Partnership, Pricing, and Staying Creative w/ Matt Ray

The Long Game: Building Your Brand's Reputation Before You Need It

In this episode of Business From Scratch, we’re talking about something that doesn’t show up on your P&L, can’t be tracked in a spreadsheet, and takes years to build, but when you need it, nothing else comes close: your reputation. Here’s the truth: most business owners don’t think about their reputation until something goes wrong. A bad review comes in, a client has a poor experience, a partnership falls apart, or word starts spreading in a way you don’t love. But the businesses that win long-term are the ones that build their reputation quietly, consistently, and intentionally before they ever need to rely on it. Today, I’m breaking down what reputation really is, how it gets built, how it gets damaged, and the behaviors that can quietly cost you trust over time. We’re talking about doing what you say you’re going to do, communicating when things get hard, honoring agreements, and choosing character over convenience, even when it costs you something. I’m also sharing the daily practices that help you protect and grow your reputation: showing up consistently, over-communicating, treating everyone in your ecosystem like they matter, doing the right thing, and managing your online presence with grace. If your reputation has already taken a hit, we’ll talk honestly about how to start rebuilding it one interaction at a time. Your reputation is not a soft, feel-good concept. It is one of the most valuable business assets you have. It shortens your sales cycle, gives you pricing power, attracts better clients and partners, and becomes a referral engine that works for you long after the interaction is over. This is the long game, and it is absolutely worth playing. Business From Scratch with Abbye McGee is for people who are building a business while rebuilding their life. Abbye, a single mom and three-time founder, shares clear and honest talk about the real work behind mindset, money, identity, and daily life when you start from zero. The show gives you steady guidance, simple steps you can use right away, and real conversations with founders, creatives, and friends who built their own way. Each week helps you focus, test ideas, and keep moving even when the process feels messy.

Partnership, Pricing, and Staying Creative w/ Matt Ray

In this episode, I’m sitting down with my business partner and longtime friend, Matt Ray. Matt is the co-owner of The Starling, was my co-founder at The Ibis, and has also been one of the creative people behind so much of the visual identity of Salt + Charm over the years. We have known each other since we were kids, so this conversation gets personal in the best way. We talk about what it’s really like to go into business with a friend, what made our partnership work, and what we would absolutely do differently if we could go back. Opening one bar was exciting. Opening a second one may have happened a little too quickly, and selling The Ibis taught both of us a lot about letting go of something you built and trusting that it can keep becoming what it needs to be without you. We also get into Matt’s work as a food and lifestyle photographer, how he built that career, and what it looks like to stay creative in an industry that is constantly changing. We talk about iPhone content, AI, short-form video, print work, and why authenticity still matters so much when you’re trying to tell the story of a brand. And of course, we talk about pricing creative work, because that is a whole thing. Matt shares what it has been like to figure out what his work is worth, why not every client is your client, and how hard it can be to quote a price when the value of creative work can feel so personal. This is one of those conversations that reminds me that business is never just business. It is relationships, timing, trust, hard decisions, creative pivots, and learning when to hold on and when to let something go. Business From Scratch with Abbye McGee is for people who are building a business while rebuilding their life. Abbye, a single mom and three-time founder, shares clear and honest talk about the real work behind mindset, money, identity, and daily life when you start from zero. The show gives you steady guidance, simple steps you can use right away, and real conversations with founders, creatives, and friends who built their own way. Each week helps you focus, test ideas, and keep moving even when the process feels messy.

What Should I Charge? How to Price Your Product or Service the Right Way

Pricing is one of those things that almost every business owner wrestles with at some point. In this episode, I’m walking through how to actually decide what to charge instead of guessing, copying a competitor, or picking a number that just “feels right.” I’ve done that before, and spoiler alert: it is not a strategy. I’m breaking down the three main pricing approaches: cost-plus pricing, value-based pricing, and competitive pricing. Cost-plus helps you understand your floor, value-based pricing helps you think about what your product or service is really worth to the customer, and competitive pricing gives you market context without letting someone else’s numbers run your business. I also share a real Salt + Charm example with our Sriracha Bacon Deviled Eggs, because once you start looking at food cost, labor, overhead, and margin, it becomes very clear why pricing can’t just be based on vibes. A price can sound perfectly fine until you realize how much of it is already spoken for before you’ve made a dime of actual profit. This episode is really about getting honest with your numbers so your pricing supports a business that is sustainable and profitable, not just busy. And for my service-based business owners: stop undercharging. I know it feels safer, but being underpriced usually leads to being overworked, underpaid, and burned out. If you listened to Episode 27 on reading your P&L and balance sheet, this one is the natural next step. Pricing and financials go hand in hand, and understanding both is what helps you make better decisions instead of running your business on instinct alone. Business From Scratch with Abbye McGee is for people who are building a business while rebuilding their life. Abbye, a single mom and three-time founder, shares clear and honest talk about the real work behind mindset, money, identity, and daily life when you start from zero. The show gives you steady guidance, simple steps you can use right away, and real conversations with founders, creatives, and friends who built their own way. Each week helps you focus, test ideas, and keep moving even when the process feels messy.

Know Your Numbers: How to Read a P&L and Balance Sheet | Ep27

Welcome to Season 2 of the Business From Scratch Podcast!  Today we’re talking about something a lot of business owners either avoid completely or pretend they understand more than they actually do: your P&L and your balance sheet. And listen, I am not claiming to be an accounting expert. My CPA would absolutely laugh at that. But I do know this: if you can’t read your financial statements, you are flying your business blind. In this episode, I’m walking you through what a Profit & Loss statement actually tells you, what to look for when you open it, and why revenue alone is not the flex people think it is. We’re talking gross margin, expenses, net profit, and why clean bookkeeping matters if you want your numbers to tell the truth. Then we get into the balance sheet, which is less about how your business performed and more about where your business stands right now. Cash, receivables, debt, equity… the stuff that tells you whether your business is actually healthy or just looking good on paper. My goal is simple: I want you to be able to pull these two reports once a month, spend 20 minutes with them, and actually know what’s happening in your business. Not guess. Not hope. Know. Because knowledge is power, and these numbers tell you something. About the Show Business From Scratch with Abbye McGee is for people who are building a business while rebuilding their life. Abbye, a single mom and three-time founder, shares clear and honest talk about the real work behind mindset, money, identity, and daily life when you start from zero. The show gives you steady guidance, simple steps you can use right away, and real conversations with founders, creatives, and friends who built their own way. Each week helps you focus, test ideas, and keep moving even when the process feels messy.

Season One Finale

In this episode, I'm going solo again to talk about some uncomfortable things. We just hit 26 episodes and over 25,000 downloads, and I'm not glossing over that. But I am pulling back the curtain on what's actually been happening behind the scenes, because the polished version of this story isn't the one worth telling. The idea that has anchored this show from day one hasn't changed: you don't need permission. You don't need a perfect plan. You need the courage to start and the grit to keep going when it gets ugly… and it will get ugly. I've lived that this season more than I care to admit, and I'm getting candid about a hard chapter I've been in, because pretending otherwise would be a disservice to every person building something real. Here's the sharpest thing I've learned this season: friction isn't a red flag. Friction is the work. If you've been waiting for things to feel smooth before you push forward, I need you to hear that. The discomfort isn't a sign you're doing it wrong, it's a sign you're actually doing it. I also get into what it really looks like to stop tip-toeing around hard conversations and walk straight into them instead. No more detours. No more softening everything until the point disappears. Season 2 is coming. We're going deeper into the real-time, messy, behind-the-scenes reality of building and running a business. There may be a short gap between seasons as I move into a new production setup, but I'm not going anywhere. Let's keep building. About the Show: Business From Scratch with Abbye McGee is for people who are building a business while rebuilding their life. I'm a single mom and three-time founder, and I give you straight talk about mindset, money, identity, and what daily life actually looks like when you start from zero. No fluff, no shortcuts, just real guidance, actionable steps, and honest conversations with founders and creatives who built their own way. Every episode helps you focus, test ideas, and keep moving, especially when the process feels like a mess. Connect with Abbye: LinkedIn: /abbye-mcgee-ba2514121/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/abbye-mcgee-ba2514121/ ] Instagram: ⁠⁠/bizfromscratchpod [https://www.instagram.com/bizfromscratchpod/] Find the Show Here: YouTube: /@BizFromScratchPod [https://www.youtube.com/@BizFromScratchPod] Apple: ⁠⁠/business-from-scratch [https://podcasts.apple.com/ph/podcast/business-from-scratch/id1852203243] ⁠⁠⁠Spotify: ⁠⁠/businessfromscratch [https://open.spotify.com/show/46DB7MLO9fIMaHQID1EKaN?si=6266213eea7e47bb]