On this episode of The Small Business Radio Show…

We have a statistic that is going to shock you. According to the SBA, of the 30M businesses in the U.S., only 64% of small businesses have a website. How could that be? Small business owners often say things like: “I don’t know where to start”, “it’s too hard-” or “it’s too expensive.” Well, that all changes today. We show you how building and maintaining your own website just got a whole lot easier.

Then, for the small business owner, your best friend this past month has probably been your accountant. It has been a whole new ballgame this year with the new tax code for 2018. Millions of small businesses, which make up half the economy, filed their full-year taxes under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act for the first time. We summarize how the new tax law helped small business owners and how the NFIB (National Federation of Independent Business) helped make it happen.

Finally, meetings – it is a word that either excites you or terrifies you. It’s a word that can either bring to mind incredible collaboration or a total waste of time. We talk about the surprising science of meetings and give you practical tips for how you can hold effective meetings. Should you distribute an agenda? Should you sit or stand? How long should the meeting be? We answer all of your questions!

Listen to The Small Business Radio Show

Listen to “#531 Can You Really Build a Website in 45 Minutes?” on Spreaker.

Segment 1: Beth Thouin is the Vice President of Digital Marketing of Web.com

1:00 – Only 64% of SMB have a website. At web.com, what do you hear prevents small business owners from having their own website?

3:30 – Why do small business owners need a website?

5:45 – Can a business be too small to have a website? What if it’s just a side hustle?

6:45 – What is the difference between a domain and a website?

8:15 – What is the difference between a blog and website?

10:00 – What are the pros and cons of DIY-ing a website and hiring someone to create a website for you? What should a small business owner expect?

13:45 – A special offer for small business owners.

Segment 2: Juanita D. Duggan is President and CEO of NFIB (National Federation of Independent Business), the nation’s leading small business advocacy group. A native of Alabama, Duggan built an extensive career, serving at the helm of multiple, high-profile trade associations and in the White House during both the Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations.

20:00 – How does NFIB help small business owners influence the government?

22:30 – How did the new tax law help small business owners?

24:30 – Changing from a LLC to a corporation for tax benefits – is it worth it?

26:45 – What is the outlook for retail businesses in the United States?

29:45 – Small business’s powerful message to Congress and the best way for small business owners to communicate with their legislators.

32:00 – What is the outlook for small business in the United States?

Segment 3: Steven G. Rogelberg is Chancellor’s Professor at University of North Carolina, Charlotte, for distinguished national, international, and interdisciplinary contributions. He has well over 100 publications and recently won the highly prestigious Humboldt Award for his research on meeting science. His work has been profiled in the Harvard Business Review, CBS News, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, National Geographic, and Scientific American Mind. He is the author of the book “The Surprising Science of Meetings”.

35:00 – How did you get involved in studying the science of meetings?

36:45 – Why are meetings ineffective so often?

39:00 – To hold effective meetings, first start with a steward mindset.

41:30 – Think very carefully about who needs to be in your meeting: include the smallest number of people possible.

42:45 – Should you really distribute an agenda prior to every meeting?

44:15 – Why you should have meetings at unconventional times to be the most productive.

46:00 – What does the science of meetings say about stand up meetings?

47:00 – Does putting your phone in the middle of the table help you have a productive meeting?

48:15 – Why do people hate PowerPoint for meetings? How can people use it better to have more effective meetings?

50:00 – As a leader, evaluate your meetings periodically. How do you do this?

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