Top Business Podcast • over 4 million downloads • 900+ episodes
The Strategy Hour Podcast
with abagail pumphrey
Recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs, join our twice-weekly show as we share business strategies, interviews, and actionable advice for building an online business your way.
Listen & Subscribe
Find us wherever you listen to podcasts
Our Episodes
Hiring a Full Time Employee - Part 1
Hello all you wonderful listeners and welcome back to The Strategy Hour! Today we will be talking about a big step we took recently and when we say big, we mean really big! That’s right, we hired our first full time employee here at TCC and we are going to be talking all about the first part of this process and helping you think about this idea for yourselves. Before this everyone we have hired has been part time as a contractor and we were their client. To tell you the truth, we have been itching to get someone on board with more time and commitment to our business and this is when we decided to do it!
When someone is an actual full time employee everyone can get a lot more out of the relationship and knowing boundaries and how and when to do what can be a lot clearer. We do have to admit that there was some hesitation on our part due to going into the unknown. We had some concerns about what this would mean financially and legally and so we asked ourselves and others a lot of questions before getting serious. When we felt like these were answered and it was the right time, we got serious! As we cover during today’s conversation, our favorite book at the moment, Traction, came in handy for some helpful ways in which to go about this process. So join us as we break down this big step and hopefully get you thinking about your own big steps too!
Creating Your New Possibility
On today’s show we’re doing things a little differently and taking you through a process that we believe can make a world of difference in your life! This episode will be all about inventing a new possibility in your life, and you’ll see just what a shift this can make. Abagail tried out this exercise recently and found it super helpful and enlightening, so we could not resist sharing it with our listeners. Full disclaimer though, it might be a bit of bumpy ride because let’s face it, most things that help you grow are not pain free. But we promise you’ll thank us in the end!
Emylee will be going through the guided exercise for the first time during the episode and you can join in with he. We can all get down to the nitty gritty together! A lot of the time we deal with the positive and negative aspects of our lives in repeated patterns of behavior that do not allow for very much progress. The process we will be detailing is simple and straightforward, yet it provides a lot of insight and hope into how small adjustments can change our lives in big ways. So if you’re game, grab your favorite notepad and buckle in, we’re going deep!
Our Words of the Year for 2019
Hello all of you wonderful listeners! We are so glad to have you back for this very important episode of our podcast! You know what time of year it is and you know we have done this before. Yes, it is time for us to each choose a word of intention for the coming year and to make sure that 2019 is the best one yet! While preparing for this episode we listened back to some of our previous words and New Years’ ideas and got some serious flashbacks! They feel so long ago but at the same time are still fresh in our minds.
Now we have to be honest, we came up with these words this morning! But at the same time we have probably been mentally preparing these ideas for ages now and in the episode you will hear all the background to why we chose our specific words and the pieces that came together to make this quick decision. We would also love to hear your own words for the coming year, so when you are done listening to this episode please share them with us, we would love to connect and affirm your choices. It is so impactful to communicate these ideas, it creates a sense of accountability and commitment!
Haven't Planned 2019 Yet? This Is How You Can Do It In a Day
Hello and welcome everybody to another episode of your favorite podcast! We are doing all the end of year round ups, reflections and strategy activities and today is all about getting that planning in for next year. We cannot believe 2018 is basically already over; it has just flown by and we are pretty sure you feel the same way! So if you have not yet got down to planning things for you and your biz, this is just what you need to get started and crush that session. We all need things on our calendars so we do not go stumbling blindly into the next rotation around the sun. So why not get down to it with us? We got you!
We will also be giving a few sneak peeks into what we will be doing next year, so you are not going to want to miss that juicy info! We chat about making time for your planning session and how to prepare successfully as well as getting into some of the key aspects of realistic and inspiring goal setting. A key takeaway from today is how to look at the drivers of your goals and using this information to make more accurate and helpful plans. On top of this, we give a few frameworks and suggestions, things that have helped us immensely in the past and we finish off today’s show with some failsafes, so you don’t do a lot of planning only to forget about it a few months into the new year. So for all that and more, join us on today’s episode!
When Leaving Your Business to Work For Someone Else Makes Sense With Indigo Colton
Hello all of you beautiful people and wonderful biz queens! Today on the show we are super happy to be speaking to our friend Indigo Colton about the recent switch she made from running her own business to become a full time employee at someone else’s company. We think this topic has not been covered enough and it is really an important subject to understand if this question ever arises for you. We will be hearing from Indigo about her thought process, the deciding factors and some of the potential red flags. For Indigo, the change was the right move and we will try and unpack why it was the case so hopefully you can keep making the right choices for yourselves!
Some of you may already know Indigo but this peak inside her mind is a great way to get to know another side of her. We have a really interesting conversation we know you are going to love! We have noticed people seem to be a little hesitant to share their own experiences and inner workings on this subject, so it is just great to have an open and honest conversation about these things. We will be covering the feeling of going from being your own boss to the position of an employee, benefits and things that can be learned from another business, networking possibilities and all of Indigo’s ideas and feelings in-between! So let’s get right down to it!
Boss Talk: Is it Possible for Someone with Mindset Issues to Get Past Them and Succeed? Or, are Successful People Just Naturally in the Right Place?
Hello everyone and welcome back to the The Strategy Hour! Today we are once again joined by our friend Steph Crowder for a Boss Talk session and we will be discussing the role of mindset in defining success. These episodes are definitely some of our favorites and it is always a pleasure having Steph sit down for a dive into an interesting subject. We actually stole this topic straight from her and she dug into her deep archives and pulled this one out just for our listeners. We will really be considering how to get past mindset issues and how differently we combat these problems. It is such a great question and we cannot wait to unpack it right here on Boss Talk!
The discussion covers a meditation on different kinds of mindsets and attitudes and how these impact levels of success. We then go on to talk about grit, determination, and perseverance and how vital these qualities are in any type of achievement. The topics of nature and nurture are also relevant and a large takeaway from today is that we do not start on an even playing field but we do get to decide how we play the game and when we get back up from a fall. For an inspiring chat with a great soul-sister of ours, be sure to tune in!
How the Book “Traction” Changed Our Business Trajectory
Hello everybody and welcome back to our podcast! Today’s show is almost like a grown up book review project, so just imagine us handing in a report and giving a presentation at the front of the classroom! The reason we are going back to school for this one is because since we recently read the book in question, it has made such an impact on both of us and TCC as a whole that we just could not wait to share it with all of you. Today we will be talking about Traction by Gino Wickman and how it immediately changed our trajectory and gave us so many tools for our biz. We know you are going to love them all! We cannot say this enough, whatever stage of your business you are in, go read it! The book has so many great strategies and this is the Strategy Hour after all, so there you go!
Today we will be looking at a few of the exercises and frameworks that Wickman offers in the book, which cover goal setting, company roles, vision and loads of other good stuff. We guarantee that these tools will change your biz for the better, forever! The book contains fun and engaging quizzes and activities and we really recommend that you use it as a kind of work book, moving through it with your own projects and departments. We will definitely be following this episode up sometime in the not too distant future with a report back on the effects of the framework, so keep your eyes and ears peeled for that some time next year. So without more fuss, let’s get down to it!
Why We Take Every December Off (And How You Can Too)
Welcome back to another episode of the Strategy Hour Podcast. Today we are diving into why we take every December off. Now the truth is, we love you all, but we are tired! Our brains hurt, our throats hurt, and it’s time to take some time away. Life can get incredibly busy, especially around the holiday season, and sometimes that can be just too much to handle on top of running a business full-time. We all know that as Murphy’s Law would have it, everything happens all at once; business picks up, family events are scheduled, big life changes happen, you name it!
So inside this episode we are diving into exactly why we have adopted this strategy of taking the month of December off, and what it has done for our business and our personal lives. We also dig into exactly how we manage to prepare and plan ahead with our team to be able to pull it off. Finally, we share all the juicy details to help you do it too. That’s right, you can do it too! Just take what you learn here from us today, see how you can apply it directly to your business, and jump on the magical train to free Decembers!
Boss Talk: How Do You Deal with People Not Understanding What You Do for a Living? With Courtney Foster-Donahue
Hello all you business badasses and wonderful women! We are so glad to have you here for yet another episode of our little podcast. This week the The Strategy Hour is all about dealing with what can be a very tricky and irritating problem. Yup, you guessed it: how can you go about approaching the issue of people not understanding what your job really is? Most of us entrepreneurs and online business owners have encountered this dynamic in some way and it can be pretty tiresome and frequent!
So what are we to say and do in these situations? Whether it’s at a family gathering or in another social or business setting, we want to talk a little about what it’s like and share a few ideas on how to deal with this. To help us unpack the issue we have invited our dear friend Courtney Foster-Donahue who shares our frustrations in these regards and she has some great advice for all of you introverts out there that you are not going to want to miss. So without further ado, let’s get into it!
Hiring Your First (or Next) VA Domestic or Abroad with Bonnie Fahy
Hey everybody, and welcome back to The Strategy Hour. Today we are super happy to have a conversation with Bonnie Fahy, who is the founder of SourceIt where she helps her students and clients grow their businesses through outsourcing. Bonnie has a particular approach, which she calls “hybrid sourcing”, that can make your company run more smoothly and iron out some of the traditional issues with getting outside help. Bonnie is going to be telling us all about how it works and how you can use it to your great advantage. Sound great? We think so! She is going to be giving concrete, actionable advice on how you can build your team and grow your revenue through some very simple steps. So you are not going to want to miss this episode!
The subject of hiring and how you go about sourcing your employees can sometimes be taboo; but don’t worry, in this fearless conversation we break down all these walls and give you the real inside scoop. Here at TCC we have had our fair share of successes and failures with hiring over the Internet and we are so excited to share Bonnie’s revolutionary and forward-thinking rules of the game with all of you, our listeners. Bonnie even tells us how she managed to quadruple her income in just three months using the strategies she is going to be explaining today! This means that by outsourcing smartly, you can have a lot more money in your pocket and also free up more time to do the things most important to you. Get ready, and let’s dive in!
This Myth About Overwhelm Has Us Fired Up
Hello everybody and welcome to another episode of your favorite biz podcast! Here at the Strategy Hour we always hope to give you the best advice, tools, and inspiration to get that business of yours popping and today is no different. This episode is all about a certain myth that has us a bit hot under the collar and we want nothing more than to dispel it! It goes something along the lines of not being able to reach your goals because of being overwhelmed by too much content and too many things to do. Now, we know this feeling, so don’t think it’s just you! But we are also here to tell you, get off your backside and start working because it is just not true and it is certainly no excuse to not put in the work!
So today we are going to be putting this myth to rest and giving you the fire and energy to go and get out of that overwhelmed funk! Okay? Great! We’ll be talking about how to interact with resources and content in an effective way and connect the dots between your to do list and the strategies you hear about. We implore you again and again to take action, a constant reminder throughout the episode, so take heed! And don’t worry, we also get into how we have slipped up in these ways over the past year and talk about some of the missteps we took in this regard. An important takeaway is the idea of co-working and accountability groups, something we have used — especially when starting out — to great effect. We finish off the chat thinking about ways to simplify your business and identifying your KPIs and critical numbers. So let’s get right into it!
Manifesting Space and Empowering People with Kinzie Ferguson
Hello all you wonderful listeners out there! Today we have a great episode for you and one that is a little out of the ordinary. We are chatting with Kinzie Ferguson who is a boudoir photographer and a great friend of ours too! This conversation is going to be all about how Kinzie recently manifested her dream studio space and the process that allowed her to do it. This was a big deal for her and the experience really drove home some things that Kinzie believes in. We will also be chatting about how Kinzie goes about empowering people and her philosophy towards compliments, positivity and intentionality.
It was recently Kinzie’s birthday and we decided pretty spontaneously to have this conversation at her party! This episode has it all, we talk about the importance of hard work and family, intentionality and just serving your people as best you can. We are going to getting kind of woo today, which is something we have been wanting to do for a while and this was the perfect excuse. We will be talking tarot readings, birth charts, the moon, and more. So get strapped in, we are going deep!
The Boss Project Summit Is Here!
Guess what’s happening today? It’s the start of the Boss Project Summit! Did you just fist-bump the air? Because we sure did! This is like the day before Christmas, the first day of school, the thing we’ve been waiting for and it’s finally here! It feels like this has been years in the making, even though we’ve only been working on it for a couple of months, and the lineup is just insane! If you don’t know what we’re talking about, pause right now and head over to the Boss Project Summit website to get your free ticket because it’s all starting today!
If you’re brand new to the podcast and it’s your first day on the internet ever, we are going to give you a quick rundown of what the French toast we’re even talking about. The Boss Project Summit is 100% free to attend and we’ve got sessions ranging from how to write a professional email, to perfecting your brand, to being profitable, and more! So inside this episode we are breaking down the highlights and themes for each day, which speakers to look out for, and how you can get your hands on the all-access pass to be able to watch the videos after the summit is over. So get your calendars ready, pencil in those must-see sessions, and let’s get this summit started!
The Boss Project Summit: The How, The Why, and The Where
Welcome to another episode of The Strategy Hour Podcast all of you wonderful and beautiful biz unicorns! Today we will be talking about something extra special and exciting and something we have been looking forward to spilling the beans on for ages! This episode is going to be all about our upcoming Boss Project Summit, that we are hosting in November. Are you as excited as we are? Because we have never really been this excited before. Today we will be giving you the quick overview of what the summit will include, a little behind the scenes, and then we will drop down into some more details about the event. Sound good? We think so!
We give you the how, the why, and the where because we know you are going to want to know it all! We talk about which speakers we are most excited about, but really we are pretty crazy about all of them, we get into the reasons why it has taken us this long to get around to making this dream a reality and we talk about the magical All Access Pass that is vital if you want to get the most out of the summit. It’s hard for us to express just how great this event is going to be, but if you know us and know what our business and podcast is about, imagine that to the nth degree and you are getting close!
When You Realize You Don't Love Your Biz and How to Sell It with Haley Williams
Welcome back to the The Strategy Hour everybody. We hope you are excited about today’s episode because we sure are! Today we are chatting with Haley Williams about selling a business when you realize that you might not love what you are doing. This is an experience Haley had with a project she had been running for the last seven years only a few months ago! This can obviously be quite a difficult process and that is what this chat is all about. Making tough choices that are the best for you. It took some time but Haley found the clarity she needed to feel good about her decision and has not looked back since.
There are a number of choices that are available to us as business owners when these feelings arise. One of the options is to just shut down the business completely, which is quite drastic but is sometimes necessary. The second option is to think about changing the way you work and how the business runs and the last is to let go of it and have someone else buy and take care of it. The last of these is what Haley did and she found it was a lot more about letting go of the identity she had come to correlate to her business and realizing that she was more than that part of herself. Even at TCC, we are also slowly finding our way through this dynamic and learning to value ourselves beyond the work we put into our jobs. So come along for this important journey and hopefully you can come out the side inspired and ready for any necessary changes.
meet your host
I don’t believe there’s one right way to build a business.
I’m your host, Abagail Pumphrey. And I’m dedicated to supporting online businesses.
I’m here to help you build business your way: one that supports not only the life you have but the life you want. I’m on a personal mission to help you become financially free.
I’m talking about all the lessons learned as I turned a layoff into a 7-figure online business. I’m here to help you prioritize your life every step of the way, whether you’re creating your first digital product, growing an email list, or scaling an already profitable business.
I want to hear your hot takes, your biggest takeaways, or the genius ideas that pop in your head as you’re listening to the show.
My DMs are always open on Instagram, so head over and introduce yourself so I can get to know you!
Listener Love
Software & Services We Swear By
Meet Our Partners
The links below are affiliate links. We receive a commission (at no additional cost to you) when you purchase through these links.
Host courses, coaching, digital products, memberships, and more on Teachable’s all-in-one platform. Their platform is perfect for businesses who want to create real impact.
Save on Teachable Pro with our link.
Try Teachable >
If you’re looking for an email service provider made with creatives in mind, is simple and intuitive, and has one set price regardless of list size, look no further than Flodesk.
Get 14 days of Flodesk for free with our link.
Try Flodesk >
The power of Adobe is now in a cloud-based design platform. Creating beautiful graphics is easier than ever, with Adobe Font + Stock libraries available in Express.
Get 40% off the CC All Apps Plan.
Try Adobe Express >
If you’d rather not be spending hours on end learning design skills and new programs just to make some graphics for your biz, definitely check out Canva.
Get 30 days of Canva Pro for free with our link.
Try Canva >
Later is our favorite visual-first planning tool for social media. Use it for Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok. Plan, schedule, and post with this all-in-one software.
Try Later free for 14 days with our link.
Try Later >
If you’re searching for a platform to house client portals, internal business resources, or even a public landing page, Notion might be the perfect fit for you!
Try Notion for free with our link.
Try Notion >
Unleash the power of chat marketing! ManyChat is a powerful tool that can help you capture leads and sell your digital products in the blink of an eye.
Get ManyChat for free with our link.
Try ManyChat >
SimpleTexting allows you to fire one-off messages, a series of messages in an automation, tag clients, and more, giving your clients a high-touch experience.
Try SimpleTexting for free with our link.
Try SimpleTexting >
Digital Product Jumpstart
Build your list and grow your revenue at the same time!
I’ve kept these details to myself for far too long. I’m ready to spill everything and give you the exact steps that’ve helped me generate tens of thousands of qualified leads and MILLIONS in low-ticket digital product sales. I won’t just show you what I did, I’ll teach you how you can do it too.
Never Miss an Episode
Every week we’ll pop into your inbox to share the latest episodes, business strategies, and epic guests we’ve interviewed.