Pod Insights Money Making Conversations Master Class Uplift: How to be a Successful Business Owner using Amazon Business. About this episode Hi, I'm Rushion McDonald, the host of the weekly Money Making Conversations Master Class show. This show provides interviews and information for everyone. It’s time to stop reading other people’s success stories and start living your own. Have you ever thought about starting a business? If so, why did – or didn’t – you do it? Rushion McDonald shared valuable insights on how to be a successful business owner and the role Amazon Business can play in streamlining operations. Keys to Business Success Hiring Wisely: Avoid hiring based on familiarity or budget alone—background checks and qualifications matter. Budgeting & Planning: Many businesses fail because they lack a financial plan before launching. Time Management: Running a business requires dedication—McDonald wakes up at 4:30 AM daily to stay ahead. Consistency & Trust: Businesses must be reliable—whether it’s keeping inventory stocked or ensuring parking availability for customers. Learning from Mistakes: McDonald shared his early struggles, including hiring unqualified staff and failing to pay taxes properly. How Amazon Business Helps Bulk Purchasing: Saves time and money by allowing businesses to buy supplies in bulk. Smart Insights: Amazon Business Analytics helps track spending and optimize purchases. Efficiency & Convenience: Offers free accounts with no spending minimum, making it accessible for small businesses and large organizations alike. Flexible Payment Options: Businesses can choose multiple payment methods for streamlined transactions. McDonald emphasized that Amazon Business can help entrepreneurs focus on growth rather than administrative burdens. His advice encourages strategic decision-making and leveraging technology for success. The Amazon Business account is free, and there’s no spending minimum. #AMI #BEST #STRAW #SHMSSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcript 0:00 Speaker 00 This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed Human.
0:04 Speaker 01 When you're a business owner, interested in expanding to new markets, there's a lot to consider and countless questions to answer before making the call. The most important one being, are you ready? That's where ChatGPT comes in. Give it a go, add your files and ask it to help you map out different scenarios for the future of your business. So when growth is on the table, you got an expansion plan ready to implement. Get started at ChatGPT.com. This episode is brought to you by Amazon Business.
0:37 Speaker 01 Hi, I'm Rashawn McDonald, the host of the weekly Money Making Conversation Masterclass Show. This show provides interviews and information for everyone. It's time to stop reading other people's success stories and start living your own. If you want to be a guest on my show, Money Making Conversation Masterclass, then visit my website, moneymakingconversations.com. If you have a product, you're an influencer, an entrepreneur, a small business owner, then you want to click the be a guest button, fill out your information, press submit, and that information will come directly to me. And guess what? You'll be on the show with me. How about that? Good. Now, let's get this show started. Have you ever thought about starting a business?
1:21 Speaker 01 If so, why did or didn't you do it? Have you ever hired the wrong people and didn't do a background check? Have you maybe even hired relatives because your family recommended them? Like your mother, your mama? Have you ever hired someone just because they fit into your budget, but they didn't have the knowledge or do the job correctly? Come on now. What about starting a business without a budget? Or going into business with someone you didn't really know? Have I hit a nerve here? Maybe I have, and some of you think what I'm saying isn't that big of a deal. Think again, think twice on that now.
2:03 Speaker 01 Well, I'm here to tell you that it is, and no one knows that better than me. How did I know this? Because I had to graduate from the dumb dumb school. That's right, School of Hard Knocks, to get where I am today. And I almost lost my business in the process. Okay, let's go down memory lane. It ain't good for me, but hey, I'm trying to help everybody out. It's the honesty, you know? Raise your hand in the classroom time. In 2014, I created my company called 3815 Media Inc., a now multi-award winning marketing and branding production company in Atlanta, Georgia. Wouldn't always like that now.
2:44 Speaker 01 I started my company as an idea and began hiring people to fill the open positions. Were they the best qualified people for the position? No, but I knew them. I had long-term relationships with them, and I believe they could do certain things. That's the number one mistake most business owners make. They hire people because they feel comfortable with them, not because they're the best person to hire. Best of all, I had no control, or the worst of all, I had no control of my admin, my budget, and I balance, and my revenue was non-existent, which means I hired people and didn't even have a plan to make money.
3:25 Speaker 01 By the time 2023 rolled around, the doors to my company were about to close. I had to make some tough decisions. Yet here I am today, giving you advice on how not to make the same mistakes that I did. How did I manage to recover from this situation? By recognizing where I went wrong, correcting the issues that I had faced, and most importantly, figuring out what I wanted for my company. I had to make hard choices. I had to make hard decisions. I had to have a plan in place. I had to have a budget. I had to look myself in the eye and say, "Rashawn McDonald, you are screwing up."
4:04 Speaker 01 That's why I'm doing this show. So you won't have to look in the mirror. Maybe you will, maybe you're looking in that mirror right now. Maybe you are, and maybe you should. Cause it's honesty time, this show about honesty now. Now I'm here to share that lesson that I've learned with you, my listening audience. To help me do that, I partnered up with Amazon Business. A platform launched in 2015 by Amazon, who has spent the past 30 years gathering critical insights that could benefit your business and make you a more efficient decision maker. Let me tell you here, listen up. What I did not know was that Amazon has long known that businesses and organizations were shopping for office supplies and other goods in bulk on its store.
4:47 Speaker 01 To better serve us, the company launched Amazon Business in 2015. It's your one stop shop to simplify buying and you can create a free account today, right now. Right now, free account right now. Businesses and organizations of all sizes, local hair salon, schools, nonprofits, hospitals, global corporations and government agencies can open an Amazon Business account. The account is free and there's no spending minimum. I'm here to tell you that running a business takes a lot of your time. You have artists to play, expenses to track, and people to manage. Sometimes it feels like there are never enough hours in that day. 24 hours, I always tell people, that ain't enough time for me sometime. Basically, all I'm saying is that we could all use some more hours in the day.
5:31 Speaker 01 That's where Amazon Business comes in. They're truly a time saver. Because they offer smart insights to help you make the most of the limited hours you have in a day. Listen up everybody, listen up. Amazon Business Analytics is available with your Amazon Business account. It gives you visibility into your organization's purchase history. Amazon Business Analytics helps you identify opportunities to optimize spend and make better purchasing decisions. That's all this is about. It's about spending your money wisely, knowing how you're spending it, seeing the history of spending your money. That's what Amazon Business brings to the table. Improve visibility.
6:13 Speaker 01 Into spend identify purchasing trends by tracking purchases made by individuals and groups within your organization. Optimize spending that uses reports to identify opportunities for optimizing spend such as a supplier consolidation, bulk purchasing and tax exemptions. It offers easy reconciliation and the ability to compare order and payment history, invoices received and payments made with the help of their reconciliation reports. Access to multiple reports can be valuable and you can choose from any one of the available reports such as orders, shipments, returns, refunds and reconciliation to view and download the information you need.
6:56 Speaker 01 Now that's freeing up some of your time in your day because Amazon Business handles the heavy lifting. So you can finally focus on growing your business instead of drowning in admin. Listen up. From customized recommendations to real time spend tracking and delivery options tailored to your schedule. They've got your back every step of the way. Why not spend less time sweating the small stuff and more time crushing your goals? It's about winning. That's what this show about helping you win. Or maybe even sneaking some well-earned vacation time with your friends or family. The Amazon Business account is free and there's no spending minimum. Do you have time for your business? I love it.
7:41 Speaker 01 People want to start a business, but do they have time or do they have a set of time? Do they understand what it takes to run a business? I tell people this all the time. I wake up at 4:30 a.m. Soon as I say the word 4:30 a.m., they go, "Ooh." Hey, hey, hey, just Monday through Friday. People always ask, "What are you doing at 4:30 a.m.?" Well, first of all, I'm waking up. And I tell everybody, everybody, every time. When I wake up at 4:30, when that alarm clock goes off, I am not a happy camper. But you gotta have rules in place to win. At 4:30, I get up. Woo, I go stretch. Nowadays, I'm trying to reduce stress in my life. I used to watch TV and stretch at the same time.
8:26 Speaker 01 So now I don't do it, watch TV anymore. I just stretch for, it gives me a nice relaxing time, 30 to 45 minutes where I'm just stretching and just thinking about things and just kind of like meditating. So I do that. Then I get, then I read the newspaper, then I start my day, I get a go to the office, and I'm ready. I'm all prepared and ready to go. And that's what I have to tell people. You have to have a starting time. Anybody who says, "Hey, I'm not a morning person," or anybody who hits a snooze person, or hits a snooze budding, that person right there is not trying to be successful, not at all. I once gave a speech at the Lethonia Chamber of Commerce, which is right outside of Atlanta, Georgia.
9:10 Speaker 01 They invited me to speak about how to be a successful business owner. Now, when you talk about success, you have to admit your mistakes. And here's one of them, okay? I got many, but here's one of them in particular that I want to tell you about. In 1992, that's when Def Comedy Jam was big on HBO. I opened a comedy club in Houston, Texas. It was called Hip Hop Comedy Stop. I had just done Def Comedy Jam. Me and Dave Chappelle shared the same stage. I went into business with somebody I didn't even know. Hear me now. I went into the business with somebody I didn't even know. He was a stand-up comic. I was a stand-up comic. We both like telling jokes. It made sense, right? So naturally, we thought we'd be good business partners.
9:54 Speaker 01 No background checks, no binding contract. That's like saying, "You love chicken? Your friend makes good chicken, so let's open a chicken business." It does not work like that. You're trying to run a business. I didn't know my partner's habits, his work ethics, or even if he knew how to run a business. But the club became incredibly popular. We had lines out the door. Tickets went on sale Monday, and we were sold out by Thursday. We were lucky. The club seated 250 people, and by 9:00 PM, the room was packed. I could sure, back then in 92, I'm sure I could have used a business like Amazon Business back then, especially with their bulk buying feature. Just dropping a little hint, it was before their time.
10:38 Speaker 01 But boy, I was doing a lot of bulk things. Toilet paper, napkins, glasses, drinks, water. I was doing a lot of bulk buying back then. If you're doing that bulk buying, listen up. That's what I'm talking about. This is what Amazon Business can bring to the table. If you're seeking a business partner with good or great name recognition, Amazon Business is open, available 24/7.
11:04 Speaker 02 Please, don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with more Money Making Conversations Masterclass.
11:13 Speaker 01 With ChatGPT, you can do more than get answers. You can get things done. When you're running a business and looking to expand, you need a clear view of the landscape before making any decisions. ChatGPT can help you prepare. Connect your Google Drive, point to relevant files and reports, and access to research competitors, industry forecasts, and market signals. It can turn the findings into a strategic deck and your team's template that you can review before presenting to your leadership team. Growing a business is ambitious, and ChatGPT can help you do it with confidence. Get started at chatgpt.com.
11:53 Speaker 02 Welcome back to the Money Making Conversations Masterclass, hosted by Rashawn McDonald. Money Making Conversations Masterclass continues online at moneymakingconversations.com. And follow Money Making Conversations Masterclass on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
12:08 Speaker 01 That's one time. Now, let's talk about making money versus managing money. Despite the success, I made a lot of huge mistakes. I already told you, lines at the door. We were raking it in. Guess what I forgot? Because I didn't worry about accounting. I already told you, my admin was messed up. I didn't have a budget, didn't have a plan. I didn't have none of that back then. I was worse back then. I forgot to pay taxes, y'all. Or I was not paying taxes like they ask you to pay taxes. Because you have to pay taxes on liquor. You have to pay taxes on the tickets that people buy. The money you make isn't always yours. It's not. If you pay $10, you owe taxes on some of that to somebody.
12:52 Speaker 01 I was just sending that $10 that I was getting. Because I didn't have a budget or understood business options. I was doing everything wrong. Now, entrepreneurs, listen up. Because we know the fastest group of entrepreneurs are women. Who are the fastest group? And they're particularly black women who are launching businesses smarter than I did. I'm telling you right now. I was selling out my comedy club, but couldn't pay myself. I was basically working for free. Why? Because I wasn't organized and I didn't budget properly. Never, never, never, never knew when to order supplies. Hear me? Never knew when to order supplies.
13:34 Speaker 01 Again, that's why I'm dropping that Amazon Business tip on you. This is where Amazon Business can help you. When you are running a company, sometimes you don't have time to leave your office for items or send an employee or a volunteer if you're a nonprofit. A limited staff means you have limited time. Just as you can, limited time. A limited staff means you have limited time. Just as you can when shopping for home, you can buy for work on Amazon Business mobile app. Save time and increase purchasing agility by placing orders for business critical supplies on the go. Plus, you can access your business settings and use the app to scan your packages and
14:16 Speaker 01 seamlessly complete a three-way match no matter where you are. The user-friendly shopping experience of Amazon makes Amazon Business an easy charge for organizations and their buyers. New users can onboard quickly and intuitively compare products and prices from multiple sellers. With personalization powered by machine learning, this makes purchasing on Amazon Business unmatched. Amazon Business customers also benefit from Amazon's leading industry fulfillment and delivery with options for free, one or two-day shipping through Business Prime. Here's the next one. Another topic. The biggest mistake, no budget.
14:59 Speaker 01 Boy?
15:01 Speaker 01 Sometimes going down memory lane can be painful. Just let you guys know that. You can't open a business and then try to set a budget. If you do that, you're playing catch up. You'll wonder why all these people around you are getting paid and you are struggling. The reason most business owners fail is they never had a plan to begin with. Another reason people fail, they don't have time for their business. I see business owners who are open at 10 a.m. but arrive at the same time as their customers. Excuse me, excuse me, excuse me. I, I gotta open up. Okay, can you wait here for a few minutes till we get set up? Can you wait here? Okay. That's just an example of somebody who will not be open that long. You've seen restaurants that run out of menu items? I hate that. Can I get the shrimp?
15:47 Speaker 01 Uh, uh, you know, we just ran out of shrimp. How do you run out of something that's supposed to be on your menu? It's like going to McDonald's, they don't have fries. Cause that's where I go to McDonald's. I got to have my fries. If I went to a McDonald's and they didn't have fries, you know how mad I'd be? Because they are running a business, they will have fries. That's a failure of planning and consistency. You gotta plan for success. If you plan on making money, if you plan on having this on your menu, then you should plan on somebody buying it. And you should also plan on not running out when people ask for it. Cause once you go to a new business and they don't have some, then your credibility is shot that that person will come back.
16:34 Speaker 01 Why would I come back and I went there the first time, you didn't have what I want? Why would I trust you?
16:41 Speaker 01 That's why consistency is key.
16:45 Speaker 01 Consistency is key. If you drove by a store at night and the sign was off, you'd think they would close, right? If their sign was on some days but off on others, you stopped trusting them. That goes for your business. Inconsistency kills trust. Whether shopping for home or work, people value Amazon. I know I do for its convenience, selection, and value. But businesses and organizations, from sole proprietorships to large enterprises, governments, schools, and healthcare organizations, have different needs than individual buyers. That's why they created Amazon Business.
17:27 Speaker 01 Signing up is easy and creating an account is free. F R E E.
17:36 Speaker 01 I'm not tired. I'm just letting you guys know. I hope you're listening. I know everybody go, Richard, are you partnering up with Amazon Business? What, what are you, are you? Hey, I'm just telling you how I am in a relationship that's making my business today very, very successful. And I'm asking you to look at the big side. Look at the relationship. You probably already shopping on Amazon as an individual. Move it over to your business.
18:07 Speaker 01 Consider it. The account is, to set up an account is free. Let me break it down to you. We talked about a lot. Hiring the wrong people is a mistake. We all can agree on that now, right? Come on now. We can all agree on that, right? Hiring family members can be a mistake if they're not qualified. We all agree on that. And let me throw this in here. Do not hire a family member if you're not hiring, hiring them the wrong way you would hire an employee that you didn't know. Ask for their resume. Ask them to fill out a job application. Ask them to come in and be interviewed. Ask to screen them the same way you would screen someone you did not know. Do not lower your standards of hiring for somebody who's a family member.
18:53 Speaker 01 If you're a restaurant, a comedy club, a place of entertainment, parking spaces matter. I didn't believe that, open my comedy club. Yeah, we had a line down the street, but guess what? They didn't have a line to park. There's a park along the street. Oh, my goodness.
19:16 Speaker 01 Parking matters, everybody. I had to hire security, so I had to hire additional security to walk up and down the street, make sure nobody's window was bust, broken in, no car was broken into. It was, man. Like, again, I wasn't paying myself because I was paying taxes. I was paying, I didn't have a budget. I was paying for additional security. Woo, now, now, now, that's the old Rashawn. Come on now, come on now, let's go to Martin's, that's the old Rashawn now. With Amazon Business, you pay the way you want. You can choose from multiple payment methods and easily set up your account to purchase efficiently. Amazon Business is your one-stop shop for instant volume savings with bulk purchasing.
20:00 Speaker 01 Shop products for office, break room, janitorial supplies. Whether you need two or 2,000 items, Amazon Business has your bulk supplies need covered. Track spend, monitor purchasing patterns, and use that information to facilitate improved decision-making. Tools such as Amazon Business Analytics. If you want to be a successful business owner, here are the key takeaways. Ask yourself, do you have time for your business? Can we get a check? Do you have time? If you have, well, can we check that off? If you say yes. Don't hire inexperienced employees just because they're cheap. Is it anybody that you have on your staff that's unqualified, but you hiring them because they fit your budget?
20:45 Speaker 01 You might want to consider reevaluating that person, or at least put them on probation, on a probation period, so they can get qualified. If they're not qualified, you may have to let them, let them go. Don't hire friends or family unless they're fully qualified. I have said this since I started and I'm not getting off of this. You know why? Cause I did it. I hired family members. That is like the curse of Rashawn McDonald. I love my family members, but boy, they were not qualified. Friends I've known for 20 years, they were qualified, but they would not qualify what I needed them to do for the company that I opened. Key right there.
21:29 Speaker 01 Just because you go to happy hour with the people, just because you go to lunch with these people, just because they come by and barbecue in your backyard with you. Just because they come by and barbecue in the backyard with you, don't mean that's the person you should be putting on salary.
21:46 Speaker 01 Plan for parking. That's so key. Whether you're buying or leasing.
21:53 Speaker 01 Count your spaces.
21:56 Speaker 01 Just because that building fits, oh, I love this building, it's perfect. But where your customers are going to park. Also, look at your other competition. Is the parking not clean in the daytime? But at night, all those spaces you saw open are gone? So make sure you evaluate your parking correctly. Set a budget before you launch and don't play catch up. Let me tell you something.
22:22 Speaker 01 If you can't set a budget, why are you opening your business? Cause how you gonna qualify? How you gonna make money or how much money you need to make? If you don't have a budget. I've learned these lessons the hard way and I want to help you avoid the same mistakes I made. But if you want to work with a brand that makes your life easier, then Amazon Business can help you win. It's win. W I N. Capital W I N. Remember, always leave with your gifts and keep winning. This is Rashawn McDonald. Hey, I appreciate you taking the time. You made it all the way to this end. That means I did the right thing and I kept your attention. Cause I wanted to let you know that Amazon Business makes a difference in my life.
23:07 Speaker 01 The account is free. Set it up and go win. This has been another edition of Money Making Conversation Masterclass hosted by me, Rashawn McDonald. Thank you to our guests on the show today and thank you, our listening audience. Now, if you want to listen to any episode or want to be a guest on the show, visit moneymakingconversations.com. Our social media handle is Money Making Conversation. Join us next week and remember to always leave with your gifts. Keep winning.
23:46 Speaker 01 When you're a business owner, interested in expanding to new markets, there's a lot to consider and countless questions to answer before making the call. The most important one being, are you ready? That's where ChatGPT comes in. Give it a go. Add your files and ask it to help you map out different scenarios for the future of your business. So when growth is on the table, you've got an expansion plan ready to implement. Get started at chatgpt.com.
Previous Uplift: She oversees largest Black owned bank where paycheck paid 2 days early and 100,000+ Surcharge-Free ATMs. Next Brand Building: She helps define a brand-based company’s reputation, not just its visual identity. Page updated November 13, 2026 · transcript and summary are machine-generated
