Xero Gravity: Big Wins & Massive Fails

If you wanted to get to know yourself better, what would you do? There’s a whole world of mindfulness that goes beyond breathing and meditation; And it starts with you. In this episode of Xero Gravity, we speak to Dandapani - a Hindu Priest, entrepreneur and speaker on self-development - about how mindfulness and concentration can make you a better small biz leader. “Life is finite. I don’t believe life is short. The other thing that’s finite is my energy. I only have so much energy in each day, and I need to be wise in taking my finite amount of energy and investing it in the people and things that truly matter to me.” Tune in to find out why you’re doing mindfulness wrong and how to change your approach to maximize success in your business, and your life!

What do you get when you combine five grand, a backpack and sheer love for 100% Agave Tequila? One of the newest and hottest craft Tequila brands in the Western World. Eric Brass, CEO and founder of Tromba Tequila, had an entrepreneurial itch he needed to scratch. Against the odds and against convention, Eric successfully launched his own craft liquor brand - and did so through grassroots methods only. Join Eric at his downtown Toronto office (that features a bar) and Elizabeth U, as Eric recounts the trials and tribulations of starting a business out of sheer passion and dumb luck. “Well, better to be lucky than smart. In business– a lot of it has to do with timing. So we were in the right place at the right time speaking to the right person,” says Eric.

There’s no such thing as perfection - yet it’s one of the biggest mistakes made by small businesses when implementing technology at the start of their entrepreneurial journey. Manu Jaffrin, COO & Managing Vice President GetApp explains that getting your product out to market with the current technologies in place is the best way to then iterate your offering. He says that waiting for everything to be perfect is a key error businesses make around the world. “When we launched GetApp in January 2010, it took us four months to develop it.  We launched it in January 2010.  The site was crap, but that was okay.  We got tons of feedback from the first users telling us, "This is good.  This is bad."  And we could really then focus the next iteration of the product.” No matter what industry you’re in, there is a technology solution available to help automate and iterate processes. So listen in as Manu share his insights into the world of technology and small business optimization.

Just when you thought technology couldn’t possibly get any more awesome, in walked augmented reality. The younger, hipper sibling of virtual reality, augmented reality is what happens when technology and reality collide. And there’s really no telling where things could end up. What this really means that the possibilities for small businesses and entrepreneurs are endless. This week, Brett King, founder of Moven and host of BREAKING BANK$ stops by to chat about all the amazing things you can do with your business thanks to augmented reality. “ It’s not just going to be about whether there’s a deal at a shop that we’re walking past with a discount for iPhones. Today there’s a lot of businesses that just won’t be able to survive unless they’ve got an app on a phone and the same thing will happen with AR and voice commerce,” says Brett. Tune in as Brett unpacks the true meaning of augmented and virtual reality, bringing his entrepreneurial vision to the fore.

Omnichannel means building trust with customers through having the same products, the same pricing and the same look and feel across multiple channels. If you’re an e-retailer and you’re not on Amazon, then you’re missing out on a huge opportunity. Over 40% of all online shoppers are searching for products on Amazon first. To learn more about the nuts and bolts of omnichannel for small business, Kevin McKeand who heads up Strategic Business Development and Partnerships at BigCommerce joins Elizabeth U this week on Xero Gravity. Kevin walks us through what an omnichannel strategy is, how to execute it and what benefits small businesses can expect. So if you’re a small business with your own brand or unique product, then to increase your sales, you need to make sure your product is searchable in as many online marketpplaces as possible because that’s where your consumers are.

If a bank rejects your small business loan. Then all hopes and dreams of accessing capital flies out the window, right? Wrong! There are an array of options available for small business owners looking to source financing. Be it traditional or alternative, this week’s episode focuses on data-driven lending and how it breaks down geographic boundaries to create more opportunity for entrepreneurs. This week, Michael Finklestein, CEO and founder at the Credit Junction stops by to educate us about asset-based lending for small businesses. “You now can access capital anywhere in the world, and I think that will lend itself to better choices, better information and in the long run create a pricing model that actually works for your business, whatever that may be,” says Michael. So tune in to learn more because Michael brings a wide variety of experience to this conversation including a former life as the owner of a record company.

Public speaking, pitching, talking and listening - communication is integral to every aspect of business ownership and is one skill that directly impacts success. Just like any other skill, to be an effective communicator, you need to practice. And this week’s guest, Dr. Ebony Utley, associate professor at California State University Long Beach, will tell you why. “Communication requires iteration and reiteration just like every other aspect of your business because how you’re describing the business today is not how you’re going to describe it this time next year.” This week on Xero Gravity, Dr. Utley joins Elizabeth U and shares insight around effectively communicating with your audience, peers, co-workers, family, friends and most importantly, yourself. So listen in, because being an effective communicator is as much about your ability to listen to how the people in your world want to be communicated to.

Flexible, yet fickle, freelancing is a choice of work that won’t suit the non-persistent. But for those of you hooked to this ad-hoc way of life - it’s important to know when you’re negotiating a project price, you’re also negotiating the experience and what it means for your individual brand. Bobby McGill, founder of Branding in Asia Magazine and life-long freelance writer has landed roles writing for some of the world’s most regarded newspapers, has interviewed ex-president of the United States George W. Bush and has founded a number a online and print magazines. Bobby sits in with Elizabeth U on Xero Gravity to discuss Negotiating as a freelancer and all it entails, from dealing with rejection, to knowing what you’re worth and rubbing shoulders with some of the most famous people in history.

The life of an artist is typically all or nothing and so is their taxable income. As such, many accountants don’t have the patience to guide creative clients through the motions of each financial year. Introducing Paco, founder and director of the HellYeah Group - a boutique bookkeeping agency aimed at creative folk needing financial support. Paco joins Xero Gravity host Elizabeth U to discuss some of the financial holes creatives find themselves in and how she assists them in getting their finances and lives on track. “For a lot of people it’s feast or famine so a lot of times they have to come up with the patchwork of incomes or different revenues streams and at the beginning at least you either have to have a pile of cash that you can rely on or you need to hustle your ass off so you can build a pile of cash so that you have flexibility there in terms of cash flow timing,” says Paco. Listen in for more recommendations from Paco and to hear about her incredible entrepreneurial journey. It’s brave and comple

This episode is all about user-generated reviews, that means the customer reviews written on sites such as TripAdvisor, Yelp, OpenTable and even Facebook. Business owners are all too familiar was those feelings of angst when it comes to engaging with their online reviews. But what ends up happening is a lost opportunity to acquire new customers and ultimately increase profits. According to Bill Tancer, the first thing business owners must do is engage with their reviews. “Why should you build an online review strategy?” He asks.  “The answer’s very simple, because of the importance those reviews play in getting new customers to your business,” Bill adds.

Technology enables freedom, but for many of us - being creatures of habit - it’s easy to accept traditional workflow processes in business. Nick Pasquarosa, founder and CEO of Bookkeeper 360 joins Elizabeth Ü this week on Xero Gravity and he’s on a mission to empower small business owners to change their processes for the better through technology. “When you invest in a technology that can really unify different departments, it allows for the financial freedom and the freedom from having to manually do that process.” Listen is, because Nick shares his tips implementing technologies into a business that might see your revenue grow from $500,000 to $30 million in a couple of years - something one of Nick’s own client’s experienced.

From a small town in New Zealand to founder of a global cloud accounting software company, Xero CEO Rod Drury weighs in on electric car company Tesla and what the brand is doing to disrupt the consumer vehicle space. Rod joins Xero Gravity host Elizabeth U to discuss the parallels between Tesla’s global strategy and how small businesses can think large and grow beyond their local community. “It’s really exciting for small businesses, because exporting used to be about manufactured goods, now we can use all of this great technology to export and to do commerce, all over the world,” explains Rod. Rod’s entrepreneurial fire blazes through this episode of Xero Gravity. Listen in for some serious inspiration from some of the greatest businessmen on the planet.

Be empowered. With a plethora of CRM products on the market, you’re encouraged to trial something that works for you and your business. This week’s Xero Gravity guest is Joe Malcoun, CEO at Nutshell - a CRM for SMBs. He swings by to chat with host, Elizabeth U about some of the misconceptions small business owners have about integrating CRM into their business processes. He says: “If you don’t enjoy the way it looks and feels and the way that you interact with it you’re not going to use it and then that becomes like this burden and it becomes this like thing that hangs over your head because you’ve paid for this solution and you know you’re not using it.” To get the most out of CRM expert Joe Malcoun for your small business, be sure to tune in!

Customers - you can’t build a successful small business without them. But how can you attract new customers at the same time as retaining old ones? And what sort of marketing technology should you be using?This week Xero Gravity host Elizabeth U chats to Ron Cates, director of digital marketing education at Constant Contact, and Megan Roth, marketing manager at Insightly, about ways to attract and retain customers in the digital era.“Many business owners are in digital diapers. They didn't open their business because they were interested in becoming an online marketer or digital marketer. They got it because they love pool and they wanted to open a place that sells pool tables,” Ron told Elizabeth.Tune in to find out how to make digital marketing work for your business and the power of CRM and the cloud when it comes to attracting and retaining customers.

Don’t let the thought of payroll weigh you down. It turns out that a little bit of homework and some extra organization can go a long way when it comes to avoiding those pay day headaches. This week Xero Gravity host Elizabeth U chats to Mark Pinard, director of product marketing and strategy of global payroll at Xero. With more than a decade of experience in the industry, Mark shares insight on the evolution of payroll platforms from self-service to hybrid and cloud. “Bigger, better and most expensive isn’t always the best. You've really got to do your homework and understand the best fit for your business because there can be a cheaper solution out there for you,” Mark told Elizabeth. Tune in to find out what to look for when selecting a payroll platform that’s right for your business, and how you can stay organized when it comes to filing and taxes.

It’s the most common trap and biggest money-drain on your business; hiring the wrong person. It’s time to implement a stringent and detailed hiring process in order to help your company become its best version yet. This week Xero Gravity host Elizabeth U chats to Anthony Bucci, Founder & CEO of online motorcycle retailer RevZilla. Anthony’s passion for hiring the right person is undeniable, he shares his learnings from those first handful of hires made at RevZilla and offers invaluable insight into how to grow your best team. Listen in to hear more about RevZilla’s rigorous hiring process. Named one of the top 50 places to work in America by Fortune Magazine and with turnover less that 12%, you know they’re on to something.

Even word of mouth referrals significantly increase for small businesses investing in digital marketing. If you’re intimidated by the cost of the investment, you’ll be pleased to know there are options available no matter how deep your pockets. This week Xero Gravity host Elizabeth U chats to Michael Mothner, Founder & CEO of online marketing firm WPromote. Michael busts some myths around digital marketing and inspires us all with his entrepreneurial mantra; Making Mondays Suck Less. “It embodies our belief that, if we love what we do and we do a great job it's going to bleed over.  Our clients are going to see the fruits of it.  Their Mondays aren't going to suck and it's kind of this virtuous cycle. ” So if you love what you do, listen in for some digital marketing tips you can implement immediately to further grow your small business.

Making your small business stand out online has never been more challenging thanks to the rapid growth of search engine optimization. But it turns out SEO isn’t as mysterious as it might seem, and that a few simple steps could make all the difference to your website’s search ranking. This week we delve even deeper into the world of online optimization, as hosts Elizabeth U and Gene Marks chat to Andrew Eager, director SEO strategy at Boostability. “In the past SEO was seen as the tactic for any business to be successful – even a bad business could have great success,” Andrew said. “I really think that that’s changed.” Tune in to discover how you can make SEO work for you, and why platforms like Google My Business are beneficial tools for your business’ online profile.

SEO. Many business owners make the mistake of thinking it’s a one-time thing, but it turns out that investment in search engine optimization is actually one of the fastest ways to grow brand awareness and reputation for your business. This week on Xero Gravity hosts Elizabeth U and Gene Marks are joined by Rand Fishkin, SEO wizard and founder of Moz to talk about the importance of optimizing your website and how it’s changing with social and mobile. “For a tremendous number of businesses, I would say an overwhelming majority today search is a part or a big part of how consumers find you, how they compare you against others,” Rand said.   Tune in to discover why you should invest in SEO and how you should get started.

14.6 million self-employed Americans pay a 15.3% self-employment tax (made up of SSI and Medicare), federal, state and local. It sounds like a lot of headaches, but it doesn’t have to. Enter David Emmerman, partner, Boyle & Associates LLC, tax preparers since 2001, and Rafael Alvarez, CEO and founder at Atax, specializing in tax prep, payroll and bookkeeping. Together these two gentleman, along with Elizabeth and Gene, break down tax misconceptions and mistakes, and share real solutions that’ll help you get yours right. So when you tune in to Xero Gravity #39, have these in mind: Know how a Schedule C works? Tracking business expenses? Organized your receipts? Understand quarterly taxes? Plus, you’ll hear about Elizabeth’s dance moves, how Gene almost made her tear her hair out (unrelated), avoiding the IRS, and the sweet new Xero Tax Touch app!