Simple Sense for Small Business

Thinking about something that's not directed at anyone, just a pattern I keep noticing. Retired insurance broker tendencies.

Patterns are tricky to see until you consider how you might be part of one. When something inconvenient happens (a ticket, a consequence, a rule, the law), there are two instinctive reactions:

1. 𝑪𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒚: "This is a scam / a money grab / rigged”
2. 𝑪𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚: "Why did this happen? How did I contribute to this since this is happening to me (because of me)?”

The first one feels better because it protects the ego. Nobody has to sit with "𝘐 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦.” Discomfort and inconvenience keep us in an excuse-making, finger-pointing, blame-gaming state.

𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐤.

People who ask “𝑤ℎ𝑦?" end up better informed and, honestly, less angry. The people who skip straight to "𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑝𝑖𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑦" stay stuck, and often pass that stuckness on to everyone around them.

I don't think people do this on purpose. It's easier.

>>>> 𝙀𝙖𝙨𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙡𝙖𝙯𝙮. Curiosity requires admitting you might be wrong about something. Certainty gives a false validation without seeing any other perspective.

Not everyone will want to sit with this. That's kind of the point.

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3 days ago | [YT] | 6

Simple Sense for Small Business

THIS shouldn't be just ONE SATURDAY in November. NEEDS. to be all year!!

3 days ago | [YT] | 5

Simple Sense for Small Business

I shared a fact-based post with cited, verifiable sources. This isn't about this person or the post per se. It's about all of us. The response was emotional and didn't offer a single source challenging the facts I presented. Instead, it called me naive.

I’m not saying I’m right, but if she had offered valid intel, it would have presented a different perspective. This is the discourse we've had collectively for quite some time.

‣ 𝑬𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆
‣ 𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒄𝒖𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒖𝒃𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆
‣ 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚
‣ 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒖𝒕, 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒆𝒍𝒔𝒆'𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒎

Here's what that comment could have looked like instead:
"𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣. 𝙄'𝙢 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙄'𝙫𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙜𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙨𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙢𝙨 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙙. 𝙃𝙚𝙧𝙚'𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙..."

Same concern. Completely different energy, and actually engagement-worthy.

Sidebar: If someone's presence in your feed isn't serving you, the block and mute functions exist for a reason. Disagreement is fair. Dismissal dressed up as debate isn't.

How we communicate has consequences. Words land. "Naive" isn't a counterargument; it’s a 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒄𝒖𝒕 taken to dismiss rather than engage.

And that entitlement, the assumption that an opinion without evidence outweighs research with receipts, is exactly how we got here as a society. We’re so saturated in outrage that we've forgotten how to disagree 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓽 𝓭𝓲𝓶𝓲𝓷𝓲𝓼𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰 someone.

‣ 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫-𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭-𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠.
‣ 𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭.

I think we can do better.

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2 weeks ago | [YT] | 6

Simple Sense for Small Business

THIS. 𝓒𝓾𝓻𝓲𝓸𝓼𝓲𝓽𝔂 keeps us interesting & interested in things that 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒆.

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 6

Simple Sense for Small Business

YOUTUBE'S always tinkering with the layout here, much to the dismay of content creators when REVENUE REDUCTION is the casualty, but I DIGRESS. They have a new "SHOWS" FEATURE. I decided to test it out ON OUR ‪@EIDLExperts‬ channel with OUR GENERAL BUSINESS LOAN BASICS VIDEOS. Why?

Because BEFORE COVID, we were doing videos on how to successfully apply for a business loan since the banks love to DEPOSIT MONEY but don't love LOANING MONEY.

Here are some basics we wish people knew before COVID. Millions of business owners would've had a better time getting approved for the EIDL program. youtube.com/show/VLPLRC5Ur4uWIcs?sbp=QAE%3D

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 6

Simple Sense for Small Business

Stress isn't always about the circumstances. Sometimes it's how someone REACTS to the circumstances, and then makes it everyone else's problem. We recently experienced this firsthand with a landlord. The building experienced a leak. A legitimate problem. Stressful? Absolutely.

But here’s what happened next: Instead of handling it with the situational awareness that comes with owning a building, they abandoned all logic, all empathy, and all professional responsibility.

They began operating as if WE, the tenants, were somehow responsible for managing THEIR decision making, THEIR repair timeline, and the outcome of THEIR insurance claim.

They literally and passive-aggressively threatened our security deposit because of the outcome of THEIR decisions.

And when we pushed back? They actually shamed us because other tenants were “cooperating.”

This is a pattern we see in business too, and honestly, in life.

* Something goes wrong
* Instead of owning the situation, someone else must absorb the chaos
* Empathy disappears
* Situational awareness disappears

And suddenly the person with the least responsibility carries the most burden

Here’s the lesson underneath, as I see it for all of this:

How you handle adversity tells everyone around you exactly who you are.

👀Employees are watching
👀Customers are watching
👀Vendors are watching
👀Tenants are watching

𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒔 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓. 𝑰𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔𝒏'𝒕 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒊𝒕.

If your default under pressure is to abandon empathy, deflect responsibility, and make someone else pay for your decisions and subsequent consequences, that’s not a stress response.

𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙪𝙣𝙛𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜.

For small business owners, your reputation is your most valuable, unquantifiable, and uninsurable asset. These experiences compound:

🔎 One vendor relationship torched unnecessarily
🔎 One team member blamed for your bad day
🔎 One claim dispute handled badly

Situational awareness is not a soft skill. It’s a survival skill in business.

#SmallBusiness #Leadership #BizGlitch366 #SimpleSenseForSmallBusiness #SituationalAwareness #Empathy #StressManagement #BusinessMindset #Accountability

1 month ago | [YT] | 5

Simple Sense for Small Business

Mugs I wish I had these when I was working. Hahahaahhahaha

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1 month ago | [YT] | 7

Simple Sense for Small Business

Today is #InsuranceAwarenessDay. After 35+ years, here are 10 mistakes I saw over and over again for decades.

1️⃣ NOT REVIEWING YOUR POLICY EVERY YEAR. Your life changes. An annual review is the easiest way to find savings AND gaps before it costs you & you 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒎𝒆 your agent.

𝓘𝓷𝓼𝓾𝓻𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓮 𝓲𝓼 𝓪 𝓹𝓪𝓻𝓽𝓲𝓬𝓲𝓹𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷 𝓼𝓹𝓸𝓻𝓽.

2️⃣ NOT KNOWING WHAT YOU DON'T HAVE. Most people can tell you what they're paying. Very few can tell you what's NOT covered. That gap matters when you need it the most.

3️⃣ CALLING IT "FLOOD" WHEN IT'S A PIPE BURST. A burst pipe is water damage, typically covered by your homeowners policy. Flood is rising water from outside your home, covered ONLY by a separate flood policy.

𝑼𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒎𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖’𝒍𝒍 𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒐𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒍 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒎.

4️⃣ NOT HIRING A PUBLIC ADJUSTER FOR A MAJOR LOSS. Insurance carrier adjusters work for THEM. A public adjuster works for YOU and can often negotiate a higher settlement.

5️⃣ SKIPPING UNINSURED/UNDERINSURED MOTORIST COVERAGE. Some states mandate UM/UIM coverage. Mandatory doesn't mean adequate. Most people never ask for it, because most agents never bring it up unless you do. Nationally, roughly 1 in 3 drivers is either uninsured or underinsured.

That's not a rare scenario. That’s a coin flip. Ask what your limits are, and ask what doubling them would cost.

6️⃣ ASSUMING YOUR HOMEOWNER POLICY COVERS YOUR HOME BIZ. Your standard homeowners policy likely excludes business equipment, liability, and inventory.

𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓷𝓮𝓮𝓭 𝓪 𝓻𝓲𝓭𝓮𝓻 𝓸𝓻 𝓪 𝓼𝓮𝓹𝓪𝓻𝓪𝓽𝓮 𝓹𝓸𝓵𝓲𝓬𝔂.

7️⃣ UNDERESTIMATING YOUR DWELLING COVERAGE. Rebuilding costs have skyrocketed. If your dwelling coverage hasn't kept pace with construction inflation, you could be underinsured without knowing it. When that happens, they pro-rate the coverage in a partial loss. Know if and by how much your carrier increases your dwelling coverage.

8️⃣ NOT DOCUMENTING YOUR BELONGINGS. Most people cannot list everything they own from memory during a claim. A simple video walkthrough of your home, updated yearly, can be the difference between a smooth claim and a fight.

9️⃣ ASSUMING YOUR AGENT IS REVIEWING YOUR POLICY. A good agent will proactively review your insurance package and reach out before your renewal and flag gaps. But not every agent does this well. You are allowed to ask direct questions. You’re allowed to switch agents.

🔟 NOT UNDERSTANDING YOUR DEDUCTIBLE. See how much higher deductibles affect your premiums. Insurance companies don’t care about your budget. That’s your job.

Insurance is boring, and why most people don’t pay attention, until the day it's the most important phone call you'll ever make. And even then....

Someone 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒑𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 tends to place blame elsewhere before they consider the decision, or 𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣, when they purchased it.

1 month ago | [YT] | 6

Simple Sense for Small Business

Today's Glitch is important for many because it's HURRICANE SEASON. But there are lots of natural disasters that could impact a business.

1 month ago | [YT] | 6

Simple Sense for Small Business

Both of us have had personal experiences with control freaks at work. YOU?
https://youtu.be/T23TRnS77oA?si=M8sMJ...

2 months ago | [YT] | 6