The Savvy Entrepreneur

BPE Global is a group of women who are some of the best global trade experts around.  Beth Pride talks with The Savvy Entrepreneur how she started and grew BPE Global.  She also shares tips on how to successfully start a services business.

Click on the arrow to take a listen!

Randy Rice founded Surely Signs after working for a number of years in corporate America.  Surely Signs is a Chicago-area business that makes signs of all kinds for all types of customers.  Randy recently appeared on The Savvy Entrepreneur Radio Show to share his story.  He says he loves making unique signs for his customers, and his passion shows in the interview.  He also shares some great advice for other entrepreneurs and small businesses, including advice about franchises.

Click on the arrow to take a listen!

Co-working spaces like Suite Spotte LLC offer lots of advantages for entrepreneurs just getting started.  You can find comraderie and rub elbows with fellow entrepreneurs, and get a real office for a lot less than renting your own space.

Some, like Suite Spotte, offer mentoring and classes and operate almost like an incubator.

Sue Reardon, Co-founder of the Suite Spotte Co-Working space, shares her story with The Savvy Entrepreneur Radio Show.  In addition to being an entrepreneur herself, she's also seen and worked with lots of entrepreneurs in her co-working spaces.  She shares some lessons learned, and what she's seen make businesses successful.  She also shares her thoughts about when co-working makes sense for a business, and how to best make it work for your business.

Click on the arrow to the left for a great listen!

Chris Brown has built his company, Slades Corner Computer Repair, step-by-step.  He literally started his business in one room of his house, expanded to his built-our garage, and then eventually moved to a stand-alone storefront office.

Listen in as he candidly shares his story on The Savvy Entrepreneur Radio Show.  His growth has hit some bumps, and he's had to be nimble and pivot a few times.  He is very open about some of the many challenges he's faced along the way and also about his successes.  He also shares some of the lessons he's learned over the years.

Click on the arrow to the left to listen to his story!

Sean Hauser has been in and around commercial payments for nearly 20 years.  He joins The Savvy Entrepreneur Radio Show to explain some of the many electronic payment options -- ways for small businesses to pay vendors and receive payments from clients & customers.  Sean takes us behind the scenes to explain the mechanics of how each works, and some of the pros and cons of each.

Each of the electronic payment options has unique costs and benefits, whether the costs are transparent (fees) or not so transparent (days to clear; which party to the transaction pays the fees).  Sean provides a framework for weighing the options to help you choose the best one for your business.

It's interesting and informative!  Click on the arrow to listen to an insider's perspective on various payment methods.

Tom Still, President of the Wisconsin Technology Council, has been an integral part of the Council since it was formed in 2001.  A bipartisan organization, it advises the Wisconsin Governor and Legislature on policy issues.  It also serves as a connector and community builder for all thing entrepreneurial in the state.

Tom joins The Savvy Entrepreneur weekly radio show to share some of the many successes of the Wisconsin Technology Council.  Those include a number of very successful companies as well as significant growth in angel and venture capital investment dollars.

The Wisconsin Technology Council also hosts the prestigious annual Governor's Business Plan Competition.  Tom shares some helpful tips on what makes a pitch successful.  He also gives his insight on the most important qualities a successful entrepreneur needs, how to identify weaknesses, and ways to strengthen those shortcomings.

Click on the arrow to the left to take a listen!

It's common knowledge that women in STEM fields are a minority, and women of color are especially rare birds.  Mechie Nkengla joins The Savvy Entrepreneur Radio Show to tell the story behind her data analytics consulting company, Data Products LLC.

She has a refreshing candor and no-nonsense approach to life and business.  And she shares very openly some of the challenges she's faced in building her company and raising money, including the unique challenges of being a woman of color in data analytics .

She also has some great, hard-earned advice for other entrepreneurs, especially women entrepreneurs.

It's a great listen -- click on the arrow to the left!  You'll be glad you did!

Strategy can make or break most businesses.  And Steve Garchow is convinced (and has statistics to back it up) that most companies do a poor job setting their business strategy.

And a big part of that they have no real business strategy process.  He shares a simple business strategy process.  He calls it Lean Strategic Decision Making, and he even wrote a book sharing in detail how to apply it.

Take a listen -- my interview with Steve is chock-full of eye-opening examples and statistics, as well as great tips to help companies of all sizes do a better job setting their business strategy.

Effective leadership is critical for business growth.  But the term is often misunderstood and misused, according to John Casey, President of Shamrock Consultants.

John's been at the business of leadership assessment and coaching for 26 years.  He shares what leadership is and isn't.  He also talks about how his firm methodically assesses leadership capabilities, as well as how people can get better at being good leaders.

Click on the arrow to take a listen -- it'll be well worth your time!

Christina Fontenelle says she became an entrepreneur because she just didn't fit in and couldn't do what she wanted to do anywhere else.  She shares the story of how she founded Fontenelle Art to help people with trauma and other mental health issues through art and dance.

Click on the arrow to listen as she shares her story.