Why isn't your small business showing up on Google or getting recommended by AI?

You have a website. You offer a great service. But when potential customers search for what you do, your competitors show up instead.

So how do you fix that without spending thousands of dollars on SEO?

In this episode of Small Business Pivots, business coach Michael D. Morrison sits down with Matt Diamante, founder of Hey Tony, an SEO agency that helps businesses improve their visibility on Google and in AI-powered search results.

Matt breaks down search engine optimization (SEO), answer engine optimization (AEO), and generative engine optimization (GEO) in plain English. More importantly, he explains what small-business owners can do themselves to improve their online visibility.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• Why SEO, AEO, and GEO share many of the same fundamental principles.
• The biggest website mistake Matt sees small businesses making.
• Why every important service you offer should have its own webpage.
• How to discover the actual questions your customers are asking online.
• How to use AI to create more authentic, helpful website content.
• Why copying AI-generated blog posts directly onto your website is a mistake.
• How long your blog posts should really be.
• Why answering the customer's question immediately matters.
• How to connect blog posts to your service pages through internal links.
• A simple weekly SEO routine that takes approximately one to two hours.
• Why Google rankings and AI recommendations can take time to develop.
• When hiring an SEO agency makes sense—and when it doesn't.
• Why your involvement still matters when working with a marketing agency.
• How to improve your online visibility even when you have a limited marketing budget.

Matt also introduces a free tool, FindQuestions.com, that helps business owners discover questions people are asking about their products and services.

During the interview, Michael tests the tool live using business coaching as an example and immediately discovers questions that real business owners may be searching for.

The biggest takeaway?

You don't need to understand every marketing acronym or hire an expensive agency to begin improving your online visibility.

Start by clearly explaining what you do, answering your customers' questions, and consistently improving your website.

Connect with Matt Diamante

Hey Tony: https://heytony.ca

Free customer question research tool: https://findquestions.com

Find Matt Diamante and Hey Tony on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok for ongoing SEO tips.

Connect with Michael D. Morrison

Business coaching: https://www.michaeldmorrison.com/

Subscribe to Small Business Pivots for weekly conversations about growing your business, improving your systems, and becoming a more effective business owner.

Support the show

1. Want professional business coaching with the podcast host, Michael D. Morrison?
https://www.michaeldmorrison.com

2. Want to set up a FREE business consultation with the podcast host, Michael D. Morrison?
https://www.michaeldmorrison.com/consultation

Connect and follow the podcast host, Michael D. Morrison to learn how to grow a successful business :

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeldmorrisonokc/

- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@michaeldmorrisonokc

- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MichaelDMorrisonOKC

- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaeldmorrisonokc/

- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@michaeldmorrisonokc

Email the podcast host, Michael D. Morrison: Michael@MichaelDMorrison.com

How can small-business owners use AI to save time, improve productivity, and build better business systems without getting overwhelmed?

Artificial intelligence is changing how businesses operate. But with so many AI tools, platforms, agents, and automation options available, many business owners are spending more time experimenting with technology than actually improving their businesses.

In this episode of Small Business Pivots, business coach Michael D. Morrison interviews Alan Nehemy, an AI business consultant with Metamorphosis Worldwide, about how small-business owners can use artificial intelligence more strategically.

Alan brings experience in engineering, business intelligence, IT leadership, process improvement, and business operations. After years of watching companies grow by requiring managers to work longer hours, he began focusing on how technology could help organizations work differently.

Rather than chasing the newest AI tool, Alan encourages business owners to understand their processes first and then identify where AI can create meaningful value.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• How to start using AI in your small business.
• Why AI can make business owners busier instead of more productive.
• How to get better responses from ChatGPT, Claude, and other AI platforms.
• Why asking AI to interview you can dramatically improve the context behind its responses.
• What AI agents are and how they differ from traditional automation.
• Why lead generation, lead conversion, and customer fulfillment are three essential business systems.
• How to identify processes that could benefit from AI.
• Why learning one AI platform thoroughly may be better than paying for several.
• How to use AI to extract valuable information from meeting transcripts.
• Why human oversight remains important when automating business tasks.
• How AI can support marketing, content creation, and business operations.

Alan also shares how he uses AI to review meeting transcripts, identify video clips, and automate portions of his own content production process.

The biggest takeaway: Don't start by asking what AI can do. Start by understanding what your business needs to accomplish, then determine how AI can help.

Whether you're just getting started with AI or exploring AI agents and automation, this conversation will help you think more strategically about using technology to improve your business.

Connect with Alan Nehemy

Metamorphosis Worldwide: https://metamorphosesworldwide.com

Connect with Michael D. Morrison

Business coaching: https://www.michaeldmorrison.com/

Subscribe to Small Business Pivots for weekly conversations about business growth, leadership, entrepreneurship, and building a business that doesn't depend on you for everything.

Support the show

1. Want professional business coaching with the podcast host, Michael D. Morrison?
https://www.michaeldmorrison.com

2. Want to set up a FREE business consultation with the podcast host, Michael D. Morrison?
https://www.michaeldmorrison.com/consultation

Connect and follow the podcast host, Michael D. Morrison to learn how to grow a successful business :

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeldmorrisonokc/

- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@michaeldmorrisonokc

- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MichaelDMorrisonOKC

- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaeldmorrisonokc/

- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@michaeldmorrisonokc

Email the podcast host, Michael D. Morrison: Michael@MichaelDMorrison.com

Is your business struggling to grow because everything still depends on you?

Many small-business owners build successful companies by doing everything themselves. They sell. They solve problems. They make decisions. They manage employees.

But eventually, the approach that helped build the business can become the very thing preventing it from growing.

In this episode of Small Business Pivots, business coach Michael D. Morrison sits down with entrepreneur, fractional executive, coach, and ExitGuide founder Eric Grafstrom to discuss how entrepreneurs can build, scale, and eventually prepare a business for life beyond the founder.

Eric has spent decades in entrepreneurship and technology, including time as an early employee of the company that became Broadcast.com. Today, he works with entrepreneurs and business owners at multiple stages of the business journey.

In this conversation, Eric breaks down the stages of building a business—from validating an idea before investing significant money to gaining customers, hiring the right people, overcoming the founder bottleneck, and preparing for an eventual exit.

You'll learn:

• How to validate a business idea before investing heavily in it.
• Why entrepreneurs should talk to potential customers before building.
• The difference between starting a startup and starting a traditional small business.
• Why you should build the smallest version of your idea that customers will actually buy.
• How early customers help reveal what your business really needs.
• Why the founder eventually becomes a bottleneck.
• How to hire people who are better than you in critical areas.
• Why talented employees need ownership instead of micromanagement.
• How delegation and trust help a business scale.
• Why owner dependency can make a business harder to sell.
• When business owners should begin preparing for an exit.
• Why your physical, mental, and spiritual health matter as much as business growth.

Eric also explains why entrepreneurship should be viewed as a journey rather than a single make-or-break business venture. Failed ideas, mistakes, and difficult seasons can provide experience that makes an entrepreneur stronger the next time around.

And when your company begins growing, Eric says the owner's role has to change.

You can't remain responsible for every sale, decision, customer issue, and operational detail and expect the business to grow indefinitely.

At some point, you have to build a team you trust—and let them do what you hired them to do.

The big takeaway: Building a scalable business isn't about becoming capable of doing everything. It's about building a company that no longer requires you to.

If you're trying to start a business, scale an existing company, delegate more effectively, or eventually sell your business, this episode provides a practical look at the entire entrepreneurial journey.

Connect with Eric Grafstrom

Eric Grafstrom: https://ericgrafstrom.com

ExitGuide: https://exitguide.com

Connect with Michael D. Morrison

Business coaching: https://www.michaeldmorrison.com/

Subscribe to Small Business Pivots for weekly conversations helping business owners get unstuck, grow their companies, and build businesses that don't depend on them for everything.

Support the show

1. Want professional business coaching with the podcast host, Michael D. Morrison?
https://www.michaeldmorrison.com

2. Want to set up a FREE business consultation with the podcast host, Michael D. Morrison?
https://www.michaeldmorrison.com/consultation

Connect and follow the podcast host, Michael D. Morrison to learn how to grow a successful business :

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeldmorrisonokc/

- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@michaeldmorrisonokc

- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MichaelDMorrisonOKC

- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaeldmorrisonokc/

- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@michaeldmorrisonokc

Email the podcast host, Michael D. Morrison: Michael@MichaelDMorrison.com

How do you scale a small business when everything depends on you?

Growing a business takes more than working harder, hiring employees, or opening another location. It requires strong leadership, documented systems, clear expectations, and the ability to let go.

In this episode of Small Business Pivots, business coach Michael D. Morrison sits down with Jenna Bowden, founder of Delta Crown Hair Extensions, to discuss how she transformed her salon business after years of leadership challenges and costly mistakes.

Jenna started her salon at 25 with no previous leadership experience. She admits she made significant hiring and management mistakes and lost her entire team three separate times.

Instead of giving up, she learned to develop managers, delegate responsibility, seek outside guidance, and build the systems necessary to operate a business that doesn't depend on her for every decision.

Today, Delta Crown has expanded into franchising, with eight locations sold at the time of recording.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• How to scale a small business with systems and processes.
• Why leadership mistakes can cause employee turnover.
• How to delegate without losing control of your business.
• Why developing managers helps business owners step away from daily operations.
• How to create standard operating procedures (SOPs) employees actually use.
• Why clear expectations and onboarding improve employee development.
• How to stop being the person everyone goes to for answers.
• Why hiring the right people matters when building a team.
• How specializing in one service can differentiate your business.
• Why Jenna's decision to focus on hair extensions helped increase revenue.
• What business owners should consider before franchising.
• Why coaching, mentorship, and HR guidance can help owners navigate unfamiliar challenges.

Jenna also shares how narrowing her salon's focus to hair extensions contributed to a reported 30% revenue increase within approximately three months.

The conversation explores the operational changes that helped make her business replicable, including documented procedures, employee training, a distinctive service model, and leadership development.

The big takeaway: If you want to grow beyond what you can personally manage, you need to build a business where people know what to do, how to do it, and who is responsible.

Whether you're struggling with employee accountability, constantly answering questions, trying to delegate, or preparing to expand your business, this episode offers practical lessons from an entrepreneur who learned through experience.

Connect with Jenna Bowden

Delta Crown Hair Extensions: https://deltacrown.com

Instagram: @jenna.ceo

Connect with Michael D. Morrison

Business coaching: https://www.michaeldmorrison.com/

Subscribe to Small Business Pivots for weekly conversations helping small-business owners get unstuck, grow their businesses, and develop stronger teams.

Support the show

1. Want professional business coaching with the podcast host, Michael D. Morrison?
https://www.michaeldmorrison.com

2. Want to set up a FREE business consultation with the podcast host, Michael D. Morrison?
https://www.michaeldmorrison.com/consultation

Connect and follow the podcast host, Michael D. Morrison to learn how to grow a successful business :

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeldmorrisonokc/

- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@michaeldmorrisonokc

- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MichaelDMorrisonOKC

- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaeldmorrisonokc/

- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@michaeldmorrisonokc

Email the podcast host, Michael D. Morrison: Michael@MichaelDMorrison.com

Struggling to generate consistent leads for your small business? You don't need a massive audience or a viral video to attract customers. You need a repeatable lead generation system.

In this episode of Small Business Pivots, host Michael D. Morrison sits down with Scott Voelker, entrepreneur and co-founder of Brand Creators, to discuss how small-business owners can use YouTube, valuable content, and email marketing to attract the right audience, build trust, and turn viewers into paying customers.

Scott has spent more than 18 years building businesses, from photography and digital education to e-commerce and content-driven marketing. Today, he helps coaches, consultants, and service professionals generate steady leads through a simple approach built around one YouTube video per week.

What you'll learn:

• How to generate consistent leads without relying entirely on paid advertising.
• Why a small, targeted audience can be more valuable than thousands of disengaged followers.
• How to use YouTube videos as long-term marketing assets.
• Why useful, problem-solving content attracts potential customers.
• How to turn video viewers into email subscribers using a lead magnet.
• How to nurture leads through personal, value-driven email marketing.
• Why Scott prioritizes YouTube, email, and podcasting over constantly posting on every social platform.
• How AI is changing content marketing and why authentic relationships still matter.
• How to approach SEO and answer engine optimization without obsessing over keywords.
• How to build a repeatable content system around one video per week.
• Why lead generation begins with knowing exactly whom you help and what problem you solve.

Scott also shares the story of a client who generated two new customers worth approximately $12,500 combined from a YouTube channel with just 109 subscribers.

Whether you're trying to get more customers, improve your small-business marketing, or stop spending money on strategies that aren't producing results, this conversation offers a practical approach to building a lead generation system that can continue working long after you publish your content.

Start with one question: Who do you help, what problem do you solve, and how do you solve it?

Connect with Scott Voelker

Brand Creators: https://brandcreators.com

Free Steady Leads Playbook: https://steadyleadsplaybook.com

Connect with Michael D. Morrison

Business coaching: https://www.michaeldmorrison.com/

Subscribe to Small Business Pivots for weekly conversations about overcoming business challenges, improving leadership, and growing your small business.

Support the show

1. Want professional business coaching with the podcast host, Michael D. Morrison?
https://www.michaeldmorrison.com

2. Want to set up a FREE business consultation with the podcast host, Michael D. Morrison?
https://www.michaeldmorrison.com/consultation

Connect and follow the podcast host, Michael D. Morrison to learn how to grow a successful business :

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeldmorrisonokc/

- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@michaeldmorrisonokc

- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MichaelDMorrisonOKC

- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaeldmorrisonokc/

- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@michaeldmorrisonokc

Email the podcast host, Michael D. Morrison: Michael@MichaelDMorrison.com

Promoting from within can be one of the best ways to develop your people and show employees there's room to grow. But being great at the work doesn't automatically mean someone knows how to lead the people doing it.

Abbey Louie has spent her career helping organizations solve that problem.

Abbey is a leadership coach and trainer who spent 13 years at Boeing designing and managing leadership development programs before launching her own consulting practice. Today, she coaches leaders, leadership teams, and especially new managers on becoming more confident and capable.

In this episode of Small Business Pivots, Michael D. Morrison and Abbey discuss how small-business owners can identify potential leaders, promote from within, develop new managers, and avoid some of the common mistakes that hurt employee performance and company culture.

Abbey explains why new managers often struggle to let go of the work they used to do, how well-intentioned leaders can actually hurt employee development by constantly stepping in to help, and why leaders need to distinguish between a true performance problem and simply a matter of personal preference.

You'll also hear practical advice for navigating the difficult transition from buddy to boss, developing employees through consistent coaching, creating effective one-on-ones, and hiring people who actually fit your company's culture.

And when communication, morale, accountability, and teamwork all seem broken, Abbey explains why the solution may begin somewhere surprisingly simple:

Clarity.

Clear roles. Clear responsibilities. Clear expectations. Clear goals. And clear measures of success.

In This Episode You'll Learn:

• How to identify leadership potential in current employees
• Why your best employee isn't automatically your best manager
• How to promote from within successfully
• How to navigate the transition from buddy to boss
• Why new managers struggle with delegation
• The difference between preference and performance
• How avoiding micromanagement can lead to being too hands-off
• Why great leaders coach instead of constantly rescuing
• How to create effective employee one-on-ones
• Why leadership development requires consistent rhythms
• How to hire employees who fit your culture
• How core values can improve hiring decisions
• Why clear roles and responsibilities reduce workplace conflict
• Where to start when communication and morale are breaking down
• Why business owners need to see themselves as coaches

If you've promoted someone because they were great at their job—or you're trying to determine who on your team is ready to lead—this conversation will help you think differently about what happens after the promotion.

Support the show

1. Want professional business coaching with the podcast host, Michael D. Morrison?
https://www.michaeldmorrison.com

2. Want to set up a FREE business consultation with the podcast host, Michael D. Morrison?
https://www.michaeldmorrison.com/consultation

Connect and follow the podcast host, Michael D. Morrison to learn how to grow a successful business :

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeldmorrisonokc/

- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@michaeldmorrisonokc

- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MichaelDMorrisonOKC

- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaeldmorrisonokc/

- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@michaeldmorrisonokc

Email the podcast host, Michael D. Morrison: Michael@MichaelDMorrison.com

What if the employee problem frustrating you isn't entirely an employee problem?

When employees aren't performing, aren't engaged, or don't seem committed, it's easy for business owners to point outward.

Meredith Bell suggests starting somewhere else:

Look in the mirror.

Meredith is President and Co-Founder of Grow Strong Leaders, a company she has built alongside her two business partners for 35 years. For more than three decades, she's studied what it takes for leaders not only to change their behavior—but to make those changes last.

In this episode of Small Business Pivots, Michael D. Morrison and Meredith explore how leadership has evolved from command-and-control management to a more collaborative approach built around self-awareness, communication, listening, trust, and genuinely understanding the people you lead.

Meredith explains why one of the most valuable questions a business owner can ask an employee is:

"What's one thing I could do to be a better leader for you?"

But asking isn't enough. Great leaders must be willing to hear the answer without becoming defensive, making excuses, or immediately trying to prove they're right.

You'll also hear how 360-degree feedback can reveal leadership blind spots, why confidence and humility can coexist, how your own thoughts influence workplace relationships, and why great leaders create an environment where people feel valued and capable of growing.

Meredith also shares lessons from an unusually successful 35-year business partnership, including why shared values matter, how partners can stay in their lanes without competing, why ego can destroy collaboration, and how direct feedback can actually strengthen relationships.

In This Episode You'll Learn:

• Why employees may respond differently to today's leadership styles
• How to recognize your leadership blind spots
• The role self-awareness plays in becoming a better leader
• One question every leader should ask employees
• Why listening may be a leader's most important communication skill
• How confidence and humility work together
• Why leaders need to set their egos aside
• How to give and receive feedback without becoming defensive
• What 360-degree feedback can reveal about your leadership
• Why employee development requires more than an assessment
• How to help employees stretch and grow
• What 35 years of business partnership teaches about trust
• Why shared values matter in business partnerships
• How business partners can navigate conflict
• Why sustainable leadership development takes practice over time

If you find yourself wondering why employees won't simply do what they're supposed to do, this conversation offers a different question:

What might they need from you as their leader?

Support the show

1. Want professional business coaching with the podcast host, Michael D. Morrison?
https://www.michaeldmorrison.com

2. Want to set up a FREE business consultation with the podcast host, Michael D. Morrison?
https://www.michaeldmorrison.com/consultation

Connect and follow the podcast host, Michael D. Morrison to learn how to grow a successful business :

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeldmorrisonokc/

- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@michaeldmorrisonokc

- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MichaelDMorrisonOKC

- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaeldmorrisonokc/

- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@michaeldmorrisonokc

Email the podcast host, Michael D. Morrison: Michael@MichaelDMorrison.com

Think your business needs more leads? You may be solving the wrong problem.

Small business owners often assume growth requires more marketing, more advertising, and more leads. But what happens when those leads are being poured into a leaky bucket?

Phil Risher says before spending another dollar generating leads, business owners need to understand what happens to the opportunities they already have.

Phil is the Founder and CEO of Phlash Consulting, where he helps home service businesses between $1 million and $10 million scale. His clients averaged 27% revenue growth last year, and his journey includes helping a home service company grow from $3 million to $5 million while increasing profit from approximately $300,000 to $1.2 million.

In this episode of Small Business Pivots, Michael D. Morrison and Phil break down the numbers, systems, and strategies business owners need to stop guessing about growth.

Phil shares the five numbers he uses to diagnose why a business is stuck, including leads, jobs, estimates sent, estimates closed, and new customers. He explains why booking rate and close rate matter before increasing marketing spend—and why businesses need to measure actual return on ad spend instead of celebrating cheap leads that don't become customers.

You'll also learn the four fundamental ways businesses generate leads, why local B2B referral partnerships can outperform expensive advertising, and how a CRM becomes essential as a company grows.

The conversation also explores one of the biggest shifts happening in marketing: AI search. Phil explains why answering real customer questions through useful content may help businesses become discoverable as consumers move from traditional search results toward AI-powered conversations.

Phil also shares his own experience getting stuck while building Phlash Consulting, why trading time for money limited his growth, how productizing his services changed the business, and why moving from a scarcity mindset toward buying back his time helped his company double.

In This Episode You'll Learn:

• Why more leads won't fix a broken sales process
• The five numbers that can diagnose where your business is stuck
• How to calculate and improve your booking rate
• Why your estimate close rate matters
• The four fundamental ways to generate leads
• How to build local B2B referral partnerships
• Why return on ad spend matters more than cost per lead
• How cold leads require a different sales process
• Why every lead needs to enter your CRM
• How follow-up prevents opportunities from disappearing
• How AI search is changing business discovery
• Why answering customer questions creates valuable content
• How AI agents can improve business efficiency
• Why trading time for money eventually limits growth
• How to buy back your time as your business grows
• Why what gets you to $1 million may not get you to $10 million

If you're spending more money on marketing but aren't seeing the revenue growth you expected, this episode may help you find the leak before you buy more leads.

Support the show

1. Want professional business coaching with the podcast host, Michael D. Morrison?
https://www.michaeldmorrison.com

2. Want to set up a FREE business consultation with the podcast host, Michael D. Morrison?
https://www.michaeldmorrison.com/consultation

Connect and follow the podcast host, Michael D. Morrison to learn how to grow a successful business :

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeldmorrisonokc/

- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@michaeldmorrisonokc

- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MichaelDMorrisonOKC

- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaeldmorrisonokc/

- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@michaeldmorrisonokc

Email the podcast host, Michael D. Morrison: Michael@MichaelDMorrison.com