Business Infrastructure - Curing Back Office Blues – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Jared Easley, the co-founder of Podcast Movement, joined us for the 100th and 200th episodes of the Business Infrastructure podcast. And he’s here again as we celebrate the 300th episode!

But this episode is different. It’s the final episode of the Business Infrastructure podcast.

As long as the internet is around, you will still be able to access this catalogue of 300 episodes! That also means you can still do things like leave reviews and comments. 

Saying goodbye is never easy. We appreciate the 236 guests that appeared and contributed valuable resources to this show as well as the amazing people behind the scenes who made this show possible.

The good news is that we have a new podcast launching on September 1, 2024. It’s called 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 and you can find it on places like Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Podcasts. We hope you will join us there.

Remember, stay focused and be encouraged. This entrepreneurial journey is a marathon and not a sprint. Thank you for being in this marathon with us!

𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰. ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

© 2024. The Business Infrastructure Podcast is sponsored by Equilibria, Inc. – a small business dedicated to providing resources to support fellow fast-growing small businesses in scaling back-office operations without pain and chaos.

In our last episode, you heard from our team at Equilibria, Inc. on what it took to produce and promote the episodes for our Season 23: Growth Strategies Masterclass. We also shared important lessons we learned from the guests who participated in this masterclass.

There’s also an important lesson, or conclusion, that producer Alicia Butler Pierre reached as a result. As you and other listeners went along this growth strategies journey, you may recall her hinting at a big revelation. Something that, once revealed, will change everything!

In this episode, Alicia reveals that important discovery.

𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰. ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

© 2024. The Business Infrastructure Podcast is sponsored by Equilibria, Inc. – a small business dedicated to providing resources to support fellow fast-growing small businesses in scaling back-office operations without pain and chaos. Listen to all twelve episodes of the Season 23: Growth Strategies Masterclass.

Let’s continue the journey of our Growth Strategies Masterclass! At this point, we’ve learned about how to validate and vet ideas for business growth as well as how to develop a strategic growth plan that includes those vetted ideas.

Now it’s time to learn how to implement that strategy!

If you're feeling overwhelmed operating your small business and struggling to realize your growth goals, then you are not alone! As small business owners we often find ourselves juggling tasks, relying on sticky notes and phone reminders, but still falling short of achieving the strategic growth plans we’ve worked so hard to create.

The feeling of being stuck in a cycle of disorganization, perceived lack of resources, and missed opportunities can be frustrating. But what if there's a simpler way to bring clarity order to the chaos and pave the way for plans that you can actually implement?

Here to show us how we can implement strategy through project planning is Jon Reid. He’s the Managing Partner of Tier1 Management Consulting Group. Jon offers valuable insights into the practical application of project management, emphasizing the importance of well-defined project plans in achieving desired outcomes.

In this episode, you will be able to:

• Discover effective ways to implement strategic growth plans for your small business,
• Learn about the essential stages of the project management process for strategic growth and,
• Understand what makes a project successful.

Let's explore how project management skills can transform the way you approach growth and bring clarity to the path for executing your business strategy.

𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰. ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

© 2024. The Business Infrastructure podcast is sponsored by Equilibria, Inc. – a small business dedicated to providing resources to support fellow fast-growing small businesses in scaling back-office operations without pain and chaos. Sign up for the Smooth Operator Course to learn more about building business infrastructure.

The Business Infrastructure podcast started as a scrappy idea of host and producer, Alicia Butler Pierre. What she originally thought would simply be another means of sharing operational resources with small businesses has now evolved into a global movement with listeners in over 60 countries.

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But this did not happen by osmosis. As the podcast grew in popularity, so did Equilibria, the company behind the podcast, and its need to scale up back-office operations.   

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In this episode, you get to hear directly from some of the people behind the scenes who each possess a superpower that they contribute to the mosaic that is the Business Infrastructure podcast. Joining us in the celebration is Jared Easley, the co-founder of Podcast Movement – home to the world’s largest community of podcasters. If you’ve wondered what it takes to produce and promote this show, then here’s your chance to find out! Listen and be inspired!

📝 Resources & Show Notes: https://www.eqbsystems.com/podcast/200th-episode-meet-the-business-infrastructure-podcast-team-with-special-guest-jared-easley 

❓ Got questions? Send them to Alicia on Twitter or LinkedIn.

🎧 Like What You Heard? Don’t Keep it to Yourself. Subscribe and Share!

And don’t forget to leave a review! ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Mohammad Ali Ajlouni may not float like a butterfly or sting like a bee, like the famous boxer by the same name, but he is a champion – a champion of operations. And it might very well be the reason why his original episode made it to our list of the top 12 most downloaded.

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With over 37 years of combined experience as a high-ranking military official, chemical and industrial engineer, COO, and board member, he recognizes problem-solving as the cornerstone for continuous improvement. In fact, he worked on a team that started the first auto manufacturing company in Jordan.

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In this episode, Mohammad takes us on an A-to-Z tour of all things operations and explains why he believes, “If CEOs do not understand operations, they are bound to be replaced.”  

📝 Resources & Show Notes: https://www.eqbsystems.com/podcast/199-mohammad-ali-ajlouni-shares-everything-you-need-to-know-about-coos

❓ Got questions? Send them to Alicia on Twitter or LinkedIn.

🎧 Like What You Heard? Don’t Keep it to Yourself. Subscribe and Share!

And don’t forget to leave a review! ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

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Being insane isn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially when it comes to managing fast growth in your small business. Find out why in this episode as Alicia Butler Pierre makes the case for insanity in your business operations and why business infrastructure is vital to not just talking about taking your business to the next level, but actually doing it!

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Learn two real-life examples of how the original founders of now popular business software products not only recognized the importance of business infrastructure in scaling their businesses but made strategic moves to ensure it happened. Both are to be admired for this recognition and decisive action.

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But one founder enjoyed success unparalleled and the other, well, you can be the judge of that.

📝 Resources & Show Notes: https://www.eqbsystems.com/podcast/198-the-top-12-why-every-small-business-needs-business-infrastructure-with-alicia-butler-pierre

❓ Got questions? Send them to Alicia on Twitter or LinkedIn.

🎧 Like What You Heard? Don’t Keep it to Yourself. Subscribe and Share!

And don’t forget to leave a review! ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

It’s no surprise that Dr. Frank Barsi’s interview made our list of the Top 12 most downloaded episodes. The covid-19 pandemic and the associated supply chain disruptions offered a wellspring of interest in Lean and Six Sigma quality frameworks. Discussions around operations, once confined to the back office, have now earned their rightful place in the forefront of critical decisions made by technicians, front-line managers, and executives alike.

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Back in the early 1970s, Dr. Barsi escaped communist Hungary under the cover of night. He swam his way to Austria and eventually arrived in America with literally just the clothes on his back. Determined to start a new life, he quickly joined the U.S. Army. He would later go on to earn multiple engineering degrees. It was at his first job out of college that he was introduced to Six Sigma. At that time, the quality framework was well received in Asia, but not in America.

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In this episode, Dr. Barsi reflects on his 40-year career in the aerospace industry. It’s a fascinating account of his journey in applying Six Sigma to improve a variety of production processes. That work spans developing flight controls for fighter jets and revolutionizing the casting industry.

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Not sure what Six Sigma is or how you can apply it to your small business? Get ready to take notes as Dr. Barsi explains the framework, its key principles, and how you can apply some of its tools to dramatically increase profitability and achieve operational excellence.

📝 Resources & Show Notes: https://www.eqbsystems.com/podcast/197-what-is-six-sigma-and-how-does-it-lead-to-operational-excellence-dr-frank-barsi-explains

❓ Got questions? Send them to Alicia on Twitter or LinkedIn.

🎧 Like What You Heard? Don’t Keep it to Yourself. Subscribe and Share!

And don’t forget to leave a review! ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

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First up is the episode featuring Maria Jones. This episode originally aired in April 2020 and because of its organic viewing success on YouTube, we knew we had to include it in this Top 12 lineup.

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Maria is the Founder & CEO of Nerdy Industry, LLC which provides operations advisory services to budding entrepreneurs. She describes Chief Operating Officers (COOs) as the “innovators of execution.” Their role as second-in-command to CEOs is vital to business continuity and delivering on sales promises. Yet, many leaders don’t understand what they do and overlook operations as the core of any business.

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In this episode, Maria defines what a COO is, debunks common myths about them, as well as operations, and uses analogies and examples to assert their undeniable value. She also shares key metrics every business should measure to assess performance.

📝 Resources & Show Notes: https://www.eqbsystems.com/podcast/196-the-top-12-what-is-a-coo-maria-jones-explains 

❓ Got questions? Send them to Alicia on Twitter or LinkedIn.

🎧 Like What You Heard? Don’t Keep it to Yourself. Subscribe and Share!

And don’t forget to leave a review! ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Producing the world’s first-ever audio masterclass on business infrastructure was no small feat! In this bonus episode, we pull back the curtain and go backstage so you can hear a firsthand account of what it took to produce each masterclass episode.

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Jarvis Gray is our special guest host. Tune in as he guides a conversation with Alicia Butler Pierre, Cornelius Dowdell, and Clarence Levy on what it took to go from an idea jotted on paper into a full-scale audio masterclass complete with narration, voiceovers, and original music.

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Credits:

- Alicia Butler Pierre, writer, producer, narrator

- Kamaria Goggins, voice actor

- Frank Jones, voice actor

- Sylvie Soudin, voice actor

- Dominique van Dijk, voice actor

- Clarence Levy III, original music score

- Olanrewaju Adeyemo, audio editor

Special thanks to you for supporting this season of the Business Infrastructure podcast. We took a risk by trying something different and it paid off!

🔗 Website: https://www.eqbsystems.com/podcast/195-backstage-how-we-made-the-business-infrastructure-audio-masterclass

❓ Send your questions to Alicia on Twitter or LinkedIn.

🎧 Like What You Heard? Don’t Keep it to Yourself. Subscribe and Share!

And don’t forget to leave a review! ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

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Behind the impressive façade of the businesses featured in this masterclass, lies operational landmines that threaten to destroy everything these founders and leaders have worked so hard to build.

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Thanks in part to the consultants they each work with, they’re able to restore order. You were able to get a detailed understanding of the work they do together in six follow-up episodes that serve as D-I-Y tutorials in this masterclass. Each consultant recommended participation in a business process workshop. And that’s what this episode is about – you’re going to get an audio-based front row seat to this workshop and learn how to create a Business Process Manual!

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A Business Process Manual, commonly known as an Operations Manual, is a physical or digital collection of documentation that describes your organization’s operations with a level of detail and precision that allows your team to work without your daily presence. It’s also the seventh and final element of the Kasennu framework for business infrastructure.

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In this final episode, (host and inventor of the Kasennu framework) Alicia Butler Pierre teaches an 8-step guide on basic principles for identifying and documenting key processes in your organization. Discover how to secure your intellectual property, guarantee consistent product and service quality, and keep your customers happy. You’ll also learn how the Kasennu framework sets you up for success in using advanced process improvement frameworks like Lean Six Sigma.

🔗 Links to Resources: https://www.eqbsystems.com/podcast/194-how-to-create-a-business-process-manual  

❓ Send your questions to Alicia on Twitter or LinkedIn.

🎧 Like What You Heard? Don’t Keep it to Yourself. Subscribe and Share!

And don’t forget to leave a review! ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐