Kim Bode Writes

What the Heck is EOS, by Gino Wickman and Tom Bouwer gave me a framework and model for running my business. I am neurodivergent, an entrepreneur, work chaotically, and am constantly coming up with the next “big” idea. Great for you, not great for a team needing consistency, accountability, and clarity on what success looks like as a whole and individually. The other piece: It has helped me plan and focus on the most important thing for the business versus chasing after every great “idea,” I have.

I love the buzzwords people come up with and then frame as a completely new idea, especially when content and thought leadership have been the foundation of communications and marketing since the dawn of time. AI search will use and cite sources based on consistency, relevancy, brand (personal or company) authority, and structure. We’ve been writing and structuring content for the digital space for years based on this. What GEO has done is make it a topic of conversation again, framed through an AI lens.

Use your team, advisors, and others who have strengths you don’t possess. When we rely solely on experiences and know-how to decide the path forward, we’re handicapping our entire business; the goal should always be to hire people smarter than you.

Any decision is better than no decision. I’ve watched companies sink due to decision paralysis. Pick a direction, commit to it and then do your damndest to make it work. You’ll never get it 100 percent correct, but you’ll always have a good story to tell regardless.

How are women-owned businesses faring these days? As with most open-ended questions, the answer depends on your standards and perspective.

Considering that, before the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974, creditors could legally deny women credit simply because of their gender, and that, before the Women’s Business Ownership Act of 1988, some states required men to cosign business loans for women, it’s easy to surmise that women-owned businesses are doing comparatively well in 2026.

We have a policy, approved tools, and rules on how to use it. We are communicators; authenticity and trust govern everything we do, and if you over-rely on a tool versus your own brain, skills, and lived experience, then you’ve lost the plot. Our job is to build relationships, trust, and connect with the audience and that will always come from your humanity.

When it’s just you, your failure or success is 100 percent on you. Employees make everything harder, and you’d better learn real quick how to manage your expectations, listen, and create a healthy environment. Everything you do will be under a microscope because you are the example they follow. It’s pretty humbling. Get comfortable with vulnerability; if you can’t admit when you screw up, then they won’t either.

When you invest in growth, your profitability will take a hit. You can’t simultaneously grow and post record profits, especially when you are a small business. This past year, I had to take a step back to build, which meant I wasn’t out there selling, and as a result, our revenue is down. It’s your responsibility as the business owner to anticipate trends, read the economy, and plan for the worst. It’s why we expanded our business to add a complementary offering, but it’s going to be a hefty lift and require additional capital to build. Growth is painful but worth the risk. You need to believe in yourself because no one else will.

We started following the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) around 7 years ago, and it holds us accountable to our core values, which are key to maintaining our culture. We evaluate everything we do, internally and externally, against them. Growth is the hardest part of running a business. We hold ourselves to “Be kind, not nice.” Kind is addressing issues head-on and working together to solve them. Nice is ignoring an issue and pretending everything is just dandy, which fosters resentment, passive aggressiveness and only delays the inevitable. As a leader, you set the example. If you can’t hold yourself to the standards you set for your employees, then you shouldn’t be leading people.

For years, politicians have called small businesses the “backbone of our economy.” They show up for ribbon cuttings, pose for photos, and use us as props in their speeches. But when it comes to protecting the programs that keep us alive, they’re nowhere to be found. The proposed cuts to the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the gutting of the HHS Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) prove just how hollow their words are.

With fortitude, drive, and a whole lot of dogs, energy, and laughter, Kim Bode knows how to lean into the exceptionality and authenticity of her award-winning communications company. 8THIRTYFOUR is every communications strategy beautifully wrapped up and tied with an efficient bow. They “leverage all types of media together – marketing, branding and design, public relations, digital, website, content and more – to create the results you want.”