On the Up and Up

About On the Up and Up

People On Purpose, the podcast that reminds you that your business doesn’t run on policies and processes alone... it runs on people. If you’ve been with us since the On The Up & Up! days, you probably remember the tactical HR tips, the “how-to hire” episodes, and my rants about I-9s and contractors vs. employees. And don’t worry, you’ll still hear the occasional HR compliance tip. But after years of working with hundreds of small businesses, I realized something big: It’s not the systems or the SOPs that make your business work. It’s the humans behind them. So this new chapter of the podcast is about the messy middle of building a team. Think: more purpose than payroll and more community than compliance. We’re talking about what it really takes to create a workplace where people actually want to show up, not because they have to, but because they believe in what you’re building… or at the very least, because it feels great to work there. Each week, we’ll explore the people-side of small business - from leadership and management, to community and culture - with best best practices, strategies, and the occasional leadership horror story - because we’ve all got ‘em.

Publisher

Kira La Forgia

Category

business · business · business

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

29 Dec 2022

Latest episode

21 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

18 of 132 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   21 Oct 2026TRANSCRIPT

   S3E8: Can You Be Happy and Successful? Or Are We All Just Faking It?

   Host [Host Name] interviews Kaili, owner of Reveal Studio Co. and copywriter/sales strategist, exploring the tension between perceived success and genuine happiness.

2. 

   14 Oct 2026TRANSCRIPT

   S3E7: When Marketing Is a Mystery, Trust What You Can Count On

   Host Dr. Michael Breus interviews Tayler Cusick Hollman, co-founder of Enji, about trusting measurable marketing data amidst AI disruption and building a bootstrapped company.

3. 

   7 Oct 2026TRANSCRIPT

   S3E6: The Iced Coffee Problem (and what it says about culture)

   Host [Host Name] interviews [Guest Name] about how the "iced coffee problem" reveals culture-specific hiring judgments and the importance of defined company values.

Inside a recent episode

S3E8: Can You Be Happy and Successful? Or Are We All Just Faking It?

Published 21 Oct 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] And so I think it's so cool to have so many like incredible connections and real friendships from the online space. But I also think it is so important to plug into your actual community. Like, know your neighbors, volunteer, become like bring yourself out of the virtual space and make sure that the life you're building in real life around you is equally, if not more fulfilling and nurturing to you. And so I've been spending more time thinking about that. And I think for a lot of people, it's like, oh yeah, I'll start doing more like in-person networking and in-person events. And for me, I'm like, that's great. […]

Who has been a guest on On the Up and Up

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Kaili
• Tayler Cusick Hollman
• Braden Drake
• Stacia

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

32 ratings

Spotify

4.5 / 5

6 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 45 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

62

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

71

Questions about On the Up and Up