What it takes to run a business

Podcast

This week, in part because I’m on vacation, and in part because I’ve wanted to do this for some time, we’re offering a replay of an episode we recorded more than two years ago. It was one of our early sessions, and it was recorded shortly after George Floyd was murdered. In the episode, I asked Karen Clark Cole, William Vanderbloemen, and Dana White to talk about how they viewed their responsibilities as business leaders at such a fraught moment. What, if anything, were they saying to their customers? What were they saying to their employees? It started as a conversation, but Dana took the lead quickly and powerfully. She talked about what it’s been like to so often be the lone Black voice in the room (including this one). She talked about what it’s like for African-American employees to come to work and wonder where their company and their colleagues stand. She drew a line in the sand. “Why is it hard?” she asked. “You’re either over here, or you’re over there.” More than a few listeners have told me that Dana’s words changed the way they view their responsibilities. Even if you’ve already heard this episode, I recommend listening again—especially given that business leaders are again being asked where they stand on social and political issues, whether it’s about race or abortion or the climate or democracy. If you haven’t already heard the episode, I can assure you that you will not soon forget it.

This week, Shawn Busse, Jay Goltz, and Liz Picarazzi discuss their succession options and—if they could go back in time—what advice they would give their early-stage selves. Liz would tell herself to get some help with administrative tasks, Shawn would tell himself to find a mentor (although he’s not sure he would have listened to the advice), and Jay would tell himself that there’s an obvious solution to the chaos caused by fast growth. Plus: How Liz changed the narrative after Citibin’s bout with bad publicity. And we have suggestions for a listener who asks: How do you know when it’s time to quit the day job?

This week, Shawn Busse and Paul Downs talk about what they’ve learned from their worst client experiences. Shawn, for example, tells us that he’s come to think about taking on a client much the way he thinks about hiring an employee. And Paul stresses the importance of watching what he says about difficult clients to his employees, because he doesn’t want to encourage a cynical attitude. From bad clients, our conversation shifts to bad partnerships. Even though their own partnerships ended poorly, both Shawn and Paul emphasize that having a partner can be invaluable in getting a business off the ground. In fact, Paul says he might even consider taking on a partner again. Plus, both Shawn and Paul explain why all the talk of recession is not giving them second thoughts about their ambitious marketing plans.

This week, Liz Picarazzi tells Jay Goltz and Sarah Segal about her first brush with bad publicity. Liz’s debacle started with a negative post that appeared in a prominent local blog. It was about a Times Square pilot program for which her business, Citibin, is supplying trash bins. The problem? The bins were not being maintained properly, and there were photos to prove it. At the time we recorded this conversation, Liz was bracing for additional stories in both the New York Post and The New York Times. Both of those stories have since been published—we’ll talk about them in a coming episode—and you can find links to all of the coverage in the show notes. For Liz, perhaps the biggest challenge was defending her company without trashing her client.