In this episode of The Fractional CFO Show, we explore a question many agency founders quietly wrestle with:

What would actually change in your business if you freed up just 10 hours a week?

I’m joined by Jesse P. Gilmore, Founder of Niche in Control and host of the Leverage for Growth podcast. Jesse works closely with agency owners who have built successful businesses, but find themselves trapped in delivery, decisions, and day-to-day firefighting.

This is a practical, grounded conversation about escaping founder-dependence without losing control.

We unpack how agency owners can:

• Diagnose where their time is really going using Jesse’s Time Audit framework
• Move away from trading hours for revenue and towards value-led pricing and profitability
• Build systems and delegation that support scale, not complexity
• Use AI deliberately as a leverage tool, not a distraction
• Reframe metrics like utilisation, average client value, and earned standard hours to support better decisions

From a CFO perspective, this episode sits right at the intersection of time, money, and leadership capacity. Because reclaiming time isn’t about working less, it’s about building a business that no longer relies on the founder to function.

If you’re an agency founder or service-based business owner feeling stretched, stuck in the weeds, or unsure how to create headroom without risking performance, this episode will help you think more clearly about what needs to change, and in what order.

A thoughtful, practical listen for anyone serious about building a scalable agency with stronger margins, better systems, and more intentional leadership.

This week I’m joined by Michael Henderson, Founder of RiskBox Ltd, a man on a mission to help creative businesses understand what insurance they really need.

Michael brings a refreshingly honest take on one of the more confusing of running a businesses. He shares real stories, practical guidance, and insights that could save your business time, money and headaches when things go wrong.

🌟 Some of my favourite parts of our conversation include:

✅ Legal must-haves vs. nice-to-haves: What’s actually required when starting out.
✅ Overinsured or underinsured? Why many founders get this balance wrong.
✅ Contracts and cover: How to handle insurance clauses in big client agreements.
✅ Cyber and ransomware: What protection looks like in a digital-first world.
✅ “Mitigation of loss”: The little-known insurance clause that could save you thousands.