As a business owner, how often do you get to hear directly from experts in your industry? Every week on Behind the Review, a podcast from Yelp & Entrepreneur Media, host Emily Washcovick speaks to a Yelp reviewer and business owner to learn what makes both sides click.
Season two just wrapped and revealed small business secrets from pest control pros, personal trainers, two different magicians, and many more entrepreneurs like you. Check out the best of their advice below.
Don’t see your industry represented? Send your Yelp Business Page to podcasts@yelp.com for a chance to be featured on the next season of Behind the Review, launching in July.
Explore by industry:
Auto services
Beauty & spas
Cafes & bakeries
Entertainment
Fitness
Home services
Hotels & travel
Ice cream
Professional services
Restaurants
Retail
Auto services
Steve Lite, owner of Steve’s Auto Care
How a 5-star auto mechanic has driven customer loyalty on Yelp for 20 years
“A lot of places only look at what [business] they can get right now. That’s the big chain store dealership mentality: ‘Let’s shear the sheep,’ we call it in this business. Well, we’re looking at just giving the sheep a haircut so they keep coming back. It’s really [about] looking at the big picture, creating customers for life. And I’ve had customers that have been with me [for a long time]. I’ve seen their kids from babies to now driving cars to now having families. It’s a generational thing.”
Beauty & spas
Jessica French, co-owner of Oakwell Beer Spa
5 steps to building customer confidence
“Most people are pretty apprehensive before coming to Oakwell Beer Spa. [When they] hear ‘beer spa,’ the first thing that comes into people’s mind is this log cabin type of place, where there’s a vat of beer that’s Coors or PBR that you’re soaking in. And it does not convey the image that we offer. For us, reviews are an extremely important way for guests to know if this is an establishment that they want to visit or not.”
Cafes & bakeries
Be’Anka Ashaolu, co-owner of Nirvana Soul Coffee
5 ideas for small business ambiance that stands out
“[Our team is always] willing to talk to you and explain things, all the way down to the fact that we ‘table tap’—we go to individual tables and we ask people how they’re doing and we’ll offer water. We just try to put in little joyful moments in the experience that people are having.”
Dave Dreyfus, chef at Best Damn Cookies
Bake storytelling into your business: 3 branding ideas from Best Damn Cookies
“My whole life, I was unsure if [my eastern European culture] was that worthy of exploring. Did people want to know about it? For the longest time, I thought: ‘Not really. What am I gonna make, matzo ball soup?’ As time keeps going, I am more and more interested in articulating and showcasing my culture. Everybody’s perspective is inherently interesting, and we all deserve an opportunity to showcase where you’re from and who you are.”
Rachel Kellner, co-owner of Aigner Chocolates
5 tips for boosting your business’s reputation with media coverage
“We [hired a big PR firm] and got nothing. And then I started [writing press releases] myself, and I built those relationships, and now it’s to the point where I’ll literally text my media contacts and pitch them stories. I realized two things: Number one, the media likes to hear from business owners themselves, not PR companies. Number two, that you’re making their jobs easier by reaching out to them—you’re actually doing their job for them.”
Entertainment
Aaron Rabkin, owner of Trickery
How a solopreneur maintains a perfect 5-star rating on Yelp
“I don’t think that ‘if you build it, they will come’ is necessarily the classic approach to a business, but I’m really opposed to our current era, where there’s a lot of hype culture. For me, I wanna put all my bandwidth into the show. I want it to be the best show and experience possible. And if it’s meant to be seen and experienced, I think people will find out about it. Thankfully, that has worked for me, and it’s only gotten easier over time. The longer I’ve done it, the more people know about it.”
Spencer Horsman, co-owner of Illusions Bar & Theater
How to maintain your small business magic as you grow
“There is something to be said about ‘less is more.’ We have different performance spaces that seat either 40 people or 90 people… and we have found that having an intimate experience has actually been, hands down, better. With a smaller audience, it allows us to convey more appropriately how important each of those people is to us. When there’s 90 people, it’s a little bit harder to spread the love.”
Fitness
Miriam Fried, owner and head trainer at MF Strong
MF Strong’s Yelp journey—from starting her Yelp Page to getting her first client
“A big part of [social media]—especially if you use it for your business—is to be repetitive. Because if you posted five weeks ago, a new person coming to your page might not scroll back to see that… I always want the last few posts on my feed to give a lot of clarity into who I am, what I do, what I offer, and what I stand for. I’m constantly talking about the same subjects obviously in different ways, through reels or pictures or visuals. Just make sure that you are showing your values and [giving] lots of clarity into who you are.”
Carmen Sturniolo, owner of Ambitious Athletics
Overcoming the intimidation hurdle for first-time customers
“[First-time clients] come in for an initial starter session, and that gives us the opportunity to meet you, understand where you are and who you are as a person… It’s so we can have a conversation with you and just be ourselves and demonstrate our quality of training here and how we want to actually make a difference in health and fitness… because that’s important to us. That would be important to me if I walked into any gym—any business that I was investing in myself—to be known as somebody, not just a number.”
Nate Bennett, co-founder and coach at The Little Giant Muay Thai
One of America’s favorite gyms shares tips for creating a sense of belonging
“I was a waiter and [co-founder Kru Chon] was a bartender. I think that really helps us because when you’re working in the service industry, you gotta make sure everyone’s good. Is their food too cold? Did they get their drinks? Did you greet them or say ‘how are you?’ [Being an instructor is] just like serving. You go around, you make sure you talk to [students at least] three different times—fix their technique, that kind of stuff.”
Home services
Ben McAvoy, co-owner of Insectek Pest Solutions
Home service success: 4 tips for improving your customer service with empathy
“We hire based on character. By having a more laid-back, conversational interview, [we’ve found that] candidates let down their guard and divulge things they wouldn’t normally divulge in an interview, but that’s how it gives us insight into their character. That’s why we have been able to accumulate so many positive reviews—because we hire people who have good character traits, who have empathy, and who take it personally when they have to go back to a home because bugs popped back up.”
Travis Minor, co-owner of Bronco Pro Kleen
Tips from a top service pro: 3 principles for making customers for life
“Anytime we go into a customer’s home, we like to get feedback and walk the house with them. We want to know what their expectations are, and we want to be able to get them as much information as possible of what we can, and cannot do. For example, there’s certain stains we can get out and certain stains that we can’t. That’s not information you can really give customers over the phone, so when we first show up, that’s our first step. We want to make sure that we deliver on their expectations before we ever bring our equipment into the home.”
Hotels & travel
Angela Shen, founder of Savor the Wild Tours
Embracing change and reinvention in your small business
“The reason why I’m okay being in the trenches is because I am learning all new things every day. I didn’t have that anymore with [my previous business.] I wasn’t growing in this kind of capacity every day, and it feels good. I tell people all the time: You should be a lifetime learner. If you’ve stopped or you feel like, ‘I know enough. I’m a pro at this already.’ That’s no fun. I’m having way more fun today than I have had in years. And yes, I’m not making as much money, but that’s okay because I get to control my schedule. I get to decide what we’re gonna do.”
Bill Hunter, director of sales and marketing at Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass
How a Marriott hotel uses and responds to customer feedback
“When you get into a day-to-day routine, it’s easy to want to say ‘no’ because it’s human nature that you’re trying to survive and today’s just a Tuesday to you,” he said. “But to the customer, this is a big deal. What you have to do is think, ‘Okay, maybe we can’t do something a certain way, but here’s what we can do,’ and you start brainstorming with the customer. That’s really what hospitality is about: that can-do spirit.”
David Sodemann, co-owner of Boho Camper Vans
3 customer service tips to go the extra mile
“When we get word [about] a big life event such as a wedding, we’ll do what we can prior to make it a little extra special—a small touch, like putting balloons in the van or a card or a bottle of champagne. The renters appreciate that, and it gets everything off to just an exceptional start. When you start off with that trust and that excitement, and then if an issue does arise, they’re going to feel more comfortable talking to you about it and being honest. Ultimately, it’s like renting to a friend rather than renting to a customer.”
Ice cream
Kim Malek, co-owner and founder of Salt & Straw
How an ice cream shop chain keeps it local across 25 locations
“The ice cream is only 49% of the experience, and 51% is when you come in and [get what we call] ‘a moment of full face attention,’” Kim said. “When you get to the front of the line at Salt & Straw, we encourage [our team] to spend just a little more time than you might think would be logical with each guest and connect with them in their own way. [It’s about] coming to work and being your best self, not a cookie cutter person.”
Phil Harrell, co-owner of Sundae Scoop
5 tips for making your customer’s day
“Our mantra when we hire people is: Be nice, be clean, and be present. The ice cream is going to take care of itself—you don’t have to worry about that. What you do have to worry about is making sure the shop stays clean and making sure you’re presenting the best version of yourself. There is no script; I just want them to understand that what they say and who they are matters. Empowering them to be the best version of themselves is what we’re aiming for.”
Professional services
Wade Dickinson, owner of Heirloom Engravers
Carved with kindness: how an engraver conducts business with empathy
“[Being kind] is part of our job. When someone comes in with an urn that they need to have engraved, someone’s ashes that they love are going to go into it. They need us to reach out to them and take care of them for that little bit of time, and they need to walk away feeling like: ‘Okay… I can get through this.’ If we can give that little bit of light to somebody that’s in that position, that’s what we ought to be doing.”
Irma Cedeno, owner of Diáfano
Business founders roundtable: bonding through the entrepreneurial experience
“You need to start the process of delegating from day one, the day you start your business. Start to realize what areas that you’re not an expert at and that wouldn’t serve you to become an expert at. For example, I’m not interested in becoming an expert at social media, so eventually I had to hire a social media manager. And there are certain things within my business that I hold onto a little bit too tight, right? Those are the things that I have to start letting go of slowly.”
Restaurants
Miguel Pittman, co-owner of Sandra’s Next Generation
3 decades of inspiration from the family behind a Top 100 soul food spot
“The reason why [the restaurant business is] so challenging is because it has so many moving parts, and all the parts have to work together as a unit. That’s part of our success of being in business for 34 years—but we know that we are only as good as our last meal. And it’s true! You are only as good as your last meal because people are gonna remember the last meal. So as a business owner, you always have to be on the top of your game.”
Elizabeth Chan, co-owner of Adela’s Country Eatery
A roadmap for small business sustainability: lessons from the #5 restaurant on Yelp’s Top 100
“As a takeout-only restaurant, we count on our Yelp Page to see what customers are actually thinking. This is really critical for us. With about 75% of our business being take-out to begin with, we had to use Yelp as [our source of] customer feedback. Even if you have only about three or four tables in your restaurant, [some of those diners are] going to Yelp for some kind of immediate feedback.”
Viet Nguyen, CEO and executive chef at Kei Concepts
‘We’re feeding humanity:’ building a legacy of culinary hospitality
“Even if we end up not succeeding as a company, we still have to inspire during our journey. Obviously, making money is a part of [running a restaurant]. But money will come. How we add value to another human being’s life is [even more] important. That’s why we wake up every day focusing on the same thing, and we ask ourselves: How do we improve our service? It’s our continued drive. It’s important for us to know that we’re not just selling food—we’re feeding humanity.”
Retail
Bry Hoeg, store manager at Powell’s City of Books
5 operational tips that keep one of the world’s largest independent bookstores running smoothly
“We pride ourselves on providing the same level of service and experience to people who are just browsing as we do to the people we know are also purchasing. That frees us up to have natural engagement with our customers and allows us to lean into our own personal love of reading and books.”
Nic Faitos, owner of Starbright Floral Design
The key to Starbright’s steady growth: 3 lessons from 3 decades in business
“For job satisfaction, for creativity, to flourish, everybody needs to know that they’re trusted. Everybody needs to know that they have a job, a goal, something to work forward to that doesn’t necessarily always involve supervision. And the more independence you give to your team, and the more you trust your team, the more the team will come through for you.
Jonathan Haskin, co-owner of Fall Creek Farmers Market
Educating and engaging with customers: tips from a local farmers market
“Reviews are everything. They shape your business. It’s [like] the old, physical suggestion box, [but] now you can get it in real time at any time. Even the not so favorable reviews… help us grow, help us adapt, help us get better. We want to have integrity, and we expect that from all [our] teammates. Once you have integrity, you feel that you feel that you’re in an atmosphere of trust and love.”
These lessons come from an episode of Behind the Review, Yelp & Entrepreneur Media’s weekly podcast. Listen below to hear from this season, or visit the show homepage to learn about the show and find more episodes.
Photos from business owners and businesses on Yelp
The information above is provided for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice and may not be suitable for your circumstances. Unless stated otherwise, references to third-party links, services, or products do not constitute endorsement by Yelp.