In this episode, I interview Carissa Reiniger, the Founder, and CEO of Small Business Silver Lining, a company that helps more small business owners make money doing what they love by building more profitable and sustainable businesses. They believe strongly in the power of small business to generate sustainable economic development and to create economic justice. Their work has been featured in many publications and media outlets including the New York Times, Forbes, TechCrunch, National Post, Globe and Mail, Inc, Entrepreneur, CNN, and more. Carissa is also the Creator of the Thank You Small Business movement and regularly writes, speaks, and advises on small business.
She started out in 2005, aged 22, and after accidentally firing herself from corporate. She initially did consulting in anything with the simple drive to help small businesses and soon after, she pivoted to an online training offering called Silver Lining Action Plan (SLAP). SLAP has now helped over 10,000 small businesses around the world. They later reduced their fees from $2,000 a month to $300, and their success rate has been 70 to 80%, which is measured on the goals the business owners set for themselves before starting their 13-Month program. From one full-time employee to now forty, her team is in 14 countries and went remote eight years ago before it was cool for Covid.
Their next move is to offer small business lending lines based on SLAP behavior. For culture, they focus on team wellness, extra holidays, and an unlimited time away policy. When it comes to success, Carissa feels she has had moments of success but hasn’t gotten there yet. She says that the hardest thing about growing a small business is juggling the complexity or volume of things to do. The one she says she would tell herself on day one of starting out in business is, “It’s going to be okay. Pace yourself and don’t do it alone” It’s going to be a super resourceful episode if you’re looking to grow your small business, so don’t forget to tune in.
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Quotes:
“Business is a great tool for justice” – Carissa Reiniger
“The real drift driver of the economy in a steady and significant way is absolutely small business” – Carissa Reiniger
“Business owners should be thinking about impact in addition to financial success” – Carissa Reiniger
“Talk to your customers and be real” – Carissa Reiniger
“The best money you can get as a small business is revenue” – Carissa Reiniger
“Getting access to affordable and reasonable debt is really important” – Carissa Reiniger
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