I'm Granger Forson, and you can find me at www.bizsmart-gloucestershire.co.uk or on LinkedIn. In this episode of ScaleUp Radio, I'm joined by Harry Shearer, co-founder of Shearer Associates, a Gloucestershire-based finance recruitment firm that's built its success on relationships, trust, and a strong local ethos.
Harry shares how he and his mum, Claire, turned a simple "why not give it a go?" conversation in their garden into a thriving recruitment business serving Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire. Their approach is refreshingly personal in a world increasingly driven by KPIs and quick wins.
Throughout our conversation, Harry reveals how Shearer Associates focuses on long-term partnerships, not transactions, and how that authenticity has become their defining advantage. We also explore how being small and family-run allows them to stay agile, adaptable and deeply connected to their community.
Harry talks openly about the early challenges of balancing the excitement of growth with staying disciplined in the business fundamentals, from cashflow to marketing. You'll hear how structure, systems and the Pomodoro method keep him grounded and productive, even when the to-do list feels endless.
Finally, Harry shares his reflections on leadership, learning from his mum's wisdom, and how authenticity on platforms like LinkedIn can transform client engagement. It's an inspiring story of humility, experimentation and growth, one that perfectly embodies the spirit of "Fix what bugs you" and "Just do it and find out."
To ensure you don't miss any inspirational future episodes do subscribe to ScaleUp Radio wherever you like to listen to your podcasts. Also, you can nominate a guest for ScaleUp Radio if you know someone with an interesting ScaleUp story – you can find how in the show notes. So, let's now dive into the inspiring journey of authenticity, trust and growth with Harry Shearer.
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Kevin's Latest Book Is Available!
Drawing on BizSmart's own research and experiences of working with hundreds of owner-managers, Kevin Brent explores the key reasons why most organisations do not scale and how the challenges change as they reach different milestones on the ScaleUp Journey. He then details a practical step by step guide to successfully navigate between the milestones in the form of ESUS - a proven system for entrepreneurs to scale up.
More on the Book HERE - https://www.esusgroup.co.uk/
Harry can be found here:
https://www.shearerassociates.co.uk/
Resources:
Building A Story Brand by Donald Miller - https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/building-a-storybrand-clarify-your-message-so-customers-will-listen-donald-miller/4099240?ean=9781400201839&next=t
Atomic Habits by James Clear - https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/atomic-habits-the-life-changing-million-copy-1-bestseller-james-clear/2458373?ean=9781847941831&next=t&next=t
Brick - https://getbrick.app/
Outlook - https://outlook.live.com/
Brand Fathers podcast - https://open.spotify.com/show/2wgTQ7mXBngdiNzcJ2cUJZ
Modern Wisdom podcast - https://chriswillx.com/podcast/