046: Contemporary Wins and Issues Faced By Small and Large Businesses

With a lot of things going on, we have seen the good, the bad, and everything else that could possibly happen in businesses. Surprisingly, the effects of the global pandemic in various industries weren’t all negative.

In this episode, the Business Geeks discuss the contemporary wins and issues faced by both small and large businesses. Although the pandemic gave rise to pressing concerns across various business industries such as the Great Resignation, it also gave positive impacts on small business owners.

Employees feel that they should no longer be shackled by industries that are not fully committed to their welfare. They developed the courage to venture into their own business and explore better choices.

This global phenomenon sure puts us on a roller coaster ride but as business owners, we have to learn how to go with the ride and to prepare to land back on our feet.

What To Listen For:

  • Typhoon Rai and the unfortunate event in Mayfield, Kentucky (02:10)
  • The power of faces and its significant effects on people (11:40)
  • What is Face Blindness and how does it affect consumer marketing? (16:38)
  • The resurgence of demand for small businesses (19:08)
  • The Great Resignation – why are employees leaving? (21:25)
  • Apple’s transition into remote work (25:43)
  • The reduction of foot traffic vs the surge in online traffic during Black Friday (27:05)
  • What’s different in Joe’s life in the last two years? (28:55)
  • Joe’s strange issue with T-Mobile (31:20)

Take My Lunch Money

Jen: Apples and Pears – A clothing solution for your weight journey.

Check-In With The Geeks

Catch us live each week on Monday 4:00pm EST / Tuesday 8:00am AEST at the Business Geeks Podcast page on Facebook.

Submit your question to the geeks at questions@businessgeekspodcast.com to have your question answered live on the show. Be sure to include your business name for a free shoutout.

Find Samantha at SamanthaRiley.global

Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

Find Jennifer at Sparent.co

Find Joe at SuperJoePardo.com

045: Overcoming Business Obstacles In The Face Of The Pandemic

We’ve been far since the start of the Pandemic. Finance, Accessibility, and Communication have been the most common challenges that businesses suffered. A lot of them failed in the transition, but it is a huge growth to those who get to keep moving forward.

Decision-making is crucial when we face challenges. Knowing where the business is going by looking at the numbers and data is extremely beneficial.

In this episode, the Business Geeks discuss the challenges that entrepreneurs face in the aftermath of the Pandemic, as well as emerging communication channels. We cannot avoid these challenges as our businesses grow, but there is always a solution. 

What To Listen For:

  • The stake of paying off massive debts with luxury assets (04:03)
  • The Impact of the Pandemic on China’s Businesses (09:35)
  • Significance of Numbers and Data in Decision Making  (11:35)
  • Taking promotions to a new level (13:50)
  • Joe’s creative celebration (16:47)
  • A successful presentation – Humor, Compatibility, and Telling Stories (20:52)
  • How to handle negative comments or feedback? (30:32)

One Cool Thing

Joe: Switched from Amazon Echo to Apple HomePod (32:03)

Take My Lunch Money

Jen: Design Powers – Women-owned and led company that designs websites (35:05)

Check-In With The Geeks

Posted by Business Geeks Podcast on Thursday, November 11, 2021

Catch us live each week on Monday 4:00pm EST / Tuesday 8:00am AEST at the Business Geeks Podcast page on Facebook.

Submit your question to the geeks at questions@businessgeekspodcast.com to have your question answered live on the show. Be sure to include your business name for a free shoutout.

Find Samantha at SamanthaRiley.global

Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

Find Jennifer at Sparent.co

Find Joe at SuperJoePardo.com

044: Servicing Customer Base Through Tumultuous Time

It may sound like a cliché, but we say that with every problem there is an opportunity. And with the number of issues the world currently has, the opportunities are huge. Unfortunately, this is not an easy feat.

One of the pressing matters during this tumultuous time is sustaining service to the customer base. Business owners had to think of ways to get their services and products to people who need them. 

In this episode, the Business Geeks focus on solutions that can help entrepreneurs during this challenging time. If your business is feeling the effects of the pandemic, we’ll give you tips on how to adapt and share effective ways on how to operate your business. 

What To Listen For:

  • Real estate difficulties in Australia in the present times (03:25)
  • Employment situations in Sydney and the States (05:40)
  • The differences between the past and present living (07:19)
  • Business automation – yay or nay? (12:11)
  • Value vs Skill – what do business owners need to consider? (15:22)
  • Business solutions to counter the challenging times (18:18)
  • The significance of looking at the numbers: timewise and profit-wise (29:10)

One Cool Thing

Joe: Switched from Amazon Echo to Apple HomePod (32:03)

Take My Lunch Money

Jen: Design Powers – Women-owned and led company that designs websites (35:05)

Check-In With The Geeks

Posted by Business Geeks Podcast on Thursday, November 11, 2021

Catch us live each week on Monday 4:00pm EST / Tuesday 8:00am AEST at the Business Geeks Podcast page on Facebook.

Submit your question to the geeks at questions@businessgeekspodcast.com to have your question answered live on the show. Be sure to include your business name for a free shoutout.

Find Samantha at SamanthaRiley.global

Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

Find Jennifer at Sparent.co

Find Joe at SuperJoePardo.com

043: Welcome to Season 2!

We are finally back after months of hiatus. We cannot contain our excitement to be able to talk to each other and connect with all the business geeks again.

What better way to kick off our season 2 than sharing what we have learned and what has kept us busy in 2021. As usual, we do this by engaging in a happy and upbeat conversation. 

Also, we gave a  brief background of what the three of us do and, we share our expectations for the show; what we want to accomplish this season, and a bit about weighted blankets and hug sleep pods.

Let’s get the ball rolling; welcome to season 2 of the Business Geeks Podcast!

What To Listen For:

  • Jen’s realizations for 2021 (00:55) 
  • The hug sleep pod experience for Joe (04:12)
  • What is 2021 like for Joe? (09:45)
  • What has kept Sam busy this year? (16:56)  
  • The hosts’ expectations for Business Geeks podcast (21:25) 
  • Jen’s, Sam’s and Joe’s career story (24:50)
  • How many ways the Business Geeks Podcast is streaming? (31:01)

Check-In With The Geeks

Catch us live each week on Monday 4:00pm EST / Tuesday 8:00am AEST at the Business Geeks Podcast page on Facebook.

Submit your question to the geeks at questions@businessgeekspodcast.com to have your question answered live on the show. Be sure to include your business name for a free shoutout.

Find Samantha at SamanthaRiley.global

Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

Find Jennifer at Sparent.co

Find Joe at SuperJoePardo.com

042: Season 1 Finale

Business Geeks Podcast

It’s been only a few months, but it feels like we’ve been doing this podcast for decades! Sad today, though, that it’s our final episode for this season. We want to thank people and look back on how the almost 11 months of podcasting have gone. 

True to form, we banter and laugh as we reminisce about what we did wrong, what lessons we’ve learned, our favourite moments, and how we could make the show better if we ever come back from our hiatus. It’s been a chaotic yet awesome journey, and we’ve loved every minute of it!

What To Listen For:

    • Looking back on 2020 (00:38)
    • Learning our lessons one podcast at a time: conceptualisation and marketing (05:22)
    • It’s okay to agree to disagree (09:54)
    • Audience feedback is important (11:38)
    • It’s okay to be vulnerable (14:03)
    • A year of bad luck and resilience (16:47)
    • Favourite moments (21:24)
    • How can we make the show better if we come back? (35:56)
    • When we lose control (46:07)
    • Coming full circle (47:53)
    • Our individual plans for the future (56:20)
    • Final thoughts (1:04:51)

Check-In With The Geeks

Catch us live each week on Monday 8pm EDT / Tuesday 10am AEST at the Business Geeks Podcast page on Facebook.

Submit your question to the geeks at questions@businessgeekspodcast.com to have your question answered live on the show. Be sure to include your business name for a free shoutout.

Find Samantha at SamanthaRiley.global

Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

Find Jennifer at Sparent.co

Find Joe at SuperJoePardo.com

041: Is Your Ego Too Big For Your Business?

Business Geeks Podcast

Many things can threaten our businesses. One way to avoid the disastrous results of these threats is to be aware of them, analyse them, and find ways to lower the impact that they may have on our businesses.

One of the major threats is ego. An ego-driven business can go down the wrong path.

In this episode, the Business Geeks focus on the “toxic vanity” that is ego. How do you know if you’re egocentric or just confident? Since the ego is something you can control, what do you do about it? How do you handle the ego of your business partner or team member?

What To Listen For:

    • Analyse threats and be aware of them to their lower risks (03:19)
    • Ego vs confidence (04:02)
    • Dealing with “toxic vanity” (05:35)
    • Outward confidence vs inward vulnerability (07:39)
    • Looking back at past glories and misrepresenting actions (11:05)
    • Balancing confidence and ego vs being driven by ego (13:41)
    • Leaders who get it right (16:51)
    • Keeping the ego in check when you need to put your foot down (20:15)
    • Signs when you’re operating from your ego (26:00)
    • Are you egotistic if you decide that your idea is better? (27:56)

Take My Lunch Money
Jen: DCfempreneur – created a shopping guide and gift ideas of small businesses (34:57)

One Cool Thing
Jen: Marco Polo – video messaging app similar to a voice mail system (28:58)

Joe: Kid who started a successful plant business (32:16)

An Announcement (37:44)

Check-In With The Geeks

Catch us live each week on Monday 8pm EDT / Tuesday 10am AEST at the Business Geeks Podcast page on Facebook.

Submit your question to the geeks at questions@businessgeekspodcast.com to have your question answered live on the show. Be sure to include your business name for a free shoutout.

Find Samantha at SamanthaRiley.global

Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

Find Jennifer at Sparent.co

Find Joe at SuperJoePardo.com

040: Get Started With Your MVP

Business Geeks Podcast

The concept of a minimum viable product (MVP) originated from Eric Ries’ Lean Startup. It stresses the importance of identifying and presenting a product’s most rudimentary features so a business owner can collect the maximum amount of validation with the least amount of effort and resources.

In this episode, the Business Geeks discuss the importance of using MVP and how you can use it to fund, launch, and develop your business idea. They also share minimum viable product examples for businesses in the contracting or trade industries.

What To Listen For:

    • Getting investors vs using your own funds for your business (06:25)
    • MVP needs to feature what separates your business from others (11:20)
    • Airbnb as a case study for MVP (12:24)
    • Using MVP to strip down launch strategies (14:13)
    • Pare down the features (17:00)
    • What single problem will your MVP solve and how can you market it? (21:58)
    • Other features can be used as an “upgrade” (23:30)
    • Impose deadlines (24:01)
    • Use MVP even beyond the launch and as your business develops (24:46)
    • MVP for contracting or trade businesses (27:23)
    • Listen to what your ideal clients want or what you think they will want (34:30)

What’s Grinding Our Gears
Joe: Phone carrier call waiting systems and strict policies (39:33)
Jen: Subscription company with a confusing message (46:44)

Get My Lunch Money
Joe: Elgato: stream deck products (52:45)
Your Podcast Concierge (57:08)

Check-In With The Geeks

Catch us live each week on Monday 8pm EDT / Tuesday 10am AEST at the Business Geeks Podcast page on Facebook.

Submit your question to the geeks at questions@businessgeekspodcast.com to have your question answered live on the show. Be sure to include your business name for a free shoutout.

Find Samantha at SamanthaRiley.global

Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

Find Jennifer at Sparent.co

Find Joe at SuperJoePardo.com

039: How to Instantly Know Where to Focus! The Eisenhower Matrix

Business Geeks Podcast

As a business owner, you will have days where your to-do list will overwhelm you. To get back some control, you can start categorising your tasks according to the four quadrants of the Eisenhower Matrix: 1. important and urgent; 2. important and not urgent; 3. not important and urgent; and, 4. not important and not urgent.

In this episode, the Business Geeks talk about how they apply the Eisenhower Matrix to classify their tasks, how the matrix could be improved or adjusted according to personal management style, and the importance of delegation.

What To Listen For:

    • Categorising tasks using the Eisenhower Matrix (02:06)
    • The origin of the matrix (04:35)
    • Do you delegate only “urgent, not important” tasks? (05:10)
    • Other people’s “urgent, important” tasks may not be your emergency (05:56)
    • Maximise the “important, do later” quadrant for your plans (07:22)
    • The bucket list of tasks (08:02)
    • The “One day, maybe” list (10:06)
    • Delegate “do now, urgent” tasks to keep the quadrant light (11:48)
    • Delegate now vs delegate soon (14:29)
    • Define what is “important” and “not important” (15:25)
    • “Are we working hard on the wrong things or are we working hard on the wrong things?” (19:27)
    • What if you can’t delegate? (21:45)

America vs Australia
Sam: Passion fruit, sausage rolls and meat pies, pork belly and crackling, and fairy bread (28:10)

Review
Joe: 5-star review from CSTJKA (33:59)

What’s Grinding Our Gears
Joe: Emails and hard sell add-ons (37:22)

One Cool Thing
Sam: Headliner: an app that you can use to create audiograms, captions, videos, etc. (53:05)

Check-In With The Geeks

Catch us live each week on Monday 8pm EDT / Tuesday 10am AEST at the Business Geeks Podcast page on Facebook.

Submit your question to the geeks at questions@businessgeekspodcast.com to have your question answered live on the show. Be sure to include your business name for a free shoutout.

Find Samantha at SamanthaRiley.global

Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

Find Jennifer at Sparent.co

Find Joe at SuperJoePardo.com

038: The Employee Mindset vs The CEO Mindset

Business Geeks Podcast

Did you know that most businesses fail because of the entrepreneur having the wrong mindset? 

In order for your business to grow and scale, switching from a worker bee to boss mode is essential. 

In this episode, we nerd out about the differences between the employee mindset and the CEO mindset and how you can get your mindset straight in order to grow your business. 

The major difference between having a CEO mindset and an employee mindset is the vision. CEO’s don’t get stuck on the day-to-day grind but look at the long-term vision. A CEO’s role is to create the company’s mission and vision and to create its growth strategy. 

Are you holding your business back with an employee mindset or are you pushing ahead with a CEO mindset?

What To Listen For:

    • Wearing all the hats as a business owner (6:05)
    • Embracing the role as visionary (6:46)
    • Working hard on the wrong things (6:55)
    • Working only on the things you should be working on  (7:12)
    • Having the CEO mindset from day 1 (7:46)
    • Thinking of your team as an asset (9:19)
    • 92% of businesses fail within 10 years (13:44)
    • The importance of delegation (14:03)
    • What is a CEO and what is their role? (17:35)
    • The number one question to ask yourself if you are wearing the CEO hat (18:50)
    • Asking the wrong questions (20:18)
    • It’s okay not to have all the answers (24:13)
    • Delegating and having systems (32:12)

What’s Grinding Our Gears
Jen: The person who posts on Facebook: “If you care about XYZ then you will copy and paste this post”

Get My Lunch Money/One Cool Thing
Jen: Rowan Tree

Check-In With The Geeks

Catch us live each week on Monday 8pm EDT / Tuesday 10am AEST at the Business Geeks Podcast page on Facebook.

Submit your question to the geeks at questions@businessgeekspodcast.com to have your question answered live on the show. Be sure to include your business name for a free shoutout.

Find Samantha at SamanthaRiley.global

Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

Find Jennifer at Sparent.co

Find Joe at SuperJoePardo.com

037: Elevator Pitch Going Up!

Business Geeks Podcast

When you meet a potential client or network partner, how do you answer the inevitable question “What do you do”? How do you make sure that the person you’re talking to understands your value proposition and is engaged by your introduction that they will want to work with you? 

In this episode, we talk about elevator pitches. Terms related to it. Its origin, and some examples that will make you think about how you can effectively pitch your services without sounding like you’re selling a car to another person.

What To Listen For:

    • What is an “elevator pitch”? (04:33)
    • Do you use just one pitch? (07:10)
    • Do you think about the verbiage of your pitch? (08:34)
    • What’s the unique value proposition? (09:39)
    • “Elevator pitch” vs “proposition pitch” vs “value proposition” vs “positioning statement” (12:04)
    • Joe’s long proposition example (14:07)
    • You don’t have to condense what you do (16:43)
    • People asking questions about your introduction is not a bad thing (17:28)
    • Confusion does not equal interest (18:16)
    • Joe’s 5-second elevator pitch (19:38)
    • Origin of “elevator pitch” and its evolution (23:01Some final thoughts and tips (25:43)

What’s Grinding Our Gears
Jen: Companies that make it hard for customers to pay for their services (28:05)

Get My Lunch Money/One Cool Thing
Jen: The Art of Sucre: reinventing cotton candy (33:34)
Joe: Cheesecake-stuffed apples (36:45)

Check-In With The Geeks

Catch us live each week on Monday 8pm EDT / Tuesday 10am AEST at the Business Geeks Podcast page on Facebook.

Submit your question to the geeks at questions@businessgeekspodcast.com to have your question answered live on the show. Be sure to include your business name for a free shoutout.

Find Samantha at SamanthaRiley.global

Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

Find Jennifer at Sparent.co

Find Joe at SuperJoePardo.com