The Business You Really Want

In this special episode, Gwen Bortner and co-host Tonya Kubo turn the lens on themselves to share the real story behind The Business You Really Want podcast – how they have secured sustainable success in producing it for a full year without burning out.This behind-the-scenes conversation covers everything from planning and pacing to choosing a show format that actually supports sustainability. Gwen and Tonya talk candidly about the benefits of being several episodes ahead, why they intentionally avoided a guest model, how their decades-long dynamic shapes the show, and what surprised them most during year one. You’ll hear about:The systems and contingencies that keep the show consistent during travel, illness, and tech failuresWhy a co-hosted conversation – even without guests – makes the show easier to sustainWhat changed between episodes 1 and 52How they avoid “podfade” by choosing topics that never run dryWhy alignment and relationship are the real engines behind their momentum If you’re curious about podcasting, sustainable content creation, or what it looks like to build something that genuinely supports your business instead of draining it, this candid conversation will pull back the curtain. If you want support creating your own version of sustainable success, let’s chat.Tonya’s other shows: Find Your Freaks and Clutter Free Academy

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 what truly moves the needle. From delegating with confidence to setting clear boundaries for your team, they break down practical strategies for prioritizing the decisions that matter most. Whether it’s discerning a ten-dollar choice from a ten-thousand-dollar one or knowing when to act versus wait, Gwen and Tonya provide actionable insights to help owners sharpen their decision-making and protect their most valuable asset: their time.

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 real accountability is a powerful two-way process built on reflection, communication, and partnership, which ultimately reduces the need to micromanage. Discover the real reasons accountability initiatives fail—it’s not a lazy team, but often the leader’s own inconsistency, prioritizing the "urgent" over the necessary rhythm of check-ins, or fear of being "held to constraints"—and learn the essential secret to a successful, micromanage-free system: The leader must first establish their own accountability with an outside coach, consultant, or advisor who can help you solve problems before they escalate, ensuring your team stays clear, aligned, and productive for the long haul.

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.

What if closing a profitable business, laying off good employees, or deliberately capping your growth could be the smartest moves you ever make? In this episode, Tonya Kubo and Gwen Bortner challenge the conventional wisdom that bigger always equals better in business. They share real client stories of strategic "losses" that became major wins - from closing six-figure businesses to downsizing operations - and explore why society's pressure to constantly grow keeps entrepreneurs trapped in unsustainable situations. You'll learn to recognize when it's time for strategic subtraction, understand the psychology that makes these decisions difficult, and discover what actually happens when you have the courage to step backward. Sometimes the most brilliant business decision isn't about what you're willing to add - it's about what you're brave enough to subtract.

If you're apologizing for your business boundaries, you're essentially telling people they're optional.Tonya Kubo and operations expert Gwen Bortner explore why your boundaries aren't suggestions, how to communicate them without guilt, and what happens when you stop treating your professional limits like requests for permission. You'll learn the difference between boundaries and preferences, why women entrepreneurs struggle with enforcement, and how strong boundaries actually improve client relationships and your reputation.Key Takeaway: Your boundaries aren't suggestions - they're the framework that allows your business to function sustainably. Stop apologizing for your professional limits and start treating them as business practices.

Are you chasing impressive revenue numbers while your actual take-home pay suffers? In this eye-opening episode, Tonya Kubo and Gwen Bortner expose the dangerous obsession with six and seven-figure revenue goals that's leading business owners to make terrible financial decisions.They break down why a business owner bragging about million-dollar revenue might actually be making less than a teacher, and reveal the hidden costs of revenue growth that nobody talks about. You'll learn the difference between revenue theater and real profitability, discover why cash flow matters more than top-line numbers, and understand how to properly pay yourself as a business owner.Whether you're a product-based business discounting your way to bankruptcy or a service provider sacrificing your own compensation to hit arbitrary milestones, this episode will help you focus on metrics that actually matter. Featuring real examples of businesses that became more profitable by scaling down, plus practical advice on building sustainable success.Perfect for entrepreneurs who've ever felt inadequate about their revenue numbers or wondered if they're missing something in those exclusive "seven-figure" mastermind rooms.

Feeling too busy to think strategically? You're not alone. In this episode, Tonya Kubo and Gwen Bortner tackle one of the biggest challenges facing modern business owners: finding time for strategic thinking when everything feels urgent.Discover why strategic thinking often feels like "not working" and how this mindset keeps us trapped in reactive mode. Gwen shares practical strategies for building strategic thinking as a skill, starting with just five minutes a day, and explains the difference between strategic and tactical questions.You'll learn how to shift from being pulled by circumstances to proactively choosing your direction, plus get specific thinking questions you can use to start practicing strategic thinking immediately.

Just because the market is shifting doesn't mean you should completely change your business model. In this anniversary episode, Gwen Bortner and Tonya Kubo revisit the show’s most downloaded episode in its first year, “Are High-Touch Services Making a Comeback?” While the answer is yes, that doesn’t mean it’s the right choice for you. Listen to the hidden costs of chasing every business trend and why constantly pivoting could be draining your energy and profits.You'll learn how to evaluate whether a trend is actually worth pursuing, the real difference between market shifts and buying behavior changes, and how to creatively adapt what you already do well instead of rebuilding from scratch every six months.Stop exhausting yourself trying to keep up with every "should" in your industry and start building the business you really want.

The hardest part about growing your business isn't hiring people or finding customers. It's letting go of being the person who does everything. In this anniversary episode, Gwen Bortner and Tonya Kubo revisit their second-most-downloaded episode: From Solo to CEO Part 1 - Pivotal Shifts To Become The Leader Your Business Needs.Here's the uncomfortable truth: being good at your craft doesn't make you good at leading a business. Entrepreneurs excel at firefighting (and sometimes starting fires), but CEOs need to step back and let others hold the extinguisher. That transition requires both leadership skills and management skills — a combination that's harder than anyone talks about.Gwen breaks down why this shift feels like fractioning your identity, why you can't just think your way into being a CEO (you have to act like one), and why true delegation is so much more complex than writing a checklist. Tonya explores the boundaries you'll need to set — with clients who want you personally, with team members who work differently than you do, and with yourself around protecting thinking time.They dig into the identity crisis that comes when you're no longer the best at the thing you built your business on, why "I could have done this faster myself" will always be true (and why it doesn't matter), and how to own which problems are actually yours versus your team's. The reality: Growing from solo to CEO isn't about getting bigger. It's about getting comfortable with not being the one who knows all the details anymore.

You know exactly what you should be doing in your business, but somehow you're just not doing it. Sound familiar? You're not alone, and it's not a character flaw.In this anniversary episode, Tonya Kubo and co-host Gwen Bortner are revisiting the third most-downloaded episode: Closing the Implementation Gap. What’s that? It’s the space between knowing what to do and actually doing it. It's real, it's permanent, and it happens to everyone.Gwen explains why "self-accountability" isn't actually a thing (you're thinking of reliability), why guilt doesn't work as motivation, and why most accountability systems are just fancy tracking. Real accountability requires two people and focuses on reflection, not judgment.Tonya challenges the framework with the obvious question: if you let people change goals, how is that accountability? Together, they dig into when it makes sense to modify your goals versus when you're just getting scared, why you need outside perspective from someone who actually cares about your success, and why generic advice often fails the nuance test.The bottom line: If beating yourself up was going to work, it would have worked already. There's a better way.