How to Actually Take a Week Off | Businessing with Pat Miller

How to Actually Take a Week Off | Businessing with Pat Miller

Taking time off isn't optional. You're going to take it whether you like it or not, because if you don't, you'll get sick or burn out or both. So you might as well lean into rest as part of a healthy business. This is Pat's last show before a full week off, so he walks through exactly how he gets ready to actually disconnect: the five steps to claim a week, clean it out, keep your business telling its story while you're gone, hand the work back to your partners, and then truly go. Then Katherine Breuss from AG45 joins as a guest and shares her "5 A's" diagnostic for finding the real problem in your business instead of the one that's just throbbing like a sore toe. Plus the news you need to know, why 45% of diners just switched their favorite restaurant and what that means for your client list, and Samsung letting new hires pick their own AI. In this episode: 00:00 - It's Thursday, and we are Businessing 01:05 - Big story: your next vacation isn't optional 03:25 - The 5 steps to actually take a week off 12:40 - News you need to know: Pentagon lockdown, Iran, and restaurant loyalty 17:05 - Sponsor: Athena Legal Solutions 18:50 - Guest interview: Katherine Breuss and the 5 A's diagnostic 33:40 - AI story: Samsung lets employees pick their AI tool 36:05 - Sponsor: Paul's Jewelers and the 7C's Cafe 38:05 - In the community: Substack vs blogging and a live Idea Slam 39:50 - Fridays Off Framework: find time, fund the business, finish the right stuff 41:35 - Where Pat's headed: a week of golf in Nebraska Resources mentioned: - Katherine Breuss, AG45 (Accelerate Growth 45), and her "Become a True Business Owner" assessment: AG45.com - The 5 A's diagnostic: All in, Aligned, Advocates, Act, Accountable - Samsung letting new employees choose their AI tool (ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude) - Athena Legal Solutions: athenalegalsolutionsllc.com - Paul's Jewelers, West Allis, WI: paulsjewelers.com - 7C's Cafe, inside Paul's Jewelers: 7cs.cafe - Check in on the live map: live.smallbusinesscommunity.com 🎙️ 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 #WorkLifeBalance #TimeOff #Burnout

Gamify Your Customer Loyalty | Businessing with Pat Miller

Chipotle just gamified its rewards program with visit streaks, monthly challenges, and local leaderboards. You're not Chipotle, but that doesn't mean you can't borrow the idea and gamify the way you keep customers coming back. This one's about giving your customer loyalty a little life and a little bounce. Pat walks through a pile of low-budget ways to gamify referrals, your newsletter, your social media, and repeat business, no fancy app required. Then photographer Michael Cohn comes on for an Idea Slam, and together they take the entire world of photography down to one thing he can own, a personal storytelling business nobody else in his town is doing. Plus the inflation number you need to know, why today's a good day to raise your prices, Hasbro renting out cartoon personalities through AI, and Pat's honest review of Claude's new Fable model. In this episode: 00:00 - Wednesday, and we are Businessing 01:00 - Big story: how to gamify your customer loyalty 07:00 - Stuff you should know: inflation hits 4.2% and why to raise your prices 10:00 - The World Cup starts tomorrow, and why owners should care 12:00 - Sponsor: Athena Legal Solutions 14:00 - Idea Slam: Michael Cohn becomes a market of one 31:00 - AI story: Hasbro's behavioral licensing and a Claude Fable review 39:00 - Sponsor: Paul's Jewelers and the new 7C's Cafe 41:00 - In the community: 197 members and self-promotion Wednesday 43:00 - Fridays Off Framework: find time, fund the business, finish the right stuff Resources mentioned: - Chipotle's gamified rewards program (visit streaks, challenges, leaderboards) - ManyChat, the social messaging tool with a free tier (thanks, Nikki) - Hasbro's behavioral licensing, voiced through ElevenLabs - Claude's new Fable model from Anthropic - Michael Cohn, photographer, Birmingham, Alabama - Athena Legal Solutions: athenalegalsolutionsllc.com - Paul's Jewelers, West Allis, WI: paulsjewelers.com - 7C's Cafe, inside Paul's Jewelers: 7cs.cafe - Check in on the live map: live.smallbusinesscommunity.com 🎙️ 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 #CustomerLoyalty #Gamification #AIForSmallBusiness

The Calculator Moment for Knowledge Work | Businessing with Pat Miller

The calculator moment hit knowledge work. If you sell training, education, or consulting, the way you make money just changed. When the calculator showed up, knowing long division stopped being the valuable part. Pat makes the case that AI is the calculator moment for knowledge work, and your clients won't be the ones pulling the levers anymore. They'll hand the how to their AI junior employee, so your job shifts from teaching the how to teaching the what must be done. Then Barbara Fausett from Money Masters Bookkeeping comes on for an Idea Slam about whether to launch a second brand for her fractional CFO work. Plus Sweden pulls phones out of schools, only 4% of new jobs are fully remote, and the books and music the SBOC uses to get fired up. In this episode:00:00 The calculator moment for knowledge work06:30 Sweden bans phones in schools09:30 Your content diet: what the SBOC is reading and listening to12:30 Guessing game: only 4% of new jobs are fully remote17:30 Sponsor: Athena Legal Solutions19:30 Idea Slam: Barbara Fawcett on launching a second brand31:30 AI story of the day: the new Claude model34:30 Sponsor: Paul's Jewelers and the Seven C's Cafe is open37:30 SBOC update and this week's events39:30 Fridays Off: free time, funding, finishing the right stuff Resources mentioned:Barbara Fausett, Money Masters Bookkeeping Athena Legal Solutions: https://athenalegalsolutionsllc.com [https://athenalegalsolutionsllc.com] Paul's Jewelers and the 7C's Cafe Books from the SBOC: Sahil Bloom "The Five Types of Wealth," Dan Martell "Buy Back Your Time," Cal Newport "Slow Productivity," plus Mel Robbins, Ed Mylett, Emma Grede, and Dean Jackson Small Business Owners Community: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com [https://smallbusinesscommunity.com] 🎙️ Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PatMillerFridaysOff?sub_confirmation=1 [https://www.youtube.com/@PatMillerFridaysOff?sub_confirmation=1]🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109]🌐 Listen anywhere: https://businessing.captivate.fm/listen [https://businessing.captivate.fm/listen]📬 Fridays Off Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com [https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com]👥 Small Business Owners Community: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com [https://smallbusinesscommunity.com] #SmallBusiness #Entrepreneurship #PatMiller #AIForSmallBusiness #KnowledgeWork #RemoteWork

What are you consuming to find inspiration? | Businessing with Pat Miller

The best way to move your business forward is to change the inputs you take in every single day. That's the big story today. When you're the only boss you've got, nobody's there to redirect you when you drift off track. So the inputs you put into the Whopper supercomputer between your ears are the whole game. Pat digs into the energy-vampire coffee friend who only ever talks about themselves, the content diet that's quietly dragging you down, and what every obsessed person in every biography has in common. Then Beth Carter from BBA Bookkeeping comes on for an Idea Slam about bringing her husband into the business to do sales without it wrecking the marriage. Plus Pat joins the Claude Partner Network, Siri finally gets good, and the three problems we solve to earn more, work less, and take Fridays off. In this episode:00:00 Change your inputs, change your business06:30 What obsession looks like (Steve Martin's "Born Standing Up")09:30 Stuff you need to know: the May jobs report11:00 Pat joins the Claude Partner Network12:30 Sponsor: Athena Legal Solutions14:30 Idea Slam: Beth Carter on hiring your spouse for sales26:30 Sponsor: Paul's Jewelers and the 7 C's Cafe28:00 AI story of the day: Siri sucks less (Apple pays Google for Gemini)30:30 SBOC update and this week's events32:00 Fridays Off: free time, funding, finishing the right stuff Resources mentioned:Beth Carter, BBA BookkeepingSteve Martin, "Born Standing Up"Athena Legal Solutions: https://athenalegalsolutionsllc.com [https://athenalegalsolutionsllc.com]Paul's Jewelers and the Seven C's Cafe: https://7cs.cafe [https://7cs.cafe] Apple WWDC and Google Gemini coming to SiriSmall Business Owners Community: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com [https://smallbusinesscommunity.com] 🎙️ Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PatMillerFridaysOff?sub_confirmation=1 [https://www.youtube.com/@PatMillerFridaysOff?sub_confirmation=1]🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109]🌐 Listen anywhere: https://businessing.captivate.fm/listen [https://businessing.captivate.fm/listen]📬 Fridays Off Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com [https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com]👥 Small Business Owners Community: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com [https://smallbusinesscommunity.com] #SmallBusiness #Entrepreneurship #PatMiller #Mindset #AIForSmallBusiness #SmallBusinessOwner

Stop Chasing Every New AI Tool | Businessing with Pat Miller

Sandra Yancey runs a multimillion dollar business on five AI tools, not eighty-two. When everybody else zigs toward the next shiny object, she says go left. This one is for the owner who feels buried by AI, by the to-do list, and by the pressure to keep up with everyone else. Pat sits down with Sandra Yancey of eWomen Network and Sarah Urban of She Carries It to talk about focusing on what actually moves the business, why your calendar holds all your problems, and how to lead with value instead of chasing attention. There are also two AI stories worth your time, including why 80% of companies that fired people to bring in AI saw zero return on it. If you've been wondering whether you're using AI right or just collecting subscriptions, start here. In this episode: 00:00 Welcome and the live nationwide map is fixed 02:30 The three daily problems: find free time, fund the business, finish what matters 04:45 News you need to know: the House votes on war powers in Iran 06:30 Ish happens: the lesson from a ball off the outfielder's head 10:00 Sponsor: Athena Legal Solutions 11:30 AI story of the day: Gemini Flash and why firing people for AI isn't paying off 17:45 Idea Slam: Sarah Urban on the invisible load and reaching decision makers 28:00 Sandra Yancey on less is more, going left, and your calendar 39:30 Warranties and a hello to South Africa 41:00 Sponsor: Paul's Jewelers and the new Seven Seas Cafe 43:00 The Idea Slam invite and Anne Gusoff's win 44:30 SBOC turns six and the new member meetup Resources mentioned: - Sandra Yancey, eWomen Network: https://ewomennetwork.com - Sarah Urban, She Carries It - Athena Legal Solutions: https://athenalegalsolutionsllc.com - Paul's Jewelers and the Seven Seas Cafe (West Allis, WI) - Google Gemini Flash - Carl Gould on warranties and guarantees - Put your business on the live map: https://live.smallbusinesscommunity.com 🎙️ 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 #AIForSmallBusiness #Productivity #WomenInBusiness