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 truly their own. They explore the emotional cost of inherited definitions of success—from industry standards to old versions of ourselves—and how to recognize when your heart is no longer in the race. Through honest reflections and practical insights, they show how clarity, alignment, and better self-questioning can help you redraw your finish line and run toward what genuinely matters.

Half-decisions might seem harmless, but they’re some of the biggest drains on a business. Gwen Bortner and Tonya Kubo unpack how lingering in “maybe” costs more in time, energy, and opportunity than making the wrong choice ever could. Through personal stories and real-world examples, they explore what drives hesitation, how to recognize when you’re stuck in one, and the mindset shift that helps leaders act decisively. This candid conversation will leave you rethinking the true cost of delay — and ready to choose clarity over comfort.

Achieving success should feel fulfilling and bring you tremendous joy. But there can be certain times when succeeding does not feel like winning. Sometimes, it makes you feel empty. Gwen Bortner and Tonya Kubo discuss how to address the feeling of non-satisfaction when achieving success to avoid making the wrong decisions moving forward and experiencing an identity crisis. From revisiting your set goals to making a complete mindset shift, they present practical tips on overcoming this inner struggle.

Have you followed a piece of business advice so religiously, believing it would bring you big success, but brought you bigger problems instead? There are some business myths people still adhere to these days that could be sabotaging your strategies. Gwen Bortner and Tonya Kubo discuss four of these pervasive lies many entrepreneurs continue to pass around today that sound motivating and logical but actually lead to burnout, bad decisions, and unnecessary failure. Find out if you are doing these things in your own business, as well as what you can do to finally correct them.

Business misalignment often creeps in quietly—one success at a time—until you realize the business you’ve built no longer fits the life you want. In this candid conversation, Gwen Bortner and Tonya Kubo talk about recognizing when your work feels out of sync, why that’s not failure but a sign of growth, and how to realign without tearing everything down. Through personal insights and practical reflection, they show that sometimes the most powerful move forward is a thoughtful redesign, not a total rebuild.

Business trends are everywhere this time of year—but not all of them are worth chasing. In this episode, co-hosts Gwen Bortner and Tonya Kubo break down the top business trends that will shape 2025, from AI and automation to human-centered leadership and simplicity over scale. Together, they unpack what’s hype versus what’s helpful, sharing practical decision-making criteria to help you focus on what truly builds your business instead of what breaks it. Whether you’re tempted by the next shiny tool or simply want clarity for the year ahead, this episode will help you lead with discernment, strategy, and confidence.

By the time you notice the money theft, the energy and time theft have likely been happening for months, if not years. In this final episode of our small theft series, we examine how seemingly minor financial infractions can devastate your business's bottom line.

Most money theft doesn't start with dramatic embezzlement - it begins with an "I deserve it" mentality. Employees who feel undervalued rationalize inflated hours, personal use of business resources, or unauthorized discounts. In retail, especially, a simple 10% employee discount can eliminate profitability when margins are already razor-thin at 50% cost of goods.

We break down three types of direct money theft: inflated hours and expenses, personal use of business resources, and intentionally inefficient resource use. The key to prevention isn't catching dramatic theft - it's staying current with bookkeeping, implementing clear policies, and avoiding the double standards that train employees to expect special treatment. Small leaks sink big ships, and the best defense is consistent financial oversight.

The most dangerous time thieves in your business aren't the obviously lazy employees – they're the ones who look incredibly dedicated while accomplishing surprisingly little. In this episode, Tonya Kubo and Gwen Bortner expose the hidden patterns of time theft that can slowly drain your business resources without you even noticing.

This is the third episode in our four-part theft series, covering energy, time, and money theft.

*Editor’s note: Gwen has a chirping smoke alarm in the background. We apologize for the distraction and wish we lived closer to our friend Mary Williams, so we could have recorded at Sasquatch Media Grounds, the full-service recording studio she owns in Vancouver, Washington.

The most dangerous employee or team member isn't the one who steals your money — it's the one who steals your energy while appearing to work hard. In this episode, we explore energy theft: how good people with good intentions can slowly drain the life out of your business one interaction at a time.

Gwen Bortner breaks down the four types of energy vampires you'll encounter: the constant reassurance seeker, the pot stirrer, the emotional dumper, and the guilt manipulator. We discuss why this matters so much (energy theft often goes undetected for months while wearing you down), the warning signs you've been ignoring, and most importantly — how to protect your energy without feeling guilty about setting boundaries.

This is the second episode in our four-part theft series, covering energy, time, and money theft. By the time you notice time and money theft, energy theft has often been happening for months, making this the most critical pattern to recognize and address.

What if the biggest business threat isn't your competition or economic downturns? What if it's happening right under your nose, performed by people you trust in amounts so small you barely notice?

We're talking about the three types of theft that good employees, contractors and even clients commit — energy, time, and money — and why by the time you see money disappearing, you're already too late.

This is the first in a four-part series. Coming up: spotting energy theft, identifying time thieves, and when small theft becomes a big financial loss.