Crisis PR & Reputation Management for Small Businesses with Dave Oates | Ep. 33 | My SBA Loan Pro

How to Handle a PR Crisis in Your Small Business

What happens when a disgruntled employee or angry customer attacks your business online? Today, that risk is real for every small business owner. One viral post can damage your reputation overnight.

However, the good news is this: you can control how you respond. And more importantly, you can prepare before a crisis even happens.

In this episode of the My SBA Loan Pro podcast, Ryan Smith sits down with Dave Oates, founder of PR Security Service. Together, they break down how to manage online backlash, internal crises, and brand attacks.

Key Topics Covered:

• The Real Source of Business Crises: Why over 50% of PR disasters stem from disconnected or wrongfully terminated employees posting on platforms like Yelp, Glassdoor, and TikTok.
• The 60-Minute Response Rule: Why you must issue a statement combining empathy and clear action within the first hour to maintain public grace.
• Reputation Monitoring: How to use free tools like Google Alerts to track what people are saying about your management team and brand.
• Digital Footprint Defense: The importance of building a robust internet presence so negative comments don’t dominate your search results or generative AI summaries.
• Crisis Preparation: Why drafting communication templates for likely scenarios (like network outages or product issues) minimizes financial disruption.

Whether you’re an everyday Main Street business owner, an exhausted landlord, or an M&A advisor looking to bring maximum value to your clients, this episode is packed with actionable insights to keep more money in your pocket and out of Uncle Sam’s.

Subscribe to My SBA Loan Pro for more expert interviews on deal structuring, wealth preservation, and business acquisition strategies!

Key Chapters:

00:00 – Podcast Introduction
03:00 – Military Background and Finding Public Affairs
07:23 – Transitioning to Tech PR and the Private Sector
12:26 – The Promotional Marketing Era
14:37 – Surviving Industry Shifts and Pivoting to Crisis PR
20:19 – Financing the Pivot and Learning from Bad Leadership
25:16 – Real-World Cases: High-Profile Scandals and COVID-19
31:25 – The Most Common Sources of Business Crises
35:52 – Who Calls for Crisis PR and Initial Strategies
39:48 – Inside the Situation Room: The First 60 Minutes
44:38 – The Public’s Threshold for Forgiveness
48:46 – Free Tools and Strategies to Prevent a Crisis
54:22 – Episode Wrap-Up

More ThinkSBA Resources

⁠https://calendly.com/thinksba – Schedule Call
https://g.page/thinksba – Google Business Page & Reviews
https://thinksba.com/faq – Frequently Asked Questions
https://mysbaloanpro.com⁠ – My SBA Loan Pro Podcast
http://youtube.com/@thinksba – YouTube Channel