There is something incredibly grounding about a quick pitstop on the side of a country road. I’m currently parked on the way back from a site visit for a potential new project, enjoying a bit of piece with a coffee and a yoghurt, looking out at a lovely view of a local windmill.
Moments like this remind me exactly why I love running my own business. The freedom to build these little spaces into my day keeps me energised for the massive number of moving parts I am currently managing.
Lately, my days have been a constant dance between two distinct professional worlds. Having run my own business for 15 years, I’m well-versed in the balancing act, but I know so many other service-based business owners can relate to the feeling of wearing completely different hats from one hour to the next.
Architecture Head On: Retrofitting the 1960s
On one hand, my architecture practice is buzzing. I’ve just come away from a site visit where we are diving deep into how to make an upcoming property project significantly more energy efficient.
It’s a 1960s house – what I’d call an “old modern” build. While it’s not ancient, it is at that precise age where it desperately needs a functional and environmental upgrade. I absolutely love this side of my career: analysing how we can improve a building’s performance, step away from fossil fuels, and bring its insulation and ventilation standards up to modern eco-requirements.
Mentoring Head On: Shifting the Speaking Strategy
But the moment I step back into the car, a second professional hat goes on. Alongside the architecture work, I’ve been putting a lot of energy into promoting my mentoring program for fellow service-based business owners.
It’s been a week of great momentum on that front, but also a week of big realisations:
- Podcast Wins: I’ve been pitching myself to relevant shows to share my frameworks for business freedom, and I’ve already been approved for three podcasts. I am actually recording the first episode later this week!
- The Audience Pivot: Alongside the podcast pitching, I have been applying for various speaking slots at events. However, after taking a step back this week, I had a sudden “aha” moment: I was applying to speak in the completely wrong rooms. I realised the generic entrepreneurship spaces didn’t completely align with the specific operational and systemic hurdles I want to help people solve. So, instead of forcing a square peg into a round hole, I’ve decided to start fresh and pivot my entire speaking strategy.
Moving forward, I am targeting professional, service-led conferences. I want to speak directly to the professionals who run complex, client-facing firms – engineers, lawyers, accountants, tech founders, web developers, graphic designers, and fellow architects.
These are the business owners who are brilliant at their technical craft but find themselves entirely trapped in the day-to-day delivery of their services. They are the ones who need the structural frameworks to step back, trust their teams, and reclaim their time.
Navigating the Chaos
With so much going on between the two practices, I’ll be the first to admit that brain failure occurs! When you are constantly pushing yourself and switching gears, a bit of chaos is totally natural. Just this Monday, I completely forgot it was a school INSET day!
Sometimes you really don’t know whether you’re coming or going, but pulling over for five minutes to look at a windmill makes all the difference. Realigning your strategy isn’t a failure- it’s standard business maintenance.
If you’ve realised lately that your marketing or your message is shouting into the wrong room, don’t be afraid to pull over, change direction, and start fresh.
Are you a professional service business owner trying to balance the technical work with scaling your firm? Keep an eye out for my upcoming podcast episodes where I’ll be breaking down how to design a business model that gives you your time back.