In this episode of Progress in Practice, Charlie Reading is joined by Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance.

Ross shares how his business was born out of adversity, why he is passionate about helping clients whose income does not fit the standard box, and how specialising in more complex mortgage scenarios has allowed his firm to create real value.

This is a candid conversation about entrepreneurship, mistakes, patience, bravery, and the reality that in most businesses, the biggest bottleneck is often the founder themselves.

If you are building a business, navigating growth, or trying to create more freedom on your own terms, this episode is packed with practical lessons and honest reflections.

Key Talking Points

• Who Ross helps: clients with non-standard or non-permanent income
• Supporting limited company directors, contractors, sports professionals, and others with more complex borrowing needs
• Why Ross focuses on turning difficult cases into yeses
• How niche expertise can create strong referral momentum and organic growth
• The adversity that led Ross to start his own business
• Moving from the military into mortgage advice and then into entrepreneurship
• How a family health crisis reshaped Ross’s priorities and desire for autonomy
• The reality that starting a business does not instantly create freedom: first you have to build it
• The advice Ross would give his younger self: be patient, be brave, and make mistakes faster
• Why failure is not the opposite of success, but part of the path to it
• The legacy lesson Ross would pass on: don’t leave crumbs
• Why integrity matters when making difficult decisions
• Ross’s biggest business obstacle: recognising that he is the bottleneck
• The importance of empowering others, delegating better, and getting out of your own way
• Two standout book recommendations: Legacy and 24 Assets
• Why values and assets, not just leads, should shape the way you build a business

About the Guest

Ross Jones is the founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance, helping clients secure lending where income or circumstances do not fit standard mortgage criteria.

Ross specialises in supporting people with more complex income structures, including limited company directors, contractors, and sports professionals. His businesses are built around creating solutions where others may struggle, helping clients navigate specialist lending with greater confidence and clarity.

Find Out More

• Website: http://www.homefinancialnw.co.uk
• Linked In: linkedin.com/in/ross-jones-3688584b

🚀 Resources & Links Mentioned

• Legacy by James Kerr
• 24 Assets by Daniel Priestley
• Charlie Reading’s workshop on building a saleable and scalable business: https://youtu.be/pFigtSmHqTY

About the Podcast

Progress in Practice is brought to you by The Trusted Team- helping professional service business owners build scalable, saleable businesses while working less and enjoying more.

Find out more: https://thetrusted.team

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In this episode of Progress in Practice, Charlie Reading is joined by Steve Price from Inspire, an accountancy firm with a very different approach.

Rather than simply helping business owners stay compliant, Steve and his team focus on helping owner-managed businesses understand, use, and improve their numbers so they can build a business that serves their life, instead of becoming a slave to it.

This conversation explores the deeper role accountants can play, the power of mentoring and accountability, and why self-belief, structure, and lifelong learning are such vital ingredients in building a better business.

If you want your business to give you more freedom, more clarity, and more control, this episode is full of practical wisdom.

Key Talking Points

· Why Inspire is focused on a mindset of business owner, not a specific sector

· The difference between compliance-led accounting and using numbers to improve a business

· Why Steve believes accountants should help improve lives, not just fill in forms

· The meaning behind Inspire’s mission: crunching numbers, inspiring business, improving lives

· How Steve discovered that business numbers are really about a person’s life, family, and freedom

· Building a business to create more flexibility and control

· The advice Steve would give his younger self: think who not how

· Why mentors, coaches, and outside perspectives can dramatically accelerate progress

· The one piece of wisdom Steve would pass on to the next generation: self-belief

· Why Steve believes most obstacles come down to time, money, or the stories we tell ourselves

· The challenge of maintaining focus and staying accountable to meaningful goals

· How accountability is embedded inside Inspire’s culture

· Why Steve uses the EOS / Traction system to create structure and momentum

· The importance of lifelong learning — not just solving immediate problems, but learning for learning’s sake

About the Guest

Steve Price is part of Inspire, an accountancy business that helps owner-managed businesses use their numbers to make better decisions, create more freedom, and build businesses that truly serve their owners.

Inspire combines strong financial expertise with a coaching-led mindset, helping clients move beyond compliance and into more intentional, strategic business growth. Through its courses and services, Inspire supports business owners who want more clarity, more control, and more from their business.

Find Out More

Website: https://www.bwp-inspire.co.uk/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevepricemanchester

Resources & Links Mentioned

Traction by Gino Wickman which includes The EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) framework

Inspire’s Money Freedom Course- visit https://www.bwp-inspire.co.uk

Inspire’s Exit Planning Course visit https://www.bwp-inspire.co.uk

About the Podcast

Progress in Practice is brought to you by The Trusted Team- helping professional service business owners build scalable, saleable businesses while working less and enjoying more.

Find out more: https://thetrusted.team

Enjoying the Show?

If this episode resonated, make sure you follow the podcast and leave a rating and review.

In this episode of Progress in Practice, Charlie Reading is joined by Claire Fudge, founder of Fourth Discipline, clinical dietitian, performance nutritionist, and elite athlete.

Claire shares how she helps business professionals, founders, and executives who are also athletes optimise their health, nutrition, and performance - not just to feel better, but to compete and thrive for decades to come.

This is a conversation about far more than food. Claire opens up about growing up in a family bakery, the work ethic that shaped her, the life-changing accident that forced her to rethink her direction, and how that ultimately led her to build a business helping high performers accelerate both health and results.

It is a powerful episode on resilience, asking for help, building a fulfilling life, and staying deeply human in an AI-driven world.

Key Talking Points

· Who Claire helps: business owners, executives, and professionals who are also serious athletes

· Why Claire’s blend of clinical dietetics and sports performance nutrition makes her approach different

· The role of food-first nutrition, with supplements used strategically rather than blindly

· Growing up in a three-generation family bakery and how that shaped Claire’s work ethic and love of quality food

· The moment a serious accident became the catalyst for a new direction

· How nutrition became central to Claire’s own recovery and triathlon journey

· Combining clinical and sports nutrition to help people unlock performance in both life and sport

· Claire’s journey to racing 20 Ironman events and qualifying for the Ironman World Championships in Kona

· The advice she would give her younger self: ask for help more often

· Her legacy lesson: seek adventure, fun, and the right people

· The challenge of demonstrating value in an AI-powered world

· Why the answer is not to resist AI, but to use it well while staying deeply human

· The power of frameworks in building a clearer, stronger business

· Why “Will It Make the Boat Go Faster?” remains such a useful lens for decision-making

About the Guest

Claire Fudge is the founder of Fourth Discipline, where she helps ambitious professionals and athletes optimise their health, nutrition, and performance.

With a unique background as both a clinical dietitian and high-performance sports nutritionist, Claire combines medical expertise with elite-level performance insight. She has worked with Olympic and elite athletes, as well as high-performing business professionals competing in disciplines such as Ironman and ultra-running.

Claire’s work is focused on helping people perform at their best now while building the health and capability to keep doing what they love for decades.

Find Out More

Website: https://www.4thdiscipline.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claire-fudge-dietitian

Resources & Links Mentioned

Claire’s free presentation, available via her website and LinkedIn

Will It Make the Boat Go Faster?

The Trusted Team’s AI Advance course: https://trusted-team.mykajabi.com/offers/FTCFcWzK