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

Podcast, Marketing Guest User Podcast, Marketing Guest User

Q & A With Abagail & Emylee: We're Answering Your Burning Questions Live!

We are back for another Q&A with Abagail and Emylee! Sometimes we allow you, our audience, to post up a thread of burning questions in our Facebook Group. These questions could be anything; business or life — literally anything is on the table. We did this a couple of days ago and received a ton of really great questions. We thought we would share them here on the podcast and make it an educational experience for y’all. Hopefully, we get to answer your question on air and give you all a bit of free coaching in today’s episode and even some strategy if you will.

With all the questions, we cover a big range of topics, including launching new products, knowing when to hire out and advice we wish we had known before starting our business. We also dive into the best strategies for creating challenges and let you know how to get those eyes on your prize! So if you have submitted a question to the group or you are just simply dying to hear the answers to all the many questions, stick around to hear us answer them. Now grab that coffee, get yourself comfy and let the answering games begin!

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Podcast, Systems & Automation Guest User Podcast, Systems & Automation Guest User

Self-Help Junkie Gives a Behind the Scenes Look at the Strategy Academy with Kendalyn Banks of Sage & Sea Apothecary

We have one of our dreamy students on the show today, Kendalyn Banks. She is a wanna-be mermaid, lightworker and sole proprietor of Sage & Sea Apothecary. She is multi-passionate and believes in taking the holistic approach to self-care and she’s got some amazing natural products in her shop. She is also a pretty smart entrepreneur! We had her on the show to walk you through exactly what she went through from starting her Etsy shop to growing her product-based business.

Kendalyn also shares her experience with Strategy Academy; what she was able to implement from the program and how she really started to see growth, both personally and inside her business. We are diving into nurturing versus growth. We are talking about pivoting, being a self-help junkie and what it’s like being a multi-passionate. At the end, we also go into the topic of meditation! This episode is a really amazing look at the behind-the-scenes of what a student inside Strategy Academy goes through. So if this is something you have been considering, you should definitely have a listen!

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Podcast, Project Management Guest User Podcast, Project Management Guest User

Your Business Needs a Roadmap (Here's What To Do In Your First 2 Years of Business)

On today’s show, we will be answering our most frequently asked question: “How did you get from point A to point B?” We will be sharing what to do, when to do it and how to do it all in your first two years of business. These steps got us from zero dollars to nearly half a million dollars and we want to give you a step-by-step breakdown of everything we did along the way. Even if your goal is not to make half a million dollars, the strategies we implemented and the lessons we have learned can definitely be applied to any business goal. Whatever your ultimate goal, the strategies and order we did them in are the same.


Inside this episode, we give you a business roadmap and the eight main steps we took to reach our goal. The order of these steps is key and that is exactly why we will be sharing them in detail with you! To give you a little taste, here is how we are going to break it all down. 1) Build Your Foundation, 2) Craft Your Message, 3) Nurture Your Dreamies, 4) Streamline With Systems, 5) See The Big Picture, 6) Create Sustainability, 7) Formulate A Passive Business, 8) Reach Those #Squad Goals. Okay, are you ready? Let’s get started!

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Podcast, Marketing Guest User Podcast, Marketing Guest User

Psychology Driven Brand Strategy and An Opt-in that 55k People Have Dived Into with Kaye Putnam

Today on the podcast we have Kaye Putnam. Kaye is is a psychology-driven brand strategist for entrepreneurs. Through work with over a 100 clients, from Fortune 50’s to entrepreneurs, she developed the In Demand Brand method. She has had some crazy success though with her famous opt-in. 55,000 people have taken her psychology quiz all about branding and y’all need to take it too. Inside this episode, all three of us nerd out pretty hardcore. We talk about the psychology behind understanding your competition and establishing your brand presence. We uncover a couple of the most popular archetypes and the least popular ones.

 

Kaye brings to the conversation a different way of looking at your brand, your messaging and what you’re serving to your clients based off what you are actually best at and who you are as a human being, which is the easiest and best thing to do, right? Of course, we also talk about her quiz, the strategy behind how she set that up, how she has collected the leads and what it’s meant for her financially. This a good one to listen to just to uncover a little bit more about yourself and how you can use that to craft your brand messaging to your benefit.

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Podcast, Services Guest User Podcast, Services Guest User

This Episode Is For You If....

Today, we are tackling a concept and question that we get asked ALL THE TIME. Specifically, we are going to answer it around the framework of The Strategy Academy because in case you haven’t been paying attention, the doors are opening again soon and we are pretty freaking pumped about it. But, regardless of whether you are considering The Strategy Academy or any other program, or you’ve asked this question from us in the past, maybe this kind of walkthrough, mindset or framework will help you answer this question next time it pops up for you. The question we get asked all the time is, “Ok, but who is this program perfect for? What type of person is this program for; someone who is just starting out or someone who has been in business and needs to up a level?”

It’s one of those questions we have always had a hard time answering. We have always felt like we need to box ourselves in but it turns out that we kinda gave the middle finger to that rule and did what we wanted to anyways. This program isn’t just for someone brand new in business. It isn’t just for someone who is ready to move up a level and take things seriously. It isn’t just for someone who is not profitable yet. It isn’t just for someone who is profitable. It’s for all of those people — for different reasons. Today, we are diving into the why, the how and the benefit of why opening it up to so many different people has created a community in which all these different types of people thrive. So, keep listening to hear more!

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Podcast, Leadership Guest User Podcast, Leadership Guest User

Celebrating Two Years For TCC: Reflecting Back and Looking Ahead

Happy Birthday to us (cue birthday song). Did you know Think Creative Collective just turned two? We are worried now, because the you know the terrible two’s, does that happen in business too? We certainly hope not! We want to tell you everything we’ve worked on, everything that’s kinda worked for us, some stats to get you familiar with how things have been going and talk a little bit about the future of TCC.

Also, we have opened and started and closed seven businesses together, so this ain’t our first rodeo, babes. It might be our first rodeo together and our most successful business, but we have been in so many other businesses and we have been through all the ups and downs. So we get it, we get it all. Want to find out how we have made this business work? 

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Podcast, Project Management Guest User Podcast, Project Management Guest User

Strategies Every Successful Wedding Planner Needs with Madison Sanders

Today on the podcast we have Madison Sanders, of Madison Sanders Events. Madi has been a wedding planner and designer since 2014 (and also, it just so happens that she and Emylee went to highschool together!). Madison has gone from working for other agencies to building her own business, to even growing her agency where she now has other planners working for her.

Inside today’s episode, we talk about how that entire process worked, what she invested in along the way and how she was able to utilize relationships with vendors to continue to grow her business. We discuss the ins and outs of wedding planning – from managing multiple marketing platforms, to how she gets her clients, communicating with employees and clients, asking for referrals and setting boundaries so that you can look after your own well-being. Even if you are not in the wedding industry, there are so many valuable nuggets in here, for any entrepreneur, in any industry. Take a listen!

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Podcast, Marketing Guest User Podcast, Marketing Guest User

Leveraging Your Podcast, Hosting In-Person Workshops and Pivoting with Amanda Boleyn of She Did It Her Way

Today on the podcast we have Amanda Boleyn of the She Did It Her Way podcast. Have you heard of her? Well, if you haven’t, she is a rockstar. She Did It Her Way has been named one of the "12 Best Podcasts for Entrepreneurs" and "Top 100 Best Websites for Entrepreneurs" by Forbes. Her podcast is dedicated to featuring savvy female business entrepreneurs from across the globe. These women share their insights and journeys so that others can do it their way too.

In this episode, Amanda is sharing about something other than her podcast. We’re diving into how she’s been able to take her podcast journey and leverage it to further grow her business. In fact, she’s opening up her first ever in-person summit — the doors are open and we’re talking all about the amazing experience that you can get in on this October at the She Did It Her Way Summit. We’re also talking about pivoting and the challenges of growing a business and everything that comes with that.

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Podcast, Marketing Guest User Podcast, Marketing Guest User

What To Do Before You Even Think About Getting Press with Ashley Gartland

Today we are here with the lovely Ashley Gartland. Ashley helps passionate creatives and driven entrepreneurs like you, who feel like they’re drowning in to-dos and just want someone to tell them where to focus to make their business work. She teaches them how to stop overcomplicating things and simplify their approach so they can make more money in their business and experience more freedom in their life.

If you haven’t listened to our episode with Rachel Hofstetter, way back in episode 003, do yourself a favor and listen to it BUT listen to this one first. They are interlinked in that they both talk about your approach to press but Ashley breaks down the first steps you need to go through. She gets into all the befores and afters of getting press for your business and she’s helping you get ready to get your business featured.

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Podcast, Marketing Guest User Podcast, Marketing Guest User

How to Launch a Podcast in 7 Days with Sagan Morrow of Candid Conversations

Today we are chatting with Sagan Morrow, who is a small business strategist, published author, and blogger at SaganMorrow.com. With nearly a decade of experience as a freelance writer/editor/social media manager, Sagan now teaches struggling solopreneurs how to create their own customized, actionable strategies for starting and building their own successful, profitable home-based businesses, without the overwhelm. Sagan is an intersectional feminist with a degree in Rhetoric. She recently launched the Candid Conversations small business podcast with her business partner to share the behind-the-scenes real, raw stories of entrepreneurship, in an effort to inspire and guide others through the uncertain landscape that is being a small business owner.

Sagan and her now business partner launched their podcast in seven days and today we’re going through the steps of how they made that happen, how they figured out the tech, and how they landed a sponsor. We also go over exactly how they got onto iTunes, what kind of hours they put in, and advice that they have for people who are wanting to launch anything in a small amount of time. So if you are ready to get off the fence and get your ideas out into the real world, then you should definitely tune in to today’s episode!

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Podcast, Marketing Guest User Podcast, Marketing Guest User

How to Launch in Five Days and the 8 Secret Steps to Success

We are here today to congratulate all of you who just came through on the other side of the glorious hill after finishing our free Five Days to Launch Challenge. In this episode, we are going to do a quick recap of what the heck you all learned in the challenge and maybe try to give you one more boost of energy to keep trucking forward. Plus, we are going to give you an invitation to another free challenge for you to learn even more awesome, amazing things for your business.

We have been so impressed by the community that was able to take an idea that they had, turn it into a product, and get it to market in five days. We are briefly going to go over the steps the participants took, so if you missed the challenge and you want to figure out what the heck they did, definitely stay tuned because you can participate in our next one for sure. We are definitely going to do this again because it was an absolute party and, as you know, we will be here again probably in like a week or so giving you a full recap of the challenge and a behind the scenes look from our end. So if this is something that you guys are wanting to incorporate in your own business, you can just copy and paste what we did because we had a blast!

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Podcast, Client Experience Guest User Podcast, Client Experience Guest User

Behind the Scenes: Creating a Client Management System for Creatives with Becca and Jake Berg of Dubsado

Today on the show, we have Becca and Jake Berg of Dubsado. We are super excited to have them on! They are a husband and wife team that are the brains, power, and genius behind Dubsado, which is a client management system for creatives. They have built one amazing and beautiful platform for all of those things that you have 75 different logins for, including your contracts, how you get paid, and how you respond back to clients after they book with you. All of those pieces are neatly tied up in one amazing software bow.

In today’s episode, you are going to get a peek behind the curtain. We are walking you through the steps they took to build the software company, from idea to launch, and how they did it while building a family and working full time jobs. They share with us how they have been able to grow and scale their business, and how Becca had to make sure it was her own. They also dive into exactly how they were able to make this awesome idea into an actual product, get it launched, and then how they have been able to scale and grow their team. We are even talking about some inside scoops on how to better perfect your client based business and get paid faster. So we are excited for you to jump in, listen, and learn!

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Podcast, Project Management Guest User Podcast, Project Management Guest User

How to Pivot to Your Passion and Why You Should Focus on It

Today, we are chatting about the good old pivot; the pivoting to your passion, the figuring out what the heck you can work on right now to start getting your feet wet. It is all about testing the waters of this whole creative biz ownership thing, making some actual money, and then transitioning to whatever keeps the fire in your soul burning. We want you to dive in to where you are getting paid to do something that you are good at, even if that thing is not what your business is going to be in the next year or two.

So in this episode we are going to dive into starting with your MVP and what that means, and then explain to you kind of how we kept that top of mind in our own creative business journeys. Now, we are not talking about the most valuable player on your baseball team. No, it is your most viable product. What is the thing that you can sell today without having to learn a new skill, without having to go to school or take a class? What can you bring to market right away that you can sell and make money off of? This is exactly the thing that people need to be focusing on instead of other fluff.

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Podcast, Systems & Automation Guest User Podcast, Systems & Automation Guest User

Tactical Throwbacks: Get More Clients and Get Paid Faster with Abagail Pumphrey

Alright guys, we are back for another tactical throwback. Today, we are taking it back and sitting down to interview Abagail about all of the lessons she’s learned, the mistakes she’s made, and how the heck she got clients when she was doing one-on-one client work for branding, design, and website business building. So today we are going to give the quick version of what Abbie did before TCC, because not everyone knows that she has not been doing Think Creative Collective forever. We will learn a bit more about what she used to do, and dive into the tactics she used to grow her business.

Prior to TCC, Abagail worked in the corporate design world. After completing her fine arts degree, she went straight out of the gate and started working for big and small businesses alike. She worked with businesses of all shapes and sizes, anywhere from billion dollar, to nonprofit, to educational businesses. She even worked for a startup and then eventually was laid off, which is really where she faced her crossroads and had to make a decision about whether to start her own business or simply look for another job. Abbie was definitely ready for a challenge and decided to pursue her dream of having her own business. So get ready, get your socks on, it’s going to be a good one.

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Podcast, Systems & Automation Guest User Podcast, Systems & Automation Guest User

Tactical Throwbacks Growing a 5-Figure Photography Business with Emylee Williams.

Today on the podcast, we are taking you all back to the days before TCC even existed. It is kind of crazy but, believe it or not, we both used to run different businesses. Emylee used to be a photographer and she was pretty darn good at it, so we are doing a little interview style throwback with her today. She left a five figure photography business to form TCC and before that, Emylee graduated with a degree in fine art photography, minors in a whole bunch of other areas and kind of went ahead on her own, always carrying that entrepreneurial spirit.

Emylee started her entrepreneurial journey with her very own cupcake business, which turned out to be a big, fat failure, but then she went back to photography and turned it into a business. We are going to talk about what it was like to run a photography business, what it was like to get clients, how to package, how to price, how to just get your business up and running, the gear she used, and so much more.

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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!

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