Small Business Conversations

Deb Brown, the expert on small town business and communities joins us  for the final program of the year. We talk about small towns,  communities, Main Street programs and neighborhoods which allow a group  of businesses and citizens to work together. We talk about the  advantages and disadvantages of being small.

The Small Business Book; 10 Ways to Improve Your Small Business written  by Dave Fellman. Yes, that is our guest for this e-retailer  conversation. We discussed all 10 ways (you'll want to listen to this  recording) of things you can do in your business to make a difference in  your bottom line.

Scott Newberger, vice-president of Regions Bank brought valuable  information with regard to the relationship between a small business and  the bank. We discussed borrowing money, processing credit cards, using a  banker as an advisor and other aspects of your business that a bank can  help with.

Cathy Nagle-Ervin joins the conversation as we discuss how the various  generations can work with, and for each other. If you think your  generation is having problems with a generation older or younger than  you, this is a great program to gain some insight.

Christopher Dicenso, of Growth Strategy Partners, joins Tom as  we discuss the value of a business coach. Could you handle the  relationship and the expectations the coach will have of you as well as  your expectation of the coach. Taking advantage of our conversation with  Christoper, we also discussed how to differentiate your business.

Becky McCray, the small business survival expert, rejoins Tom  as we discuss the many reports that show Wal-Mart and other big box  stores as having issues. What is happening? And can your small business  take advantage of it? You will want to listen to this program.

Scott Neal, from Fast Track Computer Solutions brought us a lot of  information about the current dangers our businesses can face on the  Internet. We also discussed off site storage and backup of the  information of our businesses.

e start the new year with Ben Muldrow as our guest. Ben's expertise is  branding. We look at the colors and fonts used for a name as well as any  tag line the business may utilize. It's a great lesson of how to do  things right with the image of your business.

Ann Baldwin of Baldwin Media Marketing joined Tom to discuss how  a small business can utilize the media so that the business is seen as  an expert within their industry. Ann also talked about crisis  management; when the media is in your face and you are looking to do  damage control. Ann has some great ideas. She speaks from experience as  she was a part of the media for many years.

Ron Friedman returns to discuss the new laws affecting credit card  acceptance and the credit cards themselves. Ron explained what is  required to accept the new cards as well as the penalties a business  will incur by not being ready for the new format.