The 3Bz Podcast - Building Better Business

Hosted by Stephanie Marshall FICB PM.Dip

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186

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Oct 2026

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About the show

Want to build a better business without the overwhelm? The 3Bz Podcast is your weekly 15-minute reset, designed to help you move from reactive and uncertain to clear, structured and in control. Hosted by multi-award winning business owner and founder of A B C S UK, Stephanie Marshall FICB PM.Dip, this podcast goes beyond the numbers to explore what it really takes to run a business properly. Each episode delivers practical insights, honest conversations and no-nonsense advice on the real challenges business owners face, from finances and systems to decision-making and growth. If you’re ready for more clarity, more confidence and a business that actually works for you, you’re in the right place. ⸻ The information shared on The 3Bz Podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Listeners should always seek guidance from a qualified accountant or business advisor before making financial or business decisions. The host and any guests accept no responsibility for actions taken based on the content of this podcast.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

October 22, 2026Episode 2914 min

EP186 - The £500 Client Who Quietly Became a £900 Job

The £500 Client Who Quietly Became a £900 Job You agreed to provide a service for £500 a month. Everyone was happy. Then the client needed a little extra help. Then another meeting. Another report. A few more emails. Another "Could you just..." And before you know it, you're delivering what should be a £900 service for £500. The worst part? You probably agreed to every single extra thing along the way. 😂 In EP186 of The 3Bz Podcast, I'm talking about how client relationships evolve, why the work you're delivering doesn't always match the price you're charging, and how those little extras can quietly become part of the service. We're covering: How a £500 package can become £900 worth of work Why a one-off favour can become an ongoing expectation The hidden cost of additional meetings, emails and support Why long-standing clients aren't automatically profitable How to review what's included without blaming the client The question to ask before reviewing your prices How to have the conversation without making it awkward And no, this isn't about sending clients surprise invoices for the last eighteen months. It's about making sure the service you're delivering and the price you're charging still make sense. 🎧 Listen to EP186 now. If you're running an established business but aren't sure whether your pricing reflects the work you're actually delivering, book a call with A B C S UK: https://bookings.cloud.microsoft/book/ABCSUK2@Abcsuk.co.uk?ismsaljsauthenabled=true Because your business deserves better.

October 15, 2026Episode 2818 min

EP185 - Being Fully Booked Isn't Always a Good Thing

Fully booked. Waiting list. No availability. Sounds like business is going brilliantly, doesn't it? Except what happens when your diary is so full that you can't take on the clients you actually want? Or you're working evenings and weekends, but the profit doesn't seem to reflect how busy you are? In EP185 of The 3Bz Podcast, I'm challenging the idea that being permanently busy automatically means you're running a successful business. We're talking about: Why a full diary doesn't automatically mean a profitable business The £1,000 opportunity you might not have room for How low-margin work can fill your capacity The business development you keep putting off Pricing when demand exceeds capacity Why hiring isn't always the answer Five questions to ask before taking on more work And no, I'm not suggesting you should sit around doing nothing all day. 😂 It's about making sure the work filling your diary is actually helping you build the business you want. 🎧 Listen to EP185 now wherever you get your podcasts, or watch on YouTube. If you're fully booked but aren't seeing the profit you'd expect, book a call with A B C S UK and let's look at what's happening behind the numbers. Because your business deserves better.

October 8, 2026Episode 2715 min

EP184 - Your Best Client Might Actually Be Your Least Profitable

Who’s your best client? The one who pays you the most? The one who’s been with you the longest? The one with the biggest contract? Maybe. But revenue only tells you what a client pays you. It doesn’t tell you what it costs you to earn that money. In EP184 of The 3Bz Podcast, I’m looking at client profitability and why the client you think is brilliant for your business might look very different once you factor in the time, additional work, chasing, meetings, rework and support involved. We’re talking about: Why your highest-paying client isn’t automatically your most profitable The hidden time surrounding client work How scope creep quietly changes profitability Long-standing clients and legacy pricing The clients who look great on the sales report but drain your capacity Client concentration risk The question that can completely change how you look at your client list And no, this isn’t an instruction to sack every client who sends an annoying email. 😂 It’s about knowing which clients are genuinely good for your business so you can make better decisions about pricing, capacity and growth. 🎧 Listen to EP184 now wherever you get your podcasts. If you’re running an established business but don’t know which clients or services are actually making you money, book a call with A B C S UK™ Because your business deserves better.

October 1, 2026Episode 2616 min

EP183 - When Did You Last Actually Read Your Business Bills?

You know how much money your business is making. But do you know how much you're quietly spending every month? Software subscriptions. Insurance. Bank charges. Merchant fees. Phone contracts. Finance. Memberships. Suppliers. And those mysterious Direct Debits you've been meaning to investigate for approximately six months. In EP183 of The 3Bz Podcast, I'm talking about the costs that become almost invisible when you're running a business, why a £49 monthly payment should be thought of as £588 a year and why cutting costs isn't always the answer. We'll cover: The expenses that quietly become part of the furniture Why Direct Debits make spending easy to ignore Software and subscription creep The zombie expenses you should have cancelled months ago Supplier and transaction costs Why rising costs matter to your pricing The difference between spending less and spending well My simple KEEP / REVIEW / CANCEL / WHAT THE HELL IS THAT? exercise This isn't about cancelling everything and running your business as cheaply as humanly possible. It's about knowing where your money is going and making sure you're spending it deliberately. 🎧 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts. And if looking at your business costs makes you realise you don't actually know what you're making, keeping or spending, book a call with A B C S UK: https://bookings.cloud.microsoft/book/ABCSUK2@Abcsuk.co.uk Because your business deserves better.

September 24, 2026Episode 2517 min

EP182 - The Cost of Being Too Helpful in Business

"It'll only take five minutes." Possibly one of the most expensive sentences in business 😂 Being helpful is a good thing. Brilliant customer service matters. Going above and beyond occasionally can be exactly why clients choose to stay with you. But there's a point where being helpful stops being good customer service and starts costing your business money. In EP182 of The 3Bz Podcast, we're talking about the free extras, "quick questions", scope creep, instant replies, last-minute emergencies and little favours that somehow become part of the service you're expected to provide. Because five minutes doesn't sound like much. But give away just 15 minutes per client, per month, across 40 clients and you've lost 120 hours a year . That's three full working weeks. We're also looking at the difference between goodwill and expectation, why being efficient doesn't mean your expertise is worth less, how unclear boundaries create resentment and why somebody else's poor planning doesn't automatically need to become your emergency. The goal isn't to become less helpful. It's to know when you're giving something away and make sure you're choosing to give it. 🎧 Listen to The Cost of Being Too Helpful in Business now. If you're incredibly busy, your turnover looks good but the profit isn't following, it might be time to look at what your work is actually costing you. 👉 Book a call with A B C S UK: https://www.abcsuk.com Because your business deserves better.

September 17, 2026Episode 2417 min

EP181 - Your Business Has a Memory Problem

If you disappeared from your business for a week tomorrow, what would happen? Could somebody find what they needed? Would they know what needs doing? Would they know how you deal with that particular client, where the important information lives or what happens when something goes wrong? Or is your business's entire operating system currently stored somewhere between your ears? In EP181 of The 3Bz Podcast, we're talking about something that becomes a much bigger problem as businesses grow: owner dependency . From client knowledge and pricing decisions to processes, passwords, financial information and all those little things that "only you know", we're looking at how to get important information out of your head and into the business. And no, I'm not telling you to create a 400-page operations manual nobody will ever read. We're talking about simple, practical ways to make your business less reliant on your memory, including what to document first, where repeated questions reveal a problem and the very useful "If I'm Not Here" test . Because being important to your business is very different from your business being completely dependent on you. 🎧 Listen to Your Business Has a Memory Problem now. If your business has grown and the systems, bookkeeping or financial support behind it haven't quite grown with it: 👉 Book a call with A B C S UK: https://www.abcsuk.com Because your business deserves better.

September 10, 2026Episode 2321 min

EP180 - The Business Advice I’d Completely Ignore in 2026

There is a LOT of business advice on the internet. Post every day. Be everywhere. Say yes to every opportunity. Build multiple income streams. Scale. Work harder. Follow what successful people do. But just because something worked for somebody else's business doesn't mean it's right for yours. In EP180 of The 3Bz Podcast, I'm getting slightly opinionated and sharing the business advice I'd completely ignore in 2026, or at least seriously question before blindly following it. We're talking about multiple income streams, saying yes to everything, being on every social platform, taking every client, hustle culture, scaling for the sake of scaling, copying successful businesses, "fake it until you make it", comfort zones and the slightly useless instruction to "just be consistent". Because good business advice needs context. The real question isn't simply whether something works. Does it work for the business YOU actually want to build? 🎧 Listen to The Business Advice I'd Completely Ignore in 2026 now. And if you've built a successful business but need better financial visibility and support to make the right decisions for your business: 👉 Book a call with A B C S UK. https://bit.ly/book-a-call-ABCSUK Because your business deserves better.

September 3, 2026Episode 2220 min

EP179 - Back to Business: The September Reset Your Business Actually Needs

The kids are going back to school, summer is basically over and suddenly September has that familiar feeling of... Right. Back to it. But while everyone's getting back into routines, when did you last properly check in with your business? In EP179 of The 3Bz Podcast, we're doing a September business reset. We're looking at where your numbers are compared with the plans you made in January, whether your bookkeeping survived the summer, what's sitting in your tax pot, the clients you're carrying into autumn, your capacity, your pipeline and the little things making your business harder to run than it needs to be. And no, I'm not giving you 47 things to overhaul before Monday. The goal is much simpler: work out what needs your attention during the final four months of 2026 and pick one thing to improve first. Because there's still a third of the year left. 🎧 Listen to Back to Business: The September Reset Your Business Actually Needs now. And if your September reset uncovers bookkeeping that's behind, numbers you don't understand or a business that's outgrown its current financial support, don't carry those problems into the final four months of the year. 👉 Book a call with A B C S UK and let's look at what your business actually needs: https://bit.ly/book-a-call-ABCSUK⁠ Because your business deserves better.

August 27, 2026Episode 2117 min

EP178 - MTD Quarter One Is Done…So How Did It Go?

Well... that was fun 😂 The first quarter of Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is behind us, and now seems like a pretty good time to ask: How did it actually go? In EP178 of The 3Bz Podcast, I'm looking back at MTD Q1 and more importantly, what business owners can learn from it before doing it all over again for Q2. Was your bookkeeping already up to date and the whole thing relatively painless? Or were you chasing receipts, answering months of bookkeeping queries and promising yourself you'd definitely be more organised next quarter? We're talking about what Q1 may have exposed in your bookkeeping, why quarterly updates aren't mini tax returns, the systems and habits that can make Q2 easier and why MTD can actually give you something useful beyond another HMRC deadline. Yes. I said MTD could be useful. I know. 🎧 Listen to EP178 now on your usual podcast platform. And if Q1 made you realise your current bookkeeping setup simply isn't working, don't repeat the same process for Q2. 👉 Send me a DM on Instagram with MTD and let's have a chat about getting your bookkeeping working properly throughout the year: https://www.instagram.com/abcs.uk Because your business deserves better than a quarterly panic.

August 20, 2026Episode 2016 min

EP177 - The Numbers You’re Ignoring Are Costing You Money

You know your turnover. Great. But what about your profit margin? Your monthly overheads? How much your clients actually make you? How long people take to pay you? 👀 In EP177 of The 3Bz Podcast, Stephanie talks about the numbers business owners often ignore while focusing all their attention on turnover. Because a growing turnover looks lovely, but if your profit is shrinking, your costs are creeping up and clients are taking longer to pay you, that headline number isn't telling you the whole story. We’re talking profit, margins, client profitability, debtor days, break-even points, cash reserves and even how much your business is actually paying YOU. You don’t need 47 spreadsheets or a dashboard full of KPIs. You just need to understand the numbers that actually matter. 🎧 Listen to EP177 now on your usual podcast platform. And if this episode makes you realise you know your turnover but not much else, book a call with us at A B C S UK and let's have a chat about getting proper visibility over your business: https://bit.ly/book-a-call-ABCSUK Because your business deserves better than guesswork.

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