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

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When Planning is More Fun Than Doing (and what to do about it)

For today’s episode, we are going to have some therapy. We are going to get real today. So kick up your feet, lay down, get a glass of wine, get some coffee, sit on the sofa, whatever it is that you want to do, because today we are talking about that feeling of intense overwhelm. You know, that anxious feeling of looking at what you have to do and avoiding it with all your might. We dive into the different ways that we like to avoid things, like being afraid of the big fat failure, or being afraid of success. Often this kind of overwhelm and avoidance leads to a whole lot of planning, but a little less doing. You can even go as far as saying that planning is more fun than actually doing.

We have been hearing from a lot of you lately that this is a really big piece of why you sometimes just cannot seem to move forward in your business. So we thought we would give our two cents on the matter and let you know how we used to think about these exact same things in our business, plus some of the ways that we avoid these feelings and what we do differently today. Perhaps you just like to get organized as a way of covering up the fact that you are not getting any work done. Oftentimes we tend to love the process of getting everything in a row more than actually doing the work itself. If that sounds like you, then this episode is a must-listen. So sit back, and find out exactly how to get back on the productive track.

Guest User 2/8/17 Guest User 2/8/17

Life Proof Your Business: How to Keep Your Business Running While on Leave

Ever wonder how to keep your business running without actually being in it? Today we’re lifting the curtain, getting super real, and giving you a behind-the-scenes look at how we’ve still gotten things done here at TCC even though we have had a hot mess going on in the background. We want to walk you through the systems, the processes, the mindsets, the workflows, and all the good meaty stuff that we were able to put in place in our business so we were ready when we had to step away.

So, close your eyes for a second and imagine what would happen if you absolutely had to stop and walk away from your business today? Would you be able to just drop everything if you were forced to? Would you be able to replace yourself if need be? Sounds kind of scary, huh? In this episode we share the strategies that we put in place so that our business could run itself, rather than be an on call business (you know, the kind that buzzes you every hour). Plus, we’re covering some things that we wish we had set in place. So, come with us on our journey to see what’s been going on here at TCC and get some insight on some ways that you might be able to put your business on autopilot the next time life happens.

Abagail Pumphrey 1/20/17 Abagail Pumphrey 1/20/17

Lazy Proof Your Day

We think a lot of people get surprised when they find out exactly how much stuff gets done over here at Think Creative Collective. We think you might be shocked by some of the hacks and the tricks that we implement in our everyday to stay on top of our goals, to make sure that our list gets done and of course so as not to get distracted. In this episode of The Strategy Hour Podcast, we’ll jump into the exact structure we use every morning that holds us accountable to getting stuff done. Plus, how we’re able to set up realistic expectations, not only for ourselves but for each other.

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Shiny Object Syndrome - What to do With Too Many Ideas

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How to Actually Implement New Strategies Into Your Business

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How to Plan for Unplanned Time Off

Today we’re talking about unanticipated leave. We’ve spent a good amount of episodes talking about how to prepare for maternity leave or a longer vacation or break, both of which are amazing! But for the most part, these are eventualities that you can anticipate and plan around. So what do you do to prepare for things that you can’t anticipate like family emergencies or medical leave?

This year we have both had major health challenges as well as family emergencies that left us unable to work for days and weeks at a time. These events were stressful in themselves. But, had we not taken the necessary steps to prepare for unanticipated leave, things could have been a lot more dire and overwhelming, especially for our team. To find out whether you’ve prepared your business for unplanned time off, make sure you tune in for our breakdown on how to elevate your systems, build better communication, and plan for unplanned time off!

Abagail Pumphrey 8/23/22 Abagail Pumphrey 8/23/22

Why You Need to Look at Time as an Asset & an Investment

There is only one resource that you can’t get back and we’re willing to hazard a guess that you already know what it is. The good news is, it is renewable in the sense that you can plan to save more of it in the future! You guessed it, we’re talking about time.

Usually, when you start a business, you have way more time than money. As a result, you tend to be more generous with the former, committing every spare moment to building. Often, your business grows, and your approach doesn’t change. You’re still working nights and weekends to make up for the deficit that no longer exists. There have been various moments in our own journey where we’ve taken stock of what the business is and isn’t doing for us, and where we can free up some time.

Abagail Pumphrey 7/19/22 Abagail Pumphrey 7/19/22

Lessons in Goal Setting From a Former FBI Hostage Negotiator

Goal setting forms an integral part of any business. It serves as a guide for your overall vision and can help you persevere, especially when things get tough. But how do we choose our goals? And how do we fully recognize when we’ve obtained them? Too often, we’ve seen clients achieve incredible things only to find themselves unable to appreciate their accomplishments, simply because the reality doesn’t exactly match what they envisioned. This is why, today on the show, we are revisiting our conversation on goal setting and how to appreciate our accomplishments!

We dig into the forces that influence what we envision for ourselves, and how holding onto a particular resolution can undermine our current achievements. Learn how practicing gratitude with intention can help you appreciate your current circumstances and how shifting your perspective to your past self can make you thankful for all that you have! We also share what we learned from a recent interview with a Former FBI Hostage Negotiator about why humans are hardwired to focus on the negative and how to gain perspective. Uncovering what we truly want takes time and work and appreciating what we have takes gratitude and intention. Tune in as we delve into these important topics and the role they play in your life and business!

Abagail Pumphrey 6/28/22 Abagail Pumphrey 6/28/22

Boss Project is Closing … For Our 1st Summer Break — Here's How We Made it Happen

This year, for the first time ever, Boss Project is taking a summer break! We’ve taken vacations in the past, and while we’ve navigated time off before, this time is different. This year we have a full staff of nine employees, who will all be taking time off, and the company will be closed for two entire weeks! In today’s episode, we walk you through the steps we’ve taken to prepare for our time off and show you how any business can prepare for a substantial and regenerative summer break.

Tuning in you’ll hear us break down how we’ve structured our work and our launches around designated time off, why we chose to do it this way, and what we’re planning to do for our break. We unpack some of the logistical steps we’re taking to maintain communication while we’re off, and why we wanted to prioritize our staff and give everyone a chance to rest and get away from it all. Thank you for joining us as we prepare for our summer break and discuss what it means to be a life-first business!

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Incubator Client Strategy Breakdown: How Krystina Eliminated 9 Weeks of Work with 1 New Client

Today, we are so pumped to tell you the story of Krystina, a member of our community who has managed to get back nine full-time weeks of work at a mind-blowingly minimal cost! To set the stage, our advanced training promise is to help you make more money and work less. We’re helping you to design a life-first business and be more intentional about your hours. How you spend that time is ultimately up to you. The way we work and hustle with intention, launch, serve, grow, or reset is all based on the life-first bubble. This means that there are dedicated times for work and free times to either introduce more growth or introduce rest and, if there’s one thing we want our clients to walk away with, it’s the empowerment to choose what to use that time for. In this episode, we not only share Krystina’s result but the full circle moment she had around how she gained that time, so make sure to tune in today!

Abagail Pumphrey 4/19/22 Abagail Pumphrey 4/19/22

Are You Creating a Business or a Job? Here's How to Realign Your Service

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.

Guest User 4/7/22 Guest User 4/7/22

The Difference Between Working IN Your Business Vs. ON Your Business

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!

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What Does Building a Life-First Business Truly Mean?

What kind of business are you dreaming of? Whatever that looks like, it is your choice! And you get to make that everyday. We’ve had a lot of people approach us asking for permission to pursue a life-first business, but the call is yours to make. Our lives are all so different and unique that we can’t prescribe the details of what a life-first business looks like for you, but we can offer you some hard-earned wisdom to guide you in creating a framework that works for you! We all have boundaries we need to put in place to fulfill the life-first structure to support you as you create the life that you want. It’s fully within your power to implement and enact a plan to achieve it, but you’ve got to make the call. While there’s never going to be a magic bell that tells you what to do, we’re here to help show you the way.

Abagail Pumphrey 3/22/22 Abagail Pumphrey 3/22/22

If We Were Starting Over

Starting a business is a huge undertaking. And sometimes when we’re in the midst of building a company and struggling with a particular problem, it can be tempting to simply give up and start over with a new business. But the amount of work it takes to get a business off the ground is far more overwhelming than making changes to your current business. It’s just that it usually doesn’t feel that way because you’re not in the thick of things.

In today’s episode, we’ll be tackling the topic “What would we do differently if we were starting over?” Tuning in you’ll hear about some of the mistakes we’ve made, what precipitated them, and how we’ve helped clients avoid the same pitfalls. It may seem like the things that worked seven years ago would no longer be relevant today, but we’ve found that’s totally not the case. Many of the most important lessons we’ve learned are ones we often need to be reminded of to help us solve current problems. So this episode has been really helpful for us too! Tune in to hear our lessons on scaling up, honing in on your talents, why we love collaboration, and so much more!

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Work Less Hours In Your Service-Based Business by Eliminating These 3 Huge Time Wasters

One of our biggest pet peeves is watching people let their time escape from them. Time is our most valuable resource, yet it is the thing that we see people giving away freely all the time. In today’s episode, we are going to talk about the three biggest time wasters that really hold service providers back from being more productive. It is possible to work less while earning more at the same time!

There’s a mindset amongst many business owners that if they’re not busy, they’re doing something wrong, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. There are always going to be moments where you’re feeling frazzled and overwhelmed, but that doesn’t have to be your reality all the time. If you listen to this episode and resonate with what we’re saying, go to bossproject.com/incubator to sign up for our How to Double Your Income Working Less than 20 Hours Per Week workshop; you won’t regret it!

Woman leaning on back of chair and smiling at camera

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!

DM Me on Instagram

Listener Love

paigeamberbacani
Abagail, thank you SO MUCH for this fresh passion! I can hear the genuine excitement in your voice over what is working well for you right now and what you have overcome in the past! Your resilience is truly contagious and I am so grateful for the knowledge that you freely share!
GoodGood Investing
An amazing podcast! From business strategy and systemization, to motivation and inspiration, The Strategy Hour really does cover it all! We love this podcast to bits!
Genevieve0721
I wanted to reach out and let you know how much I’m enjoying your podcast. It’s truly amazing and I’ve learned so many valuable tips and insights on how to scale a business without burning out. Your content is truly awesome and I appreciate you sharing it with us listeners!
Mezar C
Your podcasts are fantastic! The latest episodes highlighing your journey from graphic design to various marketing roles is truly motivating for aspiring entrepreneuers unsure of their career paths. Awesome content!
Fabi Paolini
Love your podcast, you bring so much value to your listeners. Thank you!
Josuediazv
I really enjoyed the episode that covered the importance of building a highly engaged and motivated team to help company scale and grow. I would highly recommend this podcast to everyone interested in learning practical business strategies to start, scale, and grow a business.
Ashao FreeSky
Super valuable. Abagail provides simple and actionable advice for growing your business. Her episodes are super practical. I love how grounded and down-to-earth she is. You can tell she genuinely cares about helping. I definitely recommend giving the podcast a listen!

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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.

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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.

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