If you have not already heard of the law of diminishing returns, it states that everything we do is on a bell curve and as we do more work so the results improve. But once we pass a certain point or amount of work, the results begin to lessen and the work we do becomes less effective. After a certain amount of time and effort, our results can even start to decline and drop off to a point below our earlier work! The main lesson we want to extrapolate here is that more work equals better results up to a certain point.

As we work on projects, we have to find these points and understand how far our effort is going. We have to be able to apply this theory to our business otherwise we run the risk of shooting ourselves in the foot through overwork and time-wasting. We need to focus on productivity, how to spend our time wisely and when we are done with a specific task. Learning the answer to this question might take time but we can start to notice patterns if we are sensitive to this dynamic. This law will apply to physical as well as digital work and remember that your creativity and energy is subjective, we never really know for sure, but we can work on our mindset and perspective to minimize these negative effects.

Welcome back to another episode of the Strategy Hour Podcast! Today, we dive into the topic of owning and changing your deeply rooted beliefs. Imagine you are a tree and you have an abundance of beautiful fruit hanging from you, but you also have fruit that is rotten, that you feel ashamed of and that you don’t want others to see. The only way to determine what the problem is, why there is this bad fruit, is to go through the entire system to see where the change needs to happen.

On this episode, we talk about behavior, values, and beliefs using the metaphor of a tree – a helpful way to better understand ourselves and others. How do you bring about change in your life, where do you begin? We talk about where our values come from and how we can begin to not only change ourselves but our entire communities. Regardless of how ingrained you think your behavior is, we all have the ability to grow and improve and to even do a complete 180! This episode brings you inspirational stories and lots of practical advice for business, raising kids, and life in general, so be sure to tune in! 

Today on the show we are giving you a little break from the norm and offering a few updates on things besides Boss Project. That's right, this episode is dedicated to all those things outside of work, although some of it is more work! We both have a lot going on behind the scenes, in our personal lives and we wanted to share some of what keeps us inspired, busy and our occupied when we are not doing our main thing! 

This conversation includes a lot of life changes because that is what has been going on for both of us, personally. Hopefully, you will find it insightful, useful and show you just a little bit more of our world. We sure do love sharing it all with you, so let's go ahead and dive right in!

Today we’re excited to be talking about a number of awesome productivity hacks. We know this is a popular topic many have covered, but it’s because it shapes the future of your business and in fact, your day-to-day happiness! We sometimes get stuck in a rut where we simply can’t focus and work like we are able to at other times. Now, with the changing season, we thought it would be an appropriate time to relook at some of these daily practices and share what we’ve personally done to up our level of productivity. 

In this episode, each of us will share three tips that have worked for us, including claiming your me-time, structuring your day, considering your optimal work environment and building rewards into stressful tasks. For all of this and more, don’t miss out on today’s productivity hacks episode! 

This is an episode that can apply to any of our listeners, no matter where you are currently at with your biz! There are always times that you need to get people on board and with what you are doing or hoping to do. Whether you are just starting or ramping up to a new level, conversations have to be had with those close to us, to create understanding, buy-in and a system that can work for you. You need to be able to communicate where your passion lies and how you want to do things moving forward and these can be awkward conversations at times but we are here to guide you the process and make it that little bit easier! We want to help you to see what is important, what must be said and what can be left out.

These are such necessary conversations with our friends, partners, and family and their buy can be the help that you need to get where you are going. At the same time, you do not have to rely on people being on board with us to be successful, you will have to gauge your own needs in this regard. Change, whether big or small, can be a gamble and moving in new directions often has no guarantees. We suggest a bit of planning of these types of conversations as well as some warning for the other party involved. Most people do not like big announcements sprung on them out of nowhere! We also want to mention that other people's feelings are not your problem or your choice but that does not mean they will not affect you. We want to help you make things go smoother in potentially rocky terrain, so join us as we dive in!

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!

Today on the podcast we have a Boss Talk about a topic that’s been on our minds a lot lately, probably because we’ve been going through all these transitions. So today we discuss what failure is to each of us and how it makes us feel. We felt that it was really important to open up this conversation because there’s a lot of shame that can come with failure, and that makes us not want to talk about it! But sharing ideas around this topic will hopefully build even stronger support in our community as it is something that all of us have gone through at some point in our lives. 

As cliché as it sounds, failure is always an opportunity to learn – even though this is not what we want to hear when it happens to us. It’s true though, failure gives us another opportunity to try again and brings us one step closer to that thing that we’re supposed to be doing and that feels good! Don’t miss out on this episode and join in the conversation by sending us a DM on Instagram! 

We’ve previously done an episode about what you need to consider before starting a podcast, and we admit that it was a bit of a Debbie Downer, so today we want to do a follow up of that where we go over some of the things we’ve learned in the meantime. We talk about the reasons for starting a podcast and about everything you should have set up before you can start, including deciding on the extent to which you will be involved and the equipment you will need to record and where to find it. 

On a more serious note, we talk about the profitability of podcasting and what you can expect to get out of it as well as different ways you might think of monetizing it. We then switch to chatting about bringing guests on the show and finding fun topics and conclude with our number one tip for getting your show noticed and sponsored, so be sure to join in on the conversation! 

Ever been stuck with ideas and you just didn’t know if they were right for you or how to put them into action? We’ve been getting tons of questions from you all out there, and most of the questions being along the lines of, “How do you guys know when a product or a launch is the right thing to do?” and “When do you reassess and change things and how do you actually know that something isn’t quite right?” We’re here today to tell you about our past experiences and how we got to figuring it all out.

In our experience we’ve always just kinda “did it” and generally made it happen. There haven’t been many ideas that have come up that didn’t ultimately end up being created. We’re digging into how we originally started and how we knew it was the right choice for us.  We also delve into where our heads were at along the process and what you can do turn your vision into daily actions. From idea, to conception, to sale, we’re giving you both parts of our system. Be sure to keep listening to find out more!

With all these transitions going on lately, we’ve had to do some reflection because as we move forward, it’s important to figure out what we want and where we’ve been and so we decided to share some things you probably didn’t know about us starting our business. Emylee might be remembering everything as perfect, but it definitely wasn’t! 

On this episode we make a few confessions and share some of the behind the scenes info that we haven’t talked about before. You might find these seven things surprising, you might find them relatable, but maybe you find it encouraging to hear that we did not have everything figured out before we started our business. A lot of stuff we had to learn along the way – stuff we’re happy to share with you, so be sure to join us for this episode! 

So as you may or may not know, Abagail is completely addicted to The Bachelorette and all the associated shows! She has been following them for ages and seems to know almost all of the rotating cast of characters from each season and the ins and outs of this huge TV show. So she thought, why not use the show as a way to draw out some important life and business lessons seeing as though they are exemplified so well during the action of the latest season and the format in general? 

Even if you are not particularly in love with or follow the show that closely, there is a whole lot here for you! We draw out a few of these lessons and explain how they can impact your business in the long run, and all thanks to The Bachelorette. So make sure to tune in to a new twist on the regular Strategy Hour Show!

As you know, all of our lives are ever evolving and the schedules and routines that organize our days are constantly in motion. A big part of this, for us, is obviously our business and we have learned some big lessons about riding the waves of change so that everything doesn't go terribly wrong any time something comes up. Today we will be talking about two major curveballs that life has thrown at us, one at Emily in the form of childcare and one at Abagail in the form of her husband's uncertain career. 

In the episode we will be unpacking these stories and sharing the silver linings of each for your listening pleasure! The biggest takeaway that we want to share with all of you from this topic is that the choices you make as life changes must be the right ones for you and for your family. Not for others' standards or by their advice or opinions. Do not let the norms of society manipulate how you live your life! We are sharing all of this to support you and remind you that the right way is your way and with enough thought and time you will find it! With all that said, let's get into some strategy!

Guess what’s back? Another Boss Project Summit! For those who have not yet joined us for one of these events, it’s basically an amazing, free business conference during which you can wear your PJs while attending in the comfort of your own home. We gather all the best entrepreneurs and business owners to teach you everything they know, from starting an online business to pivoting and scaling, and everything in between. Head to the Boss Project Summit website to sign up and get your virtual ticket. It is happening live August 20-22, 2019, so make a note of that. 

On this episode we give you a quick overview of some of the topics that will be covered and the great sponsors we have for the summit. We also tell you how you should go about getting access to the summit and what an all access pass will allow you to do. So be sure to get with the Boss Project Summit program! 

So, we get questions all the time about which app is the best for each task. On today's episode of The Strategy Hour, we thought we would give you all of that and break down all of our favorite tools and tips for getting the most for your biz! We will go through each section of our business and give you a selection of what we use, recommend, do not like, and even some things that might be beyond your scope right now. 

Remember, just because we use it does not make it the best or the one you should use. Often you have to patch together a toolbox that is best for your specific needs, but we are here to show you the lay of the land! We want to be as transparent as possible and often the reason we use a certain tool at this time is that it was just the one we selected first! So all that being said we are sure you will get a lot from this episode and might just find your new favorite thing out there! Let's get into some strategy!

As your business grows, you might find the need to hire a virtual assistant. How we approach hiring now is very different from what it used to be and getting someone who is the right fit takes a good portion of know-how. It’s a learning curve and a process for sure. The first step is to make sure that you actually need a person and that a well-functioning system or software application is not able to address the need, because that will naturally work out way cheaper! 

When you’ve done your research and figured out that you absolutely do need a human to do the task, you might begin by asking for referrals. But how will you know if this is the right person for the job? Well, on this episode we share some of the greatest advice for hiring a virtual assistant – tips and tricks that you can apply to really any position you need to be filled. So be sure to tune for today’s Strategy Hour Podcast!