Chances are the line between your professional and personal life sometimes gets blurred. 2016 is a chance to set boundaries, once and for all.

Here’s 10 ways you can create the life you envisioned when you started your business, or maintain the balance you already have.  

In episode 27 of Xero Gravity, we chat with Michelle Garcia, founder of Heirloom Catering, and Jeremy Smith, who heads up the Block Small Business division at H&R Block, about their business resolutions for 2016.

Michelle explains how her company, finally out of “survival” mode, will implement a complete “no more excuses” overhaul of her bookkeeping method. While on the flipside, Jeremy’s advice to business owners will be to start 2016 with a detailed 12-month plan.

All that and more, from the delightful duo of hosts Elizabeth Ü and Gene Marks!

When it comes to partnering with big box retailers, there are many myths small business owners should be aware of. How exactly do you go about setting up a partnership? What do big box retailers expect from small businesses? Is it worthwhile?

In this episode of Xero Gravity, Gene and Elizabeth chat with Laura Curtis, founder of Malvi Marshmallow Confections, and Howard Saunders, retail futurist with 22nd and 5th Limited, about making these partnerships work.

Laura shares insights from partnerships such as Dean & DeLuca and Anthropologie, while Howard shares nuggets from his 25 years in retail.

“Big Retailers aren’t going to make a fortune out of you. You will make a profit, but the reason they need small business is to make them look locally connected.”  And there’s much more where that came from. Ear we go!

On episode 25 of Xero Gravity, we dig deep into cashflow, and get answers to questions like: How do you increase it? How do you generate an income to live comfortably? How do you keep things running smooth during rough patches?

“If you have situations where you’re not getting the consistent income that everyone would love to have in business, you have to make sure you have back- up resources and an understanding of the trends in the business that will allow you to get through the bad times, in preparation for the good times.”  

Will Slade knows. Founder of accounting and bookkeeping firm Slade and Company, Will shares his cashflow acumen with Gene and Elizabeth, on navigating cashflow management and effective budgeting to stay in the black and out of the red. Right on the money!

Is crowdfunding the real deal for jump starting a new business, or an elixir that turns out to not be so magic?

We uncover the answers with the help of bakery bon vivant, Lenore Estrada, co-founder at Three Babes Bakeshop, whose Kickstarter campaign has helped put her and her partners make great dough.

You’ll learn about the countless opportunities crowdfunding can bring your small business, how how far it can take you, and what potential traps you need to be aware of. And you’ll hear Lenore’s story of what work is involved to make crowdfunding work for you.

So what’s the right crowdfunding recipe for you? Put on your thinking cap (or chef hat) and listen in as we throw everything but the kitchen sink your way, on Xero Gravity #24.  

Can you do two things at once? Can you keep services flying off the shelves during the biggest shopping season of the year, and still give yourself enough downtime so as not to burn out?  

Tune in for answers on Xero Gravity #23, as Elizabeth and Gene welcome in
Alex Gray, President and CEO of Skylight Global, and Tyler Jensen, CEO of The Startup Garage. Together, these two savvy entrepreneurs talk about how to strike a holiday balance with targeted sales and marketing, and still give yourself time a well-deserved break from the consumer shopping frenzy.

You’ll hear how shifting between spending on social media and online advertising, and curating content for your website can mean more customers, engagement and revenue. Not to mention the power of CRM, outreach and storytelling, and the vital role authenticity plays. Happy profitable holidays!

Are you ready for the holiday shopping season? Have you thought about what’s in store after January 1st? Can you extend the holiday sales cheer throughout the new year?

Tune in to Xero Gravity #22, as Elizabeth and Gene welcome in a couple of retail experts who believe you can. The two, successful startup entrepreneurs Kelly Barker, founder and Chief Empowerment Officer of Prep Cosmetics, and Clint Bowers, founder and CEO of Smart Business Concepts, share their insights and tips to help you keep those products flying off the store and/or e-commerce shelves.

You’ll learn the importance (and some keys) to not putting all your eggs in one basket, wrapped up in the holiday season that you forget the larger picture, which includes seasonal staffing levels, inventory ordering, branding and social media, and cultivating repeat customers from holiday promotions.

Feel confident in yourself and your business? Enough to make changes
like bringing on a new hire, or tightening the budget? Then you’ll want to
listen in.

It’s Xero Gravity #21, where Gene and Elizabeth expertly debunk the ambiguity around what it really means to have confidence in your business and the economy. Each shares their own experiences in building business success, and together they offer insights that can help you feel confident to reach your entrepreneurial goals.

Now meet Liz Mason, a self-professed number nerd and COO at High
Rock Accounting, and Greg Kyte, MBA, CPA and COMIC, who founded Comedy CPE. These wildly different CPA-turned-entrepreneurs will also share their individual experiences with building successful businesses, and discuss how confidence underlies some of their most strategic decisions. Now tune in if you want to pump up that professional poise!

This episode of The Xero Hour with Bob Knorpp and Saul Colt feautures an great talk from Jason Blumer on the Art of Fitting in, results only work environments and blowing stuff up in the workplace. This talk was recorded at Xerocon Denver as part of the Xero Unplugged sessions. 

Jason Blumer can be found at www.jasonblumer.com

For more information on Xero please go to Xero.com

Questions or comments on the show?

This episode of The Xero Hour with Bob Knorpp and Saul Colt feautures an inportant conversation with Ryan Lejbak, the CEO of ZU a digital development shop that has been in business for 20 years. In our conversation we talk about firing customers, every company has done this but Ryan shares his story of firing 120 customers, as well as how his company managed during and after he suffered a health setback.  

For more information on Xero please go to Xero.com

Questions or comments on the show?

This episode of The Xero Hour with Bob Knorpp and Saul Colt is the second in a series of episodes featuring content from Xerocon Denver. In early June (2015) Xero invited customers and friends to Denver for 3 days of learning and fun in the Mile High City.

This episode features the keynote from Xero CMO Andy Lark, Andy is an award­winning marketer, online leader and chief marketing officer. With more than 25 years of experience across the B2B and consumer sectors, Andy has built successful businesses and run leading marketing programs and teams for Fortune 500, global technology brands, start­ups and some of the world’s best advertising and communications agencies.

Andy detailed the steps to winning in the connected area including the concept of disruption, where:

● The economy takes place across mobile
● 50% of the world’s data is generated by sensors
● Leading companies like Uber and Airbnb own no inventory
● 30% of consumers start their research on Amazon rather than Google

For more information on Xero please go to Xero.com

Questions or comments on the show?

Tweet @saulcolt or @xero with the Hastag #xerohour