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.
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Our Episodes
How to Replace Your Salary by Selling Services Online with Jereshia Hawk
Welcome back to the show, all you biz badasses and money queens! Today we have a great episode in store for you that you are most definitely not going to want to miss! Our guest is Jereshia Hawk and she is here to tell us about how she switched from a big corporate job to selling her services online and increasing her salary in the process! Jereshia was working on huge, high profile engineering projects when she left her job and during this first year of going solo she managed to double her salary! Sound amazing? We think so! She has subsequently taught her strategies to hundreds of people online and helped them get going on their own road to success.
A lot of what Jereshia teaches is a little different than the majority of information that is available online. She has a focus on grassroots growth that we just love! It was such a pleasure to have her on the show and the conversation is motivating and really informative for anyone looking to get out of their day job and start their own little thing. This topic is really near and dear to our hearts as Abagail started out on her own, selling services when she quit her corporate job and so much of what Jereshia says rings true for us. For a great conversation with a massively inspiring person, be sure to get it all on the The Strategy Hour!
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!
Scaling Your Service Based Business with Parker Stevenson of Evolved Finance
Today on the podcast we have our work husband, Parker Stevenson. Parker is our bookkeeper, our CFO, business adviser, our friend, our friend-enemy and everything in between. You have probably heard us mention Parker throughout this podcast series. He is like the Where’s Waldo? of TCC and an absolute hoot. Today, we are revealing the mystery of Parker Stevenson and are going to be talking all about scaling a service-based business. Instead of teaching you sexy bookkeeping things, Parker is actually going to talk about his own business and give you a peek into some of his own business strategies.
Parker went down the same rabbit hole many entrepreneurs do, where he thought creating a passive online course program was going to be the solution for his business growth and scalability. But you’ll learn in the episode, how they decided it wasn’t going to work for them and why they decided to scale the service side of their business instead. Parker has a wealth of experience and is here to share with you why service-based businesses are severely underrated. If you are a new business owner or in the process of re-thinking your current online business model – this is definitely an episode you won’t want to miss!
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!
Lessons from 2018: Scaling, Creating Connections & Personal Growth
Hey everybody! Welcome to our round up of the lessons we learned in 2018! As usual we learned a lot, if not more during this last year, so we have so much to share with all of you. You also know we love reflecting and reviewing and this podcast will basically be a fleshing out of all the important steps we took and progress we made in our business. We are hoping that you will follow along with us and do the same sort of thing with your biz! Hopefully ours will give you some ideas of how to reflect on the past year and the important points that came out of it.
A quick reminder that if you have been enjoying the podcast over the last 12 months (or more!) to leave us a review online, or tag us in your Instagram post or story. We love hearing from all of you and this is a great time to show our mutual appreciation. We love to repost and share content from our listeners, so get going with it! In our talk today we cover scaling, pivoting, hiring a CFO, summits, Traction, refueling creativity and much more. Are we all ready? Good! Let’s get into 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!
A Breakdown of the Boss Project Summit: $77k in Sales, 380k Minutes Watched, 171k Messages Delivered & Counting
Welcome back to the show! Today’s episode of The Strategy Hour Podcast is a breakdown of our recent amazing and wonderful Boss Project Summit! This was pretty much the biggest thing we have ever done at TCC and it has just wrapped, so what better to talk about than that? This behind the scenes look at the summit and the statistics that came out of it is just a taste of things to come. The few days over which we held the event had a massive impact and we had fun and made money and we cannot wait to share more of the in depth information we have gathered.
Bear in mind that it is still early stages in terms of the outcomes, which we will continue to collect and collate, but there is definitely more than enough to talk about today and give you the inside scoop after all the madness! We would be remiss not to send out a big thank you to everyone who made the summit possible and we are eternally grateful to our sponsors, contributors, the participants, and each other for bringing this great thing to life! We have to admit that we are already thinking about next time and how we might make it better, stronger, and more of everything it was this time!
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!
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!
Walking Away From a 6-Figure Salary From Microsoft to Start Her Own Business with Michelle Evans
Welcome to another episode of The Strategy Hour Podcast, where we give you the tools, tips, and tricks to get your biz hopping and popping! Today on the show we are joined by Michelle Evans who is going to talk us through her journey of giving up a secure, well-paid job at Microsoft to pursue her entrepreneurial dreams. This obviously has great relevance for most of us as we have either made the switch or would still like to. It is just a part of doing this thing we do! Michelle now runs her own marketing company helping business owners achieve their dreams and coaching them towards the kind of success they hope for.
In our conversation, we go through this all important process and how it played out for Michelle. Her story is really inspiring and has lessons in it for all of us for following your own path and playing to your own strengths. We chat about what led up to the decision to leave and then the all important action steps Michelle took following her departure, which led to her paving her own way ever since. Michelle gives us great strategy pointers and you are not going to want to miss those so stay tuned right to the end of the show!
Behind the Scenes of Our First (And Profitable) Online Summit
Thanks for tuning in to another amazing episode of The Strategy Hour Podcast! These are definitely our favorite episodes to bring today. Today on the show we are breaking it down and showing you the behind-the-scenes of the creation and the progress of our very first online virtual summit, The Boss Project Summit. The Summit will run for four full days from November 6th to the 9th, 2018. We have 40 different speakers, including keynotes and breakouts and we have divided each day into four themes throughout the summit. So as you can see, we have a ton of great stuff planned for y’all!
Now before we jump into this episode and all the things that are happening, if you have yet to sign up, get your booty over to the Boss Project Summit website and sign up. It’s totally free and we are so excited for the 5,000 people who have already signed up! So if you want to hear about why we decided to do a summit and what lit the fire for us to take on this new project, you’re going to want to go back and listen to Episode 270. However, that episode is definitely not a prerequisite for jumping into this one, so let’s get 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!
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!
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