Spring 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.

Are 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!

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!

Parker Stevenson is a great friend of ours and someone we love and respect a lot! He has done so much for us and our business in the years that we have been working together with Parker handling all of our bookkeeping. He has already been on the podcast a bunch of times and today he is back to talk about the all-important topic of launching! We get into cash-flowing a launch, how to know when you are ready or not ready, questions and preparation and how to pay yourself when it's all done. So basically we cover all the things you might be thinking about and what better person to ask than a bookkeeper.

Parker is all about helping his clients remain profitable and this conversation will get you into a great headspace for possible launches in the future. We offer tons of free resources in the second half of the show so be sure to stick around for those and Parker gives the inside scoop on many businesses and how he has seen launches evolve. In his work, he has helped countless small businesses that apply to so much of our audience. So for all that and a whole lot more on getting your next launch off the ground and into the air, join us as we talk strategy!

Today, we have two of our good friends and product-based business gurus on the show. First up is Rachel Allene, who Abagail met years ago at a creative entrepreneur conference. They have stayed friends, and Abagail has watched her hand calligraphy business grow into what it is today. She makes all kinds of products that are not necessarily handmade but rather, hand-lettered. We're comparing and contrasting that with our other guest, Emylee's friend, Mia Graves. We are so excited to hear from her because we love the way her marketing and business brain works. She has two different business models because she makes polymer clay earrings and also sells cutters for polymer clay makers.

In this episode, we are breaking down a deliberate sellout, restock model strategy and the mentality behind it, why it works, why it's hard sometimes, who it's right for, and the pros and cons both for you as the maker and for the customer. We hear about the journeys Rachel and Mia have been on and the slight tweaks they have made to their selling mechanisms, strategies, and marketing in order to please more people and not go absolutely insane. This roundtable discussion will give you some really great insights into the product world. You have asked for more product-focused content, and this information is coming from two very smart women.

In this episode, Emylee and Abagail get into the topic of building a community that you get paid to run, talking about two of the more popular options in the creator space – Patreon and Mighty Networks. We see musicians, comedians, artists, podcasters, and the like use these platforms to create a network. As you all know, Emylee is always looking toward the next thing and has taken the leap to start her online community for those interested in building clay earring businesses, so she has done some research, signed up (and canceled) subscriptions, and figured out the details so you don’t have to!

We know you love your Facebook group, but there are serious limitations to it, such as you can’t get paid for it. However, migrating from one platform to another can be a nasty business since humans are creatures of habit who often resist new paths. You’ve got to have pretty solid reasons for wanting to migrate, and Emylee and Abagail break it all down for you in this episode. Before you get started on a paid community, be sure to tune in for this episode!

Are you ready to hear about the biggest change we have made to our business in a LONG time? If you have been with us for a while, you will know all about our email marketing journey. It’s been truly huge for our company and an integral part of our growth and the foundation for our global reach. We have been with many email marketing providers over time for a variety of reasons. If you want to hear about why we migrated between the different platforms, like Mailchimp, ConvertKit, Infusionsoft, and ActiveCampaign, dive into our archives because we have documented all of these moves. We believe that regardless of the size of your business, email should be easy, and dare we say, pretty? All of the platforms we have used have their pros and cons, but for us, we want it to be as simple as logging in, writing an email, having it look good without knowing anything about code, and being able to send it to the right people at the right time. A lot of people, especially in the creative industry, can get carried away by pretty things, and we are guilty of it too, and it does drive a lot of our decision-making. That does not mean we do not value functionality as well. So, today we are going to share more about the new email platform we have found that merges our love of beautiful things with a fantastic backend user experience.

Welcome back to the Strategy Hour Podcast, all you beautiful creatures! We have a great show in store for you today, and we cannot wait for you to hear it. We have an extra special unicorn joining us in the form of Haley Burkhead, and she is here to tell us all about her business and her company called Profit Planner. Now, we say this all the time on The Strategy Hour, but it’s worth repeating: your profits really should be your highest priority. The money is what drives your business, and you need to put that in the front seat!

In our chat with Haley, we talk all about the way in which she has laid out her planner and how it can massively improve the way all of you run your businesses! Haley has so much energy and so many great ideas that we know you will be able to use immediately and will probably make you want to dig deeper into your planning methods. Haley gives us the whole breakdown on how the different levels of her framework and how each of these levels supports the next. Plus it is so fun and inspiring that we are pretty darn sure that after this episode you will not be able to wait to get started on optimizing everything you do! Throughout the episode Haley gives us steady reminders to keep you eyes on the profit prize and let everything fall into place around that. Great advice and something we urge you all to take to heart!

Today on the podcast, we welcome Lauren Golden. Lauren loves helping mamas free themselves from the nine to five grind. Lauren launched The Free Mama Movement to show working moms that they don’t have to choose between family and financial stability. We’ve all said it and we’ve all heard it: “I don’t have time.” This is the easiest excuse that people love to pull out of their pockets when they’re not seeing business growth or success. But is it really true?

For every single person out there who has ever said, “But I don’t have any time to grow my business” – this episode is for you. Here, Lauren is busting myths, knocking excuses out the window and giving you action steps on how to better utilize the time that you do have in your day – regardless of kids, dogs, full-time jobs, health, hobbies and life. All this so you can make amazing things happen in your business. No more excuses – grab your notebook and give this one a listen!

Today on the show we welcome back Steph Crowder. Steph is so awesome, that we decided she needed to become a regular! So here she is, to talk about keeping your to-do list alive once you’ve lost momentum in your business. After the hype of a launch has died down, losing momentum is common. Trust us, we know! There is a certain amount of adrenaline that keeps you going during a launch, that keeps you alert, that keeps you firing when you’re in that challenge mode. But what do you do after this frenzy subsides? A lot of us go back to the same old habits and the same old routines and this is where a lot of us get super unproductive.

Steph has found that there are 7 major reasons why your to-do list is not getting done. If you are one of those people who are like, “What the hell? It’s Friday and I’ve crossed off barely anything on my to-do list!” Then girl, this episode is for you. Here, Steph talks about the big commonalities she has seen for why people aren’t getting their shit done. Better yet, she gives us actionable steps we can take toward more productivity and sustainable momentum. After this episode, you will be able to take a deep breath, re-evaluate your time, kick that self-doubt to the curb and be the boss lady you’ve always dreamed of being.

In this episode we dive into seven habits that we believe lead to a more productive life and a more productive business. These seven habits will ultimately help you achieve the goals and dreams you are seeking – whether those are personal or financial. You are one person, with multiple facets, and you can’t play blind to the fact that you have a life outside of work! We want to incorporate that into living a lifestyle that gets you where you want to go. These seven habits have been monitored over time in our own business. Whenever we are incredibly productive, we take a look at everything that we were doing over that time and ask, “What was a constant? What habits combined aided our productivity?”

A lot of people ask us what is it that makes us so productive, and everyone seems to be waiting for that miracle answer. But the reason why we are covering seven habits is because it is never just one thing. It’s never just one thing you do that helps you sell more, or get more people on your list, or land more clients. It is a combination of things that helps to create a successful business and a successful human being. So take a listen and learn more about the seven habits we focus on that have led to more productivity in our lives and how it can lead to more productivity in your life too.

Today on the podcast we have Sarah Peck, who is a writer, startup advisor, and yoga teacher based out of New York City. She is the Founder and Executive Director of Startup Pregnant, a media company documenting the stories of women’s leadership across work and family. Inside today’s episode we are talking all about planning ahead for this year, how to eliminate 50% of your workload, and we’re going through the process of the system she used to really figure out how much time she realistically had so she could plan accordingly.

If you’re a momma, or you’re busy, or you’re a human, then you just need to pay attention because we will take you step-by-step through an exercise to reduce your to-do list in a cray way so that you can have a happier and more fulfilled life. Sarah is an incredible human being with a lovely soft radio voice that we often try to mimic, so we really think you are going to enjoy this episode just because of the sound of her voice alone. Don’t miss out!

Today on the show we are dishing out all the secret sauce! We get asked all the time, “How do you get so much done and not work an insane amount of hours?” And today, we are going to be answering this question by looking really closely at the systems and software that we use to make our business happen and give us the time to have a four-day weekend if we want it!

If you have been looking into these systems for your own business, this episode might just help you to narrow down your options. We are going to run through our list of apps and programs and tell you the pros of each system and how it helps our business function without having to do all the nitty-gritty little things throughout the day. If you are looking for a way to automate your business, communicate more effectively, and do half the work in half the amount of time – then this episode is for you!

Today on the podcast we welcome back one of our BFF’s, Jordan Ellis, of Jordandené. Jordan owns a geek chic apparel company where she sells all the nerdy, girly stuff you could ever imagine – all across the country and the world. Jordan also does live events and sells her products online, making almost half of her annual revenue during the three to four-week holiday season! That’s right, ‘tis the season for sales!

So today, we are talking products and how to not miss out on opportunities and stress yourself out when it comes to the crazy holiday season. We discuss everything from the best time to start preparing for the holiday season, lining up your stock, handling Black Friday promotions, roping in assistance and how to get yourself super prepared for this exciting and rewarding time of the year. We want to encourage you to use this episode as your guiding light for the holiday season, whether it’s this year or next. It’s never too late to get prepared so you can win in the realm of product. So let’s jump in and get started!

Today, we are bringing you something new, unique and kind of awesome. In this episode, you are going to get to hear from alumni of our program, The Strategy Academy, answer questions about their businesses, growth, mindsets and all the amazing things that have happened in their lives and businesses from taking our program earlier this year.

They are all pretty awesome peeps. You are hearing from, not only a service-based person, but a product-based person, a blogger and a podcaster. We are giving you the full enchilada of what’s going on inside their businesses, where they were before and how The Strategy Academy has helped them ramp up. We have formatted it a bit differently today, so each guest’s story is summarized for you to get the most out of their experience with The Strategy Academy. Keep listening to hear more!