Startup BizCast - The Small Business Advice Podcast

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Startup BizCast is back, after a one week break that was necessitated by my client load from EndGame Public Relations. In this week’s episode, I go solo to give 10 tips to help small business owners who are fortunate enough to secure an interview during a television news program. Live or even taped interviews can make even the most seasoned pro a bit nervous, but with preparation it can provide a wonderful boost for your business!

In this week’s BizCast Brief, I give details about a smackdown of the SBA, a look at the top cities for businesses, and a survey that charts out how small businesses are competing with larger companies when it comes to employee benefits!

Try GotoMyPC free for 30 days! For this special offer, go to www.gotomypc.com/podcast.

Startup BizCast is produced by EndGame PR Podcast Production. For more information on how your business can take advantage of the social media revolution, visit the podcast production page on the EndGame PR website.

Startup BizCastâ€s theme music is “Dangerous Toys” by George Fletcherâ€s Bourbon Renewal. The full version, along with other music by the same artist, can be downloaded at Podsafe Music Network.

Get each episode as itâ€s published: RSS – iTunes – Blubrry – Podcast Alley

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We’ve talked about search engine optimization on this podcast before, but there’s a search engine function that might even be more useful to businesses that sell products or services only in a specific area. Local search can give search engine users your business’ name, address, phone number, and even a map to the location.

In Startup BizCast 15, I interview Laurie Baldwin, co-founder of Richmond, Virginia search engine optimization and search engine marketing firm NetSearch Direct. She gives us the rundown of what local search is, and how small business owners can utilize it.

I also launched a new feature this week called BizCast Brief. In each week’s show, if time permits, I’ll do a rundown of the previous week’s small business news. This week I have stories about how much small business owners spend online, how much they’re marketing online, and a new product from Dell that’s designed for small businesses. Listen for it and let me know what you think!

Try GotoMyPC free for 30 days! For this special offer, go to www.gotomypc.com/podcast.

Other links mentioned in this weekâ€s episode:

Startup BizCast is produced by EndGame PR Podcast Production. For more information on how your business can take advantage of the social media revolution, visit the podcast production on the EndGame PR website.

Startup BizCastâ€s theme music is “Dangerous Toys” by George Fletcherâ€s Bourbon Renewal. The full version, along with other music by the same artist, can be downloaded at Podsafe Music Network.

Get each episode as itâ€s published: RSS – iTunes – Blubrry – Podcast Alley

SHOW NOTES:

In small business you can’t just rest on your laurels once you’ve built a successful organization. It’s best to make moves that will help it continue to grow. This growth can take a number of forms, including expansion to new locations, expansion of existing locations, selling dealerships, and selling franchises. In episode 14 of Startup BizCast, the small business advice podcast that’s shorter than your coffee break, we discuss the last of those options — franchising.

My guest this week is Rob Gardner, who has worked for the last 10 years with a variety of companies to help them plan and execute their franchising plans. Currently he’s the VP of Franchise Development for Gutter Genius, a Richmond, Virginia-based firm that manufactures and installs metal gutter protection products. Gutter Genius has already sold a number of dealerships and is taking steps to begin selling franchises.

Try GotoMyPC free for 30 days! For this special offer, go to www.gotomypc.com/podcast.

Other links mentioned in this weekâ€s episode:

Startup BizCast is produced by EndGame PR Podcast Production. For more information on how your business can take advantage of the social media revolution, visit the podcast production on the EndGame PR website.

Startup BizCastâ€s theme music is “Dangerous Toys” by George Fletcherâ€s Bourbon Renewal. The full version, along with other music by the same artist, can be downloaded at Podsafe Music Network.

There have been Startup BizCast episodes about how to distribute online news releases for your small business, and how to work toward getting television news coverage, but we’ve not discussed how to actually write a small business news release. This week I’m rectifying that problem!

In episode 13, I go solo (i.e. with no interview) for a show all about news releases. It’s broken into five chapters:

1) What is a news release?

Try GotoMyPC free for 30 days! For this special offer, go to www.gotomypc.com/podcast.

Other links mentioned in this week’s episode:

Startup BizCast’s theme music is Dangerous Toy by George Fletcher’s Bourbon Renewal. 

Like it or not, as a small business owner you are in sales. No matter what type of business you own, you need to use sales tactics on a daily basis. In this episode, we’re joined by Bill Caskey. Bill is the founder of professional sales training company Caskey Training, and co-host of the Advanced Selling Podcast. Bill and I discuss sales tactics and how not to seem like a used car salesman.

Other links mentioned in this week’s episode:

If you have tips or feedback on this or other episodes, the best way to contact me is to leave a voice mail by calling (206) 984-0860. If you prefer, you can email me or leave a comment in this blog post. If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider leaving a review on iTunes.

Startup BizCast’s theme music is “Dangerous Toys” by George Fletcher’s Bourbon Renewal. The full version, along with other music by the same artist, can be downloaded at Podsafe Music Network.

I’m on vacation, but the show goes on! In this solo episode, I give five tips on improving your site’s search rankings. To give you a preview (taking a suggestion from a comment on this blog), here are the tips:

1) Write good page titles

Other links mentioned in this week’s episode:

Startup BizCast’s theme music is Dangerous Toys by George Fletcher’s Bourbon Renewal. 

Get each episode as itâ€s published: RSS – iTunes – Blubrry – Podcast Alley

SHOW NOTES:

Happy 10th show to Startup BizCast! In episode 10 of the small business advice podcast that’s shorter than your coffee break, we talk about knowing when it’s time to strike out on your own. If you’ve ever thought about becoming a small business owner or professional freelancer, you know that unless you’re pushed into it by a layoff or firing, it’s tough deciding when to make the move.

My guest for this episode is Jonathan Phillips, a freelance web designer, musician, and founder of the blog Freelance Folder, which gives advice on freelancing and entrepreneurship.

In honor of Startup BizCast’s 10th show, I’ve got new theme music! It’s a song called Dangerous Things, by George Fletcher’s Bourbon Renewal. The full version, along with other music by the same artist, can be downloaded at Podsafe Music Network.

I want to hear YOUR small business advice! If you have tips or feedback on this or other episodes, the best way to contact me is to leave a voice mail by calling (206) 984-0860. If you prefer, you can email me or leave a comment in this blog post. If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider leaving a review on iTunes.

Get each episode as itâ€s published: RSS – iTunes – Blubrry – Podcast Pickle

SHOW NOTES:

Getting television news coverage for you or your small business can give your company a big boost, because the TV station is giving you a third party endorsement as an expert in your field. While most business owners understand at least a little about advertising, many don’t know how to approach TV reporters and pitch a story.

On Startup BizCast #9, we’re talking about how to approach a TV reporter about a story, what opportunities exist at stations for stories about small businesses, and some “dos and don’ts” for seeking coverage. My guest is Jennifer Wishon, a bureau chief and reporter from WDBJ TV in Roanoke, Virginia. I met Jennifer when we both participated in a roundtable discussion on media relations, and I was very happy when she agreed to appear on my show.

Be sure to stick around after the interview, as I’ll address a question from a listener who wanted some recommendations for increasing sales of her self-published book!

Links to sites mentioned in this week’s episode:

I want to hear YOUR small business advice! If you have tips or feedback on this or other episodes, the best way to contact me is to leave a voicemail by calling (206) 984-0860. If you prefer, you can email me or leave a comment in this blog post. If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider leaving a review on iTunes.

I was recently told by an acquaintance that RSS feeds have been explained to him a number of times, but despite that he still doesn’t understand the technology. This isn’t the first time I’ve heard this. RSS, or Really Simple Syndication, is a great tool for small business owners to get the word out about their company or their offerings. The problem is that it’s difficult to explain.

On Startup BizCast #8, I work without a net (i.e. without an interviewee) to tackle the subject of RSS fees. RSS is a way of making your web-based content available to be viewed in RSS feed readers, re-used by other websites, and easily indexed by search engines. That’s the simple explanation, but the technology can be used a number of ways to the advantage of small business owners. This episode will be broken into chapters (announced by my lovely and talented wife, Jennifer, in her podcast premier!) in an attempt to keep it as simple as humanly possible. I’ll attempt to give an explanation of the system and how it’s used, talk about how to create your own feed, and give some novel uses that can benefit startups and established businesses alike.

NOTE: After listening to this episode, if you have any further questions about RSS please feel free to post them as comments in this blog post. I’ll answer them to the best of my ability!

Links to sites mentioned in this week’s episode:

I talked in episode #5 about the best places to distribute your online news release. Now it’s time to talk about how to structure your release and how NOT to structure your release, so you get the most bang for your buck. As I mentioned in my episode preview, I hadn’t planned to talk about news release distribution again so soon, but when I was given the opportunity to interview this week’s guest, I jumped at the opportunity.

The online news release distribution business is booming, as more and more business owners are realizing that distributing online is a great way to let potential customers know about their services and increase their search rankings. In episode 7 of Startup BizCast, a podcast with small business advice provided via interviews with small business owners and other experts, I’m very excited to interview Jiyan Wei. Jiyan is a PRWeb Product Manager for VOCUS, and a great guy. PRWeb is one of the top online news release distribution companies, and is owned by VOCUS. During the interview, Jiyan gives us some “dos and don’ts” for writing and distributing releases online, and also discusses an entirely new type of news release, the social media release.

Links to sites mentioned in this week’s episode:

Information on Shift Communication’s Social Media News Release

[Updated 8/5/07: I added to the list of links above the original blog post by journalist Tom Formeski that launched the social media release initiative]