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Sean Lofgren podcast “Marketing” might not mean what you believe it does. Shawn McBride and his guest, Sean Lofgren, take on the misconceptions about marketing so that you can reassess your strategy for your business. A business owner needs to understand the differences between marketing and advertising, especially with social media playing such a prominent role how potential consumers, customers, and clients learn about their options and decide where to take their business. Lofgren, whose background includes small business and Fortune 500 companies, helps businesses define their problems, identify solutions and drive positive results. He points out that marketing isn’t a poster. A social media campaign is only part of marketing. To market your business is to explain who you are as a company. Among his tips: Do you have marketing processes and procedures, or at least a concept to develop? Does your business have a personality? Does your business have a reputation? Lofgren says that when your business marketing is on the mark, word-of-mouth becomes your best advertising.

Holly Signorelli and R. Shawn McBride give away advice important to small business owners contemplating a loan. Holly is a wealth strategist and CPA who teaches individuals and organizations how to achieve greater revenue, results, and wealth through a shift in attitude. She and Shawn take on questions that small business owners must consider before taking on debt. Is it as simple as Mark Cuban says? “Pay off your debt first. Freedom from debt is worth more than any amount of money you can earn?” That would make it seem it’s wisest never to have debt. Most small business owners think about getting a bank loan at one time or another. Shawn and Holly know many young entrepreneurs need a loan to start on their business journey, yet already have student loan debt, car payments, and mortgages. They want to help entrepreneurs keep their expectations realistic and avoid borrowing traps. Holly is a known as the ”Money Therapist®” in the media and is frequently interviewed by news reports and nationally-syndicated shows for her financial expertise. She is a registered investment advisor representative. She has worked with thousands of entrepreneurs from beginners to multimillionaires. One of her areas of interest and expertise is tax-deductible retirement plans. She is the author of “Do You Know Where Your Money Is?”   Holly Signorelli is a Wealth Strategist, CPA, Registered Investment Advisor Representative, Author of Do You Know Where your Money Is?® and Speaker. She graduated from UTD with an accounting degree in 1993, fulfilled the requirements to be a CPA in 1996, and started her firm in 1999. Holly has worked with thousands of entrepreneurs from startup to multimillionaires, and taken many clients through sales of their companies for multi-millions. She helps clients with structure, return on Investments and has a particular expertise in tax deductible retirement plans to save the most amount of taxes legitimately. She is also known as The Money Therapist® in the media, and is frequently on the news and nationally syndicated shows as a finance expert.

What type of entity is your business? Steven Palmieri and R. Shawn McBride take aim at educating entrepreneurs on how their business credit is impacted by their business type. Sole proprietorships and some types of partnerships are allowed only personal credit lines. Limited liability companies and corporations permit business lines of credit. Steven and Shawn emphasize it’s important to know what is allowed when you establish your business. Steven is president and chief visionary officer of Innovation Finances, which assists businesses, individuals and lawyers with credit, debt, tax and accounting issues. He and Shawn know that small business owners may seek a bank loan too early when instead the plan should be to build a record and credit rating with a business credit card that isn’t tied to the owner. The steps for building business credit: Business credibility. Do you have a mailing address? A website? Are you listed on Yelp and Google maps? Vendors. Do your vendors report to credit bureaus?   Merchant credit accounts. Do you use store credit cards to buy office supplies? Business credit cards. Do have a credit card designed specifically for businesses? If you have built up your company’s credit score and your books are in order, you may qualify for bank financing. Steven has a background in consumer credit risk analysis in the car and real estate retail sectors, as well as business credit advisor services.

With many family-owned small businesses struggling to survive, what can be done to help them thrive? R. Shawn McBride and Susan Hamilton talk about the forces that cause family-owned businesses to die, including the big-box stores that continue to wipe out mom-and-pop operations in small towns and the online retailers that shape new shopping habits everywhere. Although there’s no quick or easy solution to change the course we are on, Susan encourages small, family-owned businesses to band together to persuade local and state government to expand services and benefits that may help the businesses. The benefits include tax credits, programs that help small businesses win government contracts, and funding for chambers of commerce which are strong allies of small local businesses. Susan calls herself a “marketing rebel” who fights for American business owners in today’s political and technical climate. She is the owner, CEO and program director for OffBeat Business Media, which specializes in the production, programming, and promotion of talk radio, podcasts, magazine production and talk TV for American business owners. OffBeat Business Media aims to rebuild American businesses’ influence locally, nationally, and abroad with an authentic voice and wealth of experience. To find out how to become a key player in the training, marketing, and community necessary to build a sustainable, profitable brand, call Susan at 214-714-0495 or email Susan@OffBeatBusiness.com.

There’s no generation gap as R. Shawn McBride and Sarah LeClair take on the issue of millennials in the workplace. Sarah is an “older” millennial, and Shawn has hired millennials, so they have first-hand knowledge of what people who reached young adulthood in the early 21st century can bring to the business table. For Sarah, technology and desire-driven careers are key to people her age. Whether you are a fan or unfamiliar with Jenna Marbles, Zoella, and Marcus Butler, Sarah shares her insight into how those millennials epitomize the ability to abandon the conventional methods of past generations and still find success today. Because Sarah believes millennials have the underserved reputation of being averse to hard work – a generalization, at best – she makes note of millennial successes. She points to the Sidemen, a group of YouTube gamers, as an example of hard-working millennials. They post at least three YouTube videos each day in addition to their extra efforts, which include writing a book, operating a merchandise company, and sponsoring a charity soccer game and fan event. Another example is Youtuber  TBNR Fangs hired a film editor who is an older millennial.   Sarah uses well-known examples of millennials who have reinvented themselves, as she has done. She didn’t go off to college thinking she would become a paralegal, but she did. And her paralegal job evolved into her current position as a social media manager, which forces her to learn new technological skills but involves a passion. As Shawn and Sarah discuss the pros and cons of hiring millennials, Shawn explores whether hiring employees who are now about 30 years old will drive your business.

One of the last things a start-up entrepreneur may think about is taxes. R. Shawn McBride and Richard Fleming want to change that with this discussion about sales and use taxes. Richard is the founder and CEO of State Tax Group in Dallas, a leader in state and local tax consultation. He and Shawn are witnesses to a mistake small business owners often make: They neglect their sales and use tax obligations only to be hit with an unexpected bill from the government at the end of the fiscal year. As Richard says, sales and use tax regulations can be an intricate maze of complexity. He and Shawn stress the critical need for small business to prepare for state sales and use taxes. They answer questions about taxes and issues that arise, including the importance of knowing what is required of small business owners who sell their products across state lines. Richard played football at Cameron University in Lawton, Oklahoma, where he earned his bachelor and master’s degrees in business administration. His accomplishments since then include executive leadership training at Southern Methodist University’s Edwin L. Cox School of Business and the Dartmouth College Tuck School of Business. At State Tax Group, the mission is to serve as trusted advisors who strive to change and improve the business climate.

The Power Duo of Lin O'Neil and R. Shawn McBride discuss local services that help small business grow. Entrepreneurs will find advocacy and advice as Lin O’Neill and R. Shawn McBride discuss local services that help small businesses grow. When Shawn and Lin team up, they draw on their years of experience as well as their connections that help small business owners. Lin is founder and president of Futures Consulting with expertise in the development and implementation of strategic plans for businesses of all sizes and revenue levels. For small business owners who are or can be in Dallas, she recommends three programs. Lin suggests fledgling entrepreneurs start with a program offered by the Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. The program – ScaleUp – is a new small-business accelerator program funded by the Small Business Administration.   The deliverable is a business plan. The second recommendation is the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program. Lin suggests entrepreneurs try this program after the ScaleUp program because the requirements are more stringent. The deliverable is a strategic growth plan. The third recommendation is the SBA's Emerging Leaders program. This federal program focuses on executives of businesses poised for growth in historically challenged communities. The deliverable is a growth plan that helps the businesses gain funding, and Lin says it allows for fine-tuning for the plan developed in the Goldman Sachs program. Shawn and Lin have the first-hand experience with these programs. He is a Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses graduate. She is on the faculty of all three programs. Lin is a former vice president for Inflight Service for Continental Airlines. That, along with her time in human resources and other experiences, allows her to help empower individuals, teams, and organizations. Her first book is The Simple Series, Managing High-Maintenance Employees. She has two books scheduled for publication.