Latest / The 3Bz Podcast - Building Better Business / EP165 - This Is Where Your Business Stops Being a Hobby

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EP165 - This Is Where Your Business Stops Being a Hobby · The 3Bz Podcast - Building Better Business

• 0:01
  Hello and welcome to the Three BS Podcast where we go beyond
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  the numbers and get into what actually makes a business work.
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  I'm your host Stephanie Marshall, founder of ABCSUKA,
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  Multi award-winning boutique finance and systems partner.
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  I help business owners who've outgrown the basics bring
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  clarity, structure and proper systems into their business so
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  things finally feel in control. If you want more clarity, more
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  confidence, and a business that doesn't feel like constant
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  chaos, you're in the right place.
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  Each week we tackle real problems, answer the questions
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  you're probably already thinking, and give you practical
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  steps you can actually use in around 15 minutes.
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  So if you're ready to build a Better Business with confidence
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  and clarity, then let's go. Hello and welcome back to
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  another episode of the Three BS Podcast, your go to place for
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  around 15 minutes of motivation, education and inspiration to
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  help you build a Better Business each week.
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  If we haven't met before, my name is Stephanie Marshall.
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  I'm the founder of ABCSUKA Multi, award-winning boutique
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  finance and systems partner, and I help growing businesses who
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  have outgrown their bookkeeper move from messy, reactive
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  finances to clear, structured numbers and systems that they
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  can actually use to run their businesses properly.
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  Because I truly care about the people behind the business, not
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  just the numbers. Now today's episode is an
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  important one because there is a moment in every business where
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  things change. And it's not dramatically and
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  it's not overnight, but it's noticeable.
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  And it's the moment where your business stops being something
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  you're trying to do and it starts being something you are
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  responsible for. At the start of your business,
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  things are very different. There's a level of freedom, a
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  level of flexibility, and a level of forgiveness almost.
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  You can test things, change direction, try ideas and figure
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  things out as you go. And if something doesn't quite
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  work, it's fine because the stakes are lower.
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  We fail fast and we build and we go again.
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  At the beginning, you can get away with not really knowing
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  your numbers, pricing based on what feels right, saying yes to
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  everything, figuring things out in the moment and having no real
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  structure. And that works for a while.
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  And this is a bit people don't always recognise straight away.
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  Something shifts, The business grows, you get more clients,
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  more money starts moving, more decisions matter and more
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  responsibility lands on you. And suddenly what used to feel
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  easy starts to feel heavier. You might notice that you're
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  busier than ever, but not clearer.
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  Decisions feel harder, mistakes feel more expensive, things take
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  longer than they should. And then there's this underlying
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  feeling of I need to get a grip on this.
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  That's the key moment that people miss because a lot of
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  business owners don't recognise it for what it is.
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  They think I just need to work harder, I just need to get more
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  clients in or I just need to push through and get over this,
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  this next bit. But that's not the answer
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  because the problem is an effort.
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  It never was. It's the level of the business.
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  You're trying to run a bigger business with smaller business
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  habits, and that's where the tension comes from.
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  That's completely normal. It's being aware of it and
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  putting the systems and processes in place to level up
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  to run that bigger business you have built.
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  Let's say your business has grown to a point where you've
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  got consistent clients, money is coming in regularly and people
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  rely on you. From the outside, that looks
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  like success, but behind the scenes systems haven't been
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  updated, numbers aren't fully understood, and your pricing
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  hasn't been reviewed in forever. So instead of feeling
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  successful, you just feel stretched and stressed.
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  This feels uncomfortable because you're in between.
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  You're not new, but you're not fully structured either.
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  You've outgrown that early stage, but you haven't fully
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  stepped into the next one. If you go back to a few episodes
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  ago, we talked about the messy middle.
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  That's where you are right now and that's where your role
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  changes and the responsibility shifts.
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  You're no longer just doing the work and delivering the service.
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  You're responsible for how decisions are made, how
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  sustainable that business is, and how the business runs.
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  That is a different level of thinking because now your
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  numbers matter more than ever. You knew I was going to say
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  that, right? Your time matters more than ever
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  and your decisions have a much bigger impact, and that requires
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  a mental shift. Another way to look at it is
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  that at the beginning, your business depends on effort.
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  At this stage, your business depends on decisions, structure
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  and clarity. The mistake that most people
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  make is that they keep operating in the same way, just a little
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  faster, just a bit busier and just with a lot more pressure.
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  That doesn't work because growth of a business increases
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  complexity and if you don't change how you run the business,
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  that complexity turns into even more stress.
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  Now the tipping point, and there's always a tipping point,
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  is when you realise I can't keep doing it like this.
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  What I want you to know is that's not a failure, that's
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  awareness, and that's a good thing.
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  Just pause for a second. Think about your business right
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  now. Does it feel controlled or that
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  it's slightly outpacing you? Because that's the indicator.
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  And if we're being transparent, my business right now is
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  slightly outpacing me. And that's how I know things
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  need to change and I have to step up.
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  So you're probably thinking, Stephanie, So what does stepping
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  up actually look like? Well stepping up does not mean
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  becoming corporate or rigid or losing what made your business
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  good. It's common knowledge that
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  ABCSUK closes in August to client facing.
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  I have children that I raised. This is my last year with a
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  child in primary school. This is my last year of doing
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  school runs. Come September I have 2-3 hours
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  extra a day than what I have right now and I'm aware of that.
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  And when I'm making a plan in place of stepping up on what I
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  want my business to look like, I am hyper aware that come
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  September the goal posts move again.
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  And that's why this is a consistent thing.
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  This is not something you look at once and that's it.
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  That we might be in the messy middle right now, but come
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  September we will level up. And again in a few months time
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  we'll probably need to level up further.
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  I also know that I have 2-3 summers left with my children
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  before they're two grown up to want to spend time with me and
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  make memories. So protecting my time is really
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  important. Stepping up for your business
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  also looks like protecting your time, putting structure in
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  place, making decisions intentionally, and taking your
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  numbers seriously. Burying your head in your stand
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  is not going to cut it when it comes to growing and building a
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  business, which I presume you want to do by watching or
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  listening to this podcast. Let's make that practical.
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  Let's give you some examples. So stepping up might look like
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  reviewing your pricing instead of avoiding it, actually
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  understanding your numbers and what they mean, saying no to
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  things that don't fit, and putting processes in place for
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  repeat tasks. This is also about identity.
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  Moving from I have a business to I run a business is a very
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  different level of ownership and one that I am currently going
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  through alongside you. The uncomfortable truth is that
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  you cannot run a growing business casually.
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  At some point, it's going to ask more from you, and ignoring that
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  doesn't keep things the same, actually makes things harder.
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  If you don't make that shift and you don't step up, the business
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  becomes more stressful. Decisions become more reactive
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  because you're having to firefight all the time, and
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  things feel even more chaotic because growth without structure
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  just creates pressure. So what happens when you do step
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  up? Decisions feel easier because
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  you've got data and real evidence to fall back on to make
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  those informed decisions. Things feel clearer.
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  You know where you are, where you're going and what you're
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  heading towards, and the business feels more controlled.
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  It's not perfect, but it's manageable.
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  Nothing's ever perfect. There's always those small
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  tweaks to make those small little steps up.
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  Business owner, your business doesn't become serious because
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  of time. It doesn't matter how long
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  you've been in this game, it becomes serious because of how
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  you treat it. As with every episode of the 3DS
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  podcast, I want to give you one small thing to do this week.
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  This week I want you to do one thing as if your business was
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  already at that next level. Just one.
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  It could be setting a boundary with a client or sending emails
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  out telling people what the communication is.
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  From now on, this is how you communicate with me and this is
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  how you can expect a response and how long it will take making
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  a decision you've been avoiding. If there's a service you need to
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  stop sending, there's a client you need to disengage with,
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  there's a decision you've been avoiding.
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  Let's do it this week. It might be properly reviewing
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  your numbers and fully understanding what they mean.
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  It could be changing how you approach something, something
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  that's not working right now. How can we make this easier,
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  more streamlined? Can we look at this a different
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  way? But do it as the version of you
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  who's already running a structured intentional business.
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  What I mean is that next level you, that next level CEO that
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  your business deserves because you don't become that person
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  later. You become them by how you act
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  now. So if you've also been feeling
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  that shift like me, the sense that things need to change,
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  don't ignore it. That's your business growing.
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  That's your business asking for more from you.
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  And if you meet it there, everything becomes clearer, more
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  sustainable long term, and more controlled.
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  If you found this episode useful, please do like rate
• 9:54
  review, subscribe if you're on Spotify or YouTube and hit that
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  notification bell so that you know when the next episode of
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  the Three BS Podcast goes live. It takes a couple of seconds,
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  but it really does help more business owners find the podcast
• 10:07
  so we can all build better businesses.
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  And if you want support bringing clarity, structure, and proper
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  systems into your business as it grows, that's exactly what we do
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  at ABCSUK. The link is in the show notes.
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  You can book 50 minutes in my diary and see how we can help
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  you because let's be honest, your business deserves better.
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  Thank you so much for listening. I will see you next week for the
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  next episode of the Three BS Podcast.
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  Bye and that brings us to the end of another episode of The
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  Three BS Podcast. If this has helped you think
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  differently about your business, then it's done its job.
• 10:41
  Make sure you're following or subscribe so you don't miss the
• 10:44
  next episode. And if you found it useful,
• 10:46
  please do leave a review. It helps more business owners
• 10:49
  find this and start running their businesses properly.
• 10:52
  If you want more insights behind the scenes and the reality of
• 10:55
  what it actually takes to build a Better Business, come and
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  connect with me on social media. And if you're ready to stop
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  guessing and start running your business with clarity, structure
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  and conference, your next step is just to click away because
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  your business deserves better. I'll see you in the next
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  episode.