On this episode of The Small Business Radio Show…
SEGMENT 1 with Alison Levine, starting at 0:00: Leading a small business is full of challenges, and navigating them can be daunting. Sometimes it never feels like you’ll reach “the top of the mountain.” Alison Levine is a history-making adventurer who served as Team Captain of the first American Women’s Everest Expedition. She shares leadership lessons for small business owners and leaders on how to lead teams in extreme environments.
SEGMENT 2 with Laurence Sotsky, starting at 19:45: As relief from the pandemic, there are a lot of federal tax credits that small businesses are eligible for that they know nothing about – and therefore don’t take advantage of. One is called the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) and we share what you need to know about claiming this tax credit this year.
SEGMENT 3 with John Brandon, starting at 37:00: We all struggle with productivity. For whatever reason, people refuse to block out the distractions and confuse being productive with being busy. Here is a 7-minute productivity solution that can help you get done what’s most important.
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More on each segment below.
Segment 1: Alison Levine is a history-making polar explorer and mountaineer. She served as team captain of the first American Women’s Everest Expedition, climbed the highest peak on each continent and skied to both the North and South Poles—a feat known as the Adventure Grand Slam—which only twenty people in the world have achieved. In January 2008, she made history as the first American to complete a 600-mile traverse across west Antarctica to the South Pole. She is the NYT bestselling author of “On the Edge: Leadership Lessons from Mount Everest and other Extreme Environments.”
1:30 – Your life story was the inspiration for a craft beer called Conquer the Route Chocolate Stout. Tell us about that!
3:45 – How did you get involved in mountain climbing and extreme sports?
6:15 – Is climbing Everest like you see it on the documentaries?
8:00 – What did you learn about success and failure after you did not reach the peak in 2002 with the American Women’s Everest Expedition?
11:30 – You went back years later to climb Everest (2010)…why go back if, in your own words, “it was not that important to go back”?
13:15 – Fear is a normal emotion, but complacency will kill you. How so?
14:45 – You don’t have to have total clarity to put one foot in front of the other.
Segment 2: Laurence Sotsky is the Chief Executive Officer of Incentify, responsible for all business and technical operations. He is an accomplished high-tech CEO with a track record of successfully managing high performing companies and teams. As a member of the SocalTech 50, Laurence has been recognized for his contribution to the Los Angeles Tech community. He has been instrumental in the successful exit of three companies.
19:45 – Why don’t small business owners take advantage of all the programs available through the CARES Act despite being eligible?
22:15 – What is the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) and what should small business owners know about it?
24:30 – How does a business qualify for the ERC?
29:00 – What’s the maximum amount a business can get with the ERC? What if the business received a PPP loan?
31:00 – When do you have to file for the ERC?
31:30 – Other tax credits and incentives (C&I) are available for small businesses include the R&D Tax Credit. What is it?
33:15 – What is the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC)?
Segment 3: John Brandon is a journalist and book author. He currently writes a column for Forbes.com about innovation and business. Before that, he wrote a daily column for Inc.com that ran for 10 years, amassing an audience of about 60 million readers in print and online. His new book is called “The 7-Minute Productivity Solution” and it debuts in January of 2022.
37:00 – Why are small business owners have such a hard time being productive?
38:30 – What is your definition of productivity?
40:30 – If you struggle with being productive, how do you overcome that?
43:30 – What’s magical about 7-minutes?
46:00 – Why is it important to create a morning routine and what are the stages of creating one?
49:00 – What are some of the 7-minute routines you can do throughout the day?
