The prospect who said no might have said not now. Lisa Raebel from Rebel Girl Revenue on the revenue sitting right under your feet: the follow-up call that asks "did you solve the problem?" instead of "wanna buy my thing?", and the upsell your existing customers don't know to ask for.

A Businessing Extra from this week's episode, What I'd Tell Myself on My First Day in Business. The full show is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lyv4TO24NFI

Lisa Raebel, Rebel Girl Revenue: https://rebelgirlrevenue.com
Lisa's podcast, Pitch 2 Purchase: https://rebelgirlrevenue.com/podcast/

Businessing is the weekly show where small business owners figure out what to do next. New episode every Monday morning. Hosted by Pat Miller, founder of the Small Business Owners Community. The Small Business Owners Community is where small business owners get help from other owners: every week, a room full of owners works your problem with you. Owners only, nobody pitching, $19 a month. Any member can bring any business owner to one Idea Slam as their guest: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com/idea-slam/

If you like to eat, you have to like to sell. That's the first thing I'd tell myself on my first day as a business owner, and there are six more. This week on Businessing: what I'd say to day-one me after eight years of running my own business. Then Lisa Raebel from Rebel Girl Revenue on planning your revenue without just hoping: where to find your own trends, what to do when you have no history yet, the two questions to ask every client, and how often to check the plan. And one more thing: my to-do list turned into a to-done list, and I'm not sure I like it.

Businessing is the weekly show where small business owners figure out what to do next. New episode every Monday morning. Hosted by Pat Miller, founder of the Small Business Owners Community. The Small Business Owners Community is where small business owners get help from other owners: every week, a room full of owners works your problem with you. Owners only, nobody pitching, $19 a month. Any member can bring any business owner to one Idea Slam as their guest: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com/idea-slam/

In this episode:
00:00 - Everybody quits (and that's fine)
00:16 - Welcome to Businessing
01:18 - The Big Story: a talk with day-one me
02:17 - Number 1: If you like to eat, you have to like to sell
03:39 - Number 2: Revenue first, network second
05:07 - Number 3: Be disciplined with your money
06:27 - Number 4: You can quit, but never give up
08:00 - Number 5: Take email off your phone
10:25 - Number 6: You're responsible for all of it now
11:52 - Number 7: The risk comes with freedom like nothing else
14:28 - The point: build a great life
14:45 - The Guest: Lisa Raebel on planning your revenue without just hoping
17:14 - Forecast from your own history (12, 24, 36 months)
22:31 - The two questions to ask every client
23:50 - A no might have been a not now
25:35 - Did you solve the problem yet? (the follow-up call)
28:39 - Review monthly, adjust quarterly
30:03 - A minimum goal and a big hairy goal
31:29 - One More Thing: my to-do list became a to-done list
36:13 - That's the show

Resources mentioned:
Be Your Future Self Now, by Dr. Benjamin Hardy
Lisa Raebel, Rebel Girl Revenue: https://rebelgirlrevenue.com
Lisa's podcast, Pitch 2 Purchase: https://rebelgirlrevenue.com/podcast/
Todoist, the to-do list Pat has used for a decade: https://todoist.com

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BusinessingShow?sub_confirmation=1
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109
Listen anywhere: https://businessing.captivate.fm/listen
Fridays Off Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com
Small Business Owners Community: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com
Your AI should know what we know. Add The Small Business Library to your AI tool: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com/library

You practice a talk chapter by chapter, bridge line by bridge line. On stage, none of that is there. Here's what blacking out on the red dot taught me about being prepared enough to dance.

A Businessing Extra from this week's episode, What I Learned From Doing My TEDx Talk. The full show is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_c-hnjpvLsE

Businessing is the weekly show where small business owners figure out what to do next. New episode every Monday morning. Join the community at smallbusinesscommunity.com

If my AI makes a mistake, who pays for it? I asked my insurance agent, Tom Gaumond from G2 Insurance. Short answer: don't count on your general liability policy. It's a professional liability question, and a cyber question, and the insurance industry is still catching up.

A Businessing Extra from this week's episode, What I Learned From Doing My TEDx Talk. The full show is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_c-hnjpvLsE

Businessing is the weekly show where small business owners figure out what to do next. New episode every Monday morning. Join the community at smallbusinesscommunity.com

Resources mentioned: G2 Insurance Services: g2ins.com

I almost impaled a guy in the front row at my TEDx talk, and somebody's alarm went off during my big finish. Here are the eight things my second TEDx taught me, for anyone with a TEDx talk coming up, or any big presentation: the pitch, the sales call, the chamber intro.

This week on Businessing: what TEDx taught me (again). Plus Tom Gaumond from G2 Insurance on the question every owner using AI should be asking: if my AI makes a mistake, who pays? And one more thing on grace and engineering, the re-entry plan for the day after your big thing.

Businessing is the weekly show where small business owners figure out what to do next. New episode every Monday morning.

Join the Small Business Owners Community: smallbusinesscommunity.com

In this episode:
00:00 - The card that almost impaled someone
00:24 - Welcome to the new Businessing
01:48 - The Big Story: what my second TEDx taught me
02:43 - Lesson 1: honor the moment
03:52 - Lesson 2: you choose how you experience it
05:34 - Lesson 3: say something that matters
07:14 - Lesson 4: practice, then edit
08:19 - Lesson 5: talk to one person (and skip the slides)
12:32 - Lesson 6: slow down
13:23 - Lesson 7: expect the unexpected (the emcee, the card, the alarm)
19:02 - Lesson 8: you're going to be nervous, because you care
21:47 - The Guest: Tom Gaumond on AI and your insurance
23:10 - Why AI liability isn't general liability
29:13 - The $2.3 million AI screening settlement
32:10 - The 90-day renewal notice, and the one question to ask your agent
33:51 - One More Thing: grace and engineering
41:49 - That's the show

Resources mentioned:
G2 Insurance Services: g2ins.com
The 2024 SafeRent Solutions tenant-screening settlement ($2.3 million)

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_c-hnjpvLsE
Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@BusinessingShow?sub_confirmation=1
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109
Listen anywhere: https://businessing.captivate.fm/listen
Fridays Off Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com
Small Business Owners Community: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com
Your AI should know what we know. Add The Small Business Library to your AI tool: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com/library

#SmallBusiness #Entrepreneurship #PatMiller #TEDx #PublicSpeaking #AIInsurance

Getting booked on more stages starts with the one thing almost nobody does, which is asking. Pat runs a conference, so he sits on the other side of that inbox, and today he walks through what makes him say yes to a speaker and what gets the email deleted. Point of view, the takeaway for the audience, video of you speaking, references from other organizers, and a weekly system so the asking actually happens. Then the Idea Slam mailbag on what you should have stopped doing months ago, and the AI story of the day: Claude Opus 5.5 landed, and the new Projects changed how Pat works in a single afternoon.

Businessing is the weekly show where small business owners figure out what to do next. New episode every Monday morning. Hosted by Pat Miller, founder of the Small Business Owners Community. The Small Business Owners Community is where small business owners get help from other owners: every week, a room full of owners works your problem with you. Owners only, nobody pitching, $19 a month. Any member can bring any business owner to one Idea Slam as their guest: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com/idea-slam/

In this episode:

00:00 - Cold open and welcome

01:01 - Big story: how to get booked on more stages

02:08 - Nobody is going to chase you, so ask

03:20 - Have a point of view, not just a topic

04:34 - Tell the organizer what the audience walks away with

05:31 - Have video of you speaking

07:41 - References from other event organizers

08:24 - Systematize the ask and collect testimonials

11:39 - Idea Slam: what you should have stopped doing months ago

13:25 - Prune the rooms and events you go to

15:17 - AI story: Claude Opus 5.5 lands

17:15 - Claude Projects, live show and tell

24:45 - What is coming next in AI

26:36 - New members and this week in the community

28:24 - No show next week, back October 5th

Resources mentioned:

Talkadot - https://talkadot.com

Wispr Flow - https://wisprflow.ai

Claude - https://claude.ai

🎙️ Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BusinessingShow

🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109

🌐 Listen anywhere: https://businessing.captivate.fm/listen

📬 Fridays Off Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com

👥 Small Business Owners Community: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com

🤖 Your AI should know what we know. Add The Small Business Library to your AI tool: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com/library

#SmallBusiness #Entrepreneurship #PatMiller #PublicSpeaking #SpeakerMarketing #AIforSmallBusiness

They liked the whole thing right up until the number. Then came "I can't afford it," and the first instinct is to apologize for the price and start cutting. Don't. That sentence usually means one of two things, and there are two questions that tell you which one you're dealing with. Today: those two questions, five ways to save the deal without giving up your profit, and how to walk away clean when it really is a no. Plus the Idea Slam mailbag on following up after a prospect goes quiet, and the fight between Meta and Amazon over who owns the recommendation.

Businessing is the daily live show where small business owners figure out what to do next. Hosted by Pat Miller, founder of the Small Business Owners Community: owners only, nobody pitching, $9 a month.

In this episode:

00:00 - Open and what's on the show today

01:55 - Big Story - they just told you they can't afford it

02:46 - What "I can't afford it" actually means

03:27 - The two questions that tell you which problem you have

05:41 - Five ways to save the deal without cutting your price

09:28 - When to walk away from a client who can't pay

10:58 - Idea Slam - how many follow-ups before you look desperate

16:03 - AI story - Meta's Muse agent and Amazon blocking it

23:31 - Vegas, new members, and what's on this week in the SBOC

Resources mentioned:

Grab an Idea Slam spot: https://event.smallbusinesscommunity.com/idea-slam-pat-miller

🎙️ Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BusinessingShow?sub_confirmation=1

🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109

🌐 Listen anywhere: https://businessing.captivate.fm/listen

📬 Fridays Off Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com

👥 Small Business Owners Community: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com

🤖 Your AI should know what we know. Add The Small Business Library to your AI tool: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com/library

#SmallBusiness #Entrepreneurship #PatMiller #Sales #SalesObjections #Pricing

A small business conference is either worth the money or it isn't, and the answer shows up in the hallways, not the sessions. SBOC26 is in the books: about 125 owners, three days in Brookfield, and 45 first-timers who walked in nervous and walked out with a table full of people who knew their name. Here's what stuck with me, what the keynote did when he went off script, and the part you can steal whether you were in the room or not. Plus an Idea Slam on the question you're scared to ask, and an AI story about turning history class into short-form video.

Businessing is the weekly show where small business owners figure out what to do next. New episode every Monday morning. Hosted by Pat Miller, founder of the Small Business Owners Community. The Small Business Owners Community is where small business owners get help from other owners: every week, a room full of owners works your problem with you. Owners only, nobody pitching, $19 a month. Any member can bring any business owner to one Idea Slam as their guest: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com/idea-slam/

In this episode:

00:00 - Open, and what's on the show today

01:17 - Looking back at SBOC26

02:55 - What Mike Michalowicz did when he went off script

04:32 - Why the first-timer night is the one that matters

06:05 - The education lineup, from professional presence to AI

06:53 - Are we going to have a job in 12 months?

09:35 - The Friday VIP session with the Hug Sleep founder

11:18 - Idea Slam: should you ask the question that feels dumb?

14:25 - AI story of the day: turning history into short-form video

18:41 - The homework: make what you sell snackable

21:32 - New in the community, and what's on this week

Resources mentioned:

SBOC26 and next year's conference: https://event.smallbusinesscommunity.com/26conference

The Small Business Library, so your AI knows what we know: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com/library

Money Masters Bookkeeping: https://www.moneymasters4biz.com/

Athena Legal Solutions: https://athenalegalsolutionsllc.com/businessingwithpatmiller

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BusinessingShow?sub_confirmation=1

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109

Listen anywhere: https://businessing.captivate.fm/listen

Fridays Off Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com

Small Business Owners Community: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com

Your AI should know what we know. Add The Small Business Library to your AI tool: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com/library