The Business Fixer

Let me introduce myself in case you're not familiar. I'm Sarah Jones, aka The Business Fixer.

I know what it's like to build something from nothing, and to watch it nearly take everything from you in the process.

For seven years, I ran my own law firm, so I know the realities of leading a service-based business first-hand. I know the weight of carrying it all, the decisions that can feel impossible, the sleepless nights, and the creeping realisation that the business you built to give you freedom has become anything but.

I navigated a regulatory investigation that led to both my breakdown and my breakthrough, and it changed the direction of my whole career.

I learned the lessons the hard way so you don't have to.

That experience is a huge part of why I created The Business Fixer, and why I'm now bringing The Business Fixer Live to Colchester.

I wanted to create a day for established service-based business owners who are thinking about how to build more structure, systems and processes, or who have started to address it.

For people who value quality and integrity. Who are open to community, connection and a fresh perspective. And who want to build a peak-performing business that supports the life they want, not one that consumes it.

I'll be your host for the day, but I won't just be standing at the front introducing everyone else. I'll be speaking and sharing some of the lessons I've learned along the way too.

And I'll be joined by James Bennett, Elena Kale and Anthony Stears, bringing their own experience and expertise to the day, with two speed networking sessions hosted by Nadine La Reine.

The aim is simple. I want you to leave inspired. Energised. Ready.

With fresh perspective, genuine connections and at least one practical thing you can put to use in your business straight away.

📅 Thursday 24th September
📍 FirstSite Auditorium, Colchester
🎟️ In person £15 | Online free | VIP upgrades available

If this sounds like your kind of day, I'd love to have you there.

Book your place 👇
https://www.rfr.bz/f03ba1ac4

This summer, I checked out of my business. 😅

Not by choice, and not because I fancied a break.

In the middle of July, I was in a serious car accident. 🚗

The injuries themselves took me out for a while, but it was everything that came after that really ate the summer. Hours on hold with the insurance company. Back and forth over what my car was actually worth. Holding onto a hire vehicle while I tried to find a replacement. Chasing a payment that seemed to move further away every time I asked about it.

It has been a lot. 😮‍💨

And yet, running quietly in the background the entire time, was an event I'm launching in September. It didn't pause because my summer fell apart. It just kept needing attention I didn't always have to give it.

Here's what that taught me.

There's a persistent assumption that summer is quiet for business, and it's largely self-fulfilling. Business owners expect things to slow down, so they pull back on marketing, delay decisions, and quietly give themselves permission to disengage, before anything has actually gone quiet at all. 📉

The slowdown they were bracing for arrives, not because the market dictated it, but because they built it themselves through anticipation.

The truth is, the work doesn't disappear over summer. It's still out there, in every industry. Clients are still thinking, still scrolling, still making decisions, even from a sun lounger. 🌞

If you keep showing up while your competitors quietly switch off, there's no reason August can't be one of your busiest months of the year, whatever it is you do.

But if you have genuinely felt a slowdown, that's not something to ignore. It's usually the clearest signal that it's time for a proper mid-year business review. And honestly? Every business should be doing one right now, regardless of how busy or quiet things have felt, because it's the fastest way to separate what's actually happening from what you've simply assumed is happening. 🔍

Whatever this summer has looked like for you, disrupted, quiet, or unexpectedly busy, the same principle holds. Take stock. Check you're still heading the right way. Start again from there.

Read the full piece here: https://www.rfr.bz/f4b1f7920

“𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺.
𝘒𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨.
𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘙𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦.” ✨

Sometimes we get so caught up in our challenges that we forget just how strong we really are.

We focus on what's gone wrong.
We focus on what we haven't achieved yet.
We focus on the obstacles standing in front of us.

But take a moment today to remember everything you've already overcome. 💫

The difficult days you got through.
The setbacks you learned from.
The moments you wanted to give up but kept going anyway.

You are stronger than you think. 🌟

This week, stop doubting your ability to handle what's in front of you and start trusting the person you've become.

Whatever you're facing right now, remind yourself that you have overcome challenges before and you can do it again. 💪

So hold your head high, believe in yourself, and step into this week with confidence. 🚀

It's your time to rise, shine, and show the world what you're capable of. ✨

☀️ 𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗔𝘂𝗴𝘂𝘀𝘁!

Yes, we're already 3 days in, but for many of us, today feels like the real start of the month... the first working day of August.

August has a reputation for being the month where things slow down. People head off on holiday, inboxes get quieter, networking events pause, and many business owners assume opportunities become harder to find.

But what if the opposite is true? 🤔

While others are easing off the accelerator, are you doing the same... or are you ramping up?

August creates a unique window of opportunity. Less noise often means more visibility. Fewer competitors actively marketing means your message can travel further. Decision-makers who are still at their desks may have more time for conversations they've been putting off. And while many people are planning for the summer, others are already planning for September and Q4.

The businesses that treat August as a write-off often find themselves scrambling when autumn arrives.

The businesses that stay consistent, strengthen relationships, create content, refine strategies, and continue showing up are often the ones that hit September with momentum already behind them. 🚀

Success doesn't always come from working harder than everyone else. Sometimes it comes from recognising opportunities when others assume there aren't any.

So as we start this new month, ask yourself:

👉 Are you slowing down, or are you ramping up?

I'd love to hear your perspective.

🌟 Make August count.



😊🚀☀️💡📈

A few weeks ago, I was in a serious car accident. 🚗💥

A van pulled out into a junction, straight into my path, completely out of nowhere. I remember thinking, I am hitting that, and then I did. Airbags went off, there was smoke coming from the engine, and my own car called emergency services before I'd even reached for my phone. Two ambulances, the fire service and the police were all there within a few minutes that felt a lot longer than that.

My car didn't make it. Written off, gone, just like that. I did.

For the first few days, all I felt was relief. Just genuinely glad to be here.

Then the relief settled, and something more useful took its place. Clarity.

Because a moment like that doesn't let you keep assuming things are fine. It forces you to actually check, properly, whether you're on the path you think you're on. Not probably. Actually.

Most business owners never get a moment like that. Nothing forces the check, so they quietly stop doing it. They assume the numbers are fine because nothing's gone visibly wrong. They assume the team knows the standard because no one's complained. They assume the plan they wrote in January still holds, because there hasn't been time to look at it again.

Assumption feels like confidence. It isn't. It's just confidence that's never been tested.

The business owners who keep moving forward aren't the lucky ones. They're the ones who check on purpose, before life forces them to. That's exactly what a proper mid-year review is for, not a quick glance at the bank balance, but the same honest, no-flinching look I gave my own life two weeks ago, turned on the business instead.

If your first half of the year has been a blur of delivery, deadlines and other people's fires, and you haven't actually stopped to check whether you're on track, this one's for you.

Read it here: https://www.rfr.bz/f88aa9199



Let me know if that rhythm feels closer, or if there's a specific spot still reading choppy.

𝗖𝗮𝗿 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗳𝗳! 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝘀𝗻'𝘁!

Last Wednesday morning I was driving home from networking, happy, planning my day in my head, looking forward to getting home to Fitz 🐾.

Out of nowhere a van pulled across me on a national road. I remember thinking "I am hitting that." Then smack, at about 50mph, I hit it. A chocolate milkshake I'd left in the car went flying. Airbags deployed. Smoke started coming from the car. I knew I had to get out.

I was so blessed to open that door easily and just walk out. I grabbed my laptop, dazed, and realised the car had already called emergency services for me. Strangers rallied around me. A man called 999. A lady checked I was okay, then went to direct traffic so no one else got hurt. The fire service arrived first, the van driver trapped with smoke in his cabin, though he barely had a scratch. The police took my statement. Then a second ambulance arrived, this time for me.

Bruises were already forming. My leg swollen like a balloon, my chest aching. Hospital, x-rays, and thankfully nothing broken. But lying there, all I could think was: I am lucky to be alive.

Here's the thing though. This isn't the first time my life has been torn apart and rebuilt.

I've survived an SRA investigation. I walked away from the legal profession, the identity I'd built my whole adult life around. I went through a divorce. I said goodbye to a dog I loved before Fitz came into my life. Each time I thought I was starting over from nothing. Each time I told myself never again.

And now my car, the one thing that had been with me through all of it for ten years, the last physical piece of that old life, is gone too. I couldn't even bring myself to go to the impound to see it. I said my goodbyes from a distance instead.

I don't think that's a coincidence. I think the universe had been trying to get my attention for a while, quietly, then not so quietly, and I wasn't listening. So it forced my hand, the only way it seemed I would actually hear it.

I've cried this week. I've had low, sore, bruised days where I questioned everything. I'm human. But I'm also still here. And every single time life has knocked me down this hard, it's because something better was trying to break through.

I don't need to rebuild what I had. I'm not interested in going back to who I was. I'm building the next version of me, on purpose this time, with everything I've learned carried forward and nothing from the past holding me back.

Overall I am just thankful to be alive. This experience has really made me sit back and think about the life I truly want for myself, so some changes are coming... watch this space 👀.

Now it is time to be the person I am truly meant to be. Nothing holding me back.

Thank you for saving me. Thank you for pushing me into the next chapter, and the next version of me ✨.

☀️ 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝘆… 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗮𝗹𝗳 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲 ☀️

Can you believe we’re already stepping into July?

Half the year has flown by, and this is the perfect moment to pause—not just to look back, but to realign with where you’re heading. 🌿
The longer days, the warmer weather, and that slower summer energy can be a powerful reminder to step out of the day‑to‑day and take stock of the bigger picture.

For many business owners, the first half of the year has been full of busy schedules, constant decisions, and pushing things forward. But before you power through the next six months, ask yourself:

❓ Are you on track for the year you actually want?
❓ Is your business supporting your life, or running it?
❓ What would you change if you gave yourself permission to do things differently?

July isn’t just another month.
It’s a turning point.

A chance to reset your direction, refocus your energy, and make intentional choices about how you want the rest of 2026 to unfold. ✨

You don’t need to do more.
You don’t need to chase every opportunity.

Sometimes the real progress comes from simplifying, strengthening what’s already working, and letting go of what isn’t.

So as we move into this new month, don’t just think about results…
Think about how you want your business—and your life—to feel:

More clarity.
More balance.
More control.
More freedom. ❤️

Because when your foundations are strong, everything else flows from there. 🌱

Here’s to a focused and fulfilling July! ☀️🚀