Businessing with Pat Miller

Your entry-level offer isn't selling, and the reason is sitting right there on your own price sheet. You built the cheap package because it was supposed to be the easy yes. Instead it reads like a sample, and the client who actually needs you can tell they're only getting a fraction of what you do. Today: why the intro offer fails, why plain information is worth close to nothing now, and how to let people test drive your best work instead of your smallest work. Plus the Idea Slam mailbag on telling your own story, ChatGPT claiming a billion dollars in ad sales, and why August is the hardest month of the year for small business.

Businessing is the daily show where small business owners get answers. Every weekday at 11am Central. It's Your Dream, Don't Grow It Alone®.

In this episode:

00:00 - The entry-level offer nobody is buying

02:09 - Why your cheapest package makes people suspicious

03:28 - Clients know they're only getting a fraction of you

04:09 - Selling information is not good enough anymore

04:38 - Vitamin or painkiller, which one are you selling

05:23 - Stop promoting your intro offer

06:10 - Let people test drive your best package instead

07:47 - Homework, audit your offer sheet today

09:57 - Sponsor, Forever Media

11:02 - Idea Slam mailbag, I can't turn my process into a story

11:56 - Why experts are the worst at telling their own story

13:36 - The CRM I built and never thought to mention

14:24 - Two ways to catch yourself doing great work

15:40 - The Oracle skill that finds my stories for me

17:15 - AI story, ChatGPT says it hit a billion in ad sales

19:56 - A 3X return on AI ad spend, and why I'm skeptical

21:01 - Sponsor, Minuteman Press of Brookfield

22:18 - Why August is the hardest month in small business

26:12 - Why September is the best month of the year

28:24 - Conference referral offer and what's on tomorrow

Resources mentioned:

SBOC26 Conference: https://event.smallbusinesscommunity.com/26conference

Grab an Idea Slam spot: https://event.smallbusinesscommunity.com/idea-slam-pat-miller

Minuteman Press of Brookfield: https://minutemanpressbrookfield.com

Forever Media, Jamar Jones and team

🎙️ Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BusinessingShow?sub_confirmation=1

🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109

🌐 Listen anywhere: https://businessing.captivate.fm/listen

📬 Fridays Off Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com

👥 Small Business Owners Community: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com

#SmallBusiness #Entrepreneurship #PatMiller #Pricing #OfferStrategy #AIforBusiness

AI is handing small business owners more than five hours a week back, so where did the time go? If you're still as busy as you've always been, those hours got redeployed and nobody wrote down where.

Pat digs into the 2026 study that says the average AI user gets 5.6 hours a week back, the Harvard Business Review finding that we just took on broader tasks and stretched work into more of the day, and the two habits eating that time before you ever see it. Then the Idea Slam, where an owner asks how to market a business without turning into the person whose every post has fireworks on it. Pat shoots down the premise and explains what to do instead. Plus the AI story of the day: people are stealing Claude accounts, and it is not your data they are after.

In this episode:

00:00 - It is Monday and we are businessing

01:03 - Where did the ten hours AI saved you go

01:50 - The sandcastle problem

02:17 - Why entrepreneurs redeploy time instead of taking it

03:26 - The 5.6 hours a week study and what Harvard Business Review found

04:18 - Bad habits and performative eight to five work

04:58 - Where the saved time should actually go

05:54 - Your assignment, audit your last full workday

08:18 - Athena Legal Solutions and the legal confidence review

10:15 - Idea Slam, how to market yourself without the hype

12:08 - Build a highlight reel worth showing off

13:15 - Balancing results with being real online

16:03 - Minuteman Press of Brookfield

17:14 - AI story of the day, hackers are stealing Claude accounts

18:42 - Four ways to keep from getting infected

21:32 - SBOC26 is fifteen days out and ticket sales close this week

22:57 - Tomorrow, why your entry level offer is not selling

Resources mentioned:

Athena Legal Solutions: https://athenalegalsolutionsllc.com

Minuteman Press of Brookfield: https://minutemanbrookfield.com

SBOC26 Conference, September 15-17 in Brookfield: https://event.smallbusinesscommunity.com/26conference

🎙️ Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BusinessingShow?sub_confirmation=1

🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109

🌐 Listen anywhere: https://businessing.captivate.fm/listen

📬 Fridays Off Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com

👥 Small Business Owners Community: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com

#SmallBusiness #Entrepreneurship #PatMiller #AIforSmallBusiness #TimeManagement #SmallBusinessMarketing

Panic hiring starts the second somebody quits and their work lands back on your desk. Available and willing is not the same as right for the job, and the reference call you skipped is usually where you would have found that out.

Seventy-four percent of employers say they have made a bad hire recently, and a third of them say it happened because they had to fill the seat fast. Today I walk through why the rush happens, what one phone call to a reference actually saves you, and four things you can do right now so the next resignation is not an emergency. Plus two AI stories: Salesforce is now connected directly to Claude, and Claude finally shares memory between chat and Cowork. And Hollywood just proved the thing a lot of us are already living, a record summer at the box office with far fewer tickets sold.

In this episode:

00:00 - What is on the show today

00:49 - The available and willing trap

02:03 - What the bad hire numbers actually say

02:52 - Why calling references cuts your applicant pile by a third

04:05 - Good people will not wait two weeks

05:16 - Four ways to avoid a panic hire

09:06 - Athena Legal Solutions

11:05 - AI story: Salesforce and Claude are now connected

13:07 - AI story: Claude chat and Cowork finally share memory

16:31 - The Hollywood box office story every owner should read

20:17 - Raise your prices

21:25 - Minuteman Press of Brookfield

23:34 - Inside SBOC26: Coaches Row and the speaker showcase

26:32 - Coming Monday: revenue is a lag indicator

Resources mentioned:

Athena Legal Solutions: https://athenalegalsolutionsllc.com

Minuteman Press of Brookfield: https://minutemanbrookfield.com

SBOC26 Conference, September 15-17 in Brookfield: https://event.smallbusinesscommunity.com/26conference

Claude training for small business owners: https://ai.smallbusinesscommunity.com

🎙️ Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BusinessingShow?sub_confirmation=1

🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109

🌐 Listen anywhere: https://businessing.captivate.fm/listen

📬 Fridays Off Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com

👥 Small Business Owners Community: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com

#SmallBusiness #Entrepreneurship #PatMiller #Hiring #SmallBusinessOwner #AIforSmallBusiness

You're too busy to fix the stuff that's making you too busy. That's the trap, and it doesn't break on its own.

One year ago today somebody told me they wanted Fridays off. I reconnected with them last month and they're still working six days a week. Their words: "I'm too busy to fix the stuff that's making me too busy." So today I walk through the way out. Pull an emergency afternoon, take one recurring task that eats your week, and cut it, delegate it, or automate it. Spend 90 minutes to win back 60 minutes every week, then do it again. Jamar Jones of Foureva Media joins me on personal positioning, the Wiki Famous Audit, and why focus is the thing holding most owners back. Plus the Idea Slam on CRMs nobody loves, and the AI story of the day on LinkedIn's "seems like AI slop" button.

In this episode:

00:00 - Too busy to fix what's making you busy

03:02 - What owners actually want is profit without you in it

04:36 - Pull an emergency afternoon

05:59 - Cut it, delegate it, or automate it

10:08 - Jamar Jones of Foureva Media on positioning

14:40 - The Wiki Famous Audit

16:57 - Why nobody is buying your offer

21:00 - The one thing holding you back is focus

27:04 - Idea Slam, is anybody happy with their CRM

30:38 - AI story, LinkedIn's AI slop button

36:58 - SBOC26 and what's on the show tomorrow

Resources mentioned:

SBOC26 Conference, September 15-17 in Brookfield: https://event.smallbusinesscommunity.com/26conference

Athena Legal Solutions: https://athenalegalsolutionsllc.com

Minuteman Press of Brookfield: https://minutemanbrookfield.com

Foureva Media (Jamar Jones): https://www.fourevamedia.com

🎙️ Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BusinessingShow?sub_confirmation=1

🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109

🌐 Listen anywhere: https://businessing.captivate.fm/listen

📬 Fridays Off Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com

👥 Small Business Owners Community: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com

#SmallBusiness #Entrepreneurship #PatMiller #Productivity #Delegation #Positioning

Your cheapest clients ask for the most. If your calendar is full and your bank account isn't, you've probably got a roster full of bargain shoppers, and today we do something about it.

I get into why the client paying you $100 emails you five times a week while the client paying you $1,000 just says "check sent, thanks." Then we get practical. What belongs in your contract, how to bill out-of-scope work, why you cap revisions, and why you and the client pick one communication channel and stay on it. Plus the professional way to sunset a client instead of firing them by email.

In the Idea Slam mailbag, an SBOC member asked something I hear all the time. "I keep feeling like I need to do more, but then I wonder, like, what?" We diagnose the one big problem, set the North Star, and put the blinders on until it's fixed.

Two AI stories today. Google Gemini will build you an interactive calculator instead of a wall of numbers, and my wife caught me talking like a chatbot this morning. There's a robot emoji involved.

In this episode:

00:00 - Good morning and today's sponsors

00:44 - The bargain shopper trap

01:04 - Why lower priced clients ask for more

03:36 - Set the boundary in the contract

04:19 - Out-of-scope work and your hourly rate

05:52 - Cap the revisions at two

06:39 - Pick one communication channel

08:20 - Sunset a client, don't fire them

12:01 - Athena Legal Solutions and the legal confidence review

13:47 - Idea Slam mailbag: I feel like I should be doing more, but what?

15:33 - Diagnose the one big problem first

18:01 - Blinders on until it's fixed

18:51 - AI story: Gemini builds you a working model

21:55 - AI story: when you start sounding like AI

24:44 - Minuteman Press of Brookfield

26:40 - SBOC26 is 21 days out, and Thursday's Idea Slam

28:30 - Tomorrow: the catch 22, plus Jamar Jones

Resources mentioned:

Athena Legal Solutions: https://athenalegalsolutionsllc.com

Minuteman Press of Brookfield, 20% off print orders through November 13 when you mention Businessing or SBOC: https://minutemanbrookfield.com

Google Gemini: https://gemini.google.com

SBOC26 Conference, September 15-17 in Brookfield: https://event.smallbusinesscommunity.com/26conference

🎙️ Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BusinessingShow?sub_confirmation=1

🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109

🌐 Listen anywhere: https://businessing.captivate.fm/listen

📬 Fridays Off Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com

👥 Small Business Owners Community: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com

#SmallBusiness #Entrepreneurship #PatMiller #Pricing #ClientBoundaries #SmallBusinessContracts

The average small business owner is owed $17,000 right now, and most of that money is sitting in invoices that got sent and never paid. Sending the bill and getting paid are two different jobs, and today we work on the second one.

It's Money Monday. We dig into the receivables problem QuickBooks just put a number on, the payment terms and late fees that get you paid on time, and the cards-on-file move that changes everything. Then financial advisor Alan Fisher joins us on why 85% of businesses never sell and what to set aside while you're still building. Plus an Idea Slam on the client who pays a third of your rate, two AI stories, and a golf story I'm still not over.

In this episode:

00:00 - Send your invoices: the $17,000 owners are owed

07:01 - Alan Fisher on retirement and why most businesses never sell

15:59 - Idea Slam: the client who pays a third of your rate

18:31 - Harvard's $700 course taught by an AI avatar

21:11 - Spotify Studio and the return of curated surprise

28:42 - The golf shot that actually paid off

32:48 - SBOC 26 is 22 days out

Resources mentioned:

Alan Fisher, Great Lakes Wealth Advisors, and his book "Smarter Retirement Planning: A Practical Guide to How an Advisor Plans"

Athena Legal Solutions: https://athenalegalsolutionsllc.com

Minuteman Press of Brookfield: https://minutemanbrookfield.com

SBOC 26 Conference (September 15-17, Brookfield): https://event.smallbusinesscommunity.com/26conference

🎙️ Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BusinessingShow?sub_confirmation=1

🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109

🌐 Listen anywhere: https://businessing.captivate.fm/listen

📬 Fridays Off Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com

👥 Small Business Owners Community: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com

#SmallBusiness #Entrepreneurship #PatMiller #GettingPaid #CashFlow #RetirementPlanning

The fortune is in the follow-up, but nobody wants to be the pest who emails three times a week hoping somebody finally says yes. So today I'm giving you six ways to follow up that add value instead of pressure, the same battle-tested moves I use to stay top of mind without burning the relationship.

We also run an Idea Slam on the feeling every owner knows...working your butt off and still wondering if you're doing enough. I'll give you a simple goal pyramid that gets you out of your feelings and into your behaviors. And in the AI story of the day, I show you how I put a junior employee on inbox safety: an automation that checks every link in my email at 4am so I don't get phished.

Grab your coffee, let's get businessing.

In this episode:

00:00 - Welcome and today's rundown

00:59 - The fortune is in the follow-up, without being a pest

02:00 - Move 1: name the gap since you last talked

03:18 - Move 2: share the numbers and the shrinking opportunity

04:24 - Move 3: give them options, not just buy or bust

05:33 - Move 4: turn a no into a not yet

06:44 - Move 5: show them why it's a fit for them

07:55 - The bonus move: ask for the referral at the high point

11:09 - Athena Legal Solutions

12:30 - Idea Slam: when you feel like you're not doing enough

13:40 - The goal pyramid, from 12 months down to today

18:23 - Minuteman Press of Brookfield

20:22 - AI story: put a junior employee on inbox safety

26:40 - What's happening in the SBOC this week

29:30 - Wrapping up and Monday's show

Resources mentioned:

Athena Legal Solutions: https://athenalegalsolutionsllc.com

Minuteman Press of Brookfield: https://minutemanbrookfield.com

SBOC26 Conference (September 15-17, Brookfield): https://event.smallbusinesscommunity.com/26conference

🎙️ Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BusinessingShow?sub_confirmation=1

🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109

🌐 Listen anywhere: https://businessing.captivate.fm/listen

📬 Fridays Off Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com

👥 Small Business Owners Community: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com

#SmallBusiness #Entrepreneurship #PatMiller #Sales #FollowUp #SmallBusinessTips

Become a market of one. Get so narrow that when your customer describes their exact problem, you're the only name that comes up.

On today's Businessing, I break down why narrowing your focus is the fastest way to get found and get hired, especially now that people search their symptoms and ask AI instead of typing your industry into Google. Nearly 95% of keywords get ten or fewer searches a month, so the old "rank for your whole industry" playbook is done. Then Angela Allen of Minuteman Press of Brookfield makes the case for direct mail as an underrated way to build trust in 2026. Plus the AI story of the day on Google's Gemini image watermarks, and a big YouTube change on August 24th that's about to make your view count jump.

In this episode:

00:00 - Why narrow wins: become a market of one

03:24 - How AI changed the way customers find you

07:23 - Your homework: rewrite your homepage above the fold

09:25 - Direct mail that still works, with Angela Allen of Minuteman Press

26:56 - AI story of the day: Google's Gemini image watermarks

30:22 - YouTube is changing how it counts a view on August 24th

32:59 - Madison meetup, the SBOC Conference, and Claude training with Baton

Resources mentioned:

Minuteman Press of Brookfield: https://minutemanbrookfield.com

Athena Legal Solutions: https://athenalegalsolutionsllc.com

The Daily Crown (Crown Room Live): https://joindailycrown.com

SBOC26 Conference (Sept 15-17, Brookfield): https://event.smallbusinesscommunity.com/26conference

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BusinessingShow?sub_confirmation=1

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109

Listen anywhere: https://businessing.captivate.fm/listen

Fridays Off Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com

Small Business Owners Community: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com

#SmallBusiness #Entrepreneurship #PatMiller #Positioning #DirectMail #AIforBusiness

You hired someone full of hope, and now it's not working out. Before you fire anybody, you need to know whether it's a wrong-seat problem, a training gap, or the wrong person, because those three look identical on the surface and they are not the same fix.

Today Pat walks you through the three-step diagnosis, the real math on what a struggling hire is costing you every month, and the five-outcomes conversation that tells you in thirty days whether to keep coaching or move on. Then it's Money Monday with Lisa Raebel from Rebel Girl Revenue on the first sales conversation that actually builds trust, an Idea Slam mailbag on what to do when work is pouring in faster than you can deliver it, and an AI story worth your attention: referral traffic from AI chatbots is converting at 20 percent, and it comes down to intent.

Grab your coffee, let's get businessing.

In this episode:

00:00 - Is it the wrong seat, a training problem, or the wrong person

09:33 - Money Monday with Lisa Raebel: the first sales call that builds trust

24:04 - Idea Slam mailbag: how to know what you can actually deliver

28:54 - Why AI referrals are converting at 20 percent

33:00 - What's happening inside the Small Business Owners Community

Resources mentioned:

Rebel Girl Revenue (Lisa Raebel): https://rebelgirlrevenue.com

Athena Legal Solutions: https://www.athenalegalsolutionsllc.com

The Daily Crown / Crown Room Live (Elzie Flenard): https://joindailycrown.com

SBOC Conference, this September: https://event.smallbusinesscommunity.com/26conference

🎙️ Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BusinessingShow?sub_confirmation=1

🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109

🌐 Listen anywhere: https://businessing.captivate.fm/listen

📬 Fridays Off Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com

👥 Small Business Owners Community: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com

#SmallBusiness #Entrepreneurship #PatMiller #Hiring #SmallBusinessTips #AIforBusiness

You can't clone yourself, but you can clone your decisions. Pick the five decisions you make every week, teach them to your AI once, and build a second brain that never forgets.

Pat Miller shows small business owners how to lower their mental load by turning their most-repeated weekly decisions into Claude skills, so the same call gets made the same way every time, even when you're not the one making it. Then it's Idea Slam tough love: what to do when you have to fire your two best-paid people for cause and lose half your capacity in a single day. Plus two AI stories you can actually use, Google Ads getting easier to run and AI watermarking coming to Claude, Gemini, and the rest.

In this episode:

00:00 - You can't clone yourself, but you can clone your decisions

00:37 - "How do I make a second me?" The second-brain question every owner asks

01:25 - The small business labor shortage in real numbers

02:55 - Pick five weekly decisions to hand off first

04:02 - Task vs skill vs scheduled task, explained in plain English

08:55 - Idea Slam: firing your two best people for cause

11:42 - Why access to capital gives you options when people leave

15:19 - AI story: Google Ads is finally getting easier to run

20:10 - AI story: AI watermarking is coming to Claude, Gemini, and more

22:42 - What's happening in the Small Business Owners Community this week

Resources mentioned:

Athena Legal Solutions, free legal confidence review: https://athenalegalsolutionsllc.com

Crown Room Live and The Daily Crown: https://crownroomlive.com

SBOC26 Conference: https://event.smallbusinesscommunity.com/26conference

Grab an Idea Slam spot: https://event.smallbusinesscommunity.com/idea-slam-pat-miller

🎙️ Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BusinessingShow?sub_confirmation=1

🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109

🌐 Listen anywhere: https://businessing.captivate.fm/listen

📬 Fridays Off Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com

👥 Small Business Owners Community: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com

#SmallBusiness #Entrepreneurship #PatMiller #AIforSmallBusiness #Hiring #SmallBusinessOwner