Season 1: Stop Being the Bottleneck: Matt Baird on Outsourcing, Optimising, and Getting Your Life Back

In this episode of Progress in Practice, Charlie Reading sits down with Matt Bird from Accelerate Advisor Solutions to explore what it really takes to grow a professional services business without sacrificing your time, team, or sanity.

Matt shares how financial advisers across the UK are reclaiming hours each week by outsourcing and optimising their operations and why the real transformation isn’t just increased profitability, but getting their life back.

From navigating self-doubt as a young founder to building a business fuelled by continuous improvement, this episode is packed with practical insights, honest reflections, and lessons you can apply immediately.

 Key Talking Points

• Why most financial advisers are drowning in admin and how to fix it 
• The difference between outsourcing tasks vs. embedding a true operational partner 
• A real client transformation: from overwhelmed and inefficient to structured, scalable, and profitable 
• The two metrics that matter most to business owners: more money, less time 
• Matt’s advice to his younger self: overcoming doubt and trusting the process 
• Why “taking no risks is the biggest risk” in business and life 
• The leadership mantra: “Don’t sweat the small stuff… and everything is small stuff” 
• The biggest challenge in scaling right now: balancing growth with capacity 
• How AI is helping and where caution is still required 
• The power of The Slight Edge: small, consistent improvements that compound over time 
• Building a culture of continuous improvement across your team 

About the Guest

Matt Baird is the founder at Accelerate Advisor Solutions, a UK-based business supporting financial advisers by handling their operational and technical workload.

Accelerate acts as an extension of advisory firms, helping them streamline processes, improve efficiency, and ultimately free up time to focus on clients and growth. Their tailored approach, rather than a one-size-fits-all model, has led to rapid growth, industry recognition, and a strong reputation built largely through referrals.

Find Out More

• Website: https://www.accelerateteam.co.uk 
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/matt-baird-dippfs-a86108b1

Resources Mentioned

• The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson 
• Charlie’s AI Masterclass: https://trusted-team.mykajabi.com/offers/FTCFcWzK  

 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/podcasts

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Until next time keep making progress in practice.

Transcript

Speaker 1 0:05

Welcome to Progress in Practice, where we explore what it really takes to build and sustain a professional service business. The hard letters, the smart moves, the uncomfortable truths. Because success leaves clues. If you're willing to look for them. I'm Charlie Reading. Let's dive in. So welcome to the Progress in Practice Podcast, the podcast that dives into how business owners in professional service firms are continuing to deliver progress within their practice. And today we've got Matt Baird from Accelerate Advisor Solutions. And I'm really looking forward to chatting to you, Matt, about the progress that you've made in this brilliant business of yours. So let's dive in and you can start with answering the question of who does Accelerate serve? How do you help them? And what makes you different from the others?

Speaker 1:02

Yeah, sure. I mean, firstly, thanks for having me. Always a pleasure. So we support IFAs throughout the UK. And kind of what we've found is a lot of these advisors, I mean, they didn't get into the job to kind of to drown in the admin, the systems, and the back office work, on top of kind of writing their own financial plans. And that's where we found a lot of their time is going. So that's where we step in. We're taking stuff off their plate. We're handling both the operational and the technical side. So the advisors can actually focus on what they wanted to when they got into the role and what they're good at is having the client meetings, getting in front of them and growing their own business, as well as trying to have a bit of a life outside of their work and their job. So that's that's kind of the main thing we do. We sell time at the packs of the advisors. And I think what makes us so different is that we don't really offer kind of your off-you off-the-shelf supports. It's not one size fits all. What we like to do is when we plug into their business, we are an extension or a part of their team. We we'll adapt, we'll work out right, what processes are using, what templates are you using. Not only can we offer suggestions of all right, this this could use improvements, because I mean we've seen it all. We've seen the good, the bad, the great, and the ugly, and everything in between. So yeah, well, we know what great can look like, and we partner with them so we can scale with them. And at the end of the day, it's we want advisors to get more time so they can focus on their clients, their business, and themselves.

Speaker 1 2:30

Brilliant. So what you're saying is that almost you not only do you sort of help them outsource that work, but you optimise that work so that it means that it's actually easier for you to deliver as well as better for them to pass on to their clients.

Speaker 2:44

Exactly that. Yeah, we review their reviews, is what we often call it. And so we can jump in and like say, look, what are you doing? A lot of the time we'll talk to advisors like, Why are you doing it this way? It's like, oh, well, we've always done it that way. But when did you last look at it? Oh, five years ago. It's like, shall we have a look? So yeah, and we can often streamlined, get it efficient, and then once we've done that, we can insert our T to help run, help run the admin, the power planning side of things.

Speaker 1 3:09

Brilliant. And what's the story that best tells us why you do what you do?

Speaker 3:17

The best story, I mean, so a story kind of from Accelerate is that kind of really sums up kind of why we do what we do. It comes from an advisor that we've had pretty much from the start, kind of two, two and a half years ago. And when they came to us, their that I mean, they'd happily admit that their business was struggling, their processes were messy, operations heavy, with their staff kind of being stretched, coming and going, and everything was harder than it needed to be. So they got in touch with us and we've started working together. And then over these next couple of years, what a transformation we've seen. The business has become structured, it's automated, and it's kind of far more profitable over these last two years massively, but honestly, like more important kind of than your profit margins. It's the advisor got their time back that they can work on the business instead of being stuck in it. It's it can be a hard and lonely place for a leader in a business where things just seem to be going kind of from bad to worse. So for us to be able to turn that around into a business where it's absolutely thriving, we're now pushing for more and more new clients because we've got the time than to just deal with the existing clients and just kind of go out putting out fire, putting out fires. What feels like you're just running around in a circle. So that's what we envision to do with kind of all of our clients, but that's that's definitely the standout story for what we've achieved.

Speaker 1 4:40

Brilliant. I suppose that's that's transformational, isn't it, for a client to come in and go, Yes, you've made my business more profitable, but you've also given me more time. Because actually, when I speak to business owners, that's really the two biggest drivers is how do I make more money in less time. So if you've helped them do that, that's that's phenomenal. And so if you you obviously you've been running accelerate advisor solutions for a few years now, and you've learned some things along that journey, you've learned how to progress your business. Um, so if you could go back to the the map that created that right at the start of the accelerate journey, what you know, what would the advice that you'd give that younger Matt just you know, what what advice would you give him to sort of speed up the learning process and why would you why would that be the advice?

Speaker 5:31

I'd be telling my younger self, look, no startup is easy, and doubting yourself is part of the process. I think especially because I'll I was the youngest person in the team when it did start, so it was so easy for me to think, am I actually going to be the right person for this? Has someone got more experience than me? Am I right for the role? I mean, it turns out yes, I was, but wow, did I have those doubts along the way? I mean, a bit of advice is you can't control the cards you deal, but you can control how you play them. So it's stick with it, turn up every day, and trust that you look you don't need to have all the answers right away to know you're the right person for the job.

Speaker 1 6:12

That's brilliant advice. And yeah, trust the process, is what you're saying, isn't it? It's just kind of keep keep grafting and you'll you'll work your way through it. So I love that. That's fantastic. Now, obviously, you're too young to have children. But it but uh but in time, who knows, maybe maybe you'll be lucky enough. So if you could pass on some, you know, if you could pass on no money to your next generation, but just to some wisdom, what would it be that you passed on, having learnt what you've learned on your journey so far to to that next generation?

Speaker 6:44

One piece of advice. I think I I'm leaning towards kind of taking no risk in life is the biggest risk you can take. And like nothing grows in the comfort zone. My team hate me for it, and I'm constantly pushing them out of their comfort zone within limits, of course. But making a mistake is the first step in learning. So go out there, send it, make mistakes. It's gonna help you grow into who you want to be, who you need to be. I think an another piece of advice is taken from kind of one of my old bosses, which a bit of a mantra I live by, is don't sweat the small stuff and everything is small stuff. Like you have the choice to make problems as big or as small as you want them to be. So if you can choose for every problem to be a small one, why wouldn't you? Yeah.

Speaker 1 7:37

I love that. Okay, that, yeah. I love that. And don't sweat the small stuff and everything small stuff. So that's that's fantastic. I I love it. What's the what's the biggest obstacle? So obviously, you've got some big plans for accelerate to to grow that and serve more financial advisors. What's the biggest obstacle stopping you from achieving those goals at the moment?

Speaker 8:00

Honestly, so the biggest obstacle right now that we face is balancing growth with capacity. I mean, we're looking if the demand isn't a problem right now. That is grey news. The challenge is that we we will not compromise the quality of what we do. We are we get the feedback we get and the reviews we get from our clients because we are very good at what we do. And we're not willing to say, all right, let's just take on a load of clients, we'll just make it work. We're very much if we grow fast without the right structure, it creates pressure. But then it's balancing it with all right, if we slow down too much, we're missing opportunity. So I think it's it's a balancing act. It's uh yeah, I don't want to stretch the team too much, get them stressed out. That's that's my number one priority, is my team. But the clients just as important, want to make sure we're delivering a great service, but to grow, we need to be taking on more clients, and it's finding that finding time within the team and making sure it works for everyone.

Speaker 1 8:58

Brilliant. And how do you see AI providing some of that, giving you some of that time back and accelerating some of what you do?

Speaker 9:05

Oh, I mean, AI can be brilliant. So yeah, we use the kind of multiple different softwares in the company where we can, and yeah, it saves us time and it saves our clients time. So for some clients we we bill on an hourly basis, so we're saving them time. We get to pass it right on. Our clients are even happier, we're getting great feedback, it's an absolute win-win. The only thing I'll be saying about AI is you've got to be cautious using it. I know there's a lot of new software kind of coming into the market, especially in the finance industry. It's it needs to be checked manually. I don't think it's fully there yet. Uh we're always looking, looking at new bits of software, how can we make our lives easier? I think we want, we know everyone knows where we want it to get to. Is it quite there yet? I'm not 100% sure, but massive kind of strides are being made in the industry. So yeah, we're keeping the line it, but we're also very cautious, cautious on how we use it.

Speaker 1 10:00

Brilliant. In my experience of of AI is that you know, really it's it's about having a thought framework as to okay, well, what are where the where are the areas that we've got the greatest gains to use AI to move our business forward? So one of the things that we've actually got, we've got a a course called the AI Masterclass that as a thank you for coming on the podcast, I'm gonna give you this course. We normally sell this course for quite a lot of money, but I'll I'll I'll give you that and you can use that to help your team identify the the greatest opportunities within. I love it. Thank you very much. Uh, but what for anyone listening? If you want access to that course, I'll actually give you, I'll put the put it in the show notes and and I'll also put a link that gives you 50% off the normal cost as well. So one of the things that I always ask people is what books or frameworks or kind of resources have helped you along your journey, and where does that show up in your business today? So so what books or other resources have helped you and and how do we see that in Accelerate?

Speaker 11:02

Uh I mean, so one book I'm always revisiting. Uh yeah, I mean you'll probably know it is the slight edge. I think a lot of people, kind of leaders in this position, have often read that. I mean, the big idea is it's small, consistent actions. You don't need a massive, dramatic turnaround, a huge pivot to see results over the long time. Like you go through your life every day. Yesterday was the same as today, the day before that was the same. If it's getting a bit older, then you look back over that year. Wow, what a change that's been. But you don't see it day to day. It's it's tightening up these 1% everywhere, tightening systems, improving processes, developing people. It's not got to be huge. It's just stacking it and compounding it over the year, over the run of whatever you might be doing. So these 1% is really, really start to add up. And yeah, it's just again turning up, being consistent, and yeah, continuous improvement is just huge on my list of uh kind of priorities, not just for kind of personally, but for for the the business as well.

Speaker 1 12:07

Is there something you do within it accelerate that makes sure that you're continually finding those 1%?

Speaker 12:12

It's not just one, it's the whole team. So we have continuous improvement meetings every two weeks. And if anything needs coming ahead of that, I very encourage my team to put a red flag and up, something's wrong, this can be improved. Stop the conveyor belt, we're gonna make a change here and get that rolled out kind of as as quickly as possible in the best way. But it's it's it's getting everyone to buy it. Get your whole team to buy into we want to make this as efficient and smooth as possible. Because if it is, it's gonna make that their lives easier. So I think, yeah, regular meetings, regular process reviews, and yeah, you'll find things that you you can often overlook just by digging into it again.

Speaker 1 12:52

Brilliant. Well, I mean, I love what you're doing, Accelerate. I think you know, the reason that you're an award-winning practice, you're winning awards left, right, and centre, you've got a waiting list of your ideal clients is is because of the the brilliant approach you're taking to this. And I do think it's different to the other businesses I see in this in this space. So, yeah, huge, huge congratulations to that. And I think there's a lot of a lot of wisdom in there. If somebody's listening to this and they want to find out more about Accelerate, where's the best place to go and find out more?

Speaker 13:22

Uh I mean, our website, our social media. I mean, we'll we've actually been lucky enough not to not to have needed to do a massive kind of marketing drive or campaign. I mean, if it a lot of it is referrals and word of mouth. So if you're ever talking about how source power planners, our name will probably pop up in the mix at some point. So, I mean, yeah, ask around. I mean, I know there are other great firms out there as well, but yeah, feel free to throw uh throw accelerate in the uh in the hat.

Speaker 1 13:47

Brilliant. Uh and what is the website? I will put it in the show notes, but what is the website that they should be looking at?

Speaker 13:52

So it's www.accelerateam.co.uk. Brilliant. I think it's criticism on the LinkedIn as well.

Speaker 1 14:00

Fantastic. Amazing. Matt, so much wisdom there. Thank you for sharing that with the Progress in Practice podcast, which is of course brought to you by the trusted team that helps professional service owners build a saleable and scalable business while working less and enjoying more. And I think what Matt's doing, Accelerate, is a perfect demonstration of that working in action. So until the next episode, keep making progress in practice. If this conversation resonated, you'll find more support, structure, and community inside The Trusted Team, where ambitious service-based founders come to build businesses that are scalable, scalable, and sustainable. You can find out more at thetrusted.team. And if you're enjoying Progress in Practice, please make sure you follow the show and leave a rating review. It really helps more founders find these conversations and to bring you better and better guests. So until the next time, keep progressing.