In What Ways is the Small-Business Mindset Plaguing Your Business? | A Knowledge Bomb

Audio Transcription

Grab the duct tape and mentally prepare yourself for yet another mind-expanding knowledge bong from America’s number one business coach, Clay Clark. Welcome

back to another exciting edition of the thrive time show on your radio and podcast download on today’s show. My, my son Aubrey, Napoleon Hill Clark, he wants me to go fix his bicycle. So as payment for fixing his bicycle, he has been forced to join us on today’s show. Aubrey, how are you sir? Good, that’s great. Thank you for really expanding their, your, yeah, you gotta go. Y’All gotta move beyond the one word answers if you want to get the bike fixed. All right, so here we go. We’re talking about on today’s show. In what ways is the small business mindset plaguing your business? In what ways is Jack Ass? Are we destroying you’re, the the credibility of your company? In what ways is your branding repelling business? In what ways is the small business mindset hurting your business? So Aubrey, let’s give an example that I think all the listeners can relate to. Uh, let’s talk about your experience going to the tag agency with me to get my updated license plate, my friend. Uh, describe your experience, whether you love, start with story. This, did you like it or not?

No. Cause you’re there for three hours.

Okay. Um, in addition to being there a long time, describe the, when you walk in the door and you walk in, what’s it like inside the actual tag agency and make sure you eat that microphone. What’s it like inside the tag agency?

Well, there’s a whole bunch of things that do not go well to get like a fake fireplace.

Yeah, it’s a fireplace. That’s actually, there’s no fireplace. It’s like a mantle. It’s like a mantle. Oh Hey, by the way. Um, um, as you’re, as you’re rocking this show, can you tell listeners how old you are? I’m gonna be 12, soon. 12. So when you’re 20, when you turn 12, what, what’s the day? What’s the Big Day? April 23rd. Whoa. April 23rd.

Oh God.

And this show is being recorded right now on March 23rd, we’re a month out, buddy. Hey, what’s your plan for your birthday? You have big plans for your birthday?

No,

we do an a pool party. Yeah. You will be the first party, right? [inaudible] are we getting, are we no pool party? Yeah. Okay, so you got the big plan there. We’ll probably invite Jerry Drake and some homies. And in Danimal you’re good buddy. The danimal. Do you call them Danimal? Yeah. Okay, fine. So now let’s go. So think about it. You went into the tag agency and that place a not great because why?

It’s just a whole bunch of the people there are not really that helpful. And you have to sit in line forever.

Describe the lady who was helping me get my drivers license. Can you describe what she was like? Do you remember? Um, I think she had blue hair, right? Yes. What else? Did she seem happy to be there?

No. Nobody seemed to happen to be there. Like sarcastic jokes the whole time.

Yeah. Amen. Make sure your faces, you’re gonna miss you. The or your mouth is physically eaten. That microphone like, it’s like it’s a corn dog. I know you’re a big fan. There you go. That’s good. That’s some good volume there. Okay, so her hair was what color now? Blue. And was she helpful? Did she seem excited to be there? No. Well, could it overhead music? Did they play?

Uh, they shouldn’t have any. If they did, it was like some like country radio

when we went there you told me it was the worst. What else did you not like about it?

It was just a whole bunch of people there. Yeah, it was very, very, just a not a fun experience.

It’s not fine. Now what’s the business you like going to? What’s one pull? You said that place is hot at places. Cool man. They’ve got it figured out. What’s, what’s a business for you? Go. Is it in and out Burger? Is it Starbucks? What, what are you thinking?

Probably Starbucks. You like Starbucks? I like, I like Starbucks.

What do you like Starbucks?

Um, well it doesn’t usually take too long. Like five minutes usually. Yeah, it’s usually really quick and the people are usually not, do not have blue hair and there’s not usually a terrible long line.

Oh by the way, did the lady seem happy who was working at the tag agency? No, I do the people generally seem happy or upbeat at the working at Starbucks?

Yeah, usually

this is the music kind of upbeat it Starbucks usually. Yeah. Usually it’s pretty upbeat. What do you think about QuikTrip?

Cook truck is good because it’s very, very fast.

Are the people who work there are nice. Do you think you were very helpful and nice? What’s a gas station where you go, that’s not so awesome?

A show or come and go.

Okay, so you don’t, you don’t like those two ones very much.

Yeah. Why? Because it’s just really slow. The people there usually are not very helpful. Sometimes the right paint sometimes don’t even recognize you’re there.

What do you mean? Like what was it? What was the most recent time where someone didn’t recognize you were there? Give me, give me an example cause I put listeners out there who don’t know. I send you into the store a lot of times to buy a what? Ice Drink and the move is if you go in and get the ice drink fast ice, the ice drink is a, um, it’s a, well, it’s filled with antioxidants and vitamins. Zero sugar, sparkling ice, peach. Nectarine let’s say I asked you to go in, if you get one fast enough you can go back and get one for yourself. What was the last time you went there where somebody didn’t even recognize that you were there?

I think it was like a few weekends ago there the people were just talking and they’re at the area where you can get like, you know, pizza and donut that like area where they like make food and nobody’s at the cash register. And then I sat there for 10 minutes and then I was like, oh, why is nobody over here? And then they came over there.

Okay. Is there been another time you’ve gone there where the service was, was bad? Any other time you can think of in your, in you’re a young 11 year old, almost 12 year old mine?

Um, yes. Once there’s only one person working there and they were not at the counter either. Okay.

Yeah. Where were you? The one of our K W I can’t remember which one of our kids it was, but there was somebody who went there at home and the, and the employee was out there smoking vape and not actually working. Were you there where you were? Was that you or was it someone else?

Yeah, that happened once. A lot of times I even, yeah, odd times in the store.

You’re not even the employee one employee name and in the store

or sometimes to just feel like you want to do the bathroom and you’re in the bathroom. Right. And they’re not even out there.

So I’m asking you right now, if you’re listening to today, show, in what ways is the small business mindset plugging your business? So now when I started my first business, my first company, uh, DJ Connection, I started that business, um, from my oral Roberts University dormitory. And like most people that, that start a new business in a new startup, I had to be obs, you know, had to be resourceful. And I had to use whatever tools I can afford because obs, how much does a, a a nice, uh, speaker made by Mackey cost. What does a Mackey speaker cost? $300 and uh, how many of those speakers do you have now? Two. Two. Okay. So Mackie speakers, like $300. What are the New Light you got? What do I do? That New Light you just bought the, you, they’ll vertigo. What did that light cost? Like $120. Yeah.

Okay. So vix cost money, right? So I’m working at, at my college dorm room, I’m working at at a target. I got apple direct TV, my three jobs or Applebee’s target and direct TV. So I’m working all those jobs and try to be resourceful. And so Aubrey, do you think that I, a m could hire a marketing firm to make a great logo for myself or who do you think of made it you right. And was I a marketing expert at that time in my life? No. So do you think my logo looked awesome or not awesome?

Uh, probably not that good.

Yup. But it was the best I could do, but it wasn’t that good. And who made all of my marketing materials do you think made my flyer and all my print pieces? I didn’t have a website yet. But who made all those things? You probably did them right into they look good. No. No. Unfortunately friends, family and everyone that I knew, every single person that I knew knew my marketing materials didn’t look good except for me now, Aubrey, why do you think most people who knew me? Friends. Family, people. Why? Why do you think they didn’t tell me? Like, hey buddy, your marketing materials look terrible. What? Why do you think, and your and your 11 year old, almost 12 year old mind, why do you think most people wouldn’t tell me like Broseph that looks terrible.

Because they didn’t want to offend you or make you mad.

They didn’t want to. What? Offend you. Hey, make sure you eat that Michael of your corn dog by the way. Okay. Do you like brought worse to be like corn dogs or what’s your favorite kind of a hot dog fish product. Hot Dog. Okay, so rock that. Michael, you’re eating a hot dog, man. All right. All right. Make sure you’re bringing an Alacrity, man. Okay. Okay. So you’re saying that people didn’t want to, what?

They didn’t wanna offend you,

right? However, Ilan mosque Arbor, do you know who Elon Musk is?

Um, for like, is he the, yeah, I know he’s a business person.

Okay. Well he’s the guy who’s, you know, is behind Tesla Space X. Uh, oh yeah, yeah, the reasonable rockets being used right now by NASA, the reusable rockets used by NASA, the electric car, Tesla, paypal, that kind of thing. Um, and he says, brand is just a perception and a perception will match reality over time. Sometimes it will be ahead, other times it will be behind. But brand is simply a collective impression that some people have about a product. Obs, what does that mean to you? What, what does that quote mean to your 11 year old cranium?

Um,

because it means that, um, I just kinda forgot. No, no problem. No problem. This is good. This is good. So here’s the, here’s what it means to me is it means that people are judging your business based upon how you look. Uh, whether that’s good or not, right? The customer, ing, Aubrey, would you buy, would you, uh, would you hop on this radio show on this podcast and talk about how great your come and go experience was just because you know those people or do you think it’s terrible? Just cause it’s terrible thing? It’s terrible. Just because, well, well what, I mean, what if you knew that guy we’re going to come and go, who was terrible? Would you tell him to his face? Would you say, Hey, do your friend, your uh, business is terrible. Would you say that? I wouldn’t want to say to him why cause it fandom, but if it, what if it was making him poor?

What if he was poor as a result of being terrible at customer service and terrible at running his business? I mean, if he was terrible at running to his company because he has a company, do you think you should tell them it’s terrible or just let him be terrible? Should probably tell him. It’s a terrible, most people don’t though. And so at what point, how bout bad does it have to get before you would say something? If he was your best friend, your good buddy, your homeboy Drake music, like really poor. I’d probably tell him what if he was just Kinda for a, I’ll probably tell him, but if it was, if he was doing okay, then it probably wouldn’t tell him. Really? Yeah, but Oh, you’re a meany. Okay. Now whenever you start a business, you don’t have to put an LLC on the sign.

I’ll be doing LLC stands for, I think it stands for like a franchise. It’s a limited liability corporation. So, uh, what is your lawn mowing business? You’re starting a Motown, tulsa.com. Motown. You got to eat that microphone, man. It’s one tulsa.com right? Make sure you hold that mic talking to that Mike projected to that. Mike, it’s going to be a beautiful thing. So Motown, tulsa.com that’s your, that’s your lawn. A light landscaping service. And how much is your first mo? I’m free. Free. Really? Yup. Is that a good deal? Yeah. Okay. Do you have to put on your website, Motown, Tulsa LLC? No. Just Spotify. Say Spotify LLC? No. Does the Mackey Speaker Company say Makki LLC on their website? I do not think so. Does no, you don’t have to, but as a small business owner, so many small business owners for whatever reason are putting LLC on their business card. You don’t need to say like, well, my name is Doug and my name is Dale Doug’s DJ company LLC. You don’t need to do that on commercials on the radio. They always do that too. There was like taught like pulling commercials, throw saying LLC. You don’t need to do that. You don’t need to that now. Non branded email. Our review got an email from a guy and it says, well, my name is Roy, [email protected] which one is more credible to you?

Probably the mackey.com. Why? Because it’s not just the whole bunch of random letters. It’s like a, it’s a real thing.

What does it mean in your mind to look more professional?

What does that mean? It means the like your websites. Well, you got to eat that Mike. Like your website’s not really sketchy, like kind of like, it looks like professional. There’s, so does your website in your mind look more, does your, does your brand look more professional? If you have an email where it’s monetary measure, Doug, two three seven at [inaudible] dot com or my name was [email protected]. Why? Why does one look more professional in your mind is simpler and simpler. What else? It’s uh, it’s something that people are familiar with.

It seems like you’ve actually taken the effort to build a website and a brand. You’ve got to do that now. Step number three, step number three, this is area number three were people out there today are making their business unintentionally look small like an area number one. I see every day, each and every day where people are making their business look small is when you’re featuring the phrase LLC on all print materials. You don’t need to do that. Move to, you don’t need to have a non branded email. You don’t need to be, uh, just operating your business with a Gmail or Yahoo account. I mean, it’s only like $5 a month to make a Google account that will help your small business earn credibility with your potential customers. Now, RB, the next move, move number three, the area number three, that’s really plugging small businesses. This is an area, the small business mindset that’s really killing small businesses. Everywhere is where you have family and friends only make your print materials even if they’re terrible. Aubrey, why do you not want to have family and friends make your print materials even if they’re terrible?

Because if won’t do is as good as job as PR professionals. Yeah,

I mean, can you tell Aubrey if a website looks professional in your mind or, or a business looks professional.

Uh Huh. Yeah, yeah, but just like a yellow background rock, a green background. And that’s not usually professional [inaudible] you just have like a drain thing of words on top of it.

This just in this, Justin, do you own a business and your marketing materials? Don’t look professional, you are going to repel business and nothing’s going to cheapen the value that you actually offer to the marketplace more than poorly designed websites, brochures, print pieces. It’s just not going to be good. Now Aubrey, move number four. This is, this is area number four. That’s plugging small businesses everywhere. Arbor, when you look up a company and it has bad reviews and nothing but bad reviews, when all the reviews are bad, would you buy from that company? No. When was the last time you read reviews? Did you read reviews? When you bought a speaker? Did you read reviews? When you subscribe to a new DJ Service? Have you ever read reviews?

I think I read reviews on the Mackie speakers. You did? Yes. Where’d you find those reviews? Do you remember? Um, on the website where you go to like to, to buy it and you scroll down and you gotta eat dead microphone. I’m telling Ya, you scroll down. Yep. And then there’s reviews usually.

So before you spent 300 hard earned dollars on speakers, you read reviews?

Yes. Why? Because you don’t want to buy them and they not work.

Do you remember reading reviews about something that was terrible? Yes. What was something that you read? Review on? It was terrible.

Thank you. It was a harbinger speakers.

The harbinger speakers? Yeah. They’re guitar center. Brand one. Oh, they’re terrible. Those are, those are the worst. Those are, those are absolutely just just just terrible speakers.

Yeah, just the worst.

You’re out there today and you’re thinking about marketing your company, growing your company. You’re asking yourself, Oh God, I don’t know why. I don’t know. I’m not, my ads aren’t more effective online. Well, one, if you have nothing but negative reviews, your, your call center is going to sound like this.

[inaudible]

nobody’s going to call you. I’m telling you. If you have bad reviews and nothing but bad reviews, people are not going to call you this thing today. You want to keep your rating if you can at 4.8 or higher, you got, you gotta do everything you possibly can to improve your service quality. Our review out there doing a bad job. Do you think people tip? I mean, are we getting over the last time you went out to eat where you thought, man, that was not a good experience. Did you have you have one where you think of where that was? Remember, remember that steakhouse you and I went to over there by the house at 100 and a first and memorial that went out of business. Do remember that sir? That, that steak house.

Ah,

the one where it took forever to get the guacamole. Do you remember that there was, it was a Mexican restaurant that we used to be a steak house over there. My Papa John’s. You remember that? Yes. What made that experience terrible and makes you eat that mic?

Um, because they were not, they were taking a long time to do anything and it just was not, it was very slow.

You and I went in there and I did it. It took what, five minutes to greet us. I think from the time we sat down to the time we got our food. How long was it dude, do you think in your, in your 11 year old man mind? Like 45 minutes. It had been 45 minutes. Seriously. It was like it was the longest. Now, do you think that you and I wanted to go back? No. Why do you think that? I personally don’t write bad reviews. Why do I not write bad reviews? Because then, oh, I gotta eat that. Like I’m telling you, it’s a spiritual thing. You have to keep, just hold that Mike, put your face on that mic. Why do you pick? I don’t write bad reviews about businesses

because there’s no point in just a whining about things for awhile or

also everyone can see who left the review and I don’t want to be the kind of person who’s running around leaving bad reviews. It’s bad Karma. It’s bad Mojo. Bad Energy, not good at it. I’m not gonna leave bad reviews about businesses, but did you want to go back?

No. Why? Because it was just terrible. Come on, man. And the restaurant by bass shop. Yeah, they have good food there. They just didn’t like have any advertising so nobody knew they were there.

That was a great business. Great Food though, right? Remember again, I went through great food,

great food, and great service. Just didn’t have any advertising.

Yeah, so you, again, you’ve gotta be self aware to people. Actually know that you exist. You investing a lot of money in your company. Doesn’t mean that people know you exist. You passionately promoting it on your Facebook page. Doesn’t mean that people know it exists. You got to advertise. You have to advertise. If you do not advertise, you will lose Michael Lovey and the PR consultant of choice for Nike, Prince Michael Jackson.

Okay.

Charlton Heston, Nancy Kerrigan, President Bush, President Clinton, he has been on our show before and he talked about the biggest brands in America. Spend at least 5% at least a minimum of 5% of their gross revenue advertising. Whereas the average small business owner doesn’t advertise at all or very little. Can. You talked about the fastest growing companies in America. They average 10% of their gross budget being spent on advertisement. I mean Nike, apple, think about these great big companies. They spend a great deal of money advertising opera. Have you ever watched something on youtube and then an apple commercial interrupts you or a Nike commercial interrupts you? Have you ever had, you had a seen a commercial on Youtube?

Yeah. Like apple or Nike or best buy. Yeah. And recently a lot of Lowe’s commercials.

And do you think that a Lowe’s thinks that, do you and I don’t know they exist.

Um, but they know we exist. They just want to like advertise things and get people in the door and buy certain. Yeah.

And why do they want to keep advertising even though we know they already exist? Why don’t they just wait for us to call them?

Because then, then we air reminds us that they have something that we might want to get. And then [inaudible].

Now you told me about the, uh, the, the blower company, the Lawn Mower Company, the lawn mower blower or weed eater repair company in Broken Arrow called broken Arrow lawn and garden.

It’d be a lawn and garden. And do they just send us something in the mail? Yeah. What do they send us in the mail? It will said 59 95 for um, alarm more to be fixed. And it includes all the parts as you’ve replaced with,

so for 59, 95, you’re saying they send us a special in the mail and that was, what was it a catalog? Was it a print piece? Did a guy show up and knock on our door? How did you hear about [inaudible]

does, uh, it was just like a little flyer thing and it just had like a picture of law Moore’s on it. How did you know about this ozone or counter or I smell [inaudible].

You mean your 11 year old mind saw that advertisement?

Mm hmm. Mm.

Are we thinking about the DJ gear you’ve recently bought, like the case or the turntables or the Mike stands or the speaker stands or anything you bought recently. What are some things that you learned about from advertising

that the more you advertise, then the more people will know about the things you’re selling. What are some products that you bought because you saw the ad?

Where did you all watch you find them? How did you find how you’re 11 years old, how did you find out about things you should buy?

Um, on youtube videos, like TJ, youtube videos and you were saying you went on Youtube and we’ll search for what? What’d you search for? I would just search for videos about DJ equipment. Rolling. Yeah. And that’s how you found out what to buy? The Mackie speakers weren’t reviewed that good, but they were, I know that I’ve, I know that I friend them before. I know they sound okay. Okay. But you did read reviews a little bit. Yeah, I know they aren’t terrible and they’re the best, but they’re like for what the money is, right.

Well cause you’re 11 and we’re building the DJ empire. Right. But we tend to, we can’t really start growing a company until my noncompetes over. So it’s just you and your 11 year old self. How many gigs have you done now so far? DJ Gigs. Have you thought about it?

Think like six seed and six gigs, you know. And have you been paid on any of these gigs yet? I think I’ve been, I didn’t pay him two of them. Two of them. What was the best paying Gig so far? A Christmas party.

Christmas party. And makes you eat that Mike like us. I got some bagged corn dog. Okay, so how much did you get paid when you a DJ? That first, uh, how much did he get paid to DJ? The Christmas party? 200 whoa. $200 you’ll pay $200 and a [inaudible]. No. No. You don’t feel bad. You’re not upset that you’ve only been paid twice. Right? But you’ve only been paid twice. Am I correct?

Actually, I think I got paid once. $20 to DJ a Christian chapel too. So you got paid a total of three times. Yes.

Now why are you not upset that you haven’t been paid a lot yet as a young 11 year old disc jockey?

Because I’m just starting and it would make no sense to be able to pay me a whole bunch of money if they don’t know if I’m good or not. Are you getting better? Yes. How do you get better practicing?

How many hours are your practice you’ve ever maybe DJ for like an hour so far? Have you deejayed for maybe 50 hours, you’d you have any idea?

I think about probably 60 hours. How many hours have you spent riding that mower? Uh, well a lot more says you has 60 hours on it. 60 hours.

Yeah, I think deejaying you have to give DJ a lot more than 60 hours. Thank you. Just have 60 on the brain. I think you’ve deejayed a lot more hours than that dude. Did you think of it? We have people over the house. I mean like a hundred. I dunno bro. You’re probably into hundreds at this point, man. And then every Tuesday you meet with Marshall and do what? What do you do with mark?

Um, music production. And he teaches you how to do what? Oh, like make beats and for songs and stuff. Is it every Tuesday? Yup. Really? Hey, are you getting better? Yeah. You’re getting worse? Nope. What’d you do last week? For the first time? Uh, I used a drum machine to make a beats site and then I get like different sounds. So I can different layers. So your personal quest to talk as quietly as possible. Are you trying to avoid? No, I’m talking.

There we go. Nice. Nice. Now here’s the deal. Starting a successful business is tough, my friends. But you don’t want to make it harder than it needs to be. Um, by being dysfunctional with your marketing materials. As a small business owner, you never, you never get that second chance to make that very first, very first customer impression. So ask you this. What was the, what was the last time, when was the last time that you had an objective person? Just audit and look at your marketing materials and your online web. I mean, it might just be now to evaluate your marketing materials. Now if your husband is building your website or your wife or for the love of all this holy, don’t, don’t have them evaluate their website. Don’t have your own web guy. Evaluate the website. Have somebody who creates marketing materials that are clearly better than you.

We only have 160 clients that we can help at a time in this whole great world. So, um, you can check to see if we’re available and if we are, we’d love to help you. But if not, come to a business conferences, we’d love to help you. We’d love to point out how we can help you grow your business in the specific steps you need to take to take your branding to the next level. But for the love of all that is holy and great and wonderful. And don’t add the word LLC seed all print materials. Don’t run around with a non branded email address. Don’t have your family members make all your print pieces just because they’re family or someone who can do it for cheap. Don’t run around with bad reviews, not knowing about it. You can’t be the last person on the planet to know about your bad reviews. My name is Clay Clark and I’m super passionate about helping you to grow your successful business. You’re your successful small business because I believe that a business exists to serve you and to create the time freedom and financial freedom needed to go fix a bike. So Abriendo have any further ado? We’ve got an inner show. The boom. Are you psychologically ready yet? Are you mentally ready? Yes. Are you metaphysically ready?

Okay,

sure. Hey, that was kind of a long response. Are you metaphysically ready? Yes. Are you ready? In every possible way? Yes. Are Your shoes tied tight? Don’t have laces on my shoes. Oh, okay. In my face. All right, here we go. And now without any further ado, three, two, one, boom.

[inaudible].