Two Questions That Clear Your To-Do List | Businessing

Two Questions That Clear Your To-Do List | Businessing

Your to-do list has a bad houseguest on it, and today is the day it goes. Pat runs your whole list through two questions and cuts everything that can't earn its spot. Some tasks sit on your list for weeks, quietly draining your brain space. Pat gives you two questions to judge every item: will it make you money in the next 90 days, and can you finish it in the next two weeks? Fail either one and it's gone, with authority. Then Michael the Magnificent joins for a round of Hype or Haze on AI, we try to figure out what's really happening with Iran and the markets, and Netflix quietly rebuilds cable. In this episode: 00:00 - To-Do List Judgment Day (Big Story) 02:31 - Two Questions to Keep or Cut a Task 04:59 - Strategic Quitting in Real Life 06:53 - Michael the Magnificent: Hype or Haze on AI 10:33 - Why "AI Changes Everything" Is Hype 13:04 - The IKEA Story: Cobots and Redeployed Work 16:31 - Cost Per Unit of Judgment 20:54 - Why AI Won't Replace Business Owners 27:29 - Athena Legal Solutions 29:11 - The News and What's Going On With Iran 34:52 - Consumers Are Still Spending Through Inflation 37:04 - Netflix Is Rebuilding Cable 38:38 - Deliver Your Business Like It's 20 Years Ago 43:34 - World Cup Semifinals Are Set 44:41 - Automation Bird Dog 46:48 - SBOC Awards and the September Conference Resources mentioned: Athena Legal Solutions: https://athenalegalsolutionsllc.com Automation Bird Dog: https://automationbirddog.com (promo code OWNIT) SBOC Awards, nominations open through July 31 Small Business Owners Community Conference, September 15 to 17, tickets $399 through July 31 then $499 on August 1 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PatMillerFridaysOff?sub_confirmation=1 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109 Listen anywhere: https://businessing.captivate.fm/listen Fridays Off Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com Small Business Owners Community: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com

Why Your Phone Isn't Ringing | Businessing

When your phone isn't ringing, it's almost never bad luck. It's one of two things: people can't find you, or they don't know why they should call you. I've been out training owners on AI, and I keep watching the same arc: connected, competent, then curious, right about when it starts feeling like a video game. That's the fun part, and it's why I do Claude training for small business owners. Then we get into the AI price war heating up between OpenAI, Anthropic, Grok, and a Chinese open-source model that's up 27 times in a week, and why that competition is good news for your budget. In the main event, I answer the question I hear constantly: why isn't my phone ringing? It comes down to whether people can find you and whether you're selling the transformation instead of a laundry list of services. In this episode: 00:00 - The AI adoption arc: connected, competent, curious 06:23 - The AI price war heating up between the big labs 10:15 - Why Claude Fable going pay-as-you-go matters 12:48 - When you actually need a business lawyer 15:08 - Why your phone isn't ringing 17:15 - Sell the transformation, not your list of services 19:51 - Bring your problem to the Idea Slam Resources mentioned: - Athena Legal Solutions: athenalegalsolutionsllc.com - Automation Bird Dog: automationbirddog.com (code OWNIT) 🎙️ Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PatMillerFridaysOff?sub_confirmation=1 🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109 🌐 Listen anywhere: https://businessing.captivate.fm/listen 📬 Fridays Off Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com 👥 Small Business Owners Community: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com #SmallBusiness #Entrepreneurship #PatMiller #Marketing #LeadGeneration #AI

How to Fire Someone the Right Way | Businessing

Firing someone is a skill, and nobody teaches it. After 20 years of managing people, here's exactly how I do it, whether it's for cause or for performance. This one starts personal. I got a once-in-a-lifetime call to take my son David to a World Cup game in Seattle, and I said yes without blinking, because that's the whole point of building your own thing. Then David Belman from Belman Homes joins me to explain something strange in the housing market: for the first time, new homes are cheaper than existing ones, and why about $131,000 in regulations is baked into every new build. We get into the new strikes on Iran, the news that Claude Cowork is finally coming to your phone, and Claude Fable getting extended to July 12. Then we close with the Idea Slam every owner needs: how to fire someone the right way. In this episode: 00:00 - Why owning your business beats a paycheck 01:29 - Cashing in your freedom for a World Cup trip with my son 10:01 - Why new homes are now cheaper than existing homes (David Belman) 21:48 - When you actually need a business lawyer 23:53 - New strikes on Iran and what they do to oil prices 25:04 - Claude Cowork is coming to your phone 28:41 - Claude Fable extended to July 12 29:45 - How to fire someone the right way (Idea Slam) Resources mentioned: - David Belman, Belman Homes - Athena Legal Solutions: athenalegalsolutionsllc.com - Automation Bird Dog: automationbirddog.com (code OWNIT) 🎙️ Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PatMillerFridaysOff?sub_confirmation=1 🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109 🌐 Listen anywhere: https://businessing.captivate.fm/listen 📬 Fridays Off Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com 👥 Small Business Owners Community: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com #SmallBusiness #Entrepreneurship #PatMiller #Leadership #Hiring #AI

Why In-Person Connection Beats Zoom | Businessing

In-person connection is king, and you just can't get the same connection online as you get in a real room. I spent this week with two mastermind groups in person, and the difference wasn't even close. This episode is for every work-from-home business owner who packs the calendar so tight that putting on real pants and driving across town feels inefficient. I'll walk you through why the before and after of an in-person meeting is where the real relationships get built, and why you leave those meetings recharged every single time. Then we get into the AI conversation nobody saw coming: AI is saving us 20 hours a week and somehow we're all busier than ever. And I answer a Reddit question that hits home for a lot of you...is it worth leaving corporate if you'll only replace your salary? Your assignment for next week is simple. Leave the cave. In this episode: 00:00 - Welcome and today's show rundown 00:56 - Why in-person networking beats Zoom meetings (Big Story) 13:59 - Small business optimism hits a 2026 high 20:04 - Free small business legal risk assessment (sponsor: Athena Legal Solutions) 22:04 - Why AI makes business owners busier, not less busy 27:26 - Claude's Fable model returns and pay-as-you-go AI pricing 31:59 - Leaving corporate to start a business (Idea Slam) 40:13 - Small business community events and SBOC Conference update Resources mentioned: - Athena Legal Solutions and the Complimentary Legal Confidence Review (Carolyn Jahnke and team) - Crown Room Live with Elzie Flenard: https://crownroomlive.com - The Daily Crown: https://joindailycrown.com - Claude by Anthropic, including the Fable model - WhisperFlow dictation software - Live check-in map: https://live.smallbusinesscommunity.com - SBOC Conference in September (prices go up August 1st) 🎙️ Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PatMillerFridaysOff?sub_confirmation=1 🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109 🌐 Listen anywhere: https://businessing.captivate.fm/listen 📬 Fridays Off Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com 👥 Small Business Owners Community: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com #SmallBusiness #Entrepreneurship #PatMiller #Networking #ClaudeAI #InPersonConnection

Mid-Year Business Review: 5 Questions to Ask | Businessing

Halfway through 2026, your mid-year business review comes down to one shift: the question goes from what do we wanna get done this year to what can we still get done this year. Hope is not a strategy, and the second half of the year doesn't care about the goals you set in January. Pat walks through seven questions (the five he planned, plus two bonus) that every small business owner should ask before July 1st: what's the biggest problem that's gotta get solved, are you satisfied with your revenue, what's actually selling, is your biggest expense pulling its weight, and where are you using AI in your business. Then attorney Carolyn Jahnke from Athena Legal Solutions joins the show to talk about how protected your business really is, the contract blind spots that catch owners off guard, and why going into business with friends and family is riskier than it feels. If you own a small business and you're staring down the second half of the year, you'll walk away with a checklist you can run in one afternoon. In this episode: 00:00 - Mid-year business check-in for small business owners 02:34 - What's the biggest problem to solve in your business (Question 1) 04:16 - Reviewing your revenue, what's selling, and your biggest expense (Questions 2-4) 07:00 - Where are you using AI in your business (Question 5) 08:39 - Getting a return on your time and avoiding burnout (Bonus questions) 12:23 - How protected is your small business, with Carolyn Jahnke of Athena Legal Solutions 22:22 - Supreme Court rulings on birthright citizenship and transgender athletes (News You Need to Know) 28:57 - SBOC Conference tickets and SBOC Awards nominations Resources mentioned: - Carolyn Jahnke, Athena Legal Solutions (free business legal confidence assessment) - Carl Gould: "Sell what people wanna buy, not what you wanna sell" - Elzie Flenard, Crown Room Live and The Daily Crown: https://joindailycrown.com - Put your business on the live show map: https://live.smallbusinesscommunity.com - SBOC Conference, September 15-17 (ticket prices go up August 1) - SBOC Awards nominations, open through July 19 (presented by Athena Legal Solutions, Money Masters Bookkeeping, Crash Design Co., and Excel and Flourish) 🎙️ Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PatMillerFridaysOff?sub_confirmation=1 🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109 🌐 Listen anywhere: https://businessing.captivate.fm/listen 📬 Fridays Off Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com 👥 Small Business Owners Community: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com #SmallBusiness #Entrepreneurship #PatMiller #MidYearReview #BusinessCheckIn #SmallBusinessTips