Business Discussions

  When helping others is the inspiration for starting a business, the motivation to succeed is huge. Not only are these entrepreneurs in business for themselves, they're also In It for Good. In this series we'll meet social entrepreneurs, non-profit leaders and global thinkers who are working to make the world a better place.  Names: Emily Núñez Cavness and Betsy Núñez Business: Sword & Plough, a for-profit social enterprise Launched: January 2012 Location: Denver, CO What they do: Sword & Plough is a veteran-owned, social impact fashion brand that works with American manufacturers that are veteran-owned or employ veterans. They incorporate repurposed military surplus into bag and jewelry designs, and they donate 10% of profits to veteran organizations. The impact they’re making: Since 2012, Sword & Plough has helped support more than 65 veteran jobs. They are also reducing waste and minimizing their carbon footprint by reusing tens of thousands of po

    What is the best part of working for yourself? And what’s the hardest part? Identifying the challenges and the wins of owning your own business keeps it real and allows you to find a reasonable balance of ups and downs. Entrepreneurs in the QB Community UK share their favorite and least favorite aspects of going solo. Name: Michael Gratz QB Community member name: @mgratz Business: Prairie Fire BBQ    Location: London, UK Launched: 2013   Originally from Kansas City, USA, Michael Gratz found himself disenchanted with his job as a banker. When he and his wife moved to London in 2012, Michael found the city lacking in American-style barbecue. Add that to Michael’s love of cooking, and a delicious idea was born. Today he and business partner, Eric Rosenberg, operate pop-up restaurants, trade at street food markets and create a retail line of sauces and rubs - all in the traditional Kansas City-style.   Worst Part: “It’s very challenging shouldering all

Name: Meaghan Brophy QB Community name: @meaghanbrophy Business: Editorial director of Independent Retailer magazine Located: Bethel, CT with nationwide readership Year founded: 1988 As we join the celebration of July’s National Independent Retailers Month, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to speak with Meaghan Brophy, the editor of Independent Retailer (IR) magazine. Meaghan keeps indie retailers in the know about current market and demographic trends. She understands what matters to them because she’s often out and about on Main Street, U.S.A. talking to small store owners about their struggles and their wins. Today, Meaghan was the interviewee, not the interviewer, and we chatted about the current outlook for indie retailers (spoiler alert: it’s pretty good!) and why it’s important to support your local businesses. Hi Meaghan! What is the Independent Retailer and what do you do there? Hi! We’re a monthly magazine and a resource for independent retailers of all kinds. We c

Monday, July 16, is Amazon Prime Day - an annual 24-hour sales event for customers of the world's largest online retailer. Yet many small business owners are rising to the challenge posed by Amazon's brave new free-shipping world by finding new and creative ways to appeal to their customers. What's your secret sauce for wooing shoppers who may choose Amazon for some purchases but keep coming back to your for that special thing you make or sell? How do you ensure that your customer experience stands out from the rest?   Want to weigh in but not yet a QB Community member? Click HERE to sign up in a flash!

Nearly 90% of consumers prefer brands they view as authentic, and just over half say they are more likely to recommend those companies to friends, according to new research. But what exactly does it mean for a business to be authentic? How do you "keep it real" with customers, clients, and potential investors?   Want to weigh in but not yet a QB Community member? Click HERE to sign up in a flash!

  When did you know that working for yourself was going to, well, work? What made you feel legit enough to say, “I own my own business”? Maybe it was your first customer (who wasn’t your mom!), or a check made out to your business name. Or perhaps you’re still wondering if your endeavor will succeed. In this series we’re asking entrepreneurs, “How did you know when your business was Really for Real?”   Entrepreneur: Jessica Quinn Business: Live Love North Launched: 2015 Location: British Columbia   Jessica Quinn didn’t mean to start a clothing business, but the trees, lakes and mountains near her home in British Columbia were too beautiful to not celebrate on a t-shirt. Jessica’s background in marketing helped her business plan come together. She drew some designs, taught herself how to screen print and bravely took her adorable onesies and tees out into the world to test the market. Before she knew it ...   “I saw some of the enthusiastic and supportive comments

  Knowing you’ll face both immense challenges and huge rewards as a business owner can help you stay positive, confident and grounded. That’s why we’re sharing some of your favorite and most dreaded aspects of working for yourself. Welcome to Worst Part/Best Part! Entrepreneur: Monique Greenwood @AkwaabaInns Business: Akwaaba Bed & Breakfast Inns Started: 1995 Locations: Brooklyn, NY; Washington D.C.; Cape May, NJ; The Poconos, PA   You might recognize Monique Greenwood from her reality show Checked Inn on the Oprah Network, or her name might sound familiar because she was the editor-in-chief of Essence once upon time. But once you hear her story of building a bed and breakfast empire from renovated old mansions, you’ll never forget her insights on life, family and legacy. Monique shares with us the struggles and the joys she’s experienced as a successful businesswoman.   The Worst Part: “If you're a business owner, what you really are is a problem solver. My bigge

  As temperatures rise, so do opportunities for creative, summer-themed marketing. There are so many fun ways to celebrate the season while also bringing in the cash. Here are some ideas that can help heat up your summer sales. 1. Celebrate National Independent Retailers Month. July is all about #INDIERETAIL. Team up with other small retailers and cross-promote your businesses, or throw a block party with the other shops on your street. Who doesn’t love a party? 2. Tie your pricing to the temperature. When the mercury hits 90 degrees or above, offer customers 90-cent ice creams or give them 10% off their total purchase. 3. Put your logo in their face. Print your business name and logo on paper fans and hand them out at concerts in the park, farmers markets, the beach or anywhere else the public gathers on a hot day. 4. Host a weenie roast. Set up a grill outside your storefront and let the smell of sizzling hot dogs attract people to your business. 5. Take them out to the bal

  When did you know that working for yourself was going to, well, work? What made you feel legit enough to say, “I own my own business”? Maybe it was your first customer (who wasn’t your mom!) or a check made out to your business name. Or perhaps you’re still wondering if your endeavor will succeed. In this series we’re asking entrepreneurs, “How did you know when your business was Really for Real?” Entrepreneur: Jennifer Creighton Business: Function Pottery Launched: 2014 Location: Ohio   With her functional pottery selling in 28 stores throughout the U.S. and her Etsy sales currently approaching 3000, Jennifer Creighton can safely consider her business to be a success. She fell in love with pottery making while taking a class in college and continued to study the art form after graduating. After deciding to turn her passion into a full-time gig, Jennifer knew it was working when ...    “I got on Etsy and saw that people who didn't know me or hadn't met me chose

  When I read recently that the average person is more afraid of speaking in public than of death, I thought, yup, I get it. Technically, I don’t suffer from “glossophobia,” but that doesn’t mean I haven’t experienced the stomach-clenching, palm-sweating, heart-thudding moments when it’s my turn to talk in front of a crowd of any size. Over the years, I’ve noticed this unpleasant somatic experience intensifies when the audience is dominated by men.   I know I’m not the only female entrepreneur who has felt heightened anxiety when presenting to a room full of men (a pretty common scenario, especially during the hunt for financial backing). Yet it’s critically important for women to be able to confidently pitch their business to everyone from customers and clients to potential partners and investors. That’s why I asked business coach and public-speaking pro, Julie Gordon White, to weigh in. What tips does she have for women entrepreneurs when it comes to public speaking – part

  When you’re bringing a brand new business to life, flexibility is crucial. Things don’t always go according to plan, so entrepreneurs have to think on their feet, come up with new strategies and, sometimes, take their venture in an unexpected direction. In this series, The Startup Snag, we’re learning from established business owners who hit a snag early on and figured out how to solve the problem. We also find out how they’re doing today.   Entrepreneur: Elisabeth Young Business: ElisaAnne Calligraphy Started: 2016 Location: Atlanta, GA   The startup snag: A self-described introvert, Elisabeth was excited to quit the corporate job she never liked in the first place and start working from home in the company of her beloved pets. To her great surprise, Elisabeth quickly found herself on an emotional rollercoaster.   “I had a really bad bout with anxiety and depression about halfway through my first year of business because I was shouldering so much responsibility

Name: Monique Greenwood QB Community member name: AkwaabaInns Business: Akwaaba Bed & Breakfast Inns Locations: Brooklyn, NY; Washington D.C.; Cape May, NJ; The Poconos, PA Launched: 1995   Monique Greenwood is a mighty force. The owner of four Bed and Breakfast Inns, book author, former Editor-in-Chief of Essence, and now, reality television star, she is setting a powerful example of what it means to be a successful Black woman in business. We spoke with Monique about why she started her hospitality empire and why seeing Black people in beautiful places is important to her. Monique shares about how she dealt with Hurricane Katrina throwing her for a loop and, with Black-woman owned business up 605% in the last ten years, why she believes sisters are doing it for themselves. Monique, you and your husband, Glenn Pogue, own four gorgeous inns on the East Coast, opened one-by-one over a span of many years. How did you first know that the hospitality world was your calling? It's

Atychiphobia is, clinically speaking, the "irrational and persistent fear of failure." I don't know what the fancy Greek word is for "fear of making a massive, egregious, and unforgivable spelling error that I don't catch for ages," but trust me I am a sufferer.  Irrational? I'd like to think so. Persistent? Don't ask.   We all have some niggling professional fears (public speaking, anyone?) that maybe don't rank up there with "the phobias" but still manage to take up an uncomfortable amount of brainspace. What are yours? No judgment!!

  Not long ago, I needed to give a toast for a friend’s birthday. In preparation, I jotted down a few notes and then tucked the piece of paper into my purse. When toast-time arrived, I realized my purse was on the opposite side of the room. I panicked. As I stood up, my throat constricted, and my palms got cold and clammy. I managed to choke out a few jumbled words, but I could barely hear myself speak over the mighty thump, thump, thump of my racing heart.   Afterward, I was so mad at myself! On this special occasion for a dear friend, I’d been unprepared, nervous, inarticulate and probably inaudible to boot (okay, that might have been a good thing). I swore I’d never again mess up a public speaking moment. To help me avoid future humiliation, I turned to an oratory pro, business coach Julie Gordon White.   Julie, a TEDx Talk presenter who has spoken countless times to audiences as small as one and as terrifying as 800, gave me five key strategies for not bungling thi

One of my largest pet peeves is having a mess or clutter. It throws off my energy and seriously distracts me! In the accounting profession, documentation and work papers are obviously of the utmost importance. The problem is all those paper files grow and grow and grow!! Eventually they take up more desk space, more file cabinets are required, and more copy paper & printer ink is used. I view it as a complete waste of resources on top of a personal aggravation!   Many of the people I work with use old school methods. This is how they conduct business and prefer to operate and I have found it difficult to convince clients to use/learn more software apps such as HubDoc. They are busy running their businesses and really do not want to modify how they operate to please their bookkeeper. What are some methods people have used to promote a digital workplace and client relationships??  Almost as important, does digital equate to more efficient??

    Sometimes great businesses start with a revelation: “Why work for someone else when I can do this exact same job - but on my own terms!” The bold entrepreneurs we’ll meet in Going Indie have all done just that -- quit their salaried positions to declare independence, starting up their own ventures in the same field.   Name: Lee Weinstein @lweins Business: Weinstein PR Founded: 2007 Location: Portland, Oregon   The Revelation: Lee recalls, “I’d been at Nike 15 years, I loved working there, loved the people. I was literally shaving one morning, I was coming up on my second sabbatical and I asked the guy in the mirror, ‘Do you want to be there 20 years?’ The guy in the mirror said, ‘Hell no!’ I was surprised that I felt that strongly about it. I didn’t know what I wanted to do if I left Nike and that led me to a whole process of what I was going to do next.”   The New Venture: Guided by his belief that, “We go along forgetting that our time here is limited

I once had a client - I'll call her Becky - who had a penchant for long, drawn-out phone calls and email exchanges that frequently got in the way of my doing actual work. I tried all sorts of mitigation strategies, but at a certain point it became clear that my income from her business was far outweighed by the opportunity cost of doing business with her. It was time to let her go.    Have you ever had to "fire" a client? What was the final straw, and how did you finesse the end of your business relationship?  QB Community Home          Talk About Your Business          Find Inspiration     

      Knowing nothing about producing chocolate didn’t stop former accountant Patricia Tsai from making it her escape route out of a life of corporate boredom. A decade of research into the confectionary arts + a very influential friendship later, and Patricia’s a leading industry expert with products that are changing the way Californians look at chocolate — for good.   We spoke to Patricia to find out how the long game worked in her favor, the challenges she’s faced while growing her brand and what she's hoping to learn next from *you* on the topic of networking.   Name: Patricia Tsai Business: ChocoVivo Started: October 2009   How did you create your awesome job? Like most college grads, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. I studied finance and accounting, so I fell into the corporate route because that’s what I thought I was supposed to do.  I got my CPA and took a job as an accountant with Kodak, but I soon wished ther

Are you constantly growing?  ( mentally)   Your mind is your most important asset, by far -- inspiration comes from many fountains, inc. the world of podcasting, where many thought leaders share their accumulated, or in progress, stories, states, & strategies!    Here's the Top 10 that SBSL & its founder, me ( SJ ) subscribe to & learn from often.    Feedback welcome -- what are yours?    And if you've not yet heard of any of these, thoughtful insights welcome on what you learned after doing so :)   https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id[removed]?mt=2 https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/rich-dad-radio-show-in-your-face-advice-on-investing/id833641766?mt=2 https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/school-sucks/id326517856?mt=2 https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-entreleadership-podcast/id435836905?l=es&mt=2 https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-go-giver-podcast/id[removed]?mt=2 https://itunes

About 2 mos. ago, I had the honor & was duty bound to share a series of slides with a livestream audience ( with about 2-3x more on replay ) - the topic? "The Roads Less Traveled ( Besides College )" In there, I spoke for a few mins about the '10+1' trends that I'm tracking as a part futurist, part early adopter ... ... why? Every single one of them ties in with my life's mission, purpose, & burning desire : at the intersection of entrepreneurship, education, free enterprise, & economics. Here are a handful of them - always glad to share more if the interest in this community is there! - Lifelong learning ( bite sized, non credentialized ) education - The Gig Economy - Blockchain & [ the 1000's of ] Cryptocurrencies

What on earth happened to June? This month has FLOWN by. July is nearly here, and summer’s long, warm days are lulling me into believing they’ll stick around forever. They won’t, of course, so now’s the time we’re all trying to get outside as much as possible (especially here in my home city of Seattle, although I’ve recently been spending my outdoor time power-washing winter moss off the deck). This last month in the QuickBooks Community we highlighted a lot of outdoors-based small businesses and explored the quickly growing outdoors recreation industry. (We even wrote some of it while sitting outside, so we could be totally authentic!) Here’s a roundup of all the great people we met and things we learned during June’s “outdoorsy” month. Check it out and then tell us: what are you doing outside this summer? We met plenty of folks who turned their passion for outdoor adventure into paying jobs. From biking to hiking, offroading to boating, these active entrepreneurs make s

  Name: Matthew Jensen Business: The Electric Boat Company Location: Seattle, WA Launched: 2005 Before Matthew Jensen came aboard his family’s electric-boat rental company, he was busy in San Francisco working in mergers and acquisitions and starting up a few businesses of his own. A year ago he returned to Seattle to help with the management and logistics of The Electric Boat Company, a thriving business that lets customers toodle around Lake Union with a boatload of friends, their family or with business colleagues. We spoke with Matthew about how he confronts the challenges of operating a seasonal business and how The Electric Boat Company has scaled to keep the operation afloat for nearly 14 years. Matthew, what made you decide to come back to Seattle and focus your career on the family business? I worked as a management consultant for Ernst and Young for about five years. My goal was to get enough experience learning from other businesses to become a successful entrepreneur

Your friends and family are 100% on your side - but the way they express their care and support can vary widely. One thing I've learned? Not everyone shares the same cost-benefit analysis when it comes to self-employment. (That may explain why reactions to my news ranged from "That's totally awesome!!" to "Are you sure you wouldn't prefer a little more...job security?")   When did you tell family and friends you were ready to go into business for yourself, and what was their reaction? How did you go about making the Big Announcement?

      Last week, my employee of one-month flaked out for the fourth time. It was the last straw. I gladly said sayonara (who needs that kind of “help”?), but it meant my whole week got really stressful. I was down a person, but I had to keep up with the regular work pace while also trying to find and interview a replacement.   Fortunately, two days later, I found someone amazing. So amazing, in fact, that ultimately I’m glad I went through all the unexpected stress and added craziness because the new situation is so much better!   Does any part of this scenario sound familiar? If it does, please tell us:   Have you had an unexpected pitfall in your business (or your life!) that turned into a better opportunity in the end?   (As so many entrepreneurs know, sometimes a pitfall -- like getting laid off -- leads to a life-changing decision to go it on their own. Here are some stories about why some of our community members made a professional “piv

  When did you know that working for yourself was going to, well, work? What made you feel legit enough to say, “I own my own business”? Maybe it was your first customer (who wasn’t your mom!), or a check made out to your business name. Or perhaps you’re still wondering if your endeavor will succeed. In this series we’re asking entrepreneurs, “How did you know when your business was Really for Real?” Entrepreneur: Pascal Depuhl @photosbydepuhl Business: Photography by Depuhl Launched: 2004 Location: Miami, Florida   Today, there’s no question of whether Pascal Depuhl’s photography business is a success, but way back before his client list included the likes of National Geographic, BBC, Netflix and Macy’s, he was just a guy who thought maybe he could do this thing he loved for a living.   So he made a website, put some of his photos on the internet and before he knew it...   “I got an unsolicited email from a company that provided a retouching service to photograp