In this episode of Progress in Practice, Charlie Reading is joined by Steve Price from Inspire, an accountancy firm with a very different approach.

Rather than simply helping business owners stay compliant, Steve and his team focus on helping owner-managed businesses understand, use, and improve their numbers so they can build a business that serves their life, instead of becoming a slave to it.

This conversation explores the deeper role accountants can play, the power of mentoring and accountability, and why self-belief, structure, and lifelong learning are such vital ingredients in building a better business.

If you want your business to give you more freedom, more clarity, and more control, this episode is full of practical wisdom.

Key Talking Points

· Why Inspire is focused on a mindset of business owner, not a specific sector

· The difference between compliance-led accounting and using numbers to improve a business

· Why Steve believes accountants should help improve lives, not just fill in forms

· The meaning behind Inspire’s mission: crunching numbers, inspiring business, improving lives

· How Steve discovered that business numbers are really about a person’s life, family, and freedom

· Building a business to create more flexibility and control

· The advice Steve would give his younger self: think who not how

· Why mentors, coaches, and outside perspectives can dramatically accelerate progress

· The one piece of wisdom Steve would pass on to the next generation: self-belief

· Why Steve believes most obstacles come down to time, money, or the stories we tell ourselves

· The challenge of maintaining focus and staying accountable to meaningful goals

· How accountability is embedded inside Inspire’s culture

· Why Steve uses the EOS / Traction system to create structure and momentum

· The importance of lifelong learning — not just solving immediate problems, but learning for learning’s sake

About the Guest

Steve Price is part of Inspire, an accountancy business that helps owner-managed businesses use their numbers to make better decisions, create more freedom, and build businesses that truly serve their owners.

Inspire combines strong financial expertise with a coaching-led mindset, helping clients move beyond compliance and into more intentional, strategic business growth. Through its courses and services, Inspire supports business owners who want more clarity, more control, and more from their business.

Find Out More

Website: https://www.bwp-inspire.co.uk/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevepricemanchester

Resources & Links Mentioned

Traction by Gino Wickman which includes The EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) framework

Inspire’s Money Freedom Course- visit https://www.bwp-inspire.co.uk

Inspire’s Exit Planning Course visit https://www.bwp-inspire.co.uk

About the Podcast

Progress in Practice is brought to you by The Trusted Team- helping professional service business owners build scalable, saleable businesses while working less and enjoying more.

Find out more: https://thetrusted.team

Enjoying the Show?

If this episode resonated, make sure you follow the podcast and leave a rating and review.

In this episode of Progress in Practice, Charlie Reading is joined by Claire Fudge, founder of Fourth Discipline, clinical dietitian, performance nutritionist, and elite athlete.

Claire shares how she helps business professionals, founders, and executives who are also athletes optimise their health, nutrition, and performance - not just to feel better, but to compete and thrive for decades to come.

This is a conversation about far more than food. Claire opens up about growing up in a family bakery, the work ethic that shaped her, the life-changing accident that forced her to rethink her direction, and how that ultimately led her to build a business helping high performers accelerate both health and results.

It is a powerful episode on resilience, asking for help, building a fulfilling life, and staying deeply human in an AI-driven world.

Key Talking Points

· Who Claire helps: business owners, executives, and professionals who are also serious athletes

· Why Claire’s blend of clinical dietetics and sports performance nutrition makes her approach different

· The role of food-first nutrition, with supplements used strategically rather than blindly

· Growing up in a three-generation family bakery and how that shaped Claire’s work ethic and love of quality food

· The moment a serious accident became the catalyst for a new direction

· How nutrition became central to Claire’s own recovery and triathlon journey

· Combining clinical and sports nutrition to help people unlock performance in both life and sport

· Claire’s journey to racing 20 Ironman events and qualifying for the Ironman World Championships in Kona

· The advice she would give her younger self: ask for help more often

· Her legacy lesson: seek adventure, fun, and the right people

· The challenge of demonstrating value in an AI-powered world

· Why the answer is not to resist AI, but to use it well while staying deeply human

· The power of frameworks in building a clearer, stronger business

· Why “Will It Make the Boat Go Faster?” remains such a useful lens for decision-making

About the Guest

Claire Fudge is the founder of Fourth Discipline, where she helps ambitious professionals and athletes optimise their health, nutrition, and performance.

With a unique background as both a clinical dietitian and high-performance sports nutritionist, Claire combines medical expertise with elite-level performance insight. She has worked with Olympic and elite athletes, as well as high-performing business professionals competing in disciplines such as Ironman and ultra-running.

Claire’s work is focused on helping people perform at their best now while building the health and capability to keep doing what they love for decades.

Find Out More

Website: https://www.4thdiscipline.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claire-fudge-dietitian

Resources & Links Mentioned

Claire’s free presentation, available via her website and LinkedIn

Will It Make the Boat Go Faster?

The Trusted Team’s AI Advance course: https://trusted-team.mykajabi.com/offers/FTCFcWzK

In this episode of Progress in Practice, Charlie Reading is joined by Bhavik Shah, founder of Providus Capital - a specialist in complex, time-sensitive property finance.

Bhavik shares how his business supports developers facing challenging situations where traditional funding falls short, and why thinking like a principal (not a lender) creates a powerful competitive edge.

This conversation goes deeper than deals. From experiencing insolvency to rebuilding with stronger foundations, Bhavik offers a candid perspective on integrity, resilience, and the importance of staying focused as you scale.

If you’re building a business in a complex environment, or simply want to make better decisions under pressure, this episode is packed with hard-earned wisdom.

Key Talking Points

• What “special situations” finance really means and who it’s for
• Why conventional lending fails in complex property deals
• The importance of thinking like a principal, not a lender
• A founder’s origin story: solving problems others avoid
• Lessons from rapid early success and weak foundations
• Why strong core values and relationships create real leverage
• The “who not how” mindset for scaling a business
• A powerful legacy lesson: integrity under pressure
• What insolvency teaches you that no textbook ever can
• How reputation compounds just like money
• The biggest challenge in scaling: staying focused on your ideal client
• Avoiding distraction as opportunities increase
• Moving from reactive decision-making to intentional leadership
• How structured thinking and frameworks transform business performance

About the Guest

Bhavik Shah is the founder of Providus Capital, a specialist finance firm working with property developers, operators, and investors facing complex or time-sensitive situations.

Providus Capital provides flexible funding solutions, including bridging, mezzanine, equity, and structured finance for deals that fall outside conventional lending criteria. Known for their clarity, speed, and partnership-led approach, Bhavik and his team focus on unlocking opportunities where others see obstacles.

Find Out More

Website: https://www.providuscapital.co.uk/

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/bhavikjayendrakumarshah

Resources & Links Mentioned

• The Niche to Network Workshop: https://youtu.be/36gXZ-aW1Zk
• Upcoming collaborative workshops in 2026: https://thetrusted.team/upcoming-workshops/

About the Podcast

Progress in Practice is brought to you by The Trusted Team- helping professional service business owners build scalable, saleable businesses while working less and enjoying more.

Find out more: https://thetrusted.team/podcasts

Enjoying the Show?

If this episode resonated, make sure you follow the podcast and leave a rating and review. It helps more founders discover these conversations and allows us to bring you even better guests.

Until next time keep making progress in practice.

In this episode of Progress in Practice, Charlie Reading sits down with Matt Bird from Accelerate Advisor Solutions to explore what it really takes to grow a professional services business without sacrificing your time, team, or sanity.

Matt shares how financial advisers across the UK are reclaiming hours each week by outsourcing and optimising their operations and why the real transformation isn’t just increased profitability, but getting their life back.

From navigating self-doubt as a young founder to building a business fuelled by continuous improvement, this episode is packed with practical insights, honest reflections, and lessons you can apply immediately.

Key Talking Points

• Why most financial advisers are drowning in admin and how to fix it
• The difference between outsourcing tasks vs. embedding a true operational partner
• A real client transformation: from overwhelmed and inefficient to structured, scalable, and profitable
• The two metrics that matter most to business owners: more money, less time
• Matt’s advice to his younger self: overcoming doubt and trusting the process
• Why “taking no risks is the biggest risk” in business and life
• The leadership mantra: “Don’t sweat the small stuff… and everything is small stuff”
• The biggest challenge in scaling right now: balancing growth with capacity
• How AI is helping and where caution is still required
• The power of The Slight Edge: small, consistent improvements that compound over time
• Building a culture of continuous improvement across your team

About the Guest

Matt Baird is the founder at Accelerate Advisor Solutions, a UK-based business supporting financial advisers by handling their operational and technical workload.

Accelerate acts as an extension of advisory firms, helping them streamline processes, improve efficiency, and ultimately free up time to focus on clients and growth. Their tailored approach, rather than a one-size-fits-all model, has led to rapid growth, industry recognition, and a strong reputation built largely through referrals.

Find Out More

• Website: https://www.accelerateteam.co.uk
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/matt-baird-dippfs-a86108b1

Resources Mentioned

• The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson
• Charlie’s AI Masterclass: https://trusted-team.mykajabi.com/offers/FTCFcWzK

About the Podcast

Progress in Practice is brought to you by The Trusted Team- helping professional service business owners build scalable, saleable businesses while working less and enjoying more.

Find out more: https://thetrusted.team/podcasts

Enjoying the Show?

If this episode resonated, make sure you follow the podcast and leave a rating and review. It helps more founders discover these conversations and allows us to bring you even better guests.

Until next time keep making progress in practice.