Tag Archives: tom ryan

Ep. 228 – 12 Questions Every Investment Pitch Deck Must Answer – Part 1 of 4

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SIBP-Blog-NEW-4 Welcome to Episode 228 of the Success in Business Podcast where your host Tom Ryan and producer Jason Pyles are getting the band back together with a great discussion on preparing to answer questions from investors! There are 12 questions every investment pitch deck must answer. We’ll break this into 4 parts. Today, in part one, we cover the first three questions:

1. What’s the big thing that you do for your customers? Meaning, what is your impact on the world and do your company’s name and tagline communicate it clearly? Here’s a great terrible example of a completely imaginary company right off the top of Jason’s head: “HydraDex – Because you shouldn’t have to.” What does this mean to you? It probably means nothing! Be sure to keep right on the forefront what you do for your customers.

2. What’s not easy for your customers to do today that you can fix? This is where you tell what you can do to improve the current market conditions.

3. How will you make your customers’ lives better? And, this is where you tell HOW.

Thanks for listening!

Tweet Tom at: @TomRyanAVL

Do you have a question about your business? Tom would love to help you:

Leave a voicemail: (801) 228-0663

E-mail your questions: SuccessInBusinessPodcast@gmail.com

Like this podcast on Facebook

Follow this podcast on Twitter: @TomRyanSIBP

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Ep. 225 – Keeping Up With Your Company’s Growth With Levi Morehouse

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SIBP-Blog-NEW-4 Welcome to Episode 225 of the Success in Business Podcast, your host Tom Ryan and producer Jason Pyles pick up where they left off with part 3 of 3 of their conversation with guest Levi Morehouse founder and CEO of Ceterus. Ceterus an Inc. 5,000 Fastest Growing Company. You build your business. They’ll do your books.

Levi shares how he has turned his bookkeeping company into an incredible business consultant service, too because they can advice their clients so well, knowing their industry and market on a deeper level. When they acquire and begin to specialize in a new niche it takes a little bit of time for Ceterus to ramp up and that is how they can truly claim that they are proficient in that space. When the customers are really engaged, the process can be accelerated. Smart operators in that business can provide insights into the true drivers of the business and the financial markers that matter.

Ceterus has found a few niches in working with quick service and full service restaurants; health, wellness and beauty franchises like Massage Envy. They choose to stick strictly to their niches so they can only offer services that are truly the best services available.

46% of small business failure is due to are due to mismanaged book keeping or not understanding financial reporting. The biggest mistake that business owners make is that they do not have a current understanding of their financial health.

Thanks for listening!

You can hear more from Roy Morejon by checking out his podcast:The Art of the Kickstart.

Tweet Tom at: @TomRyanAVL

Do you have a question about your business? Tom would love to help you:

Leave a voicemail: (801) 228-0663

E-mail your questions: SuccessInBusinessPodcast@gmail.com

Like this podcast on Facebook

Follow this podcast on Twitter: @TomRyanSIBP

Get every episode free: Subscribe in iTunes

Ep. 221 – Maintaining a Strong Company Culture With Jason Diediker of Business Promotion

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Welcome to Episode 221 of the Success in Business Podcast. In this two-part show, your host Tom Ryan is joined by producer Jason Pyles and the general manager of the producer’s day job, Jason Diediker of Business Promotion, an Inc. 5000 digital marketing company.

In this episode, Jason D. provides a brief history of Business Promotion, which launched during the precarious economy of 2008. Jason explains his background in business and his climb up through the ranks at Business Promotion. Tom asks Jason to describe how his company weathered the storm of the Recession during BP’s early years as a brand new startup. Jason also explains how running his own business has informed his role as the general manager of Business Promotion. Tom asks Jason to discuss some of the more challenging aspects of his day-to-day duties and striking the balance between the company’s “promise-makers” (Sales) and its “promise-keepers” (Fulfillment). You can hear part 2 of this interview next week. Thanks for listening!

Watch the Business Promotion intro video. Continue reading →

Ep. 219 – Startup Secret Weapon: See Risk Like an Investor Part 2

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Welcome to Episode 219 of the Success in Business Podcast, your host Tom Ryan is joined by producer Jason Pyles. This episode is Part 2 of 3, where Tom shares his StartUp Secret Weapon: Approaching Risk Like An Investor.

There are four major risk categories that every entrepreneur needs to understand and to be able to reduce in order to be successful.

1) Team Risk
2) Product Risk
3) Market Risk
4) Execution Risk

Today Tom will be talking to us about Team Risk. The notion that people invest in people is never more appropriate than Continue reading →

Ep. 215 – Equity Crowdfunding in North Carolina

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SIBP-Blog-NEW-1 Welcome to the Success in Business Podcast with your host Tom Ryan. Today in Episode 215 Tom is rejoined by producer Jason Pyles and guest Leo John, Legal Specialist with the North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State Securities Division.

There is no way around it: fundraising is essential to success in business. Leo John is back today to help us understand how Equity Crowd Funding compares to other types of fundraising. Have you ever wondered what the difference is between equity-based crowdfunding and other types of crowdfunding, like Kickstarter? Or, have you ever wondered how the funding caps might affect your fundraising goals? There are distinctions between federal and North Carolina crowdfunding regulations.

Learn more about Investor Protection and Education at the North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State. You can reach Leo John by emailing him at ljohn(AT)sosnc(DOT)gov or by phone at 919.807.2249. Thanks for listening and we’ll be back next Monday with another great episode full of business expertise!

Continue reading →

Ep. 214 – What You Need to Know About Equity Crowdfunding With Guest Leo John

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SIBP-Blog-NEW-1 Welcome to the Success in Business Podcast with your host Tom Ryan. Today in Episode 214 Tom is joined by producer Jason Pyles and guest Leo John, Legal Specialist with the North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State Securities Division.

There is no way around it: fundraising is essential to success in business. Leo John is here today to help us understand how Equity Crowd Funding compares to other types of fundraising.

Learn more about Investor Protection and Education at the North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State. You can reach Leo John by emailing him at ljohn(AT)sosnc(DOT)gov or by phone at 919.807.2249. Thanks for listening and we’ll be back next Monday with another great episode full of business expertise!

Continue reading →

Ep. 212 – The Secrets to a Successful Kickstarter Campaign, Part 2

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SIBP-Blog-NEW-1 Kickstarter campaigns can be very successful if they are done right! Today in episode 212 your host and business coach Tom Ryan discusses with Jason Pyles the most critical element which is a kick-ass video. A video is a medium to tell a story, so the first step in creating a great video is create a great story. Tell a compelling story well and explain it in a simple way. It has to address a believable problem that exists today, not tomorrow. And of course, make sure your video has a high production quality.

Check out an example of a great kickstarter video here.

Thanks for listening!

Links for Today’s Episode:

Kickstarter Rules

Kickstarter Success

Kickstarter Projects

Continue reading →

Ep. 207 – How Employee Equity Can Be Taken Away or Exchanged

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SIBP-Blog-NEW-5Tom is dutifully soldiering on teaching us about employee equity. Today’s podcast, Episode 207, centers on how employee equity can be taken away or exchanged. Business coach Tom Ryan, as always, is joined by co-host and producer, the one and only, Jason Pyles. After announcing Tom’s new clothing line “Jack Squat,” the two dive into the topic of employee equity. Continue reading →

Ep. 178 – Seed Funding 101: Common Methods

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SIBP-Blog-NEW-1Raising money is a roadblock most early stage companies will encounter sooner or later. It can be a confusing topic, with a wide variety of competing models and expert opinions muddying the waters. To understand how fundraising works — particularly the “seed stage” funding that’s relevant to most startups — we need to get back to basics.

In today’s episode, host and business coach Tom Ryan outlines the fundamental stages of fundraising, discussing what they mean in purely practical terms for first-time entrepreneurs. Tom is joined by producer and co-host Jason Pyles. Continue reading →

Ep. 177 – Seed Funding 101: Overview

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SIBP-Blog-NEW-5When you work with a wide variety of startups and early stage companies, it’s not the differences in business models or industries that stand out most. What stands out most are the similarities. As they grow, every business goes through roughly the same stages of development. No place is this phenomenon more evident than when it comes to fundraising.

In today’s episode, host and business coach Tom Ryan launches a new series discussing the fundamentals of fundraising. As always, Tom is joined by co-host and producer Jason Pyles. Continue reading →