*****End 2024 on a Great Note by Subscribing and Following the Best Small Business Podcast on Apple or Spotify*****

We want to thank 2024 for being a year of understanding, learning, and reflection. As a small business we have had to continue that this a business of love that grows as we grow as a company and as a culture. We keep learning that the business landscape changes daily and we have to adapt on the run it seems at times. We also reflect on where we started, where we are now, and where we hope to go in the future.

2025 already has some business owners worried and we understand those feelings. Those who are wondering if they will start their business soon, there are no guarantees of success but you will never know if you don't try. Tune in to this episode and see where your thoughts are about being or becoming a business owner in 2025.

#becomingabusinessowner #smallbusinessowner #blackpodcastersassociation #blackpodcaster #apparelbusinessowner #smallapparelbusiness #businessesin2025 #forcastingbusinessfor2025 #economyin2025 #eonomicstatusfor2025

***** Subscribe to the Best Small Business Podcast on the planet NOW!!!*****

We come with a great feelin of collaboration because of our inter with @Ermias Hagos of The Black Experience Podcast (YouTube). We are appreciative of him reaching out and inquiring if we would be willing to sit down and have a meet and greet session. Then we went on to realize all the great things we all have in common and then to put it on wax as they say lol.

The main thing to take from this episode is to be specific in what you are looking from in a potential collaborator and what everyone can possibly gain from the collaboration. Whether it is more views, more customers, better sales, etc., just be willing to understand what you are looking for. Click the link and tune in.....

#collabs #workingwithothers #likeminded #collaborations #HookingUp #talkingaboutthings #networking

***** Subscribe to One of the Best Business Podcasts Today on Apple or Spotify Platforms*****

A small business loan is money that can be borrowed from a prospective lender that will have to be paid back with interest. While a small business grant can be free money awarded to a small business that does not have to be paid back. The key from those last two sentences is that a loan requires repayment, whereas a grant does not.

There a key points about a small business loan and grants:

Application process:

Loan applications usually focus on creditworthiness and the ability to repay. We have talked about in an earlier episode about fixing your personal credit first. We continue to preach that after you become 18 your credit score number means more to you than your SS#.

Eligibility Criteria:

Both loans and grants may have certain criteria eligibility requirements based on certain business factors such as: size of the business, industry, location of the business, and financial health of the business. Sometimes grant eligibility can be more restrictive.

Just be aware of the financial stipulations can also can be associated with getting a loan or a grant. Tune in to this episode to see if your business can benefit from some financial stimulation.

#businessloan #businessgrant #financiallender #loan #grant #repayment #gift #freemoney #flexibility #applicationprocess #moneyawarded

*****Subscribe to our Podcast on Apple or Spotify Platforms Today*****

There are a number of ways a small business can accept payment from customers. Merchant services are various financial services for businesses to accept and process electronic payment transactions. It sounds simple, but that includes everything from hardware used for card payments to the virtual gateways that secure online transactions. As always, nothing in life is free either. The average credit card processing fee, which will be taken out of the merchant's (the business) sales revenue. This fee may range from about 1.5% to 3.5%. Merchants can negotiate their card processing fees, and they are not set in stone.

October of 2024, we had been noticing some "new" and "unexplained" charges coming from our business bank account for awhile. M&T Parker LLC has has a portable payment operating system from Clover. There had always been a standard monthly fee with a percentage fee of a certain percent on the amount of a processed purchase amount. We mainly used it for pop up events and in person purchases as well for our loyal customers. Long story short, we have not parted ways with Fiserv (the parent company) and Clover because of the unexplained charges and other not so cool customer service business transactions. Tune in to see if your small business is being service fees to death as well.

#smallbusinessowner #merchantservices #acceptablepayment #onlinetransactions #creditcard #creditcardpayments #banktransactions #monthlyfees #percentagefees #processingfees #electronicpayments #financialservices

******Please Subscribe to Our Podcast on Apple or Spotify Podcast Platforms*****

Over the years we see how celebrities are expanding their brands in multiple ways. It used to be a way of thinking to "let the little guy have this one". They basically were meaning not to go after every dollar, but how times have changed. The world of celebrity can be measured from the White House to the out house. Celebrities are casting a bigger net in the sea and they are now catching small businesses in them as well. They have so many advantages that many small businesses don't have. If they come into contact with a small business that contact could literally sink a small business. We want to let small business owners to keep on fighting and see what may happen when celebrities reach down to become business owners.

#smallbusinessowners #celebrity #celebritybusinessowners #smallbusiness #markerting #advertising #influencer #applepodcast #spotifypodcast #podcastshow #podcasters #blackpodcaster #blackpodcasterassociation #businesspodcast #itunespodcast #podcastinglife #podcastinghost

*****Subscribe today to the Watch4thehook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast*****

For our small business owners, take time right now to mark down your expenses as we go into 2025. It is always harder to argue facts than fiction or opinions. Write down what your day to day, month to month, or year to year expenses are for your business. This will help you to see how the current economic status is affecting you and your business. They say, "money makes the world go around". It is actually the movement and the exchange of monetary sources that makes the world go around. That is why there were 2 economic stimulus packages passed by the U.S. Congress during the height of the global Covid-19 pandemic. People were not getting out spending money, or exchanging monetary sources. The economy is paced by the population spending their hard earned dollars with businesses off all calibers. The issue is for the upcoming United States Presidential Administration, how will they make the following business concerns better of worse for small businesses.

• Access to capital
• Business taxation
• Tariffs on imported goods
• Tariffs on exported goods
• Business loan qualifications

#election2024 #yourvote #votingimpactsbusiness #smallbusiness #politicsimpactsbusiness #podcastinterview #franchise #podcastseries #spotifypodcast #applepodcast #inspiration #motivation #podcastlife #entrepreneur #womeninbusiness #podcastlove

*****Subscribe today to the Watch4thehook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast*****

We acknowledge to some the world looks a lot different right now, and to some the world looks a lot clearer. Small business owners, we feel your uncertainty and The Hooks may keep coming our way. This episode may take a more political stance than most, but we have to realize politics plays a role in just about every aspect of our everyday lives. Politics can regulate who your business can bank with or receive access to capital from. Politics can dictate your tax rate or how taxes can impact your business. Politics can impact whom you could hire to help work for your company. We would love for you all to tune into this episode and hopefully be exposed to a way of thinking about politics differently....

#election2024 #yourvote #votingimpactsbusiness #smallbusiness #politicsimpactsbusiness #podcastinterview #franchise #podcastseries #spotifypodcast #applepodcast #inspiration #motivation #podcastlife #entrepreneur #womeninbusiness #podcastlove

****** Subscribe to the Watch4theHook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast Today (Apple/Spotify)*****

This is a deeper dive into our topic from Episode 125: Is Your Influence Worth Your Price. We are really trying to prepare business owners and potential business owners how to study and analyze social media stats. Also, it may be best to understand that influencers are not professional paid advertisers or advertising agencies. Some maybe able to "sell" themselves, but that doesn't mean they can sell anything. Have you ever noticed when an influencer is promoting a prominent product, there is always a massive paid adverting campaign behind it? They are just the paid talent in that commercial, they are not the master mind or engine behind that paid advertising campaign. The big issue comes when they are paid to be that master mind on social media for a specific product and they don't know how to be that for a particular company. Then as a company your return on investment (ROI) will probably be a negative impact. Listen in to this episode to better understand if paying a social media influencer the right move for your company.

#socialmediainfluencer #paidadvertising #advertisingagency #paidadvertisingcampaign #influencer #numberoffollwrers #numberofsubscribers #likes #subscribers #shares #post #repost