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Gwen Bortner is a business advisor who provides outside perspective and unwavering accountability. She’s also the one to ask the hard questions others won't. After four decades of working across 47+ industries, Gwen has learned that marketing and sales have built-in feedback loops — you know quickly if they're working. But the behind-the-scenes engine that runs your business? That's where the blind spots live. That's where successful businesses secretly start breaking down, even when everything looks fine from the outside. Gwen's monthly newsletter provides tips to help you identify bottlenecks others miss so you can build a business that performs well without consuming your life.
Reader — I'm kicking off something new this week — a LinkedIn Live interview series called What It Takes, where I'll be talking with business owners about what it really looks like to build sustainable, profitable businesses on your own terms. But first, I'm starting with a practice round: Today, 2 p.m. PT → Tonya and I are going live to share what it's taken to build and maintain The Business You Really Want podcast for a full year without burning out. Consider it our behind-the-scenes...
Reader — In just two weeks, The Business You Really Want podcast will celebrate its first anniversary. What started as a simple but bold premise — you don't have to burn your business to the ground to build something sustainable — has grown into 52 episodes of real talk about what entrepreneurial success can mean. Today, episode 52 drops. In it, Tonya Kubo and I reflect on what we've learned in our first year of co-hosting. But we're not just looking backward. For the next month, we're...
Reader — That choice you're second-guessing? The one keeping you up at night? It's probably not the disaster you think it is. Too many entrepreneurs get paralyzed thinking every business decision is permanent. They agonize over choices, convinced that picking the wrong path will doom them to failure. But that’s a myth. Fact: You can always make a different choice. For example, I decided this week to push pause on our Small Biz Book Club. A year ago, monthly conversations focused on business...