Boss Project's Story Part 1: The One Thing We Actually Think All Small Business Owners *Should* Have
Episode 563: Show Notes
On today’s show, we wanted to take you back in time a little bit and talk about the beginning stages of our business. We so often get asked, ‘How did this all start and why does it exist in the way it does today?” We think there are some incredible takeaways from the early part of our journey that we don’t often talk about but which have shaped the mission and vision of our business as we have continued to grow and make an impact in the world of online business. It has been interesting uncovering some of our story through the work that we have been doing with Rachel’s coaching program in which we are currently enrolled.
Listen on your favorite podcast player
We have struggled to frame our story because it breaks the mold of how origin stories are usually told, in the sense that there are two of us, not one. Often we have felt that sharing our feelings and thinking out loud on this podcast has helped us find clarity, so we wanted to use this episode to tell our story! We hope that if you had some things holding you back from telling your own story that this episode might help you step outside your comfort zone and share a little more about yourself.
The Role of Abagail and Emylee’s Histories In Their Chemistry
When Abagail and Emylee were girls they both had very different experiences but each of their pasts nevertheless played a large role in how they connected and how they defined success. Both Abagail and Emylee came from families that did not contain many successful people or provide the best role models for success. Nevertheless both their families supported them and gave them the idea that they would be very successful one day. Emylee was the first in her family to get a college education and even one of the first to finish high school. Even still, she did not come from a family where success was a part of the culture so she had no idea what the corporate world was and did not even know what an internship was until she finished college. She had no access to the language and terms that would help her succeed. Abagail’s entire experience while growing up was one of trying to fit in. In contrast to this, Emylee’s whole experience was never wanting to fit in at all. Those two very strong forces of coming at the theme of belonging in different aspects were able to shape their very first community and the way that they brought in people from their very first course launch.
Creating an Online Community Centered Around Belonging
When Abagail and Emylee first met, it was in a Facebook group. Four weeks later Emylee drove to visit Abagail and they stayed up drinking wine together discussing business ideas. The theme of belonging was strong in their conversations and they wanted to create a space where people could feel like they belonged without having to pretend to be anything other than themselves. No matter whether you have an approach to belonging that looks more like Abagail’s or Emylee’s the fact remains that people need communities and can be left broken if they do not belong anywhere. When Emylee left Abagail’s house on that first fateful encounter Abagail remembers going to her mother and telling her that she was going to drop everything she had done until that point and create a community that was going to change the internet. Emylee was skeptical about creating a community but Abagail would not budge, but she also wanted Emylee to be a part of this idea. In these early days, the two marketed themselves as business partners and started their community. It was such a blessing because they remember how people just kept on joining their community and showing up.
The Power of Community and The Main Aim of Boss Project
When we first started, we could not even afford to pay team members. However, some of the people who joined our community were so passionate about it that they volunteered. This was so heartening to see because not only had people stepped up to maintain the integrity of our group for free, but they had done so without even knowing much about the point behind what we were doing. We are so happy that we have gotten more clarity and can talk more about what that point is now. What we want to do with Boss Project goes beyond belonging. We believe that when you feel you can be who you are and be free to try things and fail, that is a true game-changer as far as success is concerned. This is what true community brings, and this is what we aim to provide. For so many years our message was that you do not need anything to build a successful business, but after the work we have been doing recently, we have realized that you do need one thing, and that is a supportive community. Abagail remembers trying to explain what she wanted to do with Boss Project to friends and family members and coming away from those conversations feeling so drained. The experience of brainstorming with like-minded individuals in a supportive community could not be more different!
The Exciting New Community We are Launching
Community is nothing new for us and we wanted to give you some background and to say that proper community building is one of our superpowers that we have been using for six years. All this amazing stuff about community acts as a great segue for us to talk about the incredible new community that we are building at Boss Project. We are excited to announce that we will be launching an all-new and exclusive community, a new version of the support we give but in a different and more focused sense. We launched the Creative Template Shop in January of 2020 but now we are giving it a makeover and it all revolves around our new community.
That is right, we are adding a badass new community element to our Creative Template Shop and we are calling it the Creative Shop Co-op. The material in the shop is already cutting edge and has no real competition in its niche online, but now with the community, we are adding another element of something completely new that people have never seen before. Members of the Co-op will get access to masterminds where they will be in the same boat as other creative business owners on their level and will be able to receive dedicated coaching and help through all the sticky moments of launching a business in its early phases.
You will also get access to more airtime with us because along with the Co-op membership comes exclusive access to a brand new podcast we are launching called Nugget. In Nugget we aim to take an even deeper dive into actionable strategies. One of the pieces of feedback we have received is that members of the shop wanted advice for how to implement the designs we release in the shop, and this is just what we will be doing with the podcast! So buckle up and get ready for something completely new. We know you are going to love it just as much as we do!
Quote This
You absolutely need, in order to grow, some sort of community or support system.
Highlights
The Role of Abagail and Emylee’s Histories In Their Chemistry. [0:04:31]
Creating an Online Community Centered Around Belonging. [0:10:52]
The Power of Community and The Main Aim of Boss Project. [0:18:04]
The Exciting New Community We are Launching. [0:32:33]
ON TODAY’S SHOW
Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
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.
