The IGNITE Podcast with Josh Stone

Most consultancy owners are desperately wanting to grow their team. The work's there - they just need more people. But they keep hiring the wrong ones, waiting too long, or hoping the right person magically shows up. In this episode I break down exactly how to attract and hire high performers into your consultancy - the ones who actually move the needle - without burning time, wasting money, or se...

In this episode I'm joined by Peta Cox - founder of the WISE Foundation, host of the Defining Boundaries podcast, and someone who knows the surveying industry inside and out. We get into the skills shortage that's hitting surveying hard right now, why the profession has struggled to attract new talent, and what business owners and team leaders can actually do about it. We also talk about where the...

If you've got a poor performer in your team right now and you're still convincing yourself it'll sort itself out - this episode is going to be a wake-up call. Keeping poor performers isn't kind. It's the most damaging thing you can do to your business and your team. In this episode I break down why tolerating underperformance wrecks your culture, why your best people are watching and quietly losin...

If you're ending every week feeling like you've just been running around putting out fires - answering calls at 6 or 7pm, dropping everything every time a client rings - this episode is for you. Being available to your clients 24/7 isn't a strength. It's a trap. And in this episode I break down exactly why it's costing you growth, killing your team's ability to step up, and what you can do about i...

I recently joined Scott Banton on The Blueprint Collective podcast to talk about one of the most common things I see holding consultancy owners back - and most of them don't even realise it's happening. In this episode we get into what it actually looks like when a founder or principal becomes the bottleneck in their own business. Not just in design and delivery - but in decision making, client re...

Engineers didn’t lose respect overnight — it happened one “yes” at a time. In this episode, I explain how the engineering & built environment profession gradually became commoditised, dropping fees & profit margins — while doctors protected their value — and what you need to do to stop being discounted, rushed, and disrespected. I share a real client example of saying no, holding standards...

If you're trying to build out your leadership team and you're still doing everything yourself - this episode is for you. In this episode I break down why most leadership teams just create more meetings without more results, why ambiguous roles lead to slow decisions and finger-pointing, and how to build a leadership team on accountability rather than just tenure or title. I also share the story of...

If you've ever done extra work for a client, knowing you're leaving money on the table, and still not charged for it - this episode is for you. In this episode I break down why clients will always push for more, how a simple script takes all the awkwardness out of asking for variations, and why not asking is doing your business a serious disservice. I also share the story of George, one of our Boa...

If you have been trying to grow your consultancy for a while and keep hitting the same ceiling, dealing with the same problems, and wondering why nothing is really shifting — this episode is going to give you a very different answer to why. In this episode I break down why businesses don't outgrow their owners, what it actually means to upgrade your identity as a business owner, and the practical...

If you are getting to the end of every week feeling like you have done nothing except put out fires — like the big stuff in your business has not moved an inch — this episode is for you. In this episode I break down why reactive weeks do not happen by accident, why being constantly available is keeping you stuck, and how to design and lock in a weekly rhythm that actually moves the needle on what...

Most consultancy owners know they need higher standards in their business. The problem is they are not sure how to get there without damaging relationships or turning into someone they do not want to be. In this episode I break down exactly how to lift the performance of your team without avoiding hard conversations or tolerating things you know are quietly dragging the business backwards. We cove...

If your margins are tight and your instinct is to hire more people to deal with business bottlenecks, this episode is worth listening to before you do. In this episode I break down one of the most common mistakes I see consultancy owners make: using hiring as the default solution to a profit problem. More often than not, adding headcount makes things worse before they get better — and in many case...

If your consultancy has hit a growth plateau recently, this episode is for you. Most engineering and built environment consultancy owners panic when revenue flattens out. They assume something's wrong. But in this episode, I want to completely reframe the way you think about plateau phases. In most cases, they're not a problem. They're a necessary part of building a strong, sustainable consultancy...

A lot of engineering and built environment consultancy owners quietly hold onto the very thing that makes growth possible. In this episode, I talk about one of the most common patterns I see inside growing consultancies: money sitting idle in the business bank account while the founder delays hires, delays systems, and delays bringing real capability into the business. We unpack why hoarding cash...

In this episode, I’m joined by Doron Dinor, one of our coaches inside Boardroom, to unpack the five things we see holding most consultancy owners back. After working with more than 150 consulting businesses across engineering and the built environment, the patterns are pretty clear. Many founders are working incredibly hard, but their growth keeps stalling for the same few reasons. Doron and I tal...

Most consultancy owners approach business development reactively. They rely on chasing leads, responding to enquiries, and following up opportunities as they appear. But if you want to win higher-quality clients and bigger projects, that approach eventually hits a ceiling. In this episode, I break down what strategic business development actually looks like inside a consulting business and why the...

Many consultancy owners believe they have a pricing problem. But most of the time, the real issue isn’t the market, the client, or the fee structure. It’s confidence. In this episode, I unpack why so many engineering and built environment consultancy owners hesitate when it comes to pricing their work. We talk about the subtle ways uncertainty shows up during client conversations and how that can...

Being busy is not the same as being profitable - yet many consultancy owners only realise this once the numbers don’t stack up. In this episode, I unpack where profit actually leaks during projects, why busyness often hides inefficiency, and how disciplined delivery systems protect your margins. You’ll learn why most margin loss happens after the project is won, how rework and unclear scope quietl...

Founder-led business development works early — but if it stays that way, it quietly caps your revenue and keeps your consultancy dependent on you. In this episode, I break down why founder-led BD eventually creates fragility in your pipeline, how it traps you in the wrong work, and what ownership should look like as your business grows. I explain why sustainable growth comes from building capabili...

Referrals and word of mouth are great, but on their own, they’re not a business growth strategy... In this episode, I break down why relying solely on referrals keeps your pipeline unpredictable, why confidence drops the moment referrals slow, and how strong consultancies combine reputation with a simple, consistent business development rhythm to create real control. I explain why referrals can’t...

Most consultancy owners think they’re delegating, but behind the scenes, everything still runs through them. In this episode, I break down why handing off tasks without handing over decisions keeps you busy, overwhelmed, and stuck, even with a capable team around you. I explain why phrases like “just check with me before it goes out” quietly turn you into the bottleneck, how owners unintentionally...

If you’re constantly hanging out for the next holiday just to recover from your business, something’s off. In this episode, I break down how to build a consultancy that actually feels good to run — one that supports your life instead of draining it. I explain how to redesign your weeks around high-value work, why your role must evolve as the business grows, and why relying on holidays as a recover...

Most consultancy owners don’t have a workload problem — they have a client quality problem. In this episode, I break down why chasing more clients often leads to more stress, lower margins, and less control — and why upgrading the quality of your clients is one of the fastest ways to improve profit, clarity, and momentum. I explain how low-value clients quietly drain time, energy, and emotional ba...

Your pricing isn’t the real problem — your confidence is. In this episode, I break down why engineering and built environment consultancy owners struggle to charge what they’re really worth, why fear is driving how you price projects and approach fee discussions with clients, and how showing up with calm confidence changes how clients behave and treat you. I share a real life coaching client examp...

Engineers didn’t lose respect overnight — it happened one “yes” at a time. In this episode, I explain how the engineering & built environment profession gradually became commoditised, dropping fees & profit margins — while doctors protected their value — and what you need to do to stop being discounted, rushed, and disrespected. I share a real client example of saying no, holding standards...