Business as Usual with Harley Liechty

Paul Harley Liechty
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Self-Improvement

It's a crazy world we live in, but at the end of the day, it's just business as usual. Harley Liechty takes you into the transparent details of a young entrepreneur — a growing small business, a young marriage, kids, and a whole life still ahead of him. This isn't a show that sells you growth hacks, profound guru teachings or to stroke my ego. It's simply a transparent invitation to join me as I refuse to settle for a mediocre, unremarkable life. Some weeks, it's wrestling with growth challenges for my business. Some weeks, it's trying to make sure my marriage is still as lovely as on our wedding day. Some weeks, it's sharing how dumb I recently was. Some weeks, it's seeing global warfare, diseases and macro-economic, impossible issues and just saying, "God, hope you've got that figured out." No matter what it is, I'm glad to have you here for it.

Episodes

  1. Oct 27

    #8 - Making 2027 as Ambitious as Possible

    Get Better Bookkeeping: 2027 Plan Target: grow from ~125 clients (end of 2026) to 155–160 by end of 2027Implies 65 new clients, accounting for ~2 churned per monthOutbound marketing campaign: first structured effort everNetworking and referral partner relationshipsCold outreach: calls, LinkedIn, email, text, letters, in-person visitsFranchise angle: individual franchise locations still need local bookkeeping supportSEO and AI search content strategy targeting ideal client categoriesWeekly metric tracking on new client pipelineOperations: hit 155-client target without major team expansionAdd one experienced (non-green) associate beyond current teamAssociate program expected to bear fruit, reducing staffing needsNail down standardized workflows: “this is how we do it, full stop”AI integration across the firmAI receptionist for initial callsAI-assisted transaction categorization and reviewGranola for meeting notes; email system with AIClear internal and client-facing AI policyGoal: 25% of clients on an AI-native accounting platform by year-endFinancial target: at least 15% profit marginThe Paul Harley Show Podcast currently called “Business As Usual,” but leaning toward renaming it “The Paul Harley Show”Feels like it rolls off the tongue better and more accurately reflects the solo/interview formatThree content formats planned:Interviews: business-focused and personal/life topicsSolo diary episodes: personal updates, life reflectionsCurrent topics: how to digest news without discouragementCore vision: a show that’s always worth tuning into, never a waste of timeRooted in personal experience of loneliness growing up; music was the “safe space” thenWants the show to serve that same role for listenersPersonal Life Updates New personal phone with a 918 (Tulsa) number, used exclusively for personal/family contactsWork phone stays at the office; full disconnect at home and weekendsPersonal contact list: 58 peopleSleep issues: pursuing a sleep specialist and keeping a sleep diaryRestless legs and poor sleep since high school; treating it as a prerequisite for the ambitious 2027 pushTravel: a trip nearly every month in H1 2027Dec/Jan: FloridaFebruary: ski trip with the ThompsonsMarch: wedding in ArizonaMay: niece’s high school graduationJune: wedding in TulsaSeptember: annual Labor Day trip with the ThompsonsSummer: possible trip to North Dakota or Minnesota (sister’s lake house)Golf: first round in a month last Friday, most consistent drives everNext goal: improve short game, break 100, then 90

    #8 - Making 2027 as Ambitious as Possible

  2. Oct 16

    #7 - How Big Should My Business Really Get?

    This is a personal check-in episode, where I open by calling it unscripted and unprepared. The central question is how ambitious I should be with Get Better Bookkeeping, and whether chasing growth is actually what I want or what God wants for me. The main threads: The rough stretch. You’ve had about two weeks of lingering illness, and I let go of a well-liked employee of two-plus years last Friday. It was cordial, and she saw it coming.The failed acquisition. The book of business turned out to be about a fifth of the size I expected. The seller then handed it to his operations manager, which left me with the stress and a $5,000 legal bill.The ambition question. You’ve been reading The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, and it’s pushing me to ask whether franchising and a $10M business is a calling or self-inflicted pressure. I ran a conservative 5%-annual-growth model with Claude to see what a smaller path could still provide.The pressure to match your parents. Nobody is actually asking this of me: not my parents, siblings, friends, partners or wife.The tension you haven’t resolved. Is staying smaller “settling,” or is it contentment? I'm still wrestling with it, but I see a slow shift is happening in my heart.The week ahead. Sales appointments, client meetings, a mentor meeting Wednesday, and restarting piano after about 4–5 years.

    #7 - How Big Should My Business Really Get?

  3. Oct 10

    #6 - 1st Time Burnout

    For the first time ever in my career, I've been feeling burned out. I talk more about these feelings and other developments in my unintentional month-long break.

    #6 - 1st Time Burnout

  4. Sep 5

    #5 - Why is Fun So Hard?

    Americans took 24 million trips to Europe last year. So why does "having fun" feel harder than ever? I'm asking because I genuinely can't remember the last time I'd call my own life fun. This episode digs into America's leisure paradox — the travel boom, the vanishing bars and golf courses, and the K-shaped economy quietly deciding who actually gets to have a good time. Plus: a surprisingly good Friday, 8 hours of networking, and my son's first soccer season. Episode 5 of Business as Usual with Harley Liechty. WHAT WE COVER: Why fun might be a state of mind more than an activity — and why it's harder to find as an adultThe unstoppable American tourist: 24 million trips to Europe and why half the country now carries a passportThe fun shortage: 2,000 lost golf courses, 7,000 lost bars, and concert tickets up 42% since 2019The K-shaped economy and why the "fun boom" doesn't include everyoneThe counter-argument: people don't stumble into fun lives, they build themThis week: a good Friday, a packed account-manager meeting, and watching my son discover soccerSubscribe for weekly conversations on business, faith, and figuring out life as it comes.

    #5 - Why is Fun So Hard?

  5. Aug 19

    #4 - No Kids Around is Nice!

    This Past Week - 5th anniversary with the wife - Down by 3% in body fat since beginning of April, so that's cool. - I'm definitely in Claude everyday, and if you're not utilizing AI every day, something's either really wrong, or really right.

    #4 - No Kids Around is Nice!

  6. Aug 12

    #3 - AI Taking Jobs? More Like No One is Taking Jobs.

    Everyone's worried AI is coming for their job. The actual problem is the opposite: the U.S. is staring down what may be the largest labor shortage in its history — roughly 6 million missing workers by 2032 — and there are already more open jobs than unemployed people to fill them. I break down the numbers, why boards are hiring 69-year-old retired CEOs to run public companies, and how I actually lead and hire in my own firm. Episode 3 of Business as Usual with Harley Liechty. Unemployment sits at 4.1% and looks fine on paper. But labor force participation is down to 61.4%, more than a quarter of unemployed workers have been jobless six months or longer, and about a third of open jobs can't be filled by anyone whose last job was in a related field. For every five skilled tradespeople who retire, only two walk in the door. Construction needs 349,000 new workers this year. Manufacturing needs 3.8 million by 2033. This isn't an AI story. It's a pipeline story. I also get into the leadership question I got asked in my final 10,000 Small Businesses interview, why I think hiring and recruiting is really just sales, our six core values, and a moment with one of my team members this week that reminded me I've still got a lot of room to grow. Plus the week I actually had: golf lessons with people who know what they're doing, good client meetings and some not-so-good bookkeeping issues, six hours on a Saturday to get my to-do list from 25 items down to under 10, kid wake-up duty while my wife's been sick, and planning a family reunion for 300+ Liechtys. Closing out in Matthew 6:19-21 and 6:25-34. MAIN TOPICS Why AI isn't the reason nobody's hiring The 6 million worker gap by 2032 Unemployment looks fine, participation doesn't A third of jobs can't be filled by anyone in that field The leadership question from my 10KSB interview Hiring and recruiting is really just sales 75% of applications get zero response Speed is the close: why 61% take the first offer Our six core values and why coachability matters most Scheduling, calendar management, and getting work done Where I'm still getting leadership wrong My week: golf, clients, and a sick wife Six hours on a Saturday to clear the to-do list Planning a reunion for 300+ family members Matthew 6: treasure, worry, and business ownership MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses - https://10ksbapply.com/ Lightcast workforce projections Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Deloitte & The Manufacturing Institute Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Russell Reynolds Associates CEO turnover research National Bureau of Economic Research ABOUT THE SHOW It's a crazy world we live in, but at the end of the day, it's just business as usual. Harley Liechty runs a bookkeeping and accounting firm in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Eight years in, he talks through the parts most business podcasts skip — real numbers, real client problems, hiring decisions, marriage, kids, and Scripture. No growth hacks, no guru voice. One guy talking through the week he actually had. New episodes every Wednesday.

    #3 - AI Taking Jobs? More Like No One is Taking Jobs.

  7. Aug 10

    #2 - Solopreneurs Create $1M Companies With AI? What WSJ Missed.

    The Wall Street Journal ran a piece on million-dollar companies with a single employee. I run a one-person accounting and bookkeeping firm, so I read it with some interest — and some skepticism. In this episode I break down the part I think they underplayed: if AI makes it easy for one person to launch a business, it makes it just as easy for someone to copy you. Plus a real look at what I actually got done this week, how I plan my days after 8 years of this, and where I'm at reading through the Gospels. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE The Rise of Million-Dollar Companies With Just One Employee (WSJ): https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/the-rise-of-million-dollar-companies-with-just-one-employee-f36a77c1 The WSJ one-employee company article The copycat risk nobody's talking about Why AI costs are eating solo founders alive Two new service offerings I nailed down Testing out AI-Native accounting platforms Setting a real KPI for my networking group Creative client conversations this week Levi's 4th birthday (and being frustrated at golf) How I fit this much into one week: time blocking Where I still waste time (email, lunch YouTube, wake-up times) Reading the Gospels again — thoughts on Matthew 1-5 ABOUT THIS PODCAST An honest weekly look at building a business, raising a family, and keeping the faith — from someone doing all three at once. Accounting, bookkeeping, entrepreneurship, fatherhood, and figuring it out in public. New episodes every week. Subscribe if you like supporting new podcasts.

    #2 - Solopreneurs Create $1M Companies With AI? What WSJ Missed.

  8. Aug 10

    #1 - Current Snapshot of My Life | Business as Usual with Harley Liechty

    Start of a new podcast! We dive into the current snapshot of what's going on with my life and why this podcast is even a thing. As a general podcast description: "It's a crazy world we live in, but at the end of the day, it's just business as usual. Harley Liechty takes you into the transparent details of a young entrepreneur — a growing small business, a young marriage, kids, and a whole life still ahead of him. This isn't a show that sells you growth hacks, profound guru teachings or to stroke my ego. It's simply a transparent invitation to join me as I refuse to settle for a mediocre, unremarkable life. Some weeks, it's wrestling with growth challenges for my business. Some weeks, it's trying to make sure my marriage is still as lovely as on our wedding day. Some weeks, it's sharing how dumb I recently was. Some weeks, it's seeing global warfare, diseases and macro-economic, impossible issues and just saying, "God, hope you've got that figured out." No matter what it is, I'm glad to have you here for it."

    #1 - Current Snapshot of My Life | Business as Usual with Harley Liechty
  • 8 Episodes

About

It's a crazy world we live in, but at the end of the day, it's just business as usual. Harley Liechty takes you into the transparent details of a young entrepreneur — a growing small business, a young marriage, kids, and a whole life still ahead of him. This isn't a show that sells you growth hacks, profound guru teachings or to stroke my ego. It's simply a transparent invitation to join me as I refuse to settle for a mediocre, unremarkable life. Some weeks, it's wrestling with growth challenges for my business. Some weeks, it's trying to make sure my marriage is still as lovely as on our wedding day. Some weeks, it's sharing how dumb I recently was. Some weeks, it's seeing global warfare, diseases and macro-economic, impossible issues and just saying, "God, hope you've got that figured out." No matter what it is, I'm glad to have you here for it.

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