The SmallBizChat Podcast is a weekly interview show dedicated to helping small business owners. Each episode features practical insights, expert guests, and actionable strategies designed to help entrepreneurs build profitable, sustainable businesses. Hosted by Melinda Emerson, “SmallBizLady,” the mission of SmallBizChat is to end small business failure.
From sales and marketing to finance, leadership, and growth, the show focuses on what actually works in today’s business environment. New episodes drop every Wednesday.
Be sure to listen, subscribe, and leave a positive review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you enjoy your favorite podcasts. This month’s focus is on how to get paid for making connections.
How to Get Paid for Making Connections
Joe Mindak is a connector, operator, and author focused on turning social capital into real economic outcomes. He co-founded Nolodex, a referral platform designed to help communities and B2B organizations capture, track, and pay for introductions, bringing transparency and accountability to a channel that’s historically been hard to manage. He is also the founder of The Connective, a curated, multi-chapter network of vetted connectors, experts, and founders who open doors for one another and share commissions through a clear, tech-enabled model. For more information: www.nolodex.com
SmallBizLady: Paying people for introductions can feel awkward. How do you normalize referral payouts without damaging the relationship or making it transactional?
Joe Mindak: I always put the relationship first, and the economics second, but making the economics clear up front. When the rules are transparent, it stops feeling awkward, and the monetization actually builds the relationship and supports follow-through.
A few principles that work:
Call it what it is: performance-based business development. It’s no different than a commission-only salesperson, as nobody gets paid unless business actually closes.
Make it opt-in and pre-agreed. The awkwardness usually arises when the referral fee is introduced aftervalue has been created. I simply ask early: “If I keep bringing you business, are you open to a referral fee?”
Tie payouts to real outcomes. I only consider it “earned” when a deal closes and money changes hands. That protects the relationship and keeps it clean.
Keep it simple + consistent. Same percentage, same trigger, same timeline. There is no back-and-forth, no gray area.
Stay human. The intro still needs context, a real recommendation, and follow-through. The referral fee isn’t a “toll” on a relationship; it’s a thank-you for generating revenue.
SmallBizLady: Technology has changed everything. How can tools help business owners log introductions, track deals, and automate payouts without losing the human connection?
Joe Mindak: Tools should remove friction, not replace trust. The human part is still the introduction – why these two people should meet, and what problem we’re solving.
Where tech helps is everything that used to be messy and manual:
Logging referrals (so nothing gets lost in email threads or in conversations)
Tracking deal stages (so people don’t have to chase updates or guess what happened)
Transparent commission splits (so everyone trusts the math)
Automating payouts when deals close (so it’s prompt, consistent, and drama-free)
The “human connection” stays intact when the tool supports better behavior: clear notes, accountability, and follow-up reminders, while the relationship still happens in real conversations and 1:1s.
SmallBizLady: If someone wanted to turn referrals into a measurable revenue stream this quarter, what’s the simplest place to start?
Joe Mindak: Start small and make it measurable. Here’s the simplest playbook:
Put others first. Think about who your connections want to meet, listen for people who have a need, and be the person who builds those bridges.
Pick 10 trusted partners who sell complementary services and formalize the process.
Track it in a basic spreadsheet: intro made → meeting held → proposal sent → deal closed → commission due/date paid.
Set a weekly goal (Ex: 5 warm intros/week) and follow up like a professional because consistency is what makes it a revenue stream, not a one-off win.
How to Approach Business Development in 2026
Michelle Walker Davis is a serial entrepreneur, global speaker, author, and social justice advocate for women in business. Known as the “$850 Billion Dollar Boss,” she is a nationally recognized expert in grants, government contracting, and funding strategy. Michelle is the CEO and Founder of Imperial Management Group (IMG), the only AI generative tech development firm dedicated to helping minority-serving organizations and communities access public and private funding. Under her leadership, IMG has helped clients secure more than $50 million in grants and government contracts, building capacity, sustainability, and long-term economic impact. For more information, www.imgconsulting.info
SmallBizLady: You’re known as the “$850 Billion Dollar Boss.” What does that title really represent, and why do so many business owners underestimate the size of the funding opportunities available to them?
Dr. Michelle Walker-Davis: I coined that phrase and title myself when I found out how much money was available each year in grant funding. I went on every platform and was screaming it from my soapbox to all that would listen, as it was hiding in plain sight. No one else was speaking about it. Most people are not aware, or they have never pursued grants before. I am one of the very few firms that apply for both grants and government contracts for small businesses and non-profit organizations. Now the culture refers to me as the $ 850 Billion Boss because of the millions of dollars in funding I have secured for them, and I stay in beast mode. It is also a daily reminder to me to keep going; there is more than enough out there.
SmallBizLady: Many entrepreneurs believe grants and government contracts are out of reach. What are the biggest myths that keep people from even trying?
Dr. Michelle Walker-Davis: Quite honestly, it’s their mindset. If you think you won’t win, then most likely you won’t. Also, it takes time and requires a lot of reading, writing, and financial investment with a professional writer if you plan to enter that arena. Based on my professional experience, most are not prepared to compete, which is why at Imperial Management Group, we spend considerable time preparing our clients to win.
SmallBizLady: Can you explain government contracts as a business model, and how effective RFP teams and proposal management are the key to success?
Dr. Michelle Walker-Davis: There are $8 trillion in government contracts available each year. There are more people working on government contracts than there are government employees. These are little-known hidden facts. If you are a small business owner not in the government contracting space, you are leaving money on the table. It’s necessary to expand the scope of your business, get you out of the red and into the green, and have contracts for 3 to 4 years. That’s recurring income. It is not a cakewalk and will require time and energy to get you processed and positioned for SUCCESS.
How does Imperial Management Group use AI and generative technology to give minority-serving organizations an edge in the funding process?
Dr. Michelle Walker-Davis: We are a tech-enhanced proposal development firm. I was used as a beta test for a proposal for a new application, one of the very few, if any, black women in my field to be at that research level. Although the technology was not perfect, I ended up licensing it because I needed to move faster to pursue multiple funding streams, and I knew, from 30 years of professional writing, what the pitfalls and landmines were in the technology, so I was able to work around them to get my desired outputs.
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