Entrepreneur Week

During Entrepreneur Week, Veronica Carter and Bret Burkhart go in depth on the economic importance of small businesses with one of the leading top performance coaches in North America, Coach Dave McGhee.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
We're looking at what is the backbone of America and
that is small business. Is it's Entrepreneur a Week and
we are wondering what it takes to succeed as a
small business.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
Joining us now on the COGA News liveline, SDSU grad,
former real estate guru, former radio broadcaster, and our friend
Dave McGee who is now a business performance coach. Dave,
it's so nice to talk to.

Speaker 3 (00:23):
You, Ronica and Brett, it's great to be here.

Speaker 2 (00:26):
All right, So talk to us about businesses. What is
it that they need to do that they're not doing
so that they make money and America makes money and
everybody's happy.

Speaker 3 (00:36):
Well, you know, Brett mentioned that small business is the
backbone of the economy and it is. Small business accounts
for about fifty percent of the revenue of the US economy.
And the challenge is, though about sixty five percent of
small businesses are out of business within ten years. So
there are some things that people need to do to
make sure they stay in business. And I think the

(00:56):
number one thing that's a challenge for entrepreneurs is cat
flow and so the thing that they need to really
focus on lead generation and leave conversion.

Speaker 1 (01:06):
Watching the evolution in Silicon Valley and here in California.
Of these startups that break all the rules, they call
it a disrupted economy for a reason. But once they
go public they have to play by the rules. After
launching their startup breaking the rules, what point do you
come in and coach them.

Speaker 3 (01:26):
Well, it's interesting, Brett, Like, there's Silicon Valley. The word
unicorn is unicorn for a reason. You know, only nine
percent make over a million dollars in revenue. So when
you hear about these companies that are taking off, they
really are the unicorns. I typically work with a business
when they've gotten out of the build phase and they're
in the grow phase of their business, so typically six

(01:48):
figures in revenue. And what happens at that point is
they hit a ceiling because they're used to being the
engine of their business doing everything to grow and in
order to get from that six figure number up to
the seven figure number, you can't do the same things
the same way, and so at that point you need
to look at you know, how do you bring on people,
what's your leadership like, and the things you used to

(02:10):
do as the engine you now need to shift and
become the driver of the business.

Speaker 2 (02:14):
We are talking to Dave McGee, who is a business
performance coach. So, Dave, why is it that people resist
asking for help, you know, maybe going to someone like
you saying what is it that I need to do
to perform better? You know?

Speaker 3 (02:29):
I think it starts with why people get in business
in the first place. Ronic I think people start their
own business because they want one of three things. They
want to make more money, they want to have more freedom,
and they want to make an impact in their community.
And that's that's the allure of entrepreneurship. And what they
do is they have something they really love to do
and they say, hey, I can make some money doing that.

(02:49):
The problem is what you're good at may not necessarily
resonate with the marketplace, and so I think people tend
to get a little bit ahead of their skis. And
I think it's important when you are to seek out,
at the very least a mentor somebody who's been there
and done that that you can learn from, and ideally
a coach who can look at your plan dis passionately,

(03:11):
without any attachment to it, and see the things that
maybe you can't see because you are passionately attached to
your business.

Speaker 1 (03:19):
How important is it to have one of your goals
be getting involved in the community.

Speaker 3 (03:25):
I think is huge Brett. You know, going back to
the movie The Field of Dreams, if you build it,
they will come. And that's a misconception in business. People say, hey,
I'm going to build this is there's going to be
a market for it, and if I build it, people
will come. And usually I say, get the people to
come and then build it. And so that's that community element.
Every single business that successful solves a problem in some regard,

(03:46):
and so it's important to know who's the person you're serving,
the problem you're solving for them, and then connecting with
a community of people that not only have that problem,
but can also help serve that problem.

Speaker 2 (03:59):
You mentioned earlier, Cast this flow is a big thing.
There's a commonality that business fails and then the next
business fails. What is it that they're all doing wrong
where they fall?

Speaker 3 (04:09):
I think people start a business thinking that they're going
to make revenue right away. And usually when I tell
people that are thinking about starting a business, I share
with them to make sure that you have a year's
worth of expenses in reserve, because it's probably going to
take you a year to replicate any income you had
leaving from a traditional job to starting your own business.

(04:32):
And I think most people who struggle don't have those reserves,
and so from the get go, they've got the weight
on their shoulders that they need to make money quickly,
and that just doesn't happen. It really takes about a
year for most small businesses to hit that six figure
revenue mark.

Speaker 1 (04:49):
So cool to get some of those tidbits. I mean,
these are life hacks really for anybody, let alone the
small business owner. But we are proud to call you
a friend, and now it's an honor to call you
a coach.

Speaker 2 (05:01):
Dave.

Speaker 1 (05:01):
Thank you for joining us.

Speaker 3 (05:02):
Brett appreciate it, Veronica. Always good to hear your voice,
all right.

Speaker 1 (05:06):
Dave McGee who is now a business performance coach. You
can find him at coach Dave McGee dot com.