Belonging is a basic human need, yet so many women quietly armour up when they feel out of place. In this episode, Sharon shares personal experiences of not fitting in, what that taught her about self protection, and why the need to belong follows us everywhere, no matter our age, confidence, or success.

In this episode we cover:

• What really happens when women feel like they do not belong

• Why quietness, distance, and independence are often protection

• How early experiences shape how we show up in rooms

• Why no one actually knows what they are doing anywhere

• The neuroscience of belonging and why inclusion creates safety

• How scarcity thinking plays out in behaviour and connection

• Small moments of inclusion that can change someone’s entire experience

Key insights:

• Belonging is wired into the nervous system.

• Feeling included creates safety, openness, and growth.

• Confidence expands when we believe there is space for us.

• Inclusion is leadership.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Nervous system safety and belonging

• Scarcity versus abundance thinking

• Social learning and modelling what is possible

• The work of Dr Joe Dispenza on thoughts and emotional states

• Lisa Curry Kenny and the power of seeing what is possible

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👉 Also: The Entrepreneurial Bookkeeper — grow your business without sacrificing your health: sharonfrancisco.com/program

Connect with me on LinkedIn, Facebook.

Have a question for the podcast? Email hello@sharonfrancisco.com

Most people dread birthdays or quietly tolerate them. In this episode, we flip ageing on its head and talk about why getting older is a privilege, how perspective changes with age, and why staying engaged with life is a choice you get to make every year.

In this episode we cover:

• Why birthdays are worth celebrating properly, every single year
• The best part of ageing: caring less what people think and living more authentically
• How to gamify the boring stuff so life feels more fun and alive
• Why movement, play, and new experiences keep your world expanding
• How to stop photocopying the same year over and over

Key insights:

• Ageing is not the problem. Disengaging from life is.
• Fun is not indulgent. It is preventative.
• You do not need a dramatic life overhaul. One intentional choice changes the whole year.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Gamifying everyday life
• Preloading the year with fun, trips, and things to look forward to
• Trying new movement each quarter
• The Blue Zones idea of staying active through daily life
• Building energy through small habits like water, walking, and community

🎧 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts.

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👉 Also: The Entrepreneurial Bookkeeper — grow your business without sacrificing your health: sharonfrancisco.com/program

Connect with me on LinkedIn, Facebook.

Have a question for the podcast? Email hello@sharonfrancisco.com

Michelle Hume spent years telling people she was “just a bookkeeper”… even while quietly carrying big responsibility, serving clients she genuinely loves, and running at full capacity.

Then something shifted.

After 12 months working together, Michelle has hired (and is hiring) team members, is systemising her business, and is stepping into a bigger identity — one where she isn’t the bottleneck, and her business doesn’t rely on her being “on” all the time.

This conversation is honest, warm, and refreshingly real — about confidence, growth, and what it looks like when a great bookkeeper starts acting like a business owner.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why so many bookkeepers downplay what they do (and how confidence plays into it)
• The pivotal “before and after” moments that shape how we work and lead
• What changed for Michelle when she hit capacity and had to choose a new path
• The real combo behind growth: practical action plus mindset catching up
• Hiring, delegating, and building a business that creates freedom (not more pressure)
• The habit that keeps Michelle grounded: training, stress management, and “time that’s just for me”
• A powerful approach to boundaries: “If it’s not for me, it goes”
• The reality of ageing, energy, and why health becomes non-negotiable
• How Michelle resets when things feel too much (including her very clear “tantrum time limit”)

If you’ve ever felt stuck in the “I’m just a bookkeeper” identity… or you know you’re capable of more but feel unsure how to step into it — this episode will hit home.

Michelle’s story is proof that the next level doesn’t come from working harder.

It comes from deciding you’re allowed to build something bigger.

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👉 Also: The Entrepreneurial Bookkeeper — grow your business without sacrificing your health: sharonfrancisco.com/program

Connect with me on LinkedIn, Facebook.

Have a question for the podcast? Email hello@sharonfrancisco.com

We all say we want change.

More money.

More time.

More freedom.

Better health.

Holidays that actually happen.

A business that doesn’t rely on us being “on” all the time.

And yet… year after year, nothing really shifts.

In this episode, we unpack why — and it has nothing to do with laziness, lack of discipline, or motivation.

Instead, we dive into a simple but powerful framework that has shaped change theory for decades: The Formula for Change.

Once you understand it, you’ll stop beating yourself up for resisting change — and start working with your nervous system instead of against it.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why wanting change isn’t enough (and never has been)
• The real reason New Year’s resolutions quietly disappear by February
• The “danger zone” so many bookkeepers and accountants live in: tired but coping
• Why burnout often becomes the only trigger for real change
• The Formula for Change explained in human terms:
  • Dissatisfaction (honest, not dramatic)
  • Vision (clear, emotional, specific — not wishy-washy)
  • First Steps (small, safe, doable actions)
• Why vague hopes always lose to familiar discomfort
• How resistance actually works — and why it’s protection, not failure
• The sneaky ways resistance shows up: procrastination, busyness, perfectionism, “now’s not the right time”
• Why momentum comes from evidence, not motivation
• The exact questions to ask when you feel stuck instead of asking “What’s wrong with me?”

This episode is a reframing moment.

If you’ve been looping the same plans, the same frustrations, the same promises to yourself — this will help you see where the breakdown really is, and how to move forward without forcing, pushing, or burning out.

Because when dissatisfaction is honest, vision is vivid, and first steps are small enough — change stops being a battle.

It becomes the natural next move.

🎧 Listen now and start working with change instead of fighting it.

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👉 Also: The Entrepreneurial Bookkeeper — grow your business without sacrificing your health: sharonfrancisco.com/program

Connect with me on LinkedIn, Facebook.

Have a question for the podcast? Email hello@sharonfrancisco.com

Planning can feel like the same yearly ritual: you get excited for five minutes… then life happens… and suddenly 2026 becomes a photocopy of 2025.

In this episode, we flip that.

This isn’t “set goals and hope for the best.” It’s a practical way to stack the odds in your favour so your planning actually turns into action — and action turns into outcomes, in business and in life.

We start with a powerful Steve Jobs idea about living life on purpose — then move straight into the systems that make planning stick.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why planning often feels hit-and-miss (and why it’s not a discipline problem)
• How to get genuinely excited about what you can create in 2026
• Why holidays must be planned first — and what a real holiday actually is
• What to plan beyond revenue:
  • days and hours you want to work
  • team size
  • where you want to work
  • wage, profit, and super (clearly defined)
• Why “just doing the work” keeps businesses stuck
• How to break your business into clear focus areas so nothing gets ignored
• The difference between marketing and sales (and why both must be scheduled)
• How to turn intention into time-blocked action so goals don’t stay theoretical
• The three-move rule that builds real self-accountability:
  • move it up to three times
  • then either do it or delete it (and get honest with yourself)
• Why follow-through works better when it’s designed — not left to willpower
• How 2026 stops being a repeat year and starts behaving differently

If you’ve ever planned with good intentions but watched the year run you instead — this episode will help you design a year that reflects what actually matters to you.

Because planning isn’t about more effort.

It’s about better structure.

🎧 Listen now and start shaping a 2026 you’ll actually recognise when you’re living it.

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👉 Also: The Entrepreneurial Bookkeeper — grow your business without sacrificing your health: sharonfrancisco.com/program

Connect with me on LinkedIn, Facebook.

Have a question for the podcast? Email hello@sharonfrancisco.com

So many bookkeepers and accountants say they’re “taking a break”…

but the laptop comes with them.

The emails still get checked.

Payroll still gets done.

And that’s not a holiday.

In this episode, we unpack why stepping away feels so hard — even when you’re exhausted — and why this isn’t a discipline or mindset problem at all. It’s biology, psychology, and identity quietly running the show.

We explore what’s actually happening beneath the surface when rest feels uncomfortable, guilt-inducing, or impossible.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why your nervous system prioritises survival over rest — and why “busy” feels safe
• How busyness and being needed create dopamine hits that keep you hooked
• Why stress becomes familiar, and calm can feel oddly unsafe
• How identity gets tangled with effort, productivity, and being “the reliable one”
• What quietly disappears first when work takes over (and why it matters)
• The Zeigarnik Effect — why unfinished tasks keep your brain switched on, even on holidays
• Why rest often gets treated as something you have to earn
• What the research actually shows about breaks, performance, focus, and long-term productivity
• Why time off isn’t indulgent — it’s strategic
• The real cost of not planning recovery (burnout, brain fog, irritability, illness)

This is a gentle but honest conversation about why pushing through isn’t a badge of honour — and why, if you don’t design recovery into your life and business, your body will eventually force it.

If you’ve ever struggled to switch off, felt restless on holidays, or wondered why you can’t seem to stop — this episode will help you understand what’s really going on, and where to start shifting it.

Because loving your work shouldn’t mean sacrificing your health, relationships, or joy.

🎧 Listen now and give yourself permission to rethink rest.

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👉 Also: The Entrepreneurial Bookkeeper — grow your business without sacrificing your health: sharonfrancisco.com/program

Connect with me on LinkedIn, Facebook.

Have a question for the podcast? Email hello@sharonfrancisco.com

The profession is evolving — fast. In this episode, Sharon is joined by Ron Baker to unpack why value pricing had its moment, why subscription pricing is the natural next step, and how bookkeepers and accountants can step into a future built on transformation, not tasks.

In this episode we cover:

• How firms move from compliance into deeper, higher-value work
• How subscription pricing removes scope tension and time pressure
• What the “transformation economy” means for professional firms
• Why AI amplifies judgement rather than replacing it

Key insights:

• Pricing should reflect outcomes, not effort.
• Transformation creates trust, loyalty and pricing power.
• The future belongs to firms that guide change — not just report it.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Subscription-based advisory models
• The transformation economy
• The shift from services to outcomes
• The mindset change required to lead clients forward.

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👉 Also: The Entrepreneurial Bookkeeper — grow your business without sacrificing your health: sharonfrancisco.com/program

Connect with me on LinkedIn, Facebook.

Have a question for the podcast? Email hello@sharonfrancisco.com

Most of us never learnt how to have a healthy relationship with money — especially women who built their business alongside raising families. For many bookkeepers, the partner became the “financial safety net,” and without realising it, the business was built on the idea of supporting, not leading.

This episode explores the identity shift required to step into financial independence, confidence, and self-trust.

In this episode we cover:

• How the “supported partner” mindset keeps women under-earning without noticing
• Stability transfer — moving from relying on someone else’s income to trusting your own
• Why money isn’t about greed, it’s about autonomy, respect, and options
• How chronic underpayment becomes self-deprivation and impacts pricing confidence
• The identity work of stepping into leadership — not just being the helper

Key shift:

Financial empowerment isn’t about wanting more — it’s about becoming the one who can provide stability for yourself.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Identity upgrades: helper → business owner → leader
• Paying yourself first and tracking your own finances like you do for clients
• Building boundaries that reinforce self-worth
• Regulating your nervous system to hold more wealth
• Surrounding yourself with women who normalise success

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👉 Also: The Entrepreneurial Bookkeeper — grow your business without sacrificing your health: sharonfrancisco.com/program

Connect with me on LinkedIn, Facebook.

Have a question for the podcast? Email hello@sharonfrancisco.com