Welcome to a free edition 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 Club
On Thursday, 27th March, I faced a great fear.
This was my third time.
The previous two times had ended in my body going into literal shock, intense pain and months of hard work.
And I was prepared to do it again.
As I was pushed down on my hospital bed towards the operating theatre, I felt a frisson of pain as my bed was dragged and pushed over every single bump.
Of which there seemed many.
There I was in the pre-theatre room, left alone with the pre-theatre doctor. As he checked that I was Heather Townsend for what seemed like the 4th time in the last 20 minutes, I surrendered to the process.
There was no going back now.
I could hear snatches of the surgeon pre-briefing the theatre team. Laughter filled the air and gave me hope.
The 27th of March is a date etched on my memory. It was the date of my second arthroscopy on my left ankle to remove scar tissue. It was also a strange day. On the day of your operation, you’re entirely pushed out of routine. Your body now belongs to the medical professionals. They tell you when to eat, drink, pee and get changed into that fashion-forward hospital gown. On top of these indignities, you know that the new normal you created as you prepared for the operation no longer exists.
All on a promise that as you rebuild your strength, you’ll rebuild stronger and eliminate the constant pain that has been your companion for months.
I’m now writing this article on day 11 of my recovery. There is the whirr of my cryo cuff forcing, compressing and massaging icy water around my ankle. And I sit alone with my thoughts. This has been my existence - if you can call it that - for the last 10 days.
During the keyhole surgery, the surgeon removed a thick, tough band of scar tissue from my ankle joint capsule. It was literally constricting my movement and trapping soft tissue every time I walked. If you were wondering, it was incredibly painful. My life for the last 4 months had shrunk back into ‘what my ankle could cope with’.
I can see and taste the future. But the hard work starts now.
In many ways, this takes me back to October 2023, when I realised the game was up with my business. Of the 5 fee earners and myself, 3 had handed in their notice on the same day, and 1 was on the point of going on long term sick. That left me and my most junior fee earner. Clearly, that was a strange day. Not too dissimilar to the 27th of March. The day when you realise that you need some serious corrective action, and it’s going to get much worse before it gets any better.
This is what this article is about. It’s how to recover from critical set backs in your business.
How did I find the momentum to keep on keeping on?
I mentioned at the start of this article that this was my second arthroscopy on my ankle. The first was in July 2022 when the same surgeon removed my Bassett’s ligament, which was getting pinched between the bones of my ankle, and some scar tissue that had built up. That surgery gave me and the medical profession the answers after 18 months of investigations and wrong turns. But that was preceded by a year of recovering from double nerve impingement through both ankles. Yes, going hard or going home could be my motto.
All in all, excluding a lovely 2.5 years of bliss, I’ve been dealing with a crocked ankle for the last 5 years. You may ask why I am not curled up in a ball, sobbing my eyes out. Sometimes I ask myself that too!
Find the sense of perspective
5 years of dealing with a multitude of medical issues with my ankles sounds like a long time. But in reality, it’s only one-tenth of my life. And it could be much, much worse. After all, whilst life-altering, it’s not life-threatening. Neither am I dealing with a lifelong condition that needs constant management. (Well, I could be, but let’s cross that bridge when I need to!)
Key lesson: Put your setback into perspective. Is this a minor or major blip?
Know your why
When my almost entire team of fee earners walked out the door. I was faced with a number of choices. Choices that I no longer had the option to procrastinate or ruminate on. I gave all of the choices a fair hearing. But decided that I would carry on with my business, just with a different resourcing structure, going forward. Why? Because I knew that I wanted a pension plan from my business, not just a regular income. That meant growing a business that was bigger than me. It also meant going again, not putting in place a radical downsizing exercise.
Here is more about what I did when my entire team walked out on me:
If you know me in person, you will know I am a high-energy and fit person. I’m not the sort who willingly frequents the sofa for long periods. Faced with the option of my world becoming mostly my sofa and what connection the online world could bring, it was easy to find the willpower to come back again. To have the operation, to endure the 2 weeks of being forced to sit on the sofa, then the months of painful physio that will shortly be happening. I already feel a tangible level of excitement knowing that it won’t be long before I can get back on my mountain bike or water rower and build up a sweat.
Key lesson: Tap into your why to work out what is the right way forward
Learn from experience
This is the second time a surgeon has cut open my ankle. And that has made all the difference. Literally a game changer. It has meant that I’ve been able to minimise the pain and swelling in the run-up to the operation. It’s taken away the fear of the unknown. But more importantly, it has enabled me to plan what I need to do to have the best experience possible this time around. And do you know what? That planning is working so far.
When you’ve literally rebuilt the muscles in your calves and feet for the 5th time (yes!), I know I can rebuild them again.
Key lesson: What can you learn from the past to help you get over this current hurdle?
Have a trusted team around you
When my ankle flared up again in December, I didn’t panic. I may have been grumpy - but let’s not dwell on that here. But I went to my trusted team of medical professionals to help me find the way out. That’s why I didn’t lose time with medical appointments that didn’t go anywhere. These were people who knew me and knew the unique things my body does. Trust me, I could be a case study in a textbook for podiatrists and orthopaedic specialists. But instead of, like last time, taking 18 months to diagnose the problem, I had that diagnosis within 30 days. It would have been sooner but for the Christmas holidays and my consultant going away on holiday.
Key lesson: Who is going to be your trusted team of external experts that knows you and your business?
Pay the money
As soon as my ankle flared up in December, I knew what was happening. I even wrote about it here:
I also knew that until I had fixed my ankle, my life was on hold, potentially jeopardising the future growth of my business. I’ve got big plans to sell my business into an Employee Owned Trust. The proceeds of the business sale will mean my pension pot will keep me comfortable into, hopefully, a long and pleasurable retirement. That meant I didn’t think twice about paying privately to see my trusted team of medical professionals. Spending the money now will be an excellent investment going forward.
I see this happening all the time. Business owners are truly stuck and need expert help but refuse to make that investment to go forward. And then either remaining stuck or creeping forward at glacial speed. If they had put their hand in their pocket, they could have moved forward with confidence and significantly faster.
Key lesson: Invest in you and your business’s future health..
Final thoughts
Facing large setbacks is not the end. Neither is it the problem. Not recognising the problems that led up to the setback and putting in place swift changes IS the problem.
Actions this week
Who do you need in your trusted external group of advisors? And what do you need to do to create that group?
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