Why Being a Business Owner Isn't Always What You Expect - Larry Kim Interview

Why Being a Business Owner Isn’t Always What You Expect. Larry Kim

Larry Kim, the visionary leader and founder of WordStream, fully admits being a business owner isn't always what you expect. WordStream is one of the largest software companies in the world to focus on search engine marketing. The organization manages over a billion dollars a year in advertising, with approximately 10,000 clients worldwide. In a...

How Small Business Can Prevent and Recover from Security Threats

How Small Business Can Prevent and Recover from Security Threats: An Interview with Norman Guadagno

Keeping data secure is a must for every small business. While many small businesses feel that they are safe, or immune, from today’s cyber criminals, they are not. New threats arise every day, and savvy hackers are finding new ways of taking advantage of those who are not protected. Imagine this scenario: you are super...

Advice to Live By for Startup Entrepreneurs from Jessica Mah of inDinero

Indinero Founder Pivots Her Company to Success

For every movie-worthy startup success story (think Facebook), there are plenty more stories of unachieved dreams that we will never get to hear about. And that shouldn’t be surprising at all. Not when statistics show that about 50 percent of new businesses fail within the first five years. Sometimes, those numbers can be much...

Entrepreneur Ciara Stockeland on the Challenges and Nuances of Starting a Franchise Business

Entrepreneur Ciara Stockeland on the Challenges and Nuances of Starting a Franchise Business

There are at least 28 million small businesses in the US which account for about 54 percent of all sales. There are also 900,000 franchise businesses across 300 business sectors of the economy. And yet, despite these numbers, it’s not often that you will come across small business brands that are also franchises. This is where...

Business Growth Strategies for Niche Businesses An Interview with Josh Cohen of Junkluggers

Business Growth Strategies for Niche Businesses: Josh Cohen of Junkluggers

It’s not easy for anyone who has a crazy business idea to get to the point of implementing it. And yet, we frequently meet people who run businesses that make us think, “Hmmm. Why didn’t I think of doing that myself?” One such person who had a business idea and decided to just go for...

Lessons Learned and the Importance of Setting Goals and Being Flexible - an Interview with Inger Stapleton

Lessons Learned and the Importance of Setting Goals and Being Flexible – Inger Stapleton

Inger Stapleton is the entrepreneur behind Inga’s Lingua, a company that offers online Spanish classes for folks whose busy corporate schedules tend to get in the way of higher learning. I recently had a chance to speak to Inger about her journey from her own corporate career to the exciting life of an entrepreneur,...

Developing a One-of-a-Kind Brand James Hill and the Story of High Cotton

Developing a One-of-a-Kind Brand: James Hill and the Story of High Cotton

Several of our past Smart Hustle interview guests have spoken on the topic of developing a niche – not trying to be everything to everybody and instead focusing in on that one special thing that only you can offer. Of course, developing your one-of-a-kind brand is challenging, so I’m excited to share my recent...

Be Passionate and Humble Business Advice from Dr. Alvin Perry of P5 Designs

Be Passionate and Humble: Business Advice from Dr. Alvin Perry of P5 Designs

What kind of introduction do you give a man whose client list includes NASA, State Farm and several boards of education on the East Coast? Dr. Alvin Perry is a veritable renaissance man. He’s earned his DBA and his MBA. He also has 10 years of entrepreneurial experience, 20 years of consulting experience and...

Following Your Vision & Knowing When to Pivot Small Biz Advice from Dawn Dickson of Flat Out of Heels

Following Your Vision & Knowing When to Pivot: Dawn Dickson Shares

I met my latest interview guest in the green room at MSNBC, and I was drawn to her confidence and high energy. As it turns out, Dawn Dickson, the founder and CEO of Flat Out of Heels and Solutions Vending International, exhibits many of the characteristics I see in successful hustlers: namely, she is...

Using the Power of the Internet to Build a Manufacturing Business An Interview with Laina Gossman

Using the Power of the Internet to Build a Manufacturing Business: An Interview with Laina Gossman

Getting a product-based business off the ground has unique challenges compared to service-based businesses. Not only do you have to deal with marketing, branding, finding leads, and growing customers, but you also have to handle the designing and manufacturing of a physical product. Not knowing how to convert the idea into a mass-produced product...