The How of Business - How to start, run & grow a small business.

How to create an Annual Strategic Plan for your small business, with host Henry Lopez. Why you should create a strategic plan at the start of the new year and how to do so.

Show notes page: https://www.thehowofbusiness.com/504-annual-strategic-plan/

Henry shares best practices and tips and walks through the 10 steps to create your strategic plan – giving you a clear strategy and actionable plan to help you achieve continued success with your small business this year.

Visit the Show Notes page for this episode to get the free Strategic Action Plan Outline download.

Creating an annual strategic plan for your small business involves several high-level steps. Your annual strategic plan is a crucial tool for guiding the direction, priorities, and actions of your business over the course of this coming year.

Henry Lopez is the host of The How of Business podcast – helping you start, run and grow your small business. The How of Business is a top-rated podcast for small business and entrepreneurs. Find the best podcast, resources and trusted service partners for small business owners and entrepreneurs at our website https://TheHowOfBusiness.com

How Adam Siegel launched Recurate, a tech-enabled resale service that empowers brands and retailers to establish their own integrated resale platforms directly on their e-commerce sites.

Show notes page: https://www.thehowofbusiness.com/503-adam-siegel-fashion-resale-business/

From Aerospace Engineering to starting a business in the fashion resale business, Adam shares his fascinating entrepreneur journey.

Brands they work with include Steve Madden, Michael Kors, Christy Sports, and many others.

Adam shares the details of co-founding and launching this business and their current business model.

Henry Lopez is the host of The How of Business podcast – helping you start, run and grow your small business. The How of Business is a top-rated podcast for small business and entrepreneurs. Find the best podcast, resources and trusted service partners for small business owners and entrepreneurs at our website https://TheHowOfBusiness.com

Business owners share their Small Business Success Highlights, and host Henry Lopez shares popular resources from The How of Business.

Show notes page: https://www.thehowofbusiness.com/502-business-success-highlights-pt2/

On this special episode Henry Lopez (Serial Entrepreneur, Business Coach, and Host of The How of Business podcast) shares some information about The How of Business podcast and popular resources to help you start, run and grow your small business - including top book recommendations and most popular episodes from the past year.

He also features a few of his small business coaching clients as they share their small business success highlights – they share some of the challenges they have overcome this past year and insights into how they have grown their small businesses.

Business Owners featured on this episode:

Thomas Erickson, owner of Clark Distributing Company and Vegefood.com
McKay Coombs co-owner of Coombs Landscaping & Hardscapes
Natasha Londono, owner of Rumbita

Top resources featured include:

Trusted Service Partners for Small Business
Top Book Recommendations
Most Popular Small Business Podcast Episodes of 2023

Henry Lopez is the host of The How of Business podcast – helping you start, run and grow your small business. The How of Business is a top-rated podcast for small business and entrepreneurs. Find the best podcast, resources and trusted service partners for small business owners and entrepreneurs at our website https://TheHowOfBusiness.com

CPA Matt Chiappetta shares Year-End Tax Considerations for Small Business Owners (starting at 10:00).

Show notes page: https://www.thehowofbusiness.com/501-matt-chiappetta-tax-considerations/

Matt is Henry's CPA, and he is excited to have him on the podcast to share his tips and advice on year-end tax planning for small business owners. He also shares his entrepreneur journey and why he decided to open his own business.

Matt is the CPA for Solopreneurs and small business owners.

Matt Chiappetta helps optimize the financial lives of Solopreneurs by focusing on personal and business tax planning, and all the other little details that encompass their financial life.

In his past life, Matt was the CFO of a Registered Investment Advisory firm, and Corporate Controller for a manufacturing business where he assisted with a healthy 8-figure exit for the owners.

Henry Lopez is the host of The How of Business podcast – helping you start, run and grow your small business. The How of Business is a top-rated podcast for small business and entrepreneurs. Find the best podcast, resources and trusted service partners for small business owners and entrepreneurs at our website https://TheHowOfBusiness.com

Featured business owners share their Small Business Success Highlights, and host Henry Lopez shares popular resources from The How of Business.

Show notes page: https://www.thehowofbusiness.com/500-business-success-highlights/

On this special episode Henry Lopez (Serial Entrepreneur, Business Coach, and Host of The How of Business podcast) shares some information about The How of Business podcast and popular resources (including Top Downloads and Trusted Service Partners) to help you start, run and grow your small business.

He also features a few of his small business coaching clients as they share their small business success highlights – they share some of the challenges they have overcome this past year and insights on how they have grown their small businesses.

Featured businesses include:

• Eva Stoeger owner of Maui’s Finest Gifts
• Kaiden Routh owner of Routh Sales & Rentals
• Haley Johnson owner of Whatley Swim

Henry Lopez is the host of The How of Business podcast – helping you start, run and grow your small business. The How of Business is a top-rated podcast for small business and entrepreneurs. Find the best podcast, resources and trusted service partners for small business owners and entrepreneurs at our website https://TheHowOfBusiness.com

From auto garage owner to becoming a hair replacement entrepreneur, Helena Gibson shares her inspiring journey.

Show notes page: https://www.thehowofbusiness.com/499-helena-gibson-hair-replacement-entrepreneur/

Helena is a highly successful serial entrepreneur, operating several businesses in the cosmetology and hair loss industry.

The global hair care market size was valued at over $91 billion in 2022! And the Hair Loss Treatment Products Market is expected to grow from USD 1.90 billion in 2023 to USD 2.80 billion by 2028.

Helena shares her entrepreneur journey, including her experiences in these industries, and how she developed her latest restorative hair care product.

Helena is a licensed cosmetologist with over 18 years of experience in the hair loss industry. She is a certified wig and hair replacement specialist and seamless extensions. She also has certifications for men’s hair replacement, women’s hair augmentation, and medical hair loss.

She is a serial entrepreneur, creator of the 7-Figure Salon Academy, founder of Strut Hair Solutions, founder of Unveil Restorative Hair Care, and a single mom. She is the host of The 7-Figure Salon Podcast. And she is the author of “Lead Like a Woman: Tales from the Trenches” and “Secrets to Beautiful Hair”.

Henry Lopez is the host of The How of Business podcast – helping you start, run and grow your small business. The How of Business is a top-rated podcast for small business and entrepreneurs. Find the best podcast, resources and trusted service partners for small business owners and entrepreneurs at our website https://TheHowOfBusiness.com

How to price your product or service. Henry Lopez shares the fundamentals of pricing your products or services to operate a profitable small business.

Show notes page: https://www.thehowofbusiness.com/498-pricing-fundamentals/

Downloads available on the show notes page:

• Pricing Fundamentals for Small Business Owners
• Priceless BizNotes

How do you price your product or service to find that balance between what your target market will pay and what you need to charge to make a profit?

On this episode of The How of Business podcast for small business owners, Henry Lopez shares his approach to pricing and what he has learned from other experts about pricing for small business products and services.

Pricing Markup Calculation - 6 Steps:

1. Calculate Indirect Expenses (Overhead).
2. Calculate Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) or Cost of Sales.
3. Set Target Selling Price.
4. Calculate Break-Even Point.
5. Determine Markup.
6. Adjust Selling Price.

Henry Lopez is the host of The How of Business podcast – helping you start, run and grow your small business. The How of Business is a top-rated podcast for small business and entrepreneurs. Find the best podcast, resources and trusted service partners for small business owners and entrepreneurs at our websitehttps://TheHowOfBusiness.com

Workers' Compensation Insurance for small business owners with Kevin Ring. Understanding and managing Workers' Compensation Insurance is crucial for small business owners, balancing both employee safety and benefits, and the financial impact on a small business.

Show notes page: https://www.thehowofbusiness.com/497-kevin-ring-workers-compensation/

Kevin shares his expert tips and in-depth knowledge on managing Workers' Comp effectively. Kevin is the Lead Workers’ Compensation Analyst at the Institute of WorkComp Professionals (IWCP), which trains both insurance agents and employers in how to build a successful workers’ comp program.

Employers have been taught that because workers' comp is mandatory, and the policy is the same no matter who they work with, that they have no control and should just shop for the lowest price. But nothing could be further from the truth!

Kevin has reviewed and analyzed over 1,200 experience mod worksheets with clients and has served as an expert witness in litigation involving the workers' comp premium audit.

Henry Lopez is the host of The How of Business podcast – helping you start, run and grow your small business. The How of Business is a top-rated podcast for small business and entrepreneurs. Find the best podcast, resources and trusted service partners for small business owners and entrepreneurs at our website https://TheHowOfBusiness.com

5 Reasons You're Causing Chaos in your small business with Henry Lopez. To avoid or fix a chaotic business environment requires multiple approaches, but perhaps nothing is more important than asking ourselves (and perhaps our partners and leaders) if we are the primary cause of the chaos.

Show notes page: https://www.thehowofbusiness.com/496-5-reasons-you-are-causing-chaos/

Reducing chaos and fostering a more organized and efficient environment within a small business can significantly contribute to its success and make it a significantly more enjoyable business to be a part of.

We are not referring to good chaos – as there are times when some level of chaos is to be expected. We are talking about the consistently chaotic and disorganized work environment that perhaps has become the norm for your small business.

5 Reasons You're Causing Chaos:

1 – It’s Your Identity
2 – You’re not great at delegating.
3 – You’ve created a culture of dependency and chaos.
4 – You don’t trust your team.
5 – You are Managing, not Leading

Henry Lopez is the host of The How of Business podcast – helping you start, run and grow your small business. The How of Business is a top-rated podcast for small business and entrepreneurs. Find the best podcast, resources and trusted service partners for small business owners and entrepreneurs at our website https://TheHowOfBusiness.com

The process and benefits of Minority/Women-Owned Business Enterprise (M/WBE) Certification (starting at 11:52) to help grow your small business with Sheena Thomas.

Show notes page: https://www.thehowofbusiness.com/495-sheena-thomas-mwbe-certification/

Sheena is a 25-year supplier diversity program and diversity certification program professional. As the first Black woman Executive Director of the only two regional certification agencies in Texas, she was responsible for the certification of over 40,000 combined applicants and was the Supplier Diversity Coordinator for the nation’s largest natural gas distributor, Atmos Energy.

Minority/Women-Owned Business Enterprise Certification - a designation given to businesses that are primarily owned, managed, and controlled by individuals who are women or belong to a recognized minority group. This certification offers these businesses better access to certain public contracts, training, and financial opportunities.

Sheena launched Lengo Strategic Partners in 2016 and helps minority and women owners gain access to corporate and government contracting opportunities by securing their M/WBE certifications. Lengo Strategic Partners also supports corporate clients by developing and enhancing supplier diversity programs. She is a newly published author with her debut collaboration project, “Building Beyond the 9 to 5” a collection of stories from Black women professionals and entrepreneurs.

Minority, Women-Owned, Disadvantaged, and Small Business Enterprise Certifications offer entrepreneurs access to local, state, federal and corporate contracting opportunities.

Henry Lopez is the host of The How of Business podcast – helping you start, run and grow your small business. The How of Business is a top-rated podcast for small business and entrepreneurs. Find the best podcast, resources and trusted service partners for small business owners and entrepreneurs at our website https://TheHowOfBusiness.com