Larry Pfarr is a merchandiser extraordinaire. He spent 24 years with Bachman's of Minnesota; a well known retailer  with multiple locations. Bachman's is a stopping point for many tours of retailers. Larry also produces a segment on the Minneapolis ABC affiliate.

This episode of Small Business Conversations has Larry sharing ideas of what you can do to get the most out of your business during the holiday season. We discussed displays, external appearance of your business, "experiential retailing" and how to prep your staff for holiday sales.

This episode is a full hour of helpful information.

What if you could listen to someone who had years of experience working for one of the big businesses? Would you want to ask them questions that could help you do more with your business?

When you business you are filing your tax return based on what is your "business entity". As examples, you could be a sole proprietorship, a partnership, a C corporation or a C corporation that has taken the S option.

Mike McCormick, Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Tax Coach (CTC), and author of "The Entrepreneur's Guide to Forming a Business Entity" visits for this hour of discussion on how to select the right one for you.

In addition to providing a free download of this book, Mike explained how to engage your attorney and the individual who prepares your tax returns in making this very important decision. 

While everyone has most likely made this decision, it is very possible you need to update your choice.

We frequently find that businesses and sales people are intimidated by affluent customers. Chris Ramey of AffluentInsights.com visits with Tom Shay and Small Business Conversations to explain how you fascinate the affluent customer instead of trying to sell to them.

Chris explains how the 10% of the public is doing 50% of the buying! Don't you want a piece of that market?

John Wheeler, CFP, CPA and Michael Kalscheur, CFP join Tom Shay in discussing a bucket list for your business. What do you expect your business to achieve for you financially? How do you make plans for when you want to get out of the business whether it be retirement or moving on to your next adventure. These two experts share their list, and the details, of how a business owner needs to converse with their accountant and their financial advisor.

What business are you in? What do you sell as a product or service? While most think they can easily answer the question, Steve Drake asks you to look a bit further. As an example he tells of an orthodontist. The answer to the first two questions may be "straightening teeth" for most people. The orthodontist in Steve's example says his business is "creating smiles".

A business that understands this finds a much easier path to customers and profit. As another example we offer the arborist in Portsmouth, NH who approaches business differently. Take a look at the video of his work with the South Church tree removal.

The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) is an awesome free service provided to small business owners across the country. Tee Rowe, president of SBDC, and Jill Kline, executive director of Wyoming SBDC, visit with Tom Shay to tell of the many free services provided to small business owners - all for the asking. They explain how to find a SBDC center near you and how the SBDC will match a business owner with a consultant who can address their specific needs.

The SBDC has live classes and webinars that you can participate in. The SBDC can also provide you with market surveys and research customized to your business. There are some events and services that have a minimal charge to participate or receive. Tee and Jill explain these.

All told, this is an awesome business assistance program that we are wanting to make more small business owners aware of.

Ron Friedman is unique as a visitor to our program as with every visit he brings a unique business idea. This month's program brings an idea of how to use gift cards as a way to replace discounting your products and services. With his concept we have created another free calculator on the ProfitsPlus.org website - gift card vs discount calculator - to show how you get more business from existing customers, referral customers and higher margins by using Ron's idea. 

Reading multiple online news feeds, we have frequently seen quotes from a group called AMIBA - American Independent Business Alliance. We wanted to learn more so we went to the top and invited co-founder Jeff Milchin to visit and tell us of the work of AMIBA which includes the "buy local" efforts.

We got to meet Jill Kline several years ago as we worked on a project with her state SBDC office. In addition to her concern for each of the clients her office works with, we were impressed by her business management knowledge.