The Sharon Francisco Show

What if the next level of your business isn’t asking you to work harder?

What if it’s asking you to trust yourself more?

In this episode, Sharon sits down with Hilary McVeigh, founder of Designed As You, former lawyer turned human design teacher, entrepreneur and practitioner.

Hilary shares how a successful career that looked right from the outside eventually became impossible to sustain — leading her through burnout, panic attacks and a complete rethinking of how she wanted to live and work.  

What followed was a journey into human design, Gene Keys, somatics, parts work and ancient wisdom — but underneath all of it is a beautifully simple idea:

Can you feel safe enough to be fully yourself?

In this episode we cover:
• Why Hilary walked away from law without having the next chapter mapped out
• Human design, Gene Keys, somatics and parts work in simple terms
• Why self-acceptance can be more powerful than chasing confidence
• How constantly worrying about how you’re perceived keeps you stuck
• Why procrastination is often fear wearing a practical disguise
• What may really be underneath your resistance to hiring, delegating and setting boundaries
• Why women can become so identified with being helpful and available
• How your internal beliefs can influence the clients and situations you keep experiencing
• Why confidence doesn’t mean doubt and fear disappear
• How to create enough space to hear your own answers
• Why discomfort can be a sign that you’re moving into your next level 

One of the strongest ideas in this conversation is that constantly saying yes to avoid disappointing other people can mean repeatedly disappointing yourself.  

You don’t need to eliminate fear before you move.

Sometimes the fear, resistance and uncertainty are simply showing you where you’re being invited to grow.  

🎧 Listen now
https://www.sharonfrancisco.com/podcast

Questions? [email protected]

---
👉  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 [email protected]

Have you ever said yes to something you really didn’t want to do… and walked away completely changed by it?

That’s exactly what happened when Sharon agreed to a bike film night with Pierre.

She expected an evening about cycling.

Instead, she found stories about courage, resilience, creativity and finding another way forward when life doesn’t go to plan.

One woman became quadriplegic after an accident — but refused to give up the forest and the family bike rides she loved. She found an adaptive bike she could steer with movements of her head.

Then there was Eros Poli — a cyclist considered far too big to be a mountain climber, who broke away from the pack and won a Tour de France stage over Mont Ventoux by playing to his strengths rather than trying to become somebody else.

His word?

Grinta.

Grit. Determination. Courage. Keep going.  

In this episode we cover:
• Why inspiration often comes from places you don’t expect
• What to do when the original plan no longer works
• Why changing direction doesn’t mean you’ve failed
• How to stop assuming other people are naturally better suited to success
• Why perceived disadvantages don’t have to define your outcome
• How to build a strategy around your actual strengths
• Why you don’t need perfect circumstances to move forward
• What business owners can learn from adaptive thinking
• Why advisory, leadership and growth are skills you can develop
• How to stop counting yourself out before you’ve even begun 

Key insights:
• A closed path doesn’t mean every path is closed
• You don’t need somebody else’s strengths to succeed
• What feels like a disadvantage may simply require a different strategy
• Stay open — your next big idea might come from somewhere completely unexpected
• The unlikely hero wins by refusing to count themselves out 

So where have you already decided, “That’s not for me”?

Maybe it’s time to ask a better question:

What is still possible?

🎧 Listen now
https://www.sharonfrancisco.com/podcast

Questions? [email protected]

---
👉  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 [email protected]

What if the things frustrating you most in your business aren’t just problems… but reflections?

Your pricing.
Your clients.
Your team.
Your workload.
Even your inability to take a proper holiday without opening the laptop.

In this episode, Sharon explores the idea that life — and business — is a mirror.

Instead of asking, “Why does this keep happening to me?” the more useful question may be:

What is this showing me?

Because your business can reveal what you believe about your value, what you’re willing to tolerate, where you avoid difficult conversations, and where your confidence hasn’t yet caught up with your capability.

In this episode we cover:
• How pricing reflects what you believe about your value
• Why discounting and overdelivering may be about more than strategy
• What difficult clients can reveal about your boundaries
• How we unintentionally teach clients what behaviour we’ll accept
• Why avoiding team conversations can become a leadership issue
• What working through every holiday says about the business you’ve built
• Why staying safely inside compliance can stop you developing new skills
• How fear can hold bookkeepers back from stepping into advisory
• Why you don’t need every answer to have valuable client conversations
• How to stop blaming the mirror and start using what it shows you 

Key insights:
• Your business isn’t judging you — it’s giving you information
• What you tolerate often continues
• Clear expectations are not unkind; they’re leadership
• Your belief may simply need time to catch up with your capability
• When you change what’s happening within you, what happens around you can begin to change too

So take a look at your business.

What keeps showing up?

And what might it be trying to show you?

🎧 Listen now
https://www.sharonfrancisco.com/podcast

Questions? [email protected]

---
👉  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 [email protected]

What if the confidence you’re waiting for only arrives after you do the thing?

In this episode, Sharon sits down with Will Fulton, founder of the Trusted Advisor Network and a business advisor with more than 20 years of experience helping business owners grow stronger, more profitable businesses.

This conversation goes well beyond strategy.

Will and Sharon unpack the psychology behind pricing, growth, confrontation, momentum and the uncomfortable decisions that actually move a business forward.

Because often, you already know what needs to be done.

The real challenge is doing it before you feel ready.

In this episode we cover:
• Why pricing is one of the most psychological decisions in business
• How self-worth quietly affects what you charge
• Why confidence usually comes after action, not before
• The importance of becoming “bulletproof” about the value you deliver
• Why the first 30–90 days with a client are so powerful
• How to navigate the highs and lows of business ownership
• Why the non-urgent work often creates the biggest business shifts
• How fear of confrontation keeps problems sitting under the carpet
• Why momentum is hard to build — and easy to lose
• Will’s $100K software gamble and what it taught him about backing yourself
• The four levers behind profit: sales, marketing, margins and productivity
• Why you may already have the clients and opportunities you need

Will’s message on confidence is simple: you don’t need to feel fearless first. You build belief by doing the uncomfortable thing, getting through it, and proving to yourself that you can. 

Key insights:
• Confidence is an outcome, not a prerequisite
• The things you avoid are often the things that create momentum
• Strategic progress lives in the non-urgent work 
• More clients are not always the answer — know what you actually want the money for
• Successful businesses are built by people willing to do what others keep avoiding

What are you waiting to feel confident enough to do?

Maybe it’s time to do it first.

🎧 Listen now
https://www.sharonfrancisco.com/podcast

Questions? [email protected]

---
👉  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 [email protected]

What if your secret sauce isn’t your qualifications, your experience, or even how much you care about your clients?

What if it’s the relationship you have with yourself?

In this episode, Sharon explores how hundreds of small choices quietly build — or weaken — self-trust.

The food you eat.
 The promises you keep.
 The people you spend time with.
 The way you speak to yourself.
 And whether you’re willing to act before you feel completely ready. 

Because confidence isn’t believing you’ll always get it right.

It’s knowing that if things go badly, you won’t turn against yourself.

In this episode we cover:
• Why your relationship with yourself affects how you lead your business
• The everyday choices that strengthen self-trust
• Why keeping promises to yourself matters
• How sleep, movement, food, water and relationships support confidence
• The warning signs that you may not be putting yourself first
• Why confidence comes from action, not waiting until you feel ready
• Sharon’s Aldi story and the moment she had to find her voice
• How difficult seasons can uncover a stronger version of you
• Why real stories and lived experience become even more valuable in an AI world
• What your next level might look like when business already feels comfortable

Key insights:
• Confidence is built by collecting evidence that you can cope
• Self-trust grows through action
• You don’t need to wait until life backs you into a corner to become brave
• Your next level may require you to become someone new
• Mastering one level may simply be an invitation into a bigger arena

Mentioned in this episode:
Self-Compassion — Kristin Neff
The Gifts of Imperfection — Brené Brown
The Good Life — Robert Waldinger & Marc Schulz
Mindset — Dr Carol Dweck

🎧 Listen now
https://www.sharonfrancisco.com/podcast

Questions? [email protected]

---
👉  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 [email protected]

What looks fine on the outside can still be quietly costing you underneath.

In this episode, Sharon shares one of the most confronting experiences of her life as a property owner — discovering that an investment property she believed was protected had been heavily contaminated with methamphetamine.

She had a property manager.
 She had landlord insurance.
 She followed the process.

And she still ended up around $40,000 out of pocket. 

The lesson for business?

Problems rarely begin as $40,000 problems.

They start as small warning signs we explain away, tolerate, or fail to investigate. 

In this episode we cover:
• How the meth contamination was discovered
• Why the property looked fine while a serious problem was developing underneath
• What landlord insurance did — and didn’t — cover
• Why “I thought I was protected” can be a dangerous assumption
• How the same pattern shows up in business
• Why growing revenue does not automatically mean growing profit
• How team growth can increase pressure instead of reducing it
• Why busy does not mean profitable
• The danger of A-grade clients quietly funding D-grade clients
• Why every business owner needs to know their true monthly costs and break-even
• The questions to ask before a small issue becomes an expensive one

Key insights:
• What looks healthy from the outside may not be healthy underneath
• Protection on paper does not replace clear information
• Small warning signs deserve attention
• Revenue, team size and busyness are not measures of profit
• Know your numbers, ask better questions, and act when something feels off

What you uncover early can be fixed.

What you ignore can become very expensive.

🎧 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts
https://www.sharonfrancisco.com/podcast

Questions? [email protected]

---
👉  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 [email protected]

What if the biggest influence on your business isn’t your qualifications, strategy or experience?

What if it’s the relationship you have with yourself?

In this episode, Sharon explores the small decisions that either strengthen or weaken self-trust — and why confidence isn’t something you wait to feel.

It’s something you build.

Through the promises you keep.
 The way you speak to yourself.
 The people you surround yourself with.
 And the uncomfortable things you choose to do anyway.

Sharon also shares a very personal story from life after her separation — standing in a crowded Aldi trying to recover a missing iPhone she simply couldn’t afford to replace.

She was shaking.
 She was embarrassed.
 But she found her voice.

And that moment became a lesson in what confidence actually looks like.

In this episode we cover:
• Why self-trust matters in business
• The difference between confidence and having all the answers
• Why keeping promises to yourself builds belief
• How sleep, movement, food and relationships affect how you show up
• Why the way you speak to yourself matters
• Sharon’s Aldi story and what it taught her about courage
• Why confidence is built through action
• How uncomfortable experiences become evidence that you can cope
• What happens when you’ve reached a comfortable level of success
• Why growth and contribution don’t need to stop

Key insights:
• Confidence is not the absence of fear
• Self-trust grows when you prove you can handle hard things
• You don’t need to wait until life forces you to be courageous
• Your next level may require becoming someone new

Mentioned:
Self-Compassion — Kristin Neff
The Gifts of Imperfection — Brené Brown
The Good Life — Robert Waldinger & Mark Schultz
Mindset — Dr Carol Dweck

🎧 Listen now
https://www.sharonfrancisco.com/podcast

Questions? [email protected]

---
👉  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 [email protected]

What if the thing making you uncomfortable in front of the camera is exactly what your business needs more of?

In this episode, Sharon sits down with Shae Giles Bruton, the creative force behind Shae Style Photography.

With almost 30 years behind the camera, Shae has an incredible ability to help business owners move past the awkwardness, insecurity and overthinking — and show up as themselves.

Because a great brand shoot isn’t simply about looking good.

It’s about letting people see who they’re actually doing business with.

And in a world increasingly filled with AI-generated content, that human connection may matter more than ever.

In this episode we cover:
• Why even confident women can freeze in front of a camera
• The insecurities almost every woman brings into a photoshoot
• Why authenticity matters more than looking perfect
• How the right photographer brings your personality and energy to life
• Why AI may actually make real photography and human connection more valuable
• How professional imagery builds trust before someone ever speaks to you
• Why your photoshoot can create clarity around your personal brand
• The role of clothing, colour, hair, makeup and styling
• Shae’s simple “emu” posing trick for a stronger photo
• Why old photos can quietly hold your brand back
• How to show your personality even if you’re naturally quieter or more introverted

Key insights:
• People want to know the human behind the business
• Your energy matters more than perfection
• Confidence often comes through the experience of being seen
• You don’t need to become someone else for the camera
• As AI grows, authenticity and trust become even more valuable

Your brand doesn’t need a more polished version of you.

It needs you.

🎧 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts
https://www.sharonfrancisco.com/podcast

Guest: Shae Giles Bruton — Shae Style Photography
  shaestylephotography.com.au 

Questions for the podcast? [email protected]

---
👉  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 [email protected]

Why can one bookkeeper charge $70 an hour while another confidently charges $120 or more for similar work?

It is not always qualifications.
It is not always experience.
It is not the fanciest website, podcast, or social media page.

So what is it?

In this episode, Sharon unpacks why clients are not just buying your service.

They are buying the experience of being with you.

They are buying how safe they feel.
How understood they feel.
How confident they feel that you will handle things well.
And whether they feel comfortable enough to tell you the truth.

This is where your personal brand becomes powerful.

Not the polished version of you.

The clearest version of you.

In this episode we cover:
• Why people choose one provider over another
• Why clients do not always choose the cheapest option
• How trust, safety, and connection influence buying decisions
• Why over-explaining your value can communicate uncertainty
• The link between personal brand and pricing confidence
• Sharon’s beauty appointment story and what it revealed about client experience
• Why certainty is built through action, not waiting until you feel ready
• How Dolly Parton, Oprah, and Taylor Swift show the power of being unmistakably yourself
• Why your individuality helps attract the right clients
• How Sharon’s early business experience showed her that people buy how you make them feel

Key insights:
• Clients are buying more than the service
• Your pricing tells people what to believe about your value
• Connection can create more trust than credentials alone
• Your personal brand is not about being polished — it is about being clear
• The right clients are looking for someone who sounds like you

Mentioned in this episode:
• Start With Why by Simon Sinek
• Known by Mark Schaefer
• The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown

🎧 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts
https://www.sharonfrancisco.com/podcast

Questions for the podcast? [email protected]

---
👉  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 [email protected]

What if the thing your business needs most… is for you to step away from it?

In this episode, Sharon shakes things up with a very direct reminder:

Take the break.

Get away from your office.
Get away from the familiar.
Get away from the same desk, same routine, same thinking.

Because rest is not indulgent.

It is often where fresh ideas, clearer thinking, creativity, and better decisions finally have room to show up.

Sharon shares the story of a recent weekend away to Eumundi — the lovely parts, the funny imperfect parts, the over-attentive Airbnb host, the cold cabin, the markets, the wine, the dog, and the unexpected business idea that came through when she finally had space to think differently.

In this episode we cover:
• Why so many business owners struggle to take proper breaks
• Why self-care is not separate from business growth
• How Sharon preloads her year with weekends away and holidays
• Why getting away from your normal environment matters
• The truth about breaks that do not go perfectly to plan
• How imperfect trips can still leave you feeling refreshed
• Why new places, new food, and new routines can shift your thinking
• How creativity can appear when you stop forcing business planning
• Why rest supports problem-solving, focus, and better ideas
• Why taking a break before you are forced to is essential

Key insights:
• You cannot pour from an empty cup
• Breaks do not have to be perfect to be powerful
• A different environment can create different thinking
• Rest is not the opposite of productive work — it supports it
• Creativity often arrives when you stop sitting at your desk trying to force it
• Your business benefits when you come back refreshed, not depleted

So here’s the reminder:

Take the darn break.

Your business will still be there.

But you might come back with the clarity, energy, and ideas you couldn’t access while you were stuck inside the routine.

🎧 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts
https://www.sharonfrancisco.com/podcast

Questions for the podcast? [email protected]

---
👉  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 [email protected]