The Small Business Matters Podcast

If you run a small business or are thinking of starting a business, you have come to the right place. In this podcast, Experian interviews experts, authors, influencers, and business owners about strategies for running a successful business. We talk about credit, marketing, innovation, sales, management, and more.

Crafting The Perfect Sales Pitch with April Dunford 04/01/2024

Accounting For Success with Cassie Saquing 03/11/2024

Busting Myths About Advertising On LinkedIn with AJ Wilcox 01/08/2024

Boosting Email Security For Your Small Business 12/11/2023

Boosting Email Security For Your Small Business In this episode of Small Business Matters, Gary Stockton interviews of , a noted expert in the field, about the importance of email security for small businesses. They discuss the concept of DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) and its role in preventing cyber breaches and email fraud. Stephen emphasizes the need for small businesses to implement DMARC to protect their email addresses, improve the reputation of their legitimate email messages, and be a good neighbor on the internet. He also highlights the challenges faced by small businesses in setting up and maintaining DMARC and provides advice on overcoming these obstacles. Additionally, Stephen shares real-world examples of how implementing DMARC has significantly reduced email fraud and phishing attacks for small businesses. He discusses the evolving role of DMARC in email security and predicts that it may become a requirement in the future. Stephen also addresses the importance of training employees to recognize and respond to phishing attempts effectively. Finally, he advises small businesses that outsource their email infrastructure to thoroughly evaluate the security measures in place and not to assume that everything is done. Key Takeaways: DMARC is a powerful tool that can prevent cybercriminals from using a business's email addresses and improve the reputation of legitimate email messages. Only about 2% of all domain names have fully implemented DMARC, indicating a significant need for small businesses to prioritize email security. Small businesses should invest in security awareness training and testing to educate employees about phishing attempts and improve their ability to recognize and respond to them. Outsourcing email infrastructure does not absolve small businesses from the responsibility of ensuring email security. They should actively monitor and evaluate the security measures implemented by their email service provider. For any resources mentioned on the show today, visit our show notes over at Want to help us grow? Drop us an honest review and rating on whichever platform you are listening on. FOLLOW US | | | | | | | | /episode/index/show/smbmatters/id/29000608

Retirement Plans For Small Business Owners 11/14/2023

Building The Ultimate Marketing Engine with John Jantsch 09/12/2023

Grow Your Online Business with Pinterest 08/22/2023

Tips for Buying or Selling a Business 07/11/2023

Resources for LGBTQ+ Small Business Owners and Entrepreneurs 06/22/2023

Tips For Staying Organized in Business 06/07/2023

How Small Businesses Can Leverage AI Tools To Be More Effective in Internet Search 05/15/2023

Taking On Business Debt | Christina Edel 05/01/2023

New Fed Report on Small Business with Emily Wavering Corcoran | Ep. 12 04/03/2023

Rock LinkedIn Engagement For Your Business with Judi Fox Ep. 11 02/14/2023

Forging New Pathways for People with Disabilities | #10 11/28/2022

Helping Underserved Small Businesses #009 09/13/2022

Why Women's Equality Matters #008 08/22/2022

Financing Options For Your Small Business #007 07/18/2022

Financing Options For Your Small Business #007 If you are considering financing for your small business or feeling unsure which type of financial institution might be best to work with, this episode of Small Business Matters is just for you as we focus on small business finance. We sat down with executives from four different financing companies ranging from Fintech, to CDFI, to Equity Crowd Funding and Traditional Brick and Mortar banks to talk about how they serve small businesses. Fintech Standout Biz2Credit Streamlines Funding Process for Small Business Segment #1 0:58 is one of the country's leading experts in small business finance. His company, , uses technology to streamline business funding. We talk about the origins of FinTech, their VirtualCFO platform, which enables small business owners to benchmark how they are doing to other businesses in their space, and what’s driving growth for fast, convenient online funding, and why more small businesses are turning to FinTech lenders. CDFI’s Provide Myriad Assistance to Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs Segment 2 9:43 CDFI stands for Community Development Financial Institution, they are mission-driven community resources of financing for small businesses, and they play a crucial role in the financial ecosystem. We spoke with , Founding Partner of , an organization determined to help existing CDFI’s serve bigger markets. In our discussion, we talked about what characteristics CDFI’s look for in small businesses and entrepreneurs they work with, and what CDFI has planned for major city expansions in places like Fort Worth, Texas. Seed at the Table Offers Innovative Crowdfunding for Small Businesses and Investors to Help Close the Racial Funding Gap Segment 3 23:00 is a mission-driven crowdfunding platform committed to connecting diverse entrepreneurs with investors. They raised $1.3 million in less than a year for businesses founded by women, and people of color. Co-Founder sat down with Experian’s Emily Garman to talk about their mission, and some of the early successes they had in closing the racial funding gap. First Citizens is Banking on Strong Relationships with Small Businesses Segment 4 31:00 As America's largest family-controlled bank, has been supporting consumers and small businesses across the US for more than 120 years. They operate more than 600 locations in 22 states and recently merged with CIT Group, making them one of the top 20 US banks. We spoke with the bank’s Senior Director of Business Credit, Phil Hains, about how they support small businesses, what a small business should have in place before seeking funding, and how the bank is embracing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in their branches through their bankers and the greater small business community. For any resources mentioned on the show today, visit our show notes over at Want to help us grow? Drop us an honest review and rating on whichever platform you are listening on. FOLLOW US /episode/index/show/smbmatters/id/23780447

Talking Workplace Inclusion with LGBTQ Business Owners #006 06/09/2022

Small Business Change Masters with Barry Moltz - #005 03/14/2022

Small Business Change Masters with Barry Moltz - #005 We have three segments in this week's episode: Small Business Change Masters with Barry Moltz Inclusion-Forward Story - Brandelyn Green Highlights from the Fed's Small Business Credit Survey SEGMENT 1 In this talk we explore change, coming up with a plan and following through with Barry Moltz (). Barry gets business owners unstuck. He’s a nationally recognized expert on small business, he’s given hundreds of presentations to audiences ranging in size from 20 to 20,000, appearing on many TV and radio programs. Barry speaks from experience, founding and running many small businesses with a great deal of success and failure for more than 20 years. His first book, “You Need to Be A Little Crazy: The Truth about Starting and Growing Your Business” describes the ups and downs and emotional trials of running a business. In his seventh book “” Barry explores follow-through, and why so many small business owners pay for expensive advice, agree to take action ... and then never follow through. SEGMENT 2 Brandelyn Green - Turning health adversity into triumph For our Inclusion-Forward segment this week we focus on the power of community to grow a successful small business. From the onset of her business, Brandelyn Green () understood the value a strong community could bring. Her company, Voice of Hair helps women of color find the best hairstylists, hair products and hair extensions through a portfolio of pictures, videos and reviews. But it was a personal health crisis that spawned the idea for her thriving line of hair care products which she sells on . She also cultivates a thriving community on her . SEGMENT 3 Emily Wavering Corcoran - Program Manager The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland We taped our interview on Friday, March 4th, 2022, ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting. In November of last year, The Federal Reserve Banks conducted the Small Business Credit Survey. In all they surveyed nearly 11,000 small businesses to ask them about their financial condition, whether they had sought financing in the prior 12 months and what effect the pandemic had on their business. The results of that survey have just been published in the 2022 Report On Employer Firms. We spoke with the Fed's Program Manager, Emily Wavering Corcoran. She works in the Community Development Department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. She touched on some of the most interesting highlights in the latest survey results. FOLLOW US: /episode/index/show/smbmatters/id/22412159

Four Generations in Small Business - #004 02/16/2022

Small Business Economic Outlook - #003 01/19/2022

Supply Chain Challenges for Small Business - #002 10/05/2021

Small Business Storytelling with Chris Brogan - #001 09/07/2021

The Small Business Matters Podcast

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