Shows
Watch4thehook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast: A Small Business Podcast for Small Business OwnersAre You Paying With Cash or Card*****Subscribe to our Podcast on Apple or Spotify Platforms Today*****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...2024-12-0425 min
Watch4thehook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast: A Small Business Podcast for Small Business OwnersThey Hacked and Stole Our Instagram Page (WatchFourTheHook)*****Please Go Follow Our New Instagram Business Page, Watch4TheHookBusinessPage*****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...2024-10-0921 min
Watch4thehook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast: A Small Business Podcast for Small Business OwnersHow Your Profession Can Fund Your Small Business Dreams*****Download 1 Episode and Become a Part of Our Podcasting Community*****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...2024-09-1823 min
Watch4thehook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast: A Small Business Podcast for Small Business OwnersOur Success on Securing a 6-Figure Commercial Property Loan*****Download Our Podcast and Listen at Your Leisure*****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...2024-07-2427 min
Watch4thehook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast: A Small Business Podcast for Small Business OwnersThere is Culture and Then There is Community ***** Please Leave Us a 5*Review or a Comment on your Favorite Podcast Platform***** 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...2024-04-2426 min
Watch4thehook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast: A Small Business Podcast for Small Business OwnersIf We Have to Keep Explaining It, Then You Are Not Getting It*****Please Leave A 5* Review on Apple Podcast or Whichever Podcast Platform You Are Using*****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...2024-04-1727 min
Watch4thehook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast: A Small Business Podcast for Small Business OwnersUncle Sam Keeps Moving the Goal Post*****Please Leave Us A 5* Review on Apple Podcast or Spotify*****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...2024-04-1023 min
Watch4thehook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast: A Small Business Podcast for Small Business OwnersTrying 2 B Outside the Box****** Please do us a huge favor and leave us a 5* review on Apple Podcast******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...2024-04-0323 min
Watch4thehook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast: A Small Business Podcast for Small Business OwnersWhere Does the Money Come From****** Please Leave Us A 5* Review on Apple or Spotify Podcast.""""""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...2024-03-2721 min
Watch4thehook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast: A Small Business Podcast for Small Business OwnersHow 2 Build Together (Personally & Business Wise)*****4 our avid listeners please leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcast 4 Us*******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...2024-03-2042 min
Watch4thehook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast: A Small Business Podcast for Small Business OwnersWith Your Small Business A$$****** If U Find Time in Your Schedule, Please Leave a 5* Review on Apple Podcast*******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...2024-03-1321 min
Watch4thehook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast: A Small Business Podcast for Small Business OwnersProperly File Your Business TaxesOne of the best ways to keep your business in good standing is to properly file all taxes associated withyour business. Taxes are like Thanos, they are inevitable. Lol All jokes aside though, being behind onpaying your business taxes can get you and your business some unwanted attention from a number ofagencies. Our company’s actual name is M&T Parker LLC, and we do business as Watchforthehook. Wehave never filed business taxes as Watchforthehook ever. Rule number is to file the taxes under thena...2024-03-0620 min
Watch4thehook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast: A Small Business Podcast for Small Business OwnersNurturing Your BusinessLike many things in life, your business will need you to give it things to help it grow. Improving your business is a very helpful way of nurturing your business. Implementing systems, functional brainstorming, and thinking forward are some ways to positively help your business grow. Business owners always are looking for ways to help their business work better and more efficiently. We can remember the 2019 version of us, and we can think of a number of ways we have nurtured and put in sweat equity with Watch4TheHook. Communication is also a great way to help move your...2024-02-2820 min
Watch4thehook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast: A Small Business Podcast for Small Business OwnersOwning What You CreateOwning your intellectual property (ip) is a great way to protect you and your business. It is hard topredict what will be the next big thing business wise, but as a business owner you have to do your duediligence to protect what you have created and brought to fruition. There are some ways legally you canprotect your intellectual property from being stolen or infringed upon illegally. You can get yourintellectual property protected by The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The UnitedStates Patent...2024-02-2124 min
Watch4thehook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast: A Small Business Podcast for Small Business OwnersAccess 2 Capital Denied We hear a lot of times, there is plenty of money out there to help you start a business. The crazy thing is like we talked about in another episode, to get access to money, you have to meet the criteria. Some forms of grants for businesses requires that your business function to a certain standard. Those standards can now become barriers to small black owned businesses who already have limited resources, and ways to access capital. That access being denied could cripple a business and possible shutter it as well. The crazy thing about all this...2024-02-1423 min
Watch4thehook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast: A Small Business Podcast for Small Business OwnersYou Meet the Criteria There are a number of ways to help you learn and grow as a business owner. If you are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to be involved with some business seminars, cohorts, master classes, then you can consider yourself to be fortunate. Your business being selected means you met their criteria to be asked to be a part of those events. You want to come in with an open mind and check your ego at the door. Remember even though you are looking for help, there are others who get paid off finding others to help. Whether you...2024-02-0723 min
Watch4thehook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast: A Small Business Podcast for Small Business OwnersFix Your Personal Credit FirstHow you look on paper will greatly affect how you look in real life. This is very true in the business world and the world of financial services or access to capital. Your credit score is a prediction of your credit behavior, and lenders lean heavily on that when it comes to lending out capital or funds. This why we have advised potential business owners to fix or better your personal credit scores first. Your credit history can include information like the number of accounts, total levels of debt, repayment history, and some other factors. Once you become a...2024-01-3120 min
Watch4thehook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast: A Small Business Podcast for Small Business OwnersWorking Longer 4 Someone ElseWho really wants to work from the ages of 15-70 for someone else? This is the message that the Congress of the United States of America is trying to feed its constituents. The fact that Social Security, which is a fund established for all documented American citizens has been exposed for not being what it is supposed to be won't help most of us in our latter years in life. These Congressmen are now willing to pass legislation where the legal retirement age will be moved up from 67 to 70 years of age. This is absolute lunacy to assume that...2024-01-2422 min
Watch4thehook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast: A Small Business Podcast for Small Business OwnersHustling Against Your Own HustleEvery day I am hustling, every day I am hustling!!! Great motivational lingo, but does it come with a catch. You hear the term hustling used a lot when it comes to how some businesses run or operate. The flip side of that is now can your hustling be detrimental to your own hustle. This plays upon the adage of working smarter, not harder. We as business owners can sometimes over think, over analyze, and overload ourselves to the point it hurts our businesses. Just look at the definition of hustle. Hustle means doing what you have to obtain...2024-01-1721 min
Watch4thehook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast: A Small Business Podcast for Small Business OwnersWatch4TheHook Brand ValuesIn this episode we are here to discuss the brand values we have established for the Watch4TheHook Apparel Brand. We were able to define our brand values by going through brand development not too long after we launch our brand. Brand development is a great informational gathering tool for any business.Here are the brand values of the Watch4TheHook Apparel Business:Partner With MinoritiesProvide High Quality ProductsStimulate Self EducationInstill ConfidenceRemain SubjectiveWe felt these brand values best personified the true essence of the Watch4TheHook Apparel Brand as a whole. In this episode...2024-01-1025 min
Watch4thehook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast: A Small Business Podcast for Small Business OwnersInspiration From the LossesThere is always a lesson to be learned from basically anything in life. Particularly in business there are ways to be inspired by unfavorable events. There have been plenty of businesses that have folded over the years, and other businesses who learned from their mistakes. Other companies have survived hardships (i.e. Covid) and are still thriving. This a prime example of taking inspirations from some losses. This is basically businesses adapting to Hooks and finding new ways to persevere. Tune in to this episode to hopefully get some inspirations from some other people's losses.https://watch4...2024-01-0324 min
Watch4thehook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast: A Small Business Podcast for Small Business OwnersBring On the Good News**** This is the Last Episode for 2023***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...2023-12-2716 min
Watch4thehook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast: A Small Business Podcast for Small Business OwnersThe Black Case Scenario America's History and Black America's History are two totally different histories and told in two totally different ways. My wife graduated from two different predominantly white institutions (PWI) and the way she was taught about how the world works was different from my historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) educational background. PWI's tell you how to prepare for how the world is now and going forward, HBCU's teach you about the past, present, and how to deal with what future maybe in your sights.America's History tells of a proud country founded by its great forefathers. Black...2023-12-2027 min
Watch4thehook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast: A Small Business Podcast for Small Business OwnersOur Business Wish List 4 2024Expansion is the name of the game for 2024. Exploration is basically expanding your knowledge of the world that is unknown to you. We are claiming expansion as our visionary word of the year for 2024. The apparel brand will be launching an extension line in 2024, and we are so happy about that. This line will be to us, our 1st statement-based apparel brand/line. we have prided ourselves on being messaged based and now we are expanding into the statement-based apparel brand space. We know everyone has dreams and aspirations, but we are hoping in 2024 some serious podcasters take a...2023-12-1323 min
Watch4thehook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast: A Small Business Podcast for Small Business OwnersThe Little Engine That Got ScrewedMost of us read "The Little Engine That Could" while growing up. It is meant to be an inspirational tail that even the "smallest" of us have a chance to achieve something great. As inspiring as the story is, the real-life version is a much harder story to read. The little engine business wise has a much harder time getting things the bigger engine gets and probably at a discount too. The little engines are referred to as small businesses, if you had not already pieced it together. Tune to see how we talked about how sometimes the little...2023-12-0621 min
Watch4thehook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast: A Small Business Podcast for Small Business OwnersThey Built it, Now What?This episode is about those content creators who will "build" your brand 4 you. There are certain content creators offering "packages" for a certain price to "build your brand" 4 you and then you can take over from there. As we always can say, " no one can love it more than you". How can you as a business owner think someone one besides you can know more about your band, than you? If someone else conceptualize, develops, and creates most of your business, then what exactly have you done? Have you done any customer discovery, understanding analytics, or design creation? How...2023-11-2922 min
Watch4thehook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast: A Small Business Podcast for Small Business OwnersHow Money Really MovesWe have talked about earlier how cash is still king, but do we really know how money really moves? Financial institutions can loan money to potential investors or customers with an attached annual percentage rate (apr). APR refers to the yearly interest generated by a sum that's charged to borrowers or paid to investors. This basically means they will get back more money than they lend out. They make a profit of loaning out the capital they have in reserve. This is how money moves. It moves 365 days a year, 7 days a week, and 24 hours a day....2023-11-2223 min
Watch4thehook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast: A Small Business Podcast for Small Business OwnersCulture VultureThey say imitation is the biggest form of flattery, not if the imitation steals from the owners of the original. Especially when the perpetrators are not from the same culture. Throughout the years small business owners have been plagued upon by those who seem to take and profit from what they have implemented or created. Those vultures could care less about the harm they cause the businesses they prey upon and possibly put out of business. It is paramount that small business owners stay steadfast in protecting their businesses as best they can. Tune in to this episode and...2023-11-1525 min
Watch4thehook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast: A Small Business Podcast for Small Business OwnersSupporting A Small Black BusinessWe all we got, is more truth than most of us small black business owners want to admit. Supporting one another is something that we as a community have always done. Now that we have become more knowledgeable, we see once again the playing field is not level. Small black owned businesses are as American as apple pie, but we have always struggled to keep our businesses open and flourishing. We have always had to work against other cultures and sometimes work against our own as well. From Freedman's Bank to Black Wall Street, we as a people have...2023-11-0821 min
Watch4thehook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast: A Small Business Podcast for Small Business OwnersOveruse of Generational Wealth******PSA**********This episode will go under the category of an Uncomfortable Conversation. In the new age world of catch phrases and attention grabbers, there may be none more polarizing right now than, "we are creating generational wealth" We ourselves are guilty of this as well, but we have come to think about things differently. Let's look at the phrase and break it down a little bit. What does generational means? Generational means relating to or characteristic of all the people born and living at about the same time. What does the word wealth actually mean? Wealth means an abundance...2023-11-0122 min
Watch4thehook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast: A Small Business Podcast for Small Business OwnersSimple Does Not Mean BoringWe can all overthink things at times. That can be human nature at its finest. We need to always remember some of the biggest ideas that shaped this planet were simple in nature. Some designs or concepts that were too complex can go right over the head of your targeted customers. Those hidden attributes or little tid bits you think will grab their attention, could go unnoticed. You then feel like you may have to go back to the drawing board. Once you regroup, you may have realized sometimes simple does not mean boring. Tune in to see if you...2023-10-2524 min
Watch4thehook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast: A Small Business Podcast for Small Business OwnersWhat is Your Definition of a DesignThey say, "beauty is in the eyes of the beholder", so would be the definition of a design. We, as owners of a clothing/apparel line, have come to understand that train of thought even more now. Some people's definition of a design could be an arrangement of letters or symbols aka text. Another could be some form of artwork aka a graphic design. Then there are combinations of text and graphics together. Each definition can be as different as the brain interpreting what they are seeing. What we have learned is that you have to tailor your designs to...2023-10-1826 min
Watch4thehook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast: A Small Business Podcast for Small Business OwnersAre the Numbers a LieThere is a ton of analytical data you can look at and decipher as a business owner. You can go from social media post impressions to your profit and lost statement. There are numbers everywhere for you to try to figure out what they mean business wise for you. The more social media channels you have, the more you can help influence those numbers hopefully in your good favor. Sometimes the more interactions may not lead to more profit for your business. This goes back to what we're talking about what is your perception of support. Support could be clicking...2023-10-1120 min
Watch4thehook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast: A Small Business Podcast for Small Business OwnersBe Intentional in Your Business One way to help your business to succeed is to be deliberate in the choices you make. These decisions have good and bad consequences attached to them and should not be taken lightly. This where being intentional in your business comes into play. Don't treat your business like a dart board, just throwing things up there just to see what sticks. We constantly preach, do your research. We say that because we have always been intentional on doing our research to help our business. There are a number of distractions that come with being a business owner, but a...2023-10-0421 min
Watch4thehook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast: A Small Business Podcast for Small Business OwnersRecognizing the MirageThings may not be as they appear sometimes. You may have a clouded vison of how your business is moving along, compared to how it is actually moving. The old saying goes, "things may not be as they appear to be". You could actually make yourself believe that things are going well when they are not, as a coping mechanism. We talk about thinking about things differently all the time. The reasoning behind that is, you cannot become complacent with your business or your way of thinking in your business. The 2023 version of you and your business cannot be the...2023-09-2724 min
Watch4thehook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast: A Small Business Podcast for Small Business OwnersMonetize on the MovementWhen "lightning" strikes you better be ready for it. The lightning in the business world we are referring to could be a movement that could bring an influx of prosperity to your business. The movement can be brought on by something you did, a worldly event, or something orchestrated by your own external business partners. Whatever the case might be, you want to be able to hopefully monetize on that movement as well. That monetary boost can save a business, steady a business, or take a business to new heights. Tune in to this episode to find out how...2023-09-2019 min
Watch4thehook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast: A Small Business Podcast for Small Business OwnersBelieving in Your WorkYou will have to believe in yourself when no one else probably will. With you believing in yourself you have stepped out into the realm of being an entrepreneur. This belief in yourself and your work may not be easy to come by, and most will find it hard to do as well. You will have to dig deep into your persona and know what I am doing or trying to do is great. Self-doubt may creep into your thought process but that is normal, and relying on the perseverance that got you to this point in the first...2023-09-1318 min
Watch4thehook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast: A Small Business Podcast for Small Business OwnersKeeping That Same EnergyThere are some sayings that can translate between the business world and the personal world. When a new business is started, the business owners are riding an emotional or even a financial high. That means their energy could be through the roof and then shit happens. What plenty of onlookers will be looking for is to see if they are keeping that same energy when things are not so well on the business end. Will they keep smiling, staying positive, keeping the faith so to speak. You could end up being viewed as an energy-giver or energy-taker. Some of...2023-09-0618 min
Watch4thehook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast: A Small Business Podcast for Small Business OwnersExpectations VS Expenditures Most business owners have a certain expectation(s) for their business. We all think we have the greatest thing ever created and we want the world to think so as well. Then boom, reality hits. It takes and cost money to run a business. Your business has to bring in money to help offset the money going out to operate your business. This is where understanding of business credits and debits plays a pivotal role in your everyday business decisions. This is where the phrase, "champagne taste and beer money" comes to mind for me. Your business expectations are...2023-08-3019 min
Watch4thehook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast: A Small Business Podcast for Small Business OwnersThe Art of Vending (3 Live Interviews)In this episode, we were recording live from the Retail Therapy Pop Up Shop Event. It was held at the Hampton Inn Maumelle, Ar. We had the pleasure of interviewing three other local vendors and getting their insight of how vending can be an art.Interview #1: Kendria ParkerKendria 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...2023-08-2355 min
Watch4thehook Business & Entrepreneur Podcast: A Small Business Podcast for Small Business OwnersFighting the Imposter SyndromeBusiness owners may occasionally develop a feeling of an imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome can be a condition of feeling anxious and not experiencing success internally. This may happen in spite of being high performing in external, objective ways. Ultimately, you can feel like you don't belong in the business owner world. Developing imposter syndrome can have a business owner constantly second guessing themselves. Hell, even sometimes we second guessed ourselves for starting the Watch4TheHook apparel line. Then we remember that the Hook is universal. Tune in to see if the imposter syndrome is something you have battled with.2023-08-1620 min