Hack My Business is a podcast featuring guest policymakers, CEOs, entrepreneurs, and more to help small businesses hack their way to success. Co-hosts Jesse Torres and Sid Voorakkara have partnered up to develop a special series spotlight on COVID-19 to help you navigate the current pandemic

SEASON 3

November 30, 2020

In this season 3 premiere episode, Mark Villalovos, marketing guru and Principal of Zenon Consulting, is back on the show! He is here to share his top 5 small business trends for next year. Taking into account the changes brought about by the pandemic, Mark has predicted what small businesses should lean into in order to thrive in 2021.

SEASON 2

November 23, 2020

Look forward to Season 3 premiering on November 30th! In the interim, Jesse is here to provide some quick tips to accelerate you and your business. This week he is sharing how he defines an entrepreneur and what it means to have an entrepreneurial mindset. How do entrepreneurs approach barriers and what sets them apart from the average?

November 16, 2020

From all of us at Hack My Business, thank you for listening to Season 2! We hope you enjoyed the season and look forward to what we have to share in Season 3, premiering on November 30th. In the interim, Jesse is here to provide some quick tips for you and your business during this planning time.

November 9, 2020

It's has been six long days since Election Day 2020 and hosts Jesse & Sid have some updates to discuss around the coming Covid-19 Vaccine, electoral votes, what we might expect of the coming winter and our new president announced: Joe Biden.

November 9, 2020

Last week was election week for 2020 and we may now know a lot about the outcomes but what about the nuances that effect HOW people vote, who it impacts and how one proposition's vote may affect another? Jesse & Sid hash out the details that will influence the effect of how we voted will have on ourselves, our communities, our small businesses, the economy and well...the country at large.

November 2, 2020

What does it mean to be innovative in a rural county tucked into the mountains of the Sierra Nevada? How does a county stand out, attract new businesses, and support their own unique economy? Cole Przybyla, the Director of InnovatIon and Business Assistance for the County of Tuolumne, is here to discuss his role in fostering new businesses and new ideas in his tight knit rural community.

October 26, 2020

No one can deny it is an incredible success to get a burgeoning business off the ground. But what is to be done when 2 to 3 years in, that small business begins to stagnate...or even worse, is faced with a disaster? How can a business grow and innovate well enough to weather unpredicted future storms?

October, 19th, 2020

What are the essential traits of a good manager? And what creates a motivated employee? Jesse and Sid share their own personal experiences on what makes a manager and their team successful. They reveal how they have both hired excellent employees and what they strive to do to foster the best and most successful performance from their team. 

October 12th, 2020

What we touch on today speaks to the entrepreneurial mindset, the idea of just doing it, just getting started, and that it's okay to rely on your instincts to get going. We bring on Emily Lau of The Little Bra Company and discuss practical lessons about what it means to run a business. You're going to make a lot of mistakes. And that's all part of the process.

October 5th, 2020

Podcasts are designed to create a relationship with your hoped for or existing audience  i.e your customer, your new demographic, your industry stake holders, etc. Hosts Jesse and Sid bring on their producer of Hack My Business and podcast production and consulting firm founder, Christina Barsi to talk about how podcasting can be used and leveraged in your business to create deep and authentic connections and how the creation process works.

September 28, 2020

Covid has changed the way companies market. There have been some clear failures and some fantastic standouts. And while many of the fundamentals of marketing remain the same, the dive into social media, new technology, and furious fact checking made evident during this pandemic have shifted priorities. Where do you find your customers and how can you be the most impactful in their spaces? How do you commit to your stance on current issues and show the meaningful work along with the talk? How do you stay on top of the trends while looking to the future opportunities? And how do you prioritize authenticity, increase relatability, and use the new tools to their greatest potential? These questions and more are what Jesse and Sid tackle in their episode this week.

September 21, 2020

In the midst of this global pandemic, outsmarting disaster has never been more important. Preparation, resources, and support are necessary to protect those small businesses that are the most vulnerable. Gurbax Sahota, President and CEO of the California Association of Local Economic Development, is here to share the part she has to play in disaster preparedness and lifting up the economy of local communities. 

September 14, 2020

The concept or idea of resiliency is thrown around a lot, especially during times of disaster, but what does it really mean to be resilient? How do you develop the right mindset and what practical actions can you take to become resilient? Or can you?  We dive into these questions and arrive at answers with our good friend Clare Briglio, Communications and Business Disruption Resource Director for the Economic Development Collaborative based in Ventura County. 

September 7, 2020

In this Season 2 premiere episode we are talking about the number one most requested area of support for small businesses – access to capital.  This episode is meant to give you some great insights to help you make the right financing decision for your business.

 SEASON 1

August 31, 2020

We wanted to share our three best practices when it comes to advocacy and provide some thoughts and insights into this fascinating and complicated arena. At its simplest form advocacy is the act of speaking in support of a person, place or cause. Advocacy can take many forms – it can be meeting with a local elected official to educate them on your industry, it can be issuing a newsletter on how a new law will impact your business or it can even be organizing a rally on a particular issue that you care about. 

August 24, 2020

Hack My Business hosts Sid and Jesse both own and manage business consulting firms and have been spending a lot of time lately talking about best practices around business development, which is an important activity, especially during uncertain times like this COVID-19 pandemic.   During one of their business development meetings, we were talking about how critical and challenging it can be to carve out enough time and energy to focus on business development.  So, we thought we’d share some of their best practices around time management and business development that you can apply to your own business. 

August 3, 2020

A very special guest joins hosts Jesse & Sid in this episode: Jennifer Wang of Jwang Consulting, who also happens to be the wife of Jesse Torres. They jump right into a high-level conversation of what it’s like to live in a household with dual entrepreneurs, the inspiration and support that comes from that, what It means To “Wangle”, the drive for perfection needed to work in the field of event planning and how to stay alive during a time where events have come to a halting stop.  Jennifer explains that “you have to be creative and organized in order to produce a high-level event in entertainment… [but] I get to project manage something fun”. The balance between right brain and left brain thought processes are what Jennifer illustrates in this passionate and practical conversation. 

July 27, 2020

As hosts Jesse & Sid talk with Joel, they notice the positive nature that CEO’s share and the willingness to not only embrace failure but thrive from it in each next venture.  Bigger Dot is a global print project management company based in Signal Hill, CA that provides custom, specialized and strategic print project solutions to industries such as performing arts, tech, education, aerospace, and corporate culture changers.  Some of their clients include the Hollywood Bowl, FedEx, Anthem and Grand Prix of Long Beach, to name a few. In this episode we talk with Joel about a few of our favorite topics: product making, motivation and business resurrection. 

July 20, 2020

When is the right time to jump into entrepreneurship? The journey can look different for everyone and for Angela her path was made up of one of intention, integrity and the desire to have an experience embedded with risk. Jesse and Sid  talk with Angela about starting a business at a moment of life change, how to best evaluate business partners, entering a saturated market with a new twist, how best to start a restaurant (one of the toughest businesses to start), delivering on a commitment to community during an unprecedented time like COVID-19 and how to turn a passion into a working business.

July 17, 2020

The Hack My Business team have a real conversation together about the value and power of creativity, producing this podcast and entrepreneurship with invited guest, Christina Barsi founder of Avant Haüs Media and executive producer of this podcast. 

July 13, 2020

Understanding the importance of creating a safe experience for her clients and community is an understatement for Sherry Younge. Not only has she kept up with the Covid-19 protocols, and created online spaces for her clients to learn how to cut their own hair through one-on-one coaching sessions but Sherry has made a conscious effort prior to Covid-19 to seek opportunities to address her community’s concern with gentrification by being very involved and visible since to opening of The Artform Studio. Sherry’s intentional and thoughtful approach to her business speaks to her ability to stay viable as we transition.

July 6, 2020

What does it really mean to pivot and stay connected and relevant to your existing customers while developing strategies to market to new ones? Jake Smith, Entertainment Sales Lead at Olson Visual boldly states that the reason they’ve been successful over the years has been by placing huge value in the quality of the product. And during this challenging transition- that has not changed. Through that level of care, customers can rely on feeling safe during a time that is so uncertain in every other aspect. 

June 29, 2020

Mark Herbert talks with hosts Jesse & Sid about what it means to advocate for policies that are important to entrepreneurs as well as making sure they have access to all the funds and tools they might need during their small business journey. 

June 22, 2020

“People who advocate always advocate”. How can one continue to put the issues that are most important forward and to motivate and mobilize, while your business’ current status is unsure of whether it will sink or swim? Gail expresses how leadership in advocacy starts with communication and finding ways to express the message and connect with those who are going to be most affected. 

June 15, 2020

Mark Villalovos guides us through the details of what it means to minimize the friction of a guest or customer returning to your business. How do we begin to prioritize safety, not only from the perspective of health but from a perspective of a new customer experience that breeds trust and care. 

June 12, 2020

Hosts Jesse Torres & Sid Voorakkara sit down to have an intimate conversation about the current civil unrest in this country, the black lives matter movement and what it means to be a person of color in the United States. 

June 10, 2020

Hosts Jesse Torres & Sid Voorakkara talk with Rachel on how she approaches effective policy and stakeholder development and her insights on how the COVID-19 has impacted retail in California and what the future holds for the industry.

June 2, 2020

Hosts Jesse Torres and Sid Voorakkara quickly partnered on developing and launching a website in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the effect it is having on small businesses and entrepreneurs. Jesse and Sid discuss the inception, creation and behavior of the site by inviting on special guest Lia Nitake, who has been spearheading and managing the development and operation of the site.