The SmallBizLady Buzz - Issue 36

I Will Always Defend Our Nation’s Small Businesses

In case you missed it….

I was featured on ABC News Live last week to talk about how our government needs to support America’s Small Businesses who have been hardest hit by the Pandemic. Here’s a summary of my advice:

• There should be another stimulus bill in the form of grants for businesses under $10MM in revenue, administered through the states, the SBA doesn’t need to manage anything else.
• Unemployment should be reauthorized for another 12-14 Months for all workers and the self employed who still need help.
• The government and lending institutions must create some new criteria for loan decisions other than credit scoring, as many of our country’s 30 Million small business owners would not qualify if they had to use forbearance for the mortgages, car payments, credit cards, and business loans earlier this year.

I checked Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary on these issues too. Click here to watch to segment. 

Just in time for tomorrow’s Thanksgiving Celebration, I thought I would share my dad’s famous macaroni and cheese recipe. He passed away in 2003, and I picked up the mantle as the official maker of this delectable side dish when I get together with my family for the holidays. So if you are looking to impress your loved ones, feel free to use my daddy’s recipe, which I decided to share with the world for the first time this year. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Big John’s Baked Mac & Cheese Recipe

• 1 box elbow macaroni
• 1 stick of butter (salted) Cut into 5 equal blocks
• 1 pack Kraft singles
• 1 small block of sharp cheddar
• 1 16oz bag of Sargento Shredded Cheddar Jack Natural Cheese
• 6 eggs
• 2 tablespoons of salt 
• 2 tablespoons ground pepper
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 21/2 cups of milk
• 6 Ritz crackers

Set oven on 350 degrees. Slice the block cheese up (use about half the block). Use a rectangular 9x13 glass pan or deep dish foil metal pan.

1. Boil and drain box of elbow macaroni
2. Use a large mixing bowl and add eggs, sugar, salt and pepper and milk together with a whisk and set it aside.
3. Cover the bottom of the pan with Kraft singles and then cover with a layer of macaroni
4. Sprinkle salt and pepper on noodles and spread pieces of sharp cheddar and then cover with a layer of macaroni
5. Place butter squares in each corner of the pan 
6. Spread cheddar jack shreds heavy all over the pan and then cover with the final layer of macaroni
7. Pour custard mixture over the entire pan. The milk mixture should be at the top covering all the noodles, if not add more milk
8. Use the Kraft singles and shredded cheese to cover the top of the pan, use everything you have left or cut. 
9. Place the final butter square in the center of the pan
10. Crumble the Ritz crackers in your hand and spread over the top. 
11. Bake in oven 50-65 minutes (depends on size of your pan) 
12. Place pan on a cookie sheet so it doesn't drip down into your oven. 

You'll know the dish is done when you can pour any liquid out the side of the pan. ENJOY!

This week’s feature article is "How Small Businesses Can Successfully Use YouTube Ads to Boost Sales"

---------------

How Small Businesses Can Successfully Use YouTube Ads to Boost Sales

If you think YouTube is only a video-sharing platform you’re mistaken; it’s the second most popular website in the world after Google. The platform is so popular and engaging that you simply can’t afford to ignore it from inclusion in your online marketing strategy.

A whopping 48% of marketers invest in YouTube ads. And it ranks as the third most preferred platform for paid social media marketing. Continue reading....

---------------

The fastest, easiest way to get products to your customers

If you sell products online, your next big challenge is shipping. ShipStation makes you exceptionally efficient at syncing, managing, and shipping your orders. With direct integrations to over 70 of the best selling channels, ShipStation makes it easy to manage all your orders from one platform which makes shipping faster, easier and more affordable.

---------------

Podcast: Keeping Your Finances Strong with Nicole Snow, CEO DarnGoodYarn.com

Check out this week’s Podcast: Keeping Your Finances Strong with Nicole Snow

Nicole Snow joined me to share how she managed her business finances early on and how this changed when the company expanded. She is the founder and CEO of Darn Good Yarn, an online ethical yarn and clothing store. After leaving the Air Force, she wanted to launch a new venture with a focus on social entrepreneurship. Using her passion for arts, textures, colors, and her supply chain management experience from her time in the Air Force, she created Darn Good Yarn. The company started from her bedroom during the last recession in 2008 and finished the fiscal year 2019 with $9.1m in revenue. Her company has created sustainable employment for over 600 Indian and Nepalese artisans and has eight US employees. 

---------------

Black Friday Deal: Fix Your Business Book

Fix Your Business is a detailed roadmap to fix your cash flow, people problems, develop systems and a new strategic plan. If you are ready to go from struggling to thriving, this book is for you.

Use the 12 Ps of Running a Successful Business to help you create a 90-day turnaround plan and fall back in love with your business again.

Through Tuesday, December 1st, you can get your copy of Fix Your Business, for just $15.

---------------

Subscribe and don't forget to leave a comment below!

Melinda F. Emerson, “SmallBizLady” is America’s #1 Small Business Expert. She is an internationally renowned keynote speaker on small business development, marketing and social selling. Melinda is also the president of the Quintessence Group, an award-winning marketing consulting firm based in Philadelphia, PA, serving Fortune 500 brands who target small business market. LinkedIn named her a Top Voice for 2019 in Small Business and Entrepreneurship. In addition to being a former NY Times columnist, she is frequently quoted by media organizations including The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, MSNBC, CNBC and Fox News. She is the host of #Smallbizchat LIVE and The SmallBizChat Podcast. A prolific writer, Melinda has published more than 5000 articles on her blog www.succeedasyourownboss.com. Her small business advice is widely read reaching more than 3 million entrepreneurs each week online. She is the bestselling author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months, 2nd Edition. Her latest book is Fix Your Business, a 90 Day Plan to Get Back Your Life and Reduce Chaos in Your Business.