Episode 94 - In this week's inspiring episode, Sam welcomes networker extraordinaire, Ungenita Prevost, host of podcast Billion Dollar Rolodex, and Founder of FEMME 500 Global Feminine Leadership Network and Networking in Stilettos. Calling in from London, Ungenita shares her passion for networking and explains how women are missing the mark when it comes to building their own social capital. Success didn't come easy for Ungenita. A child of the foster care system in the US, Ungenita's natural a...
Dec 10, 2021•40 min
In Episode 93 of The Business Habitat podcast, Sam is joined by Evannah Jayne, Founder and CEO of Terran Industries, a business dedicated to helping companies and individuals reduce their environmental footprint in new and creative ways. With a goal to tackle global sustainability, Evannah believes that every object can have a second life, and that with just a little bit of research, everyone can make better decisions with regard to the impact they leave on the world around them. Evannah explain...
Dec 01, 2021•28 min
Episode 92 - If you've ever wondered how businesses scale up to $10m-plus turnover, this is a conversation you can't afford to miss. In this episode, Sam is joined by Margy Feldhuhn, CEO of the world's first podcast booking agency, Interview Connections, who's working on doing just that. As the ultimate 21st century business, Interview Connections works with podcast hosts and entrepreneurs to build connections and help grow their personal brands. Margy shares her views on the importance of knowi...
Nov 25, 2021•40 min
In Episode 91, Sam caught up with Cheryl Leong of The Growth Hub, to share her compelling story of building the quintessential purpose-driven business. This conversation shows how one business meets a multitude of needs, but ultimately at its heart is a people-centric endeavour to make the world a better place. Cheryl Leong built The Growth Hub out of a childhood desire to provide better opportunities for domestic workers in Singapore. Growing up, Cheryl was witness to the sacrifice that many of...
Nov 21, 2021•34 min
In Episode 90, Sam embarks on a special "Love your Numbers" series with her first guest, Tracey Bissett, joining all the way from Toronto, Canada. This conversation focusses on a topic very close to Sam's heart, exploring the importance of financial literacy for business owners. Tracey Bissett is a Canadian based Financial Coach, and President of Bissett Financial Fitness, a company focused on educating and empowering individuals, and in particular, young adults and business owners, to take cont...
Nov 11, 2021•29 min
In this throwback to a popular episode (Episode 4), Sam dives deep into the art of having difficult conversations. Beginning with first discussing what conversation is and why it's important, Sam then drills down on two types of conversation that many people find difficult: value conversations and difficult feedback conversations. There's two main aspects to why accountants and other professional services providers find conversation difficult: the mindset piece and the training piece. Sam covers...
Nov 04, 2021•26 min
In Episode 88, Sam brings together the ostensibly distinct topics of networking and technology and notes how the two subjects are in fact intertwined. Sam draws on her conversations with Matt Kreis and Avon Collis and outlines the similarities between these two critical business activities. Having been down the exhausting path of networking for the sake of networking, Sam shares her learnings and how she came to define the problem she was trying to solve, in order to take a strategic approach to...
Oct 21, 2021•26 min
In Episode 87, Sam talks with Relevate Consulting's Avon Collis about the value of retaining customer information through the use of a solid Client Relationship Management (CRM) System. As a CRM and Marketing Automation Specialist, Avon is focussed on helping organisations build stronger relationships with their clients, by making it easier to improve the customer experience. Whether it's knowing what type of coffee they drink, or remembering their children's names, or understanding their busine...
Oct 15, 2021•30 min
In Episode 86, Sam digs deeper into value pricing, a topic close to the heart of anyone in business. She is joined in this discussion by Filip Fucic, a value pricing expert based in Croatia, who has helped business leaders around the world improve their pricing by 15 to 50% within a two month timeframe, by shifting how they think about the value they provide. In this follow up episode to Episode #58, Sam and Filip explore further the Expert Paradox and why pricing on a dollar per hour basis does...
Sep 30, 2021•31 min
In Episode 85, Sam looks at how changing our mindset around success metrics, moving away from the traditional benchmarks of revenue and productivity and closer to people centred KPIs, is key to getting better results Walking the talk by heading off to the State Dressage Championships, Sam explores how we can align our own personal goals to those of our businesses, and how looking after ourselves and our health will stand us in better stead to deliver on the goals and outcomes that we set for our...
Sep 16, 2021•11 min
Episode 84 - Did you know that 25% of people would rather get a root canal than visit their Accountant, according to research out of the US. In this episode, Sam explores why this is the case. Are Accountants bad people? Or is it more the reason that numbers tell a story and oftentimes it's easier to ignore the facts than to deal with the situation head on. But ignorance comes at a cost. There are many reasons why people, especially non-accountants, might choose to avoid close examination of the...
Sep 14, 2021•18 min
In Episode 83, Sam is joined by Matt Kreis, co-founder of Connect Collaborative, an enterprise focused on bringing people together to build meaningful connections based on trust and mutual advocacy. Taking the view that work is unnecessarily hard and that most networking is agenda-driven and siloed, Matt's vision is to provide an example of what can be achieved when people deliberately set out to build a network of advocates who get to know, like and trust each other. Sam and Matt pose the quest...
Sep 01, 2021•38 min
In Episode 82, Sam delves deeper into Leadership Fatigue Syndrome and explores how the process of aligning ourselves internally and really understanding who we are and what drives us is the key to resolving the mental exhaustion that plagues so many leaders in business today. Most expert leaders follow a similar career trajectory to get to where they are. They go to school, get good grades, go to Uni, get a job, become a partner or executive or go out on their own. There's not a lot of opportuni...
Aug 27, 2021•27 min
In Episode 81, Sam highlights the epidemic of leadership burnout that has been prevalent for decades and now with COVID is increasing exponentially. Sam draws on her own experience to discuss this important topic with compassion and honesty. While there appears to be widespread recognition that burnout is real and impacting both individuals and businesses at an alarming rate, there is little agreement on how to reverse this trend beyond corporate training and better technology. Quoting a recent ...
Aug 19, 2021•15 min
In Episode 80, Sam talks to Paul Jansz of The Professional Partners, an accounting network collaborating with accounting firms and financial advisory firms to offer niche opportunities to their clients, disrupting the traditional client service model. With a background in coaching and training accountants, and a strong track record of dealing with more than 120 accounting firms internationally, Paul is well placed to talk to the gaps and opportunities of building dynamic businesses. Sam draws on...
Aug 12, 2021•27 min
In Episode 79 of the Business Habitat (formerly The In Demand Accountant), Sam identifies the missing link between having a business built on expert knowledge alone, and building a thriving business designed on your own terms. If the purpose of business is to solve a problem, and that problem is created by the need for compliance to government or financial regulations, as it often is in the case of accounting, then the demand for services is automatically created. The situation changes when you ...
Aug 05, 2021•25 min
Episode 78 - In this first episode with the new podcast name - The Business Habitat, Sam chats with Joshua Lewis, business efficiency expert and Director of Dorks Delivered, a Brisbane-based IT company helping small businesses optimise their operations by building better processes and leveraging their systems. From early days outsourcing the making of licence plate brackets to his school friends on the weekend, to the ability to leave his business for months at a time due to the implementation o...
Jul 26, 2021•32 min
IDA Episode 77 - Sam lets us in on an exciting new name for the In Demand Accountant podcast. With an ever growing audience and topics that extend beyond the professional services realm, Sam and the team at BlueprintHQ have decided to change the name of the podcast to one more reflective of the diverse subjects and listeners it encompasses. Explaining the reasons for the change, Sam gives the listener a quick insight into what can be expected from future episodes. Aligning with Sam's vision to c...
Jul 15, 2021•7 min
IDA Episode 76 - In this raw and authentic account, Sam shares the journey that led her to walk away from a successful leadership position in a multi-million dollar accounting practice, and regain control of her professional life in a way that resonated with her own personal goals. In 2014, feeling depressed, unfit and burnt out, Sam made the brave decision to turn her back on her corporate career and instead seek out a future on her own terms. Despite achieving success by societal standards, Sa...
Jul 07, 2021•18 min
IDA Episode 75 - Sam talks with Family Business Specialist Susanne Bransgrove about the special role that women play in family business, and navigating the unique challenges and opportunities encountered in multi-generational enterprises. As a third generation family business member, Susanne is Founder and Director of LiquidGold Consultants Pty Ltd, a business specializing in creating sustainable futures for family businesses. With a passion for advancing the role women play, Susanne established...
Jun 24, 2021•29 min
IDA Episode 74 - Having explored the three stages of Strategic Planning, Sam wraps up the series by discussing how business leaders can achieve greater results and save time and money, by empowering their people to be involved in the Strategy development. With all the time and effort expended by leaders in developing strategies for their business, it can be frustrating when people are not engaged or go back to their old ways. Sam examines how this can be overcome by involving teams in the strate...
Jun 17, 2021•17 min
IDA Episode 73 - Sam examines the third element of Strategic Planning and explains why Execution is arguably the most crucial of the three phases. With the Strategy and Plan put in place, Sam talks the listener through the steps to complete this final phase in order to drive optimal results. "A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week". This quote by General George Patton of the US military reinforces Sam's point that it's better to execute a plan sooner, even t...
Jun 09, 2021•11 min
IDA Episode 72 - Sam continues the conversation from eipsode 71 on Strategic Planning, delving into the second stage of planning and budgeting. With a practical approach and clear language, Sam challenges the listener to rethink the budget process and drive change through more effective planning. It's often said that the only thing that is constant is change. In a world of disruption, this have never been more true and yet in most corporate entities the annual business plan aims to set the next ...
Jun 02, 2021•16 min
IDA Episode 71 - Sam examines the confusion between Strategic Planning and Strategy, and why so many businesses struggle when it comes to differentiating the two activities. Following on from recent podcasts and conversations around Purpose, Vision and Values, this podcast is a natural progression into Strategy and why it's critical to separate this business stage from Planning. Strategy guru, Roger L Martin, penned an article in 2014 for the Harvard Business Review entitled "The Big Lie of Stra...
May 26, 2021•21 min
In Episode 70 of the In Demand Accountant podcast, Sam delves further into the need for clearly defined values to drive both individual and business success. As one of the biggest learnings on her own path, Sam looks at why values are more than just a marketing ploy to hang on the wall. Values and mission statements have long been an important part of business strategy in the corporate world. Typically these values are the product of a leadership seminar or conference, disseminated throughout or...
May 19, 2021•21 min
IDA Episode 69 - Sam follows up on her recent conversation with Ryan Lazanis around lifestyle businesses, bringing together the topics of disruption and agility. In this succinct episode, Sam deals with the question, how do we create businesses of the future that will be able to not only withstand changing dynamics, but grow and prosper for the benefit of everyone involved. Historically, services firms have been built on traditional business goals such as turnover and the bottom line. More often...
May 13, 2021•14 min
IDA Episode 68 - Sam talks to Ryan Lazanis, whose Canadian based business Future Firm is designed to help business owners fast track a modern scalable firm that they love working in. Disillusioned with the traditional accounting firm model, Ryan put his entrepreneurial mind to work to create a technology forward mode of working. He now helps businesses all around the world through his coaching, podcasts and newsletters providing collaboration and assistance for people running modern firms. Findi...
May 06, 2021•28 min
IDA Episode 67 - Sam delves deep with Mike Mortlock of MCG Quantity Surveyors into the benefits of working collaboratively with other professional services providers to deliver a more holistic customer experience. Their conversation today provides a compelling take on two technical property related topics, demonstrating the value that often gets left behind and what to do about it. Based in Newcastle and with offices and representation around the country, Mike, with his business partner Marty Sa...
Apr 14, 2021•40 min
IDA Episode 66: "Lead with love not fear". That's just one of the mantras that David Woods applies in his unique approach to accounting and tax planning at Active Accounting Group in Newcastle. In this episode, Sam explores this philosophy and more as she speaks with David on why it's imperative to make personal connections and develop collaborative relationships with clients. In a world where small businesses need to make quick decisions and can't afford to wait around for information, David ex...
Apr 07, 2021•39 min
IDA Episode 65 - We explore this pivotal question for our fellow Tax Accountants: What if tax planning was the starting point in your engagement process with clients, instead of a rushed add-on service at the end of the year? Tax planning is the key to starting the 'value' conversation with your clients. The perfect place to drive new products and non-compliance services in your business. To act as a training ground for staff to have robust conversations with clients and collaborate with other s...
Mar 31, 2021•15 min
