A.I. can be your friend or foe. It can help or hinder your business, but your own understanding of A.I. will play heavily on how effects your business. A.I. can help you fake it to you make it, or it can seal your fate when it comes time for you to put up or shut up. Not a lot of fluff in this episode description, pull up this episode and listen to what is going on.

#A.I. #A.I.forbusiness #customersupport #customerservice #businessstrategy #socialmedia #socialmediamarkerting

Big business was all over the tongue of the Orange Tyrant last night, but he never mentioned the backbone of the American economy, the Small Businesses. Q1 2026 Small Business Report states 41% of small business owners cite inflation as their top concern. Yet tariffs and their implementation on countries where we had a 0% for 0% tariff swap still go unaddressed. What that meant was that countries with which we had good standing, we had a free trade market with, which kept unnecessary taxes and fees from being passed down to consumers who were purchasing said products. Tune in to this episode and see what is possibly the state of the union of your business.

In 2025, while Black-owned businesses continued to face capital access challenges, they contributed over $207 billion to the U.S. economy. SBA loan approvals for Black-owned businesses rose to 6.5% by mid-2025, though in the 2024 fiscal year, they received $1.4 billion in SBA-backed loans, representing only 7.2% of total approvals. Tune in today to hear how small businesses fared in 2025.

#businesscapital #makingmoney #SBAloans #smallbusinessassociation #projections

I may be off base, but I feel like the Super Bowl 60 commercial felt very mayonnaise in content. lol Maybe for the umpteenth year, I just was unimpressed by so many commercials, I may have just zoned out while some of the better ones were playing.

This black history month feels like a war of attrition to keep telling our stories, telling the true history of this country because without black history, there is no American history.

Shout to Bad Bunny for giving the world a history lesson in Spanish!!!!

America is also a Spanish name too. lol

#commericaladvertising #paidadvertising #history #blackhistory #Americanhistory #halftimeshow #superbowl

Supporting Black-owned businesses year-round, rather than limiting focus to Black History Month or Black Business Month (August). Look who just found out there is a Black Business Month. While February serves as a moment of awareness, the systemic disparities in capital access, funding, and growth opportunities persist throughout the year, with many Black-owned companies operating under high-pressure, low-margin conditions. Tune in to this episode to see why supporting a black-owned business only in February is setting them up to be out of business before you know it.

#blackhistorymonth #blackdollar #buyingblack #shoppingblack #spendingblack #consumerism #blackculture #support #customerservice #shopping #ecommerce #onlineshopping

Technical difficulties turned this into a 2-part episode.

A business requires conditional, merit-based, and performance-driven management. A household is often based on unconditional support. You cannot treat employees like family members who cannot be fired, or it will create a toxic, unproductive environment.

Roles in the household are often fluid, whereas business roles require strict accountability and defined responsibilities. Tune into this episode for the conclusion of " Do You Run Your Business Like You Run Your Household? "

#businessroles #respsonsibilites #environment #familyinbusiness #smallbusiness #accountability #makingmoney

Running a business like a household can provide structure, but it is generally advisable to treat them as distinct entities to ensure professionalism, financial, and emotional success. While applying household principles like budgeting and communication can improve efficiency, applying a business-style, unconditional "family" culture to a company can create toxic boundaries, reduce performance, and hinder necessary decisions like firing employees. Tune into this episode to see if running your business like you run your household is the right thing to do.

#communication #businessmindset #suceesfulbusiness #mybusiness #businessmentality #rolesandreposibilities #makingmoney #businessbudget #householdbudget #financialplanning

The Federal Reserve's Interest Rate impacts the value of the dollar. Dropping the Red rate lowers borrowing costs for small businesses, making loans (access to capital), lines of credit, and credit cards cheaper, freeing up cash for expansion, equipment, or operations, while boosting consumer spending by making mortgages and credit more affordable, leading to increased sales and potential hiring, through businesses must watch for increased competition and potential long term inflation, tune into this episode to see how the Fed dropping the rates twice in March of 2020 is affecting us in 2026!!!

#FederalReserves #FedRate #inflation #interestrates #moneymatters #Trilliondollareconomy #economicboom #economicdpression #highinterst #lenders #borrowers #inflationrate

In a business setting, accountability is about ensuring tasks are completed, standards are met, and individuals take ownership of their work and its outcomes. This can be achieved through various communication styles and management approaches, beyond just overt, loud confrontation. Could you tune into this episode and see if your kindness is being taken for a weakness?

#accountability #deadlines #meetingstandards #businessstandards #completion #success #positivecommunication

For small real estate owners in 2026, vendor networking can be a crucial area for improving your business. Local meetups, establishing industry connections, and focusing on digital platforms are key areas to focus on for the upcoming year. Engaging with other investors and service providers for networking purposes could be one avenue to explore in the future. Tune into this episode to see if establishing or expanding your vendor network in 2026 is a good idea.

2025 was marked by significant political upheaval globally and in the U.S., intensifying conflicts and a rapid advancement of artificial intelligence. Long story short, it has been a very long year for small business owners. A year of business getting the short end of the stick in more ways than one. The road to success became a lot bumpier, harder, and some businesses bowed out gracefully.

Lots of things went wrong in 2025, and the word for 2026 is COMPLETION!!!

#newyear #resolutions #2026 #entrepreneur #success #investment #goals #newgoals #mindset #businesssavvy

Podcast fade, or podfade, refers to when a podcast stops producing new episodes, usually due to the creator losing steam from understanding the work, losing interest, or getting overwhelmed by consistency. It's a common challenge where initial enthusiasm wanes, leaving listeners hanging without closure, but it can be avoided by batch recording, choosing a passionate topic, and planning strategically. Tune into this episode and see if you as a podcaster are running out of steam.

#podfade #podcastfade # stoppodcasting #tiredpodcaster #notmakingwaves #talkingtoyourself #nonewlisteners #noonelistening #monetization #brokepodcaster

The Unmet need of college primarily refers to a financial gap: the difference between the total cost of attendance and a student's available financial resources, including grants, scholarships, and their expected family contribution. This financial barrier is widespread and has significant consequences for student access, persistence, and overall well-being. Tune in to this episode and see if you are in the unmet need category for your child's college education.

#unmetneed #financialaid #pellgrants #COA #SAI #FAFSA #governmentassistance #loans #studentloans #FannieMae #debt

Home equity loan is a second mortgage that provides a lump sum of cash upfront with a fixed interest rate and a set repayment schedule. Using home equity to finance a child's college education is an option that provides access to potentially lower interest rates and larger borrowing amounts compared to other loan types, but also carries the significant risk of losing your home if you default on payments. Your home can be used as collateral, but that is just a reassurance to the lender you are really reliable to pay the loan back. Tune in to this episode and see if you as a parent may need to use your home or business as a way to help pay for college.

#secondmortgage #collegetuition #loan #collegeeducation #fees #tuitionfees #loanpayments #repayments #moneymatters #interest #borrowingmoney

Black Friday is a major opportunity for businesses to increase sales, and find new customers. Small businesses can boost profits by using strategies like creating exclusive deals, bundling products, and leveraging the increased customer demand to build customer relationships. However, they can face challenges of competing with larger retailers on price and marketing, which they can address through smart planning and by highlighting unique advantages. Sometimes companies will project next year's sales projections on what may or may not have transpired during the Black Friday Holiday Shopping time. Tune in and see if the data math is mathing when projecting if Q1 of 2026 will be good or bad based on Q4 of 2025.

#BlackFriday #holidayshopping #Q4 #smallbusiness #makingsales #salesprojections #sales #selling #data

Sometimes it is hard to be happy when sadness and despair have been at the forefront. The saying, "you laugh to keep from crying," might come to mind as well. Life you live as a business owner is a war of attrition sometimes. Yet, we all know this is what we signed up for. We take on the good with the bad, and sometimes a lot worse. Still we have to find a way to be thankful for where we are and what we have overcome. Sometimes we understand we have done all we can, and sometimes that does not guarantee the happy ending we are looking for. Tune in to this latest episode to see if you have the thankfulness inside of you that you are looking for. #thankful #thanksgiving #happiness #love #understanding #businessowner

The mental warfare of being a business owner involves significant psychological pressure stemming from chronic stress, financial instability, social isolation, and the fusion of personal identity with business success. This unique set of challenges puts entrepreneurs at a significantly higher risk for mental health conditions compared to the general population.

#mentalhealth #pressure #issues #financialproblems #entrpreneurs #fusion #healthconditions #mentalwarfare #soicalissues

A business getting on "one accord" is great way to achieving complete agreement and unity. It helps your business establish clear communication, create a formal written agreement outlining roles and responsibilities. Also a business can implement a strategic plan to align everyone's efforts towards common goals. This includes defining contributions, handling disagreements, and setting a shared vision, even if the most formal agreement is just memorandum of understanding.

#oneaccord #achievement #resolutions #disagreements #align #agreements #planning #strategy #communication

Small businesses have generated over 64% of new jobs in America in the last 15 years. Yet small businesses continue to struggle even with the support of the Federal Government. Small businesses are job creators for a lot of middle-class Americans but in 2025 we have seen the middle class Americans take a real deep hit as far a job losses this year. Plenty of people have been asking is the federal government doing enough to support small businesses? Tune into this episode and find out our opinion on the matter.

#Smallbusinessloans #smallbusinessassociation #emergencyloans ##SBAloans #Disasterloans #federalcontracts #middleclass #employers #smallbusinesssupport

Community support over consumerism. Rather than us buying from us to solve small business financial support issues, we will just talk about how the black dollar still leaves our community without making an impact to help us. Some of the tone deaf responses can be, "I bought from them once a few years ago, I supported them once last year", or etc. The best way to support a for profit small business is to continually spend money with them!!!

If we would be totally honest with ourselves, how much of our paycheck to we spend with businesses that look like us??? The truth is we...... the truth is in the episode. Download this podcast and listen to the real unfiltered truth....

#smallblackbusinesses #financialsupport #buyproducts #leavecustomerreviews #spreadtheword #spendmoney #tellsomeone #bearepeatcustomer #buyagain

Choosing the wrong business partner is highly risky and can lead to serious financial, legal, and reputational damage to a business. Beyond a basic misalignment of goals, a bad business partnership can lead to crippling disagreements, a toxic work environment, and even legal action. Tune in to this episode to see how you may need a business partner, and better yet how you need the right business partner to be in business.

#riskybusiness #businesspartners #makingbusinessmoves #businesssavvy #startingabusiness #businessmoves #understandingbusiness #research #knowledge

A business model is a company's profit making plan. There actually is no fool proof way for any business to make money. There are lots of business plans and business models to choose from as learning mechanisms for a business to grow. Sometimes a business can be successful because of the problem they are trying to solve, or just because they have a large established customer base.

But there has been this underlying issue of people wanting to become business owners because of what they see on television. Scripted reality shows mislead viewers about becoming business owners by simply oversimplifying the process, creating fake drama, and presenting an unrealistic path to success. This heavily edited format obscures the true complexities of entrepreneurship, making it appear deceptively fast, easy, and glamourous. Just tune in to this episode to hear some of the real realities of being a business owner.

#scriptedreality #falsenarratives #fakeresults #easy #beinginbusiness #businessmoves #savvybusinessowner #haters #fakebusinesses #failedbusinesses #badbusiness #businessplans #businessmodel

As they say, all good things must come to an end. We first and foremost want to thank everyone who has been Hooking Up With Us the past almost six years. You all have made this a business venture so unforgettable and fun to say the least. We will be sunsetting the Watch4TheHook Apparel Brand effective December 31, 2025. Honestly I never thought back in 2014 or 2015 when I was trying to enlighten those in my community of the fuck shit that was going on and possibly affecting our community, that it would turn into a full blown small business. We want to once again say thank you all from the bottom of our hearts.

The podcast is not going anywhere, so yawl can still tune into to hear us every Watch4theHook Wednesday. We are just switching lanes because our real estate ventures are requiring more of our time and we have to give the more lucrative business the attention and demands that it is requiring.

Just be on the lookout for some sales and great customer discounts as we want to say thank you all for Hooking Up With Us!!!!

#sunsetting #changinglanes #businessmindset #businessstrategy #businessmoves #realestate #land #apartments #commercialproperty #propertymanager #renters #lease #mortgage #commercialloans #lenders

#bleak #outlook #entrpreneurs #future #smallbusinesses #progress #partnerships #monopoly #smallbusinesshelp #smallbusinessgrowth #marketing #smallbusinessmarketing #socialmediamanagment #smallbusinesssupporter #smallbiztips

We all know as business owners the ultimate goal is to have a successful business. Proving "haters" wrong is often a distraction from the core objective. You should try to save your business and prove your supporters right, not the haters. Focusing on the people who matter, like customers, team members, and investors, provides the support and resources needed for success. Channeling any negative energy from "haters" into motivation to achieve your goals is a valid strategy, but the primary focus should remain on the survival and growth of the business and the well-being of those who believe in you. Tune into this episode and see if you are making the mistake of spending your energy proving haters wrong, than proving your supporters right.

#haters #supporters #businessgrowth #positivefeedback #businessgrowth #businessmindset #growth #providingaservice #egocheck #positivevibe #positiveenergy

Job displacement is not a fake thing right now. Increasing risk of displacement as self-checkout and automated payment technologies become more common in workplaces. The most successful businesses will augment human skills, emphasizing valuable traits like negotiation, empathy, and strategic thinking that AI can't replace. A major driver of this change is the ability of technology to cut labor costs. Tune in to this episode to see if technology is hurting the customers interaction with human employees of certain companies.

#laborforce #laborcosts #labor #customer #customerexperience #customerservice #AI #selfserve #selfcheckout #workforce #kiosks #POS #checkout

There are systems in place where potential business owner's can hopefully gain an access to capital. Using Other People's Money (OPM) is a financial strategy that allows business owners to leverage outside lender's capital to pursue investments or opportunities that ither wise would be unavailable to them.

OPM, when properly leverage can accelerate the path to generational wealth, access to purchase generational assets, and build wealth in this country. But as any gamble, there is a down side to this based on the potential risks and requires careful management. Tune into this episode to see how you can make yourself, or your business more appealing to gain access to OPM!!!!!!

#OPM #accesstocapital #lenders #loans #businessloans #businesscredit #businesscapital #businessmindset #podcastveterans

3

Some people are extroverts and some people are introverts, and then those people can become business owners. One of the most "helpful ways" to meet more like minded individuals is attending networking events that appeal to what you might be doing as a business owner, or becoming a business owner. These gatherings may provide tangible tips for attendees, and offer organizations a blueprint for designing events that foster authentic engagement.

All that sounds great, but what happens to attendees who come back from these events unfulfilled, unenthused, and pondering did they just waste their time and possibly money. There are times where events try to be a "catch all' event to get a bigger turnout, but a lot of the time some attendees felt left out of getting some value added to them from the event, Tune into this episode to see how you as a business owner can help determine before what networking events may be for you, and what may not be for you.

#networking #eventplanning #attendingevents #marketing #planingevents #payingforservices #eventpricing #freeevents #crowdparticipation #turnout #crowd #venue

PSA This Episode May Trigger Some Strong Responses!!!

Black culture and small businesses have a long, intertwined history rooted in resilience, community building, and economic empowerment in the face of systemic barriers. From historical hubs like Black Wall Street to the rise of modern entrepreneurs (like ourselves), Black owned businesses have served as pillars of social and economic life within the Black community, though they still face persistent challenges.

In this episode we hit at the "Status" of the Black Culture. We brag about being a multitrillion dollar buying system, but where does that consumerism get us as far as being business owners. Why are so many of us still getting it out of the mud if we have a trillion dollars that says otherwise?

#blackculture #blackspending #blackculture #macroeconmics #integration #spendingpower #consumer #producer #ownership #influencer #makingmoney #spendingmoney #makingmoney

This podcast episode takes a candid look at the question many business owners ponder: if you could go back in time, knowing all the triumphs and trials, would you choose the path of entrepreneurship again? We delve into the raw experiences of seasoned business owners, exploring the highs and lows of our entrepreneurial journey.

This episode aims to provide an unfiltered look into the realities of business ownership, equipping listeners with valuable insights to navigate their won entrepreneurial paths, whether they are just starting or are well into their journey. Ultimately, it challenges business owners to reflect on their choices and appreciate the complex, yet often fulfilling, adventure that is entrepreneurship.

#businessowner #entrepreneur #onlinebusiness #ecommercebusiness #digitalmarketing #businessideas #businessdecisions #businesssavvy #businessmindset #goingintobusiness #ownership

Successful businesses do not appear overnight. Many are not the same business that was created by the business owners. There are many ways that a business can be stagnant and become very difficult to manage for business owners. This where the REs come into play: reprioritize, refocus, reevaluate, regroup, recoup, and the list goes on and on. Sometimes taking a step back to view your surroundings differently can help you move forward possibly in a different direction. Tune in to this episode to hear about how changing course in business is not a bad thing at all.

#regroup #rework #reevaluate #refoucs #redo #prioritize #focus #recoup #worksmarter #smartbusinesspractices

Black-owned businesses often struggle due to economic challenges, a limited customer base, and systemic discrimination that hindered competition and access to resources. Hell let's be honest, 2025 has not done much of shit to help small businesses whether black owned or not progress any further as we can tell. There are so many studies, and reports that show how fast the Black Dollar leaves its community and never returns. Yet even with the boom of minority businesses during the Covid-19 outbreak, we seem to be reverted back to the norm. A large number of those businesses have folded and lots of promises made for a better distribution of support has been taken back.

Yet, the larger companies can still throw pennies at the Black community and we gobble them up and thank Massa for the scraps!!!! We still question our own people, ideas, and products but believe it is raining while they urinate on our legs!!! Please tune in to this fiery discussion about why white ice is colder in your black kitchen...

#BuyBlack #Community #PriceofProgress #BlackOwnedBusinessPricing #BlackBusinessMatters #CommunityOverCapital #SupportBlackBusiness #ProductPricing #PricingStrategy #OnlineMarketing #BusinessTips

Artificial Intelligence aka A.I. has been around in some form or fashion since the 1950s. Even upon further research the thoughts of thinking machines can go back to the 1940s. So we have about 70 years of thoughts, ideas, research, trials, and implementation of what A.I. stands before us today. A.I. is everywhere from the tv, laptop, phone, manufacturing, grocery stores, etc. Unless you are completely cut off from modern society, A.I. has an imprint on your life.

The issue is now, does A.I. control your life? Does A.I. influence how you think, dress, interpret information, etc. There is so much A.I. generated material it maybe getting hard to figured out what is an illusion and what is reality. Tune in to this episode to see if A.I. is pulling the wool over your eyes per say.

#artificalintelligence #A.I. #fakenews #notreal #illusions #influence #societynorms #tv #laptops #electricaldevices #interpretation

Inflation is a sustained increase in the general price level of goods, and services in an economy, that significantly impacts various aspects of the economy. While moderate inflation can be a sign of a healthy, growing economy. High inflation can erode purchasing power, distort economic signals, and potentially lead to slower economic growth or even recession.

As prices rise, the same amount of money buys fewer goods and services, reducing the real value of income and savings. Understanding the causes and consequences of inflation is crucial for business owners, and individuals to make informed decisions. Tune in to this episode to see how you or your business can navigate this economic landscape effectively.

#businesspodcast #inflation #highinflation #smallbusiness #businessadvice #entrepreneurlife #blackpodcasters #marketing #advertising #inspiration #businessstrategy #businessmoves

Mathematics is the study of structure, space, quality, and change, using logical reasoning and analytical thought to make sense of patterns and order the world. Let me say this, that is a lot and I mean a lot. lol

Math can be intimidating, but it is a necessity to survive in life. Everything revolves around a number, a formula, an equation of some sort. We live of of salaries, wages, all numbers that can determine the value of how we go about our day to day lives.

We really want to encourage our listeners to find the "money in the math' and embrace math as a gateway to being better all the way around.

#math #moneyinthemath #mathematics #businessmath #numbers #analytics #patterens #order #formula #equation #days #weeks #months #years

First of all we want to thank Everyone who had listened, downloaded, left a comment, left a review, told a friend, and hell even if you said something we felt was negative. The past 36 months has been nothing short of earth shattering for us. We have met so many great people through podcasting and we are eternally grateful. We know you have to crawl before you can walk and our crawling along this podcast journey has been nothing less than extraordinary.

We have covered so many business related topics and we promise we have so many more to cover with you all. We are so close to 20,000 downloads and we know with you all it will become a reality soon (hit that download button now). Once again thank you all for Hooking Up With Us!!

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/watch4thehook-business-entrepreneur-podcast-a-small/id1633583105?itscg=30200&itsct=podcast_box&ls=1&mttnsubad=1633583105

#podversary #anniversayepisode #businesspodcast #educationpodcast #entrepreneur #businesssavvy #businessmindset

Emotions significantly impact business communications, influencing how messages are received and interpreted. Understanding and managing emotions, both in oneself and others, is crucial for effective communication, fostering positive relationships, and achieving business goals. Tun in to this emotional rollercoaster of an episode!!!

#emotions #businessmindset #understandingbusiness #customerservice #businessdecisions #managingemotions #communication #effectivecommunication #goals #businessgoals #impactingbusiness

Branding your business involves creating a unique identity that resonates with your target audience. It helps distinguishes your company from its competitors. Your branding can include defining your brand's interest, personality, visual elements (brand logo, colors, fonts), your brand's mission, vision, and massaging. We have discussed "Brand Everything" in Episode #7 (go back and check that episode out as well), and this kind of reinforces some of those ideas as well. This episode we really want to try to dig into the idea of what is a brand and who can define when a brand becomes a brand!!!

#branding #idea #thoughts #becomingabrand #makingabrand #definitionofabrand #advertising #creating #creativity #logo #vision #elements #ideatoimplementation

This will be a multi episode adventure into a mini course for podcast monetization. Let us take you from Idea to Implementation by teaching you how to create and sell your merch effectively. This course is designed for the serious podcaster who is looking to monetize their podcast by selling their merchandise, or a serious business owner looking to start a podcast to help them grow their business, and sell merch. We have many of topics to briefly cover but it is NOTHING like the in depth coverage you will get from the actual course. As we take you from idea to implementation here are a few areas we will cover in this episode.

1. Podcast Money Merch Tutorial
2. What Is Your Why
3. Types of Merch to Sell
4. Creating Your Merch

https://watch4thehook.com/product/podcast-money-merch-podcast-monetization-online-course/

#onlinecourse #podcastmonetization #merchsales #merchandise #monetizingyourpodcast #yourwhy #whattosell #creatingadesign #creativeity #creating #makingabrand #apparelbrand #branding #merchseller #brandambassador #sellingmerch #merchandiseseller #supportgrowingbusiness #marketing

Good customer service always helps retain your customers. It is what keeps your customers coming back for more purchases. Retaining customers increases your revenue and it's also much cheaper to keep a customer than to try to gain a new one. By actively listening to customers and providing timely solutions, businesses improve retention, gain insights for innovation, and differentiate themselves from competitors. Tune to this episode to listen in on some behind the scenes discussions on how good customer service can lead to more customer referrals.

#customerservice #customerreferrals #happycustomers #innovation #insight #solutions #discussions

Research significantly impacts how businesses operate by providing data-driven insights, leading to better decision-making, and fostering innovation. It helps companies understand their target audience, identify market trends, assess competitive landscapes, and ultimately improve business strategies. Understanding customer needs and preferences through market research is crucial for developing products and services that meet those needs and for crafting effective marketing strategies. Tune in to this episode and listen to how doing the research on your end can effect your business on other ends.

#marketingstrategies #innovation #decisionmaking #markettrends #customerservice #research #leaders #data #insights #competition #crafting

Passive income as defined is money earned with minimal effort (emphasis on minimal). Often times from investments or pre-existing assets that generate income over time. There is a difference from active income, which requires ongoing work to earn money. Honestly, most income is active income even when most dress it up as passive income. Passive income streams require initial effort to get them set up. Once they are up and going, they can provide a steady income source with little ongoing involvement. In this episode we will discuss a few ways or areas where you can help generate passive incomes.

#passiveincome #activeincome #generartingincome #makingmoney #investments #assets #gnenrationalwealth #generationalassets #assets #stockmarket #blogs #writingablog #startingabusiness #contentcreator

Commitment and dedication are two crucial factors for being a successful business owner. Encompassing dedication to personal values and the business's mission, as well as a willingness to invest time, money, and energy. This can translate to consistent effort and a proactive approach to challenges and opportunities, hopefully leading to stronger results. By embodying these qualities, business owners can foster a culture of dedication and commitment within their company, that may ultimately lead to greater success and profitability. Tune in and see if you have the commitment or dedication needed to be successful in life.

www.watch4thehook.com

#commitment #dedication #sucessful #businessmindset #strategy #beingconsistent #effort #greatness #factors #makingmoney

Today's episode we talk about the Gig Economy. The Gig Economy can deal with categories like digital marketing, freelance writing, software development, social media management, or even handmade crafts. We have created our own Gig Economy with Watch4TheHook. Even inside our Ecommerce business we have layers of our own Gig Economy helping us find our niche inside all of what is going on. Our Podcasting Money Merch platform is another niche of Gig Economy as we off a whole digital platform with step by step instructions on how to go from idea to implementation with thinking about, launching, and running a small business. We hope you all find this episode enlightening and informative.

#ideatoimplementation #Gigeconomy #ecommerce #digitalmarketing #socialmedia #socialmediachannels #algorithms #likes #shares #

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a process of improving a website's or business's ranking in internet search results to increase organic traffic. SEO tries to get business owners to focus on understanding the fundamentals: keyword research, on-page optimization, and building a positive, strong link profile.

Backlinking is in reference to a link on one website that directs users to a different website. Backlinks are also called inbound links, as they represent traffic coming from another website to your own. In this episode we discuss how these processes can be a little confusing to understand for business owners.

#backlinks #SEO #optimization #website #backlinks #searchengine #traffic #conversionrate #sales #profit #websitetraffic

In today's episode we are so happy to be celebrating the 5 year launch of the Watch4TheHook Apparel Brand. We discuss some of our highest highs, lowest lows, and all those business topics in between. We feel so fortunate to still be in business and we wanted to express that to all our customers, friends, and other supporters as well. This entrepreneur journey is a marathon and it will take a lot out of you, but the ride is well worth it. We want to let you all we will keep fighting for the legacy we hope to leave behind for our daughters. Please tune in to this latest episode to celebrate Watch4thehook Apparel Brand turning 5 years old!!!

#businessanniversary #celebration #5years #apparel #launchingabusiness #entrepreneurship #marathon #businessmindset

Creating a budget for your business may not be as bad of a thing as you thought it was. A budget is a basic way to keep track of the money you are getting and the money you are spending as a business owner. Your monthly, or reoccurring business expenses are something you can use a budget to help keep track of. A decent starting point to creating a budget is to help designate your needs vs, your wants. We had to come up with production budgets, advertising budgets, etc. Tune in and learn how developing good budgeting habits can help you as a business owner.

#budgeting #finanacing #needs #wants #expenses #advertising #production #money #tracking

Assets add value to your company and can increase the company's value and equity. Liabilities can decrease your company's value and equity. We have talked before about making yourself look better on paper and a great way to do that is to acquire assets, and help keeping your negative liabilities at a minimum. Keeping a good credit health can be a positive way to keep an eye on your assets and keeping an eye on revolving debt that can contribute to the liabilities associated with the company. Tune in to this latest episode and lets dive into assets and liabilities together!!!!

#assets #liability #goodcredit #badcredit #businesscredit #addedvalue #generationalasset #aquisition #gettingbetter

We are now about to enter the 2nd quarter of 2025 and we are looking into the health of small businesses through the 1st quarter of 2025. SURPRISE, plenty of small businesses are struggling due to a multitude of reasons. There has big a cut on access to capital, product inflation, job loss, and a economic slowdown. U.S. policy right now is at the forefront of concerns for small business owners. Tune in and see if your business is in good health going into quarter number 2 in 2025.

#businesshealth #businessmindset #accesstocapital #profit #policy #tarriffs #economy #economicslowdown #2ndqtr #customerconcerns #businessowner #

Legacy is more about leaving something in people, more than leaving something for people. That is such a profound statement. We have often talked about how it is something in business owners that is not in most people. Our time on this planet will be encompassed by a dash (-) when it is all said and done, but you can be discussed by others well after your time is done. It is up to you on how you will be discussed. Me and my wife want to be talked about by our great-grandchildren like we we the best thing since sliced bread. lol

Tune into this episode if you feel like you are willing to be discussed after your - is done.

#legacy #genrationalwealth #bulidingalegacy #foundation #helpingothers #sucession #life #glory #assets #story #family #actions#community #friends

Right now this country is bracing for massive job layoffs in the Government Sector. Some layoffs have already happened, and many more are projected. What will happen with these people who now find themselves unemployed? Are they supposed to just find new jobs next week? Are they supposed to just seek unemployment benefits that may not be available? Maybe they will start that business they always dreamed of having. Either way, there is this new "Do For Self" term that is being tossed around like it is a hot potato and no one is really explaining what it means or how it really helps those dealing with those Hooks right now. Tune in and see if you are understanding how others will be able to Do For Self, or are we just Fending For Ourselves in 2025.

#fendforyourself #doforself #accesstocapital #businesstips #startingabusiness #unemployment #benefits #dreamersvsdoers #makingaway #resilency #movingon

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The term knowledge is power stands the test of time for a reason. This philosophy can be used in everyday business life as well. The knowledge you gain as you grow in business should be a great attribute to help you stay away from the unnecessary mistakes if possible. Understanding your strengths and weaknesses, as well as what makes your brand your brand are invaluable. Prioritizing your time, and planning accordingly can help you grow as a business owner. There will always be fads, the can't miss things, and all that jazz to distract you.

#knowledge #distractions #philosophy #businessgrowth #strengths #weaknesses #diversity #leadership #socialjustice #belonging #community #professionaldeveopment #equity #inclusion

Personal branding can help you to communicate who you are, what you value, and how you express those values. A personal brand can help you understand yourself better and possibly feel more confident. A personal brand that reflects your values can help you connect with others on a more profound level. A personal brand can help you attract opportunities that align with your values and goals. Lots of small businesses were built off the personal branding of the owner or owners themselves. Listen to this episode to see if your personal branding is something you may need to develop or tweak.

#personalbrand #branding #marketing #image #imageconsulting #brandvalues #confidence #branddevelopment #brandeverything #uniquevalue #authenticity #skills

Over the past few decades, entrepreneurship has transformed from a risky and outlier career choice to a mainstream, highly aspirational pursuit. With the creation of the internet and the capabilities of creating an ecommerce business has only amplified the avenues to entrepreneurship. But please don't get it twisted there is still plenty of risk in starting a business in 2025. There is just a level of acceptable risk to be accepted by all parties involved. Tune in to hear how we discuss is there a misconception about the risk of starting a business.

#acceptablerisk #businessowner #ecommerce #smallbusinessowner #riskybusiness #entrpreneurship #beinginbusiness

Mentorship and learning from others' mistakes are crucial for personal, professional, and business growth. Mentors can guide individuals through challenges and provide valuable insights, while learning from others' mistakes help avoid similar pitfalls and fosters resilience.

Mentors can open doors to new opportunities and connections, expanding mentees' professional and business networks. Observing and analyzing the mistakes of others can provide valuable insights and broaden one's understanding of different situations and approaches. Tune into this episode to see how being a mentor or finding a mentor can be a great asset to your business.

#mentorship #networking #mistakes #learning #business #expanding #understanding #pitfalls

Small businesses are primarily dealing with rising fees in a number of ways. They are carefully reviewing costs, implementing cost-cutting measures, adjusting pricing strategically, diversifying their supply chains, and focusing on customer retention to mitigate the impact of inflation and maintain probability. This often involves being transparent with customers about price increases while trying to maintain quality and value in their products or services. Tune in to this episode as well deep dive into these aspects that we have been dealing with since 2020.

Removing DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives from small businesses can negatively affect its ability to attract and retain top talent, damage its reputation, limit access to diverse customer bases, hinder innovation, and potentially lead to legal issues, ultimately impacting the company's overall growth and profitability. Tune into this latest episode to hear how DEI initiatives really helped small businesses flourish.

#diversity #equity #inclusion #inclusionmatters #bipoc #inclusivity #belonging #antiracism #professionaldevelopment #womeninbusiness

To gauge social events as a content creator, you may have to focus on understanding your target audience, utilizing event hashtags, actively engaging with attendees on social media before, during, and after the event. You can also leverage influencer partnerships, and analyze key metrics like reach, engagement, and mentions to assess the overall impact of the event as well. Tune in to this episode to see are you gauging social events correctly as a business owner.

#contentcreator #socialevents #engagement #blog #socialmedia #keymetrics #hashtags #audience #attendees #partnerships

In the business world, the dynamic between "dreamers" and "doers" is crucial for innovation and success. While both are essential, they represent different approaches and skillsets that complement each other.

Dreamers are visionaries, often characterized by their creativity, optimism, and ability to imagine possibilities beyond the current state.

Doers, on the other hand, are practical, action-orientated individuals who focus on execution and implementation. Tune into this episode to see how dreamers become doers in the business world.

#businessowner #doers #dreamers #success #inbusiness #lookingforward #implementation #execution #creativety #skillsets #approach #calltoaction #imagination

Being impulsive in business can negatively impact your business operations by leading to hasty decisions that might result in financial losses, damaged relationships with clients or partners. Impulsiveness can lead to poor strategic planning, decreased employee morale, and a lack of credibility due to inconsistent actions, all stemming from a failure to adequately consider consequences before acting. Tune into the latest episode of the Watch4thehook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast to see are you an impulsive business owner.

#business #motivation #businessowner #money #smallbusiness #marketing #success #entrepreneurship #believe #branding #positivevibes #startup #goals

The "American Dream" typically represents homeownership, financial stability, and upward mobility, can easily transform into a nightmare for individuals with bad credit. Bad credit significantly restricts their ability to access necessary loans for key aspects like buying a house, starting a business, or even securing a decent rental rate.

A poor credit score can prevent someone from qualifying for a mortgage, forcing them to rent or live in substandard housing, which can hinder stability and limit potential wealth accumulation. Tune into this episode to see if you are looking to try and live the American dream or are you being forced into an American nightmare.

#business #creditscore #Americandream #goodcredit #badcredit #creditreport #creditscore #entreprenuership #goodcreditpractices #predatorylending #creditcardscams #creditcards

We hope everyone has a great 2025. 2024 was quite the year for us personally and in business as well. Some good highs and some tough lows as well, but we can't complain one way or the other.

In this episode we are talking about making the necessary adjustments in business and in life for 2025. We are hoping that you all can take away view points from years past to help you all make some great decisions for 2025.

#businessmindset #businesstips #2025 #newyearnewbusiness #startinganewbusiness #businessgrowth #entrepreneur #marketing #success #smallbusinesssuccess #entrepreneurlife #newlife2025

We want to thank 2024 for being a year of understanding, learning, and reflection. As a small business we have had to continue that this a business of love that grows as we grow as a company and as a culture. We keep learning that the business landscape changes daily and we have to adapt on the run it seems at times. We also reflect on where we started, where we are now, and where we hope to go in the future.

2025 already has some business owners worried and we understand those feelings. Those who are wondering if they will start their business soon, there are no guarantees of success but you will never know if you don't try. Tune in to this episode and see where your thoughts are about being or becoming a business owner in 2025.

#becomingabusinessowner #smallbusinessowner #blackpodcastersassociation #blackpodcaster #apparelbusinessowner #smallapparelbusiness #businessesin2025 #forcastingbusinessfor2025 #economyin2025 #eonomicstatusfor2025

We come with a great feelin of collaboration because of our inter with @Ermias Hagos of The Black Experience Podcast (YouTube). We are appreciative of him reaching out and inquiring if we would be willing to sit down and have a meet and greet session. Then we went on to realize all the great things we all have in common and then to put it on wax as they say lol.

The main thing to take from this episode is to be specific in what you are looking from in a potential collaborator and what everyone can possibly gain from the collaboration. Whether it is more views, more customers, better sales, etc., just be willing to understand what you are looking for. Click the link and tune in.....

#collabs #workingwithothers #likeminded #collaborations #HookingUp #talkingaboutthings #networking

A small business loan is money that can be borrowed from a prospective lender that will have to be paid back with interest. While a small business grant can be free money awarded to a small business that does not have to be paid back. The key from those last two sentences is that a loan requires repayment, whereas a grant does not.

There a key points about a small business loan and grants:

Application process:

Loan applications usually focus on creditworthiness and the ability to repay. We have talked about in an earlier episode about fixing your personal credit first. We continue to preach that after you become 18 your credit score number means more to you than your SS#.

Eligibility Criteria:

Both loans and grants may have certain criteria eligibility requirements based on certain business factors such as: size of the business, industry, location of the business, and financial health of the business. Sometimes grant eligibility can be more restrictive.

Just be aware of the financial stipulations can also can be associated with getting a loan or a grant. Tune in to this episode to see if your business can benefit from some financial stimulation.

#businessloan #businessgrant #financiallender #loan #grant #repayment #gift #freemoney #flexibility #applicationprocess #moneyawarded

There are a number of ways a small business can accept payment from customers. Merchant services are various financial services for businesses to accept and process electronic payment transactions. It sounds simple, but that includes everything from hardware used for card payments to the virtual gateways that secure online transactions. As always, nothing in life is free either. The average credit card processing fee, which will be taken out of the merchant's (the business) sales revenue. This fee may range from about 1.5% to 3.5%. Merchants can negotiate their card processing fees, and they are not set in stone.

October of 2024, we had been noticing some "new" and "unexplained" charges coming from our business bank account for awhile. M&T Parker LLC has has a portable payment operating system from Clover. There had always been a standard monthly fee with a percentage fee of a certain percent on the amount of a processed purchase amount. We mainly used it for pop up events and in person purchases as well for our loyal customers. Long story short, we have not parted ways with Fiserv (the parent company) and Clover because of the unexplained charges and other not so cool customer service business transactions. Tune in to see if your small business is being service fees to death as well.

#smallbusinessowner #merchantservices #acceptablepayment #onlinetransactions #creditcard #creditcardpayments #banktransactions #monthlyfees #percentagefees #processingfees #electronicpayments #financialservices

Over the years we see how celebrities are expanding their brands in multiple ways. It used to be a way of thinking to "let the little guy have this one". They basically were meaning not to go after every dollar, but how times have changed. The world of celebrity can be measured from the White House to the out house. Celebrities are casting a bigger net in the sea and they are now catching small businesses in them as well. They have so many advantages that many small businesses don't have. If they come into contact with a small business that contact could literally sink a small business. We want to let small business owners to keep on fighting and see what may happen when celebrities reach down to become business owners.

#smallbusinessowners #celebrity #celebritybusinessowners #smallbusiness #markerting #advertising #influencer #applepodcast #spotifypodcast #podcastshow #podcasters #blackpodcaster #blackpodcasterassociation #businesspodcast #itunespodcast #podcastinglife #podcastinghost

For our small business owners, take time right now to mark down your expenses as we go into 2025. It is always harder to argue facts than fiction or opinions. Write down what your day to day, month to month, or year to year expenses are for your business. This will help you to see how the current economic status is affecting you and your business. They say, "money makes the world go around". It is actually the movement and the exchange of monetary sources that makes the world go around. That is why there were 2 economic stimulus packages passed by the U.S. Congress during the height of the global Covid-19 pandemic. People were not getting out spending money, or exchanging monetary sources. The economy is paced by the population spending their hard earned dollars with businesses off all calibers. The issue is for the upcoming United States Presidential Administration, how will they make the following business concerns better of worse for small businesses.

• Access to capital
• Business taxation
• Tariffs on imported goods
• Tariffs on exported goods
• Business loan qualifications

#election2024 #yourvote #votingimpactsbusiness #smallbusiness #politicsimpactsbusiness #podcastinterview #franchise #podcastseries #spotifypodcast #applepodcast #inspiration #motivation #podcastlife #entrepreneur #womeninbusiness #podcastlove

We acknowledge to some the world looks a lot different right now, and to some the world looks a lot clearer. Small business owners, we feel your uncertainty and The Hooks may keep coming our way. This episode may take a more political stance than most, but we have to realize politics plays a role in just about every aspect of our everyday lives. Politics can regulate who your business can bank with or receive access to capital from. Politics can dictate your tax rate or how taxes can impact your business. Politics can impact whom you could hire to help work for your company. We would love for you all to tune into this episode and hopefully be exposed to a way of thinking about politics differently....

#election2024 #yourvote #votingimpactsbusiness #smallbusiness #politicsimpactsbusiness #podcastinterview #franchise #podcastseries #spotifypodcast #applepodcast #inspiration #motivation #podcastlife #entrepreneur #womeninbusiness #podcastlove

This is a deeper dive into our topic from Episode 125: Is Your Influence Worth Your Price. We are really trying to prepare business owners and potential business owners how to study and analyze social media stats. Also, it may be best to understand that influencers are not professional paid advertisers or advertising agencies. Some maybe able to "sell" themselves, but that doesn't mean they can sell anything. Have you ever noticed when an influencer is promoting a prominent product, there is always a massive paid adverting campaign behind it? They are just the paid talent in that commercial, they are not the master mind or engine behind that paid advertising campaign. The big issue comes when they are paid to be that master mind on social media for a specific product and they don't know how to be that for a particular company. Then as a company your return on investment (ROI) will probably be a negative impact. Listen in to this episode to better understand if paying a social media influencer the right move for your company.

#socialmediainfluencer #paidadvertising #advertisingagency #paidadvertisingcampaign #influencer #numberoffollwrers #numberofsubscribers #likes #subscribers #shares #post #repost

There are so many "influencers" out there, and they will market and promote them as the one thing your business is missing to take it to the next level. You can go and research their social media following to see what type of attention they are garnering out there too. You can check out how many followers they have, how many likes their post get and all that. In the mist of during your research you should be able to see if their influence is worth the price. You can pay attention if someone has 500,000 thousand followers on a social media platform but are getting 500 likes on their post, their interaction with their audience is very low. We have been taught that you look for a 10% average of interaction from followers on that person's post. Yes we know, I thought I was going to kill them with one mentality applies. There will be some misses when it comes to social media and we know that. But just tune into this episode to see if their influence is actually worth the price they maybe charging your business.

#influencers #socialmedia #socialmediamarketing #followers #likes #subscribers #activelisteners #businesspodcast #entrepreneurpodcast #youtubepodcast #spotifypodcast #podcastlife #podcasthost #podcaster #blackpodcastersassociation

We are deep diving more into the psyche of business owners in this episode. Lots of times a business owner can misinterpret a comment or feedback as hating or a negative response. Sometimes, solicited advice because you asked for an opinion can come in varies shapes forms and fashions. We talked about in our previous episode, you cannot do it all alone. Your network can determine your net worth is a frequently used statement right now. You have to be open to opinions, critiques, and criticisms. To think you know it all as a business owner can be a grave mistake. This way of thinking can lead you back to our episode of is your business thriving, surviving, or dying. We constantly talk about checking your ego at the door to help your business in positive ways. This is the perfect episode for open minded business owners, and those closed-minded ones nee to tune in too!!!!!

#businesspodcast #openmindedness #thinkingaboutthingsdifferently #businessowners #watch4thehook #businesslife #businessmindset #businesstips #blackbusinessowner #blackpodcasterassociation #creativesondisplay #influencer #lifestylepodcast

As small business owners we sometimes try, or even have to be the whole damn show. You have to be the event originator, organizer, promoter, advertiser, marketer, attendee, etc. It can be overwhelming and can take you down a rabbit hole to nowhere. We constantly talk about checking your ego at the door as a business owner, and that maybe hard for some of us to do. Teamwork makes the dream work, but if you are wanting all the accolades that comes with the success, are you willing to accept the blame if it is not as successful as you dream it to be.

We know it is hard to keep that same energy as a business owner but sometimes you may have to get "help" from others. That "help" may give you the energy boots your business needs. You will have hits and misses, but you have to be able to deal with the misses as they come along. Tap in and hear if you are a business owner who is looking for real feedback about their business.

#businesstips #newepisodes #blackpodcast #blackpodcastassociation #podcasthost #explorepage #podcastshow #itunespodcast #eventplanning #popupevents #smallbusinessmarketing #youtuber #smallyoutuber #spotifypodcast #applepodcast #podcastinglife

We were hit with a hard Hook to swallow a few weeks ago. Some low-down ass persons or entity secured the access to our original IG page, Watchfourthehook. Our access was disabled and to our knowledge they deleted our entire page. We had that page for over 4 years and had so many memories tied to that page. I always talk to Tatiana about being able to capture those "lightning in the bottle" moments on that page. Those moments were content created from scratch like our Hook Up Session interviews. My goodness just thinking about losing those and i am ready to chicken choke a MF. All those late nights of thinking, plotting, planning etc. gone without much of a trace. No real reason why to evil steal our page, we are not some big company or major money producer. That was years of hard work taken away in a whim just because someone thought it was a thing to do on that day. If you want to know my true feelings, and all the curse words I felt like using in this episode.

rzmfunhrtizs is the profile that stole ours by the way!!!!!

#socialmedia #profilehacked #profilestolen #instagram #facebook #youtube #followers #subscribers #likes #shares #post #socialmediamarketing #paidadvertising #socialmediapresence

There are lots of business owners who have other friends who are also business owners. Parts of the friendship is supporting each other in their business ventures and vice versa. But at what time does the friendship turn into a businesship? This is where the one friend business owner only deals with the other friend when it comes to business issues only. Where did the friendship go? How did it get this way, or did they see they could more out of you on the business end and not be a friend at all anymore? They are only counting on you to help, but are they going to start counting you in on things?

We have talked numerous times about checking your ego at the door as a business owner. You as a business owner should always be in learning mode. The way you see a 9 maybe a customer or friends 6. If you can understand how they see that 6, you can possibly grow as a business owner. Sometimes your friends can help your business and possibly give you all a evenly distributed businesship. All you have to do is tune in to this episode and see are you in a mutual businesship...

#businesship #partnership #friendship #businesspartners #businessgoals #entrepreneurs #smallbusinessowners #applepodcast #spotifypodcast #youtubepodcast #deezerpodcast #pandora #amazonpodcast

We have learned over the years that being a business owner, you may ask request from your customers. Those are called Calls to Actions aka CTAs. The first line in the blog is a CTA, and we hope you do it for us too. lol Our CTA in writing is a clear and direct message that will elicit the response we are hoping from our customer or audience. A CTA can also be a marketing tool to get the consumer to take in what you may be asking or requesting from them.

CTAs can be conversation starters, attention grabbers, motivational in nature, and etc. There also can be the overuse of CTAs in one setting. Download, subscribe, like, share, love, etc. all at once can turn your customers or consumers off. Sometimes when it comes to CTAs, less may get you more. Tune in to this episode and see if you or someone you know has too many calls to actions.

#calltoactions #CTAs #download #subscribe #like #love #read #access #achievement #marketing #listento #podcasting #business #leads #assets

A lot of business owners are still working a 9 to 5 job to fund their entrepreneurial dreams. This is termed as bootstrapping. A form of self-funding that helps you leverage your own financial resources to support your business dreams. This is the infamous Bank of Parker we have referred to so many times over. Our reality maybe a nightmare to other business owners who may not be able to leverage their income to help keep their business thriving, surviving, or dying.

There is even a flipside to this situation where your 9 to 5 increases in some form or fashion where it begins to take away the time you have allotted for your small business ventures. You may have gotten a promotion, work schedule change, etc. Whatever it is, it is now demanding more of your time and your business my start to suffer from it. Tune in to this episode to see how your profession can fund your small business dreams.

#businessfunding #moneymanagment #smallbusinessdreams #entrepreneurialmindset #womeninbusiness #smallbusiness #shopsmall #smallbusinesssupport #businessstartup #blackownedbusiness #localbusiness #businesspodcast

In this episode we are talking about how lingo can help or hurt your business. What actually is lingo? Lingo is the language and speech, possibly the jargon, slang of a particular field, group, or individuals. An even deeper dive for lingo is a corruption of lingua, Latin for tongue. For us of African descent, over 2,000 languages are spoken in Africa. Over 80% are not written down, so what does that mean? The lingo translates across many of different people.

We are talking about also how as a business owner how can you interpret feedback about your business. How your customers are speaking about their interactions with your business, whether good or bad. Do you as a businessowner understand what they are saying about your business? Your business practices? Your business concepts? Tune in to this episode to see is your business lingo helping or hurting your business.

#lingo #messaging #businessmessaging #podcastlife #businesscoach #applepodcast #podcastmovement #podcastcommunity #podcastlove #businessmindset #businesstips #businessadvice #tuneinpodcast #businessstrategy #businessmindset #businesslanguage #lingo #buinesslingo

Have you ever been to a meet up, social or networking event and felt underwhelmed? We always talk about how time is the greatest commodity you have that you can never get back. You invest your time into certain events, and you felt like you got absolutely nothing from it. The networking wasn't networking for some reason. It could be a number of reasons why things didn't go as you had planned. The host could not have been friendly, drab environment, no grown-up cocktails, etc. The main issue is now you have met Individuals whom you thought had liked minded interest and you got absolutely nothing new from these encounters, Now What do you do? Tune in to this episode for Part 2.

#netowking #meetup #socialgatherings #networkingevents #businessmeetings #popupshop #smallbusinessfunctions #podcastinglife #podcastermeetups #smallpodcasters

Have you ever been to a meet up, social or networking event and felt underwhelmed? We always talk about how time is the greatest commodity you have that you can never get back. You invest your time into certain events, and you felt like you got absolutely nothing from it. The networking wasn't networking for some reason. It could be a number of reasons why things didn't go as you had planned. The host could not have been friendly, drab environment, no grown-up cocktails, etc. The main issue is now you have met Individuals whom you thought had liked minded interest and you got absolutely nothing new from these encounters, Now What do you do? Tune in to this episode and next one (Part 2) to see what can come from this.

#netowking #meetup #socialgatherings #networkingevents #businessmeetings #popupshop #smallbusinessfunctions #podcastinglife #podcastermeetups #smallpodcasters

This episode will take you a journey into the world of business competitor and a business comparator. A business competitor is an organization that offers similar or almost identical products or services as another business. A business comparator is possibly a group of businesses that are selected according to size, sector, geographic spread, or other criteria to be used as a basis of measurement. Basically, we are talking about how some businesses compare themselves to others and how they measure up or against other companies as well. In this episode we talk about how business owners can let their egos get the best of them when giving a real assessment of their business. We as business owners in the apparel business no we don't compare with larger scale smaller businesses. We know to compare ourselves to smaller, online ecommerce businesses that fit close to the same criteria we fall in. This episode we hope to inform business owners about seeing your business as a competitor or a comparator to other businesses.

#businesspodcast #podcasting #podcastcommunity #motivation #businesstips #entrepreneurpodcast #inspirationpodcast #smallbusinessowner #businessconsulting #smallbusinesspodcast #womeninpodcasting #podcastinglife #podcastaddict

The business landscape is always changing and for business owners that means you have to change as well. In that phase of adapting also comes a phase where understanding what you are trying to accomplish will come in handy too. Lots of times being aware of when to and when not to do certain things will be crucial to your business and how it runs day to day. Even when it comes to getting around the right crowd there will be so many challenges. You may be approached by any and every one with their pitch to help elevate your business to the next level, and that is a can of worms in itself. This goes to the adage of getting your foot in the door. That is just part of the battle right there. The most important part is once you are in the building, make sure you are in front of the right people. This is where you are in the right building, but in the wrong room comes from. Tune in and find out are you heading in the right direction.

#businessmindset #businessventures #entrpreneurdreams #podcastcommunity #podcastaddict #podcastmovement #onlinebusiness #businessadvice #womeninbusiness #businessleadership #womenpodcasters #podcastinspiration

Three things can be happening to your business. Your business can be thriving, surviving, or dying. This may seem drastic, but this is the situation that countless business owners face day in and day out. Life will still continue to throw you HOOKS, but you will be able to hopefully choose how you react to them. Those reactions can be based on how well your business is doing at that time. Revenue and profit margins are the two main indicators that can tell you if you are thriving in your business. You can go back to Episode 23: Flourish or Fold to rehash how we have discussed the topic of a flourishing business before.

A for profit business that is surviving is making enough money to keep the bills paid and the doors open as they say. There is no margin for error, or the repercussions could be disastrous. These businesses need an influx of cash, and they need it very soon. A business that is dying, is doing just that. It is on its last cash reserves and their next business move may be to close and shut down their business. Tune in and find out if your business is thriving, surviving, or dying!!!!!

#flourish #thrivingbusiness #dyingbusiness #surviving #thriving #money #cash #bills #businessmindset #profit #makingmoney #revenue #cashinflux

One of the craziest aspects of us becoming podcasters and business owners is we identified a problem or a gap per say. With us wanting to solve the problems we identified it gave us a true purpose for the journey we have embarked upon. We needed a us for us when there was not an us in our atmosphere at that time. The original concept presented to us for our podcast did not identify a problem for us at that time, but we talked and thought about things differently and the Watch4Thehook Business and Entrepreneur Podcast came into existence. The same can be said for the apparel side. We saw a gap in positive, message-based apparel. and we sought out to fill that gap. Have either of these journeys been easy? Hell no, but we have appreciated them, nevertheless. Tune in to this latest episode and see if you need to identify a problem that may just need solving.

Let us know whose tuning in. You can email us at admin@watch4thehookcom.

#businessconsulting #itunespodcast #blackpodcaster #entrepreneurpodcast #businesstips #buinessstrategy #smallbusinessowner #podcastsofinstagram #podcastshow #podcasthost #spotifypodcast #googlepodcast #motivationalpodcast #smallbusinesspodcast #podcastepisode #ecommercepodcast #podcastlove #podcastmotivation #businessadvisor #businessmindset

Remember it is easy to not be doing this. Everyday above ground is a chance to be better than yesterday. I wrote that last statement to myself in Dallas, Tx earlier this year at a Hello Alice Small Business Summit. Those words came back to me on the post card sent to my house earlier this week. That was the kick in the ass I needed to get to finish this long ass Summer of 2024 up strong. I am fucking exhausted, I know my wife is too, but this work will not complete itself, so we keep pushing. No matter the Hooks, you have to overcome them. Whether it is one devastating Hook, or a 2-piece and a biscuit, get your ass UP!!!!!!!!!! No one will feel sorry for you, pity you, or even acknowledge what you are going through. You have to dig down deep, maybe deeper than before and figure it the fuck out... Tune into this episode to see how you can keep overcoming the Hooks.

#businesspodcast #entrepreneurpodcast #motivation #businesstips #podcastinterview #podcastlove #applepodcast #spotifypodcast #podcastlife #podcastcommunity #podcasthost #blackpodcasters #blackpodcastersassociation #enterpreneur #businessowner #blackbusinessowner

We are taking you down the road of improving credit scores, sacrificing popping bottles in the club, and choosing to leave a legacy over balling out of control. Me and Tatiana were able to purchase our first commercial property in 2021, but the preparation started a couple of years before that. My wife will be the first one to tell you, that I ran from the legacy we are trying to leave together. We go through the steps of improving my credit score as step number one a few years ago. That initial step began with an idea and by 2021 the implementation had come to fruition. Like we always say, if it was easy, everyone would be doing it. I am leaving a lot out because we want you to tune in to our latest episode on how we secured our 6-figure commercial property loan.

#propertyacqusition #commercialproperty #realestate #legacy #legacygreaterthanme #inheritance #bankloan #businesscredit #personalcredit #finacialliteracy #financialbanking #financialloans #makingmoney #businessowner #creditreport #experiancreditreport #creditkarma #revolvingdebt #DTI #debttoincomeratio

This is a 2 Part Episode Due to Technical Difficulties. Please Download Both Episodes (108 and 109).

We are finishing up our discussion on why taking a break can be bad for business. We are trying not to go down a rabbit hole that leads to nowhere, but that is what may happen if you take a break from your normal routine of conducting business. As one of my fellow podcasters @Natelogic says, " you have to see it through". The hard times will not last always, and as a business owner sometimes you need to have selective amnesia for the hard times. There are 3 things most businesses are doing: thriving, surviving, or dying.

In this episode we also talk about the sacrifices that business owners sometimes have to make in order to protect their business. This shit is not easy by no means and lots of times your hard work will never be seen by the public eye. We always talk about you have to be a tad bit crazy to be a business owner, but you have to answer your calling in life.

We really hope you all love our content and please keep tuning in. We appreciate you all and thank you all so much.

#businesssavvy #thrivingbusiness #watch4thehookpodcast #survingbusiness #dyingbusiness #businessowner #onlinebusiness #ecommercebusiness #youtube #youtubepodcast #spotifypodcast #applepodcast #businessplan #businessplan

This is a 2 Part Episode Due to Technical Difficulties. Please Download Both Episodes (108 and 109).

The frustrations of being a business owner can make you make impulsive decisions. We are an online business, mostly, and sometimes business is slow. Thant doesn't mean we don't need to sell our apparel online any longer. Yet everyday many business owners decide to "take a break" form doing business and take some time off. Taking time off from your business can be detrimental to the success of your business. Lots of time, when business owners take time off from their business, they GO OUT OF BUSINESS. This episode we go into great detail of how taking a break from your business is bad for your business.

#businessstrategy #businessplans #entrpreneurship #makinggoodbusinessdecisions #businesstips #onlinebusiness #stayininbusiness #businessloans #businessstartups #makingmoney #survingbusiness

One of the main things we talk about in being a business owner is checking your ego at the door. Sometimes your ego can have your perception of you as a business owner slightly inflated. Yes, we all strive to be the best we can be in life, but sometimes we need to learn to keep a positive ear open for others to be able to talk to us. If you are the one always doing the talking and you are never listening, that maybe a problem for you and your business. Listening to others and being able to take feedback from others can help you grow as a business owner and help your business in the long run.

Knowledge is power and knowledge can be a great teacher for those who are willing to learn from the information they have received. Things can only be lessons in life if you actually learn something from them. Perserverance will still be one of your greatest attributes of being a business owner. As you grow in business hopefully it will help you grow business savvy, business mindset, or business practices. Tune into this episode and see if you are the business owner others are looking for.

#businessowner #businesssavvy #blackbusinessowner #businesspractices #businessmindset #entrpreneurmindset #gainsandlosses #upsanddowns #businesstips #positivemindset #thinkingpositive #businessplan #businesscredit

There are lots of distractions going on in the world, but don't be distracted by how your business is going right now. We are now starting to clear up from the global pandemic known as Covid-19 and there were multiple billionaires made during that pandemic too. As many businesses folded, there were lots that flourished too. You maybe astounded that how the systems in place will benefit those who are granted access to those resources and tools. It sometimes feels like a never-ending process to how to make your business profitable and sustainable. Some access points and resources to capital could be denied to you because of the size of your business, your market reach, your profitability, etc. There three things that can happen to a business, it has survived, thrived, or died. Drop your ears in the earphones and tune into the latest episode right here...

#businessloans #buisinessmindset #businessequity #businesspractice #revenue #revenustreams #accesstocapital #loans #capital #resources #capital #deniedcapital #businesstips #businesssavy

It is sometimes astounding when you see some of the number of "followers" some businesses and entities can have on social media nowadays. Hell, even some single person in the world can have 75 million followers, and you have to think that is a lot of people. Most of the time those examples just mentioned have marketing budgets and marketing teams behind them to help accomplish those goals.

Everything is basically a popularity contest and how can you prove popularity on social media? Followers, subscribers, likes, and shares are what they use to give quantitative value to popularity and audience reach through their perspective platforms. The problem is that there are plenty of ways to "inflate" all these numbers on social media.

Has anyone gotten this email or direct message?

"I'll promote your podcast through social media pages like as ( Tw*******, Fa*******, Li******, or Go*****) and help you get more downloads and more subscribers in the iTu**** store. You will start to see results in your analytics. You will start to see results in your analytics almost instantly. From there your podcast/business will continue to grow and grow. I can do this for $500 USD monthly. Ready to start now?" This sounds too good to be true, but you sign up. For two months you see exponential growth and the first month after you have let it go, BAM back to reality. So, what did you really pay for? Tune in to this episode and see did you/them pay for the social media bots!!!!

#algorithmbots #socialmediabots #socialmediamarketing #paidads #adsspin #followers #likes #subscribers #shares #repost #reshare #fakestats #views

If it doesn't make dollars, then it doesn't make cents. lol We all have bills to pay, money to be made, and goals to conquer in our lives. The one way those all happen is by earning the money you need as an employee or making the money you need as a business owner. I will us myself as an example and let everyone know, I am all about making as much money as I can to help provide for my family. So yes, I have not been at the same job for forever as some people may have thought. I average about 3 years with a company and thing I usually find greater pastures to explore. The old days of spending 20-30 years working for the same company are few and far between now. That is for a few reasons: corporate greed, the invention of the internet, and the change in the type of workers who are doing the jobs now. Loyalty has been replaced with hunger for adventure, thirst for more money, and the dissipation of not fearing the unknown.

With African Americans still only being in corporate America about 60 years we have now gotten a better understanding about the "game" that is played around us. Why spend 10 years at a company with minimal increase in pay or status, when you can search for a better job (preferably while you have one). Once you find your better job, then you leave that old job behind you. It is ok to say I have worked for 3 different companies in the last 10 years. If you get questioned about it in an interview, your response is, " I found a better job or a better opportunity to support myself or my family". Don't feel bad either because other people call it climbing the corporate ladder but some of us may look at it a job hopping. Tune in to this episode to see if you are the one who is trying to climb the corporate ladder.

#climbingthecorprateladder #jobhopping #jobhistory #workhistory #salary #wagescale #raises #401K #retirementfunds #corporatefilings #coporateamerica #jobsearching #jobtitles #qualifications #collegegraduate #collegedegrees

Business owners need to be able to find stress relief techniques to help with their mental stability.

There is the notion that you are a business owner 24/7 and 365 days a year, and that is all find and

dandy until it is not. Business owners are still one thing at their core and that thing is human. We try to

push through all the ups and downs, but all those events can take a toll on you and your business. You

will have to find ways to help you destress as a business owner and we are discussing some of those

methods in this episode. One of the first things that come to mind is doing something with your family

and those closest to them. Family time and fun family activities are great ways to take your mind off of

things. The feelings of joy and happiness can be a monumental stress relief for business owner. We also

discuss quite a few other ways to help entrepreneurs destress themselves and keep their sanity as being

business owners. Business owners tap in and see if we can help you all out!!!!

#businessowners #destressing #stressrelief #businessstress #overload #takeabreak #struggle #pressure #pressurepoints #familyfun #detach

Business owners have a due diligence to perform standard business practices. The practices can be defined as practices that must be followed while working for an organization. We are using this to piggyback off of our episode of Using Other People's Money. Financial institutions or financial lenders have a standard way of conducting business and small business owners are entitled to be treated fairly and properly throughout the process of looking into borrowing money. The business practices we refer to are the methods, procedures, rules, or tactics that a company follows in pursuit in its objectives to provide information of what their lending process or processes include. It is imperative that especially minority small business owners like us demand we get the same treatment as those larger companies get from lenders. There should not be in hidden agendas, hidden rules, or pitfalls not made away to the potential borrower from the beginning of the lending process. We have been encountering some issues with our loan officer from our financial lender and we have demanded that we get the same treatment as other real estate investment customers. Tune in to this episode to see how we are holding them accountable to the standards of business set forth by the business areas they deal with on a daily basis.

#fianciallending #businessloans #standardbusinesspractices #smallbusinessloans #predatorylending #businessminset #businesssavy #businessplan #businesstips #understandingbusiness

How does a business survive? One of the main ways is constant and good financial stability. That financing can come from other people's money, or OPM. OPM is referring to borrowed capital that is used to increase the potential returns as well as the risks of a particular investment. This money must come from legal financial intuitions or registered entities to avoid legal ramifications. Business owners can use legal OPM to upgrade their business, take own investors, purchase items for their business, etc. Using OPM is not a fairly new concept, but it has had a lot of overhauls regulation wise in the past few decades. We are mainly here to discuss legal OPM use and how sometimes you can get more than you bargain for.

We have been very upfront about our adventure into the real estate world and one of main hurdles was obtaining OPM. Our OPM we obtained from a financial lender took us over six months. We had already spent the previous 10 months we were working with another financial institution for them to ultimately tell us they were not able to do commercial lending at that time (talk about being strung along). Yet we are now in the demolition of our 12-unit apartment complex renovations almost 3 years after we officially purchased the property. That part in itself is almost a 31-year journey for me alone. We want you all to tune into this episode to really understand how you may be able to access OPM and the string that come along with that money as well.

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EPISODE 100---We have hit the century mark for our published episodes, and we want to thank each and every one of you for tuning in to us.

This episode is a very special one for us because this is where we are giving our listeners insights into our past, ringside seats to our present lives, and a vision board to how we are trying to shape our future and our daughter's futures as well. The definition of the word "Legacy" is something that is passed on. Yet like most things, Legacy can take on many forms. A Legacy may be monetary or your assets, or like we discussed in earlier episodes about Generational Wealth compared to Generational Assets.

In the year of 2024, we as African Americans are seeing increases in certain areas. but decreases in others. These conditions have come about mainly due to legacies that were established well before the time captured at this moment. Those legacies left influence, money, and power to control the factors, measures, and decisions that benefit them the most. In this episode we talk about how we are now dealing with Legacies that are now spanning multiple generations, connecting past, present, and future, relaying messages of hope, fight, determination, knowledge, and perseverance.

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In the world of social media, the algorithm which is a set of instructions that is designed to accomplish a task can be one of your best assets. Hopefully the main task you want it to do is bring attention to your company, find you some new customers, and bring your old customers back again and again. The success of these algorithms that are specified to help your business grow are crucial and not to be taken lightly. Especially if you are paying for advertising and these algorithms are not properly synced to your target or projected customer audience. We already talked in our "You Have to Pay to Play" episode how you have to spend money to potentially make money. Then think about you spending money for said algorithms and they are "flawed" from inception. That could be potential time and money wasted that your company really needed and possibly not recoup a financial reward from either.

Algorithms are mainly problem solvers. One of the biggest problems for small businesses is getting front of more people. Lots of people don't understand that an algorithm takes time to collect, analyze, and plot a strategy to achieve the goal the goal they were created for. Take this example, a company pays for 90 days of advertising with an advertising firm. The algorithm is created day 1. Days 1-30 the algorithm if collecting data. Days 31-60 the algorithm is now "tweaking" itself and trying to get "smarter". Days 61-90 the algorithm is now seeking and finding those potential customers your business surely needs. Tune in to this episode and listen to how you can deal when the algorithm is not being productive.

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#algorithm #paidadvertising #advertisingagency #money #smallbusinesses #businesstips #analyzingdata #targetcustomer #targetaudience

In the world of being an online, ecommerce-based business owner we have learned that internet advertising is a way of life. The hard part is that we all have a price to pay to help advertise our business. It may cost you a little, or it may cost you a lot, but nevertheless it will cost you. Advertising on social media has become more expensive as the years have gone by. There has been a significant price hike since the pandemic as well. It may even look like some social media channels are pricing out some small businesses. Some of these advertising packages are way more than some of these businesses can budget, so then they have to figure out more economical ways of trying to get their business in front of the masses. This where we talk about you have to pay to play in the latest episode of the Watch4TheHook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast.

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#advertisingbudget #posting #ecommerce #onlinesales #socialmedia

The world was forever changed in March of 2020 in more ways than three. The Global Pandemic known as Covid-19 made the world come to a standstill. While the world was on pause, the business world came to a screeching halt as well. While the corporate business world was figuring out how to keep going, even to the point lots of individuals found avenues to start some small businesses, and I use the term some loosely too. lol

Hundreds of thousands of small businesses were created due to the pandemic. Whether they were legal or illegal is not for us to judge, but all these newly created businesses came with a price for many other small business owners. The United States government created the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to help legitimate small businesses keep paying W2 based employees and keep their small business a float while it was being negatively impacted by the pandemic. What eventually happened was there ended up being a lot of "fake" businesses being created and also a lot of internet-based businesses were launched as well. We launched in the pandemic but had planned to launch in a normal world, but we know how that all turned out.

Now that we are in the post pandemic world, and now the United States government is telling "most" small business owners, the bill is due. They have changed the tax laws in so many ways that it is almost a punishment to the legitimate small business owners. They have taking away a lot of the "help" that used to be available to certain small businesses, but just tune into this episode to hear how you are sticking it out is still an option for most of us.

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#pandemic#taxlaws#PPPloan#employee#employer#explorepage#businesstips#businessloan

We as a people have always been a close nit community regardless to what some people may say. We as a culture are innovators, needle pushers, trend setters, etc. but we are not benefitting the most from the outstanding contributions we have made to society as a whole. Getting these two aspects to getting back closer in alignment is paramount to us as a people, surviving, and striving going forward.

We launched Watch4TheHook Apparel Brand because we wanted to give something to our culture. We saw a need for some positive messaged based apparel for our people to have access to. Sometimes we see a trend or fad of negative messaged based apparel running rapid in our culture, and we are not a negative minded people. You cannot be as revolutionary as we are as a people and be having a negative spirit.

We love the community aspect of what Watch4TheHook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast offers to our listeners. We started this podcast as a form of giving back to our community of small business owners. This podcast aims to uplift those who have stepped out on faith or bet on yourself to achieve the greatness you are seeking in life. Tune into this episode to hear about there is culture, then there is community.

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#community #culture #ittakesavillage #comingtogether #trends #fads #reality #helpingoneanother

Confusion in your business or about your business can stifle the growth of your business. This can be dealing with your business logo, concept, implementation, or even how the customer interprets what your business actually is. Take us for instance, Watch4thehook as a brand plays up on the metaphorical use of the hook. But when we first started out in 2019, we played upon the physical hook from boxing. It was not until after being asked time and time again do we teach boxing that we realized our brand messaging was as clear as muddy water. This is where we started to realize if we have to keep explaining it over and over again, then our audience is not getting what we are presenting to them.

We also have learned how to keep design concepts simple to help make sure our graphics can truly be understood by our customers and audience. We have already talked about how simple is not boring. We have noticed that simple of the simplest designs produced have been some of the most profitable. Also, it could be that lots of people gravitate to designs where they don't have to think or induce deep thoughts from them.

The main thing we have taken from our five years of being in business is that your brand logo, designs, concepts, brand strategy, brand image has to be clear to others than just you and your business partners.

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#businessstrategy #designconcepts #translation #branding #implementation #explanations

Just when you think you have things all figured out, the rules change, and no one told you about it. This can happen to business owners on a daily basis. You feel like you are about to do something great in your business and then it misses the mark again. It feels like they keep moving the goal post so to say. One of our latest frustrations comes from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on what qualifies as qualified business income (QBI). QBI is the net amount of qualified items of income, gain, deduction, and loss from any qualified trade or business, including income from partnerships, S corporations, sole proprietorships, and certain trusts.

So, what has us all in an uproar? M&T Parker LLC is a partnership with 0 W-2 wage paid employees. That means we cannot submit W-2s as a form of business tax deductions. So, for small businesses like us, we sometimes may have to rely on business deductions as a form of loss to help with tax write offs. QBI also deals with the amount of liquid cash you have put into your business as well. Example, if I put $10,000 cash into my business and I had $12,000 in deductions or losses, you can only file up to $10,000 in losses only because you only put in $10,000 cash into your business. They are basically limiting the amount of deductions and losses a business can file based on the cash they put into their business. Once again it is another way, they keep moving the goal post for small to medium business owners.

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#taxseason2024 #smallbusiness #taxdeductions #qailifiedbusinessincome #taxfiling #W2 #wages #income #taxableincome

Sometimes for business owners thinking outside the box is not the issue, being placed into one from the start is the major problem. This imaginary box can sometimes stifle a business's path for growth and success. We have struggled with the imaginary boxes ourselves, for instance, "oh y'all sell t-shirts." Well, we do, but that is not all we have ever sold, but we have learned to not let boxes fold in on us as well. Your business can be placed in a box by customers, observers, or other vendors as well.

These boxes don't have to define your business, they can help you to work harder at making your business standout. One of our biggest ways to stay out of our box as being a "lifestyle" brand was to go through brand development. Dailing in a brand strategy, brand mission, and brand vision can help your brand to stand out. Your branding material such as business cards, promotional materials, etc. will play a part in standing out as well.

These imaginary boxes placed on your business are another version of a Hook that you will have to deal with. These boxes are trying to deny you the greatness you are envisioning for your business. Please stay vigilant and know that your love and passion for your business will always be needed.

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#boxedin #businessstrategy #businessplan #businesspodcast

Small and Medium sized businesses are the backbone of the American economy, yet we rarely get the financial help that large businesses get. I have seen stats were only between 13-30% of small businesses get financial backing from financial institutions or banks. Looks like the deck is stacked against those who are supposed to help keep this boat afloat. The Federal Reserve Bank's Small Business Credit Survey. a staggering 85% of small businesses are experiencing financial difficulties in 2021 alone. How can almost 9 out of 10 small businesses need financial support and probably won't get it from financial institutions.

Lots of small businesses apply for business loans for a variety of reasons: inventory purchases, cash flow for everyday operations, payroll expenses, and even debt consolidation/refinancing. All those a vital to a business succeeding and thriving. Yet, this road maybe blocked due to the fact the financial institutions are not lending to certain businesses at that time. An even steeping step down is that only 7.2% of Total Loans are approved to Black or African Americans. Another fun fact is only 3.9% of Total Loan Dollars are also awarded to Blacks or African Americans.

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#moneymatters #businessloans #financialinstitutions #bigbanks #smallbanks #operationalfunds #funding #microloans #loaneligibility #loanapproval #SBAloan

This episode we are pulling back the veil even more and giving you all a front row seat of how a married couple can build together. We are going back as far as 2011 and bringing you all along for our journey to 2024. This journey will tell you about the sacrifices we have made individually and collectively as a married couple. We have had many personal challenges that have help us grow personally and professionally. The education my wife and I have obtained over the years has helped us to grow professionally. This episode we are hoping to show that building together personally can help you build together as business owners.

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Small businesses face many disadvantages as compared with large businesses. As being a small business, we even see the different levels that fall under what being a small business really means. We have dome to find out there are two metrics used to reference small business sizes. The number of employees and average annual revenue. Speaking in general, the Small Business Association (SBA) defines a small business as an independent business with fewer than 500 employees. Now that average annual income metric for small businesses can vary by industry. That is some fenagling for your ass right there. You will come to find out most small businesses have 50 employees all the way down to 1 on average. Watch4TheHook has 2. lol

We have realized that other small businesses may have more employees, more revenue, and all that etc. That still doesn't mean we should not be in business. It just means we have to be more resourceful, more strategic, more financially savvy to how we run our business. Has that always worked out in our favor, no but that is the acceptable risks we have chosen to accept as business owners. Honestly it gives us some swag with our small business asses. lol Tune in and hear exactly our attitudes towards being small business owners.

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#businessstrategy #smallbusinessassociation #smallbusiness #smallbusinessloan #smallbusinessmindset #businessplan #acceptablerisk #smallbusinessemployer #smallbusinessemployee

your business. Taxes are like Thanos, they are inevitable. Lol All jokes aside though, being behind on

paying your business taxes can get you and your business some unwanted attention from a number of

agencies. Our company’s actual name is M&T Parker LLC, and we do business as Watchforthehook. We

have never filed business taxes as Watchforthehook ever. Rule number is to file the taxes under the

name of company associated with the proper employee identification number (EIN) or taxpayer ID

number with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Listen, we have seen lots of businesses who tried to

deceive state and government agencies and ended up paying a hefty price for those deceptive

practices.

Business taxes are usually due before personal taxes are due, so keep that in mind too. Also

understanding and filing the proper business deductions when filing business taxes is crucial as well.

These deductions can lessen the money owed to the IRS or other agencies. The money generated or

lost form your business will then have to be applied as earned income or net losses applied to the

money you earned personally the previous tax year. Tune in this episode to understand why properly

filing your business taxes are necessary.

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#taxes #filingtaxes #businesstaxes #personaltaxes #deductions #earnedincome #businessmindset #applepodcast #smallbusinesspodcast #smallbusiness #IRS #money #moneymaker #businesspractices #makingmoney #taxevasion #taxpenalty

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predict what will be the next big thing business wise, but as a business owner you have to do your due

diligence to protect what you have created and brought to fruition. There are some ways legally you can

protect your intellectual property from being stolen or infringed upon illegally. You can get your

intellectual property protected by The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The United

States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is the federal agency for granting U.S. patents and

registering trademarks. Does it take time, yes it does, but anything worth having is worth putting forth

the effort to have. You can also Copyright your intellectual property too. Copyright is a form of

protection provided by the laws of the United States to the authors of “original works of authorship”

that are fixed in a tangible medium of expression. An original work of authorship is a work that is

independently created by a human author or authors, and possesses at least some minimal degree

of creativity. You can do your research and see which form of protection is best for you and your

country.

In this episode we talk about the now three applied and accepted USPTO trademark Watch4theHook

owns. We (me and Tatiana) filed all the paperwork and paid for it on our own. We have had questions

and we know whom inside the USPTO to reach out to and get those questions answered. Tune in to this

episode and find what you need to see if you need to protect your intellectual property.

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The crazy thing about all this is, some of the greatest inventions in this world have come from black inventors. The caveat to all that is who has financially prospered from most of these inventions. There is a long history of people of color being denied access to capital and we still fight those inequalities today. Tune in to this episode to see how being denied access to capital can possibly turn your Amerikkkan dream into a nightmare.

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Here are the brand values of the Watch4TheHook Apparel Business:

• Partner With Minorities
• Provide High Quality Products
• Stimulate Self Education
• Instill Confidence
• Remain Subjective

We felt these brand values best personified the true essence of the Watch4TheHook Apparel Brand as a whole. In this episode we expound on each one of our brand values and how they are intricate to the success of Watch4TheHook Brand as a whole.

Podcast Money Merch Potential Monetization Call - Watch4TheHook Apparel Website

Podcast Money Merch Podcast Monetization Online Course - Watch4TheHook Apparel Website

Home - Watch4TheHook Apparel Website

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In the business of sharing news, we would like to hear the Good News as well. Sometimes business owners can be the friends or confidants you can always come to with your problems. We would also request being those you bring the good news to as well. We love to be outlets to help others vent, express, or even dwell on issues about. We would love even more to celebrate, bask in the glow of good events as well. Sometimes those long calls of "dumping' all your feelings out can be draining to the person on the other end. Then a couple of days or even a shorter amount of time they see or hear about a glorious time had by all and they didn't get a call or invite about the good time had by all. Then when asked about it, oh I "forgot" about yawl. We and other strong friends are requesting not to be left out of the good news train for 2024 and beyond.

We know 2023 has been a year to forget for some, and a year to love for others. However you feel about 2023, lets lean on each other together and uplift each other going forward. We want to thank you all from the bottom of hearts for tuning in and Hooking Up With Us.

Podcast Money Merch Potential Monetization Call - Watch4TheHook Apparel Website

Podcast Money Merch Podcast Monetization Online Course - Watch4TheHook Apparel Website

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America's History tells of a proud country founded by its great forefathers. Black America's History tells us of how far we have come, and how far we still have to go. See the difference already? There is something about the resilience of hard-working people, who have not been treated fairly, but still persevere to strive for better. In this episode we talk about some Black Case Scenarios that have happened and continue to happen to us as a people.

Podcast Money Merch Potential Monetization Call - Watch4TheHook Apparel Website

Podcast Money Merch Podcast Monetization Online Course - Watch4TheHook Apparel Website

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Podcast Money Merch Podcast Monetization Online Course - Watch4TheHook Apparel Website

Podcast Money Merch Potential Monetization Call - Watch4TheHook Apparel Website

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Most small businesses survive off of financial transactions, business grants, and business loans. All of that is possible because money is available in some form of fashion. Tune in to this episode to get a better understanding of how money really moves.

Interview #1: Kendria Parker

Kendria is the owner and operator of Josephine's Perfect Affair.

You can reach her at www.josephinesperfectaffair.com You can also find her at https://instagram.com/official_kendriad Kendria was the event organizer for the Retail Therapy Pop Up Shop Event. and she is also a Certified Business Coach.

Interview #2: Allison Rasheed-Robinson

Allison is the owner and operator of Addison Grace/ Luxe Scents~ By Ally.

You can find her luxury candle collection at www.addisongrace.org.

You can also find here at https://facebook.com/addisonsgracecandles and https://instagram.com/addisongracecandles.

Interview #3: Brandy White

Brandy is the owner and operator of Body Essentials and Beyond.

You can find her products at https://bodyessentialsandbeyond.com

You can also find her at https://instagram.com/bodyessentialsandbeyond

In the era of a Social Justice Revolution, it sometimes looks like we are chanting "We are Black and proud", and we are draped in every designer but one of our own. Are we wrong to ask the question, what about Us wearing Us? We as a culture have so many designers who create bold, beautiful, and thought-provoking pieces who could use the exposure that some of us take for granted. Am I saying that they should help, you are absolutely correct!

We explore in this episode the differences between a sponsorship for marketing purposes and an influencer for marketing. We discuss our choice for choosing a sponsorship and why it may suit you as well on your business ventures. We also provide an introduction to a prized amateur boxer who is 6-0 that we SPONSOR!