Welcome back to the Small Business Summary: What do you need to do so you’re ready to go for NEXT Monday, July 6? There are a few focused actions you can take to be able to shut down over the Holiday weekend and still be ready to rock on Monday - THAT is your goal this short week.

In this week’s episode:

• AI: It’s not ready to run a small business…yet

• Hiring: The real cost of making a bad hire

• Cocktails: Celebrate the 4th with some flair and a red, white, and blue beverage

• Keynote Clip of the Week: Sahil Bloom unf*cks your life in 9 steps

• SBOC Conference Update: The #SBOC25 Awards presented by Enji are NOW OPEN FOR NOMINATIONS

I Just Can’t Quit You, Baby…

You know that feeling when you're halfway into a bad book or movie and realize, "This is terrible. Why am I still doing it?" I had that experience last week while watching the Robert De Niro movie "Midnight Run" on the treadmill. I watch Netflix movies while running every morning and this one caught my eye.

The recipe was great: De Niro. Former Cop turned Bounty Hunter. Awesome, I’m in. I thought, "How bad could it be?"

Oh boy…great cast, some funny moments but yikes. 2/5 stars. For three days I was grinding on the treadmill, not really enjoying it but I couldn’t bring myself to turn it off.

It felt WRONG to give up on the movie. What if it suddenly got good 90 minutes into the plot? That, of course, is ridiculous thinking. The movie sucked out loud and I realized that it was bad but I couldn’t pull the trigger and hit stop.

The sad thing is that we’re doing the same thing every day in our business. We’re committed to ideas and actions that we KNOW are not generating results yet we still perform them every day/week.

I want to share the concept of strategic quitting. It's something I'm playing with, and maybe you haven't heard me talk about it, yet. Strategic quitting is identifying and then quitting things that are no longer serving you so you can open up space for things that will. 

As small business owners, we get into the bad habit of never quitting anything. We heard an influencer talk about a strategy three years ago and we're still trying it out, thinking, "Someday it will work if I just try harder." Instead, what if we evaluated everything that we're doing and strategically quit things that no longer are getting results? It could be a sales strategy, a product nobody buys, or even a belief system that no longer serves you.

In a recent conversation, I talked with a solopreneur who whined that they were terrible at sales. We reviewed their numbers and they realized they were in the middle of a record year. Turns out they need to strategically quit the concept that they're bad at sales.

Before you set your out-of-office message for a long weekend, consider reviewing your current tasks and pick one to quit. I don't care how big or how small it is, but what if one item on your to-do list wasn't there next Monday?

I promise you it's possible. It will open up space to do the things that are working for you, and you won't have to watch Robert De Niro for 3 days while running on the treadmill (it was really awful).

Strategic quitting will serve you. I challenge you to take it on. Good luck!

==

Feedback from Last Week: What are you DYING to Say?

In last week’s Summary, I asked you what you are dying to share with everyone.

Christina Frei bravely responded: “We have the ability to generate a new field of possibility. We are sorcerers of potential.” 

She teaches a holistic approach to marketing where you can get clients just by being YOU. Kudos to Christina for replying with her thoughts - I love what you shared! You should connect with Christina she is ultra cool.

Our Poll is a TIE - Vote to Help Us Find a Winner…

Conference Keynote Clip of the Week

Sahil Bloom, the author of the Five Types of Wealth will join us for a keynote interview during #SBOC25. During the interview, guests will be able to ask questions of him, too! He is a terrific presenter and the ideas inside his book will help you rethink what you’re doing with your business and personal life.
Here’s a clip of him Unf*cking your live with 9 actions:

When you get your ticket to #SBOC25, I’ll ship you a copy of his book as a gift

BUILD YOUR RECORD YEAR AT #SBOC25
Presented by Horicon Bank
September 16-19, 2025
Brookfield, WI

See the full lineup and get your ticket here: https://event.smallbusinesscommunity.com/25conference

A HUGE thank you to our major sponsors: Horicon Bank, Money Masters, Athena Legal Solutions, Magnolia Tax, and Common Ground Healthcare Cooperative

Behind the Scenes of #SBOC25:
SBOC Awards presented by Enji
Call for Nominations!

The second annual SBOC Awards are now open for nominations. That means it’s your chance to nominate yourself or someone in your professional network for one of five categories, including Small Business Owner of the Year. All nominees will be invited to join us at the SBOC Conference on September 18 to see the results, and five winners will be announced live on stage.

Here’s the link to enter or nominate someone. It only takes a few minutes, and yes, nominating yourself is absolutely allowed.

It’s completely free to enter. You don’t need to be a member of the SBOC. You can even nominate a friend with one click. But nominations close on July 18, so don’t put it off.

Take five minutes to put in your name or someone else’s. You never know, you might be walking across that stage, shaking hands, receiving a trophy, and finally getting the recognition you’ve earned.

Good luck. We’re cheering for you.

And, thank you to our Awards sponsor Enji! Enji is marketing software for small business that BUILDS your marketing plan and then consistently executes so you can stop worrying about leads. This AI powered software is dead simple - check it out now: https://www.enji.co

Thanks for checking out this week’s Small Business Summary newsletter.
Now…GO SELL SOMETHING!

-Pat