Nobody taught you how to run a business.

You're running one anyway.

The Small Business Owners Community is a group of owners ready to support you through your toughest challenges as you grow, with a work week built to give you the structure to get things done. Owners only. Nobody pitching. $9 a month.

Small business owners at the SBOC Conference

There's no manual.

Nobody hands you a set of instructions when you open your business. You figure it out the way everybody figures out a newborn: by instinct, at 2am, and from the person who did it last year. Six years in, here’s what every owner in this group has had to figure out, usually more than once, because every stage of a business is your first time at that stage.

You don't get a curriculum. You get a group of people who are answering the same six questions to keep their businesses growing.
  • What to stop doing. Half of what fills your week looks like work and isn’t.
  • What to hand off, to a person or to a machine, so you only do the work only you can do.
  • When to say no, and how to say it without losing the client.
  • What you actually sell, and who’s actually buying it.
  • Where the next customer comes from, and how to close when they show up.
  • What your numbers are telling you, before your accountant tells you in April.
The SBOC work week.

Same days, every week. All of it on Zoom, so it works wherever you are.

  • Monday

    Set your weekly goal.

  • Tuesday

    Show us what you're working on.

  • Wednesday

    Get to work with community co-working.

  • Thursday

    Our signature event, the Idea Slam. One owner brings a real problem with a real number on it. The group works it live. You leave with a next step and a name to call.

  • Friday afternoons

    The Finish Line. Wins, losses, and blowing off steam before the weekend. The week ends on purpose.

The people and the support, help and love they provide is seriously one of a kind!!!

Courtney

Jennifer Hensley, SBOC member

This is a small business community like no other. It’s amazing to have such a creative, fun, and giving group to brainstorm ideas with and get feedback.

Jennifer

What $9 gets you.
  • The opportunity to bring a weekly problem to the Idea Slam, and a written record when we're done.
  • Curated one-on-one networking through a monthly Coffee Club match.
  • The Friday Finish Line, every week.
  • A 24/7 message board where you can ask a question and get answers from owners who've been there.
  • The legal hotline, presented by Athena Legal Solutions.
  • The tech hotline, provided by Tech Lab.
  • The bookkeeping hotline, presented by Money Masters Bookkeeping.
  • The member directory. Every owner in the group, searchable.
  • An instant introduction to your Welcome Buddy for your first 30 days in the group.
Why it's only $9.
  • Sponsors and events keep the lights on.
  • Our conferences and the daily live show generate the revenue that helps the SBOC keep growing.
  • That keeps the door open, and affordable for every owner. Take advantage of it.
Owners only.

Here's why.

This group is for the person who signs the checks. Solo, or a team of twenty, doesn’t matter. What matters is that when it goes wrong, it’s your problem.

It’s not for employees, and it’s not for people thinking about starting a business someday. It’s a place for owners to honestly talk about money, managing people, and making big decisions when things get tough. It’s also not for anybody whose first move is a pitch. Everyone here has something to sell. Our rule is to help first, and once we build relationships, we can do business together.

And it’s not for someone who isn’t ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work. This is a working group, not a shelf full of courses and chapters of theory. Let’s get you moving on what you need to get done right now.

On-demand support
  • The legal hotline

    Presented by Athena Legal Solutions. Owners who do this for a living, answering the quick question so you don't sit on it for a month.

  • The tech hotline

    Provided by Tech Lab. Same deal, for the thing that broke this morning.

  • The bookkeeping hotline

    Presented by Money Masters Bookkeeping. Before your accountant tells you in April.

Three rules of the SBOC
  • Bring what you're stuck on

  • Show up and help

  • Check in once a week

    To support your fellow members.

Nobody showed me either.

I spent over 20 years in radio. Then I owned a business, and I found out fast that nobody shows you how. I started this group on June 1, 2020, because every support system an owner had just closed at once, and I figured if we were going to figure it out, we should figure it out together. Six years later that’s still the whole idea.

If you want a feel for the community, tune in to our daily weekday show, Businessing with Pat Miller. It’s what the group sounds like before you walk in.

Brad Herda

It is a place to learn from amazing people! When you are a small business owner, there are few places to go to to have your real problems solved and direction provided. The ROI of my time and money invested is better than most other groups of associations I have been part of in the past!

Brad

Nobody taught you how to run a business.

The reason to join is figuring out what to do next. Not doing it alone is the bonus. It’s Your Dream. Don’t Grow It Alone®. Six years in, that’s how I figure out what to do next. It’s why I get Fridays off.