Small Business Talks
Are you a small business? Looking for answers to small business challenges or looking for ideas and solutions from other small businesses? Maybe you are looking for inspiration. That’s what we are all about! Small Businesses Talking to Small Businesses, sharing their experiences, discoveries, and thoughts to help your business succeed. From talks about getting started to new products and services they created. We feature interviews from small business owners and include experts in the areas of marketing, strategy, and resources to help you improve.
Episodes

Monday Aug 28, 2023
Beam Saws - How to Increase Cutting Efficiency in a Business
Monday Aug 28, 2023
Monday Aug 28, 2023
In this cutting episode of Small Business Talks, we sit down with Dave Brown from The Original Saw Company. Dave dives into the advantages of beam saws, explaining their superior platform, stability, and exceptional cross-cut capabilities. We delve into the practical applications for businesses, both large and small, emphasizing the beam saw's ability in cutting a variety of materials.
Dave also touches on the importance of the right tooling, offering insights into cutting materials beyond just wood. From power requirements to the nuances of manual vs. power cross feeds. Plus, get valuable tips on maintaining your beam saw to ensure longevity and precision with every cut.
The Original Saw Company Website
Phone: 1-800-733-4063
Visit the Small Business Talks Site
Have a question, comment or topic idea, email us at: nealr@mfgpa.org

Monday May 22, 2023
The Rise of Online Loans and the Importance of Local Banks
Monday May 22, 2023
Monday May 22, 2023
Online Loans vs. Local Community Bank Loans
In an increasingly digital world, the financial landscape has witnessed a significant increase in online lending platforms. However, are local bank loans still a viable and advantageous option? Join us in this thought-provoking podcast as we delve into the realm of borrowing and explore the key differences between online loans and the benefits of turning to your local bank for home loans with our guests Amanda and Jo Lea, Vice President of Real Estate Lending and Assistant Vice of President of Real Estate Lending for Farmers National Bank in Illinois.
Farmers National Bank Website

Thursday Mar 16, 2023
What Is an Agricultural Bank?
Thursday Mar 16, 2023
Thursday Mar 16, 2023
An agricultural bank, also known as an AG bank, is a type of financial institution that provides specialized financial services to farmers, agribusinesses, and other rural clients to help them manage their finances, invest in their operations, and grow their businesses. In comparison to other types of banks AG banks often have a more specialized understanding of the unique risks and opportunities of associated with the agricultural sector.
We recently spoke with Brandt Hutchcraft and Steve Taets, who are loan officers with Farmers National Bank in Illinois to better understand the services and differences agriculture banking offers.
Famers National Bank Website
Send us your Feedback - nealr@mfgpa.org

Sunday Feb 12, 2023
Marketing Hype: Why 30-Day Collagen Challenges Are Not Realistic.
Sunday Feb 12, 2023
Sunday Feb 12, 2023
In a previous episode, we learned about Dr. Allen Kramer and his extensive years of research at the National Institute of Health doing years of research on proteins and how he turned that experience into a small business manufacturing type 2 collagen supplements. Since then, we have had many listeners contact us about companies offering a 30-day collagen challenge for joint pain. We reached out to Sr. Kramer to get his view on the subject and wanted to follow up with another podcast to see if these claims were realistic and if not why. Our podcast goes into an understanding of how collagen works and what type of collagen works best and most importantly what is a realistic time frame to see results.
SB-EDGE website
Small Business Talks Blog:
Send us your comments nealr@mfgpa.org

Tuesday Nov 01, 2022
Collagen Supplements & Joint Pain: A Company’s Journey to Help People
Tuesday Nov 01, 2022
Tuesday Nov 01, 2022
Every company has a story on how they got started or why they went into business. Our feature small business had extensive experience in the biochemical field and used that knowledge and experience to become a collagen supplement manufacturer to help those with joint pain.
Learn how collagen works and how it may help people with joint pain and learn how Dr. Allan Kramer turned his extensive knowledge and experience into a business to help others.
Company Website: sb-edge.com
Small Business Talks Blog: Collagen Suppliments & Joint Pain A Company’s Journey to Help People
Send us your feedback: nealr@mfgpa.org

Monday Oct 10, 2022
Creating a Network Connecting Solar Batteries to Communicate with the Grid!
Monday Oct 10, 2022
Monday Oct 10, 2022
As more and more companies look to solar energy for power many new challenges come along that need a solution for it to all work. In this case The Rock River Lumber and Grain Company needed help getting their solar batteries to communicate with the utility grid. We talk with Jake Thompson a Network Engineer at Twin State Technical Services who explains how they got involved and created a network for their solar battery array and the challenges they faced in order to get it to work.
Twin State Technical Services: https://www.tsts.com/ | Phone: 563-441-1504
Read About the Story on Our Blog: Small Business Talks

Monday Sep 05, 2022
Monday Sep 05, 2022
Let’s face it, businesses today are facing a mountain of challenges, the urge to focus on product sales and not your customers are at an all-time high. Some believe price is the only way to get sales and that quality or focusing on solving customer’s problems is no longer important.
A good business is concerned with the customer's needs and how they can help their customers be successful because they recognize that a successful customer is a return customer. That statement is from our guest today, Jon Gainer, President and owner of Stake World, a manufacturer of yard sign stakes. Jon will share his experience on how focusing on delighting your customers has grown his business in the face of the Pandemic and Supply Chain issues. He shares with us on how this approach works and why more businesses need to adopt this philosophy.
StakeWorld Website: https://www.stakeworld.com/
Small Business Talks Blog : Delighting Customers & Lawn Sign Stakes

Monday Sep 05, 2022
Monetizing Tax Incremental Financing for Municipalities and Developers
Monday Sep 05, 2022
Monday Sep 05, 2022
Monetizing TIF
Tax increment financing (TIF) is a financing tool that has been used by municipalities for redevelopment, and infrastructure, projects for over 40 years. TIF was designed to help with the unexpected additional costs of a project like an environmental issue or developing streets and storm drains. TIF can help reimburse some of the additional developer’s costs. Emily Blaylock, president of Untamed Equity explains how TIF helps both municipalities and developers with redevelopment projects. We also discuss TIF Monetization as a way to supercharge the tool to handle TIF eligible costs over time by monetizing the future cash flows through the reimbursement of property taxes paid by the developer, based on the net present cash flow stream to offer a lump sum loan amount based on a margining of the net value upfront.
More About TIF Monentization at Untamed Equity: www.untamedequity.com
View Our Blog Post: Small Business Talks

Monday Aug 01, 2022
Monday Aug 01, 2022
For small businesses and manufacturers, the past two years have been full of challenges, even ones that continue to cause production problems. Many companies can get the parts they order from their manufacturers because the manufacturers can’t get the raw materials to fill the orders. This supply chain disruption affects products, workers, and our economy.
One company, Plas-Tech Tooling is helping companies who rely on cast parts or components in their products and manufacturers a way to get around the supply chain bottleneck. By converting the cast item into a machined part. By way of production machining the part can be delivered to the buyer and production can get back to filling orders. The conversion process is a great workaround, and the podcast goes into details to explain what situations it would work best in and steps for an effective transition from casting to machined part.
Plas-Tech Tooling | www.plastechtooling.com
Small Business Talks Blog | Casting Conversion Post

Sunday Jun 26, 2022
What Advantages Does Zinc Die Casting Offer Businesses and Manufacturers?
Sunday Jun 26, 2022
Sunday Jun 26, 2022
More than ever manufacturers are having to rethink the materials they choose for product design for a variety of reasons, costs, quality, and more recently availability and supply given the supply chain disruption of 2021-22. Therefore, many companies are looking at die casting over other manufacturing methods for their products.
In doing the research for this topic, we noticed a large amount of information on die casting or die cast parts focusing on aluminum, steel, or plastic. So, we wanted to see if Zinc Die casting offers any advantages or benefits to companies and manufacturers. We spoke with Dave Magner, Director of Sales, and Marketing, of DECO Products in Decorah, Iowa who specialize in zinc die casting to get his expert knowledge on the subject.
As Dave explains in the podcast, Zinc most certainly offers advantages to manufacturing parts and products but there is more to understand of what parts it is best used for making.
Many Thanks to Dave Magner – Deco Products – www.decoprod.com
Visit our Companion Blog Site “Small Business Talks” for more details.

Our Goal & Mission
Small Business faces many challenges, especially in today’s digital world, the biggest challenge is how to get and share your message with others and where to find these resources. That is why we are here! For over 25 years I have worked with some great people who own or operate a small business and have acquired experience and tribal knowledge that can benefit other small businesses. From solving sales lead generation to achieving success online, each company has a story to tell. The pod casts will be interviews with different companies on a variety of topics from marketing to hiring, to small business resources to highlighting new and innovative products and technology. We hope you find these podcasts helpful, informative, and entertaining. We are all in it together so lets share!