This week we're sitting down with Stacia, founder and CEO of Switch It Up Designs, a seven-figure digital marketing agency, and co-founder of authority.io — a DIY ad platform that lets small business owners run expert-level ads in four clicks. Her team manages over $8 million in annual ad spend and has helped generate over $500 million in client revenue. She's also one of our clients — so we can personally vouch for the culture she's built.

Listen in to hear:

• How she went from a modern dance degree and a failed $99-a-year business to a seven-figure agency
• Why paid media is the only marketing channel that can actually guarantee your growth
• What authority.io is and why it's changing the game for small business owners
• Why the founders with the best retention are the ones who just genuinely give a shit
• The AI conversation nobody is having honestly enough

Nobody wants to be in this position. But if you clicked on this one, you probably need it — and we're glad you're here.

Nothing we say can make firing someone feel good, but this episode breaks down everything you need to know to ensure you're letting someone go with integrity, in a way that protects your business and lets you come out the other side with your culture intact. Because firing someone thoughtfully can actually strengthen your team's trust in you. Doing it poorly can destroy it.

Listen in to hear:

1. Why firing someone is not a failure of leadership — but avoiding it when it's necessary usually is
2. The mistakes leaders make that turn a clean exit into a compliance nightmare
3. Why most termination lawsuits aren't about the firing — they're about the story that doesn't add up
4. What your team is actually watching for when someone gets let go
5. The things you should never say in a termination meeting — and what to say instead
6. Why by the time you're ready to have the conversation, your team probably already saw it coming

Get the Clean Exit Bundle: https://paradigmconsulting.thrivecart.com/clean-exit-bundle/

Not an actual cult. But kind of. The teams that show up fully, carry the business when things get hard, and genuinely care about the mission all have something in common — and it has nothing to do with skill set.

In this episode, we're getting personal about a really hard year, a team member who let us down, and what it taught us about what actually makes a team work. Spoiler: it's not the offer letter.

Listen in to hear:

1. What cult-like community actually means in a small business context — and what it definitely doesn't
2. Why hiring someone you already know and trust can teach you everything about culture
3. The real reason our best revenue year happened during our hardest personal year
4. Why engagement has nothing to do with perks and everything to do with connection
5. Why you can mess up the onboarding paperwork and still build an incredible team — and exactly when that excuse runs out