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, Leadership Abagail Pumphrey Podcast, Leadership Abagail Pumphrey

How Can I Budget When My Income is Inconsistent?

In today’s episode, I am going to be talking about what it looks like to budget when your income is inconsistent. Perhaps your business’ revenue and your pay are inconsistent, and you want to create more sustainability so that you can get paid more often and more predictably. The economy is insane at the moment, so everything I am going to share with you today is what I would do to have a more conservative approach in a time of uncertainty. I know that this will have an instrumental impact on how you change your business’ finances, create more personal financial stability, and solidify the future health of your business. This is the thing that will keep your doors open for years to come!

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Podcast, Mindset Abagail Pumphrey Podcast, Mindset Abagail Pumphrey

My Existential Crisis & Discovering What I Really Want

Today, I’m sharing an incredibly personal story about a crisis I faced in 2022 and the profoundly transformative impact it’s had on my life. Clocking that I was the same age as my mother when he had her brain surgery 30 years ago triggered a deep existential crisis in me and in this episode, I open up about my personal journey of self-reflection. With the insights and exercises I learned along the way, I’m eager to provide you with the tools to move through your own transformation. Out of necessity, I’ve become well-acquainted with what it looks like to truly reflect deeply, and I want to share my process so that you, too, can understand what's important to you and learn how to prioritize it going forward. Feel free to treat this episode as your compass to navigate the uncertain waters of self-discovery!

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Podcast, Leadership Abagail Pumphrey Podcast, Leadership Abagail Pumphrey

How to Recession Proof Your Service Based Business

We’re collectively going through what is likely to be the next recession. Nobody has officially called it yet, but it seems to us like that’s the direction we’re heading, or that we’re already in it. Because many other people feel the same way, they are changing their behaviors. So, today we are going to be talking about what it looks like to recession-proof your business! Maybe you weren’t in business during the last recession, so you don’t know what to expect, or you’re used to consistent success, so the slower market has come as a bit of a shock; whatever situation you’re in currently, we’re going to make you feel more at ease and give you some practical advice for how to approach the coming months and years.

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Podcast, Mindset Guest User Podcast, Mindset Guest User

The Consequences of Finding Joy in Your Work

Finding joy in your work is a wonderful thing. It can energize you, further your drive, and help you push through challenging tasks and deadlines. But it can also have a detrimental effect.

Many of us have fallen into the trap of trying to get all our meaning and joy from one source, whether it’s your partner or your company. The problem with that is that it puts untenable pressure on the people we love the most. It can also cause us to neglect other parts of ourselves, leaving us devastated and adrift when we no longer have the partner, or job, that defined our identity.

Today on the show we delve into the consequences of finding joy in our work. We discuss some of the common traps people fall into when their actions aren’t in alignment with what they want, and how to do the difficult, introspective work of uncovering our true needs and aspirations. Tuning in you’ll learn about the biggest obstacles we’ve seen clients face, and how we can help you overcome them. We also discuss how to find more time in your life and identify exactly what you want for your future self!

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Podcast, Project Management Abagail Pumphrey Podcast, Project Management Abagail Pumphrey

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.

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

Client Acquisition Has Changed: Here's What You Need to Lean Into

Over the last three to six months, we’ve been hearing a common complaint from business owners that they need more leads. Guys, quit panicking. There’s a few market shifts that we need to be aware of, but they’re not necessarily changing how you’re going to acquire clients. Everything with clients may feel like it’s changing but in fact, everything is the same! We’re serious; everything is the same.

Marketing is cyclical. You’re going to have something that works now that may not work in 6 months, and then in 2 years, that thing could come right back around again! There are also things that are a common thread forever and always; spoiler alert: it’s relationships. Then there’s going to be hotspots, and what you really shouldn’t do is build a business that relies on these “blips.” Marketing is coming back to its roots, shedding things that don’t work, and bringing things back that have been buried for a while. If you’re interested in everything we have to say on this topic, tune in today!

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Podcast, Mindset Abagail Pumphrey Podcast, Mindset Abagail Pumphrey

Expectations Vs. Realities of Owning a 7-Figure Business

Not everything we do at Boss Project is something we recommend to our clients, even though it may have worked for us. For example, we don’t encourage a lot of folks to replicate our partnership model. Oftentimes, you can actually get what you want by following an entirely different path to the one we took to get there. Another example of this is reaching seven figures. Is there a way for you to achieve the life and lifestyle you’re looking for without the challenges that come with adding a zero to your revenue? We’ve been there, and we have the insight to tell you what the journey looks like.

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Podcast, Scaling Guest User Podcast, Scaling Guest User

The 4 Things a Service Provider Must Get Right: Part Four Build the Team to Help You Scale

Let’s dive into our fourth and final part of the epic series that is absolutely going to transform your life and your business! Today, we fill you in on a few critical insights into building the perfect team to help you scale. We’ve saved this one for last because, without creating structure, you can’t start building a team. But once you’re ready, you’ll find it to be an incredibly powerful tool to take you to the next level (if you get it right!) If you’ve skipped a few steps and already have a team of employees, never fear, it’s never too late to improve upon your current systems. Not every piece has to be perfect but when it comes to hiring; the more you know, the more equipped you’ll be to face whatever comes your way. And that’s what we’re here for! In this episode, you'll learn all about hiring for attitude, designing a well-integrated employee system, defining your priorities and hiring accordingly, refining your team, productizing your offer, and so much more! You won’t want to miss this one.

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Podcast, Systems & Automation Abagail Pumphrey Podcast, Systems & Automation Abagail Pumphrey

The 4 Things a Service Provider Must Get Right: Part Three Design Your Systems for Structure

Welcome back to part three of our series on the four things every service provider must get right. In today’s installment, we’ll be delving into one of our favorite topics here at Boss Project: designing your systems for structure.

Most of our clients deliver a service that requires their clients' contribution. This means they usually need input from clients before they can take the next step in their process. Unfortunately, they often aren’t able to systematize a process because they’re spending most of their time and energy chasing people down all the time! In today’s episode we delve into how to create systems that support you, the impact it will have on your operations, and why it’s all about spending more time with your clients, not less!

We want to help you align the goals and values of your business with the systems you put in place. Our approach is all about how to create structure while taking into account the messiness of life, clients, and running a service-based business. Tune in today as we break down how to design your systems for structure and serve your clients to the best of your ability!

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Podcast, Leadership Guest User Podcast, Leadership Guest User

The 4 Things a Service Provider Must Get Right: Part Two Making Sure the Deliverables are Profitable

In part two of our series on the four things every service provider must get right, we’re talking about money! Particularly, we are talking about profitability. If you want a business that allows you to sleep and see your friends, and maybe even take a vacation, you need to be paying attention to the piece of your business that determines if your deliverables are profitable.

What does it take to really run your service fully? Can you identify what projects are bringing in the most profit for your business? Do you operationally know where you might have some of those ‘cherry on top’ niceties that you might be able to fund in a different or unique way?

At the end of the day, if you don’t have money to fund the business that you are running, you are not going to have a business to run. We want you to not only have a business to run, but we want your business to fund the life that you want to have, and that’s literally our whole mission over at Boss Project!

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Podcast, Leadership Abagail Pumphrey Podcast, Leadership Abagail Pumphrey

4 Things a Service Provider Must Get Right: Part One Identify Your Result

We are bringing you a series! It’s going to be a four-part series dropping on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the next two weeks. In it, we’re going to be covering the four things that a service provider must get right. The reason why we’re launching this particular series is because we’re surprised, year after year, about the lack of higher-level resources geared towards the tens of thousands of people who listen to this show, namely established business owners who are looking to figure out their next move for their business, so that they can level up. So, we’re creating those foundational resources for you in the form of a podcast series. We’re so excited to dig in, come join us!

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Podcast, Leadership Guest User Podcast, Leadership Guest User

We Have a New Podcast: Here's How to Listen

Are you tired of hearing our voices yet? We hope not because guess what just launched? Another freaking podcast! More words for your ear boxes in our voices. It's been so exciting to watch people’s reactions when they hear this is a thing. They'll say that they’ve been listening to the show for years, but then the questions start rolling in about the new show, “Where is it?” or, “I can’t find it,” or “How do I get access?” So, we are here, on our current podcast, to tell you about our new podcast that’s just launched, and we want to talk to you about how you can get access and what’s all involved because this is big news folks. We will talk about some high-level deets and what you can do to get inside.

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Podcast, Leadership Guest User Podcast, Leadership Guest User

Hiring Tips for Growing Small Businesses with Kira La Forgia

Today’s guest is Kira La Forgia, someone who actually enjoys 1099s, W2s, FMLA, and FLSA; you know, all the human resources stuff that usually goes right over your head! Her operations consulting company, Paradigm Consulting, provides resources to online-based business owners that put people's operations at the center of the organizational structure. Kira knows how to project, streamline, and scale businesses, working with leaders in their fields to blend their strengths, passions, and experiences into their unique company culture and develop a robust hiring and growth strategy, as well as providing you with the people you need to move your business forward!

In this episode, we talk about what that looks like at different stages and Kira shares her top hiring tips for growing small businesses. Abagail and Emylee actually hired Kira as a consultant for their own company as they were phasing into growth and hiring employees, which is why we invited her on the show to share her take on small businesses, or businesses who are hiring contractors or virtual assistants, even for the first time. Kira shares some of the things you can set up to better your experience with contractors, the do’s and don’ts when it comes to contractors versus employees, and everything you need to know about your employee handbook, as well as how you can make the onboarding process, associated learning curves, and mindset shifts around hiring a whole lot easier!

We also touch on HR basics for small teams looking to hire contractors and employees, some of the mindset shifts you need to make when it comes to your team members, plus a new way of looking at org charts and what you need to do differently. We all want a scalable business model with no limit on revenue, which is why Kira’s insights are so valuable. Make sure not to miss this incredible and informative conversation, packed full of practical advice that you can implement today!

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Podcast, Leadership Guest User Podcast, Leadership Guest User

July 2021 Profit Report: Our Business Model is a MaaS & Why Yours Might Be Too

We are back here with another fan favorite: profit reports! Let's talk about all the things we did in July and how much money our products made. We love the profit reports because they are such a great opportunity to break down what’s been successful in our business. They also give us a chance to reflect on the things we did, the things we worked on, what we would do differently, and how it would ultimately affect the bottom line because that’s what this is all about. It's not revenue or how much income we generated; it’s about the profit we make in our business. For a while now, Abagail has been talking about using percentages to divide up your profits, and recently, she had a question about a line item. So, she asked our bookkeeping company what some of their recommendations are. They work with hundreds of online businesses in the space we are in, and they have an understanding of the breakdown of things. What made her so happy is that the things we have been working so hard on are the top amounts we should be searching for. This isn’t arbitrary and doesn’t just apply to our business; it’s applicable across the board! And we take a lot of pride in setting our business up in this way. That is also why we share these as percentages because the amount can throw people off if their businesses are not in the same arena or do not have the same goals. But there are percentages that literal professionals recommend businesses are at in terms of profit, or team, or education, or advertising. So, knowing when you’re in that ballpark is really, really reassuring as you continue to make a decision.


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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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