Ep. 117 – The Business Power Pitch Deconstructed: Part 1 – The Problem

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SIB-Blog-1Great business pitches don’t happen by accident. They are the result of an intentional process combining an awareness of the market with the audience-captivating insights of a true storyteller. The best foundation for a powerful pitch is to start by establishing “the problem.” It’s that un-met need, nagging anxiety or obvious gap in the market that your business will solve.

In this episode, host and business coach Tom Ryan explains what “the problem” is, how it works, and why it’s so important to creating a strong pitch. As always, Tom is joined by co-host and producer Jason Pyles. Continue reading →

Getting Started With Professionalization, Part 4: Professionalization As A Thanksgiving Meal

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Image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/inafrenzy/

Image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/inafrenzy/

“How do you create a professionalization process?” That’s one of the biggest questions entrepreneurs have when they decide to professionalize their business. It’s one thing to have a general idea where a business process needs to end up, but another thing entirely to intuitively understand the steps for getting there. Not knowing those steps can be incredibly frustrating, making it even more challenging to get started.

Let’s break this idea down to its most basic concept: How do you create a process for anything? For instance, how do you create a process for making Thanksgiving dinner? Continue reading →

Ep. 116 – The Business Power Pitch Deconstructed: Part 0 – The Big Picture

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SIB-Blog-1Almost all early stage companies share a common struggle: Telling their story. It’s easier to talk about a product concept or a service idea than it is to create a compelling story about why the company’s efforts matter. Products and services may be at the core of the business, but it’s the company story — the pitch — that opens doors, wins customers and gains the attention of investors.

In this multi-part series, host and business coach Tom Ryan breaks down the “power pitch” every business needs into its basic elements. As always, Tom is joined by co-host and producer Jason Pyles. Continue reading →

Getting Started With Professionalization, Part 3: Production, Finance and HR

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IMG_2329The biggest benefit of a professionalized business process is that it delivers consistent results while allowing you to rapidly scale your ability to capitalize on those results. As I mentioned in part one, there are two general categories of professionalization: Generating revenue and managing expenses. I covered the revenue side of this equation in the previous post, so now it’s time to talk about managing expenses.

The most obvious place to start is with production. This also includes various kinds of product-related work, such as program management. It doesn’t matter what kind of product you’re producing, it’s really about what you’re delivering for the customer. The process for making that product — whatever kind of product it is — is what needs to be professionalized. Continue reading →

Ep. 115 – The Business Power Pitch Deconstructed – A 12-Part Series

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300x300new_resizedThanks to shows like Shark Tank, the art of pitching a business to investors has never been more popular. While having a strong business pitch is vital for a startup looking for financial capital, that’s barely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to understanding the importance of a great pitch. Any business or organization has something to gain from being able to tell their story in a concise, persuasive way.

Over the next few weeks, host and business coach Tom Ryan will be taking a deep dive into this hugely important topic. As always, Tom is joined by producer and co-host Jason Pyles. Continue reading →

Ep. 114 – How to Survive a Founders’ Breakup

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SIB-Blog-1Breaking up is never easy. When the breakup is between business founders, rather than romantic partners, things can become especially painful. When those founders are friends working on a handshake agreement, the failure can be catastrophic.

In today’s episode, host and business coach Tom Ryan shares the story his very first startup, which he co-founded with a friend. Learn how a few bad calls at the start resulted in a failed business and a friendship that nearly didn’t recover. Continue reading →

Getting Started With Professionalization, Part 2: Sales, Service and Marketing

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IMG_2329When people ask me about which process in their business they should professionalize first, I inevitably tell them to start with sales. In case you haven’t picked up on it yet, I’m a big believer in sales, and it’s no coincidence that I tend to give it the highest priority. A refined and professional sales process is an asset that will deliver great returns for your over and over again throughout the life of the business.

Why start with sales? Because it’s hard to uproot and replace an entrenched sales system — even one that doesn’t work very well — and every day you wait, the more difficult it becomes. If there’s one thing you want to get right as early as possible, it’s sales. Continue reading →

Ep. 113 – Paul Mazzola from Nivo Outdoor, Part 3

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Paul Mazzola

Paul Mazzola

One of the most valuable assets for any startup founder is having access to a diverse network of like-minded entrepreneurs. Nivo Outdoor founder Paul Mazzola knows this first hand, crediting much of his company’s recent success to lessons learned through the Kauffman Entrepreneur-In-Residence Program. After spending years as a glass artist, Paul is the first to admit that has some catching up to do when it comes to mastering the art of running a business.

In the final installment of this interview, host and business coach Tom Ryan talks with Paul about his entrepreneurial stumbling blocks, and what’s next for his company. As always, Tom is joined by producer and co-host Jason Pyles. Continue reading →

Ep. 112 – Paul Mazzola from Nivo Outdoor, Part 2

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Paul Mazzola

Paul Mazzola

Before he launched a new career as an entrepreneur, Nivo Outdoor founder Paul Mazzola spent the better part of a decade as a glass artist. As it turns out, many of the lessons he learned as a working artist would be surprisingly useful in his new job. From sticking with a core vision to becoming comfortable with sales, there’s a lot of overlap.

In part two of this interview, host and business coach Tom Ryan dives into the transition Paul made from artist to entrepreneur. As always, Tom is joined by producer and co-host Jason Pyles. Continue reading →

Getting Started With Professionalization, Part 1

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IMG_2329When a business doesn’t have professionalized processes in place, it’s obvious. Their performance is erratic and unpredictable. Instead of clearly organized methods and practices for accomplishing their operations, they’re essentially throwing spaghetti noodles at the wall and seeing what, if anything sticks.

That’s not an efficient way to run a business. By replacing that haphazard approach with a proven, reliable and scalable set of practices, those processes perform more consistently. In other words, it becomes “professionalized.” Every business has processes that benefit from being professionalized, from production to HR, and from finance to sales. Continue reading →