The tough love I keep giving clients (because it works) episode artwork

EPISODE · Dec 21, 2025 · 9 MIN

The tough love I keep giving clients (because it works)

from The Start Up To Grown Up Podcast · host Heather Townsend

Are you pushing through exhaustion and telling yourself you'll rest after this busy period? Do you find yourself being the bottleneck in your own business, with every decision landing back on your desk? If you're wearing busy as a badge of honour whilst secretly knowing your business can't run without you for more than a week, this episode is for you.I share twelve hard-won lessons I find myself repeating to clients and, if I'm honest, to myself. These aren't theoretical business principles but the tough love truths that come up time and again when you're actually trying to grow and scale a firm. You'll hear the lessons I've learned through my own fibromyalgia diagnosis, building The Accountants' Growth Club, and finally learning to take proper time off for the first time in years.What you'll learn in the podcast episode:- Why every crisis in your business is actually a gift - How your own behaviours determine the business, clients and team you get- Why staying in your own lane matters more than copying competitors- The warning signs that you're the bottleneck and how to recognise when your business is running you instead of the other way around- Why taking proper time off isn't optional if you've built a real business, and how ignoring your body's signals will eventually send you a bill you can't ignoreRelated episodes:15 ways your life will unexpectedly change (and not always for the better) when you go from growing to scaling your business https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/15-ways-your-life-will-unexpectedly?r=l8khyWhat to do when your team wouldn't step up? https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/what-to-do-when-your-team-wouldnt?r=l8khyHow to stay mentally strong when your business is under pressure and trading conditions are tough: https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/how-to-stay-mentally-strong-when?r=l8khyLost your mojo for running your firm, here's how to get it back: https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/feeling-the-post-summer-slump-how?r=l8khyWhich one of these excuses are you using for your business growth being stuck? https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/which-one-of-these-excuses-are-you?r=l8khyUseful links:- sign up as a paid subscriber and use this link to get 20% off an annual membership of Start Up To Grown UpWelcome to a free podcast episode of Start Up To Grown Up: Your source for ideas, insights and tactics to take back control of your business and scale it sustainably and profitably by Heather Townsend, award-winning author of The Accountants’ Millionaires’ Club and Founder of The Accountants’ Growth ClubEach episode of the Start Up To Growth Up Podcast is based on my weekly Substack Article on the same topic. Head over to my substack to subscribe https://substack.com/@startuptogrownup so you never miss an article or episode again. Get full access to Start Up To Grown Up at startuptogrownup.substack.com/subscribe

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The tough love I keep giving clients (because it works)

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This episode was published on December 21, 2025.

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Are you pushing through exhaustion and telling yourself you'll rest after this busy period? Do you find yourself being the bottleneck in your own business, with every decision landing back on your desk? If you're wearing busy as a badge of honour...

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