Find Your Why focuses on the often-overlooked first step in defining where you (or your team) want to end up. It's easy to skip to the "where" and "how" of the journey while assuming the "why." This week, Brent Richardson talks with Ken Janke about how that misstep can be fatal to a vision.

Find Your Why Points Discussed

• First, Ken shares the principle of the Golden Circle.
• Second, why the "why" is so vital.
• Third, how this process works with business and career.
• Fourth, Ken discusses the questions that can help you find your personal "why."
• Fifth, Ken breaks down why it's important to rethink your work life.
• Sixth, Brent shares his experience in not knowing what he wanted from his career.
• Seventh, the exercise to help define your vision.
• Eighth, how to empower employees through this process.
• Finally, Ken shares how often a person or business should revisit the Golden Circle.

How To Incubate Ideas carries listeners through each of the three phases of the incubation process: think, know, and show. BMP podcast host, Brent Richardson, shares his lessons learned through over 20 years in a large international firm.

How To Incubate Ideas Discussion Points

• First, Jamie shares the process of incubating eggs as it relates to incubating ideas.
• Second, Brent discusses where to get new ideas.
• Third, the three stages of developing a new idea: think, know, and show.
• Fourth, how to find and nurture your creative times.
• Fifth, the initial steps of the innovation process.
• Also, Hubie Payne's warning about the status quo.
• Sixth, Brent breaks down Proof of Concept.
• Seventh, how incubation works in the small business world.
• Eighth, moving from Know to Show.
• Ninth, Brent shares warning about company politics within the incubation process.
• Finally, what it means if an idea fails.

 

Presentation 101 concludes our three-part series of basic communication skills. In Episode 30, Brent covered hosting a meeting, and Episode 31 discussed writing a professional email.

Presentation 101 Keys Discussed

• Firstly, Brent shares his presentation nightmare.
• Secondly, establishing what your goals for the presentation are.
• Thirdly, be clear about what the problem statement is.
• Fourthly, the rule of three for presentations.
• Fifthly, have one key point per slide.
• Sixthly, why practice is essential.
• Seventhly, using stories and analogies.
• Eighthly, the two ways timing is essential.
• Ninthly, presentation etiquette including using a laser pointer, avoiding reading slides, and how many points should be on each slide.
• Tenthly, Brent's presentation pet peeve.
• In addition, why you should be careful with animation, giving credit, and font size.

What's Next?

The Business Minutia Podcast is taking an end-of-year break to enjoy downtime with family. We will return in 2021 with a slew of new topics and follow-ups with former guests.

Email 101 is the second part in the BMP Essential Communication series. The first part, Meetings 101, is also available.

In this week's episode, Brent Richardson shares the essentials to professional emails including timeliness, length, the "to" list, and what to avoid.

Email 101 Keys Discussed

• First, how much time does the person spend on email?
• Second, the competition for your attention and engagement.
• Third, big picture warnings of when an email would be better as a meeting.
• Fourth, avoid dollar words, acronyms, and analogies.
• Fifth, how to start an email with a solid problem statement.
• Sixth, focusing on the "to" list.
• Seventh, using the "CC" list and avoiding the "BCC" list.
• Eighth, best practices when looping people into an existing email thread.
• Ninth, email etiquette.
• Finally, a call to action for listeners.

In Meetings 101, Brent Richardson breaks down the essentials of when meetings are necessary, who to invite, when to host them, and the common mistakes people make when planning them.

Meetings 101 points discussed

• First, an intro to the BMP theme of the month: communication.
• Second, types of annoying and unnecessary meetings.
• Third, the kinds of meetings that are valuable.
• For example, why execution and check-in meetings are important.
• Moreover, when to proactively request for reviews of your work.
• Also, when are 1-0n-1 meetings necessary?
• Fourth, when an email becomes a book, it's probably better as a meeting.
• Fifth, how to use a meeting to show appreciation to someone.
• Sixth, controversial or emotional topics are better as an email than a meeting.
• Seventh, landmine discussions.
• Eighth, how to handle brainstorming meetings.
• Ninth, don't be surprised during a meeting.
• Tenth, be super clear about the agenda.
• Eleventh, the strategy of who needs to be invited to a meeting.
• Twelfth, when to schedule a meeting.
• In addition, how much notice to give people.
• Finally, be efficient and timely.

New small business struggles can be overwhelming. This week, Brett Boyd returns to the Business Minutia Podcast to share his learnings from his first three months in business.

New Small Business Struggles Discussed

• First, Brett shares a story about LLC naming chaos.
• Second, how Brett chose between an LLC and a corporation.
• Third, what it was like to take a vacation without a boss.
• Fourth, what Brett has learned about grouping jobs together by location.
• Fifth, lessons learned in advertising and marketing.
• Sixth, playing the long game.
• Seventh, the value of reviews.
• Eighth, Brett's struggle with overbooking himself.
• Next, the struggle of payroll.
• In addition, questions on handling finances.
• Ninth, health insurance concerns and questions.
• Tenth, the value of having a strategy.
• Finally, Brett's learning from his first three months.

Legal questions can be some of the most discouraging aspects of owning a small business. To address these concerns, this week Brent sat down with Attorney Jessica Vittorio to speedrun through some FAQs.

Legal Questions Addressed

• Firstly, who is Jessica Vittorio?
• Secondly, the impact of having small business owners as parents.
• Thirdly, how Jessica works with startups and small businesses now.
• Fourthly, proactive versus reactive decisions.
• Fifth, the difference between an LLC and a corporation.
• In addition, when and how to switch from an LLC to a corporation.
• Sixthly, the top issues Jessica runs into with small businesses.
• Seventhly, what are the primary HR concerns for startups?
• Eighthly, a warning against texting and social media interactions for employers.
• Ninthly, the biggest no-no for small business owners.
• Tenthly, NDAs for small businesses.
• Eleventh, Jessica addresses tax concerns.
• Twelfth, a quick look at copyrights, patents, and trademarks.
• Thirteenth, why documentation is essential for IP assignments.
• Moreover, what to do if you can't afford an attorney but need one.
• Fifteenth, Jessica's personal learnings and what she wished all small business owners knew.

Your Next Great Listen

If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like:

• Navigating Career Changes Fearlessly with Ken Janke
• How Work-Life Balance and Self-Awareness Increase Productivity with Michael Fleming
• Starting a Small Business: Day 1 With A New Small Business Owner, Brett Boyd

Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses is hand-selecting qualifying entrepreneurs for free training. In addition, this growing community is a place to learn, share experiences, and expand your network.

Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses

This week, Brent sat down with Director of Marketing and Alumni Relations, Andrea Anderson to discuss what Goldman Sachs is offering qualifying entrepreneurs.

• First, we meet Andrea and learn how she joined the program.
• Second, we learn how the program started from the recession of 2008.
• Third, Andrea shares how the program launched in Dallas in 2014.
• Fourth, we learn how often a new batch of entrepreneurs is selected.
• Fifth, Andrea walks us through how this training differs from a traditional MBA.
• Sixth, what is a growth plan, and how does it apply to entrepreneurs within the program?
• In addition, we learn how COVID has effected the training process.
• Seventh, Andrea shares how the program is free to small business owners.
• Eighth, we learn why diversity is an essential piece to the Goldman Sachs puzzle.
• Ninth, Andrea shares what it takes to qualify for the program and what sessions look like.
• In addition, we learn about alumni relations after graduation.
• Finally, Andrea shares her biggest surprise from running the alumni program.

Your Next Great Listen

If you liked this interview, you may also like:

• Dallas SCORE: Free Mentors And Training For Small Business Owners with Bob Barrese
• Dallas Forward: Helping DFW Become A National Leader In Economic Recovery with Dallas Citizens Council CEO Kelvin Walker.
• Starting A Small Business: Day 1 With A New Small Business Owner featuring Brett Boyd.

A company reorg can be scary. In this week's episode, Brent Richardson shares how to take the fear out of business restructure, what steps to take when the announcement is made, and how to keep yourself from being caught off guard in the future.

Company Reorg Topics Discussed

• First, how Blockbuster relates to org changes.
• Second, fear of org changes.
• Third, small business vs big business org changes.
• Fourth, recognize that it isn’t personal.
• Fifth, look at your job like you do your retirement plan.
• Next, what if you don’t want to lose what you’re working on?
• Sixth, get over the denial quickly.
• Seventh, dealing with the thoughts and fears that come from org changes.
• Eighth, the cultural effects within organizations after frequent org changes.
• Ninth, are acquisitions different from traditional org changes?
• Pro Tip: Good networking can help you know a reorg is coming.
• Tenth, why Brent likes changes now.
• Moreover, why people whose identity are tied to a job title struggle the most.
• In addition, realizations that can come from reorgs.
• Eleventh, advice for new hires.
• Also, how do you network while working from home?
• Moreover, reorgs that wound up as demotions for Brent.
• Then, how Jamie deals with change.
• Finally, how Brent deals with change.

Your Next Great Listen

If you liked this episode, you may also like:

• Enneagram: A Pathway to Self-Awareness with Mary Ann Connor
• Performance Reviews: How to Prepare, What to Bring, and What to Expect
• How Work-Life Balance and Self-Awareness Increase Productivity with Michael Fleming
• Navigating Career Changes Fearlessly with Ken Janke

Dallas SCORE is one of the best-kept secrets for small business owners. SCORE offers a vast network of trained mentors, free workshops, and support that entrepreneurs need.

SCORE is a national organization with 300 chapters and 100,000 volunteers. There are 70 mentors currently available in Dallas. These volunteer mentors are subject matter experts that are trained and then strategically assigned to entrepreneurs seeking SCORE services.

Dallas SCORE topics discussed

• First, who is Bob Barrese and what are his credentials in business?
• Second, what is SCORE?
• Third, SCORE stats and numbers.
• Fourth, what kinds of businesses does SCORE mentor?
• Fifth, how to connect with the organization.
• Sixth, Bob's role in connecting small businesses with mentors.
• Seventh, how SCORE finds mentors.
• Eighth, what workshops are available?
• Ninth, opportunities that have arisen through COVID.
• Tenth, what long-term effects Bob expects from COVID.
• Then, the expected future of the current shift to a home-based business.
• Moreover, what separates small businesses that are failing from those that are thriving?
• In addition, personal missteps Bob made in his career.
• More specifically, the "I wish I'd done this sooner" mindset.
• Then, who are SCORE mentors and how are they trained?
• Finally, a SCORE success story: an IT worker who wanted to become a wedding planner.

Your next great listen

If you liked this episode of the Business Minutia Podcast, you may also like:

• Dallas Forward: Helping DFW Become A National Leader In Economic Recovery with Dallas Citizens Council CEO Kelvin Walker.
• Starting A Small Business: Day 1 With A New Small Business Owner featuring Brett Boyd.
• Growing Small: Using Corporate Knowledge To Start A Small Business with Dave Borski.