Financial Foreplay® Podcast

Send us a text

According to several independent studies (Statista projects & Edison) roughly 34% of adults in America, Canada, Australia and the UK now listen to podcasts on a monthly basis. With roughly 2m podcasts listed on Google, there’s an audience of well over 150m listeners globally and that statistic is growing at a rate of more than 20% each year.

As people are time poor and have begun to rely more heavily on mobile devices, search engines are giving preference to podcast content, and it has become even easier to download and listen to podcasts as you make your way through your day. With podcasting becoming such a prolific and highly influential method of communication for individuals and companies, I thought it might make good financial sense to invite the host of a very successful podcast in America to talk about why you should seriously considering adding podcasting to your list of things to learn and launch this year!

Bio:

Travis Chappell is the founder and CEO of Guestio, a software that connects high level guests with high level content creators, and he is the host of the top rated show, Build Your Network. 

 In addition to being featured in Entrepreneur, NASDAQ, Yahoo Finance, and ReadWrite, Travis has also been featured in Forbes as a top ten podcast that will change your life alongside Joe Rogan, Gary Vaynerchuck, Tim Ferriss, and other household names.

 Financial Foreplay® Highlights:

1.     Leverage is the key to growing your business – there is only so much you can do as one individual. Your network and building relationships are the key to building a sustainable business

2.     Podcasting has exploded because people are time poor and listening is something they can easily do while doing something else (walking dog, commuting to work, exercising etc.)

3.     In order to secure guests that are influencers you don’t necessarily need to have a huge audience but you need to be able to create and deliver enormous value

4.     For a very minimal investment, podcasting has the ability to help you deepen the relationship that you have with colleagues and customers and create additional streams of revenue or new channels for existing products/services

Get in Touch:

Website - https://travischappell.com/

Support the show

Send us a text

Cyber security poses a very real and significant threat to both individuals and businesses yet very few are actually prepared for the gravity of this threat. Today’s episode is an expose of the scary facts that most victims wish they had known and appreciated before their worst nightmare came to fruition. I want to start by first painting a clear picture of what you are facing and then introduce our guest expert today who is going to tell you what exactly what you need to know and do to protect yourself.

The magnitude of the problem:

·       There is a cyber attack every 39 seconds – affects about 1 in 3 of us
·       Total cost for cybercrime is about $6 trillion globally
·        43% of cyber attacks target small business (64% are web based attacks)
·        Global average cost of a data breach is $3.9 million across SMBs)
·        43% of companies say they have experienced one or more attacks in the last 12 months

·      77% of organizations do not have a Cyber Security Incident Response plan

·      19% of small businesses invested $0 into cyber security in the last year, and less than 40% had spent between $1-$999.

·      Most companies take nearly 6 months to detect a data breach (even the big ones)

·       Since COVID-19, the FBI reported a 300% increase in reported cybercrimes – hackers are taking advantage of more people working from home. 

·       95% of cybersecurity breaches are due to human error - hackers will infiltrate your company through your weakest link (not IT department).

Bio: 

Susie Jones is as an experienced cybersecurity, risk, insurance and innovation leader. She has has delivered commercial outcomes as a cybersecurity business services manager, corporate insurance broker, risk manager, innovator, and now a startup CEO. She's on a mission to reduce the number of small businesses who fall victim to cyber attacks each year, and is passionate about finding a way to help business leaders take back control of their risks and avoid a cyber disaster.

 Financial Foreplay® Highlights:

1.     Small businesses are easy targets – they are often also an easy way into larger corporates (i.e. supplier logins etc.)

2.     Cyber crime is bigger and more costly than drug trafficking globally

3.     Costs of cyber crime include:

     a.      What is needed to fix the problem and restore access

     b.     Lost sales during the time the resources are unavailable

     c.      Experts required to fix or consult (including lawyers, PR etc.)

      d.     Lost opportunity cost

4.     The average downtime is 23 days!

5.     Key elements of a good security plan:

     a.      Understanding which technology your company relies upon

     b.     Specific step you can take to improve security

     c.      Identify the ways you might detect a breach

     d.     Ways you will respond if one happens

     e.      Detailed assessment of the liabilities you might be on the hook for

     f.      Placing appropriate insurance in place to cover the costs of a breach and recovery

 Get in touch:

Linkedin - Susie Jones | LinkedIn

Email – [email protected]

Support the show

Send us a text

As a salesperson – and everyone is in sales whether you are selling a product/service, an idea or just yourself – there are few things more exciting than identifying and unlocking the Big “O”. With “O” being of course opportunities - closing deals, making sales, and influencing people to act.

Not only do you put more cash in your wallet or get more people on board to back your idea... you are also building relationships and growing your influence.

However, more often than not, you’ve probably presented an offer and then been left scratching your head because you thought your customer was crazy for saying “no” or worse, insisting on time to “go away and think about it”.

Here’s the thing, when people say no, you miss out on revenue or a chance to get them on board with your idea, opportunity or venture.

You can’t close everyone, nor should you try. Not everyone is your idea customer. However, if you are out there drumming up leads (which is expensive because you have to throw time and money at lead generation), you want to make sure that you have the right sales processes in place to close as many qualified leads as possible... which is why I have asked Joseph Munizaga to join us today on the Financial Foreplay® podcast.

Guest Bio:

 Joseph has over 20 years of sales experience, 15 of which has been in the fitness industry at one of the leading fitness corporations in the nation, LA Fitness International. As the Regional Vice President, he was responsible for overseeing 25 locations.

In his most recent role as an Executive Team Leader for the world class sales team for Cardone Training Technologies, Inc for 3 years, he was responsible for the ongoing development, training, and success of all members on the sales team. Joseph personally closed over $15 million in sales per year while performing weekly coaching calls, onsite training for businesses all over the world, selling Grant Cardone's products, event tickets, and services. Joseph is working as a consultant with multiple companies to drive sales. 

Financial Foreplay®  Highlights:

1.      The most successful businesses have all asked the same question – how do I get around this?

2.     If you are having troubling closing, then you need to go back to the start and examine your greeting.

3.     The biggest mistake you can make is to unleash a fire hose of “telling” on your customer or prospect

4.     Your prospects will already be 75% of the way into their purchasing journey by the time they contact you and you must re-engineer your entire sales process to reflect this massive change

5.     Joe shared 2 really powerful questions that I recommend you add to your list and start using immediately with your prospects and customers... but you are going to have to listen to the episode to find out what they are. No cheating... you have to listen and I promise you these are two questions I guarantee you aren’t currently asking and have the potential to double your sales

How to Get in Touch:

Email - [email protected]

Linkedin - Joseph Munizaga | LinkedIn

Instagram – joe_munizaga

Support the show

Send us a text

If you are like most small business owners I work with, you went into business because you are good at what you do – graphic design, hospitality, construction, farming, retailing etc.

You may be one of the 95% of small business owners who discover that although you work like a dog every day, you have little to show for it. You may be feeling isolated because you don’t think there is anyone to discuss or share their greatest fears and challenges with.

Which leads me to one area I’m guessing is definitely harder to grasp than you thought it would be: the management of money.

 If you are like most, you never dreamed that the ability to understand how money works would be very important. You thought: “That’s for the accountant (or bookkeeper) to worry about. Sure, the accountant shows me a few reports from time to time, but I don’t see the need to really understand what they mean. If there was a problem, he/she would tell me, wouldn’t they?”

You probably don’t realize that all those numbers - the financial DNA of your business - can tell you a lot more than you thought. They can tell you why you’re suddenly struggling to pay the bills. They can reveal why you’ll have to forego your salary - again - because there just isn’t enough cash.

The financial numbers are the story of your business. The numbers don’t lie. You just need to learn HOW to listen to them and use them to your advantage... which is why today we are going to practice a bit of Financial Foreplay®. 

Bio:

Terrell Turner is an experienced Certified Public Accountant (CPA), finance leader, podcast host, speaker and founder of TLTurner consulting firm that is focused on making accounting and finance a little less complicated for business owners and business leaders. You may have already listened to his top rated podcast called “Business Talk Library” – and if you haven’t, I highly recommend it.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree from Lander University and a Master’s in Accountancy from the University of Notre Dame. After years of studying hard he launched his career in Public accounting with one of the Big 4 international accounting firms Ernst & Young, followed by multiple finance leadership roles throughout the US and Brazil with fortune 500 companies like Navistar and General Electric. 

In addition to all of the fun of consulting, hosting a podcast and speaking engagements Terrell enjoys spending time with his wife Lola Turner and traveling to enjoy new experiences.

Financial Foreplay®  Highlights:

1.     Less than 3/10 of all businesses have a grasp on their numbers

2.     Business owners always take their personal mindset (whether or not they have adequate savings buffer, spending habits etc.) into their business with them, which explains why most don’t have enough cash

3.     Think of your income statement as if it were a major motion picture – you would have lead actors, supporting actors, investors, and critics

4.     If you want to make a blockbuster movie (or successful business) should you focus on the supporting actors and critics or your lead actors?

Get in Touch:

·       Business Talk Library Site – www.BusinessTalkLibrary

·       LinkedIN - www.linkedin.com/in/terrellturner

Support the show

Send us a text

Moist.  It’s one of those words that produces an intense reaction in people.

The word “moist” can trigger a whole range of powerful and primitive reactions: arousal, disgust, aversion, nervousness, shame, and even... the giggles.  This is true for both the person who says it and also for those who have to hear it.

Strangely enough, it’s not the only “m” word in the English language that can activate a potent and primitive response. The only other “m” word that I’ve seen create such a formidable response is of course, the most taboo subject of all... money.

 Humans have many different ideas, thoughts and beliefs about money. These limiting beliefs severely curtail your potential because you’re subconscious mind is programmed to automatically deliver results that mirror back who you are and what you believe to be true (regardless of whether it’s real or imagined).

When you boil it down, the discomfort that people experience when the topic of money is broached, really stems from one or two dark places:

1.      the fear of judgment 

2.     the fear of being exploited

Basically for those of you with limited resources, you may worry that others will look down upon you – in terms of your intelligence, work ethic or perhaps just your ability to manage money. And for those of you with plenty of cash, you probably want to hang onto as much of it as possible and not be taken advantage of.

 Either way, the frames or limiting beliefs that you are currently using to look at (and define) money, may not be affording you with the best opportunity for success.  Today I want to explore (with the help of our guest) how this plays out in real life (and maybe how this might be playing out in your life) as a first step to understanding how you can use different techniques to move past these obstacles to discover more empowering resources and enhanced financial opportunities.

 Guest Bio:

Martin Bissett is the founder of the Upward Spiral Partnership in the UK – which specialises in enabling accountants to win higher end clients, create leaders from their ranks and save people from financial ruin.  His reason for being is to focus accountants on the profound outcomes that their advisory expertise can create in the lives of their clients. At the same time, he also alerts accountants to the profound difficulties that can arise in the lives of their clients when they choose not to help their clients cure the financial, personal and strategic pain points that are keeping them awake at night.

Financial Foreplay®  Highlights:

1.      Undercapitalization is just a symptom of the problem – the root cause is lack of self esteem

2.     If you want adults who are financially literate in their 30’s, you need to start educating kids about money when they are 9 years old

3.     Process may fix financial measures but it will never fix the behavioural issues that led to the poor results in the first place

Get in Contact:

Linkedin - (1) Martin Bissett | LinkedIn

Support the show

Send us a text

According to a recent Cost of living survey, most Australians have no savings at all. Over 10,000 people responded and only 38% reported having more than $5000 in savings, which is pretty poor. 23% admitted they could not find/raise $2000 in a week for something that was urgent and important. 

That’s put these numbers into perspective – the rule of thumb for emergency savings is that you should have a minimum of 3 months living expenses. Right now the average household in Australia for example spends about $74,301 on general household living costs (or about $63,168 in America and £45,636 in the UK), which means the average person listening right now should have at least $18,575 (or £11,409)  in your 3 month emergency fund.

This lack of emergency savings and inability to quickly raise funds for unexpected necessities such as a replacement fridge, tyres for your car, or dental surgery... really sets the stage for what I want to talk about today which is the disturbing surge in Buy Now Pay Later funding schemes such as Zip, Afterpay, Klarna etc. 

The market for BNPL is expected to grow 10 to 15 times by 2025, according to Bank of America. The UK market alone is set to double in 2021 after 1 in 4 British citizens spent £2.3 billion in BNPL debt added over Christmas period. That’s nearly 40% of all Christmas shopping. In Australia, 21% of BNPL consumers are missing payments – this has boosted the revenue for these payment providers by +38% -- and there is no clear regulation to protect consumers who may be vulnerable and susceptible to default due to their age or inexperience with managing debt. One in 10 people using these services already have debt arrears elsewhere, according to a wide-ranging FCA review into credit services.
 
 Our guest today came on to my radar recently when I read a post on Linkedin where he pitched a new concept called #SaveNowBuyLater – a new product that he is building in his company Bambu, based in Singapore. 

Bio:

Aki Ranin isn't a finance guy. He started his career at an early age, first building computers and then coding. For two decades his job was to design and build websites and apps for other companies. Eventually, that path led him to Singapore, where he faced a problem. He sold his house in his native Finland and thought he should probably invest that money somehow. Amazed at the lack of options, tremendous costs, and atrocious digital experiences offered by banks, he decided to build something better. Today, his company Bambu actually helps the banks offer simple savings and investing solutions to consumers through an automated online platform.

Financial Foreplay® Highlights:

1.      The only party losing due to lack of regulations is the consumer – both the retailer and BNPL companies benefit from not having to report credit to third party bureaus the way that credit cards and other providers do

2.      There needs to be a shift in behavioural psychology towards incentivizing the art of saving as consumer spending is leading towards consumer debt levels that are unsustainable

3.      If you haven’t checked out Smarty Pig in the USA, it’s definitely worth a look

4.      Instagram and other social media sites glorify the shots of consumers wearing their luxury watches, shoes or handbags but no one ever posts a shot of the debt collector banging down the door to repossess the purchases you defaulted on

5.      Alibaba in China built a $100b saving platform (integrated into their platform) but the Chinese government stepped in to regulate it when it became a

Support the show

Send us a text

Today’s topic comes courtesy of a very unlikely source for great business advice for entrepreneurs – the movie Moneyball.  It’s the real life story of Billy Beane, the general manager of a major league baseball team that finds itself at the bottom of the ladder – the Oakland A’s.  

Crushed by the big budgets and big name players of teams like the New York Yankees and the Cleveland Indians, Beane is forced to take a risk and do something no team has done before – abandon traditional recruiting methods and employ computer-generated analysis to acquire and trade players.  You see, they didn’t have money to attract the MVPs who could hit home runs so they created a formula to predict which players would just be able to consistently hit the ball and get to first base.

And in doing so, Beane changed the face and landscape of the game forever.

One of the quotes from the movie that really summarizes just how big this shift in perspective was is when Beane says to one of his special assistants: 

“You’re not solving the problem. You’re not even looking at the problem.”

Beane understood that in baseball (which is not that different from dealing with your financial issues), it’s easy to get distracted by all the issues and rhetoric swirling around the actual problem.   The more you have personally invested in the status quo, the more you will be prevented from seeing the real problem for what it truly is. That’s why it’s vital to seek advice and perspective from people outside your industry — those inside will be emotionally attached to the way things have always been done and thus, they have become part of the problem.

Which brings me to why I have invited my good friend Dr Reginald Tomas Lee to the program today...

Reginald Tomas Lee, PhD, is an educator, author, international and TEDx speaker, and corporate advisor in the areas of generating and managing cash, and capacity management. He is the author of four books, including Lies, Damned Lies, and Cost Accounting and Strategic Cost Transformation with three more, including Project Profitability, and Engagement Economics, under contract. He is a feature writer for the Journal of Corporate Accounting and Finance. Reginald has advised many major companies, including as Bristol Myers Squibb, Dell, Disney, DuPont, Lockheed-Martin, and Toyota.

Professionally, Reginald has worked for GM, IBM, EY, has been a professor of both engineering and business, and currently teaches in the business analytics dept at Xavier University in Cincinnati, OH. Reginald has a PhD in mechanical engineering from the University of Dayton.

Financial Foreplay Highlights:

1.      Focus on cash – your prime objective is to bring in more cash

2.     Are the tools you are using giving you the information and insights you need? Or are the tools leading to sub-optimization of cash flow?

3.     Three vital questions that should be asked to ascertain whether a decision will improve cash flow - How much did I spend? What did I create? How much demand is there for what I created?

Support the show