{"id":13218,"date":"2023-02-20T08:58:53","date_gmt":"2023-02-20T08:58:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/?p=13218"},"modified":"2026-07-09T15:36:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T14:36:07","slug":"sound-advice-build-resilient-business-mindset-james-ashford","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/sound-advice-build-resilient-business-mindset-james-ashford\/","title":{"rendered":"How to build a resilient business mindset"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header has-dark-background-color entry-header--audio entry-header--has-illustration entry-header--has-illustration--audio\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__row row align-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-lg-7 col-xlg-6 entry-header__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"component component-single-header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__misc text--subtitle text--uppercase text--small\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/category\/growth-customers\/\" class=\"entry-header__link\">Growth &amp; Customers<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-title-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"entry-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tHow to build a resilient business mindset\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"entry-header__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"single-post-details container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"posted-on \">Published <time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2023-02-20T08:58:53+00:00\">20 February, 2023<\/time><\/span><span class=\"reading-time\"> min read<\/span>\n\t\t<button\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"social-share-button button button--icon button--secondary js-social-share-button\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-title=\"How to build a resilient business mindset\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-url=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/sound-advice-build-resilient-business-mindset-james-ashford\/\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-text=\"Please read this interesting article\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__share-label\">Share<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-label\" hidden>Copy Link<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\" hidden>Copied<\/span>\n\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<\/header>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-author has-dark-background-color alignfull\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"co-authors\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-author-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"entry-author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/author\/katebassett\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"40\" height=\"40\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/01\/Kate-Bassett-headshot.jpg\" class=\"entry-author__image\" alt=\"Kate Bassett\" \/>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"entry-author__name\">Kate Bassett<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed alignfull is-type-rich is-provider-buzzsprout wp-block-embed-buzzsprout wp-block-sage-buzzsprout-embed\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div id=\"buzzsprout-player-12211370\"><\/div><script src=\"https:\/\/www.buzzsprout.com\/1422304\/12211370-james-ashford-building-a-resilient-business-mindset-part-1.js?container_id=buzzsprout-player-12211370&#038;player=small\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n<section class=\"wp-block-sage-podcast-networks\">\n\t<div class=\"container has-dark-background-color on-scroll-highlight__target\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"h4\">Listen to Sound Advice on:<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"unstyled\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/gb\/podcast\/sound-advice-get-year-one-in-business-right\/id1544479344\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"660\" height=\"160\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2021\/06\/2-US_UK_Apple_Podcasts_Listen_Badge_RGB.png\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"Listen on Apple Podcasts\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/2yhPIOebSiBpEYek6q2GZJ?si=UWWTKrgIQ2OsUAlnHrzHTQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"330\" height=\"80\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2021\/06\/spotify-podcast-badge-blk-grn-330x80-1.png\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"Listen on Spotify\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.google.com\/feed\/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5idXp6c3Byb3V0LmNvbS8xNDIyMzA0LnJzcw?sa=X&#038;ved=0CAMQ4aUDahcKEwios_fb8YnuAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQBw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"76\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2021\/06\/EN_Google_Podcasts_Badge_2x.png\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"Listen on Google Podcasts\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.stitcher.com\/show\/sound-advice-get-year-one-in-business-right\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"558\" height=\"167\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2021\/06\/Stitcher_Listen_Badge_Color_Light_BG.png\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"Listen on Stitcher\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"video-container-wrap -mode-full\"><div class=\"video-container\"><video\n\t\t\t\tclass=\"sage-video video-js vjs-default-skin \"\n\t\t\t\twidth=\"640\"\n\t\t\t\theight=\"360\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-setup='{ \"controls\": true, \"aspectRatio\" : \"16:9\", \"poster\": \"https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/mjQsKth32EA\/hqdefault.jpg\", \"techOrder\": [\"youtube\"], \"enablejsapi\": 1, \"origin\": \"https:\/\/www.sage.com\", \"sources\": [{ \"type\": \"video\/youtube\", \"src\": \"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=mjQsKth32EA\"}], \"youtube\": { \"ytControls\": 0, \"cc_load_policy\": 3, \"modestbranding\": 1, \"hl\": \"en_GB\", \"playsinline\": 1 } }'\n\t\t\t\tcrossorigin=\"\"><\/video><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After your first business venture fails and no one wants to work with you, the easy option would be to throw in the towel and find yourself a nice, stable nine-to-five job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Well James Ashford didn\u2019t want easy, he wanted to become a millionaire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With no extensive knowledge but the determination to create a successful business, he tapped into the accounting industry space and has since written a bestselling book and become a credible expert in this domain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His company, GoProposal, has worked with a multitude of businesses to transform their internal processes, thereby more than doubling their revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is a story about building a resilient mindset, even when all the odds are stacked against you, and learning how to dominate in your chosen space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here\u2019s his unfiltered advice below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"#how\">How to bounce back when your business fails, and no one wants to work with you<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#believing\">Believing in yourself is key but so is knowing when it\u2019s time to quit<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#if\">If you\u2019re business doesn\u2019t have the right values, it won\u2019t move forward<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#dramatically\">Dramatically increasing business revenue by updating your internal processes and learning you will be compared to everyone<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#to\">How to gain credibility in an industry\u2014even if you don\u2019t know everything<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#writing\">Writing bestselling books and dominating the video content space<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"video-container-wrap -mode-full\"><div class=\"video-container\"><video\n\t\t\t\tclass=\"sage-video video-js vjs-default-skin \"\n\t\t\t\twidth=\"640\"\n\t\t\t\theight=\"360\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-setup='{ \"controls\": true, \"aspectRatio\" : \"16:9\", \"poster\": \"https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/mjQsKth32EA\/hqdefault.jpg\", \"techOrder\": [\"youtube\"], \"enablejsapi\": 1, \"origin\": \"https:\/\/www.sage.com\", \"sources\": [{ \"type\": \"video\/youtube\", \"src\": \"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=mjQsKth32EA\"}], \"youtube\": { \"ytControls\": 0, \"cc_load_policy\": 3, \"modestbranding\": 1, \"hl\": \"en_GB\", \"playsinline\": 1 } }'\n\t\t\t\tcrossorigin=\"\"><\/video><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"how\">How to bounce back when your business fails, and no one wants to work with you<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Kate Bassett:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So let\u2019s get straight in. Before you started Go Proposal, you ran a marketing agency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tell us about when you closed the door on that business. What was going through your head when the liquidators came in?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">James Ashford:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And being in a small town as well where everyone knows each other, all those networking events that you went to, to help build a business, well now, you then think that everyone is talking about you in those same networking events about how it\u2019s all gone wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I always tell my kids, \u201cDon\u2019t tell people about your problems because half the people don\u2019t care, and the other half are glad you\u2019ve got them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So you always assume that\u2019s what\u2019s going on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And there were people that were close to me, I always remember a firm of solicitors who we\u2019d built a website, done all of the branding, and we\u2019d hosted events there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And I said, \u201cRight, I\u2019m going to start again. I\u2019m going to invest heavily into the best trainers, the best mentors, the best coaches, to really understand what business is all about.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When the liquidators came in, they said, \u201cThis is such a sad situation because you had so much right.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And I knew we were arriving at some very interesting conclusions, I just had a few missing pieces. So I invested very heavily into my own training and development with who I perceived to be the best business mentors in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I read everything I possibly could and started to work with some of the businesses who still trusted me and wanted me to work closely with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But I remember going back to this firm of solicitors saying, \u201cI\u2019m going into coaching. I\u2019m ready now to help other businesses avoid the mistakes that I made. And I want to run an event at your law firm.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And they knew me, and they\u2019d worked with me, and they invited me into the office. I\u2019m like, here we go, going to get the first event going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And they sat me down, and they said, \u201cWe just wanted to bring you in to let you know that we don\u2019t want to be associated with you at all because you\u2019ve had a business fail in this town, and we don\u2019t want to be connected to that or any of the aftermath of it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And I said, there, there\u2019s \u201cNo aftermath. I\u2019ve cleaned everything up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There were two suppliers I owed money to when I closed the business, and as soon as I started earning again, I went and paid them back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I said, \u201cThere\u2019s no one with any ill feeling. I\u2019ve cleaned it all up. I\u2019m ready to go again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And they said, \u201cYeah, we don\u2019t want to be associated with you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And I went out and sat in the car park and I thought, \u201cRight, I\u2019ll find someone who does.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And I just started ringing round people, and then I hosted this huge event in Leeds, at this amazing venue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And I started to sell tickets for it. I can\u2019t remember how much they were, let\u2019s say it was like \u00a3200 for a ticket. And I rang this first guy up, and I told him what I was doing, and he said, \u201cYeah, I\u2019ll have 10 tickets.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And I was like, \u201cHere we go.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Kate Bassett:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bingo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">James Ashford:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And that was it. So I just started taking all of my learning and started to bring these conclusions together and started to deliver this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Off the back of that, I then started working with four or five businesses and I had all of these ideas and concepts. It became a bit of a playground because I was able to implement them, and they started to have huge effects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So, for example, there was a guy, we became great friends, he was a football coach, and he started to kind of run a bit of coaching stuff for kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They were doing \u00a375,000 a year in revenue. And I said, \u201cI can help you turn this into a franchisable model.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So I worked with him, shaped it up and within 18 months, they\u2019d gone from \u00a375,000 a year to \u00a3750,000 a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We\u2019re great friends now, he\u2019s got 75 franchises, they\u2019re the fastest-growing sports franchise in the UK, all based on those principles. And it was that that started to give me belief that actually I do know what I\u2019m doing, I fill those gaps in, I can help businesses, I can have an impact on them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And I was talking to someone about this the other day. People say, \u201cYou just need to believe in yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I don\u2019t think you do. You need someone else to believe in you first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s very hard to just say, \u201cI\u2019m going to go from failure to, now I\u2019m going to start believing in myself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Something has to happen in that interim. You have to educate yourself. You have to shine a light on yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You have to have people who love you enough to point out your blind spots. And it\u2019s hard. It\u2019s really hard. But you need to do that and start to bridge those gaps because we all have blind spots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And then like I say, I was fortunate enough, I had people around me who trusted me, who believed in my ideas, who said, \u201cShow me what to do, show me how to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And it was that that started to give me belief in myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<a\n\t\tclass=\"button button--primary gate-73c0a131-e4f3-485b-a6c6-62c451003a2f\"\n\t\trole=\"button\"\n\t\tdata-button-location=\"content_area\"\n\t\thref=\"#gate-73c0a131-e4f3-485b-a6c6-62c451003a2f\"\n\t>Download your free small business toolkit: a guide, business plan template and cash flow forecast template so you can manage your business effectively<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"believing\">Believing in yourself is key but so is knowing when it\u2019s time to quit<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Kate Bassett:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I wanted to ask you about that trust and belief. It sounds like part of the reason you started another business was because you wanted to find those missing pieces of the puzzle, prove to yourself and to other people that you could do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How did your wife react though? Because you said there was that moment where you had to say to her, \u201cI\u2019ve messed up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What was her response when you said, \u201cI\u2019m going to do it again?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">James Ashford:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yeah, I think all of my family and people close to me, as much as they love you, they don\u2019t necessarily give you the advice and information that you need. And it\u2019s not for any bad reasons. They love you, and they don\u2019t want to see you get hurt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So you have to actually be very careful with who you tell your dreams to. So my wife at the time was a nurse. So working for the NHS, a large institution. Even the word \u2018work\u2019. So the word \u2018work\u2019 is a negative thing. \u201cI\u2019ve got to go to work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Whatever, where I see it\u2019s not my work, it\u2019s my mission. I love what I do. So it\u2019s a very different thing. So you\u2019ve got somebody from one world saying to you, \u201cWhy don\u2019t you just get a job? Why don\u2019t you just try this now or do something else?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And it\u2019s because obviously you want the stability of finances coming into your world, into your life, and also that you don\u2019t want to see that person get hurt again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSo just go get a job. You\u2019re a clever guy, you\u2019ve got a master\u2019s degree, you can do this. You could go and earn a good salary.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But it wasn\u2019t my dream, it wasn\u2019t my vision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And I became so close to tasting and seeing and witnessing what great businesses can do. Not just because what I saw, but the people I was working with had built great lives for themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And I think one thing that can be quite distracting in some ways, I think, Kate, is very often the people that inspire us in business are the likes of the Dragons on Dragons\u2019 Den, or Alan Sugar or Richard Branson, or Mark Zuckerberg or whoever, Elon Musk, making billions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You\u2019re never going to do that. And I\u2019m a positive guy. You\u2019re not going to do that. Okay. They are like unicorns. They\u2019re just out there, they\u2019re the outliers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But I started to meet people who had built businesses and were earning \u00a330,000 a month and selling businesses for \u00a35 million or earning a million pound a year from their business and having lots of holidays and living nice lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And you don\u2019t hear about these people. They\u2019re not on TV, no one\u2019s writing books about them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Maybe \u00a330,000 a month is maybe a stretch for some people to even imagine. But \u00a310,000 a month, \u00a320,000 a month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is what the people around me were earning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And like I say, selling businesses for low millions, which again, isn\u2019t going to make headlines in papers, but it transforms lives, and it transforms families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So I got to taste it and see it and experience it, and believed in myself enough that I could get us there. I don\u2019t actually recall my wife jumping for joy because of that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And we did split up after that, after the break-up of the business. And it was a very difficult time, but we did come back together again. And then maybe that\u2019s when I presented my idea of going again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But you\u2019ve got to back yourself, I guess, and where that belief comes from, you do need other people around you to believe in you enough. Otherwise, you could just be foolish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I\u2019m not a believer that you should keep trying something. I watched a quote last night from a guy, and he said, \u201cIf you\u2019ve been trying a business and after three years, it\u2019s not making any money. Maybe you need to take it round the back of the barn and shoot it.\u201d That\u2019s what he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There\u2019s a time to give in on things as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"if\">If you\u2019re business doesn\u2019t have the right values, it won\u2019t move forward<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Kate Bassett:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But you weren\u2019t going for this dream of a unicorn business. You were actually going for the dream of a lifestyle change, weren\u2019t you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">James Ashford:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yes. And so for the business I set up, I started to coach, and I started, like I say, seeing people do very well around me, and realised that through video marketing, producing online video content, there were just some very interesting ways to make revenue, as I saw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I did find that I was able to go into businesses and, because of my background of design. I\u2019ve got a really varied background, Kate, so I was a close-up magician for a number of years, I taught art in prisons for a number of years. I\u2019ve done 50 different jobs, I\u2019ve tried all sorts of different things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I\u2019m a designer. I\u2019ve got a master\u2019s degree in design. I\u2019m able to hold lots of thoughts together and think laterally. I\u2019m able to work at a very high level on strategy and work very minute on very small details that I will spot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And so I felt that I was able to bring a unique perspective to these businesses, and also just had a deep fascination with psychology and with mindset. And very often people will try and implement a strategy, but they\u2019re not actually dealing with the mindset and the psychology of the people involved in it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So I found that I was able to really help with that. I started to study business values and realising that a business can have everything else in place, but if they don\u2019t have the right values, and they\u2019re not adhering to it, they\u2019re never going to move forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So I was able to try all these things and I actually had lots of little kind of safe bets going on. So I had some online video content that was selling quite nicely, I had business coaching that was working well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I had a couple of businesses that wanted me to get involved with them, and they were doing nicely and were offering me a percentage of their businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So I slowly built things back up just to start getting that steady income stream again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And that was all on the build-up towards when I started GoProposal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"dramatically\">Dramatically increasing business revenue by updating your internal processes and learning you will be compared to everyone<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Kate Bassett:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So tell us about where the idea for GoProposal came from, and what were some of the things you did differently with that business?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">James Ashford:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yeah, so one of the big conclusions I got from the marketing agency was sitting with a customer. So you sit with a customer, and they\u2019re like, \u201cRight, what are you going to do for us?\u201d And you tell them, and they say, \u201cHow much is it going to cost?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And every marketing agency is the same, which is, \u201cI\u2019ll send you a proposal over by close of play Friday.\u201d It\u2019s always this mythical time of close of play Friday, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So it\u2019s Thursday now. Let\u2019s say we\u2019re in this meeting, Kate, \u201cI\u2019ll send it over to you by close of play tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You come out the meeting, something\u2019s hit the fan, I\u2019ve got a million and one other things to do. You don\u2019t get the proposal. So now your first experience of me is poor because I\u2019ve not followed through on a promise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Next week I will finally get it round to you and send it over, but by this time you\u2019re distracted, and you\u2019re on with something else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I now can\u2019t get hold of you, so I\u2019m chasing you for one or two weeks. You read all these things in the proposal, you\u2019ve no idea what half of them mean. The price just misses, and it\u2019s a complete mess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What I wanted was just to have an honest conversation with you and say, \u201cRight, well if you want this, this, and this and this, this is how much it\u2019s going to cost.\u201d Right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And do it now while I\u2019ve got your focus and while I\u2019ve got your attention, and to be able to close the sale now. I always remember the first time I hit upon it, so I developed a way of presenting the proposal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During the meeting, the client said, \u201cYeah, I\u2019ll go for it.\u201d And I said, \u201cCool, we just need to take your deposit.\u201d And she handed me a credit card. I said, \u201cCool.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And I walked out of the office dead calmly, shut the door and ran up to the girl that was working with me at the time, and went, \u201cFigure out how to get some money off this because I have no idea what to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And then did it for a larger business that was doing \u00a313m in revenue, waste management company, a different sector. And their sales process was so convoluted. I just went through it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What people don\u2019t do is they don\u2019t experience their own processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So they think, \u201cOh, I\u2019ve got this, and you go here, and you click this, and you download this, and you print this out,\u201d and stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So I said, \u201cLet me just go through your process and experience it.\u201d So I went through it and I had to get a referral from someone. I had to print something out. I didn\u2019t have any ink cartridges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So I had to go and order them on Amazon and then get them and then print it and scan it. I don\u2019t have a scanner, so I had to photograph it. And I\u2019m like, \u201cGuys, what is this? What are you doing?\u201d I said, \u201cWe can simplify it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So I simplified it, and they went from opening five and six new accounts a month to 50 and 60 new accounts a month. This was solved within 30 days of starting this. That business went from \u00a313m to \u00a320m. It was crazy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So I\u2019d had these ideas, and it kept moving from industry to industry, every time getting refined and tweaked. But each time having the same fundamental principles, which is we\u2019ve got to be able to do it fast, we\u2019ve got to be able to have an honest conversation, we\u2019ve got to simplify our pricing methodology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And here\u2019s another one, Kate, we\u2019ve got to empower the entire team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So I don\u2019t necessarily believe in organisations having a sales team. It can work. I get that, that\u2019s fine. I believe in every organisation having a sales culture, everyone should be armed with the ability to sell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you go to a restaurant today, everyone in that restaurant can sell you a very complicated meal, to a large family and serve them drinks because everyone knows how much these items cost. They\u2019ve got menus and everyone\u2019s empowered to sell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you imagine in that restaurant only the head chef could sell, you\u2019ve now got a difficulty because the busiest person in the building is the only person who can go and sell stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And in that scenario, what you\u2019d end up having is someone saying, \u201cCan I have a side order of onion rings?\u201d And the chef going, \u201cGod, just give it to them. Just go and give it to them.\u201d So you\u2019ve just lost control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So I established core principles, which was the key thing. Then met an accountancy firm in Manchester, through a Mastermind event I was at.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And I said, \u201cLet me come and review your process for you.\u201d He said, \u201cIt\u2019s good. We\u2019ve got it locked down. We\u2019re really good. We\u2019re one of the best around.\u201d I said, \u201cCool, let me come and review it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So I came and reviewed it and at the end of the meeting he said, \u201cI\u2019ll send you a proposal through.\u201d And I kept checking my phone, this was with his current process, and he eventually sent it through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I rang him back, and I said, \u201cI know you think that was good, but it was really poor.\u201d He says, \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d He says, \u201cWe\u2019re great compared to other firms.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I said, \u201cYeah, but I\u2019m not comparing you to them. I\u2019m comparing you to anyone I want to compare you to. I came to your building in an Uber. There was a book on the side, I ordered it on Amazon while I was there. I was reading it the next morning, I\u2019d still not had your proposal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSo rightly or wrongly, fairly or unfairly, I\u2019m comparing you to all these other things. The good news is I\u2019ve actually fixed this with many other businesses and I can fix it for you too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So we did it. There was an additional complication of engagement letters, which the accounting industry has. We managed to build that into the software. Did it. Didn\u2019t think anything more of it, Kate, it was just another business that I\u2019d solved the same problem for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But here\u2019s the thing, in all of my studying of businesses, where they nearly all fall down is in this promise. It\u2019s where they promise the services or the product to the client in exchange for the cash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How are they agreeing the fees? How are they getting the money? How fast are they getting the money? And how empowered is that organisation to be able to do it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s where most businesses fall down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And what they do is they will always present these other problems. \u201cI\u2019m really struggling recruiting.\u201d \u201cI just can\u2019t find the right staff.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No, you could do if you could afford to pay them enough, but the reason you can\u2019t afford to pay me enough and train them and keep the staff you\u2019ve got is because you\u2019re not charging enough because you don\u2019t have this sales system in place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So most problems in businesses can be traced back to fixing this. So I fixed it for them, had a huge impact straight away, then another accounting firm heard about it and said, \u201cCould we have that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And for 20 years, Kate, I just had this vision of, I want to build a business. I want it to be successful. People don\u2019t like talking about money, and it\u2019s crude and all this stuff, I wanted to be a millionaire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I remember working in a bar, I was 20 years old and this guy coming in and I were telling him, \u201cI\u2019m going to be a millionaire by the time I\u2019m 25.\u201d And he was like, \u201cYeah, don\u2019t think so.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It took me a lot longer to get there. It took me another quarter of a century, but I always had this belief. And yeah, people don\u2019t like talking about it, but if you don\u2019t have that, if you don\u2019t have a goal, if you don\u2019t have a dream of where you\u2019re going to, the opportunity will just pass you by, and you won\u2019t spot it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But I was looking for it and I had been looking for it for so long, and the moment I heard from the other firm saying, \u201cCould we have that?\u201d It was like, this could be it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This could be the thing I\u2019ve been looking for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<a\n\t\tclass=\"button button--primary gate-73c0a131-e4f3-485b-a6c6-62c451003a2f\"\n\t\trole=\"button\"\n\t\tdata-button-location=\"content_area\"\n\t\thref=\"#gate-73c0a131-e4f3-485b-a6c6-62c451003a2f\"\n\t>Download your free small business toolkit: a guide, business plan template and cash flow forecast template so you can manage your business effectively<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"to\">How to gain credibility in an industry\u2014even if you don\u2019t know everything<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Kate Bassett:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So you had that sort of light bulb moment. You thought, \u201cThe accountancy industry is where I can make a difference, where I can shake things up with this software.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I\u2019m interested to know though, as an outsider, how you built credibility in that industry and became a key person of influence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">James Ashford:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I don\u2019t think I actually knew enough about the industry, and I\u2019ve got a book behind me, I won\u2019t say his name, but of a prominent person who\u2019d worked in the account industry for ages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And he knew me and he rang me up straight away, and he went, \u201cWhat the hell are you doing? Why are you working with accountants? You\u2019re making a massive mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He said, \u201cThey don\u2019t like anyone from the outside. They\u2019re slow to make decisions. They don\u2019t want to spend any money on anything.\u201d all these reasons. I said, \u201cThank you for that feedback.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I said, \u201cBut I\u2019m going to dismiss what you\u2019ve said because at the end of the day, these are people with hopes and dreams and fears, and I\u2019m going to speak to that. I\u2019m going to understand their pains, and I\u2019m going to help them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And the reason why I became really impassioned about it and wanted to crack this, Kate, was because I believed not only could I help accountants and help them to build better businesses themselves, but because I\u2019d underinvested in the finance function of my business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And that was partly on me, but it was partly on my accountant for not showing me everything I needed and for not having the confidence to present it to me and to sell me what I needed, right? Because they\u2019re not trained in that. It was partly on them as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So I believed that if I could crack this for them, not only could I help them to build stronger businesses for themselves but help them in turn to get their clients to invest at the right level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All these businesses are massively underinvested in the finance function of their business because their accountants aren\u2019t having the right conversations with them and don\u2019t have the confidence to present what they\u2019re needing to charge, what they should be charging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So I felt I could have a double impact here, which is why it really excited me and why I wanted to crack it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I knew I needed credibility very quickly. So a few things I did was the firm that I implemented the software for was called My Accountancy Place at the time in Manchester. I headed up by a guy called Paul Barnes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I said, \u201cLook, as a thank you for helping me to start in this space, I\u2019m going to give you 10% of GoProposal, because I want someone with an accounting background to be involved in the business to help to guide me. And I want 10% of your accounting business, and we\u2019ll work closely together, and I\u2019ll help you with other things as well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, it worked out very well that, because it meant that when I was on stage talking at various things, fast-forward a little bit, I could say, \u201cYes, the firm that I\u2019m a director of, the accountancy firm I\u2019m a director of\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So that helped me with credibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One thing was I realised that I\u2019m just going to help as many people as possible. I\u2019d been a close-up magician. So I was good at presenting. I\u2019d launched a product, you can find this on YouTube, I\u2019ll send you a link to this because it\u2019s still really good, and it\u2019s called Magic Dad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And I had this idea of how can dads become magical in the eyes of their kids. So I taught eight tricks of various things, removing your finger and stuff like that, and putting it back on. Just little tricks like that that made kids think their dads were magic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So I launched this video program, this video course, and it sold a bit as an app, and then it didn\u2019t. But through that, I learned how to video, how to stand in front of a camera, how to set my mics up, my lights and everything else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And so I thought, the way I\u2019m going to dominate this space is with video content. Everyone hates doing videos, people don\u2019t have enough information to keep sharing, it\u2019ll become dry after a while.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I knew about marketing, so I thought, I\u2019m just going to dominate this. Large companies don\u2019t do it because they have so much bureaucracy, so much red tape, that to get a video out the door takes so long to do, and smaller businesses are not necessarily resourced to be able to do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But I\u2019m going to develop an efficient way of producing high quality video content every single day. I\u2019m going to dominate this sector, and I\u2019m just going to share and help. I\u2019m going to educate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In any given market, I have this belief that about 3% of people of any market want to buy your product and service right now. But there\u2019s another 30%, so 10 times more people, want your product or service, they just don\u2019t know they need it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So the only way you can get them is to educate them. So these accountancy firms didn\u2019t realise they had an issue with pricing and selling. They didn\u2019t know about all of this stuff. All I had to do was be able to explain their problem to them better than they could explain it to themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And so that\u2019s how I did it, and I wrote a book. So I wrote Selling to Serve, which is behind me somewhere. Let me get a copy of it, because I\u2019m going to show you this, Kate, this is key. You need to see this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Kate Bassett:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Okay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"writing\">Writing bestselling books and dominating the video content space<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">James Ashford:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So I haven\u2019t actually got the original version here, but this was kind of the second iteration of it. And see how thin it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The first version was even thinner than this, and it was so thin they wouldn\u2019t allow me to put any text on the spine. So it was plain, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Kate Bassett:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More of a pamphlet, then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">James Ashford:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Very similar. But do you know what? It was a book. And I gave myself the brief of one week to write a book. So I thought what I\u2019m going to do is, I\u2019m going to write down the sales process I\u2019ve implemented in my accountancy place. So I gave myself one week to write it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">My daughter\u2019s friend at school, she was starting to do business studies and I said, \u201cCan you be the editor? Can you proofread a book for me?\u201d She said, \u201cYeah, cool.\u201d I said, \u201cRight, I want you on Sunday to proofread it.\u201d She said, \u201cHave you got the book now?\u201d I said, \u201cNo, no, I\u2019ve not written yet, but you\u2019ll have it on Saturday to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Everywhere I travelled that week, I travelled on the train, so I could write it. My wife said one day, \u201cShould I pick you up from the train station?\u201d I said, \u201cNo, I\u2019m going to the pub. Come and get me at 14,000 words. I\u2019ll ring you when I\u2019m there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So I just kept battering this book, day in, day out, sent it. We published it the following week. There were typos in it, but I didn\u2019t care. I was a published author. I was a published author in the accounting industry, and the content was okay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I then got feedback, I polished it up and that\u2019s when I produced the next version of it, that was thick enough for me to be able to have this on it. People started seeing my content online on LinkedIn because I was sharing it all the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And then somebody said, she was called Zoe, \u201cCan you come and speak at Accountex?\u201d Because she\u2019d seen my videos. I\u2019m like, \u201cYeah, sure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So I went and spoke at Accountex. Then another accountancy software company said, \u201cCan you come and speak?\u201d So I would go and speak at Accountex. I said, \u201cIs it being filmed?\u201d She said no. I said, \u201cWell, I\u2019m going to film it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So I filmed it, recorded it, took the video of me talking, shared that back on socials, a big accounting software company, not Sage, another one, heard about it and said, \u201cCan you come and speak at our event?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And I said, \u201cAbsolutely. Why don\u2019t you, as a gift, give a copy of my book to everyone who turns up to the event? That\u2019d be really cool.\u201d And they were like, \u201cOh great, yeah, what a great idea.\u201d I said, \u201cI\u2019ll drop the price of the book to cost. You buy them, and they\u2019ll all turn up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I said, \u201cBut tell me when you\u2019re buying them.\u201d So he told me\u2026 I paused then because I realised I\u2019m giving quite a lot of secrets away here, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Kate Bassett:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We want to hear all the secrets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">James Ashford:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They bought the books. So the way that Amazon review books and decide whether you\u2019re a bestseller or not is on an hourly basis. So for that hour that they bought all those books for the event, it became a bestseller. Not a number one bestseller, but a bestseller, it went into the top 10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So it was a bestseller for that category. So I then quickly changed the front cover of it to say, \u201cAn Amazon bestseller.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I\u2019m reluctant to show you it on the front cover here, and you\u2019ll see why in a second, and then I\u2019ll explain why there are bits missing of the book, okay?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So it says, \u201cAn Amazon bestseller,\u201d here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The reason why there are bits missing here. Do you know Elf on the Shelf?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Kate Bassett:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yeah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">James Ashford:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Do you know what The Elf on the Shelf is about? One year I cut a face out of my book and I put the elves through it and his arms coming through there. That\u2019s why it looks like that. That\u2019s why I was reluctant to show you the front cover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Anyway, but what happened was the pandemic hit. So a few years later, I\u2019m like, right, I\u2019m going to rewrite the book, because I\u2019ve been in this space for many years now, I\u2019ve learned so much more. I understand the problems very, very deeply. And I rewrote it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It could have been a new book. I could have easily launched it as a new book, because I effectively rewrote the original completely. It took me two weeks to rewrite it. I did however many, 50,000 words, in two weeks. But you can see the difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So it was a far more significant book. Published that and under its own steam, it became a number one bestseller. It\u2019s the highest rated book on Amazon in the accounting industry for practice management. And there was no trickery involved in the second time. It was because of everything I\u2019d learned, and I was able to share.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So posting online, everyone\u2019s got access to that. There\u2019s no excuse. You can buy a cheap lapel mic for \u00a350, you can plug it into your iPhone, you\u2019ve got a HD video camera, and the only thing stopping you from posting on a regular basis is you\u2019re being selfish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You\u2019re being selfish because there are things that you know. I don\u2019t care what industry you\u2019re in, whether you\u2019re an interior designer, an accountant, a plaster or whatever, you will have helped a client with something today, one person, but there\u2019s 100 other people out there that need to hear that same thing today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And the only thing stopping you is because, \u201cMy hair\u2019s not quite right.\u201d Or, \u201cI\u2019ll do it when I get a different outfit on.\u201d Or whatever, \u201cWhen I\u2019ve had a shave.\u201d Whatever. It\u2019s rubbish. Stop being selfish and go and help people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So I dominated social platforms with video content. I wrote a book. I became a director of a firm in the space. I don\u2019t know how much credibility that actually had, but I think it was a useful thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And that was how I grew and scaled GoProposal fairly cheaply and became a key person of influence in the space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Kate Bassett:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So you became, very quickly, bestselling author, director, expert. Used your backgrounds in marketing and being a magician to really perform, market the business, churn out this content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then the business obviously started to snowball and take off. What were some of the big challenges as you scaled that you came up against? What were some of the fears as you grew the business?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To hear James\u2019s answer to that question and get all the advice you need on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/sound-advice-recession-proof-business-james-ashford\/\">how to recession-proof your business<\/a>, tune in to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/sound-advice-recession-proof-business-james-ashford\/\">next week\u2019s episode<\/a> of Sound Advice: Entrepreneurs Unfiltered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Inspired by this small business story?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wherever you\u2019re listening or watching, subscribe to <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/gb\/podcast\/sound-advice-get-year-one-in-business-right\/id1544479344?_gl=1*6o40wv*_ga*MjA5NDY4NjE4OC4xNjE0NzM4MTI4*_ga_N0V23L0VEC*MTYzMzUwOTU4NS4xOTYuMS4xNjMzNTA5NjA2LjA.\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sound Advice on Apple iTunes<\/a> here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/2yhPIOebSiBpEYek6q2GZJ?si=UWWTKrgIQ2OsUAlnHrzHTQ&amp;nd=1&amp;_gl=1*1h0trqy*_ga*MjA5NDY4NjE4OC4xNjE0NzM4MTI4*_ga_N0V23L0VEC*MTYzMzUwOTU4NS4xOTYuMS4xNjMzNTA5NzQ3LjA.\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">We are also on Spotify<\/a> and anywhere else you get your podcasts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Join our community to share your insights and stories on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/sageireland\">Twitter @SageIreland<\/a> using the hashtag #SoundAdvicePodcast, on Instagram <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/sageofficial\/channel\/?hl=en\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@SageOfficial<\/a> or in the comments below!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Want to know more about GoProposal or James Ashford?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can check out GoProposal on their <a href=\"https:\/\/goproposal.com\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">website<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can find out more about James Ashford on his <a href=\"https:\/\/jamesashford.com\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">website<\/a> or his <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/THEJamesAshford\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n \n<div class=\"single-cta gated-content\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner on-scroll-highlight__target\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Small business toolkit<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Get your free guide, business plan template and cash flow forecast template to help you manage your business and achieve your goals.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-73c0a131-e4f3-485b-a6c6-62c451003a2f\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Download your free toolkit<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1215\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2021\/08\/YBCA_FY19_Intacct_V3_0338-1-1215x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2021\/08\/YBCA_FY19_Intacct_V3_0338-1-1215x810.jpg 1215w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner on-scroll-highlight__target\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Subscribe to the Sage Advice newsletter<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Join 1.5 million subscribers and get the best business admin strategies and tactics, as well as actionable advice to help your company thrive, in your inbox every month.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-53abbdcc-410c-4c8c-bf97-ca5c6982eebd\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Subscribe now<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"999\" height=\"666\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2021\/04\/z.5E3A0481_All-Uses.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2021\/04\/z.5E3A0481_All-Uses.jpg 999w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<section class=\"more-topics alignfull has-grey-light-background-color wp-block-sage-post-topics\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-12 col-lg-4\">\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"more-topics__title h2\">Browse more topics from this article<\/h3>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-12 col-lg-8\">\n\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"post-tags__list\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-tags__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/tag\/grow-business\/\" class=\"post-tags__link button button--secondary\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHow to grow your business\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-tags__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/tag\/start-business\/\" class=\"post-tags__link button button--secondary\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHow to start a business\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-tags__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/tag\/sound-advice-podcast\/\" class=\"post-tags__link button button--secondary\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSound Advice Podcast\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-tags__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/tag\/startup-stories\/\" class=\"post-tags__link button button--secondary\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tStartup stories\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<div class=\"alignfull wp-block-sage-related-posts\">\n\t<section class=\"related-posts card-grid has-dark-background-color\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"row\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"related-posts__heading related-posts__heading--featured h1\">Explore more wisdom<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"row related-posts__featured\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col card-grid__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<article\n\t\tclass=\"card-post related-post related-post-0 post-18286 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-money-matters category-people-leadership tag-business-costs tag-business-management tag-grow-business tag-recruit tag-hr-process tag-looking-after-your-employees tag-payroll business_type-small-business business_type-medium-sized-business card-post--is-clickable\"\n>\n\t<div class=\"card-post__media-wrapper\">\n\t\t<figure class=\"card-post__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/04\/GettyImages-1035512574-1-1440x810.jpg\" class=\"card-post__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/04\/GettyImages-1035512574-1-684x384.jpg 684w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/04\/GettyImages-1035512574-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/04\/GettyImages-1035512574-1-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 250px, (min-width: 30em) 100vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t<div class=\"card-post__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__label\">Recommended<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2026-07-09T15:55:14+01:00\">9 July, 2026<\/time><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">8 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h3\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"card-post__title-link\"\n\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/minimum-wage-ireland\/\"\n\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tMinimum wage Ireland 2026: the real impact on your margins\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"card-post__description\">\n\t\t\t\tThe minimum wage in Ireland is \u20ac14.15 in 2026. Learn how higher wages, employer PRSI and pay differentials could affect your business costs.\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"row related-posts__non-featured\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-12\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"related-posts__heading related-posts__heading--more h4\">More on this Topic<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-6 col-lg-3 card-grid__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<article\n\t\tclass=\"card-post related-post related-post-1 post-17040 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-money-matters category-trends-insights tag-business-intelligence tag-business-performance tag-business-planning tag-business-strategy tag-grow-business tag-state-of-small-business business_type-small-business business_type-medium-sized-business\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\tclass=\"card-post__link\"\n\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/black-friday-expert-tips\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<figure class=\"card-post__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"684\" height=\"384\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/09\/GettyImages-1447845897-684x384.jpg\" class=\"card-post__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/09\/GettyImages-1447845897-684x384.jpg 684w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/09\/GettyImages-1447845897-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/09\/GettyImages-1447845897-1215x810.jpg 1215w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 250px, (min-width: 30em) 100vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2025-11-04T15:47:23+00:00\">4 November, 2025<\/time><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">7 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h5\">\n\t\t\tBlack Friday Ireland 2025: 11 expert tips to boost sales and win loyal customers\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-6 col-lg-3 card-grid__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<article\n\t\tclass=\"card-post related-post related-post-2 post-16742 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-money-matters category-strategy-legal-operations tag-accounting-102 tag-bookkeeping tag-business-planning tag-cash-flow tag-financial-decisions tag-grow-business tag-startup-stories business_type-small-business business_type-accountants\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\tclass=\"card-post__link\"\n\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/business-loan-calculator\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<figure class=\"card-post__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"684\" height=\"384\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/09\/GettyImages-1327235816-684x384.jpg\" class=\"card-post__image\" alt=\"Working on business funding applications\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/09\/GettyImages-1327235816-684x384.jpg 684w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/09\/GettyImages-1327235816-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/09\/GettyImages-1327235816-1215x810.jpg 1215w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 250px, (min-width: 30em) 100vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2025-10-31T09:30:00+00:00\">31 October, 2025<\/time><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">18 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h5\">\n\t\t\tBusiness loan calculator (with amortisation schedule)\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-6 col-lg-3 card-grid__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<article\n\t\tclass=\"card-post related-post related-post-3 post-16772 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-money-matters category-strategy-legal-operations tag-accounting-102 tag-bookkeeping tag-business-intelligence tag-cash-flow tag-financial-decisions tag-grow-business tag-profit-loss tag-trending-news business_type-small-business business_type-accountants\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\tclass=\"card-post__link\"\n\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/roi-calculator\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<figure class=\"card-post__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"684\" height=\"384\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/09\/GettyImages-1086590348-684x384.jpg\" class=\"card-post__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/09\/GettyImages-1086590348-684x384.jpg 684w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/09\/GettyImages-1086590348-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/09\/GettyImages-1086590348-1215x810.jpg 1215w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 250px, (min-width: 30em) 100vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2025-10-31T09:30:00+00:00\">31 October, 2025<\/time><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">11 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h5\">\n\t\t\tReturn On Investment (ROI) calculator (Sales &#038; Investment option)\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-6 col-lg-3 card-grid__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<article\n\t\tclass=\"card-post related-post related-post-4 post-16429 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-money-matters category-strategy-legal-operations tag-accounting-102 tag-business-finances tag-business-intelligence tag-cash-flow tag-grow-accounting-practice tag-grow-business tag-trending-news business_type-small-business business_type-accountants\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\tclass=\"card-post__link\"\n\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/cash-flow-statement-explained\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<figure class=\"card-post__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"684\" height=\"384\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2021\/04\/206250_25480_1200x600-684x384.jpg\" class=\"card-post__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2021\/04\/206250_25480_1200x600-684x384.jpg 684w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2021\/04\/206250_25480_1200x600-768x384.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2021\/04\/206250_25480_1200x600.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 250px, (min-width: 30em) 100vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2025-10-30T11:22:59+00:00\">30 October, 2025<\/time><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">12 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h5\">\n\t\t\tCash flow statement explained\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>GoProposal founder James Ashford shares advice on how other business owners can build a resilient mindset and dominate their chosen industry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1612,"featured_media":13212,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"audio","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_is_cornerstone":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image-id":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image-id":"","_yoast_wpseo_schema_page_type":"","_yoast_wpseo_schema_article_type":"","_sage_video":true,"_yoast_wpseo_focuskeywords":"[]","_yoast_wpseo_keywordsynonyms":"[\"\"]","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"162","post_featured_image_hide":false,"sage_hide_published_date":false,"sage_hide_read_time":false,"sage_hide_share_buttons":false,"_pwl_sage_podcast_buzzsprout_src":"https:\/\/www.buzzsprout.com\/1422304\/12211370-james-ashford-building-a-resilient-business-mindset-part-1.js?container_id=buzzsprout-player-12211370&player=small","footnotes":""},"categories":[162],"tags":[130,132,332,153],"business_type":[5,2],"lilypad":[],"context":[],"industry":[],"persona":[176,232],"imagine_tag":[177,230],"coauthors":[479],"class_list":["post-13218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-audio","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-growth-customers","tag-grow-business","tag-start-business","tag-sound-advice-podcast","tag-startup-stories","post_format-post-format-audio","business_type-small-business","business_type-accountants"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-ie","author_name":"Kate 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