Big Talk About Small Business
Hosted by Mark Zweig and Eric Howerton. Our Mission is to inspire, empower, and equip entrepreneurs with the knowledge and insights they need to succeed in their ventures. Through engaging conversations with industry experts, seasoned entrepreneurs, and thought leaders, we aim to provide valuable strategies, actionable advice, and real-world experiences that will enable our listeners to navigate the challenges, seize the opportunities, and build thriving businesses.
Episodes
133 episodes
Sell Through Trust: Building Real Relationships
Sales is the part of business most people want to outsource first, and it’s also the part you can’t afford to ignore. We get real about why founders have to sell early on, even if they’re introverted, technical, or allergic to the “salesy” ster...
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Episode 130
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56:18
Fighting the Slop: How to Win the War Against AI Garbage
Most small businesses think growth comes from squeezing margins. We’ve learned the opposite can be true: lower prices, ship more, and let volume create the learning, leverage, and momentum that higher prices can’t. That idea kicks off a wide-ra...
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Season 1
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Episode 129
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44:51
Chicken in the Box: Why Your Business Model is Broken with James Hatfield
Speed decides who wins. That’s the hard truth we unpack with James Hatfield, the blue-collar builder turned Chief Revenue Officer at LiveSwitch, a video-first AI platform that helps small businesses bid faster, reduce truck rolls, and turn phon...
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Season 1
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Episode 128
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58:43
Your Anxiety is Killing Your Profit with Abi Harmon
Ever feel like your brain is running a marathon while your body waves a white flag? We sat down with Abby Harmon, ex-Amazon leader and founder of House Harmon, to unpack how entrepreneurs can stay fast without frying their circuits. Abby lays o...
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Season 1
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Episode 127
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51:33
Kill the Hobby: Why I Risked My Family's Future for YouTube
What does it take to walk away from a thriving family restaurant and bet your future on YouTube lawn care tutorials? We sit down with Travis, whose winding path runs from TV weather to co-founding Feltner Brothers, to teaching digital media, to...
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Season 1
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Episode 126
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1:03:34
How to Lead When Everything is Falling Apart (Lessons from a Lt. Colonel)
Cities don’t become great by accident, they get there when people from every corner of the built environment share a clear purpose and a practical playbook. We sit down with Wes Craiglow, executive director of ULI Northwest Arkansas and founder...
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Season 1
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Episode 125
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51:51
Ep. 124 - Cash Flow Runs Franchises with Nolen Hughes
Cash flow, quality, and quiet scale: that’s the real story behind building a B2B service franchise that most people never see but everyone relies on. We sit down with Nolen Hughes, president of Jan Pro of Arkansas and the Ozarks, to unpack how ...
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Season 1
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Episode 124
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54:04
Ep. 123 - From Chick-fil-A to Cityscapes: Building Without a Safety Net | With Cameron Clark
The empty building at the corner isn’t an eyesore, it’s a question waiting for a brave answer. We sit down with developer Cameron Clark to unpack how a mid-century church becomes a walkable hub and why “public art with a P&L” might be the m...
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Season 1
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Episode 123
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50:58
Ep. 122 - Myths About Small Biz Funding | With Levi King
Revenue that covers costs beats any term sheet. That’s the thread running through our conversation with Levi King, founder of Lendio and Nav, who lays out a practical, no-BS roadmap to funding a small business without giving up control. We talk...
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Season 1
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Episode 122
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56:19
Ep. 121 - Partnerships, Pitfalls, and Payoffs With Joe Saumweber
Stop chasing startup fairy tales and start building a life that actually works. We sit down with Joe Saumweber, co-founder of RevUnit, to unpack how he grew an enterprise consultancy by bringing consumer-grade product thinking to frontline work...
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55:05
Ep. 120 - Overselling Kills Trust
Markets move fast and new competitors can appear overnight. We unpack how small businesses keep their edge by acting quickly, listening hard, and building trust with the people who fund, buy, and build the company. From saying yes to real custo...
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49:21
Ep. 119 - Entrepreneurship Ain’t Fun: It's a Fight
If you’ve been told entrepreneurship is “fun,” consider this your permission to delete that myth. We get honest about what building a business actually feels like: the fear after a big exit, the 10-to-1 ratio of problems to opportunities, the s...
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41:06
Ep. 118 - Build Through Meetings, Not Just Marketing
Tired of “storytelling” as a buzzword? We dig into the gritty, practical side of it: stories that earn meetings, align teams, and drive revenue. We start with the culture shift from storyteller-as-exaggerator to storyteller-as-operator, then ma...
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44:55
Ep. 117 - STOP Chasing Passion. Start Making Money.
What if we took the pressure out of starting and put revenue back at the center? We sit down with Jim Beach, author of School for Startups and host of a nationally syndicated radio show, to break the myths that keep people stuck: you d...
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51:19
Ep. 116 - Why Most Small Business Owners Panic
The ground is always moving under small businesses, but panic isn’t a plan. We pull back the curtain on how owners can stay liquid, avoid blind spots, and turn volatility into an edge. From COVID’s lopsided rebounds to today’s AI hype cycle, we...
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54:40
Ep. 115 - Solo Versus Scale: The Realities Of One-Person Companies
Think a one-person business is a fast track to freedom? We pull back the curtain on what it actually takes to build a resilient solo operation—where pricing, process, and discipline matter far more than motivational slogans. We talk through why...
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Season 1
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Episode 115
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50:20
Ep. 114 - From Paycheck To Practice
Ever feel torn between the safety of a paycheck and the pull to build something of your own? We sit down with Shawn, a software engineer well-versed in bank operations, to chart a practical path from employee to entrepreneur without betting the...
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Season 1
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Episode 114
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40:30
Ep. 113 - From Overwhelm To Order: How Entrepreneurs Choose What To Do First
Overwhelmed by a wall of tasks and not sure what actually moves the business forward? We get honest about the real work of prioritization: choosing one must-do each day, leading with discipline when motivation fades, and betting big on “soft” p...
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Season 1
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Episode 113
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41:55
Ep. 112 - From Niche To Exit: Building A Sellable Business
Want a buyer to knock on your door with a premium offer you didn’t see coming? We dig into how to build a company that’s simple to acquire, hard to replace, and valuable beyond EBITDA. The key is the shim strategy: become the tiny, vital fix in...
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Season 1
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Episode 112
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30:43
Ep. 111 - Inside The Hard Truth Of Management Transitions
Growth doesn’t stall when the product falters; it stalls when management turns into bureaucracy. We dive straight into the messy middle of leadership transitions and share a blunt playbook for founders who want to scale without losing their sou...
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Season 1
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Episode 111
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45:02
Ep. 110 – Strategy Is Not a Spreadsheet
Strategy only matters if it survives Monday. We take a candid look at how small businesses can turn plans into progress by focusing on action, clear ownership, and market reality. From the opening rant on “Department of the Obvious” stats to a ...
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Season 1
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Episode 110
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45:27
Ep. 109 - Stop Faking Corporate: Lead Like a Founder
Most leadership advice assumes you’ve got time, staff, and cash to spare. We don’t. We take you straight into the realities of small business leadership where the bank balance is thin, the to-do list is wide, and your actions, not your titles, ...
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Episode 109
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39:19
Ep. 108 - Stop Being the Victim
Tired of waiting for perfect conditions before you finally feel engaged at work? We get real about why that moment never comes and how to build momentum anyway. The core theme is simple and demanding: act like an owner, even when you’re an empl...
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Episode 108
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52:37
Ep. 107 - Entrepreneurs Don’t Take Vacations
Stop chasing balance like it’s a prize you win at the end of the grind. We delve into the real operating system of small businesses, managing imbalance, where pressure can build you up instead of break you, and where “hustle” is a strategy, not...
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Episode 107
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1:00:14
Ep. 106 - From Door-to-Door to Eight Figures
Growth isn’t magic, it’s math. We sit down with entrepreneur Joe Rare to unpack how he turned a failing, everything-for-everyone agency into a focused, scalable machine by choosing one niche, productizing delivery, and unleashing a disciplined ...
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Episode 106
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50:51