How to create high-quality content when your mind has gone blank

How to create high-quality content when your mind has gone blank

Are you staring at a blank page with a deadline coming and no idea what to write? Do you find that the weeks you most need to publish something are the weeks your head is completely empty? Are you churning out content at the last minute and knowing, as you press publish, that it isn’t your best work? I created the narrative for this podcast epsiode while sitting on a train with no idea what my podcast episode for the week was going to be. I’ve been creating content for over 17 years, six books, thousands of articles and more than 100 podcast episodes, and I still get stuck.  In this episode, I talk about what causes writer’s block for me, and the four things that make it far less likely to catch you out. What you’ll learn in the podcast episode: The two things most likely to give you writer’s block. What gets my writing going again How a content plan stops you from churning out poor quality content What to keep in a swipe file, and where to find ideas beyond social media. How to use AI to support you to overcome writers block without it writing or creating for you Related episodes AI and LinkedIn broke my marketing (this is what I did next) https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/ai-and-linkedin-broke-my-marketing?r=l8khy [https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/ai-and-linkedin-broke-my-marketing?r=l8khy] The £20k trade show lesson I wouldn’t forget https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/the-20k-trade-show-lesson-i-wont?r=l8khy [https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/the-20k-trade-show-lesson-i-wont?r=l8khy] How to restart your business development activities when you’ve gone quiet https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/how-to-restart-your-business-development?r=l8khy [https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/how-to-restart-your-business-development?r=l8khy] The lead generator sitting in plain sight (that most firms ignore) https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/you-know-your-website-needs-updating?r=l8khy [https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/you-know-your-website-needs-updating?r=l8khy] How to put your marketing on autopilot https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/how-to-put-your-marketing-on-autopilot?r=l8khy [https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/how-to-put-your-marketing-on-autopilot?r=l8khy] The 5Ps to make sure that business development always happens https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/the-5ps-to-make-sure-that-business?r=l8khy [https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/the-5ps-to-make-sure-that-business?r=l8khy] Useful links: - sign up as a paid subscriber and use this link [https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/ac966e3a] to get 20% off an annual membership of Start Up To Grown Up Each episode of the Start Up To Growth Up Podcast is based on my weekly Substack Article [https://substack.com/@startuptogrownup] on the same topic. Head over to my substack to subscribe https://substack.com/@startuptogrownup [https://substack.com/@startuptogrownup] so you never miss an article or episode again. About Heather Townsend Heather is the leading business coach for accountants [https://www.accountantsgrowthclub.co.uk/coaching-for-accountants](and other professionals) who want to grow their business. She is the founder of The Accountants Growth Club [https://www.accountantsgrowthclub.co.uk/], who specialise in helping accounting firm owners grow their accounting business [https://www.accountantsgrowthclub.co.uk/pricing] profitably and sustainably. She is also the founder of How To Make Partner [https://www.howtomakepartner.com/], the global experts in helping professionals in practice make it to partner, and when they get there, stay that. Get the confidence, the skills AND the time to focus on the right things and move your career forward with Progress to Partner Academy. [https://www.howtomakepartner.com/get-progress-to-partner/] Get full access to Start Up To Grown Up at startuptogrownup.substack.com/subscribe [https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

The growth premium no one warns you about

Are you pouring everything into growing your business, telling yourself the long hours and the missed holidays are just what it takes right now? Do you scroll past other owners boasting about their numbers and wonder why you feel so wrung out? If you are so busy building a future lifestyle that you have forgotten to actually live your life, this episode is for you. I share what I have learned about the growth premium, the personal price you pay for growing your business that never shows up on your profit and loss report. In this episode, I talk about the toll growth took on my own health, including the burnout that led to my fibromyalgia, and why I now believe ambition and self care have to sit side by side. You will hear the practical ways I protect my health, my relationships and my sanity while still growing two businesses. What you’ll learn in the podcast episode: - What the growth premium really is and why its true cost never appears on your profit and loss report. - Why growing a business is far easier for some owners than others, and what that means if your load at home is heavier. - How the glass balls metaphor helps you decide what to protect at all costs and what can wait. - How to recognise when you are pushing past your healthy limits, and when to stop. - Why putting non-negotiable red lines in your diary early protects the relationships that matter most. - How to track your own happiness and health alongside your revenue so a bad year stays just a bad year. Related episodes 10 tactics to reduce your stress levels that you wouldn’t find in a text book https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/10-tactics-to-reduce-your-stress?r=l8khy [https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/10-tactics-to-reduce-your-stress?r=l8khy] Why we feel the compulsion to overwork (and how to stop) https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/7-reasons-you-are-overworking-and?r=l8khy [https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/7-reasons-you-are-overworking-and?r=l8khy] The 5 specific moves that made me redundant from my own business https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/the-5-specific-moves-that-made-me?r=l8khy [https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/the-5-specific-moves-that-made-me?r=l8khy] Nobody told you this part of running a firm  https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/nobody-told-you-this-part-of-running?r=l8khy [https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/nobody-told-you-this-part-of-running?r=l8khy] These 4 beliefs that made you and your firm successful are now sabotaging your firm’s growth https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/the-real-reason-you-cant-let-go-of?r=l8khy [https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/the-real-reason-you-cant-let-go-of?r=l8khy] 15 ways your life will unexpectedly change (and not always for the better) as your business moves from growing to scaling https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/15-ways-your-life-will-unexpectedly?r=l8khy [https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/15-ways-your-life-will-unexpectedly?r=l8khy] Useful links: - sign up as a paid subscriber and use this link [https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/ac966e3a] to get 20% off an annual membership of Start Up To Grown Up Each episode of the Start Up To Growth Up Podcast is based on my weekly Substack Article [https://substack.com/@startuptogrownup] on the same topic. Head over to my substack to subscribe https://substack.com/@startuptogrownup [https://substack.com/@startuptogrownup] so you never miss an article or episode again. About Heather Townsend Heather is the leading business coach for accountants [https://www.accountantsgrowthclub.co.uk/coaching-for-accountants](and other professionals) who want to grow their business. She is the founder of The Accountants Growth Club [https://www.accountantsgrowthclub.co.uk/], who specialise in helping accounting firm owners grow their accounting business [https://www.accountantsgrowthclub.co.uk/pricing] profitably and sustainably. She is also the founder of How To Make Partner [https://www.howtomakepartner.com/], the global experts in helping professionals in practice make it to partner, and when they get there, stay that. Get the confidence, the skills AND the time to focus on the right things and move your career forward with Progress to Partner Academy. [https://www.howtomakepartner.com/get-progress-to-partner/] References [1] Souitaris et al., “Does self-employment increase stress? A co-twin control analysis of Finnish and US twins, [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0883902625000849]” Journal of Business Venturing (2026), Bayes Business School with Warwick Business School and the University of Notre Dame. [2] Mental Health UK with iwoca, survey of 984 UK small business owners. [https://mentalhealth-uk.org/news-and-insights/four-in-five-small-business-owners-tell-us-theyre-experiencing-poor-mental-health/] [3] Simply Business “Mind Your Business [https://www.simplybusiness.co.uk/about-us/press-releases/mind-your-business-launch/],” in partnership with Mind’s Mental Health at Work (2023 survey) [4] Mental Health UK with iwoca. [https://mentalhealth-uk.org/news-and-insights/four-in-five-small-business-owners-tell-us-theyre-experiencing-poor-mental-health/] [5] 2024 Simply Business “Mind Your Business” (2024 report) [https://www.simplybusiness.co.uk/knowledge/business-news/small-business-mental-health-report/] Get full access to Start Up To Grown Up at startuptogrownup.substack.com/subscribe [https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

10 tactics to reduce your stress levels that you wouldn’t find in a text book

Is stress just your constant companion as a business owner, the thing you’ve stopped noticing because it never really goes away? Do you tell yourself you’re fine, even though your body is sending you signals you’re choosing to ignore? If the pressure of running your firm keeps building and you don’t have a proper way to deal with it, this episode is for you. I share what happened to me when years of unmanaged pressure caught up with me, and the coping strategies I’ve built since to protect my health while still growing my business. In this episode, I talk about my own decline through Covid into burnout and a Fibromyalgia diagnosis, what my Oura ring data showed me about my body long before I noticed anything myself, and the practical boundaries I now use every week to keep the pressure at a healthy level. What you’ll learn in the podcast episode: - Why the pressure on a business owner grows as the business grows, not the other way round. - The importance of being truly off work when on holiday - Why letting someone else manage your diary protects your time better than you can protect it yourself. - How tracking a simple biomarker can show you the true state of your stress when your own judgement can’t be trusted. - Why one fully switched off day a week can be the difference between burnout and thriving - Why a serious hobby outside your business gives you the perspective that keeps the pressure in proportion. Related episodes: Everyone talks about scaling up. Nobody talks about scaling down. https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/everyone-talks-about-scaling-up-nobody?r=l8khy [https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/everyone-talks-about-scaling-up-nobody?r=l8khy] What I did next when my rheumatologist told me I was broken https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/what-i-did-next-when-my-rheumatologist?r=l8khy [https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/what-i-did-next-when-my-rheumatologist?r=l8khy] The strategy I never wanted to learn - how to stop running yourself into the ground https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/the-strategy-i-never-wanted-to-learn?r=l8khy [https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/the-strategy-i-never-wanted-to-learn?r=l8khy] why we feel the compulsion to overwork (and how to stop) https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/7-reasons-you-are-overworking-and?r=l8khy [https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/7-reasons-you-are-overworking-and?r=l8khy] How to stay mentally strong when your business is under pressure https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/how-to-stay-mentally-strong-when?r=l8khy [https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/how-to-stay-mentally-strong-when?r=l8khy] These 4 beliefs that made you and firm successful are now sabotaging your firm’s growth https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/the-real-reason-you-cant-let-go-of?r=l8khy [https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/the-real-reason-you-cant-let-go-of?r=l8khy] How to make a clear decision even when your brain’s in panic mode https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/how-to-make-a-clear-decision-even?r=l8khy [https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/how-to-make-a-clear-decision-even?r=l8khy] AI and LinkedIn broke my marketing (this is what I did next) https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/ai-and-linkedin-broke-my-marketing?r=l8khy [https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/ai-and-linkedin-broke-my-marketing?r=l8khy] Useful links: - sign up as a paid subscriber and use this link [https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/ac966e3a] to get 20% off an annual membership of Start Up To Grown Up Each episode of the Start Up To Growth Up Podcast is based on my weekly Substack Article [https://substack.com/@startuptogrownup] on the same topic. Head over to my substack to subscribe https://substack.com/@startuptogrownup [https://substack.com/@startuptogrownup] so you never miss an article or episode again. About Heather Townsend Heather is the leading business coach for accountants [https://www.accountantsgrowthclub.co.uk/coaching-for-accountants](and other professionals) who want to grow their business. She is the founder of The Accountants Growth Club [https://www.accountantsgrowthclub.co.uk/], who specialise in helping accounting firm owners grow their accounting business [https://www.accountantsgrowthclub.co.uk/pricing] profitably and sustainably. She is also the founder of How To Make Partner [https://www.howtomakepartner.com/], the global experts in helping professionals in practice make it to partner, and when they get there, stay that. Get the confidence, the skills AND the time to focus on the right things and move your career forward with Progress to Partner Academy. [https://www.howtomakepartner.com/get-progress-to-partner/] Get full access to Start Up To Grown Up at startuptogrownup.substack.com/subscribe [https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

AI and LinkedIn broke my marketing (this is what I did next)

Has AI broken the traffic to your website? Have you watched your reach on LinkedIn collapse despite having thousands of followers? If your marketing has stopped working and you have no idea how to fix it, this episode is for you. It all was getting pretty bleak when it came to our business development. We just couldn’t grow and we had started to make a loss. AI ate up most of informational search and I lost around 30,000 monthly page views across my websites, which meant organic sign ups went from about 300 a month to barely a trickle. LinkedIn’s algorithm update did the rest. In this episode, I talk through how bleak it got with our ability to attract new members, and the specific things I did to go from eating into our cash reserves to having the healthiest pipeline we’ve had in nearly three years. What you’ll learn in the podcast episode: - How AI and the LinkedIn algorithm broke the holy trinity of content marketing, SEO and social media I’d relied on for 17 years - Why I started paying for facebook ads despite not being a fan of Meta, and what it has cost - What a paid SEO audit revealed about the basic technical errors hiding in my website - The tight email discipline I went back to after a branded template killed our open rate - Why finally getting granular visibility of my sales pipeline changed how I forecast new business - How making the time to work on the business mattered more than any single tactic Link to buy an SEO audit: https://www.fiverr.com/volpagirl/impact-your-domain-rating-keyword-rating-web-audit-score-google-visibility [https://www.fiverr.com/volpagirl/impact-your-domain-rating-keyword-rating-web-audit-score-google-visibility] Related episodes and articles: What to do when work dries up over summer https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/what-to-do-when-work-dries-up-over?r=l8khy [https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/what-to-do-when-work-dries-up-over?r=l8khy] How to fix your website and stop losing clients https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/how-to-fix-your-website-and-stop?r=l8khy [https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/how-to-fix-your-website-and-stop?r=l8khy] The lead generator sitting in plain sight (that most firms ignore) https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/you-know-your-website-needs-updating?r=l8khy [https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/you-know-your-website-needs-updating?r=l8khy] How AI has broken 2 of my businesses (and what I am doing about it) https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/how-ai-has-broken-2-of-my-businesses?r=l8khy [https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/how-ai-has-broken-2-of-my-businesses?r=l8khy] How to put your marketing on autopilot https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/how-to-put-your-marketing-on-autopilot?r=l8khy [https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/how-to-put-your-marketing-on-autopilot?r=l8khy] How to get your article to rank highly in google search and AI search tools https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/how-to-get-your-article-to-rank-highly?r=l8khy [https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/how-to-get-your-article-to-rank-highly?r=l8khy] 3 decisions that turned my empty pipeline into a waiting list to work with me https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/3-decisions-that-turned-my-empty [https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/3-decisions-that-turned-my-empty] How to restart your business development activities when you’ve gone quiet https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/how-to-restart-your-business-development?r=l8khy [https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/how-to-restart-your-business-development?r=l8khy] How to finally have the conversation you’ve been too scared to have  https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/4-things-to-do-before-the-conversation?r=l8khy [https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/4-things-to-do-before-the-conversation?r=l8khy] Useful links: - sign up as a paid subscriber and use this link [https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/ac966e3a] to get 20% off an annual membership of Start Up To Grown Up Each episode of the Start Up To Growth Up Podcast is based on my weekly Substack Article [https://substack.com/@startuptogrownup] on the same topic. Head over to my substack to subscribe https://substack.com/@startuptogrownup [https://substack.com/@startuptogrownup] so you never miss an article or episode again. About Heather Townsend Heather is the leading business coach for accountants [https://www.accountantsgrowthclub.co.uk/coaching-for-accountants](and other professionals) who want to grow their business. She is the founder of The Accountants Growth Club [https://www.accountantsgrowthclub.co.uk], who specialise in helping accounting firm owners grow their accounting business [https://www.accountantsgrowthclub.co.uk/pricing] profitably and sustainably. She is also the founder of How To Make Partner [https://www.howtomakepartner.com/], the global experts in helping professionals in practice make it to partner, and when they get there, stay that. Get the confidence, the skills AND the time to focus on the right things and move your career forward with Progress to Partner Academy. [https://www.howtomakepartner.com/get-progress-to-partner/] Get full access to Start Up To Grown Up at startuptogrownup.substack.com/subscribe [https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

How to make a clear decision even when your brain's in panic mode

Are you facing a decision in your business where there's no obvious right answer, and putting it off feels safer than getting it wrong? Does your brain spiral straight to the worst case scenario, leaving you stuck and firefighting rather than thinking clearly? When the pressure is on, do you wish you had a calm, repeatable way to work your way through the tough calls? I share the exact routine I fall back on whenever I'm faced with a difficult decision that has no clear right answer. I used this routine when my house purchase went 'under threat' when the seller's tenants decided not to budge. In this episode, I talk about why doing nothing is itself a decision, and how I move from an emotional mess into calm, rational thinking. I'll walk you through the questions I ask, and the order I ask them in, so you can take hard decisions without letting anxiety run the show. What you'll learn in the podcast episode: - Why choosing not to decide is still a decision - How to surface the certainties and non-negotiables to guide you to a decision - The regret-test question I use to find out what really matters for me - How to research the knowns and unknowns so you're deciding on facts rather than fear - The power and insight that comes from mapping the emotional and rational drivers of every stakeholder - How to spot the danger signals early Related episodes: 3 decisions that turned my empty pipeline into a waiting list - https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/3-decisions-that-turned-my-empty [https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/3-decisions-that-turned-my-empty] The day I found out that my team were b*tching about me on a private WhatsApp group https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/the-day-i-found-out-that-my-team [https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/the-day-i-found-out-that-my-team] Everyone talks about scaling up. Nobody talks about scaling down https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/everyone-talks-about-scaling-up-nobody [https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/everyone-talks-about-scaling-up-nobody] How to stay mentally strong when your business is under pressure and trading conditions are tough - https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/how-to-stay-mentally-strong-when [https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/how-to-stay-mentally-strong-when] This question could solve your frustrations with scaling your business https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/why-its-time-to-become-the-least [https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/why-its-time-to-become-the-least] Useful links: - sign up as a paid subscriber and use this link [https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/ac966e3a] to get 20% off an annual membership of Start Up To Grown Up Welcome to a free podcast episode of Start Up To Grown Up: Your source for ideas, insights and tactics to take back control of your business and scale it sustainably and profitably by Heather Townsend, award-winning author of The Accountants’ Millionaires’ Club and Founder of The Accountants’ Growth Club [https://www.accountantsgrowthclub.co.uk/] Each episode of the Start Up To Growth Up Podcast is based on my weekly Substack Article [https://substack.com/@startuptogrownup] on the same topic. Head over to my substack to subscribe https://substack.com/@startuptogrownup [https://substack.com/@startuptogrownup] so you never miss an article or episode again. Get full access to Start Up To Grown Up at startuptogrownup.substack.com/subscribe [https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]