In this episode, I talk with Emily Dean, founder and lead strategist at Bolt & Bloom, about how female founders can scale their businesses past $1 million without burning out.

Emily shares how she helps women entrepreneurs who've hit a growth wall create sustainable systems that support both profit and wellbeing. After 15 years in corporate marketing with brands like MTV, Nickelodeon, and Paramount Global, she saw firsthand how hustle culture was taking a toll, and now helps founders rebuild their businesses from the inside out.

Key takeaways:

• Success and hard work don't have to mean constant grinding and exhaustion
• Perfectionism and the need to do everything yourself are major barriers to sustainable growth
• Corporate lessons that apply to small businesses: strategic thinking, data-driven decisions, and consistent messaging
• Build systems that allow your business to "run while you sleep"
• Use mindfulness practices to rebuild your relationship with your business

Emily also shares insights from her yoga teacher training in Thailand and how that experience completely reframed her definition of success - focusing on creating a calm nervous system rather than constant hustle.

This week's challenge: Take 15 minutes to do an energy audit of your work. Categorize tasks as: "Do" (your zone of genius), "Delegate" (necessary but not for you), or "Delete" (tasks draining you without adding value). Then make one immediate shift based on your findings.

Want to connect with Emily? Find her on Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn, or reach out about her Brand Reset Lab designed to help founders realign their businesses with their true vision and values.

Have an episode idea? DM me on LinkedIn or Instagram and let me know.

Connect with Tam!

Tam Smith is a Sales Growth Strategist and founder of Studio Three 49, where she helps creative agencies and service pros ditch feast-or-famine cycles with sales systems that actually feel good to use.

With 15+ years in sales leadership, Tam’s work focuses on building genuine relationships, crafting smart outreach strategies, and creating consistent client pipelines—no pressure tactics required.

She also hosts live Sales as Service Office Hours, where she shows up as the perpetual student—sharing what she’s testing, learning, and uncovering, while answering real questions about sales and sustainable business growth.

When she’s not helping clients build reliable sales systems, you’ll likely find her rock climbing or mapping out her next adventure with her Supermutt, Ila, in Durham, NC.

In this episode, I talk with Elizabeth Howell, owner of Howell Media, about the power of organic marketing for small business owners and solopreneurs.

Elizabeth shares how she helps entrepreneurs fight marketing indecision by focusing on just two powerful strategies: LinkedIn and podcast guesting. As someone with extensive media experience, she discovered this combination gives the biggest return on time investment without requiring a massive budget.

Key takeaways:

• Combine podcast guesting with LinkedIn to maximize your marketing ROI
• One podcast appearance can generate multiple content pieces across platforms
• Make marketing fun by leaning into formats that energize you
• Real results: one guest generated $50,000 in coaching sales from a single podcast
• Comments on LinkedIn can drive more growth than daily posting

Elizabeth also shares her "Goals + Actions" exercise for creating LinkedIn content, where you map client goals against what they need to know, giving you endless content ideas.

This week's challenge: Create five LinkedIn post ideas using Elizabeth's goals + actions exercise.

Want to connect with Elizabeth? Find her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/euh24/

Have an episode idea? DM me on LinkedIn or Instagram and let me know.

Connect with Tam!

Tam Smith is a Sales Growth Strategist and founder of Studio Three 49, where she helps creative agencies and service pros ditch feast-or-famine cycles with sales systems that actually feel good to use.

With 15+ years in sales leadership, Tam’s work focuses on building genuine relationships, crafting smart outreach strategies, and creating consistent client pipelines—no pressure tactics required.

She also hosts live Sales as Service Office Hours, where she shows up as the perpetual student—sharing what she’s testing, learning, and uncovering, while answering real questions about sales and sustainable business growth.

When she’s not helping clients build reliable sales systems, you’ll likely find her rock climbing or mapping out her next adventure with her Supermutt, Ila, in Durham, NC.

In this episode, I talk with Nelson Dickson, founder of C3 Creations, about the power of relationships in sales.

Nelson shares how he built his marketing brokerage by focusing on genuine connections rather than transactions. As a self-described introvert, he changed his approach to networking by asking "How can I help?" instead of "What can I get?"

Key takeaways:

• 60-70% of Nelson's business comes from referrals
• Shift your mindset from collecting business cards to making real connections
• Give more value than you gain
• Be authentic - people can spot "quota breath" from a mile away
• Don't be afraid to stand out (like wearing silly Christmas suits!)

Nelson also recommends consistent content posting and doing a yearly "relationship audit" to strengthen connections that matter.

This week's challenge: Take 15 minutes to reconnect with one contact - no pitch, no agenda, just genuine connection.

Want to connect with Nelson? Find him on LinkedIn or visit c3creations.com.

Have an episode idea? DM me on LinkedIn or Instagram and let me know.

Connect with Tam!

Tam Smith is a Sales Growth Strategist and founder of Studio Three 49, where she helps creative agencies and service pros ditch feast-or-famine cycles with sales systems that actually feel good to use.

With 15+ years in sales leadership, Tam’s work focuses on building genuine relationships, crafting smart outreach strategies, and creating consistent client pipelines—no pressure tactics required.

She also hosts live Sales as Service Office Hours, where she shows up as the perpetual student—sharing what she’s testing, learning, and uncovering, while answering real questions about sales and sustainable business growth.

When she’s not helping clients build reliable sales systems, you’ll likely find her rock climbing or mapping out her next adventure with her Supermutt, Ila, in Durham, NC.

From corporate dropout to sales marketing entrepreneur, Tam Smith is on a mission to transform how you view sales. 

Forget pressure-filled transactions—Tam's approach focuses on building relationships that create genuine value. After weathering layoffs, family crises, and a pandemic pivot, she's discovered her true calling: helping brilliant ideas find their perfect audience.

In this podcast you'll get a peek behind the scenes with sales and brand-building experts who are in the trenches to find out what actually works.

Each episode will end with a practical "sales as service challenge" for you to implement immediately.

Subscribe now to stop spinning your wheels and start making meaningful connections that drive real growth!

Have an episode idea? DM me on LinkedIn or Instagram and let me know.

Connect with Tam!

Tam Smith is a Sales Growth Strategist and founder of Studio Three 49, where she helps creative agencies and service pros ditch feast-or-famine cycles with sales systems that actually feel good to use.

With 15+ years in sales leadership, Tam’s work focuses on building genuine relationships, crafting smart outreach strategies, and creating consistent client pipelines—no pressure tactics required.

She also hosts live Sales as Service Office Hours, where she shows up as the perpetual student—sharing what she’s testing, learning, and uncovering, while answering real questions about sales and sustainable business growth.

When she’s not helping clients build reliable sales systems, you’ll likely find her rock climbing or mapping out her next adventure with her Supermutt, Ila, in Durham, NC.