Ep. 018 – Top 10 Things to Consider Before Starting Your Business Part 3: Picking the Right Partners for the Right Reason

Good morning! Today on Episode 18 of the Success in Business Podcast your host Tom Ryan continues his 10-part series on things to consider before starting your business. Tom delivers realistic advice and expectations for your startup. The important thing to take away here is that we have to do our homework before partnering with, not only investors, but vendors and employees as well. Tom shares his tried and true test to know if someone would make a good partner. And lastly of all he reminds us to do business, not just play business. You’ll love it! Continue reading

Ep. 017 – Top 10 Things to Consider Before Starting Your Business Part 2: Build a Kick-Ass Team

Good morning! This morning on Episode 17 of the Success in Business Podcast your host Tom Ryan continues his 10-part series on things to consider before starting your business. Tom delivers realistic advice and expectations for your startup. As you are building your business surround yourself with people who can open doors! Share whatever resources you have to create symbiotic relationships. This is not an area where greed is good. Greed is fine when you are negotiating your valuation, but when building a kick-ass team make sure you are keeping and rewarding good talent around you. You’ll love it! Continue reading

Ep. 016: Top 10 Things to Consider Before Starting Your Business Part 1: Testing Your Startup Fit

Happy Monday! This morning on Episode 16 of the Success in Business Podcast your host Tom Ryan begins a 10-part series on things to consider before starting your business. Tom delivers realistic advice and expectations for your startup. He exposes the fallacy of owning your own business and being your own boss. There are other things to think about as well: the likelihood of having to go without a paycheck in the beginning and the risk of having your reputation on the line. Throughout this dose of reality Tom is optimistic about business ventures because he can help you be successful! You’ll love it! Continue reading

Ep. 15: Processes, Part 2

Happy Friday! This morning on Episode 15 of the Success in Business Podcast your host Tom Ryan adds even more great information to his answer to the listener question from Episode 14 regarding which processes to professionalize first. Tom explains that as far as Revenue is concerned, the processes that you want to professionalize in order of importance are: Sales, Customer Service and then Advertising. On the Expenses side of your business you should develop your Production first, then your Finances and your Human Resources. This is the most cost effective way to professionalize your company. You’ll love it! Continue reading

Ep. 013: How to Calculate Your Price Point, Part 2

Good morning! Today on Episode 13 of the Success in Business Podcast your host Tom Ryan gives the second half of his answer to the listener voicemail question about pricing your product. Given that Nikki is interested in the health food market, Tom references his work consulting health food companies, but this advice applies to any industry. Sinless Raw Foods, Lusty Monk Mustard and Chipotle are fantastic examples! Networking can be incredibly helpful. Tom also teaches us how to conduct market surveys and assess the conditions of the market you’re breaking into! Join us! Continue reading

Ep. 012: How to Calculate Your Price Point, Part 1

Good morning! Today on Episode 12 of the Success in Business Podcast your host Tom Ryan answers a listener question from Nikki. She’s asking about how to price her product. You may have struggled with the same dilemma. Tom teaches us how to determine our costs and assess our competition. There are many things to take into consideration to make sure that you properly place your product in the market. Tom shares a ton of information for entrepreneurs! Join us! Continue reading

Ep. 011: How to Design and Distribute Merchandise

Good morning! Today on Episode 11 of the Success in Business Podcast your host Tom Ryan and Jason start chatting about how to market t-shirts and it turns into a great lesson on making sure that your products truly appeal to your customers. Tom gives great advice for any entrepreneurs who are creating a product or developing their company brand. Tom sites examples from actual companies that he is consulting and how they ensured that they would be well-received by the market. The good news is that you can still retain your creative control and feel proud of your product. Join us! Continue reading

Ep. 010: Increase Your Customer Retention for a Membership Business

Good morning! Today on Episode 10 of the Success in Business Podcast your host Tom Ryan answers an entrepreneur question from Joel in Florida about retaining customers for his membership business. Tom teaches us that membership renewal efforts should really start on day 1. Tom gives Joel some amazing ideas for how to increase the ROI for his customers. Join us! Continue reading

Ep. 009: Getting Employees to Catch Your Vision for the Company

Good morning! Today on Episode 9 of the Success in Business Podcast your host Tom Ryan answers a listener question from Karl about transferring your vision to your employees. As a business owner, one of our most challenging tasks is assembling a team of talented, innovative and trustworthy people. The next step of this process is to get your employees involved in the discussion when creating company goals, and overall, the company culture. Join us! Continue reading

Ep. 008: How to Attract Investors

Good morning! Today on Episode 8 of the Success in Business Podcast your host Tom Ryan discusses the steps you’ll need to take in order to make your company attractive to investors. As an entrepreneur and investor himself, he knows exactly what investors are looking for. What are the core competencies that you should be able to demonstrate? Most importantly, Tom reminds us how critical it is to have repeatable, scaleable systems in place! Join us! Continue reading