Bite-Sized Business Insights 4 of 4

Welcome to How I Built My Small Business: Bite-Sized!

I’m Anne McGinty, your host. While we take a break from full-length guest episodes for the holidays, I’ve curated a series of short, impactful episodes to keep you inspired.

Each bite-sized episode features a collection of powerful snippets from interviews, organized by topic for easy listening.

Stay tuned for quick insights to fuel your business and personal growth!

Season 2 drops the week of January 25, 2025.

Subscribe on Apple Podcast , Spotify or YouTube.

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Website: https://www.annemcginty.com/

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to how I Built my Small Business.
I'm Anne McGinty, host of theshow.
While full-length guestepisodes are on hold for the
holidays, I've prepared acollection of short, impactful
episodes to keep you inspireduntil Season 2.
Let's dive in.
Let's dive in.

Speaker 3 (00:26):
Take a look at what you're good at, what brings you
joy and what needs doing, andthe intersection of those three
things is your action.
That's where you should be.

Speaker 5 (00:36):
People overestimate how much the mission of the
company matters, meaning ifyou're like, hey, people are
going to buy this because we'recarbon neutral or because we're
this or because we're that,doesn't work, never works.
And I think it goes back tothat aha around like people
don't buy your, why they buytheir own, why Now, I'm not

(00:58):
saying it's not part of yourstory, it doesn't matter, but
ultimately it's a distractionfrom the reason they're
ultimately going to be buying itright.
But ultimately it's adistraction from the reason
they're ultimately going to bebuying it right.
Unless that mission is sotightly wound to people's why,
in the first place, it doesn'twork.
I mean so many brands that oncethey start realizing that
that's a cool part of theirstory, but not the reason that
someone's buying it, can changetheir business quite a bit.

Speaker 3 (01:22):
Make attainable milestones.
That 1% difference can add upand it does.
It doesn't have to be thisTikTok I got rich in 30 minutes
situation, which I think thatthere's this trend that this is
so easy and you could do it soquickly and you don't have to do
anything and work two hours aweek and you can running this

(01:44):
massive business.
I think that sure, I'm surethat's possible and I think
that's amazing if you could doit.
But I also think there's such apower in hard work and just
doing, like making those 1%changes and constantly
reevaluating yourself to see,like, how you could do better
and looking within and sayinglike how could I be a better

(02:04):
boss or how could I make myproduct better?
Or listening to negativefeedback, like don't be afraid
of negative feedback becauseeven though I'm super sensitive,
so sometimes I would be like,oh my God, she like hated
something or derived broken,which it's going to happen, but
just using that more of like atool of learning and approaching

(02:26):
everything with like a learningmindset.
I'm learning all the time.

Speaker 8 (02:33):
I think you got to ensure your spouse is aligned.
If you're married or have apartner or financial people that
are dependent on you, becauseit is risky and scary and you
buy a business and it might meanyou think you're getting a job
but there's no 40 hour a weekcompany ownership I've ever seen
.
So just make sure everyone's onboard with this.
Set up a time frame and somelimits, like treat it like a job

(02:54):
.
If you have a regular job andyou want to do this, then set up
like.
I'm going to do 20 hours a weekfor 18 months and see what
comes of it and I'm willing tospend $100,000 in costs.

Speaker 3 (03:05):
Learning to let go and set your boundaries is
really important.
I put my phone away when I gethome and I don't look at it.

Speaker 4 (03:13):
I think it's really important just to get experience
in your field, whether it'sfrom having someone to mentor
you or a consultant like someonewho is experienced in the
industry, who can help guide youthrough all the bumps in the
road and the struggles, or evenjust, you know, pick up a few
shifts at a shop and see whatit's like, because I think to be

(03:35):
successful, you really need tounderstand how to do the job at
every single level, startingwith you know working the
register, hopping on the bar andmaking sure that you understand
what it's like for your teammembers and for your customers.
Otherwise, I don't think youcan really expect people to put

(03:55):
out a really high qualityproduct and provide good service
if you're not capable of likedoing it yourself and being a
good example for those people.

Speaker 5 (04:05):
Truth is like if you grow something, you have all
your clients who are like minibosses, and then you have all
your employees who are likelittle mini bosses and like you
serve them all.
And so I always laugh whensomeone's like, oh, did you want
to be your own boss?
I'm like not really.
I'm like now I just feelresponsible for way more people
and way more things.
But I would just say that, justreally tapping into like why do
I want to start this business?

(04:25):
For a lot of people, it is alsofinancially driven.
Like I want that upside of likeowning it and I love that.
And I totally agree that, likethe flexibility of time and the
ability to grow your financesare both hugely cool
opportunities and they arethings that, like you only live
once.
It is cool to go and do it,whether you succeed or fail.

Speaker 7 (04:49):
Don't be afraid to try new things and be willing to
go out and talk with people.
I used to be very, very, veryshy.
Most people would not thinkthat about me anymore, but being
able to talk with otherbusiness owners, even owners
that do the same exact thing,just being able to be open and
candid with them, has reallyhelped us and encouraged us to

(05:12):
be willing to talk to people.

Speaker 9 (05:16):
Who you're actually competing against is mostly not
quality, it's mostly noise.
I think that people oftenoverlook small competitive
advantages that are actuallytrue, great competitive
advantages.
Trust is a competitiveadvantage.
Hustle is a competitiveadvantage.
Responsiveness is a competitiveadvantage.
Hustle is a competitiveadvantage.
Responsiveness is a competitiveadvantage.

Speaker 10 (05:35):
Work hard, stay focused on what your vision is,
you know, try to figure that out, which can be hard, and just
stay focused on what it is thatyou want to do.
Sometimes there's so many ideasyou kind of do need to like
narrow it down until one visionor one brand of what that is,
and then from there you canexpand upon ideas.

Speaker 11 (05:58):
If you're going to start your own business, you
really have to be dedicated, andif you want it to be successful
, you have to put the time in,figure out what you want to do,
write it down, set a timelineand follow that.
Write the steps out, what youwant to do and what you want to
get accomplished.

Speaker 2 (06:16):
Fill up your knowledge and skill buckets
first.
So if that means working forsomeone else, getting your
knowledge up.
But what you put in is what youget out.
So I'm constantly educatingmyself so that I can create more
value, and nothing comes to youon a silver platter.

(06:36):
You have to work hard for it,and the more you put in, the
more you will get out.
One thing again, which is quitefunny, because we've definitely
had to deal with this one hireslowly and fire quickly.

Speaker 12 (06:53):
Get in the marketplace, stay in the
marketplace.
The answers are in themarketplace.
Don't surround yourself withyes people and an entourage.
Know your competitor, know yourcustomer, understand your cost
structure, the three Cs.
But ultimately it's going to beabout do you have an instinct
and a fire in the belly to say Ibelieve there's a gap, I

(07:13):
believe I can tell a betterstory?

Speaker 2 (07:17):
The biggest challenge is definitely staff.
It can be the most rewardingpart at the same time watching
staff members grow in that.
But if you do have somebody inyour team that doesn't align
with your core values, then itcan just bring the whole team
culture down your core values,then it can just bring the whole
team culture down.

Speaker 6 (07:40):
Don't let any surrounding members of your life
tell you that you can't besomething or do something.
If you believe in it, followthat, and I've learned something
at a late age in life.
I've done a lot of things inthis world that have been
successful, but I wasn'tsuccessful because I wasn't
happy.
I did it because I thought thatthat's what would bring me
happiness the first time youchallenge yourself and you

(08:00):
follow your dream.
That's true, true success.
And so I just tell peoplefollow your dream, go for it.
People out there want to hearyour story.

Speaker 1 (08:13):
Thanks for listening to this bite-sized episode of
how I Built my Small Business.
If you enjoyed it, share itwith someone who might find it
helpful, and don't forget tosubscribe so you're ready when
Season 2 drops.
As always, have a great day.