The Business Strategist With Adam Strong

Adam Strong
  • 4.9 (29)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

The Business Strategist is the ultimate podcast for entrepreneurs, founders and business owners looking to scale, grow, and exit their businesses successfully. Hosted by Adam Strong, an award-winning strategist with over 30 years of industry experience and three times best selling author. Each episode delivers actionable business advice, practical tools, and insights to help you build a thriving enterprise. Whether you want to master leadership, craft a winning exit strategy, or implement proven scaling techniques, this podcast has you covered. With expert interviews, real-world case studies, and a focus on achieving business freedom, the business strategist is your go-to resource for taking your business to the next level. Tune in every week for new episodes designed to inspire, educate, and empower your entrepreneurial journey. Adam's Contact details LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamistrong YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/adamstrong Is your business ready to run without you? Take the 2-minute Exit Readiness Assessment — a fast, strategic scorecard for founders who want to scale, sell, or step back without becoming the bottleneck. Get instant insights across leadership, systems, marketing, and more. Click here to take the assessment: https://readytoexit.scoreapp.com

  1. 5d ago

    The No Money Down Business Acquisition Playbook

    What if the smartest growth move you could make this year was buying the competitor that keeps stealing your clients? And what if I could do it with none of my own money? I got Jeremy Harbour back on the show and this one shifted how I think about growing my own business. We got into why buying a competitor beats trying to out market them, why most owners quietly wind their business down instead of selling, and the low key way to open that first conversation without spooking anyone.  Jeremy is a Wall Street Journal best selling author and founder of the Harbour Club, the largest M&A community of its kind. He closes one to two acquisition deals every month. Value bombs  Why 92% of small businesses never sell, and how that becomes your openingThe buyer pyramid that quietly doubles what a business is worthHow to spot a competitor worth buying in the first conversationTurning red flags into leverage for a no money down dealThe consulting to equity route into your first acquisition Interested in freeing yourself in the business? Take the exit ready diagnostics test and identify the gaps in your growth and scale model. Go here: https://readytoexit.scoreapp.com/ ABOUT THE GUEST LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyharbour/  Website: https://www.harbourclubevents.com ABOUT THE HOST LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamistrong Website: ⁠https://adamstrong.net⁠ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/adamstrong

    The No Money Down Business Acquisition Playbook

  2. Sep 3

    Business Valuation Secrets Private Equity Won't Tell You

    What if the first thing that makes your business worth millions has nothing to do with growth? When private equity buys a company they never fix growth first. They fix five things most founders have never even looked at. And here is the part that should bother you, none of them are a secret. So why do owners leave that value sitting on the table for decades? I have watched buyers walk into a room and unlock value the owner left behind for years. No clever formulas, no trick the big firms know. Just five moves most founders never make until someone is sitting across the table with a chequebook and a list of demands.  In this one I hand you the whole list so you can fix it yourself, keep the value and build a business worth buying, whether you ever sell it or not. What you will learn Why a business that depends on you sells for far lessThe two week test that exposes what breaks without youHow to tell a reputation apart from a real client acquisition engineThe one person sitting in the wrong seat quietly draining your growthThe single claim that lets you charge a premium nobody can copy Interested in freeing yourself in the business? Take the exit ready diagnostics test and identify the gaps in your growth and scale model. Go here: https://readytoexit.scoreapp.com/ ABOUT THE HOST LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamistrong Website: ⁠https://adamstrong.net⁠ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/adamstrong

  3. Aug 27

    The Blind Spot Every Founder Refuses To See

    What if the one area where you feel most sure of yourself is exactly where you cannot see straight? I have always backed my gut in business, so this conversation properly challenged me. In this episode I sat down with someone who has spent her career in rooms most of us never get near, from the UN stage to Fortune 500 boardrooms. We got into why brilliant leaders get blindsided, why your gut might be quietly steering you wrong, and a simple audit that could sharpen your very next big decision. I will leave the rest for you to hear. Cornelia Choe is an international leadership expert, global keynote speaker and Thinkers50 Radar honoree. She has advised hundreds of CEOs across five continents and wrote The Panoramic Leader with Marshall Goldsmith. Interested in freeing yourself in the business? Take the exit ready diagnostics test and identify the gaps in your growth and scale model. Go here: https://readytoexit.scoreapp.com/ What you will learn Why your biggest blind spot hides exactly where you feel most certainThe perspective audit that sharpens any decision in 15 minutesHow to keep your instinct without letting it trap youWhat really happens to your identity when you step away from your businessWhy the truth gets more filtered the higher you climb ABOUT THE GUEST LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cornelia-choe/ Instagram: corneliachoe_author ABOUT THE HOST LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamistrong Website: ⁠https://adamstrong.net⁠ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/adamstrong

    The Blind Spot Every Founder Refuses To See

  4. Aug 20

    Self Discipline Is a Myth (Do This Instead)

    What if the harder you push, the more fragile you get? For years I believed the fix was self discipline. More willpower, more grind, more 5am starts. Every time I fell off I told myself the same thing: just try harder. So what actually moves human behaviour, and why might the smallest action be the one thing that finally helps you grow? I sat down with a behavioural economist who has spent 20 years studying what really changes the way we behave. She told me slow beats fast, big goals freeze us, and there's a silent burnout most founders never spot until the body forces the issue. Then she walked me through her framework live, using one of my own goals. I left questioning a belief I've carried my whole career. Dr Christiane Schroeder is a behavioural economist, TEDx speaker and bestselling author of five books. She hosts the Happy Healthy Hustle Podcast, a top 1% global show, and was named Woman in Podcasting 2025 in the education category. Her new book, Petite Practice, is out 16 August 2026. Interested in freeing yourself in the business? Take the exit ready diagnostics test and identify the gaps in your growth and scale model. Go here: https://readytoexit.scoreapp.com/ Value bombs Why the harder you push, the more fragile you getThe rule of thirds, and why bad days are built inSlow beats fast, and how speed quietly costs you the winsThe silent burnout hiding behind your highest performersHer STEP framework, walked through live on my own goal ABOUT THE GUEST Website:  https://doctorchristiane.com Instagram:  https://instagram.com/doctor.christiane LinkedIn:  https://linkedin.com/in/christianeschroeter/ YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/@doctor.christiane TikTok:  https://www.tiktok.com/@doctor.christiane X:  https://x.com/Christiane_711 Challenge:  https://doctorchristiane.com/the-do-it-anyway-challenge-3/ ABOUT THE HOST LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamistrong Website: ⁠https://adamstrong.net⁠ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/adamstrong

    Self Discipline Is a Myth (Do This Instead)

  5. Aug 13

    What Got You To £1M Won't Get You To £10M

    What if the thing holding your business back isn't the market or your team, but you? I've watched founders hit the same wall for years and never quite worked out why some break through while others stay stuck for a decade. This conversation finally gave me the answer. I've been sitting with one question for years. Why do some founders make the leap from a million to ten, while others just as capable stall for a decade? In this one I get answers from the person top Silicon Valley founders call when they hit a wall. We get into why what got you here won't get you there, the exact point most businesses break, and the quiet fear that keeps you playing small. If you've ever suspected you're the bottleneck in your own business, this one's for you. My guest is Julian Lighton. He spent 12 years at McKinsey, ran billion dollar businesses at Cisco and Hitachi, and has been chief strategy officer at four public companies. He took Corsair public in 2020, and today he coaches senior leaders at Anthropic, Microsoft and Adobe. He's also the author of an international bestseller ’Navigating your next’.  What you will learn The exact point most businesses break, and it isn't revenueWhy what got you here won't get you thereHow to tell if you're stuck on skill or on mindsetThe four lenses that show where you're leaking timeThe real cost of staying exactly where you are Interested in freeing yourself in the business? Take the exit ready diagnostics test and identify the gaps in your growth and scale model. Go here: https://readytoexit.scoreapp.com/ ABOUT THE GUEST Julian’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julianlighton1/.  Julian’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julian.lighton/.  Julian’s best-selling book is out now: Navigating Your Next | Julian Lighton Julian’s website: https://www.julianlighton.com/ ABOUT THE HOST LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamistrong Website: ⁠https://adamstrong.net⁠ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/adamstrong

    What Got You To £1M Won't Get You To £10M

  6. Aug 6

    The 5 Step LinkedIn Strategy That Wins Clients

    Why does most LinkedIn outreach get completely ignored? I asked myself the same thing for years, until I stopped guessing and started testing. What I found changed how I book calls entirely, so what was I doing wrong the whole time? When we think of outreach often the first thoughts that go through our mind is spammy sales messages, I was scared of the rejection and honestly most of what I saw out there was soulless copy and paste.  Then I started running proper campaigns. Over the last few months I built a simple five step framework that quietly books quality calls every single week, no pushy scripts, no wasting anyone's time.  In this one I take you behind the scenes and show you exactly how I do it, from the tiny connection request tweak that lifted my acceptance rates to the follow up rhythm nearly everyone gets wrong. What you will learn How to get razor clear on your ideal customer before you send a wordThe connection request change that lifts acceptance rates fastWhy messaging too soon quietly kills the dealThe curiosity trick that gets your messages actually openedWhere the real money hides in your follow up Free guide on how to create clarity in your business strategy: https://app.notion.com/p/The-Ultimate-Guide-to-Creating-Clarity-in-Your-Business-Strategy-2341d950a9a580e991d5c47a491bdab4 ABOUT THE HOST LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamistrong Website: ⁠https://adamstrong.net⁠ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/adamstrong

  7. Jul 30

    The Hiring Mistake That Stops You Scaling

    What if the person quietly holding your business back is someone you'd never dream of firing? I've watched founders throw everything at sales and funding, then wonder why growth suddenly stalls. So I sat down with Dr. Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer, a USA Today bestselling author and executive coach who's spent 30 years in the C-suite watching the same mistake play out. We got into why the best hire on paper is so often the worst performer in the room, and the loyalty trap that's costing founders more than they realise. If you're scaling, this might change how you look at everyone on your payroll. Value bombs from this episode: Why years of experience tells you almost nothing about how someone will actually performThe four types of people in every team, and the one quietly draining your growthThe kind way to move on the person who got you here but can't take you furtherWhy your top performer might be your most expensive mistakeThe 2030 deadline no founder is talking about Interested in freeing yourself in the business? Take the exit ready diagnostics test and identify the gaps in your growth and scale model. Go here: https://readytoexit.scoreapp.com/ ABOUT THE GUEST Website: www.cynthiabentzenmercer.com,  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DrCynthiaBentzenMercer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drcynthiabentzenmercer Resources — Bentzen Performance Partners Global Organizational Development Strategist Company ABOUT THE HOST LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamistrong Website: ⁠https://adamstrong.net⁠ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/adamstrong

    The Hiring Mistake That Stops You Scaling

  8. Jul 23

    9 Client Red Flags That Are Costing You Money

    Two months ago I signed what I thought was my dream client. It turned into the worst working relationship of my career, and it cost me a lot more than the fee was ever worth. In this episode I go through the nine client types I now refuse to work with and the seven traits I look for instead. I also share the qualification process I have put in place since, including one request most people would never have the nerve to make. If you have ever chased the money and paid for it later, listen to this before your next sales call. What you will learn Why perfectionism is really procrastination in disguiseHow to spot an energy vampire before the first invoiceThe client type who takes your framework and your creditThe seven traits every good client has in commonWhat I now demand from anyone who wants to work with me Interested in freeing yourself in the business? Take the exit ready diagnostics test and identify the gaps in your growth and scale model. Go here: https://readytoexit.scoreapp.com/ ABOUT THE HOST LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamistrong Website: ⁠https://adamstrong.net⁠ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/adamstrong

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4.9
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About

The Business Strategist is the ultimate podcast for entrepreneurs, founders and business owners looking to scale, grow, and exit their businesses successfully. Hosted by Adam Strong, an award-winning strategist with over 30 years of industry experience and three times best selling author. Each episode delivers actionable business advice, practical tools, and insights to help you build a thriving enterprise. Whether you want to master leadership, craft a winning exit strategy, or implement proven scaling techniques, this podcast has you covered. With expert interviews, real-world case studies, and a focus on achieving business freedom, the business strategist is your go-to resource for taking your business to the next level. Tune in every week for new episodes designed to inspire, educate, and empower your entrepreneurial journey. Adam's Contact details LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamistrong YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/adamstrong Is your business ready to run without you? Take the 2-minute Exit Readiness Assessment — a fast, strategic scorecard for founders who want to scale, sell, or step back without becoming the bottleneck. Get instant insights across leadership, systems, marketing, and more. Click here to take the assessment: https://readytoexit.scoreapp.com

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