Business Advisor Podcast

You can have the best numbers, the fastest software, and the most efficient compliance process in the world, but none of that will stop a competitor from taking your best clients. The only thing that will protect your practice in the age of AI and commoditization is the depth of your client relationships. I call this "Digging Your Moat." In this episode, we are continuing our read-throug...

You sit down with your client, show them the numbers, and explain exactly why they need to raise their prices or let go of an underperforming team member. They nod, they understand, and they agree completely. Yet, at your next meeting, nothing has changed. Why do smart, capable business owners fail to act on their knowledge? In this episode, we continue our read-through of The Relationship Economy...

You are probably already doing advisory work. It’s that phone call where a client asks if they can afford to take more dividends, or that WhatsApp message asking about a potential new hire. But if you’re like most accountants and bookkeepers, you aren’t calling it advisory, you don't have a structure for it, and you certainly aren’t charging for it. In this episode, we continue our journey thr...

What is the true purpose of a business? As Peter Drucker said, it's to create and keep a customer. But getting the client is only the beginning. The real, long-term value comes from the relationship you build after they become a client. In this episode, we continue our deep dive into my new book, The Relationship Economy. We are exploring Chapter 2, where I introduce a critical concept: The Cl...

You can feel the shift. Clients who used to be grateful for your compliance work now question your fees. You're working longer hours, managing more complexity, yet your profit margins are shrinking. And if you open Facebook right now, you'll see why: firms are advertising full bookkeeping and accounts for less than £100 a month. In this episode, we are continuing our read-through of my new...

The world is shifting. Between a declining economy, fragmentation of communities, and AI moving faster than anyone planned for, the ground beneath the accounting and bookkeeping profession doesn't feel as solid as it used to. The traditional compliance model—where you are rewarded for the forms you fill out while giving away your most valuable advice for free—is breaking down. In this very spe...

What actually is business advisory? If you ask a dozen different accounting professionals, you'll likely get a dozen different answers. Some say it's explaining management accounts; others say it's being available to answer a client's questions about cash flow or profit margins. While those things are incredibly useful, they aren't true advisory—they are just "expertise.&q...

You can feel it happening. Clients are questioning your fees more than ever. Software is getting smarter. AI is accelerating, and basic compliance work is being offshored and outsourced, driving prices down for a service that clients never really wanted to buy in the first place. In this special episode, I'm giving you an exclusive sneak peek inside my new book, The Relationship Economy: How A...

Have you ever wondered why a client will happily spend thousands on a business coach to help them grow, but expects you to spend an hour talking through the exact same business problem for free? Why do clients who have worked with you for years suddenly question a tiny, inflation-matching increase in your monthly fee? The answer lies in what I call the  "Grudge Economy."  For decades, th...

You’re probably rolling your eyes right now. A "brand story"? It sounds like something an influencer does, not a serious accountant or bookkeeper. You don't want to write a tear-jerking autobiography or share every painful moment of your life on LinkedIn. I completely agree—because that is not what a brand story is. For most of your career, you haven't needed a story. Compliance...

You take on a new advisory client. You send the proposal, sign the engagement letter, and agree on the deliverables and the price. But then... the unspoken expectations kick in. You expect them to turn up on time and implement your advice; they expect you to remind them. You expect them to communicate if they are struggling; they assume you'll ask if you need to know something. Eventually, the...

We talk a lot about marketing to get clients, but there's a huge, hidden opportunity most firms are completely ignoring: marketing to attract top talent. When I ask accountants and bookkeepers what their biggest challenge is, the answer is almost always finding good people. You might feel like the best candidates already have jobs, or that you can't compete with the salaries of the Big Fou...

You’ve done it a hundred times. You show your client the numbers. You explain exactly where their profit is leaking, why their pricing is wrong, or how a specific team member is costing them dearly. They nod, they agree, and they say, "Yes, that makes total sense." But three months later, you meet again, and nothing has changed. It’s maddening. But before you send them another 42-page re...

Imagine two advisory firms. They do identical work and serve similar clients, but one charges three times more than the other. What's the difference? It isn't the quality of their spreadsheets; it's the language they use long before the work actually begins. Your words carry your price tag. Clients read your words before they experience anything else, and those words immediately tell t...

If you've ever found marketing difficult, or if you feel like your content is just blending in with the noise, it's likely because you haven't answered one crucial question:  What is the hill you will die on? I'm not talking about your niche, your list of services, or a generic mission statement like "we are a proactive, forward-thinking firm." The hill you will die on is...

Have you ever given a client the absolute perfect advice, showed them exactly where their profit is leaking, watched them nod in total agreement... and then three months later,  nothing  has changed? It drives you bonkers, right? You sit there thinking, "What more do I need to show you?" So, you send another email, build another dashboard, and present another color-coded spreadsheet. But...

You think you have a marketing problem. You think you're bad at sales. You post on LinkedIn, you get a few likes (mostly when you post a picture of your dog), but no ideal clients are reaching out. You feel like marketing is just pushing water up a hill, so you stop, write it off, and decide to rely on referrals again. Here is the truth: You don't have a marketing problem. You have a  trus...

Most people believe that business freedom comes from building something bigger: more clients, more offers, a bigger team, and being on every social media platform. But in my 15 years of experience, building the "Monster Business" doesn't bring freedom; it brings exhaustion. Freedom doesn't come from more; it comes from less. Less noise, less complexity, less decision fatigue, and...

Are you tired of relying on unpredictable referrals or throwing money at expensive marketing software just to get new clients? When it comes to compliance and bookkeeping, services are often sold on price. But winning high-value advisory work requires a completely different approach: relationship selling. You likely already provide incredible value and great results for your clients, but if you ar...

Imagine you've just won an election. The votes are in, and the morning after, you walk in as the person in charge. The goodwill is at its absolute peak, people are hopeful, and they are giving you the benefit of the doubt. This is the exact moment a new client signs with you. In politics, every new leader gets 100 days to prove themselves—to show what they're made of and get things moving. It's th...

Back in 2018, I noticed a heartbreaking pattern: brilliant accountants and bookkeepers were doing amazing work, but absolutely no one was getting paid their true value. You were attracting clients who questioned you on price and only wanted traditional compliance work. The answer was marketing, but it was like wading through treacle to get you to show up and position yourselves. Then, the pandemic...

If your referrals stopped tomorrow, what would you do to get new clients? For most advisors, the honest answer is, "I don't know." Relying on referrals is a "hope strategy," and you can't build a Freedom Practice on hope. In today's landscape, trust is at an all-time low. Prospects require far more touchpoints—Google's "Zero Moment of Truth" says it ta...

You've heard it a million times from marketers: "You need to have a niche." But the thought of it probably terrifies you. You don't want to turn away good clients, you don't want to put all your eggs in one basket, and you certainly don't want to be bored. So, you stay a generalist, competing on price, overwhelmed by the hundreds of different clients and industries you&#3...

When you show up online—whether it's on LinkedIn, your website, or in an email—do you sound like everybody else? Do you find yourself defaulting to formal, corporate language because it feels "safe" or professional? If your marketing reads like the same textbook everyone else is using, you're not just blending in; you are actively attracting price shoppers. A bland brand creates...

Is your website just sitting there, looking pretty, and bringing you absolutely nothing? If you have a stock photo of a handshake, a long list of services like "bookkeeping, VAT, payroll," and a generic headline that claims you are "trusted advisors since 1987," then you are blending in with every other firm. Your website is likely built backward—talking about  you  instead of...