We're all in the Experience Business

We're all in the Experience Business

From Business Brain – The Entrepreneurs’ Podcast by Shannon Jean & Dave Hamilton

June 3, 2026 · 23 min · Season 12 · Episode 758

About this episode

The episode discusses the importance of customer experience in business and how it differentiates companies in a commoditized market.

In this episode of Business Brain, we dig into why every business is now in the experience business. It starts with a tangent on tailors and cobblers — trades that feel like they’re vanishing — and lands on a bigger truth for entrepreneurs: when products and services get commoditized, the experience around them becomes the real differentiator. We look at how some towns subsidize small “lifestyle” shops to preserve their charm and character, how figures like Dave Chappelle are buying up and rebuilding small-town downtowns, and what it means when communities choose winners based on the experiences they create rather than just the money they make. The takeaway is one to apply to your own Business Brain: whether you run an HVAC company, an accounting practice, or an e-commerce shop, ask what experience your customers actually want — from the first click to opening the box. We’ve said every business is in the customer service business and the content business; now we’re adding that every business is in the experience business too. Build the kind of experience people seek out, and you create a more durable, more charmed life for your business. Plus, a…

People in this episode

Hosts: Shannon Jean, Dave Hamilton

Topics covered

  • experience business
  • customer experience
  • entrepreneurship
  • community development
  • small businesses

Keywords

  • experience business
  • customer service
  • entrepreneurship
  • small towns
  • community

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