Branding in Business

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substack.com12h ago
Excellent new piece by Natalie Winters.

BRO hasn’t published anything on Branding yet. Here’s the latest in Business in the meantime.

GuideRay Okonkwo20 Sept 20263 min

Your first five hires decide the next five years

Hire for the company you're about to be, not the one you're tired of running alone.

Leading a team through a mess you didn't make

The supplier burned down, the client went under, the parent company changed the rules. Your people still look at you first. Do this in the first 48 hours.

GuideRay Okonkwo23 Sept 20265 min

Where AI Saves Your Small Business Time and Where It Doesn't

A simple test for every tool you're being sold, plus the jobs it genuinely handles and the ones it'll quietly cost you money on.

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GuideRay Okonkwo23 Sept 20265 min

Delegating When You're Convinced Nobody Else Can Do It

Track two weeks, price your hour, hand off the boring thing first, and budget for the mistakes that come with it.

GermProof.com — An invisible germ barrier on your skin for hours

PartnerGermProof.com

5 min read

The culture you tolerate is the culture you have

Values on the wall don't build a company. What you reward, repeat and refuse to put up with does. Here's how to set it on purpose.

Poll

How many days a week are you actually training?

GuideRay Okonkwo23 Sept 20266 min

The insurance policies a small company actually needs

Four policies carry almost all the risk, two more catch what they miss, and one clause in the property form can gut a claim you thought was covered.

GuideRay Okonkwo23 Sept 20266 min

Run a meeting that ends on time with the decision made

Put the decision in the invite title, name who decides, and stop recapping for people who showed up late. The rest is housekeeping.

Delicious.com — Nine thousand recipes and a plan for tonight

PartnerDelicious.com

GuideRay Okonkwo23 Sept 20265 min

How to run a one-to-one that isn't just a status update

Thirty minutes, same slot every week, their agenda first. Most managers get the order backwards and then wonder why nobody tells them anything.

Quiz

Does your wardrobe actually fit you?

Five questions, honestly answered, and a plan for the next fortnight.

GuideRay Okonkwo23 Sept 20265 min

Your vendor didn't change their bank details. Somebody else did.

The two attacks that actually hit small businesses arrive through the same door, and the defenses are boring, cheap and mostly free.

GuideRay Okonkwo23 Sept 20265 min

A complaint call is the best sales call you'll get all week

The customer who tells you what went wrong is handing you a second chance most businesses never get. Most operators waste it in the first ninety seconds.

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GuideRay Okonkwo23 Sept 20266 min

How to fight a chargeback, and when to let it go

Most merchants contest the disputes they can't win and give up on the ones they can. Fix that with a deadline calendar and one piece of arithmetic.

Names.com — The name is the first thing you sell

PartnerNames.com

GuideRay Okonkwo23 Sept 20266 min

Rolling reserves, chargeback ratios and the numbers that bite

Two thresholds decide whether your processor trusts you, and one of them isn't the one you think. What the merchant agreement doesn't spell out.

Poll

How often do you see your closest friends?

GuideRay Okonkwo23 Sept 20265 min

Your high-risk processing rate isn't your processing cost

The 4.35% on the quote sheet is the smallest number in the deal. Work out the reserve, the float and the chargeback drag before you sign.

GuideRay Okonkwo23 Sept 20266 min

How long a MATCH listing follows you, and how to get off it

Your merchant account got shut down and now nobody will board you. That's a five-year clock, it's tied to your name, and here's how it actually works.

CancerDefying.com — The research, protocols and reading in one place

PartnerCancerDefying.com

GuideRay Okonkwo23 Sept 20265 min

Keep a second processor warm before you need one

The day your merchant account goes under review is the wrong day to start underwriting a new one. Here's what warming a backup actually involves.

Quiz

Is your money actually in order?

Six questions. No email required, no sales pitch at the end.

6 min

Your processor just shut you off. Work the first six hours.

5 min

What your merchant agreement says about leaving

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Rehearse the raise conversation with me

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GuideRay Okonkwo23 Sept 20266 min

The four-digit number that decides how your business gets paid

Your merchant category code sets your interchange, your customers' rewards, and whether a corporate card will even approve you. Most operators never check it.