Unbalanced

Jessica Fox still remembers waking up at 3:30 in the morning in a cold sweat, convinced she'd forgotten something for a client, only to find she'd already done it. She just had nowhere to prove it. That moment became a turning point for Jessica Fox, owner of Florida Virtual Bookkeeper, who rebuilt her business around documentation, workflows, and a plan for what happens if she can't show up one day. In this conversation, Jessica talks candidly about downsizing from a team back to working solo, why it took years for value-based pricing to finally click, and how a membership service she found almost by accident now protects her clients if something ever happens to her. She also shares the pricing mistakes, hiring lessons, and marketing missteps that shaped how she runs things today. Unbalanced is brought to you by Anchor. We help accounting and professional services firms send agreements, collect payments, and manage billing in one simple system. Join the thousands of accounting firms who have made the switch.

Mark O'Riordan once landed back in Detroit less than 48 hours after attending Nelson Mandela's funeral, only to be called in the next morning to help work a homicide case. That whiplash defined his eleven years with the Secret Service, much of it spent as a polygraph examiner conducting hours-long interrogations. In this conversation, Mark talks about leaving federal law enforcement to build New Mountain Investigative Services, focused on investigative interviewing and communication training for corporate professionals. He and hosts Sam and Candy dig into the shift from law enforcement intensity to entrepreneurial uncertainty, why rest doesn't come naturally after decades of nonstop work, and how building trust with another person, whether a criminal suspect or an HR complainant, comes down to the same core skill. Unbalanced is brought to you by Anchor. We help accounting and professional services firms send agreements, collect payments, and manage billing in one simple system. Join the thousands of accounting firms who have made the switch.

Hope Brown figured out one of her most important lessons in year two, and she is honest that it came later than it should have. Running a firm she never planned to open, she got so caught up in the work she loved that it nearly swallowed her whole. In this episode, she talks with Sam and Candy about balance, and why loving what you do is not enough if there is no core left for yourself. Hope runs Brown Business Solutions, a virtual firm based in Washington, D.C., known as the Tax Minded Bookkeeper. She shares how one client's bookkeeping question grew into a company, why she left federal procurement behind, and what community financial education means to a second-generation business owner. Along the way: why not every client is your client, why you do not have to do it alone, and why getting out to conferences changed everything. Unbalanced is brought to you by Anchor. We help accounting and professional services firms send agreements, collect payments, and manage billing in one simple system. Join the thousands of accounting firms who have made the switch.

Ryan Lazanis noticed something counterintuitive: the firms building the most elaborate AI automations were often the busiest, not the freest. In this episode, the founder of Future Firm and former owner of Zen Accounting, one of North America's earlier online accounting firms, joins Sam and Candy to talk about why fundamentals still matter more than the latest shiny tool. Ryan draws parallels between today's AI rush and the arrival of cloud accounting, which promised to automate everything and instead made firms busier than ever. He argues for doing less, not more: finding the one or two projects that move the needle, using technology to improve the client experience rather than just the owner's, and hiring for values instead of skills alone. He also shares the hardest decision of his career, selling his firm, and the advice that reshaped how he works: define what enough looks like before you build the business around it.Unbalanced is brought to you by Anchor. We help accounting and professional services firms send agreements, collect payments, and manage billing in one simple system. Join the thousands of accounting firms who have made the switch.

The day before her husband was set to join the new company they had spent months building, Jennifer Scott opened the inbox to a reporter asking for comment on the arrest of the business owner behind it all. The FBI had raided the New York office. Overnight, a two-income family became a zero-income family, and the firm they had planned no longer existed.Jennifer runs HireEffect™, a client advisory services practice offering bookkeeping, payroll, HR, and recruiting to owner-run small businesses. In this conversation, she walks through rebuilding from roughly $7,000 a month and a single bookkeeper, why she calls herself the accidental CEO, and what it actually takes to run a firm alongside a spouse. She is candid about a hard-won lesson: no matter how close you are to someone, get it in writing.Unbalanced is brought to you by Anchor. We help accounting and professional services firms send agreements, collect payments, and manage billing in one simple system. Join the thousands of accounting firms who have made the switch.

Tyler Otto once fired a client in their first month, after a 6 p.m. Monday request to rebuild a cost segregation report by 8 a.m. the next day was followed by an all-caps email asking why nobody had responded yet. Tyler, who leads Specialized Accounting (a firm built around hotels, restaurants, and marinas) and hosts the UnAccountable Podcast, joins Sam and Candy to talk about the parts of running a firm nobody prepares you for. They get into the emotional toll of firing bad clients, how a staff survey tracking client goodwill turned into an actual hit list, why mental bandwidth, not billable hours, becomes the real limit on growth, and how to price for the thinking time a difficult client quietly demands. As AI speeds up the work, the conversation turns to what clients are actually paying for: the relationship, not the transaction. Unbalanced is brought to you by Anchor. We help accounting and professional services firms send agreements, collect payments, and manage billing in one simple system. Join the thousands of accounting firms who have made the switch.

When Trevor Myres admits his firm got better the more he stepped out of its way, it lands as an honest reckoning rather than a humble brag. On this episode, the owner of Myres CPA joins Sam and Candy to work through the parts of building a firm nobody warns you about: conducting his first interview with zero real management experience, learning that hiring for potential can quietly cost you, and discovering that delegation without follow-through is really just abandonment. Trevor also makes a clear case for why the profession is splitting into those who can build relationships and those who cannot, and why he believes AI will widen that gap rather than close it. Along the way he explains why he leads every client relationship with tax planning, when he tells a prospect they are not ready for his firm, and how a habit of posting on LinkedIn became a hiring pipeline.Unbalanced is brought to you by Anchor. We help accounting and professional services firms send agreements, collect payments, and manage billing in one simple system. Join the thousands of accounting firms who have made the switch.

At a recent conference, Alicia Katz Pollock asked a room of one hundred accounting professionals to raise their hands if they had explored QuickBooks' newest features. Three hands went up. One was hers. In this conversation, Alicia, founder of Royalwise and a longtime QuickBooks trainer, unpacks why that gap matters: the software now does far more than it did eighteen months ago, and the recent price increases landed before most practitioners even knew what was new.She also reflects on the parts of her work she did not plan for, like the member community that became the most valued part of her training library, and the collaboration philosophy she and her husband Jamie describe as baking a bigger pie rather than fighting over slices. Along the way she talks candidly about work life harmony over balance, and the winding path from substitute teacher to QuickBooks trainer.Anchor helps accounting and professional services firms send agreements, collect payments, and manage billing in one simple system. Join the thousands of accounting firms who have made the switch.

Natalie Browne once went to make a $25,000 federal estimated tax payment and sent it to the state agency instead. She caught it, canceled it, and told the client. That kind of honesty runs through this conversation with the founder of Adding Technology, an accounting firm focused on construction and real estate. Natalie talks about the long road from solo bookkeeper to leader of a small team, and why letting people make their own mistakes is harder than quietly fixing everything herself. She gets into the pull of shiny new software, the vetting process her team now runs, and the perfectionism that had her losing sleep over a five-cent discrepancy. Her advice, repeated like a mantra, is simple: put down the bat. If you have ever been kinder to your clients than to yourself, this one will feel familiar.Unbalanced is brought to you by Anchor. We help accounting and professional services firms send agreements, collect payments, and manage billing in one simple system. Join the thousands of accounting firms who have made the switch.

Michael Coronado of Pronto Advisors still remembers walking into a restaurant decades ago and asking how they closed out the register each night. The answer: someone opened it, took out the cash, and put it in the safe. No one ever counted it. That story sets the tone for a conversation about what happens when businesses skip the basics, whether it's cash controls, tax planning, or pricing.Michael runs Pronto Advisors, a family accounting and tax practice focused on real estate investors and property owners, a business his father started 35 years ago. He talks about taking over from his mother, the difference between filing taxes and actually planning for them, and why he says he has regretted lowering his price 100 percent of the time. It's a candid look at what it takes to run a firm built on decades of trust.Unbalanced is brought to you by Anchor. We help accounting and professional services firms send agreements, collect payments, and manage billing in one simple system. Join the thousands of accounting firms who have made the switch.

Nicole Davis built her accounting firm without ever working in public accounting, and she will be the first to tell you how much she had to figure out the hard way. In this episode, Nicole shares what a scathing one-star review taught her about client experience, why she developed a "client match" tool to filter for fit before a relationship ever starts, and how a self-induced cash crunch after acquiring a payroll company turned into one of her firm's most important growth moves.Nicole talks openly about the emotional weight of firing employees, how an employment attorney helped her think about core values as legitimate grounds for dismissal, and why she now audits her client list the same way she would a closet: if a name does not spark joy, it goes. She also shares her unexpected path into stand-up comedy and what performing taught her about showing up on stage.Unbalanced is brought to you by Anchor. We help accounting and professional services firms send agreements, collect payments, and manage billing in one simple system. Join the thousands of accounting firms who have made the switch.

Nicole Nieves didn't set out to run a firm on her own terms — she got there because her health demanded it. After years of pushing through long hours in New York, she found herself repeatedly hospitalized and forced onto medical leave. What came out of that hard stop was a set of policies most accounting firms still resist: documents due 30 days before the deadline, a standing Wednesday off, and a rule that if a client doesn't respond within 48 hours, they lose their place in the queue.In this episode, Ray and Nicole Nieves of NRN Financial Services talk through what it actually looks like to run a full-service accounting firm with a spouse, move your client base across state lines twice, and shift from hourly billing to flat rates. They get into nonprofit client challenges, managing client access to the books, and why Ray, a longtime tax professional, had to relearn almost everything when Nicole took over as managing partner.Unbalanced is brought to you by Anchor. We help accounting and professional services firms send agreements, collect payments, and manage billing in one simple system. Join the thousands of accounting firms who have made the switch.

Ashley Connell spent a year having 60 one-on-one conversations with accounting firm owners before deciding to go all in on the profession. What she heard most often surprised her: loneliness. Not just the need for peers, but the need for someone inside the business they could actually talk to.Ashley is the founder of Prowess Project, which matches accounting firm owners with fractional operators, experienced operations professionals who embed in a firm and help the owner step back from running the day-to-day so they can focus on growing the business.In this conversation, Ashley breaks down how the matching process works, why emotional intelligence is the trait she screens for above all else, what she got wrong early on, and why she built monthly roundtables specifically for firm owners who feel like they are carrying everything alone.Unbalanced is brought to you by Anchor. We help accounting and professional services firms send agreements, collect payments, and manage billing in one simple system. Join the thousands of accounting firms who have made the switch.

Rick Meekins had built something real. Multiple companies running simultaneously, an engineer on staff, hands in product development, construction, and more. Then COVID hit, and almost overnight, everything stopped. What followed were months of debt, difficult conversations, and a slow reckoning with what comes next.In this episode, Rick, founder of Polaris Story and host of the Relentless Pursuit of Winning podcast, talks through what 30-plus years of entrepreneurship has actually looked like, including a restaurant that pushed him past his limits, a consulting business undone by forces outside his control, and a deliberate decision early this year to start over with coaches, accountability, and a clearer sense of purpose.The conversation covers underpricing out of fear, why knowing what to do and actually doing it are two different things, and what it means to keep pursuing the win when the strategy has to change.Unbalanced is brought to you by Anchor. We help accounting and professional services firms send agreements, collect payments, and manage billing in one simple system. Join the thousands of accounting firms who have made the switch.

Jan Haugo spent 40 hours a week for over 18 months learning, building, and breaking AI tools outside the accounting industry because she felt what was available inside it wasn't enough. What she came back with wasn't a collection of tips for writing better emails. It was a system: general ledger error detection, 1099 audit checking, brand voice training, and over 80 operations built to match how accounting firms actually work.In this conversation, Jan walks through how she thinks about AI tool selection, why anonymizing client data matters more than avoiding AI altogether, and what it means to get 100 hours of production out of a 40-hour week. She also talks honestly about imposter syndrome, the validation that finally gave her confidence to teach, and why the accounting profession tends to sit quietly while the world changes around it.Powered by Anchor.

A nonprofit's CPA said they didn't qualify. Their payroll company said the same. So did a second advisor. Richard Soo Hoo, owner of Richard Soo Hoo CPA and Associates, looked at the paperwork anyway, told everyone they were wrong, and three weeks later the organization had $425,000 in Employee Retention Tax Credits in hand.That story sits at the center of this conversation, but it's hardly the only one. Richard reflects on what it actually means to get a tax refund (hint: it's an interest-free loan to the government), what happens when in-laws compare your work to the guy down the street who got them a $75 refund, and why decades of working inside Fortune 100 companies left him genuinely unprepared for the most interesting part of the job: dealing with people.Candid, understated, and quietly sharp, Richard brings a perspective that only comes from working at every level of the profession. Listen to the full episode, and follow the show so you never miss a conversation.Powered by Anchor.

Richard Roppa-Roberts did not plan to start a business. He bought a house on October 11, 2014, and was laid off the very next day. What followed was an accidental entrepreneurial career that now includes two businesses, over 7,600 hours of live peer conversation, and a near-coma hospitalization that tested every contingency plan he had built.In this episode, Richard shares what he has learned running Quasar Cowboy and Roundtable Labs, including a simple calendar strategy for reclaiming time every month, how moving client communications entirely out of email changed the quality of his work, and why he believes collaboration without competition is the most underused growth lever in accounting.Powered by Anchor.

Ron Stauffer walked in the door after his second layoff, gave himself one afternoon to feel bad about it, and had a check in his hand by the next day. That mindset, combining deep curiosity with relentless relationship-building, is at the core of how he has run Leader Digital for eighteen years without spending a single dollar on advertising.In this conversation, Ron shares why most businesses asking for more website traffic actually have a broken sales funnel, and how asking the question behind the question changes everything. He talks about the gap between what clients say they want and what they actually need, why networking is fundamentally storytelling, and what it looks like to build a referral-based business from scratch, twice.Powered by Anchor.

In this episode, David joins Sam and Candy to talk about what really drives small business financial trouble, why the root cause is almost never what the owner suspects, and what it takes for accountants and bookkeepers to make the shift into genuine advisory work. They also get into the realities of building a first-year conference, why most accounting-adjacent advice stays frustratingly surface-level, and what it means to charge for work while you're still learning to do it.David is also hosting PIVOT, an intentionally small cash flow conference limited to 20 attendees, taking place May 24 through 29, 2026 at the Secrets Riviera Cancun in Mexico. Spots are still available. Mention The Unbalanced Podcast for a discount. Learn more at pivot2026.com.Powered by Anchor.

Melissa Guinn once found $180,000 of loan proceeds misclassified as income. Her client had paid taxes on money that was never earnings. A corrected return later, the client received $40,000 back. That kind of discovery is not luck. It is what happens when a bookkeeper asks enough questions, runs a real onboarding process, and knows what to look for.Melissa is the owner of Lookout Bookkeeping in Chattanooga, Tennessee, a virtual firm serving service-based businesses and real estate investors. In this conversation, she talks through the real cost of underpriced services, how she made the shift from hourly to monthly recurring revenue, why she attends tax webinars even though her firm does not do taxes, and what it actually takes to build systems that protect both clients and your own time.If you have ever undercharged, skipped an onboarding fee, or answered a client call during blocked work hours, this one is worth your time. Listen and follow the show so you never miss an episode.Powered by Anchor.

Erin Pohan, founder of Upkeeping and creator of WAVE Seattle, joins Sam and Candy for a conversation about the parts of firm ownership no one really prepares you for. From building real community in the accounting profession to navigating a $100,000 IRS notice and a years-long fight to protect her business, Erin shares what it looks like to keep going when the unexpected hits.Along the way, they talk about conferences, connection, and why finding your people matters more than anything when work and life get complicated. This episode is honest, funny at times, and grounded in the reality of what it takes to build something and keep it standing.Powered by Anchor.

What changes when you go from doing the work to leading a team doing it for you?In this episode, Rachel Dauchy shares what growth actually looks like behind the scenes, from navigating client expectations that don’t evolve with your business, to hiring, letting go, and learning how to trust your team. She talks about building a firm rooted in systems, automation, and specialization, while still holding onto the parts of the work she genuinely loves.This conversation also challenges the way we think about accounting itself. Not as rigid or purely technical, but as something far more creative, interpretive, and human.Powered by Anchor.

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 toward real decision-making.From her unfiltered take on software and the future of the industry to her perspective on confidence, pricing, and doing things your own way, this conversation is equal parts practical and personal. It’s about thinking bigger, speaking up, and defining success on your own terms.Powered by Anchor.

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 conversation explores pricing discipline, boundaries, and what it really takes to build a resilient firm. It is an honest look at the tradeoffs firm owners face as they grow.Powered by Anchor.

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 often learn the hard way and what it really takes to build a business that works for you, not just because of you.Powered by Anchor.

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 getting clearer on her value and what she needed to say no to. This conversation explores the tension between being needed and being effective, and why patience, boundaries, and self-trust matter more than most founders expect. If you’re in your first year or thinking about starting something, this will feel uncomfortably familiar in the best way.Powered by Anchor.

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 that helped her confront fear, control, and the pressure she had carried for decades. This conversation explores burnout, anxiety, leadership, and the courage it takes to show up fully as yourself.Powered by Anchor.

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. This conversation explores the mindset shifts that helped her redefine success and why so many firm owners struggle silently. If you’ve ever wondered whether the stress you’re carrying is normal, this episode will feel deeply familiar.Powered by Anchor.

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 leaders respond to hardship and what more humane, flexible leadership could look like inside today’s firms.Powered by Anchor.

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. From being asked if she needed to “check with Brian” to the defining moment that helped her trust her own answers, Emily reflects on how confidence is built slowly, through validation, community, and experience.Powered by Anchor.

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 work, what it was like to bring two teams into one rhythm, and why it took time for the magic to show up in leadership meetings. You will hear the behind-the-scenes details firm owners actually care about: partnership agreements, switching vendors when you realize the fit is wrong, merging systems, and how to keep making progress when you do not have a tiebreaker. Powered by Anchor.

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 honest conversations, and why building a business that can function without you isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity.Powered by Anchor.

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 for free, learning buyer psychology the hard way, and how firm owners can reframe team turnover as growth rather than failure. The conversation explores the human side of leadership, the tension between scaling and staying connected to clients, and what it means to build a firm that can hold change without losing its core.Powered by Anchor.

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 processes and documentation. The conversation delves into real-life fraud cases, the cultural impacts on organizations, and the significance of prevention and awareness in protecting businesses from financial crime.

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 protection matters just as much as passwords, and what’s at stake when you’re handling sensitive financial data for clients. The conversation also gets into the very real shame and embarrassment that can follow a security mistake, and why talking about it openly is part of preventing it. Powered by Anchor.

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, and realizing that what lives in your head has to live somewhere your team can use.She also digs into the shifts that helped her stay steady: planning tax season in advance, hiring early to protect her time, getting serious about SOPs, and learning to say no to work that did not fit the year-round relationships she actually wants. If you have ever felt like success arrived faster than your systems, this one will feel familiar.Powered by Anchor.

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 job, build a real foundation (marketing, a VA, ops support, and eventually an accountant), and navigate the emotional weight of money, imposter syndrome, and personal finances getting messy while you’re still the one advising others. Powered by Anchor.

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 identity shift of leaving public accounting, the loneliness of entrepreneurship, and the pressure firm owners put on themselves to have all the answers.

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’s gained along the way. It’s an honest look at how starting a business doesn’t just change your life, it changes you.Powered by Anchor.

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 dynamics, and learning to protect your energy while still loving the work. It’s honest, relatable, and a reminder that you’re not alone in the messiness of firm ownership.Powered by Anchor.

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 into setting boundaries with clients, dealing with team resistance to change, using failure as an opportunity for experimentation, and why firm owners need to stop treating every idea as if it has to be perfect on day one.Powered by Anchor.

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 psychological cascade that led to his downfall, and the brutal honesty it took to rebuild his life. Today, he uses his experience to help others facing federal sentencing understand their own patterns and pursue real rehabilitation. This is a powerful, emotional episode about accountability, recovery, and what it means to come back from your darkest moments.Powered by Anchor.

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 “I have to do it all” thinking, why it took him years after his stroke to let go of that identity, and how he slowly redesigned his role around speaking, educating, and championing mental health in the profession. He shares the personal story behind his conference, Bridging the Gap, and his mission to connect big and small firms while making real conversations about burnout, change, and humanity non-negotiable.Powered by Anchor.

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 CEO of Woodard®, a company that empowers accountants and business advisors through education, coaching, resources, and consulting services, with a particular focus on Client Advisory Services (CAS). Woodard equips professionals to modernize their practices, optimize accounting software, and expand their reach.Powered by Anchor.

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 to staying sane. Together they dig into what’s actually worth tracking in social media, how to handle tough clients, and why playing the long game is the only way to win.Powered by Anchor.

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 like a pro, and failing forward without shame. There are Seinfeld references, Doogie Howser jokes, and a candid look at what 22 years of ownership really teaches you. If you’ve ever missed a family milestone for a deadline, felt trapped by the clients you outgrew, or wondered how to pivot without burning it all down, this one hits home.Powered by Anchor.

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 misfires, pushing back on commissions-first thinking, building an elite expert bench, and the mindset shift it takes to stop spinning and scale with confidence. If you’ve ever felt that something’s “off” in your finances but couldn’t name it, this one will hit home.Powered by Anchor.

Tax pro and educator Marit Burmood, CPA, aka the Extroverted Accountant, joins Sam and Candy to talk about why credentials don’t magically fix broken pricing or shaky self-worth. She walks through the moment she shifted from hourly work to advisory (and lost her biggest client), how speaking at Taxposium and training with TOPS rewired her confidence, and why vulnerability builds real community in a guarded profession. We get into value pricing, feedback without spiraling, and the mindset work it takes to stop giving away what lives in your head for free. If you’ve ever felt “alphabet soup” after your name still isn’t enough, this one’s for you.Powered by Anchor.

What happens when you build a firm on purpose, not by accident? In this raw, candid episode of Unbalanced, Sam and Candy sit down with Tracy Brantingham, founder of Building Profits, who’s balancing life as a nighttime caregiver and a daytime CEO. Tracy shares why she’s stepping out of client deliverables, how a former client-turned-coach is becoming her minority partner, and the hard lessons behind moving from “bookkeeping” to financial ops and advisory. We get into pricing (and boundaries), why “press your own buttons” isn’t a strategy, and the reality of running a small-but-mighty team of eight in the office. Powered by Anchor.

Sam and Candy sit down with Monique Swansen, founder of Automated Accounting Services and Accounting for Green, to talk about what it really takes to build and sustain a firm. Monique breaks down the realities of serving cannabis operators (hello, seed-to-sale and inventory), why hiring before you think you need to can save your sanity, and how short-term disability and cross-training became essential after real team crises. They get candid about pricing like you already have a team, documenting everything, and rethinking advisory so you’re not chained to nonstop calls. They also tackle the AI hype, capacity ebbs, ideal clients, and the power of community in an industry that can feel isolating.Powered by Anchor.