodes:

MBA1347 Is it Better To Be The Best at One Thing or Good at Many? + Free Ride Friday! Sep 06, 2019

Show notes

Who wins in business: the jack of all trades, or the master of one?

It’s one of the most important questions an entrepreneur can ask about their business. Should your product be defined by versatility, mass appeal, and all-around utility? Or is it best to make your product uniquely, unbeatably awesome at solving one particular problem?

Should you compete with everyone at everything, or should you make it so no one can compete with you at one thing?

We’ve got a straightforward answer to this one, and lots of examples to make our case. We’ll even discuss how we chose a strategy for our own businesses, and why answering the broad vs. deep question is so fundamental to your chances of success. Learn where to put your focus, and how spread your focus should really be. Click Play!

EasyCourse

WebinarNinja

Luxury Escapes

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MBA1346 4 Essentials When Hiring a Developer Sep 05, 2019

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What makes a good developer? More importantly, how can you find one?

If you’re building an app, a website, or any other kind of digital product, your business is only as good as your devs. We know — we’ve spent the last several years building our own webinar software, including a radical top-down redesign that took some serious developer talent to pull off.

We can’t do it ourselves, so finding that talent is one of our most important jobs.

Today, we discuss how to attract the best developers, and separate them from the rest of their over-crowded field. There’s a bazillion of them out there, and it can be tough for non-devs to evaluate their ability. Fortunately, our experience has shown us what matters most.

Learn what skills and abilities are non-negotiable, the lack of which instantly eliminates applicants from your search. Learn what attributes make a dev most likely to move your project forward. Learn how to interview, test, and hire the true keepers. Click Play!

WebinarNinja

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MBA1345 Q&A Wednesday: Is my blog working? How do I know? Sep 04, 2019

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If your content isn’t marketing, you’re not content marketing.

Blogs are fun to write, and valuable for your audience. But if they aren’t converting, they’re worth bupkus to your business. Today, we discuss how to move past the “spray and pray” method of throwing content into the wind, hoping for results. It’s time to start tracking, start measuring, and start using your blog to make progress.

Of course, that takes a little know-how.

It’s not enough to be a good blogger. You’ve got to get a handle on tracking content performance, lead attribution, and conversion rates. You’ve got to be able to reverse-connect the dots — from sales to traffic, and from traffic to content. Otherwise, you have no idea if your blog is worth the time it takes to write.

Learn how to measure your blog’s performance, with or without helpful CRM software. Find out if your words are generating leads, and sales. Click Play!

Dev Basu

Google Data Studio

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MBA1344 How to Create Momentum in Your Business Sep 03, 2019

Show notes

We all want to move our business forward. But true success means reaching a point where your business moves itself forward.

That’s momentum, and that’s the topic of today’s episode. At some point, you need to stop pushing the boulder uphill, and get over the hump. There’s a way of working that encourages this — a strategy that’s built for momentum, not just progress.

You just have to change your routine.

Today, we discuss how to revamp your approach, and schedule your workday in a way that maximizes momentum. A little discipline can go a long way towards making your results equal more than the sum of your efforts. It’s about focus, it’s about motivation, and it’s about time management. But most of all, it’s about creating self-propulsion for your company.

Your work can work better, and finally get the ball of your business rolling in a big way. Click Play!

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MBA1343 Must Read: Explosive Growth by Cliff Lerner Sep 02, 2019

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How do people make it in business? Every once in a while, a successful entrepreneur writes a book that helps answer that question.

Explosive Growth has a title that sounds like it’s a bit much, but the content lives up to it. Clif Lerner is a startup founder who’s had his share of failures (and then some), but took each setback as a lesson in how to do better on the next try.

Now, his app has over 100 million active users, and his lessons are worth hearing.

This is the best kind of business book: an entertaining personal narrative with practical applications. It’s the story of an entrepreneur who didn’t stumble into success, but turned things around when things looked their worst.

In this case, Growth doesn’t just refer to the shrewd strategies Lerner used to acquire more and more customers. It refers to taking your lumps, learning from your failures, and improving as a business person. That’s a lesson we could all use. Click Play!

Explosive Growth by Cliff Lerner

Discover all our must-read book reviews at https://100mba.net/bookreviews.

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MBA1342 How To Use Podcasting To Make More B2B Sales + Free Ride Friday! Aug 30, 2019

Show notes

Most people think of podcasting as more of a B2C thing, reaching out to a wide audience of consumers to establish your reputation.

But we’ve got a secret: podcasts are incredible marketing tools for B2B sales, too!

Selling to other businesses is all about relationships and networking. As it turns out, hosting a popular podcast creates a ton of networking opportunities, as you can leverage the value of your own audience and offer it to other business leaders. With a good podcast, you don’t just cement your reputation among consumers — you make a name for yourself with other entrepreneurs.

Today, we discuss how podcasting has supercharged our networking, and how you can use your podcast to navigate your own business community. Plus, we offer tips on how to get started if you’re new to the podcasting game. Click Play!

EasyCourse

Audacity

$100 MBA Show Archives

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MBA1341 How to Have a Free Plan Alternative That Won’t Cost You Money Aug 29, 2019

Show notes

Thinking about offering a free version of your service? Do the math first.

A free plan for your recurring payment/subscription model can be an incredible marketing and sales tool. Just ask Google: the free service can haul potential paying customers in by the bazillions.

But it only works if the freebies convert.

Every day, your free version costs you money — so there has to be an appropriate ROI. We’ve spent some time discussing the issue with Patrick Campbell of Profitwell. His insights had a direct impact on our choice not to create a free version of our own software, WebinarNinja.

That said, the free plan model can work beautifully for the right kinds of services.

Today, we discuss how to make this strategy work, what situations it’s perfect for, and why it’s not for everyone. With examples of the types of businesses it can help, you can decide if a free plan is right for you. Click Play!

Profitwell

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MBA1340 Q&A Wednesday: How can I convince a customer they don’t need a refund? Aug 28, 2019

Show notes

Refund requests happen. They’re unavoidable. But how you respond can make all the difference in the success of your business.

It’s Q&A Wednesday, and we’re helping one listener learn how to turn those refund requests into opportunities — to keep the sale, to keep the customer, or to improve your company’s reputation in the long run. You won’t stop every refund, but you’ll make a positive impact on your customer relationships no matter what.

We’ll discuss the most common reasons customers request refunds, and how to address those reasons so the customer is more likely to change their mind. We’ll also explain what to do when a refund is appropriate, so that it’s not a total loss. Plus, we’ve got tips on preventing customers from wanting refunds in the first place.

Customers need the option of a refund to feel secure in their purchases. But that doesn’t mean every refund is a good idea, or a lost cause. Find out why — Click Play!

WebinarNinja

To submit your questions, visit 100mba.net/q.

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MBA1339 Not Enough Time? How To Add More Hours to Your Day. Aug 27, 2019

Show notes

So. Little. Time.

It’s every entrepreneur’s curse. But there might be more time than you think — if you know how to manage it properly. We all wish there were more than 24 hours in a day, and we’ve all hit our pillows anxious about what we didn’t accomplish.

But there is hope. There is time you haven’t been using. And we’ve got 3 ways to find it.

As we like to say, time is not money; it’s way more valuable. Today, we’ll explain the three methods anyone can use to make the most of those precious 24. You can improve productivity for your business, and add more R&R time to your life. You can use one, two, or all three of these tricks to finally have the time you need to succeed.

We use all 3 methods ourselves. From endless long days at the beginning, we’ve finally found ourselves with some time to enjoy existing while building our businesses. You can too — Click Play!

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MBA1338 Guest Teacher: Ali Smith- Tips to Avoid A Trademark ‘War of Words’ Aug 26, 2019

Show notes

When it comes to branding, words are everything.

Trademark rules are complicated, and new entrepreneurs face two dangers when choosing company names, product names, and any other brand-identifying language. First, there’s the risk of running afoul of trademark laws. More likely, though, is the brand-killing possibility of not protecting your own business’s uniqueness from potential rippers-off.

Good thing we know a trademark expert!

Ali Smith is the marketing manager for trademark.com, a site that helps business owners protect their brand. She’s here to discuss the major pitfalls to avoid when choosing your words, so you can knock out the knockoffs early on. Plus, Ali will explain how the trademark process works, and what happens when you file one for your business.

Get the unique branding you need, and choose trademarks that’ll set your brand apart from the rest. Click Play!

Trademark.com

WebinarNinja

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