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PODCAST

School for Startups Minutes

jim@schoolforstartups.com (Jim Beach)

The short vignettes are taken from School for Startups Radio. We release a quick thought to motivate or educate you about a different facet of entrepreneurship every day.

business business news

All Episodes

01:31

SFS Minute 758: Use brainstorming programs

School for Startups Minutes ·

2025/07/29

When you get a group of employees together to talk about a particular topic with absolutely no restrictions on the conversation and where it goes, it's called brainstorming — and it works. Some of the best ideas come when you gather your team and let them talk.

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01:31

SFS Minute 757: Reward employee creativity

School for Startups Minutes ·

2025/07/29

If you want your staff to contribute more and give their ideas, reward them, pay them, set up a contest, and see who wins with the best idea.

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01:31

SFS Minute 756: Offer anonymous tools

School for Startups Minutes ·

2025/07/29

So all of the tools we have mentioned so far involve being out front with who's giving the advice. Maybe sometimes you want to give anonymous advice, so you, as the boss, must have some sort of anonymous advice box, or an email, or some system where your employees are allowed to communicate with you without you knowing who it is.

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01:31

SFS Minute 755: Encourage idea-sharing day-to-day

School for Startups Minutes ·

2025/07/29

The change starts with you. Instead of asking questions like "How is it going?" or "What's up?" with your staff, you need to ask, "What do you think?" or "Do you have any ideas on how to improve that?" These kinds of questions let your staff know that you are valuing their opinion, want to know what they are thinking, and are inviting them to talk — and to talk freely. That's what you want.

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01:31

SFS Minute 754: Create a feedback-friendly atmosphere

School for Startups Minutes ·

2025/07/29

As a business owner, I want my employees and partners to always feel safe giving me feedback. I want to hear their thoughts on how to improve the business, how I can improve my actions and persona, and anything else they believe could help. This week, we’re going to talk about that — how you can encourage your staff to give you the feedback you need. First tip: create a feedback-friendly atmosphere. Do everything you can, including announcing it publicly, that this is a workplace where we value your

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01:31

SFS Minute 753: Small Experiments

School for Startups Minutes ·

2025/07/21

Use small experiments to test your different messages. Use A/B testing to try different variations of your copy, your price, your imagery. All of those things can be tested using Google Analytics and other tools.

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01:31

SFS Minute 752: Talk Directly to Potential Customers

School for Startups Minutes ·

2025/07/20

One of the ways to do free or very cheap market research is to talk directly to your potential customers. You can do that by going to trade shows. There’s a trade show for every industry, and just walking up to people and asking if you can ask them a few questions — they will probably help you. Or you should have a list of your potential customers. Call one of them and say, “If I developed a tool that did this and this and this, would you be interested?” Get their feedback — it's worth gold.

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01:31

SFS Minute 751: Conduct Surveys and Polls

School for Startups Minutes ·

2025/07/20

One of the inexpensive tools that we can use to do market research is to conduct surveys and polls. Again, that sounds like it could be really expensive, but luckily, there are many free platforms that allow us to create short, simple, focused surveys that we can post on Facebook, in different groups, and put them in forums or on Reddit — another good place to post to get the data that you need.

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01:31

SFS Minute 750: Analyze Your Competitors

School for Startups Minutes ·

2025/07/20

Part of any market analysis will be a detailed analysis of your competitors, and luckily, so much of that can be done for free by studying their websites and their reviews. The customer feedback that they get will give you incredible insight into how their products are being received and how the customers think of them. Also, use Moz - it's a free SEO tool that will help you find out what keywords are working for your competitors.

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01:31

SFS Minute 749: Free Online Tools

School for Startups Minutes ·

2025/07/20

We all know that market research is absolutely critical, but when you're just getting started, you usually don't have a budget for it. So, this week we are talking about how to do market research on a budget. I'll give my first tip right after this. When you are doing market research on a budget, we are very lucky because there are many free online tools and resources. Google Trends will help analyze your product based on keywords that people use on Google. It will tell you how popular your product

EN

01:31

SFS Minute 748: Adjust the Experience Continuously

School for Startups Minutes ·

2025/07/13

Now that we have talked to our customers and gathered their feedback, we need to make the adjustments that will make them happy. Whether it's rearranging our store, redesigning our website, adjusting our prices, or training our team to better serve customers—whatever it is, we have to do it. The importance of this process lies in learning, continually iterating, and making your company and its processes better.

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01:31

SFS Minute 747: Collect Feedback in Natural Ways

School for Startups Minutes ·

2025/07/13

After you have studied the customer profile, you need to collect feedback from them in normal ways—things that won’t freak them out. Offer them discount cards or talk to them casually and ask simple, natural questions, like “Why did you come back?” or “Would you recommend the store?” Also, be sure to monitor word of mouth and all social media platforms, and respond to everything you see online—especially negative complaints.

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01:31

SFS Minute 746: Observe and Analyze In-Person &...

School for Startups Minutes ·

2025/07/13

Once you have the customer profiles or avatars, you need to observe each group and learn their differences—both online and offline. Watch how they shop: do they linger, do research, compare costs, and evaluate different options and prices? Do they buy things in bundles? If they always buy A, does that mean they’re likely to buy B and C as well? If you learn these things, you can sell more.

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01:31

SFS Minute 745: Build Real-Life Customer Profiles

School for Startups Minutes ·

2025/07/13

The second step to understanding your customer journey is to build real-life customer profiles—or avatars. Start by talking to real buyers in your store, at events, or even by calling them on the phone. Ask why they chose your store and your product. Find out their common traits: lifestyle, shopping habits, budget, and values. Are they all eco-conscious? Is that the buying pattern of everyone? It's important that you know this, and that you understand the motivators. What makes them buy emotionally

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01:31

SFS Minute 744: Define the Stages

School for Startups Minutes ·

2025/07/13

I hope you're having a great week, and I think understanding your customer’s journey will make it a better week because you will sell more. That's right. You need to know the path—the process that your customer goes through—and you should design that path so that it is a pleasant one. This week, I will talk about the five steps for understanding your customer’s journey better. Today, in the beginning, we need to define the stages of the journey. There are three: awareness—how do customers find out

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01:31

SFS Minute 743: Kill Hobbies

School for Startups Minutes ·

2025/07/07

Your hobby — that thing you do to relax, maybe just watching TV in the evening — is going to have to be put to the side. You're going to need to invest many hours in this new business. So, whatever you usually do to relax will have to go away. Your new joy is starting the business, and that’s what should occupy your free time and mind space.

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01:31

SFS Minute 742: Set a Goal

School for Startups Minutes ·

2025/07/07

Set a clear sales goal for when you will quit your job. That's right — we get to talk about actually leaving that job. But when? When you have a hundred thousand in sales, or when you can afford to buy your own independent health insurance? You need to have a clearly defined goal so you know what the end looks like.

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01:31

SFS Minute 741: Change jobs

School for Startups Minutes ·

2025/07/07

As you prepare to start your new business, you may consider changing your job so that you have more free time. Can you take a lesser job for less salary, but work at home so you have free time to start your business—keeping your health insurance and some income? Maybe that's the route. Consider having an inferior job so that you have more time to start your business. It keeps the health insurance and a little bit of income coming in.

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01:31

SFS Minute 740: Boss as Partner

School for Startups Minutes ·

2025/07/07

When you start a new business, one of your first and most unexpected partners might be your current boss. I know that sounds crazy—but hear me out. If possible, go to your boss and say, “I’m starting a business, and I’d like to adjust my hours. Can I work from 7:00 to 3:00 so I can handle my FedEx and UPS shipments in the afternoon?” You’d be surprised—many bosses will respect your initiative and be willing to support you. That’s the kind of partner you need: someone who believes in your drive and

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01:31

SFS Minute 739: Define Buckets

School for Startups Minutes ·

2025/07/07

This week, we're talking about reducing your risk. I want you to do everything you can to minimize risk so that starting a business becomes an absolute no-brainer. We'll walk through several ways to do that—so when you launch your business, you'll have transitioned gradually from your day job. Keep your current job so you maintain your insurance, and begin building your business on the side. When you start your side business, it’s important to set clear working hours—so both you and your family know

EN

490 results

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