How To Know Whether Your Strategy Is Working (Beyond Vibes & Beyond Numbers)
How do you know if your business strategy is still working for your benefit, or it is time to do something new and different? Gwen Bortner and Tonya Kubo discuss how to evaluate your strategies in real time to avoid sticking with something that does not actually...
Strategy Vs. Tactics: How To Spot The Sparkly
Most CEOs don’t have a motivation problem — they have an alignment problem. And nothing derails alignment faster than sparkly tactics that feel productive but don’t actually move the business forward. In this episode, Gwen Bortner and Tonya Kubo dig into the real...
When You Do Everything “Right”… and It Still Flops
Every CEO knows the sting of doing everything right – following the plan, staying consistent, putting in the work – only to watch the results fall painfully flat. When that happens, most leaders spiral into self-blame, questioning their strategy, their work ethic,...
Sustainable Success As A Consultant With Ashlee Berghoff
Operations strategist Ashlee Berghoff, founder of Smooth Operator, joins Gwen Bortner to talk about the evolution from independent consultant to agency owner—and what it took to make her business sustainable as her life and family grew. Ashlee shares how she...
Sustainable Success As A Maker With Abigail McMurray
Is the relentless pressure to scale up suffocating your entrepreneurial spirit? Gwen Bortner and Tonya Kubo challenge the "bigger is better" narrative, diving deep into why strategically staying small might be your greatest competitive advantage. In this episode,...
Sustainable Success At Scale With Nicole Serena
Consultant-turned-agency-owner Nicole Serena joins Gwen Bortner to talk about her journey from a one-woman consulting practice to leading a thriving healthcare operations agency. Nicole pulls back the curtain on the early days—juggling every client, deadline, and...
Sustainable Success As Podcasters With Tonya Kubo
Is the relentless pressure to scale up suffocating your entrepreneurial spirit? Gwen Bortner and Tonya Kubo challenge the "bigger is better" narrative, diving deep into why strategically staying small might be your greatest competitive advantage. In this episode,...
Small Business Decisions With Big Impact
Every small business decision has the potential to create ripple effects that either accelerate growth or drain energy and resources. Gwen Bortner and Tonya Kubo dive into how business owners can recognize high-leverage choices, avoid decision fatigue, and focus on...
Why Accountability Fails (And What To Do About It)
Are you tired of launching new team processes only to see them completely fall apart? As leaders, we often mistake true accountability for simple reliability (did they do the thing?). Tonya Kubo and Gwen Bortner dive deep into this common pitfall, explaining that...
Whose Finish Line Are You Running Toward?
Chasing the wrong finish line can look like success on the outside and feel like emptiness on the inside. In this conversation, Tonya Kubo and Gwen Bortner unpack why so many leaders, especially women entrepreneurs, find themselves pursuing goals that were never...
I'm Gwen Bortner, and I've spent 40 years turning chaotic businesses into well-oiled machines across 47 industries. Now, my team and I work with women entrepreneurs to build sustainable, fulfilling businesses aligned with their values.