What really changes after another year of running a business?

In this end-of-year reflection episode of What One Thing, Hayley Baxter and Phil Davenport look back honestly on the past year — what surprised them, what challenged them, and what genuinely shifted how they now run their businesses.

This isn’t a highlight reel or a list of wins. It’s a real conversation about growth, visibility, accountability, and the lessons that only show up when you’re deep in it.

In this episode, they talk about:

What they thought would be hard in business — and why it wasn’t

Why time, energy, and focus are still some of the hardest things to manage

The reality of team management versus expectations

How peer groups, collaboration, and asking for help changed everything

Why visibility in numbers and decisions matters more than growth alone

What they would do differently if they could start the year again

The importance of consistency — and how hard it actually is to sustain

If you’re finishing the year asking “What have I really learned?” or “Why does this still feel harder than it should?” — this episode will resonate.

What One Thing Podcast – with Phil & Hayley

Each week, business owners share the one thing that made the biggest difference in their business journey — and hosts Phil (Affirm IT Services) and Hayley (Corbar Accounting) dive into the lessons, laughs, and lightbulb moments along the way.

If you’re a UK business owner looking for real stories and practical insights on growth, leadership, IT, and finance — this is the podcast for you!

Connect with the hosts

Phil Davenport | Affirm IT Services
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-davenport-affirmit/
https://affirmit.co.uk/

Hayley Baxter | Corbar Accounting
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hayley-baxter-/
https://corbar.uk/

Follow What One Thing

Listen & watch on: https://www.pod.whatonething.uk/
Instagram: @whatonethingpod
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/what-one-thing/
YouTube: Subscribe here

#UKBusinessPodcast, #SmallBusinessGrowth, #BusinessLessons, #EastMidlandsBusiness

Chapters

• 00:00 Reflecting on the Year
• 08:36 Key Learnings and Changes
• 15:51 Reflection and Planning for the Future
• 21:29 One Word to Describe the Year
• 29:32 Pride and Achievements

Can you really scale from 4 to nearly 40 people and keep a calm, positive, nice culture?

In this episode of What One Thing, hosts Hayley Baxter (Corbarr Accounting) and Phil Davenport (Affirm IT Services) talk with former MSP owner Neil Shaw about growing an IT business fast – without losing your values or your mind.

Neil shares how he:

• Grew an MSP from 4 staff and 25 clients to nearly 40 staff and 150+ managed clients
• Used systems, processes and documentation to stop everything falling apart
• Developed leaders from within the team using management and leadership training
• Built a culture that kept staff churn incredibly low over 7 years
• Balanced being “nice” with still being clear, fair and commercially focused

If you’re an IT business owner, accountant, or run any growing SME, this episode will help you think differently about what leadership looks like – especially if you don’t fit the traditional “hard-nosed” mould.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• The first steps to systemising your business as you scale
• How to avoid departments becoming disjointed as you grow
• Why regular, focused meetings beat complicated management fads
• The power of being transparent with your team and your clients
• The one piece of advice Neil would give any business owner on a growth journey

🎧 Listen now and find your “one thing” to move your business forward.

About Neil

Been in the IT industry for 30 years. Various roles including PC builder, onsite engineer, consultant, and director, throw in a failed MBO and then having a silly idea to start an MSP - Co-founded True MSP in 2017 and exited in Jan 2025.

Neil Shaw - LinkedIn

What One Thing Podcast – with Phil & Hayley

Each week, business owners share the one thing that made the biggest difference in their business journey — and hosts Phil (Affirm IT Services) and Hayley (Corbar Accounting) dive into the lessons, laughs, and lightbulb moments along the way.

If you’re a UK business owner looking for real stories and practical insights on growth, leadership, IT, and finance — this is the podcast for you!

Connect with the hosts

Phil Davenport | Affirm IT Services
LinkedIn
https://affirmit.co.uk/

Hayley Baxter | Corbar Accounting
LinkedIn
https://corbar.uk/

Follow What One Thing

Listen & watch on: https://www.pod.whatonething.uk/
Instagram
LinkedIn
YouTube

#UKBusinessPodcast, #SmallBusinessGrowth, #BusinessLessons, #EastMidlandsBusiness

In this episode of What One Thing, Phil Davenport (Affirm IT Services) and Hayley Baxter (Corbar Accounting) sit down with entrepreneur Stuart Mason to unpack a business collapse that no one saw coming—until it was too late.

This conversation isn’t about doom and gloom. It’s about the real risks small and medium-sized businesses face, especially around discounting, cashflow, pricing pressure, and over-stretching for growth. Phil and Hayley break down the lessons through the lens of IT, Accounting and everyday business decision-making—so East Midlands business owners can take action before problems escalate.

⭐ What You’ll Learn

• Why discounting is far more dangerous than most businesses realise
• The real maths behind discounting (and how much more you must sell to break even)
• How profitable businesses still end up in cashflow trouble
• Why asset-rich companies aren’t as safe as they seem
• How Phil handles discount pressure in IT support without damaging long-term client relationships
• How Hayley coaches business owners to make financially intelligent, data-led decisions
• Why confidence in your pricing is a business superpower

💬 About Your Hosts

Phil Davenport is an IT specialist supporting East Midlands businesses with secure, reliable systems that prevent costly surprises.
Hayley Baxter is an accountant who helps business owners understand their numbers, build sustainable pricing strategies and stay cashflow-strong.

Their mission? To help business owners grow with fewer headaches—and a lot more confidence.

🎧 Perfect for:

Manufacturing and professional services businesses · SME owners with 5–50 staff · Business leaders who want to price properly, protect margins, and avoid cashflow traps.

If you’ve ever wondered whether discounting is harmless—or “just what the industry does”—this episode will change the way you think about pricing forever.

Connect with Stuart LinkedIn

Buy Stuart's book here

What One Thing Podcast – with Phil & Hayley

Each week, business owners share the one thing that made the biggest difference in their business journey — and hosts Phil (Affirm IT Services) and Hayley (Corbar Accounting) dive into the lessons, laughs, and lightbulb moments along the way.

If you’re a UK business owner looking for real stories and practical insights on growth, leadership, IT, and finance — this is the podcast for you!

Connect with the hosts

Phil Davenport | Affirm IT Services
LinkedIn
https://affirmit.co.uk/

Hayley Baxter | Corbar Accounting
LinkedIn
https://corbar.uk/

Follow What One Thing

Listen & watch on: https://www.pod.whatonething.uk/
Instagram
LinkedIn
YouTube

#UKBusinessPodcast, #SmallBusinessGrowth, #BusinessLessons, #EastMidlandsBusiness

This week on What One Thing, Phil Davenport (Affirm IT Services) and Hayley Baxter (Corbar Accounting) sit down with leadership consultant Angela Hodgson (Ignite Improvement Ltd), who went from leading a global team through Barcelona riots, burnout and personal loss… to rebuilding her career with clarity, courage and a brand-new purpose.

It’s a powerful conversation — but as always, Phil and Hayley bring it back to what really matters for small business owners across the East Midlands: your people, your values, and the way you lead when pressure hits.

In this episode:
The moment Angela realised corporate cared more about products than people

What it’s like leading a team through real-world crisis — and why clear communication matters

How burnout, grief and Covid created a complete reset moment

The leap from corporate into the SME world (and why it’s more relatable than you think)

Why building visibility online is essential before you ever quit your job

How to find your niche — and the freedom to change it later

Phil’s IT perspective: why “you’re on your own in a crisis” is exactly why SMEs need resilient systems & communication tools

Hayley’s accounting lens: how financial clarity (and partner support!) shapes every big career leap

Whether you’re in corporate and dreaming of your own thing, or already running a business and trying to build a stronger team, this conversation is packed with insight, honesty and proper real-world lessons.

⭐ Your hosts — share their big takeaways:

You can go through more than you ever expected and still come out the other side stronger

If your values and your work don’t align, staying put is often the bigger risk

Visibility matters — online presence, networking and conversations are business gold

You don’t need the perfect niche from day one. You just need to start.

🎁 Angela’s Free Team Performance Assessment
Free gift for the listeners: POWER Framework

🔧 Who This Episode Is For

Business owners in the UK with 5–50 employees who want to:

Build high-performing teams

Strengthen leadership skills

Prepare for growth

Improve communication and resilience

Learn from real stories, not theory

Perfect for manufacturing, professional services, IT-heavy teams, and founders ready to step into leadership.

Connect with Angela

Facebook

LinkedIn

What One Thing Podcast – with Phil & Hayley

Each week, business owners share the one thing that made the biggest difference in their business journey — and hosts Phil (Affirm IT Services) and Hayley (Corbar Accounting) dive into the lessons, laughs, and lightbulb moments along the way.

If you’re a UK business owner looking for real stories and practical insights on growth, leadership, IT, and finance — this is the podcast for you!

Connect with the hosts

Phil Davenport | Affirm IT Services
LinkedIn
https://affirmit.co.uk/

Hayley Baxter | Corbar Accounting
LinkedIn
https://corbar.uk/

Follow What One Thing

Listen & watch on: https://www.pod.whatonething.uk/
Instagram
LinkedIn
YouTube

#UKBusinessPodcast, #SmallBusinessGrowth, #BusinessLessons, #EastMidlandsBusiness

When everything seems to be going wrong, the hardest truth to face is that you might be the problem.

In this episode, hosts Phil Davenport (Affirm IT Services) and Hayley Baxter (Corbar Accounting) talk with Steve Knowles, who shares how a consultant’s brutal honesty turned his struggling accountancy practice around — and what that taught him about leadership, control, and trust.

Key Takeaways:

• How Steve recovered from losing £80K by bringing in the right outside help
• Why business owners need to know their weaknesses — and hire around them
• The power of values-based leadership
• Letting your team find their own way (even when it’s not your way)
• Why “delegating, not abdicating” is crucial for growth

Phil and Hayley’s reflections:
Phil connects Steve’s story to the importance of trusting your team and embracing marginal gains — those small, consistent improvements that build real momentum.
Hayley relates it to the emotional toll of leadership and the balance between structure and humanity when leading a growing team.

Whether you’re running a manufacturing firm, professional service business, or IT or accounting practice, this conversation is full of real-world lessons about growth, resilience, and staying human in a world of systems and automation.

🎧 Listen now to hear how to spot the warning signs before things go wrong — and how to build a business that runs on trust, not burnout.

#WhatOneThingPodcast #SmallBusinessGrowth #LeadershipLessons #Delegation #TeamValues #EntrepreneurMindset #EastMidlandsBusiness #AffirmIT #CorbarAccounting

What One Thing Podcast – with Phil & Hayley

Each week, business owners share the one thing that made the biggest difference in their business journey — and hosts Phil (Affirm IT Services) and Hayley (Corbar Accounting) dive into the lessons, laughs, and lightbulb moments along the way.

If you’re a UK business owner looking for real stories and practical insights on growth, leadership, IT, and finance — this is the podcast for you!

Connect with the hosts

Phil Davenport | Affirm IT Services
LinkedIn
https://affirmit.co.uk/

Hayley Baxter | Corbar Accounting
LinkedIn
https://corbar.uk/

Follow What One Thing

Listen & watch on: https://www.pod.whatonething.uk/
Instagram
LinkedIn
YouTube

#UKBusinessPodcast, #SmallBusinessGrowth, #BusinessLessons, #EastMidlandsBusiness

Overview
Phil and Hayley sit down with Meg Fenney (Founder & Director, HR Download) to unpack the realities of leaving corporate HR, winning first clients through BNI, and the pivotal shift from low-cost helplines to a fractional HR model that actually moves the business: the right mix of HR Director, HR Business Partner, Advisory and Admin hours.

Key insights

• Consistency beats confidence: time-blocked sales and weekly scorecards
• How to package and price fractional HR for SMEs
• Using exit interviews with lost clients to fix expectation and scope
• Why peer groups can shape (and sometimes limit) your product
• Ideal client clarity: 25–75 employees, owner moving from operator to CEO

Guest
Meg Fenney, Founder & Director — HR Download
📧 meg@hrdownload.co.uk

Meg Fenney is the Founder and Director of HR Download, a people-first consultancy powered by a passionate team of HR professionals. Together, they help businesses build confident, healthy workplaces through fractional HR support, executive coaching, and tailored training. With optimism, fairness, and creativity at the heart of everything they do, Meg and her team bring clarity and energy to every challenge—making HR simple, human, and impactful.

Under Meg’s leadership, HR Download has become a trusted partner for growing organisations across the UK. The team works closely with clients to shape strategic people decisions, navigate employment law, and foster cultures where people thrive. Whether supporting leaders or empowering teams, Meg ensures HR Download delivers with integrity, responsibility, and a genuine commitment to helping businesses grow through their people.

Enjoyed this episode? Please follow, rate and share with a founder who wants HR to drive growth, not just compliance.

Connect with Phil and Hayley

Hayley - LinkedIn Corbar Accounting

Phil - LinkedIn Affirm IT

What One Thing Podcast – with Phil & Hayley

Each week, business owners share the one thing that made the biggest difference in their business journey — and hosts Phil (Affirm IT Services) and Hayley (Corbar Accounting) dive into the lessons, laughs, and lightbulb moments along the way.

If you’re a UK business owner looking for real stories and practical insights on growth, leadership, IT, and finance — this is the podcast for you!

Connect with the hosts

Phil Davenport | Affirm IT Services
LinkedIn
https://affirmit.co.uk/

Hayley Baxter | Corbar Accounting
LinkedIn
https://corbar.uk/

Follow What One Thing

Listen & watch on: https://www.pod.whatonething.uk/
Instagram
LinkedIn
YouTube

#UKBusinessPodcast, #SmallBusinessGrowth, #BusinessLessons, #EastMidlandsBusiness

This week on What One Thing? AI, hosts Phil Davenport and Hayley Baxter sit down with Ewan Reid, Head of Utilis, an Amsterdam-based IT support company with over 21 years of experience helping growing businesses across Europe.

Ewan shares how he tackled one of the biggest challenges facing small businesses today — how to start with AI in a way that actually delivers results. Instead of chasing the hype, he focused on a simple, high-impact problem: improving documentation, SOPs, and internal consistency.

Through practical experimentation, Ewan and his team used ChatGPT Projects to create standardised, branded documentation in minutes — turning a time-consuming chore into a streamlined, collaborative process. The result? More efficient operations, better knowledge sharing, and a stronger foundation for growth.

Phil and Hayley unpack how this approach can be replicated by any SME — even if you’re not technical — and why documentation may be the smartest first AI project you’ll ever run.

💡 In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why “starting small” with AI delivers the biggest impact
• How ChatGPT can automate and format procedures, proposals and SOPs
• Practical steps to protect data security and privacy
• How AI-driven documentation helps you scale faster and reduce key-person risk
• The mindset shift from “AI replacing people” to “AI amplifying teams”

🔗 Resources Mentioned

• ChatGPT Projects (OpenAI)
  
  
• Utilis — IT Support for European Businesses
• Traction by Gino Wickman (mentioned in discussion)

👥 About the Guest

Ewan Reid is the Head of Utilis, a managed IT service provider based in Amsterdam. With over two decades in business, Ewan brings a hands-on approach to technology, favouring experimentation, learning-by-doing, and practical AI implementation over theory.

🚀 Connect with Us

Follow Phil Davenport and Hayley Baxter on LinkedIn for more real-world examples of AI in action across UK SMEs.
If this episode sparked ideas for your business, please:
👉 Follow the podcast
⭐ Leave a review
📤 Share it with a business owner who’s ready to turn AI hype into tangible results.

What One Thing Podcast – with Phil & Hayley

Each week, business owners share the one thing that made the biggest difference in their business journey — and hosts Phil (Affirm IT Services) and Hayley (Corbar Accounting) dive into the lessons, laughs, and lightbulb moments along the way.

If you’re a UK business owner looking for real stories and practical insights on growth, leadership, IT, and finance — this is the podcast for you!

Connect with the hosts

Phil Davenport | Affirm IT Services
LinkedIn
https://affirmit.co.uk/

Hayley Baxter | Corbar Accounting
LinkedIn
https://corbar.uk/

Follow What One Thing

Listen & watch on: https://www.pod.whatonething.uk/
Instagram
LinkedIn
YouTube

#UKBusinessPodcast, #SmallBusinessGrowth, #BusinessLessons, #EastMidlandsBusiness

Overview

We sit down with Donna Hall (Specialist Cleaning Company; Cleaning Business Growth Academy) to explore how she built a multi–six-figure cleaning business with 20+ staff and now coaches other founders. Her one thing is deceptively simple: see the learning in every situation. Expect practical tools for managing emotion, responding to client feedback, and coaching teams to own quality.

Key insights

• Red → Green: a two-column “brain dump then flip” method for fast, calm decisions
• Why leaders should call, not email, when things go wrong
• Audits & spot checks that build ownership (not blame)
• Creating a culture where staff raise issues early
• Leading as a “recovering perfectionist” while you scale

Guest
Donna Hall — Co-founder, The Specialist Cleaning Company; Founder, Cleaning Business Growth Academy
IG: _Donna_Hall | FB Group: Cleaning Business Growth Academy — Community

Call to action
If this helped, please follow, rate and share with a service-based founder who needs a calmer, stronger quality culture.

Connect with Phil and Hayley

Phil - LinkedIn Affirm IT

Hayley - LinkedIn Corbar Accounting

What One Thing Podcast – with Phil & Hayley

Each week, business owners share the one thing that made the biggest difference in their business journey — and hosts Phil (Affirm IT Services) and Hayley (Corbar Accounting) dive into the lessons, laughs, and lightbulb moments along the way.

If you’re a UK business owner looking for real stories and practical insights on growth, leadership, IT, and finance — this is the podcast for you!

Connect with the hosts

Phil Davenport | Affirm IT Services
LinkedIn
https://affirmit.co.uk/

Hayley Baxter | Corbar Accounting
LinkedIn
https://corbar.uk/

Follow What One Thing

Listen & watch on: https://www.pod.whatonething.uk/
Instagram
LinkedIn
YouTube

#UKBusinessPodcast, #SmallBusinessGrowth, #BusinessLessons, #EastMidlandsBusiness