The Business Strategist With Adam Strong

Adam Strong
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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. Land Your First Board Seat in 60 Days Without Doing This

    2D AGO

    Land Your First Board Seat in 60 Days Without Doing This

    Ever wondered why most board seats seem to go to the same handful of grey-suited blokes, while the rest of us are told to go off and buy a certificate? I sat back down with Callum Laing for a conversation that quietly flipped a few of my own assumptions. We got into how boards actually work behind the closed door, why most of what you've been told about landing one is nonsense, and the simple move that can put you on a board in weeks rather than years. I'll be honest, I came in thinking I knew the rules of this game. I left with a notebook full of stuff I'm now actively using. Callum Laing is a serial entrepreneur, ambassador, and bestselling author of four books, including his latest, Boardroom Blueprint. He's spent the last decade working in the gap between small business and public markets, helping founders take companies public while keeping control. He runs the Veblen Director Programme and lives in Singapore. 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/ A few teasers from the chat: The board certification con (and who's really cashing in on it)The one-line pitch that gets you on a board without ever applyingWhy your first board seat should never be your final oneHow a 70-year-old retired entrepreneur turned a free advisory role into hundreds of thousandsThe five things you actually need to land proper board roles Chapters  00:00 Introduction 03:45 Creating and Joining Boards: Filling Gaps in Leadership and Small Businesses  11:42 Debunking Myths: Certifications and Best Practices in Board Membership  25:20 Promoting Diversity in Boardrooms: Challenges and Opportunities  26:42 Recognising Overlooked Points  28:52 The Power of Creating Your Own Board  29:43 Interest in Getting on Boards  35:56 The Value of Being a Foreigner on a Board  40:06 Compensation for Board Positions  44:43 Leveraging Board Experience  47:32 Tying Compensation to Results  50:55 The Veblen Director Program and Boardroom Blueprint ABOUT THE GUEST LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/callumlaing/  X: https://x.com/laingcallum  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CallumLaing  Book: https://bit.ly/BB-dbook  Audiobook: https://bit.ly/BB-AudioYT ABOUT THE HOST LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamistrong Website: ⁠https://adamstrong.net⁠ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/adamstrong

    53 min

  2. MAY 14

    How to Know When to Scale Your Business

    Most founders are convinced they're ready to scale. Most of them aren't. So how do you actually know the difference? The leads are coming in. The team's growing. Revenue's up. Then six months later you're more exhausted, more overwhelmed and somehow further from where you wanted to be. Sound familiar?  In this solo episode I'm walking through the five indicators I actually look for before I tell any founder they're ready to scale. I've pulled in real stories from clients I've worked with recently, including an architecture firm doing something most businesses would never dare to do, plus a few mistakes I've made in my own business that I'd rather you didn't repeat. Inside this episode The five numbers I track every single week (and the three most founders ignore)Why one firm I work with deliberately turns paying clients awayThe cash flow trap that hits hardest right when things feel goodThe team conversation you keep putting off and what it's quietly costing youWhy being brilliant at your craft can actually keep your business stuck 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:  Enjoyed today’s episode? Leave a review over on Apple or Spotify. https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-business-strategist-with-adam-strong/id1518654325 https://open.spotify.com/show/4vKVMmsZ4MwVooQOlEAzrd Chapters 00:00 Identifying Market Demand for Business Growth 02:38 Understanding Cash Flow Dynamics 05:47 Streamlining Operations for Efficiency 08:25 Preparing Your Team for Expansion 11:38 Crafting a Clear Growth Plan ABOUT THE HOST LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamistrong Website: ⁠https://adamstrong.net⁠ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/adamstrong

    16 min
  3. The Exit Strategy 82% of Founders Get Wrong

    MAY 7

    The Exit Strategy 82% of Founders Get Wrong

    12 exits. $925 million. And Gregory Shepard told me the one thing that nearly destroyed every single one of them was something no founder ever sees coming. Gregory Shepard is a serial entrepreneur, TEDx speaker and author of The Startup Lifecycle who has spent five years researching why over 90% of startups fail using 210,000 case studies.  He walked me through the whiteboard technique he used to reverse engineer his own mistakes across three decades of building and scaling companies and the mindset shift around exit planning that changed everything.  We got into some really honest territory around what hustle culture actually cost him, why he believes the people giving founders advice on growth and valuation are often the ones doing the most damage, and a dead simple piece of exit strategy advice for business owners who think they have left it too late to sell.  This one is packed full of golden nuggets In this episode we cover The real reason most startups fail and why nobody talks about itThe question you should be asking yourself every week that could save your business years of painThe exit strategy mistake that keeps 82% of business owners trappedWhy the people you trust most might be giving you the worst adviceThe signal that tells you exactly when to sell before you are left without a chair Enjoyed today’s episode? Leave a review over on Apple or Spotify. https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-business-strategist-with-adam-strong/id1518654325 https://open.spotify.com/show/4vKVMmsZ4MwVooQOlEAzrd 00:00 Introduction 02:54 Reflections on Early Entrepreneurship 07:17 Learning from Mistakes 12:15 The Importance of Documentation 14:06 Pivotal Realisations in Business 20:47 The Impact of Hardship on Resilience 21:37 Balancing Multiple Startups 24:26 Motivation Behind the Hustle 26:30 Evolving Definitions of Wealth 27:43 Mindset Shifts in Exiting Businesses 31:34 Understanding Startup Failures 36:25 Navigating Bad Advice in Entrepreneurship 38:47 Navigating Startup Challenges 40:09 Defining a Startup 42:02 Lessons from High-Stakes Professions 44:56 Handling Business Fires 46:06 Moments of Brutal Honesty 48:39 The Importance of Altruistic Capitalism 49:08 Convincing Investors of Purpose 54:00 Understanding Exit Strategies 55:43 Selling to Competitors 57:25 Life After Exiting a Business 58:45 Future Aspirations and Legacy 01:02:05 Identifying Opportunities in Disruption 01:06:15 Timing Your Exit ABOUT THE GUEST Website: https://www.gregoryshepard.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregshepard ABOUT THE HOST LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamistrong Website: ⁠https://adamstrong.net⁠ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/adamstrong

    1h 9m
  4. Stop Solving Your Team's Problems: The Founder Trap That's Killing Your Business

    APR 30

    Stop Solving Your Team's Problems: The Founder Trap That's Killing Your Business

    What if the reason your team won't step up is because you keep stepping in? I sat down with Elizabeth Lotardo, bestselling author of Leading Yourself, Harvard Medical School Institute of Coaching Fellow and the brain behind a LinkedIn course that's been taken by over two million people worldwide. We got into something I think every founder secretly wrestles with but rarely says out loud. The trap of being the one who solves everything. The hidden cost of caring too much. And why the high performer wiring that got you here is the exact thing keeping you stuck. Elizabeth pulled back the curtain on what actually goes on inside the heads of operators who can't switch off, and she walked me through five questions she coaches her clients to use that completely change the dynamic between you and your team. Then I let her coach me live on a belief I've carried around for years. I'll let you decide who came out on top. WHY YOU SHOULD LISTEN Find out the three well-meaning beliefs that keep founders stuck in the weedsHear the five questions to ask when your team dumps a problem on your deskDiscover why your high performers are quietly planning their exitThe simple seven day tracking exercise that exposes the real damageWhy "no one can do it better than me" might actually be true (and what to do about it) If you've ever taken a laptop on holiday, answered Slack at 7am on a Sunday, or wondered why you can't seem to scale past yourself, this one's for you. Interested in freeing yourself in the business? Take the exit ready diagnostics assessment here: https://readytoexit.scoreapp.com Enjoyed today’s episode? Leave a review over on Apple or Spotify. https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-business-strategist-with-adam-strong/id1518654325 https://open.spotify.com/show/4vKVMmsZ4MwVooQOlEAzrd ABOUT THE GUEST LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethlotardo ABOUT THE HOST LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamistrong Website: ⁠https://adamstrong.net⁠ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/adamstrong

    52 min
  5. Why Great Founders Make Terrible CEOs (And How To Fix It)

    APR 23

    Why Great Founders Make Terrible CEOs (And How To Fix It)

    What if the habits that built my business are the exact ones holding it back? I sat down with John Spence, one of the world's leading voices on leadership and the former CEO of the Rockefeller Foundation, to find out why so many founders hit an invisible ceiling they can't punch through. We got into the four silent killers behind every stuck business, the uncomfortable truth about why most founders quietly become their own bottleneck, and the specific mindset shift that separates the ones who scale and exit from the ones who stay stuck for a decade. Interested in freeing yourself in the business? Book a brief call to see if the exit ready diagnostics session is for you. https://link.adamstrong.net/widget/bookings/strategy-121 Enjoyed today’s episode? Leave a review over on Apple or Spotify. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Scaling Challenges 06:30 Identifying Patterns in Business Plateauing 09:56 Strategic Shifts for Founders 11:32 Defining Professional Management 13:34 Finding the Right Replacement 17:27 Counterintuitive Mistakes of Founders 20:06 Key Areas for Business Differentiation 21:46 Psychological Blind Spots in Leadership 25:11 Lessons from Early Leadership Experience 28:05 The Importance of Emotional Intelligence 28:38 Accountability in Leadership 30:49 Mindset Shifts for Overcoming Plateaus 36:03 Purpose-Driven Leadership 37:36 The Impact of Leadership on Employee Lives 39:44 Curiosity and Uncomfortable Questions in Leadership 42:56 The Five-Step Framework for Business Excellence 45:33 People First: The Core of Business Success 48:34 Identifying and Addressing Performance Issues 49:25 The Evolution of Leadership Frameworks 51:47 A Live Coaching Session: Overcoming Frustrations 01:02:52 Legacy and Leading with Love ABOUT THE GUEST Website: https://johnspence.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnbspence/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/johnspenceleadership/ Book: https://amzn.eu/d/cDzEDUy ABOUT THE HOST LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamistrong Website: ⁠https://adamstrong.net⁠ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/adamstrong

    1h 8m

  6. APR 16

    How I'd Build a One Person Business That Runs Without Me (If I Started Over)

    8 years ago I packed up my life in the UK and moved to Sweden to start a family. I thought my business would run without me. It didn't. Everything fell apart and it forced me to confront something most founders never want to admit.  In this episode I'm getting brutally honest about what actually happened, the mindset shifts that changed everything and the three things I'd do differently if I was starting from scratch tomorrow. In this episode I cover: Why moving countries destroyed the business I thought I'd builtThe two mindset shifts that finally got me unstuckWhat nobody in the industry warns you aboutThe one question that tells you exactly where your business stands right now Listen to this episode if: You're making every decision in your business and it's eating you aliveYou've ever wondered whether your business could survive without youYou want to know the difference between a one person business and a one person prison I built a six figure business that looked great on paper but nearly broke me behind the scenes. This is the real story and the blueprint I wish someone had given me years ago. Interested in freeing yourself in the business? Book a brief call to see if the exit ready diagnostics session is for you. https://link.adamstrong.net/widget/bookings/strategy-121 Enjoyed today’s episode? Leave a review over on Apple or Spotify. https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-business-strategist-with-adam-strong/id1518654325 https://open.spotify.com/show/4vKVMmsZ4MwVooQOlEAzrd ABOUT THE HOST LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamistrong Website: ⁠https://adamstrong.net⁠ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/adamstrong

    24 min

  7. APR 9

    The 5 Lies Business Owners Tell Themselves Before They Try to Sell

    70% of her revenue was tied to one person. The buyer walked away. I sat across the table from a founder a few months ago. Seven-figure business, great team, 25 years of graft. Within 20 minutes of looking under the hood, I had to tell her the business was essentially worthless to a buyer. Not because the numbers were bad — because she was the business. When the buyer dug into due diligence, they discovered 75% of the revenue was tied to her personal relationships. The deal collapsed. And the worst part? She had no idea — because she'd been telling herself the same five lies I hear from almost every founder I work with. In this episode I break down all five, using real examples from my advisory work. I walk through the founder revenue test, the 90-day vanish test, and why your expertise might actually be your biggest liability when a buyer comes knocking. I also share why the founders who build truly sellable businesses always tell me the same thing afterwards — "I wish I'd done this five years ago." Not because they wanted to sell sooner, but because the business became so much better the moment they stopped being the bottleneck. If even one of these lies sounds familiar, you've got work to do before you go anywhere near an exit. Take my free Exit Readiness Assessment — it takes two minutes and shows you exactly where the gaps are: https://readytoexit.scoreapp.com Enjoyed today’s episode? Leave a review over on Apple or Spotify. https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-business-strategist-with-adam-strong/id1518654325 https://open.spotify.com/show/4vKVMmsZ4MwVooQOlEAzrd ABOUT THE HOST LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamistrong Website: ⁠https://adamstrong.net⁠ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/adamstrong

    17 min
  8. How Purpose Drives Profit and Exit Value

    APR 2

    How Purpose Drives Profit and Exit Value

    Blockbuster asked how do we make more money. Netflix asked how do we give people better entertainment. One question built an empire. The other killed one. So which question is your business asking right now? In this episode I sit down with Lisa Earle McLeod, the woman who literally wrote the book on purpose driven business. She's worked with Google, Hilton and some of the smartest founders on the planet and what she told me completely flipped how I think about profit, purpose and why so many business owners end up stuck on a hamster wheel they built themselves.  We get into the real reason businesses get commoditised, why your proposals aren't landing the fees you deserve and what separates founders who exit rich from those who just burn out.  Five reasons to listen Understand why purpose and profit aren't two separate things and why treating them that way is costing you moneyHow Hilton used one sentence from their founder to become the number one workplace in hospitality and smash profit records at the same timeYou'll hear the three questions every founder needs to ask this week to uncover a purpose that actually drives revenueWhy most business owners have built themselves a glorified job and what to do if that's you right nowLisa coaches me live and calls out the one thing missing from how I talk about my own business and how it can apply in yours. Chapters 00:00 Introduction 01:47 Purpose-Driven Businesses and Their Impact 03:47 Common Mistakes When Scaling Businesses 07:31 Hilton's Purpose and Differentiation Strategy 10:16 The Relationship Between Purpose and Profitability 14:25 How Small Firms Can Activate Purpose Easily 18:03 Embedding Purpose into Business Operations 22:09 Preparing Your Business for Sale and Exit 26:52 Practical Exercises to Define Purpose 31:26 Pricing and Value-Based Fees 35:11 The Risks of Not Having a Clear Purpose 38:49 Stories That Illustrate Purpose in Action 42:34 Reigniting Passion and Purpose in Business Leaders 46:16 The Emotional Connection to Business Impact 49:12 Final Thoughts and Practical Takeaways We’ve been nominated for podcast of the year, if you enjoy the show we would love your nomination. It only takes 30 secs: https://www.thinkers360.com/tl/annual_awards/voting?cat=3&scat=27 ABOUT THE GUEST LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisaearlemcleod/ Website - https://www.lisaearlemcleod.com/resources Book: Leading with Noble Purpose by Lisa Earle McLeod - https://www.amazon.com/Leading-Noble-Purpose-Transform-Organizations/dp/1119546794 ABOUT THE HOST LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamistrong Website: ⁠https://adamstrong.net⁠ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/adamstrong

    1h 4m
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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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