Melinda Emerson – Wild Business Growth Podcast #205: SmallBizLady, America’s #1 Small Business Expert

Ever dreamed of starting your own small business? Or started one, but feeling stuck? This week’s Wild Business Growth Podcast guest, Melinda Emerson, has you covered. Melinda is the SmallBizLady – America’s #1 Small Business Expert. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and your other favorite podcast platforms.

• Episode Summary & Player
• Full Transcript
• Show Notes
• Wild Business Growth Podcast Summary

Episode 205: Melinda Emerson – SmallBizLady, America’s #1 Small Business Expert

Melinda Emerson, the SmallBizLady, joins the show to share her journey from leaving her “dream job” to becoming America’s #1 Small Business Expert. Hear the top things to keep in mind when launching a new business, the most effective way to scale, how to set up processes and systems without slowing down efficiency, decide what type of exit is best, and the coolest college town Melinda’s spoken at. This episode covers everything from finding your niche customer to Punk’d. Here’s a small sample of what you will hear in this episode:

• How did Melinda’s friends and family react when she left her “dream job” so quickly
• Bare Bones Bills
• What’s the #1 thing you should keep in mind when launching a new business
• How do you craft messaging with your niche customer in mind
• What’s the #1 mistake small business owners make
• How do you document your processes
• What’s a surprising fact about working at a newsroom
• Endless tequila

Connect with Melinda on social media @SmallBizLady, SmallBizLadyUniversity.com, and her book Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months.

Enjoy the shoooooow! Check out the show notes below for much more detail. You can also find the full transcript here.

Show Notes

• Intro & Journalism
  • [0:29] Email me at to save time with your high-quality podcast and use it as a business-building tool
  • [0:39] Connect with Melinda on social media @SmallBizLady, SmallBizLadyUniversity.com, and her book Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months
  • [1:52] I dropped the foot on that one
  • [2:36] Why did Melinda leave her “dream job” after college
  • [3:00] Virginia Tech
  • [4:24] February Sweeps
  • [5:04] How did Melinda’s friends and family react when she left her “dream job” so quickly
  • [6:03] Home Equity Loan
  • [6:12] Bare Bones Bills (nice)
  • [6:30] Spare Room Tycoon (even nicer)
  • [6:51] Technology (Tech)
  • [7:03] How dare you
  • [7:25] WiFi
  • [8:26] Lead Generation (Lead Gen), Sales
  • [8:49] Revenue
  • [9:44] Suze Orman, Jean Chatzky
  • [9:49] 401(k)
  • [10:21] Simon & Schuster
  • [10:54] Excel, Microsoft Office, PowerPoint
  • [11:47] The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber
  • [11:53] Audible
  • [12:16] Launch by Jeff Walker
  • [12:40] Marketing
  • [12:48] Social Media
  • [12:57] TikTok
  • [13:62] Melinda’s Birthday TikTok
  • [13:41] “In Da Club” by 50 Cent

• Growing Your Small Business
  • [14:52] What’s the #1 thing you should keep in mind when launching a new business
  • [15:12] Customer, Amazon
  • [16:31] Cardiologist, Lamborghini
  • [17:01] Wild Business Growth Podcast #49: Steve Woodruff – King of Clarity, Author of Clarity Wins
  • [17:12] UPS
  • [18:00] How do you craft messaging with your niche customer in mind
  • [19:04] Sold
  • [19:26] Side Hustle
  • [20:04] Supply Chain
  • [22:05] Taxes
  • [22:21] What’s the #1 mistake small business owners make
  • [23:06] Data
  • [23:40] Business Coach
  • [24:01] Instagram
  • [24:08] Bentley
  • [24:48] Content
  • [25:15] Client
  • [25:35] What’s the most effective way to scale a business
  • [27:10] Processes vs. Processeeeeees
  • [27:19] How do you document your processes
  • [27:47] QuickBooks, Accounting
  • [28:46] Old Navy
  • [29:21] Interns
  • [31:16] How do you set up processes and systems without slowing down efficiency
  • [31:36] Marketing Automation, CRM (Customer Relationship Management), Email Marketing
  • [31:52] Sales Funnel
  • [32:02] Invoices
  • [32:20] LinkedIn
  • [32:30] “There’s An App For That“
  • [33:01] Asana
  • [33:23] Pipedrive
  • [34:00] Calendly, Mixmax
  • [34:17] Guilty guilty
  • [35:14] IPO (Initial Public Offering)
  • [35:17] How do you decide what type of exit is best
  • [36:00] Consultants, The Art of Selling Your Business by John Warrillow (Hey John!)
  • [37:14] Fortune 1000
  • [37:32] Earnout
  • [38:10] Assets, Debt
  • [39:08] EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization)
  • [39:40] Save time with your high-quality podcast. Email me at to bring your podcast to life and use it as a business-building tool. Sign up for the Podcasting to the Max newsletter at MaxPodcasting.com (bottom of the page)

• Wild Business Shoutout of the Week
  • [40:50] Creative Marketing
  • [40:57] Tony Robbins
  • [41:41] Project Next
  • [41:32] Dean Graziosi
  • [42:19] Russell Brunson, Brendon Burchard, Lisa Nichols
  • [42:32] The A-Team, Super Friends
  • [42:59] Punk’d
  • [43:28] Matthew McConaughey
  • [44:47] Webinar
  • [45:02] Podcasts, YouTube
  • [45:08] “how to do whatever“
  • [45:48] Jim Rohn
  • [45:55] How tall is Tony Robbins
  • [46:00] Clark Kent
• Rapid-Fire Q&A
  • [46:20] What’s a surprising fact about working at a newsroom
  • [46:42] It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
  • [47:13] Tequilas
  • [47:44] Netflix, Ozark, Virgin River
  • [48:01] What is Melinda’s biggest pet peeve
  • [48:20] Blacksburg, VA, MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
  • [49:02] #SmallBizChat
  • [49:09] Connect with Melinda on social media @SmallBizLady, SmallBizLadyUniversity.com, and her book Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months
  • [49:42] What are Melinda’s Final Thoughts
  • [50:08] Follow the Wild Business Growth Podcast and tell a friend about the podcast. And 5 stars on Apple Podcasts & Spotify if you’re feeling super nice
  • [50:24] Check out the Wild Business Growth Podcast on GoodPods, where you can see what your favorite people are listening to
  • [50:27] Connect with me on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn @MaxBranstetter
  • [50:30] Save time with your high-quality podcast. Email me at to bring your podcast to life and use it as a business-building tool
  • [50:35] Sign up for the Podcasting to the Max newsletter at MaxPodcasting.com (bottom of the page)
  • Theme music: Freestyle Percussion Magik – “Jungle Tribe” – provided by Jamendo

What is the Wild Business Growth Podcast?

Wild ideas. Wild growth. Every Wednesday morning a new entrepreneur joins the Wild Business Growth Podcast to share the wildly creative and unusual ways they grew their business – and teaches you how to do it, too. Hear the minds behind WordPress, Stacy’s Pita Chips, Drybar, the voice of Bart Simpson, and more wild stories. Hosted by Max Branstetter (that’s me), Founder and Podcast Producer at MaxPodcasting.

How do you start a podcast?

Interested in starting a professional-sounding podcast for your brand, but don’t want to deal with the time commitment of all those behind-the-scenes details? I’ve got you covered. Email me at to save time with your high-quality podcast and use it as a business-building tool.

Thanks for listening to Melinda Emerson on the Wild Business Growth Podcast. To hear more Wild stories like this one every Wednesday morning, follow the Wild Business Growth Podcast and tell a friend about it. And start a small business (or 2 or 3) with them. Until next time, Let your business Run Wild…and Bring on the Bongos!!