What is The Key To A Successful Strategy? with The Boss Project
In early 2023, I talked about financial seasons and how I’ve witnessed several Financial Gym clients and, honestly, myself, feel as though we’re not in what feels like a winning season and the motivation challenges when we feel like that. Seasons change, though, and I’m sensing more energy from my clients. I feel it in myself to make changes, so I’m dedicating the month of April to this podcast to motivation and change.
I’m excited to kick off the month with Abagail and Emylee, the two business fairy godmothers behind the Boss Project and co-hosts of the chart-topping podcast, The Strategy Hour. They joined me to talk about how uniting their separate practices made them a better team, how they help their business owner clients reignite their offerings, and build the businesses they want to run. Whether or not you run a business, there’s much to learn and motivate you in this episode.
What are we drinking?
Abagail - Second cup of coffee with half & half
Emylee - Water
Shannon - Black Cherry Schweppes
Podcast Notes
What is the Boss Project?
At The Financial Gym, the number one employer of clients is self-employed. Covid 19 opened the doors for more folks than ever before.
Abagail met Emylee the summer after she lost her job at a startup. They were just two art school kids who wanted to create something big. The business has shifted significantly over the years. Still, they love educating other business owners and helping them reach their goals.
They work with business owners at various stages of the process by helping them get priced right and make their businesses scalable. They’re working to fight against the ‘starving artist’ stereotype.
What are the most common problems you see among business owners?
As a creative business owner, you are not paid to be creative. You are paid to run a business. Step 1 is understanding the type of business you want to run.
Some clients typically feel booked and busy but are not hitting their business goals or find themselves without enough time to run everything themselves.
As your business grows and expands, you’ll learn that not 100% of the deliverables can be completed by you.
People will try to grow and scale their businesses without thinking about if that’s what they truly want.
Closing a business does not mean you failed. You dared to try something and learned a lot through the process. Instead of failure, think of it as an experiment. Even if your finances have suffered, everything we do is fixable.
What are tips for creative business owners?
Get comfortable with discomfort. Running a business or being an entrepreneur can be an unpredictable journey.
Before making the leap into full-time entrepreneurship, it’s ideal to have a 12-month emergency fund. While an emergency fund is ideal, it’s not everyone’s reality. But it’s a great place to start. Any cushion is helpful if you’re moving in this direction.
As a self-employed person, you have to plan for your sick time, vacation days, health insurance, and saving for taxes.
Focus on building relationships. Your connections do not have to be fancy. Start with colleagues and friends of friends. You never know where leads will come from.
When you’re starting out, don’t waste time chasing breadcrumbs. Make sure you have your contract and payment system in place, then work on building your community through conversations and genuine connections with others. You will get the first leads this way, much more quickly than through social media or a mailing list. Those things are important but not the most important when starting out.
Your feelings will change over time. Keep your mind open to what’s possible and build the business that you want to build. Keep it the size you want it. Your goals don’t have to look like other people’s. Think about how you want to spend your day and build from there.
Takeaway: My biggest takeaway is the importance of resetting and re-examining your practices, and if you’re a business owner, a business coach may be exactly what you need to invest in to help you take your business to the next level.
Random Three Questions
If you weren’t running this business, what would you be doing?
What is a show you’re currently binging?
If you were given 50k and had to travel with it, where would you go?
Connect with Abagail & Emily
Listen to The Strategy Hour: The Strategy Hour Podcast
Website: Boss Project.com
Instagram: @bossproject
TikTok: @bossprojectstudio
LinkedIn: Boss Project | LinkedIn
If you have any topics you would like me to cover on this podcast, or if you’d like to get in the financially naked hot seat, I encourage you to email me at Shannon@fingyms.com, or join the private Martinis and Your Money Facebook group, and let me know what you want to hear.
A recent Financial Health Network study revealed that only 31% of Americans were financially healthy and only 23% of women and only 15% of black people were. Financial health is a crisis in the US but it doesn’t need to stay that way. At the Financial Gym, we’ve spent the last 10 years working one-on-one with our members to help them achieve their financial health goals with a 90% success rate!
With memberships starting as low as $35 a month, Financial Gym is not only the inflation-proof source for financial wellness for anyone but also a trusted and capable partner for your financial wellness journey. So head over to, or send friends to, financialgym.com and schedule a warm up call today.
As a reminder, our warm up call team is staffed with amazing and current Financial Gym clients that can answer any of your questions about our program without any pressure to join. The call is free, so you have nothing to lose.