Jonathan joins Jim from a programmers convention in Florida. They begin by talking about the employment prospects for IT people. Here's a hint: $$$! Jonathan reports that there are 350,000 unfilled high-tech jobs. He predicts that more young people should be focusing on a vocational education than they have in the past.

Jim Ballard talks with our Jim about intuition, and how to train your intuition. Their discussion includes the difference between instinct and intuition. And since there are no women around to argue with them, the guys talk about how women don't have the franchise on intuition. It's a rare moment.

Buckle up! Floyd is in the building. Mr. Creativity joins Jim to introduce Zing Marketing, which is a new way of creating ideas. You don't want to miss this. Anything can happen when Floyd and Jim work together.

Cherie joins Jim to complete their discussion of the last five "Rules For Being Human". Every visit with Cherie is special. Don't miss this one.

Phyllis and Jim begin this visit by talking about the challenges small book stores are facing. They move on to talk more about the evolution in the use of words, the correct use of words, and the issue of political correctness.

Another FED Watch show with our regular guest during this hour, Elinor, and another member of our Brain Trust, Don. The discussion revolves around national and international economic issues, and of course, what the FED will do with regard to interest rates. Even though the FED action discussed is not news by the time you hear this Archive, the value of the general discussion Jim has as he interviews these two outstanding economists is timeless.

Jim welcomes Annabell for the first time as they discuss the timely and important topic of telecommunications. They begin the visit by talking about telecom mergers and acquisitions, and how all of this will affect consumers. They agree that there is a movement toward competition between telecom firms who offer all of the telecom services you need: local, long distance, cellular, Internet dial-up, etc. They also cover the evolution of how we communicate today, with voice mail, email, etc., and how we should manage all of this.

Jim visits with our resident small business attorney as they discuss the interview process involved in hiring prospective employees. Sarah helps us understand what you can ask and what you cannot ask. Questions should relate to the job to be done, not to the applicant. Sarah also helps us understand how to make the employment offer properly.

Joan talks with Jim about national and world economic issues in the fall of 1999, and Jim gets on his soapbox again about raising minimum wage. They move on to talk about how the government changes the way it calculates Gross Domestic Product by including the value of software and other similar assets. They also discuss electronic stock trading, and wrap up with a discussion of healthcare issues.

During this visit Grace-Marie talk with Jim about the pros and cons of The Patients' Bill Of Rights, and the impact this legislation will have on small business owners.

Mike and Jim talk about how to have a successful relationship with your banker. Mike talks about the importance of having a vision, and being able to convey that vision to your banker. The guys discuss one of the best ways to accomplish this: the business plan. They also talk about the "Cs" of credit, which are indicators your banker uses to decide whether to extend credit to you and your business.

Another great visit with Beverley. She and Jim talk about the fact that being a business owner is not intuitive. You have to surf, read, listen, learn, and ask for the stuff you don't know. They discuss how home-based businesses can gain a competitive advantage by using the Internet as an educational resource.

Russell joins Jim to talk about succession planning for your small business. Succession planning is not just for owners who are ready to retire. Jim and Russ talk about some of the things EVERY closely held business should be thinking about, regardless of the age of the owners.

Jack helps Jim discuss how to maintain control of a sales call without being intimidating or a hard closer. They also talk about how to handle objections, plus how to sell successfully when you don't have the lowest price.

This is a first in a series of visits Jim conducts with Tim and Paul on how to develop an internet business. They also talk about how to adapt an existing business to take advantage of the internet.

Jan joins Jim to discuss time management tools and techniques, such as delegating and out-sourcing. They also talk about key questions to ask yourself about delegating, plus the importance of doing what you do best and delegating the work that will support what you do best. They move on to talk about how to make sure you spend your time and money doing things that will best benefit your company,

Roger and Jim continue their series on negotiating with a discussion of how culture, national and international, affects negotiations.

David joins Jim for the first time to discuss how to make sure you not only collect your receivables, but you collect them in a timely fashion. They talk about the some very important steps in the collection process.

Beverley helps Jim interview a real live home-based business owner, Lisa Soens, who is a professional pet sitter. Lisa talks about the challenges and opportunities she faced as a home-based business owner, as well as how she conducts her business.

Jim and Joan talk about the most recent Kiplinger Letter, including how workplace changes are affecting employment law, including the advent of email. They discuss some of the various issues email introduces to the workplace, including harassment, "cyber-stalking, etc., and how your company can protect itself from liability exposure. They also talk about other technology issues, such as how resume scanning can create labor law infractions. Later they discuss a number of other labor issues, such as benefits for part-timers.

Jonathan and Jim begin this visit talking about Techies Day, which includes focusing on how to get more young people within the U.S. to focus on a technical career, as well as getting techies who live outside of the U.S. brought in to fill the hundreds of thousands of technology jobs that are currently vacant. The guys move on to discuss something called an ASP, which is Applications Service Provider. ASPs put together web-based business tools with high-end capability, and then make that available incrementally to small companies. Web-based capability is one of the examples of how small businesses can compete with the Big Guys without being big.

Marguerite joins Jim to talk about the issues surrounding the hiring of, and working as, independent contractors. As out-sourcing and downsizing increases, independent contractor relationships with companies are proliferating. Some of the key points include who pays the payroll taxes.

Nattalia and Jim continue their discussion of the survey Nattalia conducted on how people use their computers, and how they feel about them. She contacted over 800 people for this survey. This may be the funniest archive we have. It's not only full of information, it's a lot of fun.

Marc is one of Jim's most favorite motivational guests. During this visit, Marc recommends some books that will help you manage the stress in your life. But this is not just a book review. Marc always shares some great perspectives, including how to meditate during a busy day.

Mike is our resident independent banker. He joins Jim often to talk about how to have the maximum opportunity to be successful with your banking relationship. Jim asks Mike about the future of independent banks in light of all the consolidation in the financial industry. They also talk about how technology and the new economy will affect banking and the way we do business with them. The guys also talk about how to work with your banker when you are having a problem meeting your obligations to them. They also discuss how your bank can help you grow your business.

Annabell is one of our telecommunications experts, and she joins Jim to talk about this very timely subject. One of the things discussed is the history of the Internet. They move on to discuss the difference between the World Wide Web and the Internet.

Tim and Paul continue their series with Jim on how to grow your business into an Internet capable company. Paul emphasizes that you first decide what you want your site to provide your visitors and customers before you spend money on your website. Always the planner, Tim emphasizes that you plan for the way people will use your site, and develop your site around your business plan's objectives. The guys focus on how to make your Internet presence distinctive.

Sarah and Jim talk about how to find employees, how to interview them, how to hire them, and how to keep the good ones. They also talk about the use of, and wording in non-compete clauses. How to use them, and how to defend them

Beverley brings with her a husband and wife home-based business team, Everett and Antigonie Ladd. Bev helps Jim interview the Ladds about how they started their home-based training business, how they developed their idea, including the challenges and opportunities they found as home-based business owners. Antigonie talks about how they converted their vision into reality.

Joan and Jim have another great visit as they cover the Kiplinger Letter. This installment is about biotechnology and how it affects us, including medical advances, such as gene therapy, vaccines, etc. Other topics they discuss include banking issues, new electronic capability, OPEC production policies, pet health insurance (no kidding), among other things.

Marvelous Mary Westheimer, as Jim calls her, discusses the one-of-a-kind survey Bookzone conducted about how people use the web. Mary and her company talked with 9000 publishers, mostly small independent ones, and asked them how they use the Net, how they developed their websites, how much money they spent, etc., etc. This is a very important interview for anyone who wants to know more about Internet usage.

Bill and Jim talk about how to do a better job developing good customer relations. Bill talks about how voice mail, faxes, and other impersonal tools can make your organization more productive, it can also manifest in poor customer care. The guys also talk about how to manage your organization so you can provide good service.

Gary joins Jim to discuss national and international economic issues. This visit begins with Gary talking about money, and how it is changing. Gary also explains how the new forms money is taking is changing the way economists, including the FED, are looking at the condition of the economy. They also talk about the trend of Americans to invest in the stock market instead of saving, and the changes that is creating. As always, Gary helps Jim focus on the impact of deflation on various segments of the marketplace. Examples include broker fees, many areas of technology, and telecommunication. Gary admits that there are indicators of inflation, but deflation is also alive and growing in many sectors.

We could not do without Steve Martin! He's one of our most valuable and versatile small business resources. During this visit, Steve and Jim talk about the inevitability of change: How it affects us, how we resist it, how we deal with it. Steve says we are encountering more change right now in our lives than any other previous generation. As always, Steve has some excellent tips to help us deal with and embrace change successfully.

One of our senior Brian Trust members, Russell talks with Jim about some of the issue you need to address to have a successful succession plan for your business. The discussion includes how to make an intelligent transition from one owner and management team to the next logical one, whether that be to a child, or an arm's length buyer.

Kelle talks about a topic that Jim thinks is very important, the heroes among us. As you may know, for a long time Jim has told the world that small business owners are the modern day heroes. The discussion revolves around what makes a hero and the concept of courage, and how to have, and how to identify business courage. They also talk about how we define our heroes today.

Another visit with Roger on the very important subject of becoming a better negotiator. The conversation in this archive revolves around finalizing the transaction, including finishing the paperwork, and some of the tactics people use during that phase of negotiations. Roger emphasized the importance of not waiting until the end of the negotiations to begin the development of the documents. The guys talk about how the Letter Of Intent (LOI) fits into the negotiation process, and how it works. They also talk about how and when to bring in the attorneys. Roger and Jim also discuss 7 things you can do when you are not a good negotiator.

Beverley joins Jim for another visit as they talk about home-based business issues. This visit includes an interview of a home-based business owner, Darlene Koonsman. Darlene talks about how she started her home-based flower shop, how she developed her idea for the business, including the challenges and opportunities she found being home-based. Darlene also tells Jim and Beverley how she financed her business.