Podcast - Boss Project: Recent Episodes
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Episode 962: Show NotesI’m trying a whole new format, and I cannot wait for you to listen to this one! It’s part life coaching, part podcast strategy, and I’m dishing the tea on pretty much everything I think about when it comes to having a successful podcast!
Join me as I sit down with Azara Krovatin, who hosts The Mystical Business Coach Podcast, and I’m giving her a real-time coaching session on how she can grow her show, deepen her impact, and leverage her incredibly unique expertise. Whether you’re podcasting yourself, considering launching one, or just love seeing behind the scenes, this conversation is packed with so many actionable insights! Truly, if I were to do a course on how to run a successful podcast, we covered almost everything I would put in that course.
Consider this your one-on-one!
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Quote ThisWhen we’re selling our own goods and services, podcasts are our best nurture opportunity. Highlights* Getting to Know Azara: Her Motivation, Mission & End Goal. [0:01:55] * The Big Dream Behind Azara’s Business & the People She Wants to Reach. [0:05:49] * My Advice to Azara Based on My Own Journey into Podcasting and Business. [0:10:39] * Top Tips for Crafting Compelling Episodes. [0:19:37] * Building Visibility & Audience Growth. [0:25:46] * How to Get the Most Out of Titles & Descriptions. [0:33:56] * Doing the Process Out Loud: Why You Can Never Give Too Much Away [0:40:03] * Repurposing Podcast Content for Other Platforms [0:44:36] * How to Use LinkedIn as a Podcast Marketing Platform [0:51:25]
OUR Guest:Azara Krovatin
Website | Instagram | LinkedIn
Azara Krovatin is a digital business coach with over a decade of experience in human behavior analysis, transformative online learning experience development, and dynamic digital community design. She is the owner of the Mystical Business Coach business and podcast, and leads Mystical Missives, a community sanctuary space for empathy-led entrepreneurs.
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Podcasting, Growth, Strategy, Defining Your Audience, Business Building
We Mentioned:Mystical Business Coach - Azara Krovatin
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Mel Robbins
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Episode 961: Show NotesYou don’t have to be Oprah, the Beach Boys, or a big box brand to land major press, but you do have to know what you’re doing. During this episode, I talk to Lydia Bagarozza, the co-founder of Visibility on Purpose. With more than 4000 media placements in outlets like Forbes, Entrepreneur, and more, she’s making top-tier press accessible for small brands and founders without hiring a publicist. On this episode, she’s giving away all her best secrets, so let’s dive in.
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Visibility on Purpose: The Origin StoryLydia’s career in PR began more than ten years ago in the music industry, where she worked with some of the biggest brands and musicians in the world. Next, she went to a PR agency that focused on boutique brands to some of the biggest retailers we shop at, including Sephora and Amazon. During COVID, she found Bridget online, who was helping small business owners publish their own books and get onto Amazon. She kept talking about how important it was to talk about your book on TV shows to get your brand noticed. They met, collaborated on a few projects, and Visibility on Purpose was born! It’s an online PR training school with a DIY flagship course that teaches entrepreneurs, small business owners, and their teams how to get featured.
Why You Don’t Have to be Famous to Be Featured What’s one thing big brands do consistently that smaller brands could do too? PR! Lydia shares the frustration she felt watching small brands stay unaware of what bigger brands are doing. It’s been gate-kept for years! Products launch successfully because PR time is behind them. A lot of entrepreneurs have launched on social media and find themselves reaching a plateau. PR is something that every boutique brand and small business should do early on, but a lot of them don’t know that it’s possible, and you can do it yourself! There’s a huge misconception that you have to be famous to be featured. You don’t! You just have to understand the media landscape: brands, internally, or their publicists reach out to writers, and if the writer is interested, the feature happens!
How to Find Where You Want to be Featured Lydia and Bridget pitched themselves to my podcast! So that’s proof that it works. Lydia’s advice starts here: think about your goals and where you want to go. Say you want to be featured in Forbes, Lydia will then consider which writer is right for you! Forbes for Women is for female entrepreneurs, for example. It’s not a difficult thing, she says, but rather it’s about understanding the steps and strategies to figure out the best plan of action. For a podcast, you need to look at the categories that make sense. Boss Project is aligned with Visibility on Purpose because both are helping online business owners and personal brands. Lydia also Googles services similar to her own — wherever they have been featured makes sense for her business too.
The One Thing Most People Get Wrong About Pitching A pitch is essentially an email where you introduce your big idea and why you make sense for their platform. You want to keep it short and concise, and to showcase your value. The one thing a lot of business owners get wrong when they’re pitching is that they’ll shoot out of the gates with all their credentials. Don’t forget to talk about why you would be of value to the outlet! Lydia’s biggest tip is the subject line: make sure it’s something that will spark their interest. You have to go beyond what’s interesting and look at what’s valuable to them, and to you. Next, you’ve got to get into ‘why you’, and ‘why now’. Lydia, for example, offers value by showing you where yours is and how you can position it.
What You Need to Do Before You Even Start Lydia recommends having a strong foundation before you start reaching out. It doesn’t need to be perfect, but there are a few important things you need to have before you begin. You want to have professional headshots and pictures of your product, as well as lifestyle images. You also want to have a credit line: your two to three official titles that are clear and easy to understand. Always think about the reader and reverse engineer from there. Your brand summary is also something you want to have on lock, that’s your elevator pitch. Make sure your brand website is good and feels authentic to you, along with any social platforms.
Fighting Overwhelm and Imposter Syndrome Lydia is responsible for over 4000 pieces of press floating around on the internet, but even she gets nervous talking on podcasts. Doing it yourself feels even more vulnerable. But remember that as much as you need them, they might need you! What if you were the answer to someone’s prayers? You don’t need press before you get press. Often a no is really just a no for right now. Lydia also thinks press releases are outdated. While they may be relevant for bigger brands, they’re not going to do anything for boutique brands and small businesses. What you do is press-worthy, but your brand often isn’t. It all comes back to value.
How to Know When It’s Time to Hire PR Help If you have the time to DIY and you want to start getting your feet wet, it’s a great time to do DIY. PR is a lot about understanding the value of your brand, your differentiators, where you live in the marketplace, why you’re different from others, so DIY is often great for your brand positioning. It does not matter if you’re famous or not, you can still get on the biggest platforms. It’s just a matter of finding your value and showing it to the right people. If you have the budget for a publicist and you feel really solid in your brand, it’s time to look for the right publicist, but if you don’t have that story nailed down, you probably aren’t ready to hire anyone anyway. You have to know your direction! And those mentions? Continue mentioning them everywhere, no matter how much time passes.
The First and Simplest Step You Can Take Today What would happen if you dreamed up where you wanted to be featured and what you wanted your long-term goals to look like? PR is a long-term strategy and sometimes it takes time to build up those features. You can use some of your past features as leverage for bigger features. Knowing your North Star can help you to continue to build that credibility in your category to get there. Lydia has had clients come to her with the hope of being in Oprah’s magazine, and then they’ve worked on mid-tier podcasts and more and more magazines, before eventually getting that feature! Knowing your north star is really important and can really help you to get there.
If you enjoyed today’s episode, leave us a review, or share it with a friend!
Quote ThisIt does not matter if you’re famous or not. You can still get on the biggest podcasts, you can still get on the biggest publications. It’s just a matter of sharing your value.— Lydia Bagarozza
Highlights* Visibility on Purpose: The Origin Story [0:00:53] * Why You Don’t Have to be Famous to Be Featured. [0:04:29] * How to Find Where You Want to be Featured. [0:07:38] * The One Thing Most People Get Wrong About Pitching. [0:11:16] * What You Need to Do Before You Even Start. [0:22:18] * Fighting Overwhelm and Imposter Syndrome. [0:28:17] * How to Know When It’s Time to Hire PR Help. [0:38:05] * The First and Simplest Step You Can Take Today. [0:44:24]
OUR GUEST: Lydia BagarozzaVisibility on Purpose on Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | Pinterest
Lydia Bagarozza is a publicist and the co-founder of Visibility on Purpose. With over a decade of experience, she has secured 4,000+ press placements and led PR campaigns for top global brands. Specializing in beauty, health, lifestyle, and fashion, her work appears in outlets like Forbes, ELLE, Business Insider, and Men’s Health, boosting clients’ credibility and success.
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:PR, Press, Goal-Setting, Growth
We Mentioned:
Lydia Bagarozza
Visibility on Purpose
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Episode 960: Show NotesToday’s episode is a little bit different. It’s a vulnerable, intimate conversation that I just happen to be letting you in on. I’m having my husband on the show today, to talk about something I see more people than you might imagine, navigating. We’re talking about what it really looks like to be married to a strong, ambitious woman, but more than that, I hope we can have an honest conversation about confronting cultural norms, redefining roles, and getting honest about the stuff we wish someone else told us sooner!
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How Vastly Different Our Lives Look Twelve Years Into MarriageAfter twelve years of marriage, life looks completely different to what we expected. When we first got married, Jared saw his career as the primary focus, and my pursuits as something to fill in the gaps. I thought I was marrying an architect, and that would be his focus for years to come. We both thought I would quit my job once we had kids. After spending five years with a corporate firm, Jared was in bad shape, mentally, dreading waking up to do his job each day. At the same time, I was busy building a business that brought so much joy.
The Ways Jared is Using His Skill Set TodayFor nearly six years, Jared’s been home. We have so much flexibility and so many opportunities to say yes to things on a whim! There have been questions from Jared’s family about why he suddenly stopped working in the career he trained for. It’s taken a lot of perspective for Jared to be appreciative of the things he learned in corporate architecture that serve him very well today. He’s found ways to flex that knowledge set, project management skills, budgeting, and more, by being on a building committee and volunteering in various outside organizations
‘She Works and You Play’ and Other Reactions to How Our Lives are Structured It was during some of my early launches that Jared started to realize I was not only ambitious, but I was going to be the breadwinner. While I was creating Trello for Business, we started to see the sales stack up. Then, I was creating courses, and sales exceeded Jared’s salary plus benefits, over a period of only two weeks. He started to believe that what I was doing could and would work, and that it would set us up for success in the future. That was all before he even quit his job! So for four years, he’s been working behind the scenes for Boss Project.
People have varying reactions when Jared tells them he works from home, for his wife, and that she owns the company. From ‘Must be nice’, to ‘Oh, she works and you play’, to assuming that I’m ‘the boss’ at home as well as at work, responses are varied, and some of them are wild assumptions.
What the Biggest Challenge We Face at Work Actually Is It’s difficult not to take feedback on your work personally when you’re married to the person giving it to you. Frustrations in our work can spill over into our marriage because there is no off-off. It’s a delicate balance between married Jared and Abagail, and work Jared and Abagail. We’ll often preface a question during the workday by first saying it’s marriage-related, and vice versa. Jared places tremendous value on the flexibility that us working together allows each of us. His advice to others in a similar position is simply this: as long as you have the energy to work with your spouse, and the grace and the flexibility to figure it out, let the opinions go!
Breaking the Preconceived Notions of What it Means to Work with Your Spouse The more that Jared is vulnerable and authentic, the more he has been able to show other people what it can look like to work with your spouse, run a small business, and run an internet business. It’s been an evolution of emotions, thoughts and preconceived notions. Jared shares that our business dynamic has challenged where he finds his sense of worth, and the currency he wants to operate in. It’s challenged how he communicates what he needs in business, when he needs it, and how processes work. Jared shares how powerful it has been for him to hand over the reins on the financials, because money is such a trigger for him, weighing in only on specific concerns when he’s asked to.
The Real Hardest Part of Reversing Our RolesLately, we’ve been talking about the future. We went through a season of caregiving, we have this house, and we both work from home. Our house is pretty quiet, and we’ve been having the conversation about children, and what that could look like. Emotionally, he says the hardest part has been to appreciate and have gratitude for the thing I have built and he has been invited into in order to provide and help us to be successful in all the other areas of our life together. We also feel that working together has created space for more vulnerability in our relationship.
Jared also shares that the greatest gift a wife can give to her husband is the ability to dream. I hold some of his desires at the core of my ambitions. My direction is not just based on my own needs and wants, but instead what we see as partnership in a marriage, and having a good one.
Jared’s New Observations From Working With His Wife (Me) Just a few weeks ago, Jared noticed something new about me: what he calls my ability to commandeer a room, and really get people to get vulnerable. That’s always been the goal, to make people feel they are in a safe and welcoming environment, and it means so much to me to hear Jared say it.
His advice for couples who want to work together? Figure out what you typically outsource to a VA, and ask your partner if they can take those on. Jared is literally the only person on the planet who has had a front row seat throughout me building my business. What he wants other men to hear from his perspective? Trust your wife! He adds, if you don’t trust your wife, that means you don’t trust yourself, and you need to do the inner work.
If you have any other weird questions about our relationship or our dynamic, feel free to send us a DM over at @abagailsays on Instagram, and we might just hop back on here and answer them. Thank you!
Quote ThisThe greatest gift a wife can give her husband—especially when building a business together—is the ability to dream.-Jared Pumphrey
Highlights* How Vastly Different Our Lives Look Twelve Years Into Marriage. [0:01:11] * The Ways Jared is Using His Skill Set Today. [0:17:52] * ‘She Works and You Play’ and Other Reactions to How Our Lives are Structured [0:21:25] * What the Biggest Challenge We Face at Work Actually Is [0:27:53] * Breaking the Preconceived Notions of What it Means to Work with Your Spouse [0:34:55] * The Real Hardest Part of Reversing Our Roles [0:39:38] * Jared’s New Observations From Working With His Wife (Me) [0:45:05]
OUR Guest:Jared Pumphrey
Jared on Instagram
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Gender Norms, Marriage, Masculinity, Entrepreneurship, Business Building
We Mentioned:Organize Your Business and Your Life with Trello
Ep 807: Not Everyone Has An Internal Monologue (Including My Husband)
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Episode 959: Show NotesYour business needs to be designed with your bandwidth in mind so that you’re capable of doing it in every season! You have other priorities outside of business, and I want to help you design a business with your capacity in mind. I want you to ignore society and other business gurus when they tell you how much bandwidth you need to have for your business, and instead, I want you to design it around you!
There’s a misconception that designing a business around bandwidth limits your capacity for growth, but that’s not true – bandwidth can change! Capability doesn’t equal sustainability, and while there are always things you can handle doing for a short period of time, sustaining them is tricky.
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How to Intentionally Scale Down for the Season You’re In We’ve been told that the only right way is to keep growing. I want to tell you that that’s not normal! There is no business out there growing exponentially year after year. We often talk about scaling like it’s required of us, but I want you to have the opportunity to build a smaller business if you want to. Scaling down is just as much of a strategy as scaling up! I have personally made changes over the last two years to make this business smaller. My audience has continued to grow, but I have let go of some of my staff, and my revenue is down. It would be really easy to say that I’ve failed and my business isn’t doing well, but these were intentional decisions that I felt good about. I’m okay with my business being smaller because it better matches the season that I’m in. It’s working for me and I’m not even earning less personally! These changes have made me far happier and healthier!
Why More Is Not Always Better! Often, it is believed that more growth is better. But I want you to challenge yourself and find out why you want to grow. If you can justify it, then you should go for it! But to what end? When you have a certain level of income, I think you have to have a purpose and a direction. What is enough? If you keep focusing on making more and more, you are constantly putting pressure on your business, and you’ve completely lost touch with what you need. Eventually, enough is enough. If you decide to build a business with flexibility at the forefront, then so many things become options for you! These businesses generally grow faster, further, and cheaper because they are structured around flexibility. I want you to consider how your business is structured today. Does it make you breathe easier, or do you feel behind? Are you building for the amount of time and energy that you have today, or are you building for some aspirational version of yourself that may, or may not, be attainable?
Building a Business That Supports Your Greatest Desires What do you actually want to be known for? Do you want to be known for something? So often we think we have to have a legacy, but do we? Because if your life is more important than your work, does that matter? So often, we over-complicate these aspirations without considering how we want to be remembered when we’re gone. I can bet that for most of you, how you want to be remembered has nothing to do with your work, and that probably means you need more time away from your business. I want you to imagine what is going to happen in five or ten years down the line and what your life may look like. When you do this, in great detail, it is going to open so many doors for you and help you build a business that supports your desires.
Let This Be Your PermissionI want this to be permission that you’re allowed to build a business that prioritizes peace, slowness, softness, and presence. It doesn’t always have to be more, and it doesn’t need more from you. That doesn’t put limitations on your growth, just on how you structure your growth, and that is going to fuel your future. Results don’t just need to be analytical, results can also equal more rest, more clarity, better health, etc. There is an ROI on you being rested! That space is not wasted – it’s where your next idea lives. I want to see you build something sustainable with your bandwidth in mind. If you’re looking for a space that supports this kind of business, you need to join the Co-Op today! Ask yourself, if you could change one thing about your business today to make your life easier tomorrow, what would it be?
Quote ThisYou are allowed to build less than you’re capable of. Highlights* How to Intentionally Scale Down for the Season You’re In. [0:09:48] * Why More Is Not Always Better. [0:17:28] * Building a Business That Supports Your Greatest Desires. [0:25:27]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Bandwidth, Capacity, Down-scaling, Growth strategy
We Mentioned:Join the Co-op
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Episode 958: Show NotesIf you’re feeling stuck, stalled, or just tired of feeling like you’re going through the motions, this episode is for you. I’ve been in a funk for weeks, feeling lost, confused, and frustrated, and everyone was giving me really lame advice. So I went on my own discovery journey to figure out what I needed to do to get out of my own funk. It was so much simpler than I realized and if I had this structure from the start, I would have gotten there a lot sooner and felt a lot less frustrated! I’m here for the practical, the tactical, and what you can actually do about it. This episode is part pep talk, part reset strategy, and it’s as much for me as it is for you!
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The Real Reason You Might Be Feeling Lost or Stuck Often, the reason you’re feeling stuck is that you’ve lost track of your ‘why’. Why did you start this business? What is it for? Is the person you originally defined as your ideal client still the person you want to work with? If you’ve lost your spark, I encourage you to think about what’s exciting to you, how you want to show up for people, how you want to serve people. What does your ideal client need, and is your current product or service positioned to help them? Or are you just rinsing and repeating the same thing you have done for years?
How to Let Go of Self-Judgment and be a Strong Person in your BusinessI had to let go of self-judgment. You have to move to self-curiosity instead. Why are you feeling out of touch, numb, or lost? I recently heard Jay Shetty say that weak people focus on other people’s weaknesses, strong people focus on others’ strengths. Weak people notice other people’s mistakes and laugh. Strong people notice other people’s mistakes and learn. Weak people envy other people ahead of them, while strong people study people ahead of them. All of these people are simply looking at the exact same situation differently. Which one are you choosing to be?
What it Means to See the Opportunities Instead of Spiralling I began to feel ‘off’ because I didn’t want to grow in the same way I saw others growing, but as I started to study people instead of envying them, I realized the issue was that I had no mentors, no direction, and no one to look up to. I discovered that what I really wanted to do was write. I needed to start taking inspiration from those who centered writing as the primary portion of their career. My products aren’t changing right now, but how I show up right now? That’s what needed to shift. If you were to do your own self-exploration, moving away from judgment into curiosity. How are you seeing yourself? How are you seeing your business? Do you continue to focus on your lack of enthusiasm or energy or vibe? Or do you see an opportunity to shift something? Instead of spiralling, I want you to study what’s working.
A Reset Ritual to Help You Get Re-Energized and Re-Inspired With this new lens, you’re going to revisit your offers and your messaging. Are they reflective of where you are right now and where you want to go? Your environment also plays a huge role in how you feel: Do you need to reorganize your workspace or your schedule? Maybe you need to listen to new people and podcasts. If everything you consume looks alike, you need to get out of your bubble! Ultimately, my goal for you isn’t to always be inspired or always know what to say or where you are going. My goal is for you to be confident that you have the tools to figure it out and to get out of that funk and move forward.
Crop-Top Confidence and Where to Find It You might be wondering why I put ‘crop top confidence’ in the title. The reason is that the frumpy feeling I had in my business leaked into every area of my life. Recently, I walked into a store and saw a cropped workout t-shirt I thought was so cute, but I just didn’t feel sexy enough to wear it. Then I put it on, and I felt so good! And because I felt good, when I wear that thing, it makes me feel my best! What if, when you feel like you’re not good enough for something, you decide to just try first? Why not you? Go into this with curiosity, because you might come out on the other end with a level of confidence that you didn’t even know was possible.
Quote ThisInstead of spiralling about engagement or momentum or how much money is coming in, I want you to study what’s working, and how you can pay attention. Highlights* The Real Reason You Might Be Feeling Lost or Stuck [0:03:57] * How to Let Go of Self-Judgment and be a Strong Person in your Business [0:11:10] * What it Means to See the Opportunities Instead of Spiralling [0:21:30] * A Reset Ritual to Help You Get Re-Energized and Re-Inspired [0:27:55] * Crop-Top Confidence and Where to Find It [0:31:46]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Inspiration, Business Planning, Motivation, Self-Talk
We Mentioned:A Process for Finding Purpose: Do THIS to Build the Life You Want | Mel Robbins Episode 282
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Episode 957: Show NotesWhen it comes to Instagram, it is so easy to get stuck in the cycle of chasing trends, but today’s guest, Michelle Gifford, is here to remind us that sustainable Instagram growth doesn’t come from constant performance! It comes from purpose. Michelle is an incredible Instagram strategist behind multiple six and seven-figure brands.
She’s helped business owners grow their reach, amplify their voice, and drive real results without losing themselves in the algorithm. Instagram is an incredible, free tool that business owners can use to grow their business. In this episode, we’re talking about what it really means to create content that converts, positions you as the expert, and still feels good to make! We get into what’s working on Instagram right now, what you should stop doing, and how to reset your strategy if you feel stuck or discouraged! If you want to use Instagram as a true business growth tool, then this episode is for you!
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How to Drive Sales on Instagram Michelle wants you to realize that there are different goals for different kinds of Instagram content. If you have a brand message and can create content that supports that brand message, then you start attracting the right people, and it starts moving down your funnel seamlessly. This is where the ‘track, nurture, sell’ method comes into play – content is created specifically for attracting new followers, content that nurtures those followers and helps them trust the brand, and then sell to them! If you start applying this marketing funnel to the type of content you create, then it changes how you show up and how powerful your content can be.
Recently, Instagram has changed its algorithm from follower-based views to content-based views. So it doesn’t really matter how many followers you have; it’s more about how people are responding and reacting to it. If you’re a new content creator, this is fantastic because you can come on without having loads of followers and still reach millions of people. If you already have a following and you are just pivoting a little bit, Michelle wants you to commit to content because that’s usually what it takes to train the algorithm again. If you are testing out new content, you have to give yourself grace to try new things and look at your algorithm for feedback.
Some of the Trends That Are Performing At the moment, Michelle has noticed that carousels are quite popular on Instagram, specifically when you add music, because then it shows up on your reels feed as well. She also wants you to know that the creators on Instagram who are the most successful are the ones who are creating signature content – something they can be known and recognized for. This is something worth developing and will take some trial and error to perfect. If you want your stories to perk up, give yourself a 24-hour reset period where you don’t post at all, and then come back with a picture that gives your audience a reason to DM you in response. That increases story views by quite a lot.
How to Test Out New Content If you’re dipping your toes into these strategies, Michelle advises that you spend some time consuming content on Instagram and researching what is resonating and doing well to get some ideas for custom content you can create. Then, test it out! Create content for a couple of weeks with that format to see what takes off. If you’re feeling discouraged because something isn’t working, Michelle wants you to recognize that nothing you do really well took you only a week to accomplish! Most people who find that Instagram isn’t working for them haven’t developed a good enough strategy. If you start treating Instagram as an actual marketing strategy, it will work!
So what does this look like? Put it in your calendar! Once a week, Michelle wants you to do some Instagram strategy, plan ahead (2 weeks at a time), and look back on what’s working and what’s not. It’s important to decide how you like to create, whether that’s batch creating or creating daily, and commit to it. If you are taking Instagram seriously, then you show up and create differently. You also need to ask yourself how important Instagram is to your business and what your resources are in order to create a sustainable posting schedule. And this is when you may want to hire someone to help you!
Overcoming Common ‘Visibility’ Fears So many people are terrified of showing up as themselves online or are just afraid of being behind the camera. Michelle wants you to know that this is a skill that you can hone and learn! If you absolutely hate seeing yourself on camera, start to use the Marco Polo app to help you get used to seeing yourself on camera. She also doesn’t want you to allow the potential judgment from people to affect the potential capacity you have to help and serve. The sooner you realize that you showing up on Instagram isn’t about you, it’s about how you can serve, the easier it is to overcome these fears.
It's also important to consider how much of gaining a following is necessary for you to accomplish your goals. Michelle wants you to check your ego and ask yourself how you can attract the right people. Instead of just trying to get more followers, focus on how to connect your followers and views to something that will move the needle in your business. She wants you to know why you want more followers and then go out and get them! Michelle leaves us with her final thoughts about Instagram, why it needs to be taken seriously, and how you can shift your mindset to leverage it to your business’ advantage.
Quote ThisIf you’re taking Instagram seriously, then you show up different and you create differently.” — Michelle Gifford Highlights* How to Drive Sales on Instagram. [0:04:32] * Some of the Trends That Are Performing [0:13:14] * How to Test Out New Content. [0:16:15] * Overcoming Common ‘Visibility’ Fears. [0:26:17]
OUR Guest:Michelle Gifford
Website | Instagram |Facebook | LinkedIn | Podcast
Michelle Gifford is a social media expert, marketing agency CEO, and business podcaster who helps entrepreneurs confidently market their businesses with clear messaging and actionable strategy. A seasoned entrepreneur and mom of five, she’s guided hundreds of brands to six- and seven-figure success and built a supportive community for women balancing business and motherhood.
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Instagram Marketing, Instagram Strategy. Sustainable Instagram Growth, Instagram Reset
We Mentioned:Digital Product Jumpstart
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Episode 956: Show NotesStatistics show that 97% of small business owners would say that they have felt really alone and unsupported in their journey. Though we are more connected than ever through the internet, we are also lonelier than ever. If you’ve built a business, you’ve probably felt that paradox deeply.
Today’s guest, Liz Forkin Bohannon, knows that connection isn’t just a feel-good value – it’s a radical, transformative growth strategy. Liz is passionate about women and girls living in extreme poverty and is living a life that reflects that. Having spent time connecting with underprivileged women in Uganda, she realized how important community is. She’s built her business, community, and life around the idea that we’re better together, and in this episode, we talk about what it looks like to build something that not only grows but brings people closer.
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How to Create Genuine Connection in Business You are not capable of learning and growing past a certain capacity unless it is in the presence of others. When Liz was in Uganda, she realized how easy it was to make friends there. Although Ugandan people face significant challenges, loneliness and connection did not seem to be one for them. Even the suffering and pain they may face seems to feel like a shared experience that they are all in together. Sustained suffering happens when people feel alone in their pain. Through her time abroad, Liz concluded that there are six principles of community, friendship, and social health that seem to be present in these cultures, and then built her life back in the US based on those six principles.
For small business owners, especially, the weight of the phrase, ‘It’s lonely at the top,’ is heavy. Loneliness and disconnection are not problems that can be solved with monetary success. Liz believes that one of the best investments entrepreneurs can make in themselves is a peer support group. As a leader, you need people in your life who are not part of your business but understand it! One of the core values of building personal community is proximity, but for business owners, proximity is less important because the things you rely on your community for aren’t physical. Everyone wants to be seen, soothed, and secure to flourish. So, business leaders need to be able to show up authentically in front of people who have walked in their shoes.
The Power of Consistency and Commitment There is a whole period that comes before the formation of secure networks, and that is a period of consistency and commitment. Liz wants you to start thinking about your social health in the same way you consider your physical and mental health. The degree to which you benefit from a community is typically directly related to how much you are contributing to it. In order to build dense networks of support, consistency and commitment are key. You have to be willing to share the full story of your life. Self-disclosure can feel scary, and the pain of social rejection is equivalent to that of being punched in the face, but vulnerability is imperative in building meaningful connections. And the greatest predictor of how long you will live is the quality of your relationships.
Two Ways to Find a Like-Minded Community of Business Leaders How do business owners find people who are at the same level of commitment as you? Lucky for you, Liz is doing connection cohorts for business leaders who want to engage in habitual engagement designed for intimacy and connection, and showing them how to optimize their time together to get the best possible results. If you are interested in joining one of her cohorts, pop her an email! The other thing you can do is make sure that you are constantly talking to people. Liz wants you to make your ask known – tell people what you are looking for from business relationships! The good news about living amid a loneliness and isolation epidemic is that the likelihood that the people you are asking to build community and friendship with also need it is extremely high.
There is also another layer to this that requires you to take responsibility for creating the system by which you and your community will function. And yes, it is so scary to be the person taking on that leadership position, but the reality is that most people who have successfully created their ideal community have contributed to creating it. Create a structure that you think is going to lead to intimacy and connection, and go out there and ‘fill the seats!’ Having this kind of community is something that we are all craving. If you are interested in community and connection, go check out Liz on socials and sign up for her Substack and newsletter to hear more about it!
Quote ThisWe have to treat social health like we treat the other aspects of our health. — Liz Forkin Bohannon Highlights* How to Create Genuine Connection in Business. [0:11:12] * The Power of Consistency and Commitment. [0:25:48] * Two Ways to Find a Like-Minded Community of Business Leaders. [0:40:41]
OUR GUEST:
Liz Forkin Bohannon
Website | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | Substack
Liz Forkin Bohannon is an entrepreneur, author, and speaker known for founding Sseko Designs, a fashion brand that empowers women in East Africa through education and employment. She later helped lead its merger with Noonday Collection, where she now serves as Chief Growth Officer. Liz is also the author of Beginner’s Pluck and is recognized for her impactful work in purpose-driven leadership and social entrepreneurship.
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Loneliness, Connection, Community Building, Business Relationships, Connection and Intimacy Cohorts
We Mentioned:Digital Product Jumpstart
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Episode 955: Show NotesBeing a creator-first business sounds great in theory, but it can be slow to grow! Today, I’m talking with Jay Clouse, who has been there, built that, and now runs one of the most respected businesses in the creator economy. But, it didn’t happen overnight! In this episode, we talk about creating content, building an audience instead of attracting a crowd, and how to create sustainability in an evolving industry.
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Being a creator-first business sounds great in theory, but it can be slow to grow! Today, I’m talking with Jay Clouse, who has been there, built that, and now runs one of the most respected businesses in the creator economy. But, it didn’t happen overnight! In this episode, we talk about creating content, building an audience instead of attracting a crowd, and how to create sustainability in an evolving industry.
How Jay Started to Create About Creating After leaving a job he didn’t love in 2017, Jay fell down a rabbit hole of people who were writing newsletters as their business model. He started to write about what he knew: creating! That’s how Creator Science was born. Eight years later, he’s still doing exactly that. His advice to others is this: you don’t start a newsletter because you are an expert; you become the expert by writing the newsletter.
Consistency: The Key to Creator Science’s SuccessWhen he first started writing it, Creator Science had no audience. So Jay shared about it on Facebook and talked about it wherever he went. For a long time, it was just small incremental growth that drove his business. He attributes his success to dogmatic consistency and passing the regret test: every time you post, the goal is to make somebody more likely to engage with the next thing you publish.
Earning Influence Over an Audience Through TrustJay doesn’t care about being flashy. He doesn’t believe in the phenomenon of getting huge spikes of attention. What happens once you’ve gone viral? Does it actually improve your baseline reach? Instead, Jay asks himself what would happen if he couldn’t reach anybody new. What if you had enough people invested enough in you that your business could persist without anyone else? There’s a difference between having an audience and attracting a crowd.
Where You Can Actually Create Real Value OnlineA newsletter is a direct line of communication. When you’re primarily reaching people on social media, you’re learning to interrupt somebody’s mindless habit. Jay sees every piece of content he puts out into the world as a product. It’s free, but it serves a need. What is somebody “hiring” your newsletter to do? If nothing, then it’s not going to persist as part of anyone’s life.[Text
The Steady Drumbeat That Will Bring the Right People to YouAre Jay’s calls to action better than other people’s? He doesn’t think so. But he’s been posting them more frequently, and he’s been doing it for years. It stacks up and it makes a difference. There’s no single post that’s going to save you. Instead, Jay believes in a steady stream of content that eventually brings in the people who really get it. What can you do on repeat that is sustainable for you to keep on doing consistently?
Jay’s Funding Journey Before Monetizing His NewsletterSince 2021, Jay’s content has been paying for his business. But it wasn’t always like this! When he was first monetizing, he ran mastermind programs to make his newsletter viable. He built his community experience via Slack, which was unusual for the time. It took off! That’s when Pat Flynn reached out to ask for Jay’s support in building Circle’s community platform, and bought the community he was building to make that possible. That’s how he started to fund his newsletter.
Predictions for the Next ChapterCourses are in trouble! We are getting better and better tools for learning through AI. Jay sees an increasing interest and hunger for verifiable human experiences, things that we know were made by, for, and experienced with other people. Community-based experiences will continue to increase in value, and quality will stand out.
Advice for Success in a Changing WorldJay’s advice for the future: if you can’t be an innovator, be fast to follow! Search for patterns and signals that something is working. Ask yourself: how can you proceed in a way that there are wins along the way, even if you don’t succeed? Do things you enjoy the process of, because the only way to win the game is if you stay in it.
Quote ThisYou don’t earn influence through attention. You earn it through trust. -@jayclouse Highlights* How Jay Started to Create About Creating [0:02:08] * Consistency: The Key to Creator Science’s Success [0:05:55] * Earning Influence Over an Audience Through Trust [0:09:15] * Where You Can Actually Create Real Value Online [0:12:41] * The Steady Drumbeat That Will Bring the Right People to You [0:17:50] * Jay’s Funding Journey Before Monetizing His Newsletter [0:24:24] * Predictions for the Next Chapter [0:31:57] * Advice for Success in a Changing World [0:37:21]
OUR GUEST:Jay Clouse
Website | Instagram | X
YouTube | LinkedIn | Facebook
Jay Clouse is the mind behind Creator Science, one of the most trusted voices in the creator economy and the 2022 winner of the 2022 Signal Award. He is a startup investor and has built and sold multiple businesses, including his community, Unreal Collective, to Pat Flynn of Smart Passive Income.
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Newsletters, Content Creation, Writing, Knowledge
We Mentioned:Creator Science Podcast
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Episode 954: Show NotesWhat would your summer look like if peace, ease, and cash flow could just exist together? This summer, I’m breaking up with the idea that success requires intensity and redefining what’s truly productive! I used to believe that the more I worked, the more successful I would be. But I know that I want to work less. Those things are in direct competition with each other!
What if you didn’t need to work harder for the next level? What if less effort actually created more results, space, creativity, and more cash flow? I have spent so many summers working in my office and feeling jealous of the people who were outside. I always felt obligated to be ‘in the trenches’ because I convinced myself that more work equals more success. And that is so wrong!
This summer, I am rewriting those rules and testing what happens when I work less, focus more, and trust that space might be the missing piece between where I am and where I want to be.
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Letting the Work You’ve Already Done Reward YouI was talking to my husband about what was coming up in the months ahead, and I realized that if I do nothing new in my business and only focus on serving my current clients for the rest of the year, I will still make an additional few hundreds of thousands of dollars. The fact is, I already did that work, and it is rewarding me. I built a business for freedom, and while I do take a lot of it, there is still so much more that I could be doing (and have the capacity for) that I have not let myself experience out of pure fear! I have built a steady, sustainable, reliable business, but I treat it like a business that needs me all the time.
Disproving the Lie We Internalize This is where I want to start; with the idea that working more, doing more, putting in more hours drives growth. That’s what you’ve internalized. What if doing less isn’t just okay, it’s actually more effective? Because here’s the thing, energy output does not equal impact! Busy seasons don’t guarantee you better results and overworking can actually hide inefficiencies and distract from deeper clarity. So, even though it is so scary to say this out loud, for this summer, I want to work fewer hours. My challenge to myself is to work for four hours, four days a week. I have done this in the past! I’ve worked for as little as 12 hours a week and my business has still been successful.
What I am Trying This Summer At the beginning of the year, I made the decision to only take meetings on a Monday and I have absolutely loved it! This summer, in addition to four hours of work a day for four days a week, I am trying to have no meetings. Absolutely nothing. The only things that will be on my calendar are fun, social activities, and the occasional podcast interview (on a Monday only!) If you want your life to feel different in a new season, your definition of success also has to change. The chances are, if you feel like you aren’t achieving success in certain areas of your life, it’s likely because you have decided that success has to look a certain way.
Redefining Your Success Metrics The reason the four-day work week worked for me was because I committed for a season, allowed myself to reevaluate, and decided to keep it. It’s not a forever decision, and when you allow yourself to have those parameters, it makes the commitment easier. You realize that you aren’t trying to change the rest of your life, just the next few weeks, and that feels far less intimidating. In the past, success for me has looked like really steady, specific income, but that often meant planning last-minute launches that didn’t see great results. So I am giving myself some space where I can feel good about just making my base of guaranteed income, with more time to prepare for launches. I really want and need less pressure on myself right now.
In the past, success has always looked like a very defined cadence. I do love routine, but that pressure is a bit extreme and quite unnecessary. So now, I am giving myself space to rest. There is an opportunity cost to always working. If you have the financial means to work less and are depriving yourself of living more, that could be costing you your next breakthrough! Working too much crushes creativity and wears you down. We have got to step back and stop equating time with results, and instead, build systems that give us freedom and cash flow. I want to know what success looks like for you this summer, what you’re going to try, and what you’re looking forward to, so send me a DM on Instagram! And if this episode gave you permission to do less, send it to a friend who may want to try too.
Quote ThisWorking all the time doesn’t just wear you out, it crowds out your clarity. Highlights* Letting the Work You’ve Already Done Reward You. [0:07:12] * Disproving the Lie We Internalize. [0:09:03] * What I am Trying This Summer. [0:10:50] * Redefining Your Success Metrics. [0:13:17]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Summer Productivity, Redefining Success, Work/Life Balance, Seasonal Planning
We Mentioned:Next Level Funnels
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Episode 953: Show NotesThere’s so much pressure online to stay relevant, to constantly provide value, to always be on. But what happens when you don’t want to perform anymore, when peace starts to feel more urgent than praise? I’m learning how to show up as myself, without the mask, without the metrics, without pretending to be someone I’m not. I’m not hiding, I’m in transition! And I know I’m not the only one feeling this way.
I believe in building a business that fits you, not one that’s been handed down like a rulebook written by someone else. If you’ve built any kind of online business in the past few years, you’ve probably been told, directly or indirectly, that visibility equals value. But lately, I’ve been asking: What if I don’t follow those rules? Who made them up in the first place? This episode is for the version of you that’s tired. The one that keeps wanting to slow down but feels like you’re supposed to keep up. I know you still want success, but on your own terms. So let’s talk about it!
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How Performing HappensWhen I say I don’t want to perform anymore, I don’t mean I was being fake. Performing often starts with good intentions, wanting to connect and build trust. But over time, it turns into a role you feel stuck in. You show up on autopilot, even when you're empty. You create out of obligation, not inspiration. And eventually, you lose sight of what you even want to say, because it’s all shaped by what the algorithm wants to hear. The version of you that started this business has evolved, but you're still performing for an audience expecting the old you. That disconnect is exhausting.
Untangling Your Personality From Your BusinessIf your business was built on your personality, it’s really hard to untangle your personal identity from what your business is putting out into the world. But I don’t think the weight you’re feeling is because you’re front and center. It’s coming from feeling like you have to show up as someone who isn’t you. It’s like going to a dinner party and pretending you’re having a great time when you’re actually exhausted. And yes, sometimes you do have to fake it. Society kind of expects that. But there’s also a point where being too real can backfire, and people start to think you’ve lost it.
When Peace Becomes More Important Than PraiseI really believe most of us aren't performing with bad intentions. You're not trying to trick anyone. You're just trying to be who you think people want you to be. You’re looking for validation, and that makes sense. It feels like proof that your work matters! But when praise becomes the goal, you start chasing approval instead of alignment.
The shift for me was realizing I didn’t want praise if it meant losing peace. Praise might feel good in the moment, but it can’t give you clarity, rest, true joy, or the space to grow. Peace started to matter more than being seen. Choosing peace means showing up differently. It means sharing when it feels right, and letting go of the pressure to document every step just to stay visible. Stepping back can feel risky, but it’s not as scary as it seems!
What Really Happens When You Stop PerformingSo what actually happens when you choose to step back? Yes, there are real consequences to showing up differently, and the fear is real. You’ll hear that voice whispering, What if they forget about me? What if my business falls apart? We've all had those thoughts. But what really happens? You find your voice again! You create with more clarity and reconnect to your why. The people who matter stick around. Your business might slow down, but it won’t collapse. You build trust by being real, not relentless. Letting go isn’t giving up. It’s making space for support, inspiration, and what you actually need!
How to Stop Performing and Start ThrivingWhat I care about is you. I want your business to grow. I want you to feel secure and thrive. You get to choose how you show up, but is all the effort really necessary, or is it just more noise?
I’m not afraid to be loud (I love to talk, and I have opinions), but if what I’m saying doesn’t move someone or lead to real impact, it just becomes static. You are allowed to evolve. You are allowed to be quieter. You can stop performing for an audience that might not even be watching. When peace starts to matter more than praise, everything changes! Ask yourself, what would you stop doing if you weren’t trying so hard to be seen?
It’s easy to believe more visibility will fix everything. And yes, it can help. But if you stopped chasing what is shareable and started creating what feels good and true, your work would likely connect more deeply. You can still build a thriving business without pretending to be someone you're not!
Quote ThisThe person you were when you started this business is not the same as the person you are today. Highlights* How Performing Happens [0:03:32] * Untangling Your Personality From Your Business [0:07:41] * When Peace Becomes More Important Than Praise [0:11:36] * What Really Happens When You Stop Performing [0:15:45] * How to Stop Performing and Start Thriving [0:23:21]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Performing, Social Media, Authenticity, Praise, Peace
We Mentioned:Digital Product Jumpstart
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Episode 952: Show NotesEver felt like you're chasing milestones that look great on paper but leave you feeling empty? This episode gives you permission to pause, reset, and redefine what success means to you.
Bri Seeley is no stranger to ambition, but she's flipped the script on what it looks like to succeed. As a TEDx speaker, success coach, and award-winning businesswoman, she helps entrepreneurs achieve big, bold goals without burnout. Her signature “Defy” process invites you to ditch the hustle, tune into your truth, and take action from a place of alignment, not anxiety. In this episode, we dig into how childhood experiences shape our drive, why stillness is more powerful than hustle, and how to stop outsourcing your self-worth to external results. Bri also breaks down how to live like your future self today (no extra $50K or perfect plan required!), and why small, intentional steps can lead to radical transformation.
If you feel stuck on the productivity hamster wheel, this is your nudge to slow down, zoom out, and build success on your terms without overworking or “underliving” in the process. Tune in to start defying the rules that never worked for you in the first place!
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Redefining Success & Ambition On Your Own TermsIf you’ve ever felt like you’re doing all the “right” things, climbing the career ladder, hitting the goals, and still feel like something’s missing, this one’s for you. At the core of this conversation is a foundational question: What does success mean to you?
It’s a question too few of us stop to ask, especially when our ambition is fueled by trauma, expectations, or a need to prove ourselves. Bri shares a sixth-grade story that still resonates: she kept exceeding her reading goals, only to be told to do more, and more, and more, and then, when she finally missed the mark, she got a C. “That is every client I work with,” she says. “We’re all wandering around telling ourselves we're not enough, or I wasn't productive enough today,” even when we’re already doing 10 times more than the average human.
Why Slowing Down Gets You Further Than StrivingLet’s be real. Ambition can be a trap if you never stop to ask whose dream you’re chasing. Bri reminds us that so many of us who are highly ambitious are aiming at the wrong bullseye.
She goes on to unpack the power of stillness. Not in a woo-woo way, but as a real strategy for clarity and recalibration. Whether it’s meditation, journaling, coloring, or pulling a tarot card, she uses these tools to hear her own voice over the noise of external pressure, “to reconnect me with me,” as she puts it. “If I'm not satisfied with my life, what’s the point of the overworking and the underliving if I’m the one living it and I’m miserable?” Enough said.
How to Defy Reality & Feel the Future NowThis is where things get really juicy! Bri flips the entire success script with a single idea: What if you could feel the way you want to feel right now, without changing anything in your physical environment?
She explains that when we delay joy, freedom, or peace until after we reach a certain milestone, we’re actually just pushing the finish line further away. She likens it to two magnets repelling each other. Instead, she helps people “defy reality” by flipping those magnets the other way around and aligning with their future self today. That means identifying what you want, dismantling the voice that says you don’t deserve it yet, and taking small actions from that empowered place. Want to create a ripple effect? “Standing still does not create a ripple effect,” Bri reminds us. Little steps every day compound into massive change.
Small Steps, Big Shifts, Sustainable MomentumBig, audacious goals are great, but trying to get there all at once is a shortcut to burnout. Bri breaks it down with simple math: if you want a six-figure business, all you have to do is create $274 a day for 365 days. That’s totally doable! It’s all about working backwards, setting intentional markers, and letting one or two small actions a day add up.
But this isn’t about hustle. If you’re feeling depleted and overwhelmed, and you feel like you just need to go put your feet in the grass, it’s okay to let what you did today be enough. Bri encourages flexibility and experimentation, not rigid plans. Like navigating the Bog of Eternal Stench in the movie Labyrinth, the next stepping stone doesn’t appear until you’re already on the first one. You don’t need to map the whole journey. Just take the next step.
Breaking Free from the Addiction to BusyworkWe’re conditioned from an early age to follow a checklist: homework, gold stars, productivity as proof of worth. But as adults, that structure can quietly morph into an addiction to busyness. For high achievers, output can become a stand-in for self-worth, but all that hustle comes at a cost. Bri invites us to get radically honest: Does success to you look like working 10 hours a day, or does success look like doing the 20% that matters and then giving yourself permission to go sit in the sun?
Reclaiming your time, energy, and joy by breaking this rhythm isn’t easy. It can feel like breaking an addiction. It might even take a full-on reckoning! Regardless of whether you think you’re addicted to busy work or not, it can be transformative to think about where you’re at, where you want to be, and surrendering. Sometimes, the bravest thing you can do is stop doing so much!
Finding Your 20% to Work Less & Align MoreBri shares some actionable advice for determining which 20% moves the needle and identifying the things that make the biggest difference so that you can live your life in between. Try sitting down at the end of each month and assessing what worked and what didn’t. Where did you put your energy and attention that provided results? And where did you spin your wheels?
Empirical data is hard to argue with, but it’s also important to determine what felt good and what didn’t. In our efforts to stop overworking and underliving, the point is not to feel terrible. Focus on what feels aligned and exciting, and spend less time doing the things that you dread. You CAN actually feel good while you’re building your dream business and achieving your impossible dreams! Purpose and intention are key. Bri suggests giving yourself permission to step away from your ambition, even if just for a moment.
It’ll still be there when you get back, but you’ll show up with clearer focus and renewed energy.
Quote This“If you create $274 every day for 365 days, you have a six-figure business.” —Bri Seeley Highlights* Redefining Success & Ambition On Your Own Terms. [0:01:25] * Why Slowing Down Gets You Further Than Striving. [0:06:10] * How to Defy Reality & Feel the Future Now. [0:09:05] * Small Steps, Big Shifts, Sustainable Momentum. [0:16:35] * Breaking Free from the Addiction to Busywork. [0:25:50] * Finding Your 20% to Work Less & Align More. [0:29:55]
OUR GUEST:Bri Seeley
Website | Instagram | TikTok | YouTube | LinkedIn | Facebook
TEDx Speaker, Success Coach and award winning business woman Bri Seeley works with ambitious, high achievers to defy reality by bringing their most unrealistic goals to life without overworking, under living or sacrificing themselves for their audacious visions. Bri uses her signature DEFY process to help you design and create long-term and sustainable success – unapologetically.
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:redefining success, sustainable success, mindset shifts, goal-setting strategies, ambition, intentional living, work-life alignment
We Mentioned:Labyrinth
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Episode 951: Show NotesI don’t know a single person in their 30s and 40s who doesn’t want deeper and more meaningful friendships. The last place I expected to get friendship advice was from Mel Robbins’ new book, The Let Them Theory, but today, I want to share the unexpected ways this book shifted how I think about making, retaining, and even releasing friendships, especially in the complicated season of adulthood that is your 30s and 40s. There is an entire section in this book that talks about adult friendships. So, what is the ‘let them theory’ in relation to relationships? It’s all about relinquishing control instead of chasing, convincing, or over-managing relationships. It’s not about being cold or cutting people off, it’s about allowing people to be who they are without letting that affect your worth.
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The Great Scattering and How Friendships Naturally ChangeI don’t know about you, but I had the easiest time making friends in college because I befriended an extrovert who wanted to help me make friends! A huge part of that is because of how much time you spend together in college. In order for someone to become a close friend, it’s said that you need to spend 200 hours together! In college, that’s really easy, but in adulthood, when we have families, spouses, work, and distance between us and our friends, that becomes so much harder. In Mel’s book, she discusses an experience that we all go through typically after high school or college called ‘the great scattering’. This is a period of time when we all grow apart from our friends because of natural progressions in life.
During college, you tend to be moving through life at the same pace as your friends. But that all changes when you graduate, move away, start working, get married, and start families. I think we often fight these changes for obvious reasons. For me, the first time I started to fight back was when people were starting to have kids, and my husband and I couldn’t. I just remembered feeling so out of place amongst my friends starting families. I want you to know that friendships are allowed to change and evolve without it being a big betrayal! It’s just a natural part of life.
How ‘Letting Them,’ ‘Lets You’Mel said, “When you let them, you let yourself.” Letting your friends be the friend they are now instead of the friend they once were is so freeing. Instead of feeling rejected, I want you to try to embrace the lightness of embracing the natural seasons of friendships. When I first experienced this, I was really crushed by the fact that I wasn’t as close to some of my friends as I once was before, because our lives were so different, especially when kids came into the picture. It’s not just about letting them, it’s also about letting yourself! Letting yourself grow, letting yourself need different kinds of friendships, and letting yourself be unapologetic about outgrowing certain dynamics.” By trying to prevent other people from changing, you don’t allow yourself to change. Life is constantly changing, and shifts in friendships are inevitable. When you stop fighting these changes, you find opportunities to make more friends!
Fostering New RelationshipsAfter I resigned from the non-profit I was working at, I really struggled to find new relationships, and after a bit of an awkward gym encounter, I decided that the best thing to do was actually to work on myself! I had been so focused on finding friends to validate something within myself, and I realized that if I wasn’t okay within myself, this strategy wasn’t going to work. I ended up applying to a leadership class with a group trip at the end of it. At the end of class, we all started hanging out, and I spent so much time getting to know individual people, and eventually, I felt like I had meaningless friendships. I also knew that if I didn’t invest in these relationships, they would fizzle out. Now, I have a fairly large group of friends who live close to me, and we all have so many threads holding us together. I have been so touched by these people that I may have written off because I didn’t think we had enough in common.
Yes, you need to click with people and have similarities with them for things to work long-term. But you’re not going to know what those things are unless you put yourself in front of people consistently. I think, in your 30s and 40s, it’s easy to think that friendships are harder or somehow worse when the truth is, they’re just different and they take more intention, but they’re also wiser. I want to ask you some questions that you can reflect on: Where are you holding on too tightly? Who is not there for you in the way they used to be? Who needs to be let go? Where might it be freeing to ‘let them’ or to ‘let yourself’? Where can you spend time to expose yourself to new people? How can you invest in your relationships while finding ones that are reciprocal? Adult friendships take longer to foster because you simply can’t spend as much time together. It’s going to take time, but it’s worth it. Having people in your life is worth it! I can’t wait to see what new relationships pop up for you!
Quote This“If someone wants to leave, let them. If someone doesn’t appreciate you, let them. If someone is not showing up for you, let them.” — Mel Robbins Highlights* The Great Scattering and How Friendships Naturally Change. [0:03:40] * How ‘Letting Them’, ‘Lets You’. [0:12:35] * Fostering New Relationships. [0:18:53]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:The Let Them Theory, Adult Friendships, New Friendships, Growth
We Mentioned:The Let Them Theory
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Episode 950: Show NotesYour audience isn’t addicted to your content. They’re addicted to dopamine. And if your marketing isn't delivering those micro hits of satisfaction, they're scrolling right past it. In this episode, I'm unpacking how I'm rethinking everything in content, from what I post to how I write. Not to teach better, but to create content that feels better to consume, because that's what people are responding to right now.
People aren’t just looking for educational content anymore; they’re looking for emotional connections that make them feel something in the moment. Whether it’s overcoming boredom, finding entertainment, or feeling a sense of belonging, social media is all about emotional satisfaction. It’s time to adapt to these shifts and create content that resonates on a deeper, emotional level. Let’s dig in!
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What Is Dopamine?Dopamine is a brain chemical tied to pleasure, motivation, and reward, which is why we keep scrolling. It’s why we reach for the next video, why we hit next. While people do want value and to move their business or life forward, the real reason they’re on social media is to feel something. Most people are scrolling by default, so if you want them to stay, you need to deliver that feeling!
Do Dopamine Dressing — But Make It ContentOnce you understand the concept of dopamine, how do you actually use it in practice? How do you deliver more dopamine? How do you get people to stay on your content longer? Let’s consider the idea of "dopamine dressing," where people surround themselves with colors and designs that spark instant joy, regardless of trends. It’s about creating an emotional reaction, not just following logic.
Think of your best content as a dopamine outfit. Does it spark immediate energy or emotion? It doesn’t have to be profound; it just needs to make people stop and engage. For example, a florist I follow shared content about her farm’s new animals, including a miniature horse, baby donkeys, and alpacas. I’m not a florist, but I couldn’t stop watching! That’s the kind of emotional pull we should aim for in our content.
Not Everyone Needs To Be Your Ideal ClientIt might feel odd to create content that satisfies emotional needs, especially if it seems unrelated to your ideal client. But even if someone isn’t your perfect audience, they could become a valuable referral. If they enjoy your content enough to keep coming back, they may mention you when a relevant question comes up with a friend or colleague. This emotional connection can lead to new opportunities, even from people who aren’t your target audience!
Your Life Doesn’t Need To Be Interesting (Or Perfect)I know what some of you are thinking: “My life isn’t that interesting.” But here’s the thing: you don’t need to share every moment of your day to take advantage of dopamine-driven content. There are plenty of strategies to try, like prioritizing visuals, focusing on bite-sized takeaways, or experimenting with storytelling instead of just teaching.
And you don’t need to be perfect either. People connect more with creators who are relatable. If your life appears too perfect, you might gain respect, but you’ll be placed on a pedestal, and your audience might be less likely to buy from you. Even as you gain success, ask yourself: How can I show the flaws?
Decide Who Should Consume Your ContentWhen creating content, it’s crucial to consider who you truly want to attract. Storytelling and emotional content can easily draw in people who aren’t ready for what you offer. For example, if you share a story about feeling defeated and how you treated that through rest, but your offer is all about taking action, you’re likely attracting people who need rest, not people who are ready to take action or buy from you.
Build Your Dopamine Content ClosetI want you to think about what kind of content you’d want to consume today. Imagine your content is like a dopamine closet that someone wants to walk into, rather than a filing cabinet they can come back to later. You want to create something that captivates them in the moment, not just something they might find helpful down the line. Don’t overthink it. Post something today that feels a bit out of the box for you, something that breaks from your usual content but feels good and engaging in the now!
Quote ThisSome of my best-performing posts have been completely unrelated to business, but because they're sprinkled and peppered in amongst things that are all business, the majority of people interacting with them are still my ideal client. Highlights* What is Dopamine? [0:02:26] * Do Dopamine Dressing — But Make It Content [0:03:40] * Not Everyone Needs To Be Your Ideal Client [0:05:40] * Your Life Doesn’t Need To Be Interesting (Or Perfect) [0:06:39] * Decide Who Should Consume Your Content [0:12:48] * Build Your Dopamine Content Closet [0:14:23]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Dopamine, Content strategy, Ideal audience, Social media
We Mentioned:Digital Product Jumpstart
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Episode 949: Show NotesIf you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by traditional goal-setting, stuck chasing someone else’s version of success, or paralyzed by the fear of getting it wrong, this conversation will feel like a breath of fresh air. Joining me is Anne-Laure Le Cunff, an award-winning neuroscientist, entrepreneur, and the founder of Ness Labs, where her insights on lifelong learning, curiosity, and adaptability reach more than 100 000 curious minds every week.
Together, we dive into her new, incredible book, Tiny Experiments, a transformative guide to living a more experimental life, turning uncertainty into curiosity and forging a path of self-discovery one step at a time. Anne-Laure has beautifully captured what so many of us are feeling today about growth, achievement, and navigating a world that’s constantly changing. I’m so excited for you to read this one! Let’s dive in.
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Golden Handcuffs: From Working at Google to Reframing Her GoalsAnne-Laure started her career in an unexpected place — Google! After two internships, she got her first job there. She was so thankful for this huge opportunity, so she became the person who said yes to everything. She worked really long hours, thinking of little else but this definition of success she got from others. She was both burned out, and bored out! Because her future was so specifically mapped out for her, she had lost all excitement for what might happen next. So she began to reframe her goals.
Why Our Approach to Goal-Setting Makes No Sense in a Changing WorldThe way we treat goals as a society is very linear. We think you have to have a very clear vision of where you want to go, and then you need to work really hard to get there. But the world keeps on changing and so do we. Thinking you can set a big goal in the far future with a perfect plan and then just work really, really hard to get there is an illusion. We don’t see those liminal spaces as an amazing opportunity to get closer to what we want.
What It Might Look Like to Develop an Experimental MindsetAnne-Laure speaks about life as a series of experiments. Instead of a clear goal, you start with a question. Would that be something I like? Would it help me grow? You’re no longer chasing an outcome. It’s just about curiosity. It’s really about having an honest look at the data and becoming the scientist of your own life. She also talks about ‘self anthropology’. What would you find if you studied your own life? Pay attention to what you’re saying to yourself and see what you can learn from it.
How an Experimental Mindset Might Actually Support the Sustainability BusinessWhatever you do, there’s no guarantee you’re going to make money. So, experimenting is a way to actually embrace that and be more honest with yourself. If you’re paying attention to what works and what doesn’t, you’re more likely to be sustainable as an entrepreneur. Overnight success is a myth! Any entrepreneur that is successful today had to work for years before. They actually experimented for years, whether they called it that or not. But none of them copy-pasted a blueprint for success. Entrepreneurship is inherently messy, and by being more experimental, you can have more fun!
Learning in Public: What’s Different About Experimenting TogetherYou can experiment on your own. But when you learn together, you grow faster. It’s also more fun, and that’s something we should optimize for too. The format is the same, committing to an action for a specific duration, and withholding judgment while you do this until you’re done. In an organization, you can all run a tiny experiment together. In a household or a relationship, it’s the same. This format can apply to anything. As long as you’re trying a new thing over a certain period of time.
Designing Your First Tiny ExperimentAnne-Laure’s goal is to see everyone who reads her book designing their first tiny experiment. If they can reopen that window of experimentation in their lives, she feels like her job is done. The advice she offers is simple: nobody’s watching, and nobody cares that much! You can actually take way more risks and have way more fun than you think. If you’re curious to know more, get the book! Starting your first tiny experiment? Follow Anne-Laure, post about it, and tag me!
Quote This“You are more likely to figure out a way to make money that works for your business if you keep on experimenting.” —Anne-Laure Le Cunff Highlights* Golden Handcuffs: From Working at Google to Reframing Her Goals [0:01:49] * Why Our Approach to Goal-Setting Makes No Sense in a Changing World [0:07:00] * What It Might Look Like to Approach Life with an Experimental Mindset [0:10:35] * How an Experimental Mindset Might Actually Support the Sustainability of Your Business [0:23:58] * Learning in Public: What’s Different About Experimenting Together [0:29:05] * Designing Your First Tiny Experiment [0:37:12]
OUR GUEST:Anne-Laure Le Cunff
Website | Instagram | Linkedin | X
Anne-Laure Le Cunff is an award-winning entrepreneur and neuroscientist studying curiosity-driven intelligence, which is the architecture behind why we seek, and how this system can be tuned or disrupted. She is the author of the book, Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World, and founder of Ness Labs, a learning community for knowledge workers who want to achieve more without sacrificing their mental health. Her work has been featured in Rolling Stone, Forbes, The Financial Times, Wired, and more, and her research at King’s College London is changing the way we think about how we learn and grow across a lifetime.
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Success, Experimentation, Entrepreneurship, Planning, Business
We Mentioned:Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World
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Episode 948: Show NotesIf you don’t believe in yourself, who else will? Today, we are joined by Julie Wainwright, founder and former CEO of The RealReal; a company that she scaled to over a billion dollars in revenue before taking it public. Now she is at it again as the co-founder and CEO of AHARA – a precision nutrition company redefining wellness through science. Julie has been featured on Forbes’ 50 Under 50 alongside names like Kamala Harris and Shonda Rhimes. Julie is a bold and strategic leader who is here to share the lessons no one teaches about running a business.
Tune in to hear all about navigating power dynamics, building personal wealth, making strategic exits, and leading companies as a woman in tech. This episode is for everyone! Whether you’re a solopreneur, a startup founder, or are growing a team of your own, this conversation is full of real-world advice from someone who’s lived it and started all over again. Let’s dive in!
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Fearlessness in Career PivotsAfter her massive failure at Pets.com, Julie figured out that no one was going to hire her, she wasn’t going to get a good job, she would run out of money at some point, but she knew that she loved working. And while that horrific failure that she experienced was so painful, it didn’t kill her. In fact, it actually freed her! She had no fear of failure after that. The decision to pivot from The RealReal to creating AHARA was a very personal one for Julie. After watching her parents struggle with their health at the end of their lives, she became passionate about health, nutrition, and wellness and created AHARA as a passion project. She recognized how powerful tailoring your nutrition to your specific needs is and leveraged technology to make it happen through AHARA. There is so much power in taking hold of something you’re passionate about and finding new ways to approach it to create a business out of it.
Embracing Being 51% Right and Finding Confidence Early on, Julie knew that in order to be successful, she needed to own something that someone else couldn’t own – something that no one could take away from her. The tech industry is so male-dominated and political nowadays, but when Julie joined, it wasn’t like that because it was so fresh. When politics came into play, she put a smile on her face, kept her head down, and waited until she could be in control of her environment. Julie wants women in business to stop putting so much energy into the fact that they are women and instead, focus on doing their jobs well and being more positive and productive. Julie feels like she spent decades holding herself back and letting limitations define her. She wants you to make sure that you don’t shrink into yourself if you feel like you aren’t enough, and challenge that limiting belief. You have to believe that you will figure things out, and at the end of the day, you only have to be 51% right to create a successful business! If you don’t believe in yourself, who else is going to?
Building Personal Wealth as a WomanJulie is a massive advocate for women building their own personal wealth because she wants women to be able to make the right decisions for the right reason. It’s so important to ensure that the decisions you make aren’t based on your need for someone else’s wealth. You will never have the same options and strength as you would if you create your own money. It’s all about knowing you can make your own money and having the freedom of choice it brings! Julie also wants you to start being a little bit more selfish when it comes to planning and securing your financial future. It’s all about finding the balance between being selfish enough for your personal finances but not so selfish that the business crashes. You also need to be very decisive when it comes to pivoting in your business. If something isn’t working, making fast decisions is key!
Life is short. You only have one life. And there is no downside to going for it and living as much as you can! Julie wants to remind you that failure can’t hurt you! What can hurt is when you’re old and bitter because you didn’t shoot your shot! Julie outlines the ins and outs of her success in her new book Time to Get Real.
Quote This“Creating your own business is an act of faith.” — Julie Wainwright Highlights* Fearlessness in Career Pivots. [0:03:41] * Embracing Being 51% Right and Finding Confidence. [0:12:49] * Building Personal Wealth as a Woman. [0:25:31]
OUR GUEST:Julie Wainwright
Website | Instagram
Julie Wainwright is the CEO and co-founder of AHARA, a science-backed personalized nutrition company. She previously founded The RealReal, transforming luxury consignment and becoming one of the first women to lead a company to an IPO. Widely recognized for her innovation and leadership, Wainwright has been named one of Entrepreneur’s 50 Most Daring Entrepreneurs, Fast Company’s Most Creative People, and featured on Forbes’ 50 Over 50 and Inc. Magazine’s 100 Female Founders lists.
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Personal Wealth, Fearlessness, Confidence in Business, Career Pivots
We Mentioned:Digital Product Jumpstart
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Episode 947: Show NotesWelcome back to The Creator Story Toolkit series, where we’re talking about the kinds of stories that help you connect with your audience, build trust, and grow your business! If you missed part one, I definitely encourage you to go back and give it a listen. You don’t have to listen to these episodes in order, but in part one, we talked about the essential stories that help you build your brand and make you memorable. They’re foundational, and I don’t want you to miss them!
In today’s episode, we’re focusing on a different kind of story. These are the stories that help you sell your offers and expand your impact. They’re the ones that move people to action, help you overcome objections, and grow your community by making your message land. These stories don’t just connect with your audience; they convert. And that’s exactly what we’re diving into today!
If you missed it, you can listen to Part 1 of this series here.
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Demonstrate You Understand Their ChallengesThe first type of conversion story you need in your toolkit is the objection-handling story. These stories are designed to speak directly to the hesitations your audience might have about buying. Think of them as where storytelling meets sales copy. It’s not enough to simply explain what you offer. You need to guide people through their doubts and show them what’s possible.
To create this kind of story, start with a moment of relatability. Use phrases like “I used to think” or “I had a client who was worried about” to meet your audience where they are. Then walk them through how that mindset shifted. These stories are subtle but powerful. They don’t feel pushy, yet they often lead directly to conversions.
Start by identifying your most common objections. Whether it’s concerns about time, money, or results, you can speak to those fears with a clear and honest story. For example, if time is the issue, position your offer as essential work, not just another thing to add to their plate.
Share Why You Created Your OfferIn part one of The Creator Story Toolkit series, we talked about your origin story, which is specific to your business. But you also have your product or offer creation stories: why you created what you did and what inspired it in the first place.
This is where you let people in on the behind-the-scenes. What problem were you seeing over and over again? What gap kept showing up either for you or your clients? And what made you realize you needed to build something to solve it?
For instance, I created the Instagram Profit Playbook because I had been really frustrated with my growth on social media. I studied a bunch of creators and identified what made them successful and implemented them in my own social media plan. After seven days, my engagement went up one thousand percent; that’s crazy!
I knew I wanted to give people access to this information and make it easy for someone else to implement, and that’s how I put together the Instagram Profit Playbook. It’s a clear example of a story about recognizing a need and creating a solution with an offer or product!
Connect Over Shared ValuesStory number three is your community or shared values story. This is the kind of story that says, “I get you,” without ever having to spell it out. It’s not usually a big moment, it’s often something small and real that lets people feel seen and understood.
This is where you share a moment when you saw yourself in your community or when they saw themselves in you. It could be a belief, a personal experience, or a value you hold close. For me, one of the values I wear on my sleeve is that my business is not the most important thing in my life. I built it to provide for my family, not to replace them.
When my dad had a stroke, I didn’t hesitate to drop everything and be at the hospital. And guess what? My business kept running. That’s the whole point. You get to wear your values out loud. You don’t have to hide them. And when you do, you’ll attract the people who believe in those same things too and provide extra reassurance that they are making the right choice.
Invite Others to Be Part of Your Vision for the FutureThe next type of story is your vision or future story. This is where you give your audience something bigger to align themselves with. People want to be part of something meaningful. When you plant a flag and describe the future you're working toward, you create a sense of purpose and belonging.
Ask yourself: What will change when your offer becomes the norm? How will your audience’s lives or even their industry shift as a result? Invite them in to help you shape it! For me, I want to make education more accessible. And I can’t do that alone. That’s what drives me to grow my community. The more people subscribe, the more I can lower prices on courses and make educational content freely available!
Haters Gonna HateNot every story you tell is about celebration. Sometimes, the most powerful ones come from moments of tension, like when someone criticizes your work or copies your content. These are “Haters Gonna Hate” stories, and they’re about showing your backbone, setting boundaries, and staying rooted in growth and self-trust.
For example, I’ve had entire programs stolen and uploaded to shady resale sites. Most recently, I went up against a business that was 100% a scam! Every piece of content on their site was stolen, and I wasn't going to tolerate it. I filed a DMCA takedown notice, sent it to the web host, and within 48 hours, the entire site was shut down. I could’ve stayed frustrated, but instead, I chose to turn it into a moment of action and education for myself and others!
Show What’s Possible When You Take a ChanceStory number six is one of my absolute favorites: This wasn’t supposed to work. These are the surprise wins, the things you try on a whim, half expecting them to flop, except they don’t! They land. They resonate. They grow into something real. And these stories are powerful because they remind your audience that messy, imperfect action can still create magic!
One of my recent “this wasn’t supposed to work” moments is Creator Diary. I launched it as a passion project, a space to share not just my own creator stories, but yours too. On a whim, I pitched it to a brand. I didn’t have a deck, I didn’t have a polished plan. I just told them what I was doing, why it mattered, and what I saw it becoming. And you know what? They said yes. FreshBooks signed on as the official sponsor! A side project got fully funded because I asked. That’s the power of sharing your vision!
Quote ThisYour values matter, and the people who want to buy from you will resonate with your values. Highlights* Show People That You Understand Their Challenges [0:01:22] * Share Why You Created Your Offer [0:04:22] * Connect Over Shared Values [0:08:34] * Invite Others to Be Part of Your Vision for the Future [0:12:45] * Haters Gonna Hate [0:15:50] * Show What’s Possible When You Take a Chance [0:19:51]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Conversion, Storytelling, Creator Diary, Marketing
We Mentioned:Instagram Profit Playbook
Creator Diary
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Episode 946: Show NotesI believe storytelling is one of the most powerful tools you have as a marketer. In a recent podcast, I talked about pulling out the kinds of stories that you can use again and again. I want to teach you to write narratives that you can come back to and use in a bunch of different situations.
These are the stories that are going to help build your brand and make you memorable. We’re talking about creating trust and building an emotional connection with you and your business. This is how you build relationships without having a one-on-one conversation. It’s all about building a foundation: introducing yourself to a colder audience and reminding your warmer audience how you tick.
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What to Include in Your Origin StoryThis is your ‘how it all started’ moment. It’s not your whole life story, it’s the moment you took a leap! Start with the catalyst and end with what shifted. You’re going to use a story to describe how your business was born on your website’s about page, on an introduction post on your Instagram, on podcast interviews, or even as part of your email welcome sequence.
How to Tell Your Founder StoryThis is where you’ll tell people where you come from, who you are, and what you bring to the table. It creates context for who you are beyond your business and creates depth, relatability and trust. To do this, you’re going to go back to a few key past experiences, skills, or identities that directly influence how you show up today. You’re going to use this in places like Instagram carousels.
Where to Tell Your Why StoryThe emotional heartbeat of your brand and your core motivation, your ‘why’ story is where you share a belief or a value that fuels your business. It’s where people feel the purpose behind your offers. You’re going to use this story on sales pages, email nurture sequences, brand manifestos, live talks, keynote intros, and more.
Why Customer Transformation Stories are So PowerfulStart with the ‘before’, walk through the problem that they had, and finish with the transformation. If you only tell people about the results, you’ll end up with a lot of clients who are not actually ready to do the work. They need to hear how your clients came in ready and confident. This story is going to help you find not only more potential buyers, but more qualified leads.
Learning to Tell Your Story of FailureVulnerability builds trust! A story of failure shows your audience that you’ve been through something hard and you came out on the other side. You want to keep it honest but solution-oriented, and share that breakdown moment. What did you learn, and how did it change you? This is where you get to show that you are human.
Telling Your Credibility StoryIt’s the moment you realize ‘I’ve got this.’ You get to communicate your authority, not through bragging, but through sharing the story of your very first result. What you may not know about media, is that it’s paid for! It’s the newest form of advertising. But when you earn media, that validation is immense! That’s why my story of Strategy Hour being featured on Forbes is key to my story. Yours may look a bit different, but it may be just as valuable.
Personality-Driven ExtrasContrast what people assume your life looks like with what it actually is. Some of my favorite ways to do this are just letting people in on my interests and quirks. Looking at them, you’d figure out that I love design, my beagles, and spending time in the garden with my husband. You don’t have to share things in the moment, but sometimes you can, and other times you can reflect and share after the fact.
What Happens When You Share an Idea That Didn’t WorkTake the opportunity to share experimentation with others. It’s not your big fail, but a safe space to give your audience permission to try things and fail forward. Share how it became a lesson or even a win in disguise. You can use a story like this in a lot of different scenarios. You can use it when you’re talking about mindset or vulnerable content in general. This will help people to realize that you’re not just all about wins, that you’re willing to try things and find out what works. I want to encourage you to pick one of these stories and tell it this week!
Quote ThisGive your audience permission to try things even if they don’t work, and to fail forward. Highlights* What to Include in Your Origin Story [0:02:34] * How to Tell Your Founder Story [0:05:14] * Where to Tell Your Why Story [0:09:10] * Why Customer Transformation Stories are So Powerful [0:12:27] * Learning to Tell Your Story of Failure [0:17:07] * Telling Your Credibility Story [0:23:36] * Personality-Driven Extras [0:27:32] * What Happens When You Share an Idea That Didn’t Work [0:32:55]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Storytelling, Building Trust, Failure, Audience
We Mentioned:Digital Product Jumpstart
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Episode 945: Show NotesAI is everywhere. It’s an undeniably powerful tool, it’s evolving fast, and it’s not going away. But even with all that momentum, there are still some things it can’t do and some things you should absolutely let it handle for you.
It also provokes a lot of different reactions. For some, fear is the first response. Others feel overwhelmed or confused. Maybe you’re just tired of the noise! All anyone has talked about for the last two years has been AI, and honestly? I get it. Every one of those reactions is valid.
But here’s what I want to do today: point out what makes you unique, your story, your lived experience, your creative spark, and show you how you can work with AI, not against it. Because it’s critically important that business owners learn how to use it, otherwise you're going to be left in the dust. My goal is for you to walk away feeling empowered and clear on how to use AI to save time, spark ideas, and support your business without ever losing what makes your voice special!
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AI Can’t Replace Your Story, Voice & ExperienceAI doesn’t have your story, and that’s your biggest asset! It doesn't have your lived experience, beliefs, voice, or background. You were there living it every single day. AI wasn’t watching you. In a world increasingly saturated with machine-generated content, the real differentiator is YOU. As we see more AI-created content, people are going to crave more things that feel distinctively human. Your unique journey, beliefs, and how you see the world are irreplaceable.
Identify the stories that shaped your perspective and share them. Not because they’re polished or perfect, but because they’re human. If you're being hired for your lived experience, are you sharing that enough? Are you making it clear how you’re unique? Start weaving your story into your messaging wherever you can. It’s the thing that makes people care!
The Power of Emotional Nuance & Creative IntuitionAI might sound like it cares, but it can’t actually care. Empathy, emotional nuance, and that gut-level knowing? That’s you. What triggers you? What motivates you? What inspires you? What connects you to other people? Those emotional patterns form the basis for genuine connection, and AI just can’t replicate that depth.
Lean into your emotional responses. Use them as tools to shape content, connect with your audience, and decide what’s worth sharing. And trust and hone your creative intuition; that visionary spark that sees potential in something before it exists. Your weird metaphors, your frameworks, how you see things fitting together, that’s your creative genius. Follow it.
Using AI to Save Time & Make Money in Your BusinessThe rule is simple: when do you use a system? There are only two answers. When it’s going to save you time or make you money. AI is a system, so use it like one! From generating headline variations to rewriting content across platforms, it can take the heavy lifting off your plate and help you get to the good stuff faster.
What are the things that are draining time from you? If it’s repetitive in nature, it’s probably a great opportunity to ask AI for help! Start by automating recurring text-based tasks. Think content repurposing, outlining and summarizing, headline testing, and customer service replies. AI might get you 100% of the way or it might only get you 80% of the way, but even if it gets you 80% of the way, it can do it in about five seconds when the same task might’ve taken you 10 minutes manually. If you repeat this time-saving again and again, it’s going to add up!
Collaborating with AI, Not Competing With ItThe “new normal” is what I call hybrid creation. The smartest creators aren’t trying to outsmart AI; they’re partnering with it. Think of AI as more of your intern, idea bouncer, collaborator, or business partner. You're still the creative director. You’re still the CEO. You’re still making the financial decisions. AI can spark ideas, help you organize thoughts, and keep things moving, but you call the shots!
Use AI to enhance your process, not replace your voice. Feed it your POV, your experiences, your tone, and let it work in your style. AI is ultimately reflecting you back to yourself (with the added benefit of access to the internet). It’s your ideas enhanced, your personality amplified.
The Future of AI: From Productivity Partner to Task Execution ToolWhat’s coming next is wild! AI won’t just suggest things, it will do them. Think: automating tasks like updating your website or managing workflows, even checking in to help keep you on track. You will see more people using AI in a coaching-type manner, again, not replacing a human, but helping them stay on track.
The real advantage of using AI for business will come from your ability to personalize it and make it feel as human and relatable as possible. It’s all about how you position it, how deeply it resonates, and how well you use it to truly connect. Stay curious about what’s possible. Start experimenting with tools that allow AI to integrate into your daily tasks. Whether it's prioritizing your to-do list or following up on customer requests, the future is about smart delegation, and that starts now.
For all of the reasons I’ve mentioned and more, I’m currently building my own AI tool called ClickCopy. The goal? To help you transform one piece of copy into multiple outputs instantly, in your voice, with the background on your product suite for your ideal audience. It’s designed for creators who are tired of reinventing the wheel and want to repurpose their content faster and smarter.
If that’s you, head toclickcopy.ai to join the waitlist. I’d love to keep you in the loop!
Quote ThisAI is not here to replace you. It’s here to help you move forward more quickly, make more decisions, faster. Highlights* What AI Can’t Replace: Your Story, Voice & Lived Experience. [0:02:34] * The Power of Emotional Nuance & Creative Intuition. [0:08:04] * Using AI to Save Time & Make Money in Your Business. [0:14:12] * Collaborating with AI, Not Competing With It. [0:22:13] * The Future of AI: From Productivity Partner to Task Execution Tool. [0:23:04]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:AI, Artificial intelligence, Machine learning, Automation, Digital tools, Content creation
We Mentioned:ClickCopy.ai
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Episode 944: Show NotesThere’s no shortage of business advice out there, but let’s be real, some of it just doesn’t work for me. And I’m guessing it’s not all going to work for you either!
I’ve learned the hard way that not all advice is created equal. In today’s episode, I’m sharing where I’m intentionally being a rebel; where I’m choosing what actually aligns with my values and giving myself permission to evolve. I hope this episode gives you the spark to do the same. We’re going to tackle these, one piece of bad advice at a time, and I’ll break down exactly why I’m not following it.
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Why You Shouldn’t Do Less to Make MoreI hate this one! This advice can feel so toxic and premature, especially when you’re still building your business. It might even make you feel like what you are doing is ineffective because you’re not getting to your goal fast enough and you think you should be doing less.
That’s just not how business works! You’re not going to know what works until you put in the reps. You need quantity to learn! You can do more of what’s working and ultimately do less, but that takes time.
You Don’t Need a Huge Audience to Make Real MoneyAn audience doesn’t necessarily help you make more money. They have to be engaged, and they have to be an ideal fit for what you’re selling. I have a large audience, an email list, and a decent-sized social media following, but I recently started something new, Creator Diary, and I’ve put it on a totally different URL, email, and social media. That’s because Creator Diary has a totally different focus to Boss Project! If your followers are not actively engaged with what you’re doing, it isn’t moving your business forward.
What You Should Actually Focus On & Why it Isn’t Growing Your TeamThe most important thing you can do is provide the right solution for the right people. You could have a small but mighty list. The audience is a “nice to have,” not a necessity. What matters most is reaching the right people. I used to believe that scaling meant growing my team. But the bigger the team, the bigger the costs and the more emotionally involved everything gets. I’ve seen people take home more with a $250,000 cash flow than entrepreneurs making $3 million. Simplicity can work. You don’t need a bigger team to scale.
How to Stop Glorifying Burnout & Making Ease Seem Like a FailureIt doesn’t have to be hard! You can aim for simple, sustainable, and aligned. That’s my goal every single day. I want a flow. I want it to be easy. If I’m in a hard season that doesn’t end, my body will pay for it. Life is hard enough all on its own. We don’t need business to be hard too! Is it still work sometimes? Yes, of course! Is it still going to be hard sometimes? Yes! But it’s not wrong if it’s not hard.
Fight Me on This: You Don’t Need a Niche!Does niching help? 100%. A focus of any kind is going to help you to grow faster. But most entrepreneurs I know are multi-passionate, and if they’re constantly being boxed in creatively, they’re going to get really stuck, really fast. Myself included! You have to be willing to listen to those nudges, even if they feel like a sideline. What I do instead is niche my messaging. When I talk about something specific, I speak directly to that person. Outside of that, I give myself the freedom to evolve and explore.
My Perspective on Where to Place Your PricingI very intentionally sell low-cost digital products through a reasonably priced, accessible membership. I’ve sold products from $11,000 to $45,000 and everything in between. I’m not scared of selling high ticket, but it’s just not how I want to show up in this season. That said, for most small businesses, having something on the higher end can be important. Your audience might not be big enough to sustain your life on low-ticket sales alone. Think of high ticket as simply another way to create profit. It’s not better or worse, just a different path.
How to Win with Just One Offer & One Thing You Shouldn't Fear MonetizingIf you don’t have a bigger audience to sustain one offer, this can get really challenging. But that doesn’t mean it can’t work! I’ve seen plenty of people do this successfully. You just have to grow your audience consistently in order to succeed. Having something in your back pocket that offers more flexibility is definitely going to make things easier. Here’s another bit of advice I don’t listen to: “Don’t monetize your passion projects.” When you see it as a way to fund something you actually want to pursue, everything shifts. Some things deserve the limelight!
The Permission You Might Not Know You NeedYou are allowed to outgrow advice. Maybe it’s something you heard today that you used to subscribe to and you don’t believe anymore. Maybe there’s something else on your mind and you’re not so sure if it works for you anymore. You’re growing, you’re evolving, and you’re aging. You’re at a different point in life than you were two years ago. Think about how different your life was then!
You don’t have to follow rules that don’t make sense to you. The only rules in life are the ones that you subscribe to. You have one life, and you’re not obligated to anyone but yourself! I’d love to hear about a piece of advice that you ditched recently or something about this episode that hit home for you.
Send me a DM on Instagram@abagailsays and tell me: What are you no longer subscribing to?
Quote ThisYou can aim for simple, sustainable, and aligned. That’s my goal every single day. Highlights* Why You Shouldn’t Do Less to Make More [0:01:05] * You Don’t Need a Huge Audience to Make Real Money [0:03:10] * What You Should Actually Focus On & Why it Isn’t Growing Your Team [0:06:17] * How to Stop Glorifying Burnout & Making Ease Seem Like a Failure [0:14:54] * Fight Me on This: You Don’t Need a Niche! [0:17:04] * My Perspective on Where to Place Your Pricing [0:20:41] * How to Win with Just One Offer & One Thing You Shouldn't Fear Monetizing [0:25:26] * The Permission You Might Not Know You Need [0:32:45]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Business Advice, Strategy, Audiences, Teams
We Mentioned:Creator Diary
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Episode 943: Show NotesIf traditional business advice has ever felt like it was made for someone else’s brain, you’re not imagining it! This episode is all about building systems that truly support how you think, especially if you’re an entrepreneur with ADHD or leading a neurodiverse team.
Our guest, Latrice Prater, is a neurodivergent CEO and founder of The Digital Solutions Team. In just a few short years, she’s scaled her agency and redefined how women in business approach systems, structure, and success. She shares how her neurodivergence shaped her journey and how you can build a business that works with your brain, not against it. Tune in to discover how to create systems that actually fit the way you work!
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Systems for ADHD Needs to be a ThingWhether you have ADHD or OCD, building the right system can revolutionize your process. When Latrice started her business, she fell in love with creating systems. She also realized that, as someone with ADHD, systems can make everything so much easier! Doing everything manually sucks. Automation is a game-changer. It reduces your mental load and gives you the support you need to stay on track, especially if you’re neurodivergent.
Building a System for Your Brain, Business, and BudgetWhat works for the majority of business owners, won’t necessarily work for you, especially if you’re neurodivergent. You need a system that works for your brain, business, and budget. For Latrice, that means a lot of things, including no meetings before 10 AM (because anything before that is too early for her brain), ignoring pressure to use social media, and not following the mainstream definition of success.
Creating Structure for ADHDOne of the things about having ADHD is that you might tend to be inconsistent. Latrice addresses this by relying on a team of contractors to support her. She has created structure in her business by setting up multiple workflows and automation. From anniversaries to meetings, she has automation set up to remind her of all the most important things! She also listens to what her brain needs, whether it’s getting focused and doing deep research or getting a dose of socializing and connection by reaching out to clients.
Giving Your Team AutonomyLatrice values autonomy and wants to give her team the freedom not to be tied to their computer 24/7. Her teams are client-facing and have their own set of clients to work with. That allows them to set their own schedule for how they do client work. Other than team meetings and co-working sessions, they have the freedom to structure their day the way that they need to, just like Latrice!
Find What Works For YouIf you’ve ever used ClickUp, you’ll have an idea of how helpful its comprehensive automation can be but also how overwhelming it can feel to set it all up. So, what can you do to prioritize building systems without feeling discouraged by how big the task feels? For Latrice, it’s all about falling in love with building a system that works so that she can get her client's work done efficiently and effectively.
From Slack to Dubsado, there are a ton of tools out there to choose from; it’s just about finding what works for you. Maybe you’re all about process and need a powerful workhorse like Asana, or you need something a little more fun and inspiring like ClickUp. Take the time to figure out what works for you (and your brain) and you’ll be much more likely to stick with it!
Managing Your TeamsOne of the things Latrice struggled with the most when she first started managing her teams was delegation. But because she is neurodivergent, delegation is extremely important, so she had to learn how to do it!
Equally important to her is building strong connections with her team. Many of her contractors run their own businesses, and because she understands their goals, she actively supports their growth. She takes the same intentional approach with her neurodivergent team members, asking how she can support them and leaning into their strengths. Collaboration is central to how she operates, and she prioritizes work her team enjoys. It even impacts her client decisions. For Latrice, it’s not just about managing people; it’s about supporting them as whole humans.
Redefining SuccessLatrice’s definition of success has evolved significantly over time. Initially, she thought success had to be tied to specific, measurable goals, like reaching seven figures or hitting ambitious revenue targets. However, she quickly realized that money and financial milestones don’t drive her. Instead, Latrice finds fulfillment in making an impact and providing value through her work.
Whether something works out or not, she prefers to try new things and learn from the experience rather than live with regret. For her, the true measure of success is having the courage to act on ideas and seeing them come to life, regardless of the outcome.
The ADHD SuperpowerADHD can be difficult to manage, but it can also be your superpower! For Latrice, it makes her a creative problem solver and empowers her to see things in a way that other people don’t. It helps her bring systems together, create flows, and workshop problems in totally innovative and surprising ways. Even if it doesn't look like it, her brain is constantly processing and workshopping!
Quote This“When it comes to other neurodivergent team members, it's easy for me to ask ‘How can I support you?’ and just follow through on that.” — Latrice Prater Highlights* Systems for ADHD Needs to be a Thing [0:01:23] * Building a System for Your Brain, Business, and Budget [0:04:33] * Creating Structure for ADHD [0:08:28] * Giving Your Team Autonomy [0:12:59] * Find What Works For You [0:14:56] * Managing Your Teams [0:25:41] * Redefining Success [0:32:38] * The ADHD Superpower [0:35:20]
OUR GUEST:Latrice Prater
Website | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook
Latrice Prater, Neurodivergent CEO and founder of The Digital Solutions Team, transforms female entrepreneurship with her innovative technical solutions. Starting as a solopreneur in 2020, she quickly scaled her business to a thriving agency. Latrice extends her influence through speaking engagements at summits, guest trainings, and podcasts, including her own "Black Girl CEO Problems" blog and the "Unconventional CEOs" podcast, embodying a powerful voice for neurodivergent women in business.
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:ADHD, Systems, Workflows, Automation tools
We Mentioned:Digital Product Jumpstart
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Episode 942: Show NotesMost brands assume going viral takes a big ad budget. But what if you could build national recognition, a cult-like following, and a thriving e-commerce business without spending a single dollar on paid ads? Lindzi Shanks is the co-founder of XO Marshmallow and the world’s first gourmet marshmallow cafe. It’s a wildly fun online brand with flavors as nostalgic as they are delicious. She is an entrepreneur, strategist, and content genius who knows how to make people fall in love with a product, and she did it all with a $0 marketing budget. Let’s dig in and hear her story!
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XO Marshmallow’s Rise from $200 in the Bank to a Multi 7-Figure BusinessLindzi’s business partner, Cat, started making marshmallows as a side hustle in law school. After graduating, she experimented with flavors like Nutella and raspberry, then decided against being a lawyer. Instead, she took a café job and perfected her recipes. At the same time, Lindzi had just finished her master’s in psychology. Realizing it wasn’t for her, she started a clothing store. In an interview for seasonal help, an applicant mentioned making marshmallows. They added Cat’s marshmallows to coffee mugs sold at the shop, and the combo became a bestseller. Ten years later, they’ve built a marshmallow empire.
Building a Viral Brand Without a Marketing BudgetWhen Lindzi and Cat started, they had no money, just $100 each in a bank account. Lindzi focused on Instagram, posting mouthwatering photos to stand out from the sea of brown, natural tones. They aimed to be a vibrant, eye-catching brand while building a community called "Troupe XO.” In 2020, Lindzi tried TikTok, and her first video hit a million views. Since then, XO Marshmallow has consistently posted videos, grown accounts, and listened to feedback. She believes customer opinions matter most because, without them, the business doesn’t exist.
Creating a Shareable Product and Building a CommunityProviding value through products and content that makes followers feel valued, heard, and seen is at the heart of XO Marshmallow’s strategy. For example, they’ve never paid influencers, instead promoting honest reviews. Despite having a team of 30, Lindzi handles all social media. She is the brand’s voice, doing voice-overs for all content, and when she changed that, engagement plummeted. Her advice? Film everything and get used to it, even if it’s uncomfortable. The top driver of engagement is consistency, and TikTok’s key metric is watch-through rate. The best way to get comfortable on camera is just to start.
The Next Chapter: XO Marshmallow’s Plans for GrowthLindzi believes 20% of your output should yield 80% of your results, so she spends 20–25% of her time on marketing. Batching her time for social media and content keeps her sane! She distinguishes between working on and in the business, with CEOs needing to focus on growth, vision, and goals. XO Marshmallow is known as a B2C company where customers order online for direct shipping. They also had a cafe for seven years. Now, they’re focused on scaling with bigger orders to Walmart, Costco, and other major retailers. Their biggest complaint is shipping costs, and this approach gets products to customers without that added expense.
Leveraging the Power of Brand Partnerships Over PressScooby Doo, Strawberry Shortcake and Carebears are just some of the brands XO Marshmallow has partnered with, and there are more in the works! Gen Z is using ChatGPT to make purchasing decisions, and when you have a ton of content and UGC, guess what’s fuelling those AI algorithms? The content that you’ve created! Organic growth comes with pressure, and Lindzi definitely feels it. It’s important to remember that when you’re smaller, your effort will go further than your money. At some point that won’t be true anymore, and then you’ll need to decide how to proceed.
What’s Next for XO Marshmallow and How You Can Go Along for the JourneyThe first ever XO Marshmallow cookbook is launching in August! Lindzi is focusing on building the brand from a lifestyle perspective, as well as a product one. They’re thinking beyond marshmallows and considering brand partnerships that even go beyond food! She’s thinking about potential mergers and acquisitions through the lens of what her life might look like beyond marshmallows: coaching, speaking engagements, and more! Lindzi is proof that you don’t need a massive marketing budget to build a buzz-worthy brand. You just need community, creativity, and most importantly, consistency.
Quote This“Film everything, and get used to doing it!” — Lindzi Shanks Highlights* XO Marshmallow’s Rise from $200 in the Bank to a Multi 7-Figure Business [0:01:47] * Building a Viral Brand Without a Marketing Budget [0:05:27] * Creating a Shareable Product and Building a Community [0:09:46] * The Next Chapter: XO Marshmallow’s Plans for Growth [0:23:04] * Leveraging the Power of Brand Partnerships Over Press [0:30:47] * What’s Next for XO Marshmallow and How You Can Go Along for the Journey [0:41:44]
Today's Guest Lindzi Shanks
Website | Instagram | TikTok | LinkedIn
Lindzi Shanks is an entrepreneur, strategist, and co-founder of XO Marshmallow, the world’s first gourmet marshmallow café and a thriving online confectionery brand. Lindzi actively engages with customers through platforms like TikTok and Instagram, making XO Marshmallow a fun and interactive brand. As XO Marshmallow continues to evolve, Lindzi remains at the forefront, pushing boundaries in the confectionery industry and redefining the way people experience marshmallows.
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Social Media, Marketing, Marketing Budget, TikTok, Product-based Business
We Mentioned:Notion
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Episode 941: Show NotesWe've been conditioned to believe that work falls into one of two extremes: either you're grinding non-stop, pushing yourself to exhaustion, or you've mastered the elusive work-life balance. But what if that’s a false choice? As a creator, I’ve realized that some of my work doesn’t feel like work at all. It can be play, it can be art, and it can feel deeply satisfying. Yet, there’s pressure to justify how we spend our time, as if every choice determines our worth.
In today’s episode, I challenge these ideas. What if we stopped obsessing over whether we’re working “the right way” and embraced creativity for what it is? Something that brings us joy. How would we show up differently without judgment from others or ourselves? Let’s explore how letting go of these pressures can transform the way we work and live!
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What if Hustling isn’t Always Bad?When I first started my business, I worked constantly. The moment my husband left for work, I was at my computer, and I often stayed up past midnight. Everyone said working that much should feel exhausting, but I didn’t feel that way. Still, I couldn’t shake the belief that if I was working all the time, it had to be bad. Was I out of balance?
As life changed, so did my approach to work. A major health challenge forced me to slow down, making me question the hustle narrative. I started believing hustle was “bad” and balance was “good.” But why do we judge these choices at all? Lately, I’ve been reconsidering: maybe hustle isn’t inherently good or bad. Instead, we need to check in with ourselves and assess how we feel, what brings us joy, and how we can balance that with what our businesses need to thrive.
Reclaiming Joy in Your WorkSome work is going to be transactional. It's going to be the things that have to get done. I don’t love email, project management, or administrative upkeep. But somewhere along the way, in my effort to create “balance,” I cut out so many of the fulfilling parts of my business that I actually felt worse, despite working less. It sounds counterintuitive, but the work that once energized me was suddenly missing.
If a full-time artist paints for fun, no one questions it. But in online business, when we do something we love and then monetize it, it's seen as working “too much.” Why? So many of the judgments we place on ourselves aren’t even ours, they’ve been planted by external expectations. It’s time to challenge that thinking. Work that feels like play is still valuable. It fuels our creativity, gives us energy, and makes us excited to show up. Instead of rejecting it, we should embrace it.
Getting Intentional with Your TimeI went into this year with a mantra of sorts: I wanted to create more and consume less. A big part of it was that I was embarrassed by my phone usage and how much time I was giving to the void. But more importantly, I wasn't being intentional with how I spent my time, and I wanted to change that. So, I decided to get more intentional with my free time: I started working on puzzles, building Legos, and doing things that were really good for my brain. And I felt better than I had in years!
It was like my brain mapped together a missed connection from the brain injury rather, and when it clicked together, it was like a whole world opened up to me. I had more capacity, creativity, and excitement.
So I asked myself “What happens if I'm more intentional with my work?” And that's when I made some pretty big changes. For instance, I adapted my work structure so that I only take outside meetings on Mondays and became super intentional about how I spend my time. And honestly, this has been such a game-changer!
Stop Judging How You Spend Your TimeThere was a time when I thought working too much meant I wasn’t prioritizing myself. But after everything I’ve been through over the past few months, from watching my dad go in and out of the hospital to facing a terrifying cancer scare to suddenly caring for my husband post-surgery, I see things differently. Work isn’t just a responsibility; it’s a source of joy, creativity, and stability. Even in chaos, I wanted to show up for it, not because I had to, but because I chose to.
This realization has changed everything. I still maintain structure, but I’ve stopped feeling guilty about how I spend my time. There is so much power in letting go of shame. Some days, I work because it fuels me. Other days, I step away because that’s what I need. The difference is that I’m not letting time happen to me, I’m being intentional with how I spend it.
Give Your Mindset a Tune-UpIt’s easy to let life pull us in every direction, but we deserve to make choices that serve us. Ask yourself, what if I focused less on how things “should” look and more on what actually feels right? If your mindset could use some attention, check out our Mindset Reboot Workshop Trio today!
Quote ThisYou deserve to be treated with love and respect, and that starts with treating yourself that way. Highlights* What if Hustling isn’t Always Bad? [0:01:39] * Reclaiming Joy in Your Work [0:05:16] * Getting Intentional with Your Time [0:12:33] * Stop Judging How You Spend Your Time [0:18:51]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Work-life balance, Hustle culture, Creativity
We Mentioned:Digital Product Jumpstart
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Episode 940: Show NotesI’ve always wanted to build a SaaS, but I never wanted to manage a full development team or take on the huge financial gamble of developing something; potentially before you even have users. But the game has changed — so much is different now! With the power of AI, much more is possible without the need to have a huge team to make it happen. For the very first time, I see a future where I can build the kinds of things I’ve always wanted to build, but without all of the friction that it used to take to make it happen!
SaaS has always matched my mission of wanting to help people in a very tangible way. Oftentimes, when you’re educating people or giving them direction, you don’t have a way to help them implement. That’s on them! For a lot of years, I’ve allowed that to be true. The appeal of software is that you get to give people a path to implement and make their lives easier. Not only are you giving them the tools and the strategies that are going to make things better, easier, and faster, you are giving them a tool! I’m finally taking the leap not only to educate but also to provide people with the tools they need to execute beautifully!
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Why Now Is a Better Time than Ever to Start a SaaS CompanyMy hesitation about entering this space was never about running a SaaS company. There have been multiple opportunities for me to pursue this, and up until now, I said no! I feared that I would completely transition myself into management and not have the opportunity to be a creator anymore. But the rules of the game have changed! What would have taken a team five months to build out, you, as a single person, can build in days or weeks! When you think about the tools you were using a few years ago in comparison to now, it’s absolutely crazy how much has changed! And this is just the beginning.
What Has Changed in the World of AI and Why It’s Going to Produce Rapid ResultsBefore now, the power of AI was only really available to larger enterprises and bigger companies. Today, there are tools that help smaller creators and smaller businesses develop their ideas, and this is what’s going to change the game. This is what will produce results for people rapidly! There are tools to help people in one way or another, but what I’m working on is really different! I asked myself: what tool do I need? And what tool, if I create it, would change the game for my audience? One of the first things to go out the window in a growing business is organization, and I realized it absolutely doesn’t have to be that way. That’s why I’m making a way to streamline those processes.
The One Thing I Want Small Business Owners to KnowIf this has been a dream of yours, if you have had an idea that no one has executed before, I want you to know something: The things that you wish existed don’t have to stay thoughts in your head forever! They can be built. Running an online business is one of the lowest overhead things you can do and what I am building is going to provide another avenue for creators, entrepreneurs, and founders to build something without the huge upfront costs they may not have the ability to take on. You wouldn’t even need VC funding, which means you get to own your whole company!
How What I’m Building Could Work for YouSome of you are probably going wild with ideas already! But I also know that not all of you will be ready to take the leap into something that could transform your business completely.
There are opportunities to build out smaller ideas that fit in the framework of what you’re already doing. We’re talking better lead magnets and better tools for your existing clients. And instead of using outside systems, the ability to build something custom to you is going to get so much easier!
If you’re nosy and want to know what I’m building, check out ClickCopy.ai. I’m so excited about what this means for our industry and I can’t wait to get more of these tools in your hands in the future.
Quote ThisNow, there are tools that help smaller creators and smaller businesses develop their ideas, and this is what is going to change the game. Highlights* Why Now Is a Better Time than Ever to Start a SaaS Company [0:02:43] * What Has Changed in the World of AI and Why It’s Going to Produce Rapid Results [0:11:50] * The One Thing I Want Small Business Owners to Know [0:17:36] * How What I’m Building Could Work for You [0:20:44]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:AI, Apps, Business Optimization, AI Tools, Software
We Mentioned:ClickCopy.ai
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Episode 939: Show NotesEver dreamed of writing your own book but felt overwhelmed by the process? What if I told you that you could have it done in just 60 days without sacrificing quality? Today, we’re sitting down with Stephanie Chandler, a leading expert in non-fiction book publishing, to break down exactly how you can make this happen.
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Why Small Business Owners Should Consider Writing a BookThe word ‘authority’ starts with ‘author,’and a lot of people don’t realize that writing a book brings you instant credibility. It’s a great way to impress clients and get booked for speaking engagements—it’s really the best business card you could have. But taking the first step is not so easy because of imposter syndrome and analysis paralysis, where people simmer on the same idea for years. Michelle is here to remind you that you have value to give to your audience! We all have our own unique take on things, and that is one of the best ways to stand out while you’re carving out a niche for yourself.
How to Write a Non-Fiction Book in 60 DaysHere’s the deal: 1000 typed words is about three pages. It’s a long blog post. Can you write three pages a day for the next 60 days? That’s a 60,000-word manuscript, and yours doesn’t even need to be that long! It’s about setting up a consistent practice. Michelle starts with an outline: first, she writes all her ideas on their own index cards: case studies, statistics, and every other minute detail. Next, they’re spread out on the floor, and she starts to put them in order. Now, the chapters begin to unfold. But even before this, she has a target audience in mind.
What You Need to Do to Make Sure Your Book is DifferentMarket research can be as simple as going to Amazon and looking for similar books. You can get all the information you need by simply looking at the table of contents. What do you have to say that hasn’t been said yet? Look for a hole in the market—something that truly narrows it down. As a service-based business, you know what there’s already an audience for, and certain audiences are always going to grow! Michelle believes that if you write a great book, get a good editor, and make your book the best you can be before creating a marketing plan, your audience will follow.
Knowing Where to Start When You Have Too Many IdeasMichelle writes the book description before anything else. That’s the sales copy! It’s where you outline what the readers are going to get from the book. If you have way too many points, you’ve got to break it up into a series. Is there a logical order to those ideas? Is there a burning need in your market that you should address right away? Chapters should be balanced and most of the time, one story is enough to illustrate a point. These stories are what will make an impact, so make them count!
Finding Your Own Unique VoiceStart with a muse in mind. Michelle writes for one specific person, as though she is having a conversation with them. Who represents your target audience? Write for that person. But you don’t have to follow any sort of strict order when you write. Michelle often writes the last chapter first! She also stresses how important it is not to edit while you write. Don’t worry about your spelling or your stats. Pausing breaks up the flow. Keep the faucet on! That’s also why Michelle often sets aside big blocks of time to write, even leaving the house for a weekend to get a chunk of content written.
How to Choose the Right ToolsFor the majority of non-fiction writers, Google Docs are enough! And keeping it all in one place is best. But everybody does it a little differently, and you can find what works for you. Michelle pleads with us not to write a manuscript with AI! It’s a great idea generator, but you cannot copyright-protect your work if you’ve used AI to create it. Next, you need to consider editing—what kind do you want? There’s developmental editing, copy editing (which we all need), and final proofreading.
Self-publishing Versus Traditional PublishingThere are also so many kinds of publishing, and you get to choose what works for you. Michelle has done them all! She shares the realities of traditional publishing: they can remove chapters from your book, change the title, give you a cover you don’t like, and they can even sit on it like an egg and not have it come out for two years. She finds the lack of creative control really challenging. The flipside is that self-publishing gives you all the control, and you earn more per book. But how much you make is really all about how big your audience is. Generally speaking, most publishers expect the authors to put in the work, and if you don’t, you won’t get published again.
Publishing in a Changing WorldHere’s the reality: somewhere around 70% of all books are being sold in e-reader form. We’re not walking into bookstores the way we used to. Books are being sold online! And even if your book makes it to bookstore shelves, if it doesn’t sell in 30 to 60 days, it gets shipped back to the publisher for a full refund! There’s no other industry we know of that follows that formula. It’s a weird challenge. Michelle believes bookstores are the worst place to sell books. Michelle also reminds us that it’s meant to be fun! If it feels like drudgery, it may be time to hire a ghostwriter. She finishes with a pearl of wisdom: the goal for all of us is to write something that readers want to tell others about, and editors help us to do that.
Promote Your New Book on SocialOnce your book is ready to put out into the world for sale, you’ll want to have a strong promotion plan in place to drive traffic to the sales page. We’re here to help! Check out our Instagram Profit Playbook to get our proven strategy.
Quote This“A lot of people don’t realize that writing a book brings you instant credibility.” — Stephanie Chandler Highlights* Why Small Business Owners Should Consider Writing a Book [0:01:18] * How to Write a Non-Fiction Book in 60 Days [0:04:48] * What You Need to Do to Make Sure Your Book is Different [0:10:24] * Knowing Where to Start When You Have Too Many Ideas [0:14:55] * Finding Your Own Unique Voice [0:19:48] * How to Choose the Right Tools [0:24:59] * Self-publishing Versus Traditional Publishing [0:29:04] * Publishing in a Changing World [0:31:47]
Today's Guest Stephanie Chandler
Website | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook
Stephanie Chandler is the author of several books including The Nonfiction Book Marketing and Launch Plan and The Nonfiction Book Publishing Plan. She is CEO of the Nonfiction Authors Association, a vibrant community for writers, and the Nonfiction Writers Conference, an annual event conducted entirely online since 2010. A frequent speaker at business events and on the radio, she has been featured in Entrepreneur, BusinessWeek, The Writer, Writer’s Digest, and Wired magazine.
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Writing, Non-Fiction Writing, Book Publishing
We Mentioned:Gretchen Rubin
The E-Myth Revisited
Who Moved My Cheese?
Atomic Habits
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Episode 938: Show NotesEveryone has valuable knowledge that they can pass on to someone. For years, I avoided Evergreen funnels like the plague. But when I finally cracked the code on Evergreen funnels and figured out how to make them work without sacrificing engagement or live connection, it changed everything for me! I was able to get out of the live-launch cycle. And that’s exactly what I’m teaching you how to do in Next Level Funnels. I am helping you build an automated funnel that’s going to continue to work for you all the time and show you how to balance that with live marketing so that you can turn it into a sales system that actually converts on autopilot. Let’s get into why I avoided Evergreen Funnels for so long and what finally changed my mind!
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The Danger of Focusing on Selling Just for TodayI think a lot of this came down to the fact that I always felt like I had to be selling, and I felt like if I wasn’t selling, then I wasn’t doing my job and like I was going to lose momentum in my business. I also believed that if I wasn’t actively launching something, then I was losing money. Part of what fueled these beliefs is that I started with an agency and with clients. Before I had capital in the business and when I was surviving on a month-to-month basis, I was concerned that if I automated things through a funnel, I would lose the connection I built with my audience but that couldn’t have been further from the truth!
I was so focused on making my life work and building stability and security but I honestly think that I could’ve gotten there a lot faster if I had been building for my future instead of just focusing on making today work. I was stuck in a cycle of chasing ‘today’s sales’ instead of creating a system that could sell for me long-term. Evergreen funnels are a lot like trains; once you build the tracks, they will keep moving when you push them! Yes, they need fuel, but the systems they need are far simpler than you may think they are.
The Power of RepetitionAnother problem I had was feeling like I constantly needed to reinvent the wheel. It’s very easy to get caught up in the idea that doing something the same way will make people disinterested. But here’s the thing, if you don’t remember what you did, nor does anyone else! No one is consuming as much content as you’re putting out there. You are the only one who sees all of it and if you can’t remember what you sent out, neither can they! And let’s say they do remember a little bit of something you’ve reused, is that a problem? Or is it reinforcing something that matters? Now, I don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time I launch, and believe me, not always starting over is much better!
Why Evergreen Funnels Can Be Just as Personal as Live LaunchesI really love telling stories and sharing my recent experiences with my audience. At first, I felt like I had to remove the things that make my relationship with my audience feel personal if I used funnels. Evergreen doesn’t have to feel impersonal, it can still feel engaging. It can create urgency authentically and feel like a conversation instead of an automated script. When I really consider the reasons I was so fearful of Evergreen, it’s because I felt like I didn’t deserve to make money without working. There was part of me that knew that Evergreen presented the opportunity for me to make more money without more work and I think I felt unworthy or like I was taking advantage of a situation. I want you to know that you are worthy. Your business can function without you and you can bring value to your clients! The two things can co-exist.
The Versatility of FunnelsI have two kinds of funnels in my business: funnels that are attached to free offers and onboarding funnels. There are so many additional ways funnels can be used and I think we often assume that they are only for selling. But I want you to know that that’s simply not true. I love a hybrid model! There is so much power in incorporating elements of live content, events, and workshops with Evergreen offers. Thanks to the Evergreen offers, I can focus more on teaching freely because I can drive sales to things that I’ve already put my time and effort into while giving away my knowledge for free.
I want you to ask yourself if you’re stuck in launch mode? Or maybe you feel like you don’t deserve to make money unless you're constantly working for it? Are you willing to experiment and slow down enough to take the things that are working and automate them? If you’re willing to do that work, I want to help you get to the point where that product can make you daily sales. It’s not about replacing the live marketing, it’s about creating consistency so that you aren’t constantly starting over. If you’re ready, check out Next Level Funnels now!
Quote ThisSelling is simply sharing how someone can solve their own problems. Highlights* The Danger of Focusing on Selling Just for Today. [0:04:54] * The Power of Repetition. [0:15:18] * Why Evergreen Funnels Can Be Just as Personal as Live Launches. [0:17:45] * The Versatility of Funnels. [0:24:14]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Evergreen Marketing, Funnels, Timeless Business, Passive Income
We Mentioned:Next Level Funnels
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Episode 937: Show NotesHave you ever set up a funnel and thought, “Great! I’m done here,” only to hear crickets? Or maybe you’re stuck in the never-ending cycle of live launching and wondering when you’ll finally get some breathing room. In this episode, I break down why real-time and automated funnels aren’t competitors—they’re actually the ultimate tag team!
This is exactly what I teach inside Next Level Funnels: how you can balance live launching with evergreen systems so you’re not stuck in a constant hustle. But first, I’m going to unpack it for you here.
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What Real-Time Marketing Actually IsLive launching is real-time marketing in action. It’s a necessary part of any business, allowing you to get instant feedback and showcase the things you’re excited about. But businesses are busy! And this makes live marketing challenging. That’s why you’ve got to have an experimental mindset and a plan. We need to do what feels important to the overall objectives, honor what our intuition is telling us, and pay attention to the analytics.
How to Think About Real-Time Marketing Like a Stage ManagerImagine you’re on stage with a microphone, talking to a crowd. You want to assess how they’re responding to you. When are they laughing, gasping, or falling asleep? Their responses are going to drive what you do more of and what you do less of. Your live marketing, as much as you might not want it to be, is the same as standing on a soapbox or stage. The issue is, so many people believe this is the only way to market your content, but it’s just one way!
Why It’s Essential That Live Marketing is Not the Only Way You Market YourselfIf live marketing is your only strategy, you will burn out. End of story! You need other ways that are going to help you to drive sales and keep working even when you are not. This is where automated marketing comes into play. There is a misconception that automated marketing is like a flashing neon sign doing all the work for you.
Spoiler alert: it only works if you put the work in. Automated marketing should complement your live marketing, not replace it.
How Live Launching Can Fuel Your Evergreen FunnelsBuilding an evergreen funnel is not enough! Without fresh traffic, your funnel is like a lonely Ferris wheel in an empty field. Nobody is having fun. At the same time, relying only on live marketing isn’t sustainable. The reality is, you can’t be “on” all the time. There will be times when you have to walk away and trust the systems you’ve built. The key is balance. Live marketing drives traffic while automated marketing captures momentum, converts sales, and scales your efforts. Together, they’re the perfect combination.
One Question I Need You to Ask Yourself TodayAre you running enough real-time marketing to keep your funnel full? Are you relying too much on one method, one platform, or one type of content and ignoring the rest? If you’re only moving through the funnel in one way, you’re likely missing opportunities you’d capture by diversifying your approach. I still live launch! I do daily, real-time marketing. It keeps the energy high, gets me excited to share my ideas, and allows me to do campaign-based promotion. And my automated funnels? They’re working in the background, ensuring long-term, sustainable sales.
Finding the Balance Between Always On and AutomationYour business doesn’t have to be live all the time. But having live elements makes you feel more human to your audience. It’s easy to get caught up in how to strike the right balance—what does that even look like? How do you take an offer, put it out into the world, know what’s working, and automate that? Then, how do you consistently send traffic to it? I’ve been there! That’s why I built Next Level Funnels.
For a long time, I thought automation was just about sending emails, but that’s only one piece of the puzzle. The best funnels have so many more nuances to them and I want to walk you through the process, step by step.
If you’re ready to build a funnel that keeps working for you, head to Next Level Funnels for more details!
Quote ThisWithout fresh traffic, your funnel is like this lonely Ferris wheel in an empty field. Nobody’s there having fun. Highlights* What Real-Time Marketing Actually Is [0:01:06] * How to Think About Real-Time Marketing Like a Stage Manager [0:08:32] * Why It’s Essential That Live Marketing is Not the Only Way You Market Yourself [0:10:08] * How Live Launching Can Fuel Your Evergreen Funnels [0:16:23] * One Question I Need You to Ask Yourself Today [0:20:34] * Finding the Balance Between Always On and Automation [0:27:31]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Funnels, Sales, Marketing, Live Marketing, Real-Time Marketing
We Mentioned:Next Level Funnels
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Episode 936: Show NotesReal success comes from experimentation, not perfection. If you’ve ever wondered why your business isn’t working even when you’ve done everything right, then this episode is for you! Hear why A plus B does not equal C in business and how learning to think like a scientist will help you stop overthinking, start testing, and finally scale with confidence! Today, I am joined by Jess O’Connell, otherwise known as the Launch Scientist, to discuss the science behind business growth. Jess is a course creation and launch strategist who helps experts package their brilliance with binge-worthy, revenue-generating courses. With a background in science, she approaches business as if it’s a science experiment. She’s here today to help you make data-driven decisions that will actually move the needle!
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How the Education System Creates OverthinkersJess was diagnosed with ADHD when she was ten years old and has a very different viewpoint of the education system and all the ways it made her feel stupid and wrong. School is set up to create compliance more so than free thinking and almost punishes kids who think differently. The system really sets us up to think that A plus B equals C, and then we go through life believing that there is only one way to achieve success. Especially in business, A plus B rarely equals C! Jess had a really hard time at school, and yet she also studied to be a teacher and focused on learning how other people learn and now she is passionate about helping business owners recognize that there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ in business.
She particularly gravitates towards science because it is the only subject where failure is celebrated as something that’s inevitable! Failure isn’t a personal flaw, it is just getting an unexpected outcome. When you accept that, you can start to figure out what needs to change so that you can get a different outcome. Jess wants you to know that you’re either going to get the outcome that you need or the lesson you need to learn to get that outcome, and either is valuable! She also wants you to recognize that not everyone is working with the same ingredients and therefore every version of success will look different.
Detaching from the OutcomeOften, when you don’t get the outcome that you want, you tie your self-worth and ability to achieve success to that one thing. So how do you detach from that outcome and look at it a little more neutrally? We are emotional creatures and emotions are like children – the more you ignore them, the louder they get and the more persistent and annoying they are. Your emotions are just data. They can’t be removed entirely because they are there, and when you completely bypass your emotions, they’re just going to keep coming up! Feelings demand to be felt! Having unrealistic expectations that don’t take statistical probability into consideration and then attaching meaning to a miracle not happening (usually something negative about yourself) creates a downward spiral. Whereas, if you look at your emotions as data and analyze them just as you would marketing data, they pass faster, and it doesn’t make ‘failure’ personal.
Practical Tips for Experimenting in BusinessIt’s so difficult to tune out all the noise in the business world of what is working for everyone else. It can get so overwhelming and Jess wants you to ask yourself what you actually want to do, what your goal is, what you ultimately want, what your values are, and what you want your life to look like. When you become clear on those things, they become the lens through which you look through everything you’re considering testing and adding to your business. Jess also wants you to make sure you’re being intentional with testing things out, following through, and analyzing the results. You need to look at what the parameters of the experiment are. Ask yourself what needs to be done, what procedure needs to happen, and what data tells you about the result. Jess wants you to have a metric in mind to measure success because, without a clear metric, you will never know if it even worked!
How to Stay Focused on What’s WorthwhileJess truly believes that you can do anything, you just can’t do everything at the same time! That’s why she wants you to decide what season you’re in and what your intention is so that you aren’t just chasing the next cool thing or the thing everyone says is working in business. Jess also wants you to know that it’s okay to move the goalpost when it’s necessary and based on the data! All of this comes down to expectations (the thing that rules almost every emotion you have). Jess wants you to realign your expectations with what is in the realistic realm of probability. Realigning your launch goals with your launch reality on day one will completely change your energy and attachment to goals and it will rewire your nervous system for success!
Jess wants you to make sure that you approach all of your business decisions with a little more separation from the outcome and ask yourself what you learned instead of asking why you failed. Even if that isn’t possible at the beginning of your journey, she wants you to, at the very least, start to see your emotions as data! If you take anything away from this episode, let it be that adjusting your expectations will adjust your attachment to the outcome!
Quote This“Slowing down will always make you go faster.”—Jess O’Connell Highlights* How the Education System Creates Overthinkers [0:07:03] * Detaching from the Outcome [0:22:50] * Practical Tips for Experimenting in Business [0:34:53] * How to Stay Focused on What’s Worthwhile [0:42:22]
Today’s Guest:Jess O’Connell
LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook
Jess O’Connell is the founder of The Launch Scientist. Jess is a Course Creation and Launch Strategist who helps thought leaders, coaches, and service providers package their expertise into a high-converting digital course—without the guesswork or overwhelm. With a background in science and education, Jess brings a refreshingly logical approach to course creation, making it as simple and structured as a 7th-grade science experiment (minus the awkward group projects).
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Launching, Business Planning, Experimentation, Goal Setting, Measuring Success
We Mentioned:Digital Product Jumpstart
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Episode 935: Show NotesKeeping up with social media’s constant changes can feel overwhelming. Luckily, today’s guest is here to help! Taylor Loren, a seasoned content strategist and marketing expert, has spent 15 years leading teams at top brands like Girlboss and Later. Now, she helps small businesses and creators cut through the noise and build sustainable content strategies.
In this episode, we’re diving into what’s actually working on Instagram in 2025. Which metrics truly matter for engagement? What should creators and business owners focus on for growth and monetization? Taylor breaks it all down, plus she’s busting some of the biggest myths people still believe about Instagram strategy!
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The Key to Instagram Growth in 2025If you want to succeed on Instagram, you need to understand how the platform prioritizes content. One of its biggest strengths? Direct Messages (DMs).
Since users spend so much time chatting and sharing content privately, Instagram now prioritizes shareability over traditional engagement metrics like comments or watch time. This means the best-performing content is highly shareable, like videos that spark conversation or encourage users to send them via DM.
So, when creating content, think beyond likes and comments. Instead, ask: Would someone send this to a friend or colleague? That’s the key to increasing your reach in 2025.
Leveraging Timely Events to Boost EngagementWant to make your content stand out? Taylor suggests looking beyond your own brand and tapping into cultural moments that are already capturing people’s attention. Whether it’s the Oscars, a trending artist, or a viral event, finding a creative way to tie it back to your business can increase your reach.
A great example is designers creating hypothetical merch for trending artists like Sabrina Carpenter. Beyond just hopping on trends, Taylor encourages business owners to manufacture their own moments by running strategic campaigns, whether it’s updating your templates or growing your email list. You don’t always need to take an evergreen perspective, sometimes, what gets you noticed is getting creative with a trending topic!
What Platform Should You Be On?Not all social media platforms are created equal. While TikTok made it easy for businesses to go viral in the past, Taylor points out that it’s much harder to break through now. Instagram is also still an excellent value option for creators, but where else can they find new opportunities?
For Taylor, the answer is YouTube by way of search-driven content – with Shorts dominating search results, it’s an opportunity to repurpose Instagram and TikTok content for greater reach. Instead of constantly marketing to new audiences, she’s prioritizing a few well-optimized, evergreen videos that will continue driving traffic and sales long after they’re posted. Just like an SEO-friendly blog post, this approach turns content into a long-term asset!
Experimenting with Content: What Works Best for Your Audience?The key to social media success lies in strategic testing. Instead of blindly posting, Taylor recommends experimenting with different formats, like carousels, storytelling posts, and videos, to see what resonates. A surprising platform to consider? Facebook Reels! While many creators focus on Instagram and TikTok, Taylor notes that Facebook Reels has a unique way of hooking viewers with quick previews, making it a powerful but often overlooked tool.
She also stresses the importance of content variety. A strong social strategy includes a balance of awareness content (designed to reach new audiences), engagement content (to deepen relationships with followers), and sales content (to drive conversions).
What Brands Are Getting Wrong in 2025One of the biggest mistakes brands and creators are making in 2025 is sticking too closely to what’s already working instead of taking creative risks. Taylor explains that brands often provide rigid content briefs, expecting creators to follow them exactly, without realizing that creators themselves are the best content strategists for their own platforms. She urges brands to trust creators more, allowing them the flexibility to craft content that actually resonates with their audience.
The Power of Brand MarketingOne of the biggest challenges with brand marketing is demonstrating the ROI of your investment in brand awareness. That’s because people will often convert sometime down the road after interacting with your content.
Taylor explains that, during the pandemic, many companies shifted their budgets toward paid ads, which provided a clear and direct return on investment. But as ad costs continue to rise and privacy regulations make targeting more difficult, brands are realizing that organic marketing is actually the stronger long-term strategy. Unlike paid ads, which stop working when the budget runs out, organic content builds brand awareness, nurtures customer relationships, and leads to conversions over time.
While it’s hard to track exactly when or how a customer converts, investing in brand marketing pays off in the form of a loyal, engaged audience!
Quote This“My social strategy this year is really focused on creating searchable social content so that people can find my content. ” — Taylor Loren Highlights* The Key to Instagram Growth in 2025 [0:01:23] * Leveraging Timely Events to Boost Engagement [0:07:35] * What Platform Should You Be On? [0:14:04] * Experimenting with Content: What Works Best for Your Audience? [0:23:10] * What Brands Are Getting Wrong in 2025 [0:27:24] * The Power of Brand Marketing [0:31:46]
TODAY’S GUEST:Taylor Loren
Website | LinkedIn | Threads | TikTok | YouTube
Instagram: @taylor.loren | @reelstips
Taylor Loren is a marketing director turned consultant with an expertise in content strategy. With 15 years in brand marketing, including roles as Head of Marketing at Girlboss and Director of Content Marketing at Later, she now shares her knowledge with small businesses and creators through her content, courses, and templates.
Based in Vancouver, Canada Taylor combines her marketing expertise with mental health awareness to help businesses build sustainable, realistic content strategies.
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Social media, Instagram, TikTok, Digital Marketing
We Mentioned:Digital Product Jumpstart
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Episode 934: Show NotesEveryone says you need a lead magnet to grow your email list, but how many of those freebie seekers actually buy from you? In this episode, I’m breaking down why traditional freebies fall short, how to create low-ticket entry offers that actually convert, and why keeping your offers open year-round can lead to repeat buyers who move quickly up your value ladder.
If you’re tired of chasing passive subscribers who never take action, it’s time to rethink your strategy. I’ll show you how to structure lead magnets that build trust, price low-ticket offers that filter for the right customers, and implement a system that moves people from a $29 purchase to a $2,000 program, sometimes in just hours. Ready to learn how to attract buyers, not just browsers?
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Next Level FunnelsSixty-six percent of my audience paid to join my list, which means that when I send an email, I can be sure I'm not just talking to a bunch of lurkers; I'm talking to a group of paid subscribers who see the value in what I offer. To be clear, I’m not anti-freebie. I have opt-ins (which absolutely helps my sales process), but I believe that having a strategic mix of strategies is essential for success.
Inside Next Level Funnels, I teach you the exact system I use that helps you convert people faster. Sometimes, it’s direct to sale, but other times, it’s through a very strategic freebie that gets someone to buy right away. If you’d like to learn more, check out Next Level Funnels!
The Problem with Traditional Freebies – And What To Do InsteadTraditional freebies tend to give away too much how-to information for free. Here is why that’s a problem: You don't want to attract people that want information from you; you want to attract people that want to work with you.
The role of a lead magnet is super specific. The goal is to get buy-in for your formula, your framework, how you do business, and the way you teach. You’re not necessarily giving all of the information away for free. You're simply offering the ‘what’ without sharing the ‘how.’ The ‘how’ is your paid offer!
A fantastic way to showcase what customers can expect is through case studies. With a case study, you can offer someone proof of what's possible when they work with you. It also gives people an idea of ‘What does this actually take? What does the process look like?’
Why Keeping Your Offers Open All Year Can Boost SalesUnlike some business models that rely on open-and-close launch cycles, my offers are available all the time. Why? Because people lead busy lives, and when they’re ready to solve a problem, they don’t want to wait six months for enrollment to reopen. Instead of forcing urgency through artificial scarcity, I focus on providing value in a way that naturally guides potential buyers through the decision-making process.
The Power of Paid Leads – For You AND Your CustomerYour goal as a seller isn’t simply to get paid; the real goal is to solve problems. When someone pays upfront, they get invaluable benefits. They have an opportunity to interact with your best work, giving them the chance to get quick wins and see real results.
This is how you create lifers: customers who trust you, engage with your content, and continue to invest in your offers. Paid leads are not only more engaged, but they’re also seven times more likely to buy from you again compared to someone who just grabbed a freebie.
If you want to build long-term relationships with customers who actually take action, prioritizing paid leads is a game-changer!
How to Price and Structure a Low-Ticket Offer That ConvertsLow-ticket entry-point offers work best when they solve one specific problem. I typically price these offers between $9 and $47, though I also have some at the $97 mark. The key is to avoid overwhelming your audience with too much information. You’re not solving all their business challenges in an afternoon; you’re removing a small but meaningful obstacle, giving them a quick win, and showing them they can take action.
The format of your offer can vary widely. There’s no single “right” way to package it, but the goal is always the same: deliver the solution as quickly and efficiently as possible, ideally doing as much of the work for them in advance. And while this shouldn’t require one-on-one time with you, it should be scalable, something you can sell repeatedly without increasing your workload.
Personally, I love mini-courses as an entry-point offer, but they’re not the only option. If you’re just getting started or testing a new approach, simpler formats like templates, scripts, or swipe files can be a great way to introduce your audience to your work.
Your Low-Ticket Offer Isn’t Meant to Be Your Biggest MoneymakerOne of the biggest misconceptions about low-ticket offers is that they should be wildly profitable on their own. That’s not the goal. Instead, these paid entry offers act as a powerful filter, helping you identify the people who are ready and willing to take the next step with you.
Beyond that, these offers also play a key role in shifting your audience’s mindset. Many potential buyers hesitate because they believe a strategy might work for others but not for them. Your job isn’t to convince them otherwise. It’s to let them experience a small, tangible win for themselves. Think of it like a sample at Costco: they try it, they love it, and suddenly, they’re buying the full-size version. The difference here? Your entry offer delivers a real result, solving one specific problem in a meaningful way.
So, how do you apply this to your own business? The first step isn’t to create a freebie; it’s to pre-sell your offer. This ensures that it converts before you build a full-funnel around it. Start by selling a strategic, results-driven offer that gets people on your list and generates revenue. Then, once you have proof of concept, you can refine your funnel to take someone from a lead magnet to a sale as quickly as possible.
If you need help building the right entry offer to set your business up for long-term success, I’d love to guide you through the process. This is truly one of my favorite things to do! For more information, check out Digital Product Jumpstart.
Quote ThisThe paid offer is simply a filter. It's allowing us to really assess how ready and willing someone is for the next step. Highlights* Next Level Funnels [0:00:19] * The Problem with Traditional Freebies – And What To Do Instead [0:01:55] * Why Keeping Your Offers Open All Year Can Boost Sales [0:04:55] * The Power of Paid Leads – For You AND Your Customer [0:06:00] * How to Price and Structure a Low-Ticket Offer That Converts [0:07:33] * Your Low-Ticket Offer Isn’t Meant to Be Your Biggest Moneymaker [0:10:05]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Lead Conversion, Paid Offers, Leads, Next Level Funnels
We Mentioned:Next Level Funnels
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Episode 933: Show NotesSo many people build funnels to bring in passive income and wonder why it doesn’t sell – that’s because they skipped a step! In this episode, I’m going to help you explore the step that so many people miss: the one that is going to guarantee you actual income and talk about the right way to build a funnel.
The reason most funnels fail has very little to do with the actual product or how well you teach! The truth is, if it hasn’t converted in a live launch and you haven’t seen that people are responding to your offer, then it’s not ready for evergreen.
While it is possible to have a product out there that makes you money while you sleep, most of the time you need mechanisms out there that help move people through the buying piece of that puzzle – and funnels are a great way to do that! If you want to find out more, head to Next Level Funnels.
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The Power of Live LaunchesBuilding a funnel without knowing what converts can lead to a lot of problems because you can’t diagnose issues without having a live promotion first. When you are working on a live promotion, you are able to test things and fix things en masse and in real time.
But when you don’t have that amount of attention on a product, it’s really hard to pinpoint what to change. You can spend weeks or months trying to diagnose an issue that would take minutes during a live launch.
I think running a hybrid business is way more fun anyway! You can leverage the real-time feedback of a live launch to build a product that actually sells while benefitting from evergreen sales after the fact.
Keeping it Simple!I like to keep my live launches incredibly simple! The bottom line is that your offer shouldn’t feel like a shock to your audience, it should feel like a natural extension of what you’re already doing. When launching live, you’re able to focus on the things that are most effective and then put them into the funnel.
For example, one of the launches I did last year was a challenge, and the traction and enthusiasm I got was incredible. But as soon as we moved into the live sales portion after the live event, there was so much chaos and confusion. It wasn’t because people didn’t want the product, it was because there wasn’t enough differentiation between the free offer and the paid offer.
The beauty of adjusting a product for a funnel after doing it live is that you don’t have to fight what isn’t working! Because there was confusion, people were just not making the purchase. Then, when making adjustments for the funnel, I paid attention to what people were resonating with.
When I made changes, we went from a 3% conversion rate to 8% – that is incredibly high! And it didn’t just help the sales of the product on the back-end, it also helped people get better results. So, when you build your funnel, I would highly suggest that you keep it super simple!
The Importance of Measuring AnalyticsThroughout your live launch, you want to measure what’s working, what’s getting the highest engagement, what people are clicking, where people are getting confused, what questions people have, what is resonating, and ultimately, what’s converting!
I want you to measure, measure, measure, and look at all of the analytics of that launch. Then and only then is when I want you to move on to building out your funnels. People often think that great funnels create sales, but that’s not necessarily true. Great offers and great messaging are what create sales. The funnel is just the mechanism.
I want to help you build your next funnel and walk you through the best step-by-step process. If you want to build evergreen content or fix past mistakes you’ve made when building funnels, then you need Next Level Funnels! I look forward to supporting you on your journey!
Quote ThisYour offer shouldn’t feel like a shock to your audience. It should feel like a natural extension of what you’re already doing. Highlights* The Power of Live Launches [0:02:44] * Keeping it Simple [0:04:26] * The Importance of Measuring Analytics [0:11:56]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Funnels, Evergreen Content, Passive Income, Live Launches, Sales Conversions
We Mentioned:Next Level Funnels
Digital Product Jumpstart
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Episode 932: Show NotesMost people start a YouTube channel from scratch with zero videos, zero audience, and zero watch time, but before I even started my YouTube channel, I had accumulated over 35,000 watch hours! I wouldn’t consider myself a YouTuber, and I wasn’t posting regularly, but I had an entirely different motivation that gave me a huge leg up. I never set out to grow on YouTube. Instead, my growth was a byproduct of trying to make a difference and support the community I was building.
Today, I break down exactly what went into those watch hours, how I accumulated so many, and how my story might change your approach to launching a YouTube channel. There are so many different ways you can go about doing this, so I’m going to be fully transparent about what worked for me and give you some practical ideas you can try!
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The One Thing You Need to Focus on When Creating ContentEvergreen content isn’t just about trying to reach more people and go viral. It’s about trying to solve real problems for your ideal audience that you hope to monetize. Throughout my career, I have prioritized long-form content with a focus on bringing value to my community. To provide my audience with more valuable insights in my blog posts, I started inviting guest contributors. This allowed them to share free advice while also linking back to their businesses. My strategy was to drive leads to my website through this content and the strategy worked!
I was able to grow my email list to over 100,000 people and that was largely due to building a community that helped people and where they felt like they could contribute to the collective. My business grew rapidly when I was focused on giving freely!
Why Offering Free Content Benefits You in the Long RunYears ago, I created a program called Trello for Business. One of the key reasons for its success was that I was educating my audience about a software company that wasn’t directly connected to me. I was helping small business owners at a time when Trello was primarily focused on larger businesses and wasn’t catering to their needs.
A huge part of what leads to success is how well you support the people who have already bought from you. Your focus on client experience is huge! I never could have imagined the long-term impact that program would have on my business. If you're considering creating content to support others in the long run, think about making some educational material freely available. Posting your content on YouTube and using it in other ways will benefit you over time. However, you'll only accumulate watch hours if you make your content public.
Leveraging Online Event Recordings on YouTubeThe third prong of my (at the time) unintentional strategy was a focus on creating events that were impactful for small business owners. Aside from hosting a full-blown conference, I’ve run nearly every kind of online event out there. While most of my past events live inside my course content, you don’t always need to upload them to platforms like Teachable unless they're part of your paid offerings. Instead, you can put that content on YouTube, and each time someone watches it, you’ll accumulate watch hours!
If your goal is to help people, you shouldn’t hold back that information. I know some of you aren’t ready to fully invest in YouTube but still want to benefit from it, and this strategy can help you get started. If you plan to monetize that traffic in the future, what’s the harm in starting with a pre-launch phase where your channel simply exists? You can keep serving your current audience while building a foundation on YouTube. This gives you a head start so that when you're ready to go all in, you're not starting from scratch. It doesn’t have to be perfect; you just need to begin!
You improve through practice, not by waiting for the perfect strategy. If you want to have a YouTube channel, start it today! Even if you help just one person, it’s worth it. Be creative and focus on serving your audience. You've got this!
Quote ThisYou get better by practicing. You don’t get better by waiting to have the perfect strategy. Highlights* The One Thing You Need to Focus on When Creating Content. [0:03:16] * Why Offering Free Content Benefits You in the Long Run. [0:08:16] * Leveraging Online Event Recordings on YouTube. [0:13:03]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:YouTube, Long-Form Content, Serving Your Audience, Online Events, Monetizing Content, Maximizing Watch Hours
We Mentioned:Trello for Business
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Episode 931: Show NotesIt has been a whole decade since I started Boss Project. I have built a business, employed many people and taught tens of thousands of entrepreneurs how to build their businesses online. While I’m definitely still exploring my creativity and using that every day as a content creator, where I’m at today is not at all where I thought I would be! It’s not the life I imagined for myself, but it is so much better!
When I sat down to think about what’s next, I kept coming back to this concept of using excitement as a compass to guide us and help us follow our intuition. In this episode, I’m going to be exploring my future, and how I came to realize what I really want to do more of, which is writing. I hope that as I share my story, I hope it will inspire you to dream bigger for your own future!
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The Shower Thought That Sparked My Next ChapterIt’s often my most real and raw posts where I get really vulnerable that really resonate with people. So, I came up with Creator Diary. I tried not to get my hopes up, because I was sure the idea must already exist. But, the URL was available! I had been dreaming for some time of what it might look like to have a more personal space online where there were far fewer restrictions around the type of content I shared.
My vision also goes deeper than that – it’s not just about me sharing the parts that keep me up at night. As a child, my mom would read the ‘Dear Abby’ column to me, and I always imagined that one day I would share advice with others in just the same way. I’m finally recreating that format, where people can write in and share their stories. Building a community has always been at the heart of my business, and this feels like such a natural way to bring people together.
My Huge Vision and Mission for the FutureI have a dream that knowledge should be free. There are already a lot of ways that our world is shifting into this way of thinking. As AI and Google get smarter by the day, you can access more and more information. But, a lot of this is still behind paywalls. I want to see a world where most of it is free! When I think about the future, one of my primary goals is to see this made possible.
My business still needs to generate profits, but I want to go about making that income differently. So, my goal is to lean into media, content, and sponsorships so that the cost of operations is on outside companies. Another part of that is exploring how to monetize views on YouTube. It pays out way more than all other platforms!
New Challenges I’m Taking On in This New SeasonIn this next chapter, I want to explore new challenges, and part of this will for sure entail writing a book. I’ve talked about this a handful of times, and I’ve always said ‘someday.’ There are a few different topics that I want to cover, and I still need to choose which direction I’m going to take. I’ve thought a lot about writing a children’s book and even considered creating my own recipe book. Maybe this journey will even turn into multiple books!
I built a business to the point that I have true financial freedom: I’m set up. I know exactly what I need to do and execute on over the next ten years so that I can fully retire at 45 if that’s what I want to do. I worked really hard for a really long time, and I want to give myself an opportunity to work a little less hard but also make the hard work the things that truly light me up.
What’s Really on the Other Side of Hard Work, Hustle and GrindThere are certain things that you just have to do in order to get a business off the ground. But once you’ve built that success, I want to reassure you that there is lightness, airiness, and fun on the other side. I want to make sure that I’m leaning into that and moving into a season with more experimentation, more creativity, more writing, and more freedom.
We were designed to be worthy and whole from birth, and yet we are often telling ourselves that we have to do more to matter. I’m tired of operating from that place. It’s exhausting, and it’s simply not true. Why are we constantly pushing ourselves to the brink where we’re going to break down? Allow your definition of success to shift. What would it look like to create an environment you could thrive in?
How You Have Made My Success PossibleYou don’t have to follow the trends. You just need to build a business that’s in alignment with what you love. If I’ve learned one thing along the way, it’s to never say never. This is not to say that I won’t do certain things or lean into a trend, but I am going to be mindful that I can reassess at any time. Something I didn’t know in my 20s is that not having it figured out is beautiful!
It is so fulfilling to live life and not to dictate a direction that you have to go down. I look forward to letting my story unfold, one chapter at a time. I look forward to seeing how many more thousands of business owners we impact! I would love to work with a million small business owners. We have a long way to go to make that possible, but I totally believe that it’s something that can be done, and I hope you’re a part of that journey.
Quote ThisNot having it figured out is beautiful! Highlights* The Shower Thought That Sparked My Next Chapter. [0:04:06] * My Huge Vision and Mission for the Future. [0:12:10] * New Challenges I’m Taking On in This New Season [0:16:00] * What’s Really on the Other Side of Hard Work, Hustle and Grind [0:24:17] * How You Have Made My Success Possible [0:31:20]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Advice, Writing, Business Planning, Revenue, Creativity
We Mentioned:Creator Diary
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Episode 930: Show NotesIf you have ever wished that you could afford to travel more, then today’s episode is for you! Today, we are joined by Megan Lanford, a woman who cracked the code for traveling for free (or close to free) to tell us exactly how she saves her family $20,000 a year! Megan has always been a huge travel junkie and eventually discovered travel points and she took six vacations that year because of them!
Everyone was asking how she did it so she decided to start a business out of it and help more people travel more affordably. I know my audience is filled with ambitious people who would love to travel more, especially without breaking the bank. The results Megan gets for her clients are absolutely phenomenal! Traveling shouldn’t feel impossible and clearly, Megan has found a way to make it possible for everyone. So let’s hear how!
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The Biggest Myth About Using Credit Cards to Go on VacationThis method is really accessible to everyone! All you need to do is start using a credit card that gives good travel reward points to buy things you buy on an everyday basis. A lot of people think that having credit cards means that you have debt and are financially irresponsible, but that’s simply not true because if you are on top of your finances, pretend that your credit card is the same as your debit card, buy what you can afford, and pay it off every month, you’re just making a really smart change in the way that you buy things. This will actually increase your credit score as well!
How to Select the Right Credit Card(s)There are tons of credit cards out there for travel points, but Megan always recommends people start with flexible point cards that you can use the points for hotels and airlines. With four major banks, there are a lot of options to choose from! For business owners, the Chase Inc. business card is a great way to maximize points. Using a credit card for everyday business expenses can earn you massive amounts of points that you can use for travel. If you have both personal and business Chase cards, then you can combine your points and take phenomenal vacations.
Getting the PointsUnlike with cashback cards, travel points credit cards work on multiplying the amount you spent by a certain number to obtain points. This is a really simple process and Megan wants you to focus on making it fun and enjoyable. The main goal is to take advantage of sign-up bonuses on the card. So essentially, you should be signing up for a new card every three months! But if you don’t want to do that, simply making that switch from using your debit card for purchases to only using your credit card makes the world of difference. Megan and her husband also double up their points and take advantage of sign-up and referral bonuses all the time.
How You Go About Spending the PointsFlexible points are fantastic because they actually never expire and you can just use them years down the line. Banks often encourage you to book your vacations using their travel portal, but that often makes you lose a lot of value. Instead, you can transfer your points to travel partners and you will almost always double or even triple the value of those points. Using the travel portal to book vacations is the biggest mistake Megan sees people make. There are so many different variables that go into picking a card, but Megan suggests that we all start with flexible points. It’s also important to be aware of elevated offer times and if you want to be alerted to them, make sure to follow Megan!
What to Keep in Mind When Traveling with a FamilyIf you have bigger families, you should always keep that in mind when booking hotels and potentially book extra rooms. You can also book suites with your points! All-inclusive resorts are really great for families because you can get an entire experience for $0 by using your points. Megan’s favorite trip was their recent one to an all-inclusive resort in Mexico that cost them a total of $500 for the whole family for four nights, including first-class plane tickets! That was something they never would’ve been able to do without points. You can actually travel for $11 per person! That’s virtually free.
The One Thing You Need to Know About the Travel Points WorldIf you take anything from this episode, Megan wants you to make sure that you stop using your debit card and only use your credit card for purchases so that you can start earning the points. Even if you have no intention of going on a vacation this year, Megan guarantees that down the road, you will want to! There are so many ways to save thousands of dollars just by doing this so be sure to get started today!
Megan has a Travel Points Academy for anyone who wants to learn whatever they can about travel points, go at their own pace, and ask questions along the way. She also has one-on-one coaching for clients to plan their first vacation and get started with their travel points credit cards!
Quote This“There’s just so many ways to save literally thousands of dollars on your next vacation just by doing this.”—Megan Lanford Highlights* The Biggest Myth About Using Credit Cards to Go on Vacation [0:06:20] * How to Select the Right Credit Card(s) [0:09:00] * Getting the Points [0:13:37] * How You Go About Spending the Points [0:17:21] * What to Keep in Mind When Traveling with a Family [0:21:25] * The One Thing You Need to Know About the Travel Points World [0:25:45]
Our GUEST:Megan Lanford
Website | LinkedIn | Instagram | Podcast
Megan Lanford has mastered the art of traveling on a budget. She has transformed her family's travel experiences and her business by leveraging credit card points. Once struggling to afford even one vacation a year, she now takes over six trips annually, saving an incredible $20,000 a year. Through her journey, she's discovered the secrets of maximizing travel rewards and is passionate about teaching other women how to do the same.
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Travel, Travel Points, Credit Cards, Cheap Vacations, Travel Hacks
We Mentioned:Digital Product Jumpstart
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Episode 929: Show NotesIf you have pressed play on today’s podcast, I’m almost certain it’s because you want to make a block schedule work for you but it just hasn’t stuck in the past. I know it’s changed my life and I can’t wait to break it down for you!
Just know that when I started my business, I wasn’t always this productive. I let other people dictate what my days and weeks looked like.
There’s a lot of research on how much more you’re capable of getting done when you’re doing similar tasks together. But how do you create a schedule that’s flexible enough? Block scheduling breaks up your day into dedicated blocks of time for specific types of tasks or activities. This reduces decision fatigue and stress and saves a ton of time!
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How I Structure My Week with a Block ScheduleEvery single day follows a similar flow, and every day of the week has a specific theme. Before starting work, I get my coffee and water ready and do a little check-in on my email, calendar, Slack, and to-do list. I like to do this to be able to map out my whole day and respond to messages before jumping into dedicated work.
But, the shift that has made the biggest impact on my schedule is realigning my theme days. Mondays are my dedicated meeting days. I call them ‘connect, learn, and inspire!’ Over the years, I’ve noticed that meetings really disrupt my entire day and mean that I don’t get much work done.
Tuesdays are dedicated to social marketing. I attempt to get a week’s worth of content done, including all paid adverts. This gives me a great head start and lets me start the year off strong.
On Wednesday, my focus is on long-form content. So, I prep, record, and produce my podcast and do blog writing. I actually switch off weeks with these tasks; so I record podcasts one week and write blogs the next.
On Thursdays, I focus on email marketing and product development – which are both focused on writing. As most of you know, I don’t really work on Friday because we do a four-day workweek! Before I finish up for the day, I do a little sweep through Slack, check emails, answer urgent ones, and then check my to-do list and make sure I write down what I need to get out of my head.
The Power of FlexibilityWhen I switch to personal time, I try not to go back to work. Nothing is an emergency and things can be done the next day. Sometimes, at night, I get this urge to be creative. And instead of forcing myself to wait until the next day, I let myself write for an hour while my husband gets his downtime.
I also occasionally post on social media in the evenings when I know engagement is best. I used to think that I had to start my day with the most important task because that’s when my energy would be best. But that isn’t the case for me! I’m not a great sleeper and I tend to feel quite lethargic until after lunch.
Allowing myself to have a slow morning easing into work and prioritizing tasks in a specific way has made me really productive. There will be days that don’t go to plan but I have a lot of buffer time planned into my schedule to make up for that. Ultimately, it’s all very flexible!
How to Implement a Block ScheduleIn terms of doing this for yourself, I think you really have to identify what your priorities are. What are your non-negotiables? How are you willing to and not willing to work? And beyond that, what are the three to five things that you want to prioritize every week?
There’s likely a pattern in the kind of work you’re doing and while the work itself may not be the same, you can usually identify when you are most productive doing what. Create your focus themes around this. Some people like to do different themes in different blocks and if that works for you that’s great, but I love the simplicity of my theme days because I always know when something is going to land and so does my team.
I do recommend that you have things in place that help you stay focused. During the day, I have a ‘work’ focus mode on my computer that helps prevent me from getting distracted by things like notifications. There are going to be things that you can’t anticipate so I don’t want you to fill up every single second of your day! You’re also allowed to take a break.
The first time you try this, it probably won’t be perfect and if it isn’t working, change it and check in with yourself on it to reevaluate your themes! This is a guide, not a rulebook! I want you to have more focus and I think structure can be a huge aid in helping you achieve this! I want to hear about your personal block schedule so pop me a DM on Instagram!
Quote ThisI’m not unreachable, I just have boundaries. Highlights* How I Structure My Week with a Block Schedule [0:03:26] * The Power of Flexibility [0:23:38] * How to Implement a Block Schedule [0:26:00]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Scheduling, Business planning, Block schedule, Work/life balance
We Mentioned:Digital Product Jumpstart
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Episode 928: Show NotesThere’s no such thing as a right or wrong decision, especially in business. Hitting 10 years in business feels so surreal, and I’ve learned SO much along the way! Today, I share the biggest lessons I’ve learned over the past decade, the ones I really wish someone had told me when I was starting out. From making tough calls to leaning into my strengths, I’ve picked up some game-changing insights that have shaped not just my business, but my entire life.
If you’ve ever felt stuck, second-guessed yourself, or wondered if you’re cut out for this whole business thing, trust me, I’ve been there! I get real about the highs, the lows, and the moments that changed everything for me. I talk about how I stopped obsessing over making the “perfect” choice, why I stopped listening to people who didn’t get it, and why celebrating myself had to become a priority.
Whether you’re building a business, a creative project, or just a life you love, this episode is packed with real talk, honest reflections, and hard-earned lessons to help set you up for something WAY bigger than you ever imagined. Let’s dive in!
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#1 You’re Capable of More Than You ThinkWe tend to overestimate what we can do in a short period of time, but dramatically underestimate what we can do in a lifetime. Looking back, I had no idea what I was capable of! Just last year, my team and I created 12 brand-new programs, relaunched four more, and added 95 new templates to The Co-Op membership, all while working a four-day week. Ten years ago, I never could’ve imagined this. But here’s the thing: I didn’t have it all figured out back then, and you don’t have to either. You just have to start. You're not going to know every step, but you can put yourself on a trajectory for greatness.
2 There’s No Such Thing as a Right or Wrong DecisionFor years, I put so much pressure on myself to make the “right” decisions, especially when it came to big, life-changing stuff. My struggles with infertility taught me a lot about that. I kept waiting for some kind of sign that I was making the correct choice, but the truth is, there’s rarely a single right path. I finally let go of the idea that I had to have it all figured out. Business, like life, is about trying things, seeing what works, and being willing to pivot. The businesses that tend to be more successful make more decisions more quickly. The key is to keep moving (and trust your intuition).
3 Not Everyone’s Advice Is Worth TakingPeople are going to offer you advice, even if you do not ask for it. Over the years, I’ve spent way too much money (I’m talking tens of thousands of dollars) on coaching and advice that didn’t actually fit me or my business. It took me a long time to realize that just because someone is successful for them, it doesn’t mean their way will work for me. I’ve learned to be really intentional about whose advice I take. If someone’s living the kind of life I want, I’ll listen. But if they’re miserable or building something that doesn’t align with my values? No thanks!
4 Lean Into What Comes NaturallyYour gifts are the things that often feel the most effortless, and it's incredibly easy to undervalue them when they come so naturally. For the longest time, I thought business had to be hard; that if something came easily to me, it must not be valuable. But that’s just not true! Some things get to be easy because you are excellent at them. I'm not saying it won't have challenges, but the more you spend time digging into the things that are effortless, the easier it all becomes.
5 Sharpen Your Strengths, Not Your WeaknessesRecently, I did an exercise where I had to write the phrase, “I use my strengths every day,” three times with my non-dominant hand. It felt like it took forever! But when I switched back to my dominant hand, the entire exercise took less than 15 seconds. Think of this as an illustration for improving your weaknesses. Could they one day be as strong as your strengths? If you’re super dedicated, maybe. But when you force yourself to improve in areas where you naturally struggle, it’s slow, frustrating, and inefficient. When you use your strengths, you're powerful!
6 Hard Seasons Will Come, But You Can Get Through ThemRunning a business isn’t always fun. Life happens. Burnout happens. Self-doubt creeps in. But I’ve learned that no matter how tough things get, there are really only two ways a business fails: You run out of cash, or you give up. Even when money is tight, there’s always a way to get creative. But giving up? That’s the only decision that truly shuts everything down. If you never give up, this can support you for the rest of your career.
7 Feedback Isn’t a Personal AttackWhen you perform a one-on-one service or deliver a course or a program and someone says they didn't like their experience, it can hurt. But if someone felt safe enough to share their opinion with you, it's up to you to find ways to improve from it. Not every opinion deserves space in your head! Take the information in, sift through the negative comments, projections, and personal opinions, and find opportunities to elevate the experience for everyone.
8 Two Things Can Be True at OnceLife isn’t black and white. You can be wildly excited about something and still feel sad and scared. You can be grateful for your business and frustrated with certain parts of it. For the longest time, I felt like I had to pick one feeling, but I’ve learned to hold space for both. I used to think everyone else had their emotions figured out. The truth is, we’re all just making it up as we go. You get to be complicated. And what an incredible gift it is that other people can be complicated right next to you! Allow yourself to be complex rather than trying to boil yourself down to one emotion, one way to be, or one way to show up
9 No One Will Celebrate You Unless You Celebrate YourselfDo you think anyone is going to throw a party for me being in business for 10 years? No one even knows the anniversary date! I used to downplay my achievements, thinking I’d seem arrogant or full of myself. But I’ve realized that if I don’t celebrate my wins, no one else will. Sure, if you’re trying to make someone else feel bad about themselves by bragging about your achievements, that’s no good. But if you're proud of yourself, if you want to inspire other people, if you hit a milestone that you’re excited about, don't hold back. Don't shut up about it! People want to be around others who are excited about their lives.
10 Building a Business Doesn’t Have to Be LonelyWorking online is only as lonely as you make it. For years, I felt isolated, like no one really got what I was going through. But then I started reaching out; commenting on posts, DMing people, joining communities. And suddenly, I had real friendships. Online friends are just as real as in-person ones. Some of the people I talk to every day, I’ve never even met in person, but they get my world in a way that most people don’t because they also work online, work for themselves, and run their own businesses
At the end of the day, this business, this life, is what I make of it. No one is going to hand me success. If I want growth, connection, and freedom, I have to put in the effort. That’s why I built the Co-Op. It’s not just a resource library. It’s also a place for real connection and real support! If you’re feeling stuck or just want to be surrounded by people who get it, come join us!
Quote ThisThere is no such thing as a right decision and a wrong decision, especially in business. They're all just decisions Highlights* You’re Capable of More Than You Think. [0:02:10] * There’s No Such Thing as a Right or Wrong Decision. [0:04:22] * Not Everyone’s Advice Is Worth Taking. [0:10:27] * Lean Into What Comes Naturally. [0:12:36] * Sharpen Your Strengths, Not Your Weaknesses. [0:13:41] * Hard Seasons Will Come, But You Can Get Through Them. [0:24:27] * Feedback Isn’t a Personal Attack. [0:26:52] * Two Things Can Be True at Once. [0:31:14] * No One Will Celebrate You Unless You Celebrate Yourself. [0:38:14] * Building a Business Doesn’t Have to Be Lonely. [0:42:02]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Business lessons, Growth, Resilience, Strengths, Community
We Mentioned:CliftonStrengths (formerly StrengthsFinder)
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Digital Product Jumpstart
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Episode 927: Show NotesYour knowledge is your currency! For years I feared that what I was doing wasn’t real business and I felt like I had to prove myself. I think we feel strange about this because it’s unfamiliar, not because it’s wrong. The world of traditional business is rapidly changing and you are building an online business at the beginning of the new digital frontier. Of course it’s hard to feel like an expert when everything is just beginning.
When I started teaching online, the old saying, ‘those who can’t do, teach’ haunted me. It forced me to convince myself that what I was doing wasn’t making an impact and it couldn’t have been further from the truth! The internet has changed the way people teach and it will continue to change the way people learn. I need to remind you that you are a pioneer – online business is still in its infancy, you are literally shaping the future, and you have the opportunity to do it exactly how you want to.
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The Power of Online BusinessIt’s so easy to think that the things we’re doing and building are worthless when they’re intangible. But that’s really the beauty of them in the first place. Because there is no storefront, your expertise can be packaged and delivered for anyone globally. You can have clients on every corner of this planet! When my email list had more people on it that could fit in a Chief’s stadium, I could no longer fathom how many people had access to my ideas. Those same ideas have gone on to reach millions of people. My brain simply cannot compute. It’s so easy to feel like you’re playing pretend when you don’t get to see and interact with every client that you do business with. I understand how easy it is to get in your head when you’re missing the feedback loop. You have to believe deep down that the work you’re doing is important because the validation may not come. You don’t need to seek others’ approval to keep going.
The Philosophy That Will Make You Feel ValuableBecause of all these fears, I developed the philosophy that if it only helped one person, that it was worth it. So, it has become much easier to feel good about the work I’m doing when I’m not looking for this massive approval but rather, someone speaking up every now and then. It can feel so lonely and like you’re speaking into the void and no one is listening. But I promise you that there are people paying attention. You would be shocked as to how many people read, and listen, and learn from you and never say a word. Once you shake off that feeling that you’re not enough, I need you to start acknowledging the opportunity that is at your fingertips. You have the ability to make more wealth than you know what to do with. When I started my business, my only goal was to replace my salary. But there is so much more beyond stability and beyond what you think is possible right now. You have the opportunity to break generational curses with your business, just like I have!
The One Thing That’s Holding You BackI venture to guess that the thing that’s holding you back is not a lack of knowledge. It’s fear. Fear of failing, fear of success, believing that you’re too late. Mindset is the thing that will prevent you from moving to the place that you’re capable of. One of the fears I see is timing but the truth is, there’s never going to be a perfect moment, you just have to start. You just have to get going, and you’re definitely not too late. I promise you, you will never regret starting. A lot of people will also get in their heads about failure. More often than not, the worst-case scenario is you staying exactly where you are now. So, in reality, the worst-case scenario is you not starting at all. You have so much to offer the world! The best possibility is that you will change your life! You accomplish your dreams! Every entrepreneur is going to fail in some way, but what separates success is persistence! If you want to dive more into mindset, check out my incredible Mindset Reboot Workshop Trio.
I promise you, your impact can be bigger than you have ever imagined. The options and possibilities are limitless, especially now! I really want to help you out and give you the tools you need to take the next step in packaging your knowledge. Digital Product Jumpstart is how you build out the ecosystem. It is the stepping stone that shows you how all your products connect together. It walks you through creating that initial entry point and getting it out into the world. It is game-changing and is definitely not something that existed when I started! Be sure to check it out and send me any questions over on Instagram. You are at the forefront, you are shaping the future of education. Digital products and courses are one of the most powerful ways to monetize your knowledge. So let’s get started!
Quote ThisBecause of the tools I have access to and the power of the internet, my message reaches thousands. Highlights* The Power of Online Business [0:06:20] * The Philosophy That Will Make You Feel Valuable [0:11:40] * The One Thing That’s Holding You Back [0:18:53]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Digital Products, Teaching, Narrative, Mindset, Fear
We Mentioned:Digital Product Jumpstart
Mindset Reboot Workshop Trio
Teachable
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FreshBooks - special savings with this link
Episode 926: Show NotesBlogging is not dead! It’s been waiting for small businesses to pick up the torch again and I think now is the perfect time to do it.
Pretty much the only people publishing articles today are either larger businesses, software companies, or the media. There are fewer and fewer creators writing long-form content on the internet than I have seen in my career. Now, when I started this business, I was writing all the time. I was publishing new articles on my blog five days a week.
I had really gotten away from it in 2024, but something happened in my business recently that re-inspired me to take up this untapped opportunity again. Let’s get into why.
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How 24 000 Website Visits Made Me Realize That Blogging is Alive and WellA year ago, I recorded a podcast episode for Christmas Day. It couldn’t be about work, but it had to be interesting, so I interviewed my husband about not having an inner monologue. A year later, the Show Notes had over 24,000 hits—which is wild! So, we did a little digging, and we realized why it was so popular. It answered a burning question, and it became one of the top AI-generated results when people searched for the answer.
What we can learn from this is that search is still a relevant and important way that people can discover your content, and publishing on your own website is one of the only ways that you are going to own all of that content. We all felt it when TikTok shut down for 24 hours — all these creators who had invested time and effort into creating content realized that it could theoretically be wiped out overnight. When you own all your content, you have all the control.
The Main Difference Between Social Media and BloggingIt’s so easy to get caught up in the social media content creation wheel where you’re just churning out new things. I have content I wrote nine years ago that still gets traffic every month of every year. I don’t have a single social media post that’s continued to perform that far after it was published. There’s a lot to be said for volume, but you need to be thinking about what the value of those views actually is.
On social media, people are only consuming your content for a couple of seconds. With blogging, if you’re answering the right question, someone is actively searching for that solution. To have someone on a page of your website for multiple minutes is actually insane. If you’re getting into that multiple-minute mark, you are clearly giving someone something that they need. People are getting bored with social media — they want more depth, they want more personality, they want more uniqueness. Especially in 2025, we are going to see a resurgence of brands like we have not seen in years.
Embracing the Opportunity to Make Your Authenticity ShineWhen someone is consuming long-form content like YouTube videos or podcasting or blogging, they are actively searching for answers. Or, they want to feel understood, or heard, or inspired. AI has changed the way we search: instead of entering keywords, people are naturally typing their exact question as if they were saying it out loud. Today, it’s less about optimizing for search and more about understanding how AI has changed how we search.
People who land on your actual website are your highest-value potential clients. They are the most likely to join your email list and they are the most likely to buy your products and invest in your services. There’s so much potential here, and you get to decide how to fill it. Because so much of what we see today looks like a robot made it, people are beginning to crave things that feel more human. Now is the time to bring your voice and your fresh perspective.
What Blogging Ultimately Gives You the Chance to DoThis is an opportunity to be truly creative and to put your thoughts and ideas into the world. You no longer have the limitations that social media and the algorithms create. You get to choose how you show up. Another thing you can do here is incorporate sales in a much more natural way. You can spend so much more time explaining something or walking someone through a process.
The more specific your content becomes, the bigger the chance you have to succeed at long-form content. Write your offer down and then put all the subtopics around it. What will prove to your audience that you know what you are talking about and that you have more to offer? That alone will give you more ideas than you have time for. You can also answer FAQs or break down a certain system in really simple steps.
My Approach to Blogging In 2025I’m writing two blogs a month, and I also have other team members who are contributing in other ways. But personally, I am writing two. I have committed to batching my podcast content every other week so that on the off week, I can write a blog post. Right now, I am committed to writing one a week to make that particular blog post particularly useful to you. If you want to start, just commit to one blog post a month and make it count. That’s far better than none! And if you can make it timeless, this is content that will continue to serve you.
When you develop something that is of deep value, you get to repurpose it! And it saves you so much time. I hope this episode inspires you to write! You can see what I’m writing now on the Boss Project Blog. I’m also very excited to be posting new articles and more how-to technical articles on our Creative Template Shop Blog.
If you want to get started blogging, consider what questions your audience is impacted by. Use blogging as a way to support your customers and enhance their experience. Share the things that are meaningful to you. I’m really excited about the type of traffic that’s going to be headed your way super soon!
Quote ThisIt is more evident than ever that search is still a relevant and important way that people can discover your content. Highlights* How 24 000 Website Visits Made Me Realize That Blogging is Alive and Well [0:01:52] * The Main Difference Between Social Media and Blogging [0:06:50] * Embracing the Opportunity to Make Your Authenticity Shine [0:13:10] * What Blogging Ultimately Gives You the Chance to Do [0:24:55] * My Approach to Blogging In 2025 [0:37:23]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Blogging, Social Media, Content, Search, Writing
We Mentioned:Email List Jumpstart
How To Use AI When Writing a Blog
Not Everyone Has an Internal Monologue -Including My Husband
Digital Product Jumpstart
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Talitha Coffee helps support survivors of human trafficking
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Episode #925 Show NotesFor years, I held myself back. I made excuses. I played small. But one day, I made a decision. I quit. Cold turkey. No warning, no second-guessing. And I’m not talking about a bad habit. I quit everything holding me back—100 things! Today, I’m going to tell you exactly what I walked away from. After you hear them, you might decide to quit a few too.
This is the first time I’ve done an episode like this– it’s much shorter than usual because I want you to simply listen, reflect, and then take action TODAY. Let’s get into it!
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I Quit Playing Small & Holding Myself Back1. I quit staying small.
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I quit making excuses.
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I quit holding back.
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I quit waiting for the right time.
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I quit overthinking every decision.
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I quit playing it safe.
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I quit doubting my own expertise.
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I quit waiting for inspiration to strike.
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I quit assuming success is only for other people.
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I quit keeping my dreams a secret.
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I quit expecting others to understand my vision.
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I quit trying to convince people who don’t believe in me.
I Quit Fear & Self-Doubt13. I quit letting fear guide my decision-making.
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I quit second-guessing my instincts.
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I quit ignoring my gut.
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I quit thinking I have to do it all at once.
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I quit making fear-based decisions.
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I quit being afraid of rejection.
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I quit being afraid of success.
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I quit believing I’m too much or not enough.
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I quit doubting that I’m capable of more.
I Quit People-Pleasing & External Validation22. I quit people-pleasing.
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I quit making myself smaller to make others comfortable.
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I quit over-apologizing.
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I quit saying yes when I mean no.
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I quit seeking external validation.
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I quit seeking approval from people I wouldn’t trade places with.
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I quit trying to be liked by everyone.
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I quit trying to make everyone happy.
I Quit Perfectionism & Procrastination30. I quit waiting for permission.
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I quit waiting for everything to be perfect.
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I quit procrastinating on things that scare me.
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I quit believing I need to be “ready” before I start.
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I quit delaying investing in myself.
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I quit mistaking planning for action.
I Quit Overworking & Hustle Culture36. I quit believing busy = productive.
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I quit thinking more work = more success.
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I quit working harder than I need to.
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I quit believing I need to suffer to succeed.
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I quit thinking being busy is a badge of honor.
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I quit using busyness as an excuse for avoidance.
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I quit working from urgency instead of strategy.
I Quit Playing by Other People’s Rules43. I quit playing by someone else’s rules.
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I quit thinking I have to do business like everyone else.
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I quit assuming I need to be everywhere online.
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I quit believing I have to follow a specific timeline.
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I quit operating from a place of scarcity.
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I quit making myself fit into a box.
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I quit following strategies that don’t align with me.
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I quit sacrificing my happiness for someone else’s comfort.
I Quit Toxic Environments & Boundaries That Don't Serve Me51. I quit tolerating toxic people.
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I quit working with people who don’t respect me.
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I quit spending time with energy vampires.
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I quit ignoring my boundaries.
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I quit giving people unlimited access to my energy.
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I quit being the “go-to” person for people who wouldn’t do the same for me.
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I quit keeping toxic commitments out of guilt.
I Quit Negative Self-Talk & Comparison58. I quit comparing.
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I quit downplaying my success.
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I quit over-explaining myself.
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I quit acting like I have to prove myself all the time.
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I quit assuming I’m behind just because someone else is ahead.
I Quit Ignoring My Own Needs63. I quit making myself last on the list.
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I quit ignoring my mental health.
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I quit ignoring my body’s needs.
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I quit ignoring my own needs.
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I quit thinking self-care is selfish.
I Quit Undervaluing Myself & My Work68. I quit undervaluing my skills.
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I quit believing clients are doing me a favor by hiring me.
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I quit measuring my worth by my revenue.
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I quit undervaluing my own time.
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I quit working on projects that don’t excite me.
I Quit Making Scarcity-Based Decisions73. I quit making decisions from a place of scarcity.
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I quit assuming success will just happen to me.
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I quit making decisions out of guilt.
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I quit believing money is bad.
I Quit Ignoring What Matters77. I quit ignoring red flags.
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I quit blaming myself for things outside my control.
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I quit avoiding hard conversations.
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I quit putting my dreams on the back burner.
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I quit putting off joy.
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I quit saying “someday.”
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I quit letting other people ruin my day.
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I quit choosing comfort over courage.
I Quit Limiting My Potential85. I quit settling.
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I quit accepting less than I deserve.
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I quit playing a role that doesn’t fit me anymore.
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I quit assuming others have it all figured out.
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I quit thinking I have to do it all myself.
I Quit Letting Distractions Control Me90. I quit wasting time on things that don’t matter.
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I quit chasing shiny objects.
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I quit treating my to-do list like a success metric.
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I quit consuming more than I create.
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I quit treating my dreams like an afterthought.
I Quit Limiting Beliefs95. I quit believing my past defines my future.
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I quit looking for shortcuts that don’t exist.
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I quit ignoring my creativity.
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I quit letting others define success for me.
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I quit treating fear as a stop sign instead of a green light.
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I quit pretending I’m okay when I’m not.
Now It’s Your TurnThe biggest thing keeping you stuck isn’t what you need to start—but it’s likely what you need to quit! You’ve seen my list of 100 things I refuse to do anymore. So, what about you? What’s on your quit list?
If you’re ready to drop even one of these, I want you to say it out loud right now. No more waiting, no more excuses. Quitting isn’t failure. It’s the best decision I’ve ever made! Every time I let go of something that was holding me back, I made space for something better.
If some of these hit home for you, I encourage you to check out our Mindset Reboot Workshop Trio. It has three transformative workshops designed to shift your perspective, clear out self-doubt, and finally unlock the clarity, confidence, and momentum you need to achieve your biggest business goals.
DM me or tag me on Instagram and tell me what you’re quitting today. I’m here for you and I can’t wait to see you shine even brighter!
Quote ThisThe biggest thing keeping you stuck isn’t what you need to start—but it’s likely what you need to quit! OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Mindset, Self Care, Attitude, Releasing Limitations, Setting Boundaries
We Mentioned:Mindset Reboot Workshop Trio
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Talitha Coffee helps support survivors of human trafficking
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Episode 924: Show NotesIt may seem counterintuitive, but you don't need 1000s of followers to make 1000s of dollars!
Today, I’m breaking down exactly how to build a profitable online business without a massive online following. While a big audience might seem glamorous, it’s no guarantee of a reliable income. The real magic happens when you connect with the right people, build a community, and genuinely impact the lives of your followers.
As I’ve built my business, I’ve prioritized my actual offerings over cultivating vanity metrics. This has been an excellent system for building sales, but it’s also meant that some of my most visible platforms don’t necessarily look as successful compared to what you might expect from comparable social media accounts.
Join me today as I walk you through my process and break down how you can create a profitable plan that converts and makes you a reliable income, no matter the size of your audience!
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What is the Purpose of Social Media?People often get caught up in the numbers and lose sight of how social media serves them. If you’re a business owner rather than someone who is strictly a content creator, the purpose of your audience is totally different.
For online businesses, the purpose of social media is to drive traffic and leads toward your offers, i.e., the things that you are actively selling. But, when you're strictly a content creator, you're typically getting paid (usually by a sponsor) for the number of views you're getting on your content.
Don’t get distracted by how many people are viewing your content as a business owner. Your goal should be to drive warm traffic to a paid offer, not rack up view counts!
Small Following – Big EngagementI've seen people with niche, highly engaged small audiences convert as much as 50 to 75% of their audience – something that is literally unheard of when you start having large following numbers!
It’s easy to assume that a niche focus limits your potential audience – and there’s some truth to that. The narrower the niche, the smaller the pool of buyers. However, fewer people are likely to be serving that specific group, which creates a unique opportunity.
For example, I had a client last year with a background in website design. She sold templates and courses and could have marketed herself broadly as a website designer. Instead, she focused on a very specific niche: website templates for psychologists. Weirdly specific, right? Yet her business grew exceptionally fast, largely because she addressed an underserved audience with her expertise.
To figure out how you can serve a niche audience with your expertise, ask yourself a couple of questions. What are you truly excellent at? Is it something you can do effortlessly or discuss endlessly? What challenges or problems within that area do others commonly face? Where do others struggle, but you excel?
If you can answer these you are well on your way to developing a potential product!
How to Make Money from a Small Niche FollowingBecause it takes time to create content and grow an audience, you should ideally be getting paid for the time you’re investing in marketing and growing your business. One of the best ways to do that is with a low-ticket offer. It’s also an excellent tool for attracting and bringing the right people into your world.
I don’t necessarily want you to broaden who you’re speaking to with your low-ticket offer. Instead, the low-ticket offer should be something that makes sense for the majority of your niche audience.
Most people will need to supplement their low-ticket items with some sort of additional offer to drive the majority of their income. That’s where high-ticket items can be immensely helpful. High-ticket items can come in many forms, from a signature program to a group coaching offer.
These two offers work synergistically. Initially, your low-ticket offer will likely drive the majority of your leads. You could even potentially book yourself out through referrals alone if you have an urgent enough need that you’re filling with your premium offer!
If you’d like to learn more about how to build out this digital offer and position it so someone will buy from you again and again, check out Digital Product Jumpstart!
Relationships Mean EverythingMaking money with a small audience always starts with building relationships. Numbers on a screen mean literally nothing without genuine engagement! Even with a larger following, it’s the people who take the time to do this that are going to have more trust within their community.
When you're starting out, one-on-one conversations are essential! This can happen in comments, DMs, or replies to stories. Always go beyond generic responses – be curious and authentic. Ask meaningful questions relevant to the conversation and build genuine connections.
These early followers often become long-term supporters and even friends. For example, one of my first clients, Jordan, joined my initial program when I had just 12 participants. She’s since purchased many of my courses, built her own business, and now works her dream job at Adobe. Despite not talking daily, I know I can always reach out to her because we built that early connection!
Don’t Wait – Start TodayStop waiting to have more followers to take action! Serve the audience you have right now! All you have to do is show up authentically and focus on creating value. Sales come from trust, not likes.
Don’t hold yourself back by comparing yourself to others. Instead, ask yourself: How can I serve my audience this week? What inspires me? What have I learned recently that I can share? Experiment with content, like Instagram carousels or shareable posts that contain valuable content you normally share in paid courses. Think of every interaction as a chance to build trust and make an impact.
If fear or doubt is holding you back from launching with a smaller audience, let’s talk about it. Send me a DM on Instagram. I’d love to help you take the next step!
To learn more about today’s topics, including how I turn my audience into profit and attract warm leads, check out Instagram Profit Playbook.
Quote ThisWhen you're just getting started, having those one-on-one conversations is essential. Highlights* What is the Purpose of Social Media? [0:03:49] * Small Following – Big Engagement [0:05:35] * How to Make Money from a Small Niche Following [0:11:30] * Relationships Mean Everything [0:16:45] * Don’t Wait – Start Today [0:23:55]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Monetizing niche audiences, Building relationships, Monetizing social media, Engagement versus following
We Mentioned:Digital Product Jumpstart
Instagram Profit Playbook
Join the Co-op
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Episode 923: Show NotesWhat if I told you that you could sell a digital product before you’ve even created it? Not only is it possible, but it might just be the smartest way to launch!
In this episode, I share why this strategy works, especially for first-time creators who are unsure if their idea will even sell. I walk you through my personal experience with preselling, and how doing it this way not only validates your idea but also motivates you to get the product out there. You’ll learn how preselling can help you build alongside your audience, refine your offer, and ensure you’re truly serving their needs.
If you’ve been hesitant to launch, I’ll show you why selling first is the way to go. Let’s get into it!
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What You Gain From Selling First and Building Out LaterIf you’ve been putting your launch off because it’s just too important, I can promise you that preselling will motivate you to get it done and prioritize it. There’s nothing like a paying customer to keep you focused and accountable! Preselling does something else too: It allows you to create alongside your audience and incorporate their needs and questions as you go. If you focus on selling first and building out later, you actually do a better job!
You get to see who you’re serving and what their needs are. When someone has a different perception of what they’re buying and the first thing they see is not at all what they expected, they won’t be satisfied. To prevent this, you need to slow down and understand what people are anticipating. Every other industry is doing this. It’s a normal business practice, and it is ultimately going to lead to a better product.
Getting Ready to Launch BackwardsAt the end of the day, you’re not even selling a product. You’re selling a solution to a pain point your audience is experiencing. The first thing you need to do is to understand the problem you’re trying to solve. Next, you’re going to run that through the Grandma Test: if you can’t explain what your digital product does or who it’s for in a way that your grandma understands, it’s too complicated! Your sales page needs to be simple too. You don’t have a collection of testimonials yet. This is your first time putting it out there, and that’s okay!
Being clear and concise is going to make people say, "I need this now.” When it comes to the actual sales process, you’ve got to focus on what it’s going to do for them and less on what it is. It’s not about talking down to your audience. It’s about making your message understandable at a glance. Before publishing your sales page, run it through AI. If AI helps improve what you're already doing, fantastic, but don't rely on it as a crutch.
Everything I Learned From Preselling Digital ProductsThis time last year, I had an idea to teach people how to do what I’ve been doing for a decade: creating no-brainer digital products that serve as an entry point into your world. With 40,000 students, 368 digital products, and millions in revenue, I knew what I wanted to create, but I didn’t build it until I sold it. I wanted to tailor the offer to my exact audience first.
Digital Product Jumpstart has been hugely successful and it has become one of my top-selling products in the past year. I have walked over 8,000 people through how to pre-sell inside myOne-Day Launch Challenge. If you want to copy-paste my launch process, the strategy, the scripts for email and social, and more, check out Launch in a Box.
What’s one idea you could presell this week? DM me on Instagram. I’d love to hear from you!
Quote ThisWhen you focus on selling first and then finishing out the development, you are going to do a better job. Highlights* What You Gain From Selling First and Building Out Later [0:02:27] * Getting Ready to Launch Backwards [0:10:23] * Everything I Learned From Preselling Digital Products [0:21:48]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Selling, Pre-sales, Launching, Digital products
We Mentioned:Digital Product Jumpstart
Launch in a Box
One Day Launch: Digital Product Fast Track
Join the Co-op
Talitha Coffee helps support survivors of human trafficking
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Episode 922: Show NotesI recently passed the milestone of having 40,000 students which is just incredible! To have educated that many small business owners over the last decade has been such a gift and we are growing faster than we ever have before. At the end of 2024, I was averaging adding 1000 students a month and today I’m sharing what I’ve been doing that you may not be that I think is making all of the difference. This isn’t some magic formula that will give you the same results as me. Ultimately, this is a combination of mindset, strategy, and systems that I’ve refined over many years and these are the things I think are actually moving the needle. Let’s dive in!
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The One Mindset Shift I Made to Be Hyper-ConsistentThis first one is a little wild to me because I’m generally not as good at keeping commitments to myself as I am to other people. The trick that’s worked for me in my business is turning the things I think are important (and are about me) into things that I think are actually about others. This helped me become incredibly consistent. People often assume that it’s either all about quantity or all about quality and that you have to give one or the other. But really, building a business is about both, and quantity does help! It gives you more reach, more opportunities, and more ways to experiment. You’re not going to be consistent in everything you do. But I want to challenge you to select one thing that is bringing you the most traffic, generating the most leads, and converting into the most sales and prioritize being crazy consistent at it for 90 days.
How to Eradicate the Fear of FailureFailure does not scare me. Not even a little bit. It did at the beginning but not anymore because failure is just fear in disguise. Ultimately, what drives results isn’t success itself, it’s your enthusiasm! The results come when you do the work with an energy that’s attractive. I want you to be driven by your own creativity and excitement instead of your results. Perspective is truly everything and being willing to fail gives you so much freedom to try things. When I am focused on serving my audience, failure becomes far less intimidating. I am worried about making a difference and that’s what keeps me going. I want you to ask yourself what you would do if you weren’t afraid that something may not work. At the end of the day, you don’t know if something is going to work unless you try it, so assuming it’s going to fail before you’ve even put it out there is a failure in itself!
The Biggest Opportunity to Accelerate GrowthI leverage collaborations because they are going to accelerate growth. It is an opportunity to reach more people, open new doors, build trust, go out into the world, and share things. I want you to ask yourself what you can share, what you can give, and what will make a difference instead of focusing on what you can get out of a collaboration. The more generous you are with your time and expertise, I promise you will reap the rewards! You caring for other people’s audiences and doing things for them is like the biggest form of positive karma in the business world. My brand partnerships have put me in front of thousands of small businesses who are my ideal clients. But you don’t have to start off that big. I just want you to think of one peer in this industry that you can genuinely give to without worrying about how it’s coming back to you and approach that person with the idea.
Leveraging SupportSomething I think you might not be taking advantage of is support. I cannot stress enough how much having help allows me to do more! I need you to understand that because I have support means that I have the time to move my business forward. It’s important to know that if you don’t have that support, you can still achieve your goals, but it may take longer. That perspective is really helpful when you feel like other people are doing more, doing better, or getting further faster. I want you to look in the mirror and ask yourself what support you have right now. Support doesn’t necessarily mean paid employees. I want you to start small and come up with more opportunities to leverage support in your community. I also want to stress that having support doesn’t always mean you have to use it to grow your business. Even just freeing up some time for yourself to rest to be more creative and get more done. I want you to be able to free up some of your resources so you have more time to spend your life how you want to.
The Power of Repetition One of the things people are skipping a lot is repeating yourself! I know it’s going to drive you bonkers but it’s required. You need to repeat your message because only 1% of your audience is seeing your content so repeating your message isn’t redundant, it’s smart! You need to continue to put out your best work but your best work doesn’t have to be brand new! If something you did a few months ago worked, don’t be afraid to copy/paste it! Yes, you read right! Don’t worry about whether or not your followers have already seen it. I’m not encouraging you to be lazy, I just want you to take the things that are working and recycle them to work again! Another trick to this is taking a high-performing piece of content and then repurposing it for another type of content. When considering what content has been successful it boils down to traffic, leads, and conversions – not likes and visibility! I want to challenge you to look beyond the vanity metrics and measure what’s actually driving sales.
I do think that some of the things I’ve spoken about today may be things you understand but I’m not sure they’re things you’ve really embraced and I know that these are the things that are making massive differences in my business. Even if you only walk away from this episode committing to one thing, ask yourself what one thing you’d be willing to try for at least the next month. I want to know which of these strategies resonated most with you so head on over to Instagram and send me a DM. I’d love to know more about what you’re trying! If you’re looking for more details, then you need to steal my two week Live Launch all about how I put every product out into the world!
Quote ThisAttention is not what keeps your business in business, money does! Highlights* The One Mindset Shift I Made to Be Hyper-Consistent. [0:01:53] * How to Eradicate the Fear of Failure. [0:06:46] * The Biggest Opportunity to Accelerate Growth. [0:10:46] * Leveraging Support. [0:17:12] * The Power of Repetition. [0:22:44]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Growing Your Students, Mindset, Growth Acceleration, Consistency, Collaboration, Repeating Success
We Mentioned:Launch in a Box
Instagram Profit Playbook
Systems Saved Me
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Talitha Coffee helps support survivors of human trafficking
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Episode 921: Show NotesImagine accomplishing a year’s worth of goals in just 12 weeks. That’s what I’m doing here at Boss Project and today I’m going to share my game plan with you! I want you to think of the concept of the 12-week year as a period of focused sprints rather than annual plans. This approach creates urgency and focus and allows you to see what’s coming in a tangible way. A little while ago, I felt demotivated when it came to goal setting because a lot of the time, I either overpromised and underdelivered or simply couldn’t control the outcome of the goals anyway. When I decided to stop setting goals and instead view things as experiments, focusing exclusively on the process, I found approaching business fun, exciting, and challenging without the pressure of wins and failures. After hearing how successful other businesses have been when implementing this technique, I wanted to try it out and document the process for you to see and I think January is the perfect time to start fresh!
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The Power of the 12-Week YearThe concept of the 12-week year is very simple and easy to understand logically, even though it’s difficult to execute. It requires you to set objectives that can be accomplished completely within a 12-week window. It gives you the opportunity for planning and momentum with enough sense of urgency to inspire you to follow through with the work. For 12 weeks, you are fully committed to this particular project and set of objectives. The most difficult part of this process to implement is the idea of removing annualized thinking. The 12-week goals are not a piece of a puzzle but rather, they are the whole puzzle. If your focus is on fewer ideas with greater impact, you’re probably going to get less done more completely, and this is likely going to take you much further. With a 12-week plan and focus, you have opportunities to drive weekly accountability. Only 8% of people actually achieve their annual goals and shorter sprints of focus like a 12-week year increases that rate dramatically!
How I Implemented the 12-Week Year in My BusinessI did not dictate to my team what their 12-week-year focus should be. Instead, they had already set annual goals in December and were very clear on their role in the business. I told my team to pick their own focus after giving them a basic concept of what I want to accomplish overall. Tomorrow, we are having a meeting to present these ideas to the full team. We are all going to need to work together as a team but enough of the project will be individually owned. I don’t know what their focus is but I do know what mine is and I wanted to share that with you today. Instead of it being a goal, it’s almost like a project that has some sort of measurable outcome and there’s something about that that feels amazing!
My Focus for the Upcoming 12-Week SprintBefore I share my focus, I want to preface this by saying other work still needs to be done in the business. These are just the primary focuses week-to-week, and everything else needs to fit around it. This will be my priority at the beginning of every day! For the first 12 weeks of the year, my endgame is to turn our most popular products completely evergreen on paid advertising and have those be profitable. This means that my paid ad strategy is my primary focus for the first 12 weeks of the year! I created some measurable objectives to help me as well. I’m not necessarily going to get into the specifics, but I did make specifics a part of it. So, one of the things I am doing is a live challenge, and I have so many objectives associated with it. I also want to create daily entry-point product sales that upsell into my membership. The entire goal of all of this is to reach a two-to-three X return on advertisement spending with a sales goal attached to that.
How Am I Managing My Time? Now, with this being my focus you’d think that I’d spent a ton of time on ad spend and deliverables and that’s actually not where I’ve spent all my time! Instead, my 12-week plan consists of the deliverables I need to complete in order to move this strategy forward. And at the end of the day, this is so simple! My weekly plan is all that I need to get done to achieve this bigger objective. If you give yourself a realistic time frame to achieve the things you have set out for yourself, you can feel more confident that you are setting yourself up for success. Yes, I will need help from my team and yes this is going to take up a lot of my time but it is my primary focus and that is what is to be expected!
Starting Your 12-Week YearIf you are interested in applying this framework, there are a couple of things you can do. For one, you can read the book or even listen to it on Audible. You also need to simplify your focus. You are trying to do too much and, therefore, aren’t getting anything done. So I want you to pick one big goal. What are you most excited about working on? What is going to move the needle most for your business? There are so many things you could do. But you need to break these things down into weekly actions. These are not goals or metrics you need to meet, they are just items on your to-do list! If you get stuck after some time, I think this is a brilliant time to leverage AI to help you come up with potential options. A weekly team meeting is also a great way to discuss your primary objectives and diminish any misalignment. It’s also important to stay flexible in your plan. If something isn’t working, don’t be scared to change it!
If you are ready to try the 12-week year for yourself (no matter the time of year you’re starting) you can pick 12 weeks of objectives and start now! I would love to hear all about it so pop me an Instagram DM and make sure you’re subscribed so you can follow my own 12-week year journey!
Quote ThisI have a 12-week plan but I’m not married to my plan. If something needs to change, I’m going to change it. Highlights* The Power of the 12-Week Year. [0:08:30] * How I Implemented the 12-Week Year in My Business. [0:16:29] * My Focus for the Upcoming 12-Week Sprint. [0:19:30] * How Am I Managing My Time? [0:28:24] * Starting Your 12-Week Year. [0:31:08]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:The 12-Week Year, Goals for 2025, Business Objectives, Goal Planning
We Mentioned:The 12-Week Year
The 12-Week Year on Audible
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Talitha Coffee helps support survivors of human trafficking
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Episode 920: Show NotesHave you ever seen a product and thought, “Shut up and take my money!”? This is what we call no-brainer pricing, and during this episode, I’m going to show you how to make offers so irresistible that customers won’t need convincing. Let’s get into it!
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Why Perception Really Is Everything & How to Use It to Your AdvantageIt’s really simple: when the value outweighs the price, customers don’t hesitate. The person who gets the most sales is the one who does the best job of describing the value over the price.
In the business world, people want to make money. So, what you are ultimately selling is their ability to make more revenue.
Overcomplicated products confuse buyers and kill your sales. A no-brainer offer solves one clear, specific problem and does it well. The kind of offer that is going to give you momentum in your business is the one that is going to give someone a quick and almost immediate win. And because it’s a quick return, you’ll earn trust faster and they’ll be far more likely to purchase from you again.
Making the Value Obvious Every TimeSince the customer can’t see or touch your digital product, the value has to be obvious in other ways. Your no-brainer offer should basically do the work for them. To solve an urgent problem, you need to know what their needs are. What’s stopping them from reaching their goals? People buy solutions, not products.
I use one of my no-brainer products as a very high-converting lead magnet: myOne-Day Launch helps people go from concept to launch in just one day, and it is incredibly effective. I also have a paid example:Your Digital VA is a ChatGPT prompt vault that gives people who are intimidated by AI a bunch of pre-loaded prompts to work with.
The Easiest Way to Make Your Offer AccessibleIf you want to make a product a no-brainer, your ideal client needs to immediately understand what you are offering. Ideally, these are even search terms. If someone is searching for a specific thing, your product is more likely to come up when you integrate SEO-friendly terms that are relevant and obvious.
A huge element of perceived value is saved time! Customers are willing to pay more for products that save them time. So get clear about how much time you can save them, what kind of time they can save, and where they could spend the time if they weren’t spending it on this.
Communicating Your Value Through ROIYou have more influence over perception than you think! Using low ticket pricing is an opportunity to get paid by your audience. It just requires volume. Low cost doesn’t mean low value; it means low risk. How are you getting that information across?
On your sales page, you need to have an example of Return On Investment (ROI). If you don’t have reviews yet, you need to include some form of social proof, whether it's reviews of previous content, examples, or personal anecdotes. This is a fantastic thing to include in a sales email.
How to Get the Price RightYou can price your products wherever you like, as long as their perception of value is higher. That being said, I talk about that more in my One-Day Launch Challenge. I’m helping you create the no-brainer product, talk about it, create the copy for your sales page, price it right, and then launch it and get it out there!
If you have an existing offer, use this as an opportunity to do an audit. Are you solving a real, urgent problem? Are you giving someone a quick win? Are you illustrating what it feels like to use your product? Are you talking about the time savings?
If you want to learn how to price your digital products so that they sell themselves, register & save your spot in our One-Day Launch Challenge!
Quote ThisOvercomplicated products confuse buyers and kill your sales. Highlights* Why Perception Really Is Everything & How to Use It to Your Advantage [0:00:54] * Making the Value Obvious Every Time [0:07:14] * The Easiest Way to Make Your Offer Accessible [0:24:30] * Communicating Your Value Through ROI [0:32:23] * How to Get the Price Right [0:42:50]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Offers, Strategy, Products, Pricing, Digital products
We Mentioned:Your Digital VA
One Day Launch: Digital Product Fast Track
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Talitha Coffee helps support survivors of human trafficking
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Episode 919: Show NotesWhen I first launched my $29 digital product, I didn’t expect it to become one of my highest-earning digital offers. But here is how I made $288,405 dollars off of it and how you can do the same with your next entry point digital product. When I put this product out there, I had no expectations of how it would perform. I was just excited to make it and use it myself and then share it with the world. There was no reason why I decided it should be $29, it was just a number I was going to try and it has worked so well that I’ve never changed it! If you have ever felt that a low-priced product could never generate real income, I’m confident that this story is going to prove you wrong. Let’s dive in!
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The Most Important Thing to Address When Creating a Digital ProductFirst of all, we have to talk about the problem that this product was solving. You need to completely address a problem for your ideal client that is valuable and of necessity. I want you to note that it needs to be one problem, not a whole load of them, just one! Timing is quite important as well and one of the reasons my product was so successful is because I was solving a problem that was popular for a broad audience. At the time that I launched this product, everyone was looking for ways to project manage better and there weren’t a lot of options that were affordable for small businesses. Trello was also the new kid on the block at the time and I decided to leverage the product for my digital offer by creating a system that helped people organize their ideas better on Trello!
What Was Trello for Business? The digital product I created was simply guidelines for people who needed a better way to organize their ideas. It was for small business owners who were slowly migrating from writing their ideas down in random notebooks and on Post-it notes to a more digital approach. I’m sure every single one of the people who bought Trello for Business would’ve been able to figure my approach out themselves, but they didn’t have the time because they were busy running their business! They needed a system that was going to plug, play, and work for them! And that’s what Trello for Business was – a collection of templates that you could install into Trello. It allowed buyers to copy the content I had spent time developing and see how I organized my whole business. And the best part is that it was all so simple!
Why Selling an Entry-Level Digital Product Should Be EasyThis was so incredibly simple! I just told people I was excited about this and that the system was working for me personally and people listened! They could feel my enthusiasm and hear the impact that it could have on their own business and it made them excited about giving it a try. You absolutely have to love what you’re putting out into the world because it’s your baby! Selling an entry-level digital product should be easy because you’re solving a problem that people are craving a solution for! One of the biggest secrets to all of this is taking advantage of someone who wants to use your product immediately, and the more people who benefit, the more people they will recommend it to! People loved Trello for Business! It was so impactful and helpful that so many people felt the need to share it.
The Best Way to Market Your ProductYes, it’s true that this product marketed itself for a long time. But I was also very intentional about it! Another one of the secret sauces to this success was that I didn’t stop talking about it for a long time, and I developed a program where I spoke about it regularly. I even created a YouTube channel with Trello-specific content with SEO-rich information. I also built a testimonial page to encourage people to buy the product. The page even featured my dog’s testimonial! Yes, you read correctly, my dog! I committed to creating content around this topic consistently, and that is why it has been so successful! I want you to pay attention to finding a problem or pain point for your audience, solve the problem quickly, make the price of the offer affordable, and keep showing up again and again!
Consistency, As Always, is Key!When I look back, I realize that this product worked because it gave people an immediate win at a price point that they didn’t need to think about. All of this is possible for you. You just need to package up your expertise in a way that’s quick, accessible, and easy to understand and implement! Your price should feel like a steal but shouldn’t be so low that it devalues your product. I believe in creating a simple and duplicatable marketing system that works for you. I simply want you to commit to showing up consistently because your long-term success with low-ticket products is about consistent marketing.
I want your offer to feel like a no-brainer so in the next episode of Strategy Hour, I’m going to talk about pricing specifically. If you want me to help walk you through the steps of creating an entry-level digital product, I’m doing all of it inside my one-day challenge for free so be sure to check that out and send me a DM on Instagram to tell me your thoughts on this episode. I look forward to hearing from you!
Quote ThisI think some of the best digital products are resources that you’ve built for yourself and then you turn around and give away to other people. Highlights* The Most Important Thing to Address When Creating a Digital Product [0:03:24] * What Was Trello for Business? [0:14:13] * Why Selling an Entry-Point Digital Product Should Be Easy. [0:20:03] * The Best Way to Market Your Product. [0:25:54] * Consistency, As Always, is Key! [0:33:00]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Digital Products, Entry Point Product, Low-Ticket Offers
We Mentioned:One Day Launch: Digital Product Fast Track
Trello for Business
Teachable - special offer
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Talitha Coffee helps support survivors of human trafficking
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Episode 918: Show NotesDuring today’s episode, I’m digging into how you can use digital products to grow your impact and revenue. When I started on this road, I really didn’t understand what it could mean for my availability to work with more people and make a bigger difference in the lives of my clients. I loved running my design agency, but so much of my income was entirely dependent on my clients’ needs. It felt like I had switched from having one boss to having many bosses!
I made a good living running an agency. I built that into a multi-six-figure business. But with THIS business, I have been able to bring home multiple millions of dollars in revenue. It has completely changed my life and my financial future. I’m super glad I started it so long ago! If you’re sitting here wondering if this is something you should be doing, the answer is probably yes. It allows you to take control and to grow in ways you never thought were possible.
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How Digital Products Changed Everything for Me and My TeamRunning a digital product and course-based business is an absolute game changer. It allows me to serve multiple customers simultaneously without increasing my workload much at all. I could add hundreds of clients before it starts impacting my team! We are serving over 1000 clients, and realistically, at the scale we are at, we could serve two to three high-end clients. That multiple is insane. I went from having four to five client calls and discovery calls per day to having five to seven meetings a month inside this business.
Why the Digital Product Industry is Growing More Rapidly Than Ever BeforePeople are looking for more alternatives to education than they ever have before. Online options are increasingly popular because they allow you to decide when and where you invest your time and attention. The industry is projected to grow into a $325 billion industry by the end of next year. There are two types of digital offerings, and for you to succeed, you need both. The best entry point is to develop entry-level digital products. Then, you can build into high-impact offers: full-fledged online courses, memberships, and coaching programs. But building this kind of business takes time.
The Offers I’ve Built Since I StartedWhen I launched my first digital product for $29, I had no idea it would reach as many people as it has. That one offer made $8033 in its first month. It has gone on to make $ 288,000, with more than 10,000 people using it. I have since built hundreds of offers! You never need to build as many offers as I have, but you will need a handful, and you may want to layer in diverse types of income. I get paid through being an affiliate and get brand partner income through sponsorships and special events. And I also get paid outside of my business through my investments.
How to Avoid the Biggest Mistake People Are MakingI love how you want to share everything with your people! You want to share all your knowledge with others. But the biggest mistake people are making is they try to turn all of it into one product. Will it sell? Probably, but it won’t sell as many times as it could. It will absolutely devalue the knowledge you have. Entry point digital products should solve one problem completely and well. What questions do your clients ask the most? What problem can you solve quickly in a digital format? If you want help on this specifically, I have an episode dedicated to helping you decide on what offer to choose.
Launching Your Digital Product in Just One DayOnce you’ve decided where to start, I really want to help you do that! Digital Product Jumpstart is all about getting you off the fence. For service providers, this is an opportunity to fill the gaps. Whether you want to do it so that you have a surplus of cash for slow periods or just layer it on as an opportunity for scale, this is a great thing to do. When it comes down to it, after we build this thing, your primary job becomes marketing and sending traffic to this offer. You can decide how to support it on the back end, but you will have already done the heavy lifting. Because of the time this has freed up for me, my ability to give back to my community is stronger than it’s ever been before.
Where So Many People Go Wrong (And How to Make Sure You Don’t Follow Them) You don’t have to drop everything to start building a digital product. Most people still need an income from their existing clients and I want to help you to do both. I also see so many people skipping the important step of finding market validation! I want to ensure that your product is going to sell and we do that through a presale process. Another thing you absolutely can’t afford to do is to ignore marketing and distribution. Visibility is the biggest shift you’re going to see.
Coming from a space where it’s not necessary, but it’s going to amplify what you’re doing and allow you to impact more people is so much more fun, creative, and fulfilling. If you’ve ever felt stuck, like you’re trading your time for money and it never scales, digital products are your opportunity to keep growing without burning out. End of story. If you’re ready to start building your first or your next digital product and you want help getting it out the door quickly, then you need to go to register for our free One Day Launch challenge.
Quote ThisDigital products are your opportunity to keep growing without burning out. Highlights* How Digital Products Changed Everything for Me and My Team [0:06:58] * Why The Digital Product Industry is Growing More Rapidly Than Ever Before [0:12:29] * The Offers I’ve Built Since I Started [0:15:59] * How to Avoid the Biggest Mistake People Are Making [0:18:18] * Launching Your Digital Product in Just One Day [0:20:38] * Where So Many People Go Wrong (And How to Make Sure You Don’t Follow Them) [0:27:41]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Scaling, Digital Products, Business Strategy
We Mentioned:Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Talitha Coffee helps support survivors of human trafficking
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Episode 917: Show NotesDo you have too many ideas for digital products and you’re just not sure where to start? One of the biggest hurdles for creators is deciding which idea to focus on and too often, I see people stuck in decision-making and never launch anything. I don’t want that to happen to you. One of two things happens when people have too many ideas. Either they go nowhere or they try pretty much everything and put it all out there which makes things look scattered and confusing. When people are passionate about their ideas, choosing can feel like abandoning other ideas. I want you to reframe it: when you choose an idea, you are simply prioritizing one now but that doesn’t mean that those other things won’t come in time. At the end of this episode, you’re going to have a framework to choose an idea and take it from concept to execution.
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Putting All Your Ideas Down on PaperI want you to start completely unfiltered and brainstorm everything. Absolutely everything! Potential templates, mini-courses, coaching, toolkits. At this point, they don’t even need to be digital product ideas; they just need to encompass all of the things you’re thinking about in terms of potential offers in your business. I want you to be excited about putting down all of your potential offers on paper! How can you help your clients? What do you want to see be different for people? What is going to make their lives easier? What are you excited about doing? I want you to set a timer and write down every single idea you can find. You don’t need to know what these ideas will look like yet, you just need to write them down!
Narrowing Your List of Ideas DownFor step two, I want you to go through this list and highlight all of the things that are urgent – what do your clients need to address right now? In one color, highlight the urgent ideas, and in another, highlight the ones that are nice to have. When looking at only urgent problems, consider which ideas you can develop within two to four weeks and put a star next to them. Then, of those highlighted as urgent and starred ideas, I want you to add a second star to the problems that you can solve for your ideal client in a short period of time. Now, your list is going to be a lot smaller. Of those few ideas, ask yourself what you’re most excited about producing and what you feel good about and I want you to commit to one idea. The faster you do that, the faster you’re going to start seeing results! Don’t overthink this. You will come back to your list and do another one! You’re simply making a choice and moving on. And if you can’t decide, flip a coin!
Testing Your Idea with PresaleBefore you spend any time developing the actual product, I need you to test it with a sales page with a real price point. Put it out into the world and offer it for sale. Presales happen in every industry! All of this happens before you even create the product. I also think it’s important to highlight that whatever this product will solve will help your clients get back to what they want to focus on in their business. It’s also worth noting that from a psychological perspective, in order to get your client over the metaphorical finish line, sometimes there is a time and place to give them a little bit of what they want alongside what they actually need. There is the potential to take one of the ‘nice-to-have’ ideas that can be solved quickly and incorporate it into the urgent product to make it more exciting to clients.
Ultimately, I don’t want you to overthink this. If you have an idea that passes these tests, it can be developed in two to four weeks, and if it’s something that your clients can execute quickly, I want you to put it out there! It’s worth testing it in the market. Your effort is not wasted if it doesn’t end up working in the end because you can just go back to your list and pick something else. I want you to make real income from this product and then produce it! If you want more guidance on launching a digital product, check out my One Day Launch: Digital Product Fast Track. I can’t wait to see what you come up with, your quick wins, and I can’t wait for you to start making sales!
Quote ThisSuccess comes from doing something exceptionally well. Not trying to do everything at once. Highlights* Putting All Your Ideas Down on Paper [0:02:40] * Narrowing Your List of Ideas Down [0:06:13] * Testing Your Idea with Presale [0:11:30]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Digital Products, Brainstorming, Product Ideas, Presales, Testing Sales
We Mentioned:One Day Launch: Digital Product Fast Track
Strategy Hour Podcast Episode #916
Digital Product Jumpstart
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Episode 916: Show NotesAre you solving real problems or just slapping on Band-Aids? In this episode, I dive into the ONE question you absolutely need to ask before creating or selling your digital product and the test I use to ensure that digital products deliver fast, tangible results, not just quick fixes that only address surface-level symptoms. I also offer a practical explanation for why quick wins are the key to building trust, driving sales, and setting up future success.
Whether you're reworking an existing offer or brainstorming a new one, I’ll help you simplify your solution, focus on small but impactful wins, and avoid the overwhelm-trap that most creators fall into! This episode is your guide to creating offers that sell and position your business for long-term growth. Remember, the goal is to make your solutions so simple and immediate that clients can’t help but say, “Oh my gosh, this works!”
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The Quick Win Test: How Fast Does It Work?The ultimate question you need to ask yourself about your digital product is this: how quickly does your offer help your client solve their problem? If your response isn’t minutes, hours, or maybe even a few days, it’s time to hit the brakes because it will prevent you from reaching your ultimate goal.
Now, I’m not opposed to developing offers with a longer timeline for transformation. That’s not the issue. The issue is how those long-term offers are framed. Transformations that take weeks or months should be positioned as signature offers with mid-tier or high-end price points. The point of an entry-point digital offer is to raise awareness about your business, bring in someone who's likely cold, and give them a quick transformation to win their trust. If your offer fails this test, simplify it or reframe the solution to ensure results happen FAST!
How Instant Results Lead to Instant TrustIf you’re still in the ideas and creation phase, I don’t want you to get too caught up in this. A common pitfall for creators is thinking too big too soon. Because you care, you’re attempting to overhaul someone’s entire business or entire life with a single course or toolkit. While the intention is good, overcomplicating it can overwhelm your audience, create hesitation, and dilute the effectiveness of your offer. Instead, focus on solving one specific problem quickly. Your job is to make your solution so simple that it feels like you’ve already done the work for them.
How can you make it so easy that they can essentially plug and play? I love templates, readymade resources, or simple step-by-step processes because they provide the instant results your audience is looking for. Take myChatGPT Prompt Vault as an example. Delivering quick results not only boosts sales but also builds trust and momentum, which are critical for nurturing long-term relationships.
Why the Simplest Tools Deliver the Most ImpactIt’s often my simplest tools and templates that offer the fastest, most impactful results. MyDigital Product Sales Page Copywriting Blueprint has been downloaded so many times because it removes friction for my clients and has a singular purpose. The brilliance of templates lies in their simplicity, specificity, and speed. Instead of trying to teach someone everything, focus on solving one problem with a tool that clients can literally copy-paste from and run with. Immediate leave them wondering, “If this is what I get for just a small investment, what else is possible?”
Striking the right balance between product specificity and holistically attracting the right audience can be tricky, but it’s where the magic happens. The mistakes I most often see are either going too broad and diluting the offer's effectiveness or so niche that it’s too specific to a kind of person and doesn’t reach your ideal audience. My advice? Keep the transformation focused and simple. Ask yourself what is one problem you can solve quickly that feels valuable to the people you want to attract, then tweak and experiment as you go. The key is to be clear and intentional about the result and who it’s for. Simple solutions, big impact. That’s what works!
Indoctrinating Someone into Your Way of ThinkingWhen I talk about indoctrinating someone into your way of thinking, I know it can sound a little intense, maybe even culty, but stick with me here, because it’s not what you think! What I mean is that you have a philosophy, a methodology, or a process that you know works, and your job is to help your audience see the world through that lens. It’s about getting them to trust your approach by offering them a quick win that delivers immediate results.
As I like to say, people buy outcomes, not effort. Buyers want immediate value. They don’t want to work harder. That’s why templates and ready-to-use resources work so well because they minimize the heavy lifting. When they experience that win, whether it’s a lightbulb moment or an instant solution, they start to believe in you, in your process, and in what’s possible for them. It’s not about convincing or hard selling. It’s about showing up authentically, providing real value, and giving them a taste of how your way of thinking can transform their lives or businesses.
Brainstorm Without JudgmentWhen you’re brainstorming ideas for your digital product, don’t filter yourself right out of the gate. Write down every problem your audience faces and every potential solution, big or small. This is not the time to judge or overthink. It doesn’t have to be the “right idea.” Everything you write down could be a potential product one day. It might be something you create now, something you build on later, or even a piece of a larger transformation you’ll break down.
Once you’ve got your list, the next step is to run each idea through this filter: Does this fix the real problem in a tangible, meaningful way, or is it just a Band-Aid? Band-Aids are quick fixes that only address surface-level symptoms, like offering a content calendar to someone who is actually struggling with creating the content itself. Sure, it might sell, but it won’t deliver the transformation they need. Instead, focus on solving a real problem that moves your audience forward. If a solution feels too big or too slow, break it down into smaller, significant steps. Your goal is progress, not a patch. When you create something simple, clear, and results-driven, you build trust, deliver real value, and set the stage for bigger wins!
This is the kind of stuff I walk people through in Digital Product Jumpstart. What are you going to create or change for your ideal clients and how are you going to do it quickly and concisely? I can’t wait to see what happens when you start getting more immediate results!
Quote ThisOften, my simplest tools, my simplest templates, are the ones that offer the most specific results. Highlights* The Quick Win Test: How Fast Does It Work? [0:02:14] * How Instant Results Lead to Instant Trust [0:05:51] * Why the Simplest Tools Deliver the Most Impact [0:12:52] * Indoctrinating Someone into Your Way of Thinking [0:16:15] * Brainstorm Without Judgment [0:22:06]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Digital Products, Transformation, Templates, Product Specificity, Quick Wins
We Mentioned:Your Digital VA: ChatGPT Prompt Vault
Digital Product Sales Page Copywriting Blueprint
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Talitha Coffee helps support survivors of human trafficking
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Episode 915: Show NotesNovember 2024 was the very first time I used AI to negotiate a brand deal and it was absolutely game-changing! I don’t think every single business needs a brand deal, but if you’re a coach or consultant, partnering with brands that offer something complimentary to what you do is such an incredible way to expand your reach and position you as an expert.
Even with all of the positive things it can do for your business in mind, many people are scared to negotiate those deals. Negotiating is so important because it helps you secure fair compensation for your work and gives you the opportunity to align expectations early. There’s something about self-advocating to increase your revenue that makes you feel so powerful! And you can leverage AI to help you do that. Let’s discuss how.
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How to Leverage AI to Research a Brand DealI used AI when I had already received the deal but it can be used at a much earlier stage as well. AI can be used to pitch your idea or even enhance your existing pitch to make it align better with the brand’s ideal customer! Your understanding of who the brand’s ideal audience is will help them convert faster. You can even use AI to research the brand. You would be shocked at how much ChatGPT knows about companies! With that being said, you also need to do your homework on the brand because you will definitely get better feedback from AI if you feed it your knowledge too. What I like about AI specifically is that it helps to enhance any existing ideas, find holes in them, and make improvements to them! Ask it specific questions, and when it spits out responses, don’t just run with them. Make adjustments to better suit your voice.
How to Interact with AI to Optimize Your ResultsNow, I’m going to walk you through my exact prompts, how AI responded, and how I adjusted it along the way. I want you to get a better understanding of how to interact with AI to get a better result. The first thing I did was read through what the brand wanted and asked AI if the proposal was fair. It gave me some suggestions; including negotiating a higher rate or limiting the exclusivity and deliverables. It then told me how I might phrase my counter offer and I adjusted it so that the original offer wasn’t rejected. It’s important to find the balance between softness and firmness while still incorporating your voice in the offer. Once I had made all of these adjustments and been specific about what I would and wouldn’t say, I had to do very little editing to the proposal AI had given me. Within a couple of hours, the brand had accepted the offer, which was double the original!
Getting Third-Party Perspective Through AIWhat should you do if your offer isn’t accepted off the bat? I suggest going back to the same AI thread you created! A lot of people create brand new conversations with AI or abandon it altogether, but why not utilize this tool at your fingertips? What I would do is put the brand’s response into AI and ask it what to do next. The goal of AI at this point is not to have it respond for you, it is simply to get a third-party perspective. At this point in the negotiation process, any sort of objection to your suggestion can feel quite personal and can lead to some reactionary responses. That is why the third-party perspective is so important! In the past, I’ve tried to get that feedback from other people in my team and close circle, but obviously, AI is a lot more objective. You can then take that more neutral response and decide what you’re going to do with it. It can help you craft responses that are non-confrontational, even when things get heated.
Mistakes to Avoid When Using AI to CommunicateWhen using AI for communication, there are some mistakes I see people make that are definitely worth talking about. The first one is relying too heavily on the content without personalizing it and making it sound like you. Right now, AI is very distinguishable. Relying on it too heavily will give you away and turn people off. People also often assume that AI is right, but that isn’t always the case! While it’s getting better at fact-finding, when dealing with numbers, for example, it can be incorrect. Even if it looks like it could be true, double-check it!
Be sure to inject your own voice. If you utilize it so much, you may forget what your voice sounds like and that is a sign that you should walk away for a little bit. You still have to continue to hone your skills because AI is there to compliment them, not replace them. Now and into the future, AI can be a secret weapon for you. It can make you look like even more of a pro without feeling intimidated by negotiations. You can utilize AI to make brand deal processes easier with every single step.
If you want to use AI more in your business and you want more prompt engineering to help you ask better questions and accomplish more in your business, I highly encourage you to check out Your Digital VA ChatGPT Prompt Vault, which is actually included in the Co-op! I can’t wait to help you with prompt engineering!
Quote ThisYou would be shocked what AI can come out with if you ask it specific things. Highlights* How to Leverage AI to Research a Brand Deal [0:05:24] * How to Interact with AI to Optimize Your Results [0:12:32] * Getting Third-Party Perspective Through AI [0:20:45] * Mistakes to Avoid When Using AI to Communicate [0:25:37]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:AI, ChatGPT, Machine Learning, Brand Negotiations, Prompt Engineering
We Mentioned:Boss Project Courses
ChatGPT
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Talitha Coffee helps support survivors of human trafficking
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Episode 914: Show NotesToday we’re sharing one of our fan favorite episodes in case you missed it! This is such a valuable topic– I’m sharing why it’s important to build your business in a way that can weather the storms life may toss your way. Bad things are gonna happen, it's just a fact. Let’s talk about how to keep your business strong (and not dependent on you personally) even when things get tough. It IS possible to create a business model that empowers you to prioritize your goals and can endure your absence if necessary.
The original show notes are here if you’d like to see them.
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OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
We Mentioned:Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Talitha Coffee helps support survivors of human trafficking
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Episode 913: Show NotesToday we’re sharing one of our fan favorite episodes in case you missed it! This is such a valuable topic– I’m sharing how you can strategically use pre-sales in your business to sell more digital products and courses. Tune in to find out what pre-sales are, how you can benefit from them, and learn some simple strategies to help you get started!
The original show notes are here if you’d like to see them.
Listen on your favorite podcast player OUR HOST:**Abagail Pumphrey**
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
We Mentioned:Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Talitha Coffee helps support survivors of human trafficking
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Episode 912: Show NotesToday we’re sharing one of our fan favorite episodes in case you missed it! This is such a valuable topic– I’m sharing how to leverage digital products to get more leads and sales. And we’re talking about how to do this while NOT getting caught in the weeds of flashy marketing strategies. Tuning in, you’ll find out how to attract leads AND get paid in the process.
The original show notes are here if you’d like to see them.
Listen on your favorite podcast player
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
We Mentioned:Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Talitha Coffee helps support survivors of human trafficking
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Episode 911: Show NotesToday we’re sharing one of our fan favorite episodes in case you missed it! This is such a valuable topic– I’m sharing how I’d start a business TODAY if I had absolutely no existing audience. It’s about showing up and making yourself visible. We’re talking about growing real relationships and emphasizing community over chasing vanity numbers.
The original show notes are here if you’d like to see them.
Listen on your favorite podcast player
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
We Mentioned:Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Talitha Coffee helps support survivors of human trafficking
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Episode 910: Show NotesThis is going to sound wild, but I have not planned the year ahead for multiple years in a row now. I felt a lot of pressure to make the right decisions to set me up for the year and I got tired of feeling like I was failing! So, I just stopped setting goals. Instead, I started to take things one step at a time. But this year feels different. I wanted to use this episode to share more of my plans and my predictions for 2025.
Originally, I wasn’t planning to share my plans for the coming year. Even though it can be tough to know what to share as someone who teaches other business owners to do what I do, I’m sharing this because I know this is going to work. I want to make sure that you have these reminders in front of you. You don’t need to make radical changes to your plans. But these ideas are truly what makes businesses in this industry scale.
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Adding New Subscribers to My Email ListI knew that if I wanted to create the sustainability I dreamed of, I needed to be able to generate new leads. So at the beginning of 2024, I doubled down on getting new email subscribers. I brought in 10,000 in just six months! That felt like such a huge success that I ended up writing a full case study on how I did it, without paying for any of them. We’ll continue using that strategy to grow our subscriber base even more in 2025.
Press and Social Media MagicBeing interviewed and featured by CNBC drove home just how far I’ve come, and just how influential my voice is for this industry. I had been holding back on social, but in 2024, I watched our engagement skyrocket, largely thanks to the strategies I teach inside The Instagram Profit Playbook. You can find it on our website with all my other courses.
What Made Me Proudest This YearThe thing that surprised me most this year was the success of our One-Day Launch challenge. Spoiler alert: it’s coming back in January, and we’re going to do it live this time. This year, we smashed ceilings. We had over 74,000 people go through that challenge, all organic. Not a single ad dollar was spent on the challenge. That is wild! We’ve seen so many launches and so many new products and featured so many of you in our digital product directory.
Doubling Down on Front-Of-FunnelDo you spend a lot of time thinking about customer acquisition? And wondering how to turn a warm audience into buyers? That’s not the issue. You need more awareness. That’s how you get more warm leads. Warm leads don’t need to be convinced: they will convert if presented with an offer that truly solves problems. In 2025, be more focused on how to bring more awareness into your world.
Two Ways to Prioritize Growth in 2025This year, I’m making sure all of our entry-point offers have offer bumps attached to them. I’m getting clear on order pass — how each product connects to the next. This doesn’t always convert, but when it does, it raises the order value significantly and makes a huge difference when we are so heavy on low-cost products. I’m also starting to spend money on paid advertising and I’ve brought in a contractor to help.
What I’m Working Hardest on ImprovingI want to do a better job at having lead magnets that are connected to certain products and have a clear sales funnel attached to them. If I want to have a lead magnet, I want to make sure it has a sales funnel attached to it. I’m also excited about adjusting our strategy for onboarding. What that ultimately means is every lead magnet will have a sales funnel, but every purchase will have an onboarding sequence that includes upsells. We simply need more people exposed, and I’m looking forward to seeing what that looks like in 2025.
My Predictions for the Industry’s FutureThere’s going to be a staunch division: those who are rising to the occasion, figuring out what’s next for their businesses, and businesses shutting their doors and being unwilling to change. We can’t afford to do what we’ve always done anymore. The businesses that continually listen to the needs of their community and show up for them are the ones that are going to succeed. I want to see more businesses focused on making intuitive decisions rather than the “right” decisions.
What You Must Do to See Growth in 2025It’s so critical to continue to focus on traffic and lead gen. How are you going to get more people to see your offers, and how are you going to nurture that traffic? Organic can be incredible and sometimes it’s all you need. Paid just amplifies what’s already working. If people want to see more sustainable income through DIY offers, they will need to think strategically about order bumps and upsells and automated funnels. You don’t need to do a million things at once: you just need to do one right.
What Your Success Actually Depends OnYour business is only as sustainable as how well you are taking care of your clients. I want to see people focused on onboarding effectively: making sure people have what they need to be successful. Do they know the tools you’ve spent all this time producing? You need to put it in front of them in a way that’s consumable, logical, and that they can come back to. You need to remain flexible, you need to be willing to improvise, and you can’t go into a new year rigid with your plans.
You Can’t Possibly Predict Everything and That’s OK!It’s just not going to happen: you’re not going to know about everything that will come your way. But, I’m excited. I’ve mapped out my pricing, my Q1 launch schedule is done, and we’re mapping out our January launch. My team is working hard at developing their roles and projects. I don’t remember the last time I was this excited going into a new year. I’m motivated and I’m truly looking forward to executing the plan while being open to improvisation because life is going to happen.
Build Your Audience and Boost ConversionsIf you’re interested in learning more about my front-of-funnel strategy, you need to get into Digital Product Jumpstart. It’s how you are going to get paid while you’re building your audience. You’ll get paid to bring in qualified leads, whether you’re launching a brand-new product or refining an existing one. This is going to help you bring in the right people who are going to convert again and again. I can’t wait to see it take your business to the next level. Let’s do this together.
Quote ThisThe back-of-funnel sells itself if I do the front-of-funnel well. Highlights* How I’ve Added Nearly 10,000 New Subscribers to My Email List in Just 6 Months [0:04:31] * Press and Social Media Magic We Saw in 2024 [0:06:25] * The One Thing That Made Me Proudest This Year [0:08:34] * Why I’m Doubling Down on My Front-Of-Funnel [0:10:30] * Two Ways to Prioritize Growth in 2025 [0:11:25] * What I’m Going to Work Hardest on Improving [0:15:14] * My Top Predictions for the Industry’s Future [0:18:30] * What You Absolutely Have to Do to See Growth in 2025 [0:21:26] * The Thing That Your Success Actually Depends On [0:24:44] * Why You Can’t Possibly Predict Everything and That’s Okay! [0:26:16] * How Digital Product Jumpstart Builds Your Audience and Boosts Conversions [0:28:28]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Business planning, Goals, Offers, Funnels, Predictions, 2025
We Mentioned:Email Marketing Case Study- How I’ve Added Nearly 10,000 New Subscribers to My Email List
Boss Project Courses
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Talitha Coffee helps support survivors of human trafficking
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Episode 909: Show NotesAs we get ready to close out the year, it’s natural to find ourselves at an inflection point. It’s the time of the year when we think about all the things we've done, all the things we would do differently, and maybe even some things we regretted along the way.
When I sat down to reflect on the past year, I felt a deep need to remember. To revisit lessons I’d learned before but was reminded of in new, impactful ways this year. These are lessons that aren’t just for me – they’re for all of us.
Today, I’m sharing these reminders with you because I believe they can help guide your own journey. They offer a little more ease, a little more grace, and a little more peace of mind. So, as we move forward together in this crazy world, know that you’re not alone. We’re all in it together, figuring it out, one step at a time!
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Less is MoreLooking back on the past year, one lesson stands out: less is more. I tend to go all-in on something, do it well, and then move on to the next thing. It’s not that I abandon ideas, but I often move forward prematurely.
This year, I was reminded of the importance of paying attention to what resonates. The things that work – and work well – when we market our offers are valuable clues. They show us what we should be doing more of.
Even though I was committed to developing new offers and sticking to my launch calendar, I didn’t stop to consider what the business could look like if I focused on just a few things that were really gaining traction. It’s a powerful reminder to lean into what’s working instead of constantly chasing the next new thing.
The Power of Pre-SellingThis year reinforced a lesson I’ve long been committed to: the incredible power of pre-selling. It had been a few years since I created something entirely new, from scratch, but I was reminded again and again just how effective this strategy is, no matter the size of your business.Pre-selling isn’t just something I practice, it’s a core strategy I teach, especially to the entrepreneurs in my Digital Product Jumpstart course. It’s all about helping people take an idea, validate it, and generate real revenue before they even develop the offer.
The benefits are twofold. First, you earn income upfront, which is always a win. But even more importantly, pre-selling allows you to adjust your offer based on your audience’s response, ensuring it’s something they truly want and need.
Building an Offer Ecosystem and Customer JourneyI’ve been a strong believer in building an offer ecosystem for a while, but I think this can get messy quickly. That’s why it’s crucial to revisit and audit your offers regularly. Identifying gaps, spotting opportunities, and creating a seamless customer journey ensures that everything works together in a more meaningful way.
While I previously emphasized doing a few things well, those few offers – whether digital products, courses, or one-on-one services – should be connected. Each offer should solve a problem that naturally sets your customer up for the next step in their journey with you.
You don’t need a sprawling suite of offers. Three to five well-aligned products can be enough, though there’s room for experimentation and adjustment as your audience evolves. What matters most is ensuring these offers work together to build stronger relationships with your customers.
I don’t want to be the business that gets a single sale and moves on to chasing the next lead or conversion. Instead, I’m committed to fostering deeper connections. I want my customers to see real results so they feel excited to work with me again and again!
You can learn more about what building an offer ecosystem looks like inside the Accelerator. It’s the first step I send everyone through as they join the Co-op.
Why Focusing on One Platform Can Transform Your VisibilityWhen it comes to visibility, there’s so much pressure to be everywhere. Reels on Instagram, reposted to YouTube Shorts, shared on Facebook, and you end up needing all these things to work together. But spreading yourself thin across multiple platforms can be exhausting, especially if your content doesn’t resonate with each platform’s unique audience.
I’ve seen this firsthand. Someone I care about put out content consistently for an entire year, but they simply reposted the same material across platforms without tailoring it to each community. The result? Minimal views, stagnant follower growth, and a lot of wasted effort.
If we try to be everywhere, we risk creating content just for the sake of it instead of truly connecting with our audience. Focusing on one engaged platform allows you to learn the ins and outs, build a community, and enjoy showing up. It’s not about shouting into a megaphone, it’s about starting meaningful conversations and attracting people who genuinely care about what you’re doing.
Long term, you might expand to multiple platforms, but for now, ask yourself: where are you putting your time, energy, and love? Choose a space where you want to show up, and double down. That’s where real growth happens.
Remember that Selling is ServingThis lesson feels a little vulnerable for me to admit because, while I’ve said it out loud, I’m not sure I’ve always truly believed it. This year, I needed the reminder that selling isn’t just about making money, it’s about serving.
I’ve fallen into the trap of not wanting to come across as “too salesy.” I wanted to provide value, to show people I’m here to support them. But the truth is, when you sell something that truly meets someone’s needs and provides real transformation, it’s a service. Their gratitude is proof that you’re showing up in the right way.
We don’t need to hold back or shy away from selling. There’s no need to avoid adding calls to action in emails or posts out of fear of overdoing it. Think about it: Target and Madewell sell in every single email they send. Why do we feel pressure to give endlessly without focusing on how our business will survive?
This year, I want you to set a small, simple goal: pitch your product or service every single day. It doesn’t have to be on the same platform each time, it could be an email, a social media post, or a conversation. What matters is showing up daily to remind people of what you do and keep your business moving forward.
Why AI is Critical for Long-Term GrowthWhen ChatGPT first came out, I was intimidated. Like many others, I wasn’t sure where to start. But as I began experimenting with AI, it quickly became a regular part of my day-to-day work. Now, nearly two years later, I can’t imagine running my business without it.
If you’re not already using AI to save time, brainstorm, streamline repetitive tasks, amplify your work, or refine your messaging, you’re missing out. AI isn’t about replacing your efforts, it’s about enhancing them. As this technology continues to evolve, understanding how to use it will be as fundamental as learning to type was for previous generations.
The key is to start small and experiment. Is there a task in your business that feels like it’s taking forever? Ask AI how it can help. You don’t need to have all the answers; AI is designed to help you brainstorm solutions. For instance, you can say, “I’m working on this task, and it’s taking too long. How can I streamline it?” You’ll be amazed at the ideas it generates. Don’t let terms like “prompt engineering” intimidate you. Think of it as a conversation. Provide feedback, ask follow-up questions, and refine as you go. The possibilities are truly wild.
What Giving 100% Really MeansWith AI streamlining our tasks and social media constantly updating, it can be tempting to push ourselves to work faster and harder. The thing is, we're not machines. We have bodies, lives, and real human limitations.
We're constantly putting pressure on ourselves to get somewhere by a certain timeline. But all too often, that timeline is completely self-induced! And most of the time, those timelines aren’t even realistic. What I learned is that it’s not about how quickly we’re moving; it’s about where we’re headed.
I want you to focus less on the speed of your journey and more on your direction. Are you headed toward your goals in a way that aligns with your values and priorities? Your pace should reflect your capacity, not just your willingness to push further. We all know it’s easy to say “yes” to more, even when we’re stretched too thin.
I heard something recently that really stuck with me: “Your 100% is what you can do without depleting yourself.” That was a game-changer for me. For so long, I thought my 100% meant pushing myself to the brink of exhaustion. But the real 100%? That’s what you can do without burning out. What you can accomplish without negatively affecting your body, mind, family, or personal well-being.
So, as you plan for the future, remember: it’s not about doing everything at full speed. It’s about moving in the right direction at a pace that respects your capacity.
It’s Time To Change Your MindsetI tend to approach problems with logic, trying to solve everything with an action or strategy. But sometimes, the solution isn’t more strategy; it’s mindset work.
Altering your mindset can really move the needle if you give it the proper attention. And I want to encourage you to spend more time working on it because I know many of you are at a point in your business where you don’t need another strategy or new tactic. What you need is to believe that you already have everything necessary to succeed.
It’s about reframing the way you see your challenges. The things you might consider your flaws? They could very well be your superpowers. I’ve seen this play out in my own journey this year. In fact, for the first time in years, I dedicated significant time to building foundational mindset training. I make every single client go through them, and I’ve made sure it’s as accessible as possible.
If you’re ready to start shifting your mindset and unlock what’s been holding you back, I highly encourage you to check out my Mindset Reboot: Workshop Trio. Focusing on mindset is one of the most powerful things you can do to get unstuck and propel yourself forward into next year!
Quote ThisYour pace should match your capacity, not your like willingness, because often you're willing to do more than you possibly can. Highlights* Less is More [0:01:26] * The Power of Pre-Selling [0:05:06] * Building an Offer Ecosystem and Customer Journey [0:07:32] * Why Focusing on One Platform Can Transform Your Visibility [0:11:09] * Remember that Selling is Serving [0:13:49] * Why AI is Critical for Long-Term Growth [0:19:19] * What Giving 100% Really Means [0:22:21] * It’s Time To Change Your Mindset [0:25:18]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Pre-selling, Offer Ecosystem, Increasing visibility, Selling to serve, AI for growth, Mindset
We Mentioned:Mindset Reboot Workshop Trio
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Talitha Coffee helps support survivors of human trafficking
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Episode 908: Show NotesWhat if I told you that success in business does not have to cost you absolutely everything you value? Too many people believe sacrifice is the only path to success, and that belief might be exactly what’s holding you back. Today, I unpack the one question that will determine whether you’ll successfully transition to a full-time living with digital products without sacrificing your life along the way. Let’s jump straight into it!
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The One Non-Negotiable Question You Have to Sit WithMost entrepreneurs unconsciously associate success with sacrifice. They think they have to give up their time, health, or relationships to get to where they want to go. But if you’re going to arrive at the point where you need to be and stay there, you have to believe that it won’t require sacrifice! Rather, trust that it is simply available to you. You don’t have to give up what’s important to you to get there. While giving those things up may enable you to leapfrog faster, it won’t stick.
What Truly Changes When You Realize What You Don’t Have to SacrificeOnce you wrap your head around the idea that you don’t have to give anything up to get what you truly want, you’ll understand that you can adjust how you show up when you need more bandwidth so that you can prioritize your health. Burnout is not a lack of willpower! It’s your brain’s way of protecting you from the unsustainable patterns you are developing.
Identifying What is Truly Important and Aligning with Your ValuesCOVID-19 was an awful time filled with so much loss. But the one good thing to come out of 2020 was the opportunity to reflect on what is important. Perhaps for the first time ever, businesses started to restructure to align with their values. Building a business that respects your lifestyle is worth it. There are people making more money than you and working less because they believe that it does not require every ounce of who they are to find success.
Changing Your Limiting Beliefs to Make the Mindset ShiftWhat do you think the ceiling is? And why is that the case? Worry less about what the ceiling is, and more about what it will require to go beyond it. The further along you get, there will be fewer examples and fewer people to show you that it’s possible to get there. You have to believe it’s possible! Write it out. Put it in your journal. Put it in your notes app! Whatever you need to do, I need you to visualize what’s possible without sacrifice.
What it Looks Like to Find BalanceI’m curious: what does an ideal day look like for you? Once you’ve identified this, it’s not necessarily about getting the life you want but rather about making those changes to the life you are already living. These don’t have to be massive shifts. If you can imagine a world where that scenario is happening, all of a sudden, your mind and your body can speak together and doors begin to open up. But this only sticks if you start adopting strategies that align with your values.
Why You Absolutely Have to Build a Business in Alignment with Who You AreI value inclusivity, affordability, accessibility, and time. These values define how I built my business. Sustainable systems come from aligning how you work with your values. When you believe success doesn’t require sacrifice, your brain stops resisting and starts creating opportunities. It took me a long time to fully believe that I could have a digital product business where I teach people around the world without sacrifice, but it is such an ideal solution to creating sustainability.
How I Made the Move to a Product-Based BusinessInside the Co-op, I teach you the exact strategies I’ve used to build a thriving digital product business without sacrificing my life. If this is the end game for you, the Co-op is going to save you so much time! Working less, hustling less, and doing less does not lead to failure. It leads to a more rested, healthier, and more thankful you. I want to help you build a thriving business that supports not only the life you have today but the life you want for the rest of your life. Let’s do it together!
Quote ThisBuilding a business that respects your lifestyle is worth it. Highlights* The One Non-Negotiable Question You Have to Sit With [0:00:50] * What Truly Changes When You Realize What You Don’t Have to Sacrifice [0:07:32] * Aligning with Your Values by Identifying What is Truly Important [0:09:59] * Changing Your Limiting Beliefs to Make the Mindset Shift [0:15:40] * What it Looks Like to Find Balance [0:19:39] * Why You Absolutely Have to Build a Business in Alignment with Who You Are [0:24:05] * How I Made the Move to a Product-Based Business [0:26:15]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Burnout, Sacrifice, Alignment, Business Planning, Entrepreneurship
We Mentioned:Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Talitha Coffee helps support survivors of human trafficking
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Episode 907: Show NotesIf there’s one thing I’ve learned in 2024, it’s the game-changing power of focusing on one well-built funnel that works. In this episode, I break down why relying solely on live launches leaves money on the table and how pairing them with automated funnels creates the ultimate revenue-driving duo. I share why live launches are the perfect testing ground for building evergreen funnels that convert, plus the strategies that make this process seamless and effective!
You’ll also get a sneak peek into my funnel plans for 2025, including my return to paid advertising and the surprising power of strategic downsells. Whether you’re just getting started or ready to refine your systems, this episode will help you leverage the best of live launching and automated funnels for a sustainable long-term growth strategy. Ready to transform your business? Tune in now to get the full scoop!
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Why You Need Both Live Launches & Automated FunnelsFor years, I depended solely on live launches to generate revenue, and it worked! My biggest launch brought in over $350,000 in just one week. But the cost was huge. I was in a constant loop of promoting, running workshops, and pushing out sales sequences. Even the “simpler” launches where we repeated workshops every couple of weeks were a ton of work. And when we started doing bigger launches like multi-day challenges or summits with dozens of guest speakers, it only added to the workload.
The thing is, live launching taught me so much. I got to know my audience on such a deep level: their struggles, where they were getting stuck, and what they needed most. But even with that knowledge, I started feeling completely spent. I had no boundaries, and I was thinking about work all the time. That’s when I realized I needed to find another way to build my business.
Live launching is such a powerful tool for figuring out what works, but it can’t be your only strategy. When you combine what you’ve learned from live launching with a killer funnel, that’s when you really start to see long-term success! Funnels bring in consistent, reliable revenue without the constant hustle of planning another launch. Looking back, I wish I’d leaned into funnels sooner. Live launches and funnels are an incredible combination, giving you the freedom and sustainability to grow your business without totally burning yourself out!
Use Your Live Launch To Build Your FunnelIf you want to build a great automated funnel, you need to start with a live launch. The two go hand in hand because live launching gives you everything you need to make your funnel work. It’s not about being perfect, it’s about testing things out. You get to see how your audience responds to your messaging, your price, and even the product itself. Honestly, some of my best launches were pre-sales where I adjusted the product or added bonuses right in the middle of the launch based on what people were asking for.
One thing I’ve loved doing is testing content on social first. The posts that get the most engagement (comments, shares, all of it) almost always inform what I include in my email sales sequence. This saves me so much time because I already know what’s going to hit the right notes with my audience. And during a live launch, you’ve got more time to test and tweak. Also, not every daily email is a straight sales pitch. Some of my favorite ones point to other content, like podcasts or blog posts, which keeps the launch feeling less sales-y and more valuable for my audience!
After every launch, I do a full debrief to figure out what worked. I look at which social posts had the most engagement, which emails got the most clicks, and, most importantly, which messages drove sales. This process is a goldmine for creating automated funnels that actually convert.
How to Get Leads on AutopilotThere’s so much I could say about funnels (way more than I can fit into this episode!), but here’s the main takeaway: if you’re not building a funnel, you’re leaving money on the table. Yes, creating a funnel is front-loaded work. It takes time and effort up front, but it pays off in the long run. That’s why I love pairing a live launch with funnel building. You get paid immediately, build out the product as you go, and then shift to driving traffic into your funnel once it’s set up.
Inside Leads on Autopilot, I walk you through my entire funnel-building process; how to flip a live launch into an automated funnel, get your lead magnets converting, and turn leads into sales on autopilot. And let me tell you, this isn’t just about getting leads in the door. It’s about doing it in a way that feels authentic and personal. It’s about storytelling, value, and creating email sequences that show your audience you care, you understand their challenges, and you’re ready to help them.
I also dive into testing and tweaking your funnels for ongoing improvement, plus strategies for segmentation and tailored messaging. Whether it’s the marketing side of lead generation or building a funnel that converts, I cover it all inside Email List Jumpstart, where Leads on Autopilot lives right now. And if you’re curious, watch my free workshop on getting your first 1,000 subscribers. You’ll walk away inspired and ready to take the next step toward building your funnel!
My Strategy for 2025What’s next for my funnel strategy? Heading into 2025, I’m refining how I approach social, paid traffic, and my email list. Social media remains my tool for attracting a cold audience and driving visibility so I can create those leads. I’ve been testing strategies for sending cold traffic either directly to a low-priced offer or to a lead magnet that leads into a paid funnel.
For paid advertising, I’m diving back in with a plan to drive cold traffic straight to entry-point offers paired with upsell funnels. I’m also incorporating more strategic downsells, which can convert at incredibly high rates when done right – sometimes over 30%! It’s a brilliant way to re-engage leads and bring in amazing customers.
While this might sound like a lot, my biggest takeaway from 2024 is that you don’t need dozens of funnels to see success. Start with one, refine it, and build from there. Live launches are invaluable for testing and gathering data before transitioning to evergreen funnels. With the right setup, these systems can scale your business and provide consistent revenue!
Want to see my full process? Check out Email List Jumpstart, where I walk you through building and optimizing your funnels inside Leads on Autopilot.
Quote ThisThink about your live launch as a dress rehearsal for your automated funnel. Highlights* Why You Need Both Live Launches & Automated Funnels [0:00:29] * Use Your Live Launch To Build Your Funnel [0:13:43] * How to Get Leads on Autopilot [0:23:48] * My Strategy for 2025 [0:28:10]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Live launching, Automated funnels, Long term growth
We Mentioned:Free Webinar: Leads on Autopilot
Email List Jumpstart
Boss Project Courses
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Talitha Coffee helps support survivors of human trafficking
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Episode 906: Show NotesHave you ever gone completely dark on social? Whether it was because life got away from you, you felt uninspired, or you just needed a break, I want you to know that I get it! I have been there too. The past couple of months have been crazy for me as I’ve recovered from surgery, dealt with my dad’s stroke, and moved him to assisted living. I’ve barely been showing up online. But here’s the thing: coming back doesn’t have to feel impossible, and it doesn’t mean that you have to start from scratch. When you choose to walk away for a period of time, you don’t need to feel pressure to announce your departure or even announce that you’re coming back. Most people aren’t even aware that you’ve walked away at all!
Today, I’m sharing exactly how I would return to social media after a hiatus and how I want to see you do it so that you can show up with confidence, consistency, and authenticity! Without guilt over thinking too! Instead of worrying about what other people think of your social media habits, I want this return to be entirely focused on you and how you’re building a new routine to help you show up consistently. My goal for this episode is to see you move forward, build momentum, and help you rediscover why you were online in the first place. Let’s dive in!
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How to Enjoy the Work You’re Doing on Social MediaThe biggest hurdle you’re going to face if you’ve been away is getting into a habit of starting and stopping over and over again. Breaking through that and acknowledging that pattern will help you find a better routine. If you are in that pattern, I don’t want you to beat yourself up about it because that negative rhetoric is just not helpful. What happened is in the past, you can’t go back. And I want you to focus on the future and not what you haven’t done. The best way to overcome this hurdle is to ensure that you enjoy the work you’re doing as much as you can!
For the majority of small business owners, creating content is just a means to an end – not your actual business. But if you have a good understanding of how you need to show up and find parts of it that are enjoyable, you’re on the right track. I want you to find a way to create a rhythm for yourself that makes you feel confident in how you’re showing up. Something that has helped me get back in touch with the desire to create is reconnecting with the ‘why’. Social media is such a huge gift. It allows us to reach so many people in a way nothing else in the world allows you to do FOR FREE! I want you to feel excited about taking advantage of this gift.
Making Your Content Feel Authentic It’s also important to acknowledge the element of having to ‘play the game’ and give these platforms what they want. Every single app has its own things they want from you and there are definitely unspoken norms that you have to follow or your content won’t work. Leaning into what each platform favors in content is definitely your easiest option. However, there are exceptions to that rule that you can focus on if you need something else to motivate you to stay consistent. For example, on Instagram, reels tend to be the best way to reach non-followers. The moment your content feels performative, you are going to question your integrity or even your content itself, and then things become really problematic. You have to trust yourself and you have to feel good about what you’re putting out into the world.
Caring Versus Self-SacrificingI don’t want you to confuse feeling comfortable with the pressure you may feel because of who’s watching. I know that so many people (myself included) carry fears about what the people who know them in real life think of their content. A lot of you may avoid certain subjects, saying specific things, or stating certain claims so that you don’t get a rise out of people you know in person.
There’s this element of business where you have to prove that you’re the expert, and often, when you do that through your results, that may make people feel uncomfortable. But I don’t want you to pay attention to that because this is your business! It is how you make a living! More often than not, the people looking at you sideways are just jealous. I get it; you’re never going to stop caring what people think entirely. You care because you love other people. But at what point are you self-sacrificing for their comfort?
How to Prioritize Your Life Over Your WorkI am so grateful that I’ve built a business that gives me the flexibility to put social media on the back burner because I’m not fully reliant on it to make my business run. But it is the thing that helps me attract new people, build visibility, build awareness, and create new leads. So it is important, but it isn’t the only thing that’s important. Just like I have done, I want you to build a business that allows you to prioritize your life over work. There is going to be some point in your business when you do not have the ability to show up online because you are a small business and that’s okay! I want you to be able to set it down. That’s actually a gift. Walking away and coming back to it makes you a human being with other priorities.
That being said, I am here to recommit with you. That time away was just a moment within your story and creating content online can be such a powerful and rewarding tool for growth – especially when approached with intention and consistency. I want you to start small, stay focused, remember why you’re doing this, and celebrate progress no matter how slow it feels. I’m here to build momentum with you. I do think that having a plan and the tools in place to make this happen makes this a lot easier.
Most of what I do is on Instagram and I have packaged up everything that has helped me build consistency while being able to step away for a period of time. All of this is inside my Instagram Profit Playbook which is not only a separate course but is also part of the Co-op! Make sure you check it out!
Quote ThisComing back doesn’t have to feel impossible and it certainly doesn’t mean starting from scratch. Highlights* How to Enjoy the Work You’re Doing on Social Media [0:06:15] * Making Your Content Feel Authentic [0:12:58] * Caring Versus Self-Sacrificing [0:16:03] * How to Prioritize Your Life Over Your Work [0:20:11]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Social Media, Social Hiatus, Online Momentum
We Mentioned:Instagram Profit Playbook
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Talitha Coffee helps support survivors of human trafficking
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Episode 905: Show NotesWhat if achieving unstoppable success meant facing the inner struggles you’ve been avoiding? Today, I’m joined by Amira Alvarez, Founder and CEO of The Unstoppable Woman and host of The Unstoppable Woman Podcast. Known for her extraordinary achievement of increasing her income fivefold in just one year and building a multi-million-dollar company, Amira is an inspiring entrepreneur and coach dedicated to helping high-achieving women unlock even greater financial success and fulfillment.
Together, we peel back the layers of high performance, uncovering the hidden struggles ambitious women often face despite their outward success. Amira shares powerful strategies to help you acknowledge these challenges and turn them into opportunities for radical transformation. Get ready to embrace your next breakthrough!
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Amira’s Journey to UnstoppableWhen Amira first set out on her entrepreneurial journey after a career in corporate, she had to hustle – hard! By year three, she had managed to cross the six-figure mark. But at this point, she was stuck. She couldn’t hustle any harder than she already was. One evening, she experienced an epiphany. This was not how she wanted to live her life. She had to figure out, “How do I do life differently? How do I do business differently?” She took a deep dive, uncovering what creates success, and realized there were all sorts of things blocking her that she needed to overcome to become unstoppable.
She founded the Unstoppable Woman to help countless women break through their limiting beliefs, building a multimillion-dollar business along the way, all while breaking down her own limiting beliefs again and again.
Learning to Stop Running and Start ListeningMost successful women need to have a confident exterior as part of their job. But that doesn’t mean they don’t experience doubts. Usually, it's less about their business and more about their personal life. For Amira, it’s important to work with those doubts behind the scenes, because if you don’t, they can fester and undermine you in surprising ways! Generally speaking, high achievers are often running from something. If you want to truly move forward and find success (instead of just running away), you need to address what you’re running from.
To identify your doubts and what you need to address, Amira suggests listening to the whispers that come up for you during quiet times; the lull between one big project and the next. Those whispers can be about any number of things, from wanting deeper friendships to spending more quality time with family. If you listen to them and act on them, instead of just setting the next goal, you have a chance to redirect the course of your life. They’re there to help you!
How to Get Leverage Over YourselfOnce you make the decision to change, you need to figure out how you’re going to get leverage over yourself and follow through. A key element is uncovering your core wounds and how they keep you from moving forward. Once you unpack those and work through them, you have a much higher likelihood of staying the course. Other accessible tools for getting leverage over yourself include public accountability. All too often, we make pacts with ourselves in private, only to let ourselves off the hook later on. Having that extra public accountability can help you do things you would normally chicken out of. It can be as straightforward as posting your goals on social media.
This is exactly what Amira did to get herself to run a marathon (something she had never done before), and it worked! She ran the marathon even though she didn’t have nearly enough time to train and she had limiting beliefs about being an athlete. Of course, there’s a time and a place for everything. Some goals, like running a marathon, are great for doing publicly but more personal goals might be better to pursue privately. Another excellent tool for creating leverage is repetition. Daily meditation is an excellent way to keep your goals front of mind and remind yourself to prioritize them in your daily life.
Building an Exquisite LifeWhat does an exquisite life look like for you? Are your actions leading you towards that? For Amira, she had to learn that doing things with as much urgency as possible wasn’t her idea of an exquisite life. It was an expedited life. She had to recognize that, to her, an exquisite life meant connecting with others and the universe with an open heart.
The meaning of an exquisite life is different for everyone, and we all have various shifting facets of ourselves that need tending to. Give yourself permission to evolve; it’s normal and good for your goals to change! To find out what an exquisite life means for you, you need to truly stop to evaluate your life and what you want, and then you need to claim it.
Make use of all the tools at your disposal, from public accountability to finding a mentor. Admire your life, but be honest about what's working and what you’d like to be different. Listen to those whispers and trust yourself. You're stronger than you think. You CAN do this!
Quote This“Generally speaking, high achievers are running from something.” —@AmiraAlvarez Highlights* Amira’s Journey to Unstoppable [0:01:26] * Learning to Stop Running and Start Listening [0:06:10] * How to Get Leverage Over Yourself [0:14:29] * Building an Exquisite Life [0:35:15]
OUR GUEST:Amira Alvarez
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The Unstoppable Woman Podcast
Amira Alvarez is the Founder and CEO of The Unstoppable Woman® and host of The Unstoppable Woman Podcast. She is an entrepreneur, private mentor, and trusted advisor for the ambitious woman. Amira inspires already accomplished women to achieve further financial wealth and success while leading fulfilling lives. She challenges the notion that we can't have it all, redefining what’s possible for ambitious women.
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Personal Growth, Self Discovery, Entrepreneurial Journey, Success, Healing Core Wounds, Leveraging Yourself
We Mentioned:Digital Product Jumpstart
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Talitha Coffee helps support survivors of human trafficking
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Episode 904: Show NotesCould your neurodivergence be the key to unlocking your entrepreneurial superpower? Today I’m joined by Skye Waterson; a former academic-turned-coach, podcast host, and founder of Unconventional Organisation. Unconventional Organisation is an international ADHD support service that provides research-backed coaching programs for late-diagnosed professionals looking to go to the next level in their career without burnout. Skye’s journey began when she received an unexpected ADHD diagnosis during her PhD. Since then, she has dedicated her career to helping adults with ADHD manage their day-to-day lives with focus and balance through research-based strategies. In this episode, Skye shares insights into working from home as a business owner with ADHD and gives listeners practical strategies for approaching focus and productivity. Let’s dive in!
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Addressing the Challenges ADHD Poses to Business OwnersThere is always new research coming out about ADHD that allows Skye to figure out how to solve her own problems and then translate that into helping others. She spent time trying to understand how an ADHD brain works to learn about dopamine seeking and eventually concluded the importance of looking for dopamine in something outside of your career in order to get it in a more sustainable way. But what if you aren’t the one with ADHD? What if you are around someone with ADHD and want to find ways to support them? The best thing you can do to support that person is to understand how their brain works. That will help them work with the skills Skye teaches to make their day-to-day tasks easier to execute!
The 5-Step Focus RoutineThe first step in Skye’s focus routine starts when you don’t want to do the task you need to do. If you’re battling to get started, you can offer yourself a reward, otherwise known as a dopamine starter. Once you’ve done that, you need to get rid of any distractions that could get in the way of executing the task, grab a piece of paper, and write down exactly what you want to get done during this period of time in great detail. Step four is making sure you are not doing this in silence because, if you have ADHD, that can be terrifying! Get comfortable with the fact that you’re in this working space by opening the application that you need to use to do the work. Now, you should be on track! And even if something distracts you, you can trace your way back. This is an executive functioning strategy that will work for anyone who battles with that skill!
Hacks for Business Owners Juggling Lots of TasksSkye has loads of hacks to help you prioritize tasks and balance the many things business owners have to do. If you want to get hold of her ADHD Prioritization Filter, you can DM ‘prioritization’ to her on Instagram to get it for free! As a business owner, you're constantly bombarded with tasks, most of which aren't urgent or important; they’re simply part of the job. Filter out what has to be done urgently versus what can wait. This strategy will help you place tasks at different levels of importance so that you can make decisions about your priorities. When you have priorities, you can complete tasks without feeling overwhelmed and flustered. This tool also happens to be the one that helps Skye the most!
Tips for Setting Up an Ideal Work-from-Home EnvironmentFocus can be difficult for anyone working from home, but especially for adult business owners with ADHD. Creating an environment conducive to focus is important. Skye recommends prioritizing sensory stacking and considering the things you have around you to support your five senses and elevate your sensory experience at work. Everyone’s sensory needs are different, so it’s important to concentrate on what you enjoy and then create sensory stimulation for the task at hand. You might discover that different tasks require different environments, so it's helpful to create a workspace that can adapt to your needs. You will learn to accommodate yourself over time as you learn more about your ADHD.
Creating Balance for an ADHD BrainSome people with ADHD struggle with hyper-focus or hyper-fixation and Skye emphasizes the importance of pinpointing why you may struggle with those things. One of the reasons is simply because you have ADHD. Another reason might be the fear that, if you stop doing that thing, you’re going to forget everything. When you finally manage to focus on a task, you may feel an intense fear of never being able to focus again and because of that fear, you start to hyper-focus to get it done. In order to combat hyper-focus so that you don’t burn out, Skye recommends setting a timer and working on a project for no more than three hours before taking a break and returning to the task later on. These kinds of habits can create a balanced lifestyle.
How (and What) ‘Wins’ Can Keep You MotivatedThis comes back to sensory stacking again! Pick five things you enjoy for each of your five senses, and then stack them together in different forms. This will give you a huge variety of enjoyable things that you can use as rewards for getting things done. It’s also important to vary your dopamine stimulation from time to time, especially when you feel the impulse to make massive life changes. Following through with things as someone with ADHD is the hardest piece of all of this, according to Skye. When working one-on-one with clients, Skye helps them figure out what their goals are in order to break them down and find daily standards to achieve them. This “streak” creation can help you feel less anxious about the goal but also helps with the ADHD tendency to give up.
Skye wants ADHD business owners to know that you’re probably working very hard; you’re just not always focusing on the right things in the right order. It can be frustrating to feel like you aren’t trying, but Skye sees and acknowledges your effort! You are trying and you want to succeed. It’s all about finding alternative ways to work around ADHD obstacles through experimentation.
Quote ThisYes, we have a lot of dopamine! That’s just how it is with ADHD. Highlights* Addressing the Challenges ADHD Poses to Business Owners [0:03:57] * The 5-Step Focus Routine [0:08:59] * Hacks for Business Owners Juggling Lots of Tasks [0:14:47] * Tips for Setting Up an Ideal Work-from-Home Environment [0:17:39] * Creating Balance for an ADHD Brain [0:21:46] * How (and What) ‘Wins’ Can Keep You Motivated [0:25:35]
TODAY’s GUEST:Skye Waterson
Website | Linkedin | Instagram
Skye is an academic with over seven years of experience working in adult education. She has studied in various fields, including Psychology, Sociology, and Public Health, and is now a Doctoral Candidate in Population Health.
Skye was diagnosed with ADHD at the start of her doctorate. Since then, she has dedicated time to researching and disseminating ADHD studies, focusing on supporting others with strengths-based, neurodiverse-friendly tools and systems.
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:ADHD, Business, Focus, Prioritization, Hyper-Fixation, Dopamine Search
We Mentioned:Free Webinar: The Market Shift
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Talitha Coffee helps support survivors of human trafficking
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Porkbun.com/StrategyHourPodcast with code STARTACHAT to get a .chat domain for less than $2 for the first year
Episode 903: Show NotesIt's b-a-n-a-n-a-s to think I’ve been creating digital products for more than eight years now! I’ve learned so much along the way, and I’m eager to share it with the world. I want to help more people and cheer you on as you find success too. In this episode, I’m diving into the digital products I’d avoid if I were starting fresh—and trust me, it’s not what you’d expect. Don’t miss it!
I truly enjoy teaching people how to create their own strategic, entry-point digital products. Your digital product should be a tool that magnetizes strangers who are your ideal customers. In Digital Product Jumpstart, I teach you how to actually get paid to bring in qualified leads for your offers.
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Avoid This Common Beginner’s MistakeThe key to successfully selling digital products isn’t about the format—it’s about whether people actually want what you’re offering. Even if they love the idea, fully trust you, and believe it will work, the real challenge comes when there’s an element of self-commitment involved. If your product requires them to invest effort or confidence in their own ability, that’s where the friction starts. To succeed, you need to sell them on their own capability to DIY what you’ve created.
The Best Structure for Your Digital ProductThe best digital products solve a problem people already care about. They tap into an interest they’ve been curious about and offer a glimpse into a whole new world. Your product lets them explore it without needing to commit upfront. It’s like you’ve done all the heavy lifting—gathering the info and breaking it down so they can quickly and easily soak it all in.
What Makes a Mini-Course PopularA digital product can take many forms—like a guide, an ebook, or a course. The key is figuring out how to deliver a transformation with as little friction as possible. For example, my mini-course, Trello for Business, has sold over 10,500 copies—all from paid leads. Many of those buyers later invested in higher-ticket programs, premium coaching, and more. This course launched at a time when project management was a hot topic in the small business world. It showed how to use Trello specifically for small businesses, breaking down its practical applications in an easy, actionable way.
Why Choose a Low Price Instead of Offering it FreeOur product, Your Business on Autopilot was created to address tech stacks. It showcases the software and tools we’ve found to be most helpful for our clients and customers. Instead of offering this for free, we chose a low sticker price of $11. And the content inside was promoting our affiliate links for the software we use and love! This was a strategic decision. Our goal wasn’t the profit from selling the digital product,it was to earn recurring revenue from our affiliate links. And it works well! Our company has been a Top 50 affiliate for some of the biggest companies in the world using strategies like this.
Our Longstanding, Successful Base ProductIn 2020, we created The Creative Template Shop, which provides thousands of strategically designed business templates that people can purchase a la carte. The reason this works is because people can go in and choose the specific template they need to solve one specific problem– so it’s not overwhelming. We make it easy for them to start using the template in their business quickly. This is also helpful for SEO where we’re matching specific templates and courses with relevant search terms. We expanded on our shop with the Co-op, which offers ongoing access to all our templates, key business courses, and our private community.
Lean on the Power of IntegrationSome of our most effective tools succeed because of how seamlessly they integrate with other systems. Take our Dubsado forms, for instance—we collaborated directly with the software company to create improved templates that are simple to implement. The goal with any digital product should be to either (1) solve a highly specific problem without demanding too much of your customer’s time, or (2) give them the freedom to explore their curiosity, helping them decide if they want to dive deeper into that topic or area of their life or business.
How to Level-Up Your Own BusinessYour priority needs to be visibility, and getting in front of your ideal customers. You want to attract people into your world who have both the desire for your product or service AND the financial means to buy it. After they know who you are, your next goals are to show them the value you offer and gain their trust. Do this correctly, and sales will follow.
I have so much to say about this topic! That’s why I’ve created Digital Product Jumpstart. Now, this does require some element of self-commitment, and I’m fully aware that this means I have to do more work to get someone excited. But this is for someone who has likely been in my world for more than a minute. I can’t wait to help you bring in more people who are completely aligned with your value system and how you want to run your business.
Quote ThisThe most effective digital products are actually all about curiosity– they scratch and itch for people. Highlights* Avoid This Common Beginner’s Mistake [0:02:32] * The Best Structure for Your Digital Product [0:04:22] * What Makes a Mini-Course Popular [0:09:13] * Why Choose a Low Price Instead of Offering it Free [0:12:13] * Our Longstanding, Successful Base Product [0:16:53] * Lean on the Power of Integration [0:20:03] * How to Level-Up Your Own Business [0:23:42]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Customers, Courses, Business Planning, Digital Products, Marketing, Affiliates, Trends
We Mentioned:Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Your Digital VA
Trello for Business
Talitha Coffee helps support survivors of human trafficking
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Porkbun.com/StrategyHourPodcast with code STARTACHAT to get a .chat domain for less than $2 for the first year
Episode 902: Show NotesEver wondered what it really takes to build a multimillion-dollar digital product business? In this episode, I pull back the curtain to give you a transparent look at the strategies, hard-earned lessons, and yes, even mistakes that took me from running a small marketing agency to generating over $3.3 million in digital product sales. If you're ready to get paid to build a list full of qualified leads and create scalable offers that serve your audience, this episode is for you!
We dive into everything from understanding your audience’s needs and structuring a product ecosystem to using low-cost products as lead generators and the best way to balance live launches with evergreen strategies. Along the way, I share the importance of building a strong community, maintaining client experience, and staying resilient when things don’t go as planned. Want to find out what it takes to either pivot your service-based company into a digital product and course business or scale your current one? Grab your notebooks and let’s dive in!
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The Role of Community & NetworkingWhen I first started, I had no intention of building a digital product and course business. My work began as a marketing agency focused on helping local clients, especially in the food industry, with everything they needed to grow their small businesses, from website design to branding, packaging, and more. So, how did I quite literally go from an agency to selling my first digital product and course? Well, it started because I became a part of a community.
Looking to connect with other female entrepreneurs, I joined the Savvy Business Owners Facebook group where I met Emylee, a photographer with similar goals. We quickly bonded, supporting each other's content and eventually co-hosting my first webinar, which featured her course, Pricing for Profit. The experience was so rewarding that Emylee became my contractor and we started marketing together as if we were one business (a partnership that would eventually lead us to co-found Boss Project!) Initially, courses and digital products were just a side passion, but after we both experienced major life shifts, we decided to pivot entirely to education. This move allowed us to build something scalable and impactful, supporting our full-time incomes and, eventually, a full-time team of 10. Through it all, our mission stayed the same: to help people create sustainable, profitable income for their families.
How Digital Products Offer Freedom & GrowthSo many business owners reach a point where they’re ready for something bigger but don’t know how to get there. I’ve seen people who are experts in their field and successful in high-end services, coaching, or consulting, yet they’re burnt out and craving more time freedom. I know that feeling well. After a traumatic brain injury, I needed to find a way to work when I felt good and rest when I didn’t. Digital products and courses felt like an opportunity to do the work when I was having good days while still building something impactful. I wanted to move beyond the limits of one-on-one work and connect with thousands of people on their journey.
It wasn’t always easy! What people don't tell you about this kind of business is that it is very front-loaded. You spend a lot of time in the beginning building an audience and developing your content and intellectual property. You don't necessarily see the rewards immediately, but I fully believe that digital products and courses are one of the few ways to work with a large audience in a truly scalable way. I remember launching my first digital product, Trello for Business, and being amazed that it went absolutely gangbusters, bringing in over $8,000 in just the first 30 days! Seeing that impact showed me what was possible and gave me the confidence to keep pushing forward. Building a digital product business means I can help more people while keeping things lean and flexible, and that’s why I’m grateful every day that I chose this path.
Building a Product Ecosystem that Works for YOU!Now, I don’t want to tell you that there is one “perfect” way to build a digital product business. Whether it’s low-end products, premium membership programs, live support, or audio-only content, the best approach is the one that fits YOUR unique goals and the lifestyle YOU want! Don't let anyone else dictate what that looks like. My approach might look different from yours, but I’m here to share the strategies and hard-earned lessons that got me here in the hopes that they’ll support you on your journey.
From my experience, building a digital product business requires balancing both low-cost and higher-value offers. Early on, the things that were my primary focus had a more specific tilt towards low-end, with products in the $30 to $2,000 range. Low-end products are a great entry point. They help you get paid to build a list full of qualified leads while nurturing them toward higher-ticket offers over time. However, most small businesses don’t have the audience size they need to rely solely on low-cost products. If you’re just starting out, I recommend having a more advanced offer in the $2,000 to $5,000 range, as you are going to build the most income the quickest that way. Don’t be afraid to charge a premium for what you offer! Low-cost products are a conversation starter, but higher-priced programs provide the revenue you need to make your business sustainable.
Why Visibility & Messaging Are Key to SuccessI’ve had low-end signature offers that brought in nearly $800,000 and premium digital products that only sold once. Not every product you make is going to be a winner, but most people give up on their digital products or courses before they’ve put enough effort into promotion. The key to growing sales is visibility! If your offer truly solves a customer need but isn’t selling, the issue is more than likely the messaging, NOT your product. Inside Digital Product Jumpstart, I walk you through how to properly assess your offer and reverse engineer any issues you encounter because if you don’t know how to assess what is or isn’t working, you’re never going to grow!
Creating a strategic product ecosystem is essential too, allowing you to support clients at different stages and preventing the constant need to bring in new customers. I recommend starting with live launches to learn how your audience responds, and then evergreen the strategies that work for consistent reach. My biggest lead drivers have been low-cost products and strategic partnerships, which helped me gain nearly 10,000 subscribers in just six months! Next is pricing. You don’t have to choose between high-end or low-end offers. If you’re looking to build fast income, start with a high-end offer first, then diversify. Memberships are another way to build recurring revenue, but they typically work best when you already have a large audience. Instead, try funneling customers from a low-cost product to a higher-end offer for stronger results.
The Power of Resilience and Long-Term VisionIf cash flow is a problem, it's because leads are a problem. If leads are a problem, visibility is the problem. I’ve learned the hard way. I'm in a high-volume business. The way my business is structured, I need far more leads than the average small business simply because of my product mix. Ultimately, the thing that is going to grow your business is momentum: consistency and resilience are what fuel the snowball effect you want! You don’t have to overcommit, but you do have to keep showing up, even if it’s with a manageable amount of work. By consistently engaging, you build exposure, increase traffic to your sales pages, and convert more people into customers. It's all about staying in motion and being smart about what you can handle!
Building a sustainable business comes down to understanding your ideal client’s needs and creating offers that serve them. I want you to create an offer that's scalable and consider an entry-level product to generate leads. Unsustainable commitments can lead to burnout. The lower-end offers should be more DIY while the higher-end ones can provide support, but remember, your time is finite! Business growth requires flexibility and innovation is essential. Showing up consistently, being mindful of customer needs, focusing on delivering a quality product, and giving your clients a great experience so you have solid stories to sell your offers in the future is what will make a difference long-term. As I’ve discovered, offers may fail or succeed, but each step provides valuable lessons. I’ve learned through trial and error that the businesses that don’t innovate die.
If you’re ready to start or scale, I encourage you to take action, whether that’s through Digital Product Jumpstart or diving deeper with The Co-op. Building generational wealth isn’t easy, but it’s absolutely possible if you stay focused and consistently deliver value!
Quote ThisIf you want more sales, you need more visibility. Highlights* From Agency to Digital Education: The Role of Community & Networking [0:01:40] * How Digital Products Offer Freedom & Growth Beyond 1:1 Services [0:12:30] * Building a Product Ecosystem that Works for YOU [0:20:37] * Why Visibility & Messaging Are Key to Digital Product Success [0:29:38] * The Power of Resilience & Long-Term Vision [0:48:40]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Scalability, Digital Products, Audience Engagement, Pricing Strategy, Business Growth
We Mentioned:Email Marketing Case Study
Launch in a Box
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Talitha Coffee helps support survivors of human trafficking
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Porkbun.com/StrategyHourPodcast with code STARTACHAT to get a .chat domain for less than $2 for the first year
Episode 901: Show NotesWhat if I told you that introducing humor to your online presence can attract more customers to your brand? Today, I’m joined by the hilarious founders of Take2Content, Shelby Dash and Kristina Clifford. Their business began as a passion project for making funny videos, but things really took off when brands started noticing their comedic talent and requesting custom content. After both our guests lost their day jobs during the pandemic, they seized the opportunity to pitch their unique, funny videos to companies, and it worked!
Shelby and Kristina quickly discovered that comedy isn’t just entertaining. It can be a powerful marketing tool! In this episode, they share how humor can build brand awareness, create memorable connections with your audience, and inspire other people to create funny and light-hearted content. Tune in to learn about their brainstorming process, favorite comedy tropes, and much more!
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Episode 901: Show NotesWhat if I told you that introducing humor to your online presence can attract more customers to your brand? Today, I’m joined by the hilarious founders of Take2Content, Shelby Dash and Kristina Clifford. Their business began as a passion project for making funny videos, but things really took off when brands started noticing their comedic talent and requesting custom content. After both our guests lost their day jobs during the pandemic, they seized the opportunity to pitch their unique, funny videos to companies, and it worked!
Shelby and Kristina quickly discovered that comedy isn’t just entertaining. It can be a powerful marketing tool! In this episode, they share how humor can build brand awareness, create memorable connections with your audience, and inspire other people to create funny and light-hearted content. Tune in to learn about their brainstorming process, favorite comedy tropes, and much more!
Embracing ExperimentationWith many years of comedy experience, our guests have mastered the art of using humor to help clients market their products. When presented with a product that a client wants to market, the team sits quietly in the initial meeting to get a good idea of the client’s vision before they start their brainstorming process, making use of fantastic comedy tropes (like the “rule of three”) to keep their content quirky and entertaining.
Kristina and Shelby know how to turn their clients’ pain points into funny and relatable copy, audio, and visual content! They emphasize the value of having a unique brand voice, especially in the written form, and the importance of understanding how far your client is willing to go in the realm of comedy and where lines are drawn for them. If you want to give a comedic style of marketing a try, remember that you may not hit the comedic nail on the head right away, and that’s okay! There is a process for creating this kind of content. It doesn’t happen overnight.
Finding Relatable Moments for MarketingShelby and Kristina draw inspiration for their content from their own lives. Being aware of what’s happening in the world helps you become more conscious of what can be spun into something humorous. Oftentimes, the most relatable pain points lead to hilarious content that makes audiences feel seen and heard! Even the most bizarre, niche moments can be shared experiences, and making light of that is a great way to bond with your audience.
If you aren’t marketing a product, the process of finding humorous content is pretty much the same. This proves just how relatable this approach is! Shelby and Kristina focus on whatever the relatable pain point is and heighten it. If a brand wants to take on a comedic angle for the first time, they have to be willing to take that risk, and Shelby and Kristina believe it’s a great risk to take! It makes your content and advertisements so much more engaging. Remember, being funny doesn’t mean that you have to be crude! There are plenty of ways to entertain your audience while also ensuring that people feel comfortable.
Why Authenticity is EssentialShelby and Kristina try to incorporate a touch of fun and humor in every aspect of their business. Their personalities are at the forefront of their brand and that comes from their comedic sensibility and genuine intentions. If you want to turn up the “humor volume” in your business, they say: just go for it! Take the risk and give it a try!
Our guests encourage you to take a bold leap without worrying about what the reaction will be. You don’t have to be tied to anything, but if you don’t try it, you’ll never know! Give yourself the freedom to play around without any pressure and, soon enough, your content might be as funny as theirs. If you want to connect with Shelby and Kristina, visit their website to see how you can work with them. Let’s take the leap and bring some humor and entertainment into our work today!
Quote This“Just start. Take the risk and… if it’s not perfect just keep trying!” — Kristina Clifford Highlights* Embracing Experimentation [0:06:12] * Finding Relatable Moments for Marketing [0:19:23] * Why Authenticity is Essential [0:31:10]
OUR GUESTS:Shelby Dash
Linkedin | Instagram
Kristina Clifford
Linkedin | Instagram
Take2Content: Website | Instagram | TikTok
Shelby Dash and Kristina Clifford are both professionally trained comedic actresses who embarked on their comedic journey in 2015 by creating fun videos. What began as a passion project quickly evolved into a thriving career when brands and businesses began seeking their expertise for custom video content. Thus, Take2Content was born! While content creation is now their profession, Shelby and Kristina infuse the same playful spirit into every project, ensuring their clients receive something truly one-of-a-kind. They manage all aspects of production, from brainstorming ideas to final editing, making them a one-stop shop for all your video content needs.
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Adding Fun, Comedy, Marketing, Comedic Marketing, Humorous Advertisement
We Mentioned:Take2Content
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Talitha Coffee helps support survivors of human trafficking
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Porkbun.com/StrategyHourPodcast with code STARTACHAT to get a .chat domain for less than $2 for the first year
Episode 900: Show NotesWe all have mind junk and I want to help you work through it! In today’s episode, I’m going to share snippets of some of my favorite trainings on mindset. It is absolutely imperative to shift your mindset and this episode is a preview of what that looks like! I believe that mindset is only the first step. You’re only going to move forward if you take action and pursue the things you say you want. I go into way more detail on everything we’re talking about today in The Mindset Reboot program inside the Co-op. It includes all three of these trainings. I want to dive into some of the specific things I’m going to be teaching so you can make use of some actionable tools to declutter your mind today!
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Shifting to an Experimental MindsetWe tell ourselves stories all the time that are shaped by our experiences and the people around us. You can acknowledge that they influence you and your decisions and still choose which decisions serve you and which ones you need to let go of. You can create a filter for these stories because they were formed by your actual experiences. The stories exist to protect you, but you have to choose to evaluate them and retain what will support your goals. It’s a conscious process that will shape your path and mindset going forward. I used to struggle so much with my mentality of measuring success and failure by wins and losses and when I shifted my mindset and started to see everything as experimental, everything changed for me. There was no success or failure, just an opportunity to learn and grow. Every decision will help you get clearer without feeling the pressure of getting everything right.
Busting the ‘Perfectionism’ MythThe second training is all about busting perfectionism. This was something I truly struggled with for my entire life. I wanted to show up in a way that made other people see me as having everything together. I want to help you see the things that you view as flaws as your very own potential superpowers. I know most of you are perfectionists or at least strive for excellence. Nothing is wrong with being those things, but we have assigned unhealthy meaning to it that will make you feel weighed down by your goals and keep you stuck. It can cause procrastination that will hold you back. Unhealthy perfectionists set unrealistic goals and high expectations but healthy perfectionists are focused on growth. They challenge themselves by setting high goals and standards that they aren’t afraid of losing. One of the many positive sides to perfectionism is being able to take that messy action – the ability to move forward without knowing everything in advance, having it all figured out, or being totally perfect. I want you to question assumptions regularly and re-evaluate them as necessary. Your decisions can change and we can adjust along the way. Perfectionism is your superpower!
Accepting Fundamental TruthsThis third mindset shift is probably the most important one of all: accepting fundamental truths. When you do that, sales will just flow to you! There are seven fundamental truths that you have to accept but we’re only going to cover a few today. One of them is that visibility requires consistency. I know that putting yourself out there and getting visibility can be scary, and it’s something you have to keep doing over and over again. Sales are only ever going to happen with qualified leads, and there are many ways to get them, but you have to show up consistently. Another fundamental truth is that your message won’t resonate with everyone. And that is okay! Trying to appeal to everyone often results in watered-down messaging that people don’t connect with. You getting clear on who you aren’t ‘for’ is as important as figuring out who you are ‘for.’ The final fundamental truth I’m discussing today is the things that scare you are often the things that lead to significant progress. We mostly view fear and discomfort as negative things but what if you view it as an opportunity to grow? Discomfort isn’t a sign of weakness! It simply means you’re on the brink of growth and approaching a place where true transformation can occur. Growth is a continuous journey and the more you lean into discomfort, the more resilient you will become.
I’m going to give you a task today to help you create momentum in your business. I want you to think about a task that you’ve been avoiding in your business and for just 15 minutes, just commit to finishing that project. I also want to encourage you to listen to my fundamental truths and consider accepting them in your own business because it will make a huge difference. I have created this training to dive deep into these shifts so that they become like second nature in your life. I have them all locked and loaded for you in the course portal of the Co-op! Let’s get started!
Quote ThisSales are only ever going to happen if you have enough qualified leads. Highlights* Shifting to an Experimental Mindset [0:02:45] * Busting the ‘Perfectionism’ Myth [0:05:57] * Accepting Fundamental Truths [0:11:20]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Mindset, Experimentation, Perfectionism, Fundamental Truths
We Mentioned:Join the Co-op
Digital Product Jumpstart
Talitha Coffee helps support survivors of human trafficking
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Porkbun.com/StrategyHourPodcast with code STARTACHAT to get a .chat domain for less than $2 for the first year
Episode 899: Show NotesThere is an emotion behind almost everything you do, and you experience emotion all day, every day. The more you experience them without recognizing and processing them, the more they flood your brain. When your emotions fire, your thoughts fire, and that is what leads to your behavior: what you’re presenting, how you’re showing up, your confidence, how you speak, and so much more.
Today, I am joined by an inspiring entrepreneur and CEO who has spent over a decade working alongside some of the digital marketing industry’s big names! Tera Wages’ work with Connection Codes has helped her master the art of emotional regulation, which has entirely changed her life, marriage, and business. In this discussion, we are diving deep into how to understand and regulate those emotions so that we can be empowered to show up stronger in our personal lives and business. This episode helped me identify some of the things I want to work on, and I am confident that it will give you some incredible tools to do the same. Let’s get started!
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The Four-Minute Tool to Help You Regulate Your EmotionsSo many people don’t even know how to identify the emotions they are feeling, and then they end up being weighed down by them. And if you can’t even name an emotion you’re feeling, how can you expect your nervous system to be able to process it? The Connection Codes has created an incredible tool called the Core Emotion Wheel with eight core emotions that all of our complex emotions break down to in order to help you practice identifying feelings.
Tera wants you to go through the wheel and think of a recent/big time you have felt each of the emotions and do this exercise habitually so that you can re-learn what each emotion actually feels like. This only takes four minutes, and it’s the best way to figure out how to name what you’re feeling. It teaches you the language of emotion and how to communicate it in a way that many people weren’t ever taught.
How These Tools Can Help Business Relationships and CommunicationA business partnership is not far off from a marriage, and in a marriage, communication is key. There is no difference when it comes to business partnerships. Tera wants you to learn how to communicate with a business partner in the same clear and respectful way you would communicate with your life partner. This is imperative in understanding each other so that you can support one other and, ultimately, run a successful business. If you approach conflict with how it made you feel instead of blame, people tend to be far more compassionate and understanding. Tera takes it a step further and encourages you to use the core emotions when expressing yourself in relationships so that the other person can empathize with those feelings.
Emotional Awareness Improving Leadership and Business GrowthWhen you become emotionally aware, you are no longer weighed down by your emotions. Shame and fear used to control how Tera showed up in business settings, and now, they don’t have a hold of her, and she is able to take risks that she was never able to take before. She is able to speak truth into any fear or imposter syndrome she may feel and is able to show up in a way that makes her feel confident and lead her business. The more you practice regulating, the easier it becomes and the less those emotions control you.
Tera also believes that co-regulating is incredibly helpful to help you regulate your emotions as it uses far less energy than when you try to regulate alone. Your emotions are your own. They belong to you entirely, but in your relationships, you need to be able to hold space for each other to feel those emotions. The Four Minute Tool helps you practice handling emotions so that you get better at processing emotions so that they don’t feel as heavy no matter when they hit you.
How Identifying Your Emotions Helps with BurnoutWhen you experience burnout, you often attribute it to the number of tasks you have to get done, but what you often don’t consider are the emotions tied to those tasks. If you don’t recognize that there is emotion tied to the list of things you have to do, it makes it feel like an even more difficult task. But if you can identify what each thing makes you feel, you can also figure out what you need at that moment. At the end of the day, emotions are our messengers, and behind every message is a need.
Processing the emotion takes away a good portion of the spiraling that comes with overwhelm and helps you get clear on what needs to be done to organize your tasks in a way that ultimately helps prevent burnout. Life interferes with work so much, and Tera wants you to know that when you can process the emotions of life, your work will flourish in a whole new way. So many women carry the weight of way too much in their lives while feeling like nothing they ever do is good enough. I really hope this conversation helps you process what is going on for you so that your emotions can be a weight lifted off your shoulders. Let’s work through our emotions so we can create the lives we want and build the businesses that will help us do that!
Quote This“The power of regulating and co-regulating is that the more you do it, the easier it becomes, and those emotions don’t take as much of a hold on your body.” — Tera Wages Highlights* The Four-Minute Tool to Help You Regulate Your Emotions [0:08:33] * How These Tools Can Help Business Relationships and Communication [0:17:58] * Emotional Awareness Improving Leadership and Business Growth [0:23:28] * How Identifying Your Emotions Helps with Burnout [0:32:02]
OUR GUEST:Tera Wages
Website | Linkedin | Instagram | Podcast
After working in the digital marketing space for over a decade, working with top entrepreneurs like Marie Forleo and Amy Porterfield, Tera Wages developed a passion for helping female entrepreneurs experience confidence, clarity, and focus.When she learned the power of emotions and how to regulate them, she found the key.
Now, as the CEO of Connection Codes, she understands that under every decision there is emotion. And when our brains are flooded with emotion, productivity, self-esteem, and communication suffer. She teaches a 4-minute tool to learn how to identify and regulate emotions so women can stop playing small and show up with confidence and the clarity they need to dominate in their field.
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Emotional Awareness, Emotional Regulation, Emotional Health, Relationship Building, Business Growth
We Mentioned:Download the Core Emotion Wheel
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Talitha Coffee helps support survivors of human trafficking
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Porkbun.com/StrategyHourPodcast with code STARTACHAT to get a .chat domain for less than $2 for the first year
Episode 898: Show NotesFinancial freedom might sound like a lofty goal, but I’m here to tell you that it’s way more achievable than you think! In this episode, I break down how I started with next to nothing and slowly built a life that not only allowed me to plan for retirement, but also helped me create a lifestyle I could actually enjoy along the way.
I’m not sharing this story because I want to brag about my financial accomplishments. Rather, I want to give you hope for what’s possible and show you just how far you can come in such a short period. By making small, consistent changes, building a business that doesn’t rely on you being glued to your desk, and planning with intention, you CAN turn your dreams of financial freedom into reality! Let’s dive in!
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From Zero to Freedom: How I Got Started with NothingI know firsthand what it’s like to struggle, to stress over making ends meet, and to wonder if financial security is even possible. Just ten years ago, I had close to zero dollars to my name, was planning a wedding, and hoping my soon-to-be husband had saved enough for a down payment on a house. Honestly? I was scared. My bank account was empty, I had college debt, bills were piling up, and it felt like I was barely scraping by.
I had no idea how it would all work out, especially since I didn’t have a financial roadmap to follow. Growing up, my parents were both on disability and worked hard to create as much stability as they could. But even as a kid, I could feel the strain we were under. A big part of making financial freedom possible is simply believing it’s achievable. You don’t have to start with being convinced you’ll retire before 50. Just set a target that feels a little out of reach, (to keep it aspirational) and focus on the steps that will get you there as quickly as possible.
Investing in Stability to Build a Life That Won’t CrumbleFinancial freedom isn’t necessarily about flashy wins. It’s about making steady choices that allow you to sleep at night. I’m talking about finding an affordable home, planning with one income in mind, and making investments that actually make sense. By focusing on creating stability first, I could build a future where I didn’t have to stress about life’s unexpected twists and turns. From the beginning, I also started contributing to my 401(k), even if it was just a small amount at a time. The goal wasn’t to max out retirement savings from day one. It was simply to get started and build from there.
Looking back, these choices laid the groundwork that allowed us to grow. We reached that first level of financial comfort much faster than I expected and that early stability gave us hope and motivation to keep going. Setting a sustainable foundation meant that even when life threw curveballs, like layoffs or unexpected expenses, we had a safety net. Plus, I was even able to set some money aside for my “fun budget!”
Building a Sustainable, Service-based BusinessBuilding a service-based business was a game changer for me. I started with one-on-one clients, setting clear deliverables, sending proposals, and making it happen, all to create a steady income and a reasonable annual salary. But then, life smacked me in the face. In 2016, everything took a drastic turn when I was in a five-car collision and suffered a traumatic brain injury. That moment was a HUGE wake-up call. It showed me that, while my business was profitable, it wasn’t sustainable. If I had to step away, everything would grind to a halt. I knew then that I needed to build a business that could keep running without me when life happened.
This experience made me think hard about creating passive income and stability for the future. It’s so much more than money in, money out! Sure, everyone wants to make money in their sleep, but the truth is, passive income isn’t just about setting up some get-rich-quick scheme. It’s about building assets that grow over time, like the goal of retirement, where you rely on what you’ve built. For me, this meant reinvesting profits back into the business, working with a financial planner, taking chances on myself, seizing opportunities, and building multiple income streams. Now, while my business still requires active participation, I’ve also created systems that support me and allow me to step away when I need to. It’s all about creating a sustainable model that supports me, whether I’m hands-on or taking a much-needed break!
Why True Freedom is Freedom of ChoiceTrue financial freedom ultimately means freedom of choice. It’s not just about having the money. It’s about reaching that point where you wake up each day and decide exactly how to spend your time, what projects to work on, and how to give back to your community. When you reach that tipping point where you know what it takes (and when you’ll get there) you finally get a glimpse of what true freedom looks like! For me, this isn’t just a theory. It’s the real flexibility to make decisions on my terms, to support the causes I care about, and to shape my days without feeling tied down.
This freedom doesn’t mean life is responsibility-free. You might still have commitments, like raising kids, volunteering, or being involved in leadership roles, but YOU choose them. Having that ultimate flexibility is unlike anything I have ever experienced in my life. The income from my investments now supports my future, while my business covers my current lifestyle. And look, I won’t pretend to have all the answers. To hit the financial goals that I had for my life, I had to build a financial team to help me make informed decisions that matched my vision. What that looks like for you and your future is going to be dependent on your personal goals. There’s no single “right way” to get there! It’s about building assets and making choices today that align with the life you want in the future, one where work isn’t an obligation but a choice.
How Hitting a Breaking Point Can Be a Good ThingHitting a financial breaking point can be an eye-opener. If you’re clear on the lifestyle you want, there’s a tipping point where you can depend entirely on the investments and assets you’ve built as your primary income. Retiring early just means you reach that point sooner and the key to getting there is building up those assets more quickly. I genuinely believe a business is a huge opportunity to reach those goals at a pace that simply isn't possible for the average person in the day-to-day corporate working world. I know not everyone wants to take the entrepreneurial path, and that’s totally fine. There’s nothing wrong with admitting that to yourself! But for those of us who are drawn to it, the opportunity to build something of our own and speed up our journey to financial freedom is worth the ride.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying it’s always easy or that it’s a smooth, upward trajectory. In fact, I’ll be the first to say that I’ve had years where I thrived and others where I wondered if I’d have been better off with a steady 9-to-5. But through it all, I’ve made choices that put my life and the people I care about above my business needs, even if that meant my growth slowed a bit. And honestly, I wouldn’t change a thing. Owning a business is a choice, and for me, it’s one I’m grateful for, even on the rollercoaster days.
Your Roadmap to Financial SecurityIf this is the kind of risk that you want to take, if this is something you truly believe you are capable of and you want to work towards it, you need a roadmap. I'm not saying your roadmap has to look exactly like mine, but you do need someone guiding you because you just don't know what you don't know! I built The Co-Op to help you build a more sustainable business. Period. Regardless of the type of product or service you sell, how you choose to show up online, or what social channels you pursue, I want to help you build an offer ecosystem that provides the life and lifestyle you want today while also accelerating your financial growth to hit your future financial goals.
Inside The Co-Op, I walk you through those initial steps toward building sustainable lifetime income, covering actionable strategies so you can take control of your financial security. This isn't just about saving up for later. It’s about having a financial foundation that allows you to enjoy life’s milestones as they happen, whether it's funding that dream kitchen, buying a car, or saving for your kids' education. My journey has shown me that wealth doesn’t have to come solely from your business. There are multiple paths, like real estate or stock market investments, that can support your goals. You have the unique ability to provide for your life. That is so cool! Ultimately, the freedom that comes with true financial security is unmatched, and it lets you design a life that feels both fulfilling and stress-free.
I’ve created The Co-Op community because I care about your success, but it requires that you show up and do the work. I can’t build a business for you. I can’t save for you. I can’t invest for you. But I can give you the tools, templates, and strategies to help you succeed. It’s never too late! Start your journey to a secure and abundant financial future today.
Quote ThisI want you to know what’s possible when you start small and you grow over time. Highlights* From Zero to Freedom: How I Got Started with Nothing [0:00:36] * Investing in Stability to Build a Life That Won’t Crumble [0:04:33] * Building a Sustainable, Service-based Business [0:07:16] * Why True Freedom is Freedom of Choice [0:15:22] * How Hitting a Breaking Point Can Be a Good Thing [0:18:54] * Your Roadmap to Financial Security [0:22:21]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Financial planning, Financial freedom, Sustainable business practices, The Co-Op
We Mentioned:Free Webinar: The Market Shift
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Talitha Coffee helps support survivors of human trafficking
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Porkbun.com/StrategyHourPodcast with code STARTACHAT to get a .chat domain for less than $2 for the first year
Episode 897: Show NotesI’m so thrilled to interview two guests who are not only making waves in the coffee industry but also making a profound difference in the fight against human trafficking. Jenny Barber is the co-founder of Talitha Coffee Roasters, and her vision is to use the coffee industry as a platform to provide survivors with jobs, training, housing, healthcare, and counseling. Joining her is Mark Becklund, Vice President of Product and Growth at Talitha Coffee Roasters, who plays a key role in ensuring that every cup of coffee tastes great and contributes to the company’s true mission and goal. Without any further ado, let’s get into their story.
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Turning a Personal Experience into a Mission-Driven Business Taking what you have and what you know and turning it into something that truly makes a difference is the inspiration behind Talitha Coffee. Jenny became aware of the issue of trafficking from a very young age and she experienced exploitation throughout her childhood and adolescence. Finding freedom in her own life, she felt compelled to bring hope to others.
Having worked in the anti-trafficking world for more than 14 years, she witnessed survivors going through support programs only to find themselves back in the same institutions later down the line. Jenny wanted to provide a more constructive solution. Founding a coffee shop with her husband in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, her goal was to create employment opportunities for survivors. Then, she decided to scale. That’s when Mark came on board.
How to be Highly Profitable and Hugely ImpactfulMark Becklund is a long-time friend of Talitha Coffee’s CEO, Mike Glanz, and he jumped at the opportunity to join a mission-driven company after years of working in tech. But instead of operating as a not-for-profit organization, Talitha Coffee is a business. Why? Because through business, it’s able to reach more people. That’s why Mike was brought in; to bring in his expertise on growing a business from very small to very large, amplifying its impact along the way.
Everything the team does comes from a mindset of collaboration, from providing employment opportunities to victims of trafficking to coffee training and survivor care. In the network of care there are experts bringing support in the form of therapy, housing, reunification with children, and more. But it doesn’t end there. Talitha Coffee collaborates and partners with organizations to make a global impact.
Participating in the Story and Scale of Talitha Coffee RoastersMark believes that good product development is really just good storytelling. How do you tell the story of how your product will impact your customer’s lives? The team could have picked anything, but it happened to be coffee, which is perfect for storytelling. It is, by nature, conversational, and that is how people come to resonate with the mission behind the product. Helping people feel that they are a part of the impact that is being made is huge.
That’s one of the reasons that Jenny wants to create a replicable model so that other people can make an impact across the United States. But scaling comes with its own challenges and there have been true growing pains along the way. She says that keeping the purpose behind the business at the forefront has made each one so much easier to navigate.
Creating ‘Talitha’ to Center the Story of SurvivorsJenny leads with her own story and championing other survivors is close to her heart. One of the most humbling and exciting moments for her is when her story gives hope to others. ‘Talitha’ is a persona that was created as an aspirational survivor – centering the story of survivors. Rather than the hurt, the focus is on support and success on the other side.
In a sea of coffee subscriptions, why choose Talitha? Mark believes in sharing the facts: unless they can prove it, they would never say it. Talitha Coffee is built on the idea that it is important for people to understand the real stories behind the numbers. As they market the product, they’re extending an invitation to be a part of what they do.
Prioritizing Your Life to Make a DifferenceAll it takes is a single catalyst. Despite what she went through, Jenny has gone on to achieve and experience incredible things. She has been able to break generational patterns: her six kids will never know the same experiences that she did. This all happened because one person made a difference in her life. Every single win is worth celebrating because every life is so valuable.
Jenny’s advice to others who want to make an impact through business is this: take what you bring to the table already and start there. There is so much need in the world, and it is very easy to want to fix every problem, but every yes you give must be intentional. She also stresses that you can start small and that collaboration with those who are already in the space is a necessity.
Start your coffee subscription with Talitha Coffee today and help make a difference!
Quote This“As I really found freedom in my own life, I just really wanted to bring others hope as well.” — Jenny Barber Highlights* Turning a Personal Experience into a Mission-Driven Business [0:02:59] * How to be Highly Profitable and Hugely Impactful [0:07:31] * Participating in the Story and Scale of Talitha Coffee Roasters [0:15:02] * Creating ‘Talitha’ to Center the Story of Survivors [0:27:14] * Prioritizing Your Life to Make a Difference [0:38:50]
OUR GUESTS:Jenny Barber
Co-founder, Talitha Coffee Roasters | LinkedIn
Mark Becklund
VP of Product and Growth, Talitha Coffee Roasters | LinkedIn
Talitha Coffee | Instagram | Facebook
Talitha Coffee Roasters is on a mission that extends beyond providing high-quality coffee. Its team, led by co-founder Jenny Barber, is deeply invested in supporting survivors of trafficking through its work and community engagement. As a survivor-led and survivor-supporting organization, Talitha Coffee Roasters is committed to offering practical assistance and emotional support to those on their path to recovery.
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Business impact, Mission-driven business, Making a difference, Profits
We Mentioned:Talitha Coffee helps support survivors of human trafficking
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Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Porkbun.com/StrategyHourPodcast with code STARTACHAT to get a .chat domain for less than $2 for the first year
Episode 896: Show NotesHalloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas: We are getting into the holiday season! And while I am definitely making the most of this wild time, I also want to do everything I can to go into 2025 strong. Which brings us to the topic of today’s episode. Tomorrow marks the start of our biggest sale of the year, and I want to break down exactly what you can expect from it!
Tune in to learn about the massive discounts we’ll be having for the Co-op and our Digital Product Jumpstart Program, all through November until the 2nd of December. Whether you’re a total newcomer or you’ve done these programs before, there is something for everyone. You’ll also reap greater rewards if you lock in these discounts early, so the sooner you commit to this deal, the more you’ll be saving. This is so much more than just a sale; it’s your opportunity to step in 2025 with momentum and commit to your business growth for the long haul.
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The Best Co-Op Deal EverFrom the 1st to the 10th of November, you have the opportunity to get 50% off all annual Co-op membership plans. Yes, seriously! It’s the best deal you’ll see all year. This half-price sale isn’t just a discount; it’s a gateway to accelerating your small business. It’s a membership designed to help you launch and grow online. Consider acting sooner rather than later, though, because throughout the rest of the month, from the 11th of November onwards, that discount is going to shrink just a little bit every ten days. You're still going to see big savings, but the sooner you get in on this, the more you will save!
Get In On Digital Product JumpstartIf you're not quite ready to invest, or you want to try out something smaller, then our Digital Product Jumpstart program is a fantastic option at an excellent price. From now through to the 2nd of December, our Digital Jumpstart Program will only cost you $97. As a side note, we’re expecting to see a substantial price increase next year. So, if you have been dying to launch your first or your next digital product, now is the perfect opportunity!
Why Joining The Co-op Is a Total Game-ChangerThe Co-op deal is not just about a 50% discount. It's about getting access to an entire ecosystem of resources that will help you grow your business without being overwhelmed. Inside the Co-op, you will have everything you need to Launch Your Signature offers. I will be walking you through how to create an offer ecosystem, including how to streamline your marketing and the best ways to implement organic marketing strategies. You’ll have access to everything you need to scale your business, from graphics to templates, all in one place. People spend thousands of dollars trying to piece together these kinds of solutions, but with this deal, you can get the complete package at a fraction of the price!
You Don’t Need to Do It AloneOne of the most powerful things I've learned in this journey is that growth happens faster and is way more fun when you're not doing it alone. So, if you've got a friend who's also building a business, or if you know someone who's talking about taking that next step, why not invite them to do this alongside you? Share this episode, get them in on the sale, and support each other so you both can take your businesses to the next level. That's the kind of energy I want inside the Co-op. Let's build this community together because success is so much sweeter when it's shared!
Quote ThisThis is your opportunity to step in 2025 with momentum. Highlights* The Best Co-op Deal Ever [0:10:19] * Get In On Digital Product Jumpstart [0:12:25] * Why Joining The Co-Op Is a Total Game-Changer [0:13:19] * You Don’t Need to Do It Alone [0:21:00]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Our Biggest Sale, The Co-op, Digital Product Jumpstart, Business Planning
We Mentioned:Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Talitha Coffee helps support survivors of human trafficking
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Porkbun.com/StrategyHourPodcast with code STARTACHAT to get a .chat domain for less than $2 for the first year
Episode 895: Show NotesOne of the most common questions I get is how I make high-level decisions, like what to promote and when. Today, I’m breaking that down for you. I know you’re juggling countless decisions in your business, and it can feel overwhelming. That’s why I want to talk about how you can go about these decisions in a way that aligns with who you are, what kind of business you want to build, and is supported by real data to get you results.
It’s easy to look at successful CEOs and assume big decisions come naturally to them. But the truth is, they were once where you are now. They’ve just built up the experience to make it easier over time! Today I want to help fast-track that process for you by sharing some key considerations for making big business decisions.
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How to Brainstorm a Big DecisionAny decision I have to make starts with brainstorming to approach it from a non-judgmental place. Otherwise, I limit my potential! I usually sit down with my team and ask a whole bunch of questions. I simply ask them and I let my team talk for as long as possible without interrupting them. I try not to weigh in until I’ve heard everything they have to say because once I share my ideas and vision with my team, naturally, they start to mold their ideas around the things I bring up.
I know my team is full of incredible ideas that I might not come up with on my own, but I’m not going to see and hear those things unless I let them talk first. Once these ideas are on the table, I can make informed decisions to help my business thrive! In this informed decision-making step, I gather details that will help me get the best results for whatever I’m working on based on data from past experiences.
Why There is No “Right Choice”Decisions are not black and white. You have to look at your past experiences and ask yourself questions. The beauty of making high-level decisions in your business is that the right thing isn’t necessarily what I would do or what I would suggest. That’s because you have to take into account your own data, market, ideal client, and how your business is set up.
There is no one “right way” to run a business and there are very few irreversible decisions, so there is always some room for error and growth. If something doesn’t work down the line for whatever reason, you can change it! You can change your mind. You can pivot. I need you to put less pressure on yourself to make the right decision because there isn’t a right choice. There are only decisions!
Building Momentum in Your BusinessThe faster you make the decisions, the faster your business has the opportunity to scale. That’s not to say that you should rush through decisions without proper data and information. Contrary to popular belief, business success isn’t about how fast you grow or how much money you bring in. I believe that business is about momentum. You can build that up over time and that will create the resilience your business needs to keep going. Businesses that keep going are the ones that stay in business!
I want you to run your business in a way that feels good and allows you to prioritize things that are important to you. I want to help you build momentum. That’s why I built the Co-Op: a community that you can thrive in.
I love that we’ve been able to touch tens of thousands of small business owner’s lives. I want to help you not only make better decisions but decisions that make sense for you and YOUR business. This community is here to support you and I can’t wait to get started!
Quote ThisDecisions aren’t black and white. You have to weigh your past experiences. Highlights* How to Brainstorm a Big Decision [0:04:31] * Why There is No “Right Choice” [0:17:25] * Building Momentum in Your Business [0:19:44]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Business Decisions, Brainstorming Techniques, Data Collection, Business Momentum
We Mentioned:Free Webinar: The Market Shift
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Porkbun.com/StrategyHourPodcast with code STARTACHAT to get a .chat domain for less than $2 for the first year
Episode 894: Show NotesWhat if the biggest obstacles to your success are all in your head? In this episode, I dive into the hidden patterns of self-sabotage that could be keeping you stuck with David Neagle; speaker, bestselling author, host of The Successful Mind Podcast, and founder of Life Is Now Inc. With over two decades of experience in personal and professional development (including working alongside Bob Proctor and Tony Robbins!), David shares his transformative journey from working dead-end jobs to becoming a successful entrepreneur, uncovering the mindset shifts that propelled him forward along the way.
His insights into how our subconscious beliefs shape our reality and hold us back from reaching our potential are truly eye-opening. As someone who claims to be very self-aware, I was blown away by this conversation! If you want to learn how to recognize these patterns in your own life and break free from limiting beliefs, this is the episode for you. Whether you’re feeling stuck in your career, business, or personal life, stay tuned for practical tools to help you shift your mindset, take control, and start living the life YOU want!
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The Role of Subconscious Programming in Self-SabotageAs David explains, the subconscious programming we develop in childhood can lead to self-sabotage in adulthood. Growing up in a blue-collar family in Chicago, he absorbed the limiting belief that success was for “other people” and that life was about surviving rather than thriving. Surrounded by this victim mindset, David internalized the idea that successful people were the enemy and that playing it safe and just getting by were his only options. As a result, he found himself in a dead-end job, struggling financially, with his car repossessed and his family on food stamps. Despite his best efforts, David’s poor work ethic and negative attitude, fueled by these deeply ingrained beliefs, were keeping him stuck in a perpetual cycle of failure.
The turning point came one freezing February night when he broke down in the back of a trailer at the dock he worked on, begging God to help him change his life. In that moment, he heard a voice that said, “David, change your attitude.” Suddenly, it was clear: the real obstacles were within his own mind! His subconscious had been sabotaging him, keeping him safe by preventing him from taking risks or recognizing opportunities for growth.
Breaking the Cycle of Limiting BeliefsAfter his breakdown on the dock, David reflected on what successful people did differently. He realized that the owner of his company, a man who started the business in his garage and built it into a multi-million dollar enterprise, operated with a completely different mindset than the one David was brought up with. There were three key differences: the owner loved what he did, did his job to the best of his ability, and treated everyone with respect. Even though David hated his job, he decided to act like he loved it, commit to doing every task to the best of his ability, and treat everyone around him with kindness and respect. This mindset shift marked the beginning of breaking the cycle of limiting beliefs.
Within 30 days, David’s income tripled without any additional education or training! This incredible leap showed him that the opportunity for success had always been there, but his previous attitude and limiting beliefs had blinded him to it. By changing his internal perspective, David unlocked potential he didn’t even know he had, proving that breaking free from self-sabotage starts with shifting how we perceive ourselves and the world around us. This shift enabled him to see new possibilities and, ultimately, transform his life!
The Impact of Attitude on Personal SuccessAlthough self-sabotage is rooted in your subconscious programming, David’s transformation highlights the profound impact that something as simple as your attitude can have on personal success. By making a very conscious decision to change his mindset after his breakdown, David not only changed his thoughts; he also fundamentally shifted his approach to life and work. We don’t have control over our programming, but we CAN choose to change it!
If you believe you’re in a dead-end job and you’ll never be successful, your actions will reflect those beliefs and they’ll become your reality. Instead, you need to understand that it’s all about how you perceive a set of circumstances. If you knew how to think differently, you could break through those barriers to your success and move forward with pride, purpose, and positivity. Rather than viewing his job as menial and unfulfilling, David chose to embrace it with enthusiasm, telling himself to act as if he loved what he was doing. This simple yet powerful shift allowed him to engage more fully with the world around him and recognize opportunities he had previously overlooked.
Confronting and Conquering Your Sabotage PatternAs a coach, David has encountered multiple clients who would come to him excited about pursuing their dreams, only to backtrack when faced with the first obstacle or self-doubt. They would express a desire to quit, attributing their hesitation to external circumstances rather than recognizing the internal beliefs that were truly holding them back. That’s when David realized we all have a subconscious “sabotage pattern” that causes us to self-sabotage right before we’re about to have a big breakthrough. As he explains, the root of these fear-based responses isn't necessarily about failing or succeeding in a task, but rather about the fear of exposure, of being judged or criticized by others.
By helping his clients see that these fears are based on their subconscious programming, David empowers them to reframe their mindset and take calculated risks. This process allows them to confront their fears and move forward with their business aspirations, ultimately leading to major personal and professional growth. David’s coaching philosophy emphasizes that overcoming the fear of failure is crucial for breaking the cycle of self-sabotage. By recognizing that these fears are often rooted in the desire for acceptance and validation from others, you can take ownership of your choices and actions, embrace challenges as opportunities for growth rather than threats, and pursue your desires with confidence and clarity!
Consciously Creating a Life of Desire and PurposeThe power of choice is one of our greatest gifts as human beings, enabling us to shape our lives in meaningful ways. David argues that many people go through life unconsciously, following a set of rules and beliefs imposed on them by society, family, or their upbringing. This lack of conscious decision-making often leads to dissatisfaction and unfulfillment. As an antidote to this, he unpacks several key principles that are fundamental to understanding self-sabotage and unlocking personal potential, from untangling the mental scripts that dictate your decisions to taking ownership of your choices, accepting responsibility for YOUR life, and aligning your actions with your true desires and purpose.
David emphasizes that “success is easy” when you’re clear about what you genuinely want in life. This alignment fuels motivation and passion, making the journey toward success so much more fulfilling. In fact, David stresses that tapping into your desires is not only possible but essential for living a fulfilling life! By recognizing the power of choice, you can break free from the confines of self-sabotage and pursue the life you truly want without fear of judgment. This also means carefully evaluating the people you choose to surround yourself with. Do they really have your best interests at heart?
Embracing the Vulnerability that Comes with SuccessOnce you become above average, everybody sees you. There are going to be people who love you and people who don’t. There’s nothing you can do about it either way. As David explains, there is a certain vulnerability that accompanies success (and the resulting exposure) that you’re going to have to learn to accept and mature into. Whether someone tells you that you’re amazing or they think you’re a real jerk, you have to understand that neither one of those responses is about you. It’s simply their perception of you, which is informed by their own subconscious programming. Again, it all comes back to anchoring yourself in your purpose and reminding yourself why you do what you do.
We need to rewire how we think about certain things. Judgment from others is one thing. Failure is another. So often, the mistakes you make are attached to shame and guilt rather than the important lessons you learn as a result. Similarly, self-doubt comes from misunderstanding the self. You don’t know what your true nature is or what you are capable of. Self-doubt is a voice in your head, informed by your past, that tries to tell you that success is for other people, not you. As David’s remarkable story demonstrates, you cannot listen to that voice! The truth is that you’re an amazing person and you’re here for an amazing reason. Your job is to stay focused on what that is.
You Were Born To Be A SuccessDavid has prepared a complimentary download for you where he breaks down the #1 truth that will help you eliminate doubt and self-sabotage. He even shares an exercise on page 8 that’s designed to help anyone get really clear on what they want and pinpoint and remove their blocks currently getting in the way. You can grab it right here.
Quote This“The truth is you’re an amazing person and you’re here for an amazing reason. Your job is to stay focused on what that is.” —@DavidNeagle Highlights* The Role of Subconscious Programming in Self-Sabotage. [0:01:44] * Breaking the Cycle of Limiting Beliefs. [0:06:35] * The Impact of Attitude on Personal Success. [0:09:50] * Confronting and Conquering Your Sabotage Pattern. [0:14:35] * Consciously Creating a Life of Desire and Purpose. [0:18:03] * Embracing the Vulnerability that Comes with Success. [0:32:18]
Our Guest:David Neagle
Website | LinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube | X
David Neagle is a speaker, best-selling author, founder of the multimillion-dollar global consulting company Life Is Now, Inc, and host of the Business Daily News ranked podcast - The Successful Mind.
David’s quest is to teach people to think successfully so they can experience personal freedom. Being in the personal and professional development industry for more than 20 years, David has worked alongside other well-known mentors like Bob Proctor and Tony Robbins, and his clients include many well-known people, including New York Times #1 best-selling author Jen Sincero.
David has helped tens of thousands of students from across the globe, and is one of the architects of the personal growth industry. Through David’s mentoring and podcast, thousands of entrepreneurs, experts and self-employed professionals have gained the confidence and found the right mindset needed to increase their revenue, turning their endeavors into seven- and eight-figure ventures.
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Mindset shift, Self-sabotage, Breaking cycles, Personal growth
We Mentioned:Free Download: The 10 Lies Stealing Your Dream
Tony Robbins’ Personal Power
Free Webinar: The Market Shift
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Porkbun.com/StrategyHourPodcast with code STARTACHAT to get a .chat domain for less than $2 for the first year
Episode 893: Show NotesThere’s so much going on this time of year that it can slip by quickly, and I don’t want you to miss out on the BIG things I’ve planned for this holiday season. This has happened to me before. I had the best intentions to check in on some of my favorite creators to see what they had to offer during the holiday season., but then I got busy and missed out. There’s no going back in time, so I want you to know what’s coming this year and feel prepared to plan for it! I want to give you as much of a heads-up as possible.
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How the Co-Op Supports My Life’s MissionI’m not sure all of you know why the Co-op was created initially versus what it has evolved into over the years. It was an opportunity to provide small businesses with design templates to present themselves professionally online. But the work I do here isn’t just a job. It’s my life’s mission. I wanted to do more.
I wanted to help people get to a place where they had more freedom of choice; to give them the ability to decide how they wanted to spend their time and energy. I wanted you to be able to use these templates AND understand the strategy behind them. So, I created a framework to help you understand all the variables and pick and choose what made sense for you and your business.
The Thousand-Foot View of How I Look at BusinessA couple of key trainings came out of the framework I made. There is so much opportunity in the Accelerator. It walks you through how this entire business ecosystem works and how you can remain profitable. It shows you how to build an offer suite that makes sense for your ideal clients and includes all these individual tools to help make your job easier over time.
When I rolled out all the many assets that come with the Co-Op, we did a price increase for the first time in four years. The average monthly pricing went from $47 a month to $97 a month. People are still buying it like hotcakes because they see the value. This mission is so important to me: I want to see people commit. I want to see them take advantage of a community that is there to support them and wants to see them succeed.
Your Chance to Get the Best Deal Ever on the Co-OpThis holiday season, our annual Co-op memberships are going on sale for a month! I’ve never done a sale this long. If you jump on Early Bird between November 1st and 10th, you’ll have the opportunity to get 50% off all our annual plans. If you want to take advantage of that founder-level pricing and dive in for a year, this would be the time to do it! You’ll not only get the most savings, but it’s going to help you get prepped for next year.
Let me walk you through what’s included in the Co-Op. People are sharing real conversations, deep conversations about what is really going on for them. I walk you through how I send email newsletters with all my best subject lines. I help you plan email funnels, there are lead magnet templates, and you’ll learn about my upsell strategy. You’ll also get Launch-in-a-Box, the digital product edition.
Even More Tools You’ll Get When You Join the Co-OpIf you have been interested in utilizing Instagram but don’t quite understand how people are monetizing it, you’re going to want to check out my Instagram Profit Playbook, which is included in the Co-Op. You’ll learn my entire system for making income on the app, specifically how I convert cold traffic into buyers.
We also launched the Online Business Accelerator earlier this year. If you start with just one thing, it should be this! If you can understand how to make more predictable income and scale, your whole life will change. You’re getting access to my back-end operations, project management, and script vaults for sales funnels and discovery calls. There are literally hundreds of trainings in there! Get the details here.
The Tip of the Iceberg: Access to the Entire Template ShopIf you bought every template as an individual product, it would cost you more than $20,000. All of that is included in the Co-Op! If you dive in on Early Bird, you will get 50% off our annual plans. It will be on sale all month long, but the 50% savings are only between November 1-10. Dive in early and get prepped for next year. If you’ve been dying to join the Co-Op, now is the time! Or, if you are currently a monthly member and you want to upgrade to an annual plan, now is the best time to do it!
If you’re someone who only wants to start with one piece of their business, I have something for you too. The Co-Op is pretty all-encompassing, but Digital Product Jumpstart is the star of the show around here. This is the toolkit to not only help you build a product but get it out into the world on presale and start making tangible dollars from it. It will be getting even more tweaks in 2025, so now’s the perfect time to get started with it.
Value-based PricingI’ve charged thousands of dollars for my offers and I have no regrets about that. People have seen their businesses grow so much. I am at a unique crossroads in my business where it doesn’t have to do much to sustain my lifestyle. I am so blessed for that, and I want to continue to help as many people as possible. I could have increased the pricing, but reaching more people is far more important to me than bringing in more dollars!
What My Amazing Affiliate Partners Are DoingThere are also a few products that I am an affiliate and a huge, huge fan of. I got some insider details into what Teachable is doing for Black Friday. If you’ve been considering Teachable, now is the time to pay attention to their special offer!
I would use this time to think about how you want to invest in yourself and your business going into this holiday season. These offers are designed to help you hit the ground running in 2024 and give you opportunities to keep growing at a pace you didn’t think was possible.
Quote ThisI would use this time right now to think about how you want to invest in yourself and your business going into this holiday season. Highlights* How the Co-Op Has Evolved and Why Boss Project is My Life’s Mission [0:01:48] * The Thousand-Foot View of How I Look at Business [0:05:48] * Your Chance to Get the Best Deal Ever on the Co-Op [0:07:30] * Even More Tools You’ll Get When You Join the Co-Op [0:11:06] * The Tip of the Iceberg: Access to the Entire Template Shop [0:14:51] * Value-based Pricing and a Preview of What My Amazing Affiliate Partners Are Doing [0:20:17]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Holiday Sales, The Co-Op, Design Templates, Business Strategy, Planning for Next Year
We Mentioned:Free Webinar: The Market Shift
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Porkbun.com/StrategyHourPodcast with code STARTACHAT to get a .chat domain for less than $2 for the first year
Episode 892: Show NotesHoliday season is fast approaching and if you aren’t ready to take advantage of the holiday push or Black Friday, you’re leaving money on the table! Stores are starting their holiday pushes sooner than ever before and sales that used to last a couple of days are now lasting weeks or even months. This can be incredibly overwhelming for small business owners because it makes you worry about how much you have to do holiday promotion-wise. I have seen what happens when you ignore the holiday sales and it’s not good. I truly think it’s possible to strike a balance between family time and taking advantage of a time when people are spending more money. There are so many things that you could do and I would like to give you actionable tips today to help you during this time!
If you want more of a step-by-step solution, I’ve created an entire Black Friday Holiday Prep Mini-Course so be sure to check it out as part of the Co-op!
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Why is Leveraging Holiday Promotions Important? The majority of you are aware that Q4 is the biggest sales portion of the year for most small businesses and that can feel like a lot of pressure. So instead of adding to that pressure by creating sales, I want you to see it as more of an opportunity. This year alone, online sales are projected to soar by an additional 9.5%, specifically around Black Friday weekend. This is a huge opportunity for small businesses and you can use this as a way to set yourself apart from the competition, to connect with your audience, to reward your most loyal customers, and so much more! I know what’s possible when you put the time and attention here. Now, if you do not yet have an offer, I recommend going through creating and crafting your offer. But I usually like to start with a promotion or how you’re selling your offer. During the holiday season, the promotion is usually what you’re marketing and there is less time for product education so knowing the type of promotion you’re doing is imperative to help you know how to market it.
The Offer Versus the PromotionI encourage you to think simply. Some of the most effective promotions are the simplest and easiest to understand. A lot of people also think that they have to do a discount but that’s not necessarily true. There are so many types of promotions so picking the right one can feel overwhelming. If you want my help figuring this out, inside my Black Friday Holiday Prep Mini-Course in the Co-op, I’m going to break down the strategies step-by-step and help you implement them. But I do think it’s important to spend some time focusing on the offer itself. As I mentioned, I don’t like creating new offers around the holidays because there isn’t enough time to give people insight into why they need it. Instead, I think you can really turn up the notch and make an existing offer sell better if you spend some time on the messaging. When promoting your offer, instead of focusing on what it will give your audience, focus on why they need it! When you target a specific audience, make them feel like you are speaking directly to them, and show them how you can solve a tangible problem for them, buying your offer will be easy. I recommend deciding on the top one to three solutions that can impact your clients and make them the primary reason someone buys.
How to Structure Your Marketing ScheduleAll of that being said, there are really only three components here: the type of promotion, the offer itself, and your marketing schedule. You may want to run your promotion over the Black Friday weekend, and that’s fine! But because big business during this time of year is so ‘loud’ and it’s easy for your offer to get lost in the noise, I do find that longer, more open-cart style sales periods allow more people to be aware that your sale is happening. It doesn’t mean that you have to bombard people with emails, etc, but it does give your audience more time to make considerations. I’m actually going to do something a little differently than I have in the past and in the next episode of the Strategy Hour Podcast, I am going to share my exact promotion with you before the cart is open. I think this is going to make a huge difference. Keep in mind that you don’t want to tell people about the offer too soon because it may reduce sales until then. If you don’t want to share the exact offer, you can have a pre-sale hype period that includes everything that is related to the topic you are solving later. There are a lot of different ways that this can go and I am going to help you figure all of that out inside the Black Friday Holiday Prep Mini-Course.
The One Tip You Need to Maximize Your VisibilityTo make this process easy and doable during a very busy part of your year, I highly recommend that you only focus on one visibility channel for this offer. If you’re going to try to get new people in the door, (at one of the most difficult times of year to do so) focusing on one channel is going to make that easiest. If you try to cross-post on all sorts of channels, it’s just going to dilute your messaging and make things less intentional and more like you checking boxes. I like having one place to show up that you can feel really good about. Just a couple of weeks ago, I dropped my Instagram Reels Vault into the Co-op. It’s gold! So be sure to check that out. I’m genuinely so excited for what’s in store for you to figure out what offer you’re going to tailor the messaging of it to reach your ideal clients, decide how you’re going to promote that offer, and optimize your visibility by showing up in a limited number of places. I want you to feel good about your sales going into this season and remember that you have such a great opportunity to have a successful holiday season and all of it starts with a plan. Let me help you get there!
Quote ThisI personally like using holiday promotions to reward my most loyal – customers and the people who are the warmest on my list. Highlights* Why is Leveraging Holiday Promotions Important? [0:03:40] * The Offer Versus the Promotion [0:08:05] * How to Structure Your Marketing Schedule [0:18:41] * The One Tip You Need to Maximize Your Visibility [0:26:09]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Black Friday, Holiday Promotions, Marketing Sales, Marketing Messaging, Visibility
We Mentioned:Black Friday Holiday Prep Mini-Course
Join the Co-op
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Porkbun.com/StrategyHourPodcast with code STARTACHAT to get a .chat domain for less than $2 for the first year
Episode 891: Show NotesIf you are ever torn between life and business, you do not need permission to choose YOU! When you build your business with intention, it will work for you, even when life surprises you. It’s more than okay to prioritize yourself over your business with zero guilt. A few months ago, I got a call saying that my dad had a stroke. The following weeks unfolded so dramatically as his condition went from bad to worse. It became very clear that this wasn’t just a typical stroke. Eventually, we found out he has a very rare autoimmune disease that caused him to require around-the-clock care all of a sudden. I was simply not prepared for this. Keep in mind, during all of this, my business still had to keep running.
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Why September Was My Best Financial Month of 2024During this difficult time, I was in the middle of developing a new course and writing and recording curriculum. I would record new lessons and then drive to the hospital. It sucked (and it still sucks), but something truly extraordinary happened. I didn’t do anything fancy like writing new launch emails or even posting on socials, but somehow, September was my best financial month of the year! It’s sort of like my business was telling me that it can handle itself while I deal with my priorities, and I’m so grateful for that. All the work I had done in the months prior showed up and worked in the way I needed it to when I needed it most. The truth is, this is why I built the business the way I did.
Building A Business That Works for YOU!Life is unpredictable. When something impacts you and you’re such a critical part of your business, you are at huge risk of losing your income! You deserve the freedom to focus on what really matters without fear, guilt, and hesitation. If you build your business the right way, you too can have the freedom to step away to prioritize the things that life throws at you. I still have a super long way to go. Even though I’m still trying to get back to “normal,” I am getting there. Building my business intentionally so that it works for me has helped me through this.
How to “Go Back to Normal” After Life’s ChaosI’ve been around long enough to have learned a thing or two about returning to “business as usual” after strange events have occurred. The most important thing I want you to remember is: don’t fight your feelings! It’s so easy to focus on work and push aside all of your overwhelming feelings. The thing is, very little of what you do in your online business is urgent, essential, and emergent work. So, if you feel like crap, don’t just keep working! You aren’t going to feel good about it, it probably won’t be your best work, and you’re going to put yourself through so much pain. Step away, rest, and realize that your life and how you show up for family and friends is far more important! It’s also important to know what the bare minimum that you need to get done is and be kind to yourself when your capacity isn’t as high as it used to be. I want to help you come up with a plan; a simple plan to help you ease back into things. And even when you make the plan, you have to be willing to pivot.
I might not know you personally, but I do know that you need to figure out ways to make your business run during times when you can’t be there. During chaos is not the time to figure that out. Now is! Write down your weaknesses, your breaking points, what could destroy your business, and what your bare minimum tasks are. Let this be your sign to rebuild your business in a way that will work for you more long-term. I know you’re capable of so many incredible things and I need you to know that I’m walking alongside of you and want the best for you. You’ve got this!
Quote ThisIf you’re ever torn between business and your life, you do not need permission to choose you. Highlights* Why September Was My Best Financial Month of 2024. [0:10:49] * Building a Business That Works for You! [0:12:11] * How to “Go Back to Normal” After Life’s Chaos. [0:15:11]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Rebuilding Business, Self-sustaining Business, Crisis Management, Strategic Planning
We Mentioned:Free Webinar: The Market Shift
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Episode 890: Show NotesBelieve it or not, the profit from your first sale isn’t the key to your business’s long-term success. In fact, if you’re getting paid at all to bring in qualified leads, you’re already ahead of most people selling products and services online. If you’re looking for more leads or want to sell and leverage digital products without getting lost in flashy marketing tactics, this is the perfect episode for you! You’ll learn how to attract leads and get paid at the same time.
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Why Your Initial Sale's Profit Isn’t EverythingMany people who suggest selling digital products are just fixated on the profit or potential earnings from that first sale. But in truth, that initial profit is NOT the most important thing. Sure, it’s exciting to make money up front, but it’s not what truly matters in the long run. Often, the businesses you may be comparing yourself to aren’t just selling simple digital products – they’re offering more substantial packages disguised as entry-level offers. So let me emphasize: the profit from your first sale isn’t a big deal. What really counts is getting paid to bring in qualified leads rather than spending money to acquire them.
If you told the investors on Shark Tank that people were paying to join your email list, they’d be scrambling for your business, because this isn’t the typical business model. But you’re not aiming to build a typical business. You’re here to create a business that supports your ideal lifestyle, not just to scale a huge business for the sake of doing it.
Attract the Right Audience with Digital ProductsThe key is leveraging a digital product to draw in the right audience and using persuasive messaging to convert them into loyal customers. These are the customers who won’t just buy once—they’re primed to purchase everything else you offer. Depending on where you are in your business journey, digital products can serve different purposes. If you’re just starting or still growing a side hustle, digital products can help you build an audience of eager buyers. Then, when you're ready to offer more, you already have a pool of people excited to take the next step with you.
For more established businesses, digital products can pre-qualify repeat customers and help speed up the transition from first to second sale. Finally, if you’re looking to cut back on one-on-one work, offer fewer services, or reclaim your time, digital products can act as a bridge to help you get from where you are now to where you want to be. How fast you make this shift or how bold of a leap you take is entirely up to you!
Build Your List Strategically Without FreebiesWouldn’t it be cool if your leads would just magically appear and keep showing up? It’s not magic, but if you build your digital product offer the right way, you will attract your ideal people! Just invest the time and energy into creating a no-brainer offer and building an easy-to-navigate sales page. Once it’s all set up, you’ll have a reliable strategy that you can implement again and again.
You’ve probably heard advice about building your email list by using a free lead magnet first. While that strategy might build your email list, it will be full of people who aren’t ready to invest money in your other products and services. It may also attract “freebie seekers” and other people who aren’t even in your target market. Some people just want to collect as much free info as possible and try to piece it all together on their own.
When you attract people first with a paid offer, they are seven times more likely to pay you again than someone who has never paid you at all. This is the ideal way to bring people into your ecosystem of offers and earn their trust! Wouldn’t you rather your email list be full of people who are in your target market and ready to invest money in what you’re offering? I know I would!
Take the Next StepI want to see you succeed at leveraging digital products and getting paid to grow your list. Whether you’re starting a brand new business or have been working at it for years, this is a huge opportunity to refine your messaging. I’m here to walk you through the process in Digital Product Jumpstart.
Quote ThisYou getting paid at all to bring in qualified leads is better than 99% of people out there. Highlights* Why Your Initial Sale's Profit Isn’t Everything [0:11:28] * Attract the Right Audience with Digital Products [0:15:01] * Build Your List Strategically Without Freebies [0:21:20]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Digital products, Lead generation, Marketing strategies, Lead magnets
We Mentioned:Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Episode 889: Show NotesRunning a pre-sale is the perfect tool if you want to sell more digital products and courses. On today’s podcast, we’re talking about what pre-sales are and how your business can benefit from them. Tune in to learn some simple strategies to help you get started generating sales before building your next digital product!
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Don’t Feel Icky About Pre-SalesSome people feel uncomfortable about the thought of running a pre-sale for their digital products or courses. But guess what? If you’re a service provider, you’re already using a form of pre-sales in your business. Many of us tell our clients what we’ll do for them first, collect payment next, and only then complete the work. That’s exactly what a pre-sale is, and it’s an incredibly valuable tool for your business.
A Win-Win for You and Your CustomersDuring your pre-sale, you’re simply selling your digital product or course before you actually create it. You announce your offer to the world, explain what you’re going to build and ask them to buy into it before you get started making it. With digital products and services, using pre-sales allows you to validate your offer in the marketplace. This ensures that you’re creating something people want and are willing to pay for. It also allows you to shape your product based on early customer insights and questions, which makes your finished product even better.
But it’s not all about you. This is a true win for your pre-sale customers, too. Your early customers usually get the best deal on the price of your product. Although they may not immediately see the most polished version of your product, they will likely have a high-touch experience that might not be available once your product is finalized.
Start With a Simple StrategyThe simplest way to start is with a low-priced digital product or a mini course. It’s an easy way to dip your toe into the pre-sales strategy without the pressure of sales objections and a high price point. In your marketing efforts, you just need to be transparent about the fact that you’re still building it– you’re in the beta phase. It’s also a good idea to communicate that your special beta pricing will be going away at the end of your pre-sale period.
How to Plan Your PricingThere’s a psychology to pricing and how it affects buyer behavior. If you want the best results with the least friction, create an offer that people won’t second guess. If you choose a sales price of under $20, that’s usually a no-brainer purchase for your customer, as long as you’ve clearly communicated the value. Pricing under $50 and $100 both have a similar psychological impact. At prices above $100, the scale gets wider. If you want your product’s price to feel like a deal, try choosing an odd number.
Create Something That’s Easy to ImplementWe want our customers to find success with the products we offer them. Sometimes, people are hesitant to buy a digital product or course if they think it will take them too much time or effort to work with it. That’s why I recommend doing everything in your power to make it as simple, easy, and frictionless as possible for them to actually do it themselves. Make it a no-brainer, decision for them! Try to get as close as possible to doing the work for them as you can. But don’t stall and stumble over coming up with the perfect idea! Instead, I highly suggest that you move forward with an idea that resonates with you and that you feel really good about putting out into the world.
Take Action Toward Your Plan TodayImagine how good it would feel to bring in $1,000 in the next two weeks from your digital offer! Maybe for you that means 11 sales at $97 each or 22 sales at $47– doesn’t that feel doable? My favorite place to host digital products and mini-courses is Teachable, and my products have been hosted there for many years. If you haven’t checked them out before, check out this special deal here!
If you’d like me to guide you through the process of building your first digital product or mini-course, meet me in Digital Product Jumpstart. Inside, you’ll learn how to build the right offer that aligns with your ideal client to set you up for long-term success. I’ve also included a two-week pre-sale launch called Launch in a Box. I can’t wait to see you there!
Quote ThisDon’t get caught up in having the perfect idea! Highlights* A Win-Win for You and Your Customers [0:03:45] * Start With a Simple Strategy [0:16:16] * How to Plan Your Pricing [0:23:16] * Create Something That’s Easy to Implement [0:27:53] * Take Action Toward Your Plan Today [0:32:30]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Marketing, Digital Products, Sales, Services, Pre-sales, Business Process, Product Development
We Mentioned:Teachable - special offer
Digital Product Jumpstart
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Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Episode 888: Show NotesI taught a live workshop recently that was so packed with valuable info that I wanted to make sure more people had access to it. Today’s podcast is the audio version of The Market Shift workshop. If you’d prefer to view the visual slides as well, you can register to watch the complete video replay at no cost— consider it my gift to you. I want you to become more successful, so in this episode, I shared the exact methods I used to build the foundations of my business!
Watch the video workshop Tune in to learn:* THE ecosystem that represents online businesses today * How to create more predictable income and sustainably scale—regardless of where you’re starting today * The AI secrets top entrepreneurs use to stay ahead, boost productivity, and secure their future * The equation that’s making wealthy people wealthier (so you can steal, copy & paste it)
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I'm about to walk you through the current landscape of online businesses, show you the quickest path to success, and how to strategically layer in multiple income streams to boost your revenue. With years of experience in this field, I’ll be revealing the insider tips that lead to more predictable income and scalable growth, no matter where you're starting from.
I’ve worked with entrepreneurs at every stage—from pre-launch to scaling million-dollar companies—so rest assured, you're in the right place. In this training, I’ll expose the AI tactics that top business owners are using to stay ahead of the curve, ramp up productivity, and secure their future. You’ll learn the exact formula that’s making the wealthy even wealthier—and you can grab it before the wealth gap widens further. After searching for a long time, I finally uncovered the key to true passive income that can pay you for life.
I’ve seen this approach work across all types of online businesses—whether you’re a creative, coach, consultant, agency owner, service provider, in e-learning, selling courses or memberships, or creating content. And I know it works because I’ve used these methods myself to generate millions in each of these categories. Every business has its own unique needs, and everyone’s life demands different adjustments. You can’t build a business in isolation. I want to teach you the framework so you can understand all the moving parts. I’ll share the exact strategies—everything, not just the flashy highlights. So, let’s dive in!
What’s Your Scenario?Overwhelmed and Stressed OutEven though your business is making money, you kind of feel like you swing between feast and famine. You might feel like if you spend more time living your life, your business will suffer. You could be on the verge of breaking— I know because I’ve been there too.
Overbooked And UnderpaidYou did everything the “right” way and you’re consistently getting clients. But it feels like you’re not going to ever reach your income goals and it’s not possible to take any more clients (if you still want to eat, sleep, and have a life). Your income goal likely feels way out of reach right now.
Still Working For Someone ElseYou’re dreaming of a successful business, but you’re still holding down a traditional job. It feels safe to have a steady paycheck, but it keeps you playing small. You’re here because you want to I want to break the cycle and do things differently. My friend, I’m here to tell you that you’re capable of more than you give yourself credit for!
The Online Business EcosystemYou’re either already part of the online business world or you’re on the verge of joining it. People typically enter in one of two ways: they’re either laser-focused on their offer, or they’re all about building an audience. They tend to identify with one of these areas. But to create a balanced and thriving business, you can’t stay stuck on one side. The real success stories in online business come from finding the sweet spot in the middle—a balance between the right offer, an engaged audience to serve, and the lifestyle you want to live. The most successful businesses I’ve built were the ones that aligned with how I wanted to show up at that moment and the real problems I was capable of solving. You get to decide your direction and pace—and you can always pivot.
Build a Business That Handles Life’s CurveballsMy own journey has taught me how unexpected life changes can dramatically shift everything. I wouldn’t have been able to navigate the twists and turns in my life if I hadn’t built a business that could support me financially while giving me the freedom to prioritize what matters most—family and life. I’m here to help you pursue your dreams without sacrificing what’s most important to you. So, how do we create more predictable income and sustainable growth, even when life gets chaotic? The answer is planning. Scaling is straightforward (though not always easy). You need a well-thought-out offer that speaks to a specific audience and delivers a clear outcome. But scaling isn’t just about increasing sales—it’s about having the infrastructure to sustain that growth. Otherwise, your revenue will spike and drop just as fast.
Here’s How to Scale EffectivelyScaling happens from two sides: the art and the architecture. The art of scaling includes your mission, vision, and value— it’s the culture you create, how you hold yourself and your team accountable, and how you set priorities. The architecture is the foundation of your business—the customers you serve, the team supporting them, and the systems that make it all work. It’s about the products, profits, and processes. The art is what makes your business uniquely yours, and the architecture is the blueprint that keeps it running smoothly. While the market is shifting, and AI is evolving rapidly, the fundamentals of what makes a business successful remain unchanged. You can adapt to new technologies while continuing to grow.
Know Your Business PurposeChange is constant, but your business’s purpose is its anchor. It’s the reason behind everything you do, giving meaning to your work and drawing people into your world. AI can help accelerate your productivity and flexibility, but it doesn’t need to shift your destination. Staying on top of AI tools is essential for the future, not as a replacement, but as a way to enhance your existing skills. The key to long-term wealth is understanding this: active assets require management to generate income, and passive assets work quietly in the background. The combination of both unlocks true financial freedom. I’m here to help you zero in on your business and generate the cash flow you need to fuel the rest of your wealth-building equation.
Create Your Own PathWe often overestimate what we can accomplish in a single day, but underestimate what’s possible in a week or a year. It’s easy to doubt your ability to make it happen, but remember, building a business isn’t a straight line. It’s more like a game with unexpected moves and turns. Scaling can be simple, and it should reflect who you are— your values, ideas, and vision. You have the chance to build a business that fuels your financial goals and even retire young and wealthy. The art and architecture of my own business allowed me to scale, staying true to my values while building the systems that supported that growth. Thanks to the wealth equation, I’m on track to retire early— I’ll be completely work-optional by 44. You get to decide the lifestyle you want and the path you take to get there. My sales strategies have helped countless people start, double, and even quadruple their businesses. You can do the same!
Quote ThisOne person’s success does not define your own and someone else’s path is not necessarily the right one for you. Move Faster With The Co-opYou don’t have to build your business alone. The Co-Op is a membership for online business owners who want to accelerate their momentum and build a business that unlocks the life and lifestyle they want. With this membership, you’ll hold the keys to pricing for profit, getting leads on autopilot and creating an unforgettable client experience. There are thousands of Canva templates for pitching and proposals, client experience, social media, email marketing, lead generation, blogs, YouTube, and more. You’ll get one-click Google docs and sheets that will help you track analytics, look at your conversions, build sales pages, lead magnets, launch content planners and onboarding forms. You’ll find copywriting and strategy templates, launch strategies, launch management email marketing sequences, and much more. And, it’s not just templates! We are including all of our latest strategies and top courses. You’ll get access to Digital Product Fast Track, Launch In a Box, and the Instagram Profit Playbook.
Co-op members also have access to all these resources:* 22 Viral Instagram Reel Prompts & ManyChat Keyword Funnel Setup, which we’ve tried and tested, with incredible results - seeing a 1000% increase in engagement utilizing an account with under 5000 followers. * Email Newsletter Mastery Guide, with years’ worth of ideas to create value-first content to nurture subscribers into buyers. * Ultimate Email Subject Line Toolkit and Upsell Fast Track * Unrestricted access to all the workshops including Digital Product Jump Start, Bust the Perfectionism, Asana for Business, Trello for Business, and One Week to Clients * Unrestricted access to exclusive resources that are ONLY available to our members, like the Sales Funnel Script Vault, Client Management Script Vault, Fostering an Experimental Mindset, and our Vault of top video trainings and resources
Following Up, Asking for Referrals, and Talking About Price IncreasesWe have all the scripts you can imagine to improve your sales process, follow up, onboard clients, ask for referrals, talk about price increases, and so much more. Over the last 12 months, I have been implementing new AI strategies daily, and I spent countless hours testing prompts, utilizing them in my own business, and curating the best of the best in a digestible way. Literally hundreds of hours of work! You’re getting it all, including my entire ChatGPT prompt vault, Your Digital VA. Getting all of this information has cost me $3,669,522.33, and I want you to skip the operating costs, bad investments, and failures I’ve never shared publicly. Why am I doing this? Women are awesome! In the US alone, women-owned businesses have generated more than 2 trillion dollars for the economy. I can’t fulfill my mission of helping more small business owners become financially free unless I can start by helping them be financially stable.
My goal at the Co-Op is to give you every necessary strategy and tool to have the business provide the finances necessary for you to comfortably pay all your monthly expenses, afford your lifestyle with minimal or manageable debt, and room for savings. Once you hit stable, I privately take clients to true security, solving for the wealth equation to afford the life you want, emergencies, and retirement without the fear of running out. I want to see you more wealthy! Period.
Watch the video workshop
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Creating wealth, Passive income, Life balance, Building a business, Values, Success
We Mentioned:Free Webinar: The Market Shift
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Leaving corporate for good and starting your own business can be a daunting task. However, with strategic preparation, you can do it without feeling totally overwhelmed. In today’s episode, I’m sharing the story of my transition from corporate to starting my own business in 2015, and how I would go about doing it all over again today.
In 2015, the online world was a completely different place, and launching your own business came with many more challenges than it does now. Over the years, technology has advanced, making it easier than ever to make money online and streamline your operations. While these tools have made entrepreneurship more accessible, they’ve also made it harder to stand out. Join me as I share my journey, the lessons I've picked up, and my advice for anyone ready to leave the corporate world and start their own business today!
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My Career After CollegeI had a busy career that was instrumental to my development before starting Boss Project. I chose to study graphic design in college, partly to rebel against my parents (who were both trained as engineers), but also because it felt like the most practical art degree I could pursue. At that time, the shift to digital in the art and design world was just beginning. Platforms like Canva didn’t exist yet, so if you needed design work, you had to hire a professional or an agency. There simply weren’t user-friendly tools available to the average person back then.
When I entered the workforce, I explored a variety of roles in quick succession because I wasn’t certain about the type of environment I wanted. Some of these jobs were intentional choices, while others were influenced by life’s circumstances. I worked in a range of places and roles, from being the in-house designer for a major financial firm to joining an engineering startup in Kansas City, where I really got the chance to build my reputation and take on exciting new opportunities.
Corporate Challenges and FrustrationsWorking in a corporate environment comes with its own set of hurdles, something many can relate to either from personal experience or through others.When I first entered the workforce, I struggled to adjust to corporate life. A major factor was my age. I started working right out of college, and since I graduated early, most of my peers were older than me. On top of that, I was part of the first wave of hires after the Great Recession, so there was a significant gap in middle management. The directors and executives I reported to were 15 to 20 years older than I was, and this led to a lot of ageism. I was often talked down to, as if I were a child, which was incredibly frustrating.
Being a woman added even more challenges. I was frequently assigned administrative tasks that were outside of my job description, like watering plants. I was also consistently overlooked for job openings and promotions. The final straw came when I was passed over for a major promotion, despite being the ideal candidate. That moment made me realize it was time to start looking for new opportunities.
The Benefits I Gained From CorporateDespite the frustrations, working in corporate wasn’t all bad. It gave me the chance to develop a variety of valuable skills, which helped me start my career on a strong footing. I learned about landing pages, email funnels, copywriting, web development, branding, and much more.
One of the most important lessons I picked up was about production— something we don’t talk about enough. I had to complete an enormous amount of work in a short timeframe, sometimes handling hundreds of projects each month. This taught me that while perfection may not always be achievable, you can still produce great work quickly, test ideas, and find what works.
Corporate life also exposed me to a wide range of businesses and people. I got to see small businesses working with tight budgets, watching how they got creative and tried different strategies to succeed. On the flip side, I also worked in billion-dollar companies where money was flowing freely, and people would use company cards for just about anything!
The Differences Between 2015 and NowStarting a business in 2015 is a completely different experience from starting one today. The online landscape has changed dramatically, thanks to major technological advancements. Back then, the CRMs we rely on now were just spreadsheets! I remember dealing with paper contracts and mailing physical checks, whereas today, there are countless online tools for billing and payments. These innovations have made it easier than ever to work for yourself. However, it also means the market is much more competitive, with more people entering the entrepreneurial space than ever before!
Here’s How it Went DownOne ordinary Tuesday, I was told that our entire marketing department was being laid off. It was a complete shock. Sure, turnover wasn’t unusual in that environment, but I never expected something this sudden or drastic. In that moment, I knew it was time for a change.
I had a few choices in front of me. I could call my old boss and get my job back, or I could use the connections I’d built over the last eight years to find a new role in a different industry. Going to an agency was another option, though it would mean big changes in my daily routine. Or, I could take this opportunity to focus on growing what would eventually become my own business. I chose the latter.
It wasn’t an easy decision, especially since I was the main financial provider throughout my marriage, and my job had always been stable. Fortunately, I’d been doing side work and building connections throughout my career, which helped me tap into my network when I ventured out on my own. My plan was simple: take on branding projects, website work, and any other task clients would send my way.
Those early clients taught me so much! Within 30 days, I had completely replaced my corporate salary—only to make just $75 the following month, which was a rude awakening. After that, I focused on finding a steady source of leads so I wouldn’t have to worry about where my next clients were coming from. It was a steep learning curve, but absolutely worth it.
How I’d Do it Again in Today’s WorldSo, what would I do if I were to leave corporate and start a business today? First off, I would absolutely be utilizing online platforms— but with a different strategy. Back in 2015, the smart move was to use these platforms to grow an audience and gain free organic exposure for your business. Since then, social media has become much more crowded, which requires a shift in approach.
Today, your reach might be smaller, but the potential for meaningful connections is greater. My advice would be to focus on building strong relationships and use online tools to find the right people. At the end of the day, who you know still plays a huge role in success. Prioritizing those relationships would be my top focus.
Additionally, don’t hesitate to embrace new technologies, especially as you grow and scale. AI is the most significant technological leap since the internet, and its impact could be massive. I’d also rely heavily on data to gauge early on whether something is working. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is the importance of continuous learning. The business I started is not the same one I have today!
If you’re interested in transitioning out of corporate, or if you’re in the building or scaling phase, I’d love to chat. Reach out to me on Instagram at @abagailsays!
Quote ThisRight now, your reach is small, but your opportunity for depth is huge. Highlights* My Career After College [0:00:42] * Corporate Challenges and Frustrations [0:06:32] * The Benefits I Gained From Corporate [0:11:41] * The Differences Between 2015 and Now [0:14:10] * Here’s How it Went Down [0:17:05] * How I’d Do it Again in Today’s World [0:28:59]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Job, Corporate, Income, Career, Entrepreneurship, Transition, Business
We Mentioned:Free Webinar: The Market Shift
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Episode 886: Show NotesThe feeling never gets old: it makes me so happy when our clients post in our community and tell me that they’ve launched their very first digital product! I want to make sure that you get the most out of all the time, work, and energy that you put into your offer. Ultimately, it’s only going to perform if you have access to the people who are going to be the most interested in what you have to offer. So, in today’s episode, I want to talk a little bit about what comes next.
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Your First Order of Business: Celebrate!Before you do anything else, you need to celebrate! So often, people skip this. People blow right past it and start worrying about the next step. I need you to pause for a second and think about how far you’ve come in such a short time. You deserve to celebrate that! Get a pedicure, go out to dinner with your partner, delegate your laundry for the day. All of these things are fantastic ways to celebrate your achievement. Go as big or as small as you want. It’s just important that you do it.
The very next step is to ask yourself, how do I maintain this? Ultimately, we both know that you’re going to need more qualified leads: people who can afford your offer, are interested in what you do, and are a good fit moving forward. Those leads are only possible if you have enough traffic to your free or paid offers. There are two ways you can do that: get them on your list for free by downloading something like a lead magnet or have them pay to join your list by purchasing a low-priced entry-point digital product.
How to Actually Get Traffic to Your OffersPeople need to know that your offers exist. This comes down to marketing and generating traffic. If it’s converting, then all you need to maintain it is more traffic. It all comes down to the volume of people who know about your offer. You need to get at least 1,000 hits before you make any decisions about changing anything. I would suggest that you only put time and attention into one awareness strategy that is going to help bring in traffic to generate free and paid leads. Whatever you choose, stay super consistent with it before you add on or adjust anything else.
Active ways to get leads and generate traffic include producing content on social media, paid advertising, and warm or cold outreach. Passive ways to get traffic include optimizing for search to ensure that people who are looking for what you have to offer can easily find it. You could use something like a funnel with a lead magnet on the front end. Or you could implement ways to get leads on autopilot. I created Launch-in-a-Box for those of you who want to fast-track this. Check out the course on bossproject.com/courses if that’s you!
Finding the Right Channels to Get Organic ReachWe’re ultimately looking for one way to drive awareness. Now, some platforms are inherently good at this. Others are not so good, at least not in the short term. I want to get you the most free organic reach possible in the quickest amount of time possible. At the end of the day, the thing that is doing the most right now is short-form content in the form of video. IG Reels, YouTube Shorts, and TikTok are the fastest ways to generate free and organic content for whatever it is that you’re offering.
If you’re going to stick to one of these discoverability channels, I recommend posting at least three to five times per week, minimum. If you want to rev it up, post once a day and even up to three to four times a day. I know it sounds like a lot, but in the beginning, you need quantity so that you can understand what’s going to perform well. You simply don’t have enough information yet. Don’t get overwhelmed by this! It isn’t necessarily more work. You can optimize it to get it done in a couple of hours a week, but it’s going to take some time to get there. And remember: you don’t have to be on this content hamster wheel forever.
Take a Break from the Content Hamster WheelLong-term strategies tend to have a more compound effect where it’s going to take time. My favorite way to do this is through SEO content. I want people who are searching for what I have to offer to find it. The two biggest ways to do this right now are through long-form content like blog posts and YouTube videos. Don’t overthink what a blog looks like. You can post shorter content, you can reuse content that performed well on social and beef it up. You can also take the content you are writing elsewhere, like in a newsletter, and permanently put it on your website. You can also add more evergreen channels over time.
Retargeting and nurturing will allow you to funnel people who have been interested in the past back to your offer. The three main ways to do this are by building a community on Facebook, School, Slack, or Circle; through your email list (your most valuable retargeting tool); or through something like a podcast where you’re getting value but you’re also hearing about offers. Retargeting and nurturing is about creating trust and bringing people together. One awareness strategy, one platform, 30 days of commitment. That’s all I want you to be doing! The more things you layer on, the more divided your attention will be.
Two Things to Keep in Mind When You’re Building AwarenessWhat is currently performing best in your niche or industry? It’s necessary for you to keep tabs on it, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to follow suit. You get to be YOU online. If you’re doing what feels good, that’s going to show through! The more excited you are about your content, the more people will be attracted to that. Maybe you’re going to commit to posting an IG Reel for 30 days for a minimum of five posts per week. The goal is not to get a certain number of followers. It’s just to learn.
You’re going to see what other people in your industry are posting about. Go to the platform and search for that topic: what has the most views and engagement? Take note of those things, try to understand why they are working, and don’t copy them, but model your own content around them. I would do a mix of B-Roll with no audio, songs, and trending audio. I would try voice-overs and talking heads where you speak directly to the camera. My goal for you is just to TRY. This is about consistent effort to create traffic and finding out what works best. Your only goal is to learn how to create better content, speed up your process, and do more of what’s working!
How to Make it All Easier Than Ever BeforeI don’t want this to be difficult for you! If you just want to get my method, you can grab my one-off course, Instagram Profit Playbook. But if you want more, I have a ton of additional support for you inside the Co-Op, including post graphics and other marketing materials that you might need, as well as a ton of other trainings. The one I want to highlight today is my top-performing short-form content. I packaged all my most viral content and you can access all of it inside my membership. I have the exact hooks you could use, the formula and the caption laid out for you, and example posts linked up. This content is only going to continue to grow!
You can spend time, effort, and attention to learn this on your own, but if you want my help fast-tracking it, I would love to be there for you. Whether it’s through my Instagram Profit Playbook Training, through my actual hooks and captions inside the membership, or whether you just want a whole launch that’s ready to go at Launch-in-a-Box, we have options that can help. I want to see you move forward in a really meaningful way.
Let go of all the fluff! If your goal is to grow your digital product, you want to learn to create consistent quality content and the only way you’re going to learn to do that is by practicing. We’re going to pick one awareness strategy, one marketing channel, and stay super consistent for 30 days. I believe in you, I know you can do it, and I know what’s possible on the other end of this. When I started to make visibility my goal this year, I saw 1,000x in engagement. I went on to bring in between $8,000 to $10,000 in just sales from social in January. You can too.
Quote ThisIf your goal is to grow this digital product, you want to learn to create consistent, quality content and the only way you’re going to get better is by practicing Highlights* Your First Order of Business: Celebrate! [0:02:10] * How to Actually Get Traffic to Your Offers [0:04:11] * Finding the Right Channels to Get Organic Reach [0:08:24] * Take a Break from the Content Hamster Wheel [0:11:32] * Two Things to Keep in Mind When You’re Building Awareness [0:15:42] * How to Make it All Easier Than Ever Before [0:20:10]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Marketing, Lead Generation, Digital Products, Traffic, SEO, Targeting, Retargeting
We Mentioned:Boss Project Courses
Launch in a Box
Instagram Profit Playbook
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Episode 885: Show NotesToday on the Strategy Hour Podcast, Abbey Ashley joins me again to discuss how to leave your nine-to-five as quickly as possible. In 2015, Abbey was pregnant with her second child and drowning in financial responsibility. After trying all sorts of businesses, she realized how many business owners need help and decided to try to make a business out of helping them. She started her own virtual assistant business, grew it quickly, and replaced her full-time income. Now she has trained thousands of people on how to do the same and she has a community of over 130 000 virtual assistants that she coaches and mentors along the way. In this conversation, she is going to share how you can start selling services and grow your business fast so that you can replace your nine-to-five income with it.
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How to Make the Transition from Working 9-5 to Selling ServicesStarting with services is such an incredible model to start off with when you are looking to leave your nine-to-five. Abbey believes that the best way to replace your income is simply by having a good plan. Having a roadmap makes it so much easier to get started because it means that you only need to muster up enough courage to execute one step of your plan at a time. Step one could be deciding on what kind of service you’re going to sell. In order to do that, it’s important to do a skills assessment for yourself. Figure out what you’re good at. You don’t necessarily need to go and get more qualifications. If you have certain skills that can be helpful for someone, you can just get started! You will hold yourself back if you try to learn new skills instead of just starting with something you already know how to do.
Just Get Yourself Out There!There is so much information in the online space and a lot of it is for people at different stages of their business. Abbey is a big fan of not niching down too much at the start of your business. There is intense pressure to niche down because that’s where you’re told the riches are right? Well, not at first! When you’re first getting started with services online, you should start with what you know and allow your niche to be the fact that you work with small business owners. Of course, eventually, you want to hone in on a specific industry but Abbey wants you to see that as step two of starting your business. Step one is simply to start. Abbey teaches her students to start more generally and do hourly payment options for clients and as a next step, then you can start creating packages. Abbey doesn’t want you to worry about a specific niche and instead, just get yourself out there!
How to Secure Your First Few ClientsAbbey and I both started reaching out to get our first few clients by reaching out to all our friends and acquaintances and telling them what we were doing. All you need to do is tell the people who love you about your exciting new venture! It’s so important to realize who is in your circle and how much they can do for you. Once you’ve exhausted all your options within your core network, it’s important to reach out more! You can try to meet people through live networking events and conferences to get in front of your ideal client. Online platforms are also incredible ways to meet potential clients. Abbey also stresses the importance of quality over quantity whenever it comes to doing any online proposals! Lastly, you can try the high-end client outreach method which is basically finding your dream client and crafting a proposal to send to them!
When to Start Building Your AudienceOne thing Abbey wants you to know is that when you get started selling services, you shouldn’t focus on trying to grow an online presence at the same time. The more things you try to do, the less effort you can give to each of those things so it’s important to focus on reaching your first goal, whatever that is! Once you’ve done that, you can start building an audience. However, she also wants you to know that one of the best things she ever did for her business was starting to build an email list early. Now this may sound contradictory but stay with me; think of your main job as selling your services and your side hustle as growing your email list and over time, that may shift! You can choose to play either the long-term or short-term game but what is most impressive is to try to marry the two! Abbey wants you to focus on your short-term goals first and then, once you have replaced your income with the clients you have, start moving towards a long-term strategy.
Knowing When to Leave Your 9-5 and Prioritize Your Business Full-TimeYes, this seems big and scary and overwhelming but like anything of that nature, all you can do is go at it with the plan. The best plan is to decide when you are going to give in your notice at the company you work for. When you do that is entirely dependent on your personal circumstances but having a three to six-month buffer in your savings account is a great thing to have as you quit your job. If Abbey were to start again now, she would start offering services while working her nine-to-five and place all of the money she earned from those services into a savings account to create a nest egg for her big ‘quitting date’. She would also potentially lower her cost of living for a period of time so that she could build her business. If you are trying to replace your income while working a full-time job, there is going to be a season where everything feels really heavy, so decide on your goal, make it time-bound, and get there as fast as you can. If we can do it, you can do it too! If you want to be part of The Virtual Savvy Community, be sure to check it out today!
Quote This“Just tell the people who love you about things that you’re excited about!”—Abbey Ashley Highlights* How to Make the Transition from Working 9-5 to Selling Services [0:07:58] * Just Get Yourself Out There [0:15:05] * How to Secure Your First Few Clients [0:22:16] * When to Start Building Your Audience [0:33:12] * Knowing When to Leave Your 9-5 and Prioritize Your Business Full-Time [0:38:57]
OUR GUEST:Abbey Ashley
Website | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook
Abbey Ashley is an influential online educator and successful entrepreneur in the work-from-home space. She launched her journey in 2015 as a virtual assistant using a secondhand laptop from Craigslist. Since then, Abbey has grown her company into a multi-seven-figure business, generating over $3 million in annual revenue. As the CEO of her fully remote team, she has mastered the art of scaling a business. Through her platform, The Virtual Savvy, Abbey offers free content and paid programs designed to help others start, grow, and scale their virtual assistant businesses. Her "value first" approach has empowered thousands of aspiring virtual assistants to find success in the rapidly growing remote work industry. Abbey is an expert in topics such as building a freelance business, finding VA clients, and turning side hustles into full-time careers. She also shares insights on entrepreneurship, business growth strategies, and the importance of company values and systems. Abbey’s journey from a bootstrapped startup to a thriving enterprise showcases her dedication to helping others achieve their own version of success.
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Selling Services, Starting a Business, Replacing Income, Small Business Coaching, Securing Clients, Growing Your Audience
We Mentioned:Free Webinar: The Market Shift
Digital Product Jumpstart
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I’m still amazed that a digital product I created resulted in $ 288,000 in sales and added 10,000 people to my email list– and they paid to join it! I’m going to share all about it in today’s show.
During 2024, my focus has been on helping people who are at all stages of their businesses, not just people with well-established businesses. And I knew this meant I’d need to get in front of more new people!
Most people focus on nurture marketing, where they take warm leads and try to convert them into a signature offer. That’s great, but without a solid visibility strategy, you’ll eventually run out of leads. I prefer to focus on expanding my reach, inviting more people into my world, and earning their trust so they can see how Boss Project can help their businesses grow and thrive!
I’ve created a roadmap that breaks down what’s been currently working for me and what I believe will keep working for the near future. Hint: I’ve been focusing on Instagram Reels, and my social media has grown by hundreds of followers! I also put together 22 Instagram captions and a step-by-step guide for my ManyChat setup. It’s all in a document available in the Co-Op. If you’re not a Co-op member yet, this is your sign to join!
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The Secret to Building a Thriving Offer EcosystemA lot of online businesses focus on just one business model—whether it’s services, courses, coaching, or something else. While this can work well in the short term, I truly believe the magic lies in creating an offer ecosystem. This starts with a visibility strategy that introduces people to who you are and pulls them in with a low-priced digital product. Once they buy, the idea is to guide them through your various other offers, turning them into loyal, lifelong customers. Loyal customers often become your biggest advocates too!
Why Digital Products Stand OutOne of the reasons I love recommending digital products is that they act as a starting point, and once you’ve built them, you can sell them over and over. Unlike many other offers in your business, you don’t have to start from scratch each time someone buys. Of course, updates and improvements are part of the process (it’s in Boss Project’s DNA!), but with digital products, the foundation is already laid, which makes them so scalable.
How Digital Products Saved My BusinessA year into my business, I was in a car accident and suffered a traumatic brain injury. My business depended on me being involved in every step, from sales to fulfillment, and I quickly realized that had to change. Losing that income would’ve been devastating, but through my digital products, people were still able to engage with my teaching and processes. Their responses were incredible, and it built trust with my audience. I want you to create a business that can thrive, even when you can’t be fully present.
What You Can Achieve with the Right StrategyWhen I first launched my digital product, I had no clients, a tiny email list, no podcast, and no existing customer base. But in that first month, I brought in $8,033. That’s 277 people who paid to be on my list! Since then, that product has earned $287,941 and attracted over 10,000 paid leads. More than 60% of my email list came from a paid product. Imagine having an endless supply of qualified leads—people paying to be on your list! What if you could generate income without being tied to client work? That kind of sustainability and freedom is possible, and I want to help you get there.
My Strategy for Digital Product SuccessI looked at the common problems my clients faced and mapped them out. There’s always a new challenge, but each solution leads to the next step. I focused on what problems they encounter first and created a DIY solution that I could guide them through. With the right structure and a compelling sales page, you can transform your business. I’ve developed a brand-new program to guide you through the process step by step. Head to bossproject.com/jumpstart to get my exact strategies, offers, templates, and scripts on how to create digital products that attract customers. Don’t wait—check it out now!
Quote ThisThose quick wins for a digital product are critical. Highlights* The Secret to Building a Thriving Offer Ecosystem [0:07:36] * Why Digital Products Stand Out [0:10:07] * How Digital Products Saved My Business [0:12:44] * What You Can Achieve with the Right Strategy [0:20:10] * My Strategy for Digital Product Success [0:23:07]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Business Strategy, Offers, Digital Products, Planning, Offer Ecosystem
We Mentioned:The Future of Marketing for Online Business in 2024
Digital Product Jumpstart
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Episode 883: Show NotesIf there’s one thing I want you to take away from this pep talk, it’s this: the decisions you make today aren’t set in stone. Whatever you launch, it's an opportunity. Whether it succeeds or not, you’re going to learn something from it. The world will respond, and your job is to listen. As business owners, we often rush through things and don’t take the time to truly listen to what feedback is telling us.
Not everything I’ve done has been a success, and that’s completely fine! In fact, I’ve learned the most from what I would call my failures. Today, I want you to forget about creating the most shareable digital product or following the latest trends. Instead, focus on solving a real problem. Whether it’s a template, guide, or script, aim to make a meaningful impact. The more real results you deliver, the more your clients will see the value in what you offer.
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A Story About One of My Early FailuresLet’s be real, hearing about someone else’s failures can be comforting. So, let me throw myself under the bus for a minute and tell you about one of my big early flops. About three years into my business, after a few successful launches, I decided to join a high-ticket mastermind. I met some amazing people, and I don’t regret that, but I made a mistake. I let the advice I got from the mastermind replace my gut instincts. I let other people steer the ship, and it almost sank my entire business. The hard truth I learned? You’ve got to trust yourself. Even if your decision isn’t perfect, the feedback you get from it is priceless. You can always course-correct.
What Happens When You Think You’ve Got It All Figured OutI’ve done some big things in my business, but guess what? Not everything sticks. You need to hear this. You could be running a multi-seven-figure business, and still put something out there that no one cares about. Once, I thought I had my audience completely figured out, so I launched a workshop. I sold one spot. Just one. I left it up for a couple of days before pulling the plug. But instead of calling it quits, I reworked it, changed the messaging, and ended up with 700 sign-ups within two weeks!
That experience taught me something valuable: one bad result doesn’t define your worth or your success. It’s just one decision on one day. I’ve done game-changing things in my career, and I’m still allowed to have an off day. Don’t let a single moment in your business weigh you down. Listen to your audience and bring them along for the journey.
Lessons From My First Digital Product LaunchThe first time I launched a digital product, it was after my initial course. I didn’t even know how I was going to deliver it when I announced it! My friend Emylee and I co-launched the course with almost no experience, and a handful of people bought it. We probably made under $1,000, but I didn’t see that as a failure. I was thrilled that people wanted to buy from me. Back then, if I had been comparing myself to all the big-time launches, I might’ve felt discouraged. But instead, I took that as proof that I was onto something. Every dime we made went back into the business, paying for tools to help us grow.
Taking Things One Step at a TimeMaybe your goal today is something simple, like covering the cost of your Teachable subscription, or a continuing education course or coaching with me. And you know what? That’s enough! It’s a stepping stone. We often get caught up in the idea that success needs to happen overnight, but sometimes, it’s all about taking it one step at a time.
It’s going to be messy. It’s not going to be perfect. You’ll want to tweak things as you go, and that’s okay! Your goal today is to prove to yourself that you can do this, and that every step you take will bring you closer to where you want to be. I’m excited for you to dive in, embrace the journey, and watch where it takes you.
You have access to the tools and the resources and the scripts and the templates to make it all possible, and we’re literally giving them to you for free! What are you waiting for? I want to help you launch your first or your next digital product in just one day. All of the steps are laid out for you inside. Dive in! I can’t wait to see everything you do.
Quote ThisYou can learn so much from putting things out into the world and listening. Highlights* A Story About One of My Early Failures [0:08:20] * What Happens When You Think You’ve Got It All Figured Out [0:18:13] * Lessons From My First Digital Product Launch [0:23:05] * Taking Things One Step at a Time [0:26:14]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Launching, Marketing, Decisions, Setting Goals, Learning From Mistakes, Success
We Mentioned:Instagram Profit Playbook
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Episode 882: Show NotesIt’s hard to believe that I’ve been creating digital products for over eight years now! I’ve learned so much that I want to share with other creators, because I want to see more people be successful with their digital creations too. Today I’m sharing which kinds of digital products I definitely wouldn’t create if I was just getting started. I think you’ll be surprised– the ones I’d skip aren’t what you’d expect.
Before we dive in, I want to make sure you know about Digital Product Jumpstart. I’ve had so much fun teaching people how to create their own strategic digital products that serve an actual purpose. These kinds of digital products act as an entry point to attract strangers to your business, and many of them will be your personal ideal customers! Wouldn’t you love to get paid to bring in more leads (that are pre-qualified) for your existing offers? Check out all the details here.
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Avoid these 2 Very Common MistakesMistake #1What do most beginners get wrong when creating a digital product? They get fussy about the format and get stuck in perfection mode. And if their digital product doesn’t sell, they assume it’s because it doesn’t have the right “look” or that it should be fancier. But guess what? If your digital product isn’t selling, it’s more likely that you’ve created something that your target customers just don’t want…(keep reading)
Mistake #2Don’t create something that requires a big commitment from your audience. Even if they really want your offer, they believe it will help them, and they trust you… they really don’t want to work too hard to get results. Sad but true. Don’t make extra work for yourself by creating something that you then have to convince people they have the ability to DO and get results. For example, a 2 week challenge with daily homework could be scary for people to believe they can commit to doing.
Scratching an Itch is Most EffectiveThe most effective digital products scratch an itch for people. These are digital products that cover a topic they were already interested in potentially exploring. Show them what’s possible! They can dip their toes into a subject and see for themselves if it makes sense to go even deeper with you (with your other offers). You’re essentially doing all the research for them and presenting it in a way that makes it easy for them get up-to-speed quickly.
Keep it Simple & Deliver TransformationThere are so many choices for what type of digital product you could create. Maybe it will be an ebook, a guide, an audio file, or even a course. When designing your digital product, keep it simple. Think about how you can deliver transformation to your customers with the least amount of friction.
I’ve sold my mini-course,Trello for Business, 10,500+ times… which gave me 10,500+ PAID leads! That course initially came out when project management was a hot topic, and it quickly explained how to use Trello in small business. We included strategic boards with sample data, so our customers could put what they learned into action quickly and easily.
But it gets even better than that. After I nurtured those leads, many of them purchased additional products and services from my company, bringing in even more revenue through the years.
Highlight Your Affiliate Products InsideOne of the other early digital products I created was Your Business on Autopilot, which shared our favoritetech stacks for just $11. Inside, I showcased software and tools that I’d found to be the most helpful for my company and our clients. Most of the things I genuinely recommended were services I had affiliate links for, and those links were included directly into the PDF file. The strategic goal of this digital product wasn’t about short-term sales of the guide– it was about earning recurring revenue from our affiliate links. And boy, did that work! Boss Project has been a Top 50 affiliate for some of the biggest companies in the world.
Our Main Bread & Butter Digital OffersIn 2020, we opened our Creative Template Shop to offer individual strategic templates for small business owners. Shortly after, we created the Co-Op membership, which offers access to all of our templates, plus hand-picked educational materials and courses. The reason our shop has done so well is that people can find super specific, individualized products without being overwhelmed. It also allows us to target our SEO for different templates with specific keywords that people are searching for.
Maximizing Integrations for the WinSome of our best-selling templates have been so popular because they directly integrate with specific software our customers are already familiar with and using. For example, we worked with Dubsado to develop strategic templates and forms that our customers could easily install with just one click. Partner up with the software or resource you’re wanting to work with and build that into your promotions and plans.
Get Visible & Bring People into Your WorldIn order to sell your digital products, you’ve got to make it a priority to be visible– to be in front of your ideal customers. You want to attract these people into your world. Next, you’ll nurture them and let them see that not only can you be trusted, but you’re giving them something valuable. Once they see you, trust you, and like you, the rest just falls into place. I have done this on-repeat in my business over the years.
One of the products I created that drew in new people was Your Digital VA. It helps make AI easier to understand and use in business. I included a ton of scripts to plug into ChatGPT so that anyone can test it out for themselves.
Start Your Own Digital Product EmpireI have so much more to share with you about creating digital products! That’s why I created Digital Product Jumpstart. Make a small commitment, jump in, and learn how to attract more ideal clients and customers into your world. Don’t do this alone– do it in a supportive community with me! Find out more here.
Quote ThisThe people who invest in a digital product are way more likely (as in 70% more likely) to invest in something else that you do. Highlights* Avoid these 2 Very Common Mistakes [0:02:32] * Scratching an Itch is Most Effective [0:04:22] * Keep it Simple & Deliver Transformation [0:09:13] * Highlight Your Affiliate Products Inside [0:12:13] * Our Main Bread & Butter Digital Offers [0:16:53] * Maximizing Integrations for the Win [0:20:03] * Get Visible & Bring People into Your World [0:23:42]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Courses, eBooks, Digital Products, Customers, Leads, Marketing, Affiliates, Trends
We Mentioned:Your Digital VA
Trello for Business
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Episode 881: Show NotesThe most important thing to me in my business is to help my clients achieve their goals. Today, I want to break down what it took to build my multi-million dollar product empire and give you a blueprint of how I did it so that you can get started and launch your very own digital product. In 2016, I got caught in a five-car pile-up and suffered a traumatic brain injury that drastically changed my life. It taught me that my business was solely dependent on me and this was a massive wake-up call!
I decided to find ways to make more money without the business relying on me directly. I did this in a variety of ways over the years, and if you’ve been listening for a while, you’ll know just how innovative I’ve become. Eventually, I took on creating digital products, and boy, was I in for a surprise! It impacted my life and business so much and it has helped so many of you. I sold digital products for almost a decade before I started teaching about it and I have been through so much that now I feel ready to share my experience and teach it to people.
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My First Digital Product Created Daily SalesI was so excited about the first digital product I put out there. Within the first month of launching this product, we had over $8,000 in sales! That was honestly just the tip of the iceberg of what we would do. The product truly worked. It solved a problem for my clients in the shortest amount of time possible: a weekend! This first launch showed me that I could impact the people around me so positively that they would be my loyal advocates without me having to ask. It showed me what was possible in the world of digital products. Eventually, it would bring daily sales into my business. It showed me that financial sustainability is also possible in small businesses. It made me want to create products that people would want to buy every day, and as a result, create predictable income for myself. When I say daily sales, I am not talking about passive income! Your business is an active asset.
Keep Your Business Afloat When You’re SinkingYour business should be part of your life. It shouldn’t be your entire life. Digital products have allowed me to live my life and step away without my business crumbling to the ground as soon as I do. For the last month of my grandmother’s life, I was able to be with her every single day AND my business brought in money, even though I wasn’t actively working on it. It’s easy to compare yourself to other businesses that are doing product launches on a massive scale, spending so much money, and dedicating their entire lives to that one particular thing. But that is not what I want. I crave something simpler! I want to do business in a way that lets me live my life. That is totally possible and I want you to have that option too. I want to show you how to take steps to move in the direction that you want to go.
Choosing a Product, Getting Leads & LaunchingA large part of the reason I have taken so long to share this with you is that there is so much upfront work required for this business model. While you are going to have to do more in the beginning without results, your efforts will compound over time! A great mindset shift to work on is to act like the person who already has what you want, but you also have to utilize the traction market. Leads are by far the most critical part of all of this. I bring in leads in two ways; through lead magnets by offering something for free and low-priced digital products.
These lead magnets have to be maintained. It’s not about being perfect or having the perfect offer. It’s about learning from them and changing them accordingly. You are capable of so much more than you think, but the path to get there is going to be up and down! Try to enjoy the life you have right now and don’t worry about making the right choices. Worry about making A choice! You are never going to have a million-dollar digital product empire unless you start somewhere, so make sure you have something to sell and get started.
Want my help? All you have to do is sign up for my free One Day Launch Challenge. I can’t wait to see what you accomplish!
Quote ThisWhat is possible for you is so far beyond what you think is possible for you. Highlights* How My First Digital Product Launch Created Daily Sales [0:06:39] * Keeping Your Business Afloat Even When You’re Sinking [0:16:24] * Choosing a Product, Getting Leads and Launching [0:22:37]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Digital Products, Marketing, Digital Product Empire, Launching Products, Lead Magnets
We Mentioned:One Day Launch: Digital Product Fast Track
Free Webinar: Leads on Autopilot
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Episode 880: Show NotesThere is definitely a trick to running Meta ads and it can take some time to figure out how to do it. Today, on the show, Kwadwo Sampany-Kessie discusses when to run Meta ads yourself and when it’s time to hire a pro. He’s a successful Facebook Ads Manager and Strategy Partner and host of The Art of Online Business Podcast.
Kwadwo started his career teaching expats in China and got a reputation as “the Facebook ad guy” for creating silly videos while living there. When he and his family got stuck in Mexico during COVID-19, his business teaching Chinese crumbled (as so many did during the pandemic), and Kwadwo got a job running Facebook ads at an ad agency. Now, he has turned that into a whole new business! While in China, Kwadwo believes that he was running Facebook ads “the wrong way" and it was only when he started running them at the ad agency during COVID that he learned the right way to do it. Today, he is here to tell us all about the strategy and mindset required to run ads like a pro, the benefits of using ads, when to go with organic reach, knowing when to outsource ad management, Meta ad mistakes, and more.
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How Strategy and Mindset Can Get You Started in AdsSo many online course creators are struggling with the fact that you have to have a solid offer before you begin to run ads. Even more than that, you have to consider if the offer is selling well organically. The concept of getting more eyeballs on a poor offer just doesn’t work! Even gaining more followers doesn’t work if you don’t have the right offer. Instagram is amazing at encouraging more people to follow you, but oftentimes, the post that they (sometimes ignorantly) urge you to boost isn’t even connected to a lead magnet! Instead, Kwadwo wants you to start by shifting your strategy and mindset. Make sure you have an offer that is selling organically first before turning to ads. You also need to look at how much profit you are making before turning to paid ads.
What Ads are Doing for Course Creators and Small Business OwnersThere is only one reason you should run ads, according to Kwadwo, and that is to increase revenue. While there are some secondary benefits to running ads, Kwadwo doesn’t want you to lose any money. Meta ads are not for everybody! While they will help you build up your targeting audience and followers on social media which feels good, they won’t directly make you money. Ads also allow you to take your foot off the gas slightly when it comes to organic advertisement but you can’t ignore the organic side of things entirely! You have to keep trying new things. Organic leads are always the way to go and Meta ads should always be used to drive more revenue.
Knowing When to Manage Ads Yourself and When to Use an Ads ManagerSo, when do you DIY your ads and when is it time to hire an ads manager? Even though Kwadwo is a little biased as an ad manager himself, he is also an equally good business coach. He believes that before you hit a certain revenue point, doing your own ads makes sense for sure! When you get past a certain point, it’s time to outsource. There are certain things that only the owner of the business can do and managing Facebook ads is not one of them, so why not hire an ads manager? Facebook ad managers know when to scale ads and when to dial them down, and that expertise can be helpful for a business that has scaled to the point where it makes sense to hire someone.
Common Mistakes People Make with Meta AdsTo avoid common mistakes, Kwadwo wants you to make sure you know how to run your own ads. Once you’ve decided to hire someone to run them for you, make sure you are on top of the expectations you have. It’s important to avoid any potential disconnects between you as the owner of your business and your ad manager. The number one mistake when it comes to ads is not testing your messaging and copy enough! If you do that, you can reduce your ad costs drastically. Another top mistake is not looking at where your customers are coming from before targeting certain countries. You also need to be cautious when it comes to listening to Meta’s suggestions!
Luckily for us, Kwadwo has a free guide called ‘The Seven Biggest Facebook Ad Mistakes’ to help you avoid burning your revenue through ad mishaps! If you want to connect with Kwadwo online, check out The Art of Online Business Podcast, where he shares business tips and tricks and has conversations about Meta ads! If you are ready to look for your own ads manager, be sure to contact Kwadwo!
Quote This“Don’t target countries that don’t represent where your customers come from.” — Kwadwo Sampany-Kessie Highlights* How Strategy and Mindset Can Get You Started in Ads. [0:09:56] * What Ads are Doing for Course Creators and Small Business Owners. [0:16:44] * Knowing When to Manage Ads Yourself and When to Use an Ads Manager. [0:22:17] * Common Mistakes People Are Making with Meta Ads. [0:30:37]
Our Guest:Kwadwo Sampany-Kessie
Website | Podcast | Linkedin | Instagram | Facebook
Kwadwo – (sounds like QUĀY.jo) – is the host of The Art of Online Business podcast, a Facebook ads manager and online business strategist, specializing in serving established online course creators with annual earnings ranging from $250,000 to $1.2 million.
But unlike most ads managers, he doesn't just bring in quality leads. With over three years of experience, he excels in optimizing funnels and providing marketing, sales, operations and hiring guidance. All of which enable his clients to work less, earn more, and live the life they were meant for.
Since January 2020 Kwadwo has resided in central Mexico with his wife and two kids after an ill timed vacation (right before the pandemic started) ended his 12 years of living in China. He speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese, decent Spanish and firmly believes that everyone should experience international travel and engage with different cultures.
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Meta Ads, Advertising, Ad Management, Ad Manager, Advertising Mistakes, Facebook, Instagram
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Episode 879: Show NotesToday on the Podcast, we have Andrew Davis, a Best-Selling Author and Internationally Acclaimed Keynote Speaker. He has appeared in the New York Times, Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, and on NBC and BBC. Andrew has crafted documentary films and award-winning content for tiny startups and Fortune 500 brands.
In this episode, we’re talking about marketing lessons we can learn from The Muppets, what the pandemic did for a goat farm, and if your digital doppelganger should be your own property or owned by the company you work for. This convo is going to spark your creativity and get you thinking in new ways. You’ll walk away excited about how you can leverage AI in your own business.
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The Wild Ride of Andrew’s CareerIn the late 90s, Andrew worked on the Muppets and Sesame Street, Bear in the Big Blue House, Elmo in Grouchland, and more. It’s also where he met his wife. Starting by managing budgets, he learned a very valuable lesson: if you can create great content that inspires people to buy things they didn’t know they needed, you can sell anything. Working in the puppet-building department, he was advised that if he allowed the artists to do their best work to create the most lovable characters; that’s the magic that would allow him to sell merchandise to the public.
To be successful, you’ve got to create something that people fall in love with. If you create content that builds a relationship with an audience, they’ll buy anything you can sell them. Even though Sesame Street was a non-profit, they were selling millions and millions of dollars worth of Elmo merch every day. That’s what built the company and afforded them the chance to build great content. He learned that content builds relationships, which builds trust, and in turn, drives sales. If you can do that really efficiently in any business, you can do that at any scale!
A Path to Public Speaking and the Power of PartnershipsIn 2008, Andrew was asked at the last minute to fill in for a speaker at an event. Afterward, he was approached by three people who wanted to hire him. For the next four years, this was the primary lead gen tool for the agency he ran with a friend. In 2012, Andrew wrote a book called Brandscaping, simultaneously falling in love with the art of speaking and sharing ideas with lots of people. Today, he speaks 55 times a year. If you’ve been thinking it’s all black and white, and there’s only one way to succeed, look at Andrew’s unconventional path to success!
Andrew’s first book is all about using partnerships to build your brand. Anytime you can leverage another person’s audience in a mutually beneficial way, it’s a really fun and successful collaboration that is within almost anyone’s reach. The most unique and interesting stories he finds are in long-term partnerships. He has seen referral-based businesses that don’t accept clients without a referral and brands that raised their prices for those who refused the original quote and came back later. People buy experiences, and the better your experience, the more they’ll pay and the more referrals you will get.
Thinking Big and Starting Small: a Four-Step Process to Embracing ConstraintsEmbracing the constraints of being a small business owner has been pivotal for Andrew. Creating a podcast is a great example; you can spend nine months getting all the equipment, meanwhile you haven’t produced a thing! He believes that if you really want to do something, you have to eliminate the unnecessary, and that’s why he developed the Cube Theory; four things you can do to embrace constraints. First, you find the easy thing to stop doing, like a newsletter, and then stop doing the hard thing, like TikTok posts that aren’t generating sales. Next, you need a simple and clear objective that you can measure.
Then, you add unreasonable constraints, like reaching your outcome in a specific time that might seem impossible to reach. Add a creative constraint, like recording a podcast with only an iPhone. Most importantly, you need to be clear about what is at stake. Either a reward, like a few days off, or something you’re not looking forward to, like giving up the podcast. If you do these things, you’ll stop wasting energy on what’s not affecting your business, and focus on a clear outcome. You’ve embraced the constraints that you used to see as things that were holding you back.
Goat-2-Meeting and MoreAndrew believes that applying the constraints and finding a way to create something new is the way that you can create an impact. He shares a great example of this, based on the story of a non-profit organization called Sweet Farm in Northern California. In March 2020, they were fully booked for their in-person retreats where guests could plan team-building events, plant trees, and interact with the many rescue animals. But then the pandemic hit, and they saw 40% of their revenue evaporate.
That’s when the Founder and CEO embraced the constraints, stopping any focus that wasn’t on keeping the farm alive. Instead, he concentrated solely on recouping the lost 40% of their revenue, encouraging his team to come up with ideas in just one day. He explained that lay-offs were what was at stake. And overnight, they came up with a strategy to host in-person animal interactions called Goat-2-Meetings. You could have an animal join your Zoom call and give you some fun facts. By the end of the year, they had generated over $1,000,000 and done 8000 Goat-2-Meetings. And, GoTo Meeting loved the idea so much that they donated a huge check to the cause. Similarly, a Chicago company launched virtual closet consulting. The key finding? You can leverage constraints to make your business stronger.
Understanding the True Superpower of AIA lot of people only use AI to ask research questions. But that’s not entirely new! If you want to really leverage AI, you have to embrace its true superpower. For Andrew, that is mimicry and imitation. That’s why he created his virtual twin, Drewdini, to be a creative collaborator. He thinks and writes like Andrew. This has been super effective, and Drewdini is already spitting out subject lines that Andrew would have written himself. Every time he needs a new one, he opens the same thread on ChatGPT or Claude, and the bot leverages all that he has already learned to create a new one.
Right now, ChatGPT4’s neural network is roughly the size of a squirrel’s brain. And ChatGPT2 was about the size of a bee train. You have to keep in mind that if you are going to train one thread in ChatGPT or Claude, or CoPilot, you have to realize that it loses focus and attention very quickly. So, you have to create squirrel-sized tasks. You can create an outline in one thread and generate ideas in another, but AI can’t write the email, brainstorm a bunch of ideas, put a subject line together, and give you the summary for LinkedIn in a single thread. As the large language models evolve, you need to keep the scope in mind as you are training or teaching your AI to think like you.
An Insider’s Perspective on the Future of AI in MarketingAndrew issues a warning on what he has seen happening in tools and technology that he’s not that keen on. A lot of tools, especially marketing tools, are implementing AI as a shortcut for creating more content faster. But, they’re using the same principles as everyone else. That means, at the end of the day, the content you are creating is not unique, and we’re going to end up with a whole lot of mediocre content created by the same engines. That’s why we need to embrace the idea of owning our own digital doppelgangers.
We need to know where our jobs start and end, and where the digital doppelgangers start and end. If we are free to give up the way that we do things, the way we think, the way we’ve trained our AI, it’s a fast path to nowhere. In the future, Andrew sees employees and agencies being hired not only for what they can provide but the AI they’ve trained to do things their way. That’s why it should be your asset, and not the company’s. The time has come to distinguish between the company’s digital intellectual property, and your own.
Quote This“We, as people, need to embrace the idea that we should own our own digital doppelgangers.”—Andrew Davis Highlights* The Wild Ride of Andrew’s Career and Learning from the Best in the Business [0:01:54] * A Path to Public Speaking and the Power of Partnerships [0:07:19] * Thinking Big and Starting Small: a Four-Step Process to Embracing Constraints [0:13:57] * How Goat-2-Meeting Leveraged Limitations [0:20:20] * Understanding the True Superpower of AI [0:27:08] * An Insider’s Perspective on the Future of AI in Marketing [0:34:41]
OUR GUEST:Andrew Davis
Website | Instagram | Linkedin | YouTube | X
Andrew Davis is a bestselling author and internationally acclaimed keynote speaker. Before building and selling a thriving digital marketing agency, Andrew produced for NBC’s Today Show, worked for The Muppets in New York and wrote for Charles Kuralt. He's appeared in the New York Times, Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, and on NBC and the BBC. Davis has crafted documentary films and award-winning content for tiny start-ups and Fortune 500 brands. Recognized as one of the industry's "Jaw-Dropping Marketing Speakers," Andrew is a mainstay on global marketing influencer lists. Wherever he goes, Andrew Davis puts his infectious enthusiasm and magnetic speaking style to good use teaching business leaders how to grow their businesses, transform their cities, and leave their legacy.
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Relationship Building, Marketing, Lead Generation, Public Speaking, Digital Doppelgangers
We Mentioned:Claude
ChatGPT
Perplexity
GoTo Meeting
Sweet Farm
Brandscaping
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Episode 878: Show NotesAI is one of the things that is probably at the forefront of every business owner’s mind, and if you feel like you don’t quite know what’s going on, you are not alone! In this conversation, marketing entrepreneur and digital nomad Zach Boyette joins us to discuss how to stay SEO-relevant in the age of “robots.” AI is changing so many parts of marketing right now. A great way to get on top of these new changes is to focus on the SEO side of things. Many of you might know how to get to the top of Google searches but may be clueless when it comes to doing the same on ChatGPT and Gemini, for example. Today, Zach walks us through what brands can do to improve SEO using AI.
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How to Leverage AI to Improve Search Engine OptimizationZach believes that there are two sides of the coin when it comes to using AI for SEO. The first is using AI internally on the traditional SEO strategies that your brand is already using. While AI models can be useful when it comes to writing content, Zach discourages listeners from using it to write all of their content because it is not special or interesting. You want to be one in a million, not one of a million! You can, however, use AI models like ChatGPT to improve your writing process, from creating outlines to fleshing out ideas, proposing things during brainstorms, revising work you’ve already done, suggestions for internal linking, and so much more. Zach wants you to know that first-source content from your website is still important, but it’s more important than ever to find other ways to get your brand mentioned. The second side of the AI and SEO coin is optimizing SEO within AI models such as ChatGPT.
How to Become a Top Search Result on Large-Language ModelsWriting good content on your site will always be the best way to show up on Google and large-language models (LLMs). Getting your brand mentioned on other websites is also a good way to show up more on LLMs because the more you are mentioned, the higher your chances are of showing up on these models. LLMs such as ChatGPT are updated quite often and most likely in real-time, unlike when they were first launched. It’s important to start focusing on how you can stay SEO-relevant on these models so that, when other businesses realize the benefit of it, you are already far ahead! Users are going to get better and better at using ChatGPT and eventually, they will be experts at prompting the software and training the model on their own brands. At the end of the day, any brand that is getting great results, creating information-rich content, being helpful to their audience, and receiving positive feedback will get great “rewards” on both Google and LLMs, so be sure to focus on that!
The Future of Marketing in the World of AIAccording to Zach, we are slowly moving toward a world where search engines and LLMs are prioritizing brands that do what they say they do and deliver results. Search engines are getting better than ever at figuring out if what people are talking about actually matches reality. This might take some time, but we’re approaching a future where text is being digested to understand the meaning of a certain thing, so it’s going to become more and more difficult to misrepresent yourself as a brand and trick search engines. In a world filled with so much noise, people are seeking truth and they want to know exactly what you do. The truth is going to be defined and redefined as all of these models get better!
If you want to connect with Zach or hear more about his business, Galactic Fed, be sure to follow him on social media for the latest and greatest marketing and AI tips!
Quote This“It’s as important as it ever has been but maybe even more so now to keep building smart, information-rich content for people.” — Zach Boyette Highlights* How to Leverage AI to Improve Search Engine Optimization. [0:04:54] * How to Become a Top Search Result on Large-Language Models. [0:14:39] * The Future of Marketing in the World of AI. [0:32:24]
OUR GueST:Zach Boyette
Linkedin | Instagram | Website | Galactic Fed
Zach Boyette is a marketing entrepreneur, digital nomad, author, and ex-Googler with a Stanford MBA. He founded Galactic Fed in 2017, growing it to 150+ team members across 25 countries and driving hundreds of millions in revenue for over 600 clients. Previously, he led Toptal’s Paid Media department, managed campaigns on Google’s Accelerated Growth Team, and worked with P&G’s Flavors & Fragrances team. Since 2016, Zach has traveled full-time, living in 60+ countries, and is passionate about expanding remote work globally. He’s also a business and travel author and frequent speaker.
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Search Engine Optimization, Google, AI, ChatGPT, Gemini, Large-Language Models, SEO, LLMs
We Mentioned:ChatGPT
Gemini
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Episode 877: Show NotesWhen looking to make positive changes in your life, why not start with making sure you’re sleeping well? If you are having a hard time falling asleep, staying asleep, and battling with overall energy levels, then this episode is for you! Joining us is the incredible health consultant Tanessa Shears to discuss how you can sleep smarter and share bio-hacks to become a better-performing entrepreneur. Tanessa started her business as a personal trainer and nutrition coach and she very quickly realized that so many of her clients were entrepreneurs who needed that extra push to optimize their health. Sleep is often a forgotten component of health and when Tanessa was pregnant, she became more aware of how little sleep entrepreneurs are getting and how that is affecting their businesses. That is why she incorporated a third pillar into her business, sleep! Tune into this conversation to hear a breakdown of the architecture of your sleep, how to sleep better, creating the right environment to help your brain and body wind down for sleep, wearable sleep tracking devices and so much more!
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The Architecture of Your SleepThere are a lot of misconceptions about sleep; particularly the assumption that the time you spend in bed is the time you spend asleep. But that is entirely incorrect! The architecture of your sleep looks at whether or not you are getting the quality of sleep that your brain needs to do your job. Tanessa breaks this up into two categories for us: deep sleep and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. You can think of deep sleep as the time your brain takes to shrink just enough for your spinal fluid to ‘clean out the metalloids that have accumulated throughout the day. The process actually helps your brain refresh and it happens during the first three to four hours of sleep. REM sleep happens on the other end of the night and that’s when your body does the most dreaming. Tanessa thinks of dreaming as entrepreneurial gold because there are so many things linked to dream sleep that will help you be a better entrepreneur. It helps you with creativity, problem-solving, and reading facial expressions and body gestures. Not getting enough deep sleep will cause physical exhaustion and not getting enough REM sleep will cause irritability.
How Do We Sleep Better? So thanks to the architecture of sleep, you may have signs that your sleep is not optimal. But what do you do about it? You need to look at your very own body clock – your circadian rhythm. There are hormones that prepare you for sleep (melatonin) and hormones that help you wake up (cortisol). When your body clock is consistent and synchronized, those hormones help to put you to sleep and wake you up. If you go to sleep and wake up at around the same time every day, your body clock will be far more optimized. If you go to sleep and wake up at vastly different times, you give your body something called social jetlag. There is evidence to believe that for every day you go to sleep outside of your regular sleep window, it can take you up to two days to recover full cognitive function! If you want to improve your sleep, the first step is to hone in on your circadian rhythm and find consistency in your sleep and wake schedule.
The ’Zone Out’ Period and How to Fall Asleep EasierWhat happens if you make sure you are in bed at the same time every night but can’t fall asleep? Now we need to consider what your brain is doing before bed – are you engaging in activities such as working or having intense conversations right before bed? Sleeping is a process of slowing your brain down, and we cannot expect our brains to go from 100 miles an hour to zero. It’s important to look at the wind-down process of the brain and decrease all of the information we are giving our brain. A lot of you may want to ‘zone out’ before bed by watching TV or scrolling social media but at the end of the day, that isn’t necessarily helping your brain wind down. You need to ask yourself what will give your brain what it needs and help you prepare yourself for bed. Tanessa wants you to develop an experimental mindset and try a new routine for a short period of time to allow you to figure out what works best for you!
What Slowing Down Can Look LikeThere are a few ways we can look at winding down before bed; we need to consider slowing down the body, mind, and emotions. When slowing down the body, we need to let our heart rate and blood pressure slow down. Ask yourself what you shouldn’t be doing in the hours before bed. You should not be eating or drinking anything but water before bed because then your body needs to digest that food! Exercising just before bed also produces more cortisol and that will bleed into a good night’s sleep. When it comes to slowing down, consider what you can do to remove input for 15 minutes before bed. That can mean reading a light fiction book, stretching, and doing breathwork or meditation. Tenessa likes to read or do paint by numbers! If you are a high-stress person, breathwork and meditation is a really good way to help you slow down before bed.
Tanessa’s Favorite Wearable Tech and How She Incorporates it Into Her WorkIn general, activity trackers like Apple Watch and Fitbit are not very good at tracking your sleep. Tanessa’s favorite wearable technology to track sleep is the Oura Ring. This is one of the only pieces of wearable tech that is validated against ECG data. This ring tracks so much data while you are sleeping and it is different from other options because it is specifically good at tracking your rest, recovery, and resilience. That is something that isn’t given enough attention due to marketing. Oura excels at focusing on how your nervous system is doing and even does live daytime stress tracking! Being able to see how you are sleeping so that you can make certain changes to improve that is an incredibly powerful tool! This allows sleep specialists like Tanessa to create specialized programs for people to get better sleep.
What to Do When Either Your Deep Sleep or REM Sleep is SufferingIf you are tracking your sleep using a device like the Oura Ring and noticing that either your deep sleep or REM sleep is suffering, you can use that data to figure out what may be disrupting that part of your sleep. If your deep sleep is being affected, maybe your partner gets into bed later than you do and that wakes you up, or maybe you are going to bed later than usual, perhaps you even had too much caffeine that day! When considering why you haven’t reached your REM sleep goal, you can ask yourself if there is a dog or child waking you up, if the temperature in the room is too warm or cold, maybe you had alcohol the night before or used a screen before bed! There are very specific things you can look at and then you will know what you can change first! If you want to learn more about Tanessa, check out her podcast, Becoming Limitless. She has even created a free playbook where you can learn how to biohack your energy! Just visit tanessashears.com/energyto get your hands on it today!
Quote This“By going to bed two hours later, you can lose as much as 50-60% of your deep sleep.” — Tanessa Shears Highlights* The Architecture of Your Sleep. [0:08:37] * How Do We Sleep Better? [0:12:51] * The ‘Zone Out’ Period and How to Fall Asleep Easier. [0:16:43] * What Slowing Down Can Look Like. [0:25:33] * Tanessa’s Favorite Wearable Tech and How She Incorporates it Into Her Work. [0:30:47] * What to Do When Either Your Deep Sleep or REM Sleep is Suffering. [0:36:20]
OUR GUEST:Tanessa Shears
Website | Linkedin | Instagram | TikTok | Facebook
The Becoming Limitless Podcast
12 Ways to Biohack Your Energy
Tanessa Shears is a health consultant specializing in helping high-achieving entrepreneurs transform their health to drive significant personal and professional breakthroughs. She takes a hands-on approach, guiding clients through detailed, holistic health plans while addressing stress and mental challenges. Inspired by her own success with sleep recovery and nutrition, Tanessa developed the Becoming Limitless Program, which has helped her and her clients achieve clarity, energy, and focus. Her program, grounded in modern science, is designed to help entrepreneurs reach their goals and optimize their daily performance.
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Sleep, Sleep Optimization, Biohacks, REM Sleep, Deep Sleep, Sleep Tracking
We Mentioned:Oura Ring
Calm
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Episode 858: Show NotesRecently, I taught a live workshop that was so packed with valuable info that I wanted to make sure more people had access to it. Today’s podcast is the audio version of The Leads on Autopilot workshop. If you’d prefer to view the visual slides as well, you can register to watch the complete video replay at no cost— consider it my gift to you. I want to see you be successful, which is why I created this value-packed episode.
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Quote ThisEmail marketing has an ROI of 4,200% (Campaign Monitor), meaning for every $1 spent, you can expect an average return of $42. Highlights* THE roadmap to getting your first (or next) 1000 subscribers. * How to generate leads on autopilot, regardless of your current tech background * The exact strategies businesses with lists of 50k+ are using to rapidly build their email list
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Marketing, Email list, Subscribers, Strategies, Scaling, Leads, Growth
We Mentioned:Free Webinar: Leads on Autopilot
Digital Product Jumpstart
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Episode 875: Show NotesI am so excited to introduce you to my brand-new course, Email List Jumpstart! I know there can be a lot of moving pieces when it comes to growing and building an email list, but I want to show you how you can do this live, in real time, and in a way that is super easy for you to maintain.
This course isn’t just about theory; it’s packed with practical, actionable strategies that I’ve personally tested and refined. After realizing that so many of you are struggling to build or grow your email lists, I knew I had to create something that could meet you where you are and help you thrive. Whether you’re starting from scratch or looking to supercharge your existing list, Email List Jumpstart offers both foundational and advanced strategies to help you attract the right leads and turn them into loyal customers.
In this episode, I’ll walk you through the backstory of how this course came to life, the unique approach I took to ensure its effectiveness, and what you can expect when you dive in. Plus, I’ll share some of the advanced techniques that can take your email marketing to the next level.
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Why I Built “Email List Jumpstart”At the end of last year, I realized I needed to put myself out there in a big way. After years of slowing down and growing complacent, I decided 2024 would be my year of visibility. This shift led to a dramatic increase in my efforts to attract new people and build my email list. By mid-year, I had added nearly 10,000 leads – five times more than all of last year!
This surge wasn’t just luck. I experimented with different strategies and discovered what’s working right now in today’s market. Through these efforts, I learned that many of you – about 43% – don’t have an email list, while another 50% have fewer than 1,000 subscribers. This gap in lead generation is what inspired me to create Email List Jumpstart. Because regardless of the size of your business, if you’re not focused on getting more leads, you Email List Jumpstart will inevitably run out of leads.
I want to help you attract more of your ideal leads and use your email list as a powerful conversion tool to drive consistent sales. Whether you’re just starting or looking to scale, this course is designed to meet you where you are, with both foundational and advanced strategies to turbocharge your results!
Building a Business That Honors Life First With Your Email ListWhen I first started my business what I had really built for myself was a job. I didn't call it that, though, I called it my business. I may have had my own clients, but if I wasn't at my desk, for whatever reason, there was no business. It really took my world turning upside down for me to realize that what I had built wasn't sustainable. I dedicated myself to rebuilding from the ground up, focusing on strategies that were going to work, for when I was there and when I wasn’t.
I needed a business that was going to allow me to prioritize life first. Even as I’m recording this, I have a family member in the hospital, and I’ve had to put a lot on pause. But my business is still working for me, even though I can’t be fully present. I’m so grateful that I’ve built a business where, if I walk away for a period of time, it will keep working for me. None of this would have been possible without an email list. And I can't imagine the business I have today without the community I've built online.
Why Email WorksHere's the thing. Yes, people can listen to this podcast whenever they want. People can watch and engage with my content on social. And I love both of those platforms – don’t get me wrong. They serve their position in my marketing world. But email is uniquely different. It is a one-to-one relationship. No one else is going to see that email, except for me and my team. It’s an intimate opportunity to get to know people and have a level of closeness that is almost impossible to replicate anywhere else.
What to Expect From “Email List Jumpstart”This program is different from any other course I've ever built to date. As things stand, it consists of two companion courses, part one, and part two. The first one is called ‘1000 Subscriber Roadmap’. Inside that program, I’ll be helping you identify your first (or next) lead magnet. Then I’ll help you build it out from there, from the structure to all the technical nitty-gritty stuff, and market it effectively. This is something that you’ll be able to rinse and repeat hundreds, if not 1000s, of times in your business.
Part two of Email List Jumpstart will take you beyond simply getting people on your email list. You’ll learn how to communicate with them, create engagement, and how to turn strangers into buyers. You’ll learn how to format, send, and optimize your emails, and review analytics, so you can be sure what's working. Then, you’ll learn how to take what's working and automate that into a campaign, ultimately providing you with a high-converting sales funnel!
I’ll also be covering tons of other useful subjects, like advanced growth strategies, how to build sales funnels you feel good about, and click-worthy subject lines. In fact, I am literally going to give you the exact subject lines that have made me the most money!
The World’s Smallest Sales FunnelI want your subscribers to keep coming back because they genuinely value what you’re sharing. So, how do you create content that people want to consume while still driving sales? One of my favorite strategies, and one of the easiest to implement, is what I call the “world’s smallest funnel.” While you’ll likely build more extensive funnels later on, this one is incredibly effective and simple to set up. It’s not about hard selling but about connecting people with real solutions to their problems. Selling is sharing, and selling is serving.
Automation That Works for YouWith Email List Jumpstart, we’ll dive into automation that continues working for you even when you need to step away. While I’m not a fan of the term passive income because this isn’t truly passive – you need to set it up and maintain it – the beauty is that once it’s running, it keeps going. Whether life throws curveballs or you simply need a break, your funnels and automation ensure that your business doesn’t come to a halt.
I recently spoke with a local business owner who shared her frustration after returning from a 12-day vacation to find her business at a standstill. I know that feeling all too well – the stress of being tied to a job you’ve created for yourself. But it doesn’t have to be that way. I want you to not only sustain the life you have but to afford the life you want, with the freedom to step away when you need to.
Jumpstart Your Email List TodayI want you to thrive, and to do that, you need all the details. While I’ve shared some key takeaways here, there’s so much more to uncover. To dive deeper, I highly recommend checking out our training atcreativetemplateshop.com/email. The beta for the course starts today, and while it won’t be open for long, I’d love for you to join and take advantage of the beta pricing while it’s available!
I’m excited to meet you individually and get to know you on a deeper level within our community. If you have any questions after exploring the page, feel free to reach out to me directly on Instagram.
This course is truly designed for everyone, whether you’re just starting out with no list at all or already have up to 50,000 subscribers. I know there’s something in it for everyone, especially if you’re looking to grow your email list and make meaningful connections. Head over to creativetemplateshop.com/email and get started today!
Quote ThisYou are allowing people who have real problems to be connected to real solutions. And the world's smallest funnel is one of the easiest ways to do that. Highlights* Why I Built Email List Jumpstart [0:01:20] * Building a Business That Honors Life First With Your Email List [0:08:55] * Why Email Works [0:14:23] * What to Expect From Email List Jumpstart [0:15:50] * The World’s Smallest Sales Funnel [0:21:09] * Automation That Works for You [0:22:17] * Jumpstart Your Email List Today [0:24:06]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Email List, Automation, Marketing, Leads, Sales Funnels
We Mentioned:Email List Jumpstart
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
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Episode 874: Show NotesSo many people have been telling me that I have to meet the creator of Future Social, Jack Appleby, and today, he is on the podcast so you can hear his story! He is monetizing and building a business in an incredibly unique way and I can’t wait for you to hear all about it.
Jack has had an extensive career with quite an intense growth trajectory going from zero to 60,000 subscribers almost instantaneously. But he is not making his money as a social media influencer. Instead, Jack’s main income in his half-million-dollar business comes from his newsletter! Something most people only use as a lead magnet. Today he delves into how he did it, the importance of creating value-based content, the art of selling creative ideas, and so much more!
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The Most Important Part of Building a Successful NewsletterJack had a bit of a controversial start as he practically force-fed his audience really high-value content and while this is not the most ideal strategy, he strongly feels that it set him up for success! So many of his subscribers have become loyal to his newsletter because of the quality of his content and this is not something that is focused on enough. Spending time considering how you can bring value to your audience is of the utmost importance. Deciding what to write about is an entirely different ballgame. Jack’s approach is to leverage his experiences and what he imagines people will need in their day-to-day lives. Remember, it is your job to serve your audience!
Why Jack Decided to Make His Newsletter the Main Monetization of His BusinessMost people don’t make a newsletter the driving force behind their income, but Jack did! That’s what makes his business model so distinct. For him, it simply paid well and was familiar to him. Jack was trained as a journalist so writing comes naturally to him. He saw how much money people spent on newsletter advertisements, and because his content is so value-based, he only accepts ads that will bring value to his audience. He also uses his skills and experience to sell custom content to the companies he advertises. He has a half-million-dollar business and the majority of that money is coming from newsletters!
Developing the Skill of Selling Creative Ideas So how does he figure out the needs of a brand that approaches him? And how does he decide how to meet those needs in a creative way? Jack loves having meetings with the brand managers so he can figure out what is most important to them and find the most value-based hook within their business that stays true to his business. He also works ‘on the fly’ quite a lot and comes up with creative ideas in the most random moments.
Now, this may sound like an impossible skill to develop but Jack’s consumption of social media has helped him hone this ability to sell creatively. He also took improv and public speaking classes to get extremely good at selling these things. If he can, why can’t you? These skills have given him the ability to pitch such crazy ideas! He has used his entrepreneurial skills to figure out where his income is going to come from and I want you to learn from his unique methods.
The Future of Future Social and Jack ApplebyThrough his newsletter, Jack has built a business that perfectly aligns with his passion for analysis and discussions. This is no accident. He has intentionally curated his content to ensure he can keep having excellent conversations with his followers about the topics that fascinate him most. Writing is also a lonely process (something Jack is intimately familiar with) and his courses are another step he has taken to help incorporate discussions, teaching, and collaboration into his business model.
Additionally, in a bold social media move, he has started documenting his experience of trying to make a comeback as a 35-year-old ex-basketball player. What started as fun, now has 100,000 followers! He loves it so much because he gets to step out of his ‘expert’ role at Future Social and into the role of a normal guy people are cheering on. Now he has signed deals for the basketball content alone and it has become an entire business!
For better or worse, Jack is always vulnerable. I want you to learn from this and use your own vulnerability to appeal to your audience. I’d love to hear what you think of Jack’s strategy and find out more about your biggest takeaways from this episode so feel free to shoot me a DM on Instagram!
Quote This“What’s made me really stand out in my industry is being highly original at all times.”—Jack Appleby Highlights* The Tangible Things Jack Does to Get People on His Newsletter [0:06:32] * Why Jack Decided to Make His Newsletter the Main Monetization of His Business [0:10:43] * Developing the Skill of Selling Creative Ideas [0:16:04] * The Future of Future Social and Jack Appleby [0:26:48]
Our Guest:Jack Appleby
Website | Linkedin | Instagram | X
How to Hoop Forever on Instagram | Tiktok
Jack is the founder of Future Social and boasts over 15 years of agency experience specializing in social media, content, influencer partnerships, and campaign strategy. As a Director of Creative Strategy, Jack has led Social AORs and campaigns for major brands including Microsoft, Beats By Dre, Verizon, and Spotify. Beyond his professional achievements, Jack is an NBA enthusiast, vinyl record collector, and music aficionado. He’s passionate about creating innovative solutions and is always ready for the next exciting project.
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Newsletter Monetization, Unique Business Model, Selling, Personal Brand, Creativity
We Mentioned:Free Webinar: The Market Shift
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Episode 873: Show NotesIf you were to sit me down with a glass of wine and ask me what I think about lead magnets, I would give you a lot of detail about what I think is and isn’t working in the online business world today. Lead magnets have changed a lot in the past ten years and a huge part of that is because our entire creator economy has changed the online landscape. Ten years ago, knowledge databases for tech tools did not exist. YouTube was not this robust library and Google even left us with unanswered questions.
Today, it feels like you could Google anything, and if you can’t, you can just ask AI. So, why would someone want to give you their email address to hear what you have to say? I want to talk about it because lead magnets are still an incredibly powerful, critical tool in your ability to grow and build your email list. I have personally added tens of thousands of subscribers to my email list using a wide variety of strategies over the last six months. If you’re curious about how I’ve been building recently, I want to give you all of my strategies. But today, I want to talk about what’s effective for you!
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What Lead Magnets Actually DoThe majority of people who want to grow their email list understand that functionally, a lead magnet is there to be given away for free in exchange for someone’s email address. While that is true, it’s only part of the story! We want them to exist in the world to attract more ideal clients. We want to attract qualified leads, people who are financially ready and capable of taking the next step to work with us. That’s why it’s really important to understand who your ideal client is. Who do you want to work with? Who do you know you can give the biggest transformation to?
Usually, just before someone chooses your offer, they’re looking at a lot of free information that’s out there. That’s why you need to start thinking about what they are nosy about. What are the things that will spark their interest? How can you create a sense of wonder? Once they’re there, you get to wow them with what you have to say, and the lead magnet is your opportunity to earn their trust. Getting over the hurdle is why they want to work with you, but you being transparent about what it’s going to take is going to show them that you can help them get there.
One Thing Most People Forget When They’re Thinking About Lead MagnetsWe want to think about who we do not want to attract! Who does not make sense to have in our network? Who does not align? This is how you get more targeted about the kind of person you can help. Sometimes it is the little things that make a really big difference. Who we don’t want to attract is someone who can’t afford what we offer. Including the phrase ‘on a budget’, or ‘free’, or ‘cheap’, is going to attract DIYers. If you are offering a service, you don’t want them to DIY it! You want them to realize that they’re going to need help. Making sure that you are attracting a person who can afford your product is a critical component.
A lot of people spend way too much time thinking about what could work, what might work, or how to position it appropriately, or if the language says the right things. Here’s the thing, regardless of what we’re ultimately marketing, the best way you are going to learn is by putting it out into the world. I’m planning to launch an email marketing course very soon. I wanted to have a lead magnet that made it clear that the people who got it were interested in growing their email list. But instead of putting together a list of ways to grow your email list, I wrote a case study about how I added nearly 10,000 subscribers to my email list in just six months. The content stayed the same, but the positioning made it much more exciting to the ideal client.
Simple Lead Magnets You Could Be Delivering in Text OnlyTheoretically, this is just copy. It’s not any more complicated than that. Calling something a case study might not be so interesting, but the contents, particularly if they are you showing results, is always interesting. To be truly successful with a guide, you have to include your personal notes and takeaways. The reason someone will read a guide isn’t because they want to know how, it’s because they want to know your how. Another way to go about doing this is a workbook, which lets you be interactive in how you guide them through the process. You need to think about your unique differentiator. That doesn’t mean packing it with more. More is not necessarily more! Sometimes it means doing less.
How can you simplify what you are doing? What if they could do your workbook in five minutes or less? I once created a one-page document on how to start a business and people have downloaded it thousands of times! People can obviously Google a bunch of resources, but which ones are hidden gems? Which ones do people know less about? There may be a tool that you love that a lot of people don’t know about that would solve a huge problem for your ideal clients. Instead of just telling them what it is, you can package up the information in a lead magnet. If you take it a step further, you could even be an affiliate for that tool. People want quick! A cheat sheet or reference guide also works so well.
Complex Options That Might Not Take as Long as You ThinkWhile these options might be more complex to create, they might not take as long as you think! That’s because you already have some of them. They’re a component of what you already sell. But we’re not taking the whole thing, we’re just taking a piece out and offering that for free. Some examples would include a template, a swipe file, or a calculator. Probably the most complex option that can bring a lot of people in all at once is putting together an activation. A lead magnet is typically providing someone some answers, but an activation is actually moving them through some sort of transformation. Doing something and actually seeing results makes it so much more likely that they will actually convert into that paid offer.
Maybe you feel overwhelmed with how to deliver on this. You’re going to want a service provider to help you. My personal favorite is Flodesk. They didn’t pay me to say this, I just genuinely enjoy their service. Their list is so long and includes people just starting out all the way to those really successful businesses. You can try it free and you can get your first year for 50% off right here. Once you have this, you can start out super simply by putting the contents into the email they will receive. This contains the information of the lead magnet. You can also use a Google Doc or a Google sheet. I have done this before! If you go to share a Google doc, make sure you have it on ‘anyone can view’ not ‘edit’. If you change the word ‘edit’ at the end of the URL to ‘copy’, when someone gets that link, it will immediately prompt them to copy it.
The Most Complex Way of All to Get StartedRemember, complex does not necessarily mean hard! You can build this out in something like Canva. We have templates for all of these, if you want to deliver it in an email, a Google doc, or a design program, we have templates for all of them at creativetemplateshop.com. And if you become a Co-Op Member, you get access to 1000s of templates to make this so much easier.
After you’ve thought about who this is for, you’ve come up with a compelling title, put together the contents, and figured out a way to deliver it, you need effective promotion strategies. That’s a whole other enchilada! I want to take this to the next level. I want to give you more meat, more action steps, and more ways to move forward. I want to talk you through promotion because that’s a really important step in how to get more leads. I’m putting together a brand new workshop, totally free, just for y’all. You can sign up for Leads on Autopilot, How to Get Your First or Next 10,000 Subscribers.
Quote ThisIf you can’t put your lead magnet together in a day, you’re making it too complicated. Highlights* What Lead Magnets Actually Do [0:02:19] * One Thing Most People Forget When They’re Thinking About Lead Magnets [0:06:58] * Simple Lead Magnets You Could Be Delivering in Text Only [0:14:08] * Complex Options That Might Not Take as Long as You Think [0:23:31] * The Most Complex Way of All to Get Started [0:28:38]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Lead magnets, Resources, Email lists, Subscribers, Marketing
We Mentioned:Leads on Autopilot
Flodesk
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Episode 872: Show NotesAs the owner of a small business, every dollar counts, and strategic financial management can make all the difference. Today, we’re joined by self-proclaimed money nerd, Gina Knox, a money coach for entrepreneurs with variable income. Gina teaches business owners how to build their savings, pay themselves well, and create a wealth portfolio. In the last three years alone, she has helped her clients save over $7.5 million!
In this episode, we break down tactical ways to approach cash flow, new ways to look at debt, and the money mindset beliefs you need to readdress to feel empowered to build the wealth you dream of! Gina also shares her unique perspective on some common industry strategies, offering you alternative paths to reach your financial goals. Whether you're a seasoned entrepreneur or just starting out, this conversation will provide you with new opportunities to reassess the thought patterns and money beliefs that have been holding you back!
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An Unconventional Path to a Fulfilling, Finance-Focused CareerMost of us don’t find our purpose right out of college. Gina’s unconventional path to financial coaching started in art school and led her through Silicon Valley to financial software company, Intuit, where she worked on QuickBooks as a small business researcher. There, she interviewed business owners and accountants about their finances, examined the backend of how they managed their money, and discovered her passion for helping others with their finances.
After becoming the go-to tax expert among her colleagues, hosting Wine and YNAB nights (where they would drink wine, make charcuterie boards, and budget together), and battling a “complicated sense of dissatisfaction” with her job, Gina decided to pursue a career as a money coach at a friend's suggestion. The rest, as they say, is history! By transitioning from the tech and design world to a finance-focused career, Gina developed an innovative approach as a money coach and takes pleasure in finding creative ways to tackle financial challenges. Her story highlights the power of following your intuition and finding a niche that sets you apart.
How NOT to Manage Your Business and Personal FinancesIf you want to adopt the habits you need to meet your savings goals, you have to first accept that the rules of personal finance do NOT apply to business finance. While budgeting and emergency funds play a role in your personal finances, Gina emphasizes the fact that business is a lot more fluid and dynamic. While you may not want to touch your personal emergency fund unless it’s, well… an emergency, in business, you should always be spending and replenishing your savings.
Businesses have to spend money to make money. You have to begin by understanding that. You also have to acknowledge that your income will always be variable. So many new business owners become frustrated and say things like, “When I make 100K…” or, “When I start having consistent 10K months… then I’ll be able to (insert financial goal here).” Not to burst your bubble, but you will probably never have consistent business income. And that’s okay! Don’t waste your energy trying to solve it. Instead, Gina teaches her clients to accept their inconsistent income and learn how to save with it, not in spite of it.
The Cash Flow Waterfall MethodHot take: budgeting doesn’t matter! In Gina’s banking-based savings method, it’s literally this simple; when you have a high-cash-flow month, save the excess. When you have a low-income month, use your savings to float the business. Gina calls this the Cash Flow Waterfall, and it includes a lesson on creating a “buffer number” in your checking account, which differs from business to business. If you’re over your buffer number, you move the remainder to working capital. If you’re under, you move some money back. You don’t need a budget or a complicated spreadsheet to do that.
Tax savings should be considered separately. A lot of business owners have two accounts, checking and savings, and they say, “I don’t want to touch my savings because I need some of it for taxes!” By creating working capital, you always have money that is “safe to spend.” This creates a much more intuitive sense of how your business is doing rather than obsessing over every dollar saved or spent.
Why it’s Important to Reframe Your Perspective on DebtIf you have strong negative emotions about debt, you’ll use those feelings to fuel your financial strategy and you will miss other opportunities. For this reason, Gina believes that we have to adopt a morally neutral perspective on debt. In all her time as a money coach, Gina hasn't encountered a single business that has never been in debt, yet she constantly meets business owners who wear debt as a badge of shame.
The wealthiest businesses use debt as a tool. In the same way that you have to spend money to make money, sometimes you need access to capital that you don’t have to invest in and scale your business. That’s why you have to work on reframing your perspective on debt rather than trying to avoid debt altogether. We have to shift our focus onto leveraging debt as a tool to build wealth rather than vilifying it for existing.
Your Guide to Mastering Your Money MindsetThere’s nothing woo-woo about a money mindset. Simply put, your money mindset is your unique set of beliefs about money that drives all of your saving and spending decisions. It might sound cliche, but being mindful of how you react to your financial circumstances is crucial. Just one negative emotional reaction can cause a significant domino effect! Never underestimate the power of pausing before taking action. This alone can change how you respond.
When our brains go into fight-or-flight mode, we often amplify the urgency of a given situation. As difficult as it can be to pause in that moment, remind yourself: what will happen if you don’t make a decision immediately? Yes, there might be consequences, but what are they? Realistically, what would happen if you chose to wait five minutes? Your money mindset might be deeply ingrained, but you CAN create new neural pathways and retrain your brain with consistent practice. Having a solid financial strategy is important, but you’ll never reach your goals if you don’t master your money mindset first!
The Variable Income System for Paying Yourself WellAs a business owner thinking about your expenses, your salary is one of the easiest things to overlook. We’re all familiar with the trope of the founder who doesn’t pay themselves for the first few years as a sacrifice to get a new venture started. If you had a job and your boss said, “I know we usually pay you X amount every month, but the business is in a lot of debt right now, so we’re going to cut your pay for this month so we can pay it off,” you would be furious!
As a small business owner, you deserve to be compensated for your labor, but paying yourself is a habit like anything else. There are various strategies for this. Gina doesn’t believe in percentage-based approaches because, as we’ve established, inconsistent income is a reality for the majority of small business owners. You shouldn’t have to replicate that in your personal finances. She recommends a “same dollar amount” approach. Decide on an amount that your business can afford by calculating your average profit over the last six months. During low-cash months, you’ll still pay yourself the same amount from your working capital. During high-cash months, you’ll refill your working capital with whatever is left over.
Quote This“You have to first accept and realize that personal finance has nothing to do with business finance. They are two completely different subject matters – and they are two completely different goals.”— Gina Knox Highlights* An Unconventional Path to a Fulfilling, Finance-Focused Career. [0:01:45] * How NOT to Manage Your Business and Personal Finances. [0:11:28] * The Cash Flow Waterfall Method. [0:17:50] * Why it’s Important to Reframe Your Perspective on Debt. [0:23:07] * Your Guide to Mastering Your Money Mindset. [0:29:14] * The Variable Income System for Paying Yourself Well. [0:38:48]
OUR GUEST:Gina Knox
Website | Podcast | Linkedin | Instagram
Gina Knox is a financial coach for entrepreneurs with variable incomes. She teaches entrepreneurs how to save $100k with her program 6 Figure Saver, then she helps her clients create a 7-figure wealth portfolio with her mastermind 7 Figure Wealth. Over her career as a coach, Gina has helped her clients save $7,772,532.72 in less than three years! Gina is a Mexican Mom, an art school grad, a designer, a hobby potter, a world traveler, and a money nerd.
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Business savings, Financial management, Money coaching, Wealth building
We Mentioned:YNAB (You Need a Budget)
Free Webinar: The Market Shift
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Episode 871: Show Notes I want nothing more than for y’all to get real results in your business, create revenue, have real connections, and ultimately leverage email marketing to build your business. I’ve been on an email kick lately. It’s all I want to talk about. I have seen the results! Today, I want to talk to you about how I make sales every single day using email.
But before we dive into today’s topic, I want to let you know about a brand new case study I put together. I have been on a mission to get more visible. In the first six months of this year, I built nearly 10,000 new leads into my world via my email list. You can get my step-by-step roadmap of how I’ve done that at bossproject.com/leads.
Let’s talk about all things email!
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The Start of My Story (And Why It Might Look a Lot Like Yours)I started just like so many of you! I was doing primarily one-on-one services, and the only time I got paid was when I completed a project. While it’s totally possible to be profitable as a one-on-one service-based business, it can be a lot of up and down. I was able to replace my corporate salary super fast, but not long after that, I had a month where I only made $75. Luckily, we had wiggle room at the time, but I needed a more consistent way to bring in sales. It felt like my only options on this entrepreneurial path were to thrive or to struggle, with nothing in between. There had to be another way!
I craved a reality in which sales happened all the time. And I still remember the day this happened. It was almost a full year into the business, and before it happened I didn’t even think it was possible. If it had been something I was working towards, how much sooner would this moment have arrived? There is a reality in which you can build something once and get paid for that work again and again and again. I looked back and realized that there was at least one sale every day. Digital products literally changed the trajectory of my entire business and allowed me to earn money all of the time.
Making It Sustainable with an Evergreen ApproachNext, I needed to find a way to make this sustainable. The point of an evergreen approach is that it doesn’t matter the date or time in which someone becomes a part of your offer. It wasn’t until three years later that we built creativetemplateshop.com which now has hundreds if not thousands of templates and digital products inside of it that someone can purchase on any given day. Plus, they can become a member and unlock all of it. There’s so much in there, but it was that future that made me realize I can do this! I can scale. Now, every day is different, but on average we are doing eight to sixteen transactions each day.
Where to Start If You Dream of Making Sales Every DayI want to help you to bridge the gap between what you have now, and what you dream of having. Ultimately, you can’t make sales every day if you don’t have something people can buy every day. If you don’t have anything available that people can buy on an ongoing basis, that’s got to be your starting point. If you need help with that, I would love to hold your hand through that process. That is the reason I built One Day Launch. Plus, you’ll see a whole slew of other people who have successfully built products on the website, and I would love to promote you in the same way.
Overcoming the Fears that Keep Your Business SmallSo often, there’s a lot of fear around asking for the sale in the first place. But it’s important to remember that if the things you are selling are of value and they are solving real problems for your client, then selling can equal serving. I’m in the business of using my expertise to help people sell, and part of that is teaching them to share their knowledge with others. If we start to see that selling can be a positive experience, we start to see that it’s totally okay to ask for the sale, present the offer, and sell. Maybe you are worried about being a burden. I’m just as susceptible to it as you! I don’t know who planted that idea in our minds.
What We Can Learn from Big BusinessesIn reality, there are big businesses that shamelessly sell all the time every day. Many of those companies do not hesitate to email their customer list every single day. I dare you to take a look at just how regularly they are contacting you. If you were to open those emails, do all or most of them include sales messaging? I would venture to guess that you are not getting them daily and that 90% of them are sales-based. With all of the things being thrown at people with social media, advertising on the internet, streaming, and more, people are being presented with sales messaging all the time. Because people are seeing so much more, if you’re not loud enough, they’re not listening.
The Art of Being Consistent Without Leaning Into OverkillYou have to be consistent. You have to keep showing up, and you have to keep engaging. The idea of sending an email every day from the beginning seems like overkill, and I get that. But don’t forget, your primary goal as a business owner is to keep it operational. It will not stay operational unless there is cash flow. It’s helpful to start with quality over quantity along the way. How are people responding? What has made one email more successful than another? An email is one part of a bigger machine, but it is a very critical part, if not the most critical one. For me, this starts with the welcome email, where I have a one-time offer built into that email.
Using the Curiosity Factor to Create ConsistencySometimes my sales are soft sells. It’s not a hard push or launch. It’s just casually built into the conversation. I do it all the time on this podcast! The same is true on email, I could write an email that is telling a story or teaching someone something, and then I could mention that I dive deeper into this, and you can find it here. It’s not ‘join now!’, it’s the curiosity factor. Sometimes those soft sells are a way to build consistency and expose your audience to your offer enough times. You will always sell more when you are hard selling something because a soft mention is not setting them up for the sale. However, I absolutely get sales from my soft sells. I also have funnels. I also have lead magnets that have funnels built into them.
Some of the (Many) Ways You Can Communicate Using EmailI also do promotion-based emails. I don’t do it often, but they can definitely be effective if you are running things on the lower end. Sales-based emails tend to convert higher on lower cost items. I generally use sales emails for a special offer or a last chance to buy before my pricing goes up. There are so many different ways to show up in your emails. There are different ways to present the information and incorporate sales language into your content. Some of my highest-converting emails are very straight and to the point. Here’s the offer, where to find it, your choice – yes, or no! Sometimes I share case studies or my students’ stories. What’s been effective for your client? I’ve shared free resources with paid products in between. I also do this as secondary messaging, pointing people in the direction of this podcast, for example!
Your Ultimate Goal with Email MarketingEmail is a means to an end. A way to reach your ideal clients. It is one of the easiest ways to consistently get in front of the most people. Sure, you could have a post on social media that goes viral, but what percentage of those viewers are viable customers? The people on your list are your most engaged users already. Email is how you target the right people. You can have live emails and emails in a funnel. I have done entire launches while out of office! The end user would not have even known I wasn’t there. I know you have the opportunity to make sales every day. You just need something that they can tangibly purchase, and a viable audience on an email list. Get help creating your digital product at bossproject.com/launch. If you need support on how to build that list, go to bossproject.com/leads. I’m so excited for your future!
Quote ThisIf you are providing real value then selling can equal serving. Highlights* The Start of My Story (And Why it Might Look a Lot Like Yours) [0:02:48] * Making It Sustainable with an Evergreen Approach [0:10:26] * Where to Start If You Dream of Making Sales Every Day [0:13:50] * Overcoming the Fears that Keep Your Business Small [0:16:01] * What We Can Learn from Big Businesses [0:18:35] * The Art of Being Consistent Without Leaning Into Overkill [0:22:48] * Using the Curiosity Factor to Create Consistency [0:26:08] * Some of the (Many) Ways You Can Communicate Using Email [0:30:15] * Your Ultimate Goal with Email Marketing [0:36:45]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Sales, Business Planning, Digital Products, Email Marketing
We Mentioned:One Day Launch
Leads Roadmap
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Episode 870: Show NotesRarely do we open Instagram and go; what are you going to sell me today? But when you open email, especially your promotions tab, there is a different intent. You use email to communicate, but more than that, you open your promotions tab to see what deals are happening.
Today’s guest is Natalie Franke, a USA Today bestselling author, community builder, neuroscience nerd, and mama bear for small businesses. As Head of Marketing at Flodesk, she leads tens of thousands of small business owners while fostering a spirit of community over competition around the world.
In this episode, we talk about the future of email marketing and where we see this industry going. We dig into whether we think email marketing is saturated, how selling will evolve via email, whether SMS and bot funnels are posing any threat, and surprising fun facts along the way! I know you’re going to get a ton out of this episode and also a lot of ideas for the things you may need to be prepared for in the future.
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Natalie’s Non-Linear Journey to Head of Marketing at FlodeskFor many years, Natalie worked as a photographer, co-founding the Rising Tide Society along the way. Her goal was to disrupt how small business owners were working alongside each other, moving beyond a mindset of competition to one of community and collaboration. She was catapulted into the tech space through a role at Honeybook where she worked for just shy of eight years.
Five years ago, a friend showed up at her house with a box of pizza and a bottle of wine, and she was introduced to Flodesk. Today, Natalie is passionate about applying the power of incredible design that converts to small businesses to help them differentiate their brands and nurture their audience.
Hot Takes on the Future of Email MarketingEmail is a marketing channel that more established business owners not only know about but use to generate a lot of their revenue. Natalie sees her biggest challenge as communicating the value of email to the small business world. She sees a lot of small businesses building their entire marketing channel on social media. While social media is a powerful tool for growing top-of-funnel awareness, you don’t own those platforms.
In 2024, that has become more apparent than ever before. The threat of a TikTok shutdown and Meta’s verification fees are reminders that these are rented spaces, not owned land. You’re also competing against huge businesses for attention on social media. Email has never been more important than it is today.
How Email Marketing Has Evolved Since It All BeganAt Boss Project, we’ve seen a lot of correlation between revenue growth and subscriber growth. The same correlation is not happening at all on social! With email, you are paying for a service to unlock the ability to market your own business without restriction. When new technology arrives, most of us default to thinking about all the ways it could go wrong. But what if you saw them as an opportunity rather than a threat?
Email automation allows us to get off of social media and onto something we own. If TikTok shuts down, there’s no way to download all of your followers and upload them to a different platform. But email is different! Natalie predicts that email will become the connective tissue binding all of your digital activities together in a seamless way. She also highlights that there is a different mental intent between opening an inbox and scrolling on Instagram. Where are you most receptive to offers and deals?
The Main Difference between SMS and Email MarketingWe know that SMS marketing has the potential to convert. But most of the time, when we open up our text messages, our intent is not to buy. You’re there, if anything, just to talk to the people you want to talk to. In your inbox, you’re likely to be more open-minded to engage with businesses. It all comes back to why somebody is there in the first place. You have to think about marketing channels as unique places for connection and communication, and not apply the same strategy to all of them.
The way you engage with your audience on Instagram is very different from how you approach them on email. The appetite for sales and conversions remains higher in your inbox than in most other places. It’s not an ‘or,’ it’s an ‘and!’ How can we use these platforms to create opportunities for each other? It stays a little bit under the radar, but when you have conversations with people who are successful in business, you’ll learn all about the power of having access to an inbox.
Why Natalie Believes Email Marketing is Still the Bluest OceanAll marketing challenges have become a little bit more difficult to penetrate, but Natalie argues that social media has suffered the most. One of her biggest areas of opportunity is educating small business owners about email because it’s not publicly visible in the same way that other channels are. Often, business owners are on a hamster wheel, churning out content, and it’s not directing anyone deeper into a funnel.
It’s important to recognize that people are being bombarded. We’ve entered a new era. It is no longer about inundating the internet with every thought you’ve ever had. Now, it’s about quality. What do you want to say? How are you saying it? How are you approaching the relationship aspect? It’s become about how effective you are at directing people from one point of attention to a deeper point in the funnel. It’s about doing less and doing it better.
Using Personalization to Help You ScaleWhat we consider to be scalable today is only widening with advancements that are coming down the pipeline. Personalization used to mean inserting a name into an email. Now, we have the power to turn any link in an email into an action. This unlocks so many possibilities for the email marketer! With one click, they’ll be added to a segment or a workflow, be removed from one, or add a tag to their account.
You can start to build a bigger understanding of who your subscribers are and, therefore, personalize on top of that. Personalization is only getting more complex and that will open the door to more people feeling like your content is suited to what they want. Email is so much more personal than any social conversation ever will be because it’s private.
How to Do More Than Just Adding to the NoiseWhat we’re really saying is: you matter! Who you are and how you show up as a human being matters. All these tools are great. We need them. They help us run the business. But we’ve also started to become a little detached from that initial ‘why’. The fact is that each subscriber is a human being with fears, dreams, and goals, who chooses to give you access to their sacred inbox space. More than anything, be human! It’s about so much more than running a business.
We are in a loneliness epidemic and true connection cannot be emphasized enough. I’m not talking about surface-level stuff, but really getting in the weeds with people; like Natalie’s friend who went off the menu to bake lactation cookies for her while her daughter was in the NICU. Doing things because you truly care earns you loyalty that you can’t buy with a paid ad.
What the Future of Email Might HoldSales and strategy are the future of email. Until now, we’ve viewed sales as something that happens outside of email. We see email as a place to build your funnel, reengage with an audience, or nurture them. Then, when it’s time to convert, you take them off email to another platform that you’re also paying for or leveraging. Natalie’s hot take sees email going all the way from contact information acquisition to sales, seamlessly integrated into the process.
She also predicts that email will become the connective tissue that allows small business owners to have everything in one place. Sales integration, email connecting with other tools you’re using, and more visual inboxes are just a few of the things she sees unfolding in the future. Deliverability will become more and more important, and quality wins over quantity every time. Are your subscribers excited to open your emails? Unlike social, where a lot of what you are seeing is being bought, the same can not be said for email.
More Automation We Might See in the Years to ComeMaybe we’ll have more automated learning about what your habits are in your inbox. I think there will be more segmentation but we’ll also be able to reprioritize. Right now, if you send an email 30 seconds after a big brand, they are right next to each other. Will it always be that way? That is yet to be determined. A frontier that will absolutely happen is pay-to-play in your inbox. Google is getting better at identifying what you actually like to look at. If you have not yet started an email list, Natalie and I are here to help! Get 50% off your first year of Flodesk right here.
Quote ThisEmail has never been more important than it is today.” — Natalie Franke Highlights* Natalie’s Non-Linear Journey to Head of Marketing at Flodesk [0:03:21] * Hot Takes on the Future of Email Marketing [0:09:14] * How Email Marketing Has Evolved Since It All Began [0:14:18] * The Main Difference between SMS and Email Marketing [0:21:41] * Why Natalie Believes that Email Marketing is Still the Bluest Ocean [0:26:35] * Using Personalization to Help You Scale [0:26:35] * How to Do More Than Just Adding to the Noise [0:39:15] * What the Future of Email Might Hold [0:45:15] * More Automation We Might See in the Years to Come [0:51:41]
OUR GUEST:Natalie Franke
Website | Instagram | X | Flodesk on Instagram
Natalie Franke is a fierce advocate for small businesses. She is a Founder, Author, Community Builder, Multi-Passionate Creative, and Mama Bear for Small Businesses. She is Head of Marketing at Flodesk, a leading CRM platform for on-brand marketing emails, sales pages, online payments, and more.
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:Email Marketing, CRM, Design, Small Business, Problem-Solving
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Episode 869: Show NotesWith email marketing, you get to drive traffic way more directly than you can with social posts. So many of you have been asking how to build an email list from scratch and today I want to dive right into this discussion! I’m sure so many of you are wondering why an email list is even effective so I want to share a couple of reasons it is a powerful way to convert leads! An email list is direct access to 100% of your audience, unlike a social media post that will only be seen by 10%. You also own this list and you have control over how you engage. Email lists have more engagement than social media posts and you have the opportunity to segment and personalize your marketing and ultimately, build relationships with your audience. This year alone, I have added nearly 10,000 new subscribers to my email list and I want to give you all of the details in a free case study I have created for you!
Listen on your favorite podcast player
The Most Important Thing to Consider When Choosing an Email ProviderI know you must be wondering how you do this so let’s dig into it. The first thing you need to do is pick an email service provider and there are so many out there! When you shop around and consider all of the various email providers, the one thing I want you to consider is cost. Ultimately, if you’re a small business starting an email list for the first time, your main priority is keeping your email costs low. Flodesk is a service provider that has absolutely blown me away! The cost is not extreme at all and doesn’t increase as your list increases which makes it really accessible for small business owners. So many people have also been asking me if using the email providers that are built into the web service themselves. I have always been hesitant about using any kind of all-in-one provider because usually, they do a lot of things okay but not a lot of things great!
When it comes to the key features of an email subscription service, I want you to pay attention to ease of use. How easy is it for you to onboard, maintain, and send emails and does it look the way you want it to look to represent your brand? Those are incredibly important things to consider but first and foremost, consider price-point. A lot of them will have incredibly similar features and while some will be more robust than others, you don’t need to overcomplicate things. You can send incredibly powerful emails with very simple workflows and I often find that the more complicated the workflow, the lower it’s converting because people have to jump through too many hoops. People love transparency and when you can deliver what they’re looking for, people tend to trust you more!
Figuring Out How to Get People onto Your ListOnce you’ve picked your email service provider, you need to find a way to get people on your list. The first thing I would do is set up a general sign-up with no exchange, just a form for people to join your list. It is possible to do this without any form of deliverable but with that being said, the only people who are going to utilize that are going to be your ‘warm’ audience. It’s a great way to get that list going but it won’t carry you long term. You also need to have something that attracts people to you and gives them a reason to want to be on your list. That reason could be the communication through the newsletter but I find that the more popular way to get started is through developing a lead magnet, opt-in, or freebie. Someone will give you their name and email for a free offer and ultimately, this is a value exchange.
You just have to decide what you are going to offer people for free that is either going to be informational or solve a problem they may have. To find out what they need, you can create a form for them to fill out but for many of you, I would start with a landing page. Many of the email service providers I mentioned already have this built-in and in particular, with Flodesk, you have an opportunity to build a static landing page and therefore, even if you don’t already have a website, you can start collecting leads and communicating with them on a regular basis. It should be a simple page that needs to be really clear on what they’re getting! Beyond that, you can use something called a thank you message that will auto-populate after they submit their email addresses. You can also redirect them to another page of yours! You also need to send some sort of confirmation email to them as they sign up.
The Two Main Things You Have to Set Up NextOnce your lead magnet, landing page, and confirmation emails are set up, your main job is to send traffic to your sign-up page. I want you to utilize all means of contacting your audience to tell them why they need to sign up for your emails. And once you have a subscriber, they need to be receiving emails from you! You cannot start an email list without a plan to communicate with these people. You need to have a plan on the other side of a sign-up. You may have some automated emails that are set up based on the subscriber and then you will also have ‘live communication’ where you will write an email to a certain group of people or your whole list that is scheduled to be sent on a certain day and at a certain time. Live emails are a very important starting point and as you grow, you can incorporate more automated emails.
The way to get consistent results from your email list is if you create consistency for yourself! You need to have a rhythm in which you regularly communicate with these people and one that they get used to. In an ideal world, that should be at least once a week and if you cannot commit to sending an email at least every other week, I would say that you’re probably not ready to start an email list. On an average week, I usually send about 4 emails but you should start small and find a cadence you can maintain and stay on top of. This may feel like a lot of information, especially if it’s all new to you, but if you follow these steps, it is actually so simple. If you want a little more encouragement or some ideas on driving traffic and finding ways to deliver value, I would love to give you my entire case study on every single thing I did to add nearly 10,000 subscribers to my list this year alone. You can get it all for free right here!
Quote ThisThe average post on social is going reach up to 10% of your total audience… but when you send an email, it goes out to 100% of your audience! Highlights* The Most Important Thing to Consider When Choosing an Email Provider. [0:08:23] * Figuring Out How to Get People onto Your List. [0:20:33] * The Two Main Things You Have to Set Up Next. [0:28:44]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Email Marketing, Email Lists, Email Service Providers, Value Exchange, Lead Magnet, Opt-in, Freebie, Email Subscription
We Mentioned:Email List Case Study
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Episode 868: Show NotesHave you ever ghosted your email list and wondered about how to make a comeback? Or if you even could! You're not alone, and I’m here to help. In this episode, I’m diving deep into the art of reengaging an inactive audience authentically and strategically. We’ll talk about why the gap happened, how to assess the situation, and, most importantly, how to craft a comeback plan that feels true to you. I’ll share actionable steps to get your email list going again, from providing genuine value to maintaining consistency.
I know it can be overwhelming, but you’re not in this alone. I’ve heard your stories, and I’m excited to share insights and strategies to help you move forward. Whether it's finding inspiration or knowing how to avoid the pitfalls, we’re covering it all. Ready to turn that ghosted list into a thriving community? Your comeback story starts here – let’s make it happen!
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Evaluate Where You Are AtThe first thing you need to do is evaluate where you're at. How long has it been since you last emailed your list? Are we talking a few weeks, months, or years? What was your relationship with your list before the gap? Were you communicating sporadically or on a regular basis? Were you consistent for years and then suddenly stopped? Ask yourself why you stopped emailing. Could it have been prevented or foreseen? Maybe it was health-related or a shift in priorities that took you away. How can you make sure that this time the habit sticks?
Understanding all of this helps determine if it's ethical to continue emailing or if starting over is needed, which, while not ideal, is sometimes necessary. I've had to start over many times, and while it sucks, you carry forward all those previous experiences!
The Risks of Reviving Your Email (And How to Address Them)Unlike social media – where, theoretically, you go away for years and start posting again – email communication operates within a regulated industry. There are laws and regulations about spam, and mishandling can lead to serious consequences like domain bans or being blacklisted, impacting your ability to reach your audience effectively. So, it's essential to understand these risks upfront and approach them with care.
Now, let's not get bogged down by fear! I'm not suggesting the government will come knocking on your door, but we need to be mindful of the potential fallout. If recipients start marking your emails as spam, it can affect your email deliverability, which is crucial for your communication strategy. That being said, I want you to be excited, I don't want to put fear in your eyes. That's not what this is about. I simply want you to have all of those facts in front of you before you move forward!
Are You Ready to Commit to Email?If we're serious about crafting a successful comeback strategy, the first step is making a renewed commitment. I'm not suggesting that you need to email people five days a week. Not at all. But can you commit to emailing once a week? Once every other week? Twice a week? If the answer is no, then you may not be ready. But if the answer is a resounding “Yes, I'm ready!” then we need to put something in place that is going to help you keep that habit!
Drawing from my own experience of emailing for over a decade, I've learned the value of support and accountability in maintaining regular communication. Whether it's finding an accountability partner or implementing tools to stay on track, having a structured approach significantly enhances your chances of success. Let's set a realistic schedule that works for you and your audience, keeping your email strategy on track for the long haul!
How to Re-engage Your AudienceOne of the critical questions you'll face when reviving your email strategy is whether to acknowledge the gap in communication. This decision will hinge on the length of time since your last email. If it's been a month or less, there's generally no need to mention it – unless the story behind the gap is super compelling and strengthens your connection with your audience!
For longer gaps, it’s a good idea to address the situation, but that doesn’t mean you need to be extra apologetic. Your audience doesn't need an apology for you living your life or pursuing other interests. Instead, share your plan moving forward to re-establish trust and set expectations. This might involve inviting subscribers to re-opt in or running a re-engagement campaign to gauge interest and clean your list of inactive contacts. By transparently communicating your intentions, you empower your audience to decide if they want to continue receiving emails, ensuring your outreach remains relevant and effective.
Crafting Your ComebackAs you begin to revive your email strategy, it's beneficial to plan a structured reengagement campaign. This could involve a series of three to five emails designed to reintroduce yourself and your offerings. Provide a sneak peek into what subscribers can expect from future emails, whether through valuable content, exclusive discounts, or access to unique resources. Creating this sense of exclusivity can significantly boost engagement and anticipation among your audience!
Finding What WorksIf you're feeling stiff, and like you don't know what to say or how to put it together, don’t worry! There are plenty of ways to gain inspiration and get started. A great place to begin is to really think about what this will look like on a regular basis. For instance, I knew that I needed consistency in the type of content I was putting out into the world. Right now, I send out a Sunday email which tends to either be story-based or about adding value. This has given me enough structure to stick to the email habit, while also giving me room to play and keep things fresh!
There are plenty of other ways you can structure your emails, though. You can even look to your own inbox for inspiration! What engages you? What format feels natural and compelling? Your preferences often mirror those of your audience. Experiment with ideas and remain flexible; if a particular approach doesn't resonate after a trial period, don’t be afraid to adapt or pivot to maintain authenticity and effectiveness in your communication strategy.
Templates and ResourcesIf you’re looking for templates or are feeling stuck on aspects of your newsletter, like what your subject line should look like, then check out The Co-op. You’ll find all the resources you need, from my highest-performing email subject lines, to lead magnets, to headlines that convert.
How to Move ForwardWe've covered creating a plan, but understanding what works is crucial. When you're re-engaging, pay close attention to your analytics. Look for patterns in open rates, click-throughs, and unsubscribes. If one subject line or email format consistently outperforms others, lean into that. Analyze why it resonates more with your audience; is it the offer, the messaging, or something else?
In those initial emails, you should expect some unsubscribes as part of the re-engagement process, but watch for any alarming spikes that could indicate issues. This isn't meant to scare you but to empower you to re-engage effectively. Share your vision, tell your story, and bring your audience along for the journey! I'm excited to see you create more consistent and valuable content through your email list. After all, it’s a hugely powerful tool for connecting with your community and achieving your goals!
Quote ThisI want you to know you're not alone. You're not the only person who's ever ghosted your list Highlights* Evaluate Where You Are At [0:03:25] * The Risks of Reviving Your Email (And How to Address Them) [0:06:27] * Are You Ready to Commit to Email? [0:08:37] * How to Re-engage Your Audience [0:10:54] * Crafting Your Comeback [0:13:00] * Finding What Works [0:15:35] * Templates and Resources [0:20:34] * How to Move Forward [0:21:33]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Email Newsletter, Communication, Email Strategy, Email Analytics, Content Planning
We Mentioned:Free Webinar: The Market Shift
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Episode 867: Show NotesFrom the incredible potential of generative AI to the allure of fully customized experiences, there are numerous innovative ways to elevate your email strategy. While I can’t predict the future, I can share what I’m seeing in the world of email marketing to help you stay ahead of the curve! By leveraging industry research, inbox analysis, and deep reflection on my own business, I’ve compiled some of the hottest trends for 2024. These insights will help you harness the power of email marketing and take your campaigns to the next level.
If you haven’t yet considered email marketing as an opportunity for your business, this is your sign to start! Whether you're a seasoned pro or just getting started, these trends will guide you in creating engaging, relevant content for 2024 and beyond. Don't miss this opportunity to revolutionize your email marketing strategy and stand out in the ever-evolving digital landscape.
Download our free Email Case Study for even more tips! Listen on your favorite podcast player
Why Email Marketing Matters for Your Business, Even If It's Not Your Core FocusI recently attended a creator conference where I met numerous people who consider their email newsletter to be their entire business. I was fascinated by this! It took me back to the early days of Boss Project when I used to publish five blog posts a week. That’s right; five a week! I’m certainly no stranger to creating content and there was a period in Boss Project’s history when I strongly considered being a media-only company.
Many of us divide our attention between serving clients, building membership programs, creating courses, offering agency-style services, and more. Regardless of what you’re selling, you’re probably bouncing between several different offerings. While communication as a primary service can be highly lucrative (digital media startup Morning Brew was acquired by Insider for $75 million!), it probably doesn’t make sense for the majority of us. However, I want you to place more value on the email list you already have. The people who have subscribed to your newsletter trust you, and that is worth a lot! Whether you’re monetizing your list by selling products and services or doing affiliate marketing, your email subscribers have inherent value.
Unlocking the Power of Email ContentOften, we think of email marketing as a tool to drive traffic to the content on our website, but emails ARE content in their own right! I learned this from Future Social's Jack Appleby (formerly a writer at Morning Brew), who shared his most recent newsletter with me. Reading it, I was confused. It looked like a blog post! It turns out that there is a whole world of people publishing long-form content, calling it a newsletter, and sending it out to their subscriber base. I hadn’t considered email BEING the content!
We spend so much time writing and developing content for our email marketing campaigns, but then it feels like it disappears into the ether. There’s something wonderful about the idea that the content we create for our emails can live on for people to discover. Now, your blog and your newsletter needn’t be one and the same thing, but you can shift the way you think about writing email content and even repurpose it by publishing it to your website. Thoughtful content not only builds your brand, it can also generate leads and drive traffic directly to your other marketing channels, leading to short-term wins and long-term gains.
Harnessing AI Innovation while Maintaining Your Personal TouchThere is a lot of controversy about AI-generated content. I’m not here to tell you that content written by AI is good or bad. I believe that AI is a great tool that enables creators to develop content more quickly and efficiently. It can also be used as a brainstorming tool to flesh out ideas and concepts you might be stuck on. Personally, I would hesitate to lean too heavily into using it to replace yourself completely. Writing your own content is so powerful! Your subscribers opted in because they respect your opinion on the topics in your particular niche.
More and more, people are craving human connection. They want to feel like they’re part of something. What is increasingly lacking in our AI-driven world is a human touch, which isn’t possible without infusing your personal experiences into your content. AI hasn’t lived your life. AI doesn’t know your funny anecdotes. All of those personal touches can be intertwined into engaging content that is entertaining, educational, and adds value for your audience.
Trends in Mobile-First Email Design (and Why It’s So Important)One of the email marketing trends that has reached a precipice we can no longer ignore is designing for mobile first. We’ve been on this accessibility train for a while now, and we went from designing exclusively for desktop to starting to think about devices a number of years ago. Responsiveness was a necessary evolution. That being said, emails are now being consumed predominantly on mobile devices.
When that happens, the way that you write and layout your content simply has to be different. Even if your email is responsive, large, text-heavy content blocks can be difficult to read on your phone. You need to think about how to break up your text blocks more efficiently. Consider including more headers or bullet points, for example. How can you make your newsletter easier to consume? What would you do differently if you knew someone was simply scanning it and swiping by? It’s important to make your emails as accessible to as many people as possible.
Boosting List Growth Through RecommendationsI’ve noticed a recent movement in newsletter lists growing via recommendations. This means that the moment someone opts into an email list, a list of other suggested newsletters they might be interested in pops up. Do I think this is a good idea? Well, I definitely see it as an opportunity to gain exposure to new audiences and get fresh eyeballs on the content you’re working so hard to create. My concern is that this isn’t necessarily ideal growth. Sure, you might be able to grow your numbers quite quickly. But are those ideal subscribers who are going to go on to purchase your other offers and services? The likelihood is that the conversion rates in this group are going to be smaller, so don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
How to Leverage Customization in Your Email CampaignsConsumers today have come to expect personalized content and experiences, both online and offline. To meet those demands, marketers are leveraging email personalization to move toward more tailored 1:1 experiences that are relevant to an individual customer’s interests. Instead of using highly sophisticated systems that employ AI to create variations in your emails based on customer-specific data, you can simulate this in a way that feels more personal and allows you to stay in charge. If you haven’t thought about using something like link actions to add or remove subscribers from email segments based on their behavior with just a click of a button, now is the time!
Download our free Email Case Study For even more tips!Stay in the LoopI have a lot more email content planned for you in the coming weeks. I’ve been really focused on growing my audience this year and I hope to help you do the same. Believe it or not, I added more than 10,000 subscribers to my email list in the first six months of 2024! Stay tuned as I break down all of the strategies I used and share how they can benefit you and your business.
To ensure that you don’t miss any of my future announcements, subscribe to my newsletter.
Quote ThisWhether you’re monetizing your email list and selling your own products and services or you’re doing affiliate marketing– ultimately, those subscribers have inherent value. Highlights* Why Email Marketing Matters for Your Business, Even If It's Not Your Core Focus. [0:02:01] * Unlocking the Power of Email Content. [0:08:58] * Harnessing AI Innovation while Maintaining Your Personal Touch. [0:11:58] * Trends in Mobile-First Email Design (and Why It’s So Important). [0:14:46] * Boosting List Growth Through Recommendations. [0:19:30] * How to Leverage Customization in Your Email Campaigns. [0:23:24]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Email Marketing, Email Strategy, Trends, Automation, AI
We Mentioned:Email Case Study
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Episode 866: Show NotesWriting funny copy is an excellent way to make your brand memorable and connect with customers, but it can feel pretty risky. What if it’s not actually funny? Or worse, you end up inadvertently offending someone?
Joining us today to set our minds at ease is Lianna Patch, a conversion copywriter and comedian whose greatest dream is to make your customers pause, smile, and click – in that order. She’s written copy for Fresh Books, Igloo, and Manly Bands, among many other delightful clients, and regularly speaks at E-commerce and software conferences around the world.
Today, we dig into how to write funny, memorable copy that sells, for your online business. In our conversation, Lianna shares practical tips and strategies she uses with her one-on-one clients for creating engaging and authentic content. Tune in to hear all her actionable advice on how to start using humor, (even if it scares you) and create content that brings joy to your readers!
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The Power of Funny CopyHumor isn't just for comedians; it’s a powerful tool for building strong relationships with your audience. As Lianna explains, humor can help you create a bond with your audience that can withstand bad news or mistakes. For instance, if you send an "oops" email followed by a humorous one, people will like you more than if you just sent a dry apology. Humor also enhances information recall, which means your messages are more memorable when paired with a joke.
Using humor can also reduce anxiety, serving as a social and emotional coping mechanism. It's why people use jokes to break the ice at conferences and social gatherings. This psychological benefit extends to consumer behavior – humor makes people feel more comfortable and connected, which can lead to increased spending. With so many advantages, incorporating humor into your copy is a no-brainer for engaging and retaining customers!
How to Start Adding Humor to Your CopyWhenever people start thinking about being funny, they tend to get scared, as if they’re either funny or they’re not. But, the reality is that humor exists on a spectrum. On one side you have really boring corporate jargon, and all the way on the other end you have Cards Against Humanity. You don’t need to go to extremes; just turning the dial slightly towards warmth, friendliness, and a bit of goofiness can make a big difference. Adding a pun here and there can significantly boost engagement, especially if you’re in a traditionally “boring” industry.
For those hesitant about humor, Lianna suggests two fail-safe styles: observational humor and self-deprecation. Observational humor involves commenting on something weird or funny in the world around you, creating a shared laugh without offending anyone. Self-deprecating humor involves gently poking fun at your quirks, breaking the ice, and making you more relatable. These styles help in building a connection with your audience without crossing any lines.
Another great way to get started is by taking an improv class! It’ll add fun to both your life and your business. Start paying attention to what you find funny. Collect your favorite shows, movies, stand-up comedians, and memes, and look for patterns. Knowing what you find funny will help you develop an authentic sense of humor for your brand.
Where to Avoid Being FunnyWhile humor can be a powerful tool, there are certain places where it’s best to tread carefully. Lianna advises against using humor in situations where you don't have a clear understanding of your audience. This includes home pages and other highly visible parts of your website that a broad and varied audience might visit. Unless you have a deep understanding of your audience's sense of humor and are confident it will resonate, it's better to avoid making bold jokes in these areas.
In contrast, areas where you have a more personal connection with your audience – such as emails, podcasts, and social media posts – are ideal for humor. These platforms allow for a one-on-one relationship, where you can tailor your humor to the preferences of your readers or listeners. To do this effectively, Lianna suggests researching what your audience finds funny and looking for overlaps with your own sense of humor. This ensures that your jokes and references will resonate, fostering a stronger connection without the risk of alienating or offending someone.
How Manly Bands went from Matter-of-Fact to HilariousManly Bands wanted to be the Dollar Shave Club of rings, with great products but more engaging copy. Their original descriptions were matter-of-fact, like, "This ring is made out of mahogany. It has a titanium inlay. It fits your hand unless you're a monster." They needed more personality.
Lianna suggested rewriting the copy to tell stories. One product description began with, "We like to think John Wayne would have worn this ring. He's dead, but he would have." These vivid, fun descriptions paint a picture in the reader's mind, making the brand feel like a fun friend rather than just another company.
The results were impressive. The humorous copy improved conversions from 20% to 200% across various SKUs without changing anything else on the product pages – no new photos, no redesigns, just better copy – proving that simply adding humor can make your brand more memorable and significantly boost sales.
Using Humor to Accomplish GoalsAs humans, we're constantly switching between two states of mind: the goal state, and the play state. When we’re in goal state, we're super focused on getting things done; and, conversely, when we're in play state, we're more receptive to laughing and having a good time.
A lot of online businesses tend to keep people in that goal state with all of their communications. This might seem like they’re doing customers a favor since they are saying, “I respect your time. I don't want to make you read any longer of an email than necessary.” But, if you're doing that with your readers, you might accidentally be making them feel like your content is homework, which is a huge bummer.
Don't you look forward to opening some brands’ emails because you know they're going to make you smile? Well, you can be that brand!
How to Create Irresistible CTAsCTAs are a critical part of sales and trigger copy can make a huge difference. Usually, this copy is used to ease anxieties, with phrases like "your credit card information won't be saved." However, Lianna suggests flipping this approach to show that a human is behind the message.
For example, Lianna worked on a software product where the click trigger copy read, "We do collect your credit card information, but that's just because we have a lot of online shopping to do." This made people chuckle and trust the company more because they felt a human connection.
You can even be funny in the button copy itself. Think about making that button irresistibly clickable. Moo, the Paper Company, once sent an email with a GIF of a hand chopping a watermelon and the button said, "Chop, chop." People loved it and couldn't resist clicking!
Don’t Be Afraid to Play with LanguageWhen it comes to grammar and copy on the internet, you have a lot more freedom than you might think. Find ways to edit in some casualness. There are lots of ways to do this. You can pretend to make a mistake by making a joke and then using strikethrough. You can capitalize just one or two words in a sentence to give it more of a spoken cadence. You can use an ellipsis at the end of a sentence to add drama, like a drum roll. None of this is grammatically correct, but it’s effective!
Another great tool in your toolkit is adding parentheticals or asides. It’s a chance for you to connect with your audience directly, from sharing a joke to offering commiseration. An excellent example of this is a transactional email response from Warby Parker that reads: Sorry to hear your password has gone missing! (It happens to the best of us.) They’re not just being humorous, they’re also making the recipient feel like there is a human on the other side of the interaction. Any time you can add a little conversational parenthetical to bring humor in, you should do it.
There are so many ways to have fun with how you write. So play with language and be sure not to take yourself too seriously!
Finding Humor in Unexpected PlacesFinding humor in unexpected places can be incredibly rewarding for readers (and fun for writers!) Those unanticipated little spots, like your unsubscribe copy and your transactional emails, are a wonderful opportunity to add a dose of something fun, like a GIF or an emoji. This can be especially rewarding to encounter post-purchase. In fact, it could make or break the customer experience.
Think about it like this. We’ve all had that experience where a brand gets us in the door with their amazing ad and hilarious product page; and when we order the product, we expect the receipt email to say something awesome; but instead, it says something totally bland like “your order is confirmed”. And the feeling you’re left with is “Oh, because you got my money now you don't care anymore” – which sucks.
If you’re going to use humor to connect with your audience, be sure to stay consistent! You don’t want to build that connection, only to throw it away.
Quote This“Knowing what you think is funny will help you hone your quote, unquote, authentic sense of humor.”—Lianna Patch Highlights* The Power of Funny Copy [0:03:35] * How to Start Adding Humor to Your Copy [0:04:30] * Where to Avoid Being Funny [0:08:30] * How Manly Bands went from Matter-of-Fact to Hilarious [0:10:05] * Using Humor to Accomplish Goals [0:15:09] * How to Create Irresistible CTAs [0:16:45] * Don’t Be Afraid to Play with Language [0:20:05] * Finding Humor in Unexpected Places [0:28:19]
OUR GUEST:Lianna Patch
Website | Linkedin | Instagram | TikTok | X
Lianna Patch is a conversion copywriter and comedian whose greatest dream is to make your customers pause, smile, and click (in that order). She’s written copy for Freshbooks, Igloo and Manly Bands, among other delightful clients, and regularly speaks at ecommerce and software conferences around the world.
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Funny Copy, Copywriting, Humor, Connection, Editing
We Mentioned:Free Webinar: The Market Shift
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Episode 865: Show NotesMany entrepreneurs set ambitious targets but often find themselves falling short. In this episode, we explore the REAL reason why you’re not achieving your goals, unpack the underlying beliefs that might be holding you back, and provide actionable insights to help you break through these barriers.
Join me as I delve into how you might be standing in your own way and offer strategies to move your business forward in alignment with your life goals. I share key mindset shifts to help reduce the pressure and constant stress that many entrepreneurs experience as their businesses scale and the goalposts keep shifting.
Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all roadmap for success and self-doubt is often the biggest limitation. Luckily, by cultivating self-compassion, acting like the person you want to become, and focusing on small but consistent actions, you can overcome these hurdles! Tune in for some real-life examples and practical steps to help you transform your business, embrace the journey as an experiment, and start showing up as your best self today!
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Reasons I’m No Longer Setting Goals for My BusinessA few years ago, I started using the phrase, “I'm no longer setting goals.” While this isn’t entirely true, I made a conscious decision to spend less time setting make-it-or-break-it numbers for launches and more time thinking about how I’m going to show up and do my best every step of the way. While goals can definitely be a measurable way to motivate yourself and push your business forward, they can also result in unrealistic expectations and disappointment.
As your business scales, the goalposts continue to shift. Your most incredible, exciting achievement becomes your baseline for success. Why are we putting ourselves in a constant state of pressure when we can never get there? The reality is that there is no “there!” Instead of chasing accomplishment, focus on the feeling that accompanies it. How can you give yourself permission to feel joy, pride, excitement, or relief more often? It’s not about infinitely scaling. It’s about scaling to take care of ourselves, build the lives we want, find financial freedom, and much more!
Why There’s No Roadmap for SuccessI’d love to tell you that if you follow this action plan and take these steps in this order, you’ll undoubtedly achieve your dreams every single time. Sure, I can provide you with actionable steps to help you grow your business, but if you don’t believe that it’s possible, you will not succeed. There is no roadmap for success!
This might seem like a hard truth to accept, but I guarantee you that self-doubt is your biggest limitation. One of the ways you can overcome this hurdle is by seeing proof. This is why I love working with other successful business owners, coaches, and educators because it allows me to see where I’m headed. Just witnessing what is possible can have a super powerful impact on your belief system. Now, you might be asking, “What if I can’t find an example of what I want to achieve?” Another way to illuminate the path ahead of you is to create your own, unique vision of the life you want. Your version of success and happiness might not look like anyone else’s, and that’s okay!
Breaking Free from the Self-Sabotage CycleOnce you’ve established your vision and allowed yourself to believe that it’s possible, you can still find yourself stuck in a cycle of self-sabotage. This can show up in a lot of different ways. It can look like procrastinating or making excuses to avoid the opportunities that come your way. It can also manifest as a fear of failure (or even the much-less-talked-about fear of success). A lot of times, these self-sabotaging behaviors correlate with other areas of our lives that we need to address and heal before we can move forward.
My question to you is this: what are you avoiding? When you’re procrastinating on a task or putting something off, you might be making it out to be more important than it actually is. What if you simply showed up as you are right now rather than trying to be who you think everyone expects you to be? Remember, there is no such thing as perfect! By cultivating self-compassion, listening to your inner voice, and embracing and celebrating small changes, you can break free from self-sabotage and create a fulfilled, happy, and successful life on your own terms.
The Power of Acting like You're Already the Person You Want to BeWhat if the saying wasn’t “fake it until you make it” but “fake it until you become it?” One of the things that I’ve found empowering in my own journey is acting like I’m already THAT person; you know the one, who seems like they have it all figured out. It’s not about having all the superficial stuff, like a big house filled with designer furniture, for example. What's something you could do in your home today that would give you more joy and peace? It can be as simple as taking a couple of hours on the weekend to clean out your closets. You can enjoy the benefits of a more organized space long before the money comes in!
Similarly, you have to act like you’re already an influencer if you want to become one. Yes, it can be scary to put yourself out there, but it’s hard to tell the difference between someone who acts confidently and someone who actually is confident. If you show up consistently like the fabulous version of yourself that already exists in the new reality you've created for yourself, the difference is indistinguishable. Instead of measuring yourself against goals to determine if you’ve succeeded or failed, why not view life as an experiment where you get to do your best, learn from the rest, and decide how to show up better next time?
How Worrying about Future Potential is Slowing Your Present MomentumYou can make all the changes you like and life will still get in the way. Sometimes, we just can’t achieve our goals because there are circumstances beyond our control that prevent us from doing so. That’s just the way life is. But, a lot of the time, we have complete control over how we show up in the moment. We have the power to set our own beliefs, to take smaller but more consistent actions, and to tell a story about ourselves that is different from our previous limiting or self-sabotaging habits.
You can choose how you move forward in new and exciting ways. You are in the driver’s seat! You get to put your foot on the gas pedal and decide how fast and how far you’ll go. Don’t let your anxieties about your future potential slow down your present momentum.
If this episode resonated with you, you will absolutely benefit from my Market Shift Workshop! Inside, I share what’s working in online business today and how you can create more momentum in your life and business to pursue the business of your dreams. To benefit from this exclusive and highly actionable program, get registered today!
Quote ThisI like to look at everything as an experiment. We get to do our best, learn from the rest, and decide how to show up next time. Highlights* Reasons I’m No Longer Setting Goals for My Business. [0:02:41] * Why There’s No Road Map for Success. [0:09:35] * Breaking Free from the Self-Sabotage Cycle. [0:15:41] * The Power of Acting like You're Already the Person You Want to Be. [0:25:10] * How Worrying about Future Potential is Slowing Your Present Momentum. [0:36:39]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Goal-setting, Mindset, Momentum, Small Wins, Self-sabotage
We Mentioned:Free Webinar: The Market Shift
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Episode 864: Show NotesDo you know what your customers really want? Or are you mostly relying on assumptions to drive your sales? In today’s episode, we are joined by Lisa Smith, Founder, CEO, and Business Growth Partner at Smith Co., where she works with female and BIPOC business owners to help them remove sales roadblocks.
What stands out most about Lisa and how she serves her clients is her powerful, data-driven approach to figuring out what they truly need. In one of her latest studies, Lisa did more than just survey her audience; she dug deep into the mindset and potential obstacles that people encounter in sales. Lisa has also generously made this work publicly available. She is committed to seeing others benefit from this information and will continue to grow the study in years to come!
There’s a lot to unpack in today’s episode, from the fascinating results of Lisa’s study to the opportunities this represents for other business owners. Be sure to tune in as we explore what women really think about sales and discover what this means for your business!
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Why 46% of Women Feel Negatively About the Word “Sales”Lisa’s study is a highly qualitative survey of 122 women. On the surface, it may seem that the respondents simply don’t like sales, but what’s so fascinating about qualitative data is that it allows you to dig into the psychology of respondents and recognize patterns. Lisa points out that many women associate sales with negative stereotypes, like pushy, aggressive car salesmen, for example. This aversion is particularly strong among female BIPOC business owners who have been culturally conditioned to be nice and take up less space. These ingrained attitudes can subconsciously carry over from corporate environments where women may have succeeded by being team players or avoiding the spotlight. Unfortunately, these habits can hinder their effectiveness in sales, which typically requires more assertiveness and visibility.
Sales as a ServiceRegardless of whether you're selling a digital product, a service, or a consultancy, the goal is to solve a problem! That’s why it's incredibly useful to reframe sales as an opportunity to serve and positively impact others. This mindset helps clients see sales as a bridge to achieving their goals. Negative media portrayals and different gender approaches to sales add challenges, but focusing on expertise and problem-solving empowers women. This shift helps them recognize the value of their work and avoid underpricing. Moving away from the slimy car salesman stereotype transforms sales into a rewarding and impactful experience!
Debunking Myths About Women in SalesLisa came to this study with the intent to debunk myths about sales obstacles, but some of the results were totally surprising, even to her! Like the fact that 39% of women identified a lack of time as a major barrier and 23% cited the absence of a clear sales process as a major obstacle. When you unpack the data, these findings highlight the complex psychology behind sales challenges. Many business owners, particularly women, often feel that sales tasks are less productive than spending their time on things like client work or meetings. Even experienced sales consultants like Lisa sometimes struggle to allocate time for essential (yet sometimes tedious) sales activities. But when you make the effort to shift your mindset and dedicate specific time to sales activities, you’ll be shocked by the impact this can have on your sales!
Carving Out Time for Sales SuccessYour business needs profits to thrive, and profitability depends on consistent sales efforts. This is why you need to carve out dedicated time for daily profit activities that will drive business growth. This includes things like producing social media content to boost visibility and attract customers. To illuminate the process, Lisa breaks down her strategy for us and explains how scheduling time for lead generation and tracking sales progress has transformed her business. She also underscores the value of consistency, highlighting how even repetitive tasks yield significant returns over time. It’s clear that taking a structured approach to sales activities is essential for long-term success, so don’t be afraid to prioritize it!
How to Modernize Your Follow-Up ProcessesFollowing up isn’t about being pushy. It’s about maintaining a genuine connection. Lisa brings a refreshing perspective to the follow-up process, blending old-school personal touches with modern tools like voice memos and personalized videos. She emphasizes the importance of stepping into the shoes of your prospective customers to understand their busy lives and maintain a genuine connection. While automation and AI offer efficiency, Lisa warns against losing your personal touch. She advocates for individual phone calls and personalized messages, tailored to individual preferences. As technology advances, maintaining authenticity in communication becomes increasingly crucial. It’s about striking the right balance between automation’s efficiency and the personal touch that builds lasting connections!
What We Know About Optimism in 2024According to Lisa’s survey, 81% of people are optimistic about 2024. This optimism reflects a notable shift from the challenges of recent years. Despite earlier economic uncertainties and disruptions in 2022 and 2023, many small business owners are now cautiously confident. Lisa attributes this positive outlook to several factors, including the resilience shown in navigating turbulent times without plunging into recession as feared. Issues like inflation and supply chain disruptions, although still present, have become more manageable. There’s also a growing sense of empowerment among business owners who feel they've regained control over their enterprises. Another key factor could be the skepticism people feel when it comes to the media since many recent economic predictions proved to be inaccurate. It would certainly be interesting for future surveys to track these sentiments and to learn how they fluctuate!
Lisa’s Future SurveysLisa’s study surveyed just over 100 people, which might be a small group in the grand scheme of things, but it’s a big achievement for a first-time research project! For her follow-up study, she is eager to 10x her efforts and expand her research with a larger sample size, aiming to scale up from 100 to 1,000 participants. She plans to delve deeper into correlations, debunk myths, and cross-reference her findings with other ongoing research. Despite the challenges of gathering comprehensive data, especially in niche areas like female-led businesses, she's excited about the growing interest and potential insights. We can’t wait to see the results of her next inclusive, nuanced, and people-driven study!
Quote ThisIt's so funny. Whenever you do research studies, as soon as it's out, you already want to rewrite some of the questions and send it again. — Lisa Smith Highlights* Why 46% of Women Feel Negatively About the Word “Sales” [0:05:29] * Sales as a Service [0:07:00] * Debunking Myths About Women in Sales [0:11:11] * Carving Out Time for Sales Success [0:12:57] * How to Modernize Your Follow-Up Processes [0:20:44] * What We Know About Optimism in 2024 [0:29:31] * Lisa’s Future Surveys [0:33:03]
OUR GUEST:Lisa J. Smith
Website | Linkedin | YouTube | Instagram
At SMITH Co., Lisa works with female and BIPOC business owners to remove the sales roadblocks they often encounter so they can transform their businesses from surviving to thriving. She offers customized sales consulting and training solutions tailored to the specific needs of the business from early stage to mature.
Her do-it-with-you approach ensures they have a coach, guide, and accountability partner to help them shift their mindset and behavior, the two most important criteria for success. They build the strategy, process, and tools for sales success, which in turn opens the door to longevity, staying power, independence, and wealth.
Having spent 30 years selling professional services in every economic environment imaginable, Lisa profoundly understands her client’s challenges because she’s been there herself.
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Surveys, Studies, Follow-up, Sales, Women, Mindset, Revenue
We Mentioned:2Bobs Podcast episode: “Just Stop Talking”
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Episode 863: Show NotesToday we are digging into what it really takes to reinvigorate yourself. When I am feeling creative resistance, I have a tendency to try and push through – creating an unnecessary environment of stress. When you really slow down, you have the opportunity to gain a new perspective. I like to teach you through my own experiences so I wanted to put myself in my client's shoes. At the end of last year and the beginning of this year, I found that my clients were really resistant to showing up online and I started questioning why. I realized that the resistance largely stemmed from the fear that my clients once understood social media and now no longer do!
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How Slowing Down Will Ultimately Help You Speed UpI set out on a mission to uncover what’s working today and what gets consistent results. I spent months paying attention to the people who nobody knew about and are now super successful online. I wanted to pay attention to their strategies and then implement them myself to be able to teach them to my clients. This is just one example of slowing down to speed up. Many times, I have started many other businesses as experiments to help me understand different aspects of online business that I didn’t before. So I did that now! I started a new TikTok account to figure out how to grow my audience on TikTok and started building the foundation for becoming a traditional influencer. I wanted to understand what it felt like to start online at the starting line. I want to share what I’ve learned from starting at the beginning all over again.
Remember to Find Joy in Your BusinessThroughout this experiment, I really noticed how important consistency is for momentum! I want you to create habits that keep you showing up online consistently in the way that you want to show up. The early tangible wins in your online business are imperative to your motivation so it’s so important to focus on getting that first sale. I also realized how much fun business can be. When you have fun, sometimes the results matter less. The excitement and joy are wins in themselves and I want to help you be more joyful and stay excited about your business. Community is so helpful and I found myself looking for a community for my new business and when I joined, I realized that I had no idea where to start and I could see that my client’s must often feel the same way! A concrete direction on where to start can really help my clients in the Co-Op and that’s why I decided to build the Accelerator!
How Balance Will Make Your Business SustainableI finally sat down and mapped out the Accelerator and as you’re listening to this, it exists already inside the Co-Op and it’s exactly where I want you to start! It gives you so much insight into what business looks like while helping you keep your eye on the prize. Inside the Accelerator, I’m helping people create a balanced offer ecosystem that all work together, speak to the same clients, and create a synergy in your business so that you have long-term cash flow from that business. My goal is to help you understand what you are and aren’t willing to do to get the results that you are looking for! Ultimately, my mission in life and business is to see more of you wealthy and financially free and first, you need to be financially stable. I don’t want your business to be one bad day away from crumbling. And I also want you to be able to prioritize what matters most to you throughout this process!
This framework is what has helped me scale my business and when things feel rocky, these principles are the things that I come back to in order to re-stabilize myself and my business. I am so happy that this is in the Co-Op because I want you to be able to imagine what it feels like to stop second-guessing yourself and to know exactly what comes next. This is the first time I have shared these secrets with my larger clientele, not just my private coaching clients and I cannot wait to see you succeed using these steps! I know that when you have access to the Accelerator, it is going to motivate you while keeping you joyful and excited. This is your opportunity to be walked through starting from the beginning in a structured, tangible way. I experimented for you so that you don’t have to and can just focus on your success! Let this be your invitation to join us in the Co-Op and try the Accelerator. I cannot wait to see what you do next!
Quote ThisEvery time you start something new, regardless of what it is, you get to bring all of your previous experiences with you. Highlights* How Slowing Down Will Ultimately Help You Speed Up [0:10:56] * Remember to Find Joy in Your Business [0:17:22] * How Balance Will Make Your Business Sustainable [0:26:33]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Slowing Down, Accelerating Online, Stable Business, Finding Joy, Building Momentum
We Mentioned:Instagram Profit Playbook
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Episode 862: Show NotesToday I’m chatting with Justin Moore, Sponsorship Coach and the Founder of Creator Wizard. It’s a school and community that teaches you how to find and negotiate your dream brand deals so that you can stop leaving thousands of dollars on the table.
During this episode, we dive into strategies to land unique brand deals that not only benefit you with sponsorship dollars, but also help you grow your business and get more clients. With these strategies you’ll ultimately impact the brands you build with as well as your company. We also talk about Justin’s origin story and how he built his brand, a strong YouTube following and even an Influencer Agency. There’s a lot to uncover, so let’s dig in!
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Justin’s Secrets to Building a Business and Growing an AudienceIt all began with Justin’s wife, April, when she started to create content around cosmetics and beauty products. This happened while Justin was completing his MBA, and having lots of conversations around business strategy. He suggested that instead of being paid in free stuff, she start asking brands if they have a budget when they reach out to collaborate. To their shock, they were offered $700 to post two videos a month! Over the next decade, they got over 550 sponsorships and made over 4.5 million dollars. In 2015, Justin started an influencer marketing agency, which grew to pay millions of dollars to other creators. Being on the other side of the process and being in the boardrooms of big agencies led him to start Creator Wizard to educate creators about the sponsorship process.
The Journey to Helping Others Reach Their GoalsJustin’s goal is to reach a million sponsorships by 2032. It can be really difficult to find information about this industry. Everyone does it differently, and often not very well. His professional background enables him to communicate effectively and navigate deals. But a lot of people were super unprofessional. People kept coming to Justin and April for advice. It wasn’t just about the reach, it was about the product, the professionalism, and the communication. They offered flexibility to brands and made changes. Justin saw a different way to establish these relationships, and he wanted to introduce a new narrative into the space. He believes that working with sponsors can be amazing if you do it in the right way.
Breaking Out of the Traditional Sponsorship ModelA lot of people who have never been sponsored or had a brand deal start tuning out when this conversation comes up. But Justin offers us a broader perspective on sponsorships; it’s not just you talking about a brand on a podcast, but a mutually beneficial relationship where you get to do things that don’t conform to a traditional brand model. For example, Justin has a book sponsorship model for his self-publishing book, Sponsor Magnet. His goal is to find exclusive channel partners who will include a blurb at the start of the book, with some of them including the book in their swag bags. He gets more distribution, he is sponsored, and everybody wins! If you have a body of people you have influence over, there are brands and companies out there that will want to sponsor you.
Where to Get Started If You’ve Never Been Sponsored BeforeJustin uses the Sponsorship Continuum to explain the world of sponsorships to those of us who are just getting started. Instead of just reaching out to a brand to ask them for sponsorship, he suggests that you do an audit of their overall social presence. Maybe they don’t have a TikTok or a YouTube channel, or they’re not posting frequently on their blog or website. You can say, ‘Hey, I love your brand, and I think you could tell your brand story in a more compelling way. I would love to create some ongoing content for you. You can utilize this content on your platforms. And by the way, look at my platform. That is my portfolio.” There’s no limit. You don’t have to have a certain number of subscribers before you reach out.
How to Get Ahead by Predicting the FutureWhat’s old is new again! UGC was the parlance from ten years ago, and it’s back. There is value in honing that skill by learning to include a compelling storyline and call-to-action. To Justin, it’s a mindset of creativity and arming yourself with a skill. Whether it’s TikTok or a brand new platform that’s going to crop up, there’s going to be endless opportunities. Three and half years ago, Justin and his wife did Amazon live streams, and they got super good at it. As long as you have your eye on where the ball is going rather than where it’s at, you’re going to be ahead. I agree with that! For some of my earliest deals, I was too chicken to reach out. I just started creating the content, whether they asked me to or not.
The Number One Reason a Brand Will Choose YouWhen you are doing an organic shout-out on the internet, you’re not leading people to a promotion. A brand will ultimately hire you for a campaign because they have very specific talking points, a call-to-action, a promo code, or a call-to-action. Justin has spoken to so many brands who have shared that their first port of call to source talent for paid campaigns is their affiliates. They are already familiar with the brand, the product, and the service, and they aren’t coming in from the street. He wants to forever dispel the myth that you should not tag brands organically. You have to move yourself closer to the source of the magnetism so you can get on their radar! Justin also says that the most lucrative deals you’ll ever get are the ones where you are pitching cold because there isn’t a pre-identified budget.
Starting Out with an Untapped MarketIf you’ve been running your service-based business for a while, and you have built enough leads to fill up your agency but not necessarily enough to sell more to. Let’s say, for example, you started to build a modest newsletter of 200 or 300 people. Justin stresses that there are likely subscribers who would love to market to the rest of your list. A newsletter can be an amazing untapped market. Where have you built your audience? With a course? In your community? Justin created a ‘Partners’ section on his website to spotlight his sponsors. He wants listeners to know that you can invent things and think outside of the box. Understanding their goals is a great starting point. to create value for them.
What You Can Learn From Justin’s StoryJustin’s story began with listening to what was being asked of him. He didn’t know how things would unfold when he first started speaking about sponsorship strategies online. People started to comment and ask questions, and he found ways to be helpful. It all started one-on-one. From there, he built a six-week course, which became a four-week course. Every time he ran the program, he was iterating. Then, after seven cohorts, he created an on-demand version. A lot of people want to jump straight to passive revenue, but for Justin, it was a grind. There’s a tendency to look at successful people on the internet and forget where they came from. Sometimes it takes working closely with people to start to see the pattern and the unique differentiators in your audience.
Quote This“I actually believe that working with sponsors can be amazing if you do it in the right way.”—Justin moore Highlights* Secrets to Building a Business and Growing an Audience [0:01:47] * Justin’s Journey to Helping Others Reach Their Goals [0:05:50] * Breaking Out of the Traditional Sponsorship Model [0:08:30] * Where to Get Started If You’ve Never Been Sponsored Before [0:12:53] * How to Get Ahead by Predicting the Future [0:17:19] * The Number One Reason a Brand Will Choose You [0:17:19] * Starting Out with an Untapped Market [0:26:16] * What You Can Learn From Justin’s Story [0:31:25]
OUR gueST:Justin Moore
Website | Instagram | X | Newsletter
Justin is a Sponsorship Coach & the founder of Creator Wizard, a school & community that teaches you how to find & negotiate your dream brand deals so that you stop leaving thousands on the table. Along with his wife April, he has been a full-time creator for over 10 years and has personally made over $4M working with brands. He also ran an influencer marketing agency for 7 years that helped other creators earn millions more. Justin brings a very unique perspective because not only has he been a creator in the trenches doing sponsorships for years but by running an agency, he has insider knowledge behind how big brands choose which influencers to partner with and why they pass on others. Justin's mission is to enable creators big and small to land 1 million paid brand partnerships by 2032.
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Sponsorship, Brand Partners, Creating Content, Audience, Business Goals, Listening
We Mentioned:Abagail on TikTok
Free Webinar: The Market Shift
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Episode 861: Show NotesHave you been considering implementing a four-day workweek into your business but are just a little hesitant? Well, then this episode is for you! I was just as resistant to the idea of shortening the week but when I did it, I realized that you can do less and achieve more while creating an environment that honors people and their lives.
In 1940, the 40-hour workweek law was established and has been the standard for almost all full-time employees. But it’s not necessarily the most productive method because employees don’t really need to work for that long to get things done. When I worked for someone else, I found myself finishing my work far earlier than five o’clock and I wanted to create an environment for my employees that felt more flexible and free! Today I’m telling you all about my company’s working hours, how we’ve adopted the four-hour, and what research says about this new trend!
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Gradually Incorporating the Four-Day Workweek into My Business I have always been flexible with my time-off policies in my business and have even come to the point where my employees have about six weeks off a year whenever they want to take leave. So, naturally, I was hesitant about the idea of a four-day workweek even though the research says it’s positive. I also felt like it would give me less control and make me worry about deadlines and capacity. But then I started feeling worn down and realized I needed time off and my staff did too. In May, I made Fridays half-days only and after Memorial Day, my whole team took Fridays off.
My goal is to reassess in the fall and I can already tell you that I don’t think I’ll ever go back to five days! I think my staff adapted really quickly to the new work schedule but this has not been without challenges. I was quite busy during this time and really felt like I had to force myself to mold into the new way the business was doing things. It made me realize that I am truly in charge of my schedule, timelines, and deadlines. Having a shorter workweek showed me that my team is doing enough and having a positive impact on our clients even without doing more! We are still at the beginning of the process so this is my take very early on.
What You Need to Know About the Research on the Four-Day WorkweekI want you to understand all of the international testing that’s being done on four-day workweeks. There was an international four-day workweek study that was published that ABC did a story on recently. 61 UK companies participated in this study and 89% of these companies kept the structure in place, half of the companies continued researching it, and the other half have put it in place permanently! The terms of the study were that they agreed to forgo the 40-hour work-week and the participants agreed to have 100% of the workload completed in 80% of the time.
Participants reported more efficiency, happier employees, lower turnover rates, and they have seen so many long-term benefits. Every single participant reported that the four-day workweek had a positive or very positive impact on their organization! 82% of the surveyed companies reported positive effects on the staff’s well-being, 50% saw positive effects on reducing staff turnover, and 32% said that the policy noticeably improved their recruitment. We can’t argue with those statistics, right? I asked my staff how they felt about this change and they all agreed that it had a positive impact on them being able to live their lives and that is so important to me!
How the Four-Day Workweek is Changing Laws Around the WorldI think the US may be slow to move to this but in a poll commissioned by some experts, they believe a four-day workweek may become a standard in the UK by 2030 which is actually so soon! I think we are going to see more and more companies move towards this! But I want you to be aware that some of this is being put into actual law. In Belgium, workers are allowed the right to request a four-day workweek. Lawmakers in Massachusetts introduced a bill that provides employers a tax credit for shifting 15 employees to four days a week without cutting their pay. In California, a lawmaker reintroduced a 32-hour workweek act to Congress that sets the new standard to 32 hours.
I understand that it takes time to change laws but whether this becomes law or not is irrelevant! I want you to be prepared for the possibility that this will become a legal requirement. Right now, you have an opportunity to be at the forefront of a change that has a positive impact on workers’ livelihoods. If you are struggling with this concept, I can almost guarantee that it comes from a place of fear and nothing more. I’m going into this with positive intent and research and I’m excited to come back to you and tell you how it’s working out for my company. You have the right to work less and enjoy life a little bit more without sacrificing your success or revenue. I want you to be inspired to make some positive changes to your company and be part of the future of business!
Quote ThisI want to create an environment that allows people to be the healthiest they’ve ever been! Highlights* Gradually Incorporating the Four-Day Workweek into My Business. [0:02:19] * What You Need to Know About the Research on the Four-Day Workweek. [0:17:04] * How the Four-Day Workweek is Changing Laws Around the World. [0:23:39]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Four-Day Workweek, Productivity, Flexibility, Well-being, Working Hours, Labor Standards
We Mentioned:Free Webinar: The Market Shift
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Episode 860: Show NotesVideo is working! It’s helping people market their business, grow their audience, and get their name out there. And by the looks of things, it’s not going anywhere anytime soon. So, how do you make video content that not only stands out but also feels effortless to create? Today, I dive into the world of low-lift video marketing – namely, how to get started, keep things simple, and draw on your repertoire – with Natasha Pierre, host of the Shine Online Podcast and a video marketing coach for small businesses.
Natasha shares her expert insights on how to start creating video content, from the power of storytelling to practical tips for staying motivated. We explore the nuances of creating engaging video content, the importance of hooks, strategies for incorporating personal touches into your brand, and much more! Natasha’s practical advice will help you build a confident video marketing strategy that grows your business and connects with your audience on a deeper level. Tune in to learn how you can incorporate video into your marketing repertoire and see long-term success!
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Starting with Video: Tips for BeginnersIf you’re new to video, or just feeling hesitant about it, then Natasha’s advice is to find a format you enjoy and to start repurposing existing content into videos. She stresses the importance of leveraging your strengths and starting with what feels comfortable. You also need to work that video muscle! Natasha encourages practicing regularly and using a mix of different video types, such as talking videos, B-roll, and short clips, to build confidence and improve skills over time. Start with content you are already creating, such as blog posts or social media updates, and transform them into video format to make the transition easier and more natural.
Why You Should Create a Video SeriesNatasha loves the idea of creating a signature video series related to what you do. You can base it on your offer, your industry, or those frequently asked questions you always get. Think about your philosophy, process, or framework and turn that into a series. Pretend you have your own Netflix show with episodes diving deep into specific topics! This approach is fantastic for growth and really engaging your current audience. Once you have your topic, you're just repeating the same formula, making it easier for people to follow along and consume your content.
How to Start Filming and Using B-RollB-roll is a great way to start with video because it removes the pressure of speaking perfectly to the camera. Natasha suggests taking advantage of daily opportunities to film B-roll, like walking into your office or making your morning beverage. These clips create personal connection points and make your brand more relatable. She also loves having dedicated content days to handle all her tasks, including labeling and sorting her shots. By organizing this footage into a folder on her phone, she always has a library of clips to repurpose, reducing the pressure of constant filming. With a mix of daily clips and dedicated filming days, you can go months without needing to film new content while maintaining a steady flow of engaging material. This approach makes content creation more manageable and ensures consistent, engaging video output.
The Importance of Hooks in Video ContentWhen it comes to video content, your hook can make or break the success of your video, so you need to pay extra special attention to it! It plays a key role in capturing the viewer's attention and encouraging engagement. Natasha explains that hooks can be verbal, textual, or visual, and should be clear and direct about the video's value. Additionally, it’s essential to follow through and deliver on the promise of the hook to maintain viewer interest and boost interaction. A strong hook answers the question, "Why should I care about this video?" and can significantly enhance a video's performance and reach. One last piece of advice: Don’t overthink it. Being straightforward and clear is often the most effective approach.
Engaging Your Audience: Tips and StrategiesWhen editing a video for maximum engagement, ask yourself “Is every second making this video better?” This will help you be concise and land on the optimal length for your video. Another key part of engagement is creating clear and specific calls to action to encourage interaction. Consistency in asking for engagement and delivering valuable content helps train your audience to interact with your posts, ultimately boosting their visibility and effectiveness. Natasha suggests using questions that are easy to answer and directly related to the content, as well as encouraging viewers to share, comment, and save the video for future reference.
Integrating Personal Life into Your BrandBalancing personal and professional content can strengthen connections with your audience. But it’s also important to know where your boundaries lie when it comes to your private life. Natasha's approach is to selectively share personal aspects of her life (like her love of matcha) which helps her create relatable touchpoints without compromising privacy. She believes that sharing personal interests and everyday activities helps build deeper connections with followers, making her brand more relatable and distinct from competitors. Her advice? Set boundaries and choose what to share based on what resonates with your audience and what feels comfortable for you.
Staying Motivated and Consistent in Content CreationHaving systems in place helps maintain consistent content creation even during low creativity periods. For Natasha, setting aside dedicated content creation days helps her maintain motivation and consistency. By setting aside specific times for creating and batching content, she ensures a steady flow of material, even when she isn’t feeling that inspired. This approach helps sustain long-term engagement and prevents burnout. Natasha also highlights the value of repurposing content and having a content library to draw from, making it easier to stay consistent and motivated without feeling overwhelmed by the need to constantly create new material.
Use These Tools to Make it EasierThe Boss Project team has designed several templates and tools that can help you with your video content creation. Here are some of our favorites from The Creative Template Shop:
- Youtube and Instagram Reels Thumbnail Canva Templates: Neutral Collection
- 22 Viral Instagram Reel Prompts & ManyChat Keyword Funnel Setup
- Engaging YouTube Thumbnails Canva Templates: Neutral Collection
Quote This“I know my ideal followers so well that I know what they’re going to care about and engage with.”— Natasha Pierre Highlights* Starting with Video: Tips for Beginners. [0:05:10] * Why You Should Create a Video Series [13:43] * How to Start Filming and Using B-Roll [18:44] * The Importance of Hooks in Video Content [0:31:28] * Engaging Your Audience: Tips and Strategies [0:35:58] * Integrating Personal Life into Your Brand [0:40:34] * Staying Motivated and Consistent in Content Creation [0:44:31]
OUR GUEST:Natasha Pierre
Website |Podcast |YouTube |Instagram |Linkedin
Natasha is the host of the Shine Online Podcast and a Video Marketing Coach for small businesses. Through her signature group programs and educational content, Natasha helps you build your brand with a confident video marketing strategy that ultimately grows your business, community, and impact simultaneously.
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Marketing, Video production, B-roll, Low-lift video, Content creation
We Mentioned:Natasha’s 3-Day Video Confidence Challenge
Free Webinar: The Market Shift
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Episode 859: Show NotesThis episode is truly all about you– how you get feedback from the people you ultimately want to sell to, and how to move forward. Many of my takeaways are coming off the back of a really big launch in my business. I did an event in May that allowed me to connect with over 7,000 small business owners, serve them high value, and go through a launch process on the back end.
I’m going to talk about all the things I learned during this launch, not just what I did well or what I didn’t do well. In this episode, I want to help you identify what your next offer is going to be or potentially how to tweak an offer that already exists and make it sell even better.
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What It Really Means To Make an Offer IrresistibleOften, we solve problems that may exist but are not things that people actually want to solve. Yes, we want to get feedback, and I’m going to talk about an incredible tool that’s going to help you listen to what the people want. But we also need to keep in mind that most people are not interested in changing their habits. As frustrating as that can be as a small business owner who wants to help people, you need to reach people who are ready for what it is that you do. Instead of trying to change someone’s actions, how can we give them what they want with the least resistance possible?
How to Create a Deal Without Losing Money in the ProcessIf you can create a deal, people will pay more. I don’t want you to assume that a deal is less expensive. It can happen at any price point! If you can increase value and keep the payment lower, you are more likely to create a scenario in which they view it as an opportunity to save money and get more. Someone’s effort typically corresponds with how much money you are spending. Irresistibility happens when we can create connections between our offers in an obvious ecosystem that works together to draw someone in and carry them through an ascension model.
Why I Chose To Create a Challenge (And Why You Maybe Shouldn’t)I want to share a couple of takeaways from a recent launch that I did. I focused on creating a challenge. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this for people starting out. I have done many challenges before, and I noticed that there were fewer and fewer of them happening in the marketplace. That’s simply because fewer people are participating in them. I think we need to move away from these and stop offering multi-day events. So, I condensed a five-day challenge into a one-day VIP-style event. It worked so well! In my workshop, One-Day Launch: Digital Product Fast Track, I took people from having an idea of concept to launching their digital product offers. Spoiler alert– for a limited time, you can still register and participate by watching the recordings!
What’s Really Happening When People Choose Not to Buy From YouRegardless of whether you’ve sold a service or a digital product, done a live launch, or you’ve been doing things evergreen, you have an opportunity to collect data on the backend of that sales process, whether they buy or not! When someone chooses not to purchase from you, they either don’t understand the offer or the problem you’re trying to solve. It could also happen because there isn’t market fit. You’re trying to sell the right offer to the wrong person. Surveys are an incredible way to get this information, and take what feels like a bunch of qualitative information and turn it into number-based data you can base your decisions on.
One Way to Take Qualitative Data and Turn it Into Quantitative DataThe most effective way that I have gotten people to fill out a survey is by sending a dedicated email and making it super clear. I recently did two surveys; a ‘Why Didn’t You Buy?’ survey for the people who didn’t purchase, and ‘What Should We Create Next?’. The interesting thing here is that sometimes the answer doesn’t mean you should change anything. For instance, my biggest reason that people didn’t buy it was that they couldn’t afford it. If someone can’t afford it, I don’t want them to buy it! They probably have other things they need to prioritize, and that is okay. Other aspects will tell you about timing, communication, and marketing.
How a Survey Question Took Me By Surprise (And What I Plan to Do About It)I asked people how they prefer to learn: on your own in a self-paced course; one-on-one in a mentorship; as part of a community; Googling stuff or consuming free content; or live instruction in real-time so you can ask questions. On my own with a self-paced course was 53% of the audience’s answer. Everything else was less than 13%. Huge margin! As someone who has done a ton of coaching and put a ton of time into community in the past, this is a huge tell as to how I should package up my offers now and in the future. I also asked why they invested, for content and collaborator ideas, their primary source of income, and more.
Why It’s Simply Not Enough To Only Ask The QuestionsUltimately, you have such a huge opportunity to get so much information from people. After you get it, you need to respond. I have created an initial plan based on this info, but there’s enough meat in there to revisit and really analyze once again. If you want more of my survey questions or more info on how we do surveys, I highly recommend that you become a member of the Co-op. We have a template that walks through our survey process and includes all of these questions, and so many more resources. I want to see you building irresistible offers. But more than that, I want to see you get something out into the world, see how the world responds to it, gather information, and go back and do it again. We can do so much for people! And it’s our job to truly sit back and listen to what they want.
Quote ThisIt’s not enough to just put it out there and ask the questions. You have to respond based on that data. Highlights* What It Really Means To Make an Offer Irresistible [0:02:00] * How to Create a Deal Without Losing Money in the Process [0:06:44] * Why I Chose To Create a Challenge (And Why You Maybe Shouldn’t) [0:09:43] * What’s Really Happening When People Choose Not to Buy From You [0:14:51] * One Way to Take Qualitative Data and Turn it Into Quantitative Data [0:21:26] * How a Survey Question Took Me By Surprise (And What I Plan to Do About It) [0:32:48] * Why It’s Simply Not Enough To Only Ask The Questions [0:38:58]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Launching, Surveys, Data, Feedback, Clients, Deals, Offers
We Mentioned:Brene Brown
One-Day Launch: Digital Product Jumpstart
The Market Shift Workshop
Join the Co-op
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Episode 858: Show NotesYesterday I taught a live workshop that was so packed with valuable info that I wanted to make sure more people had access to it. Today’s podcast is the audio version of The Market Shift workshop. If you’d prefer to view the visual slides as well, you can register to watch the complete video replay at no cost— consider it my gift to you.
Watch the video workshop I want to see you be successful, which is why I shared the exact methods I used to build the foundations of my business in this value-packed episode.
Tune in to learn more about:* THE ecosystem that represents online businesses today * How to create more predictable income and sustainably scale—regardless of where you’re starting today * The AI secrets top entrepreneurs use to stay ahead, boost productivity, and secure their future * The exact equation that’s making wealthy people wealthier so you can to steal, copy & paste it before it widens the wealth gap any further
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Quote ThisI know every business is different. I know everyone’s life requires different accommodations.
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Creating wealth, Passive income, Life balance, Building a business, Values, Success
We Mentioned:Free Webinar: The Market Shift
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Episode 857: Show NotesI have so many thoughts about growing on TikTok! Today, I want to talk about my own journey. I am less than two weeks into a personal 30-day challenge I put on myself to hit 10,000 followers on TikTok in less than 30 days. I’m currently at 7,400 followers! There’s no doubt in my mind that I’ll reach 10k.
You might be surprised to know that this account has nothing to do with business. Honestly, that’s the reason I was so resistant to doing TikTok in the first place. Sometimes, people go viral for all the wrong reasons, and that really sucks. I’ve experienced it myself.
I hesitated to go back for a really long time, but there’s an opportunity here. I’ll talk about some of the mindset shifts I had to go through. But today, I want to talk about how this applies to you, how it applies to business, and how you might think about growing on this platform differently than you would think about growing on Instagram.
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TikTok Is a Way to Say HelloTikTok is an opportunity to reach the masses. It is a discovery tool. You are more likely to be introduced to new people on the regular than you are to be seen by your followers. The majority of users are scrolling their ‘For You’ page, so they are constantly being exposed to new people. I want you to think about TikTok as a way to say hello. I don’t think enough business owners put emphasis on ways to grow traffic, and with the rapid changes we are seeing in search, we need to be thinking about how to get in front of more people on a regular basis to generate traffic.
How to Really Start Getting Traction on TikTokTikTok’s algorithm serves your content to a mix of your followers and users who don’t know who you are. Simply put, your content is served to the users that the algorithm thinks will be interested in it. Based on my experience, I can definitely confirm that if a post performs well, it will come back. I have posts from ten days ago that are still getting consistent traffic. Increased watch time improves the reach, and although you can post static photos now, this is not how to get your posts to perform. You are more likely to get traction from taking that photo and creating a carousel post.
One Thing That Really Works on TikTok (If You’re Ethically Okay With It)It’s called ‘Rage Bait’; people are doing this more on TikTok than on any other platform. The question is, how do you do something that is going to make someone feel like they have to enter the conversation? The people who do this consistently are definitely doing it on purpose. Others do it completely by accident, and that’s not always a bad thing. Some examples are people who do makeup tutorials using far too much product or do absurd pranks on their loved ones. I think there is an ethical way to use controversy to your benefit. If you have a strong stance on something and you know people will disagree, that content will get you in front of more people.
How To Kill Your Ego and Reach The People Who Need You MostThis was surprising to me, but I had to work on losing my ego. The thing I struggled with is that I have successfully grown communities on different platforms. I have amassed a following. People do listen to what I have to say. In some ways I felt a little entitled, thinking that the same thing should happen on this new platform. People should care. They don’t! Why should they? Give them a reason to. I needed to work on my ego. I had to go in with more of an open mind. What I needed to do was to reach people that need my help. These people had never heard of me before, and that was not only okay, but exciting!
Preparing Yourself For The Opinions Of Others And Moving Away From a Teacher’s MindsetI know it sounds wild, but I had to prepare myself to have my feelings hurt. Leading up to this point, I have put out content in a way that protected me from getting constant comments and attention. I had some conversations with people who have huge followings on TikTok to prepare myself for the exposure. Another thing I had to do was shift out of a teaching mindset. Teaching is not the only way people get value! Emotional connection, entertainment, feeling heard and understood, and finding community are just some of the other ways people get something out. The account I chose to start first is not a business account, and I think that is why it’s worked so much better for me.
An Unexpected Strategy For GrowthIf the goal is to increase watch time, we often get really caught up on what to say and how to hook your audience and keep them engaged. But the truth is, it takes practice to get good at video and editing. I don’t even necessarily think I’m great at it, and I’ve been talking for a living for ten years! But some ways are more natural for those of us who have been writing and producing content in some form for a long period of time. Utilizing carousel posts on TikTok are an incredible way to do this right now. It’s a huge opportunity! How can you tell the story? If we appeal to people’s emotions, we have an ability to connect with them. You can do this by telling a personal story.
Walking the Walk Instead Of Talking the TalkOne of the things I was trying to do on the business account was share how successful the business was, and show that I had all these downloads. I was trying to get people to be interested and pay attention. But people don’t care about that! They aren’t interested in where your success has come from, but they are interested in how that unfolds. Anytime you can make the person consuming the content the hero of the story, the more they’re going to like you. This is often just a shift in language. You can tell the same stories, just center how to build the content around them instead of you.
The Ultimate Principle Behind Finding What Works For YouMore than anything, I just had to move away from this thought that everything had to be perfect, or that I had to have this brilliant idea every time. You just never know what’s going to work! Letting go of this idea that it has to work not only once but every time, is going to give you permission to just relax and have fun. And the more fun I’ve had, the better things were. It has to feel authentic to you. So if it’s a little wild, a little different to everyone else, honestly, that’s probably the thing that’s going to work.
I could not have predicted that on a video-based platform, photos were going to work best for me. And that’s not going to stay that way, so I will continue to iterate, and work on it, and try things. What’s the goal for you? Not everyone needs to have a TikTok. Ultimately, you need to think about what your goal is. How can you connect? If this particular platform goes away, how can you take that audience with you? Is it something you want to try? I do think some consistency is required, but it doesn’t have to be something that’s overwhelming. It can be fun! I’m excited to take what I’ve learned, apply it, and report back to you.
Quote ThisTikTok is an opportunity to reach the masses. It is a discovery tool. Highlights* TikTok Is a Way to Say Hello [0:05:20] * How to Really Start Getting Traction on TikTok [0:09:00] * One Thing That Really Works on TikTok (If You’re Ethically Okay With It) [0:17:26] * How To Kill Your Ego and Reach The People Who Need You Most [0:22:00] * Preparing Yourself For The Opinions Of Others And Moving Away From a Teacher’s Mindset [0:24:40] * An Unexpected Strategy For Growth [0:33:10] * Walking the Walk Instead Of Talking the Talk [0:39:29] * The Ultimate Principle Behind Finding What Works For You [0:41:20]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:TikTok, Social Media, Online Marketing, Mindset
We Mentioned:Abagail on TikTok
Free Webinar: The Market Shift
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Episode 856: Show NotesPriya Nalli is an Entrepreneur, Business Coach, and Real Estate Team Owner. She is also a wife, mom to two kiddos, and lover of food and travel. She wears many hats, and she’s been through a lot. But she is a strong believer in creating a life that aligns with your core values. During this episode, she joins us to share her personal story of triumph and bravery.
For any listeners going through something hard, today’s message is going to touch and inspire you. But it also might open up some wounds that aren’t yet healed. So when you listen, make sure you are in a place where you feel safe and you can express whatever it is that comes up for you.
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From First-Time Struggles to Finally Finding SuccessAs a single mom starting out in real estate, Priya looked forward to a new sense of flexibility and freedom. Then she got into it, and quickly realized she had no idea what she was doing or how to run a business. Everyone’s advice seemed very much the same, and none of it sparked joy for her in any way. As a single mom trying to build a business from scratch, the strategies she found were all built for people in different circumstances. It just didn’t work.
But as soon as she dropped all the side jobs and chose to go 100% all in, she hit six figures. A big part of that success was starting to build her business in a way that felt right to her. She started building authentic lead-building strategies and honed in on her true strengths. Her main takeaway? There’s no one framework. You have to build and run your business in a way that feels right to you. As soon as Priya had that mindset shift, everything changed for her.
The Moment That Changed The Way Priya Operates ForeverIn 2019, Priya gave birth to her son. After a difficult pregnancy, she was induced, and everything stopped. To make a long story short, she nearly died. She was taken to the ICU and spent the first few days of her son’s life away from him. These were the scariest moments of her life, and she never could have imagined them. While she was being induced, she received a text message from a friend with a new client referral.
Because she had no systems in place at that point, Priya ended up showing a property a mere four days after coming out of ICU. She was still in the diaper that you wear after delivery and nursed her son in the car right after the viewing. She felt overwhelmed despite the support that she had. This moment made her rethink what she was doing, and if the cost was worth it. Realizing what she would have to sacrifice launched her into making some major decisions.
Finding Flow Through Systems and SupportPriya was too passionate about real estate to give it up. But she had to redo the whole way that she operates. The first thing she did was find a way to simplify her approach to business. Then, she brought in support. As soon as she focused on the things that were most important to her, she became more creative and ambitious. Systems and support have created the flow she needs.
Letting go didn’t come easy. She had to trust that the person she was handing her work baby to would be an extension of her, help her serve her clients, and handle her business. Hiring client-facing support was the hardest part! But she quickly learned that when you lead people and you do a good job of training them, you have to trust that you have set them up for success.
Short-Term Sacrifices For Long-Term GoalsSo, how did Priya and her husband go from being thousands of dollars in debt to hiring support and growing a successful business? They cut their expenses! Every extra dollar went to paying off their debt. She also hired a coach to help her make some essential mindset shifts necessary to get comfortable with hiring someone new. Priya didn’t have the money to make new hires. But she chose to bet on herself.
For six months, it was piece by piece, day by day. She went from having a hot mess of a situation to more than tripling her income in one year, all because she took the leap. Priya believed that her short-term sacrifices would support her long-term goals. Her takeaway? It gets easier, but you have to do the work first! You have to go through the tall grass to get to the pasture.
Future-Focus and Wisdom For The JourneyPriya is most proud of the example she is setting for her kids. They see her at her lows, and they see her at her highs, but they don’t ever see her quit. Both her and her husband instil in her children the knowledge that nobody is perfect. We are all going to have hard seasons in life, but we don’t stop trying. She is living a life that she designed for herself and for her family, and she is teaching her kids that they can do the same.
She and her husband have just launched their first Airbnb! Their vision for the future is more freedom, however different that may look in ten years to what it looks like today. But choosing how and where they spend their time and doing things that actually make them happy is their definition of freedom. Being open to receiving whatever life has in store is her vision.
For anyone listening to this who is struggling right now, please feel free to reach out. I am here to support you! Priya’s story is a reminder that happiness and freedom are waiting for you on the other side. She used to think these things were all reserved for other people, but when she took a chance on herself, everything changed. The hard work is worth it! If you found her story inspiring, connect with her on Instagram.
Quote ThisThere’s no one right way to run a business. You have to build a business and run your business in a way that feels right to you. — Priya Nalli Highlights* From First-Time Struggles to Finally Finding Success [0:02:30] * The Moment That Changed The Way Priya Operates Forever [0:08:36] * Finding Flow Through Systems and Support [0:13:54] * Short-Term Sacrifices For Long-Term Goals [0:22:09] * Future-Focus and Wisdom For The Journey [0:30:07]
OUR GUEST:Priya Nalli
Website | Instagram | Linkedin.com
Bio: Priya Nalli is an Entrepreneur, Business Coach, and Real Estate Team Owner known for her work in creating systems and strategies for other realtors and solopreneurs. She describes her core values as being present, family, financial freedom, health, growth, and community, and applies each of these to her life as a wife, mother, and professional.
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Strategy, Lead Generation, Struggles, Challenges, Coaching, Mindset
We Mentioned:Free Webinar: The Market Shift
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Episode 855: Show NotesToday, we’re talking about seven important lessons I learned from incredible bosses before I started my business. What inspired this episode is that tomorrow, I am meeting my old boss for lunch! This isn’t just any old boss, it’s my boss from my very first job right out of college. I interned with him and then ultimately became a full-time employee inside his agency which he still runs today. I’m so appreciative of the lessons I learned, not only from him, but all of the incredible bosses I had before I got here.
I totally believe corporate was not ultimately right for me and the way I want to show up and see my career morph over time. But I also know that I had incredible opportunities to learn from amazing mentors who had gone before me and done amazing things. These people have made me the strong leader that I am today because I was able to witness them being thoughtful in their position and how they stood by me and helped me to grow. I don’t think that everybody has this positive experience.
Today, I want to focus on the lessons I learned while working for other people, and how that’s helping me to be a better leader now. When I say leader, I don’t just mean running a staff, I mean thought leader, someone who’s in charge of fostering community, and someone who is trying to put her ideas out into the world and have them be valuable to other people - tangible, actionable things that people can hold onto.
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What it Means to Move Fast Towards Your MVPAn MVP, or Most Viable Product, doesn’t necessarily have to just be the thing you are selling. It doesn’t just have to be an offer or a service. It can be any work product that you do in any area of business. In the beginning, I was required to do a lot of fast iterations, often completing hundreds of projects a month. So much of that is because you have to get feedback! So often, we forget that feedback is such a critically important part of this loop. Everything is just a new version, a new draft. We are never done, but we are always moving.
The Single Most Important Thing About How You Do BusinessThis lesson, that I learned from Dan, changed absolutely everything for me. He was always incredibly focused on relationships. We created incredible work for incredible clients, but it was always the relationship that came first. The way that’s ultimately had me show up differently is that when I am creating content that’s valuable – whether it’s for this podcast, or for a course, or an email I write – my focus is the person on the other side. The content is important, but how it is received is far more important.
A Lesson I Didn’t Want to Learn And Why You Should Learn It TooEarly in my career, I held a lot of resentment around this one, but today, I have so much more respect for the bosses that were put in this position. Ultimately, to stay in business, you have to focus on the health of the company, and you have to balance that with the health of the people in it. If profit is off, you may have to make hard decisions to let people go. If businesses are going to stay operational, they have to focus on the health of the business. I have cried over some of these decisions, but today, I understand that choosing the business is necessary.
How To Give Your People The Freedom To Get CreativeThis boss was an artist and a free spirit, and the incredible lesson I learned from him was so much fun! His approach was, if given the freedom, how can we push the boundaries of what’s expected? In that role, I worked in admissions, and in marketing for every single department at Penn State. I was given so much freedom to work on projects that were radically outside of what was expected. We each had the crazy little things we were working on. None of that would be possible if I didn’t have a boss who gave us that freedom.
Why You Should Only Present Options That You Want to PursueIf you’ve been in any sort of marketing or design role, this may feel like an obvious thing. But if that’s not the industry you come from, this may be something you aren’t used to. I learned this one the hard way — I would absolutely do work for a client and give them options including one I didn’t feel that strongly about. You’re the strategist. You’re the creative. You’re the person in charge! If you’re going out to get feedback, you should feel good about going ahead with any of the options that you present.
Relying On Those Who Know More Than You DoThis is going to sound wild, but the leader I learned this from was very focused on not being the expert. Instead, he focused on painting a vision, and tapping into the people that knew more than him. He wanted you to know more than him about a specific subject! At the time, I thought this was ignorant. Today, I think it takes a very mature leader to see their weaknesses and be willing to bring in people who are much more talented. You can still create a collaborative environment and provide insight and ideas, but you don’t always have to do all of the work.
What It Looks Like To Learn From The ExpertsThere is very little in this world that is actually new. My last boss before delving into entrepreneurship was Mary, and she made it very clear that it isn’t necessary to reinvent the wheel. What I learned from her is that we don’t always have to struggle. We don’t always have to figure it all out on our own. There are people who have gone before us, and we can learn from them. That’s such a cool thing! You can learn from me. I would love to share the things that have helped me build this business into the powerhouse that it is today.
The Story of Boss Project & How You Can Be a Part Of ItAll these lessons would not have been possible without incredible people that I was able to work with and absorb all of their knowledge, wisdom, years of expertise, and creativity. The original name of this company was Think Creative, KC, which I loved. I’ve always wanted to see people create businesses that move things forward and make things work. I wanted to see a shift away from this solopreneur culture and see people embrace the idea of starting and running a company. The work is never done. We are always iterating. There are always versions, concepts, and critiques, and I wanted to help people to work on that.
Your problems get more complicated and a little bit bigger as you grow. I don’t only want to see you have the tools and the recipes and the scripts and the resources. I want to see you have the support, the community, the people, me, and your peers! I know how important people were to my growth. Not just the lessons learned but the actual relationships. I built The Co-Op to be that community that brings all of that together. We get to do this together, and we can be our whole selves; real human beings with real lives. I want you in! My career has led to this point. I want to see you grow and make your dreams come true, and I want to be there to support you.
Quote ThisIt’s just as important that your staff isn’t stressed out or burnt out, but if profit is off, you may have to make hard decisions to let people go. Highlights* What it Means to Move Fast Towards Your MVP [0:07:08] * The Single Most Important Thing About How You Do Business [0:10:12] * A Lesson I Didn’t Want to Learn And Why You Should Learn It Too [0:13:03] * How To Give Your People The Freedom To Get Creative [0:16:43] * Why You Should Only Present Options That You Want to Pursue [0:21:51] * Relying On Those Who Know More Than You Do [0:23:41] * What It Looks Like To Learn From The Experts [0:27:48] * The Story of Boss Project And How You Can Be A Part Of It [0:31:13]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Feedback, Role models, Managers, Relationship building, Leadership
We Mentioned:Free Webinar: The Market Shift
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Episode 854: Show NotesRachel Miller is joining us for today’s episode of The Strategy Hour to discuss how to grow your email list to millions! Rachel is a proud mom to six kids and a marketing strategist supporting small businesses in growing their audiences organically. She started as an influencer about 15 years ago to bring in more income for her big family and grew to one million fans in just one year! What she really loves to do, is to collect fans and grow them into an email list so that she can retarget them and earn her income like that. Let’s dig into some simple strategies Rachel has used that hugely impacted the overall growth of her business. I want you to be inspired by today’s episode – inspired to take action and be willing to make mistakes!
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Give People a Reason to Follow YouOften, when you start trying to grow your list, you tend to start placing limits on your potential because you worry about why an audience would care enough to follow you or subscribe. Rachel tells us that the reason why people subscribe is two-fold. One, people may subscribe to get more information about you or to be closer to you. Rachel’s preferred way of growing your list is giving people a solution to a problem. Most of Rachel’s audience doesn’t even know that she is the face of the company.
PDF documents are really easy and tangible ways you can draw an audience into your email list. Rachel likes to combine a PDF with a video which grows your list by giving people something of value for free. Rachel also likes to interview her audience to figure out what problems they need her to solve for them and then tests out whether or not that’s truly what they want help with. You need to have multiple different offers at one time and see what works! It’s all about listening and paying attention to what your audience responds to.
How to Optimize Your Time Building & Marketing Lead Magnets It can take between eight hours and a month to build lead magnets and that is a lot of time considering you need a whole load of them in order to figure out which ones work. Rachel and her team created an incredible tool that builds the initial lead magnets for her using AI and then she can go and personalize it. This entire process from start to finish takes her 34 minutes! Rachel wants you to look for the ‘easy buttons’ in your business so that you can optimize your time and make your life simpler!
When it comes to marketing that product, Rachel likes to focus on who her audience is. She wants to create social media content to help her ideal audience find her and connect with her so that the rest of the work is easier! Memes are her favorite way of connecting with her ‘perfect person’ and she puts memes out there, tracks who engages with them, and then creates a separate audience for them. Rachel also wants you to target followers who are going to take action because you are there to make money and grow your business!
Leveraging the AlgorithmRachel wants you to make the algorithm sing for you! You know what each algorithm wants from you and so it’s quite easy to deliver that in order to secure your success. Rachel is really great at reverse engineering algorithms to figure out how to leverage them to her advantage. Niche, small creators, and unique content are so important to the algorithm! Algorithms are powerful because they make life more predictable and easier to ‘crack’.
AI’s Role in the Future of Online BusinessEven with the rise of AI and shifts in the market, having a clean email list will be more important than ever! AI is always going to make the real humans stand out but at the same time, you need tools to make things faster for you. Rachel wants you to use AI as a framework to start from and then adapt it to you! She bases her AI prompts on her content and then goes in and makes it her own afterward! She even thinks that in five years, prompt engineering won’t be a thing and instead AI automations will be.
Quote ThisYou don’t want just a follower, you want a follower who is going to take action!-Rachel Miller Highlights* What it Really Means to Give People a Reason to Follow You [0:04:42] * How to Optimize Your Time Building & Marketing Lead Magnets [0:20:00] * Leveraging the Algorithm and the Role of AI in the Future of Online Business [0:28:27]
OUR GUEST:Rachel Miller
Website | Facebook | X | Instagram | LinkedIn
As a proud mom to 6 kids and a collector of businesses, Rachel Miller is a Marketing strategist who supports small businesses in growing their audiences and sales, organically, without ads. Her marketing courses have had over 27,000 students and she regularly keynotes. Her most recent project is building, PageWheel, ‘cause why should you “learn” how to market your businesses when AI with automations can market your business for you!
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Email List Growth, Organic Marketing, Influencers, Target Audience, Optimizing the Algorithm, AI, Online Business
We Mentioned:Free Webinar: The Market Shift
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Episode 853: Show NotesRecently, I hosted a challenge where over 6,500 participants embarked on a journey to develop their digital products in just 24 hours, from conception to launch! If you missed out, don't worry, the challenge is still open for you to join atbossproject.com/launch. After the challenge, I reached out with a survey question about what you want to hear more of on the podcast. One concern that really stood out was about breaking into the digital product world when most of your income still comes from one-to-one services.
In response to this feedback, today’s episode is all about transitioning from one-to-one to one-to-many while still keeping that one-to-one income flowing. You’ll hear all about the ups and downs of my digital product journey, why it was worth it, and how I would make the transition if I were doing it again today. Join me as I get into all the key facets of this process, from building a community to creating effective marketing strategies for transitioning to one-to-many. Let’s dive in!
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Why You Need to Build an AudienceShifting from one-to-one services to digital products was a big change for me. In the beginning, I thrived on the personal connection of serving clients individually, but I soon realized the potential to reach and impact a broader audience.
I started out with a local design agency and decided to dedicate time and energy to blogging about it. What I didn’t realize at the time, was that I was actually building an audience, I just wasn’t monetizing it yet. But when I switched gears, that audience became crucial. Having a bunch of people interested in what you offer is key. Even though you can start without one, having a community to sell to is critical in the long run.
How to Run Your Business on the Inside Vs. the OutsideI want to encourage you to run your business on the outside, differently from how you run your business on the inside. From the outside, I want you to be marketing for the business that you want. Ask yourself: “Who do you want to be attracting? Who do you want to be reaching? How do you want to help them? What sort of value do you want to provide the world?” My goal for you is to start reaching those people as quickly as possible.
Conversely, on the inside, you don’t necessarily need to have everything worked out before you can start marketing in this new way. You want to be marketing now to attract those people. Because the goal in this transition period is to build the audience. It's not necessarily to get revenue from that group.
How to Split Your Time When You TransitionTo make this transition manageable, you need to be intentional. My advice is to continue running your service-based business four days a week but allocate one full day exclusively to your new venture. Alongside this, dedicate one hour each day, five days a week, to marketing your new business approach. This means marketing to new people and building the internal structure of your business. The remaining time should be dedicated to running your existing business, serving clients, and managing projects.
Transitioning isn't about rushing; it's about understanding your financial needs and giving yourself space. I took about four to five months to transition fully, allowing time to finish existing projects and adjust financially. Your timeline may differ, but it's crucial to assess what you need, both in terms of your finances and your lifestyle. Building savings can provide a safety net during this transition. You don't have to sacrifice your lifestyle to succeed. It's about intentional time management, avoiding burnout, and staying true to your goals. So, be intentional, split your time wisely, and focus on marketing for your future self, not just growing a following.
Understanding the Value of Your WorkAt first, I thought I'd dislike not being as hands-on with clients. I thought real impact meant sitting right beside them, but I was wrong. When you transition to one-to-many, you can still do hybrid models where you teach people, it’s just more akin to being like a professor at the front of the room, rather than sitting at the table with them and working one-on-one.
Transitioning to one-to-many allowed me to impact far more people, which is huge. However, I had to learn that my value isn't dictated by how much they consume. Some might only implement a fraction of what I teach, but that's okay. Their commitment to making a change is what matters. It's about providing value and letting them choose how to use it.
Start Now, Even If You Don’t Have It All Figured OutYou don't need to have it all figured out from the start. The key is to keep growing your community so you have more people to connect with, and eventually, sell to. It's all about marketing on a discovery platform, like Instagram Reels, TikTok, YouTube, or even LinkedIn. Don't underestimate platforms like Facebook either; they can be surprisingly effective, depending on your audience. Remember, people are everywhere online, so choose platforms that align with your style and content preferences.
You don't have to stay on the content creation treadmill forever. There are plenty of ways to repurpose content, automate processes, and use tools like ads and funnels to your advantage. But remember, you won't master it all on day one. Start by giving value for free and sharing openly. Nurture your audience consistently, and when you're ready to launch, take the next step. You can always reach out to me on Instagram – I'm here to help you navigate this journey, and I'm excited to see where it takes you!
Quote ThisI really want you to be thinking about marketing for “future you;” not marketing just to grow a following. Highlights* Why You Need to Build an Audience [0:08:57] * How to Run Your Business on the Inside Vs. the Outside [0:11:37] * How to Split Your Time When You Transition [0:14:30] * Understanding the Value of Your Work [0:24:14] * Start Now, Even If You Don’t Have It All Figured Out [0:30:30]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:One-to-one, One-to-many, Marketing, Business transitions, Time management
We Mentioned:Episode #834: How to Maintain Your Marketing in Under an Hour a Day
Digital Product Jumpstart
Instagram Profit Playbook
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Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Episode 852: Show NotesToday we are joined by self-love coach, TEDx speaker, author, and entrepreneur, Khanyisa Mnyaka. Khanyisa is passionate about helping individuals own their lives through her impressive understanding of the human experience. With a multitude of degrees and certifications, she is skilled at helping people overcome their limiting beliefs and people-pleasing in order to live their most authentic lives. And today she is here to help you with just that!
Khanyisa and I connected when I was inspired by a TikTok video of her discussing why her life is not a community project. I know that our community needs to hear from her because I know that so many of you struggle with imposter syndrome and feel as if you need constant validation for the work that you’re doing. But that is only the tip of the iceberg! This conversation is going to impress you so much and help you work through some things that will ultimately have a massive impact on your life and your business.
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Making Decisions Scared and Distinguishing Between Indecision and Lack of IdeasA lot of women have been made to believe that our internal voices are not enough to make decisions. Most women get our access to intuition cut off at a very young age and therefore don’t learn to trust our internal voices. This conversation came up with one of Khanyisa’s clients and she told her that her life is not a community project or something that needs to be discussed with other people. Being indecisive ends up causing us to spiral out of control in confusion and it is so important to learn how to make decisions even when we’re scared.
Khanyisa wants you to distinguish between indecision and lack of ideas. In order to do that, it’s important to ask yourself how much of your decision-making brain is connected to the fear-centered stories you tell yourself. Sometimes uncovering what that fear actually is can be pretty challenging. That is why people hire life coaches — because being honest with yourself is difficult! You need to start to become more self-aware through honesty and figure out what that fear is connected to. You do not need to live your life from the vantage point of someone else!
Choose Your Hard: Authenticity and Radical Love vs. the Comfort of ConformingGenerational trauma is a very real thing that most people experience. Khanyisa is very honest about the fact that most people won’t break free from it because it is so difficult to do. It is very hard to spend your life feeling like you are misaligned and it is equally as hard to step out of that comfort zone or familiar zone. But what people don’t realize about any work you do on yourself is that the hard work you have to put into the actual process is really temporary. Choosing authenticity is so difficult. But you need to ask yourself what you are willing to trade off: authenticity or the comfort of conforming. The majority of people will choose to conform.
Everyone wants to be authentic without facing the consequences of being authentic because it costs you something. So how do you break out of this and accept the losses you will face? Khanyisa wants you to choose radical self-love. That means you will always choose yourself no matter who does or doesn’t choose you. So many women struggle to believe that they are deserving and have spent years lying to themselves about their unworthiness so Khanyisa wants you to instead, tell yourself that you are deserving and worthy.
Your Superpower in Life is Showing Up as YourselfKhanyisa tells us about how she turned all the pain she’s experienced into purpose and how, when she started her business, she was still operating from a place of not being good enough and therefore, not showing up authentically. She got lost in trying to prove herself and her worth and when she stepped into her authenticity, she found her superpower in life and now can help her clients find theirs too! It is so beautiful to find yourself in a place where you love and accept yourself and are not working hard to make others do it for you.
The first step to embracing your authenticity is getting to know who you really are. Khanyisa insists that the majority of you don’t know who you really are! But, you may know who you pretend to be. You cannot fix what you can’t face and the sooner you realize that you aren’t the person you present to the world, you can figure out who you actually are. Then, you can take it one step further and define the person that you dream of becoming because if you want to be that person, chances are that you already are but some things are just blocking you.
Disrupt a Pattern by Changing How You BehaveIf you know that you are not showing up authentically and are aware of it but aren’t making conscious decisions to change that, Khanyisa wants you to be self-aware without trying to change anything. Sit in the discomfort of who you truly are. If you can do that, you may find yourself making tiny decisions that alter how you show up in the world. You may expect this change to be a massive one, but so much of this change is based on how you make decisions in the moment. You disrupt a pattern by changing how you behave and that is how it starts.
You also need to bring a lot of self-compassion to the table and realize that you aren’t always going to be able to disrupt the pattern! Some days will be better than others but the trick is to keep trying. The small changes will turn into big ones. Remember, that triggers are teachers. Don’t run from them but instead approach them from a place of curiosity and learn about yourself through them. Be sure to follow Khanyisa on Instagram and TikTok to see more of the incredible truth bombs she drops and to be inspired to step into your authenticity!
Looking for Mindset Support?If you’re feeling dragged down by perfectionism, we’ve got just the thing. Learn how to feel confident in taking messy action and being quick on your feet without getting hung up on every decision you make. Check out Bust The Perfectionism Toolkit for easy-to implement strategies to help high achieving business owners like you tackle perfectionism once and for all!
Quote This“I refuse to live my life from the vantage point of someone else.”—@KMnyaka Highlights* Making Decisions Scared and Distinguishing Between Indecision and Lack of Ideas [0:03:47] * Choose Your Hard: Authenticity and Radical Love vs. the Comfort of Conforming [0:13:03] * Your Superpower in Life is Showing Up as Yourself [0:23:11] * Disrupt a Pattern by Changing How You Behave [0:31:04]
OUR GUEST:Khanyisa Mnyaka aka Coach Khanyi
Instagram | TikTok | Facebook | X | Linkedin
Khanyisa Mnyaka a.k.a Coach Khanyi is a Self Love Coach, TEDx Speaker, Author & Entrepreneur. She has been in the Self Development industry for over five years and is passionate about helping individuals OWN THEIR LIVES. With a background in Psychology, as well as certifications in Counseling and Life Coaching, Khanyi has a keen understanding of our human experiences that tend to define the course of our lives. Khanyi grounds her work in the foundations of Radical Self Love, Self Compassion and Self Responsibility. She is skilled in helping people overcome their limiting beliefs, learning how to overcome pleasing people in order to live as their most authentic selves.
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Mindset, Radical Self-Love, Authenticity, Disrupting Patterns, Life Coaching, Imposter Syndrome, Perfectionism
We Mentioned:Digital Product Jumpstart
Instagram Profit Playbook
Join the Co-op
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Monarchmoney.com/STRATEGY for an extended thirty day free trial
This podcast series is sponsored by Teachable. Get started with a FREE Teachable plan here or try Teachable Pro at the best price we’ve ever seen.
We LOVE Teachable and recommend it to everyone. We do earn an affiliate payment at no extra cost to you. Read our affiliate disclaimer.
Episode 851: Show NotesWelcome to the fourth and final installment of our series on diversifying your income! If you missed parts one, two, or three, be sure to go back and check those out. In part one, we covered what you need to know before diversifying your income streams. Part two was all about leveraging where you’re at to get where you want to go and part three featured an in-depth discussion about adding a digital product or course to your offer lineup.
For our final episode, we are joined by author-turned-publishing coach, Lauren Kay to talk about how she grew her business rapidly and transitioned from one-to-one offers to one-to-many. A key thing that has helped Lauren grow her business so quickly is her exceptional marketing talent. However, it’s her ability to listen to the needs of her audience and provide them with the solution they’ve been searching for that has really set her apart. Tune in today to discover the benefits of transitioning from one-to-one to one-to-many, and how you can set this process in motion.
To support your journey, I’ve built a one-day challenge to take you from idea concept to launch in just one day, so that you can confidently create your next (or first!) digital product. You can learn more and sign up for free right here!
Listen on your favorite podcast player
From Author to EducatorIn many ways, Lauren has a classic educator story. After finding herself in the startup world for several years and getting burnt out, she decided to fulfill her lifelong dream of writing a young adult novel. She sat down to write it in 2017, got an agent in 2020; and managed to sign a six-figure book deal with Harper Collins in 2021. However, thanks to the slow pace of publishing, it wasn’t until two years later that her book came out.
As a new, relatively unknown author, Lauren was willing to try anything to get her name out there. So, on her publisher’s advice, she got onto TikTok and started making videos. At first, she didn’t get much traction, but once she started doing what came naturally to her and teaching others, her videos took off in a big way! By sharing what she’d learned, from writing a book to finding her agent to getting published, she gained 10,000 followers in just two months, which quickly doubled and then tripled in size, with similar growth taking place on Instagram.
This development was particularly exciting for Lauren, not just because she was finding readers for her book but because she was growing a totally new business—something she had been too scared to do after her previous startup had failed almost a decade ago!
The Transition from One-to-One to One-to-ManyThe natural next step when you’re building an audience is to monetize that audience. For Lauren, that meant taking her knowledge and turning it into a tangible tool that people could use. She dedicated herself to learning the ins and outs of monetization and spent three months creating an online course on How to Land an Agent. While the course launch was successful, she quickly realized that a few launches a year wouldn’t be enough.
Lauren then focused on understanding what her audience truly wanted. Thanks to her experience with past business ventures, she knew it wasn't about what she thought people needed or what she wanted for herself. It was about listening to her audience. She conducted dozens of calls with followers, analyzed comments and emails, and identified that the top demand was for one-on-one mentorship and editing. People didn’t necessarily need her directly. They wanted to be connected with the right, trustworthy person.
This insight led to the launch of her editing agency! While this still requires one-to-one work, Lauren no longer does it all herself. She brought on a team of freelance editors, each of whom had considerable industry experience and specialized in different genres. By using a combination of the one-to-one and one-to-many models, Lauren has been able to expand her business, increase her earnings, and help her audience reach their goals!
What Lauren Has Learned About Social MediaLauren’s business and social media presence has grown remarkably fast, and she credits a lot of that to the lessons she learned in her previous startups. But social media is still pretty new to her and her approach to content has undergone some important shifts since she started. Looking back, she wasted a lot of time obsessing over her videos, from the lighting to how she scripted and edited them. Nowadays, she simply pulls out her phone and records for two minutes. It took her a while to find her confidence, but since she discovered her voice, the process has been streamlined dramatically!
Similarly, when Lauren initially got into social media, it posed a pretty big mental health challenge. We all know our devices are designed to be addictive for viewers, but as a creator, it can also have a huge impact on your psyche. Lauren found that becoming a creator on social media made it difficult for her to sleep. She would obsess over every single comment and had a lot of fear over what people were saying about her. Luckily, Lauren has found ways to manage and support her mental health alongside her social media use. She encourages people to monitor their mental health and find a community. Once she started connecting with fellow small business owners it became a lot easier.
How You Can Make This Your Full-Time CareerTikTok and social media can feel incredibly intimidating. But Lauren has a powerful message to share. She believes that many more people can make this their full-time income, they just don’t think that they can. Even if you believe that TikTok or Instagram is not for you, you should give it a shot, because it’s such an incredible marketing tool! There’s so much to gain from using it, and for many of us, the key is simply tapping into your authentic self.
One of the best ways to start your business is to reduce friction and pressure by giving yourself an adequate financial runway to establish and grow your business. For Lauren, it took about eight to nine months to grow her audience and build her business. It might look different for you, but giving yourself a financial runway might just give you the peace of mind you need to get started!
Quote This“Initially, social media was a big mental health challenge. These devices are designed to get you addicted as a viewer.” —Lauren Kay Highlights* From Author to Educator [0:11:37] * The Transition from One-to-One to One-to-Many [0:16:55] * What Lauren Has Learned About Social Media [0:26:05] * How You Can Make This Your Full-Time Career [0:39:42]
OUR GUEST:Lauren Kay
Website | Instagram | Tiktok | YouTube
Lauren Kay is a Young Adult author, educator, and creator. Her debut Young Adult novel WE SHIP IT was published with HarperCollins in June 2023. Now, Lauren is dedicated to ending gatekeeping in publishing and helping aspiring writers achieve their publishing dreams. She provides writers with transparent and empathetic advice and support through weekly videos, free resources, curated communities, and 1-on-1 editing and coaching services.
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Editing Agency, One-to-One, Business Strategy, One-to-Many, Online Courses, Social Media, TikTok, Mental Health
We Mentioned:Teachable - Try Teachable Pro for just $1 a month for 3 months
One-Day Launch: Digital Product Fast Track
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Monarchmoney.com/STRATEGY for an extended thirty day free trial
Episode 850: Show NotesIn today's episode, I’m sharing what you need to know about the strategy of kickstarting your business from scratch, even if you think you have no existing audience. I’ve found that we tend to underestimate our existing network. From family and friends to colleagues and acquaintances, you likely have a web of up to 1,000 connections waiting to be tapped into. You’re probably not actually starting from zero— it's just a matter of using those connections to build the life and business you’re wanting.
In reality, the size of your audience doesn't actually dictate your revenue potential. I encourage you to put yourself out there and show up authentically, despite feeling vulnerable. Fear of judgment often holds us back, but stepping into the spotlight isn't just about gaining followers— it's about creating genuine connections and building a supportive community.
Shifting my focus from numbers to nurturing meaningful relationships has not only been eye-opening but also empowering, and I'm eager to share this transformative journey with you on the podcast today!
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Convert Strangers to Buyers With a Digital Product You don’t need to have a huge audience before you start selling. Digital products offer an easy starting point for sales right from the start. Even if you don’t see immediate sales, introducing people to your offer and actively promoting it draws the right crowd to you. And they’ll start paying attention to what you’re putting out there! By offering value to these people, you can earn their trust and create a strategic pathway for how they can take the next step with you at the same time.
How to Build Your Perfect AudienceIf your goal is to generate some money as quickly as possible, then you need to be visible! Strangers need to be able to find you and figure out if you’re talking about what they’re looking for. Instagram is currently my favorite visibility channel. Why? Because right now it’s a great way to connect with people who aren’t following you and don’t know who you are– for free! You can either use an account you already have, or start with a brand new account and grow your followers. The main focus of this strategy is to build your following by leveraging your existing connections.
Leverage Digital Products & Increase Your Audience Choose a highly specific topic that zeroes in on your ideal client's primary issue and how to solve it. Concentrate your content and posts on this subject for the initial 30 to 90 days to build consistency. By maintaining this focus, you'll establish yourself as an authority in this area. Next, introduce and promote an affordable digital product to attract buyers. If you don’t know where to start, don’t panic! I outline the steps to this process in Digital Product Jumpstart, so be sure to check that out.
Once you've got your digital product ready, it's time to nail down the messaging that boosts engagement and sales. Reels are fantastic for reaching new audiences, exposing your content to users who've never seen it, and getting some free organic reach! The best part? You can use your "B-roll footage," filming everyday moments to post. While you're creating content to attract new viewers, make sure to tap into your network, share your updates, and ask for their support.
Cross-promoting your social media channels is super effective and something you should definitely ramp up! Our course, Instagram Profit Playbook is a great resource for marketing on social media.
And you can easily attract new followers and buyers with our Cold Audience Instagram Reel Covers Canva Template. It was specifically created to help you optimize your feed and profile for cold audiences. You can also save time creating engaging, viral-worthy videos with our 22 Viral Instagram Reel Prompts & ManyChat Keyword Funnel Setup. We tested these prompts on our own social media accounts and saw a 1000% increase in engagement in just 7 days!
Use DMs to Communicate Directly With Your FollowersOne of my favorite tactics is DMing followers who show interest in your offer and sending them a direct link to a specific product. They're much more likely to follow through with a personal message from you. Manychat is an awesome tool that can automatically send the link to followers who comment on your reels, even when you're sleeping. With spam filling up emails and text messages, DMs stand out because of privacy restrictions, making it hard for spammers to get through. This means open rates are nearly 100%! Jump on this strategy now before it changes and costs money. It's so easy!
Try Manychat for free here.
Balance Attracting New Followers With Nurturing Your AudienceConsistently creating content is awesome, but watch out for this trap! While Reels boost your visibility, posts and stories handle the “nurture” side of Instagram. They’re perfect for converting cold buyers with your content. Customers who've already bought from you are much more likely to buy again compared to cold leads. So, when you're ready, build a list of buyers and email them regularly using storytelling and compelling marketing. This helps you share your journey and remind them how you can help. It’s a great way to keep the nurture cycle going. You can grow this email list while continually adding value! What you sell and how you talk about it can provide value, and reminding people to take action is a good thing. Be more vocal. Consistently talk about what you do. Take people on a journey! It’s your job to tell them how and why to work with you.
For step-by-step instructions, check out Digital Product Jumpstart today.
Quote ThisIt is your job to tell people that they can work with you, how they can work with you, and what steps to take next. Highlights* Convert Strangers to Buyers With a Digital Product [0:14:11] * How to Build Your Perfect Audience [0:16:57] * Leverage Digital Products & Increase Your Audience [0:22:05] * Use DMs to Communicate Directly With Your Followers [0:29:41] * Balance Attracting New Followers With Nurturing Your Audience [0:33:47]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Social Media, Content, Marketing, Visibility, Building an Audience, Digital Products, Network, Community, Follower Growth
We Mentioned:Digital Product Jumpstart
Instagram Profit Playbook
ManyChat
Join the Co-op
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Monarchmoney.com/STRATEGY for an extended thirty day free trial
This podcast series is sponsored by Teachable. Get started with a FREE Teachable plan here or try Teachable Pro at the best price we’ve ever seen.
We LOVE Teachable and recommend it to everyone. We do earn an affiliate payment at no extra cost to you. Read our affiliate disclaimer.
Episode 849: Show NotesWelcome to part three of our four-part series on diversifying your income! If you haven’t checked out the past two episodes, go back and give them a listen. In part one, we dove into what you need to know before you add new income streams, and in part two, we learned how to leverage where you are to get to where you want to go.
In today’s episode I’m sitting down with Melodee Fiske, a second-grade teacher turned food photographer, who went on to use her experience to educate others on how to build their own successful food photography company! Like other creators I‘ve interviewed, Melodee started by answering questions that were coming from the people around her. During that time, she balanced building her photography client base and sharing knowledge one-on-one before finally turning that knowledge into a course.
Tune in to hear about Melodee’s journey managing this transition, and find out where the tipping point lies between maintaining that balance and going all in on teaching. To support your journey, I’ve built a one-day challenge to take you from idea concept to launch in just one day, so that you can confidently create your next (or first!) digital product. You can learn more and sign up for free right here!
Listen on your favorite podcast player
From Teaching Second Grade to Food PhotographyWhen Melode started exploring photography after being a second-grade teacher and a stay-at-home mom, she only took photos over the holidays. However, she quickly got bit by the entrepreneurial bug and felt the desire to grow and do more. She expanded into food blogging and quickly realized what a huge undertaking it was, both in terms of time and money. It also wasn’t really her passion. Then, one day, she took photos for her friend’s food blog, and fell in love! The best part was when her friend informed her that food bloggers hire photographers all the time. She realized that this could actually be a valid career, and set her sights on becoming a food photographer!
How Sharing Her Knowledge Snowballed Melodee’s CareerWhile Melodee was finding success as a food photographer, she soon connected with a friend’s sister, who was desperate to work from home. Once Melodee saw her passion for cooking and photography, she mentored her sister’s friend through various video tutorials, and helped her launch her business! Within two months, she secured clients and surpassed her income goal! Despite being pregnant with her fourth child and homeschooling, she thrives in her new career, finding balance and fulfillment. Melodee went on to soft launch a curriculum, and it has pretty much snowballed from there! Fast forward eight years, and now, one of the most fulfilling things is seeing how many people could go on and do something they love while working from home.
Finding Her ‘Why’ by Changing CareersTeaching brought Melodee a lot of clarity. It helped her unpack her ‘why’ and better understand her own methodology. When Melodee first started teaching she had to reverse-engineer her process. Through hard work and a lot of analysis, she was able to break down complex topics into simple, easy-to-understand steps and lessons. It wasn’t easy, but building a relatable curriculum has been a key component of her course success. Another key part of her transition was growing her audience. This initially involved organic Facebook posts and later expanded to include successful Facebook ads. In 2020 she partnered with a marketing company, and she has been with them ever since!
What it’s Really Like to Balance Your Business with TeachingWhen Melodee started this teaching, she was in the midst of working with clients. Which was actually great for her as a teacher! Because it allowed her to learn on the job, and incorporate what she learned into her curriculum during the process. She would also go back and update the content as she learned. The big takeaway here is that you don’t need to do one or the other. Teaching doesn’t need to be your exit strategy, it can support your business as well as your personal growth! For Melodee, teaching only made her better, thanks to the hard work she put into reverse engineering her process.
The Most Challenging Part of Launching a CourseWhen Melodee launched her first course, it was not without its challenges! Perhaps the most difficult thing to navigate was figuring out what worked while also being patient. When she made a change she was only really able to see whether something worked several months after implementing it. It was only after waiting that she could decide whether or not she should pivot. Another challenge was knowing which advice to follow and who to listen to. Similarly, learning to have the right mindset and navigate negative feedback was key. It required her to ask “What can I learn from this?” and “How can I get better?” – even when she was frustrated or didn’t agree with what she was hearing.
What Melodee Wishes She Had Known From the StartIf you’re an entrepreneur or you love what you do, then it can be difficult to step away from your business. One of the key things that Melodee wishes someone had told her early on is that her business wouldn’t end if she stepped away from it for a little while. You shouldn’t let the business that you’ve created — which has given you flexibility and financial freedom — become so all-consuming that it distracts from your ‘why’. Another essential thing that Melodee wishes she had known from the start is how important it is to get clear on your student agreements, terms and conditions, and code of conduct from the very beginning. It’s hugely beneficial in the long run and dramatically cuts down on your overall decision-making.
Key Advice For Anyone Who Wants To Create a Course or Start TeachingIt’s normal to experience self-doubt when you embark on the journey of teaching. But you shouldn’t underestimate yourself. Remember, your ordinary is someone else’s extraordinary! It’s also super easy for creators to get discouraged by a saturated market, but if you are passionate about an idea, and it keeps coming back to you, then chances are you’ll find an audience who could use your knowledge. As Melodee says; she firmly believes that there is a place in the market for everyone, you just need the right marketing strategy!
Quote This“I think that there is a place in the market for everybody. And I think that you can sell anything with the right marketing strategy.” —Melodee Fisk Highlights* From Teaching Second Grade to Food Photography [0:03:51] * How Sharing Her Knowledge Snowballed Melodee’s Career [0:10:29] * Finding Her ‘Why’ by Changing Careers [0:16:47] * What it’s Really Like to Balance Your Business with Teaching [0:20:11] * The Most Challenging Part of Launching a Course [0:24:59] * What Melodee Wishes She Had Known From the Start [0:32:17] * Key Advice For Anyone Who Wants To Create a Course or Start Teaching [0:37:31]
OUR GUEST:Melodee Fiske
Website |Instagram
Melodee is a wife, mom, and second-grade teacher turned food photographer. She is the creator of an online course and community, Pretty Focused, that teaches people how to photograph recipes specifically for food bloggers. She has been with Teachable for 8 years and has the privilege of being in the top 100 creators.
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Food Photography, Course Creation, Teaching, Digital Products, Teachable
We Mentioned:Teachable - Try Teachable Pro for just $1 a month for 3 months
One-Day Launch: Digital Product Fast Track
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Monarchmoney.com/STRATEGY for an extended thirty day free trial
Episode 848: Show NotesThis episode forms part two of a series on obstacles that are preventing you from launching your first or next digital product. Listen to them in either order. It’s totally up to you. Part one was mostly about the fear, worry, and time involved in launching your product. This time, we’re mostly talking about marketing and tech. Let’s get into it!
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Where to Begin When You Don’t Know How to Build What You Need You have a great idea, but you’re not sure how to build all the supporting elements you need to sell it. Think email copy, sales pages, tech, and automation. If you’re inside One Day Launch: Digital Product Fast Track, you already have access to all of these things. It’s just a matter of consuming what we’ve put together and going through it in order. Along the way, you’re going to hear about the strategy, and immediately after that, you’re going to hear about the tech. If you need a script or a template or a PDF, we have tried to make absolutely everything you’re going to need to go from idea to launch in one day.
What to Do When You Don’t Have an Existing Audience to Sell ToWhen you look around, it can feel like everybody already has an audience, and you are just the only one on the planet that doesn’t have people ready and waiting to be sold to. I want to remind you that absolutely everybody who starts a business starts at zero. However, you might not be starting from zero the way you think you are. You have people who love and care about you all over the place! Building a digital product as step one is going to give you the framework of things to talk about, test, and try. It allows you to get paid to build a list of qualified leads that you can ultimately sell to other business owners.
How to Make Your Digital Product Look Professional and PolishedMaybe you’re not a designer. I have great news for you! I am. There is also a placeholder template we have designed for you that you can use until you are ready to launch after Beta. After that, we have a ton of templates available for you! You can find them on creativetemplateshop.com. If you want access to all of it, you can become a member of the Co-Op. That membership is going to absolutely be cheaper than hiring a designer to produce everything for you. I promise we are making it accessible so that it will be easy for you to implement without any design expertise.
One Way to Choose Which Idea to Actually Move Forward WithIf you have multiple ideas, it can be hard to choose which one to bring to life. What a great problem to have! One way to approach this is to rank them from easiest to most complicated to implement. In addition to that, cross-reference that with what you have the most already ready for. Maybe that list is what you will be developing over the next six months, or even the next year. You’ll get to them when you get to them, and when you do, you might have a philosophy or another idea that will make it even easier to do. Don’t get overwhelmed by what could be! Know that you can complete a lot more than you think is possible with time.
When You Shouldn’t Move Ahead With Your Digital Product (Yet)You might find yourself in a space where your digital product relies on other content or resources you haven’t finished creating yet. My answer to this might surprise you. I don’t think you should build your digital product yet! If this product relies on something else that you need to finish, focus on finishing that thing! It is always easier for me to reverse engineer than it is to build from the ground up. This doesn’t mean that you can’t create a digital product today. It just might mean that it won’t be the exact one you had in mind.
So You’re Not a Tech Person, What Now?I cannot stress enough that we are covering everything that you need inside One Day Launch: Digital Product Fast Track. It’s going to take you from idea to launch in one day with one idea or concept. Now, that doesn’t mean there isn’t other tech. Of course, there are automations on email and social media, and all these other things. I am going to be here to help you through as many of those issues as possible. After you’ve gone through everything in Fast Track, if you’re looking for one step ahead to add to the tech strategy, Digital Product Jumpstart is going to be that step. If you’re looking to go even further, Instagram Profit Playbook is a great example of how you can move through that.
There’s so much at your fingertips! Take it one step at a time and know that we’re here to support you.
Quote ThisAbsolutely everybody who starts a business, unless they go out and purchase another one, starts at zero. Highlights* Where to Begin When You Don’t Know How to Build What You Need [0:01:34] * What to Do When You Don’t Have an Existing Audience to Sell To [0:02:42] * How to Make Your Digital Product Look Professional and Polished [0:07:35] * One Way to Choose Which Idea to Actually Move Forward With [0:10:29] * When You Shouldn’t Move Ahead With Your Digital Product (Yet) [0:14:10] * So You’re Not a Tech Person, What Now? [0:18:20]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Launching, Digital Products, Planning, Strategy, Tech
We Mentioned:One Day Launch: Digital Product Fast Track
Digital Product Jumpstart
Instagram Profit Playbook
Join the Co-op
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Crashplan.com/BOSSPROJECT to sign up for a free trial
Monarchmoney.com/STRATEGY for an extended thirty day free trial
This podcast series is sponsored by Teachable. Get started with a FREE Teachable plan here or try Teachable Pro at the best price we’ve ever seen.
We LOVE Teachable and recommend it to everyone. We do earn an affiliate payment at no extra cost to you. Read our affiliate disclaimer.
Episode 847: Show NotesToday we get into part two of our four-part series on diversifying your income! Joining us is solo traveler turned travel expert, Shakeemah Smith. In 2015, she created her course, Travel Like a Bawse, and since then, she has taught over 2000 women in eleven countries how to master the art of solo travel. Even though her professional background wasn’t in the travel industry, she was able to pull from personal experiences to give people the knowledge they were craving.
Each and every one of us has a huge opportunity to take the experiences we've had in our lives, be it personal or professional, and transform that knowledge into something teachable that people are eager to learn. Creating digital products may feel like starting over, but it’s important to remember that we all carry with us the wisdom and experiences that brought us to this point. I want you to take a step back and think about what got you to where you are today. What lessons have you learned? What would you do differently if starting anew? What would you skip? Chances are, you’ll find you have a lot more knowledge than you think.
Join me today as I talk with Shakeemah about how she took her knowledge and built a thriving business from it. Discover how Shakeemah approached the shift in her career, not as a total overhaul, but as a starting point to build on all the knowledge and experience she already had!
To support your journey, I’ve built a one-day challenge to take you from idea concept to launch in just one day, so that you can confidently create your next (or first!) digital product. You can learn more and sign up for free right here!
Listen on your favorite podcast player
From Investigator to Traveler, to Course CreatorBefore Shakeemah started online, she had been an investigator for a solid fifteen years. In fact, she had had no intention of deviating from her nine-to-five routine, especially considering the four-year commitment she owed her employers since they had sponsored her Master’s. And yet, her journey toward digital product creation was surprisingly organic.
A fervent traveler, she found herself in Amsterdam on her birthday, stranded after a disagreement with a friend during vacation. This left her determined to explore the world solo, and she began documenting her travels on Instagram. Soon, other women reached out. They were inspired by her solo adventures but were concerned over safety as women traveling alone.
While her audience started as a super intimate group back in 2017, it quickly grew. Soon she was offering advice to more and more women on an individual basis and so she decided to collect all the information they would need in one place and start a course!
Evolving Your Digital ProductsWhile online courses are an excellent way to reach more people, it gets a bit tricky when you’re getting requests from folks internationally, some of whom live in vastly different time zones. That’s where digital products can be super useful. For Shakeemah, she started creating digital products after needing to teach someone in London. They had to navigate a six-hour time difference, and finding a time that worked was impossible! That’s when she built her first digital product.
Her digital product journey started with an ebook. After about a year she added coaching as a service, after which the courses came into play, bringing with it more depth, including community building.
What Happened When The Pandemic HitWhen the COVID-19 pandemic hit, none of us knew what to expect. Yet, despite Shakeemah’s initial concerns about dwindling income due to travel restrictions, she found herself earning approximately 1.3 million during the crisis. The lockdown prompted many followers to recognize the value of her expertise, seizing the opportunity to acquire knowledge, so that they could be well-informed once they were able to travel. This surge in demand not only sustained her business but also propelled it to unprecedented heights!
The pandemic also helped her make a smooth transition from her nine-to-five job to becoming an entrepreneur full-time. She set herself the goal of saving $100,000 before she would consider leaving her job, and remarkably, four months into the pandemic, she reached her goal!
Unpredictability and The Challenges of EntrepreneurshipWhile Shakeemah has achieved a lot of success, entrepreneurship has not been without its struggles. She didn’t have prior experience with running a business, so she was navigating a lot of new terrain, like bookkeeping, tax changes, and other logistical challenges. The lack of financial predictability also posed a significant challenge. In one month she might earn $72,000 from a single webinar, but the following month might only bring in a fraction of that. There is no guarantee of consistent revenue. Despite the high highs and low lows of entrepreneurship, she still finds it totally worthwhile.
Why You Have What It Takes To SucceedIn her full-time work, Shakeemah had been a child protective investigator, which meant doing forensic interviews. When Shakeemah first jumped into her traveling business full-time, she thought she was making a clean departure from her life as an investigator. But the skills she learned in that job actually served her exceptionally well in her new endeavors!
As a forensic investigator interviewing children, she had learned to approach every situation with an open mind. She had active listening skills and was open to other people’s cultures. So although it may seem like two wildly different careers, there was a surprising transfer of skills that has served her in the long run!
Similarly, Shakeemah has gone on to grow and evolve as an entrepreneur. Each time she starts a new business she grows her skills and she draws on her knowledge to make better decisions and create something new with confidence!
How to Leverage Where You Are At Instead of Starting OverOften when we face a setback, we imagine we need to rethink everything, when actually that’s the opposite of what we should do. That’s what happened to Shakeemah when a course she created earned less than she had hoped.
The course was successful, generating $279,000, but it didn’t quite meet her expectations. Instead of starting over and abandoning it, she improved on that course, drawing on surveys and customer feedback. When she launched a new and improved version a year later it earned her $850,000! If she had given up or gone in a completely new direction, she would never have achieved that!
With all the information she got from her feedback and surveys, she was able to market her new and improved course, focusing on key customer pain points. It allowed her to hone in on the pressing needs of her audience, and communicate that she could help with what they really needed!
Quote This“If you really want to be able to service the world, you can't move like a mom and pop. You have to move like big business.” — @passportabuser Highlights* From Investigator to Traveler, to Course Creator [0:03:55] * Evolving Your Digital Products [0:07:02] * What Happened When The Pandemic Hit [0:11:52] * Unpredictability and The Challenges of Entrepreneurship [0:16:34] * Why You Have What It Takes To Succeed [0:19:37] * How to Leverage Where You Are At Instead of Starting Over [0:24:23]
OUR GUEST:Shakeemah Smith
Travel Like a Bawse: Website | Instagram | X
Shakeemah Smith is a solo traveler turned travel expert. She has taught her signature course, Travel Like a Bawse, to over 2000 women in eleven countries, helping them to master the art of solo travel.
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Online Courses, Digital products, Entrepreneurship, Transferable skills, Solo travel
We Mentioned:Teachable - Try Teachable Pro for just $1 a month for 3 months
One-Day Launch: Digital Product Fast Track
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Crashplan.com/BOSSPROJECT to sign up for a free trial
Monarchmoney.com/STRATEGY for an extended thirty day free trial
Episode 846: Show NotesRight now, you have free opportunities to be seen by an organic audience and get free traffic to your offers from people all over the globe. What a time to be alive! What an incredible chance to grow your business! Today's episode of the Strategy Hour Podcast is part one of a two-part miniseries that covers the obstacles that might be preventing you from launching your next (or even your first) digital product. This miniseries was developed in conjunction with Digital Product Fast Track, a free challenge to take you from idea to launch in just one day! Sign up right here and tune in today to learn about the fear and the worry that often creep in and the time it takes to get your product launched.
Listen on your favorite podcast player
How to Overcome the Overwhelm that Comes with LaunchingDoes the idea of launching a digital product have you frozen with overwhelm? You’ve come to the right place! I am a naturally anxious person, and I tend to get uptight about decisions that feel really important. But, I’m excited to tell you that this is not a decision that’s going to make or break your business. You can change your mind as many times as you need to! I want to take you through it step-by-step, and that’s why I’ve laid it all out in Digital Product Fast Track. That way, we are only going to make one decision at a time and it’s going to be so much easier for you to get across the finish line.
Why Visibility is So Scary (& Why Do it Anyway!)Visibility can be really intimidating. I thought it might get easier with time, but I still find myself anxious about people seeing my work, reading my thoughts, and hearing my voice. Here’s the thing, your work deserves to be out in the world! People can’t benefit from your work unless you are willing to get visible. One thing that has really helped me with this is to think about the “one person.” I don’t think about a room full of people listening to me and watching me. I think about sitting across from the one person that I want my work to benefit. Remember, if people want to criticize you, it says more about them than it does about you!
One Way to Take All the Pressure Off Your ProductWhat if your digital product doesn’t sell? Is that actually a bad thing? Absolutely not! Once you start approaching everything like it’s an experiment, all of the pressure dissipates immediately. It’s such a huge opportunity to gather information and insights and learn for next time. If you fail, what could it mean? Maybe you didn’t have enough visibility, or your messaging was wrong, or your product doesn’t solve a big enough problem. Tracking and surveys are one way to find this out. Use your email list or ask your ideal clients. Maybe you need to tackle a totally different problem, and that’s fine too. The whole point of launching on pre-sales is to be able to gather this information before you produce the product.
What it Really Means to Serve a Past Version of YouMaybe you want to create something that is truly useful for your audience, but you don’t know what it is yet. Most people who go out and launch something are serving people who are like them. The easiest person to serve is the one that’s most like a past version of you. What were you most challenged with when you were in their position? What helped you get unstuck? We’re trying to help someone to go from Point A to Point B. If more is required, that might be too much for a digital product. The answer? Simplify! Often the things that are most useful to other people are the things we take for granted.
The Unexpected Way to Create the Time You NeedDo you want income that isn’t tied to your time, but you’re too busy to create a digital product to sell? This can feel very real. There are seasons of life when we truly don’t have time, but if this is a priority to you, you might just have to let something else go. It might not be the thing that you think is taking up all of your time. Is there anything you feel obligated to do that isn’t necessarily getting you to where you want to go? Is there a way you can ask for help? What would buy back some of your time? It can happen. It’s just a matter of priorities.
We have tried to make absolutely everything you need to go from idea to launch in just one day. All this is laid out for you step-by-step with all the templates and tech walkthroughs necessary. We are going to make this as easy as possible. Sign up now andget started today!
Quote ThisYour work deserves to be out in the world, to be consumed, to be benefitted from. That’s not possible unless you’re willing to get visible! Highlights* How to Overcome the Overwhelm that Comes with Launching [0:01:13] * Why Visibility is So Scary (and Why You Should Do it Anyway!) [0:02:44] * One Way to Take All the Pressure Off Your Product [0:09:12] * What it Really Means to Serve a Past Version of You [0:16:47] * The Unexpected Way You Can Create the Time You Need [0:27:11]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Launching, Visibility, Marketing, Digital products
We Mentioned:One Day Launch: Digital Product Fast Track
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Crashplan.com/BOSSPROJECT to sign up for a free trial
Monarchmoney.com/STRATEGY for an extended thirty day free trial
This podcast series is sponsored by Teachable. Get started with a FREE Teachable plan here or try Teachable Pro at the best price we’ve ever seen.
We LOVE Teachable and recommend it to everyone. We do earn an affiliate payment at no extra cost to you. Read our affiliate disclaimer.
Episode 845: Show NotesWelcome to the first chapter in our four-part series on diversifying your income! In these episodes, I’ll be speaking with a range of creators, each of whom has successfully built their own businesses by sharing their expertise with the world.
For today’s conversation, I am joined by the wonderful Dara Denney, a performance creative expert who works with direct-to-consumer (DTC) eCommerce brands on their paid social advertising. More specifically, she creates video ads for some of your favorite brands! She is also a content creator and every week she launches an episode on her YouTube channel where she shares her insights on paid social advertising. She is currently the Director of Performance Creative at Thesis, a conversion rate optimization company.
Over the past year, Dara transitioned from agency work to consulting and launched her very first course. That initial launch earned over 50,000 dollars! Her journey is remarkable and inspiring, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t make her fair share of mistakes. Dara tells us about the many instances where she made the process more complicated than it needed to be, and what she would do differently the next time round. Tune in to learn how Dara created a business built on sharing her expertise and why she wishes she had started sooner!
To support your journey, I’ve built a one-day challenge to take you from idea concept to launch in just one day, so that you can confidently create your next (or first!) digital product. You can learn more and sign up for free right here!
Listen on your favorite podcast player
Why You Should Diversify Your IncomeLet's talk about the benefits of adding a one-to-many offer to your lineup, like a digital product course or group coaching. The first main benefit is time. Sure, one-to-one services are great for quick profit and understanding client’s' needs, but they're limited by time. A digital product allows you to scale your knowledge infinitely, answering common questions once for many people. Plus, it's highly scalable without needing a big team.
Expanding beyond local clients was a game-changer for me, and I know it can be the same for you. With digital products, I've connected with over 36,000 clients worldwide, a scale impossible with one-to-one services. Digital products also helped me not be the bottleneck in my business. It allowed clients to access my expertise at their own pace, regardless of time zones. Additionally, digital products have a low barrier of entry for diversifying your income, especially compared to other investments like real estate, where upfront cash is essential.
Before diving in, there are a few important questions you should ask yourself. Why do you want to sell one-to-many? What's your motivation and purpose? For me, it was about sustainability after a life-altering event, but now it's about helping others achieve financial freedom. Ask yourself who your audience is, and how you can niche down to best serve them. Make sure that you align your offer with your existing services for better results. And don't forget the 'how'. Platforms like Teachable make hosting and selling courses easy. They've been my go-to for reliability and functionality — and I’ve tried a lot of different platforms!
Why Dara Started Her BusinessDara had always had a love of making content, and when the pandemic happened, it presented the perfect opportunity for her to take the plunge and start a YouTube channel. She started off by making content that she had desperately wanted to see when she was a junior digital marketer. It was by and large pretty basic things that she had found super daunting when she first entered the industry. Even in the early stages of her channel, she saw her videos resonate with a lot of people, which encouraged her to keep going.
For two to three years she remained consistent and showed up on YouTube once a week, and made TikToks every other day. After creating content for a while her earnings started increasing, thanks to getting more sponsorships and the interest and demand from her subscribers. She also started with consulting calls, which was a great way to connect with clients and give valuable advice. However, this soon became a huge burden on her time, and she simply could not keep up with demand. That’s when she began considering whether she should sell a course, something she had a fair bit of trepidation about!
How Dara Overcame Her ReservationsEven though Dara felt hesitant about selling courses, which is a feeling of trepidation that many people share, she decided to give it a try when she no longer had enough hours in the day to keep up with the demand for her consultation calls. And yet, starting a course transformed her business and her life! So why did she feel such trepidation when it came to starting a course, and how did she get over her reservations? The answer lies in the public perception of courses, from negative online chatter to the idea that people selling courses just want to make a quick buck.
What helped her overcome these negative ideas, is that her audience repeatedly asked that she put together a course! Other key factors also pushed her to start her course, like the fact that she was repeatedly answering the same questions on consulting calls. She started to feel that her clients would actually get far more value from her courses than the calls. So don’t let these preconceived notions hold you back! You can absolutely sell courses in a way that is legitimate and brings value to your clients and followers. And remember, you don’t need a ton of people, you just need to connect with the right people who want your product!
Dara’s First LaunchWhen it came to the promotion of her first launch, Dara was inclined to be pretty low-key about it, keeping it tucked away in her link tree or briefly mentioning it in consulting calls. But she also took some more proactive steps, including creating a trailer on her YouTube channel and engaging her 2000-person email list to follow their journey leading up to the launch. This strategy not only garnered interest but also provided valuable feedback from potential customers! She discovered that the course appealed more to agencies seeking training modules for their employees, rather than small business owners or individuals, which helped her adjust the pricing and tailor the course content accordingly.
In another stroke of brilliance, Dara decided to further involve her audience in the behind-the-scenes process by sharing the course outline via Google Docs, inviting comments and feedback. This interactive approach highlighted the strong interest from agency professionals, empowering her to make the necessary course adjustments. Additionally, Dara hosted a live session where she filmed a module, allowing participants to get an authentic view of the process, including all her silly mistakes and retakes!
Don’t Create Your Course on Hard ModeWhile Dara created her first course on hard mode, you certainly don’t need to! She was super strict with herself, setting herself a tight deadline, and resigning from her full-time job on June 30, 2023, with plans to launch the course on July 26. With only about 45 days to develop the course, she tackled everything from conceptualizing to filming, editing, and uploading it onto Teachable. Determined to handle the entire process solo to ensure a clear return on investment, Dara opted not to hire any assistance, even though she typically had an editor for her YouTube videos. She even invested in new equipment to showcase the course's quality, seeking feedback from her audience along the way.
However, the pressure she put on herself led to burnout, exacerbated by financial stress and fears of failure. Following the course launch, Dara took a break from content creation to grapple with her new identity as a creator. Despite the challenges, she emerged from the experience with valuable insights, planning to evolve the course into a cohort-based format to provide more engagement and keep the content fresh and up-to-date!
How Teachable Can Support YouThe prospect of starting a course and the many steps you need to take might seem overwhelming, but with a little bit of support, it can actually be super manageable. When Dara began putting together her first launch she tried every platform, but ultimately decided to go with Teachable for several reasons. Firstly, she had prior positive experiences as a student on Teachable, having taken courses from creators she admired, like Melissa Griffin. Familiarity and trust were crucial factors in her decision. Additionally, Dara appreciated the platform's user-friendly interface, both for herself as the instructor and for her students. Even though she had a super tight timeline, and was managing everything solo, Teachable gave her the additional support she needed to deliver valuable content to her audience!
Quote This“Push through any weird, negative connotations you might have about courses, because – it can and will change your life.” — @DenneyDara Highlights* Why You Should Diversify Your Income [0:01:49] * Why Dara Started Her Business [0:22:53] * How Dara Overcame Her Reservations About Selling Courses [0:30:31] * Dara’s First Launch [0:36:41] * Don’t Create Your Course on Hard Mode [0:46:29] * How Teachable Can Support You [0:53:39]
OUR GUEST:Dara Denney
Website | LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok |X | YouTube
Dara is a humanitarian turned advertiser: she has spent the last 6 years managing growth and creative teams agency-side. She started making YouTube videos during the pandemic as a way to career hack, and within 6 months of starting her channel she was able to take her yearly salary from $85k to $145k. In July 2023, she made the jump to full time creator. She currently makes content for advertising professionals and small business owners who want to use Meta Ads to grow their businesses.
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Performance creative, Diversify your income, Online courses, Teachable
We Mentioned:Teachable - Try Teachable Pro for just $1 a month for 3 months
Digital Product Jumpstart
Instagram Profit Playbook
Join the Co-op
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Crashplan.com/BOSSPROJECT to sign up for a free trial
Monarchmoney.com/STRATEGY for an extended thirty day free trial
Episode 844: Show NotesFrom January 1st to April 17th, I have added 4587 new email subscribers! Today, I want to talk about the strategy. How I got those people on the list, what’s working, what you should be paying attention to. An email list is incredibly important to your business because it will allow you to reach your audience more consistently. It’s something that you actually own, unlike your social media followers. Email lists are a long-term strategy that adds to the stability of your business.
In the past, I have avoided talking about email lists because I worry that they can become too much of a distraction. Utilizing a list will get you sales but if you are so focused on marketing to bring people onto the list instead of focusing on actual, tangible sales. I’m confident that the majority of these new email subscribers came from seven different kinds of activities that I was doing in my business to attract those leads. Because I focused on visibility, I’m having a significant increase this year – way more so than in 2023. So, let’s dig into how I managed to do it!
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Utilizing Old Training Programs to Attract Quality LeadsThe first thing that I did was create a training last fall. It went so well! Because it went so well, I put it on evergreen! I wasn’t necessarily promoting it on social media or marketing it but it was accessible! And granted, it only attracted a few hundred of my 4587 new subscribers but ultimately, a training is an opportunity. You can offer a free and valuable training opportunity and it doesn’t have to be long. Personally, I don’t think this should be your first strategy, though, because it takes so long to develop, but it is a great one to incorporate into your toolkit.
Keeping Up with Trends (When You Feel Inspired to!)The second strategy I utilized was a trend. You can do this at any time, as long as you’re paying attention to what is going on in the world! I focused on people wanting to set goals in January and made a fun tool for people to use to do that. Using trends is amazing and a great way to bring in leads but doing it all the time is a lot of pressure. Trying to follow trends constantly is a lot of work when you could instead, include this strategy every now and then when you’re feeling inspired which would ultimately make it more concrete.
The Number One Way to Start Building Your Email ListA significant number of my new leads came from sales. I love directing cold traffic to low-priced digital products because it’s a great way to magnetize ideal people to you. And then you get paid to build your list! Since January, I have had well over 1000 transactions. This is my preferred way to start building an email list because it allows you to do a lot of things all at once. If you want to know more about how I do that, head over to bossproject.com/jumpstart!
How Refreshing Old Content Can Bring You Leads TodaySo far, our strategies have included a training, a trend and a sale. Now it’s time for a refresh! You can take any lead magnet you’ve ever used before or even content that’s been successful on social media and you can refresh that content into a valuable freebie. The one I did was specific to The Creative Template Shop – a pack of free social media templates. It was a great lead magnet that has gotten me a ton of leads over time and was totally worth refreshing! This isn’t something I’m pushing. It’s an example of my templates and how my service works.
Working Backwards to Gain Better Insight into Your ClientsBelieve it or not, most of the leads that I have gotten in the last three and a half months have happened in the last three weeks! I see so many people try to work the other way around and fail because they lack so much insight into what their audience needs from them. I put my primary focus into sales and used that to bring in new, fresh leads while nurturing the people who were active on my list. I designed a course and went into observation mode to see how people responded. Then before doing anything else, I worked on improving the content. I focused on delivering to my clients.
The One Thing that Surprised Me the Most When I Started My ProgramWhat my clients needed most is actually the first step in my program: how to decide what to sell. I managed to solve this problem with a couple of tips and because I had spent so much time getting to know my audience when I posted this, I had hundreds of signups from that one post! Now I want to be clear that not all of that was organic even though it worked very well organically! Because of that, I put fuel on that fire and turned on paid ads. But I didn’t even spend very much and got an additional 700-plus leads after getting 200 or 300.
The Power of a Generic Sign-Up The next strategy I used was a generic sign-up. I know that sounds boring but it works. I have two generic sign-ups; one that’s just to join my email list and another that’s specifically about reactivating if you are opting out. These things exist as tools primarily for customers at risk. Most of the time I try to bring as much value as possible but I do also have gateways that just bring people onto my list. 32 of those 4587 sign-ups were from my ‘join the newsletter’ gateway and another 33 or so were re-opt-ins.
Using Activation to Add to Your Email ListThe last strategy I used was activation. This is even more effective when done in collaboration. This is an opportunity to bring people onto your list via a live call-to-action. If you look back onto the history of my company, the majority of the leads come from sales. But, activations tend to be my biggest spikes. When used appropriately, that activation leads into an actual sales sequence. My activation is called One Day Launch and it’s where I’m going from an idea to concept to launch post in just one day. The goal of an activation should be about bringing value. You can even take an activation and put it on evergreen for people to use on their own later. But, there is so much power in people doing it all together and when people get results, you can use that as momentum to other things that you’re doing.
Now all of this is not to say that this is the only way to build an email list, but I have found this method works incredibly well! The point I want you to take away from here is not the seven different things you can do to grow your email list, but rather that growing your list requires active marketing. Also, if you haven’t yet started your email list, I hands down recommend trying Flo Desk. It’s incredible and the price stays the same no matter how many people you add to your list. If you have more questions about email lists or want to share your thoughts with me, feel free to send me a DM!
Quote ThisGrowing your email list requires active marketing. Highlights* Utilizing Old Training Programs to Attract Quality Leads [0:08:40] * Keeping Up with Trends (When You Feel Inspired to!) [0:10:02] * The Number One Way to Start Building Your Email List [0:11:50] * How Refreshing Old Content Can Bring You Leads Today [0:13:38] * Working Backwards to Gain Better Insight into Your Clients [0:16:37] * The One Thing that Surprised Me the Most When I Started My Program [0:18:34] * The Power of a Generic Sign-Up [0:23:13] * Using Activation to Add to Your Email List [0:24:35]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Email List, Lead Magnet, Cold Leads, Training Programs, Trends, Marketing, Social Media,Generic Sign-up, Activation
We Mentioned:Digital Product Jumpstart
Instagram Profit Playbook
The Creative Template Shop
Flo Desk
Join the Co-op
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Crashplan.com/BOSSPROJECT to sign up for a free trial
Episode 843: Show NotesIf you get one thing out of the pep talk I’m about to give you, it’s this. The decisions that you make today are not ones that you are marrying forever. Regardless of what you launch, you have an opportunity. Whatever you put out into the world, whether it works or it doesn’t, is an opportunity to learn. The world is going to tell you something! And you get to listen. As business owners, we often don’t slow down and listen to this nearly as often as we should.
Not everything I have done so far has worked, and I am okay with that! I often learn more from the moments that I would deem as a failure. Today, I don’t want you to focus on what could be the most shareable digital product or what would be the most trendy thing; instead, focus on how to solve a whole problem. A template, a script, a guide, or anything designed to make a real difference. The more concrete results you can get for a client, the more they will assign value to you and your business.
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The Story of An Early Failure That You Can Learn FromOther people’s failures tend to make us feel better about our own. That’s why I’m willing to put myself on the chopping block and share some of my own biggest failures in launching. One example of this happened when I had been in business for three years. I had some successful launches behind me, and I had enrolled quite a few people in them. There were some people that were excelling and growing, and I wanted to learn from them. So I invested a ton of money in a mastermind. I made some amazing connections, and I don’t regret that, but I put so much weight on what the teacher gave me, that I put down all of my intuition. I let other people drive the boat. This ended up nearly tanking my whole company. I learned a lesson the hard way. You have to trust your intuition! Even if you make the call, and it ends up being wrong, you get to use that information to make new decisions. That’s freaking incredible!
An Example of What Can Happen When You Think You Have It All Figured OutI have done big, important things in my business and yet, not everything will hit. I think you need to hear that! You could have a multi-seven-figure business and still have no one resonate. At one point, I had been listening to the needs of my community and I thought I had it all figured out. I created a workshop. I put it out there. And I had one sale! I left it up for a couple of days. Then, I scrapped it. I ended up relaunching the same workshop. When I adjusted the messaging, I went from one sign-up to 700 sign-ups in two weeks! I put it out there and it didn’t work. I listened, and I said, how can I redo this? I got really vulnerable with my audience and let them know that this embarrassed me! The workshop was about sales, and I couldn’t even sell those spots! But you can’t take one small thing that happens in your business and put so much weight on it that it’s defining your worth. It’s one decision on one day! I’ve done so many life-altering, career-changing things, and I’m allowed to have a bad day. What I want you to take from that is that regardless of your results, you need to listen to people, and take them along on the journey with you.
What You Can Learn From My First-Ever LaunchI launched my first ever digital product after I had launched my first course. The first time I approached selling on a one-to-many basis, I announced I was doing it before I even knew how I would deliver it! My friend Emylee started this business with me and has since gone on to start her own endeavors. Together, with nearly no experience, we co-launched this course and a handful of people bought it. We probably made less than $1000. I didn’t consider it a failure at all! I was so excited that people were interested in buying from me. If, at the time, I had heard about all these huge launches, I may have been discouraged by making $500. But I was not! To me, that money was a sign that I could do so much more. Instead of paying myself that money, I reinvested every dime into my business and used it to pay for tools so that I could do more.
A One-Step-At-A-Time Approach To Doing All the Things Your Heart DesiresMaybe your only goal today is to cover the cost of your Teachable subscription, or a continuing education course or coaching with me. Maybe that’s all you want out of this experience, and that is enough! That is a springboard. We get so caught up on things needing to be overnight successes, that we forget they can also be a stepping stone.
They can propel us forward. Not everything has to happen simultaneously! They can happen one step at a time. I’m so excited for you to go out and do this and it’s going to be a little messy, and it’s not going to be perfect, and you’re going to want to go back and make changes, and that’s okay! The goal for today is to prove to yourself that you are capable and that this can take you to wherever you want to go.
You have access to the tools and the resources and the scripts and the templates to make it all possible, and we’re literally giving them to you for free! What are you waiting for? I want to help you launch your first or your next digital product in just one day. All of the steps are laid out for you inside. Dive in! I can’t wait to see everything you do.
Quote ThisThe decisions you make today are not ones that you are marrying forever. Highlights* The Story of An Early Failure That You Can Learn From [0:08:20] * How I Came Back From One of the Biggest Flops Ever [0:18:13] * What You Can Learn From My First Ever Launch [0:23:05] * A One-Step-At-A-Time Approach To Doing All the Things Your Heart Desires [0:26:14]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Failure, Goal-setting, Mistakes, Launching, Marketing, Success
We Mentioned:Digital Product Jumpstart
Instagram Profit Playbook
Join the Co-op
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Oakessentials.com - use code BOSSPROJECT15 for 15% off your first order
Episode 842: Show NotesToday, I want to tell you about the process that helped me create an Instagram Reel that got me 364 free leads in under 24 hours. A Reel that has since gone on to generate more than 771 leads, and counting. Even I’m still struggling to grasp how this happened!
I'm not here to claim that I've cracked some universal marketing code or boast about one simple trick that will get you unbelievable results. Yes, what I did was incredibly simple and yielded exceptional results, but it wasn’t where I started and it’s not what made this work. It took several months of strategic planning, brainstorming, and taking action before things took off the way that they did. That’s why I’m using today’s episode to tell the full story of how I got here, and how you can take the next step in building your list of dream clients. Let’s get into it!
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Helping Small Business Owners Become Financially FreeI have always wanted to see more small business owners become financially free. What I didn’t realize at the start of my journey was how much it would require me to do on my own. I had to get there first so that I could take others with me.
Luckily, I only needed to be a couple of steps ahead of my audience to make a meaningful impact; that’s why it always worked. I didn’t necessarily need to achieve everything ahead of time to show how people could move forward in their businesses.
How I Discovered What My Clients NeededIt took me years to reach a place where I felt comfortable and financially secure, which is how I know that other people's journeys aren’t going to magically materialize in a couple of weeks, months, or even one or two years. If that’s the case, how can I help them achieve their goals? And how can I break it down step by step? What is the next thing my ideal client would need to do to get the kind of traction that would help them achieve their end game?
I began conducting polls and surveys, asking direct questions to better understand my audience’s current mindset and requirements. When it came to structuring my surveys, I wasn’t trying to discover the answer to more sophisticated questions like “What’s your issue with making money?” or “How are you struggling to grow your money or invest money?” That was way too far down the line. I needed them to build a business asset that would fuel all of those things. I had to help them with the foundational elements, like sales. But to create sales, you need leads. After conducting these polls, it quickly became very clear that the most pressing question my audience had was “How do I get more leads?"
Where The Majority of My Leads and Growth Came FromLooking back at my company, I can see that the majority of my growth and lead generation came from selling low-priced digital products. These were designed to attract my ideal client. They would convert at a low price point, and I could earn their trust and demonstrate the high value I could offer them. By following this process, my other products and services would then make sense to them.
I created Digital Product Jumpstart to teach this to other small business owners and provide a step-by-step guide for developing a digital product idea that meets your goals and attracts your ideal client. But, I didn’t release it immediately. Instead, I launched it on pre-sale at the start of the year. I know a lot of people feel wary of pre-sales, but it’s a lot more common than you think, and it’s an excellent way to get feedback before you go about building your product.
The Biggest Sticking Point For My ClientsOnce I launched the Digital Product Jumpstart program, I analyzed how people were using it. I observed their sticking points and where they failed to progress, even when I was sure they had all the information they needed to move forward. I paid careful attention to those gaps and used the information I had gathered to build a resource that I initially gave exclusively to my clients.
I discovered that the biggest sticking point wasn’t necessarily getting their product launched or telling people that it existed in the first place. They were actually getting stuck at the very first step! I would never have guessed this on my own, because it’s not what I struggled with. This proved to me, once again, that you need to build products off collective knowledge, not just your own experience.
How I Helped My Clients Get Over Their Biggest HurdleNow, I knew I needed to create a resource that would help my clients get over this hurdle. I decided to break down that first step and make it even simpler. First, I developed a database of 500 digital product ideas. I then divided it by niche or industry. This allowed them to look at the industry that was most closely related to their own and see different examples. They could also look at totally unrelated industries for comparison. By analyzing different formats and messaging, they could start to identify patterns to help them make decisions.
To break things down even further (because 500 ideas is a lot to digest!), I narrowed it down to 100 ideas. I also provided insights into how to avoid common mistakes and helpful tips for simplifying the decision-making process.
Staying FocusedThroughout this entire journey, I didn't just drop everything and focus solely on my clients (something I’ve been inclined to do in the past). I learned the hard way that I can't constantly juggle my attention. I had to find the right balance so that I could effectively serve my clients while also keeping the business going. So, while I was dedicated to my clients, I also kept the marketing engine running, directing folks to my podcast and offering free value through various channels.
Why My Post Generated So Much EngagementThis year, I committed to increasing visibility, and I stuck to it. I honed my skills in crafting compelling hooks and producing engaging content, which not only drove interaction but also attracted cold audiences. All of this groundwork culminated in a pivotal moment. I had truly grasped the needs of my audience, created a digital solution, and delivered on it! I didn't just stop there; I continued refining the product based on feedback and crafted a lead magnet to address their primary pain points even before they joined the paid program.
When it came time to launch, I didn't drum up hype or tease the release. I simply put it out there with one post. And because I was so attuned to the needs of my audience, that post received unprecedented engagement from day one. It might not have garnered the most views initially, but the level of interaction spoke volumes. People were hungry for what I had to offer!
One-Day Launch: Digital Product Fast TrackIf everything I’ve just gone through sounds like a lot, don’t worry! After all, I’ve just described the past six months of my life. I don’t want you to feel like you need to put weeks or months into development before you can see results. Instead, my goal is to fast-track this process for you, which is why I’ve partnered with Teachable to bring this challenge to life. I’m going to help you identify your digital product, get it listed, and launch it, all in a single day with Digital Product Fast Track! I want as many small business owners as possible to have this knowledge, which is why I am giving it to you, for free.
If you’re ready to commit just one day, learn more and get started right here! It's risk-free and packed with potential. Let's make it happen together!
Quote ThisYou don't need free leads right now. You need more income. The only way you're gonna get more income is if you have more ideal clients in your world. Highlights* Helping Small Business Owners Become Financially Free [0:05:21] * How I Discovered What My Clients Needed [0:08:21] * Where The Majority of My Leads and Growth Came From [0:10:59] * The Biggest Sticking Point For My Clients [0:13:23] * How I Helped My Clients Get Over Their Biggest Hurdle [0:14:40] * Staying Focused [0:18:23] * Why My Post Generated So Much Engagement [0:19:51] * One Day Launch: Digital Product Fast Track [0:27:01]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Business growth, Instagram, Social media marketing, Engagement, Small business, Digital products, Lead generation
We Mentioned:100 Profitable Digital Products Ideas
One Day Launch: Digital Product Fast Track
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Squarespace.com/BOSSPROJECT for 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Oakessentials.com - use code BOSSPROJECT15 for 15% off your first order
Episode 841: Show NotesWhat if, instead of worrying that you are running out of time in your business or that your plans are delayed, you accepted that you are right on time for your own destiny? Today I am joined by Amber McCue, a woman who went from being an 18-year-old single mom to owning three companies that allow her to work from anywhere in the world. Amber grew her first business to a multi-million-dollar company from just a side hustle! She knew her business was going to be a success when she encountered what she calls ‘right on time’ moments that nudged her in the right direction and she still looks out for them 14 years later. In this episode, we talk about the concept of being ‘right on time.’ This conversation is so life-changing— I can’t wait for you to hear it.
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Why You Cannot Be Late for Your DestinyAfter consistently telling her clients that they were ‘right on time’ for more than a year, Amber realized that being present, practicing patience, and surrendering were essential elements of success. Amber wants her clients to practice surrender and detachment from the outcomes. When you feel attached to an outcome, changing your physicality to become more open can prompt a different feeling in your body. It’s important to differentiate between the things you can and cannot control. Amber wants you to plan, create, and have a vision with an ideal timeline while recognizing that things may not always go to plan. That helps you open yourself up to the possibility of magic happening!
Detaching from Outcomes in Your BusinessDetaching from outcomes requires a massive shift in perspective and a mindful approach to rewiring the way you attach yourself to your business. Amber shares some examples of responses to certain scenarios and shows us the difference between being attached versus detached from outcomes. Instead of worrying that an idea won’t work when it’s going wrong, try and see what happens! Rather than waiting until you reach a certain goal to do things in your business, decide to be happy and do what you want to do now. When a curveball is thrown at you, try something else given your new circumstances instead of believing that your project is ruined. You have the power to change these thoughts!
The ‘Try it on’ VisualizationTry to remember going through puberty and how ridiculous you felt and looked when trying to figure out how you wanted to present yourself to the world. If you think about it, your business isn’t that much different. You get to make all the decisions about your business and while that can be intimidating, the trial-and-error aspect of it is simply part of the process of building your business. Amber invites you to attempt her ‘try it on’ visualization method to walk yourself through what certain decisions will look like in your business. When using this method, it's also important to ground yourself in your ‘why’ to stay true to your vision and mission.
Gifting ‘Right on Time’ to Other PeopleGifting the idea of being ‘right on time’ to other people is such an important part of your journey and it’s how Amber started embracing the concept of ‘right on time’ in the first place. You have to live, breathe, and practice this principle so that when other people are not on time, you can extend compassion and embody being ‘right on time.’ When you extend the idea of ‘right on time’ to other people, you really get to practice it and check your thoughts. You will be so surprised at the power of the relationships you can create when you approach people with compassion and curiosity. That, in turn, will allow you to fully embrace and embody being ‘right on time!’
How Being ‘Right on Time’ Ties into ResilienceWhen Amber and her family’s move to Africa got delayed by eight months (after all of their possessions had been moved already), she practiced patience and surrender and reminded herself that they were ‘right on time’ and magic was coming! And she was right! It was the most incredible journey that taught her so much about herself. In hard moments, you need to remind yourself that you cannot quit and that good things are on the horizon. Amber wants you to be open, curious, and alert when looking out for the opportunities that hardships present you with. You are likely going to experience terrible things in your life. But every single thing you go through impacts you and how you show up in the world and there is so much power in how you surrender to those situations. If you want to start practicing the idea of being ‘right on time,’ check out the Right On Time Meditation Amber has prepared for you.
Quote ThisYou’re right on time. You cannot be late for your destiny!—Amber McCue Highlights* You Cannot Be Late for Your Destiny * Detaching from Outcomes in Your Business * The ‘Try it on’ Visualization * Gifting ‘Right on Time’ to Other People * How Being ‘Right on Time’ Ties into Resilience
OUR GUEST:Amber McCue
Website | Instagram |Facebook
From single mom at the age of 18 to owning three companies that allow her to work from anywhere with her family, from Ethiopia to Chicago and Cote d’Ivoire to California.
Every day she is grateful for starting her business when she did and for creating the types of businesses she did––businesses that do not require her to be always on.
She has a background in corporate consulting and studied in the Johns Hopkins Organization Development MBA program, which lends well to the strategic consulting she does with Modern CEOs and through the How to Clone Yourself experience for entrepreneurs. Putting all things How to Clone Yourself to work, Amber grew her first business from a side hustle to a multi-$1M company that operated in more than 26 cities across the US. She purchased her first company, an online education company, in 2022.
Key Topics:Right on Time, Detaching from Outcomes, Business Planning, Resilience, Surrender, Compassion in Business, Mindset, Visualization
We Mentioned:Right on Time Meditation
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Episode 840: Show NotesPeople often believe that in order to succeed at their work, they have to be absolutely excellent at everything that they do. But what if following that path would only lead you to burnout? Today’s episode was inspired by an article I read by Morgan Smith for CNBC. She interviewed Harvard-trained Neuroscientist and Adjunct Professor Juliet Han. Han suggests a totally different approach to growth. Rather than self-examining your strengths and weaknesses, what if you focused predominantly on your job responsibilities?
Here’s the thing, though: you’re a business owner. So, as the CEO and head of your company, what is most important for you to do? What do you need to be excellent at? What tasks do you need to be good at? What tasks can be low-effort or delegated? There are a couple of things you need to focus on to make your business thrive: cash flow, sales, and messaging. In the digital product world, it’s all about driving continuous traffic to your product rather than constantly improving the offer. Every company is different! Let’s get into it.
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What Changes When You Figure Out What Really Drives Your CompanyWhat brings in the most sales in your business right now? How can you continuously improve your skill set around the things that are actually going to grow your business revenue? And how do you balance that by delivering on all the promises you have sold to your audience? With that in mind, what do you need to be good at? And what are some low-effort things that you can delegate and take off of your plate? What if you looked at your responsibilities and really understood what you needed to excel at, what you needed to be good at, and what you simply needed to get done? Doing this highlights the true avenues for growth. Which deliverables are most critical to the long-term health of your company?
Why Asking For a Second Opinion Could Highlight What You Really Need to ChangeHan also suggests that you ask for a second opinion. Tell someone you are evaluating your current workload to maximize your productivity and focus in order to reach bigger goals. Ask them what areas they think you’re doing well in, where you might be falling short, and if the priorities you’ve outlined are contributing to the company’s mission or bottom line. Some things that you are terrible at are critically important to your job’s success. So why are you continuing to backburner them or pass them off to someone else? Social media is a great example of this for me. When I have dedicated myself to understanding how it needs to work to be helpful and to get me to where I need to go are the times when my company has grown the most.
How to Get Out of Autopilot and Put Yourself Back in the Driver’s Seat of Your CareerHow do the things you need to excel at support your long-term career goals? Whether it’s positioning yourself to grow your company or your bottom line, make it so that your business is scalable or sellable in the future, and you get to decide what that roadmap looks like. Where is your time currently going? Does that make sense? Han gives a great example: you might be less responsive to emails, but if you’re using that time to deep-focus on work, you’re probably doing better quality work. It’s not always about letting it go. Sometimes, it’s about not letting it interrupt what’s most critically important. Thinking about all the components of your business really helps you to get out of autopilot and really sit in the driver’s seat of your career.
Getting Hyper-specific About the Types of Skills You Need MostHow are you going to make time to prioritize development? That’s one thing that often ends up being set aside when we are busiest. You can’t do everything all at once, but you can highlight those big, important tasks. What if you got hyper-specific about the type of skills you need most? What I’m thinking about at Boss Project is ranking those important tasks from the things that I am naturally good at to the ones I lack knowledge in. When we talk about skill development, I am looking at those low-knowledge skills. What are one to three areas I can focus on in the next 30, 60, or 90 days? Instead of putting a band-aid over it, what if you started to rebuild the structure of your business to eliminate those holes?
Most of the change that needs to happen is high-level change. It’s systemic. You probably have something screaming at you right now! Check yourself and make sure it’s not something you feel pressured to do but something that is actually critically important. Instead of focusing on what everyone else is talking about, think about the thing that you need. Then you can decide what you’re going to take on and what you’re going to delegate to people on your team. I’m excited to see where this takes you next! If you’re ready to have more support, and you really want me in your corner to help you focus, I would love to be your coach. Go tocreativetemplateshop.com/coaching to be a part of it. I would love to support you as you prioritize the things that are most important to you in your business!
Quote ThisMost of the change that is going to make the biggest difference is systematic change. Highlights* What Changes When You Figure Out What Really Drives Your Company [0:05:27] * Why Asking For a Second Opinion Could Highlight What You Really Need to Change [0:07:39] * How to Get Out of Autopilot and Put Yourself Back in the Driver’s Seat of Your Career [0:12:08] * Getting Hyper-specific About the Types of Skills You Need Most [0:14:49]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Skill development, Business priorities, Upskilling, Delegation, Success
We Mentioned:Harvard-trained neuroscientist: The ‘most underrated’ skill successful people use at work—and how to develop it
Digital Product Jumpstart
Instagram Profit Playbook
Join the Co-op
Squarespace.com/BOSSPROJECT for 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Oakessentials.com - use code BOSSPROJECT15 for 15% off your first order
Episode 839: Show NotesI don't know about you, but when I’m feeling stuck, my default is to jump straight into strategy. What's the tactical plan? What steps should I take? How do I break free from this rut? Is there a book, a podcast, a process, a checklist – anything that can guide me out? Just hand me the instruction manual, and let's get moving! But if you suspect that what's holding you back is more about mindset than your previous blocks have been, then this can be a tough place to be in, especially for those of us who thrive on logic and clear steps forward.
Today, I'm going to do something a little bit unconventional. I've compiled a list of questions that I truly believe can help us dig deep and uncover what's going on beneath the surface. How do we get to the root of why we are feeling so stuck? And more importantly, how do we start feeling positive about charting a new course? But I want to take it a step further. I don't think the questions by themselves are as helpful as seeing the process in action. So, we're going to tackle this together. I haven't prepped my answers to these questions. Instead, I'll open up about my own struggles, my mindset obstacles, and where I'm aiming to go next. Let's dive deep into these questions together!
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What Do You Really Want?If we’re trying to get unstuck, then we have to get super clear on what we need, what we want, and what is truly important to us. Because if it’s not important, then it can’t truly be something you want or need. The answer that comes up for me in response to this question is twofold. Firstly, there’s a part of me that wants to rest and relax, work less, and be okay with a slower pace. But on the other hand, there’s a huge pull on my heart and my mind to help more people.
Throughout my life, I have experienced vastly different states of financial stability. I might be in a solid place now financially, but I still remember being that terrified girl who didn’t know if she was going to be able to afford to feed herself. So when it comes to answering this question there’s a huge push and pull for me. I feel like I should enjoy everything I’ve worked so hard for, and take some time for myself, but I also feel a sense of responsibility to share the knowledge I have.
What Is Making You Feel Stuck?You might think that what’s making me feel stuck is the push and pull between taking more time for myself versus helping others. But, if I’m being honest, the thing that is actually making me feel stuck is fear. And it’s the strongest sense of fear that I have ever felt.
I discovered that this sense of fear is rooted in becoming more visible, and purposefully putting myself out there so that I can reach more people. Because when you gain thousands of new followers, you’re bound to get more criticism and interact with people who disagree with you. And unfortunately, there are way too many examples of people finding success on social media, only to leave because of all the hateful comments they receive. I don’t yet know how to move past a fear that feels so justified. But at least I’ve acknowledged that it exists – and that’s an important step.
What Are You Willing To Do About It?When I ask myself what I’m willing to do about the fact that I am feeling stuck, the answer is, “A whole heck of a lot, actually!” I'm willing to do therapy, work on my mindset, try alternative medicine, coaching, or any number of different things. But this is about focusing on what I really want. And if I really want to impact more people, what am I willing to do?
I’ve discovered that I’m willing to put myself out there visibly and risk something that feels inevitable so that I can help make real change – because people need it. And they deserve access to the knowledge and resources that I can connect them with. But I’m also going to put boundaries in place to safeguard my feelings as well as my well-being. I don’t have all the details worked out yet, but it’s a start!
What Are You Not Willing To Do?The question “What are you not willing to do?” Is ultimately a question of values. What are your values, morals, and ethics, and how are you going to stay true to them? And, what does this mean for your actions and reactions?
The answers may differ for you, but one thing I know I will never compromise on is the safety of others, whether it’s the members of my community or my family. If I see any form of hate creep into a community setting I will take every measure necessary to eradicate it, even if that means I need to refund someone. I don’t have a problem with that. I will protect my community and my family at all costs.
What’s Your First Step?It would be really easy for me to say that my first step is something tactical, like committing to a marketing schedule that will put me in front of more people and boost visibility. But deep down, I'm not convinced that's the true starting point, because that would be too easy to prioritize.
Truthfully, I think my first step is much more personal. I’m not necessarily even sure what my first step looks like right now, but until I do, I’m committed to showing up. To help me in this process I'm delving into questions like “How do I unearth the root cause?” and “How can I confront the underlying issues when fear is holding me back, even when it feels justified?” And when I think about it like that, I become convinced that my first step will have way more to do with my personal health than it does to do with business.
What Are You Willing To Commit To?Facebook recently shared a memory with me. It was a post I did way back when I started my business. In it, I committed to writing a new blog post, five days a week, for an entire year! It reminded me of the uncertainty I faced at the time, and how I embraced consistency and showing up, even though I didn’t know where I would be a year from then. I was by no means flawless (I definitely didn’t manage to write five days a week, every single week) but I did go from zero to 180 blog posts in one year, which is a whole lot more than nothing!
For me, commitment means having a clear direction, and for now, that's leaning toward social media – the place where I can get the most free and organic reach. Despite my fondness for blogging or email, I realize that's not where I'll make the most impact. To reach the widest audience, I have to leverage the platforms with the best organic reach. And with Google's SEO changes on the horizon, it seems web traffic will continue to dwindle, making social media the prime space to connect with my audience.
How Will You Stay Focused?For me, staying focused means concentrating on the commitment, not the end goal. Because the place I’m trying to go – which is reaching a large audience and subsequently facing criticism – terrifies me. Instead, I’m focusing on what feels achievable, like consistently showing up on social media. So, ask yourself how you are going to stay focused. Will you be focusing on the commitment itself, or is there something else that will recenter you? What will rein you in if you go off course?
For me, there are a couple of layers to this. Firstly, if we're talking about commitment on social, I think what's gonna rein me in – if I go off course – is paying attention to when I work best, which for me is at night. Secondly, I know that getting off course has a lot to do with my mood and how I feel in my body. I’m a very anxious person and I also have some health issues that can, at times, make me feel like absolute garbage. And if I don't feel good in my body, it's gonna be really hard to do anything. So, I am trying to be mindful of what is going to help me there.
How Do You Need to Feel to be Most Effective At Showing Up?When I ask myself how I need to feel to be the most effective at showing up, the following things come up for me. I know that I need to lower my anxiety so that I can feel relaxed and grounded. I don’t necessarily need to feel super inspired, but it’s essential that I don’t feel unworthy, or less than. Not necessarily like imposter syndrome, but I need to feel capable in the moment.
There are a lot of things that can help with this, like taking deep breaths, going for a walk, or sitting in the sunshine. Every one of those things helps my mood and my anxiety. So if these things are going to help me feel the most effective, then I need to prioritize them. Even if going for a walk during "working hours" seems like a distraction, if it means I'll be more productive throughout the day, why resist it?
How Can You Create More of That Feeling?Once you are aware of what state of being will make you the most effective at showing up, how can you put systems in place to create more of that feeling? For me, none of the answers are related to my business. It’s all centered on my emotions and how my body feels.
I’m not sure about you, but for me, my emotional and physical health are deeply intertwined. If I have a headache, or I’m tired, then you can bet I’ll be cranky and that I won’t want to do anything else. Because if my body doesn’t feel good then it is absolutely going to affect my mood. Which is why I need to prioritize taking care of my emotional and physical health.
Is There Anything You Need To Address In Your Body in Order to Make This Happen?I firmly believe in the interconnectedness of mind, body, and spirit. It's important to address these aspects separately, even though they influence each other. Pushing through physical discomfort with sheer mental determination isn't effective. For example, positive thinking won't resolve gut issues, it requires direct attention.
I've been procrastinating on scheduling a doctor's appointment, but I'm finally going in. I don't expect immediate answers, but I am hopeful. Experience has taught me that healing takes time and persistence. Prioritizing my physical health is crucial for my emotional well-being and business success. Looking back, I've seen how focusing on self-care led to higher profit margins, even if monetary gains were slightly lower. Conversely, pushing through illness led to more revenue but not necessarily greater profit — plus, I ended up working a lot more!
Now It’s Your Turn!Grab a favorite beverage, open your journal or an electronic doc and work through these questions now that you’ve seen them in action:
- What do you really want?
- What’s making you feel stuck?
- What are you willing to do about it?
- What are you NOT willing to do?
- What’s your first step?
- What are you willing to commit to?
- How will you stay focused?
- What will rein you in if you get off course?
- How do you need to feel to be the most effective at showing up?
- How can you create MORE of that feeling?
- Is there anything you need to address in your body or prioritize first in order to make this happen?
More Support for Your MindsetCan you imagine what your day-to-day life could feel like if you had a stronger mindset? We’ve built a toolkit full of simplified, easy-to-implement, game-changing mindset strategies designed to uplevel you. If you’ve been trying to reach a new level in your small business, but find yourself holding yourself back by waiting for the perfect time, editing and reworking your offer, sales page, or messaging, or looking for the next thing to start and try, then you’re letting unhealthy perfectionism rule you. Take action today to banish unhealthy perfectionism and procrastination– check out our Bust The Perfectionism Toolkit!
Quote ThisThere is no finish line, I just have to keep moving forward. And if I need time, I'm going to respect that I need time. Highlights* What Do You Really Want? [0:12:56] * What Is Making You Feel Stuck? [0:18:16] * What Are You Willing To Do About It? [0:22:04] * What Are You Not Willing To Do? [0:23:40] * What’s Your First Step? [0:27:09] * What Are You Willing To Commit To? [0:28:26] * How Will You Stay Focused? [0:29:47] * How Do You Need to Feel To Be The Most Effective At Showing Up? [0:32:54] * How Can You Create More of That Feeling? [0:34:46] * Is There Anything You Need To Address In Your Body In Order To Make This Happen? [0:35:48]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Strategy, Fear, Success, Mindset, Self-Care, Health
We Mentioned:Digital Product Jumpstart
Instagram Profit Playbook
Join the Co-op
Squarespace.com/BOSSPROJECT for 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Monarchmoney.com/STRATEGY for an extended thirty day free trial
Oakessentials.com - use code BOSSPROJECT15 for 15% off your first order
Episode 838: Show NotesAre you creating a diverse social experience for yourself and your business? Or are you playing it safe? I’m going to argue why talking to strangers might be the key to more revenue growth and your happiness!
During this episode, I’m going to tell you how talking to strangers has contributed to my overall happiness and helped me to grow my revenue and how you can make the same thing happen in your own life and business.
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The Two Elements That Make Up the Magic of Relational DiversityResearchers have found that there’s a really clear relationship between relational diversity and overall levels of satisfaction. How many kinds of people do you interact with on any given day? The more relationship categories that you talk to on any given day and the more even the conversations are between them, the happier you are. We’ve all been out of balance. Since the pandemic, business owners have been more isolated than ever before. I think the burnout that people are experiencing is not from the work itself. It’s from the lack of connection. It’s not necessarily a shift away from talking to the people you know, but more intentionally pursuing talking to the people you don’t.
So, You’re Talking to Strangers. What Now?Reaching people outside of your network naturally is going to take a shift. It specifically requires you to make a change in terms of your content, the things that you say, and the way that you introduce yourself. People spend a lot more time playing it safe than trying to intentionally grow in this way. You have to do this in a specific place that is going to organically get you in front of strangers. Right now, my favorite is Instagram Reels. You have to create a natural interaction in an unnatural environment. This is not just to grow your revenue! When you realize the value of each relationship and the opportunity to contribute to someone’s well-being, everything changes.
Seven Ways to Tell Strangers Your StoryStorytelling is such a unique opportunity to really create connections that feel valuable and true. Every story, in some shape or form, has already been told, and they all fit into seven plotlines. A Catalyst Story or an I’m Done Moment asks what sparked the change you experienced. How can you take people into that moment? A Rags to Riches story speaks to where you came from and how you got to where you are today. The Quest is all about the pursuit of a goal and overcoming challenges that pop up along the way. A Side Story is lighthearted. It’s the anecdotes and all the things that make you human. Feedback and Improvement stories center on feedback and areas of improvement. A Tragedy enables you to talk about your failures, and a Risk Story is all about overcoming a monster. What almost shut your doors?
I can’t wait to see how you weave these stories into what you do and how you share them with a world that doesn’t know you yet. This is going to lead to more loyalty and more sales because someone that commits to telling all these types of stories is going to feel vulnerable, upfront, transparent, and real in a way that a lot of businesses are not portraying themselves. This is your opportunity for connection. This is your opportunity to get in front of new people. Find out more here or DM me the word ‘accelerate’ on Instagram and I will send you the details.
Quote ThisStory is such a unique opportunity to really create connections that feel valuable and true. Highlights* The Two Elements That Make Up the Magic of Relational Diversity [0:02:37] * So, You’re Talking to Strangers. What Now? [0:08:50] * Seven Ways to Tell Strangers Your Story [0:14:30]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Storytelling, Talking to Strangers, Community, Connection
We Mentioned:Digital Product Jumpstart
Instagram Profit Playbook
Join the Co-op
Squarespace.com/BOSSPROJECT for 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Monarchmoney.com/STRATEGY for an extended thirty day free trial
Oakessentials.com - use code BOSSPROJECT15 for 15% off your first order
Episode 837: Show NotesWhile many business coaches focus exclusively on strategy, today’s guest believes that true success transcends strategy and execution. For Angela Henderson, strong partnerships and collaborations are the keys to success. By joining forces with like-minded people, you can not only unlock new opportunities and expand your network but also achieve remarkable growth!
Angela is an international award-winning business consultant, coach, speaker, and podcaster who helps women worldwide make more money by mastering their mindset AND creating a personalized business strategy. In this episode, Angela shares how she built 120 partnerships in one year, the positive impact those relationships had on her business, and the seven steps you can take to overcome common mindset blocks and build mutually beneficial collaborations.
This conversation offers you so much more than just a guide to incredible collaborations and partnerships that move your business forward. Angela and I also get into some powerful (and actionable) mindset stuff that is going to rock your world!
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How Angela Became a Powerhouse Business CoachLike many entrepreneurs, Angela’s journey started in a totally different field than the one she’s making her mark in today! As a mental health clinician and a new mother in 2010, Angela looked at her baby playing with plastic, battery-operated toys and thought, “There’s got to be a better way.” This led her to start Finlee & Me, Australia’s leading educational toy store at the time.
Through Finlee & Me, Angela came to understand the importance of diversifying her revenue. She went on to become one of Australia’s most well-known parenting influencers, not only unlocking a second revenue stream but also gaining insight into a secondary business. With so many people wanting to pick her brain and benefit from her expertise, Angela started growing a community that would ultimately launch her career as a consultant. Today, she works with women in Australia and beyond to help them master their mindset and create personalized strategies for the growth, scale, and startup stages of their dream businesses.
The Mindset That Made 120 Partnerships in a Year PossibleAngela has learned that there are only three strategies to gain visibility: organic, partnerships, and paid. Organic can be a little unpredictable. It will work, but it requires an indeterminate amount of time and effort. Partnerships are great, but people tend to overcomplicate them and you still have to invest a lot of time to build relationships. Paid is the quickest and easiest of the three, but it’s also (obviously) the most expensive, as you now have to exchange money to gain back your time.
With a loyal and established community in place, Angela was in a good position to build fruitful partnerships. She just had to figure out how to leverage those connections, which started with getting over her fear of asking for something in return for her expertise. With help from her mentor, Angela learned that asking for stuff doesn’t have to be sleazy. If anything, reaching out to your network, nurturing your relationships, and having genuine conversations about how you can support one another and collaborate benefits everyone!
Goals Aren’t Everything: How Business Can Be Playful and FunTo start, you don’t even necessarily need to have a goal in mind. You just need to test the waters, get curious, and investigate every opportunity. As Angela says, we forget sometimes that business can be fun and playful. We don’t always have to know what the outcome will be! Every partnership is a new dance between two parties with endless potential.
Once Angela started engaging with her network, she realized that her goal could simply be reducing her ad spend on paid visibility strategies. Another goal that arose from speaking to people was growing her email list. Another goal became meeting as many cool humans as possible. Entrepreneurs are typically told that they need to set measurable goals to be successful, but Angela’s success demonstrates that if you lead with love, create value, touch people’s lives, prioritize relationships, be authentic, and stay open, you will always be profitable.
Why Not Every ‘No’ is a Bad ThingThere were several positive impacts that these 120 new partnerships had on Angela’s business, from increased revenue to a happier team and more. Some things didn’t work out too well, however, including 10 or more partnerships that didn’t come to fruition. While this was obviously discouraging, Angela reminds us that not every “no” is a bad thing.
She believes that, if you are continually taking action and sticking to your values, you will attract the right people into your network. Ultimately, it might’ve been a blessing in disguise that those 10 partnerships didn’t pan out because no one wants to work with someone who doesn’t hold up their end of the bargain! Angela also emphasizes that just because it’s a “no” now doesn’t mean it will be a “no” forever. Sometimes, your proposal doesn’t fit into someone’s promotional calendar for the year or they might be in the process of changing up their business model. Consider revisiting your collaborations with these people at an agreed-upon time in the future.
Tips for Overcoming the Mindset Blocks That Can Stand in Your WayIf this sounds exciting to you but you’re not sure where to begin, Angela says that the first step is being in alignment. You might be thinking, “Is that really a step?” Yes, it’s a step! Whatever you’re feeling, tune into that and make sure that the decision you make honors your authentic self and the business you want to build. The next step is understanding your short and long-term goals. You also need to keep in mind that you’re not going to reap the fruit immediately after you plant the seeds. Patience is key!
Step three is writing down a list of literally everyone you know. This can include networking event contacts and even family members. Don’t discredit anyone! You never know who they know. You’ll probably already have a list of 50-100 people that you can contact. Then, when you do reach out, make it personal. Even if the bulk of your email is copy-pasted, include something specific about the person you’re talking to. Next, meet up or hop on a call, whatever works, and make sure to follow through afterward. Finally, follow up. You want to stay front-of-mind and continue to add value, even when you’re not talking business, so, go ahead. Send them a DM. Keep the relationship alive!
Different Types of Collaborations That Could Work for YouThere are so many different ways to collaborate. It all depends on what feels most natural based on your business, your relationship with someone, and what will be mutually beneficial for everyone involved. Consider giveaways, social shares, email lists, being a guest on one another’s podcasts, or speaking at live events. The options are endless! You’ll learn what your preferences are and what works best for your business the more you engage with your network and the more collaborations you create. Keeping it simple and being intentional is key.
Reasons You Might be Holding Yourself (and Your Business) BackThe number one thing that prevents businesses from bringing in sales and making more money through partnerships is mindset. Our subconscious makes most of our decisions for us without us even realizing it. We typically hold ourselves (and therefore our businesses) back because we don’t feel safe, we feel like we don’t belong, or that we’re not enough. There are many different reasons for this, but ultimately, your outside world is a reflection of your inside world. How you feel inside shows up in your business interactions, whether you mean it to or not.
If you’re not following through, you’re not taking action, or you’ve hit a snag in scaling your business and your income, those are all signs that your nervous system is overwhelmed. Angela believes that there are seven major mindset blocks that entrepreneurs need to overcome: self-trust, self-love, worthiness, money stories, obsessive thinking, divine timing, and imposter syndrome. Of these seven mindset blocks, which one is holding you back? And what are you going to do about it? Angela reminds us that whatever we’re not changing, we are choosing. It takes deep, personal work to build the life and the business of your dreams!
Next Steps for YOUR BusinessHere’s the thing. It’s one thing to read a blog about what you need to do in your business to finally make some shifts, but then actually doing it is another thing. Why not cut out all the second guessing? There’s no need to be overwhelmed, burnt out, or feeling stuck about your next steps. Join the Co-op and take advantage of our community, coaching, courses and business templates!
Quote ThisOnce you build that partnership muscle, there are endless opportunities.” — Angela Henderson Highlights* How Angela Became a Powerhouse Business Coach [0:01:51] * The Mindset That Made 120 Partnerships in a Year Possible [0:03:39] * Goals Aren’t Everything: How Business Can Be Playful and Fun [0:09:46] * Tips for Overcoming the Mindset Blocks That Can Stand in Your Way [0:20:22] * Types of Collaborations That Could Work for You [0:29:38] * Reasons You Might be Holding Yourself (and Your Business) Back [0:33:40]
OUR GUEST:Angela Henderson
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Business Group
The Angela Henderson Online Business Show Podcast
Angela is an international award winning business consultant/coach, speaker and podcaster who helps women around the world make more money by creating a personalized business strategy and mastering their mindset, so they can create a business & life they love and want to show up for every, single, day.
Key Topics:Partnerships, Collaboration, Mindset, Business Strategy
We Mentioned:Finlee & Me
Purple Cow by Seth Godin
The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann
Digital Product Jumpstart
Instagram Profit Playbook
Join the Co-op
Abagail on Instagram
Squarespace.com/BOSSPROJECT for 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Monarchmoney.com/STRATEGY for an extended thirty day free trial
Oakessentials.com - use code BOSSPROJECT15 for 15% off your first order
Episode 836: Show NotesPassive income posts frustrate me so much – especially the ones promising you that digital products will make you money in your sleep. Don’t get me wrong, digital products have made me millions and they are great to have in your business. But they do not generate sales without maintenance and certainly do not work all on their own! They are far from passive. Today I want to talk about what is actually passive because passive income definitely is available to you and it’s not talked about often enough.
When I came into this business, I had a world of knowledge at my fingertips. I worked in the financial industry prior to building this company and that definitely gave me an advantage. I got to witness what really goes on in the financial world and I got to learn about my financial future rapidly. I know that this job set me up for success regardless of how much I disliked working there! I don’t sell financial products and am not tied to any financial firm, I simply want to see you wealthy and deeply care about your future!
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The Easiest Way to Retire EarlyThroughout my experience in the financial world, I could tell that having money in the first place is necessary to make passive income. All the people who were making loads of money were making it off of the assets they already had! It wasn’t their business that was growing exponentially, it was their assets that were growing exponentially. But salaried employees have no upward mobility and will only make a certain amount. The people who are retiring early are in control of their finances, building a business as an asset to bring in cash. They then take that cash and invest it elsewhere; not necessarily back into their business. Ultimately, you’re only going to get wealthy if your savings outnumber your spending. The amount you have to save in order to survive through retirement is astronomical!
The One Thing You Need to Know About SavingSaving is obviously important, but it is not what set me up for long-term success. What set me up for long-term success was building a business that brought in the cash flow that allowed me to make salary and profit distributions. I could spend money, live the life I want, and put the rest in savings and investments. And that is where passive income comes in! Saving is not going to bring you the compound effect that other investments will bring you. I suggest you have a high-yield savings account because it will earn you more than others and is fairly competitive with inflation. But that isn’t growing my money! While you can invest in real estate, for example, that isn’t actually passive. And if your goal is actual passive income, you want income that you don’t have to work for at all and that is maintenance-free!
How I Make Truly Passive IncomeYou need to work with a qualified professional to figure out the products that you should be investing in. The things that are earning me regular passive income are stocks, mutual funds, structured notes, and principle-protected notes! When I say these things are truly passive I really mean it. I literally sign a form with my financial advisor and then it does its thing. It makes money all by itself! I recognize that I have over-simplified this but I want you to know that saving did not get me to the position that makes me feel comfortable about my future. What has done that, is building a business that is a true, stable asset that brings me income and allows me to work with someone outside of my business in order to invest money and actually make passive money.
My Number One Goal in Life and BusinessI can retire in 10 years because I have built a business that is fueling my future but that is just one piece of the puzzle. My goal is to help you build a business that will bring in the cash flow that will pay for the life you have, the life you want, and the life you will have in the future so that you can retire early and comfortably! You are going to need to take the money out of your business and use it to power you forward. You can make use of sales, content, digital products, courses, affiliates, sponsorships, brand partners, and so on! I don’t think you necessarily need to do all of these things because it took me nine years to get here! You can start off with a few and expand over time. But none of those things are passive! None of them! My business works best when those products naturally flow into each other and are all speaking to the same audience.
I know this is a lot to digest but I am here to help you figure out how you want to show up in the world, how to build the life you want, how to plan for the future you’ve always dreamed of, and how to do all of these things in a way that is ethically aligned with your values and makes a true impact in the lives of your clients. That’s what I am here to help you do! I want to support you in building a business that can help you expand your team and ultimately allow you to achieve all of these things. I have a community that is perfect for you! If you haven’t heard of the Co-Op, this is your chance! DM me the word “accelerate” and we can talk about it more!
Quote ThisI want you to retire early and I want you to retire wealthy. That is my goal in life. Highlights The Easiest Way to Retire Early [0:16:19] * The One Thing You Need to Know About Saving [0:19:56] * How I Make Truly* Passive Income [0:25:30] * My Number One Goal in Life and Business [0:28:38]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Passive Income, Investments, Financial Advice, Savings, Retirement Funds
We Mentioned:Digital Product Jumpstart
Instagram Profit Playbook
Join the Co-op
Squarespace.com/BOSSPROJECT for 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Monarchmoney.com/STRATEGY for an extended thirty day free trial
Oakessentials.com - use code BOSSPROJECT15 for 15% off your first order
Episode 835: Show NotesHave you ever wondered what it takes to leverage your business into a scalable enterprise? Well, today we're going to explore just that with a very special guest, Ryan Deiss. Ryan is a serial entrepreneur, author, and investor, with a proven track record of building successful companies. He is the founder and CEO of The Scalable Company and DigitalMarketer, and a founding partner at Scalable Equity, an equity accelerator that builds, acquires, and invests in b2b media services and software brands. He's also the brains behind the Traffic and Conversion Summit, the largest digital marketing conference in North America, and the author of the book Digital Marketing for Dummies.
In today's episode, Ryan and I delve into his entrepreneurial journey, starting from his very first company which kickstarted his career. We explore the invaluable lessons he's learned and what he recommends for businesses in their infancy. As for those businesses that don't quite make it? Ryan breaks down the biggest reasons and shares insights on what it takes to scale a business from half a million to millions more. Whether you're a budding entrepreneur or a seasoned business owner, there's something for everyone in today's discussion. So, without further ado, let's dive into the world of entrepreneurship and scalability with Ryan Deiss!
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How Ryan Started His First BusinessBack in 1999, as a freshman at the University of Texas in Austin, Ryan launched his first business from his college dorm room. In those early days of the internet, with Google still in its infancy, everyone was clamoring to start a dot com company. Inspired by the entrepreneurial energy around him, Ryan decided to learn web design to kickstart his journey. After struggling to find clients, he finally landed a gig with a lactation consultant. Despite feeling out of his depth in this particular field, he decided to jump straight in!
Things took a turn, however, when – due to unforeseen circumstances – she couldn't pay him. As a consolation, she offered him the rights to an ebook on making baby food. Understandably, Ryan was pretty skeptical about this, but he accepted. He admired the care she took with her customers and was impressed with her desire to support them after their time with her as a lactation consultant.
Despite Ryan’s initial reluctance, he soon realized the potential of her ebook and sold it online, laying the foundation for a successful ebook publishing venture. By the time he graduated, he had turned a seemingly odd opportunity into a six-figure ebook publishing empire selling little niche books, proving that sometimes, the most unexpected paths lead to success!
Monetizing KnowledgeOver the past 30 years, Ryan encountered plenty of doubters who didn't believe in monetizing knowledge. When he started selling ebooks online, some people were adamant that nobody would pay for them. Luckily he only encountered these detractors after experiencing a year of success, or he might have been discouraged from even starting. Today, there's similar skepticism about paid courses, with people saying everything's free on YouTube. But what Ryan has learned, repeatedly, is that people are willing to pay for knowledge, especially when it's presented in a unique and convenient way.
Setting Yourself Up to be ScalableTo set yourself up for scalability, even in the early stages, it's crucial to get crystal clear on your target audience and niche down to a point where it may feel uncomfortable. Ryan emphasizes that this means being prepared to say no during the sales process if a potential client doesn't align with your ideal customer profile. In the service industry especially, there's a temptation to accommodate every client's request in order to maintain the relationship. However, this leads to a situation where you're essentially running multiple bespoke programs for different clients, hindering scalability.
While it's okay to operate this way initially to understand your ideal client, at some point, you need to choose a specific avatar and focus on delivering one specific end result. This level of specificity is essential for productization and scalability. Without it, true scalability becomes challenging, if not impossible, to achieve.
How to go from Primary Operator to Scalable BusinessTransitioning from being the primary operator to implementing systems that can run without you is a crucial step in building a scalable business. Ryan recommends that you start by visualizing your value creation process, mapping out every step from customer awareness to fulfillment. Identify critical tasks prone to errors and create checklists and processes around them. Delegate responsibilities to your team, providing them with clear instructions and training. Develop scorecards to track performance and make adjustments as needed. By gradually transitioning responsibilities and empowering your team, you can implement systems that allow your business to operate efficiently without your constant presence.
How to Grow your Sales as you Scale Your TeamAccording to Ryan, when hiring for critical roles, entrepreneurs are inclined to make one of two mistakes. Either they hire someone too junior, relying on personal connections rather than experience, or they try to hire someone to replace everything they do, jumping straight to hiring a CEO or COO — even if the company is very small. The key is to identify tasks you're willing to delegate. For instance, if you handle all advertising, calls, and sales, decide which tasks to hand over first. Consider hiring a specialist for prospecting and lead generation before hiring a closer. Take it one step at a time, starting with tasks that can be easily delegated and gradually building your team as your business grows.
Scaling Fast and Staying in BusinessA study by the Kauffman Foundation and Inc Magazine revealed that two-thirds of companies listed on the Inc 5000 fail, emphasizing that growth isn't always the solution. While revenue is crucial early on, businesses often struggle to scale beyond $3-4 million, entering a challenging phase known as the "swamp of scale." To overcome this, Ryan explains that entrepreneurs must transition from running a startup to building a true enterprise and recognize that they can't be the most valuable person in the company. He breaks down why success in scaling requires a focus on teamwork, systems, and data-driven decision-making and how you can accomplish the challenging task of getting through the swamp of scale!
Why Businesses FailOne of the biggest mistakes Ryan ever made was when he decided that his company was beyond his capacity to run and that he should fire himself. He did this because he felt like he didn’t know what he was doing and that he needed adult supervision. What he did then was bring in a new CEO, abdicate full responsibility, and hand everything over to someone who did not understand the culture or how the company created value.
What happened next was devastating. Instead of making smart, informed decisions, the new CEO simply started making lots of cuts to improve profitability and cash flow because that’s how they were incentivized. The results were that they destroyed the company culture, causing a lot of their best people to resign, and ultimately leaving Ryan with a company that was practically bankrupt.
While this was a devastating mistake, Ryan did take away a crucial lesson from this experience. Don’t quit on a bad day because even if you feel overwhelmed, you are still the best person for the job (and you have what it takes!) This story comes with the caveat that you should definitely bring in extra help if you need it. Just don’t hand over everything to someone else who doesn’t understand the company!
When It’s Okay to Stay Small and When You Should ScaleThe idea of intentionally keeping a business small often stems from fear rather than genuine preference. Many who claim they want to stay small actually desire the benefits of scaling, like having a larger impact, generating higher income, and organizational growth. However, they doubt their ability to achieve this and settle for a smaller vision. It's important to acknowledge that choosing to stay small is valid if it aligns with personal goals. Yet, it's crucial to make this decision consciously, without letting fear dictate the outcome.
Ryan emphasizes that scaling a business doesn't necessarily require advanced degrees, outside expertise, or expensive tools. Instead, it involves breaking down the process into manageable steps and gradually seeking help where needed. The key is to make decisions confidently and intentionally. Scaling a business may seem daunting, but with determination and strategic planning, it's achievable for anyone willing to embrace the challenge!
Quote This“I call it the founder’s paradox. It states that the more valuable you are to your business, the less valuable your business is.”—Ryan Deiss
Highlights* How Ryan Started His First Business [0:01:17] * Monetizing Knowledge [0:05:55] * Setting Yourself Up to be Scalable [011:59] * How to go from Primary Operator to Scalable Business [0:13:55] * How to Grow your Sales as you Scale Your Team [0:19:14] * Scaling Fast and Staying in Business [0:23:26] * Why Businesses Fail [0:28:06] * When It’s Okay to Stay Small and When You Should Scale [0:32:32]
OUR GUEST:Ryan Deiss
Connect with Ryan: Website | LinkedIn | Instagram | X
The Scalable Company: Instagram | Facebook
Ryan Deiss is a serial entrepreneur, author, and investor, and according to Shark Tank star Daymond John, “His companies practically own the internet.” Ryan is the Founder and CEO of The Scalable Company, DigitalMarketer.com, and a Founding Partner at Scalable Equity, LLC, an equity accelerator that builds, acquires, and invests inB2B media, services, and software brands. Ryan is also the founder and host of the Traffic & Conversion Summit, the largest digital marketing conference in North America. He also quite literally wrote the book on modern marketing, Digital Marketing For Dummies (Wiley), which is now in its second edition. As a sought-after speaker, Ryan has shared the stage with top business leaders and celebrities like Sir Richard Branson, Gary Vaynerchuk, Sarah Blakely, Martha Stewart, Tim Ferris, Daymond John, and Dave Ramsey.
Key Topics:How to Scale, Growth, Entrepreneurship, Perseverance, Delegation
We Mentioned:Get Scalable
Digital Marketing for Dummies
No Man's Land
The Messy Middle
Digital Product Jumpstart
Instagram Profit Playbook
Join the Co-op
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Squarespace.com/BOSSPROJECT for 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Monarchmoney.com/STRATEGY for an extended thirty day free trial
Episode 834: Show NotesIn today's fast-paced digital world, the pressure to keep up with marketing trends and strategies can be overwhelming. However, I've found that by streamlining my approach and focusing on efficiency, I can effectively balance marketing efforts with other essential aspects of my business.
By dedicating just one hour a day, five days a week, to strategic marketing tasks, I've been able to achieve significant results while still having ample time to devote to serving my clients and growing my business in meaningful ways. So, let's dive into these strategies together and discover how you can maximize your marketing impact without sacrificing precious time and energy!
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Why You Need an Awareness Platform and a Nurture PlatformThe first step on the path to a sustainable marketing maintenance strategy is committing to an awareness platform and a nurture platform. If you’re just getting started, then I suggest you begin with just one for each category. First, an awareness platform is what is going to get you in front of strangers. It allows more people to see that you exist, and it’s where you earn their trust and get them to follow you. Nurture platforms, like email lists, are where you continue to educate them and provide value, ensuring that at some point they convert.
Choosing Your PlatformsPopular awareness platforms in 2024 include Instagram, Instagram Reels, TikTok, YouTube, and YouTube shorts. Each of these requires different strategies to raise awareness and then shift over to nurturing leads. And when it comes to nurture, there’s no need to limit yourself to social media– you can use outside platforms, like email lists and podcasts. Of course, there are costs involved with many of these. If you’re able to spend on podcasting, then that’s a great option, but if you want more cost-effective options, some of which are free, then Instagram and email lists are an excellent choice.
Instagram Marketing Strategies and AnalyticsCurrently, I’ve found doing one reel, five days a week, to be the optimal number for me. I also do five to ten stories a week – although sometimes it’s way more than that! This may seem like a lot, but once you hit on what’s working, and you get into the habit, it becomes much easier to maintain! I also haven’t seen much benefit from trying to do more reels. Staying consistent is much more impactful.
One of the best strategies I’ve landed on for Instagram reels is optimizing for comments to drive engagement. The tactics that have really been working for me are calling people to action by commenting. I then send them a direct message with a link to take the next step. Since I’m optimizing for comments, I can see which posts are the most effective at driving those comments and lean into those!
Balance Experimentation with RepetitionPeople often think they need to be this content-generating machine, but if you identify a few strategies that consistently yield results, repetition isn't a bad thing. Of course, it's important to make tweaks along the way. Finding that balance between experimentation and repetition is crucial. In the early stages, everything's an experiment. But once you've pinpointed what's currently effective and you're seeing success, there's no harm in leveraging it repeatedly. It's simpler than you think!
Instagram Stories and Building AwarenessCurrently in my Instagram stories, I am consistently showing behind-the-scenes things that are happening (in my life and in my business) that showcase my personality. Now, If you’re a private person who doesn’t want to share anything about your personal life, that’s fine! The key is creating curiosity-invoking content that is clearly not sales-related. The more engagement you can get on something like stories the more Instagram is going to prioritize you in other people’s feeds.
Don’t be Afraid to SellMany of us also have a huge hesitation around creating posts geared towards selling and advertising our services and products, when we really shouldn’t. People are overwhelmed with so much content that they need to see your posts over and over again before the information actually sticks. If you want more clients more consistently, regardless of whether it’s one-to-many, or one-on-one, you have to tell them what is for sale!
How to Use EmailIf you want to take your marketing efforts further, then email is a very positive step. The reason I wouldn’t necessarily start with email, if you’re new to this, is because you need to get used to writing. Social is a great place to practice and will prepare you for writing emails. For me, three emails a week is the norm, two of which are dedicated to the podcasts I am releasing. But you can decide what works for you and lean into topics that you’re excited to share with your readers. I typically write my emails in batches. It’s an excellent opportunity to expand and nurture in another location, separate from social media.
Two Resources to Get You Started#1 Digital Product JumpstartLearn exactly, step-by-step, how to get PAID to generate LEADS for your business with my course, Digital Product Jumpstart. Say goodbye to wondering how you’re going to get leads. You can build your list and grow your revenue at the same time!
2 Instagram Profit PlaybookUnlock the secrets to magnetic marketing and monetizing your Instagram with my course, Instagram Profit Playbook. Learn how I generate an average of $1k a day from Instagram using my 2-click sales funnel and set up your own— easy peasy!
Quote ThisIf you want more clients more consistently, regardless, if we're talking one-to-many, or one-on-one, you have to tell them what is for sale. Highlights* Why You Need an Awareness Platform and a Nurture Platform [0:04:55] * Choosing Your Platforms [0:06:21] * Instagram Marketing Strategies and Analytics [0:09:38] * Balance Experimentation with Repetition [0:14:06] * Instagram Stories and Building Awareness [0:18:55] * Don’t be Afraid to Sell [0:21:17] * How to Use Email [0:25:19]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Marketing Maintenance, Minimum Effort Maximum Impact, Awareness Platforms, Nurture Platforms, Instagram Reels, Instagram Stories, Email lists
We Mentioned:Digital Product Jumpstart
Instagram Profit Playbook
Join the Co-op
Squarespace.com/BOSSPROJECT for 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Monarchmoney.com/STRATEGY for an extended thirty day free trial
Crashplan.com/BOSSPROJECT sign up for a free trial and a BOGO offer
Episode 833: Show NotesThere’s a new trend popping up on social media where people are sharing the real struggles they face in life and in business. Even after nine years of business, there are things I still struggle with, and today I want to let you in on what some of them are. These are things that deeply bother me, things I talk to my therapist about, and that hold me back from doing what I really want to accomplish. Let’s get into it!
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One Surprising Fear Despite What I Have BuiltAlthough I have already built a large business, I am terrified of growth! I am constantly slowing myself down from what’s possible and what I truly want. That is because the more people you reach, the more unwanted criticism you will get. People may question what I teach or push back on a strategy, but it’s all the other stuff that really holds me down. It’s comments about my body or the way I do my makeup or my personal choices. The more you let people in, the more ammo they have to throw back at you, and that can be really hard.
What It Really Feels Like to Be On the OutsideNot feeling accepted by any circle in this industry has really bothered me. Aside from a few close personal one-on-one relationships, there’s a heck of a lot of people who know who I am, but very few have made me feel welcome. I have always experienced life like this. When I was in high school, everyone knew who I was, but I wasn’t invited to their celebrations, I was the person they waved to in the hallway. It can feel so isolating! In a world where relationships are so key to building a business, this is not a fun place to start.
The Real Reason Women Don’t Talk About MoneyAlthough I am an advocate for talking about money, I continue to question my own motives. I was never shown opportunities when I was growing up. I didn’t have any examples! All the women in my life worked very hard jobs or stayed home. Talking about money was not a thing. There was no financial education. Part of my motivation is to build a business that allows more people to become financially free. When you want that for people, you have to talk about money. It’s a requirement. But you would be baffled to know how people respond online when you choose to share the numbers!
How I Trick Myself Into Talking to StrangersIt’s not that I’m shy. I’m just not super comfortable talking in front of strangers. In fact, it makes me extremely uncomfortable! That is really weird when you are trying to grow awareness of your business. The reason I have been successful this far, is because I can do it without having to see you all! I spent a lot of time being quiet in rooms until the time was right, and then I would raise my hand more often. But if your goal is to grow, you have to spend more time talking to people that you don’t know.
One Way I May Never Be Able to Relate to My Audience and Why It HurtsSometimes, I will see posts by people online saying that ‘I’m not going to listen to XYZ business coach anymore because they don’t have kids.’ This makes me so deeply sad! This isn’t a choice for me. I can’t biologically have children. Most of the people around me have children. Feeling like I can’t be there for someone or understand just hurts. Although it’s not the same as having my own children, I’ve spent a lot of time caring for my sister’s child from the time he was six weeks old. I definitely understand — you think you know what love is, but it’s just so insane what you would do for these little babies!
Why It Can Be So Hard to Meet People Where They’re At (And Why You Should Do It Anyway)The mission for this business has been the same the entire time. I want to see more people financially free. The problem is, I can’t solve that problem with one solution, product, or offer. In reality, if I’m doing my job right, I have to help you solve a ton of problems. If I tried to sell you one thing, you wouldn’t believe me anyway! To stay in business and have a fighting chance of actually tackling this larger issue that I want to solve, I often have to sell and solve problems that feel really frivolous. But they’re important! It’s only possible to fulfil my mission if I meet people where they are at.
If you can take anything away from today, I want you to know that regardless of how far along someone is, how long they’ve been doing it, or how many people they have reached, they still have insecurities. There are so many more like you than you will ever realize! All of those things can be true and you can still be driven to do more and to impact more people. If you don’t have a place to talk about these things, and you’re looking for a community that acknowledges that all of these parts of you exist, I would love to have you be a part of the Co-op!
Quote ThisIf your goal is growth, you have to spend more time talking to people you don’t know. Highlights* One Surprising Fear Despite What I Have Built [0:03:55] * What It Really Feels Like to Be On the Outside [0:09:30] * The Real Reason Women Don’t Talk About Money [0:12:10] * How I Trick Myself Into Talking to Strangers [0:21:36] * One Way I May Never Be Able to Relate to My Audience and Why It Hurts [0:25:35] * Why It Can Be So Hard to Meet People Where They’re At (And Why You Should Do It Anyway) [0:31:30]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Struggles, Social Media, Relatability, Audience, Confidence, Acceptance, Community
We Mentioned:Instagram Profit Playbook
Join the Co-op
Squarespace.com/BOSSPROJECT for 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Monarchmoney.com/STRATEGY for an extended thirty day free trial
Crashplan.com/BOSSPROJECT sign up for a free trial and a BOGO offer
Episode 832: Show NotesFaceless marketing is developing its own niche and I’ve recently started exploring what would happen if I utilized faceless marketing to appeal to a wider audience. I think this gives people an opportunity to show up online without having to worry about what they look like while still making marketing personal. This is for those of you who want to sell a digital product, not necessarily for someone looking to build a local-based business. I’m going to be sharing so many marketing tips that are easy to apply so make sure you subscribe to the show and follow me on Instagram!
First off, let’s define what faceless marketing is. People are leveraging this trend, specifically on Instagram, to build a brand without showing their faces and with the use of stock imaging. I feel like this trend is just a natural continuation of things like faceless blogs for example. People can utilize stock and place a focus on their words without worrying about what they look like. And it really does work if it’s done correctly! Faceless marketing still keeps the human element without associating an identity therefore making it more relatable.
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Why Faceless Marketing Works (and Has Always Worked)Ultimately, people want to feel like they’re a part of something. They want to be a part of someone’s story and I feel like this is possible with this strategy which is why it is working! It is effective. I want to bring you strategies that are tried and tested and working. The concept of faceless marketing has actually existed forever – think about ‘Dear Abby’ in newspapers for example! One of the potential challenges with faceless marketing is that it mostly looks identical. All the stock looks pretty much the same!
The Number One Thing That Builds a Brand Long-TermThere is so much potential for some people to explore this and create a signature look, not necessarily with stock but rather with the strategies that the stock is providing, and then create a recognizable style because that is what builds a brand long-term. There is a way to market your brand artistically without sharing your personal identity and you can even take it one step further and remove your name entirely! My concern around this specific strategy is that so many people are teaching faceless marketing that it’s becoming quite strange and looks way too similar.
The Best Way to Utilize Faceless MarketingI think the most attainable, tasteful, and effective way to utilize this is to use it in combination. This means that you are still focused on either a personal or company brand and you mix in faceless marketing following this trendy look. That brings people to your page in a way that feels familiar and then they are able to see all the other kinds of branding you’re putting out there. I did some research about where companies are getting their stock from and I found Social Stocks. It was incredibly effective! But your copy is still the most important thing you put out there! I think the way this is going to be most useful is for people who are using it in a hybrid way. You can make use of stock footage so that you can spend more time writing and then you can save time and be focused on other aspects of your business.
That can be sprinkled into the rest of your content that can be more personalized. I don’t know how long this trend is going to last but for now, it’s working so why not jump on the trend? If you want to explore it, I want to share some websites I’ve heard about and feel will be quite good. I’ve mentioned Social Stocks which works very well. You can also try The Studio Brief, The Forefolk, and My Vanilla Gallery. Again, I don’t know how good they are and how well they will last but if you want to see the vibes I’m talking about, this is where you should be looking! This gives you the opportunity to move away from the spotlight and focus on marketing without worrying about your personal look! I’m excited about this and I plan to dive deeper into this in my new program. If you want to monetize Instagram to bring your ideal cold traffic to your business, sign up for the Instagram Profit Playbook now!
Quote ThisAnytime you can create something that feels like human-to-human connection, regardless of whether you’re showing your face or not, people want that. Highlights* Why Faceless Marketing Works (and) Has Always Worked [0:12:39] * The Number One Thing That Builds a Brand Long-Term [0:15:26] * The Best Way to Utilize Faceless Marketing [0:19:24]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Faceless Marketing, Stock images, Instagram Marketing, Trendy Marketing Strategies
We Mentioned:Digital Product Jumpstart
Instagram Profit Playbook
Join the Co-op
Social Stocks
The Studio Brief
The Forefolk
My Vanilla Gallery
Squarespace.com/BOSSPROJECT for 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Monarchmoney.com/STRATEGY for an extended thirty day free trial
Crashplan.com/BOSSPROJECT sign up for a free trial and a BOGO offer
Episode 831: Show NotesToday on the show, I want to talk about what it was like to diversify from one-on-one client work services to adding digital products and courses. But before I get into that story, how it unfolded for me, and how it could work for you, I want to give you a reminder. Specifically, a reminder to take the space necessary to think and feel creative. I really struggle with the cold and the dark in the winter, and by the end of it I’m just so burnt out from being inside. I thrive when I go on walks and give myself time to think, process, and explore what’s possible.
Regardless of what this looks like for you, playing with your kids more, playing sports that feel good, drawing, or listening to music. Whatever it is that’s going to give you that space, I want to remind you that this is an essential part of the work that you do in your business. It’s not ever, ever taking away from your business. If anything, it is adding! Don’t make these things a low priority. This work is important! It sets us up for success in everything else that we do. With that disclaimer, let’s get into it!
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The Story Of The Late Lunch That Changed EverythingI launched this business out of a place of necessity. I made a lot of decisions out of necessity. I sometimes wonder what different choices I would have made if I had done that from a place of desire. At the time, creating a business was me creating a job for myself. I was not designing a business that would fully operate and function whether I was in it or not. A year and a half into business, on a normal day, I decided to take a late lunch. I went to get a burger and ended up in a five-car collision and suffered a traumatic brain injury. It became very clear, very quickly, that I didn’t design a business that could support me when I needed time away to recover. If I wasn’t sitting at my desk and working on client deliverables, there was no income.
How I Went Out On A Limb To Solve a Simple ProblemWhen you’re in a place like I was, where nothing is working, you’re willing to try big things. I knew at that point that digital products would be low risk, high reward. In the first month, I launched a digital product. It sold 277 times at $29 a pop and brought in $8033. Had I been building an audience before? Yes and no. I had a community of business owners, but there was no strategy for it. I talked about how I could help people solve a simple problem.
The reason this worked so well is not because I went out of my way to solve everything for my audience. I wasn’t trying to be the hero. I could see very specific tangible things that the people around me were struggling with, and I said, hey, I think I can help you! I shared my experience, and it was life-changing.
Three Situations You Might Find Yourself In And How I Could HelpTalking to the same ideal client about everything that you do is only going to positively impact you and your business. Business owners usually find themselves in one of three positions. You’re either burnt out with the client work that you’re doing, bored because the work is going well, or you have a craving for more. All of these people are seeking the same thing: a business that is more in alignment with how they want to show up. You get to decide what you want this to look like. If you want more freedom and flexibility, let’s work on that! If you want to, you can slowly work with fewer one-on-one clients, or you can add this in to help you grow your revenue. It could even be a tool to create a steady stream of qualified leads. Bringing people in through a low-priced digital product only amplifies what is already working in the business.
Other Areas You Will Inevitably Grow In As You Grow An AudienceAs I began to include digital products in my offer, sponsorship and partnership became a huge part of my business. I get to work with some incredible brands because I built a community of people who can benefit from them. That initial sale is just the tip of the iceberg! I have had people come in on a $29 product and go on to spend over $40 000 on my company. Not all of you are going to serve clients with a goal of increasing their ROI. My goal is to help people to find more time, flexibility and freedom. So when I sell them anything, it needs to either save them more time or make them more money. So many people assume that diversifying requires an audience. No doubt, you do need someone to sell to. But you don’t have to build the audience first! You can utilize the product you are building to magnetize the ideal clients you want to work with.
The One Marketing Activity You Should Be Doing To Build Your BusinessWe are doing this with intentionality. We’re not talking to the void! We’re talking to the right people to bring them back to us. If you want to go out and diversify, I suggest you start with a digital product. You can still build and work one-on-one with your clients. We are going to design a digital product, launch it on a pre-sale, get it in front of the right people, and align those people so that you are solving a problem that falls immediately before the service that you offer. I have launched millions of different products across different categories. This has allowed me to build a list of ideal-fit people. A single one of my digital products has brought in over 10,000 digital product leads. The industry standard is called cost of acquisition — you pay to generate leads.
My digital products have been a tool for me to grow and positively affect everything else that I am building. I want to walk you through it. I want to help you build that ideal product, or refine what you already have to truly magnetize the right people to you. I want to walk you through it step by step by step, which is why I started Digital Product Jumpstart. You can find all the details right here. This is the very first step in helping you diversify your income.
Quote ThisTalking to the same ideal client for everything that you do is only going to positively impact you and your business. Highlights* The Story Of The Late Lunch That Changed Everything [0:05:05] * How I Went Out On A Limb To Solve a Simple Problem [0:12:34] * Three Situations You Might Find Yourself In And How I Could Help [0:17:39] * Other Areas You Will Inevitably Grow In As You Grow An Audience [0:23:52] * The One Marketing Activity You Should Be Doing To Build Your Business [0:29:20]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Digital Products, Business Planning, Income, Courses, Business Strategy
We Mentioned:Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Squarespace.com/BOSSPROJECT for 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Monarchmoney.com/STRATEGY for an extended thirty day free trial
Crashplan.com/BOSSPROJECT sign up for a free trial and a BOGO offer
Episode 830: Show NotesThe irony of pre-sales is that most of the people who hesitate to utilize them in their business already do pre-sales all the time! They just never call them that. Pre-sales are the perfect tool for anyone wanting to sell more digital products and courses and, as you’re listening to this, I am in the middle of my own pre-sale pitch. Being in the thick of the process, this is the perfect time to talk about it on the podcast.
Tune in to find out what pre-sales are, how you can benefit from them, and learn some simple strategies to help you get started!
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You’re Likely Already Doing Pre-SalesIf you are the kind of person who has ever offered services, you are in fact, doing a form of pre-sales. You are telling someone about what you will do for them and they will often pay, even in full, before you do the work. But when we start to talk about digital courses or products, people tend to get really hung up on how this benefits them and not their clients. Today, I get into why this is such a valuable tool. For nearly every year that I’ve run my business, this has been a requirement for me.
What is Pre-Sales and How Can it Benefit You?Typically, pre-sales is a time period in which you are selling a digital product or course prior to making it. You go to market and tell people what you intend to build and ask them to buy into it before you begin. But it’s more than that. In digital products and services, we literally use pre-sales to validate the offer in the marketplace. We are ensuring that it is something people want, getting their insights, and making tweaks along the way to make the product even better.
Ultimately, this is likely going to be a steal for anybody who comes in early. They may not get the most polished version of your product, but they will definitely get a high-touch version of your service. If nothing else, incorporating pre-sales into my business process means that I have something to do! If people are already buying into my idea, I must make sure that I deliver everything I’ve promised them.
A Simple Strategy to Get You StartedNow that I’ve won you over and you’re ready to put your offer out there, what’s the strategy? First of all, make it simple! It’s usually easier to start with a low-priced digital product or a mini course. That will give you an opportunity to explore what pre-sales looks like without the pressure of sales objections and a high price point. You want to sell it like it’s already here while being transparent about the fact that you are still building it. I usually make it clear that I have a pre-sale price and let people know that beta pricing goes away at the end of my pre-sale period.
Where to Start on the Problem of PricingAnything under the price point of $20 is what I would call the no-brainer range. Under $50 and $100 both have a similar psychological impact. After that, the scale changes. The scale gets wider the further up in price you go before there is an actual change in psychology. If you want something to feel like a deal, you are generally going to choose an odd number. If you want the least friction and the most results, you are going to want to make your offer into something that people won’t second guess.
Remove Commitment from Low-Priced Digital ProductsI want my people to succeed. We all do! But that doesn’t mean doing it for them. Oftentimes, people only say no because it’s on them to implement the product. That’s why I do everything in my power to make it as simple, easy, and frictionless as possible so that they can do it themselves. To make a product a no-brainer, I get as close as possible to doing the work for you as I can. But don’t get caught up in having the perfect idea! Instead, you need to move forward with an idea that resonates with you and that you feel really good about and want to put out into the world.
The Worst Case Scenario and Why You Should Act Now!I want to see you make $1,000 in the next two weeks. What might it look like to make 22 sales at $47 each or 11 sales at $97 each? That feels so doable! That’s less than your kid might make selling Girl Scout Cookies in a week. You can do this! My favorite place to host digital products and mini-courses is Teachable. I’ve been a long-time user since they were in beta. If you haven’t checked them out before, I have a deal for you. Check it out here!
If you’d like a little more hand-holding through this process and you want me to guide you on building your first digital product or mini-course, then head over to Digital Product Jumpstart. I’ll not only walk you through building the right offer that aligns with your ideal client to set you up for long-term success, but I’ve also included a two-week pre-sale launch called Launch in a Box. I can’t wait to see you there!
Quote ThisWhat if, two weeks from now, your entire world was different just because you decided to put yourself out there? Highlights* You’re Likely Already Doing Pre-Sales [0:02:22] * What is Pre-Sales and How Can it Benefit You? [0:03:45] * A Simple Strategy to Get You Started [0:16:16] * Where to Start On the Problem of Pricing [0:23:16] * Remove Commitment From Low-Priced Digital Products [0:27:53] * The Worst Case Scenario and Why You Should Act Now! [0:32:30]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Pre-sales, Business Process, Digital Products, Service, Product Development
We Mentioned:Digital Product Jumpstart
Teachable - special offer
Trello for Business
Join the Co-op
Squarespace.com/BOSSPROJECT for 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Monarchmoney.com/STRATEGY for an extended thirty day free trial
Crashplan.com/BOSSPROJECT sign up for a free trial and a BOGO offer
Episode 829: Show NotesToday I’m going to take you behind the scenes and share what it was like to shoot a TV show for a major streaming network. For now, I’m not allowed to tell you anything about the show so bear with me while I try to share my experiences in a somewhat cryptic manner! I’m also going to make a highlight reel on Instagram so you can see all of this there too!
I was approached as someone who built a business and asked to appear on the TV show. All I had seen was a sizzle reel for the show and I basically went in blind. I really think that this is going to have a good impact. Starting out, I had no idea what this experience was going to be like– but I said yes anyway! So let’s talk about it!
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Shoot Dates Moving and Styling MyselfSo the shoot kept being moved around which made me hyper-fixate on what I was wearing because that was the only thing I could control! Eventually, I figured out what I wanted to wear and how I wanted to present myself. And then, the shoot date was moved again! Finally, I got a firm date confirmed and I booked my flight. I had to move my schedule around; quite chaotically if I may add. And it all happened to be at the same time as I launched my new offer. It was a lot to handle! Thankfully, the wonderful Harriet Hadfield, who’s been on the show before, helped me find a makeup artist for the shoot day and I got my hair blown out a few days before! I was as ready as I could be.
When Self-Doubt Kicked InWhen I landed for the shoot, I had the afternoon to myself and I was able to sit on the beach and reflect on how grateful I was for this opportunity. But that was when the terror set in and the negative self-talk began– because I couldn’t know for sure just how big this opportunity actually was. I worried that I was downplaying it or even overstating how big it would be. This is a pivotal moment in my career. I have never been in front of so many strangers at one time in my entire life. I had to give up so much control and just trust that everything would work out. I went back to my hotel and sat down for dinner. And the minute I sat down, I found out that the shoot was no longer happening the next day!
My Free Day in Los AngelesI definitely wasn’t surprised that the shoot was moved back a day so I had to reschedule everything and suddenly had a whole day in Los Angeles. I thought I might find another outfit for the shoot but I was so disappointed by the stores– they had hardly any plus-sizes. Honestly, I was quite annoyed! But I managed to cheer myself up with a movie, an interesting conversation with a cab driver, and dinner with the lovely Harriet!
What This Means for the Second Half of My CareerMy makeup has never looked better than it did on the day of the shoot, so I have to give a big shout-out to my amazing makeup artist! The first shooting location was at a restaurant and honestly, shooting was so much like my everyday job; planning and testing. Then we went back to the studio and I was amazed by the technology they used! We filmed direct-to-camera interviews and I was even able to see a rough cut of one of the interviews before any mixing or editing and that was so cool! That made me so excited because it helped me see that I would be a part of something that could have multiple seasons in the long term.
Regardless of how big the show is, this proved to me that I am meant to impact so many more people in my lifetime and it opened a new chapter for me. This represents the first few scenes of the second half of my career. None of this would’ve happened for me if it weren’t for all of you, so thank you so much! If you have any questions about this experience please feel free to DM me on Instagram.
Quote ThisI am meant to impact so many more people in my lifetime and my career. Highlights* Shoot Dates Moving and Styling Myself [0:14:19] * When Self-Doubt Kicked In [0:26:15] * My Free Day in Los Angeles [0:29:51] * What This Means for the Second Half of My Career [0:41:16]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:TV Show, Styling, Flexibility, Change, Shooting, Behind the scenes, Los Angeles, network TV, Top secret
We Mentioned:Episode 811: From Freelance to Booking Celebrity Clients with Makeup Artist, Harriet Hadfield
Join the Co-op
Squarespace.com/BOSSPROJECT for 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Monarchmoney.com/STRATEGY for an extended thirty day free trial
Crashplan.com/BOSSPROJECT sign up for a free trial and a BOGO offer
Episode 828: Show NotesIt’s difficult to believe that I have been in business for nine whole years! For those unfamiliar with the story, nine years ago, in March, I was laid off from a startup — I had only been working there for three months. This startup had recruited me for a position I had held for years at a financial firm, where I worked as a graphic designer in strategic marketing. Then, three months later, the entire marketing department was axed in one fell swoop, leaving me with 30 days' notice. What I didn't know at the time was that they were attempting to avoid paying me unemployment.
So there I was, paid to occupy space at my desk while I ostensibly hunted for new work. Instead, I seized those 30 days, predominantly throughout March of 2015, to kick-start my own business. Jump forward in time – it’s nine years later – and I am still loving this wild ride! I’ve learned a LOT over the past nine years, and today I get into key lessons I’d like to share with you. Join me today for a trip down memory lane and a breakdown of 9 critically important lessons I’ve learned from 9 years in business!
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Simple is BetterThis needs to be on a bumper sticker because I keep ignoring it. Simple is better. I've made my life and business way more complicated than necessary, countless times. Not just a couple here and there, but like, hundreds, if not 1000s of times. Whether it's complex sales funnels, over-ambitious tech, or too many offers, I've over-complicated things. Building stuff like The Creative Template Shop was cool, and I wouldn’t change it for the world, but it certainly wasn't the most straightforward path. Although, sometimes choosing the more complicated alternative is more about your own enjoyment than anything else!
Another reason many of us overcomplicate things is that we think it will validate our decisions (and our worth). But in reality, you just don’t need all that complicated stuff. I'm not kidding. All those fancy funnels and tech gadgets that the industry tries to sell you? They only become necessary once you start bringing in 5 million or more. You can run a kick-ass business with just Google Docs, an email list, and some free social media!
You Need to Know Your Cash FlowIn business, you always need to know the state of your cash flow. I’ve had to learn this lesson the hard way quite a few times. Grasping this concept is especially important when you’re starting out, because your cash flow is bound to be less consistent, leaving you with a lot of highs and lows. One month you might have several high-paying clients, while the following month you’re struggling to bring in just one or two.
Plus the bigger your business becomes, the more risk you’re taking on. And by bigger, I mean larger overheads, namely all of the hard costs you’re taking on, like software systems, salaries, advertising, etc. Your risk goes up because you can’t break even unless you hit that minimum. So learn what the numbers mean and always remember to keep an eye on your cash flow!
Build in Recurring Revenue Early OnI really regret not focusing on building recurring revenue sooner. For years, I concentrated on one-time sales, and while I don't discount their importance, I wish they had been just one piece of the puzzle rather than the entire picture. The problem was that every time the clock struck midnight at the end of the month, my business reset back to zero.
Much of my operating budget consisted of fixed costs, so breaking even required over $60,000 a month. It’s difficult to understand that pressure until you’ve actually experienced it firsthand. All of that changed when I started focusing on recurring revenue. Recurring revenue has only been a part of my business for three and a half years, but it's astounding when I look back and see that some of these clients have been with me the entire time!
Figure Out How You Want To Show UpNow this next lesson is an interesting one. And I think people often convince themselves of this insight, without fully understanding what it means. The lesson is to worry less about how others are doing things and worry more about how you want to show up. And this can apply to anything, whether it’s getting the sales, setting up tech, or how you run your business.
While I see plenty of people who are focused on how they want to show up, I also see a lot of people struggle with implementation. What’s crucial is first determining how you want to show up, and then learning from others whose methods align with how you want to do things (and worry less about those that don’t). I’ve often seen people be so determined to be unique that they put way too much energy into reinventing the wheel, which is time-consuming and unnecessary. Figure out how you want to show up, find out the best ways to do that, and tune out all the extra noise!
Employees Are Valuable Team PlayersTruth be told, if I could go back, I would have hired fewer contractors and built a lean team sooner. I’m not saying I would have gotten to four employees that fast. But I think I could have brought on a part-time or full-time person much sooner than I did. That’s not to say that contractors aren’t valuable — they undoubtedly are! But there are a lot of benefits to having employees that you just don’t get with contractors. For one thing, you have their undivided attention for 40 hours a week! That means you are getting way more value out of the money you’re spending. You can still pay an employee very well for their work, but the bonus is that you get to have a valuable team player that you can really rely on!
Give Yourself CreditNumber six has a touch of irony, especially given how I kicked off this podcast. Let's talk about giving yourself more credit for what you achieve. I often find myself brushing off my accomplishments, not because I'm not proud, but because I'm not big on the limelight.
I bet you're not giving yourself enough credit either. So, can you just pause for a moment? Even if it's just a quick acknowledgement? Write it down, treat yourself to dinner with your partner, give yourself a pat on the back – something. Because too often, we just keep going. And you deserve more than that.
Your life should be fulfilling and exciting, and your career is a big part of that. So, take this as a reminder for all of us. We need to take the time to appreciate what we've done and stop downplaying it. Because if you’re a woman in business, you already stand out. A lot. There are far fewer women running companies than men. You deserve some credit!
You Don’t Need To Be Passionate About What You SellI don't know when I learned this lesson, but it pops up again and again in different ways and at different times, and it's definitely a lesson worth knowing. The lesson is that you do not have to be passionate about what you sell – it’s not a requirement for success. Passion can absolutely turbocharge your efforts, attracting more people, more revenue, more opportunities, and plenty of other good things. I just want to acknowledge that sometimes, a business is simply a means to an end, a tool to fund our livelihoods, and that is perfectly okay and acceptable.
Keep AdaptingOver the course of the last nine years, I have seen a lot of different waves and trends in my industry. And recently I’ve seen a more pronounced resistance to change. I think that can be attributed, at least in part, to the fact that things are changing at a speed that we haven’t seen in a long time.
We need to bear in mind, however, that trends will keep changing, and what people want will keep changing, and there will be seasons where you need to be willing to adapt. So, while you shouldn’t feel like you need to hop on every trend, you also shouldn't let yourself get stagnant. You have to find a balance. There's a reason I’ve made it through nine years in business: it was a willingness to keep going, to keep trying, to move through challenges, and to adapt, in a very big way.
Never Stop Thinking About VisibilityFor any small business, visibility needs to be top of mind, something that you’re constantly focused on. But I didn’t stick to this rule – and it cost me a lot. Early on, my business saw rapid growth, largely due to a supportive community. It grew so rapidly that I didn’t have to look for new leads. I just had to nurture them and tell them about what I had coming up, and they would participate.
But then my warm leads started to dry up. And suddenly my business was at grave risk of falling apart. That was when I realized the importance of visibility. It’s not that I didn’t know how to create that visibility. After all, I had built a loyal community and following of people. I knew what it took to get visible and grow that network of people. I just hadn’t been putting my time and energy there.
Almost every single business will get to the point where they will have exhausted their warm leads and will need to focus on visibility and getting new clients. Unless they incorporate this from the beginning. But if you’re in the scary position where your leads have dried up, or you’ve been there before, or you’re approaching that, then you know how terrifying it can be. Trust me, I've been there. But thankfully, I also found a way out of it. By redirecting my efforts to visibility I’ve discovered a strategy that has yielded remarkable results. And I want to share it with you!
If you’re ready to boost your visibility and turn those leads into solid sales, it’s time to check out The Instagram Profit Playbook. Let's make sure your marketing game is strong enough to secure long-term success! You can also feel free to send me a DM on Instagram if you have any questions.
Quote ThisTake the time to really appreciate what you've done. And stop minimizing it. Highlights* Simple is Better [0:05:52] * You Need to Know Your Cash Flow [0:08:43] * Build in Recurring Revenue Early On [0:15:53] * Figure Out How You Want To Show Up [0:18:43] * Employees Are Valuable Team Players [0:22:34] * Give Yourself Credit [0:25:36] * You Don’t Need To Be Passionate About What You Sell [0:28:43] * Keep Adapting [0:31:11] * Never Stop Thinking About Visibility [0:38:00]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Simplicity, Cash Flow, Recurring Revenue, Employees and Contractors, Adaptability, Visibility
We Mentioned:Instagram Profit Playbook
Join the Co-op
Squarespace.com/BOSSPROJECT for 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Monarchmoney.com/STRATEGY for an extended thirty day free trial
Crashplan.com/BOSSPROJECT sign up for a free trial and a BOGO offer
Episode 827: Show NotesWhat if you could generate consistent paid leads? This episode is dedicated to the specific things you can focus on to do this naturally, seamlessly, and consistently. Before we get started, I want to say that when we talk about bringing in leads, there’s an element I can’t give you. I need you to have self-belief and confidence about what you are putting out into the world.
So often, when we get frustrated by a lack of leads or a lack of sales, it’s rooted in a lack of belief that we can do it. Confidence attracts people like nothing else I can possibly describe. No amount of content or strategy can cover up a lack of confidence. It will always show through and it’s a really big turn-off for people. Let’s get into some of the things I can guide you into doing!
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What It Really Means to Have Enough ConfidenceThere’s a really big difference between having enough experience and having years of experience. It’s not about having 10,000 hours or having a degree in something. No doubt, if you were going to have someone operate on your brain, you would definitely want them to have a degree, but the majority of us are not doing emergency surgery. We can help people from our lived experience without necessarily needing all of this background. You don’t have to be a highly trained professional with years of experience under your belt, you could be someone that your client connects with, relates to, and trusts. That is enough!
Breaking Down the Small Business Infinity Loop At the end of the day, all small businesses are in a loop. Some of us end up getting stuck in the loop, which makes things very frustrating. But you don’t have to stay there! Imagine the loop as an infinity sign. On the one side, there’s focus. In a space of focus, we want to remove distraction, gain clarity, and simplify. Focus leads into a space of attraction. You are going to save so much time by only attracting the right people. Next we move into selling, where you effortlessly close those deals. But things don’t end there – you want to create something that has deep impact and deep meaning. If you really want to dig into what you are focusing on and simplify and get some clarity, the place to start is Digital Product Jumpstart.
Two Ways to Capitalize on Magnetic MarketingRegardless of which platform you use to ultimately market your business, there are at least four types of content all designed with a specific purpose in mind. If we want more followers, we need to focus on awareness content. This is based on storytelling and it's meant to focus on your unique value system. I know that my story is not going to resonate with everyone and that’s exactly what I want! Followers are great, but you also need ways to create volume. Trigger content is one way to do that and it is sparked by controversy. If you don’t feel ready to do this, I get it! But if you want to expand impressions and reach, saying something controversial is a surefire way to get it. For example, things you are frustrated by are a perfect starting point to get on a soapbox and create some charged content.
The Dual Purpose of Nurture Content (And How Not to Do Too Much of It)Nurture content is aimed at people who are already engaged with you to bring them closer to a sale. It shouldn’t take up more than 15 to 20% of your marketing efforts. Reaching new people and ultimately engaging them into a sale needs to be 50 to 75%. One way that nurture content can contribute to this is when you make content that is so powerful that people want to save it. On pretty much any platform, saves are counted as more engagement. For educational content, this often looks like tutorials and how-tos. This podcast is an example of nurture content. The majority of people listening to this podcast just want to listen. They are not going to take immediate action.
How to Leverage the Power of Activation ContentConverting and improving engagement are the two ideal outcomes of my favorite kind of content. In a public place like Instagram reels, activation content is going to motivate people to comment, follow a link, or take the next step. It could also be a sales email designed to give them the information they need; which is the purchase. It’s designed to spark action. This is where you reach people who are already ready to take the leap. I have so much content out there that will help people to get there but unless you are really willing to take a look at how something operates and come back with a simpler plan, you might not be ready! Activation content is aimed at people who are ready to jump; they just need someone to hold their hand. Think about who that is for you? Where do they have to be to be ready to jump?
What You Need to Know to Get GoingYou need to know your unique proposition. My unique proposition now is once you’ve developed a product that is going to get you those qualified leads, you need a system that is going to support you on an ongoing basis. For my audience, I needed to showcase the best way to generate leads. While you can always send someone to a lead capture form on your website, that requires that the person is already interested in your services and that’s a hard pitch. A much easier way to get someone to take action is to attract them to you at the stage you need them to be at to be primed and ready for the very next step. So, I developed Digital Product Jumpstart to help people leverage a digital product to bring in a continuous stream of qualified leads and get paid in the process.
Once you develop that offer that’s bringing in those continuous leads, you need an easy system that’s going to allow you to continue to market this on an ongoing evergreen basis, which is why I just announced Instagram Profit Playbook and I am so freaking excited about it! This is really focused on intentional content designed to spark action. There’s a lot of focus on activation content with a sprinkle of all those other things. I’m teaching you to make it very easy for people to take the next step. I walk you through every piece of the puzzle in my Instagram Profit Playbook, and I can’t wait to see you inside!
Quote ThisConfidence attracts people like nothing else I can possibly describe. Highlights What It Really* Means to Have Enough Confidence [0:07:35] * Breaking Down the Small Business Infinity Loop [0:11:40] * Two Ways to Capitalize on Magnetic Marketing [0:17:40] * The Dual Purpose of Nurture Content (And How Not to Do Too Much of It) [0:27:26] * How to Leverage the Power of Activation Content [0:27:26] * What You Need to Know to Get Going [0:38:13]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Social media, Confidence, Leads, Focus, Clarity, Simplification, Marketing strategy
We Mentioned:Digital Product Jumpstart
Instagram Profit Playbook
Join the Co-op
Squarespace.com/BOSSPROJECT for 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Monarchmoney.com/STRATEGY for an extended thirty day free trial
Crashplan.com/BOSSPROJECT sign up for a free trial and a BOGO offer
Episode 826: Show NotesThe first quarter of the year has just been crazy for me, and life has really gotten in the way of work. However, I have built my business in such a way that I have something for sale all the time, even when I am not able to work. Digital products are such a saving grace for when I don’t know what my life is going to look like. If you haven’t built a digital product yet, or if yours isn’t selling the way you thought it would, go check out my Digital Product Jumpstart. I want to help you live the life you want!
In the last episode, I shared the strategies I used to get 222 new students in just 42 days, and in today’s episode, I want to talk about the intimidating parts of getting visible because it can be so vulnerable! My focus is specifically on Instagram, but that doesn’t mean that it’s the only platform for you. From my perspective, Instagram has the lowest barrier to entry and is the best place to drive free and organic traffic to monetize the work you’re doing there. So, let’s answer some of your questions about how I monetize on Instagram!
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How to Overcome Intimidation of Being the ‘Face’ of Your Brand and Posting ReelsI think there’s a misconception that you have to be the face of your brand, and while you can do that, there has been a shift to something different. I have seen creating a faceless brand/business be quite successful at the moment, which means that you can show up as a person but not necessarily actually show yourself online. Most of these brands are run entirely with stock imagery, and it is working really well. I have been testing this on my account and mixing it with my usual content, and I have seen no difference in performance! So, if you’re intimidated about showing yourself on a social platform, then you don’t have to!
I know that it can also be intimidating to create content when you feel like your house and life isn’t picture-perfect and aesthetically pleasing. Some brands grow because they’re polished and curated. However, there are many people doing incredibly well showing their real lives because people want to feel like they understand you! People respond to realistic content, so I don’t believe you need to be perfectly polished to be successful. Another misconception is that reels are about videos, but that isn’t true! They are about writing and copy. The videos catch people’s attention, but the words are what are important!
How to Captivate People’s Attention Span on InstagramLet me be clear that you don’t have to have people’s attention for a long time for your content to be effective. On Instagram, you may only be able to captivate between a few seconds and a few minutes of their time, and you don’t necessarily need more than that. Any interaction with your content that lasts longer than someone immediately scrolling past means that they are way more likely to be shown your content again. Instagram will put your content back in front of that person because they previously engaged with it. So you don’t need their attention for a huge amount of time for you to get conversions quickly. You can go a long way in earning someone’s trust with the right copy!
How to Deal with Most of Your Followers Not Being Your Target AudienceThere is another huge misconception that you cannot change the content on a certain page if your followers aren’t your target audience. You will see results in whatever area you place your energy and after the experiment I did whereby I changed my focus on my personal account from random content to business-based content to attract a specific audience, this became more evident to me! I don’t want you to think that followers who aren’t part of your target audience are hurting your account because that’s just not true! Any engagement in a positive way is a good thing and it doesn’t affect the algorithm at all. It doesn’t matter that they’re there and it shouldn’t be a deterrent for you to focus on the content you want to focus on. None of this has to impact your results at all.
How to Get Your Existing Followers to Engage MoreI have experienced the frustrations of getting less engagement than I hoped for and that was mostly because I was posting things that were no longer working on the platform. You can’t be frustrated if your followers aren’t engaging if you aren’t telling them what you want to do so you have to call them to action! When you first start doing this it’s going to be frustrating but eventually, as you get better at writing, people will start engaging. Gone are the days when people engage for the sake of it. People are either checking in with their core group of people or scrolling on Instagram and I want you to get to the point where you can stop that scroll. I encourage you to figure out how to ask them to engage the way you want them to.
How to Make Sure That Your New Followers Are Your Target AudienceAll of this comes down to creating content that is for your target audience and not for mass appeal! As long as you are focused on creating content that is for your ideal person, your new followers will fall into the bracket of your target audience. That doesn’t mean that you have to start over on Instagram though, you can pivot! You don’t want to capture everyone’s attention, just the right people’s attention. And, you can even use a trendy strategy as long as you keep it in alignment with your brand.
I know it can be quite scary to try to make money on Instagram and I don’t blame some of you for not knowing where to start! That’s why I want to help you. I have tried and tested current strategies and made sure I understand them so that I can teach them to you. I have taken all of these intimidating strategies and broken them down so that they can work for your business too! Interested in monetizing Instagram? Check out our Instagram Profit Playbook. I can’t wait to see you there!
Quote ThisWe don’t want to capture everyone, we want to capture the right people’s attention. Highlights* How to Overcome Intimidation of Being the ‘Face’ of Your Brand and Posting Reels [0:06:06] * How to Captivate Attention Span on Instagram [0:13:07] * How to Deal with Most of Your Followers Not Being Your Target Audience [0:16:14] * How to Get Your Existing Followers to Engage More [0:21:01] * How to Make Sure That Your New Followers Are Your Target Audience [0:25:29]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Instagram, Monetizing on Instagram, Lead Conversion, Small Businesses on Instagram, Marketing, Instagram Reels
We Mentioned:Instagram Profit Playbook
Digital Product Jumpstart
Episode 825:How I Got 222 New Students & $19,698 Cash on Instagram in 6 Weeks
Join the Co-op
Squarespace.com/BOSSPROJECT for 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Monarchmoney.com/STRATEGY for an extended thirty day free trial
Crashplan.com/BOSSPROJECT sign up for a free trial and a BOGO offer
Episode 825: Show NotesToday we are talking about using Instagram strategically in your business to actually lead to sales. This is a digital marketing tactic you need to pay attention to! Every business needs visibility in order to drive new people to discover who you are, earn their trust, and start them down a sales pipeline. If you’re always in nurture mode, then you will run out of leads to nurture because your business will shrink.
I did something incredible with Instagram recently and had fantastic results! Today I’m sharing that specific strategy with you.
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Evolving Your Social Media Marketing StrategiesI want to drive visibility that is helpful to the business and create content that drives clients to me and converts them. I am not new to monetizing on Instagram and I have constantly pivoted my strategy to successfully drive free and organic traffic to my business. My overarching strategy for selling digital products hasn’t changed much but what has changed is my marketing strategy as the trends evolve. I want to look for what will work for me and what I can teach my clients to do successfully themselves. I have always known that Instagram is the space where I show up best so I spent months observing accounts that had grown rapidly to figure out what they were doing right.
The One Thing I Did to Get 222 New Students in Just 42 DaysThe answer to this question is so much simpler than I think people realize! I found that when I understood the strategy and implemented it consistently, it started to work! I specifically modeled what was successfully driving traffic for other people. I decided to show up on Instagram every single day and send the majority of that traffic to a low-priced digital product. In the first 42 days alone, I had 222 new students from just Instagram! The projected earnings from these new people are insanely huge. That’s not to say that everyone would get the same success as I did but I want you to know that most of these posts were not made on accounts with large followings so there’s no reason you can’t do this too.
How Instagram Visibility Helped Other Areas of My Business GrowI want to talk about some of the side effects of this that I wasn’t anticipating. My goal was to use Instagram to drive free and organic traffic but what I didn’t expect was that the visibility in other areas of my business would increase alongside that. In the same time frame and because of the buzz Instagram created, I landed three brand deals, got dozens of new podcast sponsors, was invited as a guest on other podcasts, had an interview with CMBC, and I filmed for a TV show. I’m sure that all of those things didn’t have something to do with Instagram, but the Instagram visibility amplified the reputation I already had.
The Importance of Mindset Sure, all of this success can be attributed to strategy, algorithm, dedication, and hard work. But it’s also about mindset! Throughout this process I had the most positive mindset and that energy was so clear in the content I was producing. Even my team is excited and the community has been infected by that positively. You cannot just keep doing the same things in your business. You have to continue to evolve and do new things, show up positively, and be excited about doing them. I want you to feel good at work, be excited about the work that you’re doing, and be surprised about something new because of the energy you’re putting out. I want opportunities for you. A huge part of this is having a good attitude and having fun.
Ride this wave with me because it is too good not to share, and I have a unique perspective. If you haven’t done my Digital Product Jumpstart, that’s a great program to start with. If you already have a digital product, course, or lead magnet and you want to monetize on Instagram and get actual traffic, this new program is for you! You’ll learn effective strategies to help the right people see your posts and purchase from you. Find out more about my Instagram Profit Playbook and be walked through this step-by-step and even get access to our community. I can’t wait to see your business grow!
Quote ThisIf you can amplify a solid reputation that you already have, why wouldn’t you be doing that? Why wouldn’t you be putting your energy there? Highlights* Evolving Your Social Media Marketing Strategies [0:11:05] * The One Thing I Did to Get 222 New Students in Just 42 Days [0:18:41] * How Instagram Visibility Helped Other Areas of My Business Grow [0:27:53] * The Importance of Mindset [0:29:17]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Instagram Visibility, Social Media Marketing, Organic Traffic, Digital Marketing Strategy, Instagram Monetization
We Mentioned:Join the Co-op
Squarespace.com/BOSSPROJECT for 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Monarchmoney.com/STRATEGY for an extended thirty day free trial
Crashplan.com/BOSSPROJECT sign up for a free trial and a BOGO offer
Episode 824: Show NotesThere are unspoken expectations thrust upon every area of your life. People complain about how others choose to show up, respond, or not respond to what’s happening in the world. There is so much anger about the state of our world and our economy, what people are saying or not saying, and even how you might choose to run your business.
I get it! These are important things to have thoughts and feelings about. But what would it look like to show up in alignment with your truth? At the end of the day, it’s about you, the weight that you carry from these societal expectations, and how that bleeds into your business and career.
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Why Today’s Conversation is a Story Within a StoryAbout six weeks ago, I decided to make some big changes to the way I show up online. I want to tell you how I made myself more visible and how that has impacted my business, but that’s a story for another episode! In the midst of everything happening, I recently signed up for a local conference. I had to pick a breakout session, and looking at a list of times and topics, I blindly chose one titled Messy Sex. Now, I’m certainly not going to tell you about my sex life! Instead, I’m going to tell you about something that everyone needs to hear. I know that the topic of sex can make people uncomfortable, but what this specific situation illustrated for me impacts you personally!
How Zero Expectations Led to a Takeaway We All Need to HearI had no idea what to expect when I walked into the breakout. Maybe we were going to get a little uncomfortable, talk about our relationships with our partners, or discuss how to have better sex. Instead, I sat in a room full of women, realizing that I wasn’t the only one who had carried the weight of shame my entire life! There is an epidemic that has swept our nation and has thrust shame upon an entire generation. For this story to make sense, you need to know that I grew up in a conservative Catholic household. I was taught that no sex before marriage was the only way, and if you didn’t do that, you were sinning and potentially going to hell. I was taught to abstain. I didn’t have sex education. All I had were some terrifying images of sexually transmitted diseases.
The Impact that a Lifetime of Indoctrination Had on My Mind and My BodyFor 18 years, I was told to believe that abstinence was the only way to one day find someone who would love and cherish me. When I left that community, I had an eating disorder, deep shame about my body, and a profoundly affecting sense of guilt. I carried a lifetime of trauma I had to work through. Now, I want to be quite clear here; this is not an anti-Christian message! It’s not an anti-church message. I’m not saying there is an inherently bad denomination or that being a part of organized religion is a mistake. I can both be a church-going Christian woman and someone who is deeply hurt and manipulated by organized religion. I had to break down all of my walls to find out what was true for me.
Why This Conversation Is Not Really About Sex Why do you show up the way that you do? Would it be different if you carried less shame or guilt? Would it be different if you felt like no one was watching? Would it be different if you were in front of strangers instead of a community or family you’ve already built? Would it be different if you examined how your views have changed and evolved as you’ve aged? Would it be different if you allowed other points of view in your life or if you were only worried about yourself? This conversation isn’t really about sex. It’s about being so ingrained in our communities that we can’t see the harm they cause.
What You Might Assume (If You’re Anything Like Me)Maybe you believe that deconstructing your way of doing things is going to cause you to swing in the complete opposite direction. If whatever you’ve been doing until now is considered socially acceptable or right, then doing it your way must somehow be wrong, unacceptable, or manipulative. I’m here to tell you that you aren’t those things! Why do you assume that acting from your truth is wrong? You aren’t the antithesis of who you have portrayed. You are a deeper, more nuanced, more interesting person than the one you have shown out loud. Although the criticism still hurts, I feel stronger than ever. My conviction keeps me grounded. I feel at peace, I love my body more, I have a healthier relationship with food, a better and stronger marriage, and I communicate my wants, needs, and desires. These things are only possible because I did the work!
How Your Journey Might Differ From Mine and Why That’s OkayWhen I spoke about getting more visible with my community recently, there was so much fear echoed back at me. I reflected on why people often feel intimidated about the things they should be excited about, and I realized that it’s much more deep-rooted than anyone is willing to talk about. Some of you have some real ish that you need to work through! I don’t know what your journey looks like, but I know that this journey is going to take time. I know that you want to get out there and grow, have more visibility, have more leads, and have more people paying attention. You want your business to provide more income with less sacrifice for yourself.
The Community That’s Waiting For YouYour future is so bright! Growing my business was only possible when I worked through my personal fears, traumas, expectations, anxiety, and sadness. You aren’t alone in this! You have a community of people who deeply care about you and want to walk alongside you and see you crushing it in business. I want to help you be fully you, unapologetically you, in a place that is safe for you to act. I want you to join us. It’s going to take some time to work through your stuff, but in the meantime, I can give you the strategies and the tools you need to crush it when you’re ready.
Quote ThisYou deserve a community that is safe, and I have worked so hard to create that space. Highlights* Why Today’s Conversation is a Story Within a Story [0:03:31] * How Zero Expectations Led to a Takeaway We All Need to Hear [0:05:51] * The Impact that a Lifetime of Indoctrination Had on My Mind and My Body [0:08:07] * Why This Conversation Is Not Really About Sex [0:10:58] * What You Might Assume (If You’re Anything Like Me) [0:12:41] * How Your Journey Might Differ From Mine and Why That’s Okay [0:14:43] * The Community That’s Waiting For You [0:17:13]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Deconstruction, Beliefs, Fears, Overcoming Fear, Community, Support, Acceptance
We Mentioned:Join the Co-op
Squarespace.com/BOSSPROJECT for 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain
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Episode 823: Show NotesToday, I dig into how I would start a business with zero existing audience. First of all, I have to admit that I’ve never met anyone who actually has no audience. Everyone has up to 1,000 connections that they can leverage from day one. Whether you believe it or not, you already have an audience and it’s your job to leverage existing connections to build momentum for the life and the business you want. Ultimately, the number of people in your audience and the number of followers you have has little to no influence on how much revenue you can generate.
Showing up and getting visible can be very vulnerable. It subjects you to judgment, which often holds people back from making it happen. But getting visible isn’t necessarily about growing an audience. It’s about growing a community of real relationships. Emphasizing growing my community rather than chasing the numbers has been not only enlightening but empowering too, and I want to share that experience.
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How to Utilize a Digital Product to Convert Strangers to Buyers This is my favorite way to build an audience! A lot of people assume they have to build an audience first and sell later, but that isn’t the only way to do it. Digital products are low-hanging fruit that you can sell from the very beginning. Even if your audience doesn’t buy it immediately, putting an offer out there and promoting it will attract the right people to pay attention to you. You can build trust and create a clear path for someone to take the next step at the same time. Selling can mean offering value! That’s the whole point. Sales shouldn’t be about taking away from people. It is just another tool you can use to connect with them.
How to Build an Audience You Can Sell toHere’s a strategy I would use if I were starting from scratch and trying to build an audience that I could also sell to. To earn money as quickly as possible, you need to build visibility! Visibility is how you get in front of strangers and simply make them aware of your existence. Right now, my favorite visibility channel is Instagram, as it is a great way to connect with brand-new people! Not only can you use an existing account, regardless of how many followers you have, but you can also start from zero followers and build an audience. It’s totally up to you to decide! The main thing you need to do is leverage your connections to build your following.
Leveraging Digital Products to Build Your Audience Pick a very specific topic for your content that is narrowed into your ideal client’s main problem and how to solve it. Focus on this topic for the first 30 to 90 days in order to create consistency. If you stay consistent, you will be seen as an expert. Then, you need to launch and market a low-priced digital offer that you can utilize to attract buyers. If you don’t know where to start, don’t panic! I outline the steps to this process in my Digital Product Jumpstart, so be sure to check that out.
Once you have your digital product, you need to figure out what messaging drives your engagement and purchases. Reels are an incredible way to get in front of new people, be exposed to users who have never seen your content, and get some free organic reach! The best part is that you can use your “B-roll footage,” meaning you can film moments from your everyday life and post them. While you are creating content to get in front of new people, you will also need to reach out to your network, share what you’re doing, and ask for their support. Cross-promoting your social networks is highly effective and you should be doing more of it!
The Best Way to Communicate with Your Followers DirectlyOne of my favorite strategies is to DM followers who express interest in your offering and send them a link to a specific product. They’re much more likely to follow through if they receive a private message from you. Minichat is a great tool you can use that will automatically send the link to followers who comment on your reels, even while you are sleeping. People no longer open all of their emails and text messages because of spam, but because of the privacy restrictions in place for DMs, people can’t spam you as easily and the open rates are therefore massive! Nearly 100%! Take advantage of this strategy right now before it changes and becomes something you need to pay for. It is so easy!
The Biggest Mistake that People Are MakingConsistently producing content is great, but be aware of this trap! If Reels are the visibility channel, posts and stories are the “nurture” side of Instagram. They are a great way to actually convert cold buyers with your content. Customers who have already purchased from you are way more likely to purchase again than somebody who came in via a cold lead. So, when you’re ready, build a list of buyers and email them regularly using storytelling and magnetic marketing. This can help you share your transformation and remind them of how you can help them. It’s a great place to continue that nurture cycle. You can grow this email list while continuing to add value! What you sell and how you talk about it can provide value, and reminding people to take action is a positive thing. Be louder. Talk about what you do consistently. Take people on a journey! It is your job to tell people how and why to work with you. For step-by-step instructions, check out my Digital Product Jumpstart today.
Quote ThisYou should be talking about what you sell daily. Daily! Highlights* How to Utilize a Digital Product to Convert Strangers to Buyers [0:14:11] * How to Build an Audience You Can Sell to in 2024 [0:16:57] * Leveraging Digital Products to Build Your Audience [0:22:05] * The Best Way to Communicate with Your Followers Directly [0:29:41] * The Biggest Mistake that People Are Making [0:33:47]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:italic
We Mentioned:Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
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Episode 822: Show NotesToday, I want to talk about why it's super important to strengthen your business so it can handle the unexpected stuff that happens in life. Bad things are gonna happen, it's just a fact. But you don't want your business to rely too much on you to handle all the problems. Personally, I don't want to have to depend on someone else for money, and I bet a lot of you feel the same way. You want your business to stay strong even when life gets challenging. It's not about fixing every problem perfectly; it's about keeping things going smoothly even when things get tough.
The reality is that being a business owner often entails heightened stress levels. The smallest hiccup can throw off your entire day or even jeopardize your long-term plans. These unforeseen events are a part of life, whether you're an entrepreneur or not. So, how do we confront these challenges head-on and safeguard our future success? I understand that many of you yearn for the ability to magically ensure your business's reliability during tough times. And if you're not quite there yet, that's okay! What's important is creating a business model that empowers you to prioritize your goals and can endure your absence if necessary. If you desire a business that can weather such storms, you must be open to making necessary adjustments.
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Learning How to Seek SupportRight now, time is gold, even more than cash! To shape the business you're after, you've gotta carve out some time. That means having folks around who vibe with your goals, and serve as a kind of support network. This often starts right at home!
Streamlining your life gives you breathing space and time to work toward your business dreams and still have room for downtime. Start by pinpointing your top five stressors at home. Clear communication is key. Chat with your loved ones about your business dreams— they're rooting for you but might not know how to help unless you fill them in. Simply expressing what you need and why can work wonders! It's cool if you're not ready to ask for help outright. Sometimes, it's a good idea to pay for the help you need until you get the hang of asking.
Dreaming Up a Business That Runs on Its OwnYou've got the power to set up a business that doesn't rely solely on you—that might seem daunting, but it's doable. You don't have to vanish from the picture entirely. It's about finding a balance between your time and your business's time, depending on your goals and what you want to safeguard against. Picture this: chilling out on a random afternoon without stressing about unfinished tasks. If your business still heavily depends on you, it's no biggie. Loads of businesses start that way. It's a journey to reach a point where it can stand on its own. You know that's the goal, so let's visualize it happening for you!
There are some key things to focus on to make it a reality: streamline your offerings, enlist reliable help, clarify roles and responsibilities, and build a solid team. It won't happen overnight, but it's worth consciously striving for. Why? Because it's the difference between your business being a stable source of income for you and your fam, versus just a passing phase. I want your business to be your financial backbone, supporting your lifestyle and letting you call the shots. And that's only possible if you can picture it and then take the steps to make it happen.
The Absolute First Step You've Got to TakeI know you can think of a million things that you could do, but you also still have to keep running your business and life will continue to happen so I want to give you a very clear framework you can insert so that you can create a business that’s able to withstand all the things you aren’t even anticipating right now. It’s all possible but you do need to take the first step!
Creating a digital product once and being able to sell it again and again is an incredible way to diversify your income. It allows you to bring in sales when you can’t be actively working in your business or spending time with one on one clients directly. I share everything I know about how to do this effectively in our Digital Product Jumpstart course. I’m here to help, check it out today!
Quote ThisIf your business isn’t built for you to walk away, you’re building a business that’s dependent on you. Highlights* Learning How to Seek Support [0:18:23] * Dreaming Up a Business That Runs on Its Own [0:30:03] * The Absolute First Step You've Got to Take [0:34:40]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Sustainability, Life challenges, Finding balance, Business Security, Business Planning, Stress, Communication, Digital products
We Mentioned:Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Squarespace.com/BOSSPROJECT for 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Monarchmoney.com/STRATEGY for an extended thirty day free trial
Women do not talk about conflict in platonic relationships or the challenges associated with having healthy friendships as high-achieving women. Danielle Bayard Jackson joins us again today to discuss how being a high-achieving woman impacts our platonic relationships and the art and science of conflict versus connection. Danielle started her career as a high-school teacher and so many students wanted to talk about friendships more than anything else. When she transitioned into public relations, she realized that all of the issues surrounding friendships were the same. She has dedicated the last six years of her career to studying the latest research about the science of these kinds of platonic female relationships.
There’s a massive blurring of lines between colleagues, friends from work, and friends outside of work; especially for high-achieving women who spend most of their time at work and therefore, naturally meet most of their friends in the workplace. So much of your identity rests in achievements and while that is praised by many people, often it’s detrimental to friendships. Many of you don’t know who you are outside of your professional goals and achievements and it’s imperative to figure out what more you have to offer in order to build meaningful friendships. Tune in to hear about navigating platonic relationships and handling conflict!
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Having Different Friends for Different PurposesYou all have different friends for different reasons and the actual word ‘friend’ is defined differently by people too. Some of you do have friendships out of convenience; especially with business friends. While that does sound superficial and transactional, one of the main benefits of social interaction is access to resources. The danger comes in for high-achieving women who present their value in relationships as achievements and cannot find the courage to ask for something when they need it from their friends.
Moreover, high-achieving women often have insanely high-expectations for their relationships and often do not check-in with platonic friends to make the changes to friendships they want to. That can lead to a sense of unfulfillment if not discussed, so Danielle wants to encourage you to talk to your female friends about how the relationship is going. It is amazing that you can find certain friends to fulfill certain needs and when you look at all of your friendships, you can see your relationships from a place of abundance and fulfillment.
Making Changes to Your Friendships and Where Conflict Fits inStudies say that the number one thing women look for in friendships is emotional support but the truth is, everyone defines what that looks like differently. It’s important to stay in-tuned with what you need and then communicate that to friends and if that friend is either unable or unwilling to give you what you need, you need to decide how to adapt. Either you recognize and accept that that particular friend cannot offer you that thing or you realize that you cannot get value from the friendship and move on. But, so many people are ending friendships prematurely and Danielle wants to help you try to solve conflict before doing that. It’s already difficult for women to handle conflict because they have been taught to be ‘kind’ and ‘nice’ and that is a problem because research shows that platonic intimacy often lies on the other side of healthy conflict.
How to Handle Healthy Conflict and Stay Connected in Friendships There are ways to get past conflict and still feel connected. You have to stop seeing conflict as contradictory to friendship! Conflict is inevitable in every single situation. So when it happens, Danielle wants you to resist the temptation of jumping to fundamental attribution error. Ask yourself how much of that particular issue is circumstantial before deciding it’s your friend’s character flaw. If it is a significant and/or repeated issue, then you have to bring it up as an invitation, not an accusation. Finally, the conversation should end with some sort of collaborative way to go forward and make a change that aligns with both parties.
When you cannot understand why someone would do what they have done to hurt you, be curious and ask questions about it! Give them the benefit of the doubt. Focus on the tangible parts of conflict and on how they made you feel and maintain a spirit of curiosity in order to buffer the tension and create space for each party to demonstrate intellectual humility. Sometimes, conflict may not be resolved immediately so make sure you’re okay with giving people time to process the feedback you’ve given them. If any of this resonates with you, be sure to tell both Danielle and I what you thought of this episode, and check out Danielle’s new book!
Quote ThisThere are ways to get past conflict and still feel connected, maybe even more so.—Danielle Bayard Jackson
Highlights* Having Different Friends for Different Purposes [0:08:37] * Making a Change to Your Friendships and Where Conflict Fits in [0:20:18] * How to Handle Healthy Conflict and Stay Connected in Friendship [0:28:34]
OUR GUEST:Danielle Bayard Jackson
Website | Instagram | X
Danielle Bayard Jackson, a former high school teacher turned PR agency founder, is on a mission to unravel the complexities of female friendship. As a certified women's coach and host of the Friend Forward podcast, she shares research-based strategies for women to navigate friendship challenges. Recognized in major media outlets, Danielle is a national speaker on the subject and serves as the spokesperson for Bumble BFF. With a recent book deal from Hachette, she aims to explore conflict resolution in female friendships. Dedicated to fostering healthier connections, Danielle celebrates the growth of Friend Forward, cherishing her one-on-one interactions with women.
Key Topics:Friendships, Female friendship, Platonic relationships, Conflict, Healthy conflict, Conflict and connection
We Mentioned:Fighting for Our Friendships: The Science and Art of Conflict and Connection
Friend Forward: Better Female Relationships
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Episode 820: Show NotesI literally have hundreds of students who are all thinking about launching. The launch process is something that can really weigh on people looking to get started. But it doesn’t have to be complicated! On this episode, Lifestyle and Brand photographer, Dolly DeLong, joins us to talk about launching. We’re talking about how to make launches more stress-free and streamlined, lean into facts over feelings, and create an awesome launch.
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Why Dolly Gives Herself Plenty of Time For Each LaunchDolly has experience working behind the scenes on hundreds of launches. Instead of a ninety-day cycle, Dolly structures her calendar with 6 to 9-month periods in mind. I believe that the more people you’re wrangling, the longer the timeline you need. Sometimes, even 6 to 9 months can feel like crunch time, but I’ve also turned a product around in literally a week! Sometimes, a launch needs a lot of pre-planning, and other times, feedback along the way is way more necessary.
The One Thing You Really Need to Consider During Launch-PlanningAdditional support is not a guarantee! Some people get support, and others do not. I really want you to understand how much additional support is necessary to make certain things possible. If you’re looking at some of the big names in this industry, they might have a team of 50! Making the decision to switch platforms before her launch was costly, but it enabled Dolly to work out all the kinks before launching to the world! Having some buffer time in between facilitated her working out those ‘oh no’ moments.
How to Leverage Technology to Communicate Your ThoughtsDolly loves Loom! She uses it to create videos, which she includes in emails to send out to the contributors and affiliates who are part of her launches. One reason for this is that she has a tendency to be pretty wordy in her emails. It also supports her mission to ensure that people working with her feel valued and that their time has been taken into consideration. Templates are another time-saver to lean into, from tweaking old copy to re-using a wireframe from a different project.
Who to Share Your Failures With When They Inevitably HappenLast year, Dolly launched a group program focusing on collaborations and bundles, and it only sold to one person! You can believe that you shouldn’t put your worth into a launch, but when it’s happening to you, it’s so personal! This is one of the reasons that I have leaned into launching all the time instead of a production leading up to a certain moment. I want to encourage you that even at this level, I’ve had launches that have totally failed. Sometimes, communicating what’s happening in the moment can harm your brand. My advice? Get people in your corner that you can share the real stuff with!
What Dolly Reminds Herself Of Everyday to Stay Focused on Facts over FeelingsLeaning into the facts can be challenging. It can be tough to stick with a realistic viewpoint and hold both the data and your feelings. That’s why Dolly stays grounded in leaning into the facts. Because I care so deeply about facts, I’ve been working on a conversion calculator to help you to reverse engineer how many impressions you would need to hit your sales numbers. I think it’s going to be really helpful. It’s not just for launching but something you can use daily, whether for digital products, courses, or services.
Dolly’s Advice to Anyone Getting StartedGive yourself a lot of time to plan! Build in that extra time for the ‘what ifs’. Tech breaks, links break, things don’t always work out; how can you allow yourself to be flexible and troubleshoot? Lean into what works for you, whether it’s a template or a wireframe, and reuse it, tweaking it to fit each context. If you feel like you’re shouting from the rooftops about your product or program, you’re probably barely whispering! Give yourself ample amount of time to promote, and figure out what works best for your energy.
How to Get Your Priorities in Order Leading Up to a LaunchBefore the start of each week, Dolly and her husband discuss priorities for the week. Communicating with your spouse can be a game-changer! At the end of each day, she prays to God. That’s how she recalibrates on a daily basis. I’ve learned to communicate my expectations during each launch period and communicate what’s going to change in my schedule, and what I’ll need from my partner. Balancing that out with really making sure I’m enjoying the downtime I have is really important to me.
The Systems and Workflow BundleEvery year, Dolly releases a new iteration of her Bundle, which talks about something really specific. This year, Dolly and I have been working on the Launch Edition of the Systems and Workflow Bundle. It’s made with the solo business owner in mind or for a business owner with one or two team members. They want to know how to launch! And how to integrate launching into marketing their businesses better. Whether it’s your first or next launch, I know there’s a ton of resources inside, so definitely check it out!
Quote ThisI want to make sure that people who are going to be working with me feel valued and know that they are not just a tool being used for my purposes.—Dolly DeLong
Highlights* Why Dolly Gives Herself Plenty of Time For Each Launch [0:05:25] * The One Thing You Really Need to Consider During Launch-Planning [0:09:04] * How to Leverage Technology to Communicate Your Thoughts [0:20:00] * Who to Share Your Failures With When They Inevitably Happen [0:22:54] * What Dolly Reminds Herself Of Everyday to Stay Focused on Facts over Feelings [0:31:20] * Dolly’s Advice to Anyone Getting Started [0:35:05] * How to Get Your Priorities in Order Leading Up to a Launch [0:35:05] * The Systems and Workflow Bundle [0:44:56]
OUR GUEST:Dolly DeLong
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Podcast
Dolly DeLong is a Nashville Branding and Family Photographer and a Workflow and Systems Educator for Creative Business Owners. She is a long-time supporter of Boss Project, and she has successfully moved through six launches.
Key Topics:Systems, Workflow, Launches, Mindset, Collaboration, Launch Strategy
We Mentioned:Organic Marketing Workshop
Loom
The Systems and Workflow Magic Bundle
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Squarespace.com/BOSSPROJECT for 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain
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Episode 819: Show NotesI’ve been avoiding telling you a really important story. It’s one I was scared to tell, but I know you need to know this so that you don’t feel so alone. Somewhere along the way, I lost myself in my business, before I re-focused and got back in the “feel-good” zone.
In this episode, I want to remind you that business can be fun, exciting, empowering, and encouraging! Following your intuition to make your business feel good is going to inspire you in so many ways. It’s going to give you the kind of contagious energy to pursue things in a way that will not only improve your mood but also attract people who want what you’re offering.
Since the clock struck midnight on January 1st, I have been in that “feel-good” zone. This year has felt amazing because I’ve allowed myself to focus on things that I genuinely care about, feel good about, and want to see people benefit from! My energy has been the most contagious it has been in years. I’d almost forgotten what it felt like!
Regardless of how frustrated or burnt out you feel right now, there is lightness on the other side, and it is so life-giving. You have so much to look forward to, but first, I want to tell you how I got to this moment.
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The Turning Point That Changed EverythingI had lots of these kinds of moments last year, but one in particular was a giant freaking wake-up call for me! I was sitting next to my 95-year-old grandmother and she hadn’t eaten for days. She was in the hospital with COVID. I had been so careful, and I hadn’t gotten sick for multiple years. But I flew in an airplane in September of ’22, and on my birthday, I tested positive for COVID. She got it despite us being so careful and getting so much extra help.
I had to wait weeks to see her because I was still sick. When I did, she was lying in her hospital bed, barely conscious. She wanted to die. I begged her to eat. I wasn’t ready for her to go! And in that moment, I was also snapped back into reality. I thought about all the things I had to get done; client deliverables, emails, content, and all of the things that society and business tell you you owe to other people. I was so done.
What I Needed to Hear When I Wanted to Give UpA year after I had my traumatic brain injury, I had a similar moment, where I didn’t know how to keep going. I knew I wanted my business to look and feel a certain way, but somewhere along the line, I lost sight of why. I know there is a way to create a business that makes a deep impact by doing what you love and supporting you in prioritizing your life first because I’ve done it twice. This time, I’m staying freaking focused!
My grandmother was taken to hospice and made huge improvements until she broke her hip, was taken to a care facility, and ultimately passed last June. It was so painful, but I still had a business with obligations and contracts and people to care for. I knew that the business I had and the business I wanted were not the same thing, but it took a full year from the day she got COVID to the day that I felt like I knew what to do.
Why it Doesn’t Have to Feel Like Climbing a MountainYou didn’t start a business to feel trapped by it. You did it so that you would have more choices, more flexibility, and more financial freedom. I had slowly added in so many complications that the flexibility had been eaten away. I felt obligated to be at my desk every day, all day because my overhead was so exorbitant. I had to make more in a single month than my entire salary before I left corporate. It didn’t feel good, to say the least.
I’m not saying that you can’t build a business that’s easy. I’m talking about finding ease around it. It can feel like you’re climbing a mountain, or it can feel aligned. I was climbing a mountain. You don’t have to! You can take that moment in time and say no! You can reclaim where you want to go. I want to tell you that you can have a business that will fully support you, that will fully take care of you financially and allows you to walk away and prioritize your family.
How My Business Began to Make Money While I Put My Life FirstIn the five hours since I walked away from my business last night, it made $900. From the time my head hit the pillow to 8 AM this morning, it made another $1,200. This is not because I’ve been in business for the amount of time that I have. I’m also not saying that you have to follow the same path that I have. You have to figure out the path that’s going to feel good for you and allow you to pay attention to the things that make a difference.
You can still grow and have more ease, have it feel good, and not be working 40 hours a week. You can still grow and have fewer one-on-one clients. I know how hard it can be and I want to be there to support you! I know how rewarding and life-giving it can be. I’ve had many of those, ‘Oh my God, everything is different now,’ moments, and I could pretend that those things didn’t happen. But I kept going back to what makes sense for the season I am in.
What it Looks Like For Me to Make it EasyI have far less one-on-one work, I am selling almost exclusively one-to-many, I’m a multi-seven-figure business owner, I live in my dream home, completely debt-free with no mortgage, I’m a millionaire with the option to retire at 44. Those things did not happen overnight, but they did happen because I focused on consistently prioritizing the people I love, taking great care of my team, and ethically supporting them.
I could only have imagined this was possible for me at the beginning of all this. I thought the only way was to hustle. But there isn’t just one way! All these marketers out there are trying to sell you on their way. They’re trying to say, this is what I did, copy-paste, and you’ll see the same results. If their way lights you up, it might work for you too. But my goal isn’t for you to duplicate my journey. It’s to see you find the way that works for you.
How I Can Help You to Live a Life You’ve Only Dreamed OfA couple of years ago, I started the Incubator because I wanted to pour into people. I wanted to make a deep impact and see them grow. It freaking works! But because of how that program was built, it was only accessible to people making more than $10,000 per month. I know many of you are at earlier stages and still desire this life that I’m talking about. So I made some changes to the Co-Op to make it more impactful, by adding in strategy. I’m finally ready to say out loud that you can get access to my coaching in a group environment.
I used to charge $1,500 per month to be in my Incubator program. My C-Suite Program was $2,500 per month. My one-on-one coaching starts at $5,000 per month. You now have an option to get bi-weekly group coaching with me for $297 a month. Literally, if you make one sale because of being in this room, it will be worth it. I have been behind the scenes of some of the greatest names, and it doesn’t have to be that hard! I want to help you to live a life you’ve only dreamed of.
Quote ThisIf you’re anything like me, you didn’t start a business to feel trapped by it. You did it so that you would have more choices and more flexibility and more financial freedom. Highlights* The Turning Point That Changed Everything [0:05:36] * What I Needed to Hear When I Wanted to Give Up [0:09:35] * Why it Doesn’t Have to Feel Like Climbing a Mountain [0:13:43] * How My Business Began to Make Money While I Put My Life First [0:17:33] * What it Looks Like For Me to Make it Easy [0:21:15] * How I Can Help You to Live a Life You’ve Only Dreamed Of [0:24:13]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Changing Direction, Turning Points, Life First Value, Business Planning, Strategy, Financial Planning, Time Freedom
We Mentioned:Coaching and Strategy for Online Business
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Episode 818: Show NotesA few months ago, I did an episode about online courses and communities and this episode is a fantastic follow-up conversation! Joining me to discuss the future of online communities is Andy Guttormsen, co-founder and CMO of Circle. Throughout Andy’s career and his vast online course experience, he has found that more than anything, people want to connect with others.
There has been a massive shift from one-to-many course popularity to the desire for community-driven courses. People want to connect with others while trying to improve themselves. They crave connection more than ever and this shift has been incredibly interesting to witness. In this episode, we are going to dive deep into what the future holds for online communities.
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The Main Difference Between a Following and a CommunityOne of the challenges associated with online courses is keeping people engaged and finding differentiation in such a competitive world. There is a huge difference between having a following and having community conversations. A community involves the people in it in the learning experience and enables its members to bring value to each other. Andy likes to call these group experiences signature gatherings. With a following, you produce content and then have little interaction with the people who consume it whereas with a community, people can reply to your content. It’s a two-way street! And you don’t need to have the biggest digital product, it’s not necessary! You can be very successful with something simple.
How to Start Attracting People to Build a CommunityYou don’t need to have loads of people to start a community. Try to find at least 20 people who you can reach out to who may be interested in being a part of your offering. If you can’t find those 20 people, then you probably shouldn’t start that community just yet. Instead of leveraging insane marketing techniques, the first thing you need to do is ask yourself what kinds of signature gatherings will bring your group of people value, and decide on two to three you can focus on. You also need to figure out if your goal is to monetize directly or indirectly. It’s as simple as that! No need for smoke and mirrors at all, just authenticity.
Why You Just Need to Be Yourself!You being you is enough! Knowing that simply being yourself should help you sell your online product takes so much pressure off! You can use the fact that you are imperfect to your advantage as well. When your customer knows that you are flawed and human, it helps them connect to you and makes their ‘yes’ even easier for them! As long as you can guarantee some sort of transformation after finishing your course, you are on the right track. People also love seeing how enthusiastic you are about your product so make sure to let your passion shine through!
The Most Effective Way to Onboard People into Your CommunityPeople often spend so much time getting clients to sign up, that the moment they do, the community starts failing. You spend months focusing on how to get people to ‘buy’ and how to deliver value once they’re in but you spend no time on the onboarding piece. That’s a problem! A rolling admission with member orientation and a welcoming process is a great way to help members engage in the community. It also helps to incentivize new members to engage with other members of the community. Even one-on-one calls with new members are an incredible opportunity to create more connections between members of your community.
If you do these few things, you have done a lot of things right in a short space of time and are setting yourself up for long-term success. There are many reasons to open up communities quarterly but there are far more benefits to showing up consistently. You can find a balance by consistently accepting new people into your community and creating mini-cohorts with proper onboarding processes. Creating a community is a lot of work and you need to remember that it will take a lot of blood sweat and tears but if you are willing to put in the work, it will have a huge impact on businesses going forward.
Resources to Help You Get Started* Are you a part of our official Boss Project community? If not, jump on in today right here! * Want to provide an awesome onboarding experience like Andy talked about? We’ve got several easy peasy templates to help you do that in the Creative Template Shop— here’s one you’ll love!
Quote This“It’s a two-way street with a community!”—Andrew Guttormsen
Highlights* The Main Difference Between a Following and a Community [0:05:06] * How to Start Attracting People to Build a Community [0:14:58] * Why You Just Need to Be Yourself [0:21:53] * The Most Effective Way to Onboard People into Your Community [0:25:36] * The Benefits of Showing Up Consistently [0:34:18]
OUR GUEST:Andy Guttormsen
Co-Founder and CRO at Circle.so
Instagram | X | LinkedIn
Andy Guttormsen is the Co-Founder and CRO at Circle. He was on the founding team at Teachable ($250m exit), and went on to co-founded Circle in 2020. Circle is now the world’s leading community platform for creators and businesses with customers like Adobe, Webflow, Brendon Burchard, Pat Flynn, Modern Fertility, Harvard Alumni, and 9,500+ others.
Key Topics:Community, Online Learning, Online Courses, Online Community, Circle
We Mentioned:Circle.so
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Monarchmoney.com/STRATEGY for an extended thirty day free trial
Episode 817: Show NotesHave you ever thought about starting your Instagram page from scratch? Maybe you want to separate your brand and your personal life, or you’re interested in seeing if taking a more niche approach can help you reach your core audience. Either way, it’s difficult to know what the results will be without actually taking action and running an experiment. Luckily, I went ahead and did that myself, so that you won’t have to!
In today’s episode, I’ll walk you through my decision to start a new Instagram page and why I was willing to walk away from 45,000 followers. Tuning in you’ll hear about my Instagram journey, the follower count I had on different pages, and what my findings were from this wild experiment. So, if you’re interested in learning more about what it’s like starting over on Instagram in the 2020s, then this episode is the peek behind the curtain that you’ve been looking for!
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Does It Make Sense To Start Over? Does it make sense to start over if it means walking away from a page with 45,000 followers? To answer this question, we need to travel back in time, all the way back to the start of my Instagram story.
I started my Instagram journey back in 2013, right when Instagram kicked off. Initially, it was my personal space where I shared all those over-filtered pics of my life and meals. As I started my design business, it evolved into a showcase for my work. But, honestly, it took over. It felt like the business and I were one and the same, and I lost touch with who I was. To reclaim some humanity, I made a separate personal page.
Despite being on social media for years, it wasn't always of financial benefit to our company. It was more about staying on people's radar. In 2019, I got this hunch that it was time to start a new page for Boss Project. So, we sprang into action on that project and approached it as an experiment (it literally says ‘experiment’ in the bio). We decided not to move forward with that plan, so it was never shared or rolled out, but the page still exists. I was left wondering about what might have been. And I kept having that question pop up in the back of my head “Does it make sense to start over?”
This got me thinking—how can you know if it's worth starting over or reviving something? It's tricky with social media's unpredictability, but I tried my best to set up a situation to answer that for fellow small business owners facing the same dilemma (and myself!)
How I Decided To Start Over on InstagramThroughout the fall of 2023, I tried to show up more intentionally on Instagram. Despite my opinion that Instagram was on its way out, Meta's recent changes convinced me that they could not only save the platform but renew its significance for small businesses.
Even with all the effort I was putting in at the time, growth still felt painfully slow. And the question of whether I should start from scratch kept nagging at me. A couple of days before the holiday break, I felt an unusual surge of inspiration instead of the expected exhaustion. Embracing that motivation, I allowed myself to work during the break. The freedom to experiment without fear of failure or the need for meticulous planning was so liberating, and resulted in an unexpected rush of creativity!
Fast forward to December 29th, I made a bold call — to start over on Instagram. I shared this plan with my spouse, who thought I was nuts, but I insisted that he needed to trust the process. I didn't want to just talk about the possibility of starting over; I wanted to demonstrate it to all of you!
Creating The ExperimentSo, on December 29, 2023, I hit the reset button and started a new page. At the same time, I committed to posting intentionally on both my revamped personal account @abagailsays (now a mix of me, business, and life) and my fresh new page, @abagailpumphrey. That way I could run an experiment and see how each performed compared to one another.
Now, for my brand new page, I decided that I wanted to take a more considered approach. I wanted it to stick to one specific topic. My theory was that this type of specialized content would result in quicker growth since I would be training the algorithm to know and understand the type of content I serve, which would help it reach the right audience.
Going into this, I knew that the experiment would not be entirely fair. Not only did my personal page already have 4000 followers, but the content was also being cross-posted to Facebook automatically. My heart was also rooting for my personal page, the one with years of my life documented.
I absolutely could have taken the Boss Project page – which had 45,000 followers – and put my time and attention there. I could have leveraged that following and simply changed it to my name. But that’s not what I did. I chose to focus on the personal account, @abagailsays, and the brand new page, @abagailpumphrey.
The ResultsInterestingly, the @abagailsays account didn't gain as many new followers as @abagailpumphrey, even though it had way more views than the new account. My old account got 248 new followers, while the newer one gained 308, just a 60-follower difference.
I actively promoted @abagailsays to my email list and the Boss Project page, but I kept @abagailpumphrey followers in the dark about these other pages. I'd guess that more than half of the new @abagailpumphrey followers were already following me elsewhere.
Now, you might be thinking, "That doesn't sound like huge growth," and I agree. I was hoping for a big viral moment, gaining 10k or 30k followers at once. However, I don't necessarily think going viral or getting a bunch of followers all at once is the thing that's going to help you get traction. If anything, I proved to myself that you don't need a ton of followers (or new additions) to re-engage people and really get them paying attention again.
What’s Next?So where do we go from here? My plan is to wrap up January on a strong note, gathering all the data I can. After that, I'll reveal to the @abagailpumphrey followers that the account has been part of an experiment. Some followers might be lost in the transition, but that’s okay, not everyone needs to move over. The focus will shift to @abagailsays for the long term. Consolidating content in one place aligns with my posting strategy, and I'm excited about this decision.
This experiment on Instagram has shown me that you can change your narrative and attract the right followers. It's possible to re-engage an existing audience and make sales both to newcomers and those who haven't bought in years.
While I may need to provide another update in 30 or 60 days, my goal for the year is to hit 100,000 followers on Instagram. I still believe followers aren't mandatory for a sustainable business, but I'm enjoying the process and having fun this year. You can make any choice work for you; there's no definitive answer. After analyzing data for days, I've decided to trust my intuition!
I want to note that this may not hold true for other platforms, and I'm experimenting with strategies on different social media platforms to understand what works best. In essence, whether you start over, reinvigorate a small page, or pivot an existing account, there's no wrong answer! The key is showing up for something you care about.
Quote ThisYou don't necessarily need a ton of followers or a ton of new followers to re-engage people and really get them paying attention again. Highlights* Does It Make Sense To Start Over? [0:03:04] * How I Decided To Start Over on Instagram [0:19:40] * Creating The Experiment [0:23:36] * The Results [0:31:02] * What’s Next? [0:37:34]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Instagram, Social media marketing, Engagement, Followers, Social growth
We Mentioned:Organic Marketing Workshop
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Episode 816: Show NotesBelieve it or not, the profit that you make from your first sale to a customer isn’t critical to the success of your business in the long term. Getting paid at all to bring in qualified leads means that you’re doing better than 99% of the people who are marketing their products and services on the internet.
Some of you will be relieved to hear that growing an Instagram following or creating content for Reels isn’t necessarily the key to leveraging digital products and getting more qualified leads. If you want more leads or you’re interested in selling and leveraging digital products without getting caught in the weeds of flashy marketing strategies, this is the episode for you!
Tuning in, you’ll find out how to attract leads AND get paid in the process. You’ll also hear the latest update in the Battle of the IG Accounts saga, where I’m testing if reviving social media engagement works so you don’t have to! Follow @bossproject, @abagailsays, and @abagailpumphrey on Instagram to stay in the loop.
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Why the Profit from Your First Sale isn’t EverythingMost people who shout “digital products!” from the rooftops are focused on the profit or potential earnings from that initial purchase, but I’m here to tell you that it doesn’t matter. Yes, it’s great. Of course, any income earned from initial sales is fantastic, but the people you are comparing yourself to aren’t necessarily selling entry-point digital products. They’re typically selling signature offers that they’re marketing as entry-point products. I’ll say it again and again: the profit you make from your first sale isn’t significant. Getting paid to bring in qualified leads rather than paying acquisition costs is.
If you told the investors on Shark Tank that people pay you to join your list, they would invest in your company immediately! This isn’t the norm. This isn’t how most businesses operate. But you’re not a typical business. If you’re here, you want to build a business that supports the lifestyle you want to live. You’re not interested in scaling for the sake of it.
How to Use a Digital Product to Attract the Right PeopleThe magic sauce here is using a digital product to attract the right kinds of people, employing magnetic messaging to convert loyal customers who won’t just buy once but are primed for everything else you have to offer them. Depending on where you’re at in your business, digital products can do one of three things for you. First, for brand-new businesses and side hustles that aren’t making a full-time income yet, you can utilize a digital product to build an audience of buyers. Then, when you’re ready to sell the next step in your offer ecosystem, you have a pool of people who are ready to say yes to it.
Next, more established businesses can use digital products to pre-qualify repeat customers and accelerate the transition from first purchase to second purchase. Finally, for those who want to do less 101 work, reduce the number of services they offer, and buy back some of their time, digital products can act like a ramp to bridge the gap between where you are now and where you want to be in your business. How quickly you make this transition or how big of a leap you’re willing to take is up to you!
Paid Offers Versus Free Lead MagnetsIn an ideal world, leads would just magically appear. I used to think that was a total pipe dream, but if you build it the right way, a digital product CAN attract people. Are you still going to have to work to create a no-brainer offer and an easy-to-navigate sales page? Yes, of course. But once it’s set up, it becomes a reliable strategy that you can implement again and again.
A lot of people say that you should build your list using a free lead magnet first. You could do that, but you need to keep in mind that those people aren’t always ready to invest. Either they want to figure it out on their own and they’re looking to gain as much free knowledge as possible from you or they’re simply not ready financially. Someone who has invested with you once is seven times more likely to pay you again than someone who has never paid you at all, therefore it makes sense to build your list using a paid offer. It’s an ideal way to bring people into your ecosystem of offers and earn their trust!
I want to see you succeed at this. I want to see you leveraging digital products to get paid to grow your list. Whether you’re new to business or you’ve been doing this for a decade, this is a huge opportunity to refine your messaging. How you do it will be unique to your business, but I can walk you through the process in my brand new program, Digital Product Jumpstart.
Quote ThisSomeone who has paid with you once is seven times more likely to pay you again than someone who has never paid you at all. Highlights* Why the Profit from Your First Sale Isn’t Everything [0:11:28] * Using a Digital Product to Attract the Right People [0:15:01] * Paid Offers Versus Free Lead Magnets [0:21:20]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Digital products, Lead generation, Marketing strategies, Lead magnets
We Mentioned:Digital Product Jumpstart
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Episode 815: Show NotesI made $ 287,000 and had over 10,000 people pay to join my email list from a digital product I created just once, and we’re going to dive into it during today’s show.
But first, an update on the visibility plan for 2024. After spending the last few years with a focus on retention marketing and helping people who are more established in their business, I craved getting to work with people at all stages. Whether they were just getting started or they were a few years into business but reaching capacity, I knew this could only happen if I got in front of people.
Most people are actually focused on nurture marketing, where they are taking warm leads and trying to convert them into a signature offer. That’s fantastic, but eventually, you will run out of leads if you don’t have some sort of visibility strategy. My goal today is to get to know more people, allow them into my world, and earn their trust so that they can see how Boss Project can help their business grow.
I’ve put together a roadmap to break down what has really been working for me and what I see continuing to work in 2024. Spoiler alert: I focused largely on Instagram reels and I have grown my social media accounts by 100s of people! I put together 22 Instagram captions and walked you through my mini-chat setup. This is all in a document I dropped in the Co-Op. If you aren’t a Co-op member yet, this is your sign to join!
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The Secret Sauce of Building an Offer EcosystemMost online businesses only tend to focus on one business model. Whether its services, courses, coaching, or something else, they put all their time and emphasis into that one model. Individually, these are fantastic in the short term, but in the long term, I really believe the secret sauce is building an offer ecosystem. Use a visibility strategy to tell more people who you are and attract them with a gateway like a low-priced digital product. When someone purchases this, the whole goal is that they flow up through your various other offers and become a loyal customer for life. When they’re a loyal customer, they’re also very often an advocate for your business.
How Digital Products Differ from Any Other OfferOne reason I love to recommend digital products is that they act as a starting point but you also only build them once and then you can sell them again and again. When else in your business is that a possibility? That doesn’t mean you can’t go back and update things. Improving and refreshing things is built into Boss Project’s DNA. But with digital products, you don’t have to start over every time someone says yes. You can support them, give them additional resources and feedback, but you don’t have to rebuild the foundation every single time someone decides to work with you.
One Unexpected Reason Digital Products Worked for MeAbout a year after starting this business, I was in a car accident. I suffered a traumatic brain injury and got very sick. I knew that the business I had built was too reliant on me. It required that I show up in every part of the sales process, and every part of fulfillment. In that season, I had to find another solution. Losing that income was going to be really hard. But through my digital products, people had access to how I thought and taught. It allowed people to respond with ‘Oh my god, this is incredible, I trust her so much, I can’t wait to see other things she does.’ I want you to build a business that can survive without you too!
What’s Truly Possible When You Start with the Right StrategyI had never sold to clients before, I had a very small email list, no podcast, and no existing clients, and that first month, we brought in $8033. That’s 277 people who paid to join my list. My jaw was on the floor. Since then, this single product has brought in $ 287,941 and over 10,000 paid leads who joined our list. Over 60% of my list came from a paid product. They literally paid to be there. What would be different if you had an endless supply of qualified leads? What if you could make money regardless of whether you’re working on client deliverables or living your life? What would happen if you created the type of sustainability that offered true freedom? All of this is possible with the right strategy and I want to help you get there.
The Fundamental Strategy Behind My Most Successful Digital ProductI looked at the problems my clients were facing and I put them on a timeline. Typically, they have plenty of problems but one solution leads to a new set of problems. I identified what was at the beginning of that journey - what did they face first and what could they DIY as a solution with my guidance? I know that giving it the right structure with a no-brainer sales page will change the game for you. I have been building a brand new program to walk you through this step by step. If you head to bossproject.com/jumpstart I’m going to give you my exact strategies, offers, templates, and scripts on how to create digital products that attract more customers. So don’t wait, head on over now!
Quote ThisI really believe the secret sauce is building an offer ecosystem. Highlights* The Secret Sauce of Building an Offer Ecosystem [0:07:36] * How Digital Products Differ from Any Other Offer [0:10:07] * One Unexpected Reason Digital Products Worked for Me [0:12:44] * What’s Truly Possible When You Start with the Right Strategy [0:20:10] * The Fundamental Strategy Behind My Most Successful Digital Product [0:23:07]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Digital Products, Strategy, Business Planning, Offer Ecosystem, Offers
We Mentioned:Digital Product Jumpstart
The Future of Marketing for Online Business in 2024
Join the Co-op
Squarespace.com/BOSSPROJECT for 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
UpliftDesk.com - free shipping & free returns
Episode 814: Show NotesIt feels wild to say that I’ve been making digital products for over eight years now! I have all this knowledge that I am desperate to get out into the world and I want to help more people and see you be successful too. In this episode, we dig into the digital products I would not create if I were just getting started (and it’s not what you think, so be sure to listen in!)
Before we get into it though, I’m so excited to be teaching people how to create their own digital products. It’s not just any product, but one that acts as an entry point and a tool to attract strangers who will become ideal buyers in your world. We’re talking about getting paid to bring in more qualified leads for your offers! Check out all the details here.
Listen on your favorite podcast player
One Thing Almost Everyone Starting Out Does WrongThe success of selling digital products actually has nothing to do with the format. Your problem is that you’re selling something that people don’t want. They may want the offer. They may have total buy-in that it’s going to work. They may totally believe you, but if there is any element of creating a self-commitment, you are going to have some serious problems. You have to sell people on their own ability to DIY what you have created.
What the Most Effective Digital Products Are Actually AboutThe most effective digital products scratch an itch for people. It’s something they were already interested in potentially exploring, and you give them a window into a whole new world. They can see for themselves if it makes sense to them, and they don’t have to commit prior to purchase. It’s as though you do all the research for them and make it easy for them to absorb a ton really quickly.
The Secret Behind My Most Popular Mini-CourseA digital product can be a lot of different things. It can be a guide, an ebook, or a course. How can you deliver transformation with the least friction? My mini-course, Trello for Business, has sold more than 10,500 times. All of those were paid leads, many of whom have gone on to buy expensive programs, high-end coaching experiences, and more. This dropped at a time when project management was all the small business world could talk about, and Trello for Business broke down how to utilize this tool in small business, and what the practical applications are.
Why We Didn’t Give Away Your Business on Autopilot for FreeYour Business on Autopilot spoke specifically to tech stacks. It delivered on showcasing what software and tools were most helpful for our clients and customers (and to us) and we sold it for $11. What we were recommending was affiliate links! The goal was not to make money from the digital product, but to make recurring revenue from our referral to those digital products. And we did! We’ve been a Top 50 affiliate for some of the biggest companies in the world.
What We’ve Done The Most and Why We’ll Keep Doing ItWe created the Creative Template Shop in 2020. You can access thousands of templates specifically designed for small business owners to solve very specific problems. That being said, we now have the Co-Op, which offers ongoing access to all of the templates all at once along with access to all of our educational materials and courses. The reason this works and has been downloaded so many times is that it’s not overwhelming. People are looking to buy super specific, individualized products. If you can match those to relevant search terms or SEO, you can show up for solving them!
How Integration Became Our Superpower Some of our best tools work because of how they integrate with the other things they are connected to. For example, we have created a ton of Dubsado forms. Working directly with the software company, we developed better templates that were easy to implement. Your goal here is simply to either solve a very specific problem that doesn’t require a whole bunch of your customer’s time OR fully focus on allowing your customer to explore their curiosity and see if they want to dive deeper into this subject or area of their life or business.
Two Goals to Take You to the Next LevelOur number one goal is visibility. Number two is getting people who have purchasing power into your world. We want to attract them, show the value they can get, earn their trust, and the rest will come. There is a method to this madness! I have done this again and again.
I developed Your Digital VA to speak to people who want to utilize AI more in their business and don’t want to do all the research to make it happen. I’ve literally given them a ton of scripts to plug in so that they can try it out for themselves.
I have so much to say about this topic! That’s why I’ve created Digital Product Jumpstart. Now, this does require some element of self-commitment, and I’m fully aware that this means I have to do more work to get someone excited. But this is for someone who has likely been in my world for a minute and knows what to expect. I can’t wait to help you bring in more people who are completely aligned with your value system and how you want to run your business. Do it in community. Do it with me! Find out more here!
Quote ThisThe power of a low priced mini course is way more than you even realize. Highlights One Thing Almost Everyone Starting Out Does Wrong [0:02:32] * What the Most Effective Digital Products Are Actually About [0:04:22] * The Secret Behind My Most Popular Mini-Course [0:09:13] * Why We Didn’t Give Away Your Business on Autopilot* for Free [0:12:13] * What We’ve Done The Most and Why We’ll Keep Doing It [0:16:53] * How Integration Became Our Superpower [0:20:03] * Two Goals to Take You to the Next Level [0:23:42]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Digital Products, Marketing, Business Planning, Affiliates, Trends, Customers, Courses
We Mentioned:Your Digital VA
Trello for Business
Digital Product Jumpstart
Join the Co-op
Squarespace.com/BOSSPROJECT for 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
UpliftDesk.com - free shipping & free returns
Episode 813: Show NotesA big part of scaling a business is playing the numbers game! I am predicting a pivotal year for small businesses this year. The last month has been completely wild for me and Boss Project. Normally by the time our office closes for Winter Break I’m ready to walk away and relax, but this year was totally different. All I wanted to do was continue working on all the ideas I had spinning around in my head. Going into this break, I gave myself the grace to spend time with family but when I wasn’t, I rode the creative wave because that was something I felt I needed to do.
That made this break so interesting because I had the chance to try things and play in the business with no pressure or any other business obligations. I’ve missed the element of play so much and I loved finding that again. Having fun in your business will energize every other aspect of what you’re doing, so do not stop yourself from enjoying what you do! I even announced my new Digital Product Jumpstart! Today I’m going to share the steps I have taken to revolutionize my business and create consistent growth. I think this will solve ‘the lead problem’ for so many small businesses this year!
Listen on your favorite podcast player
Focus on This to Scale Your Business I have observed a need for small business owners to find more leads and I want to talk about why that’s happening and how you can solve this problem. Scaling a business is a numbers game but the problem is, a lot of you have business goals that are confined to what you can do in a limited amount of time – therefore giving your business a growth ceiling. And so many of you want to run a small business, not manage bigger processes! A lot of people then think that they want to bring in passive income and that is possible. But if you have ever had any other additional offer, shifting your focus entirely can cause some problems! Instead of starting over and instead of putting all your eggs in one basket, I am so excited to help you build more hybrid-based businesses where you can attract real clients through a digital offer and then those people will be more primed and ready for the other existing offers that you have.
How to Create Your Hybrid BusinessSo many people talk about an email list but you don’t necessarily need a huge list for the other parts of your hybrid business to be booked out and successful. But what you do need are leads that are primed and ready to buy those other offers! You can nurture on email but that can be a slow process and what I have found is that if you get people in the door with a low-price, digital offer, you can showcase so much value with that small offer and make them want to invest in your business in other areas. When I used that strategy, tens of thousands of people on my email list paid to join up! You can do this with a freebie but the issue is that sometimes people never engage in that and when people pay money for something, they pay more attention. I want you to create an interconnected offer ecosystem that allows your clients to move from one offer to the next naturally and if you can attract people with a digital offer, you are going to get higher-quality leads who are more invested and are more likely to buy again.
Getting More Qualified Leads in 2024You can get any leads whenever you want but instead, I want you to get the right leads! I want you to get paid to bring in those people, bring real value, make a real change, enjoy your job, have fun, and build a business that is interconnected and actually makes sense. I had to figure this out on my own and I messed up so many times. I know what makes the most sense to give you the most impact in the long term. Most of my top clients joined my company on the entry-level-priced digital product. This has been an integral part of my growth! I cannot wait to share all of this with you. Join Digital Product Jumpstart where you will find all of these details and start getting paid to get more leads! Do not hesitate. We are going to change the game together!
Quote ThisI believe in creating an offer ecosystem that’s all interconnected, that all makes sense, that all works together, and allows someone to naturally move from one thing to the next. Highlights* Focus on This to Scale Your Business [0:09:12] * How to Create Your Hybrid Business [0:15:09] * Getting More Qualified Leads in 2024 [0:22:04]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Online Marketing, Email Lists, Qualified Leads, Digital Offers, Hybrid Business
We Mentioned:Digital Product Jumpstart
Racing Myself to 10K on Instagram: current IG | new IG
Organic Marketing Workshop
Join the Co-op
Squarespace.com/BOSSPROJECT for 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
UpliftDesk.com - free shipping & free returns
Episode 812: Show NotesIn today's episode, I'm diving into the world of budgeting when your income likes to play hide and seek. Maybe your business revenue and pay are doing the unpredictable tango, and you're itching for more stability in the paycheck department. The economy's a bit wild right now, so what I'm sharing is my playbook for a more conservative approach in these uncertain times. Trust me, this is the game-changer for tweaking your business finances, setting up a cozy personal financial vibe, and securing the long-term health of your hustle. Think of it as the secret sauce to keeping your business doors wide open for the long haul!
Oh, and let's kick that idea out of your noggin that businesses grow all neat and tidy, either linear or exponential. Nope, it's more like a rollercoaster ride. Don't stress if things seem a bit wonky—that's just the nature of the business beast. I've been there, done that, and I'm here to help you ride those waves of inconsistency like a pro. Now, I'm not promising to smooth out every bump; bumps happen! But what we're aiming for is to sprinkle a bit of predictability into your personal financial future. So buckle up, and let's get ready to surf the unpredictability that's bound to show up!
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Cure Inconsistency With a Base SalaryHow do we bring some order to the income chaos? Well, the secret sauce is introducing a base salary! Once this magic happens, you can start mapping things out with way more ease—knowing what you can swing for living, personal splurges, vacations, the whole shebang. Plus, it's like having a time machine to compare your current situation to where you've been. Talk about opening up a treasure trove of insights into your personal finances while handing you the stability you crave and a chance to stash some cash in your business piggy bank.
If you're rocking the Sole Proprietor title, here's a pro tip: get yourself a separate bank account! Even though every dollar is essentially yours, having dedicated banking helps you build those healthy habits, understand your business flow, and keep the growth vibes strong. Now, if you're in the S Corporation squad, it's time for a serious chat about setting a reasonable salary. Find someone in the know about IRS considerations—it's a crucial step, so jot it down!
For both business flavors, here's the drill: look at the low end, figure out the consistent profit for the past year (before your paycheck), and boom—that's your starting point for a reliable base salary. Regardless of the digits, let's craft something you can count on. As your empire grows, feel free to tweak that number. Set up a regular payday for yourself, and if you're scratching your head about what's a reasonable base pay, I've got your back! Feel free to shoot me a message on Instagram.
Create Your Business LifelineI never want you feeling backed into a financial corner, so let's talk game plan—time to set up a cash flow account and an emergency fund. Now, I get it; you might have heard a million things about this, but hear me out. I've been in the money management game for a while, and I've got the lowdown on what's going to anchor your stability.
Here's the drill: two accounts—checking and savings. Your cash account is your MVP; it should pack one month's worth of operating expenses. Think of it as the safety net so that when the income rollercoaster kicks in, your paycheck and your team's don't have to play hide and seek. Now, your cash reserves account is where the big guns come in. We're talking three months' worth of operating expenses, covering your base pay and any team costs. To nail down the magic number, take a peek at your biz's spending and your pay averages over the last 12 months.
I know, it might sound like a financial triathlon, but no need to panic—you don't have to hit these numbers on day one. It's a gradual climb, and the timeline is your own. Quick side note for my Sole Proprietors and S Corps: having a mountain of cash in your accounts can mean extra tax—let's avoid that. Start by looking at your profit after your base pay each month, stash away 50% in the business, and share the other half somehow.
As things evolve, consider ramping up your distributions. Maybe hit 85% of your profit, leaving the rest in the cash flow. No need for massive cash mountains in your business. Heck, you could reach a point where you're distributing 100% of the cash because, let's face it, as the boss, you can always pump cash back into the business. Keep it real and aim for a max of one month of cash flow and six months of cash reserves. When payday hits, make it rain for yourself and dish out profits on the same schedule. These savings are your golden ticket to smoothing out the bumps because, let's be honest, consistent distributions are the unicorn of the business world.
I know this sounds like a lot and I want you to know that I am here to help you. I believe The Co-op can assist you with the tools you need to manage your finances so go check it out!
Control the Lead GapYou might be feeling that the real hurdle isn't just managing cash flow but rather the lack of control over leads at the moment. Let's bridge this gap and dive into the nitty-gritty. Social media shifts, privacy laws, and settings are throwing a wrench into the connection between small businesses and potential buyers, disrupting the good ol' reach. The trick here is to focus on what you can control—strategies to supercharge your conversions.
If you're rolling with the 'one-call' approach, I'm throwing out a friendly nudge to consider a two-step dance—kick it off with a discovery call and then hit them with the sales call. I've seen clients work wonders, building rapport and locking in long-term clients with higher conversion rates by splitting these calls. And hey, let's spruce up those sales calls. Transforming your pitch into a strategic presentation can be a game-changer, making your words come alive and showcasing your prep game. It's like giving people a VIP experience. For some help getting with this, check out our sales presentation template that walks you through it! (Our Co-op members have access to this and thousands of other templates and resources– if you’re not a member yet, check it out here)
Now, let's make it a no-brainer for potential clients to say yes. Special promotions are your secret weapon to fill that lead gap. I get it; discounting might not be your vibe, but in this lead gap space, think about creating promotions that get folks hyped for a new season without slashing prices. Let the excitement flow by talking about bookings and discovery calls—make them want to book you!
And here's a pro move: when the leads are taking a nap, expand your offerings. Ask yourself, what can you give clients that sets them up for success and shows them you're the solution they've been dreaming of? Toss them a taste of your magic while getting paid in the meantime. A lead-in offer not only gets a quick 'yes' for something less pricey upfront but also showcases your value, priming them for your bigger, grander offer down the road.
Enough of holding back—let's double down on what works and what's been pulling in those leads for you in the last six months!
If you need some support to help you with all the things I’ve just outlined, because I know it’s a lot, then The Co-op is for you! Sign up today and get access to all the knowledge and resources!
Quote ThisNo question is a dumb question! I want to talk about it. I am here for you. Highlights* Cure Inconsistency With a Base Salary [0:09:45] * Create Your Business Lifeline [0:17:40] * Control the Lead Gap [0:31:10]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Budgeting, Economic Fluctuation, Small Business Budgeting, Variable Income, Lead Gap
We Mentioned:Boss Project’s Wealth Workshop
Organic Marketing Workshop
Join the Co-op
Gusto
Squarespace.com/BOSSPROJECT for 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
UpliftDesk.com - free shipping & free returns
Episode 811: Show NotesIf you are looking for inspiration for how you can go from small-town to the big leagues, this is the episode for you! Today we are joined by celebrity makeup artist, Harriet Hadfield, affectionately known as “Harry.” While working with celebrities such as Doja Cat, Naomi Watts, and Olivia Rodrigo, Harry has made it her mission to empower creative freelancers to step into the role of CEO. Today we are digging into how she got all of her clients as a freelancer while showing up in the world the way she wants to, as a neurodivergent creative.
Harry always wanted to be the kid who did everything and knew that she wanted to be a makeup artist at a very young age when she went ‘all in’ on honing her craft. In this episode, we hear all about how she started training in makeup and handled being the black sheep of the family as so many creatives are. We dive into Harry’s advice for creatives starting a personal brand, how to find your niche, how to use social media to your advantage, and so much more!
Listen on your favorite podcast player
Making Yourself Visible as A Creative Starting Out TodayHarry may have moved to London to kickstart her career, but that kind of drastic move is not necessary since the wondrous internet has changed everything. I asked Harry her recommendations to artists starting their career in today’s day-in-age and she stressed the importance of being visible online! She wants you to ask yourself where social media can be useful to you. People are already looking for you so make sure you are showing off in the way you need to. In the world of creativity, clients also don’t necessarily care about your qualifications but rather want to see what you can do. So make sure to use a lot of visuals, showing off both your work and yourself! She encourages you to utilize some sort of online tool to make sure people can find you and one that highlights why potential clients should book you.
Harry’s ‘One Image’ ConceptHarry believes that every single creative has one image, video, or piece of evidence as a surefire way to bring in an income for you. It is often something you feel very aligned with and is also something your clients tend to like a lot. Harry wants you to find what that is and then make more of it! Can you identify what one image has gotten you work already? It's also crucial to know where to find these high-profile clients and understand how to pitch based on your 'one image' without an agent because nowadays, it isn't necessary. If you want to make a pivotal step in your career, you need to let go of all the narratives of what you think success looks like and the belief that you have to have an agent or a massive following! What's truly important is your community and the reason people choose you over anyone else.
Showing Up as If You Have Already Achieved Your DreamUsing her YouTube channel, Harry focused on building a brand around herself as a makeup artist after she had discovered her ‘one image’. With social media, people can get themselves through doors that were previously closed off to them and Harry capitalized on just that! She acted as if she was already an established makeup artist. She wants you to believe that the things you want are a given, written in the stars, and are definitely going to happen. That gives you a huge advantage in terms of how people see you. She wants you to believe in what you’re selling and never downplay your success. Creatives are ‘the original’ entrepreneurs because you have to go out there and get a booking and when you remember that, you are unstoppable!
Choosing One Social Media Platform to Focus OnI asked Harry what method she finds works well for her to close deals with clients and she told me that creatives should choose one platform to reduce the pressure of being on every single social media platform. She wants you to focus on curating your audience on that one platform and create a tight-knit community by thinking about what would be helpful for your audience and making content around that. She manages to make far more bookings on Instagram than from her agent through this method! By showing up as if she was already successful, she gained the trust she needed from her audience to create an incredible support system for herself. She even encourages creatives to use content they already have to get themselves in front of the right people.
The One Thing You Need to Know About Being a Creative, Neurodivergent EntrepreneurThere is a rhetoric about how people should be productive but for people who identify as neurodivergent, finding the way they work best is imperative. As someone who has been diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome and OCD, Harry wants you to embrace what works for you and let go of any shame surrounding societal norms and not fitting into them. Nervous system work and leaning into her energy type help Harry embrace being an entrepreneur. She wants you to figure out how you want to show up in your life and have compassion for yourself, especially when you are neurodivergent. Be proud of yourself and be grateful for how far you’ve come given your limitations. Harry and I also want you to realize that you may not be as successful as you are without your neurodivergence, so embrace both the good and the bad!
Quote ThisNo one can be you! Being a creative is a superpower! —Harriet Hadfield Highlights* Making Yourself Visible as A Creative Starting Out Today [0:10:48] * Harry’s ‘One Image’ Concept [0:14:35] * Showing Up as If You Have Already Achieved Your Dream [0:21:29] * Choosing One Social Media Platform to Focus On [0:27:48] * The One Thing You Need to Know About Being a Creative, Neurodivergent Entrepreneur [0:34:05]
OUR GUEST:Harriet Hadfield
Website | Instagram
Harriet Hadfield, CEO of Freelance with Freedom, is a seasoned celebrity makeup artist with over 15 years of experience. Recognizing the challenges faced by creative freelancers, she is on a mission to dispel the "starving artist" myth and empower freelancers to take on CEO roles, land celebrity clients, and secure global brands independently. Harriet, co-creator of the award-winning beauty podcast 'Full Coverage' and 'Harry Makes It Up' YouTube channel, launched 'Freelance With Freedom' in 2021. Through her coaching programs, she has scaled her own makeup artist business and established a successful online coaching venture during the pandemic, helping freelancers worldwide double their bookings and seize life-changing opportunities. Harriet's approach emphasizes collaboration over competition in the digital age, believing there's room for everyone to succeed.
Key Topics:Creativity, Entrepreneurship, Freelancing, Neurodivergent Entrepreneur, Celebrity Clients
We Mentioned:Boss Project’s Wealth Workshop
Organic Marketing Workshop
Join the Co-op
Squarespace.com/BOSSPROJECT for 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Episode 810: Show NotesI've got a pretty personal tale to spill today—a deep dive into the crisis I faced back in 2022 and how it flipped my world. So, picture this: I'm cruising through life, and bam! I hit a moment where I realize I'm the same age my mom was during her brain surgery three decades ago. Cue the existential crisis! In today’s podcast, I'm laying it all out, sharing my self-reflection journey, and tossing in some cool insights and exercises I picked up along the way. I hope these tools help you move through your own self-reflection and transformation and help you pinpoint what's important to you so you can prioritize those things going forward. Treat this episode like your trusty compass for navigating the sometimes choppy seas of self-discovery!
Listen on your favorite podcast player
The Transformational Impact of My 2022 CrisisSo, in 2022, I hit this personal rough patch that ended up flipping my life around in a pretty big way. Picture this: I'm cruising through life, and then wham! A panic attack hits me, right on the exact day, three decades later, from my mom's brain surgery. Talk about a cosmic coincidence! It kicked off this deep existential crisis—feeling like I've ticked off all my goals and not having a clue about what comes next.
But, you know what? I decided to roll with the uncertainty, master the art of being present, and took my sweet time finding contentment. How? By putting experiences first, spreading love like confetti, and giving back whenever I could. I figured out that chasing satisfaction beats the pursuit of happiness any day—it's the secret sauce to my journey of self-discovery!
Self-Reflection and PrioritizationIn my self-discovery journey, I dove headfirst into books and stories about people transforming and conquering tough times. It was like a crash course in understanding my own emotions and figuring out what pushes my buttons. Then, I kicked off this not-so-traditional journaling thing—I dumped my thoughts, feelings, and wishes on paper without any judgment. It turned out to be a game-changer, letting me dream bigger and question the limits, especially those sneaky gender role influences that were shaping my goals without me even realizing. This whole routine cracked open new doors for my personal and business growth. Exciting times ahead as I gear up for the next chapter!
Finding Purpose and Clarity As I kept cruising on my self-discovery ride, it hit me—experiences were the secret sauce to my happiness. So, I kicked spontaneity and adventure into high gear, booking trips and diving into new activities. Hanging out with my favorite people and spreading love through little acts of kindness became my joy anthem. And guess what? I decided to up the ante on making a positive impact, both in my personal life and on the professional stage.
Here's the kicker: I teamed up with my spouse to kickstart a foundation, aiming to give back to our community and leave a legacy of good vibes. Getting clear on what truly lights me up helped me carve out a mission and set some rock-solid goals. Bring on the positive changes!
Steps to Self-DiscoveryThrough my personal self-discovery journey, I stumbled upon some moves and activities that might just be your jam, whether you're in a crisis or cruising through the calm. First up, give uncertainty a big ol' bear hug. Admit you don't have all the answers, and guess what? That's totally cool—it's all part of the grand adventure. Now, for step two, let's dive into some quality me-time. Grab a moment alone to figure out what's causing those funky feelings and chaos. Go deep into your thoughts and emotions, and don't shy away from processing it all. And hey, reading up on others' transformation tales can sprinkle some serious inspiration on your own journey.
Jumpstart Your Self-ReflectionThe thought of journaling might make you cringe, but trust me, it's worth it. This is not about fancy rituals; just write about your thoughts, feelings, and desires without judgment. Let it flow in any way that suits you. I use my phone's notes app, and it works just fine! Your random thoughts might just lead you to think bigger and break free from limitations.
Ask Yourself:* What are your core values? * What truly brings you joy and satisfaction? * What are you doing just because others expect it?
I challenge you to think beyond your perceived limitations. You might also like to create a vision board to help explore your goals and dreams on a more emotional level.
Consider Your SWOTTry using the SWOT analysis business tool to gain clarity in your personal life. With SWOT, you assess your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Doing this can reveal hidden insights and help you overcome obstacles. Another business tool to use here is the mission statement. Define your personal mission statement, which will align with your own vision and values.
Grow With The Co-opReady for your own transformative journey? The Co-op is designed to help women achieve financial security and independence, which opens up endless possibilities. Take a step forward, join the Co-op, and let's unlock your full potential together!
Quote ThisHow can we take the weaknesses that we see in ourselves and either flip the script on them and see them as our superpower or see them as opportunities for development? Highlights* The Transformational Impact of My 2022 Crisis [0:01:24] * Self-Reflection and Prioritization [0:10:43] * Finding Purpose and Clarity [0:16:18] * Steps to Self-Discovery [0:23:05] * Jumpstart Your Self-Reflection [0:26:30] * Grow With The Co-op [0:35:27]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Personal transformation, Journaling, SWOT, Defying limitations, Finding clarity, Self-discovery, Self-reflection
We Mentioned:Boss Project’s Wealth Workshop
Organic Marketing Workshop
Join the Co-op
Squarespace.com/BOSSPROJECT for 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain
Episode 809: Show NotesToday on the podcast we’re chatting about your journey ahead—whether you've got a clear vision or you're still figuring it out. I get it, some of you might be like, "Where am I even headed?" And you know what? That's totally cool! It's super easy to breeze past the gold mine of your past experiences, but guess what? They've shaped you into the awesome person you are, and they're like breadcrumbs leading you to your destination. So, if you're not sure about the destination, no worries! It's not about having all the answers; it's about springboarding off from here. Even those random jobs you had? They're like building blocks for the business you're rocking today!
Now, the big question is, how does your past play into your future plans? Whether it's those epic moments or the tiny ones, they can be a game-changer for what comes next. So, how do we make the most of it? Let me tell you, it's not about zooming through things; it's about finding your pace! That's why I cooked up the PACE method, and today, I'm spilling the beans on how these nuggets can help you turn your discoveries into real, actionable stuff by breaking down PACE!
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Understand Your PositioningAlright, first things first—let's dive into figuring out where you stand, which is your positioning. What's your vibe right now? What's your life situation like? How many candles are on your birthday cake? Got retirement dreams? How much chill time fills your daily grind? Who's in your squad? And, of course, what's the cash flow you need to keep the lifestyle you love? These questions are like the VIP pass to understanding your unique spot in the game. It's all about giving a nod to where you're currently kicking it to smoothly slide into the next exciting phase!
What are Your Goals?Alright, you gotta know where you're headed; otherwise, it's like wandering in the dark—no fun! And hey, it doesn't have to be all pinpoint precise; it can be more like a chill goal vibe instead of those super specific dreams you had when you kicked things off. I've got four fun exercises to help you suss out what you're aiming for. Plus, they'll sneakily reveal your priorities and uncover what cool stuff you might be overlooking. Let's dive in!
Ask yourself these questions:* If you could wave a magic wand and have your ideal life, what would that look like? * If everything in your life was going to disappear tomorrow, what would you miss most and want to bring back? * What legacy or lessons do you hope to pass down? * What makes you angry or frustrated?
Alright, here's a cool trick: if you nail down what you're not into, suddenly the things you are into start shining bright! And guess what? After all those mind-expanding exercises, jot down your non-negotiables. These are your hard stops—things you won't budge on to hit those goals. It's just as crucial as knowing what you're game for!
Boost Creativity With Experimentation Now, you guys are legit the most creative bunch ever, and that creativity is gold. But here's the secret sauce: to be creative, you gotta be up for experimenting. Treat everything you do like a wild hypothesis you can test. That's the key to unlocking your creative beast mode. And trust me, rocking this mindset brings on the innovation, adaptability, and bounce-back-ability. Think about it—what cool experiments have you tried, and what awesomeness would you have missed if you played it safe? Let's celebrate those wild rides!
Take Action Before PerfectionAlright, let's talk about the grand finale of PACE—execution! Hoarding all this info won't magically transport you to your dreams. Nope, you gotta dive into some messy action. It's like the secret sauce for progress and growth, and it kicks the uncertainty out of the driver's seat because, spoiler alert, movement is key to getting somewhere! Forget the idea that happiness is waiting on the other side of success—newsflash: the journey IS the destination! Act like you've already nabbed what you want. Now, I'm not saying go blow your savings on a llama farm. Be smart, but channel your inner future self because you're closer to that rockstar version than you think!
Start With These 3 StepsWondering how to kickstart all this action? Step one: ID your strengths and weaknesses. What are you bossing and what feels like a WWE wrestling match in your daily life? Be aware, and if you need a nudge, try a strength finder test for a practical perspective.
Next up: alignment. Sync up your aspirations with your actions. Keep those priorities in mind while plotting your next move. It's not about tackling everything at once; it's about groovin' with broad movement. Imagine what your dream self would do in the daily grind—think experimentation and iteration.
Lastly, remember that there’s no need for perfection, just ride the progress wave. Sure, it's easy to get stuck and come up with a million reasons not to 'do the thing.' Stop that! Turn those excuses into problem-solving questions. A positive mindset helps, but you also need a support squad, advice, and the knack for being adaptable. Just move toward your goals and watch your aspirations shift. Life changes, so embrace the journey, tackle the challenges, and leverage it all for your awesome future!
You’ll need tangible steps to help you get to where you want to go. I’ve put together a phenomenal workshop to help you do just that. Get access today to this special workshop you don’t want to miss!
Quote ThisThe journey is the destination! Highlights* Understand Your Positioning [0:07:47] * What are Your Goals? [0:08:32] * Boost Creativity With Experimentation [0:15:11] * Take Action Before Perfection [0:17:22] * Start With These 3 Steps [0:19:52]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Setting Goals, Mindset, Aspirations, Growth, Positivity, Creativity, Legacy
We Mentioned:Boss Project’s Wealth Workshop
Organic Marketing Workshop
Join the Co-op
Episode 808: Show NotesI recently sat down with Mariah Coz to talk about what we think the future of online business might look like. If you missed it, listen to that episode here before jumping into today’s episode. On today’s podcast I’m sharing what these predictions mean for the online business world and marketing your business.
I’m sharing best practices for tailoring your marketing strategy based on your business model. It doesn’t matter if your business serves customers in a one-to-one, one-to-many, or even a hybrid model. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all marketing plan, and at the end of the day, you have to market your business in a way that works best for YOU.
We’ll also talk about finding the proper niche, and Identifying exactly what types of customers you’re trying to attract. Online audiences have changed quite a bit, and we’ll talk about how and why. Staying visible and nurturing leads is dependent on your audience, and I’m sharing advice on what next steps you should take to stay visible and relevant. Tune in to learn what you need to know today about the future of marketing for your online business!
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There Isn’t One Universal SolutionMarketing is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor, and a singular method does not universally apply to all types of businesses. Each business model operates uniquely, demanding varying levels of personnel and conversions for optimal functionality. Consequently, your marketing strategy should align with the specific characteristics of YOUR business model, whether it leans towards one-on-one interactions, adopts a hybrid approach, or targets a broader audience. It's essential to recognize that your business is not confined to a single model indefinitely; you have the flexibility to evolve and adjust deliberately over time. So, what approach should you take in your marketing strategy for each of these distinctive models?
One-On-OneIn a one-on-one business, you're mainly connecting with individuals or other businesses (B2B or B2C), making interpersonal marketing the key. You don't necessarily need to worry about juggling multiple marketing channels, being a social media guru, or creating tons of content. Sure, you can have those things if you like, but they're not essential for rocking a one-on-one business. You can totally fill up your schedule through good vibes, referrals, and top-notch conversions!
One-To-ManyEmbracing a one-to-many model means you're in for some serious audience expansion, and the key is to keep growing that crowd steadily. Typically, when you're exclusively in the one-to-many game, you're looking at having thousands of fantastic people in your audience. If you're contemplating the shift from a one-on-one business model to one-to-many, just make sure that boosting your audience is a cheerful part of your marketing game plan!
HybridIn a hybrid business model, establishing an audience is crucial. In this approach, you begin offering services in a group context, such as a group coaching program or a similar setup. You don't necessarily require a massive audience for a hybrid or group program to be successful; some individuals have thrived with as few as 1,000 to 1,500 followers, though it does take time. However, continuous audience growth is essential as you advance. If you halt audience expansion for sales, you risk depleting your pool of potential customers.
Niche Your Audience & OfferHow does your business model influence your conversations? In a one-on-one scenario, the strategy that tends to work smoothly and gets people to say "yes" most easily is crafting a specific offer for a very particular audience. When you address the unique pain points of that specific person, it makes the selling process much smoother.
Now, when you're running a hybrid or group business, you'll need to choose between broadening the solution or expanding the audience. I'd advise against doing both simultaneously because it makes it harder for people to determine if your offer is the right fit for them.
For a one-to-many approach, what I've observed working exceptionally well is addressing a super-specific problem for a more extensive audience. Selling as an all-in-one solution for an all-in-one audience isn't as effective as it used to be! This underscores the importance of being able to articulate the specific problem you're solving and illustrating what life will be like for your audience once you've addressed it for them.
How Visibility & Nurture Channels Work TogetherIf you find yourself needing to shift your target audience and adjust your communication approach, how does that influence your strategies for gaining exposure and nurturing relationships? And what sets these two approaches apart?
Building visibility differs fundamentally from nurturing an audience. Visibility is all about being discovered—it's where individuals encounter you for the first time, connect with you, and have the chance to discover a new offering that excites them. It's important to note that immediate conversion isn't the primary goal here, and that's perfectly okay because that's not the purpose. This is where the importance of your nurture channels comes into play!
Nurture channels are where individuals progress from learning about you to feeling a sense of trust and exploring their interest in making a purchase. Typically stemming from a visibility channel, like joining an email list after reading your blog or signing up for a workshop following exposure to your TikTok videos, these channels require a focus on content that makes people feel understood. The goal is to ensure they feel heard and seen, understanding that you recognize their experiences and are ready to serve them!
Here’s How Audiences Have ChangedThese days, folks are way more clued in about marketing, and it's totally changed how they deal with brands and stuff. Back in the day, potential customers would be like 50 to 60% sure about buying before hitting you up. But now, people are pretty much 90 to 95% ready to seal the deal before even reaching out. Also, they want to get all the info without having to chat with someone. So, don't hide the good stuff—make sure it's easy for them to find what they need. If you make it a treasure hunt, potential customers might just bounce, find someone else, and make a purchase elsewhere!
Take the Next StepWhen it comes to getting your online business out there with marketing, I want to make it super easy for you to jump in! That's why I've taken our recent workshop and made it available for anyone who wants to catch the replay on their own time! If you're keen on diving deeper into the world of selling, understanding how your offer clicks, and getting the lowdown on pricing strategies based on your model, Watch our seminar and learn how to take your marketing to the next level!
Quote ThisNurture channels are where people go from learning about you to feeling like they can trust you and become interested in buying from you. Highlights* There Isn’t One Universal Solution [0:03:27] * Niche Your Audience & Offer [0:13:48] * How Visibility & Nurture Channels Work Together [0:24:11] * Here’s How Audiences Have Changed [0:37:54] * Take the Next Step [0:42:47]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Visibility, Niche, Marketing, Business Models, One-to-One, Hybrid, One-to-Many, Online, Social Media, Audience
We Mentioned:Boss Project’s Wealth Workshop
Organic Marketing Workshop
The Strategy Hour Episode 776
Join the Co-op
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Episode 807: Show NotesInevitably, you’re going to encounter people who simply don’t think the same way you do. Personally, it took me a long time to understand this. I always assumed that everyone problem-solved the same way, thought the same way, and came up with ideas in the same way. Like me, you might be surprised to learn that not everyone experiences inner dialogue in the same way or even at all! In fact, it’s estimated that 30 to 50% of people don’t have an “inner voice.”
Those without verbal thoughts may think abstractly or use visual imagery instead. It's important to note that there is no right or wrong way to think, and both styles have their pros and cons. Today, I’m joined by my husband Jared, who doesn’t have an inner monologue, to find out how he processes his thoughts and emotions without all the self-talk. We also explore how you can grow your relationship by learning about someone else’s communication methods, find opportunities for creativity with different thinking styles, and more!
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What Life Looks Like Without an Inner MonologueSimply put, Jared describes his thought process as “not verbal.” What this means is that when he thinks or problem-solves, he sees his thoughts rather than hears them. When thinking about a home renovation project, for example, he doesn’t have an inner voice that says, “I need a screwdriver.” Instead, he just sees the screwdriver in his mind’s eye.
Just like there’s an inner dialogue spectrum, from hearing nothing at all to what seems like 1,000 voices all at once, the same is true of visual thinking. Some see three-dimensional images that they can view from all angles, and others see more abstract representations of their ideas. While Jared’s problem-solving and decision-making processes involve pretty detailed visuals, he says that his judgment is guided by feeling rather than an inner narrative.
Processing Emotions as a Visual ThinkerAs a result of this feeling-driven process, Jared also approaches his emotions in a very different way than I do. I process my emotions using words like “anxious” or “angry,” but Jared says his emotions are more like waves that wash over him. There are pros and cons to this style of thinking. While it can be more reactive, it also means that he allows himself to feel things in the moment. He also distinguishes between head feelings and heart feelings, one being more pragmatic and logic-driven and the other being more spontaneous and dramatic. Sometimes, being a visual thinker means that the worst-case scenarios can be very vivid!
On the opposite end of the emotional spectrum, Jared describes his more peaceful moments as “screensaver mode.” Literally, he sees a galaxy of stars behind his eyes, with the occasional image floating by as his thoughts pass. Memories occur in similar vignettes, with memories playing out like movie clips. Interestingly, Jared says he can hear the voices of others in these memories, so his thoughts aren’t completely silent!
Why We Can’t Assume We Know What (or How) Others ThinkIn both our personal and professional relationships, it’s never helpful to assume what or even how other people think. You never know what someone else is going through, how they process their emotions, how they plan for the future, or how they make decisions. Everyone is different, and that is totally okay! Having different ways of thinking is something that Jared and I have had to work on over time. We’ve had to learn how to work through our own feelings and decision-making processes before we can come together and have a discussion about it.
When it comes to major decisions that you have to make together, it can help to get some outside perspective first. Jared suggests finding a trusted mentor or friend who can hear you out and advise you based on their experience in a particular topic. Therapists are great, but if your problem involves money, for example, it might be better to seek guidance from someone who has experience in finance!
Not everyone thinks or communicates the same way, and it has been critical for my personal and professional growth to recognize what others might need in order to make decisions or learn. It’s easy to default to your standard method of communication, but the more I’ve been able to show up in the way that others need from me, the better that information is received and the stronger our relationship has become.
Quote ThisNot everyone thinks or communicates or processes or manages things the same way. Highlights* What Life Looks Like Without an Inner Monologue. [0:05:44] * Processing Emotions as a Visual Thinker. [0:18:08] * Why We Can’t Assume We Know What (or How) Others Think. [0:30:11]
OUR GUEST:Jared Pumphrey
Jared Pumphrey is the Marketing Manager at Boss Project. He is married to Boss Project founder, Abagail Pumphrey. Prior to joining Boss Project officially, Jared practiced as a landscape architect solving complex design, development, and planning issues for large-scale $500M+ entertainment projects across the United States.
Key Topics:Ways of thinking, Visual thinking, Inner monologue, Communication styles
We Mentioned:Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram
Boss Project’s Wealth Workshop
Join the Co-op
Miro.com/Podcast - get three free boards
Episode 806: Show NotesSome of you are mulling over the question of what business to start. Others are just nosy and want to know how I would do it if I had the chance to start again. Which of your million-and-one ideas should you pursue? Where do you focus your time and energy? How niche do you go? Should you sell your offer as a service, a digital product, a course, or a membership? We answer all of these questions and more in today’s episode!
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The Resource I’m Reviving to Get You StartedI’m a data-driven person, and according to the survey that thousands of people have completed, many of my listeners are bringing in between $0 and $500 in profit. I want to share a resource with you that’s coming soon; I’m unearthing Boss Project’s one-page document to help people get their businesses started! That’s coming up in January, so watch this space for more info soon!
One Thing About Starting a Business That No One is Talking AboutThere are lots of different reasons to start a business. Here’s the part that no one is talking about: for some people, starting a business is a necessity. Maybe the money is essential for you or you need accommodations for your abilities, health, neurodivergencies, or otherwise. Some people simply need the time, whether it’s to care for an infant or an elderly loved one. Sometimes, you start a business because you need safety. Discrimination is very real, and sometimes you need to create your own safe space. Whatever your reason for starting a business is, it is valid!
What You Need to Know Once You’ve Found Your WhyOnce you’ve determined what’s fueling you, you need to get clear about what you need and what you want. These are concepts we cover in the Co-Op. If you’re not making an income, it’s not a business. I want to help you build a profitable business that’s going to be an asset to fuel your financial future. To do that, you have to know what you’re going to sell. You don’t need to know all the answers right now, but knowing what you’re going to sell (and to whom) is a critical part of your decision-making.
The Easiest Way to Kick Things OffThe simplest place to start is to take some element from your past where you already have the experience, training, and knowledge and utilize that to build your business. You can choose to do anything you want, but doing something that’s within your wheelhouse is going to make this so much easier! Ultimately, you also need to be able to answer the question of where you’re going to market. If you go directly into sales mode, you’re only going to sell to the people who are already in your circle.
The Most Important QuestionWhen are you going to start? I hope it’s right now! I hope you’re willing to commit to making this possible. I don’t want to discredit the challenges that come with being an entrepreneur. Believe me, I know how hard it can be! But if you truly want this, why wait? When I first got started, I had just been laid off. I jumped straight into sharing what I had learned with clients I aligned with. I was simultaneously building a different future for myself and sharing what I was learning along the way. Yes, it was scary, but it was worth it.
What it Means to Build a Hybrid BusinessMy business takes advantage of multiple business models simultaneously, so I’m not operating exclusively in one-on-one agency services. I also sell digital products, have a membership model, and in the past, I’ve had a group program in the middle. I used to dissuade people from doing this because I was worried my clients couldn’t do it all. But now I encourage it, especially if that’s what you want to do! I also suggest that you market all of your offers to the same person. I would much prefer you to connect everything than go after different groups of people.
Two Ways to StartYou can either start by selling one-to-one, or you can create a content marketing plan and begin to build an audience. That is going to determine your starting point. How would I do it? The short answer is, I would start with services. However, if I were to start over, I would pick something much more specific. To make your business scalable, you have to get to the point where 30% or less of your time is spent on delivering to clients. If you’re spending that, you can’t maintain all the other elements necessary to start a business.
I want to see your business become profitable. I want it to not only pay for the life that you have but the life that you want. Why not let the Co-Op be your jumping-off point? We are constantly creating things to meet you where you’re at, even if it’s pretty niche! I care so deeply about where you’re going and I can’t wait to see what you build, sell, and get off the ground. I’m here to help you every step of the way!
Quote ThisIf we do not satisfy the why, we are either going to burn out or quit, almost every time. Highlights* The Resource I’m Reviving to Get You Started [0:06:25] * One Thing About Starting a Business That No One is Talking About [0:11:22] * What You Need to Know Once You’ve Found Your Why [0:13:01] * The Easiest Way to Get Things Off the Ground [0:14:27] * The Most Important Question [0:17:49] * What it Means to Build a Hybrid Business [0:21:38] * Two Ways to Start [0:26:41]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Business Strategy, Planning, Scaling, Ideas, Growth
We Mentioned:Boss Project’s Wealth Workshop
Organic Marketing Workshop
Join the Co-op
Miro.com/Podcast - get three free boards
Episode 805: Show NotesToday on the podcast, I have Jess Cervellon, former VP of Customer Experience at 100 million dollar chocolate venture, Feastables, where she has been laser-focused on crafting an unforgettable experience. She is also a fractional CMO for creators with millions of followers.
We are talking about everything along the way, creating incredible customer experiences, cultivating engagement, creating community, and even how you can leverage opportunities that do good in the world and really have it be an opportunity to create incredible content (with the potential of even going viral).
You are going to love today’s episode! There are a lot of notes. If you are someone who is transitioning out of a corporate role and into your own business, Jess is really going to inspire you with her story. I’m excited for you to dig into today’s episode!
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How Jess Got to Where She Is TodayAn education in art can help you to think outside of the box as a business person. After she graduated from art school, Jess worked in customer service across different industries before joining a travel tech company and moving into a customer experience role. Eventually, she landed at Feastables, a MrBeast snack brand.
In her own words, joining this quickly scaling company has been fucking insane. You have to fail fast to learn. The Feastables team had to quickly learn how to produce products that customers love, and how to build a community invested in giving continued support. The biggest lesson? You’ve got to leave room to fail so that you can pivot and change the course as you get on.
What it Means to Create the Experience You Want Your Customers to HaveThe term ‘customer experience’ is relatively new, but experience marketing is really important as you build a community, because you are trying to build a place where people will engage with your product and talk about it to their network. What is the experience you want your customers to have when they purchase your product?
When your customer purchases that one product, what is it that brings them back? What makes them want to visit your website or open your email marketing campaigns? What is working for them? It’s about understanding your product and which channels you need to build a relationship with your customer from. It’s about treating your customers as if you want to have a relationship with them.
Going Against the Grain with IRL BrandingWhile not everyone has the funds to go out there and do big extravagant things, demonstrating your product or developing an experience outside of the online world can really support relationship-building. Great examples of businesses doing this are Liquid Death and Jess’s client, Fat Miilk.
Jess has been going out in the field and creating Happy Hour and experience events to create a sense of community and build a network outside of selling products. You become the host, and you’re able to have casual conversations that eventually turn into top-of-funnel marketing. You have to give what you are hoping to get. You never know where a relationship is going to take you!
Building a Brand that Does GoodFirst and foremost, be fucking nice! It’s not only important to be nice to people, but also knowing not to expect anything in return. You never know when someone is going to connect you, and you never know when you are going to be the connector for someone else.
MrBeast is known as a brand that does good. That’s based on his YouTube channel, but the brand is also exemplified in the Feastables brand. Building a brand experience that also does good will not only earn you loyalty, but also a sense of authenticity. Partnering with Beast Philanthropy, Jess has taken Feastables out into the real world to raise funds for Beast Philanthropy.
Secrets of Scaling Without BreakingWhat’s really important as a business is to be really methodical about your steps. Don’t bite off more than you can chew! Building is a brick-by-brick process. Don’t compare yourself to individuals who are far ahead of you. You are building where you are. Your journey is completely different from everyone else’s. Do what you are doing at 110% and then build the next brick. You don’t have to launch something with all the bells and whistles because your plans are going to change anyway!
People tend to get really hung up on the transition process. What shifted in Jess’s process is knowing that you don’t have to be a millionaire before you make it happen. Bite off a little bit while you’re working full-time. Release your grip on the idea that you have to have a safety net. Sometimes you have to release something in order to survive. Shift your mentality and know that you might already have enough.
It looks different for everyone, and digging into the numbers is one of my favorite things to do. You can find out more about that at The Co-op.
Quote ThisYou’ve got to leave room to fail so that you can pivot and change the course as you get on. —Jess Cervellon Highlights* How Jess Got to Where She Is Today [0:02:11] * What it Means to Create the Experience You Want Your Customers to Have [0:07:43] * How to Go Against the Grain with IRL Branding [0:10:59] * Building a Brand that Does Good [0:20:51] * Secrets of Scaling Without Breaking [0:29:13]
OUR GUEST:Jess Cervellon
Website | LinkedIn | X
Jess Cervellon is the Vice President of Customer Experience at Feastables, a $100M+ chocolate venture founded by YouTube superstar Mr. Beast. She was the 4th person to join this incredible team, and has been laser-focused on crafting unforgettable customer experiences, especially for their Gen-Z audience. When she’s not at Feastables, she’s a fractional CMO for creators who have millions of followers. She has become one of the go-to experts in creator brand strategy and end-to-end customer experience.
Key Topics:Scaling, Philanthropy, Brand Experience, Customer Experience, Relationships
We Mentioned:Join the Co-op
Boss Project on Instagram
Abagail on Instagram
Beast Philanthropy
Feastables
MrBeast on Youtube
Liquid Death
Fat Miilk
Miro.com/Podcast - get three free boards
Episode 804: Show NotesThis year has absolutely flown by — it’s actually difficult to grasp just how quickly the days and months have simply come and gone! As we approach the end of the year, it’s natural to reflect on what we truly want and where we would like to go next; to figure out what our plans and aspirations could potentially look like.
In that spirit, I want to use today’s conversation to dig into what it looks like to invest in your dream and the things you truly want to pursue. How do you make that happen when there's still so much on your plate, so many areas of your life pulling at you, not to mention the finances required to keep things running? Join me today as I explore what it means to strike that balance and invest in your passion. Because I truly believe your dreams are more available to you than you realize. It’s just about taking the necessary steps to get on the right path!
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Identifying Your DreamBefore we can get into how to achieve your dream, we need to unpack how to identify your dream. A lot of us have so many ideas that we want to pursue, that it can be difficult to hone in on what we truly want. This often requires us to take a moment and consider the bigger picture and what direction we want to go in. Allow your ideas to simmer, and imagine what they could look like. Ask yourself, “How do I want to show up? How do I want to get there? What am I willing to do (or not do) to reach my goals?”
You also need to ask yourself if it’s really your dream, or whether you’re just seeing someone else achieve what you think you want. You need to honestly ask yourself whether you actually want what they have. Do your best to take all of the circumstances into account. Not just the good stuff, but the mundane and difficult stuff too. Now ask yourself whether you just want some aspect of it, or if you’re prepared to take on all of it as a whole.
Aligning Your Dreams With Your ValuesOne thing that really helps me gain clarity and direction in my pursuits is aligning my aspirations, goals, or ideas with my values. If my pursuits fall outside my value system, I might manage it for a short while, but sooner or later, I'll either give up, burn out or feel so terrible that continuing becomes impossible.
Maintaining that alignment with my values is crucial for sustained progress. Without it, my intuition, judgment, and gut instincts keep nudging me to halt, again and again. I believe we can turn our dreams into reality without compromising our values.
Sometimes, we assume there's only one way to reach a specific place or achieve a certain level, but that's not always true. We can forge a new path, even if it takes longer. If it aligns with who I am and how I want to be, it's worth the journey. Instead of always seeking shortcuts or ways to jump ahead, we can create a path that resonates with our core values.
Overcoming Financial HurdlesI don’t know about you, but more often than not, my dreams have been hampered by some sort of financial hurdle. And because we’re pursuing our passion, we want it to be a process of flow and ease. But I believe it’s essential to take stock and be real about the finances required to achieve those dreams. Which is not as difficult as you may think. I’ve found that the more I’m able to fully articulate my financial requirements, the more ease tends to come up for me.
It's perfectly fine if achieving your dream involves money, investment, or finances. Don't let that be a deterrent or something that puts you off! But, it’s important for you to determine the dollar amount you need. Once you have that information, ask yourself “What steps do I need to take to logically get there?” Then, focus on making those pieces fall into place. We often get so fixated on the number, or the fact that we don't have it right now, that we don't allow ourselves to visualize a path forward. Take your financial requirements and ask yourself “How do I work backward from that? What's the reality, and how can I get there?”
You Don’t Need To Have It All Figured OutThere can be a lot of pressure to have a perfect plan in place before you take the leap and follow your dream. But the truth is you don’t need to have it all figured out before you start. I’m not saying you shouldn’t have a good game plan in place, or invest in the planning period, but you don’t need to have an answer to everything at the very beginning. You don’t even necessarily need to know exactly how you’re going to reach your destination. You just need to take that first step and move in the right direction.
Finding Your CommunityI am hugely influenced by the people I surround myself with. Being in a room full of people who are especially negative or complain a lot, can put me in a bad headspace, making me believe everyone else is the problem. But when I’m surrounded by go-getters, who are excited and happy to connect, I find myself opening up and being more uplifted and positive. I can’t stress enough the importance of finding a supportive community.
When I started this business, I felt like I was the only one out there. But now, more people are working online, than ever before. It’s been incredible finding that sense of community amongst folks that I resonate with so strongly. There’s a lot you can achieve on your own, but having the right support around you can help you get unstuck and move you forward in ways you could never have done independently!
If this message resonates with you, or you’re looking to join a community of individuals actively pursuing their dreams, then I invite you to check out The Co-op. I firmly believe that if you have access to the right strategies, tools, and connections, then you can reach your dreams faster than you ever imagined!
Quote ThisSometimes, if you're really struggling to articulate what the dream is, it may be much easier for you to identify what it is that you don't want. Highlights* Identifying Your Dream [0:06:54] * Aligning Your Dreams With Your Values [0:09:03] * Overcoming Financial Hurdles [0:12:38] * You Don’t Need To Have It All Figured Out [0:17:39] * Finding Your Community [0:29:59]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Goal setting, Value alignment, Financial management, The Co-Op, Community
We Mentioned:Boss Project’s Wealth Workshop
Organic Marketing Workshop
Join the Co-op
Planet Money Podcast from NPR
DashHudson.com/podcast - download their trends report & sign up for a free 14-day trial
Miro.com/Podcast - get three free boards
UpliftDesk.com - free shipping & free returns
Episode 803: Show NotesI’ve been doing business for long enough to know that the people you love the most aren’t always your biggest supporters. Today, I discuss this slightly unsettling topic and share some advice that will make you feel empowered! I want to provide some insight into why strangers sometimes support you more than the people you actually know and help you see it as an opportunity instead of a source of frustration. This is a topic that I have touched on before, so if you want even further insight, check out Episode 409.
I’m sure you have people in your life who love, support, and cheer you on and others who only “sort of" support you too. Maybe you feel held back, let down, or frustrated by the way they talk about you, your career, or your business. Tuning in, you’ll hear my take on why people aren’t always supportive and how you can manage your expectations, seek support elsewhere, and learn to self-validate!
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Feedback from Loved Ones isn’t Always ReliableWhen you look at the people who are not there for you in the way you hoped they would be, it’s often because it's a reflection of their own fears or feelings of being stuck. The more success you have, the more you threaten who they are. They could be deflecting things they are fearful or skeptical of and it probably has absolutely nothing to do with you. This might lead you to make entirely different decisions based on the feedback you receive from people who are important to you. There might also be people in your life who are incredibly supportive, but their feedback still isn’t necessarily helpful because they are generally just trying to keep you safe. Then, there are the “yes men,” the people in your life who are constantly cheering you on to the point where you can’t even decipher if something is a good idea anymore.
Strangers Want to See People WinThink about how you show up for strangers who are doing something amazing. We tend to be more invested in helping the underdog win! That’s because strangers are less biased, have less emotional involvement in your outcome, and aren’t going to be affected by your decisions. This makes it even more difficult to see the people you love who aren’t there for you behaving in such positive and supportive ways towards other people. That can be incredibly discouraging and the irony is, oftentimes, you do the exact same thing. This is just human behavior and it is all about how humans are wired!
Seek Support & Validation from the Right People You shouldn’t look for validation or support from one person in every area of your life. Often, you put too much weight on how you want them to show up for you. If you do that, you might be disappointed! No one can support you in all areas of your life except YOU. A lot of this comes down to being more self-reliant and reflective. It is a good idea to align different people with different areas of your life. Sometimes, these people aren’t your friends and, sometimes, the people who are going to be the most supportive are the ones you have to pay!
I encourage you to think about seeking advice from the right people and determining whether or not they are going to give you valuable perspective. If you’re simply looking for validation, ask yourself if it is warranted or if you just want to be told that you made a good decision. When I stopped expecting loved ones to be there for me in all aspects of my life, I became so much more satisfied with those relationships. It’s not about forcing them to support you. It’s about finding the support you need. Ultimately, this need for support and validation is because you’re growing and changing and becoming a new version of yourself. As you shift, so do your relationships. You have to release your old life to embrace your new life.
The Beauty of Support from StrangersSupport from strangers is a beautiful thing and it isn’t something you should be frustrated by. In fact, it can be empowering! I often see people hold back because they know the people they love are watching. You don’t have to hide your career from the people you love because you’re worried about what they think of you.
You may be impressed by how much more authentic you are when you choose not to worry about the reactions of others. I know it can be really hard to show up in that way. Staying true to your values and living in alignment with who you are is difficult, but it is also the only way to guarantee lasting success.
Imagine that everything you put out there is for people you’ve never met before. Strangers will often support you more than people you already know, and that is a beautiful thing! More often than not, changing your expectations and expressing your needs will make you feel far more supported in the long run. Boss Project is here for you! I want to support your business in ways that empower you. The Co-op will provide you with all the tools and strategies you need, so consider signing up today.
Quote ThisYou’re going to find your group of people! Highlights* Why Feedback from Loved Ones isn’t Always Reliable. [0:07:33] * Why Strangers Want to See People Win. [0:11:23] * Seeking Support and Validation from the Right People (and Yourself). [0:16:54] * The Beauty of Support from Strangers. [0:24:20]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Business Support, Validation, Inner Circle, Stranger Support
We Mentioned:”The Mountain is You” by Brianna Wiest
Episode 409
Join the Co-op
Boss Project’s Wealth Workshop
Organic Marketing Workshop
Planet Money Podcast from NPR
DashHudson.com/podcast - download their trends report & sign up for a free 14-day trial
Miro.com/Podcast - get three free boards
UpliftDesk.com - free shipping & free returns
Episode 802: Show Notes2023 has been a whirlwind! This episode is dedicated to the lessons I’ve learned and how I am going to apply them in the future. I want to give you all an opportunity to reflect on your own journey. How did this year go for you? What does next year look like? If you haven’t listened to my episode on 13 Critical Questions to Ask Yourself Before the End of 2023, I highly recommend you get started there first.
If you want to dig deeper, and truly gain insights that fuel your future, I would love to see you join the Creative Template Shop. In particular, the Co-Op. That’s where you are going to get the opportunity to explore your business holistically. Everything from sales and marketing to your client experience, and everything in between.
Today, I’m going to talk about 23 things I learned this year, two of which I will never do again! I’m usually a never-say-never person, but I’m pretty confident I won’t be doing these again. The 23 lessons I am sharing today are things that come from my personal experience inside Boss Project, things I’ve observed with clients, things I’ve gone through and challenges I’ve been through, exciting things I’m leaning into this year, and things that will get you thinking about your own take on all these things! Let’s dive in!
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Team Management, Performance, Contracts, and a Tough Decision#1 When performance issues arise, take disciplinary action. Don’t wait. Put plans in place far before you think you need to. That’s how to improve a relationship way before it’s too far gone.
2 This year’s leadership changes taught me the importance of a comprehensive contract. If you are to enter into a business partnership in the future, include provisions for all the possibilities.
3 When Emylee stepped away, I had to give some real thought to what would happen if we closed Boss Project. I decided not to start over, and I’m very excited about what the future holds.
AI, Buyer Psychology, and the Myth of Obligatory Sellability#4 AI is going to continue to influence the way we work, and embracing it is a critical part of moving into the future. There are so many unexplored areas of the business where I could be leveraging its power.
5 Today, people are more responsive to short-term obligations than longer ones. Following 2020, people are seeing huge changes in purchasing behavior and buyer psychology.
6 I really don’t need my business to be sellable to facilitate early retirement. If I sell the business, that’s great! If I never sell the business, I will still be able to retire in 10 years.
Intuition, Simplicity, and the Single Best Place to Make a Change#7 In the past, I have ignored my intuition and moved forward anyway. At the moment, there’s something on the table that I’m not totally convinced about. This time, I have decided not to move forward, even though I was super tempted to do it.
8 I highly recommend assessing your offers every few years. Going through some sort of audit process is important and normal. Just recently, I reassessed our offers and chose to simplify everything significantly.
9 I don’t recommend adding additional models to your business structure or changing your model. Changing your offer within the same business model is going to have far less impact on your business model than moving from one business model to another.
How Not to Bury a Lead, Why You Should be Authentic, and an Important Question to Ask Yourself Today #10 How are people moving through your business? Don’t make it complicated! What would it look like if you made it easier for them? How often are you holding people back from taking the next step?
11 Even though I’m in a period of craving less structure, that doesn’t mean that no structure works for me. Not including a structure is a surefire way to stop my progress. What’s true for you?
12 People crave real connection. They want to buy from humans. They are interacting enough with machines and technology, and the more human you appear, the more people will naturally like and be attracted to you.
13 Do what has worked before! What have you done in the past that you no longer do, but that yielded results? For me, strategic partnerships have been such a huge part of Boss Project’s history and they are something that will make a huge difference in Boss Project’s future.
Budgeting for the Ebb and Flow of Business#14 Business is not a linear upward movement. It hasn’t been for us, and it’s not realistic for you! Some years will be smaller than the previous. Plan, save, and budget with this in mind.
15 Instead of paying yourself all the profit, I would suggest that you cap the percentage allocated to yourself until you have developed an emergency fund consisting of three months of operational expenses.
Scheduling, Creativity, Paid Advertising, and Karma#16 I am unlikely to change a plan if it’s scheduled in my calendar and someone else is involved. But I’ve had to learn that if I’m the only one that will be there, I won’t necessarily stick with it.
17 Creative responsibilities require a different state of mind to operational and financial ones. I can’t always schedule creative outputs ahead of time, and that’s been a real mindset shift for me. I’m still learning what planning this looks like for me.
18 Sometimes paid approaches are simply going to magnify the efforts you are already doing. Although I was hesitant at first I am also really excited about where paid strategies might lead.
19 Karma pays off! I’ve had a couple of instances this year where I have done things to benefit others, and I have seen that openly giving will pay off time and time again.
An Empty Nest and a Craving for Connection#20 This year, I learned that Empty Nest Syndrome is not limited to parents of older kids who leave home. When you experience changes in your home environment, it can really rattle a home. I’ve been grieving, and it has really changed me.#21 I have to be mindful of what I’m craving. What do you need? What do you want? Being aware of what I crave in every season has really helped me to emphasize different things in my business. Right now, I’m craving connection, and that’s changed how I do business and life!
Two Things I’m Pretty Sure I’ll Never Do Again#22 I will not take on one-on-one clients while a family member is in hospice ever again. I did it this year, and I felt like I was simultaneously letting myself, my family, and my clients down. I don’t want to experience that again. What have you said yes to this year that added a lot of unnecessary stress to your life?
23 I won’t take on another business partner. Now or ever in this business or any business. And that has nothing to do with the incredible thing I built with Emylee! I value relationships so much that seeing what I’ve seen and knowing what I know, partnering in business is such a risk to a relationship of any kind.
I want to invite you to have an environment that’s there to support you within your business, and I believe the Co-Op can do that for you. Become part of a community of people who believe in your future and want to support you.
Quote ThisIf you are unsure, do not do it. Highlights* Team Management, Performance, Contracts, and a Tough Decision [0:04:50] * AI, Buyer Psychology and the Myth of Obligatory Sellability [0:08:59] * Intuition, Simplicity, and the Single Best Place to Make a Change [0:14:43] * How Not to Bury a Lead, Why You Should be Authentic, and an Important Question to Ask Yourself Today [0:20:06] * Budgeting for the Ebb and Flow of Business [0:27:01] * Scheduling, Creativity, Paid Advertising, and Karma [0:30:37] * An Empty Nest and a Craving for Connection [0:37:28] * Two Things I’m Pretty Sure I’ll Never Do Again [0:43:20]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Decision-making, Budgeting, Time management, Team management, Business, Community, Support, Scheduling, Change
We Mentioned:Episode 768: How Can I Budget When My Income is Inconsistent?
Episode 797: Massively Simplifying My Offers and BIG Changes for 2024
Episode 798: 13 Critical Questions to Ask Yourself Before the End of 2023
Join the Co-op
Planet Money Podcast from NPR
DashHudson.com/podcast - download their trends report & sign up for a free 14-day trial
Miro.com/Podcast - get three free boards
UpliftDesk.com - free shipping & free returns
Episode 801: Show NotesDuring this episode, I want to dive into what it’s really like to deal with stress and anxiety while you are building a business. How do you continue to be productive? How do you build a support team and a structure that will allow you to move forward even when you are struggling with your mental health? It is okay to not be okay all the time! You can still be an incredibly successful person who figures out to manage and cope, and still has bad days.
This episode comes with a disclaimer that I am not a medical professional. If you are in crisis, there is a suicide and crisis hotline in the United States. You can dial 988 on your phone and get someone on the line to help.
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A Peek Into My (Very Long) History of Mental Health Concerns I have dealt with mental health concerns for as long as I can remember. I remember being anxious even as a small child. I was on and off of various anxiety and antidepressant medications throughout high school, and I didn’t technically finish my high school career. I still graduated. This has been serious for a long period of time. It’s been a whirlwind these past few years. We’ve all faced personal challenges, as well as the challenges of a changing world.
In more recent years, I started seeing a therapist. In 2020, I learned my parents (who had been married for 40 years) were getting a divorce. This was a week after COVID-19 rocked the world as we knew it. For me personally, when my stress and anxiety get high enough, it manifests as physical symptoms. I’ll have a racing heart, feel tired and achy, and have regular headaches. If those things go on for too long, I become a less functional member of society. It can be really frustrating to be at this point in my life and still have really hard days.
The Toolbox of Habits That Keep Me ProactiveBeing proactive when I didn’t think I could continue has been a huge part of staying on track for me. How do I do this? One thing is to remove as much additional stress from my life as possible. I have created a schedule where I wake up naturally, take a shower, and start my day. I can’t tell you how much my life has improved just by doing this.
Decide what about your routine you want to take control of. An amazing tool for me has been integrating movement into my daily schedule. Another thing you may not want to hear is the wonderful power of limiting caffeine.
Journalling is also a great tool. I had to figure out what this meant for me because I am a perfectionist. But you don’t have to have a rigid routine around it to be successful. Not dictating how it’s done has changed the game for me.
The Easiest Place to Start Making Your Mental Health a PriorityI do certain things to manage my stress during work. The first thing is, that work schedule. When do you want to work? How do you want to structure your time? I try to look at my work schedule at least every six months, if not every three months, to shift and change things.
Allowing yourself to be slow on purpose is a big part of managing your stress. When I set deadlines, I am less married to a plan than ever before. Continuing to be mindful of the deadlines that lie ahead enables me to manage my time AND manage my stress.
When it comes to my evenings, I’ve also made a conscious choice to do less. Don’t be afraid to say no to things! It’s okay to put things down, do less, and say that you can’t do it right now. This has been so important to me in figuring out a rhythm for myself.
Cultivating a Support System that Works for YouBecoming more self-aware has allowed me to heal and to address the things that unconsciously (and consciously) stack up. That’s where a therapist can really come in and help you. Allowing myself to understand what’s going on with me and giving myself tools to deal with that has been critical.
While there is a lot you can do on your own, it is so essential to have support. Articulate who or what is supporting you in a certain area and understand that that person or thing is not responsible for supporting you in every area. My approach includes natural approaches and modern medicine, and there’s no shame in either!
The Spiritual Side of SupportI don’t often talk about my spiritual life on this podcast. But it wouldn’t be right to talk about mental health support without bringing up the fact that we are spiritual beings who need spiritual support. How do you show up in the world spiritually? Worshiping in song is such a healing thing for me. I also have a really incredible prayer team.
Having a team is something else that’s been such an amazing support. Having a coach or a mentor has also been incredible, and I would love to be that person for you. I also have a small crew of friends who just get it — I can’t tell you how critical that has been. Those people tend to have more in common with my day-to-day life than the friends I’ve known forever.
Find yourself in a place where you can manage what you can control and then find support for the things that you can’t. Trudging through all of it with a single method of support has never worked for me. Acknowledge that where the stress comes from is not always the place you can handle it. If stress is coming from home, you may need support with your business. If the stress is at work, you might need more help at work.
You are a multifaceted being. Sometimes putting stuff down is the most productive thing that you can do. Stress also doesn’t always come from a bad place. You feeling things is the most important thing. Feel these things, move through them, and figure out what you need to move forward.
You are one person, and you need areas of support across the board. I would love to be a part of your support system — the wins, the access, the connectivity, the learning from past experiences. That’s why I created the Co-Op. Hop on over to see what it’s all about.
Quote ThisManage what you can control and then find support for the things that you can’t. Highlights* An Overview of My (Very Long) History of Mental Health Concerns [0:11:07] * The Toolbox of Habits that Keep Me Proactive [0:18:05] * The Easiest Place to Start Making Your Mental Health a Priority [0:29:43] * Cultivating a Support System that Works for You [0:39:40] * The Spiritual Side of Support [0:50:08]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Mental Health, Support, Balance, Lifestyle, Relationships
We Mentioned:United States Suicide and Crisis Hotline — call 988
Episode 796: Removing Urgency and Allowing Rest
Join the Co-op
Boss Project’s Wealth Workshop
Planet Money Podcast from NPR
DashHudson.com/podcast - download their trends report & sign up for a free 14-day trial
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Episode 800: Show NotesI have been so emotional thinking about recording this episode because it is such a massive milestone! This is episode 800 of the Strategy Hour Podcast and it has had so much success. I just want to thank all of you for your continued support because it means the world. I am so grateful for the community that we have created that can come together and create powerful things. It only makes sense that on such a huge episode, I share something that is so monumental! This is the day I’m supposed to make this announcement.
From the ground up, my team and I have completely rebuilt the Creative Template Shop. I mean literally all of it was changed in some way or another and it was such a massive project for our team! There are some aspects of the site that have changed and you may not even notice those things which is just so incredible to me because that is what truly good design is about! These things are going to make so much sense to you without me even needing to explain them. So much thought went into making this possible. I am so proud of the work that went into this. There have been so many changes and we did it with only five people. I am so excited for you to experience it!
Listen on your favorite podcast player
The One Big Change I Am Most Excited AboutThe massive change I am most excited about is the addition of the e-commerce portion of the site. I know it seems like an obvious thing but it isn’t! And there was a lot of work that went into making this happen. Not only can you find the kind of thing that you’re looking for, but you can sort it in a whole lot of different ways. You can sort it by content type, integration, platform, department, and type of project. And I have done everything in multiple styles! Everything the team has ever built on the site comes in a bright, soft, and neutral color palate and once you are there, you can customize everything! Having all of this additional functionality for search is going to be a total game changer because I know sometimes, you know exactly what you’re looking for but other times, you know you need to improve some area of your business but you don’t necessarily know how. This will give you the ability to either find exactly what you’re looking for when you know what that is or discover what you need based on the challenges you’re experiencing. This has never been done before and I am so excited for you to see it!
The New Creative Template Shop Community Creative Template Shop only ever showcased our individual templates and now, it has the ability to showcase some of the top courses and workshops and you will be able to search and find those things. Now, the changes to the membership are out there and you can see them on the site. I am so proud of everything I have added and will continue to add. There is a workshop library focused on teaching, a script vault, an entire AI database of prompts, and a brand new community where you can share any challenge you are facing and you can get help with finding a solution. I know, for my clients, navigating communication has been one of the things they didn’t know they needed until they saw it, and have now found it incredibly valuable. There is also a member directory so you guys can connect with each other directly! You can not only get feedback from the Boss Project team but also from so many other people in their unique stages of business, and hearing you bounce ideas off of each other has been incredible to watch!
The Addition of The Course AcademyEarlier this fall, we also announced the addition of The Course Academy. Up until now, Creative Template Shop was pretty much exclusively tangible tools for inside your business but we wanted to take it a step further and include access to strategies that will be a game changer for people. There are so many courses and they are incredibly valuable. It is also the thing I am most excited about continuing to enhance in 2024. I have so many plans for additional training and mini-courses that are going to help you solve problems in your business but I had to get the site done first to make that possible. So, now that it’s here, this will be my main focus! The biggest one will be our core curriculum.
The biggest criticism I have received in the past is that people often didn’t know where to start with the tools I provide, so my promise with the Co-op is to create an environment for you to understand what it will take for you to live the lifestyle you want to live. This is going to give you essential tools that I know will give you an entirely different perspective. I am so excited to roll out these changes and for you to experience them and I am going to be sharing more details in early January! If you have any questions please do not hesitate to reach out to my team! I want to help you with your unique needs and see if we are the right fit for you.
The Biggest Bonus I’ve Ever Offered and Founder Pricing!Because this is a big launch, I am doing something I’ve never done before and offering the biggest bonus! I am honestly nervous to even put it out there but I am going to do it and I am so excited. I have never offered coaching in addition to what is inside the Co-op. From now until Friday (12/1/23), if you sign up for an annual subscription or if you are a current member and upgrade to an annual subscription, you will unlock a private 30-minute one-on-one coaching session with me! I am stoked about this! All you have to do is go to creativetemplateshop/join, make sure you have the annual plans toggled on and you can choose between ‘Build’ and ‘Grow.’
You can get founder-level pricing at $97/month or $997/year and the annual plan will unlock the laser coaching session with me if you buy it between now and Friday! Now, when I mention that this is founder-level pricing, I really mean it! We have offered the same membership at this price for four years and the price is going up very soon. I want you to have the ability to lock in founder pricing before this increase on December 15th. This means that if you join us before December 15th, you will lock in the founder price point and will continue to pay that price for as long as you are a member!
How You Can Be Part of These ChangesI have only briefly mentioned my plans to fold in the Incubator and C-Suite on Demand into the Co-op, and that’s not coming until January, but you can join the waitlist! My recommendation is that you get on the waitlist and join the plan that you want to in January. There is so much more coming than I can fit into this episode but just know that it is about continuing to be there for you, to help grow your revenue, to help you get the leads you need, and with an ultimate goal of helping you build a profitable and sustainable business that builds the lifestyle that you want.
I want to see you be wealthy and retire early! I am here to show up for you every single day and to be there for the ups and downs. This is the time to commit to growth and your future. I have never offered something this crazy and I may have to cut it off so please don’t miss out on this! I want to see you thrive so let’s do it together! Join or upgrade today
Quote ThisYour wins are beautiful and incredible and I am so pleased to be a part of that story. Highlights* The One Big Change I Am Most Excited About [0:12:49] * The New Creative Template Shop Community [0:16:27] * The Addition of Course Academy [0:20:43] * The Biggest Bonus I’ve Ever Offered and Founder Pricing [0:28:31] * How You Can Be Part of These Changes [0:32:34]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Changes, Remodel, Website, Founder-Pricing, Bonus, Business Coaching, Community, Workshop
We Mentioned:Boss Project’s Wealth Workshop
Join the Co-op
Planet Money Podcast from NPR
DashHudson.com/podcast - download their trends report & sign up for a free 14-day trial
Miro.com/Podcast - get three free boards
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Episode 799: Show NotesI’ve spent years sharing what it’s like to build a business online, but I haven’t shared much about what it’s like to build a million-dollar membership. Today, I’m answering all your burning questions from logistics to evolution, plus some of my biggest tips and tricks, the things I could never have predicted, and more. We’re diving into all of it!
I have 15 questions that I just know you want the answers to. We’re going to go through them, we’re going to talk about it, and if you have follow-up questions, please reach out to me on Instagram at @bossproject or @abagailsays.
Listen on your favorite podcast player
Confession: I Didn’t Come Up With the Idea to Start a MembershipTruth be told, I do not claim the concept. The concept of building a membership that is also a template shop is not new. There were a lot of other people doing this with varying levels of success. The designer in our business was open to working on this with us, and our audience (that’s you!) had expressed their interest in it during conversations leading up to this point.
What I wanted to do was to fill a void that wasn’t already taken care of. I think that’s a great way to approach business! You can find an idea that’s been validated by the market and find a way to execute it in a way that’s totally unique to you. To keep the shop relevant, we have continued to keep a pulse on what this industry needs to remain successful.
Our Surprising Growth Trajectory & the Steps We Took to Get HereWhen we started, we started small. Our first membership launch was $17 a month. When this launched in 2020, we were able to go from zero to our first 100 members in just 30 days. That’s because we had a base of people paying attention after building a business for five years.
As with any idea, you will likely observe a fast takeoff point before things start to slow down and level up. The curve can be slow! Ours has not been linear and we have been faced with different challenges along the way. One thing that’s been unique to this membership is that we chose to ‘launch’ every month. The Creative Template Shop has never been closed. That’s because we want to always be available when someone needs us.
The Three Biggest Challenges We’ve Faced While Building Our MembershipThe terms “churn,” “cost of acquisition,” and “burn rate” were for sure the biggest hurdles we faced while building our membership. Churn refers to the percentage of people that leave on a monthly business, and we’ve seen it get as high as 18%. While we face churn, we’ve also worked hard to keep our return rate high, and it has worked!
Next, the cost of acquisition is how much money it takes to get potential clients to convert. In the changing landscape of paid media, my focus has been on reducing churn and increasing lifetime value. Finally, burn rate is the amount of money blown on the business every month. At the moment, most of our costs go to Squarespace, MembersSpace, and Teachable to host our infrastructure.
Our Evolving Approach to Pricing a Growing MembershipWe haven’t changed our prices in nearly four years. We don’t necessarily recommend that. A price change can create a sense of urgency. There are often very real reasons to increase your price and it’s really important to assess your pricing as you go along. The goal for me, specifically, has always been accessibility, so that as many people as possible are able to join.
Apart from revenue, we measure success by a decreasing churn rate, an increasing lifetime value, and a lower cost of acquisition. The number of downloads and uses is a success metric, as is the completion of courses and strategies on the teachable side. You have to define what these success metrics are for you! It’s so important to stay in touch with the needs of your consumers and price accordingly.
The Personal Impact of Running a Million-Dollar BusinessThis has been a really big growth opportunity. I’ve had to be more organized, I’ve had to have a longer plan, I’ve had to focus on my customers, and I’ve had to continue growing at all times, which has forced me into a constant state of learning. While this can cause burnout, it doesn’t have to. When we started this, the goal was to make it sellable. The Creative Template Shop was its own entity, which allowed it to become its own thing, but now it’s time to infuse my personal brand and my business into this thing that I put so much of my time, energy, love, and support into. I want to get to know this community better. I want to interact with you, know your needs, and bring connection to this space!
I’m excited for what this challenge will bring. My advice to you all is to have your membership be a piece of your whole business, rather than the whole thing. It can be a unique opportunity to add to what you are already doing, but it is a big risk to make your membership the only thing. No single decision led us to this point, but there is a threshold that everyone will face that is a ceiling of your own organic reach. While organic is a great place to start, it’s not a long-term place to scale. Pour fuel on that fire with paid options. You’ll reap the rewards when you really invest in its future!
If you’re listening to this show, you are the person I’ve decided to serve. I want you to be part of this community. I’m so elated to have the brand-new site come out tomorrow, and I can’t wait for you to be a part of it. Join us here!
Quote ThisThe secret to a successful membership is building in those easy yeses. Highlights* Confession: I Didn’t Come Up With the Idea to Start a Membership [0:09:16] * Our Surprising Growth Trajectory & the Steps We Took to Get Here [0:18:09] * The Three Biggest Challenges We’ve Faced While Building Our Membership [0:26:34] * Our Evolving Approach to Pricing a Growing Membership [0:36:22] * The Personal Impact of Running a Million-Dollar Business [0:46:01]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Churn, Cost of acquisition, Burn rate, Memberships, Business, Ideas, Growth
We Mentioned:Boss Project’s Wealth Workshop
Organic Marketing Workshop
Join the Co-op
Memberspace
Teachable
Squarespace
Planet Money Podcast from NPR
DashHudson.com/podcast - download their trends report & sign up for a free 14-day trial
Miro.com/Podcast - get three free boards
UpliftDesk.com - free shipping & free returns
Episode 798: Show NotesBelieve it or not, we are rapidly approaching the end of 2023. You’re probably thinking, how the heck did we get here?! You’re probably considering how you can wrap up the old year and start the new year fresh. You’re also probably wondering: what should I be doing right now to put myself in a good place for 2024?
Personally, I don’t believe that it’s about what you do. It’s more about how you think. It’s about reflection and documentation. That is why, in today’s episode, I share a little bit about the past 12 months at Boss Project and highlight some of our major successes and challenges. I also offer you some critical questions to ask yourself to prepare you for 2024 and help you frame what you want for your future.
Listen on your favorite podcast player
Celebrating the HighsThis year, perhaps more than most, has held some of the highest highs and the lowest lows. Let’s start with the successes. I never could’ve anticipated that, in January 2023, I would be navigating a buy-sell, but that’s exactly what happened! I am so glad to be here, to be leading Boss Project into the future, and I’m grateful that you’re here with me. I have an incredible team that has helped me navigate every change and challenge along the way. I’ve had a lot of fun focusing on visibility, sharing practical tips and strategies with you, and dedicating myself to nurturing channels where I can show up repeatedly.
Finding clarity and going deeper rather than wider has been instrumental for my mindset, keeping me organized, and keeping my team on-task. Shifting our messaging, focusing on a broader audience, being more inclusive, and focusing on writing has also felt really empowering. I’m even working on a book! I haven’t talked about it too much yet because it’s still in the beginning stages, but I look forward to seeing those pieces fall into place. I have numerous exciting collaborations in their early phases and, perhaps best of all, my clients are doing truly incredible things!
Learning From the LowsWhile I have so much to be grateful for, I don’t want to ignore how difficult it has been. 2023 was one of the most challenging years of my life. So much felt out of my control and I couldn’t “fix” any of it. Most notably for Boss Project, becoming the sole leader of this company was accompanied by a lot of grief. Personally, my husband and I had to navigate the notorious US healthcare system to care for his grandmother, who broke her hip earlier this year and sadly passed in the summer. Losing a loved one is hard. Losing someone you’ve been a primary caregiver for is even more heartbreaking.
The losses seemed to multiply. We lost pets. I had to let a team member go following disciplinary action earlier this year, which was the right decision for the business, but that didn’t make it any less difficult. All of this has taken a toll on my mental health and I’ve struggled with anxiety and depression. I went back on antidepressants in 2023, which has been challenging and triggering, even though I know it’s the right decision for my long-term wellbeing.
This year was hard. It was really, really hard, but I am still proud of it. And you can be too. I don’t know what you’ve been through or the wins and the losses you’ve experienced, but I believe that it’s important to acknowledge those things and give them space; both the good and the bad. Your challenges are just as important as the things you are proud of! Just because you don’t have an amazing sales week or you don’t hit your financial goals, that doesn’t mean you’re not successful. Sometimes, just making it through the week is an accomplishment in and of itself. Sometimes, you need to reevaluate your success metrics.
Reflection Questions to Prepare You for the Year AheadPreparing for the future begins with reflection, and there are a number of questions you can ask yourself to help you acknowledge where you’ve been before you move forward. Feel free to pause the episode, journal your thoughts, and put some time and attention into this activity!
From reviewing your own successes and challenges to how you adapted to changing market trends, acquired new skills and knowledge, learned from strategies that didn’t yield the expected results, and took customer feedback into consideration, there is so much you can learn about the future of your business by looking back at what you’ve already accomplished. Of course, how you managed your finances and whether or not you met your financial goals is important, but so are the pivotal relationships you formed and the memorable customer testimonials you received. Perhaps most importantly, I want you to ask yourself this question: how did you prioritize your life while running your online business?
Wrapping up your year is more than just statistics. It’s about taking stock of how you’ve grown. We have a reflection worksheet inside The Co-Op, which we will be adding to in December. Make sure you download what is available right now, add these questions to it, and check in on the group to see if there’s anything else you might want to spend time on. If you’re not yet a member, join today and take the next step in your journey!
Quote ThisYour challenges are just as important as the things you are proud of. Highlights* Celebrating the Highs. [0:14:59] * Learning From the Lows. [0:22:12] * Reflection Questions to Prepare You for the Year Ahead. [0:32:19]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:New year, Reflection, Highs and lows, Wrap up, Planning for the future
We Mentioned:Boss Project’s Wealth Workshop
Organic Marketing Workshop
Join the Co-op
Planet Money Podcast from NPR
DashHudson.com/podcast - download their trends report & sign up for a free 14-day trial
Miro.com/Podcast - get three free boards
UpliftDesk.com - free shipping & free returns
Episode 797: Show NotesOver the last eight years, Boss Project has had so many offers and today I’m announcing the major simplifications to my offers that I am so excited about. I have been hesitating to do this episode for so long because I wasn’t sure if this was the direction that I wanted to go in and I have always been so ‘married’ to the direction I was committed to and steadfast about how I was going to get there. While that’s great, things change so often and it’s more beneficial to be able to act according to what’s happening in real-time and make pivots to your plan along the way.
I’m finally ready to share this because I’ve realized that it’s far more important to head in a direction without being so worried about how you’re going to get there. As long as your vision is at the forefront of your mind and you’re committed to taking small steps to get there, you’re on the right path! I have sold way more offers than the majority of the people in my industry have, probably because of how creative I am! I wondered what it would look like to give myself the freedom to be creative and the clarity of knowing what my offer is to make it easy for people to know what they are buying from me. So, I am going to simplify all of my offers into one!
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The Potential Dangers of Too Much DiversificationWhen there are a million options available, it’s hard for people to know what they really need and which direction they should go in. I know you’re all tired and have so many options. I don’t necessarily think that there’s one right way so I started wondering what the ‘magic sauce’ for my clients was. Over time I have been developing The Creative Template shop and honestly, Boss Project started as a design company! There are plenty of designers out there who just want to make you look good but I want to make sure that the things you are putting out into the world are effective and are giving you results. I value diversification but I do think you can get to a point in your business where too much diversification causes confusion instead of helping you grow. I was considering what marrying all the strategy pieces to all the design pieces in my business would look like.
The One Thing I’m Focusing on When It Comes to My OffersPublicly, when I’m talking about my business, my offers, and what I do, I will be leading with the Co-op because it just includes absolutely everything! It is so all-encompassing and I am so passionate about what it will continue to do for this online community. I feel so good about leading with this because I know if I am clear about how you work with me then you will be clearer on how you can forge the direction you want to take in your business. I’m not expecting you to know what you need but rather, I want to get to know you so that we can align you with the resources that already exist. I know that every business is different so my goal is not that you use everything inside the Co-op, but instead choose what will be most effective for you.
While I’m still going to offer new things, I’m primarily going to be offering those things to people already in the Co-op. I want to put the majority of my time and energy into the Co-op and so I will be taking significantly fewer one-on-one clients. This feels like such an intentional choice and helps me really narrow in on how I want to show up for you and make the biggest impact. If you are interested in working with us then definitely do reach out but in the next few weeks, you are going to be seeing a very different Boss Project. This has been a massive undertaking on our part but I know it’s going to be worth it.
The Power of Transparency The frustrating part is that I felt like the only way I felt I could show you what I wanted to do was to divert you to my workshops and while they will give you loads of information, I have always believed in the power of transparency. If you want to know what’s going on, I really want you to have an easy way to see that which is why this new site is going to provide so much more transparency about what the Co-op looks like. I am so excited about the new Boss Project website and how easy it’s going to be for you to navigate. This simplicity is imperative because of how focused I am on my mission; to see you wealthy and financially free. This mission is only possible to achieve if you have access to information and strategies and I wanted a simple place for that to exist.
The Ultimate Offer!You may be asking, but what about the Incubator. As of right now, the Incubator is on the waitlist however, we are not currently enrolling for that program but in 2024, we will be rolling it into the Co-op as its own tier! And it is going to be so much easier to understand. I’m so excited about creating an environment that has more clarity and transparency. I look forward to helping you make decisions and next year, all my offers will be in one, ultimate package. I am so excited about what that means because the goal here is not to stop me from creating, but rather to allow me to create more. Now I get to create for the people who are already here and will be adding to the Co-op over time! Regardless of how you would like to work with us in the future, this is where you start. I want to create an environment where you can be safe and completely yourself. All of our different offers have their place, but they are not how I want to do business in this season.
The One Thing You Need to Do to Be Part of ThisNow, I’m not suggesting that you need to scrap all of your offers and make one mega membership because that doesn’t necessarily make sense for everyone. But it makes sense for me! As of right now, everything I plan to create will be integrated into the Co-op but I’m not 100% sure about all of the details and that is okay! What I have built has taken me years and years and I don’t want to discount all that has gone into it already. I am so proud of the work our team has done and I am so excited about the future. I want you to be part of this so go watch the training and get on this train now so you can see these changes first! I also want to announce that the Co-op price is going up for the first time ever so I want you to lock in founder pricing and get in right now!
Quote ThisYou can get to the point in a small business where too much diversification causes confusion rather than helping you grow. Highlights* The Potential Dangers of Too Much Diversification. [0:14:13] * The One Thing I’m Focusing on When It Comes to My Offers. [0:18:49] * The Power of Transparency. [0:24:05] * The Ultimate Offer! [0:27:36] * The One Thing You Need to Do to Be Part of This. [0:31:14]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Simplification, Offers, Marketing, 2024, Business Goals, Business Makeover, The Ultimate Offer
We Mentioned:Boss Project’s Wealth Workshop
Organic Marketing Workshop
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Episode 796: Show NotesIf you were to ask me how I feel about the rest of the year, I would probably tell you something about wanting to pack it up and see you guys in January! But I’m not going to do that. Instead, I want to talk about slowing down on purpose.
A few members of the co-op community have mentioned feeling as though they are always in a rush. What would it look like if you didn’t put so much of a timeline on so much of what you were doing? How much additional space, excitement, and desire would that give you creatively? How much fuel would that give to your life? Let’s talk about it!
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The Unexpected Reason That This Time of Year Is So Important to MeI don’t talk about this much, but I grew up on my grandparents’ Christmas tree farm. I can still smell the evergreens. This was the most magical time of year when I was growing up. There’s so much about this season that I have adopted from how my grandmother showed up. She really wanted everyone’s experience to be special.
She would find the tallest tree, clip red cardinals to it, and string it with lights. My favorite thing to do was lie down under the tree and look up at all the birds and the twinkling lights while my grandfather played the grand piano, my uncle played the saxophone, my aunt played the flute, and my father sang. The memories are beautiful.
The childhood magic of the season is such a good reminder for this time of year. In business, everything can become a fire we have to put out. What would be the equivalent of childhood wonder for you? What would it look like if you tried to add moments like that on purpose to how you live your life now as an adult?
What You Might Need to Do to Slow Down to Get Creative AgainEven if you were to slow down completely, Q4 is the most lucrative time of year for most businesses anyway! There are ways to take less client work, but book for January. You could bundle some digital products together and sell them collectively. There are ways to be more efficient that just feel fun! When you are excited, people will get excited with you. When you are passionate, people will get passionate with you.
When you are overwhelmed, stressed, and hard to be around, are you surprised that people aren’t buying from you as much? What would happen if you had a fresh perspective? If you felt good? If you felt rested? It’s such a huge opportunity that is so easy to miss when you get stressed.
I had a really bad day yesterday. I texted my sister, and she asked me, what would happen if you just took the day off? So often, you forget to hold yourself to those standards because you are overwhelmed in the moment. You are not going to perform the way you would if you weren’t so stressed. It’s so wild to me that so many of us have built businesses with the goal of adding more flexibility and more freedom, and then we add rigidity in how we show up. In doing this episode, I’m reminding myself that I can do this too! I’m right there with you.
What Would It Mean to Live as Though You Already Have What You Want?I want you to feel empowered, excited, and refreshed. And so many of you have continued to put a time clock on these things! Do you ever find yourself feeling envy for the experience of other business owners? A lot of the time, the things we see others achieving aren’t financial but actually are to do with the way someone is living their life. Which aspects can you recreate without spending any money?
Sometimes, you have to work up to what you want. But that doesn't mean that you can’t start acting like the person who is there beforehand. I can guarantee you that I would not live in the house I live in today if I had not been saying to myself for years that I needed to live somewhere amazing.
So often, we give ourselves this crazy perspective of what other people’s lived experience is. That’s part of what I want you to get out of this. You don’t actually know what other people are going through or what they had to do to get to this point. Most of the time, we don’t know the whole story. How long has it really taken you to get to where you want to go? How long did it actually take you to get to where you are?
The Ultimate Gift of Slowing Down and Setting BoundariesI am not immune to any of this. I still want to rush through life and get to the next thing and the next thing. I have to remind myself that it’s okay to slow down. It’s okay to put up the Christmas tree. It’s okay to spend time with my spouse. I am not perfect at this. I do not have it all figured out and I still get jealous. There is a boundary that must be drawn. If someone on the internet is constantly giving you stress because when you see them you are so triggered by your own experience, then it is probably a healthy decision to unfollow them or mute their stories or posts. You don’t need to walk around feeling guilty.
I want you to be inspired. I want you to slow down and rest so that you can get creative again. I want you to add in those magical moments and childlike wonder. Urgency and jealousy often go hand-in-hand. While the holidays can be filled with beautiful moments, they can also bring up a lot; whether it’s family dynamics or loss or even just the weather. I want you to acknowledge that it is okay to walk away, rest, and slow down. Allow yourself the moments of peace and prosperity to dream again. Be more purposeful in the slowness.
If you are looking for community and for a place to be encouraged to remove that urgency, I want to invite you to the Co-op. I designed this community to provide you with tools that are going to save you time and make you more money; all with the lens that you are already enough!
Quote ThisWhen you are excited, people will get excited with you. When you are passionate, people will get passionate with you. Highlights* The Unexpected Reason That This Time of Year Is So Important to Me [0:01:25] * What You Might Need to Do to Slow Down to Get Creative Again [0:07:40] * What It Means to Live as Though You Already Have What You Want [0:11:30] * The Ultimate Gift of Slowing Down and Setting Boundaries [0:26:28]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Planning, Resting, Seasons, Festive Season, Slowing Down
We Mentioned:Boss Project’s Wealth Workshop
Organic Marketing Workshop
Join the Co-op
Episode 795: Show NotesToday, on the seventh anniversary of the most traumatic event I have ever experienced, I want to open up about the five-car pile-up that changed the trajectory of my life. It gave me pause to figure out how I can be successful despite all of the seemingly limiting and impossible things going on in my life. I am going to share my experience of what it’s like to build a business, provide for my family, and deal with chronic health conditions all at the same time. Less than a mile from my home, a trailer cut off upcoming traffic on a very busy street, and the person behind me didn’t stop. In a split second, I was slammed into the vehicle in front of me. I was tachycardic and terrified.
I was in so much pain, and as time passed, I was getting progressively worse and worse. I thought if people knew that I had a traumatic brain injury, my business would close. While I have come so far, there are still a ton of health risks for me in the future. The migraine that started on the day of my accident didn’t go away for years. Learning to live with chronic pain while attempting to run a business felt like the most impossible task. My face even changed; for the first time in my life, I only wanted to hide. Now I know that there was nothing to be embarrassed about, and I am here to share my story so you can be successful through life’s curve balls.
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Making Accommodations to Suit You in Your BusinessI did a lot to cover up what I was really going through. I don’t know how I made it through it, and it took me five years to figure out how to manage these issues. I will also likely never have a baby because of that one day. Accommodations in life are not talked about enough, and you are absolutely allowed to ask for reasonable accommodation in your job. But I feel like nobody talks about accommodations when you run the business. I don’t see anybody talking about how to build a business when life gets hard! I have made so many accommodations to suit my chronic health issues. So many people in this community have gone through earth-shattering, life-changing events, and you don’t give yourselves enough credit! I am sharing my experiences with you all so you can see that it’s okay not to be okay! I am so over the façade of perfection in life. I want you to stop pretending that you’re okay when you are not.
Building a Business That Works for You Despite StrugglesThis event highlighted the need to serve so many people who are going through their own sets of challenges. I am so much stronger, and while I know how difficult it is to support people who are struggling, I just want to help and provide a different perspective. Most of you are bootstrapping your businesses, and I want to help you live a good life. You can build a business that works for you, supports you financially, serves you in the season you’re in, and allows you to prepare for your future. My business kept growing throughout my medical issues because I made sure that the business structure I was operating in was accommodating the life I had and the life I wanted. I want you to give yourself permission to let it grow and change with you. I didn’t have anyone to show me that I could struggle and still be successful, and I want to be that person for you.
Finding Balance Between Polished, Professionalism and RealityThe models for businesses that you are seeing out in the world are not realistic. It’s a jaded perspective of what people think you want to see, and it simply isn’t real. Don’t get me wrong, I still do things that are polished and put together, but you can be both! You can show up professionally one day and fall apart the next day.
Community is what started this business, and it is why I am still here, so I want to be honest with you all! I have saved enough money throughout my life that I do not need this business to be sellable, and because of that, I have changed absolutely everything about this business. I want to provide you with every necessary tool to save you time, make you more money, and accommodate your needs when life throws you curve balls. I want to support you where you’re at now. I want to be here for everything because you deserve a community to support you. Finally, I want you to join the behind-the-scenes of the creative template shop to see how I have weathered storms and still created a successful business.
You deserve to be a part of this— join the Co-op today & let’s keep moving forward together!
Quote ThisI know that I’m here to be hope, to give you guidance, to give you structure, to give you permission to not be okay sometimes. Highlights* Making Accommodations to Suit You in Your Business. [0:18:44] * Building a Business That Works for You Despite Struggles. [0:27:15] * Finding Balance Between Polished, Professionalism and Reality. [0:34:27]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Traumatic Events, Business Planning, Realistic Business Model, Community Support, Making Accommodations
We Mentioned:Boss Project’s Wealth Workshop
Organic Marketing Workshop
Join the Co-op
Episode 794: Show NotesHave you ever felt like your marketing efforts are stuck in a loop, missing out on untapped potential? Join me in this episode as we unlock the secrets of top-of-funnel marketing, a paradigm shift that could supercharge your small business's success. In today's digital age, we often find ourselves focusing on the mid-funnel, trying to convert those who are already aware of us into loyal customers. But what about those who've never heard of our business? How can we connect with them? This is where top-of-funnel marketing steps in, helping us create brand awareness, spark conversations, and engage with a whole new audience.
Discover the strategies to stay ahead during economic challenges, as we delve into how innovation during tough times can lead to remarkable growth. I'll show you the power of "they get me" moments and the art of creating authentic connections with your audience. So, if you're ready to unlock untapped potential and drive your small business toward success, join me today as I unpack the game-changing world of top-of-funnel marketing! It's time to make a meaningful shift in your marketing strategy and connect with a broader audience, bringing fresh energy and opportunities to your business.
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How Top-of-Funnel Marketing Can Radically Change Your BusinessWhen it comes to marketing, the majority of small business owners tend to focus on what I like to call mid-funnel content. Let’s step back for a moment. Picture a funnel, not the technical intricacies, but a path that takes someone from being completely unaware of your existence to becoming a devoted customer who recommends your business to others. This journey involves numerous stages, which we commonly refer to as a funnel.
Now, most small business owners concentrate on the mid-level because they've never needed to focus on the top level. Why? Well, as people move through these stages, the number of potential customers tends to shrink. So, you might convert only a small portion of mid-level prospects into actual leads before they become paying clients.
But here's the catch – before someone can become a prospect or lead, they need to know you exist. If you're offering services where you work closely with individuals, you might only need a handful of leads each month to fill your business. However, if you introduce additional revenue streams like group programs or courses, you'll need more leads. The conversion rate is lower, and the price point is usually smaller, so you need a larger audience depending on how you sell.
If you've been fine with just a few leads per month, you've probably created content geared toward the mid-level because you didn't need a massive volume of potential customers. But if you want to increase the total volume of people moving through your business and purchasing from you, you have to start at the top.
What This Study Tells Us About Top-of-Funnel ContentIn 2021, Nielsen conducted a study commissioned by Google. In it, they took a close look at the marketing strategies of various campaigns and made a specific comparison between upper-level strategies, which target the top of the funnel, and mid-funnel strategies.
Now, what's the distinction here? Top-of-funnel marketing focuses on creating awareness. It involves reaching out to complete strangers, people who have never heard of you before. On the other hand, mid-funnel or nurture campaigns are all about showing appreciation, offering value, and building that essential "know, like, and trust" factor.
The intriguing finding from this study was that the upper-level marketing efforts experienced a significant 70% increase in return on investment (ROI), whereas only 13% improvement was observed in mid-level campaigns.Innovation in Tough Times
During challenging economic times, people tend to be more cautious. They want to ensure their investments are wise. However, there is a lesson that we can take from the markets here: making calculated, low-risk investments during economic downturns can lead to substantial rewards as the economic cycle rebounds and the economy improves.
COVID-19 caught us all off guard, and it hit industries and companies like travel, entertainment, VRBO, and Airbnb hard. Airbnb responded by significantly reducing its advertising efforts. In contrast, VRBO saw this as an opportunity. They boldly increased their spending by over $90 million. Fast forward to January and February 2021, nearly two years into the pandemic. VRBO's gamble paid off with a 61% boost in booking recovery, while Airbnb continued to decline by another 15%.
We've witnessed companies rise during times when others were struggling, laying off employees, and reducing prices. During the 2008 Great Recession, Amazon continued to innovate, introducing products like the Kindle, and its sales actually grew by 28% while the rest of the economy suffered. I firmly believe that when times get tough, the tough get innovative. I want you to feel informed, excited, and invigorated, despite the challenges!
Create Content For People Who Don’t Know YouIf you want more buyers, no matter what you're selling, you need more leads. To get more leads, you need to increase awareness. How do you do this? By repeatedly reaching your audience with top-of-funnel strategies. These strategies build strong brand recognition and customer engagement through unique content that sparks conversations and fosters connections. While nurturing existing customers is important, practicing being visible to new people and telling compelling stories is essential in a world craving connections. Another positive is that it tends to be less competitive in this space, so don’t be afraid to try out new strategies.
How To Increase Awareness and Drive EngagementSo, how do you actually increase top-of-funnel awareness? Where should you invest your time and energy? We've discussed the concept of visibility channels before. As a refresher, I encourage you to revisit Episode 777 and Episode 793 where we explore visibility in greater detail. Regardless of the platform you choose or the way you decide to become visible, consider the purpose behind it. This purpose will shape how you present yourself, regardless of the place.
Remember, this content is designed for strangers. Imagine you're speaking to someone who has no idea who you are. What would you say? How would you say it? What kind of first impression do you want to make? Make it a habit to create content for people who don't know you at all.
These individuals want to get to know you, but they don't have a clue who you are. To engage them, share your background, history, and expertise. Talk about the results you've achieved for clients. Engagement can take many forms, but focus on driving the kind of engagement that your chosen visibility channel values and rewards. Every platform wants people to communicate and stay engaged, so think about what your audience wants to know, say, share, and hear about. Tailor your content to meet their needs and spark interactions!
Why You Need to Create ‘They Get Me’ MomentsI'm not suggesting that one strategy is king or that there's a universal best approach for top-of-funnel marketing. It all comes down to understanding your audience, what resonates with them, and the problems they face. At this stage, your goal is simple: make them feel understood. You want them to say, "They get me." Once you achieve this, it can lead to more meaningful follow-up conversations. The key is to create more of these "they get me" moments.I'm not asking you to start producing a massive amount of content. Instead, I'm suggesting that you show up in a way you might not have tried before. Perhaps you've been intimidated in the past or didn't see immediate results. Consistency is key; it's a marathon, not a sprint. You don't run a marathon without training, and similarly, you don't have to do everything immediately. Take it step by step.
Remember, visibility is a long game. While some results might be instant, they usually sit at the top of the sales cycle. It takes time to see the full impact of your efforts, but as someone who has focused on developing content for awareness throughout her career, I can assure you that it's worth it, time and time again.
Tools and Templates To Get You StartedTo support you in this journey, I've created tools that can help you succeed. The Co-op and Creative Template Shop are designed to provide you with the resources you need to boost awareness, build your brand, and deliver value to your clients more efficiently and effectively.
In just a few weeks, I'll be unveiling our brand-new website, and I want you to be a part of it! I'm committed to helping you navigate these challenging times and be part of a meaningful community.
For more information, visit creativetemplateshop.com/join. Trust me on this one and get started now. Exciting new resources are on the way, and they'll transform your business for the better. I'm looking forward to assisting you, and I can't wait to see you in the community!
Quote ThisWhen the going gets tough, the tough get innovative. Highlights* The Biggest Mistake Small Businesses Are Making With Their Funnels [0:04:57] * What This Study Tells Us About Top-of-Funnel Content [0:08:31] * Innovation in Tough Times [0:09:29] * Create Content For People Who Don’t Know You [0:17:35] * How To Increase Awareness and Drive Engagement [0:19:49] * Why You Need to Create ‘They Get Me’ Moments [0:28:33] * Tools and Templates To Get You Started [0:32:10]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Top-of-funnel content, Marketing, Innovation, Design, Resources, Templates
We Mentioned:Episode 777 | Industry Predictions: The Future of Marketing for Online Business
Episode 793 | Getting Visible - Part 2: Instagram Hacks & Increasing Reach by 185% in 7 Days
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Organic Marketing Workshop
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Episode 793: Show NotesTo drive more buyers to your offer, you have to get in front of more of your ideal clients. During this episode, we’re talking about getting visible! I’m excited to discuss how this applies to you! I’ve also got something super tactical to help you get there. I will even take back something I said before and share what it can open up for you.
I have my eyes on Instagram and I have been in an effort for almost four months to re-figure it out! Leading up to that, I have not been in that area of the business. If I want to serve you, then I have to know what’s working today! Today, I’m sharing more of what I have unlocked and started to understand about Instagram. I also recommend you check out my recent Organic Marketing Training, which is a great next step after listening to this episode.
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Playing the Algorithm Game to WinYou can win visibility. You can win organic reach. You just have to learn to play the algorithm game! For a while, I thought Instagram was dead. I thought it was potentially going to go away. But I do think that Instagram has seen some of the areas in which they have let small businesses down and they are changing course to allow people to get the organic traction that they used to get on this platform. It’s just not the same as it used to be!
When I say take it from me, I really mean it. I used to play this game well. Circa 2015, I was growing my following by 1000s every month. I was playing the game which was a very curated feed and aesthetic. Then, I went through a fantastic season of ‘pay to play’ before I stepped away entirely. But now I’m back and things have changed drastically once again!
Five Ways to Connect on InstagramOn Instagram, there are five different ways to engage with your followers. All five are completely different, they are built by different teams, and they reach different people. Your feed has static posts, stories, reels, messaging, and shop. What goes unchanged in the history of Instagram is that they want to keep you on the app. The only way a post will go viral is if you beat the standards in the post itself. In my opinion, they are rewarding comments the most highly at the moment. That said, you want all forms of engagement to happen. Stories are almost always going to be exposed exclusively to your followers unless something of yours gets shared.
You have to create posts to have them be shared or you have to engage with other accounts to have them share you. The only way to drive traffic to stories is to have someone share them and if you want to increase the number of followers that are seeing your content, then you have to drive stories. Using stickers, using polls, using the graphic feature — they will reward the people using the new thing the most. Always!
The Unbeatable Power of the Instagram MessageOver the last few years, Instagram has been rewarding messaging. If you can get your stories to drive engagement in Messenger, all the better. They really want people who follow you to engage you in conversation. They want to see your followers sending you messages from stories and driving to messages from your posts. One of the new tools they’re putting more emphasis on is broadcast channels. If you want to nurture your superstars, then this is really going to be a great opportunity. Messages on Instagram nearly have a 100% open rate. This is wild! Email is nowhere near that. My list is at 30 to 50% open rate, depending on the size. Could Instagram messages be the next wave of SMS marketing?
The Two Biggest Areas for Visibility The two biggest areas for visibility are shop and reels. I can’t provide any on shop because I am not personally running a shop on Instagram. But if you are running a product-based business and you are not utilizing the shop feature, you are missing out on a huge opportunity to find free organic reach. As of now, shop does not allow you to sell digital products or services of any kind. With a physical product, liability is much lower for the e-commerce platform.
Let’s talk about Instagram Reels! From my personal experience and observation of many other business accounts, it is very clear to me that if your goal is visibility on this platform, reels are where you need to be investing your time. Your content for reels should be designed for people who have no idea what you do, who you are, what your expertise is, the results you’ve gotten, or the clients you have served. If you can create content that is ideal for someone who has never interacted with you before, you will increase views on your posts.
Why Reels and TikTok Are Definitely Not the SameThe short-form video culture on Instagram is dramatically different than on TikTok. There is an expected way to show up on TikTok, and if you don’t do it, you won’t succeed. But with Instagram, there are so many different things you can try! I have literally been trying everything, and the one thing that’s worked best for me is very short-form videos that are getting people to read and engage with a hook in the caption.
Here’s where I have to take back what I previously said. I told you that I wasn’t sure about bots, or how much effort they were in comparison to the reward. There are ways to make bots quite complicated. But you can use a simple mini chatbot that is literally one step and can deliver a message directly to someone’s inbox by having them comment on a reel or a post. I know I said something different in the past, but I DO think that bots can be helpful if they’re done the right way.
Learning How to Play the Game by Watching How the Game Is PlayedI could easily go on for days about all the different ways you could leverage Instagram. But I’m not the expert here! I am someone trying and testing in real-time and sharing my experience. There are plenty of people out there who have the same amount of information, and even less than me, that are trying to sell you what they know. The best thing you can do is to look and see what you are interacting with in the Discovery Feed and Reels. What are their other top-performing reels? Learn by observation! Learn how to play the game by watching how the game is played.
I have found a method that is getting me more reach than I have gotten in years on Instagram. In seven days, I have woken up my account and engaged almost 2x what I was doing before. I haven’t even necessarily had anything crazy pop off yet. When each post’s views consistently rise and you start to do it more consistently, it makes a huge difference. Find what works for you, make it a priority, and know and understand that visibility is necessary for you to do business.
If you are looking for ways for other people to drive leads, then I definitely recommend that you check out our recent Organic Marketing Training so that you can learn about optimizing for search and getting leads on autopilot.
I also want to share my new workbook which talks about everything from identifying the business model you’re building into what you want to build in the future and how to create aligned messaging. We’re even diving into the client spectrum and how to create an offer ecosystem around it. This is a super cool new resource that I really want you to get your hands on, and it’s actually a companion piece for Episode 789 of the podcast, so tune into that once you’ve listened to this!
Quote ThisIf your goal is visibility on this platform, reels is where you need to be investing your time. Highlights* Playing the Algorithm Game to Win [0:04:22] * Five Ways to Connect on Instagram [0:05:40] * The Unbeatable Power of the Instagram Message [0:04:22] * The Two Biggest Areas for Visibility [0:15:41] * Why Reels and TikTok Are Definitely Not the Same [0:19:51] * Learning How to Play the Game by Watching How the Game Is Played [0:26:55]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Instagram, Offers, Engagement, Social Media, Marketing, Visibility
We Mentioned:Boss Project’s Wealth Workshop
Organic Marketing Workshop
Join the Co-op
Episode 789
Episode 792: Show NotesOne of the biggest things that contributes to your success is your visibility. Does your ideal audience know who you are, what you offer, and how you can uniquely solve their problem? If not, they are likely to choose someone with more visibility who provides a similar service. I recently had a coaching call with a client who is easily one of the most dynamic people I know. In this call, she told me that gaining visibility feels intimidating and asked me for some strategies to help her get past the discomfort of putting herself out there.
Honestly, I was shocked that this was even an issue for her! If getting visible feels uncomfortable for someone who is already so engaging and confident, I realized that it must also be a concern for many of you listening. That’s why, in today’s episode, I’m taking a deep dive into getting visible, specifically how you can cultivate a mindset that will get you in front of more of your ideal clients and, ultimately, drive more buyers to your offer.
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Feeling Good About Getting VisibleIf you don’t feel good about getting visible, then you’re definitely not going to do the work to get visible! Being visible means being vulnerable. Being visible makes you susceptible to the judgment and opinions of others. Even if you’re aligned with the belief that other people’s opinions don’t matter, we’re still psychologically wired to care what other people think. Intentionally putting yourself out there with the goal of introducing your brand and your offering to a wider audience is an audacious thing to do. Ultimately, you have no idea how people are going to respond until you do it, try it, test it, and try again. As scary as it may seem, letting people know who you are and that you’re an expert in what you do is a requirement for growing your business. You can’t hold yourself (or your business) back for fear of judgment!
Having the Audacity to Let Go of Limiting BeliefsJust like the rest of you, I’ve had my own hesitations about getting in front of more people. My fear of cancel culture, for example, has caused me to limit myself in the past. I’m also a natural catastrophizer, which means that I tend to start with the worst-case scenario and work backward from there. Whenever I get stuck in these “end-of-days” fears, there is something that pulls me back time and time again, and I have my mom to thank. From a very young age, she gave me the audacity to believe that I could do and be anything I wanted. When it comes to my career, pursuing my dreams, fulfilling my desires, and gaining more visibility, I no longer put up walls. I am all in! I recognize the importance of the plans and strategies that I have put in motion over time and I want to see those continue to fuel my future. There are no half-measures.
Why You’ll Never Know if You Don’t AskMy audacity has put me in some pretty unique situations. It wasn’t uncommon early in my career for me to end up on a call with the CEO of a tech startup, telling them exactly what I wanted and needed and why I was their ideal client. I would then see the needs of my business being prioritized in the production of their build-out on their dime! Often, they would also pay me to promote their product. None of this would’ve been possible if I wasn’t bold enough to ask.
Sometimes, your ideas will seem crazy. You might question if you should put them out there. When you have those thoughts, I want you to ask yourself: why not? What if? What if they say yes? What if this sets you up for long-term success? Regardless of your visibility strategy or the trajectory you’re on in your business, just being willing to ask is super powerful. The worst thing that can happen is a no. Most of the time, if you do something to increase your visibility and it doesn’t work out, the net result is neutral. You might not move forward, but you also won’t move backward. More often than not, there is no harm in trying whatever it is that you want to try.
The Two Visibility CampsThere are two camps when it comes to visibility: the manifestors and the grinders. Manifestors are guided by intuition and the laws of attraction. This isn’t necessarily woo-woo. It can also be incredibly strategic. If you tell yourself anything enough times, you will start to believe it, which then gives you the audacity to do the work. Grinders on the other hand seem to be able to work tirelessly toward their goals. They believe that the harder you hustle, the greater the reward will be at the end of the day. Aside from the burnout that can come from burning the candle at both ends, I don’t think either camp is totally wrong.
That’s one of the most beautiful things about business: there is no “right” way! There isn’t a right way to be visible, there isn’t one business model that’s the most profitable, and there isn’t a singular approach that will make or break you. It’s simply about finding the right combination of marketing and visibility strategies that align you with the audience that aligns with your offer so that you can solve their problem (and charge for it). I’ve dedicated myself to developing tools and resources to help you identify the formula that works best for you, but there are so many ways to go about it. At the end of the day, it’s about running it through your value filter and determining whether or not a particular strategy aligns with the way you want to show up.
The Mindset Required to Move ForwardThere are two things that are required from a mindset perspective before you move forward with any strategy. One, you have to have the self-confidence that you can figure it out. Remember what my mom told me growing up: you can do and be anything you want! Two, you have to believe that what you want is possible. Your business can fuel the lifestyle that you want. It can support and provide for you and it can grow, even during economic recessions.
If you don’t believe this, you either need to reconsider your goal and find something more realistic to anchor into or work on your belief system. If you don’t have the self-confidence that you’ll figure it out and you don’t believe that it’s possible, do you really think you’re going to get visible? Do you think you’ll be able to do what is necessary to move your business forward? If you don’t address your mindset, it is going to hold you back. I’m not saying there won’t be bad days or that you won’t have doubts and fears, but if you can consistently believe in yourself and pour into your business, anything is possible.
Finding the Strategy that Works for YOU!When it comes to driving leads, there are active and passive ways to go about it. I dig into eight of these strategies in my recent Organic Workshop, but for now, I’d like to highlight the benefits of producing content. Without a doubt, the fastest way to generate leads is to have someone else do it for you. The next best thing is content.
There are long-term and short-term strategies for producing content. Blogging is the most long-term, YouTube falls somewhere in the middle, while TikTok, Instagram, and LinkedIn yield the quickest results. Part of it comes down to the nature of the content itself. When you create content for your blog or YouTube, you tend to optimize for search. For TikTok and other short-form video channels, relevance is key. Regardless of where you choose to focus your energy, it’s important to invest in the channels and the strategies that have already gotten you traction.
Ultimately, you have to find what works for you and make it a priority. You need to know and understand that visibility is part of doing business. If you’d like more advice on creating alignment between your offer, your message, and the way you put yourself and your business out in the world, download your free From Business Model to Offer Ecosystem workbook!
Quote ThisJust like I don’t think there’s a right or wrong way to build a business, I don’t think there’s a right or wrong way to get visible. Highlights* Feeling Good About Getting Visible. [0:05:50] * Having the Audacity to Let Go of Limiting Beliefs. [0:08:37] * Why You’ll Never Know if You Don’t Ask. [0:12:23] * The Two Visibility Camps [0:16:08] * The Mindset Required to Move Forward. [0:22:43] * Finding the Strategy that Works for YOU! [0:27:09]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:visibility, lead generation, audience growth, mindset
We Mentioned:Ep. 789: Developing Your Offer Ecosystem
Ep. 783: Leads on Autopilot
Boss Project’s Wealth Workshop
Organic Marketing Workshop
Join the Co-op
Episode 791: Show NotesToday we are going to delve into one of the most talked about topics on the internet right now, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. A huge part of the reason I have avoided commentary until now is because I didn’t want to sound like a fan girl but you have all spoken and asked me to talk about this. You all know that I am a huge Taylor Swift fan so today, I’m going to talk about something that is making a huge economic impact on not just my city, but cities around the world.
It feels like someone who is destined to be the queen of England (Taylor) is dating Prince Charming (Travis). Both of these people were already a big deal individually but now that they’re together, they have blown up even more! I want to talk about specific aspects of this relationship and the economic impact it’s created in Kansas City, how it’s affected sales, and what I anticipate it will do for our city moving forward.
Listen on your favorite podcast player
Taylor Buys a House in Kansas City and What That MeansSupposedly, in July, Travis wanted to meet Taylor and made a friendship bracelet with his phone number on it to shoot his shot. Everyone was hoping for this to happen and finally, we are seeing Taylor not as a solo act, but with a partner in public more than ever before and everyone is reporting on it! I can imagine that this is what it must’ve felt like when Elvis and the Beatles were at their most popular. The most recent event is Taylor buying a house in Kansas City. It definitely makes sense for Taylor and Travis to want a more secure area to live in and it’s quite clear that you’ve got to be pretty serious about someone to buy a whole new house while you’re dating. But it also has a serious economic impact on the city. There are only so many people who can buy that home and the fact is, it was on the market for more than a year before she bought it!
How Taylor Has Changed Kansas City’s Economic GameThis entire situation has been so wild to watch but even so, I don’t think many people truly understand the impact it has on the city I call home. There is speculation that Taylor has prevented a recession in the USA because of the economic impact of her tour. There are entire studies being done on the amount of attention one person has created that has changed the economic trajectory of a whole country. When we talk about her concert alone, when she performed in Kansas City most people spent between $1300 and $1500 dollars on merchandise, dining, accommodation, and flights. This alone had an impact of up to $200 million for just two nights in Kansas City. This two-day event alone surpassed the economic impact of us hosting the NFL draft this year.
The Economic Impact of ‘Traylor’ in Kansas City As soon as Taylor showed up at a Chiefs game, the tickets doubled in price. I am seeing so many sales happening for small businesses booming off the back of this relationship. Taylor and Travis being together has also led to some seriously amazing donations to non-profit organizations. The couple has also bought out entire restaurants in the city to get a little bit of privacy which means a lot to those restaurants economically. I love seeing our small businesses being supported and people being drawn out of their homes and into the city by this couple! Even if this couple doesn’t last long, the potential ripple effect that this relationship brings to the city is incredible!
Quote ThisSeeing Taylor and Travis directly give back to the community in very tangible ways means a lot. Highlights* Taylor Buys a House in Kansas City and What That Means. [0:04:46] * How Taylor Has Changed the USA’s Economic Game. [0:14:04] * The Economic Impact of Traylor Kansas City. [0:18:58]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, Speak Now Concert, Kansas City, Economic Impact
We Mentioned:Boss Project’s Wealth Workshop
Organic Marketing Workshop
Join the Co-op
Episode 790: Show NotesMy relationship with money has completely evolved since I started this business, and in today’s episode, I want to talk about money! We all have our own beliefs about money and without a good relationship with it we are going to create a ceiling that is impossible to break through. I want to see you be wealthy, and I have literally made it my mission in life and business to help you become financially free! I absolutely believe that there are things that hold you back from your own success, and the beliefs you hold about money are a huge part of that when it comes to building a business that is going to support you financially.
Growing up, my family barely made it by and even struggled to put food on the table. I got my first job at 15 and set a standard for myself that was very basic and simple: to be able to afford a house and live comfortably. That was totally fine at the time, but I didn’t realize that it completely limited me. When I reached the point in my business where I had reached that final goal and things were looking up, I stagnated and did not know where to go. I desired more, but my underlying beliefs about money limited me. I had to learn how to dream bigger and make money neutral. I am so glad that I dedicated myself to this journey, and now I want to explore how your beliefs around money impact you and your business!
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The One Thing You Need to Understand About MoneyThe first thing you need to understand is that there is a psychology surrounding money and success with money is not necessarily about knowledge. You can be so clued up and still struggle with this! Money isn’t actually about math! Success with money has far more to do with behavior and actual decision-making than knowledge and math.
But here’s the thing: your behavior is influenced by your beliefs, and so we have to understand why we make decisions and behave a certain way when it comes to money. There are so many misconceptions about wealth and success, such as the idea that money equals happiness, and while money can provide security and opportunity, it is not a direct ticket to happiness. Meaningful relationships, purposeful work, and personal growth will have a deeper impact on you than hoping for more money to buy you whatever life you think you want or need.
The Biggest Misconceptions About Making More MoneyThere is a huge misconception that you have to work hard to earn more, and while there is an element of truth to this, it is not always the case! Truly passive income streams are possible and completely attainable. You can work hard and be rewarded for that hard work. You can also be smart and utilize tools and strategies that are typically exclusive to wealthy individuals.
Maybe you have a perception that being rich automatically equates to being greedy or dishonest, especially if you grew up lower to middle-class. This kind of stereotyping of wealth can be super harmful to your potential. You have to realize that there can be bad people and there can be good people, but wealth is not the reason for the good or the bad. You can earn wealth honestly, ethically, and in alignment with your values.
The Importance of Understanding MoneyYou don’t have to feel like you are a ‘money person’ but if you want to be a businessperson who continues to be profitable and scale, you have to have a basic understanding of money and the financial opportunities that are at your feet. And anyone can learn these things! So no, you don’t have to be a ‘money person,’ but you do have to be willing to learn. If you continue to hold onto this belief it is going to limit you!
I don’t want you to have blinders on to what is around you and what is possible for you and your business. It can limit your bravery to take risks and even create financial overwhelm and burnout! You might even create negative money cycles, either by underselling or overselling yourself. I have seen so many missed opportunities for growth due to this belief. You would be surprised by what little knowledge and adjustment to your behavior will benefit your business. These stereotypes can also hold you back from creating meaningful connections, and I want you to be able to break past this!
Where Money Ceilings Come FromThe money ceilings I’m talking about are often referred to as income ceilings or income caps, and they represent a self-imposed limit on how much you believe you can earn or achieve financially. The interesting thing about it is that it is so self-imposed that it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. These things are rooted in past experiences, societal conditioning, and our personal beliefs of self-worth and capability. It’s an invisible barrier that prevents scaling beyond a certain financial point no matter how much hard work you put in.
I see so many business owners experience this and hesitate to get the proper support needed to break through because of a deep-seated belief that you can’t go further anyway. So the possibilities are totally limited, and sometimes the business fizzles out entirely. This belief system doesn’t just impact your ability to scale; it can also put you out of business!
Stability is Sexy, and You Can Achieve It and Break These Barriers!You can put yourself in certain positions, and some financial strain (not all!) can be of your own making. I have seen the inability to address underlying issues put people out of business time and time again. But you can fix this, and I want to help you! There is a reason I have dedicated my life to this. Stability is sexy, guys! It is grounding and provides so much security and freedom. It all starts with awareness. You have to recognize and acknowledge where your ceilings are. Some of these issues are inherited but a lot of them can be worked on and I want you to do that work. There is no right or wrong way to process and unpack these belief systems. I want you to allow yourself to dream!
Change Your Relationship with WealthYou need to normalize talking about money. Money is neutral. It is a mechanism and an opportunity. Why do women believe that we cannot talk about money, and why are you not allowed to disclose how much you make, but men are encouraged to?
Setting some goals will make these things more doable and sometimes feel uncomfortable. Start by believing that one thing is possible and do it! I want you to understand the importance of financial literacy in your ability to move forward. You deserve to understand, and there is so much to learn! A lot of this comes down to being proactive.
I am determined to help you lay the groundwork to build a profitable business, and I want you to seek the help and support you need to educate yourself about your finances. I am so excited for the next year of my business because I am going to help you understand the financial basics of your business that will help you fuel the life that you want. I have put a training together that will walk you through how I got to financial security and how you can too, so sign up now!
Quote ThisWhile money can provide security and opportunities, it’s not a direct ticket to happiness. Highlights* The One Thing You Need to Understand About Money. [0:12:00] * The Biggest Misconception About Making More Money. [0:14:58] * The Importance of Understanding Money. [0:17:54] * Where Money Ceilings Come From. [0:21:58] * Stability is Sexy and You Can Achieve It and Break These Barriers! [0:26:30] * Change Your Relationship with Wealth. [0:30:30]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Income Cap, Income Block, Wealth, Limiting Beliefs
We Mentioned:Boss Project’s Wealth Workshop
Organic Marketing Workshop
Join the Co-op
Episode 789: Show NotesYour offer ecosystem will encompass all of your offers whether they exist now or in the future. I want you to imagine that your ideal client exists in this ecosystem. What tends to help business owners the most is to think of their ideal client as on a journey encountering problems that you’re there to help them solve. Your audience only knows what they know and you can help them on this journey in a way that’s really impactful. Your offers solve a variety of problems suitable to clients across the spectrum. Today we are going to focus on solving linear problems with clear solutions. Before you press play, grab the visual handout for this podcast episode at bossproject.com/wealth!
These linear paths offer an opportunity for you to have a wide variety of offers that all fit into a singular ecosystem. A primary offer that fits into this ecosystem is a bridge from one phase to the next on a particular client’s spectrum. In order to go from one stage to the next, the client needs the mechanics of how to get there and that is your deliverables. Any offer can deliver on the mechanics and sometimes it will completely remove the clients from having to do it themselves. Instead, you are going to take them there. Not just showing them how but rather moving them through it!
**Before you press play,** **download the Wealth Workbook here****!**
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The One Thing You Need to Know in Order to Sell This Offer Easily In order to sell this offer easily, it’s so important to establish phases that are common amongst all of your ideal clients. I want you to figure out the commonalities among all of these ideal people and what their typical journey is. Then you can anticipate the things that are going to happen along the way and figure out how you can establish key points in time when they go from one stage to the next while achieving a transformation. Knowing what that transformation is allows you to understand how you can best serve them. Your goal needs to be to solve the client’s whole problem and if you can’t then your phases are either too big or your offer isn’t big enough! To make this easy to understand, I want you to break down the journey between the stages and establish the phases. I want you to think of the various steps along the way as achieving a certain milestone in your project or program that is in alignment with the stage being completed.
The Easiest Model to Follow When Building an Offer EcosystemThe easiest model to follow when building this ecosystem is called an ascension model. Those individual offers will be uniquely linked from one stage to the next, offering someone a clear path to follow while working with you. Typically, you’re going to go from the most DIY offer to the most ‘done for you’. Now this is not to say that their journey is complete with just you. You have to capture in your ecosystem exactly what you’re helping them with. That means that they may have done other things before they got to you and they may do other things after you and that is okay! You are simply aligning them with the thing that makes the most sense based on where they’re at.
The Place People Get the Most Stuck in Creating an Offer EcosystemIf we think of this as a client journey, you’re probably going to go from the least expensive to the most expensive offer. But the price range doesn’t actually matter and is a whole other conversation. I am specifically talking about how you solve problems and how they link together in your ecosystem package. I think where people get the most off track is where they start desiring to create an inexpensive digital product or offer. If you aren’t solving the whole problem to get this client from one phase to the next, they are going to be disappointed and will say that they didn’t get the results that they wanted! A lower-priced product in your ecosystem may not solve a whole stage. An opt-in or lead magnet can mimic one of those lower-priced offers by solving a whole phase and can get you more clients! By giving clients a solution to a problem for free or even telling them why they need your product, you are pushing them to buy your offer!
Goals for Your Ecosystem and How I Can Help You Achieve ThemThe goal of the offer ecosystem is not to create infinite possibilities. Offering specificity is very beneficial because, as I said, people will have journeys before and after you, so where you take care of them on that journey is what matters! When we are talking about creating core offers, the ecosystem should have some sort of connection and an ascension model is definitely the easiest to follow to achieve that connection.
If you are developing a holistic offer ecosystem and want to see what I’m talking about in a visual way, please go download my ‘wealth’ pdf and join my free training. Prepare yourself for a massive transformation, take actionable steps, and set the foundation for online business success!
Also, please feel free to DM me on Instagram if any of this is confusing. I would love to help out and hear the unique challenges you face on your journey!
Quote ThisThe goal with any core offer is to solve the whole problem. Highlights* The One Thing You Need to Know in Order to Sell This Offer Easily. [0:07:12] * The Easiest Model to Follow When Building an Offer Ecosystem. [0:09:22] * The Place People Get the Most Stuck in Creating an Offer Ecosystem. [0:11:10] * Goals for Your Ecosystem and How I Can Help You Achieve Them. [0:21:02]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Offer Ecosystem, Business Models, Core Offer, Solving Problems, Business Journey, Digital Business Success
We Mentioned:Wealth Workbook & Offer Ecosystem Visual Handout
Boss Project’s Untitled Training
Join the Co-op
Episode 788: Show NotesIt’s been a little over 90 days since I took over as managing partner at Boss Project. Since then, I’ve been deep in experimentation! I’ve changed our email schedule, rolled out regular workshops and tried a ton of new tech and tools. I even planned out the next 16 months of promotions, product releases, and exciting new projects we are pursuing. On today’s episode, I’m giving you all a look behind the scenes: what’s working, what’s been fun, what I wouldn’t bother with, and what’s been the most effective.
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Two Updated Marketing Strategies that Have Worked from Day OneWhen I started Boss Project, I was deeply involved in marketing. As the business grew, I took on different roles and had different responsibilities. Eventually, marketing became a very small part of my job. There were a lot of things I missed! When I first stepped into this role, I intended to experiment with many things. But I also committed to focusing on what I knew worked initially to see if it was still reliable in today’s market. Spoiler alert: they were all effective; it just took some nuanced updates. Nurturing the email list I already have and pouring into the channel that has already built the most traction for the business; the podcast!
Three Ways to Think About ContentWhat’s going to drive traffic, what’s creating a discovery opportunity, and what are your nurture platforms? Blogging and Instagram, historically, have been discovery tools. Recently, Instagram has not been providing that environment for organic growth. But some recent changes could mean that parts of the platform could be used for discovery, and others for nurture. At the moment, emails are serving a different purpose. It’s where I update my clients on the latest workshop, the newest drop on the co-op, and when the next coaching call is. My team is helping me with all these logistical elements.
Why Four Emails a Month Wasn’t Enough For MeI’ve taken over 98% of our content writing email. I’ve started writing from my voice! We were sending out four emails a month, on a Sunday. We’ve changed that to less tactical and more emotionally driven content. I wanted to amp up the frequency. You might think that your audience might be upset when you start sending out more mails, but you should see our inbox! If anything, we’ve received more compliments. Our evergreen emails are three times a week, and if I’m in promotion mode, it gets as frequent as daily emails! The two additions that have been most worthy of our time are the two directing traffic to the content we’ve published elsewhere. It’s a really solid reminder and an invitation to those who haven’t encountered it before.
The One Thing AI Can Do For Your BusinessWe record a video with every podcast. We just don’t typically do anything with the video! It’s honestly so much work to find the clips that are suitable for social media. People are likely to pay team members to comb through hours of footage to find them. I discovered in a short time that a whole plethora of AI tools can do this for you! You simply upload or link your video, and it will scrub the content and find the clips that you can use. I tried and tested three of these tools including ZenCastr — you can use the cheapest plans! Clips created square videos which would only be useful for Facebook. I also looked at Munch and Opus. One thing that surprised me about these AI options, is that none of them were instant!
The Form of Content That Surprised Me MostThe other thing I tried in terms of video content is using a graphic as a reel. It’s really interesting to see how the culture of what works on Instagram is so different to what works on Instagram. We’ve tried a handful of memes, literally with no audio on them, and we’ve got over 4000 impressions on them, which is freaking awesome! I am leaning into discovering how to use existing content for my feed for even more discoverability. More than ever, there’s a set of unspoken rules on TikTok, which you have to follow to see results. Instagram is more of an anything-goes environment at the moment.
Why a Predictable Schedule is Powerful For MeI thrive on cyclical systems! It’s not that I need a prescriptive platform or organizational tool, I just want a predictable calendar. I need to know where I need to be, what I need to do, and how I need to show up. I have figured out a three-week promo cycle that works for me, which I follow up with a four to six week evergreen cycle. I still haven’t ironed out all the finer details, but currently I’m really enjoying having my meetings in the morning, and having all my creative work run for the rest of the day. If you have any questions on where I’m spending my time and energy, or apps I’m using, or strategy, please reach out to me on Instagram.
The Foundations of Organic MarketingI want to share more about what I believe are the foundational aspects of organic marketing. Even if you’ve been at this for a long time, I know that you’re going to walk away with things that are going to help carry your business for a long time. Check out my latest workshop where I dive into all things Organic Marketing!
If you’re interested in fast tracking the way in which you are operating your business behind the scenes, I am sharing all the tools and strategies that have helped not only my business, but all of my client’s businesses for years. I’m inviting you to become a member of the Co-Op to get all these support strategies that have helped tens of thousands of other people.
Quote ThisIf you’re only putting one post a week out on social, you won’t grow quickly. The same is true for email! Highlights* Two Updated Marketing Strategies that Have Worked from Day One [0:01:58] * Three Ways to Think About Content [0:04:22] * Why Four Emails a Month Wasn’t Enough For Me [0:11:50] * The One Thing AI Can Do For Your Business [0:19:58] * The Form of Content That Surprised Me Most [0:19:58] * Why a Predictable Schedule is Powerful For Me [0:37:18]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Marketing, Social Media, Email, Leadership, Structural Changes, Planning
We Mentioned:Boss Project’s Wealth Workshop
Organic Marketing Workshop
Join the Co-op
ZenCastr
Episode 787: Show NotesIn today’s episode, we're going to uncover the secret strategies other marketers are using to sustainably scale. I’m going to give you the tools to leverage them inside of your own business and turn strangers into buyers. I'm here to pull back the curtain, revealing nine indispensable strategies to transform strangers into dedicated buyers and drive organic traffic, with little to no budget.
Tuning in, you’ll hear me share exactly how to drive free organic traffic to create more predictable income in your business. These tools aren't just for a select few. They're universal for online entrepreneurs, be it creatives, consultants, content creators, or coaches. They've served me, bringing in millions, and they can serve you too. So let's get started!
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Marketing for the Model You’re Selling ToDespite what marketers may tell you, there is no one-size-fits-all marketing strategy that works for everyone. The reality? It's not about one universally perfect formula, it's about uncovering the right formula for you. And once you get it right, you'll have an endless supply of qualified leads, begging to buy your offer from you.
Before you can make any money, however, you need to generate interest in what it is that you're doing. But how do you create interest and drive traffic? The answer is marketing. But, the marketing that you do in your business needs to be effective for the model in which you are currently selling, whether it’s one-to-one, hybrid, or one-to-many. So, before firing off that email or crafting that social media post, get crystal clear on two things: who you're speaking to and the problem you're solving for them.
Sales, Dating, and Lead GenerationDid you know there's a surprising parallel between sales and dating? Imagine someone spotting you from across the room or visiting your profile for the first time. When someone engages with your content, they're transitioning from stranger to potential interest. This is your lead. However, the journey doesn't end when they become clients. Like in any good relationship, you've got to keep nurturing it. And remember, not all leads are created equal. Your true aim? Qualified leads. And you know what’s really cool? There are both active and passive ways to generate leads.
Search, Discoverability, and Creating ContentAt the heart of any online business lies content. Whether you're writing a blog, producing videos, or networking on LinkedIn, your content needs to serve dual purposes: capturing attention and nurturing relationships. And while platforms like Google remain dominant, it's crucial to understand where your target audience hangs out. Google may hold 90% of the search engine market, but younger populations are not gravitating towards it in the way millennials and older generations are. So, if your audience is on the younger side of the spectrum, then you definitely need to focus on different types of content. Remember, visibility fosters discoverability.
Warm OutreachI get it, content creation can be overwhelming. But play it right, and it will serve you for years to come. That being said, I know you could use some quick wins. So I want to talk about how we could get faster results and quicker wins. That’s where warm outreach comes in. Let me be the one to remind you that your network wants to support you. It's easy to convince yourself that you're a burden or you're bothering someone, but they want to help. You just have to reach out.
Beyond just your contacts, there are also 'connectors', individuals who have an innate talent to link people. Think local community leaders, coaches, or active nonprofit members. They can be the gateway to uncharted opportunities.
Foolproof Strategies for Free Lead GenerationThere are nine foolproof methods for incentivizing someone else to give you free leads. You can check out Episode 783: Leads on Autopilot for a deep dive into strategies one and two: whitelabeling and paid referrals. The other seven strategies that I break down in today’s episode are also hugely effective and can make all the difference!
First off is strategy three: utilizing the concept of “Right Industry, Wrong Fit.” With this method you want to look for professionals in the same industry as you, who can refer leads that don't fit their niche but might fit yours. This means that you can swap leads. Turn this into something that you're consistently doing for each other. It's truly a win-win for both of you.
With strategy four, think about creating industry partners. These are typically established non-competing businesses in the same industry, usually with complementary services. Wedding vendors, for example, will often circulate the same client to all of their top vendors for other services. The venue may recommend a caterer, a florist, or a DJ. Think about who could be industry partners, and complementary to what you are doing or offering.
Use strategy five to establish a rewards program. Incentivize existing clients to refer others to you by offering rewards for leads that convert. By offering them rewards for successful referrals, they're motivated to spread the word, bringing you warm leads through personal recommendations.
This leads us to strategy six: community involvement. Engaging in local events or volunteering isn't just about visibility, it's about forging genuine connections. As community members witness your dedication, they're more inclined to recommend you, knowing the value you bring. Volunteering at a local nonprofit, for example, will expose you to other business professionals and show them what you're great at.
Strategy seven, or borrowed land, is all about leveraging platforms or events initiated by others. Whether it's guest appearances, workshops, or features, you can reach a new audience while also benefiting from the host's established credibility.
Strategy eight is utilizing affiliates. These are collaborative partnerships where businesses promote your services for a commission, which can exponentially expand your reach, especially in the B2B arena.
Lastly, there’s the magic of the viral effect. It’s not about fleeting trends but about creating content or campaigns that resonate so deeply with audiences that they feel compelled to share. It's genuine engagement, where your message aligns perfectly with what the audience values.
In employing any "Leads on Autopilot" strategy, you need to remember that mutual benefit is key. You have to ensure that your partners, or referrers, have a good reason to share leads with you and that they trust your business will provide value for the leads that they send your way.
Three Ways to Amplify Having identified what works for you, it's time to amplify. Either produce more, improve upon what's already working, or integrate new strategies into your arsenal. My journey is rooted in these very principles. And guess what? Even in this ever-evolving digital age, they still hold water, which was demonstrated in my experiment where I launched a new agency from scratch following the same principles just a decade later and generated over 260,000 dollars in revenue in just 12 months!
Introducing the Co-op It is with great pleasure that I would like to introduce you to the Co-op! For a special founder’s price of just $47 a month, you can unlock an array of resources, from Canva templates to bot scripts, content blueprints, and much more. I'm taking everything I’ve learned from a decade in this industry and sharing it with you!
I can't fulfill my mission of helping more small business owners become financially free, unless I start by helping them be financially stable. My goal with the Co-op is to empower you with the necessary tools and strategies to comfortably pay for all of your monthly expenses, afford your lifestyle with minimal manageable debt, and save a good portion of your earnings.
I’m talking about the kind of money that changes generations and leaves a legacy. The Co-op is designed for you. On top of everything else, we are actively developing a curriculum, providing the ultimate framework for small business owners.
Your success is important to me, our economy, our communities, and our families. That's why I wanted to make this as affordable as possible. With the Co-op, we aim to provide a roadmap for financial stability, leading you to true wealth. Visit bossproject.com/organic-training to learn more and unlock our founder’s price for a limited time only. Your future self will thank you! And remember, I'm rooting for you every step of the way!
Quote ThisI don't believe in one right way to market or grow your business. It's essential that you find the combination that's right for you. Highlights* Marketing for the Model You’re Selling To [0:07:59] * Sales, Dating, and Lead Generation [0:13:00] * Search, Discoverability, and Creating Content [0:16:40] * Warm Outreach [0:28:19] * Foolproof Strategies for Free Lead Generation [0:33:11] * Three Ways to Amplify [0:38:52] * Introducing the Co-op [0:50:36]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Organic Marketing, Warm Outreach, Lead Generation, Amplify Leads, Boss Project Co-op
We Mentioned:Episode 783: Leads on Autopilot
Boss Project’s Organic Workshop
Join the Co-op
Episode 786: Show NotesWhen Boss Project first started, it was very different from what it is today. And, whether I realized it or not, I was growing two business models simultaneously, while using entirely different marketing strategies for each one. Since then, I’ve seen an increasing number of entrepreneurs looking to diversify their revenue streams or even pivot their business models entirely.
In today’s episode, I unpack how you can keep nurturing what you've built and let your business evolve by investigating the countless ways you can leverage organic marketing to grow your brand and fulfill the potential of your business. Stay tuned to learn how you can evolve your existing business while embracing the one you’re dreaming about!
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Don’t Give Up on What You Already HaveBack in March 2015, after being laid off, I transformed my years of freelance graphic design experience into a business venture. It started off super broad. I was working with a diverse range of clients from musicians to airplane part manufacturers. But by fall, I had zeroed in on branding and web projects for food-based companies, some of which had been operating for decades without any online presence. Meanwhile, Boss Project, which began as my passion project, became a reservoir of everything I learned about online businesses. It started as thinkcreativekc.com, evolved into thinkcreativecollective.com, and is now bossproject.com.
Over the years, I've observed many entrepreneurs wanting to diversify their revenue streams or even pivot their business models entirely. Just recently, I spoke to a local psychologist looking to start a digital product shop. While the marketing tactics and efforts for these ventures can vary significantly, it's crucial to understand that you don’t have to discard your current venture to chase a new one. It's not an either/or scenario. You can keep nurturing what you've built and let your business evolve. The trick? Finding that fluid balance between the business you've established and the one you're dreaming about.
Three Companies That Mastered Organic Marketing For Their NicheWhen we talk about impactful organic marketing strategies, some companies just nail it, becoming pioneers in their niches. I want to highlight three such companies who've taken different approaches to this, making waves in their respective industries.
ZapposZappos, the shoe retailer, reshaped the online shopping scene with a customer-first approach that was radical for its time. Before the era of Amazon and ubiquitous free shipping, Zappos was offering both free shipping and free returns on shoes. In a time when people still preferred brick-and-mortar shopping, Zappos let customers buy shoes without the stress of return fees or hidden charges. It was a bold move, but it positioned them as pioneers and gave them a serious competitive edge. If you want to dive deeper into their culture and journey, I'd recommend Delivering Happiness, the first business book I ever read.
ChewyChewy has emerged as a top player in the online pet store industry. Their organic marketing brilliance? Deep emotional connections. They understand the profound connection that pet owners have with their pets. So when a pet owner suffers the loss of their pet, Chewy doesn't just refund their order; they send flowers and a sympathy card. As someone who firmly believes in the power of having a pet and how much happiness it can bring to you, this gesture really hit home for me. They value the emotional bond between owners and their pets, seeing it as profound as any human connection. Another excellent example is their holiday surprise initiative, where they sent out pet portraits to unsuspecting customers. This move is pure brilliance! It got people talking, sharing, and essentially marketing Chewy for free. These viral moments garnered them millions of organic impressions, something that even paid ads can't replicate!
UPSIn the U.S., when we think of shipping, three names come to mind: US Postal Service, UPS, and FedEx. But UPS has an organic marketing tactic that's distinct. Instead of splurging on ads, they're leveraging their own staff. There's been a surge in UPS drivers on social media, sharing their experiences and advocating for fair wages and labor rights. By embracing and not suppressing this, UPS highlights its ethical company standards, creating an authentic and organic brand image.
Each of these businesses showcases the power and impact of organic marketing done right. They're not just about selling; they're about forging genuine, lasting connections.
The Power (And Patience) of Organic MarketingIt's easy to fixate on massive corporations when discussing success stories. Still, the power of personal branding shouldn't be underestimated. At the heart of many ventures, especially the smaller ones, it's the individual behind the brand that often drives a purchase. Their unique character and approach captivate us; some we view as digital friends, while others ascend to almost-celebrity status. A prime example? Mr. Beast, or as some might know him, Jimmy Donaldson.
Mr. Beast isn't just a YouTube sensation with 189 million subscribers. He's arguably one of the most successful organic marketers around. Remember the buzz when he decided to get involved in the chocolate industry last year? Diving into a market dominated by giants like Hershey's and Mars, he launched his Mr. Beast bars. And, in a signature Beast move, he gave them away for free for a limited time, which not only crashed his site due to the rush but also cemented his brand. People weren’t clamoring for the taste; they wanted that social media clout of having snagged a bar. The result? He made a staggering $10 million in just a few months from those chocolate bars.
The takeaway isn't just the astounding figures but the journey. Mr. Beast's rise wasn't instant. Since 2011, he's been nurturing his YouTube channel, reinvesting every earned penny to better his content. It exemplifies that with dedication, time, and the power of organic marketing, there's no ceiling to what you can achieve.
Why You Should Stick With Organic MarketingI know we've spotlighted big companies with even bigger budgets, but the core message is about breaking boundaries in our thinking. It's not necessarily about posting a reel every day, blogging five days a week, or starting a podcast. While these are valid strategies, marketing is truly a canvas for your creativity. It's the engine that enhances client experiences, cultivates brand loyalty, and crafts memorable brands. Trust me, I've been at this awhile, and I’ve scaled my business into the millions largely through cost-effective, organic marketing. Instead of constantly shifting tactics, I found what worked and stuck with it.
Learn More About The Organic Workshop and Co-opLooking for a practical, no-nonsense approach to your business journey? Come join my workshop where we'll be real about plans, budgets, and time. Learn more and get registered here!
The Co-Op isn’t just another program, it's a collective. It’s a space I’ve shaped to share tools and strategies — ones I trust and believe in. If you resonated with the workshop, you might find value in diving deeper with us. We’re building a diverse and genuine community, all navigating business at their own pace and in sync with their values. There's an easy access point for just $47 a month, and it’s all about providing genuine support, not marketing gimmicks. I can’t wait to connect with you there!
Quote ThisPeople want to interact with you, and the unique way that you show up, regardless of how it is that you're showing up. Highlights* Don’t Give Up on What You Already Have [0:02:43] * Three Companies That Mastered Organic Marketing For Their Niche [0:11:25] * The Power (And Patience) of Organic Marketing [0:20:36] * Why You Should Stick With Organic Marketing [0:25:24] * Learn More About The Organic Workshop and Co-op [0:29:43]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Organic Marketing, Connecting with your audience, Zappos, Chewy, UPS, Mr Beast
We Mentioned:Boss Project’s Wealth Workshop
Organic Marketing Workshop
Join the Co-op
Episode 777: Industry Predictions: Future of Marketing for Online Business
Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose
Boss Project’s Amazon Page
Episode 785: Show NotesDuring today’s episode, I’m speaking with my partner in life and employee in business. Jared and I have been together for 15 years, married for 10, and working together since 2018. He’s been full-time at Boss Project for two years now, and under my management for about 90 days. Today, I’m answering all your questions about what it’s like to work and run a business with a spouse, and nothing is off the table!
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Jared’s Journey to Leaving Corporate and Joining Boss Project in 2019Jared practiced as a trained landscape architect for seven years before an opportunity arose to leave and work full-time from home with me. Corporate burnout, moving in the ranks, and not having the protection of management led to him feeling ready to take the leap. It was super hard for me to watch Jared get taken for granted with no one being held accountable. It’s taken four years to unpack all those years of workplace trauma. One of his priorities at Boss Project has been setting up guard rails to ensure that no one here has the same experience. That’s also what’s behind our decision to put Jared and our other managers through training with Makeda Andrews and Kira from Paradigm Consulting.
What It's Really Like to Watch Your Spouse Build a BusinessJared remembers a phone call with a client at 11.30pm. I had emailed her half an hour earlier. When I was surprised that she was still awake, she said, “What do you mean? You’re an entrepreneur. You’re always working.” That was the last time I took a call so late at night. He remembers us working on a makeshift table from a lawn chair when all we had was a Gmail address for the business. We’ve come a long way! Needless to say, it took me some time to develop a relationship with work where it could be something I put down at the end of the day. I will also say that those early years of working so hard have set me up to work much less today.
Watching the Evolution of Boss Project From the SidelinesJared has been privy to every different product we launched. From doing client work full-time to the original co-op, courses, coaching, and much more. The fascinating thing is how, after eight years, Boss Project is still leaning into the original mission and rapidly evolving with it. He’s also been able to see the changes in me, most recently, how I’ve become more amenable to receiving feedback from my team. He’s also seen the team grow to a point where they can take what I’m envisioning and dreaming about and support me in analyzing and implementing my big ideas.
Why a Landscape Architect Was the Perfect Choice to Manage Our MarketingIt might seem like an unlikely choice, but Jared sees what he learned as an architect as essential to his work at Boss Project. You have to be overly communicative with clients. You have to work through multiple systems and processes that are complex. In the same way, we have some really complex systems in our marketing to help us make decisions with all the facts in mind. Before Jared came in as a contractor, we called him our most active volunteer. He has absolutely been a part of this team for a lot longer than he has been an official member of the team. Because he has been around for so long, he is our resident encyclopedia, and he knows where everything is stored since the very beginning of Boss Project.
How We Draw the Line Between Our Working Relationship and Our MarriageInitially, I had no idea what Jared was doing on a daily basis. Because I wasn’t in a marketing capacity and Jared sat in a marketing role, I wasn’t in the day-to-day mix of what he was doing. I left the management, oversight, critique, and feedback to Emylee. This was a healthy way for us to find our footing and draw a line between Work Abbie and Jared, and At-Home Abbie and Jared. Most of our communication happens over Slack and Zoom, like any other member of our team. We qualify our conversations, and Jared is really good about creating a meeting around a topic rather than going over it at home. Learning how to communicate in this context has been critical for our marriage too.
The Most Challenging Part of Playing a More Active Role in Each Other’s Work LivesIt’s been a season of change since Memorial Day, both personally and professionally. Since I’ve taken a more active role in the marketing space, it’s given Jared and the team an opportunity to really turn over every stone and analyze what’s working and what needs to change. We know we need to work on the process of receiving and implementing feedback from one another. The thing that’s different between marriage and work is that in our day-to-day, we’re not at a point where we have a lot of feedback for one another at home. But at work, there’s a lot of new stuff on the table. Jared’s really excited to work together with clients in a more meaningful way, unlocking parts of the business that weren’t necessarily easily accessible before.
We’re both really excited about the future of Boss Project and all the evolutions that continue to change! We said that no questions were off the table today, so if there’s anything we’ve left unanswered, please send me a DM!
Quote ThisThe fascinating thing to me is that after eight years, we are still leaning into the original mission and we’re rapidly evolving. Highlights* Jared’s Journey to Leaving Corporate and Joining Boss Project in 2019 [0:03:00] * What It's Really Like to Watch Your Spouse Build a Business [0:10:14] * Watching the Evolution of Boss Project From the Sidelines [0:14:02] * Why a Landscape Architect Was the Perfect Choice to Manage Our Marketing [0:18:06] * How We Draw the Line Between Our Working Relationship and Our Marriage [0:26:20] * The Most Challenging Part of Playing a More Active Role in Each Other’s Work Lives [0:32:51]
OUR GUEST:Jared Pumphrey
Jared Pumphrey is the Marketing Manager at Boss Project. He is married to Boss Project founder, Abagail Pumphrey. Prior to joining Boss Project officially, Jared practiced as a landscape architect solving complex design, development, and planning issues for large-scale $500M+ entertainment projects across the United States.
Key Topics:Marketing, Management, Marriage, Boundaries, Changes, Communication, Working Relationships, Business Evolution
We Mentioned:Boss Project’s Wealth Workshop
Organic Marketing Workshop
Join the Co-op
Paradigm Consulting
Makeda Andrews
Episode 784: Show NotesJoining us in this episode is Boss Project’s Program Manager and Creative Director, Caitlin O’Bryant. She is an integral part of the team and contributes to a broad mix of things, but she’s here today to discuss our development cycle, how we go from idea to launch to product, and offer improvement!
After attending design school in Seattle, Caitlin took the leap and started her own business as a wedding stationery designer. Five years later, 2020 happened. By the time things had stabilized, she realized she had lost her spark for stationery. That’s when she applied for the role of Graphic Designer at Boss Project. The rest is history!
We’re in a brand new phase. So often we’re just sharing the end project, but today we want to give you some insight into how things start out as just an idea and what it looks like to make those edits. Let’s dive in.
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A Peek Behind the Scenes: Developing New Ideas at Boss ProjectIt starts with a conversation. That’s the initial spark. We all have unique perspectives at Boss Project and we have a culture where we all feel comfortable to ask ‘what if?’. Sometimes it’s a five-minute conversation and other times it's a three-hour meeting. We take the time to vet and consider each idea fully. We’ve been in active development for the new version of the co-op since the beginning of the year. The initial phase of a project is pretty standard for ideas of every size. However, bigger projects require more meetings along the way to analyze new information and implement new changes and edits.
What’s Behind Our MVP ProcessSomething that’s crucial for how our business runs, and to keep it running is MVPs. A big lesson that we’ve learned through this mechanism is that constant development and analysis are necessary. Even if you perfect something before bringing it to launch, there are likely to be changes you have to make afterward. When an idea is there, part of the testing phase is often selling it before development. There is so much that we learn during the sales process.
How We Embrace Continuous Improvement Even when you excel at something, you have to be willing to assess whether it's worth it from a time perspective. That’s what’s behind our continuous improvement loop. We’re not set on the process. When you’re doing the same thing over and over again, it’s so important to regularly evaluate it and then formalize those thoughts. One of the ways we make sure of this is through a debriefing meeting. We sit down and consider who the client is, their industry, the fit, our deliverables, how long it took, what we charged, and more. We also gather feedback from the client through a call with them. But before we worked with them, we found that we were jumping the gun a little bit. So, we slowed down and we added a stopping point. This came in the form of a presentation of the strategy we had created for the client.
What it Means to Manage Productivity by Taking it One Detail at a TimeIt would be really easy to let our ideas stay ideas. But if you constantly bite off a little bit at a time, it’s so much easier to create traction in the long run. There’s something we need to highlight with all this in mind. There’s a difference between making changes along the way and tweaking so much and so often because you’re not confident in your work. It takes skill to discern the difference and to manage feedback effectively. Everything we do at Boss Project is either about speeding up the time it takes you to complete something or making you more money. As you grow, it’s so important to keep delivering your offer while you introduce new things, otherwise, you’re going to feel like you’re starting over from zero!
A Few Ways Our Team Stays CreativeBoss Project has been so many things. So how do we stay creative when we’re committed to one particular model? We’re currently working on a massive rebuild of the Creative Template Shop. In the meantime, we’re also doing shop drops, talking about podcasting, and more. There’s a lot of variety in our day-to-day, and we all encourage one another to find creativity outside of work too. It’s about building the life around you where you can access different kinds of creativity. Generally, if you’re building a business it's because you have ideas! So you have to have the discernment to know the difference between what to do now, what to bank for the future, and what to enjoy for its own sake.
We have a really amazing group of people working behind the scenes at Boss Project! Each member is an integral part of running the business. And so are you! Because you listen and participate, we are able to do what we do, and we are here for you! I want you to feel like this is a safe place, and you can be who you are. That’s why I created the Organic Workshop! Join us there to find some of the much-needed support you need to make the most of your business and put your life first.
Quote ThisIf you constantly bite off a little bit at a time, it’s so much easier to make traction over time. Highlights* A Peek Behind the Scenes: Developing New Ideas at Boss Project [0:05:54] * What’s Behind Our MVP Process [0:11:08] * How We Embrace Continuous Improvement [0:04:22] * What it Means to Manage Productivity by Taking it One Detail at a Time [0:22:14] * A Few Ways Our Team Stays Creative [0:34:23]
OUR GUEST:Caitlin O’Bryant
Caitlin on Instagram | Caitlin’s previous business Instagram
Caitlin O’Bryant is the Program Manager and Creative Director at Boss Project. She is an integral part of the team and contributes to many different business areas. From building client websites and improving client experience to managing programs, developing the curriculum, and so much more!
Key Topics:Business Planning, Ideas, Brainstorming, Getting Organized, Business Development
We Mentioned:Boss Project’s Wealth Workshop
Organic Marketing Workshop
Join the Co-op
Episode 783: Show NotesOne of the number one things I see business owners wrestling with is leads: how to get them, how to secure more of them, and how to pull them in with less effort. I want to assure you that it's fully possible to amass all the leads you could ever want and have your business entirely booked without doing all the legwork yourself!
When I first fully booked my agency-style services, I went from being laid off to completely booked in a mere 30 days, matching my plush corporate salary in the process. Fast forward eight months, and I had hit my first $100,000! Just four months beyond that, I doubled it. I've unearthed nine methods to snag leads 100% on autopilot, and today, I'll share just the first two that overwhelmed me with more business than I could have ever imagined.
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How to Reconnect With Your NetworkNow, before I could even tap into these first two methods for generating leads, it was vital for me to reconnect with my network. I reached out to everyone influential or well-connected in my circle over emails, lunches, and coffee meet-ups. I certainly connected with notable figures like my Junior League President, nonprofit leaders, and other business owners. But the real game changers? My friends and family. Instead of straight-up pitching, I shared my passion and vision with them. I opened up about the projects I aspired to be a part of and my deepest desires. It wasn't about them becoming paying clients, but about linking me with individuals who could truly make a difference. This approach, centered on genuine connections rather than transactions, was a game-changer for me.
Find Someone Who Is Doing What You Want to Be DoingI want you to think about who in your community is doing exactly what you want to be doing. It doesn't necessarily need to be someone who lives five minutes down the road. It doesn't even need to be someone who lives in the same city as you! It can simply be someone else in the online world who is offering the same type of services to the same type of businesses that you want to work with. Now, I’ll be honest: the next piece of advice isn’t foolproof! It might not work every single time, and if you tackle it with the wrong attitude, it might not pan out at all. But, if you enter this with a heartfelt intent to help and truly get to know someone, it could be totally transformative. I know it was for me, and it was all thanks to my mother, who set me up with someone who was doing exactly what I wanted to be doing.
Go In With A Desire to HelpI vividly recall our first coffee meet-up. She was a seasoned businesswoman who was already incredibly successful and had consistent clients and sales. I felt really young and out of place. I was just getting started and my business was fresh. But instead of going into this meeting with a desire to take, I went in with a desire to help.
Our conversation revealed that she was swamped and considering either hiring or turning down clients. Sensing her reluctance to manage someone, I proposed an idea: what if she could forward excess leads to someone trustworthy, like me? Her enthusiasm was evident. It took a few more meetings, but we agreed to a deal. She'd introduce potential clients to me, and if they paid, she'd receive a portion of that project fee. After completing that first project for the client, any subsequent work was solely mine. For anyone considering a similar arrangement, offering a referral fee can incentivize established businesses to send regular leads your way. A structured system with mutual benefits works wonders!
The Power of Freelance Gigs and White LabelingAs I mentioned, there were two major factors that got me booked out, and I've already shared the first. The second came when my good friend Heather introduced me to her former boss. Initially, I thought it'd be occasional freelance overflow work. For those in marketing, these types of gigs can be a great business start since busy agencies sometimes need freelancers for extra tasks. But this venture was different: I was white labeling. If you're new to white labeling, it's when one business offers a service appearing as its own, but another party executes it. For instance, a web designer might white label copywriting, giving clients the impression that the copywriter is an in-house team member, when in fact, it's an external contractor. In this setup, I was that contractor, delivering the work under a white label.
There are two ways to white label. In one instance, you're directly in touch with the client, sometimes even using a white-label email to seem part of their company. For the other, the business handles client communication while you do the back-end work. The beauty of this? You can collaborate long-term with multiple businesses, offering consistent services without the hustle of client acquisition!
Typically, the business pays you, not the client, and acts as an intermediary. This arrangement enabled me to work with big names like Pizza Hut and Coca-Cola, clients I wouldn’t have been able to reach on my own. Sure, I had the skill, but the right connections to land those deals? That was the challenge. White labeling means you offer top-tier services without the company having to bear full-time employee costs. It’s a win-win! And it’s not just for marketing; it’s a versatile strategy across industries. Both of these strategies worked then, and they would absolutely still work today.
How To Join My Next WorkshopBuilding strong relationships with companies brought me consistent work, pushing me to my first six figures. They filled my pipeline with leads, keeping me busy until I could generate organic leads without needing external referrals. Recently, I ran a 12-month experiment, adapting to today's market dynamics and challenges. The result? $264,000 in web development and consulting, relying purely on warm market leads and organic traffic! While my approach was modified, it still hinged on leveraging existing connections.
If you're curious about my revamped approach, I invite you to my next workshop where I'll lay everything out. Secure your spot here. I cannot wait to see you there. I am cheering you on every single step of the way!
Quote ThisIf you go in with a genuine desire to help, and a genuine desire to get to know somebody, this could be a game-changing opportunity for you Highlights* How to Reconnect With Your Network [0:08:16] * Find Someone Who Is Doing What You Want to Be Doing [0:10:48] * Go In With A Desire to Help [0:12:50] * The Power of Freelance Gigs and White Labeling [0:18:15] * How To Join My Next Workshop [0:25:13]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Networking, Lead Generation, White Labeling
We Mentioned:Boss Project’s Wealth Workshop
Organic Marketing Workshop
Join the Co-op
Episode 782: Show NotesLately, I’ve shared a lot of the behind-the-scenes of my marketing and messaging pivot that has happened within my business but what I haven’t shared are the changes to my actual offer. This was not a small decision because I undid three and a half years of work to make my business more sellable and focused on what would give my clients better results. Today, I am going to share all of the changes I made in my business over the last three years. In order to give you the full behind-the-scenes, I need to back up quite a bit. I desperately wanted a product shop from 2016 and it was so far removed from the kind of business I was running. As time has passed, I have become more and more aware of the challenges associated with running one so I began to think about a digital shop. I saw a hole in the market for tools that help business owners enhance their client experience, present themselves more professionally, and speed up their sales process.
In January 2020, I launched the Creative Template Shop. I wanted to have everything available up front but I didn’t necessarily only want to sell these things once off. I wanted recurring revenue and that was only possible with some sort of membership option. This worked so well and was so focused on the product itself which allowed it to be removed from Boss Project. To make this viable we really had to lock in on the process and we managed to! We used the audience we already had to create warm traffic and present the Creative Template Shop to them. We also used paid advertising early on to focus on cold leads. We presented the products as individual things that could be purchased but as soon as the website was clicked on, it was very clear that becoming a member would be so much more worthwhile and as a result, very few people bought one-off templates. And then everything changed.
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The Numbers Game in Subscription Based BusinessWhen you know exactly what you’re selling it becomes a numbers game whereby you specifically focus on a handful of metrics to scale an offer of this type. Acquisition costs refers to how many dollars it takes to acquire a client and how much that is in comparison to the lifetime value of money that the client can potentially bring in. Our acquisition cost for the Creative Template Shop led us to a 5.8x return but the problem was it was taking us two months to break even and to earn the client’s lifetime value, it took eight months of membership. All of this would be great if they were the only variables we needed to consider but the part that you battle when trying to scale a product like this is churn. Churn refers to the number of paid subscribers who are leaving on a regular basis.
Any subscription-based product battles churn and getting churn down is the fastest way to improve the lifetime value of your customer. So, to make more money, you either have to drive acquisition costs down or reduce churn to increase the number of dollars you are keeping in the lifetime value. The thing that a lot of people don’t consider when selling a product like mine is that if you do not grow faster than churn, you’ll start shrinking once you’ve moved through your warm market. So unless you can sell more than those you lose, your membership numbers are going to stay the same or shrink. This balancing act can be incredibly exhausting and the Creative Template Shop eventually hit this ceiling too.
The Two Kinds of Metrics You Need to Focus OnWhen all the new privacy laws got rolled out I struggled a little bit. The Creative Template Shop could not grow organically without paid advertising. So I decided to change the focus by turning ads off so that I could get some more clarity in the market. I got to the point where the membership was the highest form of revenue in the business but because of the cost of acquisition, it was the lowest profit earned based on the amount of revenue it was generating. It was a scalable cash-eating machine! At that point, the group program was showing so much promise and I was excited to lean into that so I put far less emphasis on the membership internally. I focused on maintaining it instead of growing it. 2022 was Boss Project’s biggest year ever in terms of top-line revenue and the membership went from being 50% of that revenue to just 24% because other things were outperforming what the membership was doing.
The One Thing You Need to Know About Getting More Leads The more one-to-many that you’re selling, the more traffic is required for it to work. The group program was working so well because of the method of sales and because I was so specific about the leads I was targeting. But at that same time, the leads were going down. It’s easy to assume that I just needed more leads and while that’s true, you can only get more leads if you have enough traffic that contains qualified people. There are loads of strategies to get more qualified traffic like ads, doing more things to increase discoverability, targeting traffic through paid advertising, cold outreach, and referrals. But what getting more qualified traffic comes down to is either attracting it or creating it.
Creating qualified traffic entails taking the traffic that you already have and doing the things necessary to create the qualifications. I wanted to develop an ecosystem where I could help people at every stage of business because there are so many problems that people face at various points along that journey. I had been so focused on the later-stage problems that I wasn’t focused on helping people at those earlier stages which meant that I wasn’t creating more qualified traffic. With my mission in mind and my focus being on impact not money, I needed to reimagine how I could help.
Pivoting Back to My MissionSure, keeping the Co-op as it was would’ve definitely made the business more sellable. But I am at the stage of my business where I can take more risks and my focus is on impact and not cash flow so I wanted to deliver the highest impact at the most reasonable and approachable price point. I had great results with my one-on-one clients but the problem with that approach is that I can only get one result at a time. The prices are also extremely high meaning that it is targeted at established and successful businesses. Instead, I decided to figure out what small business owners need to know to get to that point. In the last three years, I have done a lot to increase the overall lifetime value and reduce the churn of my business but the things I have done even as recently as the last 30 days have had a dramatic effect on both of those numbers.
It was an incredibly big decision to make these changes and it took me six months to make, but it also gave me so much clarity on the fact that I do not need my business to be sellable in order to retire early. I realized that it’s far more beneficial for me to continue to run my business until I am ready to retire without selling it. I have felt a lot of pressure in the past to make certain decisions about the business simply to be able to sell it in five to 10 years and recently, I undid a lot of those decisions. I will definitely be thinking about a succession plan for Boss Project but at this point, it doesn’t have to require selling the business. With my focus being on impact, it’s far more important to me to serve small business owners than to make decisions based on a potential future sale.
What Does This Mean for You? Some of you may want to rethink the long-term goals of your business! Now, I’m not suggesting that you make the same decisions I did. Instead, I want you to reflect on solving the burning problems for your clients and changing your focus to creating true, game-changing solutions. When your success rate goes up, all of the parts of your business work better. I don’t want you to change everything about your offer but there are small tweaks you may be able to make to your existing offer to better solve the whole problem your clients are facing. If you feel like this is too much, try to focus on a smaller aspect. This means a whole lot less over-promising on your part! Client success can make such a huge difference and when you are confident that you can speak to that, that is a sales tool that you cannot manufacture. When you are confident in discussing your offer, people pay attention!
I have had a few hiccups and have finally gotten to the point where I am so proud of the services I provide. In a period of three years, we went from being focused on the membership, to spending 18 months on the group program, then going back to the membership and changing the offer significantly! And I am still in development mode! I am fully confident that this massive pivot was the right decision for me, my business, and my mission. If this means that I make less money then that is okay if I am able to see more small business owners be financially free. I want you to be a part of this regardless of where you are at in your business! I want to provide you with the tools and strategies needed to scale your business and live the life you want to live. I know that the Co-op is different from everything else in the market. If you’re interested in all of the behind-the-scenes details then go watch the Untitled training, join the Co-op, follow me on Instagram, and feel free to send me a DM anytime!
Quote ThisMore scalable to you does not necessarily equal more sellable to someone else. Highlights* The Numbers Game in Subscription-Based Business. [0:10:13] * The Two Kinds of Metrics You Need to Focus On. [0:18:48] * The One Thing You Need to Know About Getting More Leads. [0:24:15] * Pivoting Back to My Mission. [0:32:22] * What Does This Mean for You? [0:45:28]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Sellable Business, Acquisition and Churn, Digital Product Shop, Mission-Focused Business
We Mentioned:Boss Project’s Wealth Workshop
Organic Marketing Workshop
Join the Co-op
Episode 781: Show NotesIn order to become a successful entrepreneur, you need to make sure you’re on the cutting edge of your industry or else you run the risk of becoming obsolete. There is no such thing as having ‘arrived’ as a business owner, and thinking so will only stifle your growth. Exploring ideas makes me think specifically about pioneering innovation which is about discovering what’s never been achieved before and succeeding at making it happen. Pioneering innovation occurs when a brand-new product, service, or way of doing something is introduced into the market and I think that’s where people get stuck. Being successful does not require you to be a pioneer, inventor, or innovator!
I’m sure you have all heard of the adoption bell curve and the truth is that there are people at all different stages of that wave. This is usually discussed with reference buyers but it doesn’t just apply to consumers, it applies to business too! You can be a pioneering innovator at the forefront of your industry or you can ride the curve. You do not have to be first at something to be the best! Industry giants are built by observation and I would argue that your ability to observe is far more important than your ability to innovate. Now, this doesn’t mean that you should copy someone else's work, because copying is not what will make you successful. But learning from others and adapting can be such an incredible way to grow and make an existing idea even better!
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The One Thing You Need to Do to Avoid Bell Curve Downfall Right now, I am witnessing one of the most fascinating phenomena in my career. We have more than one bell curve happening within the same industry! One has already reached its peak and is falling downward fast and people are terrified and even going out of business. The reason this is disorienting is because there is another curve happening at the same time and we have seen some of its initial success and how it has affected businesses. I think that there is an ability to jump from one curve to the other. Can your business follow the curve downward with a lot of other businesses? Yes, but it could potentially close!
However, you have the opportunity to pivot and adapt to the other curve that is on the uphill swing. Facebook is a great example of this! They know that if they keep doing what they’re doing, they will close eventually. They are in an experimentation phase right now so that they can jump curves. This popular curve and ‘spike’, so to speak, is simply based on different ways that users and consumers are buying! Businesses that are growing and providing quality listen to what the market dictates and are willing to make changes. As a small business owner, you have the unique ability to listen, observe, and jump curves — now more so than ever before.
The Main Reasons the Way Consumers Buy Has Changed I have been trying desperately to figure out how I can help more people and businesses be successful. I have seen so much success and so much struggle at the same time and I believe that there are many reasons for these things. There are so many factors aiding in this unique challenge and part of the reason businesses are going the other way is because as content is being consumed differently, businesses have to evolve in how they produce it. This affects literally every single business on the planet. People have also learned how to observe and reflect differently (thank you pandemic!)
To add to that, there are a load of different privacy changes preventing businesses from using users’ data which has affected income sources for hundreds of thousands of businesses. That’s not to mention the huge generational clash of having more generations living on the planet at the same time than we ever have before. Each generation has its own buyer behavior and the ability to make different buyer assumptions based on age is a unique challenge. All of these different things lead to a unique space that you can either be terrified of or see as the biggest opportunity for success you have ever had in your life.
How to Uncover the Formula for Success in Today’s EconomyI think a lot of people are struggling to uncover what the formula is to be successful in this unique space. I don’t claim to have all the answers but I am dedicated to seeing your success and I believe that now is the time to be paying attention not just to your industry but also to completely unrelated ones! It’s time to observe what makes people successful and the patterns you see when comparing several industries. Small businesses tend to follow paths set by bigger players so it’s time to pay attention to what industry giants are doing and how they change as well as how they invest their time, energy, and resources.
I am uniquely interested in exploring the timeless aspects of what make businesses run and what is foundational to all of them; the core of what I have been teaching for many years. But I am also interested in the ways businesses need to be operating in today’s economy and with the current industry trends. I am packing all of this information up and delivering it to Co-op members. I would love to continue these conversations with you. I want you to be part of it to create an environment for us to observe and learn together because it has the ability to trickle down to so many other businesses. I believe in sharing this information. I am deeply passionate about sharing what makes you successful so that small businesses can be kept up and running. I want you to be part of this so go watch the Untitled training video and become a Co-op member now!
Quote ThisBeing first does not guarantee the most success. Highlights* The One Thing You Need to Do to Avoid Bell Curve Downfall. [0:07:43] * The Main Reasons the Way Consumers Buy Has Changed. [0:19:20] * How to Uncover the Formula for Success in Today’s Economy. [0:23:19]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Pioneering innovation, Invention, Bell-curve, Market trends
We Mentioned:Boss Project’s Wealth Workshop
Organic Marketing Workshop
Join the Co-op
Episode 780: Show NotesOver the last 12 months, I've been doing an experiment. I wanted to prove that even after nearly a decade, the same principles still apply, still work, and still let you build a business that earns a reasonable salary and can support the life you want to live. When I first started my own business, I replaced my corporate salary 30 days after being laid off. And in eight months, I made $100,000. Four months after that, I doubled it.
A lot has changed in the intervening years — IRS technology is different, social media is constantly evolving — but do the same principles hold up? Last August, I quietly reopened the agency side of my business, calling it BP Studio. In 12 months, I pulled in $264,000 in revenue from high-end services. No paid ads, no social, no trendy marketing strategies. This growth? It's been 100% organic, all from warm leads that were already in my network. So if I did it once and then did it all over again eight years later, how did I pull it off? What changed and why? I can't wait to get into all of this with you in today's episode!
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Getting StartedSo, how did I build this business and hit these numbers? First off, I started with the exact principles I've been preaching. Before anything else—before selling, before marketing—I asked, "Is this venture worth the time and resources of me and my team? Can it cover our living and operational costs?" And trust me, when you're scaling, you're not just adding, you're multiplying variables. It's got to be more than an experiment; it has to be profitable and in line with what I advise others to do.
When I initially launched my business, I didn't box myself into too many corners. Start broad, but pick a skill set to focus on – be it web design, copywriting, or even something like floral arrangements. Let your services mold around that core skill. You'll want that flexibility at the beginning because that way you get to see what really clicks with people.
But here's another layer to it—I deeply considered what we excel at. What are our natural talents? Where does my team shine? What's my background, where have I invested a good portion of my career, and where do I bring strategic value? And crucially, how could I add value to my clients with the skills and expertise I already have? I didn't look for new skills to learn; I leveraged what we were already good at.
The Warmest Leads Are The People Who Have Already Paid You Now, one key thing I really want you to remember is this: your warmest leads are the people who've already paid you. I know some of you who are just starting out might be thinking, "But I've never had a client!" Okay, I get it, and we'll have to tackle some additional things for you. But for many of you, you've already kicked off your business, made sales, and had clients. Hands down, your warmest leads are the people who've already opened their wallets for you.
Why You Don’t Need A Portfolio To StartIt may sound crazy, but when I started my business I didn’t have a portfolio. That is true for both the first time I built a business, and the second! I didn’t want to start with a portfolio during my experiment because I knew that most of you wouldn’t have one to start. And I also knew it wasn't necessary. The truth is you don’t need a portfolio. You can be your own case study.
I knew that if I was going to sell websites, then I needed to feel really good about my own website. I needed to know that it was effective, helpful, and that it would allow people to go down a specific journey — all of those good things! So ask yourself “Are you walking the walk?” or are you like the cobbler whose child ends up not having shoes because he’s too busy making footwear for everyone else? How can you make sure that you’re prioritizing yourself (without compromising your clients, of course!)
Tell People What You DoIt's so easy to forget that people in your life, people who already know and like you, might not actually know what you do for work! And if you're not telling them, then I honestly think you're doing yourself a huge disservice and leaving valuable opportunities on the table. Opportunities that could benefit everyone involved!
We got firsthand experience with this when we launched our website. In just 90 days, we started seeing real results, and not just from warm leads we already knew. We also got a bunch of new clients who found us through Google. They were searching for solutions to their problems and stumbled upon our site. These weren't small deals; we're talking projects between $16,000 and $25,000. The best part? They converted super-fast – anywhere from a week to just 90 days after finding us. It really highlights just how effective a well-crafted website can be when you're clear about what you offer. Which is exactly why we do them for our clients!
The Art of Walking Away When You Can’t ScaleAs part of my experiment I ventured into offering bookkeeping and CFO services—totally new territory for us. Why? Because I love numbers and saw how it could elevate my business. The experiment was awesome; clients loved it. But here's the kicker—we weren't ready to scale it. To do it right, it would need either a lot of my time or a serious cash injection. I could've done it, but it didn't align with where my business was at. So, I pressed pause, refunded some folks, and shifted focus. Could I have done it? Yes. Did it make sense for my background and the unique makeup of the business I had at the time? It didn't.
How To Ethically Manage CapacityLet’s talk logistics. On the agency side, we typically manage up to three projects at a time. I keep my client work to around 30% of my time, not just for efficiency, but from an ethical standpoint too. Going beyond that compromises my ability to fulfill my other CEO roles effectively. I hear from clients who are swamped, committing 80–90% of their time to client work. That's neither sustainable nor ethical.
My team's in a similar boat, spending about 50–60% of their time on client projects. I monitor this closely because, to build an ethical work environment, it's crucial to keep tabs on capacity. We always kick off a project with a team meeting to dial in on what the client really needs. And if we're introducing new elements to the client experience, those get rolled into the client's timeline upfront, so they know what to anticipate. In my experience, as long as you're setting expectations and effectively communicating with your client, they are generally fine. They just want to be communicated with!
Where To Go From HereI dedicated a whole year of my life to this experiment, because it was so important to me to understand the unique needs and challenges of our clients. And while I've been highly successful in the past, I wanted to brush up on ways to make this more efficient.
That’s why I've created the Co-op, a one-stop membership offering everything you need to grow your business, from onboarding questionnaires to sales scripts. In the Co-op, I'm also providing an exclusive training that breaks down my entire year-long journey. You'll get a step-by-step guide on what worked for me, where to find these tools, and how to implement them.
If you're ready to level up your business, I invite you to become a core member of the Co-op. You'll not only gain access to valuable resources but also become part of a fast-growing community seeing real, tangible results.
Quote ThisYou can be your own case study; you don't have to have a portfolio to start. Highlights* Getting Started [0:02:19] * The Warmest Leads Are The People Who Have Already Paid You [13:20] * Why You Don’t Need A Portfolio To Start [0:18:58] * Tell People What You Do [0:23:32] * The Art of Walking Away When You Can’t Scale [0:28:53] * How To Ethically Manage Capacity [0:33:27] * Where To Go From Here [0:41:24]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Website Strategies, Warm Leads, Organic Growth, High-End Services, Client Communication, Team Capacity
We Mentioned:Boss Project’s Wealth Workshop
Organic Marketing Workshop
Join the Co-op
Industry Predictions: The Future of Online Business with Mariah Coz
Industry Predictions: The Future of Marketing for Online Business
Episode 779: Show NotesThere are many psychological reasons that you may want to be remembered when you’re gone, but before we start delving into these, I want to give a disclaimer that leaving a legacy is not a requirement to live a good life. It does not define the quality of your impact during your lifetime and is not part of your responsibility while you are alive. So, what is a legacy? What does it mean to you and what are you striving towards? According to the Oxford Dictionary, a legacy is the amount of money or property left to someone in a will, but I believe that a legacy can be so much more than that! It’s an imprint. As if you left a piece of yourself behind.
A legacy can be the impact you have within the four walls of your own home and how you’ve affected family and friends or it can even stretch far beyond that. It’s not just a sum of money but rather the accomplishments that last a lifetime, your values, your ongoing influence, the good deeds you do, and so much more. If it’s not required to leave a legacy, then why is it so important to so many people? Well, because it gives you the opportunity to live for a purpose that’s bigger than yourself! According to Psychology Today, there are five reasons that people want to be remembered. So, let’s talk about them!
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Psychological Reasons Why People Want to Be Remembered People want to be remembered because of their innate need to be loved. The strong wish and desire to be liked by others while we are alive fuels our desire to be liked and loved when we’re gone. I see women specifically holding onto the idea of making life better for their children and grandchildren and the importance of making some sort of generational impact. This isn’t necessarily about leaving money behind for these family members but rather it’s the need to be a good person; a person your children and grandchildren would be proud to be associated with.
The third reason is a more “under the surface" reason. You can fight anxiety by focusing on leaving a legacy, specifically anxiety around death. Focusing on leaving a legacy gives you a sense of symbolic immortality because leaving something of great value behind gives you the feeling that your existence has mattered. If you are struggling with the thought of feeling like you don’t matter, I encourage you to reach out and ask for help! On a more positive note, we can strive to want to have this legacy because of a desire to be part of a story. We use stories as a central part of how we connect with people and they make us feel seen and heard. The final reason people want to be remembered is because it makes it easier for them to imagine the future. Leaving a legacy can fill the gap of what happens after death, regardless of faith.
Why You Cannot Focus on Legacy ItselfI don’t see the harm in pursuing leaving a legacy because I believe you can focus on self-improvement while trying to leave something greater than yourself behind. With that being said, from my experience, you can’t necessarily focus on legacy itself! That’s where people get caught up. They get so focused on the future that they forget about what’s happening right now and life slips away. So, what do you need to be doing today and how can you be available and present for the people in your life right now? How can you create the imprint you want in the future today?
The One Thing You Need to Amplify the Building of Your Legacy Basic needs have to be met before you can focus on giving. It isn’t possible to create the future you want if you don’t take care of yourself first. Beyond those basic needs, you need a sense of financial security and once those burdens are lifted, then there is space to explore what you can do in a far greater way. As much as you may not want to accept this, we live in a society where money is a fundamental requirement of all of these things. Even churches understand the importance of money! Let me be clear; do I think you need money to leave a legacy? No. But money can absolutely amplify the legacy that you want to leave!
How Being Selfish Starts You on the Journey to Creating Your Legacy In the beginning, I want you to be 100% selfish until all of your basic human needs are met. I want you to be able to put food on the table consistently, be able to pay your rent or your mortgage, keep your life operational, and be able to spend the next part of your career fueling your future so you can create the financial security necessary for you to continue to live for the rest of your life. I think that learning about wealth and using it as a tool to amplify your impact is powerful! It can do so many things for your future and unlock so many opportunities.
I want to see you lead the life that’s important to you and create the career path that fuels your financial needs so you can leave behind the legacy you want to leave, regardless of what it looks like. I want you to share the legacy you desire to create and leave behind because that is a powerful and unique opportunity to connect with other people! Share it and tag me! My goal is for you to be successful and have access to the tools and resources necessary to help you! If you want help unlocking this wealth equation and figuring out how to move through these phases, go and watch my Untitled training now!
Quote ThisA legacy is an imprint. As if you left a piece of yourself behind. Highlights* Psychological Reasons People Want to Be Remembered. [0:11:41] * Why You Cannot Focus on Legacy Itself. [0:18:15] * The One Thing You Need to Amplify the Building of Your Legacy. [0:19:30] * How Being Selfish Starts You on the Journey to Creating Your Legacy. [0:22:31]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Legacy, Wealth Building, Inheritance, Impact, Generational Wealth
We Mentioned:Boss Project’s Wealth Workshop
Organic Marketing Workshop
Join the Co-op
“5 Reasons We Want to Be Remembered”
Episode 778: Show NotesI’ve dedicated today’s episode to telling you how I increased my downloads by a whopping 43% in just 30 days while multiplying my new subscribers by 12! These are crazy numbers at this scale. This is usually the kind of growth you would see over a year when you already have millions of subscribers. Today I’m sharing what I did differently and how I was able to drive so much more traffic and so many more sign-ups in real-time.
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Make Sure Podcasts are Value-PackedIt can be really easy to put off podcast planning. So for the last few weeks, I have been very intentional about spending significantly more time in development before I hit record. I actively outline each episode in great detail, pull together stats, and research new information to pack as much value as possible into every episode. I went back and researched which content listeners were most interested in. I revisited a couple of those topics, specifically the story of how I turned my layoff into completely replacing my cushy corporate salary. When I say I spent a lot of time making sure that I was putting together the best of the best, I really mean it.
Stay Relevant in an Ever-Changing WorldTrends are constantly changing. Pop culture is constantly changing. But a podcast, at the end of the day, is media. There is an element of staying super timely in the world of podcasting. The most popular episode that I did in the last 30 days was about the marketing that went into the Barbie movie! But if you’re going to lean into trends, you need to make sure that you do it in a way that is relevant to your audience and doesn’t begin to veer off course. If you really want to include something random, do it elsewhere. An Instagram story is a great place to get a little bit more personal.
Build a Call-to-Action into Every Piece of ContentWhile this podcast has served as a discovery tool for Boss Project, podcasting is not generally a discovery tool. It’s a nurture tool. So, if you have a nurture channel, you should drive traffic to it from your visibility channel. I’ve taken a different approach; I use two nurture channels to drive traffic to each other. If you don’t actively invite your users to engage with the different things you’re doing, they won’t! That’s why calls to action are essential. You need to produce every piece of content as if it’s for a stranger because you never want someone to feel excluded! Even when I repeat information, I present it as if it’s the first time you’ve ever heard it, with all the context! For the people who have heard it, they might just end up finally taking action.
The Easiest Way to Grow My List & ListenersThis might shock you, but in all these years, we have not sent out one email specific to a podcast. Why would we spend so much time, money, and effort that we aren’t telling our email list about? I’m really excited to start putting out more emails. The email is where you find out where to find the value. That’s all the email is doing. If people want to leave the list because of that, they probably weren’t going to buy from me anyway. So I started writing really short emails direct to podcast, with the exception of a few linked to my promotion schedule. I knew that our list had to grow, so I’ve also focused on organic efforts to increase leads. The easiest way to start that process is to cross these two groups of people; the list, and the listeners. When you create enough buzz around this, you also attract other people around the way.
Three Strategies That Have Helped Me to GrowI know that I need a bigger audience to create the kind of impact I am looking for. One of the things that’s worked for me in the past is collaboration! This time around, I’m not worried about competition or size, but I would like to recommend that you find a measurable way to track impact so that you can determine whether it's worth it for you to use this method again.
Another thing that’s really worked for me in the past is free and paid bundles. You can choose between paid or free. Paid bundles will generate fewer leads, but they are more likely to produce paid-for sales in the future. This is a great way to introduce yourself and your product to people who don’t necessarily know who you are. I’ve also recently created a chatbot, which had the highest amount of work with the lowest reward.
The Biggest Pivot I’ve Made in the Last 30 DaysThere’s one thing I’ve been really reluctant to do, but I’ve finally done it! I have begun to actively teach what I’m learning in real-time, and that has been the thing that has really built my business. It was so fun! The reason I’ve hesitated so fully is that I was worried that the insights I’ve had were not relevant to my audience. I literally changed my model to be more like you guys, working behind the scenes to come alongside the kind of business that the majority were running. The truth is, people are nosy! Even if your journey is irrelevant to listeners, a portion of what you are doing is simply for entertainment.
So much of this comes down to being willing to listen to what people want! I would love to share more of what’s happening with you in real time, and that’s why I want to invite you to join the Co-Op. I’ve shared a ton of details here, and once you opt-in, you’ll get your first free training. You can get all the details on how I went from zero to 724 signups, increased my downloads by 43%, and grew my email list by 12x from the month before once you’ve opted in. See you there!
Quote ThisThe reason you want to produce every piece of content as if it’s for a stranger is because you never want someone to feel excluded! Highlights* Make Sure my Podcasts are Value-Packed [0:02:20] * Stay Relevant in an Ever-Changing World [0:05:08] * Build a Call-to-Action into Every Piece of Content [0:09:05] * The Easiest Way to Grow my List & Listeners [0:16:44] * What Not to Forget When You Plan Your Next Collaboration [0:25:01] * Three Strategies That Have Helped Me to Grow [0:25:01] * The Biggest Pivot I’ve Made in the Last 30 Days [0:44:20]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Planning, Podcasting, Marketing, Growth, Listeners, Email, Content, Promotion, Calls to Action
We Mentioned:Boss Project’s Wealth Workshop
Organic Marketing Workshop
Join the Co-op
Episode 764 (Quitting Corporate)
Episode 766 (Barbie’s Marketing Budget)
Tuning in, you’ll learn why there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to marketing, and how you should tailor your marketing strategy depending on your business model, whether that’s one-to-one, hybrid, or one-to-many. I unpack the answers to some commonly asked questions, including how niche you should go and how to identify who you’re talking to, before taking a look at how audiences have changed over the past few years. You’ll also find out how your audience impacts your efforts to be more visible and nurture leads, plus advice on what you can do to take your next steps!
Episode 776: Show NotesThere have been so many upheavals in the past few years, from COVID to the rise of AI, that making any predictions about the future can seem like an exercise in futility. But when you’ve spent enough years in an industry, you become attuned to customer needs in new and surprising ways, allowing you to gain a deeper sense of where things may be heading next. Today on the podcast, I’m thrilled to be talking with the wonderful Mariah Coz, Founder of Fearless CEO, where she helps creators monetize their business through community content courses and other creative digital products.
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Mariah is someone I’ve known in this online industry since the early days of my business. And over the last couple of years, I've had the great honor and pleasure of getting to know her as a personal friend. For today’s episode, Mariah and I get into a topic we are both extremely excited to discuss, namely, the future of online business and what this looks like. We get into how online business has changed since we first started in the industry, what to consider when choosing the path that makes the most sense to you, how we expect selling to evolve in the online space, and much more.
Whether you’re a newbie unsure of where to start or a seasoned professional taking stock of where to go next, this conversation covers all of it. And while we can’t predict the future with unerring accuracy, we can share what we expect based on everything we’ve learned over the past few years. So, for an expansive conversation on industry predictions and our advice on how to adapt from myself and the wonderful Mariah Coz, be sure to tune in today!
The Difference Between Then and Now So much has changed since we first joined the world of online business. Back when we started, everything we were doing was pretty new, and it was possible to be the only one doing what you were doing for your niche market. Today, however, you’re likely to have a range of competitors, presenting customers with more options than ever before. And, while previously businesses could get away with doing pretty generic branding, marketing, and copywriting, in the current moment it’s imperative that you be willing to set yourself apart from the crowd and lean into what makes your message, delivery, or service unique.
Figuring Out What Path Makes the Most Sense For YouIn the past, the trajectory for getting someone off the ground to a point where they are profitable enough to pursue their online business as a full-time income (and leave their job) was much clearer. Today, however, you can’t expect to land on a brilliant technique that will allow you to grow an audience overnight.
We wish we could give a newbie or someone starting out ‘the number one best way to start’ and have them branch off from there. But the truth is that every person and their business is unique, and it’s not clear that there’s one superior way to get started. For some people, service may be the way to start, while others may resonate with Mariah’s approach, which means being content first. It all depends on a variety of factors, from who you’ve identified as your target audience (and what their needs are), to which channels are best suited to your business, service, or product.
This is one of the key reasons why I’m building the Co-op at Boss Project the way that I am! I want to empower members to learn how to be discerning and make those decisions for themselves. While I don't think there's like a prescriptive way to start, I do think there's a way to look at your options and figure out the path that makes the most sense for you.
Has Online Education Become a Commodity? According to Mariah, commoditization is when everything starts looking and sounding the same to the point where there’s essentially no difference between them. And the only thing that sets one entity apart from another is the price. She’s observed this trend of commoditization happening increasingly with coaches and other educators: more and more they look and sound like everyone else, which has frustrated her to no end!
What lies at the heart of this issue is that these service providers are too cautious to get specific. They are convinced that if they were to niche down and get particular they’d be turning away an entire sector of imaginary clients. The real danger is that they’re not making any sales because their offerings are so vague! Contrast that with the small percentage of innovative, forward-thinking creators coming out with new ideas and setting trends who are always pushing the boundaries of what education products can be.
How Selling Will Evolve in The Online SpaceAs with everything else, your approach to sales will depend on a variety of factors, like your own personal preferences and what you’ve found to be effective with your audience in the past. For Mariah, sharing valuable content consistently, no matter the platform is key to growing your sales. Because if you’re sharing valuable content consistently then your selling systems and selling assets, like webinars and email sequences, don’t need to do as much heavy lifting.
She also emphasizes that being consistent doesn’t mean you need to post every day. Do whatever is realistic for you, whether that’s releasing a podcast episode twice a month or writing a weekly newsletter. Ultimately what this means is that you don't need the world's longest webinar, or the world's biggest sales page in order to sell something, because you've already done so much building of trust and sharing value in your regular content sharing. Alternatively, if you don’t want to create content consistently, then you need to make sure that your webinar or sales page is doing everything you need it to do!
Pricing, Predications, And Positioning Your Program With all the predictions we’ve been discussing in today’s episode, from niching down to selling, we use the final portion of our conversation to get into our thoughts on what we believe all of these developments mean for pricing.
We’ve experienced a season where many people were willing to overextend themselves for the sake of access, either to a person, network, or some solution they believed would change the game for them. Today, however, many customers are more concerned about their finances than they were before, whether it’s due to a tightening economy or disappointment with past offerings. Therefore, depending on who your audience is, you need to ensure that your offer is reasonably priced for the person you’re trying to sell to.
There’s always going to be a spectrum of customers. From those who need high-ticket items and higher-end services, to those who need more low-ticket items. And the key thing you need to consider is what your selection of offers is going to be. So ask yourself what you can do to meet people where they're at by diversifying your offers for a variety of different price points, and how that can serve your business.
Quote ThisFor those of you who have been in business a long time, I encourage you to think about how you can make it way more obvious what someone can buy from you. Highlights* The Difference Between Then and Now [0:06:32] * Figuring Out What Path Makes the Most Sense For You [0:12:46] * Has Online Education Become a Commodity? [0:20:14] * How Selling Will Evolve in The Online Space [0:30:19] * Pricing, Predications, And Positioning Your Program [0:41:43]
OUR GUEST: Mariah Coz
Mariah helps creators monetize their business through community, content, courses and other creative digital products.You can find her hanging out in her free Creator Party community at creatorparty.co and on her podcast, The Mariah Coz Show.
Key Topics:Future of Online Business, Sales, Pricing, Course Creators, Offerings
We Mentioned:The Co-op
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Planet Money Podcast from NPR
Episode 775: Show NotesDuring today’s episode, I tell the story of how I went from a full-on crisis to the most clarity I have had in years! I want to invite you to join me in this movement. When I was able to take a deep breath for the first time, I knew that other people needed to experience this. I believe that everyone deserves the financial freedom that lets you go from social security to true financial freedom and lasting wealth that creates a secure future. I want you to have that gift! It’s not just about me. It’s not just about helping people to become stable. This is for every person running a business. I want you to be a part of it, so tune in today to learn how I went from crisis to clarity, discovered what’s next for my life and career, and how you can too!
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Where My Journey Began Earlier this YearTo tell you where I’m going, I have to tell you where it all started. Not too long ago, I recorded an episode about my existential crisis. My mother had brain surgery while she was pregnant with my sister. Early this year, it was the 30-year anniversary of the procedure, and I was the exact same age as she was when it happened. Beyond being a reminder of the trauma of being a young child while my mom went through this, I was affected because of the extreme uncertainty of what would come next in my life. I had ticked all the boxes that society tells us to check! And it was wonderful. But I didn’t know what was next. It was very difficult.
The Messy Beginning of a Brand New ChapterAfter over a year of searching, it finally clicked. I was in a new season! This was the beginning of a new chapter. I was excited about what was to come, but things were really murky until I decided to embrace that. In an instant, it all fell into place. Almost overnight, I went from panicked and frustrated to feeling like I had a ton to do but also like I had full clarity about moving forward. So, I canceled everything and made a really big pivot. In less than a week, I went from one sale and the biggest flop of a workshop I had ever done to signing up nearly 700 people for my Untitled Workshop. For me, it’s never only been about business. You have a life and your business fits into it. I know your life is constantly impacting how you show up.
What Safety, Security, and Stability Mean to MeMost people who start or run a business seek some sort of freedom they don’t feel like they have. They want their business to reward them both financially and with time flexibility. My own search for safety and security was not like that! I realized that, for me, this all started with a craving for a sense of stability I had never experienced before. Even though my parents did the best they could, I never felt grounded. As an adult, it took a lot of failed experiences and trial and error to uncover what wealth truly means. For a year and a half, I worried about not being worried anymore. Then, I took a deep breath and realized what I have and just how much I want you to have that too.
What it Really Means to Need Your Business to Work for You I’m in a position today where I can retire 21 years before the average American. I know how much of a privilege this is! I could only do this because my business afforded me the opportunity to unlock the connections and knowledge I needed to get here. The passionate desire to start a business is so inspiring that it will get you through the hard days. That money is so motivating that it will get you excited to take the next step. That time flexibility is so sexy that you can’t resist working harder for it. In other words, building your business becomes a necessity for your life. For me, being laid off a second time pushed me to start this business. A month later, I found myself in hospital from a traumatic brain injury. I am no stranger to needing a business to work, and I know just how much you are likely to need that too!
How I Changed All My Plans Overnight and WhyMany of us have similar goals, but society is really bad at rewarding us for following a typical career path. Until now, I was focused on people on the cusp of making their businesses work for them, but there are people at every point along the way who could benefit from this support. I want to support people at every level of business. I want to help you get unstuck. I literally changed all of my plans to facilitate this! You can watch the video to find out how I did this. This was not a wise financial decision, but it is one that is deeply rooted in impact. I want to see more of you succeed! I’m not running a non-profit, but my heart is in it to take amazing care of all my staff and clients.
Why You Shouldn’t Follow in My FootstepsI am so excited about my plans, but you should absolutely not do what I am doing until you are at the point where you can take a deep breath like I did. It is very expensive to run this kind of company. Don’t be a martyr! Be a part of my mission by becoming a part of this community instead. Your membership will allow more people access. See all the details & everything that’s included here.
What You Can Expect From What Comes NextThe Co-Op has existed for years. Everything we’ve ever sold in the Creative Template Shop is there. Think of the templates as tools. These are all the things that you either have to show to attract clients or provide to the clients themselves. Now, we’re adding strategy! I am beyond excited to tell you that the Co-Op will now include Course Academy. I’ve opened up the vault and added Trello for Business, the Follow-Through Method, five of our online events, and hundreds of hours of video footage.
What’s coming? There’s a brand new community launching in September. I’ve been craving a way to help you to connect with one another. It’s an inclusive and safe space welcoming everyone! We lead with our values and prioritize safety for our community. We also have a brand new site launching this year. I also included One Week to Clients, a program I have sold for over $1,000 on its own. I am confident that what I am providing will help you get results without my missteps.
Your support means so much! I needed to find a way to reward you guys. That’s why I’m rolling out advanced strategies as part of a paid membership so that everyone, regardless of where you are on your journey, can benefit. I’ll provide tools for podcasting and financial forecasting. A core curriculum will provide a defined path forward as soon as I can too! There are some really exciting opportunities for the first round of people, on a level that is usually only available to my coaching clients.
Whether this is something you need to support you on your journey, or if you simply believe in what I’m doing, you being a part of this would mean the world to me and my team!
Quote ThisI couldn’t look around and see other women in my shoes. They weren’t there. I didn’t have any examples. That required me to really self-reflect on what I want. Highlights* Where My Journey Began Earlier This Year [0:01:50] * The Messy Beginning of a Brand New Chapter [0:05:18] * What Safety, Security, and Stability Mean to Me [0:10:25] * What it Really Means to Need Your Business to Work for You [0:16:01] * How I Changed All My Plans Overnight and Why [0:20:48] * Why You Shouldn’t Follow in My Footsteps [0:30:12] * What You Can Expect From What Comes Next [0:36:35]
OUR HOST:Abagail Pumphrey
Abagail on Instagram
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:Future planning, Entrepreneurship, Pivots, Safety and security, Community, Retiring early
We Mentioned:The Strategy Hour Episode 767
Boss Project’s Free ‘Untitled’ Workshop
Creative Template Shop
Boss Project Incubator
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Planet Money Podcast from NPR
Listen in on the phenomenal live webinar we offered this week. This information will change countless lives and give more women opportunities. I'm sharing clear strategies for scaling a business that most people don’t know about. We aren't messing with trendy marketing tactics that don’t work the same way for everyone. Every business is different and one person’s success does not define your own.
That’s why I'm sharing the exact strategies and facts that will bring you success (and not just the shiny, sexy ones). You need this information. I will redefine what transparency looks like in this industry because it was not easy to get to where I am today. This is my genuine desire to see you succeed! If you'd like to see the slides that went along with this, you can watch the full video replay at bossproject.com/untitled-training.
I went from one sale to 439 leads in just 48 hours and I’m going to tell you exactly how I did it! I recently took the biggest gamble I have ever taken in my business. I refunded tickets to my upcoming Sales Flow workshop and scrapped everything my team and I had spent weeks preparing for. I did this because only one ticket was bought in 24 hours when I announced my workshop. This mission is far too important to me to let one dry season put me under. You only have one life and I want women everywhere to have choices, opportunities, and freedom! I can only make the kind of impact I want to make if more women in business know what I know.
I like to see this time of year as the opportunity to dive back in and come up with a fresh approach to plan for the future! This season can be about refining what you have built so that your business can continue to support you for a long time. I know that many of you use this time to make new goals and create new opportunities, but today I want to talk about what it looks like to prepare your business so that you’re ready when life comes at you again. Shit is going to hit the fan whether you want it to or not and I want you to build a business that can survive that without being so dependent on you. Personally, I never want to be financially dependent on anyone else and I know that many of you feel the same way! You want your business to work even when life gets thrown your way. You aren’t trying to fix the ‘shit,’ you’re trying to live and work while it’s happening!
Chances are, you started your business because you want to make a real impact. Like the badass you are, you wanted to do this independently and quickly took on clients and catered to their needs, often at your own expense. This, unfortunately, can only lead to burnout. There comes a point where you need to fix the situation or you’ll seriously consider quitting. I know, because I’ve been there, and I’m here to assure you that there are some very tangible ways to get out of this dreaded cycle that keep people feeling trapped in the business they built that is supposed to be this opportunity for freedom.
Today I want to talk about where you’re going; whether you know what that looks like or not. I know that for many of you, you may not even be sure where you want to go, and that’s okay! It’s really easy to overlook the value of your past experiences but you are, in essence, a cumulation of them and they can be so valuable in shaping where you want to go. I know a lot of you may not know the answer and that is okay! It’s not about knowing the answer, it’s about using this as a jumping-off point. Even all the previous jobs you’ve ever had shape the business you have today!
Today, we’re delving into the world of passive income and how to truly build substantial wealth – the kind that leaves a legacy and transforms not only your life but also the lives of your family and future generations. Discover the reality behind passive income and how to create genuine financial security! In this episode, you’ll learn how the magic is in the mix with insights into the best active/passive combinations. I'll also be sharing details about an upcoming workshop that's all about building a real asset – your business – that will fuel your wealth journey. If you're ready to make your business a sustainable income source and gain control over your financial future, this workshop is a must-attend! So tune in for insight into finding the right mix for you, giving you the freedom to live life on your terms.
In today’s episode, I am going to be talking about what it looks like to budget when your income is inconsistent. Perhaps your business’ revenue and your pay are inconsistent, and you want to create more sustainability so that you can get paid more often and more predictably. The economy is insane at the moment, so everything I am going to share with you today is what I would do to have a more conservative approach in a time of uncertainty. I know that this will have an instrumental impact on how you change your business’ finances, create more personal financial stability, and solidify the future health of your business. This is the thing that will keep your doors open for years to come!
Today, I’m sharing an incredibly personal story about a crisis I faced in 2022 and the profoundly transformative impact it’s had on my life. Clocking that I was the same age as my mother when he had her brain surgery 30 years ago triggered a deep existential crisis in me and in this episode, I open up about my personal journey of self-reflection. With the insights and exercises I learned along the way, I’m eager to provide you with the tools to move through your own transformation. Out of necessity, I’ve become well-acquainted with what it looks like to truly reflect deeply, and I want to share my process so that you, too, can understand what's important to you and learn how to prioritize it going forward. Feel free to treat this episode as your compass to navigate the uncertain waters of self-discovery!
Today we are talking all things Barbie; specifically, the marketing budget which is the biggest marketing budget we have seen for a movie in a long time! This company has taken a brand we all know and love and made it more relevant decades later. So what will this massive budget mean for entertainment moving forward and what can we learn from it as small businesses?
Is it just us, or have you also noticed the major shake-ups that have been taking place in the social media space recently? From Threads to TikTok Shop to the Twitter rebrand, we’re taking a deep dive into some of the wild stuff that’s been going on in this episode!
Quitting corporate and striking out on your own can be a daunting task. But with the right preparation and strategies, you can build the business you’ve always wanted without feeling totally overwhelmed. Today on the show, I share the story of how I quit corporate and started my own business in 2015 and how I would go about doing it again in 2023.
What do grief and grit mean for women who are balancing life and business? Sometimes, experiencing enormous hurt and pain turns you into the most authentic version of yourself. The topic of grief is incredibly personal and important to me because it is one of the primary reasons for my growth and success. Often, parts of life become a blur, and pieces of memory are missing. Those are the same periods of time that fuel a change in you. I know there is a huge need to focus on mental health and wellbeing because who you are and how you show up in the world will affect how you will show up in your business. As I think back on the timelines of my life, I realize that I am not alone in my struggles through traumatic experiences.
Boss Project is going through its biggest transition yet! For the last 24 months, Abagail has been almost exclusively in the finance and sales side of the company. She’s been creating spreadsheets, thinking about company benefits, sales processes, hiring, HR, and more. That has meant she’s been out of the marketing game. She simply hasn’t been thinking about social media and sales funnels for two years and she’s excited to dive back in! You can expect experimentation as she gets her feet wet; trying and testing different things. It’s going to be focused, it’s going to be intentional, and it’s definitely going to be fun!
In this episode, Abagail interviews our very own Emylee to talk about her shift into full-time authorship, what she has learned thus far from her rapid transition into this new field, and the leap of faith it took to pursue her passion!
In this episode, we look back at the last eight years and celebrate all that Boss Project has accomplished! We’re sharing our journey as business partners, what it’s been like to work together, and some pearls of wisdom we’ve picked up along the way. Let’s dive into how we got here!
Here at Boss Project, we’ve had some pretty big changes happening offstage in a surprisingly short amount of time! Today, we’ll be chatting about these changes, how we’re navigating them, and what you can expect from Boss Project going forward.
Tuning in, you’ll hear some pretty big news along with our thoughts on what we’ve learned from adjusting to these new developments and an overview of our upcoming four-part series.
In this episode, we’re talking about what it means to have a culture of curiosity and how you can deliberately cultivate it within your organization. This can be one of your biggest assets and can help your team members take ownership of projects, tasks, ideas, and even strategies! It takes intentional building blocks to get there and we want to help you put those blocks together.
What does an experimental mindset mean? How can you foster one in yourself and your team? That’s what we’re talking about today. Both Emylee and Abagail experience a constant push and pull that comes with mixing intuition with analysis. We see so many business owners that stay in the planning and research phase for so long that they never take action in one direction or the other. That’s so frustrating to see! That’s what sparked this training.
Your core values are central to how you operate your team, answer questions, and so much more. As you work with more and more clients, we recommend identifying one to three values to shape how you serve clients, what your boundaries will be, how you prefer to communicate, your work style or ethic, and beyond.
In this episode, we spill the beans on how to revolutionize your client experience by tweaking and repeating. From creating efficient systems and templates to ensuring clarity and alignment in contracts and proposals, we explore the strategies you can implement to create a streamlined client experience and bring in the referrals and testimonials you deserve. Join us as we reveal the benefits of continuous improvement and offer practical insights to help you enhance your client interactions and boost your business to new heights!
Today we are talking about the art of the follow-up. You’ve pitched your service and the potential client is either ghosting you, being passive-aggressive, or fighting against the process you want to put them through. This can be a very strange experience and sometimes prospects convert with quite a lot of resistance. Closing a prospective client happens in the follow-up process, and a lot of us struggle with that phase. Today’s episode gives you some examples of what you can say and do to confidently and effectively follow up with your leads. We’re tackling what a proper follow-up is and how to handle hearing ‘no’.
Today we are unearthing an episode that we recorded at the end of 2022 because it’s important that you hear this. The strategy this client used is still extremely relevant and effective in the current sales climate where leads are a little bit wonky. This is the perfect time to seek improvement opportunities within your sales cycle and work on increasing your close rate.
We walk you through how our client was able to increase her close rate by a whopping 40%, and how you can be just as successful in your own sales process. In this season, focus and refine how things are looking in your business. Evaluate what’s working, what’s not, and use that critical information to make strategic, educated plans as you move forward with your business. Start gathering this data and figure out where you want to place your focus and where your biggest opportunities are right now. Today we’re using particular examples from a previously aired episode to help you learn how to improve your close rate.
In today's episode, we address a major issue in the business education industry that is causing our clients to waste time and money. While marketing is important, we believe that many marketing pros are teaching people to become marketing minions instead of teaching foundational business concepts. Unfortunately, this often results in a misconception of what marketing entails.
Let’s update our perspective on marketing from a "necessary evil" to a vital component of your business' success that can be tailored to suit your own strengths and needs.
We’re talking about food stuff today! Emotional eating, disordered eating, cycle syncing, and all things diet, mindset, and health. Consider this a non-judgmental space packed with practical techniques you can employ in your own life today.
There are more ways than ever to get in touch with customers and sell your services. But how do you know which methods are right for you and your business? And how do you ensure that you’re implementing them to the best of your abilities? One method that has gained a tremendous amount of traction over the past decade, is social selling. Not only do the stakes of a DM feel lower than getting on a high-pressure sales call, but it’s also more accessible to people with unusual schedules or chronic illnesses. But what are some of the drawbacks of social selling, and are they worth the payoff?
Episode 749: Show NotesIn this episode, we’re talking about one of our favorite things— how to work less and enjoy your life more! A lot of us like the idea of slowing down in the summer and taking some more life-first days, but sometimes it gets really hard to do that! We recently read an article called Ten Red Flags That Show You’re Addicted to Work According to a Psychotherapist. It’s a neat perspective from a mental health professional, and today’s episode is dedicated to sharing their insights with you.
We hope that afterwards, you’ll be able to look at your schedule and see exactly where you could be a little bit more self-aware about the areas where your relationship with work is teetering on toxic. You don’t have to tick all these boxes to be a workaholic. If even one of them feels true for you, it’s time to reflect! Consider them as useful guides to help you identify workaholism.
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Why You Shouldn’t Be in a Hurry All the TimeHurry, hurry, hurry! The need to fit productivity into every single minute of every day impacts how productive you actually end up being each day. One of the things that helped us with this is to intentionally design our schedules to fit in a long enough break that it still happens even if it gets delayed. We had to reflect on this really often to get it right. If you feel like this, you probably feel compelled to multitask. You don’t feel productive unless you’re focusing on three things at once.
Control-Freak? That Might Be Your Anxiety SpeakingWhen we grasp at control in a lot of different areas, it’s often driven by anxiety. Our internal narrative is often saying that we have to have a hand in everything, or else we’re wasting time. That anxiety is one of the clearest signs of being work-addicted. If you’re still saying that you don’t let go because you don’t know how, then you need to recognize that that is an excuse. You also need to know that all of this is stemming from insecurity. It might be time to reflect on how you are feeling outside of work.
One Good Reason Why Perfectionism Is Not the AnswerWe’ve talked about this often. And one of the things we focus on is that you have to address the root cause. You have to be looking at what’s fueling your desire for perfection and what’s causing you to behave in a certain way. Often when you do this, the other stuff dissolves on its own. If you’re thinking things like ‘there’s no room for mistakes,’ or ‘anyone who doesn’t meet my standards is lazy,’, your perfectionism is a symptom of workaholism. For you to continue to grow as a business, you have to acknowledge the areas you are not as strong in.
If You’re Having Trouble at Home, This Might Be WhyAnother surefire sign that you might be addicted to work is negative repercussions in your relationships. The article calls this ‘work infidelity’. True workaholics don’t show up for family events, forget or minimize the importance of family rituals and celebrations, and even when they make it, their minds are back at the office. The reason this is super relevant for our listeners is that for many of us, our work is at home. So there’s no clear boundary in the delineation of space. We don’t want you to get to the point where you’re disappointing your family, because that sucks.
Do You Constantly Self-Impose Deadlines?The article says that workaholics strangle themselves with unrealistic deadlines. You’re going into an altered state, avoiding sleep, missing meals, and working around the clock to finish projects. In extreme cases, you mimic the behaviors of alcoholics and drug users. Do you need a work-fix everywhere you go? This is why we stopped social selling. We didn’t know how to let go. It got to the point that social media was for work only, and now we actually love losing our phones on the weekend.
Does the Voice In Your Head Tell You Not to Unwind?Do you feel guilty whenever you’re doing something that you don’t consider productive? That’s called work withdrawal! You don’t have to make money from every hobby or turn it into a business venture. We’re both guilty of this. It might be the biggest area we need to grow in. It has been very freeing to learn how to create without having to show up for it. You don’t need to take a photo for social media. It’s okay to let go.
Ever Heard of Work Trance? Here’s What It MeansA brown-out is the workaholic’s equivalent of an alcoholic’s black-out. It’s also known as a work trance. Have you ever blanked or had memory lapses during long conversations because of work? If you’re having a brown-out, you might even forget commitments you’ve made because your mind is stuck in the past or fixed on the future.
What Your Impatience and Irritability Might Be Telling YouThis one definitely comes up for us when work is stressful. Since time is your most prized commodity, you hate to wait. Do you find yourself getting impatient at family events? Do you get short with people? Patience used to be an unattainable virtue for us, but these days we find ourselves saying that we’re in no rush, more often than not. Where are you rushing to? Where else do you need to be? What if there were no hurry, and you were in no rush?
Your Self-Inadequacy Has a Source And This Is ItIf work is your security and the source of your self-esteem, you’re bound to feel empty when a project comes to an end. If you get a temporary high when you’re working on a project, and if you feel you have to produce results to prove that you’re okay, this is why. This is a real big one for both of us, and it’s the reason behind many structural changes we have made. This is where Abagail’s spirituality anchors her and gives her an innate sense of being valued and cared for. Do you believe that you are worthy without outside validation?
Baby Steps to Self-CareWe know so many people in this industry who have landed themselves in the emergency room because of not taking care of themselves. Are there physical symptoms you are ignoring? Do you schedule time away? Do you eat lunch at your desk, or do you take some time to yourself during the course of the day? It’s hard when you get into a pattern of not taking care of yourself. We’ve been in seasons where even convincing ourselves to shower was hard. We don’t want you to feel alone in this. It’s going to take time.
The umbrella of ‘workaholic’ is just the beginning. We would do some digging into the four different kinds to see how you are showing up and begin to bring some self-awareness to it. See how it improves, not your work, but you, and your happiness and relationships here, with the rest of us.
Quote ThisYou could be working a normal amount of hours, but if your attention is still there when you’re not at work, that’s the problem. Highlights* Why You Shouldn’t Be in a Hurry All the Time [0:10:49] * Control-Freak? That Might Be Your Anxiety Speaking [0:13:19] * One Good Reason Why Perfectionism Is Not the Answer [0:17:17] * If You’re Having Trouble at Home, This Might Be Why [0:23:05] * Do You Constantly Self-Impose Deadlines? [0:28:03] * Does the Voice In Your Head Tell You Not to Unwind? [0:31:04] * Ever Heard of a Work Trance? Here’s What It Means [0:33:38] * What Your Impatience and Irritability Might Be Telling You [0:36:35] * Your Self-Inadequacy Has a Source And This Is It [0:38:59] * Baby Steps to Self-Care [0:42:50]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
The Strategy Hour Podcast is a twice weekly show hosted by Abagail Pumphrey and Emylee Williams, the founders of Boss Project. Join us for semi-ranty biz conversations for service providers looking to ethically grow their agency businesses. Episodes cover everything from lead generation to leadership mindset to team culture and beyond.
Key Topics:Burnout, Toxic Work Cultures, Workaholics, Habits, Investing In Yourself, Work-Life Balance, Life First Decisions
We Mentioned:Boss Project Incubator
10 Red Flags That Show You’re Addicted to Work
AutomateYourBusywork.com
BrilliantEarth.com
FactorMeals.com/bossproject50 use code bossproject50 to get 50% off your first box
brevo.com/BOSSPROJECT use promo code "BOSSPROJECT" to save 50% on your first three months of the Starter & Business plan
Episode 748: Show NotesNot every client relationship runs as smoothly as we’d like and, generally speaking, it comes down to communication gaps and unspoken expectations. In this episode, we break down a scenario that one of our clients experienced and share our advice for dealing with the situation. In this particular scenario, our client found that her client was treating her like an employee, despite the fact that she's technically a contractor.
Because this problem is more common than you might think, we’ve decided to share our perspective and insights into how one might navigate a situation like this. It’s easy to get frustrated, but there are ways to address communication gaps with clients and continue to nurture long-term relationships. Join us as we shed light on how to enhance the client experience while maintaining healthy boundaries for your business.
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The Danger of Unspoken ExpectationsIf you find that the boundaries are a bit blurred with particular clients, you’re not alone. A client of ours is actively doing a mix of project and ongoing retainer work for various clients and recently ran into an issue with a longtime client who tends to treat her like an employee, despite the fact that she's technically a contractor. With ongoing retainer work, client expectations may skirt over your boundaries, making it appear like you’re not fulfilling your end of the “bargain”.
When it comes to scheduling as a contractor, it’s normal to discuss a schedule with your client, communicating when you’re able to tackle their project. However, it’s not normal for your client to expect to set your hours for you without communicating ahead of time, and without taking into account that you have other clients. Moral of the story: Uncommunicated expectations are intentional frustrations. In this scenario, our client felt she needed to tackle the price piece first, but what should she have done instead?
How to Address Communication Gaps with ClientsWhen it comes to a communication gap with a long-term client, contract renegotiation certainly isn’t off the table. But first, you need to reset your boundaries as to how you work with them, how often, and what the scope of your project looks like. Before tackling the pricing conversation, you need to get back on the same page with this client and ensure that they feel good about the relationship. Closing the communication gap is always the first step. To do so, you need to be clear about your position as a business owner and restate your communication policy. We suggest that, in the case of urgent requests, you remind your client to specify the due date, regardless of whether you can complete it or not, so that you can make a calculated scheduling decision.
It’s important for long-term clients to know that they are valued but, at the same token, that your time does not belong to them unless you have agreed upon a deadline ahead of time. They need to be made aware (politely, of course) that, without prior scheduling, other projects are prioritized for that period. Basically, you need to thank them for their cooperation and gently reset your boundaries. To avoid resentment, communication gaps need to be dealt with as the first port of call, then you can look at revising your contract.
Nurturing Relationships and Enhancing the Client ExperienceWhen it comes to enhancing the client experience, it’s important to keep the peak-and-end rule in mind. In any given experience, humans care most about the peak phase and the end phase. And although these are what will leave the most lasting impression, there are multiple opportunities to surprise and delight your client throughout the life cycle of a project. Shocker: the key is always communication. To ensure client satisfaction from start to finish, make a list of everything that must be communicated in the life cycle of the project and when each should be communicated in relation to the project timeline.
If difficulties arise, it’s important to reflect on whether you clearly communicated your boundaries and expectations and if not, consider that your cue to start. Some helpful tools we’ve identified to enhance the client experience and ensure transparency are client debriefs (or internal client check-ins for ongoing relationships), adding your office hours and response times to your email, and auto-responses on communication channels. We’ve developed an emoji system that we’ve found to be incredibly useful. It’s important to remember that the relationship is just as important as the deliverables, if not more so.
As experts in scaling service-based businesses, we’re your trusted partner in creating a sustainable ecosystem. Consider us your partner in crime when it comes to creating a business that’s actually sustainable. Book a call to chat with our team today!
Quote ThisIt's important that you address as soon as possible when there's a communication gap or resentment will be had on both sides. Highlights* The Danger of Unspoken Expectations. [0:14:27] * How to Address Communication Gaps with Clients. [0:17:51] * Nurturing Relationships and Enhancing the Client Experience. [0:21:44]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
The Strategy Hour Podcast is a twice weekly show hosted by Abagail Pumphrey and Emylee Williams, the founders of Boss Project. Join us for semi-ranty biz conversations for service providers looking to ethically grow their agency businesses. Episodes cover everything from lead generation to leadership mindset to team culture and beyond.
Key Topics:Unspoken expectations, Communication gap, Contractor vs. Employee, Client experience, Peak phase, Peak-and-end rule
We Mentioned:Boss Project Incubator
Slack
Boss Project Services Wait List
AutomateYourBusywork.com
BrilliantEarth.com
FactorMeals.com/bossproject50 use code bossproject50 to get 50% off your first box
brevo.com/BOSSPROJECT use promo code "BOSSPROJECT" to save 50% on your first three months of the Starter & Business plan
Episode 747: Show NotesToday we want to chat with you about how to future-proof your industry, expertise, and career in the AI age. Recently, we’ve been having the conversation about AI a lot and sharing some perspectives as well as talking about some software companies we’ve enjoyed using; including a conversation with the CEO of ChatGPT. This is a conversation that needs to be addressed often so we can understand how it can best support us.
The Harvard Business Review has come up with five ways to future-proof your career in the age of AI, and we have also come up with five ways, so today, we are sharing 10 actionable steps you can take to do this. Tune in today for a jam-packed episode, and make sure to grab a pen and paper to write these tips down!
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Avoid Being a Predictable SolutionThe more AI learns, the more our culture is going to become homogeneous. Everyone will have the same answers and the same questions and the goal is to break that cycle and avoid being the same as everyone else. We know you’re all worried about sounding the same because of AI but the fact is, you won’t sound the same if you try not to sound the same!
We can use our own intelligence and creativity to tweak AI drafts and make them less generic. We need to be able to use AI to our advantage without relying on it as the only draft that comes out of our work. This isn’t only for Chat GPT and other similar tools, but it also goes for Gmail autocorrect and other things like that too. We want you to utilize your own knowledge to sound more interesting!
Honing the Skills that the Machines are Trying to EmulateAI is doing a really good job of learning, but it’s still struggling to have and express emotion. This is an opportunity to hone in on those specific skills and ensure that you aren’t only looking at the surface level of your actions. You understand people in a way that technology doesn’t, and they are still struggling to bridge that gap. We want you to lean into the ways that you’re similar to your ideal clients and the ways that you understand them because that is your advantage and a differentiator between you and AI.
Focus on how you show up in empathy, self-awareness, and creativity. These are things that AI is trying to do but only based on text prediction. The difference between you and technology is that you know what these feelings feel like, and you can show up sincerely. That is what sets you apart.
Doubling Down on the Real WorldIn the wake of COVID where we were so separated and based on how obsessed we are with technology, you have the opportunity to connect with people physically! Going for coffee, taking someone to lunch, going to conferences, and getting through to the actual human on the other side by having that real-world connection.
AI can only connect past thoughts and information that it’s already been presented with so original information and information in real-time is absolutely critical. We want you to dig deeper to identify new information. That skill is beneficial for your career and for you as a whole! This is an opportunity for us to focus on things that are new, innovative, and consider the human element because that is the biggest differentiator between us and AI!
Developing your Personal BrandWe want you to develop your personal brand and get people to buy in and care about you as a human being and an expert in your field. Corporate leaders will likely continue to pay a premium for the people viewed as the top of their field. Some companies are banning AI in its entirety, and even without this extreme measure; there is still an opportunity for you to be the real expert. Your alignment with people with similar values makes a statement about your company and the work you’re pursuing. We think who you know is becoming increasingly important as AI homogenizes everything, so make sure to develop your brand and optimize your connections.
Cultivating your ExpertiseContinuing to hone the skills that got you to where you are and continuing to learn is completely in your power! This is critical as we move into this new AI world. AI cannot be used as a source at this point in time, and it cannot be trusted to deliver accurate results. The skill of fact-checking, researching, presenting true facts, and having multiple sources is where us humans stand out! We’re concerned that AI is going to start referencing things that people have deemed factual with absolutely no basis, and that is not how things work.
You have to do your due diligence on anything AI tells you is true because people are becoming more distrusting. If you can back what you say up with actual points of reference, people will trust you more. We want you to focus on things that are true and make sure you can show that you have researched these things and have loads of evidence behind them so that you can stand out.
Creating the Ultimate Customer Service Experience for Your ClientsWe want you to create a valuable, authentic, helpful, and extraordinary customer service experience for your clients, the traffic that lands in your circle, and the prospects that are reaching out to you. You need to look at how you communicate, show up, deliver, and match your online and real-life presence. Being mindful of how you can continue to improve all that is a huge game changer. What differentiates companies is no longer the work itself but the experience someone has along the way and what they feel throughout that time. How you impact people's lives and make them feel matters a lot to humans, which is not something AI can do at this point.
Leveraging AI to Help You Do Your Job FasterNext, we want you to focus on speed! Rather than be frustrated about AI's potential to take your job, instead focus on how you can leverage AI to help you do your job faster and more efficiently. We do not need AI to create art and write stories; we need AI to do all the logistical work so humans have more time to be creative. We want you to get your time back using AI so that you can show up in your business in really cool ways. Paying attention to how to use it to make your life easier is important.
Keep in mind that our world is going to evolve faster than it ever has before, and that is going to make people really tired. Keeping up with that pace of change is exhausting, so we want you to take this opportunity to slow down intentionally in your customer experience. People will be craving calmness, and you can optimize that need! AI may strengthen our addiction to urgency, and we want you to take a pause on that and assess it.
How to Use AI’s Slow Updates to Your AdvantageChat GPT is incredibly old in its way of thinking (like pre-pandemic old!), and you can use that to your advantage for as long as possible. It is never ever going to be as up-to-date as you can be, and you can do something with that information. We want you to be able to tweak and repeat things based on the information you’re getting in real time because that is going to be more critical than ever before!
We know that this is changing rapidly, and this technology may even be updated tomorrow but the base model is going to continue to be delayed for who knows how long. The more new information it has, the more likely it is to be false, which is why it is being slowed down deliberately. There are so many opportunities for you to focus on that timeliness piece!
Using Your Own Thought LeadershipKnowledge is freely accessible now more than ever, and it will continue to be spread, and learning will grow. What will not change is your opinion and ability to adapt and evolve. That is what you need to hone in on. Having your own unique take is absolutely essential, and it is the differentiating factor here. We want you to figure out what your SOP is for how you deliver results and your messaging. Identifying what you do and why and how you are the unique expert in your field is how you will beat AI.
The One Thing AI Cannot ReplicateA timeless approach to doing business and interacting with your ideal prospect is something that AI simply cannot replicate. Riding the trend train is even harder than ever with the speed at which technology changes. So many companies are pivoting their entire business model to be AI-focused. Yes, this will make people loads of money, but it will be a select few. That road is going to be way more difficult. The less stressful approach is where you focus on more timeless and foundational things.
No matter what happens in the world, we want your business to remain a constant and the way you do that is not leveraging flash-success trends but instead relying on foundational business practices. If you want some insight into how to deal with challenges or even if you just want a sounding board, we would love to have a conversation with you and help you navigate this new world we’re living in.
Quote ThisBeing human is going to be a bigger differentiator than it’s ever been before. Highlights* Avoid Being a Predictable Solution. [0:15:41] * Honing the Skills that the Machines are Trying to Emulate. [0:17:48] * Doubling Down on the Real World. [0:19:45] * Developing Your Personal Brand. [0:21:53] * Cultivating Your Expertise. [0:23:52] * Creating the Ultimate Customer Service and Experience for Your Clients. [0:27:52] * Leveraging AI to Help You Do Your Job Faster. [0:29:32] * How to Use AI’s Slow Updates to Your Advantage. [0:32:42] * Using Your Own Thought Leadership. [0:34:55] * The One Thing AI Cannot Replicate. [0:36:19]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
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The Strategy Hour Podcast is a twice weekly show hosted by Abagail Pumphrey and Emylee Williams, the founders of Boss Project. Join us for semi-ranty biz conversations for service providers looking to ethically grow their agency businesses. Episodes cover everything from lead generation to leadership mindset to team culture and beyond.
Key Topics:AI, Chat GPT, Technological Changes, Human Element, Thought Leadership, Timeless Business
We Mentioned:Boss Project Services Wait List
Chat GPT
Harvard Business Review: 5 Ways to Future-Proof your Career in the Age of AI
Brene Brown
AutomateYourBusywork.com
FactorMeals.com/bossproject50 use code bossproject50 to get 50% off your first box
Headspace.com/BOSSPROJECT to unlock all of Headspace FREE for 60 days
Episode 746: Show NotesToday’s episode is an overview of a recent conversation we sat in on, which discussed navigating change in 2023. The panel included a list of industry leaders, the CFOs of AirBnb Midjourney, Masterclass, Step, and Aon PLC. Although these businesses are all incredibly well-funded and resourced, we have found that what happens in larger businesses tends to have a trickle-down effect, and smaller businesses will mirror their patterns. That’s why we’ve dedicated this episode to sharing some key insights from the discussion with our audience at Boss Project. We’re here to support you in your CEO role!
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How to Leverage Old Content by Fixing it Up and Polishing it for Your ReadersAirBnb reflected all the way back to 2020. Ultimately, they’re a travel company, so their industry has been affected since the beginning. Shockingly, they lost 80% of their business in less than six weeks in 2020. To say they were panicking would be an understatement. However, they only ended up laying off 25% of their staff. If our business lost 80% of their business in six weeks, it would just be us left! We are honestly impressed with how much they retained their workforce.
Emphasizing Focus for Operating Rigor and Efficiency.Ultimately, change and uncertainty are not things we are in control of. The CFOs all talked about focus for operating rigor and efficiency. Creating efficiency in systems is essential, and more than ever, it needs to be something that’s emphasized. It could be another five years until everything catches up to the massive screech halt that happened in 2020. A lot of businesses expected the growth they experienced in 2020 and 2021 to be maintainable after that. That just hasn’t been true for the majority. The business needs to balance the ethical road they want to go down. Do you want to keep the headcount you’ve grown?
Why Balancing Cost and Growth Doesn’t Have to be Mutually ExclusiveSpecifically, they were talking about how to use focus on efficiency to generate revenue to reinvest in growth. That’s what we’re seeing on the smaller scale as well. We’ll often have conversations with people and ask about their income. Almost every one of them doesn’t know how much of that income is profit. That’s something you definitely need to know! This only applies to people who have an existing team in supporting roles. But, CFOs all agreed that executives should spend 50% of their time debating the strategic direction and 10% communicating it with the rest of the company.
How To Think About Making Investments DifferentlyKeeping in mind that Midjourney is in a very different category to us, there is some overlap in how we are experiencing this chapter of our story. She mentioned balancing risk tolerance, running lean, being a bit more conservative, and a constant focus on extending their runway. That resonates with us. Knowing what your cashflow is, is something you always need to be focused on! Even if you have money to put in. AirBnb emphasized that there’s a huge transformation in front of us with a giant focus on AI. Their executive team is focusing on how to automate or eliminate work. What we’re excited about is for AI to replace mundane tasks so that more people get an opportunity to think creatively.
How Behavior Keeps Changing and How to RespondThere was an amazing ‘Oh my god, yes!’ moment, where the founder of Masterclass talked about the discrepancy between data and behavior. At times, this has left us really confused. What people actually want and are willing to pay for is what they want, covered in what they need. We’ve attempted all sorts of different angles here. But what we’ve landed on is that there is a constant mix of analyzing the data with the behavior to determine what people will actually buy. That’s the only way we’ve been able to function.
Two More CFO Insights for You to Take AwayBusinesses aren’t throwing bodies at problems right now. They’re throwing tools at problems and hoping to become more efficient in the process. We can’t automate everything. It’s just not possible or ethical for us. We’re focused on finding the right tools and allocating the right people to implement them. The room was polled over a few key questions. Would you prefer to get daily insights rather than monthly?
We would love to get more specific insights on our audiences, on a more regular basis. We get the sense that companies will continue to grow. The pace will just be slower. Which means that people will right size. If you’re not addressing your costs on a proactive basis, that’s going to shut down your business.
As long as you’re being mindful about whether your staff and costs are in alignment with your business today, you’ll continue to grow. You just might do it at a slower pace. There are so many opportunities to leverage the new technology that’s out there. It’s just so important to do that in a mindful way. If you’re looking for additional support, we would love to have a conversation about how to make all of this stuff work.
Quote ThisKnowing what your cashflow is, is something you always need to have a pulse on. Highlights* AirBnb’s Business Loss and Staff Retention [0:13:14] * Emphasizing Focus for Operating Rigour and Efficiency. [0:15:20] * Why Balancing Cost and Growth Doesn’t Have to be Mutually Exclusive [0:19:19] * How To Think About Making Investments Differently. [0:22:49] * How Behavior Keeps Changing and How to Respond [0:28:12] * Two More CFO Insights for You to Take Away [0:30:30]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
The Strategy Hour Podcast is a twice weekly show hosted by Abagail Pumphrey and Emylee Williams, the founders of Boss Project. Join us for semi-ranty biz conversations for service providers looking to ethically grow their agency businesses. Episodes cover everything from lead generation to leadership mindset to team culture and beyond.
Key Topics:Technology, Startups, AI, Automation, Business Growth
We Mentioned:Boss Project C—Suite on Demand
Rothy’s Converse Brooks Shoe Carnival
Going, Going, Gone AirBnb Midjourney
Masterclass Aon PLC Step Peloton
AutomateYourBusywork.com
FactorMeals.com/bossproject50 use code bossproject50 to get 50% off your first box
Headspace.com/BOSSPROJECT to unlock all of Headspace FREE for 60 days
Episode 745: Show NotesWhat can we expect from the future of AI? How quickly will we be asked to evolve and adapt alongside these changes? Abagail recently had the opportunity to sit in on a fireside chat with Sam Altman, the founder and CEO of OpenAI and ChatGPT. This episode is dedicated to sharing the highlights of what she heard.
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Is AI the Best or Worst Thing to Ever Happen to Technology?Sam Altman famously tweeted that AI would be the best or worst thing to happen to the world. He quickly set the record straight at the conference, letting us know he’s confident about the direction it’s taken since then. So, how will it change the world? Sam predicts that AI will, at minimum, change the speed at which the world operates by making it run faster. We’ll see faster technology shifts than ever before happening right before our eyes!
How Sam Altman Broke All His Own RulesOpenAI has the fastest-growing user base out of anything ever released. There are no community aspects; there’s no sharing, there’s no posting, and in some cases, you don’t even have to register to use it! He admits just how crazy this is. This tells us that Sam would never have expected the virality that’s come with the launch of ChatGPT. How did this happen? Sam considers himself the founder of a research company, and at the moment, his focus is not on profits. However, an informal audience poll reveals that the paid version (ChatGPT4) is superior to the free one you may have been using.
What AI is at Its Core and What That Means for YouWhat, ultimately, is AI? At its core, it’s the result of us figuring out systems that can learn. That’s what’s going to be transformative. The first computers had to be programmed to do anything. As things progressed, you could click and then you could type. The point we’re reaching today is the opportunity to interact with technology through language. Language is the easiest way for humans to interact, whether written or spoken. There is so much nuance that can only be communicated with language.
Expectations for the Future of Evolving AI TechnologySam is interested in multi-modality. That means we’re moving beyond written or spoken communication to visual prompts, and visa versa. We’ll start to see ways to interact with way more file types. The goal of AI is not to give it absolute data, but rather for it to continue to learn. The capacity of technology to identify things in the real world is unbelievable! Imagine what this could mean for the visually impaired.
What We Can Learn From Sam Beyond TechnologySam talked about flux and movement between teams and roles at his research-based company. He wants to create a company that’s rooted in loyalty. He also says that running a research group is totally different from anything else he’s done. The only thing that’s transferred from the business model before, is how to deal with people. He also thinks that no one is honest about how hard the early days of a business can be. He believes we should have global regulatory authorities over AI through an international effort.
If you have your own commentary, feel free to send us a DM on Instagram. We’d love to hear your take!
Quote ThisThe point is to never give it absolute data. The goal is for it to continue to learn. Highlights* Is AI the Best or Worst Thing to Ever Happen to Technology? [0:12:32] * How Sam Altman Broke All His Own Rules [0:16:00] * What AI is at Its Core and What That Means for You [0:18:58] * Expectations for the Future of Evolving AI Technology [0:22:40] * What We Can Learn From Sam Beyond Technology [0:28:59]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
The Strategy Hour Podcast is a twice weekly show hosted by Abagail Pumphrey and Emylee Williams, the founders of Boss Project. Join us for semi-ranty biz conversations for service providers looking to ethically grow their agency businesses. Episodes cover everything from lead generation to leadership mindset to team culture and beyond.
Key Topics:AI, ChatGPT, Research, Creating safety, Technology
We Mentioned:Episode 740
Open AI
Sam Altman
Boss Project Incubator
AutomateYourBusywork.com
FactorMeals.com/bossproject50 use code bossproject50 to get 50% off your first box
Headspace.com/BOSSPROJECT to unlock all of Headspace FREE for 60 days
Episode 744: Show NotesHere at Boss Project, our mission starts with wanting to see more women become financially free. We want them to be able to take care of their household financially and, ultimately, build and scale a business from the ground up. Our goal is to help create a stable foundation that will give them confidence as leaders and support them in pursuing continued growth. Unfortunately, the differences in how men and women are treated in the workplace can have a detrimental impact on women's ability to grow and flourish as leaders.
A recent study of 146 mid-career leaders explores the gender differences in how men and women are given feedback in the workplace. Their findings identified four key problem areas: vision, political skills, asserting leadership, and confidence. In this episode, we break down these four categories and take a closer look at how men and women are treated differently when it comes to guidance and feedback and what can be done to begin to adjust for these discrepancies. Tune in as we discuss the four key ways in which men are getting more actionable feedback than women and what to do about it!
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Identifying the ProblemWe all know that there are key differences in how male-presenting bodies and femme-presenting bodies are treated in the workspace. And research shows us that a lot of those behaviors and biases are subconscious. This is demonstrated not just in how others perceive you, but in how you perceive yourself. And even if you are not working in a corporate environment (and you occupy the role of founder, owner, or CEO) it can still affect you.
Despite an increase in female managers in the corporate and small business world, women's advancement to senior leadership roles remains slow compared to men. While this may not be surprising, it can still be disheartening. Evidently, we still have a long way to go before we reach true gender equity in the workspace!
Setting the VisionIn the vision category, men are encouraged to set the vision and focus on the big picture. They are guided to forget the details and look towards the longer term as a leader, executive, or CEO. On the other hand, women are encouraged to focus on delivery, operational tasks, executing other people's visions, and developing expertise in narrow specializations. These differences in feedback typically drive men and women towards very different outcomes in their careers.
We’ve seen evidence of this repeatedly with our clients, many of whom believe that they need to constantly improve on their delivery before they can grow and scale. When the fact of the matter is that they have already spent so much time dedicated to improving their deliverables that they are excellent at it! However, they are often lacking in high-level knowledge that is essential for running and growing a business. And they don’t realize that it’s holding them back from future growth. That’s why we want to encourage them to back up, look at the broader picture, and set the vision!
Leveraging Political SkillsWhen it comes to political skills, men are told to leverage politics and use it to their advantage. They are encouraged to anticipate political considerations, build broader alliances with those who hold power, and develop politics as a language. In other words, they are encouraged to network upward. Conversely, women are instructed to cope with politics rather than finding a way to strategically use it to their advantage. They are told to toughen up, reduce tension, and deal with office politics. Which ultimately means that they are expected to network horizontally.
We’ve seen women avoid these politics for a number of reasons, which is why we want to share our strategies for addressing these issues. The politics of small business ownership is all about creating relationships, networking, and playing the game. We want you to view this through the lens of relationship-building, networking, and prospecting for potential clients and collaborations and help you drive your business forward in the process!
Asserting LeadershipWhere men are told to claim their space and be assertive when pursuing leadership ambitions, women are encouraged to get along by being cooperative and deferential when exerting leadership.
This category is particularly relevant to our C-Suite on Demand clients, many of whom have had contractors on their team or even part-time employees but don’t necessarily identify as leaders yet. As you grow from being a one-person team to having employees, you can experience a lot of hesitation and a lack of confidence in your leadership abilities. We want to walk you through these because we believe it may be more subconscious than you’re giving it credit for.
Displaying Confidence In the final category of confidence, we see that men are told to ‘display’ more confidence while female leaders are told to ‘be’ more confident. For men, confidence is framed as something that is fixable and can be practiced. They are told to develop confidence in specific skill sets and then ‘display’ it. Whereas female leaders’ lack of confidence is typically described as something inherent and a general flaw. As a result, they aren’t given the same actionable advice to help improve their confidence as men.
A lot of coaches and consultants these days focus primarily on mindset. And while we agree that mindset is important, we don’t believe it’s the only, or even most prominent thing holding women back. A lack of actionable knowledge and strategy is the biggest thing holding women back. This is why we are focused on teaching foundational lessons on how to be the CEO and owner of a company. We don’t claim to know everything, but we do know what it took for us to get unstuck, and we want to share that knowledge with those who need it!
Quote ThisI am so frustrated with coaches and consultants who are focusing primarily on mindset. I think mindset is a necessary piece. But what is holding women back 100% is lack of actionable knowledge and strategy. Highlights* Identifying the Problem [0:09:02] * Setting the Vision [0:16:24] * Leveraging Political Skills [0:20:30] * Asserting Leadership [0:25:49] * Displaying Confidence [0:31:52]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
The Strategy Hour Podcast is a twice weekly show hosted by Abagail Pumphrey and Emylee Williams, the founders of Boss Project. Join us for semi-ranty biz conversations for service providers looking to ethically grow their agency businesses. Episodes cover everything from lead generation to leadership mindset to team culture and beyond.
Key Topics:Leadership, Vision, Political Skills, Asserting Leadership, Confidence, Actionable Feedback
We Mentioned:C-Suite On Demand
Research: Men Get More Actionable Feedback Than Women
Boss Project Incubator
AutomateYourBusywork.com
FactorMeals.com/bossproject50 use code bossproject50 to get 50% off your first box
Headspace.com/BOSSPROJECT to unlock all of Headspace FREE for 60 days
Episode 743: Show NotesWe see so many business owners who think that the answer to scaling is more about cash than relationships. Yes, cash is a component but it is not the primary problem! First of all, we want to talk about growth versus scaling. They are used interchangeably in this industry but they simply are not the same. Growth is primarily centered around financial and revenue changes in your business and scaling is more about the actual behind-the-scenes operations of how your business is pieced together.
Often, when people try to scale their business they are so focused on growing their revenue that they forget about all the foundational pieces that are required in order for the revenue to grow. When you put the time and energy into these architectural pieces, you will be surprised at how quickly the revenue growth follows. You can kind of think of these things as the SOP for how you’re doing business; how the business as a whole is being operated and you need to define what that looks like. We find that people get to a certain point where they hit a type of sales cycle and our goal is to help you scale past this point by productizing literally everything!
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Taking Your Company Culture to the Next LevelWe never realized how much project management would change based on the number of people we had in the business. Things can work perfectly fine at a certain point and then you hire new employees and everything changes. You literally need to change everything as you expand your team and you need to make sure that your relationships are healthy and have boundaries. We really enjoy focusing on the things that help run the entire business. When you start hiring people you need to be clear on what their job descriptions are and train them accordingly.
We want you to look at the thing you want to achieve overall that is consistent with every role in the business so that you can take control of your company’s narrative in a really positive way. Every business has some sort of culture but you need to put definitions behind those subconscious things and pick apart your mission, vision, values, and what those things mean. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself to know what all of these things are in great detail because sometimes you won’t know until somebody breaks a boundary and that’s just part of the process.
Coaching Your PeopleWe want you to show up as a coach and help your people grow their skillset. You will be so surprised by how much is possible and how much it will keep your staff interested in their positions even if the goals aren’t changing from month to month. You will be able to push them in healthy ways without breaking boundaries or crossing professional lines. We want to remind you that it can take months and months for a person to feel fully capable and competent in the role they were originally given and we want to encourage you to monitor that person’s progress in alignment with their role’s description. You don’t need to give staff 100% of their responsibilities from the get-go and sometimes they will need more coaching in certain aspects.
Why You Need to Show Up as the CEOIt’s so easy, as you grow and add more people to your business, to get overly focused on your day-to-day. You often have multiple roles in your own business and you have to figure out when you’re showing up in your job or as a CEO or as an owner and you need to define how different all of those roles are. Today we are talking very specifically about showing up as the CEO. You are going to play various roles in the business but when it comes to these things, you have to put your CEO hat on, and other times, you need to flip to the other hats you have to wear.
If any of these things have overwhelmed you and you feel like you want to break through the ceiling but don’t know how to, you need to remember that you don’t need to know the answer and we want to help you figure it out! There aren’t many female business owners who get to this point so we want to congratulate you on the incredible place you have managed to get to. Remember that it is okay to find the support you need to figure this out fully. That is why we developed C-Suite on Demand and we want to talk to you and help you through this so go schedule a time to chat with us!
Quote ThisNot a lot of female-led business owners get to this point– so what an incredible place to be! Highlights* Taking Your Company Culture to the Next Level. [0:17:51] * Coaching Your People. [0:22:41] * Why You Need to Show Up as the CEO. [0:25:10]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
The Strategy Hour Podcast is a twice weekly show hosted by Abagail Pumphrey and Emylee Williams, the founders of Boss Project. Join us for semi-ranty biz conversations for service providers looking to ethically grow their agency businesses. Episodes cover everything from lead generation to leadership mindset to team culture and beyond.
Key Topics:Sales, Revenue, Growth, Scaling, Project Management, Coaching, Company Culture
We Mentioned:C-Suite on Demand
Boss Project Services Wait List
AutomateYourBusywork.com
FactorMeals.com/bossproject50 use code bossproject50 to get 50% off your first box
Headspace.com/BOSSPROJECT to unlock all of Headspace FREE for 60 days
Episode 742: Show NotesEvery decision we make takes us down a different path, each with its own set of consequences. Decisions aren’t categorically good or bad, right or wrong, but today, we discuss how you can learn to make the best business decisions for YOU! This conversation was sparked by an interesting article that we came across in Forbes that highlighted some of the key points that we have been expressing on the show about goals, outcomes, and living in alignment with our values.
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Don’t Make a Pros and Cons ListWhile some things do have pros and cons to them, the point that this article makes is that you shouldn’t simply compare the number of pros and cons because each of them will be weighted differently. Therefore, a list isn’t necessarily a helpful way to get to the heart of what will be the best decision for you to make. The other problem with these lists is that they are usually biased toward decisions that we have made internally but haven’t yet admitted to ourselves. You don’t have to justify things like price or value or how you are spending your time!
Develop “Kill Criteria” It’s very rare that there is a wrong decision to be made in business. There might be actions that are more effective than others, but the less effective ones will still probably teach you something valuable. According to the Forbes article, developing “kill criteria” is a very useful method for making decisions. To establish these criteria, first, answer the following questions: what are the things that you value? How much do you value time? How much do you value money? How much do you value fulfillment in your job? Then, decide what actions are going to cause you to achieve the things you value at a cost that you are willing to bear and kill off the rest!
Don’t Give Into the Sunk-Cost FallacyIf you’re climbing Mount Everest and you get 300 feet from the summit before you have to turn back because of bad weather, that is not a failure! The same concept applies to business; just because your accomplishments look different or were achieved in a different way from what you expected (or what society expected) them to look like, doesn’t mean you haven’t achieved something worthy of celebration. Let go of those internal expectations and internal pressures and fully accept the fact that success can look like a million different things, and it often comes in forms you don’t expect!
Think Differently About DecisionsWe want to challenge you to look at decisions in a different light than you are used to. The approach to goal setting that says you must get there at all costs is hard to let go of, but if this approach is no longer serving you, it’s time to make a change. Try out the unless rule (i.e. set the goal you want to achieve and add an “unless.” For example, “We will stay in this house unless it becomes too financially stressful”). Set clear boundaries, and always run your goals through your values filter!
Quote ThisYou have to be willing to let go of this norm or expectation around what success is supposed to look like. Highlights* Don’t Make a Pros and Cons List. [0:05:34] * Develop “Kill Criteria.” [0:09:28] * Don’t Give Into the Sunk-Cost Fallacy. [0:15:02] * Think Differently About Decisions. [0:23:09]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
The Strategy Hour Podcast is a twice weekly show hosted by Abagail Pumphrey and Emylee Williams, the founders of Boss Project. Join us for semi-ranty biz conversations for service providers looking to ethically grow their agency businesses. Episodes cover everything from lead generation to leadership mindset to team culture and beyond.
Key Topics:Decision Making, Value, Impact, Quitting, Sunk-Cost Fallacy, Societal Expectations
We Mentioned:Forbes Article
Boss Project Services Wait List
Boss Project Incubator
AutomateYourBusywork.com
FactorMeals.com/bossproject50 use code bossproject50 to get 50% off your first box
Headspace.com/BOSSPROJECT to unlock all of Headspace FREE for 60 days
Episode 741: Show NotesToday we’re sharing a bit of our progress when it comes to delegating. We started out being bad at getting things off our plates, but now we are getting better and better and we want you to learn from our mistakes. Delegation is truly the stepping stone to get the right people on your team! Ultimately, you’re going to need to hire extra team members to take on some tasks in your business. If you need help with hiring, we would love to help you out, so book a call with us to learn more.
Most of what we’re talking about today is how to delegate to an employee properly and while there are overlaps when it comes to delegating to a contractor, there are definitely nuanced differences. Today we are specifically looking at delegating to existing team members who have been through the full onboarding process and understand you and your business very well. To us, proper delegation comes down to communication! Listen carefully because we want you to document all of these things we are discussing today and explain them to the person you want to delegate to.
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Getting Clear on What You’re Doing and How to Document Those TasksOne of the first steps to getting things off your plate is becoming clear on what you’re actually doing. We know it can feel like you have a thousand things to do and your mind is racing a million miles per hour, but you really need to take time to document once-off things, routine things, strategic things etcetera so that you can figure out what is sitting on your plate. We don’t want you to jump ahead of yourself by trying to think about the end game. You need to start documenting what you’re doing in your business without judgment!
Starting off with a brain dump on a document before breaking these tasks down by departments and skillset, we will be able to see where we are heavy in a specific category which allows us to decide if we need to bring someone in to assist with some of the tasks. It’s fine if initially you only want to delegate part of specific tasks. However, you have to get clear on all the related things and take stock of how much time each task takes you so that you can figure out what you can take off your plate.
Finding Where You Shine and Prioritizing That (at Least For Now)This is an incredible opportunity for you to evaluate what you’re great at and what you’re not great at. We want you to identify not only your strengths and weaknesses, but also what you’re more and less efficient at doing, what you do and don’t enjoy, and so much more! These tasks are not things you will never ever be involved in as the founder of your company but you will be more capable of honing in on what you’re good at and what you enjoy doing. Those will be your highlights and areas of opportunity! It is critical for you to shine strongly in one to two departments as the leader of your company. But we do recognize that as a single founder, managing multiple people in an array of departments can be exhausting.
It is critical to figure out what is most important versus what is least important. Just because you are good at something, doesn’t mean it is essential for your business and as you grow from delegating the weak spots, you may need to give some of your strong tasks away with full autonomy to make space for more important tasks. We never want to remove you from everything in your business, this is about placing you in the position to move your business forward and sometimes that may mean letting go of something you love.
Using Systems and Softwares as a Step Before HiringWe know there is quite a scary conversation at the moment about AI and the fear that it is going to take away jobs, but we want you to be mindful that you’re a small business and it’s always going to be cheaper to utilize a system or a software over a person. If you haven’t hired an employee yet, there is an opportunity ahead of that– looking at a task that you can delegate right now! There are so many systems and softwares out there that can take things off your plate. You might not be able to afford to hire someone yet so this would be a great middle-ground that you need to make additional sales and give you the time you need in order to afford to pay someone to do the job. This is an important first step before hiring!
Transitioning a Task from You to Another Team Member How do we take something that’s on our plate right now and effectively and proactively give it to someone else to handle? You need to be very very very clear on what ‘done’ looks like to you and communicate effectively. Overly communicate, overly explain, and get super detailed about what you’re expecting from your team members. Most people only consider the ‘what’ when it comes to delegating but we need you to think about the what, where, when, why, and how!
We want you to uncover the objective and goal of the specific task you are delegating before breaking down the skills that are needed in order to achieve that goal. You may even find that you want to delegate part of the task but not the entire thing. When you decide whether you have someone on your team that can complete this task, work out if they have the time for it, and really consider why you want to delegate it to that person. Finally, look at how much you can trust the person and work out a transition plan for them.
Why You Cannot Miss the ‘Why’Break down everything involved in this conversation instead of just focusing on what the task being delegated is. However, if you miss the ‘why’ everything is going to fall apart. This person needs to know why you chose them to take this task over from you as well as how the task impacts the bottom line of the business. We have seen a lot of people handing tasks over to get it off their plate without explaining why the delegated person has been chosen specifically and not only is that rude, but it gives that person no motivation to do it at all!
The One Thing We Want You to Do About Your Micromanaging Tendencies When you truly delegate, you may have some tendencies to micromanage and you need to release them and instead take ownership of your business! You’ve outlined what ‘done’ looks like and initially, you have to critique every step of the process and as part of your transition plan, remove yourself slowly. Your team members getting feedback is going to help them do better! If you have ever felt that you could’ve done a job better yourself, it almost always comes back to not delegating properly. As part of the transition plan, you will decide how much you will check in on this person. We want you to take ownership of these things without micromanaging. If you are a service-based business owner looking to hire, book a no-obligation conversation with us to chat about our C-Suite on Demand!
Quote ThisYour job is to grow the business and to make the decisions that keep the business around. Highlights* Getting Clear on What You’re Doing and How to Document Those Tasks. [0:09:47] * Finding Where You Shine and Prioritizing That (at Least For Now). [0:14:15] * Looking at What You Can Delegate Right Now Using Systems and Softwares. [0:20:47] * Figuring Out What ‘Done’ Looks Like to You. [0:27:08] * Why You Cannot Miss the ‘Why’. [0:31:26] * The One Thing We Want You to Do About Your Micromanaging Tendencies. [0:37:09]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
The Strategy Hour Podcast is a twice weekly show hosted by Abagail Pumphrey and Emylee Williams, the founders of Boss Project. Join us for semi-ranty biz conversations for service providers looking to ethically grow their agency businesses. Episodes cover everything from lead generation to leadership mindset to team culture and beyond.
Key Topics:Delegating, Team Members, Hiring, Prioritizing, Expectations, Why, Purpose
We Mentioned:C-Suite on Demand
AutomateYourBusywork.com
FactorMeals.com/bossproject50 use code bossproject50 to get 50% off your first box
Episode 740: Show NotesIn the past 30 days, more than 2,000 new AI tools have been released. There is no doubt about it; AI is going to have a major impact on how we work, how we ask questions, and how we search for information. No industry will go untouched by this technology and significant changes have already begun to take place. This causes fear in some people, excitement in others, and often a combination of both!
A few months ago, we had a conversation on the podcast about AI, but because of how much everything has progressed, we decided to have another one. While we don’t know what the future will look like, we know it will look very different from the present! Join us today as we discuss eight new AI websites that can help you optimize your business processes and add value to your life.
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AgentGPTWhen you open up the AgentGPT website, you’ll notice it looks very similar to ChatGPT. While there are some similarities between the tools, there are also quite a lot of differences. With AgentGPT, you can give a particular “agent” a role (to develop a business strategy, for example), and it will develop additional roles and delegate tasks as it learns what you need. We’re still exploring the potential of this tool but we imagine that it can make appointments for you, sit on customer service chats, and even potentially make calls!
Tripnotes.aiReady for a vacation? Tripnotes can arrange it for you! This tool doesn’t really have anything to do with business, but we’re so excited about it because we’re definitely not big fans of spending hours scouring the internet for reviews.
KrispCrackly audio and dogs barking in the background of a Zoom call aren’t ideal when you’re trying to share your brilliant ideas with a client. Krisp is a noise-canceling technology that is free to use for 60 minutes a day (and $8 a month for unlimited use!)
Gamma.AI and Prompt StormGamma is “ChatGPT meets presentations.” If you’re feeling a bit stuck and need some inspiration for a presentation, this is the tool for you. Similarly, Prompt Storm is the antidote to writer's block; a Chrome extension that helps you create highly personalized prompts. These tools are valuable because they can trigger different ways of thinking and methods of approaching tasks.
Rose AIThis one is going to be a game-changer for us! You can give Rose AI your data and it will generate infographics for you. Who doesn’t love a good bit of visual information? We find that it helps us understand things so much more clearly. As an added bonus, you can also buy and sell data through Rose AI.
Perplexity AIEssentially, this tool is a combination of Google and ChatGPT with a gorgeous user interface. As a starting point for writing inspiration, what more could you need?
Kickresume We get really excited when people develop AI technology for a very specific niche. Kickresume is an AI resume writer! It will help you format your resume and give you prompts for what to write in each section.
Quote ThisIt’s so early and AI is evolving so quickly, I wouldn’t make any huge decisions right away. But keep trying new things Highlights* AgentGPT [0:12:05] * Tripnotes.ai [0:14:07] * Krisp [0:15:13] * Gamma.AI and Prompt Storm [0:16:05] * Rose AI [0:17:42] * Perplexity AI [0:18:37] * Kickresume [0:21:00]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
The Strategy Hour Podcast is a twice weekly show hosted by Abagail Pumphrey and Emylee Williams, the founders of Boss Project. Join us for semi-ranty biz conversations for service providers looking to ethically grow their agency businesses. Episodes cover everything from lead generation to leadership mindset to team culture and beyond.
Key Topics:AI, Technological Advancements, Cutting Edge Developments, ChatGPT, Change
We Mentioned:ChatGPT AgentGPT Tripnotes.ai
Krisp Gamma.AI Prompt Storm
Rose AI Perplexity AI Kickresume
The Strategy Hour Ep 709
Boss Project Services Wait List
Boss Project Incubator
AutomateYourBusywork.com
FactorMeals.com/bossproject50 use code bossproject50 to get 50% off your first box
Episode 739: Show NotesAn overwhelming majority of female-owned businesses (88%, to be exact) are run by women who do not have a single employee. That means they are essentially doing everything on their own. And if you are pursuing growth, then running your company without any support is not a sustainable business model!
We are seeing many seasoned entrepreneurs reach a breaking point where they can’t decide whether they should give up their business or commit to becoming a leader and bringing on a team to support them. If this sounds like you, and you want to create a change, then it may well be time to re-envision your role within your business.
Our goal is to see more and more women occupy a true CEO seat. Our C-Suite on Demand program is designed to help more women take the step from being a solo CEO to becoming a leader that has the team she needs to support her vision. Tune in as we take a closer look at the options available to CEOs who want to re-envision their role and enter the next phase of leadership, all with the support of our team at Boss Project!
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C-Suite on DemandOur cohort for C-Suite on Demand is currently actively open for enrollment! If you’re a solo CEO trying to decide whether it’s time to grow your team then you should definitely consider this program. We’re here to help you figure out how to ethically grow your team, build company culture, and foster sustainability all while instituting the budget and forecast needed to support and maintain your business.
The Reality of Removing Yourself From the BusinessIf you've been listening to this show for a while, you may have noticed that we are not quite in alignment with a certain portion of the thought leader, influencer, and marketing education population. For one thing, we don’t believe there is just one way to do things. And we definitely don’t agree with bullying and shaming tactics to get people to subscribe to programs and methodologies — or buy into lavish lifestyles tied to a specific revenue figure or impact level.
One particular message we’ve noticed from this sector (that we’d like to address today) is the idea that once you get to a certain point in your business, the only logical next step is to remove yourself from it. While on the surface this may sound appealing, there’s a lot that this sector is not being entirely upfront about.
We are by no means suggesting that you can’t transition out of certain tasks and responsibilities in your business, automate systems, or start to think about succession plans at some point. After all, there is a time and a place for everything (and most of us don’t want to work forever). But there’s a big difference between being the owner and being the operator of your business. And unfortunately, the solution that many people out there are offering doesn’t quite line up with reality.
Knocking on Burnout’s DoorOne of the main reasons why the idea of removing yourself from your business entirely might feel so appealing, is that you have been knocking on burnout's door for quite some time. You’ve likely been doing most (or all) of your service delivery for a hot minute, including everything from marketing and sales processes to networking. And being offered a solution where you can simply step away can be incredibly enticing. But if the solution that is being presented to you seems too good to be true, it’s probably because it is!
Too much of what is being said and taught is designed to take advantage of people’s vulnerability in a way that we simply don’t align ourselves with. We would much rather show you a realistic way that you can get out of burnout, have more ease, be focused on life first, and continue to operate your company in a way that respects people. Not just for yourself, but for your clients, and the team that will ultimately work for you!
Getting the Support You NeedWe want you to have the proper level of support in your business. But the truth is that there’s no single, linear path that will lead you to that point. We also want you to recognize the opportunity you have to become more of a leader in your own company. That means moving away from task-based roles, where you're constantly checking things off, and instead starting to move into more leadership and management-oriented roles. And while this may seem intimidating, if you’re ready to grow and be challenged, then this is totally the direction you want to be heading in!
Our goal is to help you on this journey. Because we want you to find the support you need with full knowledge of the areas that it's going to impact, including your budget. Ultimately, it’s about figuring out how to get the support you need in a way that makes financial sense to you. Maybe you don’t need a full-time employee ASAP. Perhaps what you need right now is to hire two contractors for 60 days, so that you can grow your capacity before creating space to hire. Either way, we're here to help you figure it out!
How to Re-envision Your RoleOur C-Suite On Demand Program is uniquely suited to seasoned entrepreneurs who’ve been growing their business for some time, but are nearing a breaking point — unsure whether they should shut it all down or figure out how to become a true leader of their company. We realize that this is an especially intimidating step, but it can be hugely worthwhile. And while we acknowledge that not everyone wants to be an executive, it’s important to note that if you’re the kind of person that wants to continually be challenged and grow, then this is definitely going to flex that growth muscle. Even if you decide against radically growing the revenue of your business!
If you’re interested in exploring how you can make your next, or even first, hire, as well as what you can do to transition out of client delivery work and move into management, then we want to have a conversation! Our C-Suite on Demand is actively open for enrollment and we want to hear all about the phase of business you’re in and the unique challenges you’re facing, and help you figure out whether this is a good fit for you. For a zero-pressure conversation, fill out our short form here, and book a time so we can chat about what makes sense to you!
Quote ThisI'm excited for what it looks like for more women to be in a true CEO seat. Because — 88% of women-owned businesses do not have an employee. Highlights* C-Suite on Demand [0:07:21] * The Reality of Removing Yourself From the Business [0:07:58] * Knocking on Burnout’s Door [0:13:36] * Getting the Support You Need [0:16:12] * How to Re-envision Your Role [0:25:25]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
The Strategy Hour Podcast is a twice weekly show hosted by Abagail Pumphrey and Emylee Williams, the founders of Boss Project. Join us for semi-ranty biz conversations for service providers looking to ethically grow their agency businesses. Episodes cover everything from lead generation to leadership mindset to team culture and beyond.
Key Topics:C-Suite on Demand, Hiring, Executive, Management, Growth, Leadership
We Mentioned:C-Suite on Demand
Boss Project on Instagram
AutomateYourBusywork.com
FactorMeals.com/bossproject50 use code bossproject50 to get 50% off your first box
JenniKayne.com - 15% off your first order with code BOSSPROJECT
Episode 738: Show NotesAs a business owner, you will unlock different tiers of problems that you need to solve. While working with folks inside the Incubator, we’ve encountered many questions that we would categorize as ‘next level.’ We realized we have a lot we can help those people with. That’s what’s led us to introduce a brand new offer. We are so excited to talk about our new opportunity for people!
These are people who entered the Incubator, thinking that the next step for them was to start hiring more people. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t that! Instead, we worked with them on refining their offer so that they could start getting paid appropriately. Once they start getting those achievable results, they’re in the position to start looking for more people to hire.
How much do you save for hires? How much should you plan to pay them? What can you expect the return to be once you’ve brought someone on? How do you ensure you’re creating an incredible, ethical culture? We realized there’s a lot we can help you with.
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What Not to Brainstorm with Your Team and What We’re Offering InsteadWe really want to be a safe space for people asking these sorts of questions. Some of these conversations just aren’t appropriate for you to have with your existing team members. It just doesn’t make sense to run them by your employees or the contractors you work with. Some things you need to work out alone and walk your team through afterwards.
We’ve been in a position where we’ve misread the room and negatively impacted a contractor due to broken boundaries. If you need support on a different level and are looking to forecast and create a budget, a hiring plan, a job description, pay, and beyond, that means you’re unlocking a new level!
When it’s just you and a contractor or two, you might be the CEO, but you’re also what feels like a million other things, that means these questions have the potential to really rattle you. Having a safe space to discuss them can be really helpful. It’s a messy stage, but you can do it more easily and intentionally when you have help.
How C-Suite on Demand Takes You Beyond the Incubator to the Next LevelPeople approaching us for C-Suite on Demand are often looking to transition a contractor to an employee. They’re ready to make their next hire, whether that’s a first employee or an intentional addition to a growing team. First, we must understand your ecosystem and what you are trying to build. Which roles are necessary to fill before you can move forward? A lot of this is about right sizing for growth. C-Suite considers the same activities, but specifically around your team dynamics and operations. How do you take this to the next level, and with whom?
This isn’t a linear process. It’s an evolving thing. Your business will continue to show you signs while you’re working through this, and hiring is something that you need to re-evaluate continually. What skills does your business have already? Which ones do you need? Where are your holes? There are so many things we’ve had to pause on, and we’ve changed direction every time.
What We Aim to Create for You and How to Use It We want to give you a place to figure out your next steps in real-time. Part of that involves aligning you with resources; to us, there’s no resource as powerful as real-life examples. The questions we’ve laid out to ask in an interview alone could save you tens of thousands of dollars. We want you to feel really strongly about hiring for skill. While it’s true that you can always teach skill, it’s not always realistic to take the time to do that.
People are coming into this hesitant to make the next step. They could keep running the business as is. But they’re on a fast track to burnout if they do. They need more support so that clients are still taken care of and attended to if and when they step away for a day or a week. You may be completely able to deliver your service, but communication is such a key element of delivery that the right support can create the consistency that will change the game.
Introducing C-Suite on DemandWe’re starting with a six-month access to the program, the community, and the resource library. That’s where you’ll access job descriptions, the hiring process, different test projects, how to assess skill and culture fit, and more! We also have resources for once they’re on your team to onboard them and build a back-end framework.
We come from wanting to have a very ethical and safe team culture. If you don’t know the basis of where expectations should stem from, we’ll help you with that too! We help you with every step of the hiring process, from what to include in the job description to what to say after the interview. C-Suite clients also get access to the Incubator.
This is about deep impact. There’s no rush. The progress you see, we’ll have an amazing onboarding session where we get to know you and your goals. We have weekly training, Mastermind calls, C-Suite calls, and an incredible community within an intimate space.
What to Expect: Stories From Our C-Suite ClientsAn Incubator client opted to stick with us and try the C-Suite On Demand program after optimizing the size of her product. She wanted more insights on operations, hiring, and how to be in charge. She has since hired two new contractors and finally pinned down her mission, vision, and values. She’s written job descriptions and identified sales trends while growing her understanding of the ebb and flow of profits. Ultimately, she was able to redefine what she wanted her role to look like and how to get there.
Another client joined us at the brink of burnout. She knew she needed to scale her team, but she was overwhelmed by the process. She wanted to replicate the results she was working so hard for with a lot more ease, and regain time to herself to spend with her family. She is hiring her first employee, understanding how to use her time, and she is transitioning to an S-Corp. Ultimately, it’s helped her to take her CEO tasks more seriously, and stopped pushing those tasks to the bottom of the list.
We want to have a conversation with you! We want to understand how things are working for you. Fill out a short form, and book a time to chat with us to find out if you’re a fit for this cohort to carry you into the next chapter of your business.
Quote ThisWe are very intentional about making sure that the progress that you see is in alignment with what you actually want to achieve in your business. Highlights* What Not to Brainstorm with Your Team and What We’re Offering Instead [0:12:40] * How C-Suite on Demand Takes You Beyond the Incubator to the Next Level [0:16:40] * What We Aim to Create for You and How to Use It [0:19:17] * Introducing C-Suite on Demand [0:22:39] * What to Expect: Stories From Our C-Suite Clients [0:28:29]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
The Strategy Hour Podcast is a twice weekly show hosted by Abagail Pumphrey and Emylee Williams, the founders of Boss Project. Join us for semi-ranty biz conversations for service providers looking to ethically grow their agency businesses. Episodes cover everything from lead generation to leadership mindset to team culture and beyond.
Key Topics:Goal-setting, Resources, Leveling Up, Community, CEO, Business Roles
We Mentioned:Boss Project C-Suite on Demand
Boss Project Incubator
Succession
Love is Blind
Ted Lasso
AutomateYourBusywork.com
FactorMeals.com/bossproject50 use code bossproject50 to get 50% off your first box
Episode 737: Show NotesYou may have been tuning in to our podcast alongside the Incubator and looking for something better suited to where you are in your journey. We love that for you! Today’s episode is dedicated to you. We’re here to discuss some of the challenges you may face and how you can approach them.
Many of our Incubator graduates reach a point where they slowly want to remove themselves from some of the deliverables of their service. They want to be involved with strategy and direction, but they’re ready for everything else to fall to their team. They’re ready for the next phase, and this can be intimidating! This is not less work for them. In fact, at first, it’s more work. After that, it’s different work.
This isn’t about removing your job from the business. It’s shifting your focus to different aspects of the business. It will require you to grow and evolve as a manager, leader, and CEO. You’re going to go from just being the person who founded the business to sitting in a true CEO or leader’s seat. It’s such an exciting thing for us to see!
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Building Your Roadmap to a Visionary RoleThis is truly a visionary role where you’ll get to plan your business's future. What could it look like long term? How can you offer more? The path to get there is different for everyone! Where you’re at financially when you get to this point is different for everyone. We help people unravel what it would take to enter this new phase. How do you budget for this? How will this change what your capacity looks like as you hire?
What does it take for you as a leader? How do you create a healthy environment as a leader? How do you write a job description? It is an intensive process for a reason. There is so much to consider. Our goal is that during our time together, you make a strategic hire so that as these things pop up, you know how to tackle them. This is so powerful to watch because it goes so much deeper than changing the revenue! Most people in this position just want to change how they show up and untangle themselves from those day-to-day activities. It’s a lot!
Four Key Areas of Focus in C-Suite on DemandWe will be helping you develop a plan to hire for scale. We will also walk you through a budget creation process for hiring so that you can afford it consistently and forecast what you need to bring on even more team members. We will help you develop a team culture strategy based on your company's mission, vision, and values. That’s the foundation that you’re going to keep going back to. That’s going to help you define everything you do with your team and really help you to shift into that CEO mindset. This doesn’t only affect your leadership. You’ll start thinking about your growth, profits, and how everything fits together in a new way.
Just hiring one employee can help increase your annual business revenue by $100 000. That sounds like a wild stat. But we’ve seen it happen. Our clients feel truly supported. And that lack of support holds them back. Business owners often stunt themselves from additional sales because they know they lack the necessary support to deliver. When the support comes in, even if you utilize a contractor as a bridge, everything changes!
What it Means to Grow as Your Business GrowsWe will give you clear guidance on the pace that will make sense for you and help you map out the future! The good news is, because you are going slow, you will be able to identify your threshold. Everyone we’ve ever worked with has a different threshold of what they want to take on. You have to grow as your business grows. Our vision for you is to replicate and grow your revenue easily and with less overwhelm. You’ll see an incredible impact on your business when you create an ethical hiring plan while creating a company culture that aligns with your values.
When you hire employees with totally different skill sets from you, you can do more than ever before. One of our strategies in the Incubator is to create a deeper impact with your existing clients than to try to attract more business. It’s important to make the right hires according to your goals. We talk about what it takes to fully onboard a new team member and how long it takes to see ROI. All of this is being done so that you can get a better work-life balance.
Ultimately, we want you to feel in charge of designing your business life. Things will happen! And you want to create an environment of support for everyone on the team. We really want to help you to do that! Now, we’ve previously done this in a mastermind-only format, but all that is changing. If this resonates with you, and you’re thinking of making your next hire, or moving away from day-to-day deliverables into a visionary seat, you need to schedule a call with us today!
Quote ThisWe’re going to give you clear guidance on the pace that’s going to make sense for you and help you map out the future! Highlights* Building Your Roadmap to a Visionary Role [0:08:50] * Four Key Areas of Focus in C-Suite on Demand [0:11:56] * What it Means to Grow as Your Business Grows [0:17:06]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
The Strategy Hour Podcast is a twice weekly show hosted by Abagail Pumphrey and Emylee Williams, the founders of Boss Project. Join us for semi-ranty biz conversations for service providers looking to ethically grow their agency businesses. Episodes cover everything from lead generation to leadership mindset to team culture and beyond.
Key Topics:Hiring, Team building, Leadership, Business roles, Strategic direction, CEO
We Mentioned:Aavia
Cooklist
HelloFresh
Boss Project C-Suite On Demand
Boss Project Services Wait List
Boss Project on Instagram
Episode 736: Show NotesDoes your input feel aligned with your output? If you are billing hourly, chances are things are beginning to feel unbalanced. In this episode, we fill you in on how we can help you make the transition from hourly billing to value-based pricing, creating a more predictable business and recurring income. Today, we want to introduce you to new pricing models and provide insight into how to prepare your clients for the changes.
If you don’t want to be trading each of your hours for a dollar, it’s time to consider value-based pricing. If you continue to only get paid for the time you’re physically working on clients’ projects, you’re never going to be able to scale beyond a personal income. You need to be paid for every aspect of your job! There is a way to transition without dismantling your current business and The Incubator will walk you through the steps.
Stay tuned as we share more about how The Incubator program is structured and how we can help you calculate the ideal pricing for your unique business.
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The First Steps to Transitioning to a New Pricing ModelThe very first thing we’ll do in The Incubator is gather the facts! You’ll share everything with us, including what you’re currently charging and how long it’s taking you to fulfill an offer. We’ll put you through a time study to track your time when it comes to individual projects or clients, and according to the results, give you advice and share strategies for your specific business.
The next step is for you to walk every possible scenario through every feature of our calculator and submit the results for our critique. We have a completely non-judgmental approach. The way you want to work is up to you. We just ensure all factors you want to account for have been accounted for and provide feedback.
Our goal is to help you develop a service that isn’t dictated by what the client says they want but rather puts you back in the driver’s seat. Instead of reacting to what the client wants, you can show up as the expert to align them with a service.
Misconceptions About Value-Based PricingThere is a misconception that, if you’re not charging hourly, your hourly rate is irrelevant. This is simply not true! You ultimately need to know what an hour costs you. Tracking time meticulously is super stressful, which is why we do a loose calculation. We calculate a base number of what your company needs to be charging on average per hour to remain profitable and operational. And once isn’t enough! You need to keep addressing your average hourly rate: Make a decision based on today’s data, do the project, and recalculate. Although time-consuming initially, it will save you time going forward and will help you to get clear about the wording of the problem and how your expertise can address it.
Clarifying Scope The calculation stage is a good opportunity for you to clarify the scope of your service both for yourself and prospective clients. Clarity in scope presentation matters a lot in the sales process.
Our personal favorite scope line item to discard without hesitation is “unlimited support”. If you do choose to include this, be sure to put a time limit on it, include your business hours, and make it relevant to the specific service you’re providing. You don’t want clients coming back after 6 months to use that line item against you.
How to Communicate Changes to Existing ClientsOnce we’ve walked you through your premium package design, you’ll have another critique opportunity. Then we’ll help you to figure out how to communicate with existing clients if a change is going to be made to their offer. These clients will typically be those in retainer services and there may be a contract or timeframe that you need to be mindful of. We speak to our clients about how to structure the conversation with their clients around price increases and scope changes. Although there are risks involved, these conversations can go well! And if not, it’s a worthwhile challenge — the long-term impact on you and your business will be massive. Nothing beats the feeling of showing up to do a job that you’re being paid appropriately for.
Why You Should Consider Switching to Value-Based PricingIf you remain in the hourly world, your client is always looking for you to be more efficient, to your own detriment. As you get more skilled and efficient, you could ultimately end up being paid less for the same work, with the same clientele. It’s not right to be penalized as you continue to scale. If you’ve been doing something for years and it now takes you 20 minutes as opposed to two hours, why is that 20 minutes worth less? In short, it’s not.
This is as much about the return as it is about the price. “Value-based” refers to the impact of your service. The value to the client is a crucial variable to consider. If they can use your offer to 10x their investment, why are you so hesitant to charge more? Your expertise is invaluable and, at the end of the day, you’re saving your clients money.
Quote ThisIf you remain in the hourly world, your client is always looking for you to be more efficient, to your own detriment. Highlights* The First Steps to Transitioning to a New Pricing Model. [0:12:42] * Misconceptions About Value-Based Pricing. [0:18:33] * Clarifying Scope. [0:22:40] * How to Communicate Changes to Existing Clients. [0:24:45] * Why You Should Consider Switching to Value-Based Pricing. [0:28:15]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
The Strategy Hour Podcast is a twice weekly show hosted by Abagail Pumphrey and Emylee Williams, the founders of Boss Project. Join us for semi-ranty biz conversations for service providers looking to ethically grow their agency businesses. Episodes cover everything from lead generation to leadership mindset to team culture and beyond.
Key Topics:Value-based pricing, Hourly billing, Pricing model, Project scope
We Mentioned:Boss Project Services Wait List
Boss Project Incubator
Boss Project on Instagram
Episode 735: Show NotesWe have been seeing many frustrating things in the business world lately, so today, we talk about marketing ploys and business strategies that we don’t align with. We strongly believe that if you work with a coach, you should ensure that that person lives their life and runs their business in a way that aligns with your belief system so that you can create a life and a business that you really, truly want.
Tune in today to hear about what gives us “the ick” in the industry and how we are doing things differently. We want you to know that there is an easier way to go about things than what you may have been experiencing up until now. The process will be different for everyone, and we want to help you find the most optimal approach for YOU! We hope you walk away knowing exactly what kind of space this is and what you can expect from us going forward.
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Tweak It or Leave ItIn the highly connected digital world that we live in, we are all constantly bombarded with information from a variety of sources. One of the most important skills you can learn as a business owner is to separate the things that work for you from those that don’t and then leave the things that don’t work behind without looking back! Just because someone is saying that a particular tactic or strategy worked well for them doesn’t mean it will work the same for you. So, listen carefully to what other people are saying, take it on and tweak it to suit your business if you think it will be helpful; otherwise, forget about it and move on.
Be Obsessed With What You Are SellingWhen was the last time you were in a high-pressure sales conversation? Sometimes these situations are unavoidable, but if you are finding yourself facing them regularly, you might need to rethink how you are positioning yourself. Recently, a client approached us because she was struggling to “sell herself as the expert” to her clients. This is a no-go! You are selling your deliverables and your scope, not yourself! The best way to increase your sales is not to chase clients; it is to create a product that you are extremely proud of.
Eliminate FOMO and GuiltYou don’t need to sell to everyone, and you don’t need to feel bad that not everyone can afford your service. As a small business, it is unethical to expect yourself and your team to be able to serve a huge audience. First and foremost, you need to focus on making your business profitable. Once your business is sustainable, you can give back to your community in whatever way you see fit. We can help you get to this point, but we aren’t going to do it by promoting a particular growth mechanism because not all methods work for all people. Instead, we prefer to identify what is working for you and how we can help you hone the skills that you have already developed in order to achieve bigger and better results!
Change Your Perspective on GrowthGrowth is not the be-all and end-all of business success. You may want to build a multi-million dollar business, or you may just want to make enough to live a life without financial stress. What gives us “the ick” is the constant rhetoric around growth and the lack of conversations about making that growth intentional, getting your systems stable, and maintaining that growth. Slowing down to build up your endurance is harder than always going faster and faster, but in the long run, it will help you to avoid burnout and build a sustainable business with a predictable income!
Business Foundations > Sales and MarketingOver 95% of the educational materials available for businesses are focused on sales and marketing. But more often than not, what business owners really need to learn long before any sales and marketing strategies are business foundations. From the very beginning, we have been teaching good old-fashioned business practices, things that have been true since businesses were invented! This is where you need to start. Forget about sales and marketing for a minute, and let’s get back to basics.
What It Really Means To Be A CEOWe hear it everywhere: “As the CEO, it is your job to create a business that you no longer have to be a part of.” We couldn’t agree less. It’s true that you’re not always going to love your business, and you’re not going to ever love every element of it. But taking yourself out of it entirely means that you are avoiding responsibility, and before you know it, your beloved business could turn into a monster. You don’t need to know every detail about your business, but you should definitely have a high-level understanding of what is going on at all times.
Quote ThisIt is actually your due diligence to make your business profitable first so that you can turn around and impact others. Highlights* Tweak It or Leave It [0:10:21] * Be Obsessed With What You Are Selling [0:12:28] * Eliminate FOMO and Guilt [0:13:57] * Change Your Perspective on Growth [0:23:53] * Business Foundations > Sales and Marketing [0:26:24] * What It Really Means To Be A CEO [0:31:21]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
The Strategy Hour Podcast is a twice weekly show hosted by Abagail Pumphrey and Emylee Williams, the founders of Boss Project. Join us for semi-ranty biz conversations for service providers looking to ethically grow their agency businesses. Episodes cover everything from lead generation to leadership mindset to team culture and beyond.
Key Topics:Marketing ploys, Alignment, Small business sales, Small business strategy, Business FOMO, Business guilt, Business foundations
We Mentioned:Boss Project Services Wait List
Boss Project Incubator
Boss Project on Instagram
Episode 734: Show NotesOur new Incubator is finally here! It’s always exciting taking on a new cohort, and in this episode, we break down what you can expect from our newly refined Incubator program and how to determine whether it’s right for you. Tuning in, you’ll learn about the type of issues we address (like how to price correctly) and how we help business owners step into their role as CEO by gaining a deeper understanding of the different aspects of their business, and how they impact one another.
We want to help you find ease and joy in your business again, whatever stage you’re at. And even if you’re not a good fit for our Incubator program, we’d love for you to get in touch so that we can help you get to the next level. Join us as we unpack what it means to take your business to the next level and how to build ease into your life through our new Incubator program!
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Is This Incubator for You?Our Incubator has been designed based on the many questions and queries we’ve received from you all. And while every business is unique, there are definitely shared commonalities that characterize the companies that are best suited for our program. One of the challenges that we’ve heard about pretty consistently from all of you, is that you are getting to a point where you are at capacity. This is not to say that you're operating at 100% capacity at all times, but you may well find yourself encountering this problem fairly frequently. If you’ve considered hiring a team (but you're not sure if you’re ready to take that step) and if you want to build sustainability behind the scenes so that you can find more ease and be extra confident about making that next hiring decision, then this Incubator is for you.
Let’s Talk RevenueIf you’re making between $5,000 and $20,000 a month then there’s a good chance you’re ready for our Incubator program. It may seem like a wide range, but we’ve seen a lot of similar issues coming up for those of you that fall within that scope. We do suggest, however, that you fall at, or above, a consistent $5,000 minimum before you consider joining our program. We’ve found that once you consistently hit that minimum, there’s a shift in mental clarity. That stability frees up your mental space and allows you the brain power to focus on other issues. If you haven’t reached this point yet, and you join something as intensive as our Incubator, there’s a good chance you’ll start to feel overwhelmed by the need to maintain sales, while also implementing the strategies that we’re going to be talking about inside the program. And we want you to be able to give as much of your attention to this program as possible!
Calling All Service Based Business OwnersWhen it comes to the type of business owners who can apply for this Incubator, we’re talking specifically about service based business owners. That is to say your talent, expertise, or skill set, is the thing you’re selling, primarily. Typically you would have expertise in an area that you have extensive training in, but that doesn’t always need to be the case. Sometimes it’s expertise you’ve gained from years of experience. We’re seeing all kinds of service based business owners, like copywriters, graphic designers, interior designers, interior architects, accountants, and more.
Building a Solid FoundationIt is crucial that business owners put a solid foundation in place before they start to expand, truly scale, and hire. If you don’t create the necessary foundation, you won’t have the financial runway you need to prepare for all the challenges you’ll face down the line. We’re here to help you build that foundation and step into your role as CEO. You’ll gain a deeper understanding of how the various mechanisms in your business can meaningfully affect your bottom line, the true extent of your team’s capacity, how much time you should be spending on client work, and much more.
Equal Parts Curriculum and SupportWe are big believers in the benefits of group coaching, and it’s always incredible seeing our cohorts grow together and learn from one another. When you're in this specific phase of your business, it’s critical that you get outside perspectives and become exposed to examples of how other businesses have approached and solved problems you might be facing. We will also continue to provide in-depth one-on-one feedback as we go! Our program has been refined and redesigned to provide you with an outstanding curriculum while also giving you access to the support you need so that you can have quicker wins that impact your business on a more profound level.
Pricing AppropriatelyWe see a lot of people that are losing money slowly because of their pricing. And often this is because they are unaware of just how much time it is taking to ultimately deliver on what they’ve promised. While many of our clients come to us with a range of difficult issues, we are always shocked by how many of these complex challenges can be solved when they start pricing appropriately. If you’re scared that we’re just going to tell you to 10x it, don’t worry! Our approach is incredibly mindful and takes into account the many different circumstances that come into play with this type of decision. We take participants through our proprietary approach to get clear on income pricing capacity, understand your time, scope your deliverables, and communicate clearly with clients to ensure satisfaction on both ends!
Join the FunThis party is starting soon, and you’re invited! Get all the deets about the Incubator here.
Quote ThisI see a lot of people that, whether they realize it or not, are priced to the point that they're losing money slowly… Highlights* Is This Incubator for You? [0:06:23] * Let’s Talk Revenue [0:09:20] * Calling All Service Based Business Owners [0:11:23] * Building a Solid Foundation [0:13:38] * Equal Parts Curriculum and Support [0:20:46] * Pricing Appropriately [0:22:51]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
The Strategy Hour Podcast is a twice weekly show hosted by Abagail Pumphrey and Emylee Williams, the founders of Boss Project. Join us for semi-ranty biz conversations for service providers looking to ethically grow their agency businesses. Episodes cover everything from lead generation to leadership mindset to team culture and beyond.
Key Topics:Boss Project Incubator, CEO, Service Based Businesses, Pricing, Capacity, Hiring, Finding ease, Support, Mindset
We Mentioned:Boss Project Services Wait List
Boss Project Incubator
Boss Project on Instagram
Episode 733: Show NotesWe have a list of goodies to share with you today of things we have learned over the last 18 months. We aren’t digging into the archives from years ago. These are definitely things we have learned and implemented more recently, and they are things we know you can benefit from. If you’ve been listening to the podcast for a while, these are tips that you should pay attention to for yourself, and try to figure out how they can work for you!
We know that the last couple of years have been very strange and we started noticing things that we used to do consistently and used to get predictable results from not working at all anymore, and we even got negative results. This is not uncommon for service-based business owners to experience at all! We wanted to gather up the best things that moved the needle the most for our business, especially when things are confusing. You may be surprised at how foundational these steps actually are and we came up with these ideas as a sort of experiment.
In the last 18 months, our business has more than doubled. We went from a team of two to a team of seven full-time, we reduced our contractor load while still having subject matter experts, and our revenue is on a completely different playing field than it ever has been before. We have focused more on our values and taken these steps to move the needle substantially for our business. We want you to develop an experimental mindset and actually live in it, and here is how!
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Taking the Pressure Off of Marketing and Social MediaThis one may not be surprising to you at all or, on the flip side, you may be completely shocked. We turned off our ads. Yes, you heard us correctly, our ads have been turned off for six months now! We moved away from spending money on advertising and we have been talking to our clients about how they can continue to be successful without relying on ads, trendy marketing tactics, and social media. We also cut all of our blog content in half and stopped focusing on creating a daily presence on Instagram!
The time we spent on these things became so exhausting and one day, we decided to just stop. We’ve noticed, as we have focused less on those areas that nothing bad actually happened! In fact, only positive things happened. We were terrified that this change would impact sales negatively but we actually haven’t seen any negative impact whatsoever. We want you to stay present on these platforms, but being present is different from feeling the pressure to show up all the time. Starting with this step gave us room to take the other steps we’re going to talk about today.
Shifting to a Premium Pricing ModelMost of our clients are in services and we are still educators at heart so having different pricing has always been a part of our business model. We actually decided to drop a lot of our lower-priced courses that were way too outdated. We’ve shifted into a premium pricing model that is more in alignment with the coaching and consulting services and we are feeling really good about this shift! We have said this (practically) since the beginning of time: creating a low-price and premium-price offer takes exactly the same amount of time and energy! So if you’re going to be exerting the same effort, you may as well be paid more for that effort right?
Working with the Same Client at Different Points in Their JourneyWe learned a really big lesson that taught us to look at our ideal clients on a range of needs and at different stages of their business. We remember feeling like we had lost touch with our clients and didn’t even know who they were a few years ago when we were serving hundreds of thousands of clients. We didn’t have the capacity to know everyone’s business and we wanted to change that!
We want you to look at how you can serve your clients at the different stages they may be in. This informed some of the changes we made because going deeper and getting a better result in this one area has made a bigger impact on our clients’ businesses, and they are able to see results in a more tangible way! We can spend more one-on-one time with clients that fill our cups and help them progress the way they want to.
Seeing our clients graduate through our programs is wild to us because we can see how one program gets them primed and ready for the next stage. Not being ready is absolutely okay and it’s okay to pause and refine things in your business in order to get ready. That is exactly what we want to help you to do! You have to make some tangible decisions that will impact your business at the stage it is in on its journey. And when you make decisions, they don’t have to be concrete decisions! They can be flexible, experimental, and can be changed! There has to be some ability to move and go with the flow so that your business survives stormy weather.
The First Thing We Do When Something Goes WrongWhen you see things that aren’t working in your business, we often see clients shifting the blame. We think it’s important to pay attention to how the leaders can grow in the business. We like to look at how we can improve first before looking outside of ourselves when something goes wrong in our business. This will shift everything and make your team more loyal and more focused on success, because your expectations are clear!
It's also important to make sure you are clear on the difference between working with contractors and working with employees. We want you to understand those boundaries and how your expectations of employees and contractors need to differ so that you can get what you should be getting out of that relationship and not expect what you cannot (legally) expect. We want you to turn inward first instead of reacting in anger or frustration. Pause, take a beat, and look at the ways you can improve first!
Why We Focus on Our Long-Term VisionYou would’ve heard us talking about shifting away from looking at goals and focusing on outcomes instead. Now we are focused on what we can do today to put us on course for what we want long-term. We are so excited about having this more long-term focus and while we know that this may feel like a major luxury and maybe you may not be able to focus on the vision just yet, this is a place we hope you can get to in your business.
Understandably, in the beginning, you may simply feel the pressure to build a business that is going to survive and that is absolutely okay! We are well aware of the luxury capital provides and how difficult things can be when you rely on your business to pay your bills. But when you get to the point where there is no doubt your business will stay around, focusing on the long-term is key!
The more we focus on the business through this lens, the less our self-worth is tied to the business and then we are able to make decisions brick by brick to carve the path we eventually want. Try to remember that your decisions are biased and third-party input can be so helpful. We have turned to other people countless times in order to avoid some of their mistakes when making these decisions. You don’t have to meet your vision in one click of a finger tomorrow but as long as you are making very smart decisions today that lead you to that goal, you are on the right track!
The Power of Reinventing Your Messaging and Meeting Your Clients Where They AreWhen your capacity is low early on in business, putting time and energy into your messaging doesn’t really make a difference, believe it or not. But when your capacity is where ours is, messaging is so important. We even landed one of our biggest clients from our website alone! Not too long ago, we were due for a messaging change so we revealed a new brand, new colors, and new language on our website so that we can show up for our clients and really showcase what it is that we offer. We have gotten so specific about the services we offer and how we help and we are constantly shifting our messaging. These subtle changes make a huge difference in the conversations you are having behind the scenes.
So if your capacity is increasing, we suggest that you make messaging and web improvements, and our team can even help you. Just as your business goes through changes, so do your clients’ businesses! We do not approach every client with a cookie-cutter outlook. Everything we do is personalized and we make sure to meet our clients exactly where they are in their business. At first, we made the mistake of making our service offerings too broad but we have realized that clients mostly have the same type of issues, so narrowing the focus for you and being experts in those fields delivers better results! Now we are very clear about what we are and aren’t willing to do, and these things are in alignment with our culture and focus on our mission, vision, and values.
Defining Your ValuesAs we have defined our values as a company, we use them as a lens for every single thing we do going forward. We decided to create a value called lighthearted, and part of that means that we have no addiction to urgency, time, and results just for the sake of it. We want to start to do things with ease, slow down, and enjoy the journey. We use this value as a guiding principle for how to have an experimental mindset. Whenever we feel frustrated, we remind ourselves and our team to be lighthearted.
This has become huge for us and our goal is for you to run your business that is in alignment with how you want to be living your life and has the vision of being more future-focused! We make decisions in our business that some of our peers may think are strange but we remain focused because we know what our values are. We have started a new cohort for our Incubator and we want to encourage you to join us, so that we can help you have radical realizations and make changes that have a deep impact on how you show up as a human and in the online world!
Quote ThisThe amount of time that it takes you to create and market a premium-priced offer and a low-priced offer is the same! Highlights* Taking the Pressure Off of Marketing and Social Media. [0:10:51] * Shifting to a Premium Pricing Model. [0:14:09] * Working with the Same Client at Different Points in Their Journey. [0:17:36] * The First Thing We Do When Something Goes Wrong. [0:25:54] * Why We Focus on Our Long-Term Vision. [0:30:26] * The Power of Reinventing Your Messaging. [0:37:53] * Meeting Your Ideal Client Where They Are Right Now. [0:42:28] * Defining Your Values. [0:46:19]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
The Strategy Hour Podcast is a twice weekly show hosted by Abagail Pumphrey and Emylee Williams, the founders of Boss Project. Join us for semi-ranty biz conversations for service providers looking to ethically grow their agency businesses. Episodes cover everything from lead generation to leadership mindset to team culture and beyond.
Key Topics:Marketing, Social Media, Premium Pricing, Vision, Values, Messaging
We Mentioned:Book a call with Boss Project
Boss Project Incubator
Boss Project on Instagram
Episode 732: Show NotesHow are you spending your time as a business owner, and what are you choosing to prioritize? As the CEO of your company, it’s crucial that you allocate your time in the best way possible. This, however, is much easier said than done. While the internet is populated with countless examples of how to increase your productivity and get more done during your working hours, few of them take into account the myriad of distractions and obligations that you and your clients need to contend with on a daily basis.
In this episode, we break down a time hack we share with our clients that actually works for small businesses (and it doesn’t involve waking up at 5 AM every day!). Our goal is to walk you through what you need to be prioritizing as a CEO and what percentage of your time you should be spending on each category. The lessons we share today will provide you with a fantastic foundation that you can continue to build on. Tune in to learn how you should be spending your time as CEO and how to become confident in the knowledge that your attention is exactly where it should be!
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Client DeliveryThe number one trap that most CEOs and small business owners fall into is the inclination to spend too much time on client delivery. As CEO you should only be spending about 30% of your time on this. The remaining 60% is divided into smaller increments across various responsibilities. So while client delivery demands the biggest percentage of your time, it probably still needs to be considerably lower than it currently is. Many of you are probably spending 100% to 90% of your time on client work, even if you don’t realize it. This can have a lot of unintended consequences. The biggest of which is that you neglect other crucial elements of your business, which, in the long run, will decrease the quality of your services and cause a drop in referrals.
It is critical for you to begin to put yourself in other departments for the long-term sustainability of your business. We’re here to help you find a healthy capacity and avoid burnout so that you can have enough leads and sales, while also paying attention to the other areas of your business!
Working on Your BusinessThe second most important component that you should be spending your time on as CEO is your business. Plain and simple. We’re talking about everything: from administration to business operations, to automated workflows, to scheduling meetings with clients, to all the work that takes place backstage. You should be allocating 20% of your time to working on your business. And if you think this has nothing to do with client delivery and sales, think again! Because clients can sense when things aren’t working behind the scenes. It’s the invisible operations that will create the efficiencies you need to deliver great client work and optimize your output
Prospecting, Marketing, and SalesThe balance of how you spend your time in the following two categories will depend on a few factors. On average you should be spending about 15% of your time on prospecting and marketing, and the remaining 15% on sales. The percentage of time you allocate to these two categories tends to ebb and flow (based on your needs) and will also be determined by your industry and the type of activities that lead to sales. For instance, you may decide to spend 20% on prospecting and marketing and only 10% on sales.
Ultimately it all comes down to finding balance and spending time on the marketing strategies that directly result in more sales. Whether it’s email lists, social media, or paid ads, ask yourself what specifically is getting people to notice your product and say “Yes, I’m interested”. That will give you an excellent indication of where you should be spending your time.
Making Time For LeadershipNext up is an activity that many people assume CEOs spend most of their time on, but in reality, it often accounts for a surprisingly small percentage of your time (even though it’s the thing that most CEOs enjoy more than anything else). We are of course referring to leadership and the time that you use to dream, ideate, and strategize. It also includes your personal and professional development. This should account for 10% of your time, which may not seem like a lot, but in a standard 40-hour work week that still amounts to a full 4 hours. And you can accomplish a lot in that time! You also have the option of spreading it over a few days or spending it all on one half-day.
Internal MeetingsOur final category is something that often gets neglected (especially with growing businesses) and, depending on your team, this section may currently be non-existent for you. We recommend that you spend 10% of your weekly schedule on internal meetings. That means checking in on your team. These are internal meetings with anyone that you work with, whether they’re employees or contractors (not your clients!). We want to make sure that you have a dedicated space for this. It can be something as simple as a regular Slack message, or as consistent as a weekly meeting, but it’s an important opportunity to develop community within your team and build camaraderie. These things don’t materialize out of thin air so you need to be intentional about building them!
Find Out How To Join The Boss Project IncubatorWe’re excited to announce that we’re welcoming a new cohort into our Boss Project Incubator! If you’re interested in what we spoke about today and want to learn how to scale and grow in a way that aligns with your values, reach out to us here. Abagail has time reserved on her calendar just for you! We’ve helped tons of clients at various stages of their business define their goals and implement winning strategies. So if you’re interested in what we talked about today and want to learn more, contact us for a pressure-free conversation where we discuss where you’re at and whether this program is right for you!
Quote ThisIf untangling all this feels like a lot, know that you're not alone. You could have this 100% wrong, and that presents an opportunity. Highlights* Client Delivery [0:16:34] * Working on Your Business [0:20:53] * Prospecting, Marketing, and Sales [0:22:31] * Making Time For Leadership [0:26:33] * Internal Meetings [0:31:12] * Find Out How To Join The Boss Project Incubator [0:33:29]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
The Strategy Hour Podcast is a twice weekly show hosted by Abagail Pumphrey and Emylee Williams, the founders of Boss Project. Join us for semi-ranty biz conversations for service providers looking to ethically grow their agency businesses. Episodes cover everything from lead generation to leadership mindset to team culture and beyond.
Key Topics:CEO, Scheduling, Planning, Prospecting, Leads, Marketing, Sales, Leadership, Internal Meetings, Community
We Mentioned:Book a Call with Boss Project
Boss Project Incubator
Boss Project on Instagram
We are so excited to walk you through some of what we’ve been working on behind the scenes. Today we are going to let you guys filter through our brains about how we got to this point, what is new, and how you can be a part of it. One of the incredible things about running an online business is that we have been able to be part of a lot of the shifts that have happened for the entire industry. We have had to act and react based on many changes and our business has gone through loads of pivots.
But not to worry, Boss Project isn’t going in a totally new direction. Our mission has always been very much the same and we are still focused on helping more women create profitable and sustainable online businesses so they can become financially free! Using that as our focus, we have always been on a journey to improve constantly, and now, we are finally at the point we have always wanted to be at.
When we launched our Incubator, we wanted to be able to measure as many things as possible. Our incredible program manager was very intentional about implementing surveys, measuring the people joining the program and their growth, critiques, attendance, milestone calls, and our clients’ revenue. We dove deep into this data so that we could see things across the board. It’s all about creating an environment where more people can be successful, generate more revenue, and improve their lifestyles. We are so excited about this new version of the Incubator that is going to support the whole you in the most incredible way!
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The Biggest Thing We Decided to Do When Creating and Reimagining the Incubator We are so excited to be talking about the tweaks and changes we’ve made to the Incubator while giving you insight into how this is designed around real data. We aren’t just guessing what will improve the experience, we waited until we had enough of the right information and were confident that these changes would improve results for our clients.
We have seen (virtually) every variety of programs out there and we decided that we were not going to ‘fluff’ the program for the sake of it! We wanted to make it clear that when you spend time with us, the focus is on moving the needle in the fastest, most effective way. In the reimagining of our program, we have realized that even though we tried to avoid the ‘fluff,’ some of it slipped through the cracks. Now we are being intentional about removing it as we reimagine the Incubator! We want to remove as many obstacles as possible so that you can see results.
The Main Goal of Our Group Program Our primary objective is to equip you with the ability to develop or redevelop a signature service that is going to help you reach your goals within six months! Believe it or not, for most of our clients, that means selling to fewer people, making less revenue (for the time being), and focusing on the behind-the-scenes systems that will help you create a more efficient environment.
Our clients usually come to us at a pivotal point in their journey; when they are stuck in a cycle and are at the edge of burnout. Our goal is to jump in and help you figure out what revenue goals make sense for you and what needs to shift for you to achieve them without making massive changes to the operation of your company.
Surprisingly, when you’re facing a challenge like this, we actually don’t recommend that you hire more people. When you make behind-the-scenes changes instead, you end up making more money with the same amount or fewer clients than you did before and with the same size team! Hiring is a next-level conversation and this is the first step.
One Calculation We Want You to Use We want you to know and understand what levers you can pull and when. We wanted a quick way for you all to look at a specific section of the program without having to sift through the entire thing. So we have created shorter videos that are ‘bite-sized’ and easy to digest so that you can revisit areas you want to be reminded about with ease. Theoretically, within an hour you can make a small refinement on various aspects throughout the program. For example, our approach to pricing is focused on what it needs to be in order for you to hit your goals and is also based on the capacity you have in your business.
The Five Key Outcomes and Objectives You’ll Get from Our Revised Incubator ProgramWe want to partner with you to make sure that your ultimate goals are reached and that you’re making more money with ease! The first thing we’re going to do is teach you how to chase the breadcrumbs, gather that data, and interpret it. We want you to be able to have the tools to figure out how you’re going to arrive at a sustainable income, how you’re going to price your services, and what your capacity needs to be.
We want you to grow your business at a sustainable and ethical pace so that you know you can maintain your growth. All of these changes will be made in a way that is in line with your capacity and your goals. We are seeing our clients make very clever shifts to their messaging because they get clearer on their results, can promote what they’re doing articulately, and identify what is and isn’t working much easier.
We also give you a peep behind the curtain of how we structure an effective sales process. These things are going to help you close your deals faster. It’s not a one-size fits all selling conversation, but we help you structure that based on your business. As part of the program, you get to hop on a coaching call with us and we will help you take action and move forward in a really effective and individualized way. You will also get customized feedback throughout the program. We want you to be able to walk away with revenue that helps you reach your financial goals and comes into your business in a consistent, ethical, and sustainable way. So join the waitlist and become a part of our Incubator!
Quote ThisWe wanted to remove as many obstacles, even if they were mental, that you had to jump through in order to see results. Highlights* The Biggest Thing We Decided to Do When Creating and Reimagining the Incubator. [0:14:34] * The Main Goal of Our Group Program. [0:17:19] * One Calculation We Want You to Use. [0:22:19] * The Five Key Outcomes and Objectives You’ll Get from Our Revised Incubator Program. [0:25:58]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
The Strategy Hour Podcast is a twice weekly show hosted by Abagail Pumphrey and Emylee Williams, the founders of Boss Project. Join us for semi-ranty biz conversations for service providers looking to ethically grow their agency businesses. Episodes cover everything from lead generation to leadership mindset to team culture and beyond.
Key Topics:Revenue growth, Sustainability, Group program, Ethical practice, Business growth
We Mentioned:Schedule your Discovery Call
Boss Project Incubator
Boss Project on Instagram
Episode 730: Show NotesIn today’s episode, we share what we’ve learned about the business journey, and break down some of the phases, checkpoints, and milestones you’ll experience along the way. Throughout our careers, we’ve had the honor and privilege of working with some pretty phenomenal service-based organizations. And due to the nature of our work, we’ve had the opportunity to observe the inner workings of countless small businesses. In that time, we’ve seen key patterns emerge that we believe anyone can learn from!
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We want to help you identify where you are in your journey and figure out why you might be feeling stuck. Once you can locate yourself in the overall journey, you'll learn to visualize the next steps and how to prepare for them. That can mean putting key foundations in place so that you are able to move forward, or coming to the realization that you are actually really happy in the phase you are currently in.
The key lesson that we want to leave you with today is one we stress with our clients: this journey never really ends. There is no end game when it comes to business! When you acknowledge this, you can begin to enjoy the journey so much more and appreciate where you’re at; whatever that phase may be! Join us today for an expansive conversation where we break down the ten phases we’ve observed across business journeys and unpack our belief that there is no “done” in business!
Phase One: Getting Clarity On Your PrioritiesHere at Boss Project, we are all about running a life-first business. As a result, our goal is for you to have the type of lifestyle that will make you happy as soon as possible. While living the life you want sometimes demands more money, that doesn’t mean you can’t prioritize certain things along the way. That is why phase one is all about getting clear on priorities; because it’s so important! Not only as a fundamental part of your business but also of your life.
Typically, you will be in phase one during the start of your journey, but you’ll likely return to this phase when you feel a need to prioritize. This is especially probable after a big life event, be it something positive like growing your family or a more challenging experience like a change in your relationship status or leaving a toxic work environment. So many people end up being forced into this phase, and we’d much rather you choose to start this journey because you have a dream. Let this inspire you to take a moment to pause, reflect, and get clear on your priorities!
Phase Two: Setting Clear Boundaries AND Keeping Them Phase two is all about setting boundaries and sticking to them! A lot of people will mess this one up. The good news is that mistakes are actually a really important part of the process. It’s an opportunity for you to take control and establish how you want to run your business. After all, it’s only through first-hand experience that you will learn what you’re willing to put up with (and what you are not!)
If it sounds like you might be in this phase, don’t panic! Often, the reason you are failing at setting boundaries is that you care. You are so determined to be of service to other people that you tend to bend over backward and give too much of yourself away to your clients, their projects, and their timelines. There is an art to setting boundaries and keeping them, and with some practice, you can learn how to perfect it!
Phase Three: Finding Alignment Between Your Business and Your ValuesIf you’ve failed at setting boundaries in the past, it can provide you with a really good indication of what needs to change. It’s an opportunity to figure out your values and what needs to happen for you and your team to bring your business practices in alignment with your values. Once you’ve determined what those values are, you’ll get to a place that feels more in alignment with how you want to grow, allowing you to lead your team in a whole new way!
We love this phase. This is where your mission and vision can begin to turn into action and come into alignment. When you run your business in alignment with your values, you come to understand that what goes on behind the scenes is just as important as what you’re offering!
Phase Four: Not Enough Time In The DayPhase four of your business journey is largely defined by how short on time you’re feeling. When you’re in this phase, it’s important to remember that you’ve arrived at a really incredible point in your business journey. You know you’ve got something good on your hands, you've started to solidify your boundaries, you're clear on your priorities, and you've outlined your values. But you are also running at capacity and you might feel like you’re constantly putting out fires. The longer you stay in this phase, the closer you get to that dreaded state of burnout. Luckily, the next phase is all about addressing this heightened state of anxiety and the endless demands on your time, however daunting that may feel!
Phase Five: Re-evaluation When you’re knocking on burnout’s door and you realize that the way you’re doing things isn't sustainable, it’s time for phase five. In fact, you might very well feel like you’d rather quit than try and fix this hot mess! This is an opportunity to re-evaluate everything, from how you want to refine your offer, to your price point, to the overall process, and much more. All of this can be tweaked to help with your capacity and avoid burnout. It also gives you more space to operate in your zone of genius, which in turn allows you to stay true to your boundaries and your values!
Phase Six: Revenue RutWe call phase six "the revenue rut,” and it can happen at any point, no matter how much you’re earning. In this stage, it can feel like you’re stagnating despite all the effort you’re putting in. You might be doing all the right things, but you’re just not seeing the growth and results that you were hoping for. At this point, it’s easy to convince yourself that starting over is the right move, but in our experience, nine times out of ten, it’s not the right decision. Instead, we want to help you capitalize on the thing that brought you the most success, tweak it, and take it to the next level so that you can get out of your revenue rut!Phase Seven: Putting Your Systems in Place Acknowledging that you’re in a revenue rut is what will allow you to transition to phase seven. For some of you, this will feel like you're taking a step backward. However, we are here to tell you that this is a step forward, even if it’s not immediately propelling you upward! When you find yourself in a revenue rut, it feels like the only thing that will address the problem is more money. But what will actually help you make more money is putting in place the systems and processes you need to support you. That’s what phase seven is all about and we are HERE for it!
When you’re at this point, you need to acknowledge the scope of the business you’ve created. You need to recognize that the skills you’ve developed in order to deliver incredible products and services to clients are very different from the skills required to run a successful business. This is why phase seven is all about the processes and systems you need to run a successful business sustainably!
Phase Eight: Plateauing on PurposeWe love phase eight so much that we’ve hung out here for months at a time. We are all about bringing back the term plateau, along with contentment, maintenance, ease, and sustainability. At this stage, you’ve got experience on your side. You’ve reached the point where you’ve assessed your boundaries and values enough that you get to decide not only what growth looks like for you but how you're going to actually get there and what you really want!
The wonderful thing is that, when you're in this phase, you've reached a financial milestone that enables you to support yourself, your business, and your passions. There may still be phases that follow this one, but believe it or not, you gain a sense of ease when you make the decision NOT to grow.
Phase Nine: A Season of GrowthAfter a season of rest and plateau, it’s common for business owners to find that they are ready for a season of growth. They got the rest they needed and are filled with newfound creative energy. If you’re feeling drawn to the idea of creating impact in new areas and even stepping into a new role, the next thing you need to do is build your team!
It’s important to bring in people who have skills that differ from yours. If your goal is revenue growth, then you need to select people who have more client capacity than you do. Ultimately, it’s not about taking things off your plate. It’s about expanding in a new and exciting way!
Phase Ten: The Learning CycleThe final phase is highly cyclical, and in a sense, it never truly ends. Once you start to expand your team and proceed in your season of growth, you enter a learning cycle. You can simultaneously be learning and growing in this phase whilst also accidentally re-entering earlier phases in the business journey. The plus side is that, because you’ve experienced these phases before and worked through them, you can recognize each one and feel equipped to deal with them when you find yourself in a familiar stage!
Quote ThisI want you to give yourself a little bit of grace in this journey. Highlights* Phase One: Getting Clarity On Your Priorities [0:13:53] * Phase Two: Setting Clear Boundaries AND Keeping Them [0:19:07] * Phase Three: Finding Alignment Between Your Business and Your Values [0:24:15] * Phase Four: Not Enough Time In The Day [0:27:32] * Phase Five: Re-evaluation [0:30:34] * Phase Six: Revenue Rut [0:32:02] * Phase Seven: Putting Your Systems in Place [0:35:42] * Phase Eight: Plateauing on Purpose [0:39:42] * Phase Nine: A Season of Growth [0:44:04] * Phase Ten: The Learning Cycle [0:49:19]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
The Strategy Hour Podcast is a twice weekly show hosted by Abagail Pumphrey and Emylee Williams, the founders of Boss Project. Join us for semi-ranty biz conversations for service providers looking to ethically grow their agency businesses. Episodes cover everything from lead generation to leadership mindset to team culture and beyond.
Key Topics:Business Journey, Growth, Revenue, Business Processes, Plateauing on Purpose, Economic Climate
We Mentioned:Boss Project Services Wait List
Boss Project Incubator
Boss Project on Instagram
EveryPlate.com/podcast - just $1.49 per meal with code bossproject149
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Episode 729: Show NotesToday, we discuss the difference between one-time projects and retainer projects for clients and how you can determine which is right for you. There are many filters through which to run your decision-making process when deciding whether to explore one over the other or have a hybrid between the two. In this episode, we share insight into the questions you should be asking yourself in order to make that call.
We break down the financial benefits and challenges of one-time projects and retainers, respectively, and explain how to gauge which model is right for you! You’ll find out when it makes sense to consider the hybrid model, and why it’s essential to hold the future in mind when settling on your service structure. Tune in to find out which model makes the most sense for your business, both financially and systematically.
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The Financial Benefits and Challenges of One-Time Projects Versus RetainersIt goes without saying that the retainer model brings with it a degree of financial security that one-time projects do not. One-time projects do, however, allow for creative play. People tend to think that they have to commit to one model or the other based on their industry, but we believe there are creative ways to do both in any industry. Something we’ve learned along the way is that it’s okay to make decisions based on how you want to feel within your company.
Many years ago, we were following the launch model almost exclusively, which resulted in revenue peaks and valleys, leaving us feeling uncomfortable in the dips. That’s not to say the peaks didn’t tide us over, but the discomfort informed our future decisions. It’s okay to address how you feel and make decisions accordingly! If peaks and valleys stress you out, you need to consider a retainer option and build in recurring revenue. The associated challenge, however, is that you will most likely need more clients, more consistently.
How to Gauge Which Model is For You You need to decide if you constantly want to be focused on filling the bucket with new projects or maintaining the relationship with current clients. Another thing to consider is whether your ideal client is facing a one-time problem or an ongoing problem and whether you can consistently deliver the same solution, or if it’s better to solve the problem with a single solution. You don’t want to be artificially creating problems for the sake of revenue.
When to Consider the Hybrid ModelIf you choose to solve an ongoing problem with a retainer, you may face the challenge of the problem not being urgent enough. It needs to be enough of a problem for them to justify hiring you to solve it for them. Thus it’s important to have a hybrid model with additional one-time projects. In the grand scheme of things, particularly in times of economic downturn, it’s easier to run a hybrid business. It can also aid internal maintenance because processes are going to be completely different for one-time projects versus retainer clients. You need to gauge your capacity for doing both, and whether it makes sense for you both financially and systematically.
Building Towards Future GoalsYou can sell things at typically a much higher price point when you add a unique skill set to the mix, but if the goal is to sell the business and you’re not going with it, what are you trying to build towards? It’s important to constantly reevaluate, without changing your mind too often. We recently sat down to set our long-term goals. Eventually, we want to have the freedom to step away, explore new things, and do more creative one-time projects. Thus, we decided that the recurring retainer business model is the best fit for us and we are slowly working towards it; planting seeds and thinking about what we need to do today to set ourselves up for the future success that we want. We’re doing this by doing behind-the-scenes one-time projects and getting paid to learn how we want the system to be set up while fulfilling public-facing services. It’s important to start making short and long-term decisions simultaneously.
Want Extra Support?If you want even more help streamlining your business, creating your dream work week, and learning how to live life-first again, we’d love to have you learn more about the Incubator. We have thorough conversations packed full of value with each applicant to make sure this is the right next move for your business. Even if you decide not to join, if you’re approved you’ll have instant access to a private training all about how to streamline your work week without increasing your client capacity or sacrificing income.
Quote ThisYou can sell things at typically a much higher price point when you add a unique skill set to the mix. Highlights* The Financial Benefits and Challenges of One-Time Projects Versus Retainers. [0:13:10] * How to Gauge Which Model is For You. [0:16:52] * When to Consider the Hybrid Model. [0:21:06] * Building Towards Future Goals. [0:27:32]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
The Strategy Hour Podcast is a twice weekly show hosted by Abagail Pumphrey and Emylee Williams, the founders of Boss Project. Join us for semi-ranty biz conversations for service providers looking to ethically grow their agency businesses. Episodes cover everything from lead generation to leadership mindset to team culture and beyond.
Key Topics:One-time projects, Retainer projects, Hybrid model, Long-term goals, Service offerings
We Mentioned:Boss Project Services Wait List
Boss Project Semi-Custom Services
Boss Project Incubator
Boss Project on Instagram
EveryPlate.com/podcast - just $1.49 per meal with code bossproject149
Backblaze - free 15 day trial
Episode 728: Show NotesToday we’re talking about pricing! We have been discussing pricing for creative small business owners since the beginning. This is our happy place! We have a new version of this conversation today and are excited to share it with you. Let’s face it, the market is just totally weird right now. Business owners approach us often, asking for advice about whether to pivot or start over. And 90% of the time, we’re Team Pivot, as long as you ensure that your pivot aligns with what the market sees as essential. You’ve got to meet your clients or prospective clients where they’re at. So what does it take to close different kinds of clients at different price points?
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Behind the Scenes at Boss ProjectLately, we have been doing some really cool Sales Strategy Intensives. That means we work one-on-one with business owners like you, and dive into: how your current services are set up, who you are selling to, at what price point you’re selling, your profit and loss over time, and more. We help you to pick apart what is working and look for areas you could improve to increase your capacity, or your revenue, or any other goal you might have.
Often, business owners with a defined niche will have in mind to broaden it, but our advice is always to stay as specific as possible. What would your opportunities look like if you niched down even further? What is your best opportunity, and what is the right tweak on the surface? When business owners make these changes, we consistently see results right away. If you want to explore this conversation with us, check out the Incubator or our Sales Strategy Intensives on our website.
How to Leverage Old Content by Fixing it Up and Polishing it for Your ReadersBefore we get into closing clients, it’s so crucial that you consider your capacity! We want to see you be successful, and understanding your capacity is a massive part of that. But it isn’t just time-related. Sometimes, you could theoretically handle more clients that take less time, but things change mentally the more clients you serve at any given time. You need to get clear on what you can handle. Are you selling in a retainer or a project-based model? That’s going to determine a lot of what you do.
Maybe you’re comfortable with a higher number of clients. Are you comfortable with the number of leads you need to land in order to have that many clients? Do you have time for that many discovery calls? Are you comfortable having that many pitch calls? Work it back all the way to how many leads you need, and really assess if that’s in your wheelhouse. Sometimes, you’re going to have to do all of those things at the same time. So you’ve got to work it to your advantage.
Pros and Cons of Choosing a Low, Middle, or High Price PointSometimes when you’re feeling particularly burnt out, a lower price point client can be fantastic. A lower price point can mean less strategy is involved — it’s process-oriented instead. It could potentially mean that as the business owner, you are delivering little to none of the services, and your team is doing it for you. It could mean you are only working on the sale and not on the fifth element side. Client expectations are typically different in this space. But this is a spectrum! You can go too low and end up with clients expecting a lot more than the deliverables. You’ve got to have a clear scope of what’s on offer.
When you’re priced appropriately, you get excited to show up to work again. You can afford to over-deliver if you’re priced appropriately for your delivery. You can also adjust your price in accordance with who your client is. Some of you will need to make adjustments to suit your particular clientele. The advantage of a premium price point is that when you get there, you can make more customizations for that client. You can take a base offer and riff off of it. You can add things you wouldn’t do for another client. You know you’ll dedicate more time to the client, so you have room to make those changes.
What You Need to Know About How the Price Point Influences the Selling ProcessWhat is impacted depending on your price range? The lower your price point, the more systematic the sales process needs to be. A lower price point means a lot less customization during the sales process in general and the follow-up! There is so much opportunity to systematically go after a group of people because they would be experiencing very similar problems. The sales process needs to take less time for a lower offer. Not because the client deserves less of your time, but because being mindful of your capacity and time is one of the most important things you can do as your company's founder.
That’s how you set yourself up for success. It’s how you prevent burnout. Honoring those boundaries based on your capacity shows your team they can have those exact boundaries. There is no world where you can treat every client at every price point the same way. You’re just not. Customizing the sales process according to the price point of your pitch is a huge part of this. The time to convert at a higher price point could be a lot longer, while at a lower price point, your approach needs to be short and concise. Your time is important, so why would you give it to something you know isn’t aligned with your values?
Why You’ve Got to Start Accounting for the Time it Takes to SellRegardless of what price point you’re selling at, you have got to start accounting for the time it takes to sell! Delivery doesn’t happen in a vacuum where everything goes perfectly. People get sick. They have family emergencies. Things happen that will slow you down, and you’re only thinking about it after they sign and pay. You can’t wait until after they sign and pay to think about this. You need to know how many leads you need, and at what price point you need to be selling so that you can hit your goals! You might need to change what you’re offering based on how many leads you want. You have to take the ebb and flow of the market into consideration. What’s your response rate? What does your conversion rate look like? Where are your price points at? Have you taken your delivery into account? Your capacity? Do you have a team of support right now that helps you, or do you not?
Even if every piece of your sales process is manual, you need to know what numbers you need to make it all make sense. Even if you’re talking to five people a month with the goal to land one client. At what price point do you need to be selling for that all to make sense? How many leads do you need to talk to five people? It’s all interchangeable and it can all change. While there are advantages of each price point, and differences you might make in the sales process, you may need to address these things based on the feedback you are given. You may need to address them way more frequently than you think!
You have to keep changing things. It’s time to get curious. Get back onto the ground floor and see what your prospects are actually asking for. If you want help refining your offer or trying to make some pivots and some tweaks to make sure that it is price-right, and it is talking to the right person. If you want some help doing that research in your current audience, and the deep dive analytics as to what you are bringing to the table already, slide into our DMs on Instagram, book a time with Abbie, and let’s talk about what we can make happen for you.
Quote ThisWe want to see you be successful, and understanding your capacity is a really big part of that. Highlights* Why We Insist on Determining Your Capacity First [0:12:27] * Pros and Cons of Choosing a Low, Middle, or High Price Point [0:16:07] * What You Need to Know About How the Price Point Influences the Selling Process [0:21:40] * Why You’ve Got to Start Accounting for the Time it Takes to Sell [0:31:09]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
The Strategy Hour Podcast is a twice weekly show hosted by Abagail Pumphrey and Emylee Williams, the founders of Boss Project. Join us for semi-ranty biz conversations for service providers looking to ethically grow their agency businesses. Episodes cover everything from lead generation to leadership mindset to team culture and beyond.
Key Topics:Pricing, Planning, Capacity, Clients,Time Management, Sales, Values
We Mentioned:Boss Project Services Wait List
Boss Project Incubator
Boss Project on Instagram
EveryPlate.com/podcast - just $1.49 per meal with code bossproject149
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Episode 727: Show NotesAs you probably know by now, we’re obsessed with talking about pricing, so this episode is one of our new favorites! This conversation is more important than ever right now because of the current economic climate. There is no such thing as a one-size-fits all pricing model so today, we’re going to walk you through a couple of different scenarios that we have seen are working well for people.
We’ve sold everything from $29 products to $450,000 services and everything in between. So, rest assured, we know what we’re talking about when it comes to pricing. One of the consequences of the economic environment is that people start leaning away from education and towards done-for-you offers. Focusing on perfecting your pricing is your opportunity to make everything make sense again! Getting pricing right is a key factor we constantly stress with our clients.
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Bursting the Service Industry BubbleFor many years, many people working in the service industry didn’t have the expertise to justify their price points, but because of the bloatedness of the bubble the service industry found itself in, they could get away with it. But, as always, the bubble burst, and when online business owners realized they had been duped, it caused a severe lack of trust. Subsequently, this led to clients wanting to get to know their content creators on a much more personal level before diving into working with them. So, service providers are navigating a completely different environment these days in comparison to a few years ago!
Why We Prefer Premium to Low-Priced OffersPremium means a lot of different things. It can mean luxury (and there’s definitely a market for that) but it doesn’t have to! Premium services can be divided into low-end, middle-ground, and high-end, and the prices associated with each level are very industry-dependent. But regardless of industry, when people start taking zeros off their offerings, it makes us question the integrity of their service. Wouldn’t you agree? That’s not to say that you can’t ever adjust your pricing downwards, but that decision shouldn’t ever be a gut reaction. If you’re thinking about reducing your prices, you need to really ask yourself, “Why?” For example, if your lead pool is going to double when you cut your price in half, that decision would make sense, but more often than not, it doesn’t work like that, which is why we advocate for premium pricing!
The Benefits of Pricing TiersWe want you to ask yourself this: At the core of your service, what is the actual outcome you are providing and how can that outcome be achieved in different price point tiers with appropriate deliverables, each of which provides your ideal clients with your expertise? When deciding on your pricing, consider the amount of time it takes you to complete the task you are pricing for. This might sound obvious, but it’s important that you don’t forget it: if you have two offers and one takes you half the time, that’s the one that should cost less. Right now is the time when you should be experimenting with pricing, so don’t be afraid to take the leap!
Cut the Fluff! Since the pandemic, people across the board have gained a lot of clarity around their values and priorities. So, the services-based businesses that are doing really well these days are the ones that have cut the fluff! When we say fluff, we mean the kinds of deliverables that don’t cost you anything because you can just do them once for every client. Get rid of those guides and videos that aren’t benefiting you or your clients and you’ll suddenly see a positive shift in your business.
Want Extra Support?If you want even more help streamlining your business, creating your dream work week, and learning how to live life-first again, we’d love to have you learn more about the Incubator. We have thorough conversations packed full of value with each applicant to make sure this is the right next move for your business. Even if you decide not to join, if you’re approved you’ll have instant access to a private training all about how to streamline your work week without increasing your client capacity or sacrificing income.
Quote ThisIf your lead pool isn’t automatically going to double then you cutting your price in half isn’t getting you anywhere. Highlights* Bursting the Service Industry Bubble. [0:13:09] * Why We Prefer Premium to Low-Priced Offers. [0:14:46] * The Benefits of Pricing Tiers. [0:19:52] * Cut the Fluff! [0:24:34]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
The Strategy Hour Podcast is a twice weekly show hosted by Abagail Pumphrey and Emylee Williams, the founders of Boss Project. Join us for semi-ranty biz conversations for service providers looking to ethically grow their agency businesses. Episodes cover everything from lead generation to leadership mindset to team culture and beyond.
Key Topics:Economic Climate, Done-For-You Services, Premium Pricing, Service Industry Bubble, Pricing Tiers, Industry Evolution
We Mentioned:Boss Project Services Wait List
Boss Project Incubator
Boss Project on Instagram
EveryPlate.com/podcast - just $1.49 per meal with code bossproject149
Backblaze - free 15 day trial
Episode 726: Show NotesThe One Thing That Can Make or Break Your BusinessToday we are diving into what you need to get right in your service-based business. This has a dramatic effect across the board and will either make your business very successful or lead to its failure! The people getting this wrong are often the ones who are on the road to burnout, are overworked and underpaid, they feel like everything is working against them and all systems are broken, they’re not reaching their financial goals and don’t understand why, and they don’t know where all their time is going.
This may seem like a complicated issue but before you fear that all hope is lost, we are going to touch on a bunch of little things that are interconnected and all impact each other to help you. Believe it or not, all of what this comes down to is two things that have a major impact on everything else. We are addressing these things in this episode and finally having the much needed conversation to take these things deeper than surface level and ensure your businesses success!
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Behind the Scenes at Boss ProjectToday we are introducing a new segment to the Strategy Hour Podcast to appease your curiosity and update you about what’s going on at Boss Project! We’ll share info about our cool projects, what goes on behind the scenes, and how we work with clients. We also want you to know about all the content that we push out. Aside from the two podcast episodes every week, we also drop two blog posts a week and are now hosting free live workshops so the content will keep coming your way! You can see this segment as a bulletin board of announcements. If something resonates with you from this episode, we would love to chat!
We recently wrapped a project for a CPA firm just outside of Texas and they were at such an amazing place in their careers when they approached us; they had just purchased another CPA practice in the hopes of adding more strategy to the clients that they were working with. This client had a very specific problem and when they purchased the business, they received the rights to the existing website. However, the website was dated, was not informative, and obviously lacked personal information about them as the new owners.
Our challenge coming in was updating their website and making it modern and on par with the 21st century as well as helping them move away from the old-school ways of the business. They wanted to come across as established, confident, and ready to take on the business while appealing to millennial business owners! This project was so much fun. We did absolutely everything from start to finish; brand design, mapping out the website, copywriting, etc. We think it turned out amazingly and we are so excited to watch them grow astronomically with their new look and feel! We are booking more websites this year so if you feel you are lacking in design, feel free to reach out to us for help!
The Art and Skill of Mastering Your CapacityWe want you to understand your capacity in such an in-depth intimate way so that you understand how everything you do impacts it. If you raise or lower your capacity, it adjusts all these other things so essentially, this is a case of cause and effect. People like to think of everything existing independently when it comes to making business decisions, but the truth is that leads to us running a business where we aren’t sure what needs to happen in order for us to reach our goals. Knowing and understanding your capacity means you are able to do things more intentionally.
Each member of a team has a different capacity for the things they are able to do even if the total number of working hours are similar. Often people don’t know what they can handle or what is reasonable for them and they end up surpassing their time capacity and as a result, want to increase their client base. We want you to know that that isn’t always the solution and is unrealistic. Having full-time team members is an expensive luxury that requires a lot of planning and time for an onboarding process. You need to get in alignment with your real capacity and correct price by ‘right-sizing’ based on your financial goals and needs before expanding your team! Doing this can grow your revenue massively and really make sure you deliver to your clients.
What to Do When Capacity Isn’t Price DependentFor some clients, price isn’t necessarily the issue and if you’re at a different point in your business with your goals set in the quantity game, you have to focus on optimizing capacity in other ways. We want you to focus on systemizing your deliverables in a way that makes the delivery a sort of machine. Your process has to be so streamlined, seamless, and hands-off so that you can have the capacity to serve that many people. Your clients need to be paying the price-point to match the service that you are delivering. Anything can be adjusted and it is a case-by-case basis so you need to figure out what your goals are and make capacity adjustments from there.
How Charging Appropriately Ultimately Leads to SuccessBased off a price increase, you are able to show up and easily provide a little bit more for your clients. Yes, these things will take up your time and increase your capacity a little bit, but when you get paid for your time appropriately, there is an inherent desire to make the experience more valuable and provide better results for your clients. Even though we think everyone can double their prices, you also need to keep in mind the psychological effects of price increases and make decisions in your decision-making zones that won’t scare your clients.
Most of the changes we suggest you make are so doable and nowhere near intimidating! Sometimes the simplest of changes can make the biggest difference but we do understand that when you are close to it, it is difficult to see what your options are. It takes a third, unbiased opinion to help you make these decisions, no matter how intelligent or good at running your business you are. That’s what we’re here for and we want to make sure that we are respectful of the kind of life you want, what your goals are, and whether or not you really want to increase your capacity. We can talk about this all day long because capacity truly does affect literally everything in your business, and all of that then affects your prices. If you need help figuring this messiness out, we would love to help you so head to our waitlist and steal some of our time now!
Quote ThisWhen you know and understand your capacity, you can do things more intentionally. Highlights* The One Thing That Can Make or Break Your Business. [0:13:18] * The Art and Skill of Mastering Your Capacity. [0:14:45] * What to Do When Capacity Isn’t Price Dependent. [0:24:32] * How Charging Appropriately Ultimately Leads to Success. [0:28:59]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
The Strategy Hour Podcast is a twice weekly show hosted by Abagail Pumphrey and Emylee Williams, the founders of Boss Project. Join us for semi-ranty biz conversations for service providers looking to ethically grow their agency businesses. Episodes cover everything from lead generation to leadership mindset to team culture and beyond.
Key Topics:Capacity, Pricing, Scaling, Charging appropriately, Time management, Burnout
We Mentioned:Boss Project Services Wait List
Boss Project Semi-Custom Services
Boss Project Incubator
Boss Project on Instagram
EveryPlate.com/podcast - just $1.49 per meal with code bossproject149
Backblaze - free 15 day trial
Episode 725: Show NotesOur mission at Boss Project is to empower creative business owners to build a life and business that excels financially and supports them soulfully. Since we started this business, we have been truly dedicated to helping build a community of fiercely supportive people that are also ridiculously profitable. So much of that comes with financial literacy.
We want to see more women and femmes in business be not only financially safe but financially thriving. That’s a huge reason we brought on today’s guest who is dedicated to empowering people through financial literacy. Shannon McLay is the CEO and Founder of Financial Gym, a revolutionary financial services company, and she is an expert in helping others to build both personal and business finance.
Shannon offers a membership package, consults with clients and connects them to trainers on her team. There’s a missing piece of financial literacy, especially for women and femmes in the creative small business space. Figuring out where to start to build better financial health can feel like a minefield, but through Financial Gym, Shannon makes it possible to reach those business goals.
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Shannon McLay’s Journey to Happiness Through Helping OthersWhen she turned 30, Shannon McLay thought she had it all figured out. Six months later, everything changed. That was the moment she went from focusing on making money with the knowledge that she wasn’t changing lives, to learning that the secret to true happiness is helping others without expecting anything in return. In search of inclusivity within advisory, she left the hedge fund she was managing and went to work for Merrill Lynch. It was here that she realized the problem she had identified was actually inclusivity with clients.
She became the Advisor of Yes, saying yes to every meeting even though she was only meant to take on clients with over $250,000 in assets. It was here that she began to take on what she called ‘pro bono clients’, moved to action by people’s stories. Finding enormous satisfaction in supporting people who really needed her ignited a fire in her to dedicate all of her time to doing exactly that.
Building A Place for All to Get Financially HealthyShannon’s work with clients in need of her support to get debt-free and financially fit coincided with a personal fitness and healthy eating journey. It was here that she realized that there are many places to go when you are prioritizing your physical health, but none to support financial well-being. That’s how the idea for Financial Gym was born. She decided to create a place where everyone could go to get the ‘workout’ they needed. Instead of advisors, she would have approachable ‘trainers’ dressed in t-shirts and jeans. Her vision was clear, and although she had no experience starting a business, she decided to take the plunge.
After burning through every resource she had, her then-husband stepped in and offered his personal capital, before a former boss invested $100,000 in her business. This speaks to the power of having a strong network. Today, she has raised over 10-million dollars to work with clients with a net worth of negative $2,000 in the bank, all the way to seven figures of income, and seven figures of debt! They’ve literally seen it all. And that’s a source of joy! While a normal financial advisory usually works with a narrow demographic, the Financial Gym has an insider’s insight into why America has a financial fitness problem.
What We Can Do to Address the Financial Health Crisis TodayIf you are feeling financially unhealthy, you are not alone. The majority of Americans are unhealthy, and only 23% of women are considered financially healthy. There is a crisis. There is still a lot of work to be done. So where does it start? From the beginning. From the home. Personal finance is a language, and we have to learn it. The problem begins at home because our parents don’t feel confident in their financial choices. It’s not something you learn in school either. But the second we get into the economic system, we all have to learn to manage our finances.
Even if you have the knowledge, it doesn’t always prevent this crisis mode that you enter when you start earning your own money. That’s why education needs to start as early on as possible. Shannon recommends that you create an economic system for your kids at home. Have a way for them to earn, spend and save money because those are the three basic components they’ll have later on. It’s also so important to address any emotional trauma that you might have around money. The majority of people experience financial anxiety, even if they’re doing well! Acknowledge that you have an emotional connection with your earning, spending, and saving.
Fear, Shame, and Financial Cycle-BreakersThe best part of the beginning of developing a healthy money mindset is understanding that none of this is life or death! We all have to have a relationship with money. It’s the way our society works. But fear and shame characterize many people’s interactions with it. That creates a toxic relationship! A lot of the work Shannon does is around developing a healthy money mindset. We have to break these cycles and work through the trauma because we are creating more trauma by not knowing. Shannon calls the first training session a ‘Financially Naked’ session because of the taboo around finances. The good news they like to share is that anything you do financially is fixable! Your financial picture isn’t permanent.
Podcasts are free! They’re an amazing resource to help you to become financially fit. Talk to friends, read books, and learn from experts. Find those places where you feel excited to learn. Find the right people who are excited to talk about these things with you! The more you speak about it, the easier it gets. At the Financial Gym, each relationship starts with a warm-up call. Current clients talk to prospective clients, hear their journey and their goals, and connect you with the right trainer. They’ll ask you, if money wasn’t an object, what you would like your life to look like. To end with, they’ll ask what your non-negotiables are. What pieces of the puzzle have to stay? We all have to make choices, but a lot of people will find that their goals are not actually that far out of reach, and with the right support, they may be achieved far sooner than you expect.
Quote This“Everything you do financially is fixable.” —Shannon McLay Highlights* Shannon McLay’s Journey to Happiness and Creating Wealth for Others [0:03:17] * Building A Place for All to Get Financially Healthy [0:09:25] * What We Can Do to Address the Financial Health Crisis Today [0:13:58] * Fear, Shame, and Financial Cycle-Breakers. [0:22:06]
Today’s Guest:**Shannon McLay**
The Financial Gym
Website | Instagram | Twitter
Martinis and Your Money Podcast
Shannon McLay is the CEO and founder of The Financial Gym, a revolutionary financial services company focused on financial wellness for all. After a 13-year career in finance, working for Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Shannon recognized the need to create a financial services company that would provide clients of all financial shapes and sizes the financial partner they needed to achieve their goals. Over the past ten years, Financial Gym has worked with thousands of clients in all 50 states, all income brackets, and all backgrounds. Shannon currently hosts the award-winning podcast, Martinis and Your Money and is the author of Train Your Way to Financial Fitness.
Key Topics:Financial literacy, Debt, Finances, Saving, Spending, Net worth, Financial education
We Mentioned:Boss Project Incubator
Boss Project on Instagram
EveryPlate.com/podcast - just $1.49 per meal with code bossproject149
JenniKayne.com - 15% off your first order with code BOSSPROJECT
Backblaze - free 15 day trial
Books:
A Random Walk Down Wall Street
You are a Badass at Making Money
Atomic Habits
The Psychology of Money
Happiness
Podcasts:
Martinis and Your Money
Earn Your Leisure
The Stacking Benjamins Show
Girls that Invest
Brown Ambition
Be Wealthy and Be Smart
Financially Naked
Mental Health and Wealth
Episode 724: Show NotesMaybe you’re a one-woman show. Maybe you’ve hired a part-time employee or a contractor or two. You have probably seen significantly high profits in your first few years. Now, you’re entering years three, four, five, and beyond, and you want to pay yourself more, hire more, or have other expenses you want to reallocate funds to. You’re so married to your high profits, that you will create goals for yourself to do anything you can to maintain those profits while being able to spend more money. We really want you to give yourself a bit of a break here! And that’s exactly what we hope to empower you to do through this episode.
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What Profit Really is and How the Relationship Changes Over Time Profit is your total income. It’s all the money that comes in the door. 99.9% of you should be in an accrual accounting system. It’s all the income you receive minus all of your expenses in the same set period. It can be typical for a service-based business owner to be seeing profits as high as 90%. We’re seeing those profit margins in a lot of business owners that we are working with. They’re coming to us and saying that they don’t know how to make more money because they already feel they’re at capacity, and they’re tired, and they can’t imagine turning the knob up to make more.
That’s when it might be time to do some work on your mindset! It’s so important to disconnect your self worth from your high profits because those things are not one and the same. The most powerful tool we can suggest here is to spend some time researching the profit margins that other businesses seek. A lot of business owners are actually operating on 15% or less profit margin because, as you already know, running a business is expensive!
One of the benefits of being in a service-based industry is that your primary cost is your labor. It still needs to shift over time, and so a lot of it comes down to the question of whether you’re charging enough. But the thing we want you to start to understand is that there is a juxtaposition between the business making more and you making more.
Why Your High Profit Margins Might Not Actually Mean Shit If you feel confident and comfortable with your high profit margins, but you’re not paying yourself a reasonable salary, then your high profit margins might not mean shit. If you’re not paying yourself a high enough salary, there are other issues at play here, even if you don’t need the money. It’s not a sustainable business if you can’t earn a living from it! Even if you never want to pay yourself a salary, you’re going to have to do that with tax in mind as soon as you hire an employee. Why grow a business to this size with this level of complication and a lower profit margin when you could potentially make the same amount with a smaller business at a higher profit margin? What is the benefit to you above and beyond the dollars?
Maybe you want to grow your business so that you can sit in a CEO seat rather than that of the creative director or lead of the service. Maybe you want to build a company that will become sustainable on its own one day so that you can either sell it, open another company, or go into business in a completely different industry and do something else, while also getting an income from the other business.
At Boss Project, we can totally see the benefit of running a business on a much smaller scale! But because we have one another’s support and the support of an amazing team, we love to lead at this level. It has taught us so much that we wouldn’t have otherwise learned.
The Difference Between Annual and Month-to-Month ProfitsWhat is your lifestyle worth to you? You can make more money and do a lot more work, or you can do less work, but a different kind, and make similar money or more by scaling up. It takes more effort to leap forward, but the dips are less significant because they don’t always completely wipe you out. When we started, we didn’t have a traditional pay arrangement. We got paid when clients paid us. We’ve seen a lot of variation for ourselves and our clients. That doesn’t go away as you scale.
Annual income and monthly income are different, and they look different for everyone. We often talk to our clients about the value of building three to four months of operating expenses. You are likely to have peak times of the year and slower months of the year, and your income can go up and down. Thus, you need to have a security net. To start, it should just be everyone’s salaries, but above and beyond that, you should get to the point where you have full operational expenses times three. We have tried to reframe the way we think about money, to allow it to be less of a vanity metric and more about how our lifestyle has shifted towards what we want.
There’s a misconception that you always need to be making more, and that you always need to be growing. While there’s no blanket advice (because everyone has unique situations that need to be considered), we find comfort and support at a 50% profit margin. That’s a lot easier to maintain long term. Forecasting and mapping out a plan and a budget for you and your team is something that we do for our executive coaching clients, so if you are ready to scale, or scale past a contractor or two part- or full-time employees, and you want to figure out what would be needed, we would love to hear from you! Slide into our Instagram DMs or book a chat with Abagail.
Quote ThisIt’s not a sustainable business if you as the owner can’t earn a living from it. Highlights* What Profit Really is and How the Relationship Changes Over Time [0:14:09] * Why Your High Profit Margins Might Not Actually Mean Shit [0:20:04] * The Difference Between Annual and Month-to-Month Profits [0:29:08]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
The Strategy Hour Podcast is a twice weekly show hosted by Abagail Pumphrey and Emylee Williams, the founders of Boss Project. Join us for semi-ranty biz conversations for service providers looking to ethically grow their agency businesses. Episodes cover everything from lead generation to leadership mindset to team culture and beyond.
Key Topics:Scaling, Growth, Profit Margins, Salary, Profitability
We Mentioned:No Cure for Being Human
Zodiac Academy
Boss Project Services Wait List
Boss Project Semi-Custom Services
Boss Project Incubator
Boss Project on Instagram
EveryPlate.com/podcast - just $1.49 per meal with code bossproject149
JenniKayne.com - 15% off your first order with code BOSSPROJECT
Backblaze - free 15 day trial
Episode 723: Show NotesToday we're talking about creating an intranet (which we also refer to as a “garage”) for your company. This is separate from the project management of your day-to-day operations. This is more about setting the precedent for your company culture, creating SOPs, and focusing on other high level elements that are essential to the running of a successful business. You can think of it as Union Station for your team, your clients, and you!
Until we had an intranet in our business, we wouldn’t have known it was missing. Now, we can’t imagine ever living without it! It has been so useful in so many ways. At first we used it only internally, but then we decided to branch out and use it to enhance our clients’ experience, and the results have been incredible.
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Why We Love NotionOnce we had grown our business from just the two of us into a full team, we realized that there were a lot of different reference points, members on our team were struggling to find certain things, and everything was just becoming more chaotic than we would have liked. So, two years ago we began using Notion for our Boss Project intranet wiki, and we couldn’t be happier about it. Notion allows us to make updates in real-time and it is set out in a very user-friendly way. It’s as simple to edit as a Google Doc, but in terms of the layout, it feels more similar to a website. Also, there are over 500,000 Notion widgets like calendars and countdown timers. Essentially, Notion makes it easier for everybody in our business to do their jobs! What’s not to love?
Choosing A Project Management System That Works For YouIn our opinion, you should make decisions about what systems to use in your business based on what feels the most intuitive for your brain! If you cannot wrap your head around how a particular interface works, you’re not going to be able to use it optimally, and then there’s no point in using it at all. Despite its enormous popularity, Basecamp as a project management system just doesn't work for us. If you have the brain of a coder, we would imagine that Notion could work well for your project management needs, but for us, Asana (which works very similarly to Trello) is everything we could ask for from a project management perspective!
Let’s Talk Costs When you’re just starting out, or if you have a very small team, a free Notion account will probably be sufficient. You can share the account with your team via a shareable link, and they won’t need their own account to access the information. A benefit of this option is the added level of security it affords you, because you are the only person who can make edits. When our team grew to the point where our employees were building out their own sections of the company and needing to create their own profiles, we started paying for the premium service, and it is excellent value for money!
A Look Inside Our PlaybookIn our playbook, we describe our mission, vision, and values. Our playbook is the place where we outline how we expect people to show up and what we don’t tolerate within our company. It’s very thorough, and it is something we reference regularly in our one-on-one’s with our team members. Our playbook also contains our team motto, team directory (in which we have every team members’ photo, bio, learning style, core strengths, and Enneagram style), the foundations of our company culture, the impact that we aim to create through our work, and more!
Quote ThisYou can’t over communicate when it comes to your team or your clients. Highlights* Why We Love Notion [0:11:30] * Choosing A Project Management System That Works For You [0:24:17] * Let’s Talk Costs [0:28:03] * A Look Inside Our Playbook [0:30:28]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
The Strategy Hour Podcast is a twice weekly show hosted by Abagail Pumphrey and Emylee Williams, the founders of Boss Project. Join us for semi-ranty biz conversations for service providers looking to ethically grow their agency businesses. Episodes cover everything from lead generation to leadership mindset to team culture and beyond.
Key Topics:Intranet, Reference, Notion, Communication, Company Culture, Asana, Playbook, Values
We Mentioned:Notion
Asana
Basecamp
Trello
Fellow
Episode 705
Boss Project Incubator
Boss Project on Instagram
EveryPlate.com/podcast - just $1.49 per meal with code bossproject149
JenniKayne.com - 15% off your first order with code BOSSPROJECT
Backblaze - free 15 day trial
Episode 722: Show NotesMost people who go into business are usually technicians who are really skilled at one area of the business. Learning to be a leader in your business is the most challenging part of running a business. Here’s the hierarchy we see: you’re a technician, and then hopefully you begin to love sales too. Then, hopefully, you begin to learn and love how to be a leader. If you don’t like sales, then we would say, don’t start a business. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible to find a way to sell that is in alignment with you, but you do absolutely have to find a way to like it.
During our last Episode 721: How a Partnership Can Make Your Business Go Down in Flames, we talked about all the reasons getting into a partnership is a terrible idea. If you ever want someone to talk you out of getting into a partnership, we’re here for you. That said, we’re dedicating today’s episode to sharing with you why it absolutely works for us. All of these points can make you into a better boss, a better partner, and a better friend. They’ll come in handy for a variety of settings. Honestly, seeking someone to fulfill some of these for you instead of seeking a partner will serve you really well.
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What You Can Gain from Splitting Duties with Your Sounding BoardBecause duties are split, there is no one time in the business where one of us is owning all of it. Even if one of us is out for an extended period of time, we get to focus primarily on what we are best at and most passionate about. We can split up ownership of the business; not just with duties, but in owning responsibility for certain areas of the business. That’s not to say that you’re going to like everything your partner does! We love being able to focus on the things that we’re good at. Our partnership allows us to create the jobs that we want to be doing. If you do it right, that enables you to focus on the things you want to develop, while your partner does the same.
Especially if you’re someone who gets hairbrained ideas, it can be enough to just have a conversation about it so that you don’t have to explore things that don’t make sense. Having a sounding board for all the wild and crazy ideas is so nice. Because we’re a partnership, that sounding board has a really keen insight into how an idea would affect things. You could have someone who’s really supportive and enthusiastic, but they don’t know all the reasons you shouldn’t go ahead with an idea. But having someone reflect something back at you who isn’t in the weeds is also really nice. If you’re a verbal processor, having someone you can talk through your ideas out loud with is a huge benefit.
Why a Partner with Different Skills Beats You 2.0We were not intentional about this at all. In many ways, we were attracted to the similarities between us. But, there are also many differences to how we do things and who we are and that’s what makes our partnership work. If you can bring someone in with different skills, you should! Different perspectives fuel a business.
But if your business already exists and has clients and a product, do not bring on a partner! Hire people instead. It’s so much cheaper to hire someone than it is to bring on a partner. Not just monetarily.
We didn’t know how different our skills were when we first started out, but we’ve also developed different skills out of necessity over time. Celebrating alone, navigating challenges alone, and coming up with ideas alone is very, well, lonely. That’s what takes a lot of people out of business and back into a traditional work setting. Even if you have plenty of people working for you, the difference a partner makes is one that no one else really can. The risk for her is as great as it is for me.
The Most Essential Thing That Our Partnership Has Brought to the TableEveryone has a life that’s complicated. Trying to figure that out alone is sometimes impossible. Being able to truly turn to the other person, whether you expected the thing to come up or not, and say “I need you to hold up my end of the bargain” is a huge pro. It’s also why we have so much respect for one another. We can only be comfortable to ask for that and know that the other person will give it because we both know that we would do the same thing for the other person. Sometimes it’s a day, sometimes it’s a week, or a month, or even eighteen months. In fact, we’ve done all of the above (and everything in between)!
A huge part of our mission is to help people to create stable enough work environments that if someone needed to step away, the business could still function. Having the right systems in place for the business makes that possible. Having an equal level of responsibility in the business means that we truly communicate this clearly and ask for exceptions only when we need them most. It’s a huge weight off of our shoulders to feel this level of support from one another.
Accountability, Follow-through, and the One Thing That’s Made Our Business SuccessfulAs a solo business owner, it’s really hard to hold yourself accountable. Without outside accountability, projects either end up dwindling, or just taking forever. That’s why we can say that the company we have is only in existence because of our partnership. We expect one another to get shit done, and that expectation helps us both to wake up in the morning and do the things that help us to progress. Even if you have intense follow-through as an individual, things take a whole lot longer when you do them alone. Although we have no hierarchy between us, we feel a lot of accountability to each other at every turn.
Having a partner also means you have someone to talk you off the ledge, or hype you up. You might not realize how important this business is to our livelihood. Boss Project employs both of our spouses. We don’t have big outside sources of income at all. We could never have done this without each other.
That said, all of the things we mentioned today can absolutely come from a non-partner! Do not feel like you have to give 50% of your company to someone in order to get these things. Will it require you to be very communicative about your needs? Yes! If you are craving these things you can get them elsewhere. It is integral that you have clear boundaries. Some of these things would be really toxic to expect of an employee, but can be an extremely meaningful option within a friendship, colleague or peer.
Don’t do the business partnership thing if it’s not right for you — but also don’t expect all these things to come from the same person! That would be equally dangerous. You have listened to the journey of our partnership for many, many years, and in that time we have learned so much! We hope this has given you some insight into how Boss Project operates behind the scenes, and answered some of your questions about whether or not you should get into a partnership. If you have any more questions, or want to discuss anything from today’s conversation, please message us on Instagram.
Quote ThisIf you’re going to go into partnership with someone, you should find someone who has different skills than you have. Do not find You 2.0. Highlights* What You Can Gain from Splitting Duties with Your Sounding Board [0:09:24] * Why a Partner with Different Skills Beats You 2.0 [0:15:52] * The Most Essential Thing That Our Partnership Has Brought to the Table [0:21:20] * Accountability, Follow-through, and the One Thing That’s Made Our Business Successful [0:26:48]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
The Strategy Hour Podcast is a twice weekly show hosted by Abagail Pumphrey and Emylee Williams, the founders of Boss Project. Join us for semi-ranty biz conversations for service providers looking to ethically grow their agency businesses. Episodes cover everything from lead generation to leadership mindset to team culture and beyond.
Key Topics:Partnership, Feedback, Accountability, Entrepreneurship, Leadership
We Mentioned:The E-Myth
Zodiac Academy
A Court of Thorns and Roses
Built to Sell
Boss Project Services Wait List
Boss Project Incubator
Boss Project on Instagram
EveryPlate.com/podcast - just $1.49 per meal with code bossproject149
JenniKayne.com - 15% off your first order with code BOSSPROJECT
Backblaze - free 15 day trial
Episode 721: Show NotesWe’ve been asked countless times about our business partnership and our take on whether we feel that partnership is a good route. We’ve been in a partnership from the get-go, and clients are often curious as to how we manage communication and generally maintain a healthy working relationship. In this episode, we tackle the cons of partnership: why you should never get into one and why, and the next episode will explore the pros. Naturally, there are potential issues that can arise and cause tension in a partnership, and today we identify what to look out for if you’re considering partnering up with someone. You’ll discover a few of the, dare we say, many drawbacks of partnership, the requirements for maintaining a successful partnership, and the principal cause of partnerships (and subsequently, businesses) going down in flames!
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Reasons You Should Never Get Into a PartnershipWe’ll start with the most obvious drawback: splitting profits. In order for you to earn as much as other businesses of similar sizes, your business has to be twice as big. We’ve been splitting profits from the get-go and we can tell you from experience that it makes it harder to save! There’s a certain amount we have to make to simply afford to run our business.
Another reason is the pace at which you’re able to make strides within your business. People assume that because there are two of you, you can get twice as much done. In some seasons, it’s true, but as the company (and the associated risk) grows, the longer it takes to launch ideas and pivot. Typically, entrepreneurs like to be swift decision-makers but it doesn’t always work that way in a partnership.
A third thing to consider before entering a partnership: all liabilities are shared. Every risk (and reward) is shared. Thus, your financial values need to be in alignment. We’ve found that our personal and financial relationship is more complicated than our marriages and would be so much harder to untangle!
Requirements for Maintaining a Healthy PartnershipThere is the absolute requirement of getting buy-in on your ideas and the ways in which you want to grow your business. Your lifestyle values need to be in alignment in terms of how much you want to work, the energy you want to bring to work, and how much you want the business to grow. For a partnership to work, you need to feel charged with the same convictions and share all of your ideas early on.
Next up is communication. You need to communicate your personal needs to your partner and identify boundaries! Self-awareness about your triggers and motivators is essential. Because you own the company, it’s in your best interest to be transparent with your partner about life events and your relationship with money.
The Financial Burden of PartnershipJust as splitting profits is a drawback, so is the fact that all costs are literally doubled. For example, traveling for work or going to events costs double because there are two of us. When we’re asked to speak, our speaker rate is high for that very reason, which leads to fewer opportunities, as it’s not really worth it for us financially. Similarly, we are often charged twice as much for educational workshops and courses, despite attending on behalf of just one business.
What Will Cause Your Business to Go Down in FlamesThankfully, this hasn’t come up for us but we’ve watched it tear other business relationships apart and is potentially catastrophic for all of us. We are referring, of course, to disagreements. Disagreements can cause the business to go down in flames. That’s not to say you can’t disagree, but if it escalates into a fight, you’re toast! We’ve always been fortunate enough to come to a mutual conclusion.
The greatest cause of disagreement in a partnership is generally resentment as a result of a mismatch in duties. If one partner feels they’re working harder than the other, it can easily lead to resentment, which is why it’s so important to speak up when you need help and to continually revisit how you’re dividing and conquering. You need to be in agreement as to whether you’re in a growth phase or a maintenance phase, and what that means for each partner. How you’re dividing and conquering is critical to the long-term stabilization of a partnership. Another danger is passing the blame. If you’re not willing to take responsibility, your partnership is in trouble. Instead of passing the blame, work towards solutions.
Quote ThisHow you’re dividing and conquering is critical to the long-term stabilization of a partnership. Highlights* Reasons You Should Never Get Into a Partnership [0:10:49] * Requirements for Maintaining a Healthy Partnership [0:19:09] * The Financial Burden of Partnership [0:27:16] * What Will Cause Your Business to Go Down in Flames [0:28:46]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
The Strategy Hour Podcast is a twice weekly show hosted by Abagail Pumphrey and Emylee Williams, the founders of Boss Project. Join us for semi-ranty biz conversations for service providers looking to ethically grow their agency businesses. Episodes cover everything from lead generation to leadership mindset to team culture and beyond.
Key Topics:Business partnership, Business structure, Partnership cons, Communication, Value alignment
We Mentioned:Boss Project Services Wait List
Boss Project Semi-Custom Services
Boss Project Incubator
Boss Project on Instagram
EveryPlate.com/podcast - just $1.49 per meal with code bossproject149
JenniKayne.com - 15% off your first order with code BOSSPROJECT
Backblaze - free 15 day trial
Episode 720: Show NotesHow to live more and do less is one of our favorite topics of conversation. If you’re a natural people pleaser, it can be really hard to consider taking some things off of your to-do list. But people-pleasing can be rooted in a manipulative reflex. It can also be a trauma response. During the conference that Abagail recently attended, she heard from three speakers with one underlying message-- do less!
While this sounds counterintuitive, it's something we truly believe, and we want to share some of the nuggets of wisdom that helped us to prioritize this in our own lives, within a productivity-obsessed culture. Three inspiring speakers shared very different insights from their own personal journeys and the research they have done to understand the lives of others. Today, we’re sharing them with you.
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Highlights from Cece Jones Davis and Kaitlin B. CurticeWhen you feel called, you do not need to be limited by what other people think you should do, or how you should show up. You get to decide how you should show up. The first speaker of the conference has a special gift of making her listeners really think about how they are showing up in the world. She is a justice advocate who has dedicated a lot of time to working with various groups as well as creating her own, to help free wrongfully accused prisoners. If social justice is something that you feel at all called into, Cece is doing so much and you can absolutely learn from her.
Kaitlin B. Curtice offered her insights on what it is like to be indigenous in a world full of white supremacy. She shared her wisdom on how to continue showing up for yourself and your environment, talked about self-care, the caring of others, and specifically, caring for the earth. If you are a person who feels connected to the spiritual world, and you’re religious, but you feel that those things are in conflict with each other, there’s a lot you can learn about reconciling these two things from Kaitlin. She recommended creating a journal to Mother Earth, suggested researching your food, encouraged talking to your houseplants, and made us aware of the power of researching colonization.
The one part of Dr Kate Bowler’s talk that was most impactfulDr. Kate Bowler experienced a life-altering event a few years ago, when she suddenly realized something was wrong and found out that she had Stage 4 Cancer. She’s got podcasts, she’s got a series of books, she’s got a ton of content on her Instagram. There are plenty of ways for you to connect to that. But there’s one part of her talk that was most impactful for us. She talked about being a human that lives life on a spectrum. The spectrum is from feeling engaged and inspired and empowered, to complete fragility.
The toxic rhetoric around being so independent that it isolates you is capitalism, baby! It doesn’t serve you. Those feelings on the top end inspire many of us to become business owners. And it’s likely that we’ve all felt the other end of the spectrum too. She talked about this collective place that we are all in after the pandemic, where we keep anticipating our ‘before’. We’re never going to go back to who we were before the pandemic. We’re not the same person.
Why superhuman anthropology is a bad influence on humans. Our society is so focused on self-improvement and self-betterment that they had to pull that genre out of the New York Times best-seller list, because every other non-fiction book would not stand a chance to rank. Superhuman anthropology dominates the discourse – who could we be? What is our potential? Dr. Bowler had hoped to see this aspect of our culture settle down after the pandemic, but she’s been continually disappointed by what’s been released. You can just be. You are inherently enough. We want to focus on how you can handle where you are right now without having to change.
It was refreshing to be in a room where the takeaway for everyone was, how can I let some things go and just be? How can we learn to be content where we are right now with our current resources and our current access? What are the limitations you can create in your life to keep your battery full and not become drained?
The biggest thing that’s helped us to actually do lessIt’s so powerful to honor what you know you are going to need. Looking ahead and predicting what environment you will need is a game-changer. The biggest thing that’s helped Emylee to truly do less is a simple practice. That is, releasing the expectations for the type of person you think you need to be, but you don’t actually need to be. It takes some time. That’s something we’re still practicing, especially if you’re a people pleaser.
In both life and business, sometimes you just need to let some things go. They’re so interconnected. Let this be your collective permission to do that. You are a whole person that has a lot going on. We want to support you as you do that. We’d love to hear from you, what resonated with you, what you’re going to put into action, and how you’re going to reconnect with what you want. Send us a DM on Instagram, or if you’re looking for guidance, fill out our form here.
Quote ThisWhen you feel called, you do not need to be limited by what other people think you should do, or how you should show up. Highlights* Highlights from Cece Jones Davis and Kaitlin B. Curtice [0:12:40] * The one part of Dr Kate Bowler’s talk that was most impactful [0:23:38] * Why superhuman anthropology is a bad influence on humans [0:34:43] * The biggest thing that’s helped us to actually do less [0:44:38]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
The Strategy Hour Podcast is a twice weekly show hosted by Abagail Pumphrey and Emylee Williams, the founders of Boss Project. Join us for semi-ranty biz conversations for service providers looking to ethically grow their agency businesses. Episodes cover everything from lead generation to leadership mindset to team culture and beyond.
Key Topics:Productivity, Culture, Time management, Balance, Peer pressure, Motivation, Doing less
We Mentioned:Cece Jones Davis
Kaitlin B. Curtice
Dr. Kate Bowler
Brene Brown
Boss Project Semi-Custom Services
Boss Project Incubator
Boss Project on Instagram
EveryPlate.com/podcast - just $1.49 per meal with code bossproject149
JenniKayne.com - 15% off your first order with code BOSSPROJECT
If you follow us on social media, you might have seen that we have been on quite the podcast roadshow! One theme that kept coming out of our conversations is the things that service providers need to think about before scaling. We realized we need to take a step back and talk about it: what is scaling actually?
A lot of business owners misconstrue scaling and growth. Today, we want to talk about the actual definitions of these two processes, and how you can apply them in your business. You can have one without the other. You can have both. You can have neither. What does that really look like, intentionally, in your business? We talk about this often with our clients, and you can tune in to find out!
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What it really means to grow your businessIt’s important to remember that revenue growth can be completely separate from the inner workings of your business. But for growth to be sustainable, usually other changes need to happen. We’ve talked a lot about how creating sustainability and maintaining a business is often as hard, if not harder, than the growth phases of a business. We could even argue that it is much, much harder! Your role shifts so much in that phase, and your mindset has to change too.
The positive responses of others can be so encouraging during the early stages of building a business. It can be hard to find the motivation you need as you move forward and the response begins to dwindle. If you’re looking at a business trajectory, in an ideal world, it would look like a staircase. You would have a period of growth followed by a period of maintenance, where you create that sustainability. In reality, it has peaks and valleys.
Why you need the right architecture to scaleWhile growth is about growing revenue and growing the bottom line of the business, scaling is about creating the structure, framework, or scaffolding that’s holding up your business. We refer to it as architecture. It’s the inner workings, the operations, the people, the actual arrangement of the people in your business and how they are organized and managed. All of that works together to create a foundation because, at the end of the day, we’ve seen a lot of people grow their revenue.
When you grow too fast and too hard, and forget to do the scaling part of growth, then typically, you run the risk of falling pretty hard. In some cases, you can even lose your business! When you see a spike in growth, it’s important to ask yourself if that kind of growth is something you want to maintain. If it isn’t, then your architecture needs to look a little different. But you also need to recognize that the growth is not going to be that high again, and that’s totally okay!
Scaling in order to growIf you want to, you can build a giant business, but it’s always going to be a case of diminishing returns. You can add more people, but you may go from 40, 50, 60% margin to 30, or 25, or 20%. The questions you need to answer are: how do you want to make your money? How do you grow in a way that’s responsible? You’re not looking for flash-in-the-pan results. We’ve been there and we don’t recommend it! We would much rather take growth at a slightly slower pace, where you can create sustainability and figure out where you ultimately want to maintain.
Business owners often think that growing and scaling are the same thing. Scaling has to be a part of the conversation if you are seeking growth in any shape or form. There is a missed conversation about the business owners who are doing it without the burnout, who are seeing the same growth that they are comfortable with year after year. And that only happens if you scale!
Why we’ll take slow and steady growth every timeWhen you’re running a business, but you really want a company, that’s going to feel extra hard! Seeing the shift in our clients from running a business to building a company, with the support and resources they need to carry it through, is really cool. It’s going to feel like you’re up against a wall, and we don’t want you to feel trapped in any way. We want you to feel that you have the freedom to choose, and the freedom to move around.
Don’t sell a vision that you can’t maintain! We’ve seen business owners build businesses and hire a huge staff, only to have a third or less of them a year or 18 months later. We’ve also made mistakes and had seasons where it was hard to predict what was next. But we want to help you to do this in a way that you feel aligned with, that can grow and evolve with you as a human.
Maintenance in the messy middleThere are a couple of things that need to be addressed right off the bat. The first thing we do with all of our clients is a pricing audit. We want to see how you’re currently selling, where your leads are coming from, and what you are pricing comparatively to your capacity as a company. What levers do you need to pull to make additional income?
Once we’ve addressed the pricing structure, it’s time to look at how you, as the founder, are spending your time. If you don’t have the ability to maintain what you have today while shifting your focus, there’s a much bigger problem at play. You may have to be prepared to make the same amount of money while doing more work than you ever have before, but the long-term effects of setting this up are worth it.
All of this is for the longevity of your business. We would rather have you make a little bit less money for 25 years than spike for three years. The slow and steady approach makes more money in the long term, every time! We want to guide you through this process, and we would love to talk to you about what phase you’re at.
Quote ThisIf growth is about growing revenue and growing the bottom line of the business, scaling is about creating the structure, framework, or scaffolding that’s holding up your business. Highlights* What it really means to grow your business [0:09:02] * Why you need the right architecture to scale [0:11:10] * Scaling in order to grow [0:14:06] * Why we’ll take slow and steady growth every time [0:18:18] * Maintenance in the messy middle [0:24:50]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
The Strategy Hour Podcast is a twice weekly show hosted by Abagail Pumphrey and Emylee Williams, the founders of Boss Project. Join us for semi-ranty biz conversations for service providers looking to ethically grow their agency businesses. Episodes cover everything from lead generation to leadership mindset to team culture and beyond.
Key Topics:Growth, Scaling, Revenue, Pricing, Maintenance, Teams, Planning, Strategy
We Mentioned:Boss Project Services Wait List
Boss Project Incubator
Boss Project on Instagram
EveryPlate.com/podcast - just $1.49 per meal with code bossproject149
JenniKayne.com - 15% off your first order with code BOSSPROJECT
Episode 718: Show NotesWe’ve been building websites for over a decade and have really honed in on what’s working (and what isn’t) in the service world. Your website might look impressive, but if it’s not representative of who you are today, it’s not serving you. In this episode, we outline five signs it’s time to consider a new website design. And we’re not merely talking about branding! In many cases, major reconfigurations are in order, taking into account everything from your site architecture and user interface to your messaging; what you’re saying, how you’re saying it, and who you’re connecting it to. Tune in to find out which pitfalls to avoid and how best to make your website work for you.
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Is Your Website Confusing Prospective Clients?The most obvious signal that it’s time for a change is if you’re having a conversation with a prospective client and they’re confused about what it is that you actually do. If you’re embarrassed to send people to your site because you know it’s confusing, or your messaging is still directed towards your early target audience, it’s time for a makeover. The overall personality of your website is of the utmost importance. Your prospects should clock your offer within the first few nanoseconds of landing on your home page. When it comes to websites, first impressions are everything. If site visitors don’t grasp the scope of your service in the first few seconds, the likelihood of conversion is significantly lower.
Who Your ‘About’ Page is Really AboutThe second most common mistake we see service providers make is having an ‘About’ page that is too verbose. It’s tempting to treat it as a detailed digital resume showcasing your expertise when, in reality, your ‘about’ page is about your client. What you should be showcasing is empathy for your client, above all else. The ‘about’ page is the second most visited page on your website and it needs to demonstrate an understanding of your client’s challenges and pitch you as the hero in their story.
Allowing For EvolutionIf your offer has evolved, it makes no sense whatsoever for your website to stagnate. Gone are the days when you marry your offer forever and always. It’s natural to explore parallel skills relating to your area of expertise, and normal for your offer to evolve over time. If your offer’s changed, it’s time to start thinking about a new website.
Function Over BeautyThere’s no use having a beautiful website if it isn’t functional. Naturally, it needs to look good, but aesthetics can’t take priority over functionality. The purpose of your site is to guide your prospects to take action and should intentionally be designed to increase conversions. You may have reached your client cap and now view your website as a portfolio, but we urge you to keep it functional and keep the communication stream open to future prospects. Many service providers are too focused on the creative aspect and forgo the call to action. Another thing to keep in mind is if your website is too pretty, clients may feel they can’t afford you. It’s essential to strike a balance and create something that is aesthetically pleasing for your specific target client.
Simplify Your SiteSome websites are on the complete opposite side of the spectrum, where function comes first and aesthetics and usability are neglected altogether. Either they’re missing context or provide too much, or perhaps have too many calls to action. If this sounds familiar, you need to simplify your site. You don’t want to have a brochure come to life with too much text and not enough imagery. You need to introduce images that serve the same purpose and be intentional about text layout and colors to direct the user’s gaze. Of course, you don’t want to deduct from functionality, but if your messaging goes over the client’s head it won’t lead to conversions.
Make Your Website Work For YouYour website should be working for you. It should help you achieve a goal and it should be a large part of your funnel. You can go really far with referrals and word of mouth, however, your sales process can be accelerated. If referrals come to your website, your site needs to solidify you as the expert they need, showcase what it’s like to work with you, and get people excited about the next steps. People are approaching service providers when they are ready to make a decision more often than they are in the discovery phase. Therefore a clear, functional, informative website is of the essence.
Quote ThisYour website should be working for you. Your website should help you achieve a goal and it should be a big part of your funnel. Highlights* Is Your Website Confusing Prospective Clients? [0:09:56] * Who Your ‘About’ Page is Really About [0:12:12] * Allowing For Evolution [0:13:59] * Function Over Beauty [0:16:29] * Simplify Your Site [0:20:17] * Make Your Website Work For You [0:24:01]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
The Strategy Hour Podcast is a twice weekly show hosted by Abagail Pumphrey and Emylee Williams, the founders of Boss Project. Join us for semi-ranty biz conversations for service providers looking to ethically grow their agency businesses. Episodes cover everything from lead generation to leadership mindset to team culture and beyond.
Key Topics:Website building, About page, Website reconfiguration, Website updates, Attracting prospective clients, Website functionality
We Mentioned:Hotjar
Boss Project Website Design
Boss Project Semi-Custom Services
Boss Project Incubator
Boss Project on Instagram
EveryPlate.com/podcast - just $1.49 per meal with code bossproject149
Episode 717: Show NotesToday we are talking about hiring in the current economic climate. The biggest layoffs since 2008 are taking place at the moment, and layoffs in the technology industry have actually surpassed those that took place during the Great Recession.
The common trend that we are seeing amongst business owners who have been operating for more than four years is a collective desire to move away from being the “doers” in their business and shift towards a leadership position where they can focus more on strategy and creative direction. This means needing to hire people who can take up the “implementer” type of work. A lot of the work we are doing with our clients is around how to make this pivot as smooth and successful as possible! It’s a challenge, but it’s such an important move to make if you are going to take your business to the next level.
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Achieving Stability With More Ease2022 was a hard year for pretty much every person we talked to, so going into this year, it makes sense that business owners are looking to grow their businesses without putting additional strain on their lives. You have to protect your mental health and wellbeing in order to sustain your business because if you get too burnt out, you may not have a business at the end of it. So many of our clients aren’t seeking revenue growth or exponential leaps, but rather they are aiming to keep making the same amount of money but with less effort, and we think that is a beautiful place to be in!
Dealing With UnpredictabilityHardly anything in the world is predictable right now, so you need to be doing things that shore up the amount of control that you do have in your business. When you’re making big leaps, you need more support. We would suggest that you focus on hiring technically skilled, niche contractors that can take over certain parts of the client delivery aspects of your business. This will free up your time (or a member of your staff’s time) to focus on other elements of the business! When you’re wanting to pull yourself out of the “doer” space, you need to bring in bodies to take those deliverables off your plate.
The Beauty Of ContractorsContractors are paid on a per-project or a negotiated hourly basis. So, they aren’t paid unless there is work and you don’t have to go through the whole onboarding and training process which takes up a lot of time. As a business owner, it’s so important that you have access to these kinds of skilled people so that you don’t necessarily need to hire a whole new full-time team member when you don’t have the capacity, so be sure to keep some contractors in your back pocket so you can reach out quickly when the need arises!
We have a client who knew that she needed a few more clients to get to the next stable point in her business but she didn’t have the time or resources to take them on because one of her team members was on maternity leave. This is a scenario wherein hiring a contractor is the perfect solution! In this particular case, 24 hours after this client hired a contractor, she brought on three new clients.
In this climate, contractors are a much safer move for you and a fairer move for everyone involved, because at the moment it is impossible to say how businesses will be faring even just three to six months down the line!
Go Slow!This year, make a concerted effort to slow down. We are saying this to protect you. The economy may be struggling, but it is possible to sustain your current income and customer base if you think everything through a little more deeply than you normally would and bring in additional people to support you along the way! We’re doing it, so we know you can do it too!
Quote ThisIt’s easy to think, ‘I’m not going to bring this person on until I need them.’ That’s a huge mistake. Highlights* Achieving Stability with More Ease. [0:15:05] * Dealing with Unpredictability. [0:16:41] * The Beauty Of Contract Workers. [19:40] * Go Slow! [27:10]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
The Strategy Hour Podcast is a twice weekly show hosted by Abagail Pumphrey and Emylee Williams, the founders of Boss Project. Join us for semi-ranty biz conversations for service providers looking to ethically grow their agency businesses. Episodes cover everything from lead generation to leadership mindset to team culture and beyond.
Key Topics:Hiring, Economic climate, Stability, Pivoting, Leadership, Strategy, Contractors
We Mentioned:The Strategy Hour Episode 368
Boss Project Services Wait List
Boss Project Semi-Custom Services
Boss Project Incubator
Boss Project on Instagram
EveryPlate.com/podcast - just $1.49 per meal with code bossproject149
JenniKayne.com - 15% off your first order with code BOSSPROJECT
Episode 716: Show NotesToday’s discussion is about an idea that has had a resurgence recently for a number of reasons. The concept of finding a Third Place is nothing new! It’s actually been around for a long time; it is just popular at the moment. No matter how trendy it is, it is worthwhile to discuss and integrate into your life. The ‘Third Place’ was coined by a US sociologist who wrote a book called The Great Good Place describing a place outside of your home or work where you can relax.
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The concept is simple. Your first place is your home; a private and domestic space. Your second space is your work. However, a lot of us share a first and second place, with workplaces increasingly choosing to be remote/hybrid over the last few years. We spend most of our lives at work or home so what do you do when you need a Third Place? Somewhere to feel comfortable and safe, and have fun with no judgment? With loneliness and isolation levels rising, we have to be mindful of this!
In our opinion, a strong requirement is that your Third Place needs to be a public setting that hosts informal gatherings of people. Most people are loyal to their Third Place and often go there to socialize and unwind. It is also preferable that your Third Place is close to your home and workplace. This spot may be a coffee house, pub, bar, beauty salon, local library, dog park, or so much more!
Eight Characteristics of a Third PlaceThese are the things you need to look for when choosing your Third Place! We don’t necessarily feel like we have a Third Place and if we do, we know that those places don’t actually meet the standards of a Third Place. There are some things we can do to turn it into a Third Place. For small-town people, this may feel more normal as the sense of community gatherings is greater!
We don’t believe that a church can serve as a Third Place as it needs to be on neutral ground, without any power dynamics at play. People need to be free to go without consequences or ties to that place at all. Even when you are missing for long periods of time, your return to your Third Place needs to be welcomed warmly and with enthusiasm. This place should be entirely unpretentious and your social and economic status shouldn‘t matter here! The main activity in a Third Place should be playful, and lively conversation. This place should be accessible and accommodating and have long opening hours.
You should become a regular at this Third Place and you should be well-known by the people who work there. It’s also imperative for you to feel safe in your Third Place and on your way there and back at all times of the day. It should be a place that isn’t extravagant or snobby. The atmosphere should make you want to keep coming back and it should be tension and animosity free. Your Third Place should most importantly, be a home away from home.
The One Characteristic We Want You to Focus on MostWe know that we are all just craving connection and a Third Place is an incredible way to find that. There is one thing we want you to focus on when it comes to finding and creating a Third Place and that is proximity. It is all good and well having a community to go to, but if that community is too far away or you have to go out of your way to get there, it isn’t really a Third Place. You want to feel like you can just pop in and if you can’t, it just isn’t going to be the same. Everything about your experience of your Third Place should be fun and relaxed, so why not make sure it’s easy to get to too?
Why Having a Community is Essential We want you to use your feeling of being disconnected as an opportunity to reconnect. Having a community outside of home allows you to switch off from your day-to-day life and be in a different space. It can help you meet more people and extend your bubble. Half of Americans feel alone according to a study that was done before the pandemic! We are suffering from a global epidemic of loneliness, and it is bad for your health!
If you aren’t finding time to recharge and connect with people, you are actually not looking after your physical or mental health. Developing outside relationships is imperative and people are realizing that your work community shouldn’t be your primary community! We need to scratch our itch to connect with people and find our own identity in a third space. It’s okay if you don’t know where you fit in right now, as long as you are intentional about figuring it out! We want to hear all about your Third Place so shoot us an Instagram DM!
Quote ThisRather than feeling like you’re alone, use that as an opportunity to connect. Highlights* Eight Characteristics of a Third Place. [0:11:28] * The One Characteristic We Want You to Focus on Most. [0:20:13] * Why Having a Community is Essential. [0:22:32]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
The Strategy Hour Podcast is a twice weekly show hosted by Abagail Pumphrey and Emylee Williams, the founders of Boss Project. Join us for semi-ranty biz conversations for service providers looking to ethically grow their agency businesses. Episodes cover everything from lead generation to leadership mindset to team culture and beyond.
Key Topics:Third Place, Community, Connection, Isolation, Reconnecting, Environment, Relationships, Friendships, Social interaction, Healthy communication
We Mentioned:The Great Good Place
Boss Project Services Wait List
Boss Project Semi-Custom Services
Boss Project Incubator
Boss Project on Instagram
EveryPlate.com/podcast - just $1.49 per meal with code bossproject149
Episode 715: Show NotesA lot of our clients are currently in a space where they are wanting to add to their team but have concerns over how to make the right choices while maintaining the character and values of their company. We’ve recently expanded our team, and while it has come with some lessons, it has been an incredibly rewarding experience for our company and our team! In today’s episode, we unpack the five biggest barriers to trust, as outlined in an article by Fast Company called 5 Barriers To Break in Order To Build Trust Between Coworkers. Wediscuss the rules that all high-trust companies follow to ensure employees feel secure and confident in their work environment.
Growing your team can be intimidating, but with the right tools, you can do so in a way that is manageable and engenders a sense of trust amongst your team members. Tune in as we discuss how to foster an environment that is psychologically safe for employees, what you can do to ensure effective communication, how to make sure you hire and promote the right people, and much more!
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When The Executive Team Lacks Transparency When you start adding members to your team, it can be tempting to focus solely on delegating tasks and not necessarily communicating the thinking behind those tasks: why they are happening, the goals driving you, and the bigger scope of what you are trying to accomplish. We, ourselves, have fallen into this very pattern with our own team on occasion. When we took on several new employees it was much easier for us to continue to do all the strategy work and then tell our team “Okay, here's the new plan” rather than allowing for more transparency and input.
While your team members don’t need to know every detail of your strategy and your business, you also don’t want to create a completely opaque executive level, where your team members are completely in the dark and don’t know anything. Having zero insight can cause your team a tremendous amount of fear, anxiety, and distress. And when they don’t have knowledge or insight they will naturally make assumptions to fill that gap. As a result, when things get even a little bit off-kilter, they’re likely to jump to conclusions about how things are faring, which can make people fearful for their jobs.
So ask yourself what level of explanation your team members may want in addition to the overall strategy conversation. Some team members will naturally ask more questions than others. But just because some people aren’t asking questions doesn’t mean they don’t have any. They may still be uncertain or fearful.
How To Ensure Effective Communication SkillsUnderstanding your communication skills, and those of your team is incredibly important for trust and cohesion. When managers lack effective communication skills it can cause some tricky issues among workers. It may well be the first time that you find yourself in a managerial position or the first time you’re training someone on your team to be a manager, but it’s worth seeking advice and support on how to optimize your communication skills.
A 2020 survey conducted by The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) found that 84% of respondents reported that poorly trained managers create unnecessary work and stress. And the most common skill that respondents said could be improved upon was effective communication. Organizations that have high levels of trust, intentionally develop their managers’ emotional intelligence, so that they gain the confidence and skill to build authentic relationships.
Why Employees Might Not Feel Psychologically SafePsychological safety is an integral part of building trust in the workplace. And it’s important that we define what psychological safety is before we try to foster it within our team. Researchers have found (somewhat counterintuitively) that psychological safety isn’t founded on creating a space where everyone is nice, and no one’s feelings get hurt. But is instead dependent on creating an environment where open dialogue can happen authentically. Essentially, psychological safety exists when everyone can share what’s on their mind without fear of judgment or retaliation.
The Dangers of Promoting The Wrong People When an organization only values results (at the expense of all else), then it tends to reward and promote people who will do pretty much anything to obtain results, even if it means being disrespectful or cutthroat in the process. And being disrespectful and cutthroat are two out of the five attributes that an MIT study cites as undoubtedly leading to a toxic workplace.
High-trust organizations, however, hold people accountable for both results and living within a company’s values. Values that should, ideally, serve both workers and their employers. Teams at high-trust organizations will prioritize conversations about who is a good culture fit and will have managers who coach others about how to embody those values. Because they know that if they don’t hold people accountable for embodying their values as an organization, then that will negatively impact other team members.
We’ve done this in our business and, honestly, we could never even have guessed at the level of improvement we’ve seen from implementing these methods. It has been truly astounding!
When Employees Don’t Feel SeenBefore your team can build trust, they need to have respect. When colleagues go on their phones during meetings or answer emails instead of listening to the speaker, it not only creates a distraction for the person talking, but it also sets a bad example and is just plain rude. With so many more of our meetings taking place online nowadays, this type of multitasking has become more normalized (and more tempting!), which can contribute to employees feeling increasingly overlooked and unappreciated.
One way to understand the impact of this is through the phrase “bids for attention” which was first coined by Dr. John Gottman, who studied thousands of couples and their relationships. When you make a bid for attention it is essentially an attempt from one partner to another for attention, affirmation, affection, or any other positive connection. This concept can also be useful in contexts outside of romantic relationships, and can even apply to the workplace.
When people respect one another’s bids for attention during meetings employees will feel like they are respected, seen, and being listened to. Similarly, as a boss, it’s important to make sure your employees feel heard when they come to you with a problem, and not simply dismiss it because it isn’t a priority for you. Remember that when your team grows you actually can tackle more priorities!
Quote ThisHigh-trust organizations intentionally develop their managers' emotional intelligence so that they gain the confidence and skill to build authentic relationships. Highlights* When The Executive Team Lacks Transparency. [0:11:46] * How To Ensure Effective Communication Skills [0:15:55] * Why Employees Might Not Feel Psychologically Safe [0:20:08] * The Dangers of Promoting The Wrong People [0:30:42] * When Employees Don’t Feel Seen [0:34:45]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
The Strategy Hour Podcast is a twice weekly show hosted by Abagail Pumphrey and Emylee Williams, the founders of Boss Project. Join us for semi-ranty biz conversations for service providers looking to ethically grow their agency businesses. Episodes cover everything from lead generation to leadership mindset to team culture and beyond.
Key Topics:Building trust, Co-workers, Team building, Growth, Scaling, Communication, Values, Psychological safety
We Mentioned:Boss Project Services Wait List
Boss Project Semi-Custom Services
Boss Project Incubator
Boss Project on Instagram
EveryPlate.com/podcast - just $1.49 per meal with code bossproject149
Episode 714: Show NotesWe talk so often about financial literacy and creating sustainable businesses online that we’ve had a handful of clients ask us questions about bookkeeping. Based on all of the questions that come in, there are some things we want to share with our listeners about how to make sure that you have a bookkeeper that’s really well suited to you. Whether you’re interviewing someone for the first time or looking to get the most out of your existing relationship, this episode is for you.
So many of us really lean into trusting the experts in this industry, which is great! But over the last few years, there has been a new level of service that’s been expected and desired from clients. Now we want our financial professionals to go a little bit above and beyond just reconciling the books, to really help us understand and learn from our numbers. That is the biggest gap that we see happening for most business owners. That’s why we want to equip you with the best questions to ask to make sure that you find the right person to work alongside you; not just someone to “do it for you.”
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The First Set of Questions We Developed For Someone Who Had Never Hired a Bookkeeper BeforeWhether this is your first bookkeeper, or your second or third, we’ve outlined a list of questions to include in the interview process. Instead of just finding someone online and enlisting them to do the job, we want you to be taking this a lot more seriously. You should be interviewing someone to fully understand their capabilities to make sure that they are a good fit for your team.
Ask them to explain more about the scope of their services. This is your opportunity to get them talking about how they look at deliverables, and how they approach their services. Ask about their tax strategies. Not all bookkeepers are tax strategists, and that is okay. That’s not to say that they’re not a fit. But we often see that they’re not fully thinking through the opportunities available to them.
For those of us doing business online, it’s important to ask if your bookkeeper has worked with a digital business before. The mechanisms, tactics and software that we use are different, and so we would love to have you work with someone who has experience in this arena. Is your practitioner a generalist or a specialist? How does that fit in with your needs? Another game changing question to ask is whether the person you’re talking to will be the one handling the account. It doesn’t necessarily need to be the founder, but you do need to meet and feel comfortable with your point of contact.
Why You Don’t Have to Settle for Anything Less than Being Overjoyed with your Bookkeeper’s ServiceAnytime someone looks after your books, they’re going to be touching on all your bank accounts, all your processes, and any CRM or other service you have in place to handle the initial client communication. We firmly believe that you don’t have to compromise on the level of service you are receiving from your bookkeeping contractor. You don’t have to just go with the first bookkeeper you find! This is an interviewing process.
One way to find your perfect fit is to copy this sentence word-for-word: ‘we’ve set expectations internally that we find a bookkeeper who’s willing to not just balance our books with cash in the bank, but spend the time to properly allocate sales and expenses to individualized categories. Can you describe the level of detail you typically dive into on individual accounts? Are you familiar with using the systems I listed earlier to itemize items more automatically?
It’s so huge to have specificity! People end up lumping a lot of their income or expenses that they have no idea how much they sold previously, they just know how much income came in. You need to know what you’ve sold. It’s okay if your bookkeeper uses tools to automatically categorize things. In fact, sometimes that shows you that they understand these systems in depth.
How to Get the Most Out of Your Existing Financial Relationships If you already have a bookkeeper you like, but you’re looking to get more out of the experience to get specific on your needs, there are plenty of ways to start the conversation. Set up a meeting to let them know that you appreciate your time together, and that you want to better utilize your profit and loss statement as a tool moving forward, so you have a few questions.
Don’t be offended if they let you know that you’ll need to do a clean up project in order to make that happen! It’s important to gauge if they're being cooperative with you, or if they are being resistant to you and reluctant to implement the changes. It’s okay if you’ve worked with a bookkeeper for a while and know that you need to make a change. That’s a valid result of this conversation! But sometimes you can make adjustments with someone you already know and have an existing service with.
One of the best things that you can do within your business is to separate your income into an itemized list instead of one lump sum. Another question to ask is, based on your history, do they have suggestions on how to budget for a big purchase you have in mind. If they can talk to you about what would need to happen to achieve your goal, that’s a really positive experience.
One Last Question to Ask (You Don’t Have to Run with the Answer)Everyone’s financial needs are different. You never really know how other people are operating without a deeper look. However, if anyone is going to give you a better gauge, its bookkeepers. They look at trends in other businesses and only talk about the ones that are successful. You don’t often hear from them about what’s not working. This is a question to ask once you’ve already vetted that they have knowledge in your industry. You can ask about all sorts of industry trends, but one great question is if your prices are on par with others your bookkeeper has seen in the industry.
This is all just to enhance the relationship you have with your bookkeeper. Both of you need all the information you can get. Having this information can be vital in helping you make decisions going forward. Whether you have a bookkeeper or not, this is a lot of information to take in and implement going forwards. Leveraging your relationship with your bookkeeper is an opportunity to keep growing.
If any of this was overwhelming, or you want some resources on who you might reach out to get these services set up, send us a DM over at Boss Project on Instagram. We would love to talk to you about what your opportunities are, and how we might be able to help!
Summary of the Key Questions:When interviewing a bookkeeper:1. Can you tell me more about the scope of your services? 2. Are you employing any tax strategies with your business clients? 3. What's your experience with online/virtual service based businesses? 4. Would you describe yourself more as a generalist or a specialist? How so? 5. Would you be the one handling my books on a monthly basis or would there be someone else managing my account? Who would be our point of contact? 6. Describe your experience and comfort level with Dubsado, Stripe, Paypal, INSERT ANY PAY SYSTEM YOU ARE UTILIZING? 7. We've set expectations internally that we find a bookkeeper who is willing to not just balance our books with cash in the bank, but spend the time to properly allocate sales and expenses to individualized categories. Can you describe the level of detail you typically dive into on individual accounts? Are you familiar with using the systems I mentioned earlier to itemize items more automatically?
Ask an existing bookkeeper:1. Can you more specifically categorize my income by service/offer rather than have it as one lump sum? 2. Based on my history, do you have suggestions for how to budget for (insert goal - new hire, large purchase)? 3. What are my most obvious opportunities to save on taxes? 4. If my income goal is $$$, how many clients do I need to work with in the next 12-months? 5. Are my prices on par with others you are seeing in the industry?
Quote ThisYou can definitely get a very basic service level bookkeeping option that will suffice for filing taxes, but it’s not going to aid in you having the answers or information that would help you grow your business. Highlights* The First Set of Questions We Developed For Someone Who Had Never Hired a Bookkeeper Before [0:07:58] * Why You Don’t Have to Settle for Anything Less than Being Overjoyed with your Bookkeeper’s Service [0:17:26] * How to Get the Most Out of Your Existing Financial Relationships [0:21:08] * One Last Question to Ask (You Don’t Have to Run with the Answer) [0:25:59]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
The Strategy Hour Podcast is a twice weekly show hosted by Abagail Pumphrey and Emylee Williams, the founders of Boss Project. Join us for semi-ranty biz conversations for service providers looking to ethically grow their agency businesses. Episodes cover everything from lead generation to leadership mindset to team culture and beyond.
Key Topics:Bookkeeping, Financial literacy, Business planning, Accounting, Taxes, Leveraging relationships
We Mentioned:Boss Project Services Wait List
Boss Project Semi-Custom Services
Boss Project Incubator
Boss Project on Instagram
Dubsado
EveryPlate.com/podcast - just $1.49 per meal with code bossproject149
Episode 713: Show NotesOur mission in business is to help more women build profitable, sustainable businesses online. So much of that success is rooted in proper financial literacy. It’s so important to understand how to manage your finances so that you can take out enough money to live the life you want while at the same time ensuring that you leave enough money in the business so that it remains profitable in the long run. As you scale, money management becomes more complicated, but thankfully there are several different software options for payroll, accounting, and bookkeeping that can help!
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What Your P&L Statement Should Look LikeJust because you have a P&L statement, doesn’t mean it is automatically something that is helpful to you. So often, we hear about business owners who never look at their P&L statements because they don’t make sense or they don’t even know where to find them. If your P&L statements are properly set up, you’ll have so much important information about the financial side of your business in one place. But when a P&L statement just has one line item, it’s impossible to deduce what is really going on in your business. It doesn’t have to be complicated with line items for every single client, but what it should have is a line item for your signature service and then other line items for tiered services. And when it comes to expenses in our P&L statements, we like to break them down into categories so that we have some semblance of control.
The Gold Standard of Accounting SoftwareThere are a number of different accounting software out there, but if you are handing things off to a CPA, QuickBooks is the gold standard. As a non-accountant, it may not be completely user-friendly, which is why hiring a high-quality bookkeeper who really understands your industry is essential. A good bookkeeper will not only put your P&L together properly, but they will also walk you through the P&L and give you feedback that empowers you to better understand it in the future.
The Benefits of Payroll SoftwareIf you convert your business to an S corp, you will need to have payroll software above and beyond your bookkeeping software. Some accounting software has built-in payroll features, but that isn’t always the case. Certain software can really aid you in the human resources process by filing reports and automating certain aspects. If you have the right systems in place, your payroll can seamlessly integrate with your accounting. Gusto deals with everything from benefits to paid time off to payroll (and so much more that we haven’t even explored), and it is so easy to use!
When to Hire a BookkeeperIf your business is bringing in around 6 figures, and you are planning on keeping your business going for at least three to five years, we would definitely recommend hiring a bookkeeper! When you’re doing your bookkeeping yourself, you may be able to effectively track your income and expenses but there are a lot of things that you might not know about that could save you money. Most people don’t understand the tax code, so it’s worth bringing in someone who can help you get the most out of it!
Quote ThisFind yourself someone who can not just understand your industry and put together the P&L appropriately, but also walk you through it, educating you on how to better understand it in the future. Highlights* What Your Proper P&L Statement Should Look Like. [0:11:52] * The Gold Standard of Accounting Software. [0:20:21] * The Benefits of Payroll Software. [0:22:15] * When to Hire a Bookkeeper. [0:24:37]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
The Strategy Hour Podcast is a twice weekly show hosted by Abagail Pumphrey and Emylee Williams, the founders of Boss Project. Join us for semi-ranty biz conversations for service providers looking to ethically grow their agency businesses. Episodes cover everything from lead generation to leadership mindset to team culture and beyond.
Key Topics:Scaling, Profitability, Money management, Bookkeeping, Profit and loss, Accounting, Payroll, Software
We Mentioned:Gusto Payroll Solutions
QuickBooks
Boss Project Services Wait List
Boss Project Semi-Custom Services
Boss Project Incubator
Boss Project on Instagram
Episode 712: Show NotesThe onset of a New Year is often accompanied by an inordinate amount of pressure. From the onslaught of 30-day health and wellness challenges to the call to “be more productive,” it seems like we are constantly being asked to do more and be better. But what does “better” mean exactly? And who are we doing it for?
In today’s episode, we unpack how to create better habits that actually stick and discuss ways to bring positivity and intentionality to both our personal and professional lives. We discovered long ago that New Year's resolutions just aren’t designed for us and that everyone has a preference when it comes to building healthier habits. Tune in as we discuss everything from starting your morning with positive intentions to crafting a mission statement for your business, and much more!
If you’d like additional guidance on how to create more time freedom while running your business, we encourage you to apply for the Incubator.
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The Power of Slow Dopamine MorningsMany of us have heard the term “dopamine,” but might not be sure of its exact meaning. Every time you complete a task or see something novel on your smartphone, your brain releases a chemical called dopamine, which activates the reward center of your brain. As human beings, we are hard-wired to respond positively to dopamine and actively seek it out. While there are tons of benefits to this chemical, there are also some downsides to its constant availability. And with the rise of smartphones, we are now living in an age where the potential for a quick hit of dopamine is always at our fingertips!
One solution to the constant availability of dopamine is to implement “slow dopamine mornings.” So, rather than checking your social media first thing, you might start your morning without your phone and focus instead on meditation, enjoying your cup of coffee, or cooking a nutritious breakfast. That way, your baseline requirement for dopamine is much lower and sets you up to not constantly be itching to go on TikTok or check your posts throughout the day.
An Alternative to New Year’s Resolutions We have mixed emotions when it comes to New Year's resolutions. While it’s great to have a fresh start, it can often feel like committing to something for a full 365 days is simply setting us up for failure. Something we’ve done as an alternative to this is choosing words to clarify our theme for the year and provide us with direction. This year, we’ve chosen to focus on words like “ease” and “romanticizing.” There is so much to be gained from appreciating your everyday life. Like using the “nice” cutlery and crockery when your friends come over instead of saving it for a special day that maybe comes around once a year!
How To Be IntentionalOne of the key parts of creating habits that stick is to start small. This is why starting your day with a positive intention can be so powerful! There are methods you can use to help you with this if you’re struggling with a negative mindset. One of the approaches that we are truly fond of is the “lucky girl” approach. With this approach, instead of framing your day like this: “I’m so stressed, I have so much I need to get done,” you can change your mindset and tell yourself: “I’m so lucky to have so much to do and to have such a full life.” The same is true for your relationships. If you look for the positive, it ends up having a ripple effect across your life.
Consciously Finding Joy As a global community, we’ve been going through some stuff. From the pandemic to the war in Ukraine, there has been no shortage of trauma, sorrow, and pain. Similarly, many of us have been going through our own seasons of sorrow in our personal lives and friendships. While sharing your pain can be an essential way to lighten the load, intentionally bringing joy into your conversations with friends and loved ones can also lift everyone up and remind us of the pleasure there is to be had in life.
Aligning Your Business With Your CustomersWhen it comes to being more intentional in business, it can be easy to feel like we have little to no control over what comes our way. But, much like choosing to be more intentional in our thinking, there are steps we can take that will help us attract our ideal clients and projects. Ask yourself who you want to be serving. Who is your ideal client? What problems do they face? And how can you solve them?
Once you become clear on your ideal client and how you can serve them, you can take the necessary steps to ensure that your messaging (and price point) are in alignment with the customers you want to attract. It may sound simple, but these clarifying steps can make such a big difference to your business!
Finding Your Core ValuesFinding your core values as a company is crucial. It’s also critical that you and everyone else in your company understands those values. Your mission statement and core values serve as guidance for your entire team. Unfortunately, defining our values or mission statement often comes with a lot of pressure. We expect our mission statements to be earth-shattering and reach these lofty ideals. But you don’t have the same resources that billionaires do, so why would you put the same expectations on yourself?! Luckily we’ve got some fun and simple suggestions for how to define your values and craft your mission statement to help you and your team discover a newfound sense of clarity and purpose.
Honor Your MethodsThere is no one method for building better habits that work for everyone. Not everyone’s personality (or schedule) is suited to doing little bits of work every day. Some of us may get more done in two days than we would have accomplished if we tried to do a little bit of work every day for a month.
Ultimately, it’s about finding what works for you and helping yourself feel rewarded when you accomplish something, rather than shaming yourself for not accomplishing it in the way that someone else wants you to. So, whether you use a habit tracker or implement habits over short bursts of time, find what you can do to feel good about your habits, however you choose to accomplish them!
Tools for Extra SupportHead into a refreshing, positive new year with our 2023 Mindset Refresh Journal. Inside this PDF, we give you one prompt per day for 30 days which include journaling, affirmations, and small action items you can take to live a more mindful, confident, and content life.
Stay motivated by creating your own visual inspiration with our 2023 Vision Board Templates. You can visually set goals and intentions for the new year and use it as a source of inspiration for who you want to be and how you want to grow.
Quote ThisThere's always going to be sorrow, but there is also always joy. Finding it and having that balance is what's needed. Highlights* The Power of Slow Dopamine Mornings [0:12:25] * An Alternative to New Year’s Resolutions [0:14:57] * How To Be Intentional [0:19:17] * Consciously Finding Joy [0:27:39] * Aligning Your Business With Your Customers [0:29:47] * Finding Your Core Values [0:35:20] * Honor Your Methods [0:43:41]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
We help overwhelmed and creative entrepreneurs break down their Oprah-sized dreams to create a functioning command center to tame the chaos of their business. Basically, we think you’re totally bomb diggity, we’re about to uplevel the shiz out of your business.
Key Topics:Habits, Dopamine, Resolutions, Being intentional, Pressure, Stress, Productivity, Finding joy, Mission statement, Core values, Habit tracker
We Mentioned:Creative Template Shop
Boss Project Services Wait List
Boss Project Semi-Custom Services
Boss Project Incubator
Boss Project on Instagram
EveryPlate.com/podcast - just $1.39 per meal with code bossproject139
Episode 711: Show NotesAnytime we have a big growth year, the year to follow is one to watch. It’s a lot of working on the business and less working in the business. We put systems back in place, bring operations up to date, and tackle all the things we were too busy to attend to the year before. We had to work some of this out while hiring seven employees. We find that identifying and communicating your focus for the year can make all the difference.
One recommendation we have is to figure out whether you’re in a red, yellow, or green year. Do you need to stop and do the bare minimum, maintain what you have, or go big or go home? Whichever method you choose, it feels better to remind yourself that you intentionally chose this as you are making decisions throughout the year. We help our clients think through decisions like this in The Incubator.
We mindfully decided that 2023 was going to be a yellow year for us. A year of maintenance; not to restructure, but to solidify existing structures and to solidify our team. We’re building a really strong foundation and creating a sustainable business. But what does it mean to focus on creating stability and maintaining what we have?
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We’ve Decided that 2023 is a Yellow YearThis year, we’re aiming to shift the percentage that’s new business to recurring business. Any year we’ve done that, the business has grown. This still means growth, it’s just slower, more intentional growth where the focus shifts to long-term clients and ongoing projects. A recent consideration we have become aware of is the need to communicate our approach to our team.
We have all sorts of plans for ourselves, with our partners, with our families, and those goals are made with the next year and the next ten years in mind. It’s so important to address what you need as a person when you’re so focused on how everything else is working. What do you want the next chapter of your life to look like? Are you planning in advance?
Model Behavior You Want to See from Your TeamIt’s not necessary for your team members to know what we do with every minute of our time, but we are committed to modeling behavior we want to see our team members replicate in their own lives. Time blocking is one approach on our radar to help us to accomplish tasks; whether they are personal or for business. We need to block out certain things to make sure that we achieve them without other commitments getting in the way. Our calendars are public so we have tried a mix of blocking and deciding what that time means, and leaving it vague and open. Sometimes we even just write ‘no meetings’ to reserve that time for ourselves.
For both of us, our calendars are the one thing that we stay loyal to. We’re excited about this year in particular because, in addition to refinement and growing one new area, everything is so in alignment with our company. We’re committed to financial literacy and helping more women in business to understand their numbers and how they affect every area of life and making sure they are setting themselves up for success at home and the future of their businesses.
The Next Chapter at Boss ProjectWe foresee that the version of our business that results from the coming year will be the version that you see for the next five, ten, 15 years. We worked really hard to create this thing, and the idea that we will have to let it go in the future just didn’t sit well with us. We want to build a Boss Project legacy that’s going to stand the test of time and be around for a long while. That’s why we’re dedicating this year to testing some ways to take the ideas and concepts we’ve used and learned this year to create something more tangible.
We’re not planning to exit anytime soon, but if you’re focused on building a legacy, part of that is giving the business enough legs that it can run far past you. We’re excited to take you on this journey, like we’ve always done. If you have any questions, if you’re curious about what we’re doing, if you have a topic idea that you want to hear us discuss on the show, please send us a DM on Instagram.
Quote ThisIf you’re focused on building a legacy, part of that is giving the business enough legs that it can run far past you. Highlights* Why we’ve decided that 2023 is a yellow year for Boss Project [0:05:56] * What it means to model behavior you want to see from your team [0:18:01] * What the next chapter at Boss Project means to us. [0:22:26]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
We help overwhelmed and creative entrepreneurs break down their Oprah-sized dreams to create a functioning command center to tame the chaos of their business. Basically, we think you’re totally bomb diggity, we’re about to uplevel the shiz out of your business.
Key Topics:Business planning, Forecasting, Maintenance, Systems, Operations, Long-term strategy, Growth, Time blocking
We Mentioned:Boss Project Services Wait List
Boss Project Semi-Custom Services
Boss Project Incubator
Boss Project on Instagram
FinancialGym.com/bossproject & use code BOSSPROJECT to get 20% off your first year of membership
EveryPlate.com/podcast - just $1.39 per meal with code bossproject139
Episode 710: Show NotesIn the process of reflecting on our mistakes and successes for 2022, we realized that for all of the “mistakes” (except one) that we’ve made, we would actually classify them as lessons-learned instead. So, in this episode, we go over the key lessons that we’ve learned this past year and some of our most memorable success stories. Overall, this year was very challenging but we are feeling so good about what we’re creating, who is along for the ride with us, and what 2023 holds!
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Success One: Our TeamSometimes you don’t realize the extent of the impact of an action until much later on. That was the case for us with our team. We went through a stage where we thought we would never want to have employees again, but because of our culture of experimentation and our curious natures, we decided to give it a try. We have spent so much of this year learning how to be better leaders and creating communication channels and establishing a company culture that is based on our values. It took a full 12 months, but with the team, we have now, we couldn’t be happier!
Success Two: Pivoting SmoothlyAs a CEO, you always want to be a few steps ahead of the changes that are happening in the world around your business (consumer spending, for example). Although we knew that change was inevitable, in the first half of 2022, we chose to double down on what we knew was working in our business. Then, with a firm foundation in place, in the second half of the year, we pivoted, built a team around us, and saw incredible growth as a result.
Success Three: Rolling Out BenefitsThe decision to roll out benefits for our team was nothing short of a game-changer for our business. From healthcare and 401(k) to time off and wellness additions, expanding our employee benefits is one of the most impactful decisions that we made in 2022. The benefits that we offer uphold our values and enable our team (and us!) to feel fulfilled and operate optimally at work and at home. To give you an idea of how much we value rest, we closed our business for an entire month in 2022, and it only had positive effects!
Key Lessons LearnedThe tide officially turned this year in the advertising realm, and even though we knew it was coming, the change still hit us like a brick wall. There are still people making great ROIs with paid advertising, but in our space, it became a whole lot more difficult to target customers after the privacy changes came into place. What we learned from the shock that we received when this change happened is that it’s worth diversifying your source of income so that (ideally) no more than 15% of it comes from one source.
The Big MistakeWhen you’re growing a business, you have to make different decisions at each stage of the journey. This year, we chose growth and we chose to hire ahead of that growth. From a financial standpoint, hiring ahead of growth was a big mistake. Ultimately, everything shook out the way it needed to but it was a very painful process and if we could do it again, we would have approached the growth process very differently. Take note: savings are essential!
Quote ThisAs a CEO, you want to be three to six months ahead of any major change in consumer spending or industry. Highlights* Success One: Our Team. [0:12:37] * Success Two: Pivoting Smoothly. [0:16:15] * Success Three: Rolling Out Benefits. [0:20:55] * Key Lessons Learned. [0:30:19] * The Big Mistake. [0:37:20]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
We help overwhelmed and creative entrepreneurs break down their Oprah-sized dreams to create a functioning command center to tame the chaos of their business. Basically, we think you’re totally bomb diggity, we’re about to uplevel the shiz out of your business.
Key Topics:Lessons learned, Success Stories, Mistakes, Pivoting, Hiring, Offering benefits, Team building, Importance of time off, Diversifying income, Growth strategy
We Mentioned:Boss Project Services Wait List
Boss Project Semi-Custom Services
Boss Project Incubator
Boss Project on Instagram
FinancialGym.com/bossproject & use code BOSSPROJECT to get 20% off your first year of membership
EveryPlate.com/podcast - just $1.39 per meal with code bossproject139
Episode 709: Show NotesRecent developments in the AI space are undoubtedly going to change our world. The most significant shift is the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT which can create any content according to refined prompts. OpenAI has multiple other bots that utilize different databases, but ChatGPT is the one that got the most press and is publicly setting the precedent for what’s to come. We don’t believe that AI will take jobs immediately, but that it absolutely will in the long term. In this episode, we look at the impact of AI in the near future versus the long-term future, its implications and benefits, and the evolution of job creation in the new world!
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The Potential Implications and Benefits of AIWhen iPhones came out, many were averse to technological progress. Regarding AI, we feel it’s important to be open, but appropriately wary. For AI to be beneficial, everyone needs to be on board in terms of legislation, so it can be truly helpful in the appropriate areas, instead of simply replacing the human aspect. While AI has the potential to replace jobs, it is equally as capable of opening up opportunities for new jobs to be created. If made accessible to all, it will change our world and allow more room for creative problem-solving, with less focus on task delivery. That being said, the advent of ChatGPT has major implications for many industries, particularly for creatives, and will put many people’s jobs in jeopardy.
Predicting the Future of AIThere are various ways in which AI is going to change the world. It’s predicted to trump humans’ ability to translate languages by 2024, write essays by 2026, sell goods by 2031, write a bestselling book by 2049, and conduct surgeries by 2053. When digital photography was introduced, there was much talk about how it would take the art out of photography, yet the skills did translate to the digital space, and more jobs were created in the process. With AI, there is major potential for a revolution! We predict that, in the near future, careers are going to shift and more value is going to be placed on things done by hand, as opposed to desk jobs. AI will also revolutionize the brainstorming and early concept phase of new ideas. A few things that are already happening but are predicted to be more commonplace are facial recognition, product delivery via drone, and AI-based virtual assistants. In the realm of healthcare, plans for the future involve bots even performing surgeries with human surgeons supervising! We believe this should be introduced slowly, but it could drastically improve the problems we have with the healthcare system.
Is AI Coming For Our Jobs?Many fear potential job loss, but what can’t be ignored is the ability of AI to accelerate your processes. Additionally, with AI automating work, a more comfortable future can be created for humans and, instead of being displaced, new jobs can be created. On a more practical level, countless jobs have already been created in the AI space and there is actually a talent shortage of AI engineers. By 2030, AI will outperform humans in most mental tasks, but humanity will adapt and evolve as we have done with every other revolution in history. It is very likely that we will have to reinvent our careers multiple times over the course of our working lives, which is an admittedly intimidating idea, but this will take time due to the multitude of factors limiting the advancement of AI technology.
Our Concerns Surrounding the Advent of AIWe have a few concerns about how the advent of AI plays out, the first being the question of accessibility and getting reliable internet to places that need it. Attention also needs to be paid to the role of bias in technology. Most modern structures are based on biases and a counter needs to be created in tech. With AI comes the potential to create more falsified information. Misinformation can be widely spread by bots, thus creativity and play need to be promoted, rather than fact-finding. Then there is, of course, the issue of copyright; as we’re dealing with learning models, whose intellectual property is it? 2023 is undoubtedly going to see the biggest shift in online creative work yet!
Quote This2023 is going to be the biggest shift in online business and creative work that we’ve seen in a decade. Highlights* The Potential Implications and Benefits of AI. [0:05:30] * Predicting the Future of AI. [0:09:29] * Is AI Coming For Our Jobs? [0:16:20] * Our Concerns Surrounding the Advent of AI. [0:21:05]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
We help overwhelmed and creative entrepreneurs break down their Oprah-sized dreams to create a functioning command center to tame the chaos of their business. Basically, we think you’re totally bomb diggity, we’re about to uplevel the shiz out of your business.
Key Topics:AI, Artificial intelligence, ChatGPT, Future of AI, AI implications, Benefits of AI
We Mentioned:ChatGPT
Open AI
Boss Project Services Wait List
Boss Project Semi-Custom Services
Boss Project Incubator
Boss Project on Instagram
FinancialGym.com/bossproject & use code BOSSPROJECT to get 20% off your first year of membership
EveryPlate.com/podcast - just $1.39 per meal with code bossproject139
Episode 708: Show NotesDue largely to the media we’ve been consuming, attention spans are waning. Now, more than ever, we need to focus on concise communication at work so as not to waste time or lose focus, and to cater to neurodivergence. We recently had a conversation with our team about innovation, problem-solving, and presenting the root of those problems with solutions in a clear, concise way. The importance of utilizing meeting minutes as efficiently as possible is becoming more and more evident to us, and we want to promote the concise communication of new launch game plans, offers, marketing strategies, etc. This is a skill we could all use some practice in, and today’s episode is all about how to be more concise as a leader and how to train your team to identify and communicate the bottom line of their presentation and client communication.
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What Causes Unnecessary VerbosityUsing fewer words can make you a more impactful leader, and there are skill sets to be mindful of when seeking to be more concise. But first, it’s helpful to understand what causes us to ramble in the first place. The first factor impacting unnecessary verbosity is insecurity and the need to impress. It’s difficult to gauge whether to wrap up or continue a conversation. The second factor is the fact that our brains literally get pleasure in the reward center for talking about ourselves, making it terribly easy to ramble. We personally don’t want to waste our team’s time but maintain that there’s power in meeting with them as opposed to simply sending an email. That being said, the ability to be concise within that communication is still critical, regardless of how you’re communicating.
How to Be a More Concise LeaderThe first step is to tune into your verbal patterns. You can do so by asking others for feedback, timing yourself, or retroactively watching videos of yourself in meetings. You then need to determine your bottom line before going into a meeting or presentation. Identify what it is you actually want to say. What’s the point you want to get across? The next step towards creating an attentive audience is practicing the pause. Tension creates curiosity, and pauses will also allow you to check in and read the room! This leads us to the next step: spend more time in listening mode. Remember, there’s a difference between listening and simply waiting for your turn to speak! In your next meeting, try to spend 70% listening and 30% speaking, and when it’s your turn to speak, ask purposeful, short bottom-line questions to encourage participants to come to their own conclusions.
How to Train Your Team to Bottom-LineWe’ve been considering the language we need to use to encourage our team to practice the skill of being concise. If you have long-winded colleagues or people that don’t know how to share their ideas and feedback, it’s your job as a leader to train them in the skill of speaking crisply to the essence of what needs to be spoken. If someone gets trapped in storytelling and describing the play-by-play, make it clear that you’ll be gently interrupting to ask for the bottom line to keep the conversation moving. Demonstration is the greatest teacher, so you need to personally script out the single most crucial phrase to say to deliver your message and ask others to signal when you’re rambling. You can even migrate the skill of concise communication to Slack, putting the crucial phrases in bold, etc., and expecting your team to do the same.
Being Concise in Client CommunicationIt’s important to carry these ideas of concise communication over into the client experience. Not only do we want to equip our team to be more concise and organized but we also want our clients to benefit. This includes keeping them up to date with what’s going on behind the scenes in a clear way and asking for feedback. Our aim is to instill in our team that although we want to be clear and concise, we want to keep it human when communicating with clients. Including the appropriate tone while being concise is an art and a science, and is a continuous learning process. We encourage you to start by getting clear and concise with your bottom line and leading with that!
Quote ThisPauses are an effective method for creating an attentive audience. Highlights* What Causes Unnecessary Verbosity. [0:12:23] * How to Be a More Concise Leader. [0:16:20] * How to Train Your Team to Bottom-Line. [0:27:54] * Being Concise in Client Communication. [0:32:15]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
We help overwhelmed and creative entrepreneurs break down their Oprah-sized dreams to create a functioning command center to tame the chaos of their business. Basically, we think you’re totally bomb diggity, we’re about to uplevel the shiz out of your business.
Key Topics:Concise communication, Concise leadership, Bottom-line, Presentation skills, Listening skills, Modern attention span
We Mentioned:Boss Project Services Wait List
Boss Project Semi-Custom Services
Boss Project Incubator
Boss Project on Instagram
FinancialGym.com/bossproject & use code BOSSPROJECT to get 20% off your first year of membership
EveryPlate.com/podcast - just $1.39 per meal with code bossproject139
Episode 707: Show NotesWe know that so many business owners, at all stages of their growth, do not understand their finances and we can see how much it affects their businesses! We want to talk about what understanding your numbers will do for you and why it’s such an important thing to prioritize. Often, the anxiety when discussing finances is rooted in a lack of financial literacy and the attachment we have to money that results in avoidance.
Sometimes these kinds of conversations will be uncomfortable, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they are bad. We want to remind you that our mission at Boss Project is to equip more women and femmes with the financial knowledge that they need to build a sustainable business that supports them financially and soulfully. These things are only possible with a level of financial literacy!
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The One Cash Flow Rude Awakening You Need to HaveOur conversations with clients almost always start with financial information. Without that financial information and history, it is very difficult to pave the way forward for the business. We want you to understand the difference between sales, contracted revenue, and collected cash. People often get into trouble because they focus on what their sales are without understanding what revenue is flowing in and out of the business.
For a long time, we assumed that income was going to come in and we did not even consider or plan for the inevitability that sometimes, it just doesn’t. Now we have learned our lesson and we want you to budget for a higher default rate and be on the conservative side so that you are prepared for the possibility that income may not come in.
How We Learned (the Hard Way) About the Money We Need to Spend to Make MoneyWhen your operational expenses start to grow and you don’t have a firm understanding of cash flow you are going to have a massive financial and logistical problem. In lower-priced or one-to-many offers, you need to take into account how much you’re spending in order to make money back. That amount can be incredibly unpredictable and, while we know that the reality for many businesses is that you have to spend cash in the hopes that you will make money in the future, we want you to be prepared and have enough cash to carry you through.
Another dangerous assumption we see people make is that they think hiring to expand capacity will make them more money. Through hiring, sometimes your sales will grow, but not always and it can be very frustrating to exert as much effort as is necessary to onboard, train, and mentor the new person before you get even a percentage of that return. You will even have to sacrifice your work to get these people ready and if you’re not accounting for it, it can become problematic. You need to weigh up the pros and cons of hiring before making decisions that can impact your business financially.
Two Simple Things You Need to Understand to Start Taking Control of Your FinancesWe are not going to ignore the fact that some of you don’t understand what a profit and loss (P&L) and balance sheet are, but these two documents are incredibly empowering and when you have them set up, you will look at them daily! P&L represents all of the cash collected income coming into the business and all of the expenses that went back out and the balance sheet represents the assets and cash value of your company.
If you aren’t looking at and interpreting these documents, you can start to become very reactionary. We don’t want you to feel alone in the lack of understanding of some of these concepts because you are focused on delivering or selling a service. There is not enough educational bookkeeping experience that is specifically tailored to individual businesses and that is why it is so important to do cash-based accounting to educate yourself on your cash flow. We want you to avoid the inaccurate recording of finances so that you don’t have a false sense of your business’ finances or pay incorrect taxes.
How Bookkeeping Correctly Can Make You an Informed Business OwnerWhen bookkeeping is basic, it is not helpful! Sometimes we see a lack of division of sales and expenses being recorded at too high a level that you can’t even see what you’re spending. We aren’t saying that you have to record these things in exceptional detail because that may not be productive either, but it needs to give you enough information to be able to go back to your records and see what was happening without having to pull up bank records.
We don’t want you to do bookkeeping for the sole purpose of paying taxes; the taxes are just a necessary part of your business. We want you to be doing bookkeeping to be an informed business owner. Working with an experienced bookkeeper within your industry will make you an informed business owner and educate you about financial information that will help you make decisions for the future. Send us a DM on Instagram so that we can connect you with resources to help you understand the finances of your business!
Quote ThisIt’s really important to do cash-based accounting so that you have a real understanding of your cash flow. Highlights The One Cash Flow Rude Awakening You Need to Have. [0:13:51] * How We Learned (the Hard Way*) About the Amount of Money We Spend to Make Money. [0:16:36] * Two Simple Things You Need to Understand to Start Taking Control of Your Finances. [0:22:45] * How Bookkeeping Correctly Can Make You an Informed Business Owner. [0:27:56]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
We help overwhelmed and creative entrepreneurs break down their Oprah-sized dreams to create a functioning command center to tame the chaos of their business. Basically, we think you’re totally bomb diggity, we’re about to uplevel the shiz out of your business.
Key Topics:Financial Planning, Financial Literacy, Cash Flow, Statements, Bookkeeping
We Mentioned:Boss Project Services Wait List
Boss Project Semi-Custom Services
Boss Project Incubator
Boss Project on Instagram
FinancialGym.com/bossproject & use code BOSSPROJECT to get 20% off your first year of membership
EveryPlate.com/podcast - just $1.39 per meal with code bossproject139
Episode 706: Show NotesWhat would you do if your business disappeared overnight but your skills and experiences remained? How would you choose your product or service? Would you want to play a similar role? Should you even remain in the same industry? Today on the show we share our answers to all these complicated questions, and more, as we reflect on what we’ve learned from building a business and running it for almost ten years!
In our conversation, we reflect on the current economic climate, what we learned from starting a business during a recession, and what we would want from a second business after building a company based on passion from the ground up. Tune in as we indulge in a conceptual exercise examining what we’ve learned over the past few years and what we would do differently for our next business, and why!
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From Founder to EntrepreneurThe distinction between being a founder and an entrepreneur can sometimes be a bit unclear. As a rule, entrepreneurs can invest without the major responsibilities of running a company on a day-to-day basis. Founders, on the other hand, create businesses from scratch that will someday be more successful. They spend a huge portion of their time and energy creating a product or service that will benefit society in some way, while entrepreneurs don’t necessarily have the same high level of personal time commitment and investment.
One of the key things we’ve discovered as founders is that we’re ready to utilize more of our entrepreneurial skills during this phase of our careers! As a result, if we were to start from scratch, one of the primary changes we’d institute is to create an offer that does not require our face or personality to sell it. Having this kind of dependency has been one of the biggest growth challenges we’ve faced as Founders and CEOs!
Recessions and Recurring OffersWe started our business during a recession and now, once again, we are heading for another economic downturn — if not a full-blown recession. Past recessions have had a lot to teach us, and we expect that this one will come with its own special takeaways. One of the key lessons we’ve learned from periods of economic stress is the immense benefits of creating a recurring offer that solves an ongoing problem. This means you can feel much more secure, knowing business owners won’t be tempted to cut your services the moment times become leaner.
The Difference Between Your First Company And Your SecondThere is a big difference between starting your first company and creating your second. Not only have you learned more about how to run a company, but you may also have an entirely new set of needs and expectations. And if you started your first business out of passion and a desire to have an impact, but you did it with less (or no) capital, then your next project may need more money to achieve what you want it to. Especially if it’s more ambitious! Either way, you need to get clear on what you want before you can form a strategy on how to get it.
What To Do NextWe are not suggesting that you go out, tear your business to the ground, and start over! We’ve watched many people do it — and believe us when we say that starting over is incredibly difficult! But we do think it’s worthwhile to take a step back, assess your role, and reflect on some key questions. Exercises like the one we’ve done today (along with a heavy dose of self-reflection) can go a long way in helping you achieve insight into what you want to achieve and how you can begin to build towards it!
Quote ThisI'm a business owner, not an entrepreneur. And I think I want to shift into my entrepreneur skill set in this new phase of life. Highlights* From Founder to Entrepreneur. [0:12:58] * Recessions and Recurring Offers. [0:20:50] * The Difference Between Your First Company And Your Second. [0:23:24] * What To Do Next. [0:30:52]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
We help overwhelmed and creative entrepreneurs break down their Oprah-sized dreams to create a functioning command center to tame the chaos of their business. Basically, we think you’re totally bomb diggity, we’re about to uplevel the shiz out of your business.
Key Topics:Founder, Business owner, Entrepreneur, Recurring offer, Recession
We Mentioned:Boss Project Services Wait List
Boss Project Semi-Custom Services
Boss Project Incubator
Boss Project on Instagram
FinancialGym.com/bossproject & use code BOSSPROJECT to get 20% off your first year of membership
EveryPlate.com/podcast - just $1.39 per meal with code bossproject139
Episode 705: Show NotesToday, we’re using you guys for practice. We have a workshop meeting coming up with the team at Boss Project to go over some updates for our team Wiki page, practices for problem-solving, and other aspects, and we wanted to share some of that information with our listeners. Consider these the highlights of what we’ve learned about innovation, problem-solving, and creative thinking.
This episode is best suited if you also listen to our recent episode on the four types of problem solvers that you need in your team. You don’t necessarily need to listen to it first, but it will help you. In the last year, we’ve been able to put definition to the culture behind the scenes at Boss Project, making our mission and vision a more prominent part of the work that we do. We talked about creating a motto to highlight the areas we really want to enhance and how we could share our philosophy with our team in a meaningful way.
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How to identify things you’re already doing but haven’t yet namedIf you go back to the beginning of our company, before we were Boss Project, we were Think Creative Collective. For a whole host of reasons, we changed our name, but that’s still our legal business entity. It’s always been a part of what this business stands for, but we never really named what that meant. Creative thinking, thinking critically, and thinking outside of the box are all different ways that you can look at this really big focus that executives and leaders have across industries. These are skills we want to have and that we want others to have, but we don’t always know how to foster it.
We were doing a number of things to support the motto of thinking creatively, but we didn’t really define or outline it. We talked about it within team discussions and individual discussions, and now we have taken the opportunity to define exactly what that means for us, and what some types of creative thinking look like. We’re also taking it a step further and actually researching tasks that can help us all to flex that muscle. We’re not talking about becoming artists, but we are talking about creative thinking. Did you know you have the ability to rewire your own brain? With habit and repetition, you can build the muscle of your brain.
Why we consider thinking creatively as a holistic principle When we look at a problem, we like to look at the whole thing. We want to essentially become still, and look around from a variety of perspectives. What does it mean to look at the facts and the feelings inside of a team? How can we analyze that from a psychological standpoint, and differentiate between the many different styles of thinking? It’s not just analytical behavior and emotional input. It’s so much bigger than that.
You’re going to fall into your usual patterns of thinking about a solution, or a strategy. How you go about solving a problem is to lean on your natural tendencies. Those are your superpowers because that’s where you are naturally inclined. But that does not mean that you can’t learn how to tap into the other ways of approaching a problem to provide a really unique perspective. As a small team, we can’t deny the fact that no-one has the luxury of being able to sit in one role within our company. Everyone has to have some sort of hybrid approach. For the betterment of the company in the long term, we can’t each stay in our own departments. We have to collaborate!
Five different ways to think creatively According to our research, there are at least five different types of thinking: aesthetic thinking, divergent thinking, lateral thinking, convergent thinking, and inspirational thinking. Divergent thinking happens when you’re doing traditional brainstorming, when imagination runs wild and you’re trying not to judge what comes out on the other side. Convergent thinking is more of a fact-finding mission. These are the most common types. Lateral thinking happens when you’re coming up with solutions for problem-solving. You’re thinking inside the box and considering what is available to you.
Inspirational thinking means you’re outside the box, with positive intent. You’re imagining all the best case scenarios. People need different ways to blow a problem up. Matter-of-fact inspirational thinking can be really fun to do. Sometimes we need to give ourselves the opportunity to look past the next few years and come up with a long term goal. We call it working backwards. Aesthetic thinking looks at reframing the problem to see its inherent beauty and value.
Our favorite outcome that comes from thinking creatively Thinking creatively helps you to identify the right problem, and to find the root of the problem. Our clients, team members, family members, and peers in and out of this arena are so often unable to identify what the actual problem is. All too often, we end up focusing on the flashiest and loudest part of the problem, rather than the most important part. Exercising different ways of thinking can help you to identify the real problem and begin to resolve it. You don’t have to accept what’s thrown at you!
Sometimes the solution is just three steps away. Oftentimes, you’re just too close to the problem. You can only see so far, and everything beyond that is fuzzy. It takes practice. Verbal processing with someone else can be really helpful, which is why we love masterminds, coaching, and partnerships. If you can’t lay out the problem at hand, can you take a look at the one next door? Think through how you handled an adjacent problem, and how you can dive deeper for this one. There’s no right or wrong way to dive deeper.
Your roadmap to identifying a problem and creating a plan to solve it Divergent thinking is your starting point. Make sure you’ve looked at every angle and identified the true root of the issue. Identify and examine it to find the root problem beyond the surface, before moving on to lateral or convergent thinking to find new solutions that may not have been obvious to you before. Once you’ve come up with your options of solutions, think creatively to add constraints that will help you to find the optimal solution. Add a new timeline, add a budget for the project, support, whatever it might be that will help guide you to see new opportunities.
You’ve mapped out your solution. The problem is going to be solved by actually implementing these solutions. Make sure that the constraints you are adding are helpful, and that they are not arbitrary. The constraints are not always necessary, but they do support thinking in a new way. Once you adopt a new way of thinking, you need to include some of those constraints as your new truth. We have a disagree and commit policy; even if you don’t think it’s the best way forward, once we’ve agreed as a unit, we are all working towards that chosen objective.
The collaborative approach we have at Boss Project and the importance of the MVPWe have a collaborative approach at Boss Project, which means that we don’t need to work in silos. However, if a team member is going to bring up a strategy to fix up a problem, then we are encouraging our team to fully vet and explore that problem. At Boss Project, no one person is solely responsible for every single thing that pushes out at MVP. A copywriter will see it, a designer will see it, and a project manager will see it.
Sometimes it’s collaboration from other people that needs to happen in order for a project to actually be done. Other times it’s you needing approval, or ‘the go-ahead’ to finish it on your own, wrap it up, and fully implement it. We’re calling it your MVP because by the time you send it off to be looked at by other members of your team, it’s already 80 or 90% done. It’s your focus. We’ve been talking about the MVP for over a year with our team, and they have been incredible at producing that initial major stride. Their ownership is what has enabled us to bring it into a finalized space.
We hope you found this helpful! Thanks for being here as we brainstorm the training we want to have with our own team. If you have any other ideas about what it means to think creatively for you or for your team, or if you have a motto you’d like to share with us, head over to our Instagram and send us a DM! We love hearing from you.
Quote ThisJust because it isn’t obvious doesn’t mean that you can’t find the root problem. Highlights* How to identify things you’re already doing but haven’t yet named [0:11:58] * Why we consider thinking creatively as a holistic principle [0:15:50] * Five different ways to think creatively [0:19:15] * Our favorite outcome that comes from thinking creatively [0:27:39] * Your roadmap to identifying a problem and creating a plan to solve it [0:33:50] * The collaborative approach we have at Boss Project and the importance of the MVP [0:38:44]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
We help overwhelmed and creative entrepreneurs break down their Oprah-sized dreams to create a functioning command center to tame the chaos of their business. Basically, we think you’re totally bomb diggity, we’re about to uplevel the shiz out of your business.
Key Topics:Problem solving, Creative thinking, Disagree and commit, Culture, Motto, Business values
We Mentioned:Boss Project Incubator
Boss Project on Instagram
FinancialGym.com/bossproject & use code BOSSPROJECT to get 20% off your first year of membership
EveryPlate.com/podcast - just $1.39 per meal with code bossproject139
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Episode 704: Show NotesWe usually share a free-balling, brain-storming episode around this time of year about what we want the next year to look like. We are so ecstatic (and intimidated) about some of our ideas and we want to document them for you all to hear! This year, we dove into having a hybrid company really heavily but going into 2023, we have to ask ourselves what the right mix is for our team.
We know how stressful it can be to figure out how projects are going to happen and we encourage you to plan for the new year with flexibility. Find the balance between having a plan and being flexible to allow for inevitable changes that you can’t predict. Be prepared that your plan may not happen exactly the way you want it to. Spend your planning time looking at where your leads are coming from and what makes sense for your business based on the leads that you have.
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Finally Doing a Real MastermindWe have been asked for multiple years to create some sort of higher-level mastermind and we have been avoiding it, but 2023 is the year! We did develop a general mastermind group with The Incubator, but there are subsections within the Incubator group that can have higher-level, different conversations.
When we say intimate, we mean it! We are very specific about our 15 mastermind attendees! We are targeting marketing boutique founders and CEOs with a 20-25k monthly revenue who are looking to scale into a full-blown agency. We want to help them shift out of the ‘constant doer’ mindset and into the role of CEO fully!
Exclusive In-Person RetreatWe had plans of doing a retreat in 2020 but thanks to the pandemic, that was put on pause for a while. The good news is, we will be doing an in-person retreat in 2023! We have decided to start out small because of our strongly introverted team and so that we can get an idea of what we are getting ourselves into when we move this to a larger scale.
The same (maximum) 15 people from our mastermind will join us on this retreat and hopefully, we can get mentally prepared for what this could turn into down the road. We are also grappling with the idea of having a team retreat and we are going to use this one to carve out the logistics of that. We are so excited to meet the team members we haven’t met in person and get to know them on a more social level.
Live Incubator Round Coming SoonWe are playing around with the idea of creating a more focused and condensed version of the Incubator and although we’re not entirely sure what it’s going to look like, we know why we’re doing it! First of all, we love teaching live! Secondly, everything for Incubator was originally taught live because it allows the curriculum to evolve based on the needs of the clients who are coming in. Lastly, history has proven that engagement and results are higher when you participate in something live so we have decided to bring the live element of Incubator back. Keep your eyes peeled for this exciting live round in March/April 2023!
Evolution of the Creative Template ShopWe have been doing a lot of research, surveying, and studying market trends and we know that design and templates will always be a part of our business. However, there is going to be a major shift in the upcoming year in how that’s delivered to you all and what that means for the Creative Template Shop.
We want to improve your user experience and make it efficient and worthwhile for you. At this stage, we have so many ideas and the potential for how this shop can evolve is exponential. So for now, the one thing we can tell you is that we are so excited for you to see what happens in the Shop during 2023!
Changing Our Focus for a Fantastic 2023We feel that we need to spend more time focusing on websites next year. If you’re considering working on a new website, definitely think about working with our team! Traditionally, either someone is focused on design or strategy but we blend the prospective experience with beautiful design and we love to take advantage of everything we can to push people in the direction you want. We love thinking about how the website connects to tell the story it needs to tell and how we ultimately showcase you as the expert in your industry. We love partnering with our clients and being a part of the entire experience. If you want to revamp your website, reach out to us ASAP, because we are already booking for 2023!
Earlier this year we hired an agency to help behind the scenes and support the podcast and we know you’ve all been dying to hear more about it. We are so lucky that this show is continuing to grow so that we can bring you this valuable information for free. We can’t wait to see how the Strategy Hour Podcast is going to evolve in 2023. Please go share this podcast, rate, review, and subscribe. None of this would be possible without our incredible sponsors and you, our listeners so thank you!
Quote ThisLet things fall how they fall as you go about doing business. Highlights* Why We Are Finally Doing a Real Mastermind. [0:12:33] * What You Need to Know About Our In-Person Retreat. [0:14:52] * Three Reasons We’ve Decided to Hold a Live Incubator Round. [0:18:54] * The One Thing You Need to Know About the Evolution of the Creative Template Shop. [0:22:04] * How We’re Changing Our Focus to Make for a Fantastic 2023. [0:24:30]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
We help overwhelmed and creative entrepreneurs break down their Oprah-sized dreams to create a functioning command center to tame the chaos of their business. Basically, we think you’re totally bomb diggity, we’re about to uplevel the shiz out of your business.
Key Topics:2023, New Year, Mastermind, Changes, Retreat, Websites, Creative Template Shop, Incubator
We Mentioned:Boss Project Services Wait List
Boss Project Incubator
Creative Template Shop
Boss Project on Instagram
FinancialGym.com/bossproject & use code BOSSPROJECT to get 20% off your first year of membership
EveryPlate.com/podcast - just $1.39 per meal with code bossproject139
Episode 703: Show NotesThere have been a lot of conversations in our incubator coaching lately about what to do when leads are lower. But that’s only part of the conversation. Today, we want to focus on how to know what’s right when you’re considering different ideas to pursue. When we’re in a rut, we tend to think that it’s time to think far outside of the box. Innovation is amazing when you’re in a season to be able to create something new and it makes sense, but when you need a cash injection, or you want to start the year off with a bang, it’s not necessarily the best time to start with something brand new!
What if, instead, you looked for ways to do the same thing, but in a different room? Could you do the same thing through a different lens? At the end of the day, if you already have systems and processes around the thing that you have been delivering, selling, and pricing, it’s so much easier to stay in that lane. Don't reinvent the wheel! While it might sound counterintuitive, we encourage you not to think outside the box, but to spin it in a different direction. It’s the same thing, just from a different viewpoint!
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What to do when it’s time to move an existing offer into a new roomWe’ve had some conversations with people who felt that they had totally tapped out on their existing network. The reality is, after years of truly leveraging your network, you’re going to outgrow those connections. That’s when you’ve got to get yourself into different rooms. Recently, we spoke to a business owner with a client base out of town. Her friends living there promised to connect her one day, but that just isn’t enough! We encouraged her to find a way to position herself in that community.
We’ve had even more conversations with people that we’ve never met in the last 90 days than ever before, and that was possible because we put ourselves in new rooms. It is possible to do that online too! We’re confident that moving into a new room is a step in the right direction. While it may take four to six months to see a return on your network, it’s still so much quicker than blogs and emails, which can sometimes take years to take effect.
Our favorite way to take what you sell and sell it in a new or different wayChanging your messaging while creating a sense of urgency is an effective way to make your offer feel new and different without actually changing anything about it. We’re not encouraging you to create fake urgency for things. Rather, create real-time limitations that lead to a sense of urgency. When we’ve been selling something for a while, we tend to forget that there is urgency, there is a limited approach to it. Have you actually communicated with your audience that you are rapidly booking and you only have four spots available for a specific offer?
There are different angles to the same offer, and you are likely focusing on the same thing every time because it works. Sometimes, if you just focus on one other aspect of it, it will appeal to a completely different audience and feel really different and fresh! Go and have a conversation with a good friend and start talking about the future. Ask them to stop you when something you are saying feels new to them. They’re paying enough attention to know what you’ve been doing and what has changed.
The right time to come up with an ancillary offer for your existing audienceAs a service provider, you see people’s needs all the time, but what you deem important and what they deem important are not necessarily the same thing. So, when we create something new, we enjoy hearing what people are looking for, and where they feel they need the most help and assistance. When you focus too much on what people need, that can mean that you’re focusing less on what you can do for them. When you tune in with your own offer in mind, you’re treating them more like human beings, which will simultaneously build your business, fill your cup, and make you feel like you’re part of something that matters!
We received amazing feedback that our services don’t feel like a cookie-cutter offer or a presentation of what could work. We are intentional about listening to what clients need, what they are already bringing to the table, and how that can be packaged. It’s so much easier to sustain the business that you have than it is to start something brand new. You might think that lowering your price is going to save you time and get people to commit faster, and if that’s your approach, we want you to take a long, hard look at it. The time you spend on building relationships right now will just be reallocated. That time isn’t saved; it just gets moved around. We would argue that you will actually end up spending more time and more money trying to chase something at a lower price in a higher quantity!
How do you want to spend your time? That’s the ultimate question. We would love to guide you through the process of finding a sales strategy playbook that works for you. A lot of that involves doing a deep dive into your historical data. We like to look at the facts: what has already happened? What can be easily predicted? How do we connect those things so that they come to fruition for you? This sparks new ideas and strategies you may not have thought of before.
Quote ThisGiving your service offering a new messaging lens is an interesting approach, because, as a service provider, it’s easy to get in a rut. Highlights* What to do when it’s time to move an existing offer into a new room [0:12:04] * Our favorite way to take what you sell and sell it in a new or different way [0:17:02] * The right time to come up with an ancillary offer for your existing audience [0:22:45]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
We help overwhelmed and creative entrepreneurs break down their Oprah-sized dreams to create a functioning command center to tame the chaos of their business. Basically, we think you’re totally bomb diggity, we’re about to uplevel the shiz out of your business.
Key Topics:Sales strategy, Naming your products and services, Creating offers, Networking, Business building, Client conversations
We Mentioned:Sales Strategy Intensive
Boss Project Incubator
Boss Project on Instagram
FinancialGym.com/bossproject & use code BOSSPROJECT to get 20% off your first year of membership
Episode 702: Show NotesToday’s episode is all about how to define your role in your company. As we look towards the start of a new year, we always like to comb through the job descriptions of the people on our team, as well as ourselves. What we’ve noticed is that defining the role of founders and CEOs is something that is often overlooked. So, we are intentional about taking the time to get really clear on the things that we need to do versus the things that we want to do so that we can find a healthy balance between the two!
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The Role of the FounderA founder plays a very specific role in the company and that role evolves as the company grows. When you start a company, you probably think you are going to be doing a lot of things relating to your skill set; designing or selling merchandise or copywriting, for example. In our first year in business, we did a lot of that. But we quickly found out that there is so much more to running a successful company than we ever imagined, and as a founder, you really need to take the reins on the business side of things!
How the Structure of Boss Project Has EvolvedFor those of you who don’t know, Emylee started as a 1099 for Abagail. We decided to go into business together but it was simpler to put it under an umbrella that already existed. So, for a few years, Abagail would play the sales role, figure out the deal with the client, and then tell Emylee (the contractor) what she needed her to do. A shift happened in 2016 when we started getting more and more digital sales on our programs and realized we needed to organize things differently.
Navigating the Co-Founder DynamicIn the early days of the business, we were basically both doing the same job. We were trying to split everything 50/50. To give you an example of how far we took this, we would each write every other Instagram post! It wasn’t until 2019 that we realized that this approach really didn’t make sense and we each took control of the areas that actually best suit us. Our collaborative approach and culture of experimentation are part of the magic of our business, but that doesn’t mean that we each have to be a part of every single aspect of delivery.
Why We Stopped Planning Far AheadEverything changes and shifts so often that we have reached a point where we no longer plan anything years in advance because we have no idea what our business is going to evolve into in that space of time. So, we just plan for the year ahead and then we let ourselves be open to whatever comes our way!
What It Means to be a Business OwnerIf you want to be a designer or a copywriter or a photographer, go for it! But if you want to be a business owner of a business that is sustainable, that pays you, that opens up a whole new life for you, you can’t just sit in that role forever. And if you are going to be a successful business owner, you need to eliminate the rhetoric of, “If you don’t love it, don’t do it,” from your life entirely because you are going to have to do things that you might not love and that might take you way out of your comfort zone!
Quote ThisWe stopped two-year, three-year, five-year planning because we can dream and scheme and talk about it, but there’s no reason to put something hard to paper because everything shifts. Highlights* The Role of the Founder. [0:11:28] * How the Structure of Boss Project Has Evolved. [0:15:30] * Navigating the Co-Founder Dynamic. [0:18:06] * Why We Stopped Planning Far Ahead. [0:25:25] * What It Means to be a Business Owner. [0:28:53]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
We help overwhelmed and creative entrepreneurs break down their Oprah-sized dreams to create a functioning command center to tame the chaos of their business. Basically, we think you’re totally bomb diggity, we’re about to uplevel the shiz out of your business.
Key Topics:Founders, Co-Founders, Defining Roles, Project Management, Collaboration
We Mentioned:Boss Project Incubator
Boss Project on Instagram
FinancialGym.com/bossproject & use code BOSSPROJECT to get 20% off your first year of membership
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Episode 701: Show NotesAs we look ahead to the new year, we’re evaluating what we want to take forward with us, what we’ll discontinue in the new year, and what we’d like to tentatively start investigating. Here at Boss Project, we’ve been in the throes of planning for 2023 and have settled on some decisions which we share with you in this episode! Tune in to find out what we’re carrying forward with us and why, what we’ve decided to drop, and three potential additions that we’re contemplating bringing into the mix.
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Five Things We’re Continuing in 2023The first thing we’ve decided to keep in place in 2023 is the flexible stipend we offer our team members. Health insurance only covers so much, so we decided to provide a stipend that covers a wide variety of buckets, such as alternative medicine, coworking spaces, childcare, gym memberships, additional technology, etc.
The second fixture is unlimited PTO (personal time off). This may not work for every business, but it works for us due to the way it’s structured, communicated, and utilized. Perhaps surprisingly, it makes things easier from a management perspective, and fortunately, our team has never abused the opportunity. We choose to support our team through life’s unpredictability while trusting their dedication.
The third thing we’ve decided to keep in place is our management accelerator program for employees. This provides them with an external, unbiased coach who facilitates training, coaching, and safe spaces for them to learn how to step into their roles as leaders.
Number four on the list of things that aren’t going anywhere is our team playbook. Our team playbook is designed to provide our team with a true representation of the vision and values of our company, how we show up, what our culture looks like, and how they can show up best to match our expectations. This is super helpful for team integration. The only updates we’ll make to the playbook will be logistical, never foundational.
The fifth and final thing we’re continuing is our MVP collaborative mindset. Being collaborative is an internal value at Boss Project. We’re a small team and each person brings a unique set of skills. We’ve found that input from multiple team members makes the outcome uniquely Boss Project. We ask team members to take something as far as they can, get feedback, and get someone else to finish it. Doing things in a silo inhibits productivity and you run the risk of being your own bottleneck, and if each team member works alone, everything will move slower.
What We’re Discontinuing in 2023 and WhyThis time last year, we altered our time-off structure to include two longer company-wide breaks, as we found it hard to fully step away without dedicated office closures, and, as a consequence of our unlimited PTO policy, our team tended not to take the time off that they deserved. We found that everyone came back to work frazzled after the two-week July break, so we conducted a survey. The majority of our team felt that it was too long a break at that specific time of year so, for 2023, we spread out office closures with the same number of days off, but with shorter, more frequent breaks.
Three New Things We Want to Try in 2023There are three things we’re eager to look into for 2023. The first being some version of the four-day workweek. For three years, we had Mondays off, but we reverted to five days a week as our business grew. Now we’re tentatively thinking about reintroducing the four-day work week, but a hybrid version of it, as we don’t want to put pressure on our team to have to hustle to get everything done over a shorter time frame. We’d like to tease a four-day workweek with the fifth day dedicated to creative work.
The next is our team retreat. We are adamant about making it happen as in-person connections are irreplaceable. We want to give our team opportunities to bond without putting pressure on getting too much done.
Finally, we want to look at restructuring our department meetings (and meetings in general). Meetings impact the energy and productivity level of people differently and we want to make sure we’re using our time effectively. We have impactful, actionable meetings, yet they are still draining for a lot of our team. We want to honor everyone’s energy and find the balance of what supports both us and our team.
Quote ThisOur team playbook is designed to serve our team as a true representation of the vision and values of our company, how we show up, what our culture looks like, and how they can show up best to really match our expectations. Highlights* Five Things We’re Continuing in 2023. [0:08:50] * What We’re Discontinuing in 2023 and Why. [0:25:45] * Three New Things We Want to Try in 2023. [0:30:12]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
We help overwhelmed and creative entrepreneurs break down their Oprah-sized dreams to create a functioning command center to tame the chaos of their business. Basically, we think you’re totally bomb diggity, we’re about to uplevel the shiz out of your business.
Key Topics:Company playbook, Restructuring, Four-day workweek, Meetings, Unlimited PTO, Collaboration, Team retreats
We Mentioned:Boss Project Services Wait List
Boss Project on Instagram
FinancialGym.com/bossproject & use code BOSSPROJECT to get 20% off your first year of membership
shopify.com/shp - free trial
Episode 700: Show NotesIf you dream of having a team full of problem solvers, you’ve come to the right place. In the previous episode, we talked about the four types of problem solvers that your team needs. In this episode, we investigate how to encourage your employees to be problem solvers in the first place. Efficiency is championed in the workplace, and the number one thing to get in the way of it is the brake of identifying and solving problems. For this reason, there is often a lot of resistance to turning the focus onto innovation. Yes, it takes time, but it’s worth it! Tune in to hear our advice on creating space for innovation and incentivizing problem-solving. We leave you with seven practical ways to promote a culture of creativity and innovation within your team!
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Creating Space for InnovationWe like to borrow ideas from corporate America and adapt them to the small business model, with more ethical practices and realistic standards. One such idea is what has been categorized as “Corporate America’s most underrated innovation strategy.” American multinational conglomerate, 3M, encourages and incentivizes innovation by making problem-finding a component of every employee’s job description and ensuring that at least 30% of each division’s revenue comes from products introduced in the last four years. Their 15% rule invites employees to devote 15% of their time to “experimental doodling” or pet projects. Google has a similar approach called “20% time.” Bear in mind that 15-20% is an entire workday! We’ve talked about a four-day workweek, but what about a four-day standard workweek, with an extra day for play and innovation?
Incentivizing Problem SolvingHaving given employees an entire workday’s worth of freedom, 3M rewards problem-solving via their dual ladder system. This involves employees choosing one of two avenues to advance their careers, each with the same pay and benefits. One ladder involves advancing science and products, while the other is all about managing people. This incentivizes employees to direct their talent where they can make the most impact and prevents bright researchers from turning into bad managers. People who are talented in their roles should be compensated properly without having to change course for the sake of promotion. Another way to subconsciously encourage innovation is to build it into your company motto so it seeps into everything you do.
Although a lot of money can be wasted in experimental phases, there are ways to make room for innovation in smaller businesses without necessarily altering the budget, such as allocating time differently and pausing certain projects.
7 Ways To Encourage Innovation and Problem SolvingImplementers can be good problem solvers with a problem that already exists, but actively seeking and predicting new problems and coming up with an innovative solution is another set of skills altogether. We’ve compiled a list of seven ways to encourage both problem-finding and solving:
- Hire for innovation. It truly does start during the hiring process and there are strategies to vet resourceful employees.
- The second most important factor in establishing problem-solving skills is trusting your team. As tempting as it may be, you can’t constantly micromanage employees, as they’ll become reliant on your guidance and won’t think outside of the box. Some people make the mistake of backing off entirely but the trick is to slowly relinquish responsibility.
- Give your team goals, not instructions. If you lead with the desired outcome, not the steps they need to take to get there, it gives them the opportunity to solve the problem.
- Encourage creativity! It’s important to block off time to be creative and play. You can encourage creativity and abstract thinking by allowing flexible work schedules, encouraging breaks, listening to new ideas, filling your workspace with sensory experiences, and facilitating a team mentality. If your team works remotely, you can provide your team with ideas to create their own space to thrive.
- Provide ample resources. This doesn't necessarily have to be in the form of funds. Make sure you have the Systems and processes in place to support employees running with their ideas, and the information hub required for them to frame up their ideas.
- Facilitate team brainstorming. This is an incredibly helpful activity that will save you literal hours.
- Appreciate new ideas. It’s one thing to say you want your team to come up with ideas, and another to actually demonstrate appreciation for them with your body language, attitude, tone, response, rewards, etc.
Quote ThisThe second most important factor in establishing problem-solving skills is trusting your team.” Highlights* Creating Space for Innovation. [0:07:56] * Incentivizing Problem Solving. [0:14:14] * 7 Ways To Encourage Innovation and Problem Solving. [0:18:58]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
We help overwhelmed and creative entrepreneurs break down their Oprah-sized dreams to create a functioning command center to tame the chaos of their business. Basically, we think you’re totally bomb diggity, we’re about to uplevel the shiz out of your business.
Key Topics:Innovation, Incentives, Creativity, Problem-solving
We Mentioned:Boss Project Incubator
Boss Project on Instagram
FinancialGym.com/bossproject & use code BOSSPROJECT to get 20% off your first year of membership
shopify.com/shp - free trial
LinkedIn.com/bossproject for a FREE 60-day trial
Episode 699: Show NotesWe recently came across an article about the types of problem solvers (or innovators) that exist within a business. In this episode, we are going to be sharing a breakdown of this article. The idea is to encourage you, as a leader, to look at your team and determine whether it is diverse enough in terms of the perspectives and roles as well as whether it is cognitively diverse enough. This is such an important conversation because there are certain things that will be innately easy for some people and much harder for others and when you understand the dynamics of your team, everyone can help each other out. For anyone looking to grow their team in the coming year, this episode is for you!
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A Key to Successful HiringHiring successfully takes effort, and there are a number of different factors that need to be considered. When bringing a new person onto your team, it’s important not only to look at their skill set and whether they are a good culture fit for your business. You also need to focus on whether they have the kind of personality that is going to thrive in the role that you are looking to fill! For example; if you’re looking to hire a salesperson, someone who is an introvert is probably not going to be an ideal fit whereas someone who loves to be the center of the conversation and to interject their own thoughts and ideas at every opportunity is much more likely to thrive in that position.
The Four Types of Problem SolversThere are four broad categories of problem solvers, each of which will benefit a business in a different way. Generators are best at finding new problems as a result of their own direct experience with the world around them. Generators are the rarest type of problem solver found in businesses. Conceptualizers are best at defining problems thoroughly. They ideate in a more abstract way than generators. Optimizers are best at thoroughly evaluating a number of different ideas and then selecting solutions based on their analyses. Implementers are best at implementing selected solutions. They prefer to dive straight in and experiment, rather than mentally testing potential solutions beforehand. Which one sounds most like you?
Training Problem SolversMost business owners won’t fall strictly into one category but will rather ebb and flow between the different types. The most common type of problem solver is the implementer, and a lot of job seekers are implementers. A study conducted with over 100 000 people, 41% were implementers and only 17% were generators. But the good news is that the skills held by each type are absolutely trainable! Studies have shown that when a group of people are struggling to solve a problem, if you can train one person in the group to roleplay the problem solver type that is needed (even if they don’t naturally fall into that category,) that will more often than not be enough to get the group out of their rut.
The SMRT Innovation FrameworkStep 1 (Structure) involves achieving the right ratio of problem-solving styles. Step 2 (Model) involves demonstrating the importance of a problem-solving style top-down. Step 3 (Reward) involves creating incentives for problem-finding. Step 4 (Train) involves creating opportunities to learn about all styles. If you feel like your team is stuck and not coming up with new ideas or moving forward, chase the breadcrumbs! By this we mean that you need to determine during which stage of innovation things are breaking down, and then make sure that you are putting people with the right problem-solving abilities in place in order to breathe new life into your business!
Quote ThisAs a founder and a business owner and a CEO, or even as the head of a department, you will ebb and flow between types. Highlights* A Key to Successful Hiring [0:21:36] * The Four Types of Problem Solvers [0:23:50] * Training Problem Solvers [0:27:14] * The SMRT Innovation Framework [0:33:45]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
Instagram | Facebook
We help overwhelmed and creative entrepreneurs break down their Oprah-sized dreams to create a functioning command center to tame the chaos of their business. Basically, we think you’re totally bomb diggity, we’re about to uplevel the shiz out of your business.
Key Topics:Hiring, Problem Solving, Personality Types, Leadership, Training
We Mentioned:Boss Project Incubator
Boss Project on Instagram
FinancialGym.com/bossproject & use code BOSSPROJECT to get 20% off your first year of membership
shopify.com/shp - free trial
LinkedIn.com/bossproject for a FREE 60-day trial
Episode 698: Show NotesDo you find hiring daunting? Do you want to find the right people that will grow your business but don't know how? Then this episode is for you! It’s been a minute since we’ve had a guest on the Strategy HourPodcast, but we absolutely had to bring our friend Abbey Ashley on so that you can hear more of what she's got going on with hiring, and get some tips from a multi million dollar CEO on how she has navigated hiring in her business, along with a few personal anecdotes from our experience over at BossProject.
Abbey Ashley is founder and CEO of Hello Savvy, a new hiring platform that focuses on culture and community. She’s been named one of Forbes Next 1000 Up and Coming Entrepreneurs and Inc.Magazine’s Top 100 Female Entrepreneurs, and Hello Savvy’s sister company, the Virtual Savvy has been placed on Inc.’s 5000 List in 2021 and 2022, along with being named one of Inc.’s best places to work. With a focus on team culture and a ‘serve first’ motto among her team, her team went from 6 to 14 team members and over 3 million in annual revenue.
Her passion is to help other entrepreneurs creatively carve out their own path forward via online business, and today we are talking about hiring well so that you can grow your business. We are sharing a lot of mistakes and some of the ways we needed to grow in order to fully step into our roles as leaders and co-founders. We touch on how to navigate some of the tough decisions that come with hiring, and how to truly understand your role as a co-founder and how that shifts as you hire, and how to do all of that while you focus on facts and feelings, which is something we love to do around here!
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Being Realistic About Employees Who Are the Wrong FitWe know how difficult the burden of finding the right fit for positions in your business can be. Abbey hasan incredible way to combat the pressure and responsibility associated with keeping employees happy.Abbey sets up the opportunity to revisit whether or not a job is working for both her and the employee after a certain period of time. That way, it doesn’t come as a surprise if Abbey needs to tell someone things aren’t working out and her staff feel comfortable enough to tell her if they are not satisfied.
It’s a continual learning process. Everytime you hire someone,you learn something new about the process and move onwards to something better. It’s hard for the people pleaser in us. But it helps to remember that your business isn’t the best place for everyone. Emylee and Abagail have talked about hiring for attitude,and realized that having those checkpoints at 60 or 90 days are essential to figure outwhat’s working and what isn’t. That’s how you’ll know how to move forward.
What You Absolutely Need to Do if You’re Going to do Great ThingsNo matter how you feel,you’ve got to make those tough decisions. It’s one thing if someone doesn’t have all the skills, but you have a good attitude. That’s what happens when someone is the right hire in the wrong seat. But if that role is very technical and you don’t have anything else that’s suitable, it might be better for them too if you let them go. It can be hard to accept that someone would be better somewhere else.
Being a business owner is hard! At the end of the day, if you’re going to do big things, you need to develop a thick skin. There has to be an element where you just make hard decisions. What Abby tries to do when it comes to hiring and firing, is to take the human element out of it and make a decision based on what needs to be done. Once you’ve made a decision based on logic, and facts you can enact your decision in the most human way possible that shows that you do have compassion and you are good people.
Why Hiring is About So Much More than Getting Back Your TimeFor years, Abagail and Emylee were trying to do way too many things, to the point where they were overseeing so much of the end result that they didn’t even have the capacity to grow. Team has been the only way they have successfully been able to grow. Abby adds that handing over some of the decision-making power to your team can be an amazing growth mechanism. She used to have a sticky note on her desk that read ‘what do you suggest we do?’ to remind herself of exactly that. Sometimes, letting someone run with their solution leads to mistakes, but you've got to allow that to happen.
You’ve got to shift your understanding of productivity when you become a leader. That means you have to start seeing your team’s productivity as part of yours. When your responsibility is to manage your team, their output is part of your daily responsibilities. You played a role in those deliverables moving forwards. You have to accept and be a part of more of the group effort that your team has become.
Three Swimlanes Abby Uses to Boost ProductivityHigh level strategy, high level partnerships, and face of the company are the three swimlanes Abby came up with to organize her output. These became the filters through which she would figure out which tasks to pass on to an employee, and which ones she needed to hold. It can be overwhelming to know you need to delegate something, knowing that you have to quality check it afterwards. Abby reminds us that it's harder to delegate than it is to do the work yourself. She also shares that for her, she often finds that giving an employee a general instruction and letting them run with it is much more effective than giving them a breakdown of each task.
Often, the problem is not that someone wasn’t able to complete a task, but rather that they didn’t do it to the quality or standard you were looking after, which you didn’t even communicate! Delegation depends on who you’re talking to, how long the task is, and how different it is from their current role. It all depends on the person, but being mindful of how each employee learns is essential to getting the output you need. We’ve all made the mistake where we’ve treated our employees like an entrepreneur—you have to tell them what to do!
Avoiding the Hiring Mistake We’ve All 100% MadeWe’ve all hired contractors who were not subject matter experts with the expectation that they would be subject matter experts, and we’ve all hired subject matter experts and tried to be way too involved in the process. We’ve made a million mistakes along the way. When you hire a subject matter expert, it’s less about telling them how to do that task well, and more about helping them to get into your flow through your processes. It’s about communicating your expectations.
The same goes for clients. Abby shares with us the difference it’s made to get laser focused on serving one type of customer. That can change over time. She gets candid about the fact that every time she's gone down a road of chasing a hundred different approaches, she’s always regretted it. Her business is made up of three main things: a new paid ad strategy, short form content, and evergreen partnerships.Everything else stays the same. Instead of doing 100 things kind of good, she does a few things really well.
How Not to Make Your Employees FeelTrying to do everything yourself is not only a terrible use of your time, it also makes your employees think that you don’t have any faith in their ability to do their job. To Abbey, hiring is about being able to focus on what she’s good at, and letting her team focus on their own strengths. Your weaknesses are someone else’s strengths! If you’re not happy not playing into your strengths, neither is your team. What You can do when you all focus on what you’re good at is pretty magical!
There are always going to be seasons when you’re working harder than others. That’s part of being a co-founder. But you’ve got to be intentional. If you let yourself do that forever, you will be burnt out. You'll Be unhappy and you won’t be able to foster the space that you want to.
Abby’s been having these conversations with business owners for years now. She looked at the current hiring platforms and saw that they didn’t match up to the level of care and consideration she gave her own business, which she thinks of as her third baby! That’s why she started Hello Savvy, a place where you can find employees to hire who are congruent with your values. It’s not impossible without the platform, but it’s a place to find a long term freelancer fit. Somebody who gets it. We’re pretty excited about what that could do to our industry. If you’re looking for a place to hire, or get hired, this is the place for you.
Quote ThisYou need to remove the feelings, decide on fact, and then put the feelings back!—Abbey Ashley
Highlights Being Realistic About Employees Who Are the Wrong Fit [0:07:20] * What You Absolutely Need if You’re Going to do Great Things [0:12:33] * Why Hiring is About So Much More than Getting Back Your Time [0:16:38] * Three swimlanes Abby Uses to Boost Productivity [0:22:50] * Avoiding the Hiring Mistake We’ve All 100% Made [0:32:30] * How Not* to Make Your Employees Feel [0:36:05]
Today’s Guest:Abbey Ashley
Virtual Savvy and Hello Savvy
Abbey on LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook
Hello Savvy: Website | Instagram
The Virtual Savvy | Virtual Assistant Checklist & Starter Kit
Abbey Ashley is the founder of The Virtual Savvy and Hello Savvy, online courses teaching people how to be virtual assistants and helping people create, launch, and grow their businesses. With a master’s degree in management and organizational leadership and an entrepreneurial spirit, Abbey helps people turn their passions into profit through marketing.
Key Topics:Hiring, Leading, Delegating, Business Growth, Online Hiring Platform
We Mentioned:Forbes Top 1000 Entrepreneurs
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Episode 697: Show NotesHave you ever felt that you’ve run out of boxes to check? It can feel unsettling not to be clear on what you should be pursuing, especially as you get older. We were pretty surprised to find out that most of the things we strive for as we age are actually developmental milestones. We learned that, with the passing of each decade, there needs to be a realignment to work toward a new set of goals. There’s a progression from building your career in your twenties, to finding life alignment in your thirties, connecting to passion and purpose in your forties, and building a legacy in your fifties and beyond. Striving to make these things a priority is a natural part of the life cycle.
We were also surprised to learn that one-third of Americans say that they would rather give up sex than their cell phones. What this tells us is that we are all pretty accustomed to hooking ourselves to other things. If we’re not busy, we’re on our phones. If we’re not on our phones, we’re watching TV. What would we want to do if we put down our phones a little bit more? That’s the part that so many women struggle with. We all want to have a life, but how many of us know what that would look like for us? We have conditioned ourselves to not be okay with being bored. But only in boredom, does creativity strike. What do you want your life to look like? Do you know what it looks like to slow down?
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What we can learn from the five most common regrets of the dyingLiving a life others expected of you, instead of a life true to yourself is at the top of the list. That’s a really hard one to avoid, because it requires confidence and clarity about what you want. And it’s difficult to determine what you truly what you want, and not what others want for you. We had to do so much unlearning, and there are still things we would love to do, but we won’t do them, because there are other things we want more. It’s okay to have multiple desires that pull you in different directions and still have the courage to choose the one that makes the most sense for you.
If the next one makes you roll your eyes, you’re not alone. A lot of folks wish they hadn’t worked so hard. This doesn’t seem super relevant to our generation because we tend to make sure we are very available to our families. We’ve already done a lot of work there.
The third most common regret is about having the courage to speak your mind. A lot of people don’t feel that they can, and when you do, you may lose people close to you. There’s the moment when you will either decide to be this person or not, at the risk of losing a lot of people and a lot of relationships. That’s something you do, not just for yourself, but for your family moving forward.
Staying invested in your friendships is the fourth most common regret. Do you prioritize friendship? Is it supported in your world? From our observation, this can get a lot harder as time passes. People move away, they lose the thing they had in common, or they just enter a different space in their life. You have to lay the foundations for friendship now if you want to have it in the future. That’s something we try to be really mindful of.
How one gut-wrenching regret reminds us to put our lives firstThe last one hit us hard! When they’re nearing the end of their lives, a lot of people say that they wish they had allowed themselves to be happier. On their deathbed, the things people are talking about are the life-centric parts of themselves. All of these regrets center around your life and how you live it. It has very little, if nothing, to do with your work. It’s not that your work can’t be fulfilling, or fill a passion and purpose in your life, but on their deathbed, people are not talking about work.
To us, building a business life first is the only option. We can’t imagine committing ourselves to a career where we don’t have the amount of freedom and flexibility as we do. That raises the question of how we can be more purposeful with the time spent doing the work to make the money to support the life we want? We want to be purposeful and productive in the time dedicated to work. That’s why we look at our calendar every three days to make sure that it’s in alignment with the life we want to be living. We’re moving things around, we’re canceling things that don’t make sense, and that doesn’t stop. We don’t want you to fall victim to life just happening to you. You have to walk through it intentionally.
While the regrets of the dying will definitely change with time, we think the root of what people are saying will hold true for multiple generations. We are living in a space and time where people are creating more of the reality that they want to live now, and they are trying to do that in a lot of ways. We don’t want you to get so lost in the space you are trying to create that you don’t see the amazing space you are in now. That’s the underlying conversation people are having. It’s not an if and when, it’s a now.
Three questions to ask yourself to define what’s important to you todaySometimes the reason we don’t know what to pursue is that we don’t know what we really value. You can say that you value family, but what do you value in particular? Do you value quality time with family? Do you value experiences with family? The more specificity you add to any of these things is what will give you more clarity.
The first question we want to offer you might hurt a little bit. What can be taken away from you that would make your life unbearable, and why? If it just disappeared, what would make you absolutely miserable? Next, if you have kids, what do you want to make sure they know and understand because you want to make it a priority? If you don’t have kids, what is the legacy you want to leave behind? What are the traces of you that you want to stick?
Our third question for you is what makes you angry? The answer is an opportunity for you to see what you actually value. For Abagail, it’s seeing people get stuck in a state of inaction. Instead of focusing on the lack of action, it’s important for her to look at what she values. And her answer is courage, gumption, and grit. If you can look at the things that rub you the wrong way, you can look at what the value is on the flip side of it. Those are the things that are important to you and they can fuel so many areas of your life. This question is a great way to reconnect with what you believe. Noticing these themes can also highlight the areas you’re really good at focusing on, and which ones are important to you, but end up getting less attention.
Take a deep breath and know that it is so normal to want to pursue different areas at different stages of life. It’s okay to not know, but it’s your responsibility to explore and get more in tune with who you are and what you want and to build a lifestyle business that ultimately supports you as you do all of those things. And we’re here to support whatever that looks like for you.
Quote ThisWe have conditioned ourselves to not be okay with being bored, but only in boredom does creativity strike. Not creativity for productivity’s sake, creativity just for fulfillment of your freakin’ life! Highlights* What we can learn from the five most common regrets of the dying [0:17:02] * How one gut-wrenching regret reminds us to put our lives first [0:25:38] * Three questions to ask yourself to define what’s important to you today [0:29:10]
Today’s Guest:Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
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We help overwhelmed and creative entrepreneurs break down their Oprah-sized dreams to create a functioning command center to tame the chaos of their business. Basically, we think you’re totally bomb diggity, we’re about to uplevel the shiz out of your business.
Key Topics:Legacy, Regret, Goal setting, Future planning, Values, Priorities
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We’re sure everyone is familiar with the popular Netflix reality TV show, Love is Blind, but did you know that you can actually learn some tools for having successful conversations at your next networking event from the show? No, these conversations won’t end in a terrifying wedding whereby all your guests anxiously await the words ‘I do’ or ‘I don’t.’ But, you could stand to create incredibly meaningful professional relationships and even friendships. You will also develop your social skills and self-esteem which will have a positive impact on your business!
This is not the first time we’re speaking about boundaries, and it won’t be the last. We love boundaries! They’re our favorite ‘B word’. We like setting them, we like holding them, and we like helping other people set them. One thing we find interesting is that when we start the conversation about boundaries and we lovingly push our clients or our team to create, set, and hold a boundary, it can be triggering for a lot of people. That’s because it makes us reflect on toxic behaviors we have allowed or done or negative stories we have told ourselves about why we might need boundaries.
We have worked with many different service providers over the years. And in that time we’ve learned a great deal from their wide-ranging responses to any number of situations and scenarios that inevitably pop up with clients — be they totally bizarre or bordering on the mundane. In today’s episode, we take a closer look at how to deliver a sustainable client experience. One that is consistent from client to client and can be maintained and altered as your business grows and scales.
When you’re in the thick of the behind-the-scenes work of running your business, it’s easy to lose sight of the client experience. This is why it’s so important to have systems in place that allow you to not only receive client feedback but to come up with solutions that are then seamlessly integrated into your business. We break down the most common issues we’ve seen service providers get stuck on and offer insights on how to fine-tune your internal systems for a unique client experience with staying power!
Creativity is generally associated with art, yet it encompasses so much more than that! Because of the narrow definition of creativity, the majority of adults feel out of touch with their creativity or devoid of it altogether! Studies show that it’s in our DNA to be creative. Yet, as we get older and are influenced by society’s limitations of what constitutes creativity, we fail to flex our creative muscle in a way that resonates with us as individuals. All of us are intrinsically creative, whether we’re artistic or not, and in this episode, we break down what creativity means to us and share tips for getting in touch with your creativity and helping others to do the same.
We’re nearing the end of 2022 and auditing season is upon us! The time is ripe to start looking at how you want 2023 to pan out personally and operationally within your business. We want you to conquer the world, so today, we’re going to share some tips for setting yourself up for success in the new year. Although auditing might not sound sexy, it’s one of our favorite things to do. In this episode, we share some of the strategies we’ve used over the years to carry out an effective audit. You’ll learn how best to take stock of which areas need tweaking in order for you to reach your goals in 2023! Bear in mind that this doesn’t have to be your final iteration but making decisions in advance and working backwards from your goal is essential. Tune in to find out how to identify your financial goal and gap, find a plausible method to fill that gap, and reach your goals!
The festive season is upon us! And for service providers that means navigating the immense pressure to take part in retail-centric holidays like Black Friday Sales. In today’s episode, we answer some of the most common listener questions that come up over the holiday season. Like how to handle pressures around Black Friday Sales, when to allow discounts, when free collaborations are worth it, and whether you should work with friends and family.
It may seem like the benefits of some of those things are worth it, but they also come with plenty of hidden costs. Tuning in you’ll hear us share some of the key things we’ve learned from working with relatives, taking part in Black Friday sales, and offering our services for free. These things are a lot more complicated than they seem at first glance! Today’s episode is all about uncovering the true cost of these kinds of discounts, optimizing your price plans, and learning how to give your time the value it deserves. Because if you’re going to spend time away from work, we want it to be spent regenerating and being present with your family, not chasing false leads!
We’ve been working with our clients behind the scenes and noticing some commitment issues when it comes to setting goals and deciding on how to reach them. On some level, the hesitation stems from perfectionism and feelings of Imposter Syndrome. But there’s more to it than that. Today we want to talk about an article that we read recently which delves into the things that we’ve been talking about for years, but from a different angle. Ultimately, perfectionism, Imposter Syndrome and all the related feelings come from a place of worrying about making the wrong decisions. So, we’re going to unpack the principles of creating a regret-free business and life!
It has been really interesting for us to see how centric defining our values has been in ultimately operating our team. We didn’t realize how much we relied on them until some things came to light with our clients. So, what are values to a company? We all understand what our values are in our personal lives, but when we start talking about business values, these things are often assumed. As you grow, you have to be incredibly strategic about identifying your values.
We want to encourage you to identify three values that can help you get focused around how you are going to serve your clients. Asking questions about your boundaries, communication preferences, work style and ethic can lead to clarity around your business values. Having an internal value that is very specific around how your team runs is also critical to your culture. These values make it possible to get everyone on the same page and settle a lot of conversations around what should happen!
Let’s talk about your website! The one place you can present the version of yourself and your business that is accurate, helpful, and actually effective for you and your business. Have you looked at it lately? We’re guessing that many of you have put your website on the backburner for the past few years; especially if you’ve been in business for a while. We’re also guessing that the reason you’ve done this is because you’ve been treating social media as your main marketing platform.
An important factor to consider is that when social media platforms change their algorithms (and your business doesn’t get as much traction as a result), people will go back and look at your website. If you haven’t been paying attention to your website, it’s not going to go down too well! We’re also guilty of not always paying attention to everything on our website, but there are certain things that we have never (and will never) stop doing. So, regardless of the last time you touched your website, we’re going to talk about how to get it back to the point where it best serves you.
Developing consistent client delivery is a surefire way to set up your business for success and today, we break down how best to do so. There are stages to this, especially if you’re a solopreneur offering a broad variety of services. The most important phase, for the purposes of today’s episode, is phase one. It’s important to spend time improving your processes and developing efficiencies from the get-go, as tedious as it may feel. The question we get asked the most in our trainings is about efficiency. The answer is uncomfortably obvious and it’s merely a matter of prioritization. Tune in to learn the simple art of tweaking and repeating and discover how best to create efficiencies for yourself while simultaneously optimizing the client experience!
Let’s talk about communication! In the past, we’ve talked about how to plan for expected leave (like holidays and maternity leave), or how to deal with situations where you unexpectedly need to leave work (when you are sick or your child needs you, for example). Today, we’re discussing this topic, but from a different perspective. We want to talk about the internal structure of our team and how we set up meetings, communications, and different tools to help our team function optimally when we can’t be there. So much of it comes down to the fact that we don’t do anything in secret and always maintain consistency in the way that we show up at work.
There’s a toxic culture rearing its head in the small business world– monitoring productivity. What’s the buzzword? Productivity Paranoia! That’s the fixation that leaders have with their employee’s work, which leaves them thinking way too much about how their staff is spending their time, and what the resulting output is.
Today, we’re here to share how we monitor our teams without micromanaging them. We’ll talk about the effective systems we use to keep our team connected and all moving toward the same direction without any creepy stalking.
Today we’re talking about unanticipated leave. We’ve spent a good amount of episodes talking about how to prepare for maternity leave or a longer vacation or break, both of which are amazing! But for the most part, these are eventualities that you can anticipate and plan around. So what do you do to prepare for things that you can’t anticipate like family emergencies or medical leave?
This year we have both had major health challenges as well as family emergencies that left us unable to work for days and weeks at a time. These events were stressful in themselves. But, had we not taken the necessary steps to prepare for unanticipated leave, things could have been a lot more dire and overwhelming, especially for our team. To find out whether you’ve prepared your business for unplanned time off, make sure you tune in for our breakdown on how to elevate your systems, build better communication, and plan for unplanned time off!
When prospective clients are on the fence or delaying commitment to a particular project, it can be wildly frustrating. Not just that, but the follow-ups use up a whole lot of unnecessary time and energy. In this episode, we share the exact scripts we use to nudge people off the fence and reduce communication delays. You are responsible for closing the loop, and it is especially critical when you start documenting your sales process and really tracking conversion rates. Reviewing your sales information is only helpful once you’ve closed the loop and are certain as to which leads are going to convert to sales and which aren’t.
Today, we are specifically addressing those waiting for their prospective clients to sign off on a project but are left without a clear answer. So many service providers struggle with non-committal potential clients who seem eager but never quite get around to closing the deal. If you’re holding a spot for someone and they haven’t committed, you need to solidify that space or move on. Our prospect follow-up scripts will help you close the loop and mentally move on. Tune in to find out how to restructure your process to reduce cumbersome delays, and kindly and effectively communicate your parameters!
As a company, our mission is to help women create more financial freedom for themselves, which is why financial literacy is a foundational part of what we teach. And while we know it may be intimidating, taking action will give you fresh insight into your company, while also allowing you to make better decisions, and ultimately, save you money!
From knowing your books to mastering your cash flow, it all starts with information. Understanding your numbers is the foundation. And the only way to be free to run your business effectively is by understanding how these all work together. Tune in today to learn how to get your company’s finances under control and empower yourself with the information that's going to help you build a truly sustainable business!
Today, we’re cutting the small talk and diving right into part 2 of our conversation. That’s how important we deem this topic to be.
If you own a service-based business, there’s a high chance you’ve encountered a client who wants to change some aspect of your delivery. Usually, this comes up during the sales process, but occasionally it arises immediately after they’ve booked. Today, we’re talking about how to navigate this based on when and where they are wanting to customize the product, and how to handle it at each stage.
When clients feel that they can negotiate price, tinker with the scope, and haggle with you on the deliverables, what do you do? We’re here to help you navigate these complexities.
Today we’re going to talk about the art of the follow-up! Once you’ve pitched your service, it’s possible that you’ll experience potential clients ghosting you, being passive-aggressive towards you, or fighting against the process that you’re trying to put them through. All three of those things have happened to us in the last seven days so we know all about those weird experiences. In an ideal world, people will seamlessly move through your sales process, discovery call, and pitch meeting, and then they’ll pay you. This happens almost half of the time but the other half of the time, you’ll be faced with resistance and objections that you’ll have to work through. Today, we’re going to talk you through how to deal with them!
Being a human being these days is undeniably stressful. We are constantly expected to function at our best while being endlessly bombarded with a million different things that are competing for our attention. Add social media into the mix and now you also have to deal with an onslaught of content about anything and everything, from how you too can achieve impossible standards of beauty to live feeds of devastating world events.
All of these rapid changes have had a tangible impact and are evident in the rising rates of depression, anxiety, and a host of other mental health issues. So how do you, as a leader, support your team in this climate of information overload and unprecedented global events? Tune in for a deep dive as we discuss the single most important skill for leadership, the research underpinning it, and why it will not only make you a better leader but also, a better person!
We’re in the final quarter of the year and it’s the perfect time to hunker down, focus, and refine. This is the season to investigate what’s working in your business and what’s not so you can make strategic and educated improvements going into the next year. In preparation, you’re going to need to start collecting data in order to identify your greatest areas of opportunity and gauge where to place your focus.
This past week, we walked through a quarterly optimization training with our clients, and today, we want to share some of the conversations we had there so you can learn from them and apply the takeaways to your own business. In this episode, you’ll find out how one of our clients increased her close rate by 40% and where she discovered she needed to place her focus once her sales process was in order.
Tune in to find out which metrics are worth analyzing, how to pitch up to a planning session, and much more, including some tangible tips for improving your sales strategy!
Today, we want to share with you some behind-the-scenes live action of the “tweaking and repeating” that we do whenever we implement something new in our business. If you’ve been listening to the show for a while, you’ve probably heard us talk about this concept before. As a refresher, “tweaking and repeating” means to take a particular action in your business for a set amount of time (at least 30 days) and then go back and reflect. Think about how it went, how it made you feel, and if there are any opportunities for you to pivot and improve what you’ve tried.
Listen in as we discuss a rundown of our “tweak and repeat” process on something that we started exactly 30 days ago. We’re going to go through the results, the things we want to keep doing, and the things we want to change. We’re showing you an example, so that you can go through the same assessment process in your own business.
A pitch deck and a proposal serve the same purpose, but they’re certainly not interchangeable. Simply put, a proposal takes everything mentioned in a long form pitch deck and distills it into a streamlined piece of communication to back up everything you have already mentioned and sold to your client. The response you’re seeking when you send this along is “Oh yes, this is what we discussed.” That’s why, when we hear that you’re sending off proposals without any previous communication, we get worried! People are skipping the communication altogether and putting together proposals without any setup.
Could you still convert people by simply sending them an email? Yes, totally. Especially if you’ve done a lot of education on your website. But if there’s any confusion at all about what you do, without a presentation, you’re going to lose someone. This is a part of your process we really want you to start caring about. It’s an opportunity to stand out by going above and beyond what other service providers are doing.
The number one thing we are encouraging business owners to do right now is to be flexible. If you can adapt to the needs of the people you’re talking to, then you’re putting yourself in a great position to make sales and optimally serve your clients so that you can both succeed! But how do you reach those clients? And how do you demonstrate that you are the right person for the job?
In today’s episode, we break down how to put together a fantastic pitch deck that will showcase your skills and leave your future clients feeling both inspired and excited. Putting together all the information you need for a pitch deck may seem overwhelming, but once you automate things it will make the process so much easier. We’re here to demonstrate how you can take a structured, predictable, templated approach, while also providing the space to customize your pitch for every client. So if you've been feeling like your process could use a little sprucing up, today’s episode is for you!
We’ve all known that kid at school. The one who completely takes over group projects and feels the need to micromanage every, single, little detail. If this sounds just a little too familiar, then you’re in good company! Being a perfectionist is tough, and it can come with a host of insidious bedfellows, like procrastination, self-doubt, and debilitating indecisiveness. But what if you could befriend your perfectionism, and make it your superpower?
While it’s undoubtedly challenging dealing with perfectionism, we want to propose imagining a new way forward that doesn’t rely on your self-doubt. What if, instead of beating ourselves up over our tendency towards perfectionism, we instead embrace the strengths we have to offer? After interfacing with countless clients who struggle with perfectionism, we decided to come up with the Bust the Perfectionism Toolkit. This innovative toolkit is made up of easy-to-implement strategies that allow high-achieving business owners to tackle perfectionism once and for all. Tune in as we discuss the powers and pitfalls of perfectionism, and find out what you can expect from the Bust the Perfectionism Toolkit!
We’ve been alluding to all of our secret projects in the works for months now but haven’t yet spilled. We are simply dying to talk about the behind-the-scenes projects we’ve been working on, and you can expect an official announcement before this month’s end! Because we’re so close to announcing it, we thought we’d go ahead and let you in on a few of our secrets.
We’ve been working with clients for seven years now, and the past year has seen a bit of a shift. As you know, we’ve been banging on about refocusing on working with fewer clients and dipping our toes back into the service side of things, and now that we have an accountable team of individuals with their own niche set of superpowers, we can! For the first time ever, we have a team that is not just there to support us in project management or client communication, but on deliverables, and it’s truly expanded the scope of what we can offer.
In this episode, you’ll hear about our evolution over the past seven years and get some insights into what we finally have the bandwidth to offer. If you’re looking to build a stable foundation for years to come and 10x your investment, you’ve come to the right place. We’re here to help you!
The truth of the matter is that the market is shifting. As small business owners, we absolutely have to be paying attention because how this impacts us in the next few years is going to be really important. We all knew things would change after the pandemic, but two years later, we’re seeing the results in unexpected ways.
There just isn’t a recipe anymore. Instead of following predetermined steps to success, we’re all having to figure it out as we go. The strategies that we all once relied on are no longer effective, and we can’t keep doing the same things and expecting to have more reach. Specifically, in the social media space, the strategies that used to bring success are far less effective on the organic side. It’s a gamble.
As a result, businesses across the board are having a much harder time predicting where their attention needs to be, where it makes sense to allocate resources and time, and planning for the future of their business. The conversations we have been having with our clients and peers have confirmed that everyone is having a hard time figuring out where to put their focus, where to commit, and where to go all in. What is it going to take to ride the wave and see growth through this unpredictable time?
Believe it or not, change and growth are possible without you being in a perpetual state of despair. Crisis can’t be the only impetus for scaling your business; we strongly believe that you can seek expansion when things are going well!
In this episode, we break down the “Cycle of Despair” and the traps many service-based business owners fall into when they’re seeking to grow their businesses. If you are caught in the cycle of not having enough cash to bring in the support you need to land more clients and not enough clients to bring in the cash you need, we’re here to offer you a new approach.
All too often, business owners will be trucking along just fine, reaching their goals and generating profits, but that inner feeling of urgency never quite goes away. This is a little easier to justify early on in business. We think of this as the honeymoon phase, but for business. You see all this potential, and your vision is strong.
Growing something is way more exciting than maintaining something. We don’t give enough credit to the outside validation that you get when you first take the leap and start something new. Oftentimes, if you’re fueled by that, you end up staying significantly smaller than your potential because you keep starting over instead of adding or growing. Is there a better way to approach that feeling of wanting to start all over again?
We’re collectively going through what is likely to be the next recession. Nobody has officially called it yet, but it seems to us like that’s the direction we’re heading, or that we’re already in it. Because many other people feel the same way, they are changing their behaviors. So, today we are going to be talking about what it looks like to recession-proof your business! Maybe you weren’t in business during the last recession, so you don’t know what to expect, or you’re used to consistent success, so the slower market has come as a bit of a shock; whatever situation you’re in currently, we’re going to make you feel more at ease and give you some practical advice for how to approach the coming months and years.
Finding joy in your work is a wonderful thing. It can energize you, further your drive, and help you push through challenging tasks and deadlines. But it can also have a detrimental effect.
Many of us have fallen into the trap of trying to get all our meaning and joy from one source, whether it’s your partner or your company. The problem with that is that it puts untenable pressure on the people we love the most. It can also cause us to neglect other parts of ourselves, leaving us devastated and adrift when we no longer have the partner, or job, that defined our identity.
Today on the show we delve into the consequences of finding joy in our work. We discuss some of the common traps people fall into when their actions aren’t in alignment with what they want, and how to do the difficult, introspective work of uncovering our true needs and aspirations. Tuning in you’ll learn about the biggest obstacles we’ve seen clients face, and how we can help you overcome them. We also discuss how to find more time in your life and identify exactly what you want for your future self!
There is only one resource that you can’t get back and we’re willing to hazard a guess that you already know what it is. The good news is, it is renewable in the sense that you can plan to save more of it in the future! You guessed it, we’re talking about time.
Usually, when you start a business, you have way more time than money. As a result, you tend to be more generous with the former, committing every spare moment to building. Often, your business grows, and your approach doesn’t change. You’re still working nights and weekends to make up for the deficit that no longer exists. There have been various moments in our own journey where we’ve taken stock of what the business is and isn’t doing for us, and where we can free up some time.
Over the last three to six months, we’ve been hearing a common complaint from business owners that they need more leads. Guys, quit panicking. There’s a few market shifts that we need to be aware of, but they’re not necessarily changing how you’re going to acquire clients. Everything with clients may feel like it’s changing but in fact, everything is the same! We’re serious; everything is the same.
Marketing is cyclical. You’re going to have something that works now that may not work in 6 months, and then in 2 years, that thing could come right back around again! There are also things that are a common thread forever and always; spoiler alert: it’s relationships. Then there’s going to be hotspots, and what you really shouldn’t do is build a business that relies on these “blips.” Marketing is coming back to its roots, shedding things that don’t work, and bringing things back that have been buried for a while. If you’re interested in everything we have to say on this topic, tune in today!
Not everything we do at Boss Project is something we recommend to our clients, even though it may have worked for us. For example, we don’t encourage a lot of folks to replicate our partnership model. Oftentimes, you can actually get what you want by following an entirely different path to the one we took to get there. Another example of this is reaching seven figures. Is there a way for you to achieve the life and lifestyle you’re looking for without the challenges that come with adding a zero to your revenue? We’ve been there, and we have the insight to tell you what the journey looks like.
Let’s dive into our fourth and final part of the epic series that is absolutely going to transform your life and your business! Today, we fill you in on a few critical insights into building the perfect team to help you scale. We’ve saved this one for last because, without creating structure, you can’t start building a team. But once you’re ready, you’ll find it to be an incredibly powerful tool to take you to the next level (if you get it right!) If you’ve skipped a few steps and already have a team of employees, never fear, it’s never too late to improve upon your current systems. Not every piece has to be perfect but when it comes to hiring; the more you know, the more equipped you’ll be to face whatever comes your way. And that’s what we’re here for! In this episode, you'll learn all about hiring for attitude, designing a well-integrated employee system, defining your priorities and hiring accordingly, refining your team, productizing your offer, and so much more! You won’t want to miss this one.
Welcome back to part three of our series on the four things every service provider must get right. In today’s installment, we’ll be delving into one of our favorite topics here at Boss Project: designing your systems for structure.
Most of our clients deliver a service that requires their clients' contribution. This means they usually need input from clients before they can take the next step in their process. Unfortunately, they often aren’t able to systematize a process because they’re spending most of their time and energy chasing people down all the time! In today’s episode we delve into how to create systems that support you, the impact it will have on your operations, and why it’s all about spending more time with your clients, not less!
We want to help you align the goals and values of your business with the systems you put in place. Our approach is all about how to create structure while taking into account the messiness of life, clients, and running a service-based business. Tune in today as we break down how to design your systems for structure and serve your clients to the best of your ability!
In part two of our series on the four things every service provider must get right, we’re talking about money! Particularly, we are talking about profitability. If you want a business that allows you to sleep and see your friends, and maybe even take a vacation, you need to be paying attention to the piece of your business that determines if your deliverables are profitable.
What does it take to really run your service fully? Can you identify what projects are bringing in the most profit for your business? Do you operationally know where you might have some of those ‘cherry on top’ niceties that you might be able to fund in a different or unique way?
At the end of the day, if you don’t have money to fund the business that you are running, you are not going to have a business to run. We want you to not only have a business to run, but we want your business to fund the life that you want to have, and that’s literally our whole mission over at Boss Project!
We are bringing you a series! It’s going to be a four-part series dropping on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the next two weeks. In it, we’re going to be covering the four things that a service provider must get right. The reason why we’re launching this particular series is because we’re surprised, year after year, about the lack of higher-level resources geared towards the tens of thousands of people who listen to this show, namely established business owners who are looking to figure out their next move for their business, so that they can level up. So, we’re creating those foundational resources for you in the form of a podcast series. We’re so excited to dig in, come join us!
All of us, as service providers, need to be reminded of the importance of gauging whether we are, perhaps subconsciously, tying our personal identity and self-worth to what we bring to the table for our clients. There have been some conversations popping up recently in which very successful service providers have been wondering why certain clients are not listening to their every word or taking their professional advice. They are made to feel both frustrated and insecure, as they recognize the clients aren’t going to see the results they’re able to procure for them, simply because they refuse to adhere to the strategy. We, personally, are not immune to these thoughts, and today, we want to share our personal experience and some exercises to help you dispel imposter syndrome and communicate clearly and calmly with clients who won’t hear you out. It’s time to actively separate your self-worth from your work and quit taking on your clients’ “emergencies”!
Our very first absolute priority when it comes to our business values, is building a business that is life first. To us, that means that our business structure reflects the season we are in. Seasons can be short or long, but they are intentional choices. You can choose to work full time, build a business, and still respect life first.
What this looks like for us, is allowing ourselves plenty of flexibility even while working full-time hours. When we chose to do business this way, we structured our days in a way where we could still prioritize family and life over work. How it looks is not the point, how it is communicated, and how it is honored, are! Life first looks completely different in every different context - what our team looks like when we’re working, what our team looks like when we are not working. Open and early communication is the essential building block for a life-first business to thrive.
We’ve made it a rule that every single employee has to take both their birthday and their anniversary off from work. That’s just one example of how we’ve built the life-first value into our business, and we’re proud of it! Building a life-first business can look any way you want it to, and it can be the little things, and ultimately our goal is that you have the freedom to choose what you want to prioritize and how that works.
For those of you who have reached the point of hitting your first or second six figures and are beginning to tap out of what you personally do within your business, there’s a conversation that needs to be had. A lot of people decide to ditch their current offers for an entirely different set of offers because they think that’s the only way to move up, however, we think pricing is a great opportunity to expand. Oftentimes, the clients that work with us in the Incubator can work with fewer people and make more money, if they’re priced appropriately. But something we don’t see happening as much as it should, is people moving to a premium pricing model to set them up to grow their team. Tune in to discover how to grow your team ethically, calculate appropriate service pricing, and why you might be pricing inappropriately, to begin with!
Goal setting forms an integral part of any business. It serves as a guide for your overall vision and can help you persevere, especially when things get tough. But how do we choose our goals? And how do we fully recognize when we’ve obtained them? Too often, we’ve seen clients achieve incredible things only to find themselves unable to appreciate their accomplishments, simply because the reality doesn’t exactly match what they envisioned. This is why, today on the show, we are revisiting our conversation on goal setting and how to appreciate our accomplishments!
We dig into the forces that influence what we envision for ourselves, and how holding onto a particular resolution can undermine our current achievements. Learn how practicing gratitude with intention can help you appreciate your current circumstances and how shifting your perspective to your past self can make you thankful for all that you have! We also share what we learned from a recent interview with a Former FBI Hostage Negotiator about why humans are hardwired to focus on the negative and how to gain perspective. Uncovering what we truly want takes time and work and appreciating what we have takes gratitude and intention. Tune in as we delve into these important topics and the role they play in your life and business!
Coming your way today is a mix of math and anticipatory mindset work! It’s all through the lens of, “This is what you actually want.” We’re going to lay out the future a little bit for you so that you can start to understand what’s coming and that you can stop stressing about it! We’re seeing hundreds (if not thousands) of people who are constantly apologizing for doing things they don’t want to do. After today, we want you to understand why you shouldn’t be feeling bad about things like not posting consistently on social media, and what you should be putting energy into instead!
What would it look like to remove yourself from the parts of the business that you should remove yourself from? And which parts should you never remove yourself from? Are there opportunities you’re ignoring because of this?
When you give up these things, we can only imagine that, in your heart of hearts, you want to lean more into the CEO role - you just don’t know yet exactly what you’re supposed to be doing with that time. But once you know more about what’s required of you within that role, you might find the motivation to let go of these other parts of the business, and by doing so, gain some very precious time back!
Today, we’re going to fill you in on our hot take on setting goals! We are now seven years into our business and have hit tremendous milestones. That being said, our feelings towards goals have evolved over time, and we’re about to give you some insight into our retrospective thoughts on setting them, not setting them, and whether we feel worthiness is connected to goals. For six-figure earners who want to continue to scale their business, there’s a mindset shift that needs to happen in terms of your relationship with goals, and we’re here to tell you what that is! Tune in to hear our current take on goal setting, and find out about the TikTok that inspired this conversation.
It’s taken us over a year to understand how our roles as co-CEOs of our company are different from the other aspects of our jobs and what exactly a CEO actually does. We’re still in the process of figuring out how to balance being CEOs, managers, and “doers” but we’re getting there! In this episode, we will be talking about what being a CEO entails, the tasks you should always be in control of, and those which you can delegate to other team members at a certain point along your journey.
Speaking to hundreds of people on a regular basis about their business has given us so much insight into which structures work for which industries. It’s what positions us to advise clients entering the incubator who find themselves at a fork in the road of how to move forward. We want to give you some guidance, and let you know what we would do if we were in your shoes.
None of these options are wrong, it’s all centered around what works best for you, what feels fun, and what facilitates you playing to your strengths. There are plenty of scenarios that work amazingly for some people, and don’t work at all for others. The question to focus on is not what is right, and what gets the greatest return, but what feels attainable for you. If something is not in step with who you are as a person, it’s not going to work!
This year, for the first time ever, Boss Project is taking a summer break! We’ve taken vacations in the past, and while we’ve navigated time off before, this time is different. This year we have a full staff of nine employees, who will all be taking time off, and the company will be closed for two entire weeks! In today’s episode, we walk you through the steps we’ve taken to prepare for our time off and show you how any business can prepare for a substantial and regenerative summer break.
Tuning in you’ll hear us break down how we’ve structured our work and our launches around designated time off, why we chose to do it this way, and what we’re planning to do for our break. We unpack some of the logistical steps we’re taking to maintain communication while we’re off, and why we wanted to prioritize our staff and give everyone a chance to rest and get away from it all. Thank you for joining us as we prepare for our summer break and discuss what it means to be a life-first business!
What does it mean to cultivate a culture of curiosity? That’s what we’re going to be discussing today! “Culture of curiosity” isn’t just a fun phrase. It starts with the way you talk about your work with all the people who are in your support system. It should be all-encompassing because if you use different language with different people it can derail you (in our opinion).
One of the very first switches that we made when we were first growing our team was to speak openly with our team members about the things that we used to only speak about during our private conversations. As soon as we started thinking out loud, and sharing our fears and excitement with the people around us, they could see the evolution in our thought patterns which is such a valuable and inclusive tool!
How many times have you struggled to make a decision in business out of fear that you’d make the wrong decision? What if instead, you viewed every decision as an opportunity to learn, rather than succeed or fail? Today on the show we unpack what it means to have an experimental mindset, how to foster that for yourself and within your team, and how it can free you from regret and help you make decisions that will help you learn and grow.
Tuning in you’ll get a taste of what we've been chatting about with our clients inside the incubator; from how unrealistic expectations can warp your mindset, to how to figure out what you really want. We’ve seen so many of our clients struggle to react to success and failure and as a result, we wanted to discuss examples of actionable strategies. Learn what you can implement within your company and your team so that if you're in a similar situation, you have strategies to help you adapt to any situation!
Today we are going to have a fabulous conversation! When working with our current clients inside The Incubator we always talk about levers. What lever do you need to pull in order to get the result that you want? There aren’t actually that many levers that you have the option of pulling but people like to complicate things. We are here to simplify them for you! Sometimes the things that people think they need to do to scale and grow are actually just the opposite of what they should be doing.
This conversation is all about what you should be thinking about before you start scaling. We want to give you insights into what scaling looks like in reality, so that you can decide if scaling your business really is something you want to do at this current stage of your journey.
As much as we’d love to wave a magic wand and bestow confidence upon others, unfortunately, confidence isn’t something you can gift to other people. It’s often so much easier said than done, but we’ve whittled down a list of things you can do to create your own confidence if you weren’t naturally born with it or nurtured in that area! Confidence can be created, it can be learned. In this episode, we look at how our respective upbringings allowed us to forge confidence and create the lifestyles of our choosing, and how you, too, can nurture your confidence and change your beliefs!
When you’re trying to express a complex psychological feeling or event, but you aren’t familiar with the agreed-upon terms that experts use to describe it, the experience can be incredibly isolating. Today on the show we discuss a recent conversation we encountered that unpacks the differences between having a cognitive bias towards either action or thinking, and the consequences of that bias.
Anyone who has spent some time listening to our show will likely be familiar with the terms being a ‘doer’ or a ‘be-er’. Tuning in, you’ll hear us discuss how being a doer correlates with a cognitive bias towards action, while being a be-er strongly resembles having a cognitive bias towards thinking. We also cover some of the traps that action takers can fall into, including hasty decision-making and why you need to be able to take action while also making time to process and strategize. Tune in for a breakdown of these fascinating topics, as well as insights into some of the steps you can take to shape your cognitive bias!
A common thread that we’ve been noticing is that so many business owners we deal with have excelled in most facets of their life for a long time, but then all of a sudden they’ve hit a wall which has made them start to second guess everything they’ve done in the past, including their ability to be a business owner going forward.
When you get to the point where you realize you are working hard and not reaping the rewards that would make it worth it and you’re feeling stuck about how to change that, we have the solution: The Incubator! When you’re deeply involved in something, it can be really difficult to understand how you can tweak it to make it work better for you. We can provide you with that perspective.
The theme of needing more time is a common one that we are seeing amongst our clients, which is why we started off today’s conversation with a discussion about gardening and candle making! Our thoughts on this topic have changed a lot over the last 6 months because of the unexpected outcomes that we’ve witnessed, and we want to share them with you.
Our advanced training is called “How to Double Your Income by Working 20 Hours a Week or Less.” Service providers, we see you, we know you’re burnt out, and our goal is to help you make more money and get your time back! Our strategy works, we have proof through the lives that have been changed as a result, so come and see how it can change your life too!
The current market is shifting. There’s no doubt about it. What do you think the future of marketing looks like online? Maybe we’re at the next stage of marketing, and the next iteration hasn’t revealed itself yet. A lot of the things that people consider ‘marketing’ may not even be helpful for the majority of service-based business owners. For the majority of you, marketing is a huge distraction! It’s also an ego-killer.
The ‘work smarter not harder club’ tells you that the only way to work smarter, not harder, is to have a low-priced digital offering, and all of a sudden all your dreams of riches will come true. Fact: the reality is you will actually end up working harder, not smarter! We believe in customizing your approach to your business in order to scale. This is something we talk about in the incubator, and the amount of compliments we get out of the gate is nothing short of impressive. If you’re accepted, you’ll get access to some of our best tradings, to help you to double your income by working twenty hours or less per week.
Our goal is to never make anything ‘one size fits all.' Making these decisions by yourself can be so scary. And if you don’t feel comfortable, and the people in your current circle can’t serve you in that way, it’s time to outsource! When you put too much emphasis on other people’s opinions, you are going to get answers guised with keeping you safe. The Incubator’s goal is to show you the options, and the consequences, and then you get to choose what’s right for you.
Most of us have a set of preconceived notions about what it takes to grow and scale our businesses. We’re often convinced that in order to make more money we need more clients, which means we need to grow our team. But we can’t grow our team until we have more money. The situation can feel impossible and even send you on a doom-spiral of dread. But it doesn’t need to be this way! Sometimes all you need is a new perspective and a gentle nudge in the right direction. In today’s episode, we share the incredible story of our wonderful client, Bonnie.
We unpack how the Incubator Program helped her understand her business, readjust her pricing structure, and transform her life and her company in the process. We take a deep dive into the preconceived notions around growing and scaling your business, and how small shifts can bring about dramatic changes. Discover how Bonnie managed to double her revenue in five months, find ease within her business, and take a 10-day vacation in Costa Rica, without a laptop! We’ve loved seeing the Incubator community grow, and it’s so rewarding to see members flourish, share, and support one another. Tune in to learn more about the program and how it helped Bonnie transform her business!
Having discovery calls, going for coffee dates, and holding pitching meetings with potential clients is something that we’ve noticed that many service-based business owners struggle with in the early years. They feel like they either don’t say enough or they say too much, and this causes a lot of stress and anxiety. In this episode, we want to equip you with the confidence to go into these scenarios feeling like you know exactly what you’re doing!
After serving clients one-on-one, we ultimately changed the entire landscape of our business, yet we didn’t even realize that’s what we were doing! If we could go back in time, there are so many things we would do differently, and today, we’re going to share them with you. When we got to a certain stage of business, we froze up and felt like we were on an island. We had no idea what the next step should be and it felt like everyone else had all of the answers. So many of our clients reach the same phase where they hit a milestone marker and feel like there's something that they’re missing, like a missing piece of information; a formula, or a blueprint.
If you feel like million-dollar businesses are gatekeeping this information, the truth is, some of them are! If you’re at the stage of hitting a quarter of a million dollars and don’t know where to go from here, we’re here to tell you. Consider us your Fairy Godmothers of Business Past, telling you your future so you can really decipher what you want to focus on in this phase! Tune in to find out which things you’re tying to success that need to be let go.
As most of our listeners at Boss Project know, Abagail is our CFO and sits in HR as well. She has worked hand in hand with plenty of amazing people in HR to learn about the hiring process for a company. She has single-handedly shifted her team from just Emylee and Abagail, to exploring contractors, part-time employees, full-time employees, and pretty much everything in between! Inside the incubator, she has started to have conversations about hiring, and she has plenty of wisdom to share from all of this experience.
Most business owners struggle with follow-through. The reason why Boss Project has been successful is that where Abagail struggles to see things through, Emylee excels! This formula, along with having the team to support it, has been a winning recipe for us. If you’re a solo business owner, you could be leaving money on the table for this reason. That’s where the magic of having help, even for ten to fifteen hours a month, comes in.
You don't have to be good at everything you try. And you don't have to only do things that you’re good at. As kids, we’re often far more comfortable with experimentation and trying new things, than we are as adults. When we get older we increasingly feel pressured to stick with what we’re good at and not ‘waste our time’ on things that aren’t directly related to productivity. For perfectionists, it can be particularly difficult to try new things, which can have an adverse effect on decision making abilities.
The term consequences might be rife with negative connotations, but we’re determined to take it back and make it a neutral word! Examining the potential consequences of our decisions is hugely valuable. It can help us determine what we want and fully understand what each choice can offer us. There is no one-size-fits-all solution that will work for everyone, nor should there be. Many of us think we should be pursuing relentless growth because that’s what the world tells us we should want, but when you consider the consequences of constantly scaling it becomes apparent how unrealistic (and unpleasant!) that is. Tune in today as we discuss how to unpack the consequences of our decisions, how to make choices based on the season of your business, and much more!
Today we’re going to talk about offering too many services and how to transition out of your Cheesecake Factory phase, namely, having way too many items on your menu. In a recent episode, we discussed narrowing down your services, and what it would look like to have conversations with your existing clientele about changing their service or potentially even eliminating their service altogether. Today’s episode is for those of you who are too scared to even consider this option!
Tuning in you’ll hear us tackle how to make this transition and why it doesn’t need to entail massive sacrifices. We realize that everyone has different needs and limitations. So whether you want to make your transition in twelve days or twelve months is completely up to you! In our conversation, we break down how to streamline your packages by asking yourself the right questions and what you should know about clients when creating your offers. We also talk about the immense possibilities that open up from living in your expertise, and what it means to make your life your career. If you can't even imagine reducing the number of options you have available to your clients and want to discover how to overcome your fear, then this episode is for you!
Episode 635: Show NotesAside from our wonderful clients in the incubator, our DMs have been popping and we have so many great insights into the hurdles that service-based businesses are facing! One particular issue that continues to pop up, especially as we help people define a high-touch signature service or ultimately focus on a more primary offering (instead of having what we’ve lovingly called the Cheesecake Factory menu of offers), is the need to eliminate other services. Many people we’ve run into are open to the idea but have active clients utilizing those very services and don’t know how to make that transition. The question arises of how to pivot and how to communicate the changes, but the main risk factor that people dwell on is losing the income from those active clients. Well, in this episode, you’ll find out how to gently ease out of specific services with a transition plan, as well as how to inform your clients that you’re eliminating part of their service and raising their price. Tune in to hear why there is no question that you shouldn’t only offer the services you want to and how to get to a point where you’re billing ethically and creating space for rest and creativity!
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The Transition Plan You Can Use When Eliminating a ServiceIf there is a service you wish to eliminate, you can simply remove it as an offer and stop booking new clients for that particular service, but we advise that you have a transition plan! Start by only showcasing the kind of work you want to be doing. That doesn’t mean you have to abruptly stop offering other expected services, but it allows you to change the narrative of your brand while you ease out of offering unwanted services. When it comes to making that transition with current clients, a phase-out process is generally what is required. You need to consider how recently they bought the particular package and whether you’re truly ready to discontinue it. You also need to look at contracts and decide whether you’re going to fulfill your promise or adjust the contract. If you have clients on retainer, this may just be the opportunity you needed to readdress the original terms and conditions of your contracts!
How To Communicate Service Elimination and Price Raises to Your ClientsSo often, we find ourselves working and billing according to old contracts. People and businesses will rarely address the lack of price-hike voluntarily, but you can be sure that they’re aware of it! You have every right to call a meeting and readdress the terms of conditions of your contracts and reestablish your rates. In terms of pairing a price raise with the elimination of a service, you need to come into the conversation prepared to show your clients how it will add to the value of their results. Also remember that, if you eliminate a service, you don’t necessarily have to replace it with something else! There are infinite benefits to pricing ethically and offering ethical value, for both you and your clients.
QuoteThis
The reason feast or famine exists is almost always a root of under-charging and over-delivering.
Quote This via @BossProjectHQ The #1 Cause of Feast or Famine and How To Get Out of ItOften, when it comes to making the transition, service-based business owners are crippled by the indecision of which clients to let go of and which can fit into the new version of their business. If you look at the hard truth and the numbers, you’ll see that one client doesn’t necessarily need to be replaced with another. The whole philosophy of what we do is to guide our clients away from feeling like they need to cram every moment with billable hours. Once you’ve priced appropriately, you’ll have more creative liberty, and slowly but surely put that scarcity mindset to rest. The root of the feast or famine mindset is under-charging and over-delivering. It is possible to work with a quarter of the clients you’re currently working with and earn double!
Take the leap with us inside The Incubator, so we can help you see the results in your business that you’ve been striving for. Just apply here right now, then reach out to us via DMs on Instagram @bossproject, so we can bump you to the front of the queue!
Highlights The Transition Plan You Can Use When Eliminating a Service. [0:15:23] * How To Communicate Service Elimination and Price Raises to Your Clients. [0:24:53] * The #1 Cause of Feast or Famine and How To Get Out of It. [0:32:08]*
Episode 634: Show NotesToday, we are so pumped to tell you the story of Krystina, a member of our community who has managed to get back nine full-time weeks of work at a mind-blowingly minimal cost! To set the stage, our advanced training promise is to help you make more money and work less. We’re helping you to design a life-first business and be more intentional about your hours. How you spend that time is ultimately up to you. The way we work and hustle with intention, launch, serve, grow, or reset is all based on the life-first bubble. This means that there are dedicated times for work and free times to either introduce more growth or introduce rest and, if there’s one thing we want our clients to walk away with, it’s the empowerment to choose what to use that time for. In this episode, we not only share Krystina’s result but the full circle moment she had around how she gained that time, so make sure to tune in today!
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The Cost-Benefit Analysis Required To Make Informed DecisionsIt is super important to price appropriately, based on your goals and the unique amount of time you have. At first, Krystina was resistant to making adjustments to her price point, but when she decided to set a minimum event cost, it totally changed the game. She’s now in her second year of working with us and in her first year, she increased her business by over 1,200 percent. Keeping the opportunity cost in mind is crucial; everything has risk and reward. If you have a product priced at a specific price point, you know what it could bring in for a certain amount of clients. But there’s also time associated! You need to gauge how much time is your time worth, doing one activity over another. Time can trick you though, and it’s not always apples for apples. What feels quicker and easier might not be the best use of your time. Krystina had inquiries sitting on her desk with an average order of only $200 but, by setting a minimum rate, Krystina realized that she could replace over 20 of her current clients and save nine full-time weeks of work!
What You CAN Choose To Spend Your Time On As Soon as You Unlock More of ItWe all have the same amount of time in a day but we all have different constraints. In Krystina’s case, there are so many things she could use her time for now that it’s been opened up! She has a whole 360 hours to either land more high-touch signature service clients, focus on scaling systems, or take some time off! If important aspects of running your business are being sidelined, it’s because your time isn’t being used appropriately. Krystina was instantly able to reprioritize with her assistant, email past clients, reset priorities and goals, write content, and so much more!
QuoteThis
We’re the byproduct of the assembly line culture of the 50s.
Quote This via @BossProjectHQ The Assembly Line Mentality We Need To ShiftWe were brought up in a working-class economy with a focus on production and service. We’re the byproduct of the assembly line culture of the 50s, but we are not machines; we are humans! We need time, rest, and different types of work. The trick is finding a balance between check-the-box activities and strategy. The power is in the numbers! The data will empower you to make the right decisions and assign your time appropriately.
How To Get Your Time BackIf you’re looking into getting some of your time back, the solution is as simple as applying for the Incubator! Our superpower is helping you to figure out what your actual goals are, what you’re working with now, and bridging the gap!
Highlights The Cost-Benefit Analysis Required To Make Informed Decisions. [0:09:42] * What You CAN Choose To Spend Your Time On As Soon as You Unlock More of It. [0:16:35] * The Assembly Line Mentality We Need To Shift. [0:22:27] * How To Get Your Time Back. [0:28:50]*
Episode 633: Show NotesWe have now done multiple callouts, promotions and launches of the Incubator. We've had hundreds of applications and we’re working with incredible clients inside the program. And if you’re not one of them, you should be! If you’re scared to start a conversation with us, you need to get rid of that feeling right now because we are really not scary at all. You can literally ask us anything, we have no boundaries when it comes to helping our clients. We’re here to help you change your business for the better, so don’t waste any more time stuck where you are!
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The #1 Thing We See Holding Service Providers Back From Raising Their PricesIf you're at a point where you feel that you have to radically change your clients in order to increase your prices, we’re calling you out in this episode. We 5x’d our prices seemingly overnight, and we want you to envision what it would look like to raise your prices and not have any major blips in your ability to sign new clients because trust us when we say it is possible! A big lesson we’ve learned over our years in business is the importance of getting out of our audiences’ pockets, and we want you to adopt the same mindset when it comes to your clients.
Inspirational Client StoriesWe had a client who was doing a variety of copywriting tasks and charging a flat rate. When she did an audit on how much time she was spending on the tasks, she realized how little money she was actually making per hour. After raising her prices for just one of her recurring clients, and letting go of the ones who were paying pennies, she completely replaced her previous salary! Another client of ours took on a major 6-month job in the safety and emergency management space, and although she was terrified of raising her price for an additional piece of work they needed, her client didn’t even bat an eyelid! You shouldn’t be measuring your success on the number of clients you work with; quality is far more important than quantity.
QuoteThis
Some of you are charging flat rates and then working for pennies on the dollar because you’re just not facing reality.
Quote This via @BossProjectHQ The Danger of Making AssumptionsWe’ve all done it; we make assumptions about what our clients are willing to pay, we think conversations about raising prices are going to be awkward and uncomfortable and we’ll lose clients as a result. Why do we do this? Because of fear and anxiety. Anticipatory stress is paralyzing and we have to be able to look at it and understand where the response is coming from, and then address it head-on, even though we may be tempted to avoid it. You’re going to continually be facing so many different choices in your business, and as we have learned from experience, the best discoveries will usually be found on the other side of fear! Regardless of where you’re at on your journey of making a decision about pricing, we encourage you to just take the next step and sign up for the Incubator!
Highlights The #1 Thing We See Holding Service Providers Back From Raising Their Prices. [0:16:55] * An Inspirational Client Story. [0:25:16] * The Danger of Making Assumptions. [0:28:46]*
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Episode 632: Show NotesReferrals are, without a doubt, one of the hottest topics that we have going on inside our world. We are so intentional about you doing business the easiest way possible without having to invest in huge ad spends, or allocate loads of money to marketing budgets, or focus on growing an absurdly huge social media presence. We really want you to focus on connections instead. The vast majority of our clients get booked out with almost exclusively referrals, and as they grow they start experimenting with different strategies.
Today, we want to talk about ten ways to get more referrals in your world. A referral lead is just as real a lead as a stranger! Quit downplaying the quality and impact that referrals can have on your business, just because they felt easier to get. Referrals, by and far, are better quality, will pay better, will be easier to work with, will finish their projects faster, and they also know other dreamy clients which they may end up connecting you to. It literally only takes one dreamy client to connect you to a network of other dreamy clients, and the clients that we see who use that route, reach their goals way more easily, and are happy in their day-to-day business.
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Our favorite ways to land quality referrals (even if you don't know a ton of people or are an introvert!) First things first, don’t underestimate how powerful your current relationships are. To be clear, we absolutely are not talking about reaching out to your mom and your aunt and asking them to support your business. Maybe some of them are potential clients, but instead, what we’re recommending is that you take a look at who you know. It may sound crazy, but most people have around a thousand people in their network; people you went to school with, your kid’s school community, your church community, your parents’ friends; it’s amazing how quickly it all adds up! The level at which you know one another is irrelevant, but you have a network!
Take a look at who you know, and identify three people you could consider ‘super connectors’. These are people who are extraverted, chatty, and run into people they know, wherever they go! They’re in constant communication with other people. Reach out to those people and ask if they know anyone who fits the profile of your ideal client. The question you’re asking is not if this person is your ideal client, but rather if they might know someone who knows someone who is!
When it comes to opening up the conversation, now is the time to be blunt. People want to do this, it does not feel like a hindrance. All you have to do is to be as specific as you can to help them to help you! You literally need to meet up and ask them for the email addresses of three people who fit the profile of the kind of person you’re searching for. This ties into the important technique of getting really clear on the results you’re looking for. If other people aren’t referring you, it’s because they don’t know what to refer you for! Instead of trying to sell your services, you’re talking about the problems you’ve solved for your existing clients, and all of a sudden it clicks for people.
Don’t hesitate to keep clarifying what it is that you provide. Ask questions like, ‘Do you know anyone who struggles with x?’, or describe their problems as they might be complaining about them to someone else, and the connection will be made far more easily for whoever it is that’s listening.
The best way to get automatic referrals One of our all time favorite things to do is to do something once, and never have to do it again. Setting up an automatic process, automatic emails, forms, and requests to send to your existing clients in order to get them to connect you to more dreamy clients.
When you know you need to know someone, and you know something about them, but you don’t know them, it’s time to send word out to the masses. The more off the cuff this looks, the better! Here’s your magic sentence “who do you know in [insert industry]”. Share it on Facebook, or on your Instagram, and see what happens. We’re not looking for massive results here, we’re just looking for a handful of people to take us really seriously.
Another great tool for this is to literally tell everyone, everywhere, all the time, what you do. This can also take the form of posting on Instagram about what you’re doing. It’s not necessarily about using social media to make this massive following. It’s about using social media to get really clear on what you do, so that the small group of people that are following you become your referral network.
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It’s not necessarily about using social media to make this massive following. It’s about using social media to get really clear on what you do, so that the small group of people that are following you become your referral network.
Quote This via @BossProjectHQ How to build your own referral engine and create so many leads you'll need to start saying no ;)Find someone who is like you and become partners, instead of competitors. This is someone who has really similar ideal clients to you. The opportunity to trade business with someone who has a very similar offering is absolutely incredible. This way, you’ll begin to build your own referral engine, where you’re starting to get paid to say no to leads. Utilize these strategic connections to create relationships. This takes time! It takes strategy. This can accelerate the process of going from being desperate for every client, to being too busy to take on new leads! Don’t spill it all in one meeting, but always be kind, genuine, and real in your relationships.
Another thing totally worth finding, is network opportunities with people who offer related services but aren’t direct competitors. There’s an industry standard within the wedding space that enables service providers to get connected to other businesses within the industry. The trading of leads in this space enables people to get work. Being a networking leader in your industry allows you to create a kickass experience for your clients, and it takes the pressure off of you to be an expert at everything! Some of this is going to take some intentional outreach, finding folks as though you want to hire them, but it’s so important to start to have these conversations!
We literally just saw a client use the technique of just starting local. Where are your rooted connections? Start where you have your deepest roots. Start with the easiest yes first, because it domino effects into way more yeses. Do this even if it means going back to your home town. Find the connections you already have, and allow that to build the confidence you need to take it further. You can not know that many people
If all this sounds overwhelming to you, don’t worry! We’re here to guide you through the process and help you build the strong network you need by creating your own double referral engine. Step one? Sign up for the Incubator!
Highlights Our favorite ways to land quality referrals (even if you don't know a ton of people or are an introvert!) [0:11:52] * The best way to get automatic referrals [0:24:26]*
How to build your own referral engine and create so many leads you'll need to start saying no ;) [0:32:19]
Episode 631: Show NotesSpring has indeed sprung and apart from our gardening rituals, we have so many new things happening in the Boss Project world! The most pressing news on the street for the month of April 2022 is we have completely exploded the Creative Template Shop and it is officially available as its own entity on all platforms! As you guys have noticed, the conversations here at Boss Project have up-leveled as our business and our clients’ businesses have up-leveled, yet our educational spirit lives on and we want to keep providing actionable, bite-sized, tutorial content for growing business owners.
Our goal is to help you see quick wins with our incredible templates, marketing, and strategy. Join now on creativetemplateshop.com with discount code SAVE20 to save on our annual membership, and stay tuned for tips on how to realign expectations of scope with existing clients and how to get clear on creating a business for yourself rather than a job! In this episode, you’ll also discover the most common admin or general VA issue that arises when it comes to providing results for clients.
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Nuances Between Being a Contractor and Having a Contractor There are differences and nuances that need to be paid attention to when it comes to both being someone else’s client and employing contractors for your own business. In both respects, our concern is about the crossing of boundaries. Many contractors tend to be willing to do anything the client asks, even at the detriment of getting them the results that they’re after. It is an absolute necessity to set boundaries with clients and manage expectations of what your actual job is, what your duties are, and who gets to decide them.
The Difference Between Creating a Business and Having a JobYou may be your own boss, but if you don’t manage both your own and your clients’ expectations, you’ll simply end up creating a job for yourself. And there is a distinct difference! The tasks you do need to be intentional. If you enjoy fulfilling certain roles and you feel it complements your growth, go for it! It’s when you get swept up by the misalignment of roles that you need to make a change and be clear in your communication and boundaries. Your clients are learning to interact with you based on your behavior and patterns, not necessarily what you say. It’s up to you to set the norm.
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Your clients are learning to interact with you based on your behavior and patterns, not necessarily what you say.
Quote This via @BossProjectHQ How To Realign Expectations of Scope With Existing ClientsSo, you’ve recognized that your client’s expectations don’t align with what you’re willing or able to deliver, but how do you set things straight, realign expectations, and protect yourself from burnout? It starts with a simple email. It’s irresponsible to push past your own threshold and, as the scope of a project evolves, it’s important to keep streams of communication with clients clear and open. It is more than okay to pause operations until a client has paid. You are a service provider, not an employee. It’s not your job to take responsibility for the decisions your client is making. Furthermore, you need to back yourself up by writing your own contracts!
A Common Issue That Arises When Serving ClientsIf it feels like the role you’re fulfilling for a client isn’t hitting the mark or giving them the results they’re after, it’s important to get realigned with the client’s goals for the project, as they may not have been clear about what it is they truly need from you. Be sure not to make adjustments to your deliverables without adjusting your contracts!
Highlights Nuances Between Being a Contractor and Having a Contractor. [0:12:36] * The Difference Between Creating a Business and Having a Job. [0:16:20] * How To Realign Expectations of Scope With Existing Clients. [0:24:14] * A Common Issue That Arises When Serving Clients. [0:37:18]*
Episode 630: Show NotesIf you’re a true crime fan and you enjoy a scandalous story about fraud, you’ve definitely spent some time thinking about people who are bigger visioning. These are people who started by looking at the end result, instead of asking themselves what they can do today. While we’re definitely not advocating for crime, we totally believe that there’s great benefit to be had when you consider the big picture of your business! Legacy planning doesn’t mean you’re not invested in your business today; it just means you’re building with the future in mind, and that can only benefit you, both today AND in the long term.
We’ve seen people invest so much into their business only to realize that the success of their business rests solely on their ability to keep it afloat. Creating systems, training staff, and starting with the end in mind are all powerful tools to help your business to thrive even once you have made your exit. We’re in the business of helping you to make the changes you need to make to create a sustainable business plan that will enable you to thrive today, and to continue to flourish after you eventually leave! So, tune in today to find out more about creating a retirement plan for your business!
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What to do if you're building a business to be more than just your salaryThere are two kinds of entrepreneurs. If you’ve tuned in today, you’re likely to have been motivated by your own personal financial need, rather than building a business with the intent to sell it. Perhaps the intention you began with was to make a salary to sustain a certain salary but, when you stick with it for long enough, there may come a point where you have invested so much time and money that it means more to you than that! But if you haven’t built a system that can be transferred into someone else’s hands, you might find yourself having to work longer and harder to sustain that business than would have been necessary.
It doesn’t matter what kind of business you’ve built, the principle is the same: What happens after you’re done? If your plan was to exit, in two to three years, you could offload your business. But, we’re talking about something bigger than that. What about legacy planning? Here’s what we learned from an exit advisor: there’s a way to include selling your business in your retirement planning. We want to encourage you!
This is a seven to 10-year plan. You have the opportunity to build a legacy, so we want you to start thinking about how you start doing that. Maybe you have no intention to stop being owner-operated, but there’s still so much being invested in the business, and you have an opportunity to create long term plans around that!
The renovations you can start making in your business right nowThe foundation could start with productizing your business and creating a consistent client process that, eventually, if you really wanted to, you could remove yourself from. Adopting a different take on selling or removing yourself from the selling process might be the step that takes the longest for you to adopt. To a certain extent, you are the magic sauce that makes your sales successful. So, to remove yourself from the sales seat may feel like a super uncomfortable transition.
Inside the Incubator, we can help you cut that process at least in half! We’ll introduce you to systems and software that can look after part of it, or simply encourage you to hand some of the responsibility over to someone else.
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Our entire mission at Boss Project is to have more women and femmes not only financially stable and secure, but thriving, and part of that means having the actual ability to retire.
Quote This via @BossProjectHQ Opportunities available to you to create legacy from all your hard workThere is an opportunity to hire someone to manage your business, to secure the productization of each area of your business; outlining that, delegating that, and ultimately overseeing that. Don’t forget that the staff goes with the business! If you go, that doesn’t necessarily mean that your staff will. There are ways to incentivize folks to stay longer, but they might not be the team you are left with in seven years time. You have to train your team with the reality that they will likely need to train their successors.
Long-term planning doesn’t mean that you aren’t invested in your business. Designing your business for a potential exit is like doing the renovations now and living with them, rather than doing them before you move in. We can help you with your renovations! Some of you will need to make some structural changes, and others will simply need to change the decor. There are so many baby steps you can take today to build an amazing legacy within your business.
Our main goal at Boss Project is to see more women and femmes not only financially stable and secure, but thriving, and that includes being able to realistically retire. We have watched our parents' generation age, and we don’t want to see history repeat itself. That takes planning! And we can help. We want to be a part of your legacy plan. We want to help you build a life-first business!
Highlights What to do if you're building a business to be more than just your salary [0:12:49] * The renovations you can start making in your business right now [0:23:50] * Opportunities available to you to create legacy from all your hard work [0:29:10]*
Episode 629: Show NotesAs owners and CEOs, we’ve made plenty of mistakes, but we’ve also learned a lot from them. In today’s episode, we discuss some of the mistakes we’ve made, as well as the errors we’ve seen TONS of CEOs make over the years. So, if you recognize any of these in yourself, don’t worry, you’re in good company! Tuning in, you’ll hear us break down the 7 most prominent red flags and toxic behaviors that continue to happen in business. Learn how to recognize them, why they happen, and the tiny course corrections you can make to solve them.
The things that we are pointing out today are based on specific lessons we’ve observed throughout our careers. We’ve seen these errors play out in various ways, from friends who have needed to course-correct, to mistakes that we have inadvertently made in our own business. We’re taking this as an opportunity to share our knowledge so that you can become aware of these potential pitfalls and hopefully skip them altogether!
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Stepping Into Your CEO Seat In our opinion, the general conversation around stepping into your CEO seat has come with some flaws. Not only has it predominantly been discussed through a very gendered lens, but it has also been structured as a false dichotomy where there’s a wrong and a right way to do something when in truth there are many nuanced approaches one can take. We’ve learned repeatedly in business, even at the CEO level, that you have to find what works for you, and what’s in alignment with your goals. There are universal traits that we’ve recognized that hold people back from really thriving in their CEO seat in a way that is good for them.
How Much Time Do You Really Have? You are, to some extent, lying to yourself about your time. This one is super common, but don’t worry, if you ask the right questions, you can start getting back your time and working in your zone of genius! First ask yourself, where is your time actually the most beneficial, and by that we mean, where exactly is your zone of genius? What is the number one thing that is delivering client results? Ask yourself what is truly resulting in sales in your business. Think about the environment and perspective that helps you live in your zone of genius most effectively. Maybe you need to carve out quiet time for yourself every morning that’s conducive to operating in your zone of genius. Perhaps you’re already spread way too thin and you need to accept that there are some things you won’t have time for, or that you need to give yourself permission to get something done at a much slower pace.
You Can’t Just Wear Your Owner HatSo often owners want to only wear the owner's hat when that's not always what is needed from them. While the impulse doesn't come from a bad place, not going where you're needed most can prevent your business from growing. So often owners think that to make important decisions for their business they need to be operating solely as the owner and nothing else. But that's actually not true. There's also a misconception that you've somehow failed if you can't delegate everything and just be the owner. Your business and your team need your involvement, and you need to be involved to understand what the business needs and make the best decisions as an owner!
Are You Delegating Poorly? Red flag number three is one that we all need to give ourselves a little grace over because chances are you were never taught how to do it properly. This red flag is all about delegating poorly and not having a firm grasp on the structure in which delegation needs to happen. You need to identify which pieces of the project actually need to be delegated and which don't, as well as who’s responsible for various pieces, and finally understand the bigger picture of your organization and identify what makes sense in terms of distributing responsibilities. Once you step into your power and recognize the potential within your team and your company you can start to delegate like a pro and unlock more time and success!
Why You Need To Design The Solution Before You Hire This is a big one. When you don’t design your solution before you hire, you end up hoping that the people you onboard will be your hero. And that is a recipe for a toxic work environment because you’re setting an impossible expectation. You’re hoping that they will swoop in and save the day and figure it all out. And when they don’t, six weeks later you’re frustrated and want to fire them, which is an unpleasant experience for everyone involved. It also might not necessarily be fair or reasonable since their role was probably not to fix your business. This problem can come up often when business owners have unrealistic expectations of a new hire. If you don't have the solution of what's going to work, then you can’t delegate and train someone to get the result you want.
Why Contractors Are NOT EmployeesOne of the biggest red flags we’ve seen concerns employing contractors, which is actually a contradiction. Firstly, because it’s illegal. You may not realize that what you’re doing is so close to the line, but when you expect a contractor to provide specific results and show up to particular meetings on a routine basis, then that amounts to more than simply unethical expectations from a contractor.
This is a really big one, especially since it’s so easy to fall into. Perhaps you’ve hired a contractor for something general or specialized. But as your company has grown and evolved, you have started putting your contractor in different roles because they’ve delivered so well. You’re doing this as if they're an employee that you can simply move around different departments within your business. And ultimately the original contract is essentially null and void because it no longer corresponds with what you laid out in the beginning, which means you’re not getting the results you originally talked about. You’re also not addressing that issue in a way that is appropriate for a client-contractor relationship. Once you become aware of this problem you can set new boundaries and create ethical and fair relationships with your contractors!
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You as the owner have to be the responsible one that understands the difference between how you can communicate with a contractor versus an employee, what you can expect of them, and vice versa.
Quote This via @BossProjectHQ How to Avoid Creating Unethical Circumstances Creating unethical circumstances is something that often comes from good intentions and it’s easy to do it without even realizing that you’re doing it. When you are looking at the ethics of your business and how you employ people, it’s important to view it holistically. Because when someone works for you, it's not just their pay, the hours they're working, or benefits that matter, it's all of it. And if you’re not considering the holistic value that you can offer your team, then you’re likely to overcompensate in certain areas, while overlooking others. As an owner, you might feel comfortable making personal sacrifices, but it’s not fair to expect that of your employees. We believe it's critical that when you consider your employees, you take into account their whole life, especially when you're asking for so much of their time.
Allowing Perfectionism to Prevent Improvements Allowing Perfectionism to Prevent Improvements is not just a CEO red flag. It can also apply to your team, especially when they see you doing it, as the owner or CEO. If you’re waiting for things to be perfect before you move forward, then you’re never going to grow. While there may be valid reasons to delay something, we’ve often seen people delay things simply because they’re afraid of messy action. People are worried that if they put something out that's not fully representative of what they want to do, then they’re doing it wrong. But if you adopt a spirit of experimentation then you allow yourself more room to grow as you develop and take on new clients. It’s also a great way to honor existing clients and allow them to be the first to try out new services and perks!
Highlights Stepping Into Your CEO Seat [0:08:00] * How Much Time Do You Really Have? [0:12:23] * You Can’t Just Wear You Owner Hat [0:16:08] * Are You Delegating Poorly? [0:20:36] * Why You Need to Design The Solution Before You Hire [0:28:01] * Why Contractors Are NOT Employees [0:31:38] * How to Avoid Creating Unethical Circumstances [0:36:57] * Allowing Perfectionism to Prevent Improvements [0:43:47]*
Episode 628: Show NotesAre you ready for even more content? Bite sized videos, lessons, tutorials? We can’t believe it’s taken us this long, but we finally have a TikTok account! If you are a business owner looking for marketing tips, Canva tips, Dubsado tips, client-based tips, and everything in between, we are sharing everything there. That’s just a side note, our episode today is all about the difference between working in your business and working on your business. We’ve gone through many different seasons together, in life and in business, and in our usual style, we’re going to be spilling all the beans for you today!
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Cycles of Introspection Versus InvitationWe went from a season of introspection into a season of inviting new things in. These seasons are so radically different that it almost feels like we have become different versions of ourselves. Change can be scary, but we’re super excited about it. Introspection is a season that’s about learning to relisten to yourself, becoming reengaged with your thoughts and your intuition and asking yourself questions about how you feel and where you are going. On the other side of this introspective cycle, for us there was a deep desire to add to our lives and fill them with new things. At the moment we’re inviting things in, but we probably wouldn’t have the capacity to do this if we hadn’t gone through our introspection stage; both stages are super important and wherever you are at, we’ll meet you there!
Our Top Reading Tips to Get the Most Out of BooksWe both went through a phase where we couldn’t get enough of podcasts and we were reading hardly anything at all, but then we decided we wanted to read more this year, and we’ve been knee-deep in books ever since! If you’re struggling to get back into reading, getting a Kindle Unlimited Membership gives you access to so many books, and you can just start off with the easy ones like we did to flex those reading muscles again. Once you’ve passed the early stages, you may want to learn tips to read faster so that you can take in more information. If you’re at that stage, we have a top speed reading tip to share with you today; read diagonally! Don’t worry, this sounded crazy to us at first too, but it really works! We’ve built up a pretty extensive library of business books.
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Fill your mind with things that are going to be helpful to you.
Quote This via @BossProjectHQ Value in Different PerspectivesReading books has rubbed off on so many other areas of our lives; we’re finding new people to follow and making new connections. What we’re really trying to focus on now is not only reading books and making connections with people that validate the opinions that we already hold. We’re intentionally trying to absorb information that doesn’t quite align with what we’ve always believed to be true. For example, Emylee recently bought a book called REWORK which was written by the co-founders of BaseCamp, and even though she really doesn’t like using BaseCamp, she bought it so that she can expand her mind by reading about a new business perspective.
Highlights Cycles of Introspection Versus Invitation. [0:09:00] * Our Top Reading Tips to Get the Most Out of Books. [0:12:03] * Value in Different Perspectives. [0:22:12]*
Episode 627: Show NotesIf you’ve listened to this podcast before, you might be under the impression that the hosts get along just fine. You’re right! When there are just two people, conflict is a lot less complicated, and a lot easier to resolve. Around two weeks into having a bigger team, we noticed that everyone would look to us for the answers, never contesting our conclusions. Different perspectives, backgrounds and insights all help us to make better decisions as a company. Abagail and Emylee want to make it really clear that not only do they not want to make all the decisions, but they actually believe that would be a really bad idea! That’s where conflict is necessary for the business to grow and thrive.
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Our new policies regarding encouraging conflict here at Team Boss ProjectEver heard of artificial harmony? That’s what happens when the owner throws out a bunch of ideas, and the employees act as an agreeable audience. The motivations are good, but the effect is that you never end up saying what you really want to say unless you are the owner. Emylee and Abigail are no longer looking for consensus, they don’t need everyone to agree and back their ideas, but rather to disagree and commit! So, how do you, as a leader, create an environment where there can be healthy conflict? Ask the question, and then shut up! This leaves the necessary room to hear everyone else’s thoughts and opinions on the matter.
The most crucial rule to follow for healthy conflict.A decision is better than no decision! An action is better than perfect action. It’s getting the ball rolling that teaches you what you need to do next. Generally speaking, this way of doing things helps us to stop things before they develop in the wrong direction. Critiques Abagail and Emylee experienced in art school helped us to manage feedback in our work. Don’t get 90% into a project before you send it through for feedback! It’s not personal, it’s a way to help everyone not to waste time.
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A decision is better than no decision. An action is better than no action.
Quote This via @BossProjectHQ Our new perspective on what conflict actually means.People are used to only presenting a piece of work when it is close to perfect, but that doesn’t always need to be the case. It just isn’t time efficient! Every single member of the team needs to be holding each other accountable both in and outside of meetings. Conflict can also be a very positive, opportunistic posing of a question. It’s easy to put blinders on and only see what you are focused on. Then when someone suggests a different perspective, your periphery opens up and you’re able to make different decisions. It takes multiple people to get across the finish line! The Five Dysfunctions of a Team is a book that helped us to identify new values and implement them, working together to encourage a healthy dynamic where arguing is not bad. Everything, for us, comes down to building a life-first business. We encourage conflict to build a life-first business for our team and for ourselves. Conflict means something totally different to us now, and we love seeing the result in our business!
Highlights Our new policies regarding encouraging conflict here at Team Boss Project [0:14:36] * The most crucial rule to follow for healthy conflict. [0:22:35] * Our new perspective on what conflict actually means. [0:28:56]*
Episode 626: Show NotesThere’s never a good time to make radical changes and you can always find a reason not to do something. But we’ve learned from experience that there is so much to be gained from pursuing opportunities, even under adverse circumstances. One of the things that inhibit us from pursuing growth and opportunities is the feeling that we wouldn’t be able to cope with these new changes in a healthy and sustainable way. We often feel this because we compare ourselves to others. But the truth is that you can never know the full story of someone’s success. You have no idea what’s going on behind the scenes or how their life really looks.
One of the biggest things we’ve learned from building our business is the importance of a supportive team and designing a business that is flexible enough to accommodate you during the different seasons of your life. We discuss some of the difficult circumstances we’ve been in while building our business and how it motivated us to build a business that could adapt to our needs. We also share our advice and insights on how to change your mindset and start pursuing radical change. So make sure you tune in to hear how we’ve adapted to our circumstances and how we’re helping others do the same!
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We Just Had This Incredible Virtual ConferenceFor those of you who aren't aware, we just had this incredible virtual conference over at Boss Project. We have also invited a new cohort of people to join us inside the incubator and we’re so excited for the 2022 Spring cohort! Today’s episode is for everyone, whether you’re part of the crew, or in the consideration phase, we want to talk to you!
Big Decisions and Living in the Present Moment Today’s episode is for anyone who has hesitated to make big decisions in their life. We want you to know that we have been there and we know how tough it is. But we also have very strong feelings around timing and would love to share what we’ve learned from making big decisions at particular points of our lives and careers. It’s very common for entrepreneurs, small business owners, and service providers to be very future-oriented and to get into a mode of being forward-thinking at all times, even when it’s the daily operations that really need attention. When we’re constantly concerned with the past or the future then we never fully appreciate the present. It’s important to celebrate how far you’ve come!
Our Top Excuses for Not Pursuing What We WantThere will always be an excuse for not pursuing what you want! Whether it’s in life or business it never really feels like the right time to be adding extra concerns onto your plate. It’s easy to look at the seemingly perfect facade of someone else’s life or business and not comprehend the stress and frenzy going on behind the scenes. This can stop a lot of people from pursuing what they want because they assume that they could never achieve the same amount of things that other people are doing in a single day in a way that is healthy and sustainable.
Our Perceptions of People As Being SuperhumanWe all come from different circumstances, and it’s important to acknowledge how your situation might be limiting you in certain ways. It’s also important to take your privilege into account, especially if you are able-bodied. If you have a disability or chronic condition, it’s going to mean that you have to operate differently. There has also been an increased awareness of some of the mental health issues that can affect small business owners, particularly for women, like ADD, ADHD, anxiety, and imposter syndrome. This awareness building has had a really positive impact overall!
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What I get frustrated with is, I've watched so many people just let their circumstances control their reality to the point that they feel faced with no other choice than to either suffer or trudge through it, and not really paint an opportunity for growth and prosperity.
Quote This via @BossProjectHQ Working Within Your Circumstances We’ve often seen people let their circumstances control their reality to the point where they feel faced with no other choice than to either suffer or trudge through it. The problem with this is that it stops people from visualizing how they can create opportunities for growth and prosperity. We realize that life is never going to stop, it's going to keep throwing wildcards at you, but one of the best ways to create room for growth is by building a routine and a business that allows for flexibility.
We have seen this in our own business which has gone through every phase and size imaginable. And because we’ve built a business that allows for flexibility, we feel confident that we can adapt to whatever life throws at us. You can build a business that is successful thanks to the support mechanisms you’ve put into place that can help you have the healthy space that you need in order to prosper. So that when you need a bit of a break you have the flexibility to recuperate or address what’s going on in your life. This is also why we’re so grateful for the incredible team we’ve built. Ultimately it comes down to the question of how we look at the opportunities out there and get excited about building something that supports us for who we are in the season that we’re in, instead of using our circumstances as excuses to not start or to not move forward.
The Slime Analogy That Will Help You Look at Your Business in a New Way For anyone who has kids, you’re probably aware of the slime craze. It’s a goopy substance that is a delight for children and is the enemy of a clean home. But it can teach us an important lesson about business. You can think of your business as that slime in your hand. It transforms easily and adapts to the shape of your hand, and when you move your fingers, it moves too. That’s the business we’re asking you to build. And it’s not a permanent thing either,
If you want to build a business that has flexibility and is focused on life first and allows you to prioritize the things that you want and need in your life, then you're going to have to build a business that allows you to continue to grow despite your circumstances. Your circumstances can often give you a renewed perspective on what isn't working for you in that season. And instead of using that to give up, think about how you can make reasonable accommodations for these things that allow you the space to be a healthy whole human.
Highlights We Just Had This Incredible Virtual Conference! [0:11:49] * Big Decisions and Living in the Present Moment [0:12:16] * Our Top Excuses for Not Pursuing What We Want [0:15:37] * Our Perceptions of People As Being Superhuman [0:21:00] * Working Within Your Circumstances. [0:26:19] * The Slime Analogy That Will Help You Look at Your Business in a New Way [0:34:08]*
Episode 625: Show NotesThe things we hear all the time are either, “I’m doing all the right things but I don’t necessarily know what to focus on next. I don’t know which lever to pull next and I don’t know why I’m feeling so overwhelmed.” Or, “This is so fun and easy! How do I set up myself for success in the future? How do I maintain this and keep growing?” We find that everyone’s always trying to look ahead, yet what’s truly beneficial is understanding the phase that you’re currently in order to clock why things are going well, where they’re going wrong, and what you need to do to move into the next phase. What we forget is that pitfalls are inevitable and that, as things grow, there are going to be roadblocks, hesitations, and frustrations. We are all bound to feel stuck at some point or another. We want to assure you that this feeling is normal (and necessary) and that we can help you to get out of it! In this episode, we tackle the three phases we see every service-based business owner move through, fill you in on how we really feel about burnout, and share our greatest wish for every single service-based business owner out there.
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Breaking Out of Your Bubble and Expanding Your NetworkIt’s so easy to stay in our comfort zone and keep our circle small, either out of insecurity or habit, but we are consciously making new friends, meeting new people, and setting up coffee dates with people we look up to! There are far fewer opportunities to organically make connections in your adult life, so we really need to be intentional about it. If you want to recap how to make real friends as a business owner, simply revisit episode 579 with Danielle Jackson!
Fight, Flight, or FreezeWhen we’re looking to intentionally work on and grow our businesses, we can so often get paralyzed by all the options of what we could do to make a change. When we hit a roadblock, our responses are instinctual fight, flight, or freeze reactions. Falling into a cycle of apathy is where things get dangerous, but what’s beneficial is realizing that this is a totally normal part of the process and it’s just a phase you’re moving through.
Bootstrap, Burnout, and BeyondThere are three phases every service-based business owner goes through, the first of which is the Bootstrap phase. This is where we all start and we might find ourselves at this point at various stages as our business grows. This is the blissful naivety phase of imperfect action. It’s exciting and experimental and is a necessary part of the process where rates are low and the client is generally in the driver’s seat. You may not yet have a clear niche, and that’s okay! Experience will help you niche down.
The next phase is the inescapable burnout phase. Burnout is not the end of the world and it is, in fact, a necessary step. It’s a sign that you’re willing to work hard and presents the opportunity for you to become intentional and create clear boundaries. This is when you start to identify what’s not working and reevaluate pricing, packaging, and processes. You are more focused on growth aspects like marketing, lead acquisition, brand awareness, and client delivery.
Finally, we move beyond burnout, and you get to decide what “beyond” means to you! Everyone’s version is different and this is where you start getting back to some of the reasons you even started your business in the first place. It’s at this point you’re able to intentionally build a schedule back in that supports your life and your hobbies. It’s time to cut out the unnecessary that leads to burnout and the villainization of work.
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Burnout is not the end of the world. Everyone goes through it and you can’t avoid it.
Quote This via @BossProjectHQ The #1 Thing We Wish All Service-Based Business Owners Had Right NowWhat we wish for you is simply the opportunity to evolve and the freedom of choice. We want for you to be able to move from “I have to” to “I want to”. Changing your mind is not giving up, it’s evolving, and we want you to have the freedom to decide what you want the future of your business to look like. The world of work has changed! All you need are clear boundaries and clear processes. If you want to learn more about how to get to this beyond phase and move past the burnout, feel free to reach out to us. We have all the resources you need!
Highlights Breaking Out of Your Bubble and Expanding Your Network. [0:04:28] * Fight, Flight, or Freeze. [0:15:44] * Bootstrap, Burnout, and Beyond. [0:18:43] * The #1 Thing We Wish All Service-Based Business Owners Had Right Now. [0:42:40]*
Episode 624: Show NotesWhat kind of business are you dreaming of? Whatever that looks like, it is your choice! And you get to make that everyday. We’ve had a lot of people approach us asking for permission to pursue a life-first business, but the call is yours to make. Our lives are all so different and unique that we can’t prescribe the details of what a life-first business looks like for you, but we can offer you some hard-earned wisdom to guide you in creating a framework that works for you! We all have boundaries we need to put in place to fulfill the life-first structure to support you as you create the life that you want. It’s fully within your power to implement and enact a plan to achieve it, but you’ve got to make the call. While there’s never going to be a magic bell that tells you what to do, we’re here to help show you the way.
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The Responsibility You Have to Live Life-FirstWhat are your actual responsibilities? Once we’ve made those edits to support your plan, you need to figure out what it actually means, now, and in the future. Separating your business from your personal finances is a necessary step in the process and you need to take it to protect yourself. You have to understand that it’s a journey, and you get to decide what life-first looks like when it comes to your business, your clients, and your time. You have to take a blended approach. There are opportunities you’ll be unsure of, and you’ll need to take the risk anyway. There’s also power in the ‘no’! The most important thing is to base your decisions on fact, when you know for sure, ‘if this, then that’. We can help you to see the red flags you might be missing. It’s our job!
The 4 Key Pieces You Need to be Thinking about before Designing a Life-First BusinessBuilding a life-first business looks different for everyone, and it looks different for the same people at different phases of life. But there are four steps that fit into our definition. The biggest impact you will ever have on helping you stick to your boundaries is to spend time with us! Our superpower is being a super people pleaser and someone who totally doesn’t give a shit. That blend makes all the difference. What you need to do is to build a business that backs you up! Not to build a situation that means you never have to work again. Create a framework, make sure it’s legally and financially sound, make it sustainable and profitable, create support through a team, and you’re going to feel like you’ve built a life-first business, even when it gets stressful!
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Just like the software can’t be everything for you, we can’t be everything for you. We know what we’re good at, and what we’re good at is editing your business to be life-first!
Quote This via @BossProjectHQ
Our Thoughts on Fair Play and How to Integrate it into Your Life-First PlanNot too long ago, we discovered a tool called Fair Play on Amazon to help us think through everything needed to look after the running of the house, physical, mental, emotional, and everything you can think of to look after a family. It’s a way to reorganize the responsibilities within your home to create an equal distribution of labor. First you buy the deck of cards, then you implement them! It’s a way to melt away the resentment that can grow between couples, to value each person’s contribution, and to share the mental load. Managing the division of tasks in your life and work need to be integrated, and we can’t stress that enough!
Highlights The Responsibility You Have to Live Life-First [0:16:56] * The 4 Key Pieces You Need to be Thinking about before Designing a Life-First Business [0:22:01] * Our Thoughts on Fair Play and How to Integrate it into Your Life-First Plan [0:42:07]*
Episode 623: Show NotesStarting a business is a huge undertaking. And sometimes when we’re in the midst of building a company and struggling with a particular problem, it can be tempting to simply give up and start over with a new business. But the amount of work it takes to get a business off the ground is far more overwhelming than making changes to your current business. It’s just that it usually doesn’t feel that way because you’re not in the thick of things.
In today’s episode, we’ll be tackling the topic “What would we do differently if we were starting over?” Tuning in you’ll hear about some of the mistakes we’ve made, what precipitated them, and how we’ve helped clients avoid the same pitfalls. It may seem like the things that worked seven years ago would no longer be relevant today, but we’ve found that’s totally not the case. Many of the most important lessons we’ve learned are ones we often need to be reminded of to help us solve current problems. So this episode has been really helpful for us too! Tune in to hear our lessons on scaling up, honing in on your talents, why we love collaboration, and so much more!
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The Art of CollaborationWe’ve been fifty-fifty partners since the founding of our business. This means we’ve literally had collaboration at the heart of our company since day one. But we've also managed to build a unique culture of collaboration within our team. It’s almost as if collaboration is built into the DNA of our company. We pride ourselves on bringing everyone's expertise to all our content. Not one thing goes out without someone else's eyeballs or perspective on it. Even if it's just that someone else created the template and another member fulfilled it, there have always been at least two people involved with every single thing in this entire company.
What You’ll Learn at Our Freedom ConferenceIf you haven’t snagged a ticket for our Freedom Conference yet, now is the time! It’s starting on March 29th and it’s going to be an incredible experience! We’re going to inspire, reignite and overcome any sense of doubt, burnout, confusion, and overwhelm that you've got going on in your service-based business. We’ll be taking you on a journey and demonstrating tangible steps on how you can build your business, with life-first in mind. We'll be showcasing these steps while also fostering a sense of camaraderie and community for participants. Sign up to learn about the natural rhythm and flows of a business, so that you can begin to predict what's coming your way. Empower yourself by learning more so you can navigate through anything! We’ll also be breaking down pricing, what to charge and how to charge, and how to get to where you want to be.
A Blast From the Past and What We Would Do Differently if We Were Starting a Business NowOur main topic for today is, ‘what would we do differently if we were starting over?’. It’s strange to think back to the start of our business. But even though it was so long ago, all of the concepts, all of the things we would have done differently, still apply to the current moment. There's a common misconception that what worked seven years ago is just not going to work today. And that’s just not true. Even the lessons we learned five years ago are reminders that we need today. Sometimes those lessons are the most helpful and crucial because you've technically already learned them. And hopefully, this can help you where you're at while also saving you a bunch of time, stress, and worry.
Should You Shift Into More of an Agency Type Model?One of the questions that come up for us every year or so, is whether we should shift into more of a firm or agency type model. In our opinion, this can often be the natural next step for service providers. It offers a really interesting way to scale while also helping you avoid burnout. This is because you can build a team around you that is skilled and talented and can help you on the deliverable side. With an agency model, you have the opportunity to move more into a strategy-only or management-only role.
An agency model is not without its challenges. There's definitely an aspect of it that can feel scary because you're allowing other people to represent you in a much bigger way. We’ve also seen people struggle with the pricing threshold, and balancing things in a way where it's still achievable for the clients they want to work with. But there are different versions and options you can do. One great resource we recommend if you’ve ever considered switching to an agency model is John Warrillow’s book Built to Sell.
The Importance of Scaling with IntentionOne of the biggest lessons we’ve learned is that we will do anything in our power to scale and grow slower with intention, rather than seeking growth, superfast. We learned the hard way that having a stable base before you reach the next level is integral to having a positive experience when scaling your business.
Our experience was that on the outside we had all these positive things happening, but on the inside, we were freaking out. We didn’t have the systems or communications set up, and we didn’t have the lessons learned that we needed to have in order to be this new version of ourselves and sustain a new level of operations.
Integrating Systems and SoftwareWe have always been fascinated by the software and systems side of things. Part of that is out of a desire to see how things work and how things connect. But during the early days of our business, we were reluctant to spend the money necessary to have a robust software system in place. And today we can’t imagine operating our business without a project management system, a CRM, or a communication channel. Ultimately, for many service-based businesses, this comes down to the transition that needs to happen where you start to understand the value of your time. Understanding the value of your time is incredibly important. Once you recognize that, you’ll begin to appreciate just how much time and money your business can save when you have robust systems and software in place.
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I will do anything in my power to scale and grow slower with intention, so that I have a stable base as I reach the next level, rather than seeking growth, superfast.
Quote This via @BossProjectHQ You Don’t Need to Be Everything to EveryoneThere isn’t one single software that can do everything for you. Similarly, you shouldn’t try to be everything to everyone. Hone in on what you’re good at, even if it means becoming more niche. The reason we often feel like we need to cater to everyone and offer a million different services is because of massive companies like Amazon that manage to do that with some success. But the truth is that you are not Amazon, and even Amazon can’t do everything.
And that is one thing that we wish we had done differently. That we had not been afraid to go all-in on one niche messaging or result that we serve for people. Experimentation is important, but you can’t let fear stop you from honing in on what you’re good at. Because it’s the best way to build a sustainable business that you love!
How to Find the Source of Your BurnoutIf you’re already in the season of feeling burnt out, exhausted, overworked, underpaid, and stressed out, then this next piece of advice is for you. We would love for you to take a breather, sit for a second and maybe journal, or even process out with a friend, and identify the actual cause of the burnout. We promise you, it's not just the fact that you have your own business, that you serve clients, or that you offer this certain service. It could be a combination of all those things, but it could also be something really specific. Like communications, or boundaries with a client. It could also be something at home, like the communication in your marriage is off, or you have a sick family member that you’re supporting. Once you’re honest with yourself and identify the cause of the burnout, you can begin to address it and change your life with intention.
Highlights The Art of Collaboration [0:06:45] * What You’ll Learn at Our Freedom Conference [0:11:07] * A Blast From the Past and What We Would Do Differently if We Were Starting a Business Now [0:16:59] * Should You Shift Into More of an Agency Type Model? [0:25:35] * The Importance of Scaling With Intention [0:33:04] * Integrating Systems and Software [0:38:39] * You Don’t Need to Be Everything to Everyone [0:42:00] * How to Find the Source of Your Burnout [0:49:33]*
Episode 622: Show NotesWe may be divided in how aware we currently feel in terms of how we’re spending our time, but one thing we can agree on is that we need to be mindful of it! So many mentors over the years have questioned how we’re utilizing our time and, for as many years, it wasn’t being used as effectively as it could be! As service-based business owners, many of us tend to wear too many hats, which prevents us from focusing on what we do best. We’ve personally been through a really unique season where we've been hiring a lot and we have more help than we’ve ever had! This has allowed for more time to rethink how we’re spending the time we do have, instead of simply filling it with the necessary tasks to keep charging on.
Does that mean we’re working any less? Absolutely not. This is not a slow season by any means, but we have been able to dig into a time where we can be really intentional. In this episode, we discuss the importance of protecting your hours and being intentional with your time, the value of visioning, and the seven most common mistakes we see service-based business owners making. Tune in to find out what needs to shift in order for you to unlock future growth and move towards a life-first business!
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Why It’s Important to Defend Your HoursIf you’ve read The 5 Choices or are familiar with the Eisenhower Principle, you’ve probably been exposed to the concept of being mindful of which buckets you’re filling with your time. For many of us, we get caught up in the urgency of things and spend the majority of our time tending to the immediate, and don’t spend enough time planning and vision casting. It is ultra important to start moving away from being so task-centric and focus more on being boundary-centric about protecting your hours. We have even started teaching our team to adopt the outcome-based philosophy and the results have been astounding.
How to Approach Your Professional RelationshipsWe choose to approach our professional partnership the same way we would a marriage. It’s not always going to be balanced 50/50; it’s bound to fluctuate! Most of us perceive the balance in a relationship according to the things we personally value, but it’s important to be mindful of other valuable inputs. For example, visioning is also heavy lifting, even if it doesn’t appear to be an active input. The results become apparent with time!
Connect With Us and Sign Up for the Freedom ConferenceWe’ve been working so hard on this conference for you and we can confidently say that it truly is the next best thing for your business! If you’ve been wondering how to make the pivot to a life-first business in your service-based business, go to bossproject.com/conference right now to sign up! If you have the desire to soar past the income and time ceiling that you’ve found yourself stuck in, and you want to learn about your options to get the results that you want, the conference is the best and least expensive way for you to work with us, understand our framework, and get the results that you want! We, and some of our kickass clients, will be sharing some invaluable actionable steps and takeaways.
Additionally, check out our YouTube channel! We encourage you to share your feedback and questions with us. Send us a DM @bossproject on Instagram. We want to hear what’s going on with you and your business!
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Regardless of your expertise, you have to also sit in the CEO spot.
Quote This via @BossProjectHQ The 7 Most Common Mistakes Service-Based Business Owners Are MakingIn no particular order, we share the seven most common mistakes we see service-based business owners making. And oh, what bliss life could be if we commit to learning from them! Many of us find it hard to hold firm in our stance that we are the experts. Somehow, we seem to forget that experience adds up to something. Another thing people struggle with is trying to solve a million surface-level issues for their clients for the sake of popular appeal, instead of focusing on how their service can provide the whole solution to the actual problem. Many business owners also tend to overcomplicate the process and add extra fluff for the sake of justifying their price. If it’s not actually solving the problem, scrap it. You don’t need to give everything away. That brings us to the next one: you need to be clear on what you’re actually solving. It’s important to be clear about your endpoint, otherwise you’ll find your clients will try to milk you dry.
This next mistake is the one thing that, when corrected, will drastically improve your income and client relationships. If you just change this, you’re golden. Here goes: you need to tell your clients what they need. They don’t want options, they want a solution, and you know exactly how to provide them with it. Furthermore, it is critically important that you put on that CEO hat and flaunt it. It’s time to stop getting caught up in daily tasks and start thinking about the future of your company. Lastly, and this is a tough one to shake, no one has the cheat code for you or your business. We all need to stop looking outside of ourselves for validation. No one knows your business better than you!
Highlights Why It’s Important to Defend Your Hours. [0:03:57] * How to Approach Your Professional Relationships. [0:09:33] * Connect With Us and Sign Up for the Freedom Conference. [0:15:59] * The 7 Most Common Mistakes Service-Based Business Owners Are Making. [0:19:32]*
Episode 621: Show NotesThere’s something in the air at the moment; so many people are questioning themselves and their businesses, and there are a whole lot of very valid reasons for this (we are in the midst of a pandemic and heading towards a potential World War, after all). A lot of service providers have, as a result of these feelings of uncertainty and overwhelm, considered pivoting their business by adding different streams of revenue, changing their offerings, and so on. For anyone who is entertaining alternative ideas, we understand the allure, but we want to bring you back to reality and share with you what you should be doing during these challenging times instead!
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Resources to Get You Motivated We are big believers in pulling from the business practices of experts in the field, and we’ve been learning so much lately through all the books we’ve been reading (if you don’t have a Goodreads account, you need to get one!). We’re feeling very inspired to share these learnings with you, as well as the big question that we’ve been asking ourselves lately, which is, “How can we build a business in love, in ethics, in standards, in boundaries, and still hold expectations?” If you’re looking for some resources to get you motivated about your business, or if you just need a form of escapism to take you out of your busy life for a bit, you’ve come to the right place!
Don’t Let Anyone Else Decide How You Should Run Your BusinessWhen was the last time you asked yourself what it is you really want out of your business? It’s easy to get caught up by other people’s dreams and desires, and to get taken in by advertising and marketing strategies which make you think you should be going in a certain direction with your business. We’ve noticed that many service providers are feeling bad about things that they really shouldn’t be feeling bad about, and a lot of the time that has to do with external pressure. It’s so important to get to a point where you are so comfortable with your own world view that you are able to take in ideas from the world around you and very quickly filter them down to suit the plans that you have laid out for your business.
A Pivot That We Regret Making (and How You Can Learn from Our Mistakes!) Small Tweaks Versus Dramatic Rebuilding If you have a done-for-you service where you are implementing the work for your clients, and working one-on-one with them, things can start to get very overwhelming, and you may start to feel like the answer to getting your time back is to change your offering so that you spend less time working for your clients. Before you do that, listen to our advice on this topic; we have fallen into this trap more than once, and we’ve regretted it every time! We’re not saying that you shouldn’t ever pivot; we’re saying that sometimes small tweaks can be a whole lot more effective than starting over. You’ve already built a business; don’t throw that away, rather get in touch with us to learn how you can strengthen what you already have.
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If you run a service-based business, you don’t need money to start. Every step funds the next step.
Quote This via @BossProjectHQ Why Done-For-You Services Are Definitely Not Going ExtinctThere are always going to be people who want certain things done for them, rather than having to spend the time doing the thing themselves. We see a large number of people who are integrating done-for-you services into their businesses, and not enough service providers offering those sought-after services! In our opinion, done-for-you services are most definitely not going extinct, and if you’re feeling downtrodden as a service-based business, you should reconsider the way you are running your business and what you are charging your services, before you decide to change your business altogether!
Highlights Resources to Get You Motivated. [0:02:06.1] * Don’t Let Anyone Else Decide How You Should Run Your Business. [0:22:44.1] * Small Tweaks Versus Dramatic Rebuilding. [0:26:02.1] * Why Done-For-You Services Are Definitely Not Going Extinct! [0:33:34.1]*
Episode 620: Show NotesIf you are a service provider finding yourself in need of a little bit of a serotonin boost and you’re looking for a pep talk from your Biz Fairy Godmothers, this is the episode for you! We have some really valuable reframes for you; some shifts in thinking. We see you in ways that you perhaps don’t see yourself, and we want to share those insights with you. We’re going to share some really cool, kind, impactful things with you today, so prepare to be showered in words of support. It might make you feel uncomfortable and you may have a hard time accepting the compliments, but here’s the thing: it’s because we genuinely care!
No one else is saying these things to you and it’s important to us that we pour back into you in the same way that you’ve poured into us over the years. We are ready for you to believe in yourself in the way that we believe in you. That means listening to the things we’re saying, truly taking them to heart, and allowing them to sink in and make an impact. Tune in to learn about the reframes that service providers need to hear right now and to find out what we see in you (it’s a lot!) so you can believe in yourself in new ways. Never fear, your Biz Fairy Godmothers are here!
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What you NEED to Hear Right Now!We need you to hear this and feel it at your core: You are the best at what you do and you do not have to play small anymore! You’ve put in the work and you’re making an impact where it matters most. It’s time to put that people-pleasing attitude to rest. You do not have to be everything to everybody and you truly can trust in your expertise.
Your Goals, Goldilocks StyleThe comparison-itis of goals is rampant in the online service-based B2B industry. We tend to look at other people’s goals and try them on for size even if they don’t feel right for us. No matter how big or small your goals are, like Goldilocks, they’re just right for you! If your goals are audacious, good for you, there’s no need to let imposter syndrome in the room. That being said, you don’t need big, audacious goals either! There is no need and no way to quantify what an appropriate-sized goal is. You need to feel confident and comfortable in the goals you’re setting and you’re allowed to want more, but you get to decide what more means for you.
Achieve More By Doing LessYou absolutely can achieve more (time, happiness, etc) by doing less, and just because you don’t know how to go about it doesn’t mean it’s not possible. You can do this right now with your current skill set! We encourage you to accept THIS version of your business as good enough and to be at peace with your decision. You don’t have to be the mom that makes chef-quality lunches to be a good mom! We need to bring this philosophy into the workplace because our standards are way too high. Being busy and ultra-productive in work is overly glamorized and it really is time to let that one go! It is possible to create an ethical, profitable, and kickass business without driving yourself bananas. You can make a difference without being in a perpetual state of overwhelm.
In terms of ethics, it doesn’t help to be consumed by guilt about everything you should be doing better. Guilt doesn’t serve you or anyone else. Action, on the other hand, does, so drop the unnecessary guilt, and keep doing your best and continuing to improve. On the profit side, we need to stop giving money false meaning. Although changing our minds about money is mental work, it can be done in a way that’s healthy, fulfilling, and not necessarily all-consuming.
You Don’t Always Have To Have the Answer, but Here’s How To Find ItAn important piece of the puzzle is accepting and honoring that there are things that you don’t know, and deciding to be intentional to take time out to learn and implement them. This is essential to the growth of your business and your mind. You may not know all the answers, but when you take time to invest in yourself, you can use your expertise to take action and solve problems. Just because you knew how to start your business doesn’t mean you should know exactly how to grow and maintain it from the get-go! If you hit a ceiling, that’s okay, you simply need to seek guidance. We all need support in various forms and there’s no need to be so hard on yourself. Your ability to be intentional about seeking opportunities to learn and implement IS the answer.
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You do not need to feel guilty for prioritizing differently than the person next to you.
Quote This via @BossProjectHQ Trust Your Inner CompassThere is nothing to say that you can’t change course! The only thing that needs to remain constant is your ability to recognize what needs to be tweaked as you go. Many women fall into the trap of pushing decisions outside of themselves and seeking buy-in as reassurance, often from people who know nothing about business! You need to allow yourself to be fully at the helm and trust your inner guidance. It’s okay to hire coaches and consultants, but remember that the decision is ultimately yours! Do not discount your gut feelings. You can be guided, but you still have to steer the ship. We want to instill in you the belief that you are able to build a team that doesn’t simply ease your workload and maintain the business that you’ve built, but one that helps you grow.
Own Your Priorities and Personal TimelineYou do not need to feel guilty for prioritizing differently than the person next to you. It’s okay to be curious about the priorities of others but it’s important to be firm in that the decisions you make are the right ones for you. Many people find it difficult to set their priorities due to societal pressures, but you need to own your priorities even if it means you lose some connections along the way. Just as everyone has their own priorities, we all have our own timelines too! There is so much judgment directed towards those who stray from the beaten track, but why? There is never any need for comparison or rushing towards a goal if the timing feels off. In fact, we have observed that the more stable, healthy, functioning businesses are the ones that grow slower with intention, rather than seeking a “viral moment”.
We believe in you and your ability to lead your business with flexibility and intuition! To learn more, join us at our Freedom Conference at bossproject.com/conference.
Highlights What you NEED to Hear Right Now! [0:03:30] * Your Goals, Goldilocks Style. [0:04:57] * Achieve More By Doing Less. [0:08:05] * You Don’t Always Have To Have the Answer, but Here’s How To Find It. [0:14:10] * Trust Your Inner Compass. [0:18:44] * Own Your Priorities and Your Personal Timeline. [0:26:08]*
Episode 619: Show NotesMany people ignore the things that can really move the needle in their businesses because they often seem deceptively simple. We want to help you understand these simple ‘levers’ and use them correctly, because we can guarantee that they will improve your business in more ways than one! In this episode, we let you guys in on the not-so-secret levers that will allow you to continue to prosper and create more profit in your business. Hitting ceilings of time and money are an inevitable part of running a business, but your ability to adjust the levers that talk about today is a superpower that you will always have.
Tuning in today, you’ll find out how to decide which of the two levers you need to pull next in order to increase profits or get more of your time back, how to start with a life-first mentality when shaping your offers and price, and the self-reflection questions you can ask yourself when you've hit an income and capacity ceiling, plus so much more!
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Choosing Which Lever to Pull The first lever is price. If you are consistently booked out and it doesn’t make sense to bring on additional clients, then more leads is probably not the solution for you. Instead, you need to increase your rates. What we see too often is the disconnect between the impact and value of an offer and what is being charged for it. We want you to have to turn less people away! If that sounds strange to you, it won’t anymore after listening to this episode.
If you really don’t want to charge more for your services, the other lever that you have control over is the amount of time you are spending on a project. In order to spend less time on a project you may have to change the scope of the project and reduce the deliverables to make the price and the time more aligned. If you’ve been giving a lot of free time away, you need to learn to put in boundaries!
Embracing a Life-First Mentality Doing a time study is a very valuable tool which will help you truly understand the tasks that are taking up the biggest portion of your time. Once you’ve done this, you can figure out how to save time because, after all, time is our greatest resource and it’s limited! This is the foundation of the life-first approach that we are passionate advocates for! We have worked with clients who have done time studies which have completely transformed their businesses and, therefore, their lives. It’s so important to keep the bigger picture in mind when making business decisions. Remember: there is no one-size-fits-all approach to designing the pricing and time structure of a business!
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You don’t have to offer the kitchen sink to every single client.
Quote This via @BossProjectHQ Questions to Ask Yourself When You've Hit an Income and Capacity CeilingBefore you make a decision about what you are going to charge for your services, the first step is fully understanding your niche and what the area of opportunity of pricing is within that niche. Ask yourself questions about the people you want to serve, what you are offering them, and how you stand out from other businesses in a similar field. After you’ve sufficiently addressed that filter, the next step is to think about the kind of business you want to be running. Do you want to build lifelong relationships with your clients or adopt more of a one-and-done approach? What kind of impact are you hoping to have on your client base? These are big questions, and it may take you some time to answer them properly, but trust us when we say it will be worth it!
Highlights Choosing Which Lever to Pull. [0:06:03] * Embracing a Life-First Mentality. [0:10:28] * Questions to Ask Yourself When You've Hit an Income and Capacity Ceiling. [0:22:07]*
Episode 618: Show NotesToday, we want to talk about what happens when you grow your own business only to wake up one day and realize that, although you’ve grown out of the ‘wearing all the hats’ phase and you’ve got all the right people and systems in place, everything still seems to be falling apart. You might still feel like you’re doing 75 million things and you have no idea how you got here or what you’re doing and you feel deeply ashamed that you don’t know how to fix it.
We’ve met so many self-proclaimed entrepreneurs who are the CEOs of their businesses, yet they don’t really know what it means to fully sit in that seat, and part of the confusion lies in the fact that they are incredibly talented. We’re talking about people who have typically excelled in everything they’ve ever done! They’re so used to being the star and, suddenly, they feel like they’ve hit a ceiling. This moment of reckoning is inevitable, and it hits everyone at a different point. For some, it'll feel like an income ceiling and, for others, it might feel entirely time-related. For some of you, it might be a recognition that you need more help but you can’t afford it, or that you’re mismanaging the help you do have, have the wrong help, or you don’t know how to identify the help you need.
Essentially, at the root of all of this is, because you’re so smart, you’ve been able to effectively communicate enough of what you do to the outside world so that you can sell your service and expertise, package and deliver it, but you’re lacking the foundational business knowledge that it takes to ultimately scale your business! In this episode, we fill you in on the most important skillset for a CEO, the roadblocks that every industry expert consultant faces as their business grows, and what to do when you've hit a ceiling in your income or capacity, so make sure to tune in today!
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Common Misconceptions to Dismantle as You Scale Your BusinessThere is a common misconception about the true meaning of scaling that we feel needs to be debunked. Everyone talks about scaling as if it’s only related to making more revenue; but scaling is truly about the architecture, operations, and behind-the-scenes details that it takes to ultimately create a business that functions like a machine. A lot of you are on some rocky foundations and you need to ensure that your business has the structure to support its growth! Something we see people naïvely doing when they hit a wall is hiring a CEO for the company. In this instance, you may recognize that something needs to change and you want to keep doing what you’re naturally good at, so you hire someone to do the unfamiliar job. But you need to step up to the task! It’s your company. You created it because you care about the service you’re providing, and skin in the game is everything. It’s okay not to know how you got to where you are and what to do next. It’s all about trial and error, and a good CEO experiments (with intention).
The Roadblocks Industry Expert Consultants Face as their Business GrowsBecause the skill that you based your business on feels innate, the idea of being more intentional is foreign. But there is no shame in admitting that you need to hone in on a skill. There is always more to learn! However, for female-owned small businesses, it seems there are many resources out there on everything BUT how to be a CEO for your company! The resources that do exist are generally male-centric or big corporate-centric, which is so vastly different from what we’re looking for. When it comes to resources for small businesses, we come across various things disguised as scaling tools, such as idealized marketing strategies or productivity hacks that teach you nothing about business! There are many toxic perceptions out there that will waste your time and hold you back and it’s really important not to fall prey to them. They may help you earn money initially, but if you don’t have the operations in place, they won’t support you in the long run!
The Mental Shift Required When You’ve Hit a Ceiling in Your Income or CapacityHaving highly-trained consultants in certain areas of your business is essential, but you have to be willing to continue to learn the way you did when you started out, and shift your role and skillset! Many small business owners feel imposter syndrome when the business starts to scale and they find themselves in the role of CEO. But we can assure you, even if you’re not qualified in the typical sense, you’re uniquely qualified to run YOUR company! We put so much pressure on ourselves, but adulthood looks different these days. There are more women than ever choosing to have their own careers and there is simply no precedent. And because there’s no precedent, you get to set it. In order to move forward, the most important thing for you to do is to set aside your ego and admit to where you may need help or improvement. There’s no need to be so unsure of your future self. You’ve done it before and you can do it again. You get to define what’s next!
The Number One Skill a CEO Should PossessIf someone were to ask you to reflect on the skills that got you where you are, a myriad of surface-level answers would come to mind. But, at the end of the day, what we’ve found to be the key trait for success is a unique skill that we don’t give ourselves nearly enough credit for: resourcefulness. We’re all resourceful in different ways and we rely on it in different ways. If resourcefulness got you where you are, you need to be surrounded by a resourceful team, so we urge you to hire people who are willing and able to find solutions. You don’t need to know how to do everything, but you do need to have the trust in yourself that you will find the necessary tools to get the job done. The tools will be different in every situation and we need to trust in our capability to make smart decisions and find solutions!
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The first step to moving forward with anything is being able to admit to yourself where you’re feeling unqualified.
Quote This via @BossProjectHQ The Danger of FutureproofingAs important as it is to look ahead, we want to emphasize that you cannot futureproof yourself! There’s no way to predict future challenges in minute detail and you might discover you’re futureproofing yourself for problems that may not even exist. We used to plan the whole year in detail, and we’ve found that attempting to perfect everything in advance will only be frustrating, as there are bound to be changes. Even if you know that your goal will remain steadfast, how you get there will shift! Many CEOs struggle with the fine balance of futureproofing because, as the CEO, you’re expected to look forward and maintain the overall direction but, if you sink too deeply into it, it can be dangerous for the business! Since our realization, our standard operating procedure involves simple checklists where we plan high-level events for the year ahead, but tackle individual priorities one week at a time.
Get Your Tickets to The Freedom Conference!Your priorities will definitely have shifted over the last two years, but what do those priorities look like in your business today? How are you growing ethically and sustainably? If you’re interested in digging into this, learning to trust yourself again, and defining your goal as CEO in your growing business, we want to invite you to our one-day virtual conference, taking place later this month. If you are an industry expert, premium service provider, or consultant, grab your ticket to our must-attend Freedom Conference at bossproject.com/conference and learn how to build a reliable business that helps you to live life on your terms!
Highlights Common Misconceptions to Dismantle as You Scale Your Business. [0:04:37] * The Roadblocks Industry Expert Consultants Face as their Business Grows. [0:08:37] * The Mental Shift Required When You’ve Hit a Ceiling in Your Income or Capacity. [0:13:15] * The Number One Skill a CEO Should Possess. [0:25:28] * The Danger of Futureproofing. [0:38:09] * Get Your Tickets to The Freedom Conference! [0:41:07]*
Episode 617: Show NotesThe interesting thing about any mistake is that it’s not always detrimental when you do it at the beginning, but holding onto it can sometimes prevent you from future success! At a recent conference we spoke at, we were asked about some of the biggest mistakes we have made in our business; and one of the things we highlighted was structuring our business according to task-based activities, rather than bringing in a team of permanent employees with outcome-based deliverables.
It can be frustrating to hire a whole team of contractors and you still feel like you’re bearing the brunt of everything that keeps your business moving forward but, unfortunately, it’s also unavoidable! Until you make the move toward bringing employees on to share in your vision, this has to be the case. Sharing too much of that burden with your contractors can lead to burnout and inefficiency, especially as a woman-led business and, while we totally get that there are major problems with the ‘Rise and Grind’ culture, we believe it’s equally problematic not to do anything in your business. Unless you’re willing to drop some major capital at the risk of never seeing a return, you absolutely have to get involved. Stop comparing yourself to Jeff Bezos! You can’t compare your small business with the big guns in Silicon Valley because you just don’t have the same resources that they do. We encourage you to keep that in mind when you’re structuring your team and mapping out your own role.
Creating outcomes for your employees is one of the most efficient ways to start this process. Not all metrics are quantifiable, which is why you have to be as clear about your expectations as you can. In today’s episode, we outline some of the small changes that can make all the difference and share some of the shifts we implemented in our own team in order to transfer ownership and delegate, so make sure not to miss it!
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Why you need to transition from task-based activities to outcome-based activities for your teamWe’ll start with what it’s like to move your team from a task-based team to setting expectations about owning and having autonomy over outcomes. This can be so pivotal! The people we see staying in the task-based environment are slowing down and it’s this transition that has changed really everything for us!
At the very beginning when this shift happened for us, our first step was to move from an all-contractor team to a team of employees. It all comes down to the fact that contractors are there to fulfill tasks. They are very rarely, if ever, there to achieve specific outcomes. They can fulfill specific outcomes in their specific department, or you could give them tasks that might help them reach a specific outcome, but YOU are the one responsible for making sure that those outcomes are achieved!
What you should never expect from contractors and the answer to why you might be feeling frustrated with their resultsIf you’re a business owner feeling frustrated by the burden of holding together all the stuff that moves your business forward, despite having a team, maybe you need to switch up who your team is now. If you’re sitting with a group of contractors, that’s what needs to change first. If you’re hiring a contractor, you are their client; you are not their boss.
Most of the time, hiring contractors instead of a team comes with good intentions, but if you’re going to put ownership on them for things that are yours to bear, it’s just going to cause tension and stress! You may very well end up in a situation where you hire some really impressive contractors who show all the signs of being a good employee; they do care, and they do involve themselves, which can be even harder to navigate.
So, what does it look like to create a team of ownership? Our first shift was to train staff on how we make decisions. Every time we would make a decision, we would have to pause, think about who would be making that decision in the future, and check that we were cluing them in on every step it took to arrive at that conclusion.
Initially, education will be constant! But eventually, other team members will be so clued in, that they’ll take the reins to pass on that information. When you transfer autonomy, you transfer ownership. Along the way, we needed to ask ourselves if we were clear in our communication on a regular basis but, after having delegated for much longer, our confidence has grown!
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Contractors are there to fulfill tasks. They are very rarely, if ever, in a role and set up for success in order to create outcomes for your business.
Quote This via @BossProjectHQ The spectrum from "Rise and Grind Hustle Culture" to "I've Removed Myself From Everything" and how to find a balanceMeasuring effectiveness can be difficult. You can choose to measure according to how something feels or to measure according to what’s going in and what’s coming out, but we no longer believe that all metrics are quantifiable! Sometimes it’s less about achieving the end result and more about the effort to move towards something.
If you have employees who are not involved in the sales process, then there is no need for you to be disclosing all the revenue information. You need to consider someone’s role before you decide what to communicate with them. Your focus needs to be on creating outcomes for roles or departments. Giving people focus and clarity is one of the MOST productive things you can do! Creating these cultural shifts creates an environment where people feel safe enough to protect time in their day to get creative.
If you want to build, then you have to show up and do part of the work! If you don’t have hundreds of thousands of dollars you’re comfortable with losing at the start, then you have to contribute to the overall success of your company. If you want to make money and not be involved, then you need to sell your idea. Building a business serving other business owners is not a passive activity. If you’re passionate about this, show up as though you’re passionate about this! We agree that the rise and grind culture is unhealthy, but we don’t think that doing nothing is healthy either! The outcome is not the most important thing. The path you take to get there is.
Highlights Why you need to transition from task-based activities to outcome-based activities for your team [0:03:29] * What you should never expect from contractors and the answer to why you might be feeling frustrated with their results [0:04:20] * The spectrum from "Rise and Grind Hustle Culture" to "I've Removed Myself From Everything" and how to find a balance [0:21:12]*
Episode 616: Show NotesSomething we feel is getting a little bit confused in the realm of being a service provider consultant, learning from other people, hiring contractors, having employees, and serving clients, is the question of how we serve said clients, how we learn, and how we get work done in our own business. The conversation around working one-on-one with people, using done-for-you services, and learning in different aspects by buying books, hiring a coach, or being in a group coaching program, all start to get a little muddy when we’re also service providers in that very business.
We want to clear this up and provide some perspectives and clarification on the buckets we see us providing, our clients providing, our clients hiring for, and really how things can be structured to have purpose within these different containers. Today, specifically, we’re talking about what the heck group coaching is and when it’s actually beneficial, versus one-on-one coaching and done-for-you services, both as a provider and the consumer.
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The Existing Buckets Inside Your Own Business and When It Makes Sense To OutsourceIf you consider yourself an industry expert, B2B consultant, or service provider serving other businesses, regardless of what the end product is, you have a couple of buckets happening inside your own business. Depending on your specific niche, what you offer is a combination of done-for-you-services and consulting. What we’ve found is that those charging the biggest premiums and getting the best results are those doing a combination of the two! Additionally, if you’re building a business and you have consistent clients, you may still have a couple of straggler contractors that you had when you were getting started. As you scale, the roles can become confusing and you may need to look at restructuring and building a small team of core employees who are responsible for your core services. When it comes to other niche services that you don’t need to perform all the time, you will likely have to work with external subject matter experts (SMEs). Don’t make the mistake of bringing SME-level tasks in-house unnecessarily, or of failing to do so when it’s critical for the growth of your company!
The Critical Role of Thought LeadershipJust because you spent so much time doing and learning everything yourself when you started your business, doesn’t mean it has to stay that way! It’s okay to branch out for guidance. In fact, it’s encouraged. Some of you may have gone to the opposite end of the spectrum and called someone in to clean up your mess every time you wanted to learn something new. This is dangerous, ineffective, and it doesn’t take into account the nuances of your business. Developing as a leader isn’t so much about learning a few new tasks as it is about growing as a human and developing new ways of thinking. You, as the CEO and founder, are spending way too much time on learning and implementing tasks, and neglecting the thought leadership that is absolutely crucial to the growth, profitability, and sustainability of your company. You need to recognize which aspects aren’t your job anymore and start focusing on your vital role as Thought Leader.
One-on-One vs Group CoachingAttuned CEOs are aware that working with one person consistently (who isn’t their therapist) provides a really siloed perspective and can ultimately lead to problems in their business. There are countless benefits to being part of a group coaching program. To begin with, you can learn things in a group that you could never learn individually from the group leader, just by being in the room. Staying in your feedback tunnel is far from useful, and when you participate in a group coaching experience, you’ll find that someone will ask a question you’ve not thought of, or that you can hack something someone’s implemented in a completely different industry that works for you! The magic of the group setting is that you probably wouldn’t have gotten the idea anywhere else and, as your business grows, you simply cannot dump your troubles on your team. They need to feel safe, and you need a space outside of their purview to grow and learn, then bring that back home to the company.
How To Stand Out and Get the Most Out of Your Group Coaching ExperienceCommon apprehensions about group coaching programs are around not getting enough individual attention, not getting your questions answered, or getting lost in the noise. But never fear, we’re going to fill you in on some best practices to ensure that you get what you need! Firstly, before investing in a program, you need to ensure that it’s the right one for you. The business model can be agnostic, but you need to gauge whether you align with the business’ morals and values, and the way they do business. Once you’re there, you need to ensure you’re asking the right questions in a clear, succinct way to allow for a quick, clear answer. To do so, you need to be prepared to ask yourself some reflection questions beforehand, to ascertain what your question really is so you can get the most beneficial feedback. Don’t be afraid to participate! If you can consistently provide value, you’ll consistently receive value.
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You will benefit more from not being the smartest person in the room than consistently being teacher’s pet, long-term.
Quote This via @BossProjectHQ The #1 Thing You Need To Do As Soon as You Decide To Invest in Any Coaching ProgramOnce you decide to invest, you have to block your calendar and commit to actually attending, spending time in the community, asking questions, and implementing what you’ve learned. If you don’t, you won’t see results! You don’t have to attend every session, or breeze through everything, but you do need to dedicate consistent time to digest, implement, and seek feedback. High-quality programs provide so much information that you rarely need to consume all of it to get the value you need. Worry less about which offered aspects you don’t need, and worry more about whether you’re going to get a return on your investment for any of it.
Dive In and Learn More With Us!We’re offering a limited-time offer for you to try group coaching on for size! For a unique opportunity to see what it’s like to be part of a group program and hear others ask quality questions, join us for our upcoming one-day virtual conference on March 29th. Grab your ticket at bossproject.com/conference. We’re inviting accepted VIP applicants to a bonus day on March 30th, where we’re going to be diving into the exact framework to double your income while working 20 hours a week or less. For this VIP experience, apply at bossproject.com/vip. We’d be honored to have you and we’re super excited to expose you to what a community like this could do for you and your business.
Highlights The Existing Buckets Inside Your Own Business and When It Makes Sense To Outsource. [0:03:25] * The Critical Role of Thought Leadership. [0:08:27] * One-on-One vs Group Coaching. [0:12:30] * How To Stand Out and Get the Most Out of Your Group Coaching Experience. [0:18:28] * The #1 Thing You Need To Do As Soon as You Decide To Invest in Any Coaching Program. [0:36:05] * Dive In and Learn More With Us! [0:38:23]*
Episode 615: Show NotesIf you follow us on social media you may be aware that we have just announced our first virtual conference! While the conference will no doubt share some similarities with our online summits, we anticipate that previous attendees will be shocked by how incredibly different this experience truly is. One of the developments that we are most excited about is the fact the entire event will be live, giving us the scope to connect with attendees in real-time! We are also deeply aware that our participants are incredibly busy which is why we’re so proud that the entire conference will take place over the course of one day within four sessions!
We’re tremendously excited about the impact of this live event and the opportunity to foster a sense of community amongst industry experts, consultants, and CEOs! Head over to bossproject.com/conference to sign up! There will also be a special bonus day on March 30 for those who want even more. It comes at no extra cost, but you do need to apply! So once you’ve booked your conference ticket head over to bossproject.com/vip to apply for our special bonus day event!
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The Freedom Conference and Why You Need to Be ThereOur upcoming conference is called the Freedom Era and our goal is to help you reignite your creative consulting business before burnout defines you. You can grab your virtual ticket at bossproject.com/conference for a total of $47. We are so stoked to be doing this live because it gives us the opportunity to really dive in with other people who are service providers, creative consultants, and industry experts, and create a uniquely rich opportunity for us to learn from one another. So if you want to become part of a community of experts and conquer burnout, be sure to join us on Tuesday 29 March!
While purchasing a ticket will give you access to the conference sessions for up to a week, we highly encourage participants to attend the live event. The conversations and sessions during our live event will be shaped by what organically comes up in our chat, so you won’t want to miss the opportunity to connect with an incredible community and raise the issues that are most pertinent to you!
We are also offering a special bonus day on March 30. It comes at no extra cost, but you do need to apply! So once you grab your conference ticket head over to bossproject.com/vip to apply for our special bonus day event!
Your Unique Client GoalsWe’ve been hearing tons of chatter about the need for businesses to go out and find new people and do lead generation. However, this approach ignores an entire realm of possibilities. When you attend our live event you're going to have the opportunity to hear from one of our clients, Bonnie, about how she increased her client contracts by $60,000 in six weeks WITHOUT new leads. We are so excited for all of you to hear her perspective on what it looks like to have real conversations with existing clients, especially when you're underpricing yourself. Our goal is for you to learn how you can confidently go into these conversations and ultimately renegotiate. And if you’re feeling apprehensive, or wondering how this is possible, then it’s probably time for you to grab your ticket, because we're going to be taking a deep dive into the details of what it looks like to set yourself up for success!
Pricing Strategies and Why One Size Does Not Fit AllWhen it comes to pricing, we do not believe in the one size fits all approach, because it’s not effective. It doesn't take into account your current clientele, your region, your unique circumstances, any of that. As a result, we have a very unique approach to pricing. Rather than being emotionally driven, it is extremely tactical, strategic, calculated, and purposeful. One of our panels will consist of a handful of our clients who will be talking about how their pricing strategies vary. Because businesses come in a range of sizes and expertise, whether it’s consulting or service-based, we want you to find what works for you, even if you don’t know what that looks like for you yet!
The Seven Red Flags of Toxic Behavior in Your Small BusinessIf you’re a fan of the type of polarizing and expansive conversations we have here on the show, then you’ll definitely want to prioritize attending the live version of our final session! We’re going to be covering the seven red flags of toxic behaviors happening inside your small business that needs your immediate attention. It may be difficult to recognize or acknowledge, but we are here to let you know that it is okay and help you address anything toxic that may be taking place in your business. We’re going to discuss what it looks like to rectify some of these issues so that you can create a psychologically safe place to work. This is an opportunity to address core issues and build a business that's in alignment with your personal values, where people are treated fairly and experience an environment free of discrimination.
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We want to give you some golden nuggets to really have you thinking about how you can show up and take the most advantage of what's already naturally happening in the economy.
Quote This via @BossProjectHQ It’s Up to You as a CEO to Change Your BusinessTaking time out of your busy schedule to be intentional about making changes in your business is the most crucial use of your time as a CEO, and we are extremely proud of all of you for recognizing that a shift and a change needs to happen! And we want to remind you that you don’t need to know exactly what that looks like for you to know that you need it! Our clients are incredibly smart, competent, and total experts in what they do, but that doesn’t mean they need to be an expert at everything. And yet so many of them are frustrated with themselves because they haven't quite figured out the business side of things. After all, you've been using their time and energy showing up as an industry expert. And that's what they’re good at. That's their zone of genius. They don't have to know all of these other things. But what they do need to know, and make the decision on, is choosing to learn from people who can help them figure it out, avoid burnout, and thrive!
Highlights The Freedom Conference and Why You Need to Be There [00:04:34] * Your Unique Client Goals [00:10:57] * Pricing Strategies and Why One Size Does Not Fit All [00:12:25] * The Seven Red Flags of Toxic Behavior in Your Small Business [00:18:28] * It’s Up to You as a CEO to Change Your Business [00:23:15]*
Episode 614: Show NotesThis is the second hottest take of a conversation we’ve ever had publicly! We are so passionate about this topic, and we really want to pass on this valuable information to you because we deeply care about you and your team! When the mistakes that we are going to talk about today are made, we know that it’s coming from the best of places, but because the future of your company is at stake, and because we care about that, we really hope you’re going to listen to this episode!
The fact of the matter is that you are most likely drastically overpaying your staff. We so often see owners hardly taking a salary for themselves, but then paying their staff six figure salaries. We also see people hiring super cheap labor. There is so much wrong with both of these phenomenons, but the good news is that there is another option!
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The Inequity That You’re Ignoring In Your Small Business Our generation has always been told that we can do whatever we want. We are also the most overeducated generation, and we are living during a time where big businesses are dominating giant parts of the economy. These factors play a major role in contributing to how we run our own businesses. For example, small business owners compare themselves to the big players in terms of the salaries that they give to their staff, trying to ensure that they are running a more ethical business. The problem is that this is like comparing apples with oranges; the skill sets aren’t the same, the job requirements aren’t the same, the hours aren’t the same, so the pay doesn’t need to be the same. Wanting to take care of your staff is admirable, but it is pointless if it is achievable to the detriment of your business!
Budgeting For Employee SalariesIf you start your employee salaries too high, you will have no room to grow. You have to be able to train people for growth positions, otherwise you are going to simply maintain the business that you have today, and if you’re listening to this episode, we know that’s not your goal! From a high level standpoint, you should be building towards the point where 30% of your monthly revenue can go towards paying your team members. In order to get to this point you need to start by looking at wage ranges within the region where your business is situated, and determine whether it fits within your budget for the role that you’re looking to hire for. The next step is to come up with a title that aligns with future growth potential and career opportunity in your business. One of the biggest mistakes we see business owners make is hiring people into executive leadership positions and feeling like they have to pay them a salary that matches their title, even when they aren’t qualified for the position! The better way to approach hiring if you’re aiming to grow your business is to allow for upward mobility, which means having three to five potential title changes available to your staff!
How You’re Accidentally Creating Major Burnout For Your EmployeesIf you bring someone on expecting them to know everything about your business from day one, and paying them as if that is the case, you’re limiting their growth potential, and the growth potential of your business. It isn’t fair of you to hire people in leadership positions without properly onboarding and training them, and that takes time! We know multi millionaires who run huge companies, and they still don’t hire leaders until they have spent years in the business! Also, if you hire people above a reasonable wage, you’re likely going to burn them out with tasks because you’ll be expecting them to do more than they are capable of, which creates a toxic work environment. In this case, your employees would probably prefer you to just hire more people to take on some of the work, even if it means a salary decrease for them! We are able to employ the amount of people that we do because we built our business up from the bottom up, allowing for sustainable growth along the way.
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Contractors and employees simply must be different, and because of that, you also have to pay them differently.
Quote This via @BossProjectHQ What To Do If You’ve Realized You Are Overpaying Your StaffAs you build your business, you have to constantly be thinking about the long term viability of your business model. If you are paying someone a salary that you’ve realized you can’t actually financially afford, then you need to start doing some risk analysis and having very open conversations with your staff. One option would be to let the person (or people) go, but another option (which may sound wild and ridiculous, but in some circumstances we would recommend it) would be to offer for them to keep their job at a reduced salary (and reduced tasks) which then has the potential for growth because the company itself will be growing. As the founder of your business, if you want it to have a future, you are going to have to make some hard decisions and have some difficult conversations, but overcoming challenges leads to major growth!
Highlights The Inequity That You’re Ignoring In Your Small Business. [0:05:10] * Budgeting For Employee Salaries. [0:13:50] * How You’re Accidentally Creating Major Burnout For Your Employees. [0:20:58] * What To Do If You’ve Realized You Are Overpaying Your Staff. [0:32:57]*
Episode 613: Show NotesToday we are going to be sharing some thoughts and some hot takes about hiring! There are so many people out there saying all sorts of things that make our insides squirm, and we don’t want you to waste your time and effort on strategies that definitely do not work. We also got sucked into the sexiness of the idea of hiring duplicates of ourselves, so we speak from firsthand experience when we tell you that this is a BIG mistake!
When people get to the point where they know they need to bring on someone else, it’s usually because of one of two main reasons; either that they need to hire for a very specific role for their company, or they’re burning the candle at both ends and therefore if they hire “another me” they’ll be able to get twice as much work done, but if you keep listening you’ll understand why you should never hire another you!
The #1 Thing You Need to Know Before You Hire
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How Resentment Builds Up In Your Company CultureAs entrepreneurs, we often assume that when people get hyped up on our mission and vision and purpose, they'll really work towards the long term success of our company. But the thing is, they don’t have any ownership or stake in the business, and the risk factor is what completely differentiates behavior. And that is what makes all the difference in the long term. When you try to hire “You 2.0” you give them all the responsibilities of an owner and the freedom to make choices, without any of the risk! The entitlement, resentment, and unmet expectations you’ll be faced with in this scenario will be out of this world. They will never understand what you’re going through as a business owner, and they don’t have to. In fact, we encourage you not to strive for that because it’s likely to scare people away.
You Can’t Do Everything, And That’s Okay! Every person and every company is unique, so there is no formula for hiring, and we can’t tell you who to hire! But we do know what questions you need to ask yourself in order to find the answer. For example; What are your goals? What’s your zone of genius? What are you trying to accomplish? What’s your background? What do you like doing? What have you failed at? You likely have tasks on your plate that are adding inefficiencies, unnecessary risks, and you might think that everything you are doing is within your zone of genius, but we’re here to tell you that’s not true, and that it’s okay!
The Problem of Hiring To Solve A ProblemWe’ve done this, but we’ve learned the hard way from experience that you don’t want to be hiring to solve problems. Instead, you want to be hiring to fulfill solutions! When you’re coming up against a problem in your business, you might think that the only way to move forward is to bring someone on who you can pay to solve it. But, as a business owner, you can’t hand over your “big hat” problems (like leads, conversions, profit margin etc) to a VA or a contractor. It’s YOUR job, and your job only, to identify problems and solutions within your business. Once you’ve come up with the solution, you can train someone to come in and fulfill it! We don’t want you to make the same mistakes that we did with hiring, so we are sharing all of them with you so you can learn by listening, rather than by doing!
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So often, the desire to hire a duplicate of yourself comes from the place of wanting to take care of your personal needs, not the needs of your organization.
Quote This via @BossProjectHQ How To Identify The Next Hire You Actually Need To MakeBefore you hire someone, you need to think about the goals that you have for your business for the next year, and whether you currently have the tools, resources, and manpower to reach them. If the answer is no, then you need to do something about it. And often that means transitioning from being the “doer” to teaching others how to do too! Once you’ve decided that you need to hire someone, you then need to ask yourself whether you should be hiring a contractor or an employee. If you’re hiring someone for a core function of your business, you should absolutely be hiring an employee, even though it’s a more complicated, time consuming process. On the other hand, if you’re hiring for a specific task, you should be hiring a contractor who is an expert in that particular niche. If you need help making these kinds of decisions, we can help you, so don’t hesitate to apply for the Boss Project Incubator!
Highlights How Resentment Builds Up In Your Company Culture. [0:04:29.1] * You Can’t Do Everything, And That’s Okay! [0:07:07.1] * The Problem of Hiring To Solve A Problem. [0:10:30.1] * How To Identify The Next Hire You Actually Need To Make. [0:27:56.1]*
Episode 612: Show NotesThere’s a problem that we’re seeing in this space and it’s causing people to miss massive opportunities! You’re losing out on revenue and you’re losing out on tapping into familiar industry terms, and so much of this can be solved by simply re-labeling who you are to become well-known to the rest of the world. For years, small business owners, especially those in the creative space, have continued to label themselves as such. “I’m a small business owner”, “I run a small creative business”, “I’m a creative entrepreneur”, we’ve seen these terms run rampant.
But the thing that is missing right now in this space is that you are not utilizing terms that the rest of the world recognizes and already uses and, because of that, you’re missing out on business. If you have previously identified as a creative small business owner, especially those of you who are running a B2B service-based business helping other small businesses, we have an uplevel for you. We can change the game!
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Unlock an Entire New Market with One Simple Language ShiftIn the past, we used to dread introducing ourselves to other people because we felt they wouldn’t understand what we do, where we come from, and how we can help other people.
As it turns out, all we had to do was change the way we introduced ourselves with one simple language shift. For ages, we called ourselves small business owners, and it wasn’t until we changed our language and claimed our titles that people truly perked their ears up and started taking us seriously. We were still doing the same work and providing the same service, all we did was use new labels. The benefits of a simple language shift are vast. In doing so, you establish credibility and draw people in. If people can understand your service in terms that they are familiar with, they are far more likely to refer you to potential clients! Not only that, you make yourself far more discoverable on SEO terms. Small business owners are often so intent on doing things differently from the rest of the world, and in doing so, they miss the opportunity to thrive in their intentions to help others by using vague, exclusive language.
There’s an Easier Way To Establish Yourself As THE Expert Than You Might ThinkIf you do B2B, you’re likely a business consultant and you’re not claiming your title. You’re essentially doing the dirty work that nobody wants to do, and you have every right to charge for it! Your language shift will justify your price shift and literally change the game for you. You need to clarify who you are and solidify your expertise in a massive pool of B2B service providers. This small shift of clarity will open the door to potential clients and boost your confidence! Business consultants help other companies overcome challenges, increase revenue, or grow. Isn’t that precisely what you do? Service providers often battle with articulating the problem that they’re solving, and it is so important to define your role and acknowledge your worth. Other businesses need you! They just need you to get clear on the roadblocks you’re preventing, the hurdles you’re helping them overcome, and the way they’re going to get a direct return on their investment. A simple title change really can make all the difference. Sure, you’re a course provider, but doesn’t that make you a trainer? Claim your title and don’t underestimate the value you’re bringing to another small business. It’s time to get specific and give your niche expertise the opportunity it deserves.
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The way in which you talk about yourself and your company is critical.
Quote This via @BossProjectHQ How You’ve Accidentally Pigeonholed Yourself Into an Industry That Has a CeilingIt’s important to realize that there’s a whole world outside of this B2B small business bubble. If you’re feeling like the industry is getting too small or that you’ve outgrown the resources that have gotten you to where you are today, it’s probably time to branch out. The fascinating thing about business consultants is that they usually have super niche expertise, not in an industry but in an area of business. Thus, you are not limited to this one industry! So many small business owners, particularly female creative entrepreneurs, are not profitable because they limit themselves to only working with other female small business owners, for example. By leaning into the expertise of being a consultant you will unlock completely new markets and price points. If you choose to make this shift, you will have the opportunity to tap into literally every other industry. The only reason more established clients aren’t working with you is because they can’t find you! They don’t have time to scour Instagram and stumble upon your reels, they are either doing a specific search online or acting on a referral. If you’re looking to work with big-budget clients, you’re going to need to learn a new vocabulary and capitalize on it. There is more available to you than you know and if you are clear on what you’re doing and how you’re doing it, there is no upper limit to what you can achieve.
Highlights Unlock an entire new market with one simple language shift. [0:04:02] * There's an easier way to establish yourself as THE expert than you might think. [0:07:53] * How you've accidentally pigeonholed yourself into an industry that has a ceiling. [0:18:46]*
Episode 611: Show NotesWhen we first decided to take a workcation, there was no way of knowing just how beneficial it would be. We have always added in times to do planning sessions and pin down what we want, but what we have learned is that creating a dedicated time to make sure it happens is so, so important. The only way for our business to move forward in the past was for us to hop on the phone with one another, and brainstorm ideas. But as our roles have shifted, this hasn’t happened as often. That’s why we’ve carved out CEO time on our to-do list, to help us have the correct focus.
We’ve all spent so many years working for businesses that are not structured well, not managed well, and that took all the lessons we didn’t like and implemented them in the workplace. This is the extreme opposite of many of our efforts to create flexible environments that take into account all of our humanity. But what we’ve found is that the answer lies somewhere in the middle. Not having boundaries or expectations doesn’t help anyone either!
To us, knowing that we had the time to think and brainstorm without boundaries, but also adding boundaries to make the follow-through inevitable, was everything! It’s so important to add enough momentum to make sure that you achieve what you’re hoping to achieve. When you take incremental steps, it doesn’t feel like you’re eating the whole pie at once! Our main takeaways from the experience were that there’s a difference between the conversations that are had within leadership and team meetings, and within the room where it’s just you and your business partner. It’s so important that this happens periodically for the good of the business. That’s the high-level stuff that moves everything forward. If you’re not ahead of your people, they’re not going to know where to go.
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The new way we're measuring goals that's going to be beneficial for our entire teamTo identify your major objectives, you have to have dedicated time for high-level planning, messaging, growth, and management. More than setting KPIs, we want to identify how to better run our meetings, how to better make use of everybody’s time, and how to create the correct messaging for an upcoming project.
What we discovered is that first, we needed to look at our ‘why’; the motivation behind what we were doing. Only then could we move beyond this to explore our ‘how’ and map out the logistics we needed to put in place to get there. We were surprised at how quickly we knocked these important things out of the park!
Our #1 takeaways from spending the weekend on our workcationThe order of how you approach things might be different if you’re a solopreneur, but there are two of us, so we met up on a Friday afternoon, with a commitment not to check out until Sunday morning. Remember, when you’re operating at such a high level, your brain is turned up to 100% all the time, so it isn’t sustainable to block out a ton of time for this, nor is it necessary to wear yourself out that way.
On Friday, we focused on the art. We dedicated this evening to asking questions, freethinking, vision casting, note-taking, and creating a vision. On Saturday, we considered how we were going to bring it all to life by creating a solid architecture. We alternated between left and right-brained activities all weekend and that was so constructive for us!
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Identify what are your major objectives by having dedicated time for high-level planning, high-level messaging, high-level growth, and high-level management.
Quote This via @BossProjectHQ The two key areas you need to start thinking about when it comes to your values, process, and how you implement ideasPeople tend to think about mission, vision, and values, think it sounds important, and then move on. Building an ethos according to which we run our company has enabled us to create a backbone to teach, educate, and train other people. When it’s just a couple of people, your culture is made up of the individual personalities that make up your company.
Different terms mean different things to different people. For us, being service-minded means going above and beyond for our audience. Charging our team with that principle has made them show up for our customers just as we would, and we love to see that! The architecture of each value is so important.
Roles are still important to us, KPIs are still important to us, but we are testing an OKR structure. If you think about the difference between a goal, an OKR, and a KPI, a goal is a loosely defined, a KPI is a lot more specific, and an OKR allows for just the amount of flexibility that we are after.
It takes so much time and so much intention to make structural changes in our internal messaging. We have made a shift to being much less focused on tasks, and much more focused on moving towards an outcome. Making the effort is the important part, getting the data, and helping you to understand how you’ve reached it, or not reached it is what’s important!
Highlights The new way we're measuring goals that's going to be beneficial for our entire team. [0:06:18] * Our #1 takeaways from spending the weekend on our workcation. [0:09:06] * The two key areas you need to start thinking about when it comes to your values, process, and how you implement ideas. [0:13:30]*
Episode 610: Show NotesWe’ve had a very special kick-off to 2022. Not only is our company expanding, but we are also making big shifts in our business and how we lead our teams. While hiring new team members has its challenges, it’s still been an incredibly exciting time. With our shift from contractors to full and part-time employees, we have had an unprecedented opportunity to intentionally build our team culture and empower our employees with a transfer of leadership to various departments!
Our growth as a company has also brought about a change in business needs, particularly when it comes to productivity and organizational systems. Tuning in you’ll learn about the new organizational system we’ve been working on and how it will elevate your offerings. If you’re a fan of what our previous offering Trello for Businessbrought to the industry, you’ll love what we have in store for you! To learn more about how we’ve been leveling up our leadership skills, as well as exclusive insights into our new offering, make sure you tune in today!
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The Challenges of Hiring and OnboardingDuring the first half of January 2022, we were interviewing candidates for two new positions. While we were excited about the process, this had some implications for our team that we weren’t quite prepared for. We were looking for a marketing assistant, as well as a lead graphic and web designer. The role of graphic and web designer was backfilling a position where we had promoted someone internally, and the marketing assistant position was a totally new role for the company.
While we were very excited about these changes, in our experience hiring someone new can be a very distracting process. This is particularly true for Abagail, because she manages so much of the recruitment process, like the interviewing and fulfillment. And while she usually takes everything on by herself, in this instance she was determined to include the person who would ultimately be managing the new hire in the hiring process. This decision will certainly be a positive in the long run, but it made the process more challenging than normal because it caused the entire team to be distracted. Luckily we’ve learned a lot and we’ll be much more prepared the next time we need to hire someone!
The Importance of Cultivating a Team CultureThe kickoff with our team for 2022 has been a very special experience. This month has included a lot of firsts for us, both as a team and as a business. It’s the first time we’ve had this many employees. It’s also the first time we’ve been this size with and had this many people intimately involved in the strategy and decision-making aspects of the company. Because of that, it’s been important for both of us to do a good job at transferring ownership to our managers and heads of department, and we’ve been working on achieving that through better communication and consciously sharing our goals and thought processes.
On this show, we regularly talk about being a life-first company. And we want that to be reflected within our culture as well as our team. One exercise we loved during our kickoff was asking our employees to make a vision board to reflect their goals and aspirations for 2022. They were free to make it include, or exclude as much as they want, both about their personal aspirations as well as professional goals. Not only did we want our employees to use it as a way to outline their goals, but it was also a wonderful way for us to get to know them better. It’s easy to get stuck in conversations about work with your colleagues and we want to be able to support them in succeeding at their goals and the way they want to live their lives. It’s important to build relationships and feel connected at work and we love that we had that opportunity to share a bit more of ourselves!
One aspect that we have spent a lot of time on, that we haven’t heard discussed all that often, is the elements that are integral to building a team culture. As a result, our team mixers, and even the way we run our meetings, are largely driven by a desire to define our culture with intention, instead of simply letting the culture happen by itself. One of the reasons we feel we’ve struggled with this for some time is that we were trying to create a team culture while our team was filled primarily with contractors, which is entirely different from having employees. Now that we have our team of ten, they have a lot more buy-in with us, our mission, and the overall impact the company has. We can finally create our team culture with intention!
The Big Shift We Went Through as Leaders That’s Going to Dramatically Change Our Company’s Growth Our company has been growing A LOT. And that growth has been deeply intertwined with the shift we’ve been undergoing as leaders. We’re still very much in the beginning stages, but the goal has been that we’re shifting from a task-based business to an outcome-based business, specifically concerning leadership. Instead of us directing every task and outcome, we are suggesting the vision for the overall company, including the financial goals associated with those things, and then giving directives to individual departments to lead the sections that they are taking ownership of.
Our course with Makeda Andrews has been integral to our growth as leaders. Not only does she offer an exceptional managerial leadership training course called The New Manager Accelerator Program, but she also adapted to our needs and constructed a special course for both of us on executive leadership. We’ve learned so much from her program and we cannot sing her praises enough!
New Releases and How You Can Get Access to Them! When we made Trello for Business we completely disrupted the industry. We shared how our creative brains worked and illustrated how you can best accomplish your day-to-day planning within the specific niche areas of your business. This has been incredibly beneficial for solopreneurs, as well as people without teams, and those who work with contractors. It’s super tight, intimate, and you typically don’t have more than three clients at a time. Once you scale past that, however, you’ll realize that you’re missing some stuff. Whether you’re wanting to onboard more clients, grow your team, scale up your offer, provide a deeper project base for your clients, or all of the above, you’re going to need a more robust and detailed organizational system!
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That is why we built the incubator because we want to build resources for women-led, small businesses, who are hiring teams, who are struggling to find the resources for how to lead their company. I want to lead the way in this space.
Quote This via @BossProjectHQ About a year and a half ago, we were at this point and struggling to transition out of Trello, but we had no idea where to go next. After struggling to find an answer that made sense, we finally landed on the method we’ve been waiting for, as well as our next big offering: Asana for Business. It has been a life-changing process, so prepare yourselves for our next disruption in the industry, because it’s going to be good! Productivity and systems are literally why we are on this planet. Our previous product changed thousands of lives. And our next iteration is going to be even more intimate, powerful, and impactful!
This time we’ve decided to release our offering a bit differently. Instead of rolling it out to the masses, we are making this an exclusive benefit for our incubator clients. If you haven’t signed up for our incubator yet, now is the time to do so at https://bossproject.com/incubator! This piece alone is well worth the entire cost of the program. We can’t emphasize enough the amount of time and attention we’re putting into this project. We really want to make sure that this includes all the essential tools you need and much more! And once you are inside the incubator, if you find there’s a special need for your business, you can be sure that we will build it! That is why we’re keeping our card close to our chest, because the way we have structured Asana for Business, is fully built off of the framework that we walk our incubator clients through. And unless you have the other pieces of the program, there will be parts of Asana for Business that won't make sense to you because you haven’t learned the foundational lessons of the program.
Highlights The Challenges of Hiring and Onboarding [00:06:38] * The Importance of Cultivating a Team Culture [00:09.30] * The Big Shift We Went Through as Leaders That’s Going to Dramatically Change Our Company’s Growth [00:16:05] * New Releases and How You Can Get Access to Them! [00:29:48]*
Episode 609: Show NotesWith all the conversations we’ve been having about learning, scaling, and unlocking new strategies for your business, people have started to worry about how they are going to find the time to add something else to their plate. You may really feel that learning something new will be beneficial to your business, but the thought of doing that when you’re already overwhelmed can be extremely daunting.
But the thing is, it’s mentally taxing to be a human in the world right now, and learning strategies that will help you better manage the hustle and grind that you’re on is one of the best ways to grow! If you’re feeling overwhelmed, this episode is for you, because we’re going to provide you with some mindset and business benchmarks to help you gain some clarity on what you should be focusing on right now!
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Urgent Versus ImportantThere are things that you have incorporated into your work day that you can straight up stop doing; maybe forever, maybe for a season. Not everything that you do provides you with a return on investment, and spending time on tasks that are urgent but not important is not a recipe for success. If you stay in the urgent-but-not-important zone, you will continue to put out fires and check staff off your to-do list, and you’ll always feel busy, but you’re never going to move forward or see growth. If you’re feeling totally overwhelmed, you’re probably spending too much time in this zone, letting other people drive the boat, and reacting to what is going on around you, rather than being in control.
Creating Time for Growth Early on in our business we developed a block schedule where we had a day that nobody else could touch, and to us, that was a massive building block for us to start working towards the business we truly wanted. Now, approximately half of our time is spent on growth-based activities, compared to the early days where we have around 95% of our time away. Clawing your way out of the phase where you’re sacrificing most of your time to deal with urgent tasks, isn’t easy, but we have a few suggestions which will help you on your way. For example, changing your office hours, creating canned email responses, and setting up some automated systems. We want you (with our help) to find a minimum of four hours a week that you can spend on self-development, so that you and your business can thrive, because at the end of the day, if you don’t make yourself a priority, nobody will!
Why You Should Sign Up for the Incubator! No program is perfect for everyone, but we know that through our Incubator program we can definitely make a huge difference for so many of you listeners out there! This is our best program ever, so we’re not afraid to pitch it to you because we know you won’t be disappointed. Depending on what stage you’re at in your business (in terms of mindset and actual results), you need to focus on different goals, and we can help you set those out so that you make the most efficient use of your time. If you aren’t sure what lever you need to pull in order to move forward, that’s where we come in. Inside the Incubator we have a step-by-step approach that will very quickly give you some of your time back, while making more money at the same time!
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I want you to look at your schedule and try to find four hours a week at minimum that you can spend on growth, thought, visioning and learning.
Quote This via @BossProjectHQ What To Do If You’re Struggling To Find LeadsIf you’re struggling to get clients through the door, you’re probably not at the stage where you’re quite ready for the Incubator. If this sounds like you, you’ll probably thrive in the Co-Op! The Co-Op is such an amazing community which will provide you with the tools you need to attract potential clients and convert them. You can stay in the Co-Op forever because the tools will always be valuable, and the foundations of the formula that we are teaching you can be applied in any industry!
Highlights Urgent Versus Important. [0:07:01] * Creating Time for Growth. [0:09:54] * Why You Should Sign Up for the Incubator! [0:21:28] * What To Do If You’re Struggling To Find Leads. [0:28:32]*
Episode 608: Show NotesThis episode is inspired by a 45-second TikTok we stumbled upon about what’s going on in the online business world. We specifically loved the phrase, “We’re at the end of the Girlboss era” because, honestly, we couldn’t agree more! Today, we talk about what the landscape of online business looked like five or six years ago, what it’s looking like in 2022, and why we think there is so much more access and opportunity than ever before. However, it is going to take a shift! We are in a new season, we are in a new world, and people have different expectations.
Let's take it back in time and investigate what the Girlboss Era is, what started it, and why we think it’s on its way out! We take a look at the radical shift required to move forward in business and as a society, the realization required to shift your mindset, and where we really and truly hope the online business world isn’t heading!
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What Kicked Off the Girlboss Era and What’s Kicking it OutThe Girlboss Era can be taken even further back from the online landscape, to the media influence we were exposed to in our teen years. The protagonists of the books and films we consumed were often highly influential, financially savvy, and stylish young women who were achieving highly regarded positions right out of the gate. This set the precedent for women to work hard and explore roles in a traditionally masculine space. We were raised to dream big and reach for the stars! Then came the 2008 economic crisis, we were filled with this fire, but there were no roles to fill, so we had no choice but to find our own way and make it work for us. The online business industry was literally invented by its mission-driven participants! The culture became infectious, but it came with its own set of disadvantages that we seem to be moving away from today. Before, there was a blind trust in other women, and in the “anyone can do anything” attitude, but because of the global pandemic and the movements questioning trust, safety, and ethics prior to it, we believe this Girlboss era is over. People are more clear about their priorities and boundaries and, going forward into a new era, we predict the rise of a service-based industry like no other, and those who succeed will be the ones who are solving real problems for real people.
Why Collective Unlearning and Relearning Is So ImportantThere are radical shifts taking place in our society, whether you like it or not, and if business owners aren’t paying attention to them, they risk losing everything. Collective unlearning and relearning is critical, and if you aren’t evaluating yourself and prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion, not only are you doing yourself a disservice, but you are aiding white supremacy. It really is as simple as that. People want to trust other people, thus businesses need to be sincere, reliable, and self-reflective. We all need to be using this time to grow our minds and expand our willingness to observe our shortfalls. Things have changed so much over the last 10 to 15 years and the way we show up, talk about ourselves, and connect with people has to change too. Capitalism may seem inescapable, but the opportunity to make a change lies in how we solve problems going forward.
How to Shift Your Mentality and Build Your Business in Alignment The Girlboss Era mentality was based on the idea that you can create a course on anything, but that’s no longer the case! Free information is far more accessible today, and it’s really hurting creators. But this can be seen as an opportunity to shift your mindset, get clear on your priorities, work on how you show up in the world, and support other people. There is now a chance for people with valuable skill sets and diverse expert-level knowledge to intentionally work with fewer people and have a bigger impact on them. Consumer options are unlimited, and this calls for you to refine your filter! This is a chance for you to make a real living that’s in alignment with the kind of life you want to live. It does, however, require some self-reflection: Is this truly what you want?
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We’re, at this point, a part of a multi-billion dollar industry that didn’t exist a decade ago.” — @BossProjectHQ
Quote This via @BossProjectHQ The Direction We Hope We Aren’t Heading in the Online Business WorldWe are not yet in a new era, and if we swing too far to either side of the spectrum, we may run into some trouble. There are a few trends that we’re seeing that we, personally, hope won’t dictate the new norm. First off, the unrealistic upscaling of expectations. These days, everyone wants to be a millionaire! But does everyone need to be a millionaire to meet their personal needs and desires? Absolutely not. Where you live directly affects your cost of living, and it’s totally okay to reach within your own realm instead of building a business that’s not in alignment with you as a result of external pressure. Secondly, we see owners catching the tail end of the Girlboss Era and removing themselves from their business too soon in the name of ‘scaling’, but what they seem to forget is that they are the talent, and it was the services they personally provided that brought them any kind of success. It’s important to be aware of the consequences of delegating everything and going on a hiring spree before getting a good grip on HR law. You don’t need to build an empire to fulfill your needs!
Highlights What kicked off the Girlboss Era and what’s kicking it out. [0:03:04] * Why collective unlearning and relearning is so important. [0:16:30] * How to shift your mentality and build your business in alignment. [0:20:46] * The direction we hope we aren't heading in the online business world. [0:26:01]*
Episode 607: Show NotesDecember 2021 may have been the busiest and most strategic December we’ve ever had on record! Although we only took three days off this month, which is a huge deviation from how we normally run things, we’re extremely excited about how all our planning and purpose in December has set us up for a great Q1 in 2022! While it was tough having such a busy December, it was all with very particular goals and intentions in mind.
So much of our decision-making came back to growing our organization and looking at new employees and the positions that need to be filled as we continue to grow and scale. We had a lot of hiring decisions in the works, which formed a big part of our top priorities in December, but they were all 100% worth it. Luckily, because of the way we set things up in December, Q1 of 2022 is set to be the most intentional Q1 we've ever had!
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New Roles and People We Brought On the Team (Two We’ve Been Waiting 6 Years to Do!)Our business has been growing and scaling up tremendously in the last few months. While it’s been an adjustment, it's also been incredibly exciting growing our team and reassessing our needs and positions. The first position we were actively hiring for was a program manager, who would ensure that our clients always get what they need. Our top priority is making sure our clients are successful. We have very clear ideas and metrics on what success looks like for our clients. Because this is of such importance to us, we wanted to make sure that our program goals, and client success, would never be put on the back-burner or be considered secondary to anything else. Regardless of what we’re working towards personally, we wanted someone that would be 100% focused on client success at all times. This was a massive driver for why we brought on a program manager. We wanted to ensure that our clients would always be top of mind!
We interviewed loads of extremely qualified candidates, and ultimately decided to internally promote an existing member of our team. We’re so excited for all of you to continue to get to know Caitlin. She has a tremendous amount of enthusiasm, dedication, and love for what we’re doing. She has already shown so much promise in this new role and we can’t wait to see how she grows! She really cares about what we're trying to achieve and is invested in our mission just as much as we are.
Our next bit of hiring felt like it had been a long time coming. Two members of our team have been contractors for a good long while, and Miranda has been with us for many years in a variety of positions, everything from community management in our Facebook group, to blog writing, to tech management, to answering email, and all sorts of things! We’re delighted to announce that she now has a hybrid role that is split between copywriting for our website and emails and serving as our program and tech assistant. She’s making sure that everything behind the scenes is connected! The fact that we were able to hire her full time, was due in no small part to the success of our Incubator program and our launch.
Two other major hires have been both of our partners, Jared and Bryan, coming onboard. Many of our listeners will know Jared from previous episodes and also because, for years, we called him our best unpaid volunteer. He went from primarily posting on social media to really demanding that our entire department be developed and become a more holistic ecosystem that supports the whole business. We transitioned to a contractor over the summer so that we could truly start to bring our marketing department back in-house and work on that full-time.
Through a fortuitous culmination of circumstances, it also became apparent that Emylee’s partner, Bryan, would fit perfectly into a full-time role that we desperately needed! At the time he was becoming increasingly frustrated with the way things were going at his company, and when we realized we needed someone with exactly his skill set to step up he was able to slot in perfectly! It was actually incredible how quickly it all happened!
Two New Programs We Invested in and Our Thoughts on How to Filter to Find the Right MentorOne of the things that defined 2021, which many of you will probably be aware of, is that we started a whole bunch of continued learning experiences. We decided that in 2021, we were going to be intentional about growth and learning new things. We decided to invest in two new things this December. The first concerned leadership. We started doing some digging and asked around with our coach as well as some of the programs we’re in, for recommendations on reading material, podcasts, programs, etc.
We finally settled on a program by Makeda Andrews called The New Manager Accelerator Program. Essentially it’s for you to put your managers through if you are the CEO or owner of a company. However, we still wanted something specifically for us in executive leadership positions. Executive leadership is only slightly different from management, but there are still a few key distinctions. So we reached out to Makeda and asked whether, in addition to training our managers, we could work on something for executive leadership. She ended up putting together a great five-week program for us, that we are currently about to wrap up. It’s been immensely helpful and very rewarding!
The next thing we did was similar but took things to the next level. We joined a mastermind and reinvested with our coach. She’s someone who we resonate with on many levels, from her outlook on life to her incredible brain to her overall approach to life and business. This is also something we’ve learned from working with coaches and mentors. We’ve noticed time and again that it’s really important to find someone where you respect and value their approach to business and life. Because then you’re much more likely to be in alignment. We believe that’s a critical piece of advice when investing in a coach or mentor, because if you don't like how they are living, then you're probably not going to like how they're working.
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I think we've made massive, massive strides towards creating a work culture that is rewarding.
Quote This via @BossProjectHQ How Working Too Many Days in December Shaped Our Time-Off Policy for 2022Our December this year was pretty hectic - we were closed for only three days! In the past, we’ve always taken a substantial amount of time off in December, but this year was different because there was just so much intentional preparation and work that needed to be done. Because December was so busy, the first thing we did when we mapped out our launch calendar for 2022, was schedule time off. In the past, with just the two of us, scheduling time off has been pretty flexible, but with our growing team, we’ve had to take a much more structured approach to it. We decided to do a combination of intentional closures for everyone on the whole team, as well as blackout dates where we expect everyone to be in the office.
We feel like we've made massive strides towards creating a rewarding work culture. We are highly cognizant of the fact that if you continually go at this high pace you will burn out, so we intentionally build in busy seasons, as well as seasons of relaxation. We are planning to get a huge amount of work done in 2022 and we cannot wait to tell you all of the things that we've accomplished in January. We hope this little sneak peek into our December gave you a clue of how intentional we are being in 2022. This is quite possibly the biggest growth we've experienced in the history of our business and we’re so excited for where it will take us!
Highlights New Roles and People We Brought On the Team (Two We’ve Been Waiting 6 Years to Do!)[0:04:17] * Two New Programs We Invested in and Our Thoughts on How to Filter to Find the Right Mentor [0:25:01] * How Working Too Many Days in December Shaped Our Time-Off Policy for 2022 [0:48:18]*
Episode 606: Show Notes One of our biggest pet peeves is watching people let their time escape from them. Time is our most valuable resource, yet it is the thing that we see people giving away freely all the time. In today’s episode, we are going to talk about the three biggest time wasters that really hold service providers back from being more productive. It is possible to work less while earning more at the same time!
There’s a mindset amongst many business owners that if they’re not busy, they’re doing something wrong, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. There are always going to be moments where you’re feeling frazzled and overwhelmed, but that doesn’t have to be your reality all the time. If you listen to this episode and resonate with what we’re saying, go to bossproject.com/incubator to sign up for our How to Double Your Income Working Less than 20 Hours Per Week workshop; you won’t regret it!
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Our Take on “Getting Stuff Off Your Plate” You’re not that good at all the things you’re doing. Sorry if that is hard for some of you to hear, but it’s the truth. There are things that you are brilliant at, and you should keep doing those. But then there are things that you really should not be wasting your time on, and instead, you should be implementing automated systems, or hiring other people to do it for you.
We too often hear the phrase, “I don’t have time to make time.” If you keep saying that, that is going to be your reality, but we’re here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be that way. If you can change your mindset to understand that you don’t have to have your finger on every single button in your business, we can help you take your business to the next level!
Benefits of the Hybrid System That We Use at Boss Project Our happy sauce is a hybrid of manual and automated systems. In the last 90 days, we’ve grown our MRR by 25%, we’ve brought on and trained four new team members, and we’ve made a massive shift in the systems behind our business. In the last 30 days, our ten-person team has completed 24,000 tasks, but we all have more time on our hands than ever before because of the systems that we have put in place! We had a day where we did absolutely everything manually and on that day everything felt like an emergency. But since we put proper systems in place, we don’t ever have to worry about the little things that just take up unnecessary space in our heads, and we can put all of our time and energy into the places that matter.
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You have to be willing to let go of everyone else's opinions about how and where your boundaries should be.
Quote This via @BossProjectHQ Learning How To Set Boundaries Understanding your boundaries, communicating those clearly to the people around you, and staying true to them are some of the key pieces involved in running a successful business that makes you feel fulfilled. It took us a long time to learn how to do this, but now it’s one of our superpowers! Your business should be built on a foundation of your boundaries. If you haven’t set up boundaries in your business, you’ll end up feeling frustrated and resentful towards the systems or the people around you, and putting the blame elsewhere, where in fact, all you need is a bit more structure and a few more boundaries. In this episode, we’re going to share some of the boundaries that we’ve set in our business, but there are so many different ways of doing things, and you have to figure out what works for YOU. Don’t let anyone else dictate what boundaries you should be putting in place; it’s a personal decision!
Doubling Down Instead of Diversifying Are you running two businesses at the same time? We know from first-hand experience how that can happen without you even realizing it. It’s easy to convince yourself that when something is working well, you should diversify in order to do better and make more. But in fact, there are so many ways to iterate and build on and perfect your original offering that diversification is often not the way to go, and doubling down is more likely than not the option that is going to take you where you want to be!
Highlights * Our Take on “Getting Stuff Off Your Plate.” [0:06:33.1] * Benefits of the Hybrid System That We Use At Boss Project. [0:11:18.1] * Learning How To Set Boundaries. [0:21:31.1] * Doubling Down Instead of Diversifying. [0:35:41.1]
Episode 605: Show NotesThe opinions we share in this conversation might make you uncomfortable, and that’s okay! Today’s show addresses one of the patterns we’ve seen emerge among our clients: their goals are amazing, but the path they intend to take to get there keeps them playing small. This week we dive into the top scaling mistakes we see businesses make.
Getting distracted with new ideas is a common mistake we see as a business owner’s success accelerates. It is easy for them to neglect the health of their core mission and chase shiny objects.
We’ll brainstorm with you, regardless of how you intend to move forward, but we do have some hard-earned insights that suggest that staying focused on the skillset you have and knowing your value can lead you to a place where growth becomes potential. You CAN find the time and money freedom you’ve been dreaming of; it’s never too late to get back to your zone of genius, or to change, transition, and pivot to work on what you should be working on!
We’re here to give you the tough-love talk you may need as a one-to-many model business owner. It’s so important to continually ask yourself, “What is it that you want out of what you’re doing?” Once you’ve done that, you need to do the math!
We can’t tell you what to believe, but your audit of what you’re already doing certainly can. We’ve made mistakes along the way, and we want to help you avoid the same ones we made, which is totally possible. You can carve out a way forward that leads to your growth rather than inhibiting it, with the right strategy for scaling up! Here’s how.
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The hard truth for struggling one-to-many model business owners to hear Many people struggle with this particular hurdle, and the problems it creates are far from small! Most of our clients are prepared to dream big. That’s one of the reasons we’re so disappointed when we hear how they plan to achieve their goals.
Time and again we’ve spoken with prospective clients looking to leave their jobs and start or grow a business, and almost all of them have very similar things in common:
- They are frustrated with their jobs.
- They have a vision of what they want their new business to look like.
- They want freedom in how they spend their time.
- They want to be able to work from anywhere.
- They want to have a small but mighty team.
- They don’t want to sacrifice the income from their current job.
It’s all too common that folks want to start with ridiculously low price points. And the result? Working far too hard for way too little money, getting stuck in a job you hate, and getting totally burnt out. If more people continued to work at the business they actually started, with the skillset they’re highly trained in, and they didn’t stray so far from where they began, then they would reach their goals so much faster!
Tough-love talk all struggling one-to-many model business owners need to hearWe made this mistake! Our first membership was a $17 a month membership. We ended up creating enough content for $200 a month. Needless to say, this wasn’t viable! We want to help you to avoid the same mistakes, which is why we’re dishing out some tough love! Firstly, there’s no better way to map out how to get to where you want to be than simply doing the math. You don’t have to believe us, but you can believe the numbers. Secondly, don’t discount your own skill level and the amount of work you do on a daily basis. We have all been convinced that the only way to reach time and money freedom is to leave services and have a one-to-many model. That’s just not true! If you stay focused on the skillset you already have, you don’t have to do that!
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If more people continued to work at the business they actually started, with the skillset they’re highly trained in, and they didn’t stray so far from where they began, then they would reach their goals so much faster!
Quote This via @BossProjectHQ How to actually achieve the goals you say you want to achieve (not just financially!) Why are we only starting to talk about the seven-figure business owner now? Sometimes having a higher price point means having a higher level of investment from your clients. Once you’ve identified what it is that you want, it’s time to look at the root of what you actually offer to get you there. When you truly decide to serve less people, then growth becomes potential for you! It’s not the vehicle that’s the thing. It’s what you’ve learned because of it. There is no version of ‘it’s too late’ to make that happen! When you feel this wave of simplification, of a clear intention coming to you, it is such a relief! Feelings of scarcity inhibit growth. A mindset of abundance changes everything, and we’re here to help you get back to that zone of genius.
Highlights * The biggest mistake highly-skilled service providers make when they want grow [0:01:46] * Tough-love talk all struggling one-to-many model business owners need to hear [0:05:40] * How to actually achieve the goals you say you want to achieve (not just financially!) [0:18:43]
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Episode 604: Show Notes Let’s start by saying it’s okay to be wherever you find yourself in your financial journey! This one is for those of us who are working our faces off on the back end, and not seeing this translate to profits. Maybe you’ve already identified your first baby step to start working towards your goal. Today’s episode is about identifying your goals and putting them into action. We’re here to equip you with the tools you need to put those steps into action with a long-term goal in mind, from identifying what you want out of it, to learning what you need to learn to grow a healthy business.
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The Difference Between a Lifestyle Business Model and Growth Business Model There’s a common misconception that offering premium, exclusive, and excellent customer experience has to be high dollar. That’s simply not true! The margins available to service-based businesses are simply so much higher than they are to a product-based business or even a one-to-many model because of the simple costs involved with running a day-to-day business. It’s so important to ask yourself what you want out of your business. Are you running a business to fund the lifestyle that you want? Or are you mission-focused for long-term growth and sustainability? Both are totally okay! But each one requires different things to survive and thrive.
The Life Lessons we had to Learn First in Order to Grow a Healthy Business How amazing is this? You get to decide exactly what to do with your business based on what your needs are right now, and those needs change because you’re human and you’re evolving and you’re growing. For the first two years of running our business, we focused on lifestyle needs, and then we moved on to growth, which looked really different in year one and year two. Giving yourself the opportunity for exposure will give you the courage you need to do new and different things. You can make your own choice according to which direction you want to go in.
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You just get to decide based on what your needs are right now and those needs change because you’re human and you’re evolving and you’re growing.
Quote This via @BossProjectHQ The Biggest Result of Deliberately Choosing Less Profit Profit is not a bad thing! Money is not a bad thing. It all depends on how you use it. So if we’re looking at running a for-profit business, on purpose, then we need to be planning for profit. When we consider profit, that needs to be informed by need. Working with clients again and really being in the weeds with their pricing and profits has really shown us that we are barely pricing to break even! We’re picking prices out of thin air and finding ourselves constantly stressed out because we’re not adding the margin we need. What we need to be considering is profit margin and revenue. Everything else can change. You get to decide!
Highlights * The Difference Between a Lifestyle Business Model and Growth Business Model [0:04:05] * [0:10:24] * Why You Get to Decide on Your Business Goals According to What You Need [0:19:33] * The Biggest Result of Deliberately Choosing Less Profit [0:04:22]
Episode 603: Show Notes We've been hearing the term 'financial freedom’ a lot within our community within the past year. But what does that mean and how do we achieve it? Too many people are looking at financial freedom in the wrong way; it’s not something that you suddenly wake up with one morning, there are various milestones along the journey. In today’s episode we’re going to break down what these milestones could look like for you, and what you should avoid while seeking financial freedom.
Boss Project is here to serve you, and a major part of our personal mission is to help you achieve financial freedom so that you can reach your big goals and thrive! We’re not here just to teach you how to make more money, we want to give you the financial education necessary to build the life you truly want!
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The Purpose Of “Money Milestones” And How They Can Keep You Motivated Financial freedom is all about choice. When you can choose how to spend your money and when, without worrying about the implications, you are financially free, and that freedom of choice can continuously expand as your business grows. For us, an example of a very tangible milestone was when we reached the point where we could order take-outs any night of the week and we knew it wasn’t going to negatively affect us. Financial freedom looks different for everyone, and there are so many micro-steps along the journey that, if you recognize and acknowledge them, can make you feel confident that you are heading in the right direction and therefore keep you inspired to continue!
Looking Back On Your History With Money Your upbringing and life experiences have a huge impact on the way you deal with money, and sometimes this can become a completely subconscious practice. If you don’t address these from a conscious perspective, you’re unlikely to be able to change the trajectory of your life. If you really take the time to think about how far you’ve come from where you started, you’ll probably be pleasantly surprised at the seemingly simple things which are actual proof that you’re making huge strides on your journey! Give yourself some credit; any improvement is progress! When we look back and reflect on our lives, some of the things that have signaled to us that we’re on track to reaching our financial freedom goals include ordering appetizers and desserts at restaurants, and when the dollar-spot at Target became less appealing! You’ll hear about where we were 10 years ago in comparison to where we are now, and we’re hoping that our stories keep you motivated, because if we did it, you can too!
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Financial freedom is the freedom of choice, for you to have the ability to choose how you spend your money and when, and that choice gets to expand over time.
Quote This via @BossProjectHQ The Benefits Of Having Financial Freedom Financial freedom provides time freedom, freedom of choice of where you live, what you buy, what you eat, even freedom of health. When you’re setting goals, set them for a few months, rather than a few years. Find something that you can tie a bit of freedom to, that is massively motivating to you. It is so important that the people in your life support your big goals, and at the same time it’s also important to have the small goals which are totally you-focused, and that nobody else even really needs to know about. The bottom line is that you need to make your money work for you, not the other way around!
The 3 Things You Need To Do Before You Can Create Your Financial Freedom Game Plan Before you start working on your financial freedom game plan, you need to create a sense of gratitude and appreciation for where you’ve come from, be willing to reframe the way you look at what other people have (the only thing you should be focusing on is your own journey, not the journey that anybody else is on), and start to think about the small goals that have the ability to snowball into a whole new life without you even realizing!
Highlights * The Purpose Of “Money Milestones” And How They Can Keep You Motivated. [0:04:34] * Looking Back On Your History With Money. [0:07:12] * The Benefits Of Having Financial Freedom. [0:31:10] * The 3 Things You Need To Do Before You Can Create Your Financial Freedom Game Plan. [0:40:50]
Episode 602: Show Notes The new year is fast approaching, and with it comes excitement, planning, and a whole of strategizing! We want to take all the things that worked so well in 2021, and carry it over into 2022. One of the biggest changes we’ve experienced in the last 12 months, is taking on a host of new full-time employees and growing our team! Soon, our full-time employees will even outnumber our regular contractors! It’s been really exciting expanding our business family, and we’ve learned a lot in the process.
To prepare for 2022 we’ve brain dumped all our anxieties and aspirations for the coming year onto paper, and blocked out our calendar accordingly. This is the biggest team we’ve ever worked with and we’re excited to take a far more structured approach to scheduling time-off, holidays, and blackout days. We’re taking everything we’ve integrated into our lives about how we run our business and are passing it on to the team. To learn more about our trajectory for 2022 and how we’ll be growing our business, tune in today!
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How We Planned Out Our Entire Year in Less Than 30 Minutes Have you ever tried getting all your ideas and anxieties down on paper? It’s a fantastic method for gaining perspective and calming down your stressful thoughts. You can think of it as a kind of ‘brain dump’ exercise, and we love using it, especially when we’re feeling overwhelmed. The exercise entails putting to paper everything you want, and need, to get done before a deadline and then prioritizing the most important ones. Once you have everything on paper, you can begin to categorize your goals according to their urgency. To prepare for the new year, we prioritized our goals by asking ourselves when they needed to be done; what would be nice to get done, but not urgent; and what could be moved to the following year.
Initially, we’ve used this method on a much smaller scale. We had even asked our team to do it with their specific tasks at the time in order to give us insight into what was going on in their brains. It was a great way for us to get on the same page and help them evaluate whether their priorities were aligned with ours. The exercise was so effective that we decided to institute it on a much larger scale and use it to plan for 2022! At the end of November 2021, we wrote out major things we wanted to accomplish and pay attention to in 2022. It’s important to note that this wasn’t granular planning, but rather major marketing events and milestones that we wanted to focus on. These were definitely things that we knew we had to put on a calendar! So we could back up, and get a broad view of how we needed to plan to effectively accomplish those things.
The Thing We Added to Our Calendar Before Anything Else When we did our planning for 2022, we put things in a couple of categories. First, we wanted to map out time off, before moving on to major events, and then finally schedule prompts to remind us to work on new projects. This will no doubt look different for you, depending on what stage your business is at, but you should plan according to what feels right to you! One of the most important things to do first when laying out your calendar is to plan your boundaries. We’re finding it very useful to become more intentional about our planning, especially since our team has grown so much this year! In our experience, it’s been extremely beneficial when we're leading up to a launch, as well as during a launch, to have our whole team here and focused while working on that particular event.
We assessed that if we’re going to be asking our team to commit to our launch dates then we need to communicate that. And if we’re asking our team for that type of commitment, then we need to find ways to surprise and delight throughout the year and create space for rest and recovery. To address this, we decided to pull up the calendar for the entire year and prioritize the scheduling of breaks, long weekends, and extended breaks for the whole company, before mapping out anything else. This is very different from how we’ve done things in the past, but we’re excited to see how it all turns out! We want our team to be in sync, and laying out a plan for the year with a substantial amount of scheduled breaks feels like an excellent way to empower them to do just that.
How We Communicate Expectations With the Team for the Year Communication is a game-changer in getting the results that you want, while also having fun while you're doing it! Because we want our entire team to be present when we’re doing a launch, we instituted a ‘no time off request’ during those times, namely leading up to a launch, the launch itself, and then a couple of days after the launch. For some events that will mean five days, and for others, it might be fourteen days. These brief periods are sprinkled throughout the year with plenty of advance notice. We thought it would be fair to give our team a heads up on when we’d be doing big promotions because they’d want to be here for those things too. We want to make sure that we give our team plenty of warning so that they don’t schedule anything else during those times. We’ve also used our employee handbook to communicate that we plan to do our scheduling in quarterly installments.
All of this is very new to us, because we’ve never had a team this size, and we’ve never been quite this structured in our planning and scheduling days off. So this year we’re going to be presenting the team with a one-page PDF about important dates, blackout dates, launch dates, and time off. We’ve outlined all those dates on a handy one-page printout, that they can take in at a glance and reference throughout the year.
Should You Schedule a Summer Break? For years we’ve talked about taking an intentional summer break and scheduling time off, and this year it’s finally happening! It is on the calendar! It's a team-wide office closure for approximately two weeks. It feels like a very grown-up decision to be making, but with the right preparation, we believe it’ll prove to be a wonderful and regenerative decision for us and our team. Even though the thought of taking intentional time off during the middle of the year feels like a bold and nerve-racking decision, there’s actually a lot of logic to it. It’s a slow spot in the year anyway, especially when you think about the fact that most people tend to travel during this time and take time off before the kids go back to school. We figured that instead of trying to force something, we should just lean into it! We’ve taken everything we’ve integrated into our lives regarding how we run our business, and attempted to pass it on to our team as a gift.
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Communication is like the game-changer in getting the results that you want, and having fun while you're doing it.
Quote This via @BossProjectHQ How to Plan a Retreat for a Team of Introverts Our team is made up almost entirely of introverts. And this will play a big role in how we structure the team retreat we’re planning this year! We want to be sure to give people time to recharge afterward and also include activities that folks can all enjoy together and bond over, like having a chef come over and teaching everyone how to make a delicious, challenging, and exciting new meal! While we have no idea what exactly we’ll be doing for the team retreat this year, we knew we had to schedule it on our calendar to ensure that we actually do it!
How to Plan for Onboarding and New Hires One of the things we love about how 2022 is panning out, is the fact that we have super clear revenue goals. We know exactly what steps we need to take to reach them, and we’re fully aware of the conversion metrics we need to hit in order to get there. We’re also proud of how we’ve integrated seasons of rest with seasons of more intense, intentional work. We’ve noticed that the part of the coming year that we’re most excited about, but also intimidated by, is being aware of the trajectory we’re on, while also strategically growing the team. What we’ve learned so far from the hiring process, is that it takes somewhere between 60 and 90 days to fully onboard a new hire. This means we need to factor in at least two months of adjustment when we take on a new hire.
Highlights * How We Planned Out Our Entire Year in Less Than 30 Minutes. [0:01:34] * The Thing We Added to Our Calendar Before Anything Else. [0:04:53] * How We Communicate Expectations With the Team for the Year. [0:13:23] * Should You Schedule a Summer Break? [0:17:43] * How to Plan a Retreat for a Team of Introverts [0:20:55] * How to Plan for Onboarding and New Hires [0:23:58]
Episode 601: Show NotesA year is a long time, and you forget some things that happened throughout the year. We consistently overestimate what we can accomplish in a short period of time, and dramatically underestimate what we can achieve in a long period of time. A lot can happen in a year! We’re taking a walk down memory lane to discuss the things that have happened throughout the year!
While we feel mostly like the same people, we’re coming from a different starting point at the end of 2021 than at the beginning. There’s some irony to the decisions we made this year. This year, we decided not to grow, but to maintain the business that we had. We needed a breather. Despite that being true, we grew topline revenue by nearly 20%. The lesson? We don’t give rest the credit it deserves! That period of rest was a lot more significant than we give it credit for and it prepared us for easily the busiest year we’ve ever had.
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The Highs and Lows of 2021 (and how we almost sold part of our company!)Kicking off 2021 with a season of rest has also been important for us to see what was necessary to run our business, and what we want from it. It also made us realize that we wanted to bring in another partner! So we got our company evaluated, and even considered selling a third of our business. Ultimately, all parties agreed to not move forward with the sale! From day one, we’ve had a specific look and feel for every piece of content we have produced. But this became labor-intensive, so we outsourced a marketing team. That didn’t last very long! It wasn’t working for anyone involved, but we knew we needed support to bring it back in house. So we brought the Marketing Team back in house by bringing in Abagail’s husband to assist us. His role has grown, and it’s been a great decision! Support we’re in control of versus outsourcing is just completely different.
Project Management and Expert SupportWe’ve created new SOPs and built out a new project management system in order to run things smoothly from the inside. While it’s important to be in control of your own systems, having a project manager goes a long way to support your efficiency! One of the other things we did to maximize our output was to get a tax strategist involved. We weren’t financially ready when we hired a tax strategist. But six months down the line, we were! You need to have enough money to be able to implement the tax strategies that the team shares with you. This was still a really beneficial decision for us and we’re glad we did it.
Another amazing thing we did this year was to reinvest in coaching after taking two years to get in tune with our own intuition. One of the things that’s come out of that, that we’ve been really strategic about how to add value to our co-op. Our favorite way to do this, because it’s our zone of genius, is the subscriber-only podcast that we offer to our members. We have loved seeing the 54% rise in membership revenue that has followed. In the same scheme that we’ve wanted to bring marketing in-house, we’ve wanted to bring income in-house, and that’s why this year we have cut ties with some of our affiliates. The result? We’ve earned three times the affiliate income that we did last year!
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I want you guys to see how ‘all in’ we are, and I want you to see how important your success is to us and our families.
Quote This via @BossProjectHQ Lessons Learned from Intentionally Deciding that Less is More Living and working as the most authentic versions of ourselves gave us an opportunity to refocus. What became really clear was that our mission has never actually changed, and our values have been really strong, but we haven’t always let that light shine! This is what lead to us making a change to our signature program, and ultimately sunset Strategy Academy to launch the Incubator in October! The launch of this product DOUBLED our MRR in just five days and set us up to scale going into 2022.
One Big, Major Personal Update that's Going to Change our Lives ForeverWith big growth comes big restructuring! We’re so happy we decided to work with clients again after 4 and half years. We have completely restructured our work chart, from just two to seven employees. We don’t know everything, and it’s great to have people on board who do. And this all happened in the last quarter! We completely restructured and it was a little crazy, but we worked with an HR consultant who gave us the guidance we needed. That’s why we started to develop departments. Bringing in Abbie’s spouse has been a huge game-changer, and we’re in discussions about bringing Emylee’s husband in 2022!
Highlights * The Highs and Lows of 2021 [0:05:00] * Project Management and Expert Support [0:05:00] * Lessons Learned from Intentionally Deciding that Less is More [0:27:17] * One Big, Major Personal Update that's Going to Change our Lives Forever [0:58:00]
Episode 600: Show Notes Welcome back to another profit report! We’re going back in time to talk about November 2021. We’ve been doing these profit reports for over two years, and we can’t believe how time has flown by! For those who are new to the profit report, in these episodes, we offer a breakdown of our strategies and decisions, as well as insights into how money moves around within a company like ours. It allows you to gain an informed perspective on what it looks like to grow a company of our size, and hear insider conversations about things like healthy profit margins and expenses.
Today, we talk about our launch in October and how it has affected our November profits, including recurring revenue from people who made purchases in October. We unpack some of the exciting changes we’ve made, particularly when it comes to budgeting and reimagining how we’re going to continue to grow and scale. You’ll also hear about why a lot of this comes down to hiring and how we make decisions around that based on projections of client needs and outcomes. Tune in for a detailed breakdown of our profit report, insights into our goals for next year, and why we are so excited to grow!
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Balancing New Hires with Profit MarginsIn the past, we’ve been super fastidious about profit margin percentage, sticking to 30 percent. While we have particular goals for 2022, we’ve decided to be less worried about achieving a specific number and accept that this is a new season for us! It may sound strange, but we’re learning that it’s okay to have these kinds of seasons, when we may intentionally use a strategy where we plan for less profit for two or three months, and then see a surge of revenue, putting us in a new category.
This has been important for us to keep in mind when hiring. In the past, we've definitely hired and tried to prepare for growth before we were really ready. While it has been a bit nerve-racking hiring for what we expect we’re going to need in three months, it’s months like these where we see a surge in revenue that helps these decisions make sense. The boost in revenue gives you the padding to grow and keep going. Hiring decisions have also been greatly helped by how our business model has evolved to the point where adding two or three new clients can now justify a new hire, thanks to the high rates clients are willing to pay for our high-end services.
How Our Business Has Evolved to Better Serve Our Clients The way we're building our business, and the way we're teaching our clients to build their business is specifically a mixture of cash injections and building sustainable revenue. At a certain point, we need to take on new hires in order to handle more clients and keep the same level of service and experience. The fact that we have more contact with our clients is giving us the ability to make a bigger impact on people and we don’t need to work with as many people to see results in our business. As a result, the growth that we’re referring to is much more sustainable since our client contracts are 12 months long. We’re going to need to make different decisions further down the line but, for now, we’re in build mode and growing into what our client capacity CAN look like!
How Team Energy Can Impact the Results of a Launch (and Lessons Learned) This year, with our October launch and Black Friday following shortly after, our teams had their tasks split across two different projects. We had the support to run both products extremely well and everyone knew what they needed to do and needed to accomplish, but it was an interesting experiment to observe how our teams functioned differently when their focus was split versus when we’re all in sync and working on the same project. We have learned a lot from this experiment, but those lessons will differ from business to business and team to team! One of the biggest lessons we learned about why it was slightly disconnected was that the approach was out of alignment with our team culture. It was counter-intuitive for us to do a promotion in the middle of one of the biggest family events of the entire year. We realized that when everyone else is being loud (which is very much the case with Black Friday!), then we should be quiet.
The Co-op, Our Incubator, and How to Be Decisive About Paid Advertising The way things have turned out over the last few months is very much in alignment with where we expected them to be. Our heads are still reeling and it’s quite shocking to be here in what theoretically is month two of this new product. We’ve doubled our MRR in five days, which makes sense when you look at our percentages, since the Co-op was technically the only recurring revenue we had. In November the Co-op was 40 percent, the incubator was 43 percent, and our affiliate income was 10 percent. This is exactly the product mix that we were aiming for and, based on our trajectory, the incubator is expected to scale much faster than the Co-op, although it’s important to bear in mind that they comprise two entirely different price points. Mentally, we’re prepared for that and we’re super excited to see how things progress into the next year!
We also learned a valuable lesson when it comes to our spin. We had planned to spend a hefty amount on paid advertising in November but, 48 hours into our cycle, we decided it wasn’t worth it and pulled EVERYTHING! This was partly due to the fact that we had decided to be much better at making quick decisions when it comes to spending, and that helped us make this choice much easier. The problem was not in our adverts or our planning; it was the landscape of advertising itself. The world of paid ads is currently very volatile. In the past, Facebook was much more focused on helping small businesses, but that has steadily changed over the past four years. It’s also very difficult to plan your costs and outcomes with paid advertising since it fluctuates so much depending on how many people are currently looking to advertise. And during a period like Black Friday, when behemoths like Amazon have an endless budget for advertising, the smart move is often to exit the paid advertising race entirely because it’s so difficult to stand out amongst the noise! In the past, we’ve spent up to 30 percent on advertising, and, this year, we brought it all the way down to 12 percent.
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The way we're building our business and the way we're teaching our clients to build their business is specifically a mixture of cash injections and building sustainable revenue.
Quote This via @BossProjectHQ Why We Want Our Clients to Have Freedom of Choice We want our clients to experience the absolute freedom of being able to choose what they can do for their business; like being able to turn down work because you are fully aware of your capacity. Or deliberately choosing to acquire more work because you know that you’re ready to grow and you have the necessary motivation and support in place. Having that freedom of choice is honestly one of the biggest gifts we’ve ever received. And we LOVE seeing that in our clients!
The first sign that this is starting to happen is when a client feels like they have the agency to say no to a client that doesn’t align with them, whereas in the past, they would have jumped at the opportunity because of the financial appeal or the chance at exposure. This doesn’t necessarily mean that all your clients need to be exactly the same. Instead, it could mean taking on clients who share your values, fit well with your team, and communicate in a way that makes sense to you. We want you to be able to decide how you filter your ideal client and then have the freedom and luxury to make that choice and feel comfortable with it!
Contractors, Employees, Growth, and How We Reached Our Goals! One major thing we’ve learned this year is that sometimes you need to pay yourself more to increase motivation. That extended to our team and showing our appreciation there. One of the specific goals that we had prioritized was to turn one of our long-time contractors into a full-time employee. We each had very specific metrics for when we would be able to make that transition, and it was tremendously exciting for us when we achieved those metrics on DAY ONE of the launch! We were so ecstatic at having reached this goal, and we were celebrating together even if our team wasn’t aware of it yet! That benefit of being able to make new offers for our team and grow in a certain way has been a highly motivating factor for us.
In terms of our team and expenses, we were super on target this year. Our target for a while has been to have 30 percent be spent on our team, which is exactly what we achieved. It was split up across contractors at 18 percent and employees at 12 percent. One interesting trend we noticed is that, up until this point, contractors have always outweighed employees, and they still did in November, but the gap has slowly been closing. This will probably be the last month where contractors outweigh employees in our business. It's an unusual feeling, but it’s also a very exciting transition for us!
That being said, we have a few niche contractors that we never expect to do without, and they will always be a part of our number every month. In other news, our profit margin this month was a full 34 percent, making it one of our best months ever; and not just from a profit margin percentage, but also the full dollar amount!
Highlights * How to Balance New Hires and Healthy Profit Margins [0:03:46] * How Our Business Has Evolved to Better Serve Our Clients [0:07:50] * How Team Energy Can Impact the Results of a Launch (and Lessons Learned) [0:12:07] * The Co-op, Our Incubator, and How to Be Decisive About Paid Advertising [0:28:03] * Why We Want Our Clients to Have Freedom of Choice [32:58] * Contractors, Employees, Growth, and How We Reached Our Goals! [37:08]
Episode 599: Show Notes This week on the Strategy Hour podcast, we discuss how to create benefits that will attract top talent while also allowing your company to thrive. Running your business can often put you in situations where you have to compromise, but that doesn’t mean those compromises have to be permanent. Once you reach the point where you can take on new staff, you can begin to ask yourself what benefits you can offer versus what you want to offer. It won’t happen overnight, but setting out goals that build towards your vision for your company can be incredibly motivating!
Hiring new staff can come with a series of unanticipated costs outside of their salaries, like taxes and opening new 401K plans. While it may seem overwhelming at first, a little planning goes a long way. We’ve benefited greatly from having expert consultants advise us on how to take on new hires, from accountants to help us with cash flow, to HR’s advice on how to structure maternity leave and healthcare benefits. It’s been incredibly exciting entering this stage of our business, where we can grow our work community and set goals for how we can support our employees in every aspect of their lives! We fully believe that you are so much more than your job and your career, and we want to support all those elements from family, to friends, to health and alternative medicine.
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How to Create an Ethical Work Environment With Amazing Benefits 2021 was a big year for us. Both of us were excited and ready to take on new hires, but we wanted to do it in a way that supported our employees and enabled them to grow and thrive. We asked ourselves what tools we should use as a company to increase clarity in our communication, to set expectations, to highlight benefits, and to keep evolving as the CEOs and the owners of a business. At the same time, we had to do it within budget while maintaining healthy margins. Since we don’t have endless resources we had to find a happy medium while laying out plans for how we would reach our goals for providing more comprehensive and better benefits.
The first step is taking the pulse of your company and determining what you can provide. When you’re first approaching hiring new employees, it can be very easy to get caught up in the base salary number. But if you’re truly planning for growth, then you need to identify what the whole package will look like. One of the things that we didn't anticipate, the first time we tried to do this years ago, was the additional costs outside of salary that it takes to bring an employee, like tax, opening a 401K, and insurance. That’s why you need to make sure you have the cash flow to support not just new salaries, but all of the associated costs. A good rule that takes this into account, is to budget for 20% above a base salary since that gives you room to explore benefits options as well as cover unforeseen costs.
This is an opportunity to reflect on what your policies are, what you’d like them to be, and what is important to you as a business owner. We took the opportunity to ask ourselves what we wanted our company culture to look like and how we could support that with benefits that align with our policies.
How to Identify What You Can Offer Now and What You Can Scale Up to As Your Company Grows You should be asking yourself, not just what benefits you can afford to offer right now, but what you want to offer in the future as you grow and scale up. We benefited tremendously from working with a consultant to help us develop our employee handbook and put into writing a lot of the things we were already doing. Throughout that process, we worked with our financial advisor and our accountant to explore what other benefits could look like. They are integral to helping you figure out what you can afford, what is realistic, and what’s expected above and beyond. Advisors can help with important legal and cultural steps that need to happen, which is why it’s so beneficial to consult with a Human Resources specialist so you don’t rely on assumptions or misinformation! Specialists are also great resources for figuring out, not just what you want your benefits to look like at this stage but what you’d like to aspire to in the next six months to six years.
Shifting Your Mindset to Collective Dependence So much of our approach to benefits has been about focusing on collective dependence, which we have continuously explored with our coach. Since we’ve built a company that has done everything that we set out to do for ourselves as two individuals, we’ve come to the next stage where we’re looking to the next level. We’re moving our mission forward and focusing on clients and how to impact them on a deeper level while also creating a team culture. We want the people who work for our company to benefit from the lifestyle that we've built inside this special business! Remember that things can evolve as quickly or as slowly as you want, a lot of this stage of business is about shifting your mentality to the collective rising of your company, the culture, and the people within it.
Instituting a 401K and Helping Our Employees Plan for the Future We’ve given considerable thought to the benefits our company is offering and how they are allowing us to attract top talent. We want people to work here, not simply because of the work that we’re doing, but because it’s a place where they can have the certainty of knowing that they will be supported and have access to the types of things they need in order to be comfortable, content, and supported, while also having time and space to rest and prioritize their family and friends.
We’re extremely proud of the company 401K plan, with matching, which we instituted along with our new hires. It truly allows for people to not just think about today, and what their family needs now, but it also sets them up for the future. There’s a common misconception that you won’t have access to one when working for a small company, but we want people to realize that that’s not always the case. It is also possible for small companies to offer a retirement plan! All it takes is some conscious planning and budgeting. We are so excited about being able to offer this benefit and its ability to set our employees up for success!
Our Maternity Leave Policy and Why You Are More Than Your Job One integral benefit that we are super passionate about is a generous and expansive maternity leave policy. Whether you’re giving birth, adopting, or have a more complicated setup, we want to support our employees in their family life. We’ve had first-hand experience and extensive insight into the immense pressure families experience when they are restricted by a limited time-off policy. Despite being a small company, we modeled our maternity leave policy on a much larger corporation that we admire because their policy reflected our values. We believe that your job is not your identity and that ultimately, the goal of life is to foster relationships. That is why our maternity leave policy applies to so many different scenarios, whether you’re a mother, father, or have had a child come into your life in a completely alternative fashion!
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One of the things that we didn't anticipate, the first time we tried to do this literally years ago, was the additional costs outside of salary that it takes to bring an employee on.
Quote This via @BossProjectHQ Why We Love Employee Autonomy One of the benefits we’re most excited about affords our employees the autonomy to apply it to their life however they choose. We’ve opted for a flexible annual stipend to customize their experience with us. Our employees are extremely varied and therefore have a range of needs that we would struggle to cover in one comprehensive plan. Instead, the flexible annual stipend allows them to choose what they need from a whole range of categories of items and services that can be reimbursed. It includes things that are health and childcare related like babysitting, childcare, and fertility treatments, to broader needs like a gym membership or alternative medicine This is a great way to be inclusive of the variety of needs we see in our team. We have team members of all ages, some of them have kids and some of them don’t, and we also have members who are on their spouse’s insurance, while others are not. And so we had to ask ourselves: what does it look like to create something that everyone could benefit from?
Health Insurance and Beyond in 2022 Our goal is to eventually offer full health insurance coverage, and if things go according to plan that should be possible within the next six months to a year. This doesn’t mean we’ll be getting rid of the flexible annual stipend, because we want our employees to have access to the options that fall outside of traditional health coverage. This is especially relevant to our team since holistic wellness is a big part of our team culture. Getting healthy and staying healthy doesn’t always require the same things so we want our employees to have access to what works for them. Similarly, but concerning fitness, we included gym memberships, digital subscriptions, and even fitness equipment. We also have technological and office-related items that are included, like a new laptop, desk, chair, or microphone. It also includes personal development opportunities, like courses and retreats.
Highlights * How to Create an Ethical Work Environment With Amazing Benefits [0:04:22] * How to Identify What You Can Offer Now and What You Can Scale Up to As Your Company Grows [0:08:17] * Shifting Your Mindset to Collective Dependence [0:11:01] * Instituting a 401K and Helping Our Employees Plan for the Future [13:07] * Our Maternity Leave Policy and Why You Are More Than Your Job [24:43] * Why We Love Employee Autonomy [29:31] * Health Insurance and Beyond in 2022 [0:30:45]
Episode 598: Show Notes We have to get creative about how we manage human resources within a completely digital team that is just growing and growing! It’s been the wildest 6 months. You will go through seasons of your business where you are very sure about what you want and what you don’t want, but remember that you have the right to change your mind. What we wanted two years ago is not at all what we want right now, but we’re not mad about it. When you change your mind about something, it’s probably because you have learned more, or have more confidence or more skills in that particular area, and that is nothing to feel bad about! This episode is all about the mindset shift which led us to change something in our business that caused an unprecedented level of growth!
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The Lessons We Learned From Working With Contractors Over the Years And What Finally Made Us Switch To Employees A DM from a listener led to us hiring her as an HR consultant, first for three months, and then for another year. She really showed us what it could look like to have employees, and have it be healthy and feel good and structured and not scary. Contractors can get you really far in your business and they continue to serve us in various important ways in our business, but there is also a great benefit in hiring employees. If you are someone who has been working with contractors for a while and you’re feeling frustrated because you’re still very involved in monitoring a lot of the projects, then you might really benefit from having an employee. Contractors are best for solving very specific problems that you may be having within your business, but what we’ve learned is that when fulfilling your daily operations with employees is the best way to go!
The Results That Are Possible When You Have the Right Support In Place We had the vision, but we didn’t have the time or the support to make it happen. When you have strategic support, all of a sudden your vision can grow and what you can accomplish as a team and as a company will expand so much faster than you ever thought possible. That’s the experience that we had and we couldn’t believe it! In the very short space of four months, we went from 2 to 7 employees; we grew so fast that we had to pump the brakes on our business because it felt like it was going to explode!
Where We See Boss Project This Time Next Year Between July and October we 2x’d the business. Now, we are on track to 5x the business by the end of next year! We’re still trying to comprehend what this means, but what we do know is that we are about to enter into a major hiring season; if everything goes to plan we’re going to go from 7 to around 25 employees within the year. A wish that we have for ourselves is that we can go into our next phase of growth less frazzled than we did during our first growth phase. At the moment, we’re experiencing what it feels like to be fully supported, so what we’re focusing on is growing the business. With the right team, you have the capacity to exponentially grow your business, because you can do what you’re good at, and leave your team members in charge of the rest!
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Exponential growth is possible with the right amount of support and the right team.
Quote This via @BossProjectHQ The Best Things in Life Take Time You need to pay attention to what your actual revenue looks like, and when it expands you need to be aware of where that expansion is coming from. Contractors provide you with immediate results, but employees need to be trained and on-boarded and nurtured in order to contribute meaningfully to your business, so the results will not be immediate. In fact, we’ve found that there is likely to be at least a 90 day delay before you see the results from hiring full-time employees. But that’s a game that we now know is very worth playing, because the results have been so worth the wait!
Highlights * The Lessons We Learned From Working With Contractors Over the Years And What Finally Made Us Switch To Employees. [0:06:55] * The Results That Are Possible When You Have the Right Support In Place. [0:12:16] * Where We See Boss Project This Time Next Year. [0:15:32] * The Best Things in Life Take Time. [0:27:50]
Episode 597: Show Notes This week, we have a very exciting episode with Emylee, Abagail, and Abagail’s partner, Jared Pumphrey, who joined the team earlier this year as Boss Project’s Marketing Manager! Join us as we dive into what Jared’s role entails, how it has impacted our business, and how he has no idea how we managed before we had someone dedicated to running the day-to-day operations. Tuning in, you’ll also find out how to set boundaries for a healthy marriage when going into business with your spouse, as well as what Jared and Abagail love about working together.
Jared unpacks the importance of having an internal system for quality control and why, if you're the last person who did something to a document, you can't verify that it's perfect. Later, we reflect on how a team can thrive when they are allowed to play to their strengths, what that entails, and how you can go about helping them operate in their zone of genius.
We cover a lot in this episode, from why we decided not to outsource our marketing to finding your strengths and the importance of customer experience, plus SO much more, so make sure to miss this insightful and informative discussion! Feel free to reach out to us on Instagram @bossproject if you have any questions. We would love to hear from you!
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Why Outsourcing Our Marketing Wasn’t Working and How We Found a Solution Plenty of businesses have a highly positive experience when they outsource their marketing department. It allows them the freedom and flexibility to focus on other parts of their business and trust that their marketing is taken care of. Unfortunately for us, we had to learn the hard way that outsourcing our marketing department was not a good choice for our team or our business and created more problems than it solved. Not only were we unable to comfortably outsource our marketing, but we also realized that we actually enjoy and are highly skilled at the marketing side of our business! The only problem was that we were already spread so thin that giving all the marketing elements adequate attention seemed impossible.
That’s where Jared stepping in as Marketing Manager has been an unequivocal game changer! His role as an unofficial Boss Project volunteer for the past six years has equipped him with an intimate knowledge of the business since its inception, despite not being a full-time employee until several months ago. His deep knowledge of our history of blog posts, social media style, and business practice has been tremendously valuable in supporting our marketing strategy and the broader business. Our ability to rely on him has freed up our time to focus on connecting the dots between the more disparate elements of our business to create a cohesive and well-functioning system that has not only supported our team but also positively affected the experience of our clients!
The Importance of Having Someone on Your Team Who’s Focused on the Day-to-Day One of the biggest benefits of having Jared as our marketing manager has been having the opportunity to free up our time, zoom out, and take a broader focus of our business. Because we trust him to take command of the day-to-day operations and focus on the finer details, it frees up our headspace to focus on what the business needs next. Another fantastic bonus of having Jared focus on the day-to-day concerns is that it has allowed both Abagail and Emylee to separate their roles more. Previously, we would often be working on the same projects and doing similar things. Since adding Jared to the team full time, we’ve had the opportunity to step back and consider where our energy is best spent. This past summer, Abagail was able to rebuild the entire back-end operations, which in turn allowed for the business to do some much-needed hiring! And the reason she was able to do that was that she could entrust all of the marketing to Jared, Emylee, and the team, freeing up her mind to put her focus where it was most needed!
Why It’s Okay for Someone in a Higher Level Position to Do ‘Doer’ Tasks None of us can function at full capacity 100 percent of the time. That holds true for anyone, in any role, whether you’re selling coffee or occupying a high-level position at a company. This is why anyone will benefit from having a mix of tasks for the day that vary in intensity. Yet, we can often feel uncomfortable with giving simpler ‘doer’ tasks to people who occupy a high-level position, whether it’s posting stories, commenting, or responding to direct messages. The truth is that we all need these kinds of tasks to structure our day; whether it’s needing to start your morning with something simple or zoning out after lunch to get back into the groove with something doesn't take a lot of brain space.
If you're looking to hire a full-time employee or bring someone on for more hours, know that it's perfectly acceptable to have someone in a higher-level position also do some of the simpler tasks! We all need a break from time to time, and having the right mix of those tasks allows you to feel accomplished. It’s also important to remember that your team all have different work styles and therefore want to structure their tasks accordingly. For instance, Jared is a big proponent of a long checklist that is broken down into small sizable chunks, while Emylee needs to see the big picture and work backward from there. There are plenty of ways that we’ve helped our team operate in their zones of genius, from enneagram tests to strengths finders. These simple things can make a massive difference in the overall team culture!
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What you need to address when you are ready to scale your support is figuring out where you're dropping the ball; because that is part of it!
Quote This via @BossProjectHQ The Importance of Quality Control It can be almost impossible to do quality control on your own work. You’ve likely been working on it for so long and you’re so familiar with it that the mistakes are no longer apparent to you. During Jared’s training as an architect, they would review the students' work with a fine-tooth comb. This was not to break them down but rather to teach them how to hold things to a high standard and ask the appropriate questions; like whether it meets the internal expectations and whether it’s up to code. One of the chief things that Jared has been instituting and refining as Boss Project is an internal quality control process, making sure there are individuals and departments assigned to checking the different elements, from spelling and grammar to whether all the links work. This has been of immense value since the responsibility should never fall on one person alone. Never underestimate the power of a fresh pair of eyes! If you're the last person who did something to a document, you can't verify that it's perfect.
What It’s Like to Work With Your Spouse (and the Boundaries That Help!) Before working together on Boss Project, Jared and Abagail were also co-workers in their previous business. This experience has helped them in setting the necessary boundaries for a healthy marriage and an excellent working relationship. It has also allowed them to experiment with balancing their time in a way that still supported their household, despite them both working full-time and part-time.
One of the decisions that has resulted in an optimal working environment at Boss Project has been teaming Jared up with Emylee as his key partner instead of Abagail. Despite Jared and Abagail working really well together, it’s likely that if Abagail were his direct boss, it would cause a lot more friction and make it more difficult to maintain boundaries! Another helpful boundary is having separate offices, since Abby’s job often entails doing loud vocal things, like making recordings and hosting zoom meetings, while Jared is mostly using Slack to communicate with his team. Another key way to institute healthy boundaries is prefacing ambiguous conversations with ‘I’m speaking to you as my spouse’ or ‘I’m in business mode’, especially outside of the office!
The Best Role to Fill if You Have a Hard Time Finishing Projects Both Emylee and Abigail identify as future-focused. They’re great at starting projects and getting them rolling, but when it comes to wrapping it up, things can get tricky! That’s why it’s great having someone like Jared around who is undeniably present-focused. It allows Abagail and Emylee to entrust present company needs to him while they focus on future concerns for their business. If you can structure your team according to their actual strengths and personalities you will see incredible results!
Highlights * Why Outsourcing Our Marketing Wasn’t Working and How We Found a Solution [0:03:06] * The Importance of Having Someone on Your Team Who’s Focused on the Day-to-Day. [0:07:40] * Why it’s Okay for Someone in a Higher Level Position to Have ‘Doer’ Tasks [0:15:53] * The Importance of Quality Control [0:21:08] * What It’s Like to Work With Your Spouse (and the Boundaries That Help!) [0:26:16] * The Best Role to Fill if You Have a Hard Time Finishing Projects [0:35:12]
Episode 596: Show Notes In this episode we’re talking all things holiday and work and productivity and delegation and organizing and all of that good stuff! If you haven’t listened to any of our previous episodes about taking the full month of December off, we highly recommend that you go do that. But today’s episode is going to be a little bit different, because our business looks a little bit different now. We’re going through a different season in our business, so we aren’t taking the full month off like we have done in the past, we’re still going to make sure that we enjoy our holiday season!
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The Brain Dumping Activity That Clears Our Head Space Before we get to the holiday season we like to get everything that is swirling around in our heads down on paper. As business owners, we approach the new year thinking about all the ways we can grow and the opportunities we can pursue, and if we don’t put those somewhere they can become a heavy mental load. The practice of spending 20 minutes writing things down can do wonders for clearing up all that clutter in your head. This is different from planning and goal setting; it’s literally about making a list of all the things you’ve been thinking of doing and that are preventing you from truly embracing your time-off. We then divide that “brain-dump” list into what actually legally needs to be done before the end of the year, and the things that can wait, and it just makes everything so much more manageable. Our list was 45 action-items long, but once we applied our filters we saw that only 10 of them were time sensitive! This doesn’t only have to be done at the end of the year; you can do it quarterly, or even monthly, whatever it takes to keep you and your business thriving.
Ideas For How To Make Sure That Everyone On Your Team Is On the Same Page Before Ending the Year If you have a team that’s supporting you, they also need to know about your game plan and how they can help you out. There are less working days in December than there are in the rest of the months of the year and it’s important to communicate with your staff when you are going to be closed, and to request that they give you ample warning before they take leave so that you can plan around that. An exercise that we like to do with our team is to walk them through the “brain-dump” that we’ve done and ask them to do the same thing so that they can also get rid of the clutter and weight that they are holding onto, and perhaps open our eyes to some things that we may not have been aware of.
Our New Favorite App For Team Communications The idea of a daily check-in was not something that appealed to Emylee at all, but Abagail managed to convince her to try out Range for a few weeks and she ended up loving it! Range syncs from your calendar, lets you know what’s assigned to you on a particular day, and allows you to share your daily check-in’s with your team. A really cool thing about Range is that it will decide on a theme for the week and ask each person a question every single day relating to that theme. It’s an amazing way to understand how your team is feeling without them having to come to you directly. Filling it in can literally take 30 seconds, and it’s so worth it. We’ve got a blog post coming out this month that goes into more detail about Range and some of our favorite tools to keep your team productive, so if you want to learn more, we highly recommend reading that!
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Taking the time to celebrate the people on your team is just so incredible.
Quote This via @BossProjectHQ The Importance of Celebrating Your Team Virtual mixers have become all the rage since the pandemic, and we’ve managed to find the magic sauce that makes these a success for our team! That’s the topic of another blog post coming soon, so we’re not going to go into too much detail about our ideas around that in this episode, but we just want to emphasize how important it is to celebrate your team. And you don’t have to break the bank to do it! A solid thank you note in the mail can be just as meaningful as a big end-of-year bash. There are a lot of unmet needs that people experience during the holiday season, and as leaders, it’s your responsibility to help your team thrive, and to give yourself the space to thrive too!
Highlights * The Brain Dumping Activity That Cleared Our Head Space. [0:03:29] * Ideas For How To Make Sure That Everyone On Your Team Is On the Same Page Before Ending the Year. [0:12:48] * Our New Favorite App For Team Communications. [0:15:59] * The Importance of Celebrating Your Team. [0:26:30]
Episode 595: Show Notes Part 1 of our conversation with Megan involved a discussion around the difference between self-care and treating yourself (and what this means for you as a business owner) and how to really step into your identity as a person and figure out what fills you up. We ended the last episode by touching on the confidence realm; confidence allows us to do so many things in life and business.
Today, for part two of our conversation with Megan, we’re going to continue on this confidence theme and also get stuck into our very favorite ‘B’ word of all time; boundaries! Boundaries look different for everyone, and can be continuously redefined as you grow and change as a person. Nobody knows what’s going on in your head, and setting boundaries is a way of protecting your energy, your wellbeing, your personal safety, and so much more. Join us today as we spill all the beans on boundaries!
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Identifying Where Your Boundaries Lie Boundaries are your way of saying, “This is what’s okay for me, and this is what’s not.” In this podcast we focus on work, but setting boundaries in your personal life is just as important. The more confident you are with setting boundaries in your home life, the more confident you will feel about setting boundaries in your work life, and vice versa. It can be difficult to know when to create boundaries, but Megan’s advice is to become aware of physical symptoms that occur in your body in response to certain activities or actions, and then determine what you can do to get rid of these unpleasant sensations. If you can learn to do this before you start to feel anxious or irritable or uncomfortable, that’s even better!
How To Communicate Your Boundaries We’re all human, and we all have boundaries, but it can be hard to communicate them to others. We all need to give ourselves grace, and come from a place of love and respect when we express our boundaries to others. Then, all we can do is hope that they will respond with the same love and respect that we have shown to them. It’s impossible to control how people react, the only thing we can control is the way we communicate, so that is what we need to focus on. Setting boundaries is about what is good for you, it’s not about imposing yourself onto others. Also, we would highly recommend not setting boundaries during an argument!
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We teach people how to treat us.
Quote This via @BossProjectHQ Examples Of Where You Can Set Boundaries In Your Business Many business owners have a tendency to not set any boundaries, and put themselves at the beck and call of their clients. You do not have to do this! Clients just need to know what’s next, what you’re actively working on, and when they can expect the next communication from you. You don’t have to lay everything out for them upfront. They don’t need to know every detail of the way you work. If you’re responding to emails until late at night, or answering calls in the early hours of the morning, you are allowed to set down clear boundaries that prevent this from happening. It’s up to you how your clients treat you.
The Link Between Confidence and Boundaries Confidence and boundaries are completely intertwined. If you aren’t feeling confident, your ability to establish boundaries is going to be lacking. If you don’t know who you are and what you want, you won’t be able to understand or communicate your boundaries clearly because you aren’t clear on what they are. Keeping records of positive testimonials from clients will help you keep your confidence up, which in turn will help you establish boundaries which protect your energy so that you can create the life-first business of your dreams!
Highlights * Identifying Where Your Boundaries Lie. [0:04:22] * How To Communicate Your Boundaries. [0:12:48] * Examples Of Where You Can Set Boundaries In Your Business. [0:20:23] * The Link Between Confidence and Boundaries. [0:23:38]
Episode 594: Show Notes Our guest today, Megan Reed, is one of our new client success coaches inside the Incubator. She works alongside our clients to really uncover some of the mindset work that's necessary to take you to the next level. Her background in design makes her a really valuable player. Today we’re going to be talking about the beliefs that you have about yourselves, and some things you need to be working through.
We don’t often tackle the topic of mindset on this show, or with our clients, because that isn’t our field of expertise. So we decided to bring someone on who really knows what she’s talking about. The reason why we wanted to cover this topic is because of the responses that we received to a question we asked on our Incubator intake forms. “How do you like to treat yourselves?” was the question, and the answers basically ranged from, “I don’t know,” to “I don’t treat myself.”
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Self-Care Isn’t Selfish As women in society, we are taught that we are supposed to be nurturers and caretakers. Even if you feel like that’s not who you are deep down, so many women take on this role at such a young age that it’s hard to imagine not doing it. And often it comes at the expense of your own wellbeing. The important thing to remember is that you don’t have to give up your identity as a loving, empathetic, compassionate caregiver in order to practice self-care. You can care for others and prioritize yourself at the same time. Prioritizing yourself does not mean being selfish. In fact, filling your cup is essential if you are going to be able to care for others and run your business the best way you can.
The 3 Buckets Of "Care" That Everyone Needs To Fill Up In Order To Thrive The 3 care buckets that we have identified are health-care, self-care and treating yourself. Health-care relates to meeting your basic human needs, and it is non-negotiable, like making sure you are looking after your personal hygiene for example. Self-care is all about mindset, and it looks different for everyone. It’s about what lights you up, what gives you energy, what grounds you. And it doesn’t have to cost you anything; it could mean going for a walk everyday, or dancing to your favorite music. You need to nail down what brings you joy, and then make sure you incorporate that into your life regularly. The third bucket is treating yourself, and it also means different things for different people, but no matter how you treat yourself, you need to be doing it way more than once a year!
The #1 Question To Ask Yourself To Find What Really Gives You Energy and Lights You Up Self-care comes down to knowing what you like, what you want, who you are, and who you want to become. If you don’t know who you are, you can’t know what to do to fill up your cup. The first step to figuring yourself out is to establish a sense of self-awareness. The thing with self-awareness is that it involves a lot of deep reflecting and question asking. It’s about going back into your past, evaluating your present and looking towards your future. For anyone who is struggling to figure out who they are, Megan has one question that will help get this process started: “Who are you when nobody else is around?” She encourages all of us to think about what we would actually do for fun if money wasn’t an issue and you didn’t care what anybody else thought of you. Learning about yourself can be a very uncomfortable process, but being uncomfortable is the only way to grow.
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Self-care is crucial and there is nothing selfish about taking care of yourself. If you cannot take care of yourself, how do you expect to take care of others, or show up for your business, or do anything if your cup is empty?
Quote This via @BossProjectHQ How Mastering Self-Care Grows Your Confidence As A Business Owner Life is a learning journey for everyone, and you shouldn’t feel inadequate if you don’t get things right the first time, or the second time, or even the twentieth time. Nobody has everything completely figured out, and you can keep growing your entire life, and changing your priorities as you go. Megan has learned to become comfortable with the fact that she is constantly evolving, and that self-awareness has given her so much confidence. The cool thing about confidence is that it is a state of mind that you can cultivate, as opposed to an inherent talent that you are born with, and everyone has the ability to access it!
Highlights * Self-Care Isn’t Selfish. [0:08:40] * The 3 Buckets Of "Care" That Everyone Needs To Fill Up In Order To Thrive. [0:12:33] * The #1 Question To Ask Yourself To Find What Really Gives You Energy and Lights You Up. [0:21:48] * How Mastering Self-Care Grows Your Confidence As A Business Owner. [0:32:35]
Episode 593: Show Notes We’ve been working on something exciting for a really long time and today’s episode exists to introduce you to our newest offering, which includes taking on clients for our business incubator! Our business was working. We could have successfully continued with our existing plan. Instead, we made an intentional move, looked at what we wanted to do, saw that the mission was the same as when we started, and then asked ourselves how we could achieve even more of that!
If you can focus less on what you want and more on the problem you are actively solving for your audience, the doors will open. Your business should take care of you, NOT drain you! We want you to know that where we are today is the result of having a full staff of people, an audience in the millions, and six whole years of hard work, which is why we are sharing some insight into our hiring process, the art of simmering, our desire to take on clients again, and so much more in our October profit report for 2021! Join us today!
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What it Means to Call Our Business a Company and How it's Shifted Our Perspective We’ve been calling our business a company for about a year now and it felt like pretending until very recently, when we were able to bring team members on first-hand and we realized we’ll be able to move onto 401k next year! 40% profit in November! It has transitioned from being a business where we brought on some extra support to being a company that you can work for!
While we love and use social media and paid advertising and we definitely utilize them, we are building a business that relies far less on either of those things. We are building a business that could remain stable even WITHOUT either of those things! We would never have been able to scale without the opportunity to onboard staff that we absolutely trust. There was a fair amount of hesitation from both Emylee and Abagail to bring on permanent employees instead of private contractors but, in the end, we have been so lucky to hire staff who are committed to our mission and vision. Our team sat at 29% for the launch that we had, which gives us the runway to hire again; probably sooner than we think!
The Launch that was 4x BIGGER than Anything We'd Ever Done Before Typically, when businesses share a glimpse into their day-to-day, they don’t share the numbers, but we’re here to give you an honest look into the ins and outs of the highs and lows of businesses. We’re here to help you make informed decisions, grounded in reality, which is why we are happy to share our experience with you. The decisions we’ve made that have paid off the most have been slow, informed, and intentional, and up to two years in the making! There’s an art to simmering, and then taking quick action when things come together.
What looks like quick action on the outside is often a long time coming. Our COGS are only 23% and our ads are only 19%, so things are definitely stacked in a unique way for us. Our biggest launch ever has been successful because we used the right people as sounding boards, and waited to bloom. It looked fast, but that’s because we waited for the longest time, and then hired five employees!
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I think it’s the art of marinading internally with a really close group of people that you trust, and then blooming on the outside.
Quote This via @BossProjectHQ Our Desire to Work with Clients Again and What that Looks like for Service ProvidersWe have officially launched a new product, which we are calling a service because we are taking on clients! That’s a pretty big change. Just like you, we love to get paid to do what we love. Having goals outside of ourselves that literally empower and support other people is the best part of the phase we are growing into now. We’re here to help you build a business that works for you, to help you meet your goals. We want you to have the option to do the simplest thing, and we can show you what that looks like.
If we could gift all business owners with anything, it would be the confidence to know that you can do it! Having that reassurance gave us the freedom to have fun and find lightness leading up to our launch. That’s what we want for you too. Our goal is to give you the opportunity to grow, and that’s why we’ve called it The Incubator!
Highlights * What it Means to Call Our Business a Company and How it's Shifted Our Perspective. [0:03:19] * The Launch that was 4x BIGGER than Anything We'd Ever Done Before. [0:10:25] * Our Desire to Work with Clients Again and What that Looks like for Service Providers. [0:20:04]