Unbalanced

Most accountants were taught to focus on the work. The transactions, the categorization, the details. But that’s not what clients actually need. In this episode of Unbalanced , Debra Kilsheimer challenges the way the profession has always operated. She shares why accounting should be about asking better questions, not just producing reports, and how AI is forcing a shift away from data entry towar...

What looks like growth on paper can quietly introduce risk beneath the surface. Tiffany Gonzalez shares how one client scaling rapidly forced her to confront client concentration, shifting power dynamics, and the pressure it puts on teams. She walks through how she navigated that moment without reacting from fear, including restructuring internally and returning to sales with intention. This conve...

In this episode of Unbalanced, Candy Bellau and Sam Hallburn sit down with Karen Reese of Starlight Bookkeeping for an honest conversation about the hard lessons that come with building a business. Karen opens up about trust gone wrong, cash flow mistakes, pricing clarity, and learning to put the right safeguards in place as her firm grew. It’s a grounded, practical episode about what firm owners...

Most founders don’t struggle because they aren’t capable, they struggle because they say yes to the wrong things early on. In this episode of Unbalanced, Blair Drake shares what her first year in business actually looked like, from a slow start to taking on work that pulled her away from what she really wanted to build. She opens up about the moment things shifted, not from doing more, but from ge...

Dr. Kristy Short returns to the Unbalanced Podcast for one of the most honest conversations we’ve had about mental health and what it really takes to heal. She shares the story behind her book Civil Warrior , the breaking point that forced her to rethink everything, and why high performers are often the best at hiding their struggles. Kristy also opens up about a psychedelic therapy experience tha...

Burnout is one of the most common experiences in firm ownership, yet it is rarely discussed openly. In this episode of Unbalanced, Lynnette Oss Connell shares her journey from building a CAS practice to becoming a burnout coach for women in accounting. She talks candidly about the pressure of trying to hold everything together while raising a family, managing illness at home, and running a firm. T...

Liz Farr joins Unbalanced to talk about grief, forgiveness, and the quiet ways work can become a shield. After losing her brother during tax season, her parents in a sudden accident, and later her stepson to violence, Liz reflects on how deeply she had internalized the profession’s expectation to push through and keep producing. This conversation explores how accounting culture shapes the way lead...

Emily Woods of Woods Financial Services shares what it was like to step into a firm that started as a “mom and pop” tax shop and grow it into a practice offering tax, outsourced accounting, and wealth management. She talks candidly about joining the firm by accident, navigating legacy clients, and carrying the weight of imposter syndrome, especially without the CPA or CFP letters after her name. F...

What does it really look like to take two separate firms and build one shared company, culture, and team, without losing your mind in the process? In this episode of Unbalanced, Kim Kelleher and Heather Deibele (co-founders of Luma accounting) walk through the real story, from “we should grab coffee” to “we’re calling attorneys.” They share how they tested the waters by cross-supporting client wor...

Firm ownership is often lonelier than anyone admits, especially when you’re the one everyone depends on. In this episode of the Unbalanced Podcast, Tedd Drattell shares what it was really like to build a firm from the ground up, navigate years of quiet isolation, and lead through an unexpected health crisis. Together, we talk about the emotional toll of ownership, the importance of community and h...

Starting a firm in the middle of uncertainty forces hard decisions, fast learning, and uncomfortable tradeoffs. In this episode, Marie Torossian shares what it was really like to build her firm beginning in 2020, including the challenges of delegation, charging for value, and getting pulled back into the work even after building a team. Sam, Candy, and Marie talk openly about giving away too much...

In this episode of the Unbalanced podcast, host Candy Bellau and co-host Sam Hallburn welcome Kelly Paxton, a fraud expert, to discuss the emotional toll of being a business owner, the importance of fraud awareness, and the human side of financial crime. Kelly shares her journey from finance to fraud examination, highlighting the prevalence of fraud in small businesses and the need for robust proc...

Phishing attacks, password protection, and cyber insurance are not “IT topics” anymore, they’re firm owner responsibilities. In this episode, Sabrina Burke of Fluffy Hammer Bookkeeping explains why security education has to be proactive, not reactive, and how quickly new phishing tactics show up in the real world. She shares how quarterly training helps her spot current trends, why document protec...

When growth hits before you feel ready, it can be both a win and a warning. In this episode of Unbalanced, Katie Helle of Scaled Accounting Solutions shares what it looked like to go out on her own and then get blindsided by how quickly tax work poured in once she told friends, family, and her network. Katie walks through the real tension of fast growth, building processes while serving clients, a...

Revenue came in. Then reality showed up. Sam Hallburn and Candy Bellau sit down with Melissa Armstrong of SteadyHand Accounting to talk about the “messy middle” of firm ownership, that year-one moment where you’re growing fast, underpricing, saying yes to everyone, and suddenly realizing your business can’t depend on only you. Melissa shares what it’s like to start over after losing a corporate jo...

What if your money habits started with a promise you made to yourself at 15? In this episode of Unbalanced, Sam Hallburn and Candy Bellau sit down with Robina Bennion. She’s a former public accountant turned CFO-level consultant and behavioral money coach who helps high-achieving professionals unpack the emotional side of money, especially the part we never talk about. Robina opens up about the id...

In this episode of Unbalanced, Sam and Candy talk with nurse practitioner and practice owner Jeremiah Velasquez about the unexpected identity shift that happens when you leave the safety of a W-2 job and build something of your own. Jeremiah opens up about the fear, guilt, lost friendships, and constant self-doubt that come with entrepreneurship, along with the surprising confidence and clarity he...

In this raw and unfiltered episode of Unbalanced, Sam and Candy sit down with Monica Roca-Quesada to talk about the emotional toll of running a firm. From sleepless nights and client chaos to burnout, blame, and feeling like you care more about your clients’ businesses than they do, Monica opens up about the hidden pressures no one talks about. They dive into boundaries, advisory struggles, team d...

Sam and Candy talk with Barrett Young, partner at GWCPAs, about what it really takes to lead an 80-year-old firm into its next generation. Barrett shares how their mandatory partner buyout at 60 keeps succession healthy and partnerships from blowing up, how he and his partner play the visionary–integrator roles, and what he learned after the sudden loss of an employee during tax season. They dig i...

This might be one of the most raw and emotionally honest conversations we’ve had on Unbalanced. Sam and Candy sit down with Joseph De Gregorio, a former Wall Street trader whose life spiraled into alcoholism, federal crimes, and a complete liver failure that nearly killed him during the height of COVID in NYC. Joseph opens up about how addiction distorts thinking long before fraud appears, the psy...

What happens when the identity you’ve built your entire career around stops working for you… and your body finally forces you to listen? In this episode, Sam and Candy sit down with Randy Crabtree, CPA and co-founder of Tri-Merit, to talk about the stroke that changed everything, stepping down as managing partner, and rebuilding a life around what he actually loves. Randy opens up about decades of...

Joe Woodard sits down with Candy and Sam to talk about the lesson that changed his leadership: justice is overrated. He breaks down an $80k legal ordeal, why airtight agreements are protection, not punishment, and how attention debt bleeds into family and work. We get candid about hiring friends, losing yourself in the mission, and building a purpose that lasts beyond the job. Joe Woodard is the C...

Sam and Candy sit down with Alyssa Olerud, founder of Fearlyss Media, to talk about what it really takes to build a business from scratch. Alyssa shares how she went from sales trainer to social media strategist, teaching herself everything from forming an LLC to removing malware when there was no IT team to call. She opens up about the learning curve, mindset work, and why SOPs became her secret...

CPA and tax strategist Christopher Picciurro joins Sam Hallburn and Candy Bellau for a raw talk about building a firm you actually want to run. Chris shares the aha moment that pushed him from volume and chaos to a membership model, why boundaries equal freedom, and how capacity is power when choosing the right clients. We dig into value pricing vs subscription, protecting your team, communicating...

On this Unbalanced episode, strategy consultant Eunecia Peret peels back the curtain on why so many successful entrepreneurs still bleed cash without realizing it. She explains her three pillars: tax reduction tied to business decisions, true wealth optimization (not more products), an intentional exit strategy, and why most owners eventually outgrow their CPA/FA status quo. We dig into referral m...