Ever since Jonathan Krywicki proposed to his wife in an amazing way seven years ago, he’s been badgered by other would-be suiters to help them get it right when preparing to pop the big question. So much so, in fact, that he’s gone ahead and started a business doing just that – an exclusive marriage proposal service aptly called Pitch and Woo.

Now, here’s the thing. Not only is Pitch and Woo a very cool business idea (unique in fact – in Australia at least), Jonathan is absolutely passionate about it and it comes through in this fireside chat. So passionate in fact, he’s been burning the midnight oil trying to get it to market whilst working full time for the man, and supporting a beautiful wife and four month old son.

So, slip in to something more comfortable, grab a glass of bubbly with your better half and slide in to this (not so romantic) but incredibly passionate chat with Mr Proposal himself.

Four years ago (at age 22) George Ryan was working full time (55 hours a week) for a lumber yard, making $10/hour to provide for his wife and daughter, and had no sort of higher education. He decided he hated his job, and intentionally set out to start an internet company. Four years later, still with no sort of formal education, he now has a thriving business in Hatchwise and make six figures. On top of all that, Hatchwise has been featured in articles twice in Inc. Magazine over the past two years. Nice!

Listen in as George shares how he did it, and lessons learned along the way.

“Do we really need another social media channel?!” That was the premise I went in to this interview with.

“Yes we do!”, is my view following this chat … on the proviso that it’s easy to manage and provides a commercial return.

The guy who convinced me is Jason Miles – the co-author of the best-seller Pinterest Power, VP of advancement at Seattle’s Northwest University and co-founder (with is wife) of Liberty Jane Clothing – a six-figure online business successfully selling designs for doll’s clothes.

As the head marketer for Liberty Jane Clothing, Jason is successfully using Pinterest to drive traffic and rank highly on Google.

Listen in as he explains exactly how he does it.

Cam Barber invented The Vivid Method to help people like you and I overcome the fear of public speaking. And thank God! I mean who doesn’t (you know what) themselves when they have the opportunity to get up on a stage or present to an audience of more than one?!

But here’s the thing – public speaking is a marketing strategy many more small business owners should embrace. It provides leverage, it positions you as an opinion leader and it forces you to get your message right. All mighty good outcomes when you’re wanting to build both your personal and business brand.

So take a listen as Cam explains how to lose the public speaking anxiety.

Richard Everson owns and runs Schonegg, an award winning guesthouse in rural Australia. Recently he sent me an email requesting an interview, and it was this part of the email that caught my attention:

“My wife and I own Country Guesthouse Schonegg. We love the business and after 10 years, 7 tourism awards and over 65% repeat/referral business, we like to think we’ve learnt a thing or two about marketing.”

Richard also told me he’s been a chef at a Michelin hat awarded restaurant in London and worked on the QE2 – so I’m also thinking he knows a thing or two about customer service.

PLUS I wallow in self-pity as I share how Seth knocked me back and I pose a question that all motivated small business owners should be asking themselves if they want to improve their offering.

Enjoy!

Sam Cavanagh is the National Executive Producer for Austereo – Australia’s largest radio network. This basically means he’s responsible for the creative output, and ultimately the ratings success of some of Australia’s most popular on-air talent including Hamish and Andy, Jules and Fifi and Kyle and Jackie O.

“But what’s this got to do with improving the marketing of your small business?” I hear you ask.

Plenty!

Sam has spent a lot of time recently mulling over and implementing the concept of turning listeners in to raving fans – it’s a complete mindset change as Sammy explains; one that once you get your head around has a major positive impact on your business. Listen up …

Mia Freedman is the editor and publisher of Australia’s fastest growing women’s website Mamamia.com.au.

Having built her career around creating communities of women in magazines (as Editor of Cosmo and then Editor in Chief of Cosmo, Cleo & Dolly), Mia began Mamamia in her lounge room in 2007 and today it employs 30 people and has Mamamia has 500,000 readers and more than 14 million page views per month.

Listen in to this fireside chat I had with Mia recently where she explains exactly how she did it. It’s marketing gold. Enjoy!

I recorded this episode on New Year’s Eve 2012, and was in quite the reflective mood. It’s been a massive year of marketing ideas at the SBBM HQ, with so many amazing guests coming through the door and sharing some marketing gold.

Whilst I’m not usually a big one for looking back, setting resolutions and generally getting in to a reflective mood, the general consensus on show’s Facebook and LinkedIn group suggested that’s what you wanted to hear.

So what I’ve done is highlighted some highlights! Guests that left a marketing mark, insights that we could all use to help grow our business some random ramblings that caught my eye throughout the year. I also take you behind the scenes on my journey to losing 30KG over the past 12-months and talk about what I’ve got planned to help improve your marketing for the year head. Enjoy ;0)

Tom Dickson is the star of the most famous series of viral marketing videos ever. He is also the founder and CEO of the company Blendtec, which makes the blenders that his crazy videos are intended to sell. In this wonderful fireside chat, Tom takes us deep inside the Will It Blend tent, explaining where the idea came from, how it’s had a dramatic impact on sales (it increased sales 1,000% from the first video!), how they make the videos and so much more. This is a wonderful story of a big idea and marketing courage that continues to result in a big pay off. Enjoy!