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Thriving Business

Thriving Business

By: Dr Kate De Jong & Sam Morris
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THRIVING BUSINESS

Business Insights to Help You Grow Your Business with Ease

We’re two seasoned business owners — Sam Morris and Kate De Jong — sharing our nearly thirty-year combined experience of starting and growing service-based businesses from the ground up. We so many small businesses struggling or falling prey to expensive promises of quick fixes or silver bullets. Both of us know what it REALLY takes to start and grow a business, we've done it many times over and we've got the blisters to prove it! We’ve joined forces to share our knowledge and experience so you can find the easiest path to success, doing it your way, and most importantly — staying true to yourself.

© 2026 Thriving Business
Economics Leadership Management & Leadership
Episodes
  • Ep 3 | Craft an Irresistible Offer and Watch Your Revenue Generation Soar
    Mar 20 2026

    In this third episode of the Roadmap to Business Success series, hosts Kate and Sam explore the second part of the revenue quadrant: how to craft an irresistible offer. Described as the "engine" of your revenue generation model, an irresistible offer is about providing a compelling solution to a problem that people feel compelled to say "yes" to.

    In this episode, you will learn:

    • Market validation vs. market research: Why you must ensure the market will actually buy what you have to sell before investing hundreds of hours into development.
    • The Power of Specificity: Why your offer must solve a very specific problem for a very specific person to be effective.
    • Selling the Transformation: Shifting your focus from "what you do" to the result the client achieves at the end of the process.
    • Establishing Bulletproof Credibility: How to use social proof, Google reviews, and even "borrowed credibility" from mentors to build trust with skeptical buyers.
    • Pricing for Value, Not Time: Why slashing prices is often the wrong move and how to price based on the emotional and financial value of the outcome.
    • Risk Reversal: Using guarantees to shift the responsibility from the customer to the business owner, making the purchase a "no-brainer".
    • Productisation and the Rule of Three: How to bundle services into three tiers to suit different needs and budgets without causing "choice paralysis".
    • Genuine Scarcity and Urgency: How to use limited numbers or real deadlines to motivate potential clients to act now.

    Kate and Sam also share their philosophy of "selling before you build," explaining how delivering a service as you develop it allows for vital market feedback and prevents the heartbreak of a "flat" launch.

    Join the Workshop: If you need expert eyes on your offer, Kate and Sam are hosting a workshop on the 15th of April to help you tweak and optimise your strategy for maximum impact.

    Next Week: Tune in for the next episode where the discussion moves to taking your offer to market and the mechanics of marketing and sales.

    Connect with Your Hosts:

    Kate De Jong, PhD | Inspired Business 🌐 Website: https://katedejong.com/ 📱 Instagram: @katedejong.inspiredbusiness ✉️ Email: kate@katedejong.com

    Sam Morris | The O8 🌐 Website: https://www.theo8.com/ 📱 Instagram: @the_o8crew ✉️ Email: sam@theo8.com

    Thriving Business Podcast 🌐Website: https://www.thrivingbusinesspodcast.com/


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    50 mins
  • Ep #2 | Define Your Business Identity: The Foundation of Revenue Generation
    Mar 11 2026

    Welcome to Season 2, Episode 2 of the Thriving Business Podcast!

    Over the next 18 episodes, we're walking you through all the essential elements of business building in a structured way, based on our Thriving Business Wheel, with the following four quadrants:

    Quadrant 1: Earn (Revenue Generation)

    Quadrant 2: Keep (Profitability)

    Quadrant 3: Grow (Capacity and Scaling)

    Quadrant 4: Lead (Lead with Impact)

    Today's episode begins in quadrant one (revenue generation) by covering the foundational topic of Business Identity.

    "Marketing fails when a business doesn’t know its own soul."

    You'll discover why it's essential to clarify your brand values, mission, vision, and “why”, even if you've been in business for a while now. These foundational elements flow into your branding, marketing and sales, which all create your ability to bring in the money.

    Tune in as Sam and Kate help you strengthen your business identity, the engine of your revenue generation machine.

    00:00 Revenue Generation Kickoff
    00:51 Business Identity Matters
    02:57 Branding Foundations
    04:17 Personal vs Brand Persona
    05:36 The Oh Eight Story
    07:31 Brand Vision Board Exercises
    09:30 Audience First Branding
    11:42 Start With Why
    16:27 Because Taglines Work
    17:59 Premium Branding and Design
    22:11 Messaging From Your Why
    23:31 Vision Mission Values Framework
    25:17 Values as Verbs
    26:41 Clarity Before AI Messaging
    27:51 One Clear Offer
    28:56 Market Research Mindset
    31:54 AI and Competitor Gaps
    33:02 Ads as Research Tools
    35:09 Specificity Wins Clients
    37:40 Brand Bar Exercise
    41:30 Identity Evolves Over Time
    46:40 Final Wrap and Next Episode

    Connect with Your Hosts:

    Kate De Jong, PhD | Inspired Business 🌐 Website: https://katedejong.com/ 📱 Instagram: @katedejong.inspiredbusiness ✉️ Email: kate@katedejong.com

    Sam Morris | The O8 🌐 Website: https://www.theo8.com/ 📱 Instagram: @the_o8crew ✉️ Email: sam@theo8.com

    Thriving Business Podcast 🌐Website: https://www.thrivingbusinesspodcast.com/


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    49 mins
  • The Roadmap to Business Success: Unveiling Our New Framework, The Thriving Business Wheel
    Mar 4 2026

    Introducing the Thriving Business Wheel: An 18-Episode Framework for Growth Without Burnout

    Hosts Kate De Jong and Sam Morris share a new 18-episode plan for the Thriving Business Podcast built around the “Thriving Business Wheel,” a four-quadrant framework that encompasses:

    1. Earn (revenue generation)
    2. Keep (profitability)
    3. Grow (capacity and scaling)
    4. Lead (leadership).

    In this episode, Kate and Sam excitedly talk through the preview of their upcoming curriculum and why business owners need an all-encompassing framework like this.

    Over the next 4-5 months, Kate and Sam will be sharing everything they've learned in their combined 30+ years of business experience on the topics outlined below.

    QUADRANT 1: REVENUE

    Earn Money | Market & Sell Powerfully

    • Business identity
    • Craft an Irresistible Offer
    • Everything you need to know about Marketing
    • How to become great at Selling

    QUADRANT 2: PROFITABILITY

    Keep More | Operate Efficiently

    • Money mastery
    • Charge what you're worth
    • AI systems for maximum efficiency
    • When to outsource and delegate

    QUADRANT 3: CAPACITY

    Grow Smart | Powerful Business Model

    • Your business model: Plan strategically
    • To hire or not to hire? Build a strong team
    • Deliver a remarkable client experience every time
    • Design a business that doesn't break you

    QUADRANT 4: LEADERSHIP

    Lead with Impact

    • Getting up when you're knocked down
    • Self-awareness, the most underrated business skill
    • Emotional Intelligence: The missing piece in most business leaders
    • Lead from your values: Align your business with you who you are

    SERIES FINALE

    Your Thriving Business: The Full Picture

    At the end of each quadrant they will run a live workshop, culminating in an August 2026 BALI RETREAT, with details to be shared on their website.

    Episode Timeline:

    00:00 Podcast Relaunch Plan

    01:23 Thriving Business Wheel

    04:02 Live Workshops and Retreat

    07:29 Quadrant One Earn

    07:49 Business Identity Basics

    10:26 Branding That Builds Trust

    12:04 Irresistible Offer Design

    14:05 Marketing Channels Made Simple

    17:15 Sales Without the Ick

    19:05 Quadrant Two Profitability

    19:20 Money Mastery and Profit First

    21:39 Pricing for Profit

    23:16 AI Systems for Efficiency

    25:35 Outsource and Delegate Right

    25:57 Hiring Before You’re Ready

    26:51 Delegation Ego and Talent

    27:59 Outsourcing Virtual Assistants

    28:52 Capacity Quadrant Overview

    29:16 Business Model and Scaling

    31:13 Building a Strong Team

    32:41 Remarkable Client Experience

    33:25 Social Proof and Reviews

    35:26 Business That Doesn’t Break You

    37:38 Leadership Quadrant Begins

    38:02 Resilience Through Setbacks

    41:14 Self Awareness and Feedback

    45:23 Emotional Intelligence in Leadership

    46:21 Leading From Your Values

    48:37 Thriving Wheel Wrap Up

    49:24 Closing Thoughts and Next Steps



    Connect with Your Hosts:

    Kate De Jong, PhD | Inspired Business 🌐 Website: https://katedejong.com/ 📱 Instagram: @katedejong.inspiredbusiness ✉️ Email: kate@katedejong.com

    Sam Morris | The O8 🌐 Website: https://www.theo8.com/ 📱 Instagram: @the_o8crew ✉️ Email: sam@theo8.com

    Thriving Business Podcast 🌐Website: https://www.thrivingbusinesspodcast.com/


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    51 mins
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