We dunno if y’all noticed, but March was weird. March was also hard, hurtful, and 7,000 times longer than January. That’s probably because March asked us to adjust to a new normal and we were still getting used to being home—all the time. And we’re not here to pretend like our situations are better or worse than anybody else’s because, like you, neither of us knew what was going to go down in 2020. What we do know is that this period will be a watershed in small business, the impact of which will likely be felt years from now.

While we don’t know how this will pan out, we can give you our March profit report and roll it out into a Q1 report in general for you guys to see how the first three months of the year went for us. You can always DM us if there is anything you want to know that we didn’t cover—we’re all here to learn together, right? In this episode, we tell you how each of our products fared, including the surprises and the disappointments we had and how we overcame certain obstacles. One thing is certain: tuning in to this episode will encourage you because we show you how reaching your goals is still possible!

Hey everybody and welcome back to the show. This is going to be a really good episode because today we are finally talking about the Human Design personality test method. We have heard such muttering about this topic and we are obsessed with personality tests in general. It’s amazing how in this Human Design model, personality is seen as something baked into who you are. You don’t get to pick or adjust over time like in other test models. It’s literally based off of your birth hour/minute/location, so you cannot change what you are.

We know very little about this topic but wanted to share what we have learned so far. Tests like the Enneagram and Myers–Briggs give you such good insight about who you are, and you can learn how to be a better person and understand your faults. The Human Design model, by contrast, can help people become more balanced through collaboration. Our conversation today is structured by running through the book Human Design: Discover the Person You Were Born To Be, which helps breakdown how Human Design came about. We will talk about some of those basic principles today and how they relate to our types as business partners. Enjoy!

Today on the Strategy Hour Podcast, we figured that – in light of the current coronavirus restrictions – it might be a good idea to share some strategies for creating a super productive work environment at home. With a great deal of travel suspended, in-person events canceled, schools closed, and employees asked to go home, people around the globe are having to think about how they can remain productive out of the office.

Some of you might already be working from home, but for some, this might be a first-time experience and we want to help you master the most common challenges when living, working and parenting in the same space. With kids at home, parents are now confronted with the added challenge of having to look after their children while still maintaining work productivity. In this episode, we dish out strategies for getting your to-do-list crossed off, whether you are a business owner, parent, or both!

Like most of the US population, we are currently obsessed with the new hit show on Netflix Love is Blind! Today we are picking apart why we think this has been a viral sensation that has hit our country, and most importantly, what takeaways there are for your business. It may seem odd that we are comparing a reality show about finding love to business but you will be surprised at the similarities – especially when you look beyond what happens in public view. And if you haven’t watched this show or aren’t caught up, you might want to wait before listening to this episode because there will be spoilers.

Love is Blind came out about two weeks ago but Emylee was late to the party since reality television is not her thing, but after watching the trailer, she was hooked! Let’s be honest though: reality shows are trashy more often than not, and some of us don’t even like admitting that we watch them – it’s a guilty pleasure for many. But they can be a rich source of learning life and business lessons. In this episode, we compare relationships to business and the principles that apply equally to both. Just as the dating stage is required to build trust between two people, so business owners need to find strategies to attract customers and then to establish themselves as trustworthy and relatable. We also talk about the importance of showing up as your true self rather than trying to be who you think others want you to be — all of which we relate to the choices of the contestants in our new favorite show. Let’s jump in!

Hey friends! We are back for another profit report. It is time to break down January’s profit, the first profit report of 2020, and we are super excited! If you’re new here and this is the first profit report you’re listening to it might be a little bit different than what you’ve seen floating around online where people do ‘income reports’. We decided last fall to change up the narrative, not only for ourselves and our mentality when we’re talking about business and our own goals but also for the ‘comparisonitis’ that happens. Sometimes when you hear income reports where people list high figures and goals it gets really overwhelming and unattainable, and we can’t really compare that progress or those strategies to our business because we feel like the expectations are so different.

So, what we have tried to do is share percentages and profit. We have made it a goal to focus more on profit than big, shiny, sexy revenue, and that goal is continuing into 2020. It feels really good too! So, throughout this episode, we’re going to share percentages of products or expenses in our own business so you can begin to see the weight those things bear on us, and can make easier comparisons with your own business too!

Life as a successful female entrepreneur can be frazzling with all the different responsibilities you have to take on. Sometimes it can be difficult to know which thing to tackle first! Today on the podcast we have Jessica Korthuis, founder of Sohuis, a marketing and branding education resources company that provides on-demand training for early-stage female entrepreneurs. Jessica is a powerhouse brand strategist marketer, and she has worked with brands like Red Bull, TEDxWomen, Girls Who Code, Stanford University, Bloomingdale’s, and Florida Institute of Technology.

In this episode, we are talking about all the differences between small business ownership and entrepreneurship. We cover marketing tips, feeling the need to do everything and be everywhere, and how to prioritize the stuff that is actually working in your business so you can move forward. Joining this discussion, you’ll hear some top tips for validating your product, how to stop being a perfectionist and take action, and the value of being transparent to build audience trust. There is a lot of mindset-related stuff we are tackling today! Jessica is really in tune with female founders, and the different way intuition works when running a business. So, if you’re feeling a little overwhelmed about what is on your plate and what you have to handle, perfect! This episode will definitely provide some clarity for you.

Oftentimes the people closest to us are the most apprehensive about our business goals and dreams, and this can be isolating. You worry that perhaps you have done the wrong thing as their lack of enthusiasm or support makes you doubt yourself. But have you ever considered that this might be because you going for your dream might remind them that they are stuck? Maybe their skepticism is more about them and how your aspirations make them feel – how it highlights their passivity or the rut they find themselves in. Conversely, it could be your loved ones offer the wrong kind of support or they share their fears around your decisions because they do want you to succeed.

It could be that your spouse is more anxious than you are and that he or she is uncomfortable with you taking risks. As we all know, being an entrepreneur is all about insecurity and unpredictability! In this episode, we share our thoughts about why strangers are often more supportive than our loved ones. We talk about setting boundaries, not giving power to the wrong people, keeping a healthy perspective on the opinions of others, and why it is okay to unfollow people on social media!

You may have wondered what kind of revenue our business made over the holiday season, so today we’re giving you all the details about December. So, even though we’re properly settled into 2020 by now, let’s just backtrack a little to the end of 2019 – because there’s still something we can learn there. During this past December, we took time off for family and enjoying the holidays, but we also prepared ourselves for a big launch in January. We recognized making a big profit was not on the cards for this month as we had other plates spinning and purposefully decided to focus on our long-term vision. 

Sometimes it’s okay not to have profit as your biggest priority each month because as your business evolves, different things are required at different times. Sometimes you have to do the groundwork for what is to come and sacrifice the quick short-term cash and by listening to this episode, you will hear that this was what December looked like for us. Still, we talk about the outstanding performance of our Trello for Business course, why we expected a decline in profit from Strategy Academy, how we’ve rediscovered the power of strategic emails, and a whole lot more! 

Today we are giving Emylee the guest chair and are diving into her newish side-hustle, making clay earrings! You have probably heard it mentioned on the show in the past couple of months since she started hand-making everything from home and selling it through her personal Instagram account. She has kept the whole thing quite fun and casual, not wanting to put too much pressure on the fledgling business. 

In this episode, we talk about four major thoughts and ideas for growth in a product-based business and Emylee weighs in with her experience of each. The truth is her earring side-hustle might be a fully-blown business soon! So without further ado, let's hear what she has to say and get into some strategy!