Strategy Hour | Online Marketing for Business Growth

If you don’t believe in yourself, who else will? This episode is for everyone! Whether you’re a solopreneur, a startup founder, or growing a team of your own, this conversation is full of real-world advice from someone who’s lived it and started all over again.  Join The Co-op - The Membership for Online Businesses Connect with Abagail Instagram All the Links! Today, we are joined by Julie Wainwright, founder and former CEO of The RealReal; a company that she scaled to over a billion dollars in revenue before taking it public. Now she is at it again as the co-founder and CEO of AHARA – a precision nutrition company redefining wellness through science.  Julie has been featured on Forbes’ 50 Under 50 alongside names like Kamala Harris and Shonda Rhimes. Julie is a bold and strategic leader who is here to share the lessons no one teaches about running a business. Tune in to hear all about navigating power dynamics, building personal wealth, making strategic exits, and leading companies as a woman in tech.  Episode Highlights Fearlessness in Career Pivots. [0:03:41]  Embracing Being 51% Right and Finding Confidence. [0:12:49] Building Personal Wealth as a Woman. [0:25:31] Our Sponsor: FreshBooks get 50% off for 6 months 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 bossproject.com/podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re talking about the kinds of stories that help you connect with your audience, build trust, and grow your business! In today’s episode, we’re focusing on stories that help you sell your offers and expand your impact. They’re the ones that move people to action, help you overcome objections, and grow your community by making your message land. These stories don’t just connect with your audience; they convert! Join The Co-op - The Membership for Online Businesses Connect with Abagail Instagram All the Links! Episode Highlights Show People That You Understand Their Challenges [0:01:22] Share Why You Created Your Offer [0:04:22] Connect Over Shared Values [0:08:34] Invite Others to Be Part of Your Vision for the Future [0:12:45] Haters Gonna Hate [0:15:50] Show What’s Possible When You Take a Chance [0:19:51] Our Sponsor: ⁠FreshBooks⁠ - special savings with this link 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 bossproject.com/podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I believe storytelling is one of the most powerful tools you have as a marketer. In a recent podcast, I talked about pulling out the kinds of stories that you can use again and again. I want to teach you to write narratives that you can come back to and use in a bunch of different situations. Join The Co-op - The Membership for Online Businesses Connect with Abagail Instagram All the Links! These are the stories that are going to help build your brand and make you memorable. We’re talking about creating trust and building an emotional connection with you and your business. This is how you build relationships without having a one-on-one conversation. It’s all about building a foundation: introducing yourself to a colder audience and reminding your warmer audience how you tick. Episode Highlights What to Include in Your Origin Story [0:02:34]  How to Tell Your Founder Story [0:05:14] Where to Tell Your Why Story [0:09:10] Why Customer Transformation Stories are So Powerful [0:12:27] Learning to Tell Your Story of Failure [0:17:07] Telling Your Credibility Story [0:23:36] Personality-Driven Extras [0:27:32] What Happens When You Share an Idea That Didn’t Work [0:32:55]  Our Sponsor: ⁠FreshBooks⁠ - special savings with this link 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 bossproject.com/podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AI is everywhere. It’s an undeniably powerful tool, it’s evolving fast, and it’s not going away. But even with all that momentum, there are still some things it can’t do and some things you should absolutely let it handle for you. It also provokes a lot of different reactions. For some, fear is the first response. Others feel overwhelmed or confused. Maybe you’re just tired of the noise! All anyone has talked about for the last two years has been AI, and honestly? I get it. Every one of those reactions is valid. Join The Co-op - The Membership for Online Businesses Connect with Abagail Instagram All the Links! But here’s what I want to do today: point out what makes you unique, your story, your lived experience, your creative spark, and show you how you can work with AI, not against it. Because it’s critically important that business owners learn how to use it, otherwise you're going to be left in the dust. My goal is for you to walk away feeling empowered and clear on how to use AI to save time, spark ideas, and support your business without ever losing what makes your voice special! Episode Highlights What AI Can’t Replace: Your Story, Voice & Lived Experience. [0:02:34]  The Power of Emotional Nuance & Creative Intuition. [0:08:04] Using AI to Save Time & Make Money in Your Business. [0:14:12] Collaborating with AI, Not Competing With It. [0:22:13] The Future of AI: From Productivity Partner to Task Execution Tool. [0:23:04] Our Sponsor: ⁠FreshBooks⁠ - special savings with this link 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 bossproject.com/podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There’s no shortage of business advice out there, but let’s be real, some of it just doesn’t work for me. And I’m guessing it’s not all going to work for you either! Join The Co-op - The Membership for Online Businesses Connect with Abagail Instagram All the Links! I’ve learned the hard way that not all advice is created equal. In today’s episode, I’m sharing where I’m intentionally being a rebel; where I’m choosing what actually aligns with my values and giving myself permission to evolve. I hope this episode gives you the spark to do the same. We’re going to tackle these, one piece of bad advice at a time, and I’ll break down exactly why I’m not following it.  Episode Highlights Why You Shouldn’t Do Less to Make More [0:01:05]  You Don’t Need a Huge Audience to Make Real Money [0:03:10] What You Should Actually Focus On & Why it Isn’t Growing Your Team [0:06:17] How to Stop Glorifying Burnout & Making Ease Seem Like a Failure [0:14:54] Fight Me on This: You Don’t Need a Niche! [0:17:04] My Perspective on Where to Place Your Pricing [0:20:41] How to Win with Just One Offer & One Thing You Shouldn't Fear Monetizing [0:25:26] The Permission You Might Not Know You Need [0:32:45] Our Sponsor: ⁠FreshBooks⁠ - special savings with this link 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 bossproject.com/podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If traditional business advice has ever felt like it was made for someone else’s brain, you’re not imagining it! This episode is all about building systems that truly support how you think, especially if you’re an entrepreneur with ADHD or leading a neurodiverse team. Join The Co-op - The Membership for Online Businesses Connect with Abagail Instagram All the Links! Our guest, Latrice Prater, is a neurodivergent CEO and founder of The Digital Solutions Team. In just a few short years, she’s scaled her agency and redefined how women in business approach systems, structure, and success. She shares how her neurodivergence shaped her journey and how you can build a business that works with your brain, not against it. Tune in to discover how to create systems that actually fit the way you work! Episode Highlights Systems for ADHD Needs to be a Thing [0:01:23] Building a System for Your Brain, Business, and Budget [0:04:33] Creating Structure for ADHD [0:08:28] Giving Your Team Autonomy [0:12:59] Find What Works For You [0:14:56] Managing Your Teams [0:25:41] Redefining Success [0:32:38] The ADHD Superpower [0:35:20] Our Sponsor: ⁠FreshBooks⁠ - special savings with this link 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 bossproject.com/podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most brands assume going viral takes a big ad budget. But what if you could build national recognition, a cult-like following, and a thriving e-commerce business without spending a single dollar on paid ads? Lindzi Shanks is the co-founder of XO Marshmallow and the world’s first gourmet marshmallow cafe. It’s a wildly fun online brand with flavors as nostalgic as they are delicious. She is an entrepreneur, strategist, and content genius who knows how to make people fall in love with a product, and she did it all with a $0 marketing budget.  Join The Co-op - The Membership for Online Businesses Connect with Abagail Instagram All the Links! Episode Highlights XO Marshmallow’s Rise from $200 in the Bank to a Multi 7-Figure Business [0:01:47]  Building a Viral Brand Without a Marketing Budget [0:05:27] Creating a Shareable Product and Building a Community [0:09:46] The Next Chapter: XO Marshmallow’s Plans for Growth [0:23:04] Leveraging the Power of Brand Partnerships Over Press [0:30:47] What’s Next for XO Marshmallow and How You Can Go Along for the Journey [0:41:44] Our Sponsor: ⁠FreshBooks⁠ - special savings with this link 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 bossproject.com/podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We've been conditioned to believe that work falls into one of two extremes: either you're grinding non-stop, pushing yourself to exhaustion, or you've mastered the elusive work-life balance. But what if that’s a false choice? As a creator, I’ve realized that some of my work doesn’t feel like work at all. It can be play, it can be art, and it can feel deeply satisfying. Yet, there’s pressure to justify how we spend our time, as if every choice determines our worth. Join The Co-op - The Membership for Online Businesses Connect with Abagail Instagram All the Links! In today’s episode, I challenge these ideas. What if we stopped obsessing over whether we’re working “the right way” and embraced creativity for what it is? Something that brings us joy. How would we show up differently without judgment from others or ourselves? Let’s explore how letting go of these pressures can transform the way we work and live! Episode Highlights What if Hustling isn’t Always Bad? [0:01:39] Reclaiming Joy in Your Work [0:05:16] Getting Intentional with Your Time [0:12:33] Stop Judging How You Spend Your Time [0:18:51] Our Sponsor: ⁠FreshBooks⁠ - special savings with this link 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 bossproject.com/podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I’ve always wanted to build a SaaS, but I never wanted to manage a full development team or take on the huge financial gamble of developing something; potentially before you even have users. But the game has changed — so much is different now! With the power of AI, much more is possible without the need to have a huge team to make it happen. For the very first time, I see a future where I can build the kinds of things I’ve always wanted to build, but without all of the friction that it used to take to make it happen! Join The Co-op - The Membership for Online Businesses Connect with Abagail Instagram All the Links! SaaS has always matched my mission of wanting to help people in a very tangible way. Oftentimes, when you’re educating people or giving them direction, you don’t have a way to help them implement. That’s on them! For a lot of years, I’ve allowed that to be true. The appeal of software is that you get to give people a path to implement and make their lives easier. Not only are you giving them the tools and the strategies that are going to make things better, easier, and faster, you are giving them a tool! I’m finally taking the leap not only to educate but also to provide people with the tools they need to execute beautifully!  Episode Highlights Why Now Is a Better Time than Ever to Start a SaaS Company [0:02:43]  What Has Changed in the World of AI and Why It’s Going to Produce Rapid Results [0:11:50] The One Thing I Want Small Business Owners to Know [0:17:36] How What I’m Building Could Work for You [0:20:44] Our Sponsor: ⁠FreshBooks⁠ - special savings with this link 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 bossproject.com/podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ever dreamed of writing your own book but felt overwhelmed by the process? What if I told you that you could have it done in just 60 days without sacrificing quality? Today, we’re sitting down with Stephanie Chandler, a leading expert in non-fiction book publishing, to break down exactly how you can make this happen.  Join The Co-op - The Membership for Online Businesses Connect with Abagail Instagram All the Links! Episode Highlights Why Small Business Owners Should Consider Writing a Book [0:01:18]  How to Write a Non-Fiction Book in 60 Days [0:04:48] What You Need to Do to Make Sure Your Book is Different [0:10:24] Knowing Where to Start When You Have Too Many Ideas [0:14:55] Finding Your Own Unique Voice [0:19:48] How to Choose the Right Tools [0:24:59] Self-publishing Versus Traditional Publishing [0:29:04] Publishing in a Changing World [0:31:47] Our Sponsor: ⁠FreshBooks⁠ - special savings with this link 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 bossproject.com/podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices