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
But it’s all a bit bonkers right now
So, I’m up against it for some Big Proposals to get done.
Then the note goes viral yesterday.
Then the big planning application I have worked so hard on got refused today.
That was a text I sent to a friend.
It was fair to say I felt utterly overwhelmed. The planning application wasn’t just any old planning application. It was the reason I stood to be a local councillor. To stop them building on this precious field.
As a result I was high on adrenaline caused by the absolute elation for a temporary reprieve for Steppingley Road Field.
But I was seeing the future coming at me fast. And faster than I was ready for.
The viral note? It has at the time of writing, had over 1000 likes, 111 comments, 6 restacks and over 15,619 impressions. Once I had the sniff that the post was going to go viral I helped it along the way by diligently responding to the comments that asked questions.
That all took time. It also kept me on edge. That sort of unfocused can’t do anything else kind of feeling.
I was awash with emotion.
And I still had 2 BIG proposals to do. The type if they both came off and the second came to a phase 2 would double the revenue of one of my businesses.
Yes, that BIG.
I have had a really busy week so I have been getting up to work before 6 am every morning this week to work on these proposals.
My friend sent me a response:
“Hmmm… So what is the universe’s message in all that?”
(Before asking me how I had got over 300 new subscribers in a month. I hadn’t had the heart to tell her that I had managed that for the last 2 months in a row!)
My answer was:
That I am doing the right things and keep on going, but…
Plan everything in your diary
Say no to the wrong opportunities
Delegate like my life depended on it
Focus on being in my brand ambassador role by the end of Dec.
I was then prompted to turn this answer into a post.
So, yes, Ma’am. Here is the post.
It’s also my guide for what to do when your business or role accelerates quicker than you expect and you feel completely overwhelmed.
Plan everything in your diary (or it will plan you)
For me, the problems were not about firefighting. Although they could have been. But having constant fires to put out or a full diary is the reality when you are getting your business to go from troublesome teenager to mature adult. You get trapped by day-to-day client work and that leaves no time or headspace for the strategic thinking needed to grow.
Whilst this may feel like a personal failing, it’s more to do with your optimism about what you can get done. We always over-estimate what can be done in the short-term and under-estimate what can be done in the long-term. These problems can be solved partly by adding in structure to your diary AND planning like your life depends on it. Your diary isn't just for client meetings; it's a tool to see exactly what work you have to get done. If a task isn't in your diary, it doesn't exist.
Start by creating a ‘Default Diary’. Block out non-negotiable time for working on the business, not just in it. You need to allow yourself around eight hours a week for this. This is your sacred time for strategy, team development, and business improvement projects.
Then, block out everything else. And I mean everything. If a proposal will take six hours to write, find and block out six hours in the calendar. This gives you a true picture of your capacity and stops you from constantly over-committing. When you can see your week laid out, you know what’s actually possible. Your diary becomes the gatekeeper. When a new request comes in, the question is no longer "Can I squeeze this in?". It's "What planned activity am I going to sacrifice to do this?"
Redefine your role (before it redefines you)
Your firm has grown, but has your role? Or are you still acting like the chief technician, pulled back into the day-to-day operations and hindering your ability to focus on the bigger clients and more strategic stuff. When you started, it was fine for you to be the hub of the wheel. But as you grow, with staff, suppliers, and clients all needing to go through you, you become overwhelmed very quickly.
Your value to the business isn't what it used to be. It's no longer about the hours you bill; it's in your vision, your leadership, and the culture you create. You have to step up and lead.
Here's a powerful exercise: write down your job description as it is today. Then, on a separate page, write one for the leader your business will need in 12 months' time. The gap between those two documents is your plan.
Your new job is no longer about doing all the work; it’s about making sure the work gets done well. It means your focus shifts. People management becomes your day job, not something you fit in around client work. It means creating the systems that allow the firm to run smoothly and profitably when you’re not there.
For me, my role needs to be business leader and brand ambassador. After the big trade show, Accountex, in May, this need to be the brand ambassador has become urgent. After all, I have 4 potential paid brand partnerships which if they all come off will double the size of my business. That rather focuses the mind. But what it does mean is that I can no longer enjoy creating training sessions. As we joked yesterday in our team meeting my role is now:
Sales person
Performing monkey
Marketing Director
I'm no longer, marketing manager, content writer, digital marketing professional etc etc…
Learn to say ‘no’ to the wrong opportunities
Every single day there will be something that comes your way. Something that someone wants you to do. It could be a poor fit potential client. Or an unpaid speaking opportunity. Or a ‘lets have a chat’ offer. Or even a lucrative piece of client work that only you can do.
But it’s not just the ad hoc things. It can be the stuff that stops you from moving your business forward. For example when our marketing manager left the business at this point last year I took on her role. It was a necessity at the time. But now it needs to be off my desk “tout de suite”. And yes, I have plans for this.
Here’s the truth: saying ‘no’ isn't about rejection. It’s about focus. Every time you say no to someone, you’re saying yes to the right things for you. You’re saying yes to your own sanity. But often the opportunities are paid client work. It can even be good paid client work. However, if this good client work stops you from going where you need to be, you have to take ownership and say no.
Delegate like your life depends on it
Let's be honest. Are you the bottleneck in your own firm? So many owners are. You might not trust your team to do things to your standard, or perhaps your team is too junior to take on more complex work. So you end up reviewing everything, holding on to "the doing," and your team never gets the chance to develop.
You cannot grow if you are doing everything yourself. You have to accept that delegation isn't about losing control; it’s about leverage. Your real job is to build a team that can succeed without you being in the room for every single decision.
A practical way to start is with the 4D framework. Get a piece of paper and list everything you do in a typical week. Then go through it line by line and ask:
Ditch: What here is pointless and can be stopped?
Do Differently: What can be automated with technology?
Delegate: What can you hand over right now? And what could you hand over with a bit of training and a clear process?
Do: What’s left? This short, high-value list is your new job description.
That third point is key. The goal isn't just to offload tasks but to actively grow your team's capability. This is an investment. You have to accept that staff need time to develop. When you create standardised processes and procedures, you make it easier for them to take on more and for you to finally let go.
Final thoughts
This feeling of overwhelm is a signal that things need to change. To keep carrying on as you are is a decision to accept the status quo, and that only leads to burnout. But the fact you’ve read this far tells me you’re not happy with that.
You don’t have to fix everything at once. That’s just a recipe for more overwhelm.
Your actions this week
Start by blocking out just two hours in your diary next week, for you, to think.
Check in with yourself right now. Are you working on the right stuff? Or do things need to change?
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