#Smallbizchat LIVE is a monthly video chat where small business owners can get answers to their questions. The focus of #Smallbizchat LIVE is to end small business failure by helping participants succeed as your own boss. Please join us live every third Wednesday of the month from 8-9 pm ET Live on my SmallBizLady Facebook Page, YouTube Channel and LIVE on Twitter.
How to Create More Profits in Your Small Business
Profit Coach Susie Carder started out as a low paid hairdresser trying to support her two little girls. She decided to do whatever it took to create her own business. After much blood, sweat, and tears she went on to create, not one, but two $10 Million companies! Her newest book ‘Power Your Profits’ is a bulletproof start-to-finish plan for taking your business from start-up to multimillion! For more information: www.susiecarder.com
SmallBizLady: What has been your secret to building multimillion-dollar companies?
Susie Carder: Start with a business plan, that is the foundation of your success. It’s your road map. It will allow you to see what is viable and what is not before you invest your life savings or go into debt.
SmallBizLady: What is one thing every business owner must do to build a company?
Susie Carder: Get a coach, someone that is 10 steps ahead of you, to guide you through these times. Second is put your financial plan together, without it you will run out of cash. It’s expensive starting a business, you have to see where the money is coming from and what is the most important investment first.
SmallBizLady: What was your biggest lesson in growing a building a business?
Susie Carder: In 2007, when the market crashed I crashed, I was too heavily invested in Real Estate and I didn’t have enough cash reserves. I ran out of money and couldn’t sustain my overhead. That was a humbling time. Always have 6 months of expenses in the bank you never know when you will need it.
How to Double Down in Business with Anthony Michael Russo
Anthony Michael Russo is a leadership expert, keynote speaker, and emcee who has hosted events all over the country. He speaks on the power of doubling down in life and overcoming failure to create success. He is a firm believer that failure is the key ingredient in success if it’s utilized properly. His agency, Identity Marketing, is recognized among the top companies in the field of experiential promotional marketing. In 2016, he started a social movement called #BETHECHANGE where he spreads the message of positivity and taking action to make the world a better place. For more information: https://www.doubledownstrategy.com/
SmallBizLady: How do you embrace your failures?
Anthony Michael Russo: In life, we always tend to shy away from failure, and we avoid risk. We are terrified by it because it causes pain. From my experience working with business owners, the hole that sinks the ship is the hole that is ignored. Failures are bound to happen, holes are part of life and business, but pretending they don’t exist will cause the hole to get bigger or in some cases re-open. I, personally, enjoy failure because I know once that mistake is made, I’ve become stronger because I know to look out for the same mistake again. They aren’t things that that tear me down, they are simply lights that guide my path.
SmallBizLady: Why is failure important?
Anthony Michael Russo: Failure is the most important part of success because complacency never got anyone anywhere. Small or big businesses’ have fallen victim to being afraid to try new things, expand, automate, and ultimately change. These changes create points of failure and frustration, also known as growing pains. Here’s the issue, if you don’t grow, evolve, and change you are at the mercy of the world that is changing around you. Business ownership isn’t for the weak of heart, having failure along the way sucks, but what sucks most is closing your doors because you didn’t risk enough; i.e. Blockbuster. People avoid these failure points either out of fear or by being stubborn. Both of which are poor traits when owning a business. Just think about 2020. If you aren’t willing to pivot and be flexible, then when things really get hard you will not just fail, you will implode.
SmallBizLady During Covid-19 How did you double down?
Anthony Michael Russo: So, as a motivational speaker and event host my world was put on an immediate pause in March of 2020. The first thing I did was start looking to maintain some financial security and look for performance coaching clients, but when I realized the world was on pause and all eyes were paying attention to social media, I doubled down on my efforts on a company I formed in 2016. I knew that this was not a time for relaxation, or a time to waste because this was the opportunity my business was looking for was right in front of me, but I had to pounce and I had to start grinding without any immediate financial gain. Often we jump at the first opportunity instead of looking for the right opportunity, and although I was forced to become leaner and smarter with finances it has allowed for exponential growth in #BeTheChange. Since June, we have grown 15x in followers, and our value to investors and advertisers is night and day different. Thanks to previous failures, I understood the importance in timing and hard work and double-downed for success even though I knew this is not part of a short game, instead of its for a long game.
How to Pivot in the Pandemic with Dawn Fitch
Dawn Fitch is an author, speaker, health advocate, and the founder and CEO of Pooka Pure and Simple, a handmade bath and body company. After battling illness and feeling the need to adopt a healthier lifestyle, she began making and selling her own natural products. Her bath and body products are currently sold in Whole Food markets, online, and through various distributors. She has also been featured in Essence Magazine as one of their top 20 Black Beauty Brands. For more information: www.pookapureandsimple.com
SmallBizLady: What was the main thing you did to pivot your business since the pandemic began?
Dawn Fitch: LISTEN TO MY CUSTOMERS! It was so important! I was sharing healthy things that I was doing during the pandemic, one of which was using Seamoss. I was sending newsletters about products on sale, but they kept asking about this Seamoss. So I told them that anyone who wanted to try I would send some. The amount of ppl who reached out was amazing. That’s when I put Seamoss products in the line.
SmallBizLady: What has been the hardest thing about your Pivot?
Dawn Fitch: Develop new products, from recipes to packaging, during a pandemic when so many of my suppliers were closed or operating on a limited capacity. From labels, bottles to raw supplies, I had to figure out ways to get things done
SmallBizLady: How have you maintained your health and sanity through the Pandemic?
Dawn Fitch: I’ve always tried to get some sort of exercise but once the gyms closed it was hard. I was also quarantined alone (that’s a whole other single girl quarantine topic, lol) In an effort to still see friends, we started walking together because we could socially distance and still get some exercise. During one of our walks, we noticed signs for trails by the local park and we went into the forest. This opened up an entire new world. We’ve now begun hiking every day at different trails in NJ. It’s amazing, being outside in nature, in the woods has definitely had a meditative experience. We started posting pictures to social media and got flooded with calls from other women. Now we do “Sister Hikes” on the weekends and have enjoyed introducing women to an amazing adventure in the woods where they can clear their head, be socially distant but still social, exercise and we even stop along the way for a 10-minute meditation!
Did you find these interviews helpful? Please tell me how they helped and then share them.
Would you like to be a guest on #Smallbizchat Live?
If you are a small business owner, author, or subject matter expert, we’d love to have you appear as a guest on #Smallbizchat LIVE. Submit your name, headshot, Twitter handle, bio, website, topic, and 3 questions and answers in paragraph form to demonstrate your expertise. To submit your materials to be a guest on #Smallbizchat click here.
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