Strategy Hour | Online Marketing for Business Growth

Dear listener, we have hit 1000 episodes! I don’t think I ever imagined saying that out loud! But somewhere along the way, this little show became a thread that wove through nearly every season of my life and every version of my business. And before I step away, I want to write you a letter.   Connect with Abagail⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠  ⁠⁠⁠⁠All the Links!⁠⁠⁠ Thank you for listening! Please subscribe, rate, and review The Strategy Hour Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated. For show notes, go to thestrategyhour.com.  Episode Highlights  The 1000 Episode-Long Era. [0:00:35]  What’s Next? [0:3:27]  Special Thanks to Our Advertiser ⁠⁠FreshBooks⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I’ve recorded nearly a thousand episodes of this show, and yet this one has been one of the hardest to sit down and share. Over the past few months, life has forced me to slow down through surgery, recovery, and a lot of unexpected stillness. And in that quiet, I’ve had to ask some uncomfortable questions about what really matters, where I want to spend my time, and what’s sustainable for me right now.  Connect with Abagail⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠  ⁠⁠⁠⁠All the Links!⁠⁠⁠ This isn’t about the business. Profit is up, things are running smoothly, and I’m proud of what we’ve built. It’s about the podcast. And it’s about giving myself permission to pause. After eight years and nearly a thousand episodes, I know it’s time to take a break, even if I don’t know exactly what’s next. Things are going to look a little different for a while, and honestly, I’m okay with that. I don’t have to have it all figured out, and neither do you! So, let’s take a breath together and step into whatever’s next.  Episode Highlights  Evolving After 1,000 Episodes [0:03:50]   Learning to Be Okay with Not Knowing [0:06:43]  Trusting What You’ve Built (and What’s Still to Come) [0:12:25]  Special Thanks to Our Advertiser ⁠⁠FreshBooks⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Thank you for listening! Please subscribe, rate, and review The Strategy Hour Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated. For show notes, go to thestrategyhour.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I used to think values were something you discovered once and then lived by forever, like a moral compass that stayed fixed. But I’m starting to wonder if they’re more like constellations. They shift a little as you move through different seasons of life. For a long time, I treated my values like a checklist: family, creativity, freedom. Those were the things that mattered. But when they stopped feeling aligned, I felt completely disoriented.  Connect with Abagail⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠  ⁠⁠⁠⁠All the Links!⁠⁠⁠ It wasn’t that my morals changed. Rather, it was that my priorities matured. And while that process can feel confusing and uncomfortable, it can also make space for who you’re becoming. Sometimes the same value takes a new shape. For instance, freedom might look less like flexibility and more like emotional peace. Today, I’m sharing what it felt like to go through that shift, what helped me slow down and listen, and how I began to see my values in a new light. Episode Highlights  The Trip That Changed Everything [0:04:22]   Learning to Live in the Liminal Space [0:06:23]  Finding Alignment [0:11:56]  Slowing Down to See What’s Next [0:16:25]  Special Thanks to Our Advertiser ⁠⁠FreshBooks⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Thank you for listening! Please subscribe, rate, and review The Strategy Hour Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated. For show notes, go to thestrategyhour.com.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We all want to feel fulfilled, satisfied, and ‘enough!’ I think, ultimately, when we’re searching for ‘enough,’ we’re searching for satisfaction. I want you to know that your feeling enough will never just be satisfied by numbers on a page or by a certain amount of money.  Connect with Abagail⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠  ⁠⁠⁠⁠All the Links!⁠⁠⁠ I used to think that satisfaction meant making a certain amount of money and being secure in my income. But then I realized that I wasn’t actually satisfied, and I didn’t feel whole. I had been focused on what everyone else needed for so long, and it wasn’t until this summer that I felt like I could focus on myself again. So how has my definition of ‘enough’ changed?   Episode Highlights  What Does it Mean to Be Satisfied? [0:03:31]   The Importance of Love and Belonging [0:12:58]  Special Thanks to Our Advertiser ⁠⁠FreshBooks⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Thank you for listening! Please subscribe, rate, and review The Strategy Hour Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated. For show notes, go to thestrategyhour.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sometimes the business that got you here can’t take you where you want to go! Today, we are talking about when it’s time for experimentation and reinvention. This is not so much about how much energy you have to give and more about when you know that change is vital. Yes, it’s scary to make changes, but sometimes leaning into that discomfort helps you reinvent yourself and your business. Connect with Abagail⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠  ⁠⁠⁠⁠All the Links!⁠⁠⁠ It’s easy to get a false sense of security around what worked before, but that can quietly become a cage that prevents you from considering other options. I’m curious, what are you maintaining because it feels safer, not because it’s still working?  Episode Highlights  Signs That It’s Time to Experiment [0:08:31]   Reinventing Strategically [0:12:27]  The Power of Debriefs [0:16:01]  Special Thanks to Our Advertiser ⁠⁠FreshBooks⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Thank you for listening! Please subscribe, rate, and review The Strategy Hour Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated. For show notes, go to thestrategyhour.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have you ever looked at someone else’s business and thought, ‘Why does everything seem to be working out for them?’ Well, you’re not alone. We need to normalize this: not everyone is going to be going through the same season of business at the same time. I’d love to tell you it was predictable, and we could all match our energy to the seasons of the year, but that’s just not necessarily how life works.  Connect with Abagail⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠  ⁠⁠⁠⁠All the Links!⁠⁠⁠ We have to be mindful of where we’re at, where we’re going, and what we can give in each season. By the end of this episode, you’re going to be able to recognize the season that you’re in, and I’m going to give you permission to be in it instead of fighting against it! I’m going to help you make some smarter operational decisions because of it, so I hope you’re ready.   Episode Highlights  Why It’s So Important to Understand That Your Business Has Seasons [0:01:46]   What Each of the Four Business Seasons Actually Involve [0:02:46]  How You Can Use Slowing Down as a Strategy [0:05:36]  The One Thing You Need to Be Mindful of Through Every Season [0:14:23]  What You Should Reflect on During This Season [0:14:23]  A Path Forward: What You Can Do Next [0:26:51]  Special Thanks to Our Advertiser ⁠⁠FreshBooks⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Thank you for listening! Please subscribe, rate, and review The Strategy Hour Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated. For show notes, go to thestrategyhour.com.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have you ever hit a milestone you worked your entire life for only to feel absolutely nothing? We often spend so much of our time and attention focused on our future selves that we forget how to live in the present. But it’s not your fault! We were handed this invisible checklist when we were all kids. We’re supposed to get a good education and a good job, buy that house, get married, have those kids, and live that dream life. Connect with Abagail⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠  ⁠⁠⁠⁠All the Links!⁠⁠⁠ We all thought we would feel a certain way if we did what society said would make us successful. But none of these things actually change who we are. It doesn’t change the emotions we experience in the moment. It just makes us compare ourselves to this inconceivable, impossible representation of what success looks like.    Episode Highlights  The One Thing I’m Learning About Success and Life Right Now [0:05:29]   What I Learned When I Finally Slowed Down [0:13:21]  How We Lose Ourselves Trying to Follow Someone Else’s Path [0:20:48]  Why Success Isn’t Going to Make You Feel Safe [0:22:41] What It Might Look Like to Put Yourself Out There In New Ways [0:26:27] We’ve created a culture in which we are rewarding the outcome, not the effort. You have to beat yourself at your own game and outdo yourself every time. But eventually, outdoing yourself becomes impossible. Even if you’re not playing the comparison game and you’re only focused on you, how can you continuously do better than yourself all the time?  Special Thanks to Our Advertiser ⁠⁠FreshBooks⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Thank you for listening! Please subscribe, rate, and review The Strategy Hour Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated. For show notes, go to thestrategyhour.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You know you’re in danger when rest feels more dangerous than your to-do list. If you’ve ever bragged about being overwhelmed, lack of sleep, or saying yes to something you don’t want to do just to feel ‘needed’, you might be a stress junkie, and your body is paying the price! Cortisol addiction is a clinically observed pattern. When you’re stressed, your body pumps out cortisol and triggers a part of your fight, flight, freeze, or fawn response; your survival mechanism.  Connect with Abagail⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠  ⁠⁠⁠⁠All the Links!⁠⁠⁠ Over time, these stress-related behaviors can become compulsive, and when stress becomes constant, your body keeps producing cortisol when there is no real danger, which has serious long-term effects on your health. Today, we’re going to unpack why you might be addicted to stress hormones and why you can’t quit.  Episode Highlights  Signs That You’re Addicted to Cortisol [0:04:57]   Why You Get Addicted to Stress [0:07:20]  How to Break the Cycle [0:08:09]  The Power of CBT and DBT [0:17:00]  Special Thanks to Our Advertiser ⁠⁠FreshBooks⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Thank you for listening! Please subscribe, rate, and review The Strategy Hour Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated. For show notes, go to thestrategyhour.com.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Life doesn’t wait for you to have it all figured out. When unexpected challenges hit, your business needs to be ready to withstand the storm. In this fan favorite episode, Abagail shares how to build a sustainable business that can function without you at the center, why learning to ask for help is key, and what shifts you need to make so your work supports your life—not the other way around. Connect with Abagail⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠  ⁠⁠⁠⁠All the Links!⁠⁠⁠ Episode Highlights Learning How to Ask for Help. [0:18:23] Imagining a Business That Can Run Without You. [0:30:03] The Very First Thing You Need to Do. [0:34:40] Special Thanks to Our Advertiser ⁠⁠FreshBooks⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Thank you for listening! Please subscribe, rate, and review The Strategy Hour Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated. For show notes, go to thestrategyhour.com.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Not sure where you’re headed in business or life? In this episode, we’re breaking down how your past experiences can guide your future direction. I’ll introduce you to the PACE method—a simple framework to help you understand your current position, define your aspirations, experiment with creativity, and take messy action toward your goals. Tune in to learn how to leverage your journey so far into clear, actionable steps for where you want to go next. Connect with Abagail⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠  ⁠⁠⁠⁠All the Links!⁠⁠⁠Special Thanks to Our Advertiser ⁠⁠FreshBooks⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices