Small Business Straight Talk | Productivity, Time Management, Mindset, & Business Strategies

I sit down with the CEO of Dugout Mugs, Kris Dehnert, to pull back the curtain on the inner workings of his successful business and dive into his entrepreneurial journey that took him from a near-death experience to making $55 million in sales. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ How Kris Ended Up Manufacturing Mugs Out Of Baseball Bats ✔ What Mistakes He Made Along The Way To Making $55 Million In Sales ✔ Kris’ Process For Determining Where The Puck Is Going To Go ✔ His Advice For Business Owners Who Wants To Unclutter Their Lives ✔ The Checkboxes Kris Looks At Before Pulling Triggers On Opportunities ✔ The Leadership Wisdom He Relies On To Keep Winning ✔ What’s Next For Kris & His Business To access resources and links from this episode, click on https://AmberDeLaGarza.com/399 P.S. Want to discover what’s most holding you back in business and receive a personalized playlist to help you overcome those specific challenges? It only takes a few minutes to take the Next Level Business Owner Quiz and get on the path of taking your leadership and business to the next level! And… If you want help managing your time, creating efficiency, making a new hire, reducing the stress and overwhelm of running a business, or making strategic decisions that will help you level up your business, I’d like to talk to you. Let's discuss how we can partner together to help you get unstuck, reduce stress, and determine a clear path to increased profits! Schedule your Discovery Call

I share the one question that changes everything in your business and life when answered ahead of business planning. I then go on to discuss why most business owners skip this foundational step, what the true cost of that mistake is, and how finally answering this question becomes your strategic compass and the filter for every decision you make. What You Will Discover In This Episode: ✔ The One Foundational Question That Must Be Answered Before Any Business Planning ✔ Why Chasing Revenue Goals Without This Clarity Leads to Burnout ✔ How Skipping This Step Costs You Your Health and Personal Relationships ✔ Why This Question Feels "Less Urgent" and Why It's Often Considered "Selfish" ✔ How Answering It Becomes Your Strategic Compass and Decision Filter ✔ What Specific Details You Need to Define to Make This Question Powerful ✔ So Much More! To access resources and links from this episode, click on https://AmberDeLaGarza.com/398 P.S. I want to remind you about that free resource I mentioned at the beginning—"A Look Ahead: One Year From Now." It's a guided reflection that will walk you through defining your vision of success for both your business and personal life. Head on over to AmberDeLaGarza.com/lookahead to grab it. And… If you want help managing your time, creating efficiency, making a new hire, reducing the stress and overwhelm of running a business, or making strategic decisions that will help you level up your business, I’d like to talk to you. Let's discuss how we can partner together to help you get unstuck, reduce stress, and determine a clear path to increased profits! Schedule your Discovery Call

I sit down with Myrna Everett, the CEO of Home Vogue Interiors, to dive deep into her evolution from running a successful business on the front end but headed toward a breaking point on the back end, to running a successfully business on both the front end and back end, AND in a strategic way that has essentially made replacing herself possible. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ The Stressful Reality Of Being A One-Woman Show ✔ How Myrna Overcame The Deep-Seated Resistance To Delegation And SOPs ✔ Why Documenting Systems Must Precede Successful Hiring ✔ The Time Myrna Spent Away From Her Business Which Proved Its Scalability ✔ Her Plan To Successfully Transition From Operational Expert To Full-Time CEO ✔ Myrna’s Experience Attending My In-Person VIP Business Blueprint Events ✔ So Much More! To access resources and links from this episode, click on https://AmberDeLaGarza.com/397 P.S. Want to discover what’s most holding you back in business and receive a personalized playlist to help you overcome those specific challenges? It only takes a few minutes to take the Next Level Business Owner Quiz and get on the path of taking your leadership and business to the next level! And… If you want help managing your time, creating efficiency, making a new hire, reducing the stress and overwhelm of running a business, or making strategic decisions that will help you level up your business, I’d like to talk to you. Let's discuss how we can partner together to help you get unstuck, reduce stress, and determine a clear path to increased profits! Schedule your Discovery Call

In this special Behind The Business episode I sit down with Author, Keynote Speaker, host of A Well-Designed Business and Window Treatments for Profit Podcasts, LuAnn Nigara, to peel back the curtain on what it took to evolve from the CEO of WindowWorks to her current career roles, and discuss what it now takes to face operational realities in her businesses as a creative visionary. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ The Genesis of LuAnn Nigara, Inc. ✔ Why She Considers Herself A Creative Entrepreneur & Visionary ✔ What She Learned Over 4 Decades In Business ✔ What It Takes To Get Into The Boardroom Of Directors ✔ The Ah-Ha’s LuAnn Received Through Coaching With Amber ✔ What’s Next For LuAnn ✔ So Much More! To access resources and links from this episode, click on https://AmberDeLaGarza.com/396 P.S. Want to discover what’s most holding you back in business and receive a personalized playlist to help you overcome those specific challenges? It only takes a few minutes to take the Next Level Business Owner Quiz and get on the path of taking your leadership and business to the next level! And… If you want help managing your time, creating efficiency, making a new hire, reducing the stress and overwhelm of running a business, or making strategic decisions that will help you level up your business, I’d like to talk to you. Let's discuss how we can partner together to help you get unstuck, reduce stress, and determine a clear path to increased profits! Schedule your Discovery Call

I dive into the messy reality of how revenue leaks actually show up when you're running a business day-to-day and divulge real-world solutions to the pricing, billing, and operational issues causing them. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ How Your Commute Can Become An Unpaid Customer Service Hotline ✔ The Revenue Leaks That Could Be Showing Up In Your Business Daily ✔ How You Might Be Sabotaging Your Billing & Business Model ✔ Ways Your High Efficiency Could Actually Be Penalizing Your Profitability ✔ The Importance Of Building Upon An Operational Foundation ✔ The Freedom That Comes From Shifting To Reward Efficiency ✔ So Much More! To access resources and links from this episode, click on https://AmberDeLaGarza.com/395 P.S. Want to discover what’s most holding you back in business and receive a personalized playlist to help you overcome those specific challenges? It only takes a few minutes to take the Next Level Business Owner Quiz and get on the path of taking your leadership and business to the next level! And… If you want help managing your time, creating efficiency, making a new hire, reducing the stress and overwhelm of running a business, or making strategic decisions that will help you level up your business, I’d like to talk to you. Let's discuss how we can partner together to help you get unstuck, reduce stress, and determine a clear path to increased profits! Schedule your Discovery Call

I dive into the five levels of revenue leaks that compound into massive losses year after year and show you exactly why most "fixes" don't actually fix anything. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ What Separates Successful Business Owners From Those Who Stay Stuck ✔ The 5 Revenue Leaks That Most Business Owners Miss ✔ What Must Be Done To Acquire Lost Revenue ✔ The Time-Money Connection Most Business Owners Miss ✔ So Much More! To access resources and links from this episode, click on https://AmberDeLaGarza.com/394 P.S. Want to discover what’s most holding you back in business and receive a personalized playlist to help you overcome those specific challenges? It only takes a few minutes to take the Next Level Business Owner Quiz and get on the path of taking your leadership and business to the next level! And… If you want help managing your time, creating efficiency, making a new hire, reducing the stress and overwhelm of running a business, or making strategic decisions that will help you level up your business, I’d like to talk to you. Let's discuss how we can partner together to help you get unstuck, reduce stress, and determine a clear path to increased profits! Schedule your Discovery Call

I sit down with “America’s #1 Small Business Tax Lawyer” - the Founder and CEO of Main Street Tax Professionals, Mark Kohler, to dive into how you can utilize little known business tax secrets to keep more of your hard-earned money. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ A Great Summertime Tax Tip That Can Make Yours Better ✔ What Flow Through Taxation Is ✔ Why Converting From An LLC To An S-Corp Can Save You On Taxes ✔ At What Point You Should Convert (Yes, There’s A Specific Moment) ✔ The Payroll Action You Should Be Making Quarterly ✔ How To Pay Your Kids Through Your Business ✔ The Crossroads Of Crypto & Small Business ✔ Advice For Creating A Trust ✔ How That Coincides With An LLC & Those Protections ✔ So Much More! To access resources and links from this episode, click on https://AmberDeLaGarza.com/393 P.S. Want to discover what’s most holding you back in business and receive a personalized playlist to help you overcome those specific challenges? It only takes a few minutes to take the Next Level Business Owner Quiz and get on the path of taking your leadership and business to the next level! And… If you want help managing your time, creating efficiency, making a new hire, reducing the stress and overwhelm of running a business, or making strategic decisions that will help you level up your business, I’d like to talk to you. Let's discuss how we can partner together to help you get unstuck, reduce stress, and determine a clear path to increased profits! Schedule your Discovery Call

I sit down with trial-attorney-turned coach, Michelle Grosser, to dive into actionable strategies and practical tools to overcome stress, regulate your nervous system, and unlock peak performance in all aspects of your business and life. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ What A Dysregulated Nervous System Looks Like ✔ How It Impacts Your Business If Left Unchecked ✔ The Primary Function Of Your Nervous System ✔ How To Communicate Safety To Your Body ✔ The Impact Of Your Window Of Tolerance ✔ How To Use Your Breath To Get Out Of Fight Or Flight ✔ Other Tools To Return To Baseline Stress Level ✔ The 3 Easy Habits That Make A Major Difference ✔ So Much More! To access resources and links from this episode, click on https://AmberDeLaGarza.com/392 P.S. Want to discover what’s most holding you back in business and receive a personalized playlist to help you overcome those specific challenges? It only takes a few minutes to take the Next Level Business Owner Quiz and get on the path of taking your leadership and business to the next level! And… If you want help managing your time, creating efficiency, making a new hire, reducing the stress and overwhelm of running a business, or making strategic decisions that will help you level up your business, I’d like to talk to you. Let's discuss how we can partner together to help you get unstuck, reduce stress, and determine a clear path to increased profits! Schedule your Discovery Call

I dive into the real reason you’re always ‘so busy,’ digging deep into the underlying beliefs that keep you in this frantic, reactive cycle. I go into how society has programmed us to believe that being busy equals being virtuous, productive, and secure, talk about why those beliefs are a trap, and divulge how to make the necessary shift from reactive to intentional. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ The Underlying Beliefs Making You Feel Like You Must Always Be "Busy" ✔ How "Toxic Busy-Ness" Impacts Your Health, Relationships & Business ✔ Ways Constant Busy-Ness Is Undermining Your Expertise ✔ How Shifting To Intentionality Requires Changing Your Mindset & Business Model ✔ Strategies To Notice Your Default Response & Create Space For What Matters ✔ What True Success Is Really About ✔ So Much More! To access resources and links from this episode, click on https://AmberDeLaGarza.com/391 P.S. Want to discover what’s most holding you back in business and receive a personalized playlist to help you overcome those specific challenges? It only takes a few minutes to take the Next Level Business Owner Quiz and get on the path of taking your leadership and business to the next level! And… If you want help managing your time, creating efficiency, making a new hire, reducing the stress and overwhelm of running a business, or making strategic decisions that will help you level up your business, I’d like to talk to you. Let's discuss how we can partner together to help you get unstuck, reduce stress, and determine a clear path to increased profits! Schedule your Discovery Call

Jude Charles runs a video production company that helps entrepreneurs tell their stories via video documentaries that pull back the veil on both their business and the person behind the business. In this special Behind The Biz episode of the Small Business Straight Talk Podcast, I sit down with Jude Charles to pull back the curtain on his life and business, and dive into the journey that took him from severe burnout to establishing boundaries that work for him. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ Jude’s Genesis Story That Started In Grade School ✔ The Lesson He Really Needed To Learn As A Young Entrepreneur ✔ The 3 Rules For Authentic Storytelling ✔ Jude’s Experience With Burnout That Led To The Need For Boundaries ✔ The Time-Off Cadence He’s Learned That Works For Him ✔ The Most Important Story You Tell & Why ✔ What’s Next For Jude 7 His Company ✔ So Much More! To access resources and links from this episode, click on https://AmberDeLaGarza.com/390 P.S. Want to discover what’s most holding you back in business and receive a personalized playlist to help you overcome those specific challenges? It only takes a few minutes to take the Next Level Business Owner Quiz and get on the path of taking your leadership and business to the next level! And… If you want help managing your time, creating efficiency, making a new hire, reducing the stress and overwhelm of running a business, or making strategic decisions that will help you level up your business, I’d like to talk to you. Let's discuss how we can partner together to help you get unstuck, reduce stress, and determine a clear path to increased profits! Schedule your Discovery Call

In this episode of the Small Business Straight Talk Podcast, I dive into the raw, honest reasons why you might be stuck throwing good money after bad and teach you how to cut those losses. More importantly, I share the mindset shift and a powerful question that will help you finally make that call, free yourself from the emotional burden, and create space for genuine growth. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ What Nobody’s Telling You About Cutting Losses In Business ✔ Why This Happens & What To Do About ✔ How To Know When It Is Time ✔ Why Stopping Something In Far From Failing ✔ When To Expect The Mindset Shift Necessary To Grow ✔ So Much More! To access resources and links from this episode, click on https://AmberDeLaGarza.com/389 P.S. Want to discover what’s most holding you back in business and receive a personalized playlist to help you overcome those specific challenges? It only takes a few minutes to take the Next Level Business Owner Quiz and get on the path of taking your leadership and business to the next level! And… If you want help managing your time, creating efficiency, making a new hire, reducing the stress and overwhelm of running a business, or making strategic decisions that will help you level up your business, I’d like to talk to you. Let's discuss how we can partner together to help you get unstuck, reduce stress, and determine a clear path to increased profits! Schedule your Discovery Call

I sit down with Success Coach Jacob Hicks to dive into how you can convert leads into client relationships by creating a lead follow-up system that works! What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ What A Good Lead Follow-Up System Looks Like ✔ How Many Times To Reach Out To A Lead ✔ Ways To Get Started With Lead Follow-Up System ✔ How The Stories You Tell Yourself Could Sabotage You ✔ Strategies For Integrating AI Into Your Lead Follow-Up System ✔ How To Determine Which CRM Is Right For You ✔ So Much More! To access resources and links from this episode including the 10 x 10 Lead Follow-Up System we created to help you stay top of mind, build trust, and convert leads with a proven 10-day strategy, click on over to https://AmberDeLaGarza.com/388 P.S. Want to discover what’s most holding you back in business and receive a personalized playlist to help you overcome those specific challenges? It only takes a few minutes to take the Next Level Business Owner Quiz and get on the path of taking your leadership and business to the next level! And… If you want help managing your time, creating efficiency, making a new hire, reducing the stress and overwhelm of running a business, or making strategic decisions that will help you level up your business, I’d like to talk to you. Let's discuss how we can partner together to help you get unstuck, reduce stress, and determine a clear path to increased profits! Schedule your Discovery Call

Today, I'm pulling back the curtain on white space—your secret scheduling weapon that can be the difference between ending your day feeling accomplished versus feeling like you've been in a train wreck. I dive into why utilizing white space as a strategy is so powerful, why you're probably resisting it, and exactly how to implement it so you can finally feel in control of your time. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ What Why Space Is ✔ Why Your Business Needs It ✔ The Basics Of Scheduling White Space ✔ How To Effectively Implement It Into Your Schedule ✔ Quick Tips For Utilizing White Space As A Buffer ✔ So Much More! To access resources and links from this episode, click on https://AmberDeLaGarza.com/387 P.S. Want to discover what’s most holding you back in business and receive a personalized playlist to help you overcome those specific challenges? It only takes a few minutes to take the Next Level Business Owner Quiz and get on the path of taking your leadership and business to the next level! And… If you want help managing your time, creating efficiency, making a new hire, reducing the stress and overwhelm of running a business, or making strategic decisions that will help you level up your business, I’d like to talk to you. Let's discuss how we can partner together to help you get unstuck, reduce stress, and determine a clear path to increased profits! Schedule your Discovery Call

In this episode of the Small Business Straight Talk Podcast, I sit down with Amy to dive into how you can use your data-driven metrics to guide your business decisions and increase your revenue. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ Why Tracking Metrics Matters ✔ Why Business Owners Often Avoid Metrics ✔ Amy’s Methodology For Breaking Sales Plateaus ✔ How Much Time To Block Out To Review Your Data ✔ The 2 Data Mistake Small Business Owners Are Making ✔ What Numbers Matter The Most & Hot To Track Them ✔ So Much More! To access resources and links from this episode, click on AmberDeLaGarza.com/386 P.S. Want to discover what’s most holding you back in business and receive a personalized playlist to help you overcome those specific challenges? It only takes a few minutes to take the Next Level Business Owner Quiz and get on the path of taking your leadership and business to the next level! And… If you want help managing your time, creating efficiency, making a new hire, reducing the stress and overwhelm of running a business, or making strategic decisions that will help you level up your business, I’d like to talk to you. Let's discuss how we can partner together to help you get unstuck, reduce stress, and determine a clear path to increased profits! Schedule your Discovery Call

I sit down with Business Coach & Owner of The AI Playbook Community, Rick Mulready, to dive into how the AI revolution is transforming small businesses and how he helps his clients master AI, leverage it, and grow their businesses faster. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ How Much AI Has Changed In Two Years ✔ Why It's Important To Embrace AI ✔ Where To Get Started With AI ✔ Strategies For Communicating With AI ✔ What AI Can Help You Achieve ✔ The Reddit Rule To Abide By ✔ So Much More! To access resources and links from this episode, click on https://AmberDeLaGarza.com/385 P.S. I invite you to join me inside Rick Mulready’s The AI Playbook Community. lt’s a community for business owners who want to leverage AI, automations, and strategy to work (way) less and make more money. 💥 It’s time to breakthrough the AI noise, get expert strategy, and grow your biz faster. Don't let AI overwhelm you. Master it. Grow faster. Join The AI Playbook now, don't get left behind.

I dive into how you can use my Insights Feedback Loop to conduct a mid-year audit of your goals, do a guilt-free reset, and create a six-month action plan that actually works so you can finish this year strong. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ What A Mid-Year Reset Is ✔ Why It’s An Absolute Game-Changer ✔ My Insights Feedback Loop Framework ✔ How To Adjust Goals Based On Reality ✔ Strategies For Creating A 6-Month Action Plan ✔ So Much More! To access resources and links from this episode, click on https://AmberDeLaGarza.com/384 P.S. Want to discover what’s most holding you back in business and receive a personalized playlist to help you overcome those specific challenges? It only takes a few minutes to take the Next Level Business Owner Quiz and get on the path of taking your leadership and business to the next level! And… If you want help managing your time, creating efficiency, making a new hire, reducing the stress and overwhelm of running a business, or making strategic decisions that will help you level up your business, I’d like to talk to you. Let's discuss how we can partner together to help you get unstuck, reduce stress, and determine a clear path to increased profits! Schedule your Discovery Call

In this episode of the Small Business Straight Talk Podcast, I sit down with Cyber Resilience Specialist, Jeremiah Baker, to dive into the work he does to help small businesses protect themselves against cybercrime and discuss tips you can implement immediately to better protect yourself and your business from ransomware attacks, wire fraud, email account takeovers, and more. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ How A Cybersecurity Attack Could Impact Your Business ✔ The Important Work Of White Hat Ethical Hackers ✔ What Social Engineering Is & How It’s Being Used ✔ Ways Cybercriminals Steal Your Money & Information ✔ How SIM Cards Are Being Swapped & Your Identity Stolen ✔ Current Trending Scam & Hacks To Be Aware Of ✔ The Steps To Take To Protect Yourself & Your Business ✔ So Much More! To access resources and links from this episode, click on https://AmberDeLaGarza.com/383 P.S. Want to discover what’s most holding you back in business and receive a personalized playlist to help you overcome those specific challenges? It only takes a few minutes to take the Next Level Business Owner Quiz and get on the path of taking your leadership and business to the next level! And… If you want help managing your time, creating efficiency, making a new hire, reducing the stress and overwhelm of running a business, or making strategic decisions that will help you level up your business, I’d like to talk to you. Let's discuss how we can partner together to help you get unstuck, reduce stress, and determine a clear path to increased profits! Schedule your Discovery Call

I dive into how to create personal and business bucket lists that support each other and how to turn those seasonal opportunities into real progress! What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ What A Bucket List Really Is ✔ How To Identify What Should Be On Your Bucket LIsts ✔ The Benefits Of Bucket Lists & Why They Work ✔ What A Personal Bucket List Actually Looks Like ✔ Specifics To Consider For Your Business Bucket List ✔ The First Step To Determine Whether Your Bucket Lists Will Work For You ✔ How To Build Balanced Lists That Support Each Other ✔ So Much More! To access resources and links from this episode, click on https://AmberDeLaGarza.com/382 P.S. Want to discover what’s most holding you back in business and receive a personalized playlist to help you overcome those specific challenges? It only takes a few minutes to take the Next Level Business Owner Quiz and get on the path of taking your leadership and business to the next level! And… If you want help managing your time, creating efficiency, making a new hire, reducing the stress and overwhelm of running a business, or making strategic decisions that will help you level up your business, I’d like to talk to you. Let's discuss how we can partner together to help you get unstuck, reduce stress, and determine a clear path to increased profits! Schedule your Discovery Call

In this episode of the Small Business Straight Talk Podcast, I sit down with ADHD Strategist, Coach, and Founder of Unconventional Wisdom, Skye Waterson, to dive into how she manages her ADHD after being diagnosed in adulthood, her work with neurodivergent business owners, and what tools and strategies she suggests trying to manage your systems and attain sustainable success. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ What Executive Functioning Is ✔ The Intersection of ADHD & Executive Functioning ✔ The Link To Dopamine Addiction ✔ The 3 Reasons Business Owners With ADHD Have A Hard Time Starting Tasks ✔ A Reward System That Is Successfully Motivating ✔ How To Make Tasks Less Boring & More Fun ✔ How To Identify The Ideal Environment To Work In ✔ So Much More! To access resources and links from this episode, click on https://AmberDeLaGarza.com/381 P.S. Want to discover what’s most holding you back in business and receive a personalized playlist to help you overcome those specific challenges? It only takes a few minutes to take the Next Level Business Owner Quiz and get on the path of taking your leadership and business to the next level! And… If you want help managing your time, creating efficiency, making a new hire, reducing the stress and overwhelm of running a business, or making strategic decisions that will help you level up your business, I’d like to talk to you. Let's discuss how we can partner together to help you get unstuck, reduce stress, and determine a clear path to increased profits! Schedule your Discovery Call

I dive into how you can break free from a common identity crisis small business owners have - that of being a leader who continues to do the work of their team - and discuss helpful strategies to successfully evolve from doer to leader. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ The Differences Between A Leader & A Doer ✔ Warning Signs You're Stuck In An Identity Crisis ✔ Why The Doer Identity Runs So Deep ✔ The Costs Of Staying Stuck In Your Business ✔ 5 Steps To Break Free & Evolve From Doer To Leader ✔ So Much More! To access resources and links from this episode, click on https://AmberDeLaGarza.com/380 P.S. Want to discover what’s most holding you back in business and receive a personalized playlist to help you overcome those specific challenges? It only takes a few minutes to take the Next Level Business Owner Quiz and get on the path of taking your leadership and business to the next level! And… If you want help managing your time, creating efficiency, making a new hire, reducing the stress and overwhelm of running a business, or making strategic decisions that will help you level up your business, I’d like to talk to you. Let's discuss how we can partner together to help you get unstuck, reduce stress, and determine a clear path to increased profits! Schedule your Discovery Call