May 19, 2025 • 22 mins
Hi, I'm Rushion McDonald, the host of the weekly Money Making Conversations Master Class show. This show provides interviews and information for everyone. It’s time to stop reading other people’s success stories and start living your own. Have you ever thought about starting a business? If so, why did – or didn’t – you do it?
Have you ever hired the wrong people and didn’t do a background check? Have you maybe even hired relatives because your family recommended them?
Have you ever hired someone just because they fit into your budget, but they didn’t have the knowledge to do the job correctly? What about starting a business without a budget or going into business with someone you didn’t really know?
Have I hit some nerves here? Maybe I haven’t and some of you think what I’m saying isn’t that big a deal. Well, I’m here to tell you that it is, and no one knows that better than me. How do I know this? Because I had to graduate from the “School of Hard Knocks” to get where I am today, and I almost lost my business in the process.
What I did not know was that Amazon has long known that businesses and organizations were shopping for office supplies and other goods in bulk on its store. To better serve us, the company launched Amazon Business in 2015. It’s your one-stop shop to simplify buying and you can create a free account today. Businesses and organizations of all sizes—local hair salons, schools, nonprofits, hospitals, global corporations, and government agencies—can open an Amazon Business account. The account is free, and there’s no spending minimum. I'm here to tell you that running a business takes up a lot of your time. You have orders to place, expenses to track, and people to manage. Sometimes it feels like there are never enough hours in the day. Basically, All I'm saying, is that we can all use some more hours in a day. That’s where Amazon Business comes in. They are truly a time saver, because they offer smart insights to help you make the most of the limited hours you have in a day. Listen up, Amazon Business Analytics is available with your Amazon Business account. It gives you visibility into your organization’s purchase
history, Amazon Business Analytics helps you identify opportunities to optimize spend and make better purchasing decisions. Improve visibility into spend Identify purchasing trends by tracking purchases made by individuals and groups within your organization. Optimize spending that uses reports to identify opportunities for
optimizing spend such as supplier consolidation, bulk purchasing, and tax-exemptions. It offers Easy reconciliation and the ability to compare order and payment history, invoices received, and payments made with the help of these reconciliation reports. Access to multiple reports can be valuable and you can choose from any one of the available reports such as orders, shipments, returns, refunds, and reconciliation to view and download the information you need. Now that's freeing up some of your time in your day, because Amazon Business handles the heavy lifting, so you can finally focus on growing your business instead of drowning in admin. Listen up from customized recommendations to real-time spend tracking and delivery options tailored to your schedule, they’ve got your back every step of the way. Why not spend less time sweating the small stuff and more time crushing your goals—or maybe even sneaking in some well-earned vacation time with your friends or family? The Amazon Business account is free, and there’s no spending minimum.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This episode is brought to you by Amazon Business. Hi
Rashean McDonald the host of the weekly Money Making Conversation
Masterclass show. This show provides interviews and information for everyone.
It's time to start reading other people's success stories and
start living your own. If you want to be a
guest on my show, Money Making Conversation Masterclass, then visit
(00:22):
my website Moneymakingconversations dot com. If you have a product,
your influencer, an entrepreneur, a small business owner, then you
want to click to be a guest button, fill out
your information, press submit.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
And that information will come directly to me and guess
what you be on to show me? How about that? Good?
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Now, let's get this show starting. Have you ever thought
about starting a business? If so, why did or didn't
you do it? Have you ever hired the wrong people
and didn't do a background check. Have you maybe even
hire a relative because you're your family recommended them, like
your mother, your mama? Have you ever hired someone just
(01:06):
because they fit into your budget but they didn't have
the knowledge or do the job correctly? Come on, now,
what about starting a business without a budget, of going
into business with someone you didn't really know?
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Have I hit a nerve here. Maybe I have.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
And some of you think what I'm saying isn't that
big of a deal. Think again, think twice on that. Now, well,
I'm here to tell you that it is. And one
no one knows that better than me. How did I
know this because I had to graduate from the dumb,
dumb school, that's right, school of hard knocks to get
where I am today. And I almost lost my business
(01:46):
in the process. Okay, let's go down memory lane. And
so it ain't good for me, but I'm trying to
help everybody out. It's the honesty, you know, raise the
hand in classroom time. In twenty fourteen, I created my
company called thirty eight to fifteen Media, Inc. A now
multi award winning marketing and branding production company in Atlanta, Georgia.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Weren't always like that now.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
I started my company as an idea and began hiring
people to fill their open positions. Were they the best
qualified people for the position? No, but I knew them.
I had long term relationships with them, and I believe
they could do certain things. That's the number one mistake
most business owners make. They hire people because they feel
(02:34):
comfortable with them, not because they're the best person to hire.
Best of all, I had no control or the worst
of all, I had no control of my admin, my
budget and not balance, and my revenue was none existent,
which means I hired people it didn't even have a
plan to make money. By the time twenty twenty three
(02:55):
year rolled around, the doors to my company were about
to close. I had to make some touch decisions. Yeah,
here I am today giving you advice on how not
to make the same mistakes that I did. How did
I manage to recover from this situation by recognizing where
I went wrong, correcting the issues that I had faced,
and most important, and figuring out what I wanted from
(03:17):
my company. I had to make hard choices. I had
to make hard decisions. I had to have a plan
in place. I had to have a budget. I had
to look at myself in the eyes, said Rashaan McDonald,
you are screwing up.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
Woof. That's why I'm doing this show so you won't
have to look in the mirror. Maybe you will.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
Maybe you're looking in that mirror right now. Maybe you are,
and maybe you should. Because it's honesty times. This show
about honesty. Now, now I'm here to share that lesson
that I've learned with you, my listening audience, they help
me do that. I partnered up with Amazon Business, a
platform launcher in twenty fifteen by Amazon who has spent
the past thirty years gathering critical insights that could benefit
(03:59):
your business and make you a more efficient decision maker.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Let me tell you here. Listen though.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
What I did not know is that Amazon has long
known that businesses and organization with shopping for office supplies
and other goods, and bulk on its store. To better
serve us, the company launch Amazon Business in twenty fifteen.
It's your one stop shop to simplify buying, and you
can create a free account today, right now, right now,
(04:25):
free account, right now. Businesses and organizations of all sizes,
local hair salon, schools, nonprofits, hospitals, global corporations, and government
agencies can open an Amazon Business account. The account is
free and there's no spending minimum. I'm here to tell
you that running the business takes a lot of your time.
You have artists to place, expenses to track, and people
(04:47):
to manage. Sometimes it feels like there are never enough
hours in that day, twenty four hours. I would tell
people that ain't enough time. For me sometime. Basically, all
I'm saying is that we can all use some more
hours in the day. That's where Amazon Business comes in.
They're truly a time saver because they offer smart insights
to help you make the most of the limited hours
(05:08):
you have in a day. Listen up, everybody. Amazon Business
Analytics is available with your Amazon Business account. It gives
you visibility into your organization's purchase history. Amazon Business Analytics
helps you identify opportunities to optimize spend and make better
purchasing decisions. That's all this is about. It's about spending
(05:31):
your money wisely, knowing how you're spending it, seeing the
history of spending your money. That's what Amazon Business brings
to the table. Improve visibility and to spend, identify purchasing
trends by tracking purchases made by individuals and groups within
your organization optimized spending their user's reports to identify opportunity
(05:52):
for optimizing spend, such as a supplier consolidation, both purchasing
and tax exemptions.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
It offers easy.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
Reconciliation and the abilities to compare order and payment history
invoices received and payments made. With the help of their
reconciliation reports. Access to multiple reports can be valuable, and
you can choose from any one of the available reports
such as orders, shipments, returns, refunds, and reconciliation to view
(06:21):
and download the information you need. Now, that's freeing up
some of your time and your day because Amazon Business
handles the heavy lifting, so you can finally focus on
growing your business instead of drowning in ad man listen up.
From customized recommendations to real time spend tracking and delivery
options tailored to your schedule. They've got your back every
(06:43):
step of the way. Why not spend less time sweating
the small stuff and more time crushing your goals? Is
about winning, That's what you show about helping you win,
or maybe even sneaking some well earned vacation time with
your friends or family. The Amazon Business account it's free
and there's no spending minimum.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
Do you have time for your business? I love it.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
People want to start a business, but to do they
have time? Or they have they set of time? Do
they understand what it takes to run a business? I
tell people this all the time. I wake up at
four thirty am. As soon as I said it word
four thirty am, they go ooh, hey, hey, hey, just
Monday through Friday. People always ask what are you doing
at four thirty a m. Well, first of all, I'm
(07:30):
waking up. And I tell everybody, everybody every time when
I wake up at four thirty, when that alarm clock
goes off, I'm not a happy camper. But you got
to have rules in place to win. At four thirty
that get up, I go stretch. Nowadays, I'm trying to
reduce stress in my life. I used to watch TV
(07:52):
and stretch at the same time, so now I don't
do it watch TV anymore.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
I just stretch for.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
It gives me a nice relax time thirty to forty
five minutes where I'm just stretching and just thinking about
things and just kind of like meditating. So I do that.
Then I get I read the newspaper. Then I start
my day. I go over to the office and I'm ready.
I'm all prepared and ready to go. And that's what
I have to tell people. You have to have a
(08:19):
starting time. Anybody who says, hey, I'm not a morning person,
or anybody who hits the snooze person or hits the
snooze butting that person right there is not trying to
be successful, not at all.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
I once gave a speech at the.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
Lenthonio Chamber of Commerce, which is right outside of Atlanta, Georgia.
They invited me to speak about how to be a
successful business owner. Now, when you talk about success, you
have to admit your mistakes. And here's one of them. Okay,
I got many, but here's one of them in particular
that I want to tell you about. In eineighteen ninety two,
that's when depth Comedy Jam was big on HBO. I
(08:55):
opened a comedy club in Houston, Texas. It was called
Hip Hop Comedy Stop. I had just done Death Comedy Jail.
Me and Dave Chapelle shared the same stage. I went
into business with somebody I didn't even know. Hear me
that I wanted into the business with somebody I didn't
even know. He was a stand up comic. I was
a stand up comic. We both liked telling jokes. It
(09:17):
made sense, right, so naturally we thought we'd be good
business partners. No background checks, nobody in contract. That's like
saying you love chicken. Your friend makes good chicken, so
let's open.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
The chicken business. It does not work like that. You're
trying to run a business.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
I didn't know my partner's habits, his work ethics, or
even if he knew how to run a business. But
the club became incredibly popular. We had lines out the door.
Tickets went on sale Monday and we were sold out
by Thursday.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
We were lucky.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
The club seated two hundred and fifty people and by
nine pm the room was packed.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
I could sure back then in ninety two.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
I'm sure I could have used a business la Amazon
Business back then, especially with their bulk buying feature. Just
dropping a little hint is before their time. But bare
I was doing a lot of bulk thing tarlet people, napkins, glasses, drinks, water.
I was doing a lot of bulk buying back then.
(10:17):
If you're doing that bulk buying, listen up. That's what
I'm talking about. This is what Amazon Business can bring
to the table. If you're seeking a business partner will
get a great name recognition. Amazon Business is open available
twenty four seven.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
Please don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with more
Money Making Conversations Masterclass. Welcome back to the Money Making
Conversations Masterclass, hosted by Rashaan McDonald. Money Making Conversations Masterclass
continues online at Moneymakingconversations dot com and follow money Making
(10:54):
Conversations Masterclass on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
Guys One time talk about making money versus managing money.
Despite the success, I made a lot of huge mistakes.
I already told you lines at the door. We were
raking it in. Guess what I forgot because I didn't
worry about accounting. I already told my ad men was
messed up. I didn't have a budget, didn't have a plan.
(11:19):
I ain't have none of that. Back then, I was worse.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
Back then. I forgot to pay taxes.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
Yeah, or I was not paying taxes like they asked
you to pay taxes because you have to pay taxes
on liquor. You have to pay taxes on the tickets
that people buy. The money you make isn't always yours.
It's now if you pay ten dollars your taxes on
some of that to somebody. I was just sending that
ten dollars that I was getting because I didn't have
(11:45):
a budget or understood business options.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
I was doing everything wrong.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
Now, entrepreneurs, listen up, because we know the fastest group
of entrepreneurs are women.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
Who were the.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
Fastest group and it's particularly black women who are launching
businesses smarter than I did. I'm telling you right now,
I was selling out my comedy club but couldn't pay myself.
I was basically working for free. Why Because I wasn't
organized and I didn't budget properly. Never never, never, never
knew to order supplies. Gimme never knew when order supplies again.
(12:25):
That's why I'm dropping that Amazon Business tip on you.
This is where Amazon Business can help you when you
are running a company.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
Sometimes you don't have time.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
To leave your office for items a center and employee
or a volunteer.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
If you're a nonprofit.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
A limited staff means you have limited time just as
you can limited time. A limited staff means you have
limited time, just as you can when shopping for home.
You can buy for work on Amazon Business mobile app.
Save time and increase purchasing agility by placing orders for
business critical supplies on the go. Plus, you can access
(13:02):
your business setting and use the apps to scan your
packages and seamlessly complete a three way match no matter
where you are. The user friendly shopping experience of Amazon
makes Amazon Business an easy charge for organizations and their buyers.
New users can ownboard quickly and intuitly compare products and
prices from multiple sellers with personalization powered by machine learning.
(13:26):
This make purchasing on Amazon Business unmatched. Amazon Business customers
also benefit from Amazon's leading industry fulfillment and delivery, with
options for free one or two day shipping through Business Prime.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
Here's the next one, another topic, The biggest mistake.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
No budget, boy, sometimes going down memory lane.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
It can be painful.
Speaker 1 (13:53):
Just let you guys know that you can't open a
business and then try to set a budget. If you
do that, you're playing catch up. You'll wonder why all
these people around you are getting paid and you are struggling.
The reason most business owners fail is they never had
a plan to begin with. Another reason people fail they
(14:13):
don't have time for their business. I see business owners
who will open at ten am, but arrive at the
same time as their customer. Excuse me, excuse me, excuse me.
I got open up, okay. Can you wait here for
a few minutes until we get set up?
Speaker 2 (14:25):
Can you wait here? Okay?
Speaker 1 (14:27):
That's just an example of somebody who will not be
opened that loan. You've seen restaurants that run out of
menu items. I hate that can I get this shrimp.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
Uh, you know, we just ran out of shrimp.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
How do you run out of something that's supposed to
be on your menu. It's like going to McDonald's they
don't have fries, because that's why I go to McDonalds.
I got to have my fries. If I went to
McDonald's and they didn't have fries, you know how mad
I be. Because they are running a business, they will
have fries.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
That's a failure of planning and consistency.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
You got a plan for success if you plan on
making money, If you plan on having this on your menu,
then you should plan on somebody buying it. And you
should also plan on not running out when people ask
for it.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
Because once you go to a new business and they don't.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
Have some, then your credibility is shot that that person
will come back. Why would I come back and I
went there the first time you didn't have what I want?
Why would I trust you? That's why consistency is key.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
Consistency is key. If you draw by a store at
night and the sign was off, you think they will close. Right.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
If the sign was on some days but off on others,
you stop trusting them. That goes for your business. Inconsistency
kills trust, whether shopping for home or work. People value Amazon.
I know I do for its convenience, selection and value.
But businesses and organizations, from sole proprietorships to large enterprises, governments, schools,
(16:09):
and healthcare organizations have different needs than individual buyers. That's
why they created Amazon Business. Signing up is easy and
creating an account is free. Fr Ee, I'm not tired.
I'm just letting you guys know. I hope you listening.
(16:31):
I know everybody going.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
Which how are you parting it up with Amazon Business?
What are you are you? Hey?
Speaker 1 (16:36):
I'm just telling you how I am in a relationship
that's making my business today very, very successful. And I'm
asking you to look at the big side, look at
the relationships. You probably already shopping on Amazon as an individual,
move it over to your business consider it. The count
(16:58):
is to set up an account. Let me break it
down to you. We talked about a lot. Hiring the
wrong people is a mistake. We all can agree on that, now, right,
come on, now, we can all agree on that.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
Right.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
Hire family members can't be a mistake if they're not qualifying.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
We're all agrilled on that. And let me throw this
in here, do not hire a family.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
Member if you're not hiring them the wrong way you
would hire an employee that you didn't know. Ask for
their resume, ask them for a lot of job applications,
ask them becoming be interviewed. Ask the screen in the
the same way you would screening someone you did not know.
Do not lawyer your standards of hiring for somebody who
(17:41):
is a family member. If you're a restaurant, a comedy club,
a place of entertainment, parking spaces matter.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
I didn't believe that. Open my comedy club.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
Yeah, we had a line down the street. But guess
what they didn't have a line to park. There's a
park along the street. Oh my goodness, parking matters everybody.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
I had to hire security.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
So I had to hire additional security to walk up
and down the street, make sure everybody's window was bussed
broken in, no car was broken into.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
It was man like again.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
I wasn't paying myself because I was paying taxes, I
was paying I didn't have a budget. I was paying
for additional security. Whoa now, now, now that's the overshon
Come on, come on, let's go to monitors.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
That's the overshon Now with.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Amazon Business, you pay the way you want. You can
choose some multiple payment methods and easily set up your
account to purchase efficiently. Amazon Business is your one stop
shop for instant volume savings with bulk purchasing. Shop products
for office, breakroom, janitorial supplies, whether you need two or
two thousand items, Amazon Business has your bulk supplies need covered,
(19:00):
track spend, monitor purchasing patterns, and use that information to
facilitate improved decision making too, such as Amazon Business Analytics.
If you want to be a successful business owner, here
are the key takeaways.
Speaker 2 (19:16):
Ask yourself, do you have time for your business? Can
we get a checked? Do you have time? Yeip? Can
we check that off you say yes.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
Don't hire inexperience employees just because they're cheap. Is it
anybody that you have on your staff that's unqualified but
you're hiring them because they fit your budget. You might
want to consider re evaluating that person, or at least
putting them on probation on a probation period so they
can get qualified. If they're not qualified, you may have
(19:46):
to let them go. Don't hire friends or family are
left they're fully qualified. I have said this since I started,
and I'm not getting off of that. You know why,
because I did it. I hire family members. That is
like the curse of Rashan McDonald. I love my family members,
but boy, they were not qualified.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
Friends I've known for twenty years.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
They were qualified, but they would not qualify what I
needed them to do for the company that I opened.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
Key right there.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
Just because you go to happy hour to people, just
because you go to lunch with these people, just because
they come by and barbecue in your backyard with you,
Just because they come by and barbecue in the backyard
with you, don't mean that's the person you uhould be
putting on salary. Plan for parking, that's so key. Where
(20:39):
you buying a Lisa, count your spaces just because that
building fits. Ooh, I love this building, it's perfect, But
where your customers are going to park? Also, look at
your other competition is the parking I clean in the daytime,
but at night all those space that you saw open
(21:01):
or gone. So make sure you evaluate your parking correctly.
Set a budget before you launch, and don't play catch up.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
Let me tell you something. If you can't set a
budget while you.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
Open your business, because how you gonna qualify, how you're
gonna make money, how much money you need to make
if you don't have a budget. I've learned these lessons
the hard way and I want to help you avoid
the same mistakes I made. But if you want to
work with a brand that makes your life easier, then
Amazon Business can help you win. Is win wi in
(21:37):
capital wi in. Remember always leave with your gifts and
keep winning. This is Rashan McDonald. Hey, I appreciate you
taking the time. You made it all the way to
this end. That means I did the right thing and
I kept your attention because I want to let you
know that Amazon Business makes it different in my life.
The account is free, set it up and go win.
(22:00):
This has been another edition of Moneymaking Conversation Masterclass posted
by me Rushaun McDonald. Thank you to our guests on
the show today and thank you for listening to the
audience now. If you want to listen to any episode
I want to be a guest on the show, visit
Moneymakingconversations dot com. Our social media handle is money Making Conversation.
Join us next week and remember to always leave with
(22:22):
your gifts, keep winning.
This episode is brought to you by Amazon Business. Hi
Rashean McDonald the host of the weekly Money Making Conversation
Masterclass show. This show provides interviews and information for everyone.
It's time to start reading other people's success stories and
start living your own. If you want to be a
guest on my show, Money Making Conversation Masterclass, then visit
(00:22):
my website Moneymakingconversations dot com. If you have a product,
your influencer, an entrepreneur, a small business owner, then you
want to click to be a guest button, fill out
your information, press submit.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
And that information will come directly to me and guess
what you be on to show me? How about that? Good?
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Now, let's get this show starting. Have you ever thought
about starting a business? If so, why did or didn't
you do it? Have you ever hired the wrong people
and didn't do a background check. Have you maybe even
hire a relative because you're your family recommended them, like
your mother, your mama? Have you ever hired someone just
(01:06):
because they fit into your budget but they didn't have
the knowledge or do the job correctly? Come on, now,
what about starting a business without a budget, of going
into business with someone you didn't really know?
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Have I hit a nerve here. Maybe I have.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
And some of you think what I'm saying isn't that
big of a deal. Think again, think twice on that. Now, well,
I'm here to tell you that it is. And one
no one knows that better than me. How did I
know this because I had to graduate from the dumb,
dumb school, that's right, school of hard knocks to get
where I am today. And I almost lost my business
(01:46):
in the process. Okay, let's go down memory lane. And
so it ain't good for me, but I'm trying to
help everybody out. It's the honesty, you know, raise the
hand in classroom time. In twenty fourteen, I created my
company called thirty eight to fifteen Media, Inc. A now
multi award winning marketing and branding production company in Atlanta, Georgia.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Weren't always like that now.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
I started my company as an idea and began hiring
people to fill their open positions. Were they the best
qualified people for the position? No, but I knew them.
I had long term relationships with them, and I believe
they could do certain things. That's the number one mistake
most business owners make. They hire people because they feel
(02:34):
comfortable with them, not because they're the best person to hire.
Best of all, I had no control or the worst
of all, I had no control of my admin, my
budget and not balance, and my revenue was none existent,
which means I hired people it didn't even have a
plan to make money. By the time twenty twenty three
(02:55):
year rolled around, the doors to my company were about
to close. I had to make some touch decisions. Yeah,
here I am today giving you advice on how not
to make the same mistakes that I did. How did
I manage to recover from this situation by recognizing where
I went wrong, correcting the issues that I had faced,
and most important, and figuring out what I wanted from
(03:17):
my company. I had to make hard choices. I had
to make hard decisions. I had to have a plan
in place. I had to have a budget. I had
to look at myself in the eyes, said Rashaan McDonald,
you are screwing up.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
Woof. That's why I'm doing this show so you won't
have to look in the mirror. Maybe you will.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
Maybe you're looking in that mirror right now. Maybe you are,
and maybe you should. Because it's honesty times. This show
about honesty. Now, now I'm here to share that lesson
that I've learned with you, my listening audience, they help
me do that. I partnered up with Amazon Business, a
platform launcher in twenty fifteen by Amazon who has spent
the past thirty years gathering critical insights that could benefit
(03:59):
your business and make you a more efficient decision maker.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Let me tell you here. Listen though.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
What I did not know is that Amazon has long
known that businesses and organization with shopping for office supplies
and other goods, and bulk on its store. To better
serve us, the company launch Amazon Business in twenty fifteen.
It's your one stop shop to simplify buying, and you
can create a free account today, right now, right now,
(04:25):
free account, right now. Businesses and organizations of all sizes,
local hair salon, schools, nonprofits, hospitals, global corporations, and government
agencies can open an Amazon Business account. The account is
free and there's no spending minimum. I'm here to tell
you that running the business takes a lot of your time.
You have artists to place, expenses to track, and people
(04:47):
to manage. Sometimes it feels like there are never enough
hours in that day, twenty four hours. I would tell
people that ain't enough time. For me sometime. Basically, all
I'm saying is that we can all use some more
hours in the day. That's where Amazon Business comes in.
They're truly a time saver because they offer smart insights
to help you make the most of the limited hours
(05:08):
you have in a day. Listen up, everybody. Amazon Business
Analytics is available with your Amazon Business account. It gives
you visibility into your organization's purchase history. Amazon Business Analytics
helps you identify opportunities to optimize spend and make better
purchasing decisions. That's all this is about. It's about spending
(05:31):
your money wisely, knowing how you're spending it, seeing the
history of spending your money. That's what Amazon Business brings
to the table. Improve visibility and to spend, identify purchasing
trends by tracking purchases made by individuals and groups within
your organization optimized spending their user's reports to identify opportunity
(05:52):
for optimizing spend, such as a supplier consolidation, both purchasing
and tax exemptions.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
It offers easy.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
Reconciliation and the abilities to compare order and payment history
invoices received and payments made. With the help of their
reconciliation reports. Access to multiple reports can be valuable, and
you can choose from any one of the available reports
such as orders, shipments, returns, refunds, and reconciliation to view
(06:21):
and download the information you need. Now, that's freeing up
some of your time and your day because Amazon Business
handles the heavy lifting, so you can finally focus on
growing your business instead of drowning in ad man listen up.
From customized recommendations to real time spend tracking and delivery
options tailored to your schedule. They've got your back every
(06:43):
step of the way. Why not spend less time sweating
the small stuff and more time crushing your goals? Is
about winning, That's what you show about helping you win,
or maybe even sneaking some well earned vacation time with
your friends or family. The Amazon Business account it's free
and there's no spending minimum.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
Do you have time for your business? I love it.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
People want to start a business, but to do they
have time? Or they have they set of time? Do
they understand what it takes to run a business? I
tell people this all the time. I wake up at
four thirty am. As soon as I said it word
four thirty am, they go ooh, hey, hey, hey, just
Monday through Friday. People always ask what are you doing
at four thirty a m. Well, first of all, I'm
(07:30):
waking up. And I tell everybody, everybody every time when
I wake up at four thirty, when that alarm clock
goes off, I'm not a happy camper. But you got
to have rules in place to win. At four thirty
that get up, I go stretch. Nowadays, I'm trying to
reduce stress in my life. I used to watch TV
(07:52):
and stretch at the same time, so now I don't
do it watch TV anymore.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
I just stretch for.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
It gives me a nice relax time thirty to forty
five minutes where I'm just stretching and just thinking about
things and just kind of like meditating. So I do that.
Then I get I read the newspaper. Then I start
my day. I go over to the office and I'm ready.
I'm all prepared and ready to go. And that's what
I have to tell people. You have to have a
(08:19):
starting time. Anybody who says, hey, I'm not a morning person,
or anybody who hits the snooze person or hits the
snooze butting that person right there is not trying to
be successful, not at all.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
I once gave a speech at the.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
Lenthonio Chamber of Commerce, which is right outside of Atlanta, Georgia.
They invited me to speak about how to be a
successful business owner. Now, when you talk about success, you
have to admit your mistakes. And here's one of them. Okay,
I got many, but here's one of them in particular
that I want to tell you about. In eineighteen ninety two,
that's when depth Comedy Jam was big on HBO. I
(08:55):
opened a comedy club in Houston, Texas. It was called
Hip Hop Comedy Stop. I had just done Death Comedy Jail.
Me and Dave Chapelle shared the same stage. I went
into business with somebody I didn't even know. Hear me
that I wanted into the business with somebody I didn't
even know. He was a stand up comic. I was
a stand up comic. We both liked telling jokes. It
(09:17):
made sense, right, so naturally we thought we'd be good
business partners. No background checks, nobody in contract. That's like
saying you love chicken. Your friend makes good chicken, so
let's open.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
The chicken business. It does not work like that. You're
trying to run a business.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
I didn't know my partner's habits, his work ethics, or
even if he knew how to run a business. But
the club became incredibly popular. We had lines out the door.
Tickets went on sale Monday and we were sold out
by Thursday.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
We were lucky.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
The club seated two hundred and fifty people and by
nine pm the room was packed.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
I could sure back then in ninety two.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
I'm sure I could have used a business la Amazon
Business back then, especially with their bulk buying feature. Just
dropping a little hint is before their time. But bare
I was doing a lot of bulk thing tarlet people, napkins, glasses, drinks, water.
I was doing a lot of bulk buying back then.
(10:17):
If you're doing that bulk buying, listen up. That's what
I'm talking about. This is what Amazon Business can bring
to the table. If you're seeking a business partner will
get a great name recognition. Amazon Business is open available
twenty four seven.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
Please don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with more
Money Making Conversations Masterclass. Welcome back to the Money Making
Conversations Masterclass, hosted by Rashaan McDonald. Money Making Conversations Masterclass
continues online at Moneymakingconversations dot com and follow money Making
(10:54):
Conversations Masterclass on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
Guys One time talk about making money versus managing money.
Despite the success, I made a lot of huge mistakes.
I already told you lines at the door. We were
raking it in. Guess what I forgot because I didn't
worry about accounting. I already told my ad men was
messed up. I didn't have a budget, didn't have a plan.
(11:19):
I ain't have none of that. Back then, I was worse.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
Back then. I forgot to pay taxes.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
Yeah, or I was not paying taxes like they asked
you to pay taxes because you have to pay taxes
on liquor. You have to pay taxes on the tickets
that people buy. The money you make isn't always yours.
It's now if you pay ten dollars your taxes on
some of that to somebody. I was just sending that
ten dollars that I was getting because I didn't have
(11:45):
a budget or understood business options.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
I was doing everything wrong.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
Now, entrepreneurs, listen up, because we know the fastest group
of entrepreneurs are women.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
Who were the.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
Fastest group and it's particularly black women who are launching
businesses smarter than I did. I'm telling you right now,
I was selling out my comedy club but couldn't pay myself.
I was basically working for free. Why Because I wasn't
organized and I didn't budget properly. Never never, never, never
knew to order supplies. Gimme never knew when order supplies again.
(12:25):
That's why I'm dropping that Amazon Business tip on you.
This is where Amazon Business can help you when you
are running a company.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
Sometimes you don't have time.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
To leave your office for items a center and employee
or a volunteer.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
If you're a nonprofit.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
A limited staff means you have limited time just as
you can limited time. A limited staff means you have
limited time, just as you can when shopping for home.
You can buy for work on Amazon Business mobile app.
Save time and increase purchasing agility by placing orders for
business critical supplies on the go. Plus, you can access
(13:02):
your business setting and use the apps to scan your
packages and seamlessly complete a three way match no matter
where you are. The user friendly shopping experience of Amazon
makes Amazon Business an easy charge for organizations and their buyers.
New users can ownboard quickly and intuitly compare products and
prices from multiple sellers with personalization powered by machine learning.
(13:26):
This make purchasing on Amazon Business unmatched. Amazon Business customers
also benefit from Amazon's leading industry fulfillment and delivery, with
options for free one or two day shipping through Business Prime.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
Here's the next one, another topic, The biggest mistake.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
No budget, boy, sometimes going down memory lane.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
It can be painful.
Speaker 1 (13:53):
Just let you guys know that you can't open a
business and then try to set a budget. If you
do that, you're playing catch up. You'll wonder why all
these people around you are getting paid and you are struggling.
The reason most business owners fail is they never had
a plan to begin with. Another reason people fail they
(14:13):
don't have time for their business. I see business owners
who will open at ten am, but arrive at the
same time as their customer. Excuse me, excuse me, excuse me.
I got open up, okay. Can you wait here for
a few minutes until we get set up?
Speaker 2 (14:25):
Can you wait here? Okay?
Speaker 1 (14:27):
That's just an example of somebody who will not be
opened that loan. You've seen restaurants that run out of
menu items. I hate that can I get this shrimp.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
Uh, you know, we just ran out of shrimp.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
How do you run out of something that's supposed to
be on your menu. It's like going to McDonald's they
don't have fries, because that's why I go to McDonalds.
I got to have my fries. If I went to
McDonald's and they didn't have fries, you know how mad
I be. Because they are running a business, they will
have fries.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
That's a failure of planning and consistency.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
You got a plan for success if you plan on
making money, If you plan on having this on your menu,
then you should plan on somebody buying it. And you
should also plan on not running out when people ask
for it.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
Because once you go to a new business and they don't.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
Have some, then your credibility is shot that that person
will come back. Why would I come back and I
went there the first time you didn't have what I want?
Why would I trust you? That's why consistency is key.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
Consistency is key. If you draw by a store at
night and the sign was off, you think they will close. Right.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
If the sign was on some days but off on others,
you stop trusting them. That goes for your business. Inconsistency
kills trust, whether shopping for home or work. People value Amazon.
I know I do for its convenience, selection and value.
But businesses and organizations, from sole proprietorships to large enterprises, governments, schools,
(16:09):
and healthcare organizations have different needs than individual buyers. That's
why they created Amazon Business. Signing up is easy and
creating an account is free. Fr Ee, I'm not tired.
I'm just letting you guys know. I hope you listening.
(16:31):
I know everybody going.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
Which how are you parting it up with Amazon Business?
What are you are you? Hey?
Speaker 1 (16:36):
I'm just telling you how I am in a relationship
that's making my business today very, very successful. And I'm
asking you to look at the big side, look at
the relationships. You probably already shopping on Amazon as an individual,
move it over to your business consider it. The count
(16:58):
is to set up an account. Let me break it
down to you. We talked about a lot. Hiring the
wrong people is a mistake. We all can agree on that, now, right,
come on, now, we can all agree on that.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
Right.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
Hire family members can't be a mistake if they're not qualifying.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
We're all agrilled on that. And let me throw this
in here, do not hire a family.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
Member if you're not hiring them the wrong way you
would hire an employee that you didn't know. Ask for
their resume, ask them for a lot of job applications,
ask them becoming be interviewed. Ask the screen in the
the same way you would screening someone you did not know.
Do not lawyer your standards of hiring for somebody who
(17:41):
is a family member. If you're a restaurant, a comedy club,
a place of entertainment, parking spaces matter.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
I didn't believe that. Open my comedy club.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
Yeah, we had a line down the street. But guess
what they didn't have a line to park. There's a
park along the street. Oh my goodness, parking matters everybody.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
I had to hire security.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
So I had to hire additional security to walk up
and down the street, make sure everybody's window was bussed
broken in, no car was broken into.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
It was man like again.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
I wasn't paying myself because I was paying taxes, I
was paying I didn't have a budget. I was paying
for additional security. Whoa now, now, now that's the overshon
Come on, come on, let's go to monitors.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
That's the overshon Now with.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Amazon Business, you pay the way you want. You can
choose some multiple payment methods and easily set up your
account to purchase efficiently. Amazon Business is your one stop
shop for instant volume savings with bulk purchasing. Shop products
for office, breakroom, janitorial supplies, whether you need two or
two thousand items, Amazon Business has your bulk supplies need covered,
(19:00):
track spend, monitor purchasing patterns, and use that information to
facilitate improved decision making too, such as Amazon Business Analytics.
If you want to be a successful business owner, here
are the key takeaways.
Speaker 2 (19:16):
Ask yourself, do you have time for your business? Can
we get a checked? Do you have time? Yeip? Can
we check that off you say yes.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
Don't hire inexperience employees just because they're cheap. Is it
anybody that you have on your staff that's unqualified but
you're hiring them because they fit your budget. You might
want to consider re evaluating that person, or at least
putting them on probation on a probation period so they
can get qualified. If they're not qualified, you may have
(19:46):
to let them go. Don't hire friends or family are
left they're fully qualified. I have said this since I started,
and I'm not getting off of that. You know why,
because I did it. I hire family members. That is
like the curse of Rashan McDonald. I love my family members,
but boy, they were not qualified.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
Friends I've known for twenty years.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
They were qualified, but they would not qualify what I
needed them to do for the company that I opened.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
Key right there.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
Just because you go to happy hour to people, just
because you go to lunch with these people, just because
they come by and barbecue in your backyard with you,
Just because they come by and barbecue in the backyard
with you, don't mean that's the person you uhould be
putting on salary. Plan for parking, that's so key. Where
(20:39):
you buying a Lisa, count your spaces just because that
building fits. Ooh, I love this building, it's perfect, But
where your customers are going to park? Also, look at
your other competition is the parking I clean in the daytime,
but at night all those space that you saw open
(21:01):
or gone. So make sure you evaluate your parking correctly.
Set a budget before you launch, and don't play catch up.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
Let me tell you something. If you can't set a
budget while you.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
Open your business, because how you gonna qualify, how you're
gonna make money, how much money you need to make
if you don't have a budget. I've learned these lessons
the hard way and I want to help you avoid
the same mistakes I made. But if you want to
work with a brand that makes your life easier, then
Amazon Business can help you win. Is win wi in
(21:37):
capital wi in. Remember always leave with your gifts and
keep winning. This is Rashan McDonald. Hey, I appreciate you
taking the time. You made it all the way to
this end. That means I did the right thing and
I kept your attention because I want to let you
know that Amazon Business makes it different in my life.
The account is free, set it up and go win.
(22:00):
This has been another edition of Moneymaking Conversation Masterclass posted
by me Rushaun McDonald. Thank you to our guests on
the show today and thank you for listening to the
audience now. If you want to listen to any episode
I want to be a guest on the show, visit
Moneymakingconversations dot com. Our social media handle is money Making Conversation.
Join us next week and remember to always leave with
(22:22):
your gifts, keep winning.
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