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business development

Using SBA Loans to Grow Your Business with Yankie Markowitz

When you consider growing your business by taking out a major loan, how do you know what risks are worthwhile – and how do you evaluate risk in the first place? What factors are crucial in determining when to invest in real estate and what kind of property you should purchase? Why is it imperative to know your numbers well, and how do you ensure you’re not fooling yourself? These are among the most important questions for any growing business, and Yankie Markowitz, Chief Executive Officer of SBA Loan Group, has a fascinating way of addressing them all. Listen to Meny and Yankie discuss all this and more on this useful and crucial episode of Let’s Talk Business!

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Whatever You Do, Don’t Call It Sales! with Charlie Hauck

Is your fear of hearing the word “No” keeping you from working with authentic leads, causing you to waste time, and leading you to self-deception about your success? What if instead you learned how to have the uncomfortable, upfront conversations that could result in disappointment – but could also lead to lucrative business relationships?

In this provocative episode of Let’s Talk Business, Meny speaks with Charlie Hauck, Founder, and President of Growth Dynamics, about how to balance self-confidence with humility, ways to avoid wasting time in the beginning – not the end – of the call, how to get more referrals, why you should never use the word “sales,” what three questions you should ask at the end of every meeting, and much more.

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LTB 101 | Business Processes

How & Why We Need to Delegate & Prioritize Processes—with Chris Ronzio

Managing growth may be one of the most challenging parts of owning a business. This week, our guest is Chris Ronzio. Chris is the founder and CEO of Trainual and author of the bestselling book, The Business Playbook: How to Document and Delegate What You Do So Your Company Can Grow Beyond You. In our interview, he explains that the key ingredients to success and growth in any business are delegation and establishing processes. We dive deep into the importance of standard operating procedures (SOPs), and where we should start creating them. SOPs aim to achieve efficiency, quality output and uniformity of performance, while reducing miscommunication and failure to comply with industry regulations.Whether you operate on your own or with a small team, it is crucial to implement SOPs at your own level, and Chris is here to explain how.

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When Sweat Equity Start-Ups Hit the Ground Running–with Steven Hoffman

Startups are the future. But not every startup idea survives. In fact, 90% of them fail. How do sweat equity startups hit the ground running in this extremely risky environment? In this episode, Steven Hoffman, also known as Captain Hoff, discusses how to survive the competitive market. Steven is the CEO of Founder Space, one of the world’s leading startup accelerators. He joins host Meny Hoffman to share practical strategies to help you overcome the many obstacles that come with starting a business. Steven maps out the process from developing an idea to forming a team. Tune in as he shares invaluable insights to help you grow from his latest book, Surviving a Startup.

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5 Creative Ways To Clear Your Biggest Business Hurdles―with Meira Spivak

Innovation is key to any successful business. Even more so when you’re met with a business hurdle you just can’t solve. Meira Spivak is the director of Oregon NCSY and a seasoned speaker who has helped many by sharing techniques that can help anyone innovate on demand. She sits down with host Meny Hoffman and talks about the five templates of her Strategic Inventive Thinking or SIT Method and how you can use it to find opportunities in your biggest business hurdles. Meira believes that creativity and innovation are skills that you can develop and shares the tools to help you do just that.

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Don’t Make This Mistake at Your Next Trade Show

With winter fast approaching, I’ve heard from many business owners that they’re planning to attend trade shows and conferences. So I thought I’d tell you a story.

I’ll never forget our first trade show. We were so excited about connecting with some great prospects. After the show, we got back to the office, and someone asked, “Who’s got the bag with the business cards?” (Mind you, this was back in the pre-digital age.) After a heart-wrenching search, we realized that the hard-won cards had been completely misplaced, probably still attending the trade show under a forgotten table.

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What I Learned from My Family Trip to an Amusement Park

I took my family on a trip to an amusement park a few weeks ago, and like most parents, I had a vivid picture in my mind of how the day would go. I saw the smiles and laughter on my kids’ faces. I heard their happy squeals as they went on the rides. I felt the good vibes from the amusement park staff as they helped my kids onto the rides.

So you could imagine the disappointment I felt when, as we waited in line for the park’s most thrilling rollercoaster, I noticed that the attendant, a young man in his late teens, was helping kids get on and off with a look of total and utter boredom and indifference—even a little resentment. For someone whose job it is to give kids a good time, he showed zero signs of enthusiasm.

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The Right Way to Receive Criticism if You’re a Leader

A business owner once told me she had to let go of an employee for creating a toxic work environment. This employee had been sharing personal complaints about the owner with coworkers, rather than bringing them up directly with her. It soon became popular to talk behind the owner’s back, and before long, the circulating negativity caused a rift between her and the team. Obviously, morale and productivity suffered greatly.

Was this employee a liability? Definitely. But there’s also more to the picture. It’s possible that this business owner created an environment that discouraged people from speaking their mind productively.

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