Season One Finale

Building a Business That Rebuilds the Healthcare System w/ Sara Lloyd

In today’s episode, I’m sitting down with Sara Lloyd, founder and CEO of Upper Health, and we are talking about what it looks like to build a business inside one of the most complicated industries there is: healthcare. Sara started her career as a personal trainer, but pretty quickly realized that a lot of people were not coming to fitness just for weight loss or strength training. They were coming because they were dealing with real medical issues, chronic conditions, pain, and health problems that the traditional system was not fully solving for them. That led her to start a nonprofit that helped provide fitness and natural care. But over time, she realized the problem was bigger than affordability. People with the ability to pay were still calling because they did not want pills and surgery, and they did not know where else to go. That realization eventually became Upper Health, a natural-first healthcare company that helps patients find the right providers, build custom care plans, and manage scheduling, payments, and communication in one place. Sara is not trying to build a hospital or pull every provider under one roof. She is building a connected system using providers and resources that already exist, but have never really been organized in a way that is easy for patients to understand or access. We talk about why Upper Health does not take insurance, how Sara thinks about self-pay healthcare, and why she believes the traditional model often makes the actual cost of care harder to understand. We also get into the idea of “natural first” care, what it means to look at someone’s home, habits, environment, and lifestyle before jumping straight to prescriptions. Of course, because this is Business from Scratch, we also talk about the business side. Sara shares what it has looked like to grow from a nonprofit into a for-profit company and build a two-sided marketplace in a highly regulated industry.  What I loved most about this conversation is how clear Sara is on the mission, but also how calculated she is about the business. She is a visionary, but she is not just jumping blindly. She is building something that could completely change how people access care. This episode is about healthcare, but it is also about what happens when you see a problem so clearly that you cannot unsee it. It is about building the thing you wish existed.  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.

Easy Money, Hard Lesson: The Truth About Payment Processor Loans

Today we are talking about something I have personal experience with and personal regret about: payment processor loans. Square loans, PayPal Working Capital, Shopify Capital, Stripe Capital, whatever version your payment processor offers, these products have become incredibly common for small business owners. I understand why because I’ve used them for my business.  I want to be upfront: this is not going to be an episode where I tell you these loans are evil and you should never touch them. That’s not the full truth, and I don’t do half-truths on this show.  There are situations where these loans can make sense. However, there are also situations where they quietly drain your cash flow, make budgeting harder, and leave you wondering how something that felt like a lifeline turned into a weight around your neck. I’ve been in both situations. In this episode, I’m breaking down how payment processor loans and merchant cash advances actually work, what they cost you in real terms, and why the way they are marketed can make them feel much simpler than they really are. We’ll talk about factor rates, daily holdbacks, and the difference between a flat fee and a true interest rate. I’m also sharing the real numbers from my own $30,000 Square loan for Salt and Charm: what I borrowed, what I paid back, how much came out of my sales every month, and what that same money may have cost through a more traditional loan option. Seeing the numbers laid out clearly was eye-opening. We’ll also talk about when these loans might make sense, when they absolutely do not, and why taking a second advance to manage the first one is a major red flag. If you’ve ever clicked into one of those offers sitting in your dashboard and thought, “That would be easy,” this episode is for you. The biggest takeaway is this: payment processor loans are not inherently bad. They are a tool. Before you accept one, you need to understand the real cost, the repayment structure, and how it is going to feel when money is coming out of your account every single day. Sometimes convenience is worth the price. But sometimes that price is thousands of dollars more than you needed to pay. Listen in if you have ever considered a Square, PayPal, Shopify, or Stripe funding offer, or if you are trying to figure out the smartest way to access capital for your business without creating more cash flow stress. 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.

Building a Business That Can Pivot, Grow, and Still Feel Personal w/ Beth Faulkner

In this episode of Business From Scratch, I’m joined by Beth Faulkner, co-owner and founder of End of Days Distillery here in Wilmington’s Cargo District. Beth and her husband, Shane, opened their distillery in February of 2020, had six wild weeks of normal business, and then had to figure out how to survive a pandemic as a brand-new company. Beth shares what it was like to pivot almost overnight from cocktails and spirits to producing hand sanitizer for the community, and how that decision not only helped them stay afloat but also rooted them deeply in Wilmington. We talked about what it takes to keep moving when the plan completely falls apart, and why the businesses that last are usually the ones willing to change. We also got into the real-life dynamics of running a business with your spouse. Beth and Shane have been business partners for most of their marriage, and she shared so much wisdom about communication, trust, respect, and remembering that your business cannot become your entire identity. One of my favorite parts of this conversation was our discussion about team. Beth talks about hiring for personality, empowering people without micromanaging, promoting from within, and making decisions that support work-life balance, even when those decisions may not look like the most profitable choice on paper. We also talked about diversifying revenue streams, from the lounge and retail shop to canned cocktails, bourbon aging, and cask investments. End of Days is a great example of building a business with grit, intention, community, and a whole lot of heart. You can find End of Days Distillery on Instagram at @eoddistillery or online at eodistillery.com. 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.

Building a Social Media Strategy That Works w/ Tori Gatanis

This week on Business From Scratch, I’m joined by one of my favorite people: Tori Gatanis from Brave Creative. You may not know her name yet, but if you’ve followed the social media for this podcast, Salt + Charm, The Starling, or plenty of Wilmington brands, you’ve absolutely felt her work. In this episode, we talk about what it really looks like to bring in a social media manager, and why good social media is not just about posting pretty pictures or jumping on every trend. Tori shares how her team translates a brand’s identity into an online presence that feels human enough to connect and strategic enough to perform over time. We also get into the big question so many business owners wrestle with: how do you know when it’s time to hand social media off? Because yes, it is an investment. But when you’re spending hours trying to keep up with Instagram, TikTok, trends, captions, metrics, and algorithms, that’s time and energy you’re not spending actually growing your business. Tori also opens up about becoming the sole owner of Brave Creative, what shifted when the business became fully hers, and how important community has been in figuring out the parts of business no one magically knows how to do. From P&Ls to payroll to health insurance, we talk about the very real “I don’t know, but give me five minutes, and I’ll figure it out” energy that every entrepreneur needs. If you’ve ever wondered whether your business is ready for social media support, how to think about ROI, or why strategy matters more than posting for the sake of posting, this episode is for you. You can find Brave Creative at @bravecreativeagency on Instagram or online at bebravecreative.co [https://www.bebravecreative.co/]. 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.

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.