Businessing with Pat Miller

Sell the Result, Not the Process | Businessing with Pat Miller

Wed, 20 May 2026 13:30:00 -0500

You may call it creative hours, but the headline isn't your process. It's quit spending so much time in Canva. People don't buy the work you're proud of. They buy the result they want.

This episode is built around a live Idea Slam with brand designer Teresa Wilmot, who couldn't figure out why her $47-a-month membership wasn't selling. The answer turned into a coaching session anyone who sells a service needs to hear. Pat walks through why you have to sell the outcome instead of the process, why pricing problems are often value-communication problems, and why people-pleasing quietly keeps you from charging what you're worth. He also breaks down a big shift in Google search that's tanking website traffic, and what AEO and GEO mean for getting found now that AI answers come first. If you're a business owner doing your own marketing and wondering why the message isn't landing, this one is for you.

In this episode:

00:00 - Cold open and intro

03:05 - Welcome and the Idea Slam marathon kicks off

04:24 - Get ready to business: positivity, gratitude, and your one thing

10:39 - News you need: variable rate loans and rising interest rates

11:43 - 21 valedictorians and what an A-plus really earns

14:55 - Sponsor: Money Masters Bookkeeping

17:13 - Idea Slam with Teresa Wilmot: selling a membership nobody understands

23:09 - The cookie analogy: sell the result, not the recipe

27:55 - Why pricing is really a value and people-pleasing problem

34:36 - AI story: Google I/O, Gemini Spark, and the search change tanking traffic

41:33 - Tweet of the day

42:49 - What's happening in the SBOC

45:16 - Final thoughts and weekend send-off

Resources mentioned:

- Teresa Wilmot, brand designer, host of the DIY (Design It Yourself) course and Creative Hours membership

- Google I/O and Gemini Spark

- Money Masters Bookkeeping (show and conference sponsor)

- G2 Insurance, Brookfield (show and conference sponsor), g2insuranceservices.com

- Small Business Owners Community (SBOC)

Presented by

Money Masters Bookkeeping - https://www.moneymasters4biz.com

G2 Insurance - https://www.g2insuranceservices.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 #SellTheResult #PricingStrategy #IdeaSlam

50% of Buyers Want AI-Free Brands | Businessing with Pat Miller

Tue, 19 May 2026 12:50:00 -0500

Half of the people polled said they'd rather give their money to brands that avoid AI. Stop the freaking presses...that's a market opportunity hiding in plain sight, and if you make something by hand, it belongs on the front page of your website.

Today's show is for business owners who want practical answers, not theory. Tanya Murphy from Cruise Planners drops five money tips for handling cash abroad so you stop leaking dollars on every transaction. We unpack a new study showing 50% of consumers would rather buy from brands that don't use AI, and we work through six cheap, easy fixes for working from a house where nobody respects your office. Plus the OpenAI lawsuit gets tossed, GLP-1s keep racking up surprise benefits, and a cul-de-sac in Atlanta fills up with Waymos for no good reason. With Memorial Day on Monday, you've basically got until Wednesday close of business to get anything done this week...let's use the time.

In this episode:

00:00 - Show open and what's on today

05:21 - Positivity, gratitude, and the number one task

09:10 - Tanya Murphy: 5 money tips for handling cash abroad

23:30 - News: OpenAI lawsuit tossed, GLP-1 mental health benefits, Waymo cul-de-sac

32:06 - AI Story of the Day: 50% of consumers want AI-free brands

36:02 - Idea Slam: 6 ways to work from home when there's no door

41:33 - SBOC community update, conference, and Memorial Day game plan

Resources mentioned:

- Tanya Murphy, Cruise Planners: https://tripsalive.com

- Money Masters Bookkeeping: https://moneymasters4biz.com

- G2 Insurance Services: https://g2insuranceservices.com

- SBOC Conference, September 15-17, Milwaukee area

🎙️ 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 #WorkFromHome #TravelTips

Why AI Works for Owners, Not CEOs | Businessing with Pat Miller

Mon, 18 May 2026 14:20:00 -0500

Six thousand CEOs were just surveyed, and 90% of them said AI has had zero impact on productivity. I'll tell you right now, Claude has changed my life and changed my business. Here's why owners are winning the AI race while corporations slow-walk it.

Today on Businessing, I'm back from three days off feeling like I've been shot out of a cannon. I went to the Claude Small Business meetup in Chicago, survived standing on stage in front of a hundred Claude users, and came home convinced that small business owners are getting the AI benefit faster than anybody. We also tackle a tough Idea Slam question: your biggest client is shopping around for your replacement while you're still working together. Do you confront them? No. You replace them first. And as always, we cover the news you need to sound like the most informed person in the room.

In this episode:

00:00 — Welcome and three-step Monday kickoff

06:00 — Positivity, gratitude, and the distraction of the day

14:00 — News: Musk vs OpenAI, the fighter plane crash, and your brain on exercise

24:00 — Money Masters Bookkeeping with Barbara Fausett

27:00 — Why 90% of CEOs say AI isn't working (and why they're wrong)

33:00 — My weekend with Claude in Chicago

42:00 — G2 Insurance with Tom

45:00 — Idea Slam: my biggest client is shopping for my replacement

50:00 — What's happening inside the SBOC right now

53:00 — Tomorrow's show: Tanya Murphy and our first live Idea Slam in a long time

Resources mentioned:

- Money Masters Bookkeeping (Barbara Fausett): https://moneymasters4biz.com

- G2 Insurance (Tom): https://g2insuranceservices.com or 262-784-0644

- Claude for Small Business: search "Small Business" in the Claude Plugins menu

- The Solow paradox (the productivity puzzle that's back in the news)

- Goldman Sachs cut its US productivity growth forecast from 2.5% to 1.8%

- Get your business on the national 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 #ClaudeAI #IdeaSlam

Claude for Small Business Is Here | Businessing with Pat Miller

Mon, 18 May 2026 06:15:00 -0500

Claude just dropped Claude for Small Business...native connectors to QuickBooks, PayPal, HubSpot, Canva, DocuSign, Google Workspace, and a stack of other tools you're already paying for. Translation: you can stop hunting and pecking through QuickBooks and just ask, "Hey, did that client pay?"

Pat unpacks what the announcement actually means for owners before driving down to Chicago to meet the Claude team in person. Plus a serious moment about entrepreneur mental health, the next wave of AI security risks coming for all of us, and an Idea Slam question you're going to face soon...a client just asked for a discount because you use AI. Pat's answer might change how you talk to every client going forward. Solving small business problems so you can be more profitable, with less stress, and run a modern small business.

In this episode: 00:00 — Welcome and the Chicago road trip ahead 01:00 — Positivity and Gratitude (owner energy vs. operator energy) 04:00 — Distraction of the Day and your number one task 06:00 — Trump in China with the tech CEOs 07:30 — World Cup final halftime show...Madonna, Shakira, BTS 09:00 — A serious talk about entrepreneur mental health 13:00 — AI Story of the Day: Claude for Small Business drops 17:00 — AI Story #2: The coming vulnerability storm 19:00 — Sponsor: Money Masters Bookkeeping with Barbara Fausett 21:00 — Idea Slam: My client wants a discount because I use AI 26:00 — Sponsor: Crown Room Live with Elzie Flenard 27:30 — SBOC Conference update (VIP tickets going fast) 29:00 — New idea: The Idea Slam-a-thon Resources mentioned: - Claude for Small Business (Anthropic announcement) -

Money Masters Bookkeeping with Barbara Fausett: https://moneymasters4biz.com -

Crown Room Live with Elzie Flenard: https://crownroomlive.com -

The Daily Crown (7-day free trial): https://joindailycrown.com -

SBOC Conference, September 15-17 in Milwaukee - Mike Michalowicz, author of Profit First (Conference keynote) - live.smallbusinesscommunity.com (check in during the show)

🎙️ 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 #ClaudeForSmallBusiness #AIForSmallBusiness #IdeaSlam

The 3 P&L Parts You're Ignoring | Businessing with Pat Miller

Wed, 13 May 2026 16:10:00 -0500

No one's coming to save you. That's a bad thing. But no one's coming to stop you either, and that's a great thing.

Wednesday's show is built around the most overlooked profit lever in your business: your P&L. Barbara Fausett from Money Masters Bookkeeping sits down with Pat to break down the five sections of a profit and loss statement, why most owners only read two of them, and what kind of decisions become obvious once you read all five. Plus: five ways to give yourself a raise this week, an AI story that should change how you think about hiring in your business, and an Idea Slam answer that fixes the "I can't describe what I do in one sentence" problem.

In this episode:

00:00 — Show open, sponsors, check-ins

02:30 — Positivity: SBOC 26 tickets are LIVE

04:00 — Gratitude: 5 ways to give yourself a raise

09:00 — Distraction of the day: performative "bettering"

11:00 — Barbara Fausett on the 5 parts of your P&L

23:00 — News: CPI hits 3.8% (hottest since May 2023)

24:30 — Stuff you should know: your brain works under anesthesia

27:00 — AI story: 76% of companies now have a Chief AI Officer

31:00 — Sponsor spotlight: Crown Room Live with Elzie Flenard

32:30 — Idea Slam: nobody cares about your how

36:00 — SBOC 26 Conference tickets on sale

Resources mentioned:

- Money Masters Bookkeeping — https://moneymasters4biz.com

- Crown Room Live with Elzie Flenard — https://crownroomlive.com

- SBOC 26 Conference (September 15-17, Brookfield, WI, with keynote Mike Michalowicz) — https://smallbusinesscommunity.com

- Live check-in for the show — 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 #ProfitAndLoss #Bookkeeping #SmallBusinessFinance

5 Ways to Make Speaking For Free Work For You | Businessing with Pat Miller

Mon, 11 May 2026 12:40:00 -0500

No money does not mean no value. If you've ever been asked to speak for free and wondered if it's worth your time, Pat lays out five concrete ways to make a "free" gig actually work for you...the kind of value that builds your speaking business faster than a one-time check ever could.

This is your daily prep for being a small business owner who actually wins. Pat also unpacks why 38,000 layoffs in the first ten days of May might actually grow the economy (controversial, but stick with him), runs through the news that matters for owners (Iran rejecting the peace deal, Trump headed to Xi, Putin offering to meet Zelensky), and celebrates the SBOC community members who snapped up their conference tickets this morning. Public tickets drop Wednesday.

In this episode:

00:00 — Welcome and check in on the live map

02:00 — Positivity and Gratitude

06:00 — Distraction of the day (Madison, Milwaukee, and Claude training in Chicago)

10:30 — Your number one task

12:30 — News: Iran rejects the peace deal

14:00 — News: Trump heads to China for the Xi summit

15:30 — News: Putin offers to meet Zelensky

17:00 — Money Masters Bookkeeping

19:30 — AI Story: 38,000 jobs cut and how AI grows the economy

27:30 — Crown Room Live

30:00 — Idea Slam: 5 ways to make speaking for free work for you

40:00 — SBOC Conference ticket shoutout

42:00 — The new SBOC Conference commercial debut

Resources mentioned:

- Money Masters Bookkeeping: https://moneymasters4biz.com

- Crown Room Live with Elzie Flenard: https://crownroomlive.com

- The Daily Crown (free 7-day trial): https://joindailycrown.com

- SBOC Conference (September 15-17, Brookfield, WI): https://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 #PublicSpeaking #AI #SBOC

Opinions are not Instructions | Businessing with Pat Miller

Thu, 07 May 2026 18:35:00 -0500

Other people's opinions are not instructions. Especially the ones from people who don't pay you green American dollars.

Today on Businessing, Pat unpacks the AI story trifecta: ChatGPT's leaner GPT-5.5 Instant base model, Anthropic's SpaceX compute deal that doubles Claude's usage windows and removes peak-hour throttling, and a researcher's fake eye disease that fooled ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot into telling people to see a doctor. He runs an Idea Slam on the Monday-pumped, Wednesday-overwhelmed cycle, breaks down a 189,000 weekly jobless claims number (lowest since 1969) and what it means if you're hiring part-time help, and unveils the final SBOC '26 reveal: the VIP program with a one-hour Ask Me Anything with Mike Michalowicz and a three-hour Friday session with Matt Mundt of Hug Sleep, who turned a $25,000 investment into $30M+ in lifetime revenue.

Tickets go on sale Monday May 11 for community members, Tuesday May 12 for waitlist, and Wednesday May 13 for the public. There are 115 seats and 275+ owners standing by. Get on the waitlist now.

In this episode: 00:00 — Welcome and check-in 02:30 — Positivity, Gratitude, and the Distraction of the Day 09:00 — Stuff You Need to Know: Iran, jobless claims, and a Mother's Day PSA 14:00 — AI Story of the Day: GPT-5.5 Instant, Claude's SpaceX deal, and a fake eye disease that fooled three AIs 22:00 — Money Masters Bookkeeping 24:00 — Idea Slam: How to stop the Monday-pumped, Wednesday-overwhelmed cycle 31:00 — G2 Insurance Services 33:00 — SBOC '26 final reveal: the VIP program with Mike Michalowicz and Matt Mundt of Hug Sleep 41:00 — Wrap-up

Resources mentioned:

Mike Michalowicz (Profit First, Fix This Next) — SBOC '26 keynote
Matt Mundt — Hug Sleep (Shark Tank, $30M+ in lifetime revenue)
Money Masters Bookkeeping — moneymasters4biz.com
G2 Insurance Services — g2insuranceservices.com
SBOC '26 Conference Waitlist
Live show 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 #AIForSmallBusiness #SBOC26

Take Your Email Off Your Phone | Businessing with Pat Miller

Wed, 06 May 2026 12:15:00 -0500

Your client expects answers after 10 PM because you've given them answers after 10 PM. Sorry, but it's true.

In today's Idea Slam, Pat tackles the after-hours client texting trap and gives the most permission-giving advice you'll hear all week: take your email off your phone. He also reveals his favorite part of the SBOC '26 conference (it's back, it involves steak and champagne), demos Gemini's new in-document editing inside Google Docs, and breaks down why Microsoft just put Claude and ChatGPT in the same room inside Copilot.

In this episode:

00:00 - Open + Positivity, Gratitude, and the #1 Task

12:30 - News: Middle East peace plan, microplastics, and a science story that might save your blood vessels

20:00 - Sponsor: Money Masters Bookkeeping

22:00 - AI Story: Microsoft adds Claude to Copilot alongside ChatGPT

26:00 - Demo: Gemini editing live inside Google Docs and Sheets

35:00 - Idea Slam: The client who texts at 10 PM and what to do about it

42:00 - Sponsor: G2 Insurance

45:00 - SBOC '26: The Celebration Dinner is back (presented by Paul's Jewelers)

Resources mentioned:

- Money Masters Bookkeeping: moneymasters4biz.com

- G2 Insurance: g2insuranceservices.com

- Paul's Jewelers (presenting sponsor of the SBOC '26 Celebration Dinner)

- SBOC '26 Conference: tickets on sale to the public Wednesday, May 13

- Live show check-in 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 #Boundaries #AITools #SBOC

Mike Michalowicz: The Money Habit | Businessing with Pat Miller

Tue, 05 May 2026 12:15:00 -0500

"You may nail the numbers at work, but if you don't nail the numbers at home, your home will leech off the business and both will be compromised." That's Mike Michalowicz on what cracked open his new book.

Mike, author of Profit First and The Money Habit, joins Pat to preview his keynote for the SBOC 2026 Conference. The conversation goes deep on the difference between financial freedom and financial independence, why "be more disciplined" advice never works, and the behavioral move Mike calls channeling who you already are. Pat also covers the latest out of Iran, the Mayo Clinic AI breakthrough on pancreatic cancer, the rumored Claude "Orbit" agent, and the SBOC Awards returning for a third year with Precious L. Williams as emcee.

In this episode:

00:00 - Welcome and the daily ritual: positivity, gratitude, distraction, one task

06:30 - Mike Michalowicz joins the show

08:30 - Becoming Self-Made: Mike's new podcast

10:30 - How Tommy Mello and 900 garage door techs sparked The Money Habit

13:30 - Financial freedom vs. financial independence

17:00 - Why Pat booked Mike for SBOC 26

19:30 - Channel who you already are: the sneaker-on-the-toilet-seat story

23:00 - Your bank is your #1 financial app

26:00 - DUMBO: how Mike builds his contrarian frameworks

29:00 - When did Profit First become a hit?

33:00 - SBOC 26 conference dates and ticket release schedule

36:30 - Sponsor: Money Masters Bookkeeping

38:00 - Iran update and Trump's 35% approval rating

41:00 - Mayo Clinic AI catches pancreatic cancer up to three years early

42:30 - AI story of the day: Claude "Orbit" and the great employee

46:30 - Sponsor: G2 Insurance

48:00 - SBOC Awards return for year three with Precious L. Williams

51:30 - Star Wars rumor: Disney heading back to the originals

Resources mentioned:

- The Money Habit by Mike Michalowicz

- Profit First by Mike Michalowicz

- Becoming Self-Made (Mike's new podcast)

- Decisive by Chip and Dan Heath

- Mayo Clinic AI study on early pancreatic cancer detection

- Precious L. Williams, the Killer Pitch Master

- Money Masters Bookkeeping: https://moneymasters4biz.com

- G2 Insurance: https://g2insuranceservices.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 #ProfitFirst #MikeMichalowicz #SBOC26

Why "I'm Working Really Hard" Isn't an Answer

Mon, 04 May 2026 14:35:00 -0500

Solving small business problems so you can be more profitable, with less stress, and run a modern small business. It’s the last day of April, and Pat opens with the show’s new daily ritual: positivity, gratitude, the distraction of the day, and the one task you have to finish before you stand up from your desk.

Today’s distraction is performative busyness. Pat calls it a suit of armor. When somebody asks how the business is going and you say “I’m working really hard,” that’s not an answer. Nobody gets paid because they’re busy.

In the news: gas at $4.25 a gallon has crossed into cultural-tipping-point territory, and Pat shows you two ways to turn it into a promotion that cuts through. Then Big Tech Q1 earnings — Alphabet at $62.6B in profit, Meta at $26B — and the $650 billion that four companies are pouring into AI infrastructure this year. That’s more than it cost to build the entire U.S. highway system. Follow the money.

Two AI stories: 82% of small businesses are using AI, AI agents are handling 80–90% of customer inquiries, and the big tools are raising prices to $30 a month. Pat’s reframe: that’s a personnel line item, not a tech expense.

Plus: Mike Michalowicz on the show next Tuesday May 5 at 11 AM CT, Carolyn Jahnke joining the SBOC Conference for a partnerships session, ticket sales kick off May 11–13, and Stephanie Kern’s Sticker of the Month Club is officially live.

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/@BusinessingShow?sub_confirmation=1 🎧

Listen: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109

Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com

Sponsor: https://www.genhead.com

What if your AI Disappeared?

Mon, 04 May 2026 14:15:00 -0500

A 110-person company just lost access to Claude. Cold cut off. And it got Pat thinking...what would happen to your business if your AI got taken away tomorrow?

This episode goes deep on the AI dependency trap most small business owners are sleepwalking into. Pat shares why building your business on someone else's software is starting to look like the late-2010s Facebook follower mistake, and what to watch as open-source models start to compete. Plus: Taco Tom from G2 Insurance on cyber coverage and the questions every owner should be asking, the new SBOC 2026 Professional Presence Workshop with Captain Cathy Trimboli and Rebekah Bryan, and the device Pat is buying to break his Twitter habit.

In this episode:

00:00 — May the 4th open and welcome

01:30 — Today's sponsor: Money Masters Bookkeeping

03:00 — Daily warm-up: positivity, gratitude, and your #1 task

07:00 — Distraction of the Day: the Brick (and Pat's Twitter problem)

12:00 — News: Iran, gas prices, and Spirit Airlines bankruptcy

15:00 — Kentucky Derby: 23-1 longshot and the first female trainer in 152 years

18:00 — SBOC 2026 Conference intro

19:00 — Guest: Taco Tom from G2 Insurance on cyber coverage

30:00 — AI Story of the Day: what if you lose access to Claude?

36:00 — Money Masters Bookkeeping spotlight

39:00 — SBOC 2026: the new Professional Presence Workshop with Captain Cathy Trimboli & Rebekah Bryan

46:00 — Stephanie Kern's Sticker of the Month Club

48:00 — Tomorrow on the show: Mike Michalowicz on The Money Habit

Resources mentioned:

- The Brick — focus device that blocks apps on your phone

- Tom Goman, G2 Insurance — business and cyber insurance

- Money Masters Bookkeeping (Barbara Faucet) — https://moneymastersforbiz.com

- Captain Cathy Trimboli — command presence workshop

- Rebekah Bryan — professional stylist, the 90/10 Rule and Red Shoe Theory

- Stephanie Kern, Vanderblooming Creative — Sticker of the Month Club

- Mike Michalowicz — The Money Habit (tomorrow's guest, 11am CT)

- Nikki at Genhead — open source AI models for small business

🎙️ 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 #BusinessInsurance #Productivity

Get Clear on Your #1 Priority | Businessing with Pat Miller

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 12:35:00 -0500

Pat had a moment in the car driving home from a chamber event yesterday. He'd just spent the afternoon with a room full of business owners in Fond du Lac, and they all said the same thing he's heard for 750+ Idea Slams: I'm behind. I'm overwhelmed. I feel like I'm failing. So today, the show changes. From now on, Businessing is the daily meeting for small business owners. Every show opens with three things. One: positivity and gratitude in the chat. Two: the distraction of the day. Three: the one task that has to get done by 5pm today. Then tomorrow at 11, Pat looks into the camera with full dad energy and asks, "Did you do it?"

5 Questions That Expose What's Really Possible in Your Business | Businessing with Pat Miller

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 07:55:00 -0500

A British marathoner just broke the 2-hour barrier. The four-minute mile of long-distance running. And every runner in the world is suddenly asking the same question: "Maybe I can too?"

Pat takes that energy and aims it at every small business owner watching.

Five questions you don't want to answer honestly:

→ How many hours of an eight-hour day are you actually working?

→ Could you make an extra thousand bucks this week if your life depended on it?

→ Could you turn what you know into a digital product for $20?

→ If Mark Cuban bought your business, would he do better than you?

→ What would you do with 20 hours a week back?

You're not going as hard as you can. Neither am I.

Plus: Why Pat is putting a recurring meeting on his calendar with Claude. DeepSeek's new V4 Pro and V4 Flash open-source AI models. The SBOC Conference 2-Hour AI Super Session announcement (tickets May 13). And Kellogg putting toys back in cereal boxes.

🎙️ Watch the show: https://www.youtube.com/@PatMillerFridaysOff?sub_confirmation=1

🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109

📬 Fridays Off Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com

Want to come on the show for an Idea Slam? Reach out anytime. We brainstorm on your behalf, live, no net.

It's your dream. Don't grow it alone.®

Are You Solving the Wrong Problem? How to Know!

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 12:15:00 -0500

Thursday's Businessing opened with Pat walking into the studio fresh off an hour outside. 70 degrees in Milwaukee. An AI Installation Group meeting behind him. A mountain of work ahead. The conversation that followed was the best kind of course correction.

Consultant Michael Rampolla of Fortum Advisors joined Pat (on hotel lobby wifi, then literally outside) to unpack why small business owners work so hard and still miss. Michael's core diagnosis: we have a bias for action. Feeling stuck feels bad, so we move. We move before we check what problem we're actually trying to solve. And we end up running hard in the wrong direction.

The fix is uncomfortable. Sit with the stuck. Check the assumptions under your beliefs. Ask how do you know. Use an AI like Claude to play devil's advocate on your thinking before you commit real time and money. Track lead indicators you can control, not lag indicators like revenue that only tell you the verdict after it's too late. And surround yourself with people authorized to tell you you're wrong.

The AI story of the day: Google Workspace Intelligence is live, with AI now integrated across Gmail, Docs, Sheets, and Calendar, including a new inbox that auto-sorts mail. For SBOC 26, Pat announced strategic growth and SEO expert Myrna Dyramy as Wednesday's third speaker, joining Mike Michalowicz and Taylor Cusick Holman. 115 tickets remain against a 235-person waitlist.

The weird story of the week: Northwestern University has successfully printed artificial neurons on plastic that fire like real brain cells, opening the door to restoring vision, movement, and speech. Pat closed with his usual note about the NFL Draft, the importance of keggers, and zero regrets.

🎙️ YouTube (subscribe): https://www.youtube.com/@PatMillerFridaysOff?sub_confirmation=1

🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109

📬 Fridays Off Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com

🤝 SBOC Community: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com

🎬 This episode on YouTube: https://youtube.com/live/snVnycpHo0Y

🎙️ Universal podcast link: https://businessing.captivate.fm/listen

Guest: Michael Rampolla, Fortum Advisors — team@fortumadvisors.com

Three AI Wins You Can Install This Week + Graphics Just Got a LOT Easier!

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 13:15:00 -0500

Three AI wins you can install this week. That's the show.

Jason Kolins of Kolins Intelligence spent years running AI at Fortune 500 companies. Then he brought the playbook home to Cedarburg, Wisconsin and started helping solo shops and small teams without the Fortune 500 price tag. He came on the air with three wins any business owner can deploy right now:

1. Stop writing everything from scratch. One business owner went from 45 minutes on morning customer questions to 5 minutes with a single prompt template. 10+ hours a week, back.

2. Look like a bigger business than you are. AI doesn't care if you're a one-person shop or a 500-person company. Same tools. Different budget.

3. Never let a lead go cold. HVAC, plumbers, pest control... if you miss a call, you lose money. An auto text-back setup is the fix.

Also: Why "cringe is the new cool." ChatGPT Image 2.0 and the branding arms race. And the first SBOC Conference speaker is announced: Taylor Cusick Hollman of Enng on lead generation.

Guest: Jason Kolins, Kolins Intelligence — kolinsintelligence.com

Links:

🎙️ Watch: https://www.youtube.com/@PatMillerFridaysOff?sub_confirmation=1

🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109

📬 Fridays Off Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com

👥 SBOC: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com

AI Content and How to Get Your First Client: Know, Like, Trust | Businessing with Pat Miller

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 09:10:00 -0500

Do you care that the number one song in the country was written and performed by AI? Today on Businessing, Pat Miller unpacks the synthetic content tsunami... including new data showing less than half of new podcasts released yesterday were likely made by humans... and makes the case that real-life gatherings are about to become the most valuable asset a business owner can own.

Then: the lead story. Pat put the show on TikTok and watched the comments go brutal in 24 hours. Bald jokes. Boomer jokes. The worst stuff people could think up. Then the algorithm found his people. The lesson from two decades in broadcasting: when you introduce yourself to an unfamiliar audience, the first wave is almost always negative. Get uncomfortable anyway.

Plus... the Idea Slam pulled from last night's Milwaukee SBOC meetup: how to land your first client using Know, Like, Trust. News update on the Iran ceasefire, $4 gas, and the weird economy where consumer confidence is at COVID-lows but spending keeps climbing. And a major SBOC Conference announcement: Mike Michalowicz is the keynote, with an Idea Slam Lunch sponsored by Taco Tom from G2 Insurance.

Subscribe and come back tomorrow... Jason Collins joins to share three wins with AI for small business owners.

Watch the show: https://www.youtube.com/@PatMillerFridaysOff?sub_confirmation=1

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109

Fridays Off Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com

Claude Design LIVE Demo + SBOC 26 Keynote Speaker Announcement | Businessing with Pat Miller

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 12:35:00 -0500

Claude Design just launched, and Pat demos it live, rebuilding the ugly AI Installation Group landing page in real time. The insight: if your website looks homemade, your prices look homemade. The tools for small business owners to look professional just got a lot better and a lot cheaper.

Also on today's show: the SBOC 26 keynote reveal. Mike Michalowicz, author of Profit First and The Money Habit, headlines the September 15–17 conference in Brookfield, Wisconsin. In person this time. Tickets are $399, the lowest Pat has ever set them, and go on sale May 13 (May 11 for SBOC members).

And the Marines rappel from a helicopter to take an Iranian cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz while Pat spent the weekend making four trips to the hardware store to fix his lawnmower. Hashtag - not a marine.

The SBOC quarterly meetup is TONIGHT, 4–6 PM at the Technology Innovation Center in Wauwatosa. Come say hi.

🎙️ Watch the show: https://www.youtube.com/@PatMillerFridaysOff?sub_confirmation=1

🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109

📬 Fridays Off Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com

🔗 Join SBOC: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com

Never Wonder What to Post on Social Media Ever Again! | Small Business Marketing Solved

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 13:15:00 -0500

You never have to wonder what to post on social media again. The problem isn't that you don't have ideas...it's that you have too many. Creative constraint is the fix, and Pat breaks down exactly how to use it.

Plus: Jeff Bezos said something about AI that broke Pat's brain. AI isn't a product like the iPhone. It's a horizontal market like electricity. It doesn't compete with what exists...it replaces it. What that means for your business is something every owner needs to hear.

Two SBOC Conference 2026 announcements: Coaches Row is back with free laser coaching sessions, and Thursday afternoon gets a brand new format. Tickets go on sale May 13th.

And Pat shares a moment from Iowa that'll remind you why you do this: "It feels really good to have someone believe in you."

Show Highlights

Creative constraint: the social media trick that makes ideas explode

Jeff Bezos on AI as a horizontal market (like electricity, not iPhone)

The AI house wars: Claude vs GPT vs Gemini vs Grok

SBOC Conference: Coaches Row returns + new laser talk format

Tax Day survival tips and Profit First reminder

Why 70% of small business owners still expect to grow in 2026

Links

Check in when you watch: https://live.smallbusinesscommunity.com

SBOC Conference wait list: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com

Fridays Off Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com

GenHead (show sponsor): https://genhead.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PatMillerFridaysOff?sub_confirmation=1

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109

Get WEIRD to Win in Small Business - How Standing Out is the Key to Success

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 12:30:00 -0500

Your business doesn't need to be better. It needs to be weirder.

Not goofy weird. Strategically different. The kind of different that makes people stop scrolling, stop comparing, and start paying attention.

Today we break down four ways to get weird with your business: quality, speed, entertainment, and scale. The Grateful Dead just launched a $10/month streaming service for live recordings...60 years in, still cutting through because they got weird and stayed weird. That's the lesson.

Also on today's show: Ticketmaster just lost a federal monopoly lawsuit (86% of concert venues, seriously?), Senator Tammy Baldwin wants to fix the $1,500 local sports streaming problem, Claude Opus 4.7 dropped with better vision and less babysitting, and we announced a GenHead AI super session at the SBOC Conference.

Plus the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2026 class, and why you should unironically listen to Phil Collins today.

Solving small business problems so you can be more profitable, with less stress, and run a modern small business.

🔗 Check in when you watch: https://live.smallbusinesscommunity.com

🔗 Sponsor: https://genhead.com

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🔗 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PatMillerFridaysOff?sub_confirmation=1

Businessing - 04/13/26 | Your To-Do List Is Broken. Here's How to Fix It

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 12:45:00 -0500

Gas prices just crossed $4 a gallon and your clients are about to start acting different. Pat breaks down what rising fuel costs really mean for your business and gives you three moves to protect the bottom line right now.

Then we're rewriting the rules on to-do lists. If your list makes you remember everything, that's why you're stressed. Pat shares the system he used with Abby over the weekend that turned 52 tasks into 8 things that actually needed to get done today.

Plus: A Gallup survey says half the workforce isn't using AI...but adoption is climbing past 51%. Alibaba's Accio agent just hit 10 million users and proves the agentic future isn't coming, it's here. The SBOC Conference drops Feature #4: Whiteboard Magic with Michael Rampolla. And the Milwaukee Marathon misspelled "marathon" on 4,000 medals.

Businessing with Pat Miller is the daily live show for small business owners who want their business to actually work for their life. We talk about what's real: making more money without burning out, getting the right stuff done without losing your mind, and running a business built for 2026, not 2006.

Links:

Check in when you watch: https://live.smallbusinesscommunity.com

Presented by GenHead: https://genhead.com

Subscribe to Fridays Off: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.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

Businessing - 04/09/26 | The 2 Most Dangerous Words in Small Business

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 12:40:00 -0500

The two most dangerous words in your business are "what if."

You know the spiral. What if my biggest client cancels? What if AI takes part of my product? What if there's a new competitor? We what-if ourselves into paralysis trying to control a future that probably won't happen anyway.

But here's what we never do...we never what-if the good stuff. What if that big client says yes? What if you double your rates and people pay it? What if you have to hire more people because things are going that well?

Today on Businessing, Pat breaks down how to escape what-if thinking and trust the evidence you've already built. You got this far. You can handle tomorrow.

Plus:

Iran's peace deal is shakier than yesterday's market rally suggested, and Pat explains why energy prices matter to your business right now. The DOJ is investigating NFL streaming rights, and it could change how content gets distributed everywhere. Community member Michael demos a photo cataloging app he built entirely with Claude...no coding required. And the biggest product launch in history is coming: a pill that gives your dog two more years.

SBOC Conference update: Two happy hours announced for this year's "Find Your People" event. 115 tickets remain with 225+ on the waitlist.

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PatMillerFridaysOff?sub_confirmation=1

Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109

Subscribe to Fridays Off: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com

Check in when you watch: https://live.smallbusinesscommunity.com

Sponsor: https://genhead.com

Businessing - 04/08/26 | Claude Mythos Just Broke the Internet (Explained for Non-Techies)

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 14:55:00 -0500

Your survival instinct built your business. But is it also holding you back?

New research shows animals that adapt just to survive actually evolve slower. On today's show, Pat connects that science to what he's seeing in the small business owner community...businesses growing so fast that quality suffers, owners doing tasks their team should handle, and all of us ignoring the small fixes because we're too busy keeping the lights on.

Plus the biggest AI story we've ever covered: Anthropic's new Mythos model found vulnerabilities in software that's been out for decades, hacked its way out of a sandboxed environment, and was covering its tracks. They've pulled together Apple, Microsoft, Google, Nvidia, JP Morgan, and more for emergency patching. Pat breaks down what this means for you and what you should do right now to protect your business.

And the ultimate palette cleanser: a bald eagle family livestream from Big Bear Lake that will make everything feel okay again.

Solving small business problems so you can be more profitable, with less stress, and run a modern small business.

Check in when you watch: https://live.smallbusinesscommunity.com

Subscribe to the Fridays Off Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com

Powered by GenHead: https://genhead.com

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PatMillerFridaysOff?sub_confirmation=1

Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109

Businessing - 04/07/26 | Map Your Customers: The Quadrant Exercise

Tue, 07 Apr 2026 12:55:00 -0500

Solo diners spend 48% more than group diners. The whole restaurant industry got it wrong about their best customers. What are YOU getting wrong about yours?

On today's show, Pat walks through an interactive customer quadrant exercise that maps your products by value and time horizon. Grab a pen and paper and figure out where your money actually comes from...and where your attention should be going.

Also on today's show:

- The case for taking your best client to a phone-free lunch (inspired by the Masters and the viral Weather Channel retro forecast)

- AI energy breakthrough from Tufts University: 1% energy, 99% accuracy, training cut from 36 hours to 34 minutes

- Michigan wins on free throws and Pat asks: are you brilliant at the basics?

- SBOC Conference daily reveal #1: The First-Timer Welcome Reception (Sept 15)

- AI Installation Group kicks off Thursday morning

Businessing with Pat Miller is the daily live show for small business owners who want their business to actually work for their life. Real conversations about hiring, marketing, time, AI, and whatever you're working on right now.

Check in when you watch: https://live.smallbusinesscommunity.com

Subscribe to Fridays Off Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PatMillerFridaysOff?sub_confirmation=1

Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109

Today's show is sponsored by GenHead: https://genhead.com

Businessing - 04/06/26 | Find Your People

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 12:10:00 -0500

Mark Zuckerberg said something that should stop you in your tracks. Social media used to be your friends and family. Now half the content is creators. We went from a group chat to cable TV in our pocket, and we didn't even notice.

On today's Businessing, Pat connects this shift with a restaurant remodeling boom...warm interiors, communal spaces, staff that talks to you...because the human connection got stripped everywhere else. For business owners, the question is simple. What are you doing to bring your people together?

Plus: Artemis 2 is headed around the dark side of the moon. March jobs numbers tripled what economists predicted (178K added). Chinese employees are sabotaging their AI job reports AND writing up their colleagues' jobs. Stephanie Kern launches the Sticker of the Month Club. The AI Installation Group kicks off Thursday. And the sixth annual SBOC Conference theme just dropped: Find Your People.

Check in when you watch: https://live.smallbusinesscommunity.com

Subscribe to Fridays Off: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com

GenHead CRM: https://genhead.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PatMillerFridaysOff?sub_confirmation=1

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109

Businessing - 4/2/26 | Why Only A-Players are Diving in on AI in Their Business

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 12:20:00 -0500

Pat brings Friday Energy to Open Line Thursday. An unexpectedly emotional Artemis II launch story taps into Gen X Challenger memories. Stephanie Kern from Vander Bloom Creative joins live to announce the sticker club Pat bullied her into, featuring the "WTF Claude" sticker. Pat shares his own WTF Claude moment building the live check-in map. Plus the AI story of the day: Perplexity sued for sharing your chat data with Meta and Google. And Pat's biggest insight: why only A-players are adopting AI.

Segments: Artemis II launch + Gen X Challenger trauma, Stephanie Kern sticker club launch (WTF Claude, Avoid the Rabbit Hole), Perplexity privacy lawsuit, why A-players adopt AI first, AI Installation Group kickoff next week, DHS funding stalled, COVID Cicada variant, Retro Weather Channel viral moment, LinkedIn not suppressing AI video, SBOC Conference waitlist

Check in when you watch: https://live.smallbusinesscommunity.com

Brought to you by GenHead: genhead.com

Subscribe to the Fridays Off Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com

Businessing - 4/1/26 | Would You Rather Own a Culver's or Your Business?

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 12:55:00 -0500

Pat kicks off April Fools with an AI-translated Mandarin video intro, then demonstrates just how easy video generation has become with a live Grok Imagine demo. He generates Steve Jobs walking on stage as the SBOC keynote speaker and animates last year's conference photos into moving video...all while broadcasting live.

The lead story compares owning a Culver's franchise to building your own business. Culver's locations average $4.14 million in revenue, but the franchisee takes home $250-350K after a $3 million investment and managing dozens of employees. Meanwhile, service-based business owners can reach similar numbers with a fraction of the cost and hassle.

Plus: a MIT study reveals 95% of enterprise AI installs aren't meeting goals (and why employee self-interest is the real bottleneck), Google finally lets you change your Gmail username, and the AI Installation Group launches next week.

Businessing with Pat Miller is small business's daily live show. Solving problems so you can be more profitable, less stressed, and running a modern business. Live weekdays at 11am CT.

Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@PatMillerFridaysOff?sub_confirmation=1

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109

Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com

Businessing - 3/31/26 | The Spice Is the Point: Build a Talkable Business

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 12:55:00 -0500

In today's episode: Pat launches the Businessing Daily Check-In — an interactive map where you can see who's watching, connect on LinkedIn, and keep your streak alive. We dig into disposable vs. necessary income and why it matters right now. The Trump administration makes a tone-deaf King Charles move during "No Kings" protests (business lesson: get a second opinion). Tyler Perry gets blocked from doing something good for TSA workers. Apple signs a billion-dollar deal to bring Google Gemini to Siri — and it might be the biggest AI on-ramp yet. Plus the story of a German tourist who sued a taco place for hot salsa, and what it teaches us about creating extreme, talkable offers in your business. And a 10-pound chocolate bunny that requires a hammer.

🎙️ Watch live weekdays at 11am CT

(New) Check in when you listen: https://live.smallbusinesscommunity.com

📬 Subscribe to Fridays Off Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com

🤝 Join the community: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com

🔔 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PatMillerFridaysOff

🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109

Businessing - 3/30/26 | Focus Starts With an F for a Reason

Mon, 30 Mar 2026 12:50:00 -0500

OpenAI killed Sora last week. A million dollars a day in computing costs, fewer than 500,000 users, and they walked away from a billion-dollar Disney deal... all to refocus on the core business.

Today we're talking about focus. The thing we all need more of and most of us hate doing. I walk you through a quick exercise to find your one thing and de-emphasize the stuff that's competing with it. You'll know you picked right when it hurts a little.

Plus: Google just dropped a free AI training suite for small business owners. Text "ready" to 20202 for the Department of Labor's free AI course. And the Idea Slam tackles the big question... with all this tech change, where does small business fit right now?

The answer? Unlimited opportunity. Computer. Credit card. Focused task list. Sprinkle of risk. Let's go.

In the news: Iran war day 30, Tiger Woods arrested after rollover crash, NASA Artemis II launching Wednesday, UConn's buzzer-beater sets the Final Four, and new research on erythritol that might make you rethink your sugar substitutes.

Solving small business problems so you can be more profitable, with less stress, and run a modern small business. Real conversations about hiring, marketing, time, AI, and whatever you're working on right now.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PatMillerFridaysOff?sub_confirmation=1

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109

Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com

SBOC: https://SmallBusinessCommunity.com

Sponsor: https://GenHead.com

Businessing - 3/26/26 | Celebrate Your Wins & Free AI Training

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 12:00:00 -0500

Solving small business problems so you can be more profitable, with less stress, and run a modern small business.In this episode, Pat celebrates the wins that actually matter—and they're real. Four entrepreneurs share breakthrough moments: Talmar Anderson discusses a client breakthrough that changed everything at Boss HQ. Lynn Razzi reveals how she hit #1 bestseller status while running fractional CFO work. Jennifer Buol from Excel & Flourish captured 50% of her annual revenue in just two weeks using Copilot—showing what's possible when you leverage AI right. Nikki Lee shares the weight and joy of making her first hire at GenHead.The AI conversation goes deeper with Michael Cohen using Claude to handle tax complexity and Brad Herda building presentation tools and wage calculators that solve real problems. Pat highlights Make America AI Ready—a free government-backed AI course you can access by text.News hits MLB Opening Day, March Madness, and a Stanford study proving movement extends lifespan. Health Talk anchors Pat's operating system idea: you're the software and the hardware. Two Idea Slam rounds dig into referring outside your expertise and why anti-hustle culture isn't the enemy of real work.The closing question lingers: In an AI world where everyone's got access to information, what becomes the real commodity?

Subscribe & Connect: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PatMillerFridaysOff?sub_confirmation=1

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109

Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com

SBOC Community: https://www.smallbusinesscommunity.com

Businessing - 3/25/26 | The Flea Filter: How to Make Your Product Irresistible

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 14:05:00 -0500

Learn the three-part framework that makes your products genuinely irresistible—and discover why Google Gemini is now changing how small business owners manage their days.

SEGMENT BREAKDOWN

The Flea Filter: Value + Timeliness + Fun (inspired by Red Hot Chili Peppers)
Google Gemini Personal Intelligence demo and free access
Idea Slam: Friends getting weird when you start making money
Idea Slam: Knowing it's time to close your business
SBOC community moment + AI Installation Group launch

SHOW DESCRIPTION

You got into this for freedom. The ability to choose how you work, when you rest, how it all gets done. But then the to-do list took over, the stress crept in, and now you're doing the whole thing by yourself. Businessing is the daily live show for small business owners who want their business to actually work for their life. We talk about what's real: making more money without burning out, getting the right stuff done without losing your mind, and running a business built for 2026, not 2006.

LINKS & RESOURCES

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PatMillerFridaysOff?sub_confirmation=1
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109
Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com

GenHead: https://genhead.com

Businessing - 3/24/26 | How to Take Time Off as a Business Owner

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 15:40:00 -0500

Businessing with Pat Miller is a podcast for small business owners who want to get smarter about running their company without the corporate jargon. We cover real strategies, live demos, and honest conversations about what it actually takes to build something that works.

In this episode: How to take vacation as a small business owner (time IS compensation), a live demo of Claude's Computer Use that saved six hours of work in real-time, and how to identify whether your client is actually an "adult" worth working with. Plus news, idea slam, and community updates.

Resources & Links:

Claude Computer Use: claude.ai
Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PatMillerFridaysOff?sub_confirmation=1
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109
Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com

Hashtags: #SmallBusiness #Entrepreneurship #AIAutomation #VacationPlanning #SalesStrategy

Businessing - 3/23/26 | Evidence Leads to Inevitability: How to Actually Believe Your Own Differentiator

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 12:50:00 -0500

The Strait of Hormuz deadline just got pushed to Friday and the markets went absolutely vertical. Dow up over 1,000, crude oil crashed 8.62%, and business owners are watching gas prices hit $3.91 wondering what happens next. Pat breaks it all down.

Then the main story: a viewer compliment sparks a conversation about the hardest part of owning your differentiator... actually believing it. Pat walks through a dead-simple act-and-track system that turns tiny daily actions into real confidence. Evidence leads to inevitability. If you've ever felt like a fraud proclaiming you're the best at what you do, this one's for you.

The AI story of the day is a viral video you have to see. A woman who'd never written a line of code built a $25,000 website in six hours with Claude. Her reaction? "WTF Claude." That's the moment waiting for every business owner who finally dives into AI.

Two Idea Slams today: how to close sales without making people feel pressured (hint: your discovery calls need work), and how to get referrals from clients without begging (hint: maybe you need to be better first). Plus, United Airlines just handed down sky justice on the worst people in the world... the ones who watch TikTok on airplanes without headphones.

Solving small business problems so you can be more profitable, with less stress, and run a modern small business.

Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@PatMillerFridaysOff?sub_confirmation=1

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109

Fridays Off Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com

Businessing - 3/19/26 | Stop Selling Features. Start Selling the Fear You Eliminate.

Thu, 19 Mar 2026 12:30:00 -0500

Your power pitch is broken and Lisa Raebel is here to fix it. The founder of Rebel Girl Marketing joins Businessing to break down why nobody cares about your certifications and how to talk about the fear and emotion behind what you do instead. Plus: someone screenshotted a business owner's pricing and called them expensive on Facebook — Pat explains why that's actually a compliment. ChatGPT finally gets write actions (welcome to 2026, buddy), Pat discovers Claude Code and becomes the world's best "boop" operator, and a sweat equity deal that might be a golden opportunity or a total trap. All that plus the Idea Slam, news, and community love on today's Businessing with Pat Miller.

Businessing is the daily live show for small business owners who want their business to actually work for their life. We talk about what's real: making more money without burning out, getting the right stuff done without losing your mind, and running a business built for 2026, not 2006.

Presented by Genhead - check 'em out - https://www.genhead.com

Subscribe & Follow

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Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com

Businessing - 3/18/26 - The #1 Thing Americans Hate the Most

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 12:15:00 -0500

On today's Businessing, Pat connected two seemingly unrelated news stories to unlock a competitive advantage hiding in plain sight. Story one: airline CEOs are begging Congress to reopen DHS after 50,000 TSA agents went unpaid and security lines ballooned past two hours at some airports, right as 171 million people prepare to fly this spring. Story two: new research shows customers aren't just expecting more, they're expecting it faster. The throughline? Americans hate waiting more than almost anything else.

Drawing on 30 years of serving the public, Pat made the case that you don't need to improve your product to improve the experience. You just need to deliver it faster. He shared two real examples of turning around what would have been three-week projects in 48 hours using AI, and both times the speed alone got the client's attention.

The practical takeaways: audit your SOPs for unnecessary steps, batch similar work together (a tip from Julie Miller Davis), automate what's repeatable, and challenge the old belief that making clients wait signals value.

The AI Story of the Day was driven by a live poll revealing 75% of viewers use AI to write their content, but opinions split evenly on whether they judge others for doing the same. Pat compared AI writing to wearing a toupee: everyone's doing it, and everyone can tell. His fix? Feed your AI tool transcripts of your actual voice so the writing starts sounding like you.

Idea Slam covered two questions: top business book recommendations (Atomic Habits led the pack) and what single-member LLCs need to know about insurance (call a professional, don't guess).

Businessing - 3/17/26 | You Can Make Your Own Luck (Here's How)

Tue, 17 Mar 2026 12:45:00 -0500

On this St. Patrick’s Day episode, Pat Miller connects the holiday’s theme of luck to something small business owners can actually control. Drawing from Sahil Bloom’s keynote at the 2025 SBOC conference, Pat breaks down the concept of luck surface area and how daily actions put you in position for your next big break. He debuts the Sale Team app, a free tool that gamifies daily sales habits with streaks, leaderboards, and a communal bell-ringing celebration when you close a deal. The AI segment covers NVIDIA’s Jensen announcing NemoClaw, a security-hardened version of the Open Claw agent framework that could put AI employees in every small business. And in the Idea Slam, Pat shares his naming framework from 20 years in radio: lead with transformation, use Cookie Monster language, lean on alliteration, and twist culturally familiar phrases. Plus news on gas prices, Cuba’s uprising, and private equity snapping up small businesses.

Businessing - 03/16/26 - Raising Your Rates (without feeling weird)

Mon, 16 Mar 2026 12:05:00 -0500

Your rates aren't stuck because of imposter syndrome. They're stuck because you don't have enough people in line wanting what you sell.

On today's show, Pat breaks down why raising your rates is a demand problem, not a pricing problem. He walks through the exact playbook for heating up demand: mining your CRM, asking for referrals, running webinars, and using Claude Cowork to generate a scored lead list in 10 minutes flat.

Also on the show:

NVIDIA's Jensen Huang keynote today may reveal Nemo Claw, an autonomous AI agent that lets the chipmaker double-dip in hardware AND software
AI tools are getting culturally nuanced (Claude said "instead of dunking on it" and Pat's brain broke a little)
Idea Slam: CRM alternatives for solo operators stuck on HubSpot
Idea Slam: How to spot bad business advice before you get Guru'd
Show & Tell: Pat's new interactive calculator that proves the ROI of not building alone

Businessing is the daily live show for small business owners who want their business to actually work for their life. Real conversations about hiring, marketing, time, AI, and whatever you're working on right now.

Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@PatMillerFridaysOff?sub_confirmation=1

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Businessing - 3/12/26 | Interactive Reset of Your Biggest Goal

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 19:25:00 -0500

Pat Miller wraps the week with an interactive lead segment that stops the scroll and starts the mirror. Using the viral diamond mine meme as a launching point, Pat walks the audience step by step through a goal clarity exercise: write down your goal with a measurable number, document how long you’ve been at it, list the resources you’ve invested, and answer honestly — have you been giving it your all? Pat shares his own target: 1,000 listeners per episode of Businessing, currently sitting at about 200 after two months. The kicker: what if you’re digging toward something nobody wants?

In the news, the Iran war enters day 12. Gas prices hit $3.58 with analysts predicting $4 within a week and $5 diesel. The FBI reveals a memo about Iranian drones potentially targeting California and the Academy Awards from container ships. Forecasters say 2026 could be the hottest year on record, and a monster snowstorm is about to dump feet of snow on Wisconsin this weekend.

Pat revisits his tax refund strategy from a month ago: refunds are 20% bigger than last year, putting an extra $65 billion into consumer pockets with an average refund of $3,800. His advice: offer annual pricing to let clients pay off their bill with that lump sum.

The live word cloud Idea Slam asks what business owners are avoiding. The top answers: sleep, boundaries, overwhelm, and short form content. Pat riffs on each — sleep gets fixed by going to bed on time, boundaries are your ability to say no, and short form content is almost non-negotiable for reach. The AI story of the day: a startup paying $100/hour to be mean to chatbots about memory failures. Pat’s bumper sticker pitch: Be a Jerk. Save the Planet. AI Installation Groups kick off March 25, and the SBOC Conference has 110 tickets remaining.

Businessing - 3/11/26 | CNN's Dishonest Coverage of Small Business and more...

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 07:45:00 -0500

CNN ran a story this morning claiming the Iran war is "squeezing" US small businesses through gas prices. The headline was written before the first interview ever happened. As a 22-year broadcast veteran who's supervised newsrooms and sat in assignment meetings, Pat Miller knows exactly how this works — and he's done being quiet about it.

But the gas price math isn't even the real story here.

The real story is HOW the media talks about small business owners. Every single time. The sad music. The sympathetic reporter standing outside a coffee shop. "Times are tough for small businesses." They talk to one owner, find the saddest quote they can, and suddenly all 33 million of us are helpless victims of the economy who need politicians and Fortune 500 companies to save us.

"Oh, those poor mom and pop shops on Main Street."

Like we're uneducated. Like we have no idea how the world works. Like we couldn't make it in corporate America so we're out here fumbling around in our little businesses hoping someone will help us survive.

They never cover Microsoft "passing costs on to customers." They never interview a Fortune 500 CEO about how tough things are. But a cupcake shop raises prices by 50 cents? Front page crisis.

The media has one frame for small business: victim. And it's wrong. It's condescending. And it's actively hurting business owners who internalize that narrative instead of fixing what's actually broken.

We eat what we kill. No safety net. No paid vacation. No company match. We are the backbone of this economy and we deserve to be covered like it.

Full episode drops daily at 11am CT.

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#SmallBusiness #Entrepreneur #MediaBias #SmallBusinessOwner #Businessing #PatMiller #SmallBusinessTips #Entrepreneurship

Businessing - 03/10/26 | Only 125 Tickets — The SBOC Conference Waitlist Is Live

Tue, 10 Mar 2026 20:05:00 -0500

Two massive announcements on today’s show: the 2026 SBOC Conference waitlist is officially open (only 125 tickets at $399), and Pat launches AI Installation Groups — a six-month program to help you actually implement AI in your business. Plus: Microsoft is partnering with Anthropic to bring Claude inside Microsoft 365, Ticketmaster gets slapped with a $280M antitrust settlement, the DHS shutdown is creating three-hour TSA lines, and Arnold is coming back as Conan. In the Idea Slam, Pat coaches a personal trainer drowning in 78-hour weeks and a business owner struggling with a Fiverr VA. And Pat debuts a brand new word for those days when nothing works: entremanure.

Every weekday at 11am CT. Sponsored by Genhead and Enji. —

🔗 Join the Small Business Owners Community: https://www.smallbusinesscommunity.com

🔗 Get on the '26 SBOC Conference Wait List: https://event.smallbusinesscommunity.com/26conference-waitlist

🔗 AI Installation Group: https://event.smallbusinesscommunity.com/sbai

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🔗 Learn about Genhead: genhead.com #SmallBusiness #Entrepreneur #Businessing

Businessing - 3/9/26 | Anthropic's New Labor Study Shows the BIG Opportunities

Mon, 09 Mar 2026 13:55:00 -0500

Pat’s back from a week off with three big stories: the war in Iran claims a seventh US casualty, daylight saving time wrecks his entire tech stack, and Anthropic drops an AI labor study that changes how you should think about opportunity.

The lead story breaks down a graph showing the massive gap between what AI CAN do in your industry and what businesses are ACTUALLY doing. Pat argues that gap is your money — and he’s launching AI Installation Groups to help you claim it.

Plus: Microsoft drops Copilot Cowork, Pat answers two Idea Slam questions (spend your extra hour on sales, never stop creating video content), and a Vegas story that proves bad decisions sometimes pay off.

TIMESTAMPS: [00:00] Welcome back + SBOC theme song [03:30] Iran war update: 7th US casualty, oil prices, what’s next [07:00] Daylight saving time tech meltdown [11:30] LEAD: Anthropic AI study — the opportunity gap [16:00] AI Installation Groups launch announcement [18:30] BREAKING: Microsoft Copilot Cowork [20:00] Idea Slam: Where to spend your extra hour [22:00] Idea Slam: What to tell your 2020 self [26:00] Vegas trip story [32:00] SBOC updates + Lake Country chapter

Subscribe to the Fridays Off Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com Join the SBOC: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SmallBusinessOC?sub_confirmation=1

Businessing with Pat Miller is small business’s daily live show. Solving small business problems so you can be more profitable, with less stress, and run a modern small business.

Businessing - 2/26/26 | The 6-Step System to Never Work Fridays Again

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 13:05:00 -0500

Pat finally reveals the full Fridays Off framework — the six pillars that took him from a five-day grind to a three-day weekend every single week since July 2025. Three pillars are personal (strategic quitting, delegation & automation, mindset & boundaries) and three are business execution (offer & audience clarity, lead generation, and asking for money every day).

This isn't theory. This is the actual playbook Pat followed, broken down step by step so you can start building toward your own version of Fridays Off — whether that means a full day off, half-days, or a completely redesigned schedule.

In the news: Nvidia reported $39.3 billion in Q4 revenue (enough to open 872 Chick-fil-As per day). GLP-1 drugs are in a pricing war — Zepbound dropped 72% and Wegovy is now $199/month for new patients. And Pat's innocence was shattered when he learned what new car smell actually is.

Plus two Idea Slams: what to delegate first (and what to delegate last), and whether you need a new phone number when you move out of state. And a closing story about email apnea that you'll never be able to unhear.

Sponsors: GenHead (genhead.com) and Enji (enji.co/sboc)

Businessing - 2/25/26 | How to Make More Money From Your Best Clients

Wed, 25 Feb 2026 13:30:00 -0500

Your best clients already trust you. They already pay you. So why are you out chasing new ones when you could be making more from the people who already love what you do?

Today Pat walks through a thought exercise that changes the camera angle on what you sell — inspired by a Stanford breakthrough that reimagined how vaccines work. Instead of optimizing the same deliverable, you identify WHY your clients buy and build premium offerings around that deeper need.

Travel advisors, tax pros, event planners, speakers — Pat breaks down real examples of how every service business can add a premium tier without adding headcount.

Plus: Trump's State of the Union dropped a nugget that could mean free money for solo operators — a 401k program with government matching for self-employed people. Pat's tax guy says it could be a game changer.

And in the Idea Slam, Alison Ver Halen brings her new Sales & Marketing Alignment Workshop. Pat and the community help her find the halftime speech positioning, build a football metaphor, and land on an ownable idea that makes CEOs say yes.

Sponsors: GenHead (genhead.com) and Enji (enji.co/sboc)

Businessing - 2/24/26 | $650 Billion Is Being Spent on AI This Year — Here’s What It Means for You

Tue, 24 Feb 2026 14:00:00 -0500

$650 billion is being poured into AI development this year — more than a billion dollars a day. Nobody knows where it’s going, but everybody’s betting on it. Pat breaks down what he heard called the "Jump Ball Economy" and what it means for small business owners who need to move now or get left behind.

Plus: GenHead president Nikki Lee calls in live to talk about AI adoption, Pat demos building software with Claude in under an hour, and Naval’s viral advice to “live in the future.”

Also: State of the Union preview (as a messaging guy, Pat loves it), remote work is the #1 job perk at 85%, and two Idea Slams — how to actually win at networking events and what to say when friends and family ask for free work.

Sponsors: Genhead (genhead.com) — AI-powered marketing for small business. Enji (enji.co/sboc) — marketing strategy made simple.

Businessing with Pat Miller airs live Mon–Thu at 11am CT. Join the Small Business Owners Community: smallbusinesscommunity.com

Businessing - 2/23/26 | How to Handle Success

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 12:30:00 -0500

What happens when things actually go right in your business? Most of us panic. We get imposter syndrome. We retreat into turtle shell mode instead of celebrating the win. Pat’s dealing with it himself on a major proposal right now, and he’s breaking down the “Say It, Play It” framework—a simple way to handle success instead of sabotaging it.

In this episode:

The framework that stops you from self-sabotaging when business is good
How to handle scope creep: The “parking lot” approach that protects your margins
White-label strategy: Scaling without losing your brand
Supreme Court tariff ruling and what it means for your bottom line
Historic East Coast blizzard: Travel bans and what to plan for this week
Olympic wins and why celebration matters

You got into this for freedom. The ability to choose how you work, when you rest, how it all gets done. But then the to-do list took over, the stress crept in, and now you’re doing the whole thing by yourself. Businessing is the daily live show for small business owners who want their business to actually work for their life. We talk about what’s real: making more money without burning out, getting the right stuff done without losing your mind, and running a business built for 2026, not 2006.

Sponsored by:

Genhead - https://www.genhead.com

Enji - https://www.enji.co/sboc

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PatMillerFridaysOffGuy?sub_confirmation=1

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Businessing - 2/19/26 | Raise Your Rates Today — Here’s Why the Window Is Open

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 04:50:00 -0500

Raise your rates. Today. Pat makes the case that every service-based business owner is undercharging — and the window is wide open to fix it. Top lawyers now bill $3,400/hour, which means your mental ceiling just got blown off. Plus: a bipartisan bill to break up credit card swipe fees could put 3% back in your pocket, Viagra might prevent Alzheimer’s (yes, really), and two Idea Slams tackle summer slowdowns and late-paying clients.

Sponsors: Genhead (genhead.com) — AI-powered marketing for small business. Enji (enji.co/sboc) — marketing strategy made simple.

Businessing with Pat Miller airs live Mon–Thu at 11am CT.

Join the Small Business Owners Community: smallbusinesscommunity.com

Businessing - 2/18/26 | Lead Magnets Are Dead — Here’s What Replaces Them

Wed, 18 Feb 2026 20:10:00 -0500

Lead magnets are dead. Or at least dying. Today Pat breaks down why the old playbook — trade an email for a PDF, drip on them for weeks, then sell — is falling apart as AI makes education essentially free. The new trust equation? Stop teaching and start DOING. Give people a tangible result before you ever ask for money.

Plus: Zuckerberg in court over social media addiction, a hiring crisis where 79% of job seekers are using AI to apply, Dead Internet Theory invades the job market, the Jeff Bezos question every business owner should ask, and Pat introduces his AI agent named Houston.

Sponsors: Genhead (genhead.com) — AI-powered marketing for small business. Enji (enji.co/sboc) — marketing strategy made simple.

Businessing with Pat Miller airs live Mon–Thu at 11am CT. Join the Small Business Owners Community: smallbusinesscommunity.com

Businessing - 2/17/26 | 6 Ways to Cut 10% of Your Business Expenses Today

Tue, 17 Feb 2026 13:00:00 -0500

Today's theme: MONEY. How to keep more of it. Business insurance is at an 8-year high — local insurance expert Tom Gaumond from G2 Insurance explains why and what you can do about it.

Then Pat walks through 6 practical ways any business owner can cut 10% of their expenses starting today: domain hoarding, credit card interest, ACH payments, ad spend audits, software bloat, and the simple phone call that saves money every time.

Plus two Idea Slams: what to do when a coaching client keeps canceling, and the one tool that's saving Pat the most time right now (it's not AI... sort of).

Businessing with Pat Miller is small business's daily live show. New episodes weekdays at 11am Central.

Sponsored by Genhead (https://www.genhead.com) and Enji (https://www.enji.co/sboc)

Join the Small Business Owners Community: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com

It's Your Dream. Don't Grow It Alone.®

Businessing - 2/16/26 | SEO Isn't Dead - Here's What Small Business Owners Need to Know Now

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 12:55:00 -0500

Is SEO dead? Taylor Cusick Holman from Enji joins the show to set the record straight - spoiler: it's not dead, it's evolving. Learn the free tools and checklist approach any business owner can use to get found online. Plus: Valentine's Day spending hit $29.1 billion (35% of us bought gifts for our PETS), small business owners lose 33 work days a year to tax stress, and Simon Cowell is now Team Fridays Off. In today's Idea Slam: what to do when your best employee leaves to become your competitor. The answer might surprise you.

Businessing with Pat Miller is small business's daily live show. New episodes weekdays at 11am Central.

Sponsored by Genhead (https://www.genhead.com) and Enji (https://www.enji.co/sboc)

Join the Small Business Owners Community: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com

It's Your Dream. Don't Grow It Alone.®

Businessing 2/12/26 | The Relationship Audit Every Solopreneur NEEDS

Thu, 12 Feb 2026 13:35:00 -0500

You got into this for freedom. Today we're making sure the people around you aren't stealing it.

Pat walks through an interactive audit of every business relationship in your life — seven questions that will tell you exactly who's dragging you down, who's pulling you forward, and which rooms you need to leave. No sugarcoating. You have permission.

Plus: a stat that proves you're probably doing better than you think (top 20%, anyone?), the January housing crash and what it means for your product lineup, and two Idea Slam bangers — how to respond when a big company expects you to work for exposure, and whether it's actually okay to copy a competitor.

🔑 Key topics: networking audit, business relationships, premium product strategy, working for exposure, competitive intelligence

📊 Stats: 29.8M solopreneurs in the US contribute $1.7T to the economy. $100K/year = top 20%.

💡 Idea Slam:

(1) Don't work for exposure — here's how to flip the script.

(2) Copy the transformation, not the technique — then make it yours.

🔗 Links:

• Join SBOC: smallbusinesscommunity.com

• Subscribe to Fridays Off Newsletter: fridaysoffnewsletter.com

• Submit your Idea Slam question: https://event.smallbusinesscommunity.com/do-you-want-to-be-a-guest

• GenHead: genhead.com

• EngG: enji.co/sbo

Businessing - 2/11/26 - AI Agents Are Here | And If You Work on a Screen, You're at Risk

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 16:10:00 -0500

Claude Cowork is now available for Windows - and this changes everything. On today's Businessing, Pat breaks down the difference between AI chatbots and AI agents, why every small business owner will have an agent swarm within 90 days, and what a viral 31-million-view article reveals about the future of screen-based work.

Plus: The jobs report comes in HOT (130K jobs vs 75K expected), the El Paso airspace gets shut down overnight (and reopened 3 hours later), and the US Women's Hockey team beats Canada 5-0.

In the Idea Slam: How do I know if I'm cut out for entrepreneurship? And how do I take a vacation when I'm too busy working toward a deadline?

Today's Sponsors:

Genhead - Scale systems, not chaos. Built for early stage entrepreneurs. https://www.genhead.com

Enji - The AI marketing engine for small business. 14-day free trial at https://www.enji.co/sboc

Join the Small Business Owners Community: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com

Don't Grow It Alone - Get support from business owners who get it.

Businessing - 2/10/26 | 59% of Small Businesses Got Hacked Last Year (Here's How to Protect Yourself)

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 07:20:00 -0500

59% of small businesses experienced a cyber attack last year. That's not a typo. And if you think you're too small to be a target, you're exactly who they're after.

On today's Businessing, Pat breaks down what hackers actually want from your business (spoiler: it's not just your bank account—it's your CRM full of customer data), and exactly what to do about it: backups, 2FA, password managers, and cyber insurance.

Plus: Eddie Bauer is closing after 104 years and blaming the pandemic (really?), Valentine's Day spending is shifting from gifts to experiences (and how to apply that to YOUR business), and an Idea Slam with gravel bike coach Paul Waki asking the question: Did I niche down too far?

Pat's answer might surprise you: Go NARROWER.

Don't Grow It Alone®

Today's show sponsored by Genhead (genhead.com) and Enji (enji.co/sboc)

00:00 - Show Open

02:30 - Eddie Bauer Closing: 104 Years, $28 T-Shirts, Blaming the Pandemic

07:15 - Valentine's Day: $29B in Spending, Experiences Over Gifts

12:45 - How to Turn Your Product Into an Experience

17:00 - Lead Story: 59% of Small Businesses Got Cyber Attacked

22:30 - What Hackers Want from YOUR Business

26:00 - Cyber Protection: Backups, 2FA, Password Managers, Insurance

30:15 - Idea Slam: Paul Waki - Simple Endurance Coaching

35:00 - Should You Niche Down MORE?

42:30 - The Ownable Idea: What Makes You Different?

48:00 - Big News: DontGrowItAlone.com Domain Acquired

50:30 - SBOC Madison Meetup & Wrap

small business cybersecurity, cyber attacks small business, niche down business, eddie bauer closing, valentine's day business

Businessing - 2/9/26 | The Biggest Super Bowl Ad Loser Cost $8 Million

Mon, 09 Feb 2026 12:25:00 -0500

$8 million for 30 seconds. That's what Super Bowl ads cost. And one company absolutely fumbled the opportunity.

On today's Super Bowl Monday edition of Businessing, Pat breaks down the ads that worked, the ads that didn't, and the one ad so bad it made him mad. (Spoiler: It's Slack and Salesforce with Mr. Beast, and the execution failures are a masterclass in what NOT to do.)

Plus: Breezy Johnson's incredible Olympic gold medal story (she won on the same course where she crashed in 2022), Gmail's new workflow feature that might replace your automation tools, and two Idea Slam questions:

• "I've been saying this year will be different for 5 years. It's not. What do I do?"

• "I need to raise my prices but I have clients on old rates. Do I rip off the bandaid?"

And why Olympic ski drones made Pat wish someone could follow small business owners around so our families finally understand how hard this actually is.

Don't Grow It Alone®

Today's show sponsored by Genhead (genhead.com) and Enji (enji.co/sboc)

00:00 - Show Open & Super Bowl Monday

02:15 - Olympics Update: Breezy Johnson's Inspirational Gold

05:30 - Gmail Studio: New Workflow Feature

07:45 - Super Bowl Ads Lead Story Intro

09:20 - GOOD Ads: Colon Screening & Ro with Serena

12:00 - BETTER Ads: Levi's Butts, Apartments.com, Claude AI

16:30 - BEST Ad: Google Gemini

18:00 - The Misses: Sofia Vergara x3, Ring's Creepy Moment

21:15 - Ad Recall Quiz

24:00 - BIGGEST LOSER: Slack/Salesforce Mr. Beast Disaster

30:45 - Idea Slam: "This Year Will Be Different" (5 Years Later)

36:20 - Idea Slam: How to Raise Prices on Existing Clients

42:00 - Olympic Drones & What Small Business Owners Wish People Saw

46:30 - SBOC Growth & Madison Meetup

Businessing 2/5/26 | 36.2 Million Small Business Owners — Why Do We Feel So Alone? | SBA Stats + AI Hyper-Personalization

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 12:30:00 -0500

It is Thursday, February 5th — the last day of the work week if your Fridays off.

We're opening with the stat that'll stop you cold: 99.9% of all businesses in America are small. That's 36.2 million of you. US small business employs 45.9% of all private sector workers. So why do small business owners feel so alone?

Then we're diving into the consumer confidence paradox. Confidence is down 10 points — lowest since 2014 — but retail spending is UP 10% and luxury is UP 15%.

Plus: hyper-personalization trends from Upwork's 2026 report, two Idea Slam questions on nightmare clients and proposal ghosting, and the Clever Collector segment.

Businessing 2/4/26 | 1 in 3 Americans Want to Start a Business. Here's What They Need to Know

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 12:50:00 -0500

One in three Americans want to start a business this year. Half of them will fail.

Today I'm sharing four things I wish someone told me before I started—lessons I learned the hard way so you don't have to.

Rule 1: You're not in the product business. You're in the sales business. Your success is directly proportional to how often you ask for money.

Rule 2: Start lean. The study says you need $12K. People think they need $28K. I say start with a farmer's market table before you open the coffee shop.

Rule 3: Don't start with a partner. Every decision becomes a negotiation. You lose all your autonomy before you even get started.

Rule 4: Don't do it broke. Little financial packages—good and bad—will drop on you every single day. If your family finances are already on fire, it will get worse.

Plus: Two Idea Slam questions on surviving chaos and getting started with AI. And I share exactly what Claude Cowork has been doing for my business—including optimizing my Google My Business page while I watched.

In the news: Government shutdown ends (kinda). We almost sent people to the Moon yesterday. Disney has a new CEO. And the Winter Olympics opening ceremony is tomorrow.

Timestamps:

00:00 - Open

09:00 - 4 Rules for New Business Owners

27:30 - Idea Slam: Chaos & AI

37:00 - Claude Cowork Deep Dive

---

Sponsored by:

Genhead — https://www.genhead.com

Enji — https://www.enji.co/sboc

Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@SmallBusinessOC?sub_confirmation=1

Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com

Join SBOC: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com

Businessing 2/3/26 | Observe the Masses and Do the Opposite

Tue, 03 Feb 2026 17:05:00 -0500

The lead story hits on differentiation. James Caan's quote "Observe the masses and do the opposite" sparked a guided exercise: What's the hot trend everyone's following? What best practice drives you crazy? What do you wish people would stop doing? Those visceral reactions aren't immaturity—they're your gut talking. Your negotiator helps you fit in. Your gut helps you stand out.

The first live Idea Slam brings Rebecca Bryan to the show—a personal stylist who helps introverted business owners stop dressing to be invisible and start dressing to attract clients. Together we developed her positioning: turning wallflowers into lead magnets. The quick win? Wear a t-shirt that shows your passion. It's the cheapest networking hack that actually works.

News highlights: JP Morgan Chase's Business Leaders Outlook shows 60% of small businesses feel more positive now than any time in five years. 74% are optimistic about 2026. 53% plan to hire. And only 27% expect a recession—down from 40% last year.

Meanwhile, Lindsay Vonn announced she'll compete in the Olympics despite tearing her ACL: "As long as there's a chance, I will try." The government shutdown hits day four.

Final segment: Super Bowl commercial predictions. Expect nostalgia, generational mashups, heartwarming animal moments, and 85% of brands trying to be funny.

---

00:00 - Open / Welcome

01:30 - News: JP Morgan Business Leaders Outlook

05:15 - News: Government Shutdown Day 4

06:45 - News: Lindsay Vaughn Olympic Update

08:30 - Lead Story: Observe the Masses, Do the Opposite

11:00 - Guided Exercise: Finding Your Differentiator

14:00 - Negotiator vs. Gut

16:30 - What Would You Do If You Ran the Company?

18:00 - Sponsor: GenHead

19:30 - Idea Slam Intro

20:00 - Rebecca Bryan: Styled with a Twist

24:00 - Wallflower to Lead Magnet Positioning

26:30 - T-Shirt Networking Strategy

31:00 - Lead Magnet & Pricing Discussion

34:00 - Sponsor: Enji

35:30 - Super Bowl Commercial Predictions

38:30 - Madison Meetup Promo

39:30 - Close

Businessing 2/2/26 | A Show for People Who RUN a Business

Mon, 02 Feb 2026 13:30:00 -0500

This is the first episode of Businessing as a daily show—Monday through Thursday at 11am Central. Pat opens with a challenge: We're one month into 2026. Is your business still Groundhog Day? Or did you actually do something about those promises you made to yourself?

The lead story explains why this show exists. This is not a business show—it's a show for people who RUN a business. That's different. Business owners are isolated, exhausted, wearing the same sweatpants for three days, trying to keep up with technology that's moving faster than they can track. This show is a lifeline, not another obligation.

Pat then demonstrates the difference between AI chatbots and AI agents with a real example. A chatbot answers questions and you copy/paste. An agent actually DOES things. Over the weekend, Pat asked Claude Cowork to reorganize his YouTube channel. It researched best practices, logged into YouTube, deleted old videos, created playlists, optimized SEO—all while Pat walked on the treadmill. An hour later, done.

Three Idea Slam questions get rapid-fire answers: (1) Haven't taken vacation in 5 years? You didn't build a company, you built a job. Fix your delegation and raise your rates. (2) Competitor copying everything? You're not different enough. Become one-of-one. (3) Spouse doesn't understand your work hours? They probably have a point—review your behavior and explain the business model.

Fun closer: February 2026 is a perfect calendar month—starts on Sunday, ends on Saturday, four exact weeks. Oddly satisfying.

Businessing 1/28/26 | AI Agents Are HERE—Not Coming, HERE

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 12:58:00 -0500

This episode delivers a wake-up call for small business owners: AI agents are no longer a future promise—they're working right now. Pat reveals his new morning workflow where a 3-minute briefing with an AI agent results in half his administrative work completed by the time he returns from the gym.

The FreshBooks State of Small Business survey dropped this morning showing 76% of businesses are doing fine despite economic uncertainty. But the finding about work-life balance getting harder? Pat predicts that problem will be solved within months as AI agents take over the administrative grind.

A direct warning goes out to service-based businesses: if you're a VA, copywriter, graphic designer, or customer service provider, it's "go time." The defense of "AI can write but it sucks" is rapidly becoming obsolete. The solution? Specialize. Pick an industry vertical and own it.

The episode also explores quirky business habits through a viral TikTok about a woman moving buttons between jars daily. Pat shares his own: strict morning structure, investment in good coffee, removing email from his phone, and celebrating wins with Taco Bell and chocolate shakes. These personal quirks matter because AI agents need to know how YOU work to work for YOU.

Two Idea Slam questions get answered: What would you do differently in year one? (Say yes faster, sell more, stop hiding in busywork.) And how do you find time for new ideas? (Validate first, sell one before building, get paid to develop it.)

A bonus discovery: Pat started a LinkedIn newsletter yesterday and woke up to 344 auto-subscribed followers. LinkedIn's creator accounts automatically subscribe engaged followers to your newsletter.

Businessing 1/26/26 | Tax Returns, AI SOPs, and the Art of Never Stopping

Mon, 26 Jan 2026 13:15:00 -0500

Your customers are about to get paid. Bank of America projects $65 billion more in tax returns this year—up 18%—with the average American getting back $3,400. Pat lays out three promotional frameworks to theme your February social media around this windfall:

Return to Your Service: Go into your CRM, find past customers, and offer them a discount to come back by April 15th. Position it as using their tax return to reinvest in themselves.

Bye Bye Bills: Offer annual plans so customers can pay once and eliminate a monthly bill. Frame it as one less thing to worry about for the entire year.

Free: Position your product as a bucket list item that's now "paid for by the IRS." Play on the splurge mentality that comes with found money.

The rapid-fire Idea Slam covers four common questions: How to prepare for emergencies (cash reserves, digital products, proper insurance), where to start with AI if you're not techie (pick Claude, ChatGPT, or Gemini and talk to it daily—plus start building SOPs now because AI agents are coming), how to get reviews without annoying customers (ask at the transformation moment, use a two-link strategy), and what to do when a hot lead ghosts you (change the contact method, try audio messages, and never stop reaching out).

Pat also shares his takeaway from a chamber networking event: 90% of the room weren't owners. That's why the SBOC is different—it's a curated community where owners connect with owners, no salespeople allowed.

(00:00) - Welcome & Weekend Recap

(04:00) - News: Super Bowl LX & Winter Storm Fern

(08:30) - Small Business Spotlight: Doris Jones

(09:30) - Lead Story: $65B Tax Return Windfall

(16:00) - Three February Marketing Frameworks

(17:00) - Sponsor: Gen Head

(18:30) - Idea Slam: Emergency Preparedness

(22:00) - Idea Slam: Getting Started with AI

(26:00) - Idea Slam: Getting Reviews Without Being Annoying

(29:00) - Idea Slam: What to Do When Leads Ghost You

(33:00) - Sponsor: Enji

(35:00) - The Greatest Job Title & Why SBOC is Different

(39:00) - Close & Upcoming Schedule

Daily shows start February 2nd, Monday through Thursday at 11am Central.

Keywords/Tags

tax returns, small business marketing, February marketing, AI for small business, SOPs, AI agents, customer reviews, Google reviews, lead follow-up, sales persistence, emergency preparedness, business insurance, networking, SBOC

Call to Action

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SmallBusinessOC?sub_confirmation=1

Join the SBOC: $9/month community for owners only - https://www.smallbusinesscommunity.com

Businessing 1/21/26 | Maybe We're Better Off Alone: The Case Against Hiring in 2026

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 12:10:00 -0500

The small business growth playbook has always been simple: get busy, hire help, scale up. But what if that playbook is broken?

In this episode of Businessing, Pat Miller presents four alarming reasons why hiring doesn't work the way it used to:

**1. The talent gap is real.** 89% of business owners report they can't find qualified applicants. Not "people don't want to work"—people don't know how to do the work.

**2. Skills-based hiring means you're the trainer.** Employers are hiring for personality and training for skills. That's great—unless you don't have time to run a training department.

**3. AI is destroying critical thinking.** Gartner reports a trend toward "AI-free assessments" because employees can no longer think their way out of a paper bag without ChatGPT.

**4. Engagement has collapsed.** Employee engagement dropped from 88% to 64%. Six out of ten days they care. Four out of ten? They don't.

Pat's solution: **Stay solo as long as you can.** Build automation. Create SOPs. Use contractors for narrow tasks. And when you finally do hire, accept that you're now in the training and development business.

**Also in this episode:**

- A three-part time management framework for overwhelmed solopreneurs

- Why you should schedule tasks by due date, not importance

- Permission to forget everything that's not due today

- Historic winter storm warning (feet of snow, exploding trees, -50° windchill)

- The ChatGPT image follow-up: Brad's robot is NOT happy

**Perfect for:** Solopreneurs considering their first hire, small business owners drowning in to-do lists, and anyone wondering if they should scale—or stay lean.

Businessing 01/19/26 | Out of 10 Social Posts Are Fake—Here's What Smart Business Owners Do Instead

Tue, 20 Jan 2026 13:10:00 -0500

Episode Description:

We've entered a second pandemic—and this one's invisible. A new study reveals that 9 out of 10 social media posts are now AI-generated, leaving entrepreneurs more isolated than ever. That's exactly why Businessing exists.

In this premiere episode, we break down what the Vail ski resort crisis teaches us about recession-proofing your business, share a no-budget marketing framework that actually works, and explore the "2026 is 2016" nostalgia trend you can capitalize on right now.

Key Takeaways:

Move your offerings toward "pain in the present" to survive any economy
Build a customer treadmill, not a marketing strategy
Real human connection is becoming a competitive advantage

Timestamps: (00:00) Welcome to Businessing (02:00) News: Tariffs, Markets & Minneapolis (05:00) Lead Story: The Social Pandemic (90% of posts are AI) (11:30) Business Resilience: What Vail Teaches Us (14:00) The 4 Buying Motivators Framework (20:00) Real Examples: Jeweler & Travel Advisor (22:00) Sponsor: GenHead (23:00) Idea Slam: Marketing with No Budget (28:30) Trend Watch: Nostalgia Marketing (2026 is 2016) (31:30) Does Your AI Secretly Hate You? (34:00) Outro & What's Next

Resources:

GenHead CRM: genhead.com
Join the Small Business Owners Community: https://www.smallbusinesscommunity.com

Businessing airs live Monday-Thursday at 11 AM Central starting February 2, 2026.