The IGNITE Podcast with Josh Stone

The IGNITE Podcast with Josh Stone

If I Was Building a Consultancy From Scratch, Here's Exactly What I'd Do | EP 183

Aug 17, 2026 · 14 min · 9 segments

Most engineering and built environment consultancy owners are guessing what to do next - and it's costing them years of growth. In this episode I break down exactly how I'd build an engineering, town…

Most engineering and built environment consultancy owners are guessing what to do next - and it's costing them years of growth. In this episode I break down exactly how I'd build an engineering, town planning, surveying or architecture consultancy if I was starting again from scratch - the three stages from $0 to $2M, $2M to $5M, and $5M to $10M+. I spent 10 years as a director and shareholder of a $3M engineering consultancy that we grew to a $30M engineering, town planning, surveying and architecture consultancy - so this episode is the exact playbook, not theory. I also share the story of Armin, Haydn, John and James, four directors I've been working with for the last three years, who've taken their consultancy from around $3.5M to their first ever $1M month - and they're well on their way to $12M. Inside this episode we cover: \- Why your first hire probably shouldn't be technical \- Why picking a niche on day one beats staying a generalist \- The exact structure that gets you from $2M to $5M without more hustle \- Why leadership and a board matter more than headcount past $5M \- How Armin, Haydn, John and James went from $3.5M to $12M in three years If you're building an engineering or built environment consultancy and you don't have a clear path to your next revenue level, this episode will give you one. 👉 Check out our $10M+ Consultancy Roadmap Training. It’s a step-by-step guide to help you move from wherever you are now — whether that’s $1M, $3M, $5M or $10M and beyond — and build a business you can genuinely be proud of - https://go.coachignite.com/start

Most engineering and built environment consultancy owners are guessing what to do next - and it's costing them years of growth. In this episode I break down exactly how I'd build an engineering, town…

Speakers: Josh StoneHost

Growing from Zero to $2 Million0:43 – 4:11

0:43

So big idea number one, or the first thing I wanna talk to you about is, like, the zero to two million piece.

0:47

So this, this part is all about, um, essentially getting out of your own way and building the first layers of your business.

0:53

So in this section, I wanna talk to you, uh, I guess exactly what I'd do to get a consultancy from nothing to two million, um, and why your first hire is p- probably isn't the person that you think it's going to be.

1:04

Um, so context.

1:06

Like, obviously at the start of your business, the journey, everything is on you, like sales, delivery, admin, finance, like you're wearing all the h- all the hats in the business, and that's, that's normal.

1:15

Like, obviously as you're starting, you have to do everything.

1:18

Um, the problem isn't that.

1:19

The problem is what you do about it in terms of as you grow.

1:23

And so honestly, like, as you're building your business from, from zero to 20 to 40 to 60K months, uh, when I think back on our journey, the first hire I would make wouldn't be technical.

1:35

It'd be an admin person, like someone to actually take the emails, the scheduling, the invoicing, all of those admin-y things off your plate and, uh, and buy back your time.

1:44

Like to, to Dan Martell's, um, concept of buy back your time, like the first thing you need to do is buy back that low-value admin-y stuff to, to free up the bigger picture stuff you, um, as you grow.

1:56

So y- and this is true for any business at any stage, your time is the single biggest constraint on the whole business, and we wanna free up that admin stuff so that you can focus on higher value, bigger picture things so that everything gets easier as you grow.

2:10

Um, the other thing I would do from zero to two million is from day one, pick a niche.

2:16

Pick a niche and run with it.

2:17

Don't wait until you're, uh, a bigger bus- bigger business, um, to specialize or to niche.

2:23

Um, it's a mindset shift.

2:26

A lot of, a lot of founders when they're starting out feel like they've gotta be all things to all people, be a generalist, take on all the work that they, they possibly can, and that's an okay strategy to a certain point.

2:38

Um, but we wanna pick a niche.

2:39

We wanna pick a niche, run with it.

2:41

Don't wait till you bigger to specialize.

2:42

Be- like I know it feels like you're leaving money on the table by not, um, not being a generalist and all things to all people, but specialists grow, uh, more simply and more easily, and a niche in that specialty is what lets you grow fast.

2:55

Um, speak to one type of client, solve one type of problem every single day of the week.

3:00

So from there, um, you've hired admin, you're getting runs on the board, uh, you've picked a niche, you're specializing.

3:07

Then we wanna start to hire technical people in the business.

3:10

Um, and that's a natural kind of progression.

Growing from Zero to $2 Million0:43 – 4:11

0:43

So big idea number one, or the first thing I wanna talk to you about is, like, the zero to two million piece.

0:47

So this, this part is all about, um, essentially getting out of your own way and building the first layers of your business.

0:53

So in this section, I wanna talk to you, uh, I guess exactly what I'd do to get a consultancy from nothing to two million, um, and why your first hire is p- probably isn't the person that you think it's going to be.

1:04

Um, so context.

1:06

Like, obviously at the start of your business, the journey, everything is on you, like sales, delivery, admin, finance, like you're wearing all the h- all the hats in the business, and that's, that's normal.

1:15

Like, obviously as you're starting, you have to do everything.

1:18

Um, the problem isn't that.

1:19

The problem is what you do about it in terms of as you grow.

1:23

And so honestly, like, as you're building your business from, from zero to 20 to 40 to 60K months, uh, when I think back on our journey, the first hire I would make wouldn't be technical.

1:35

It'd be an admin person, like someone to actually take the emails, the scheduling, the invoicing, all of those admin-y things off your plate and, uh, and buy back your time.

1:44

Like to, to Dan Martell's, um, concept of buy back your time, like the first thing you need to do is buy back that low-value admin-y stuff to, to free up the bigger picture stuff you, um, as you grow.

1:56

So y- and this is true for any business at any stage, your time is the single biggest constraint on the whole business, and we wanna free up that admin stuff so that you can focus on higher value, bigger picture things so that everything gets easier as you grow.

2:10

Um, the other thing I would do from zero to two million is from day one, pick a niche.

2:16

Pick a niche and run with it.

2:17

Don't wait until you're, uh, a bigger bus- bigger business, um, to specialize or to niche.

2:23

Um, it's a mindset shift.

2:26

A lot of, a lot of founders when they're starting out feel like they've gotta be all things to all people, be a generalist, take on all the work that they, they possibly can, and that's an okay strategy to a certain point.

2:38

Um, but we wanna pick a niche.

2:39

We wanna pick a niche, run with it.

2:41

Don't wait till you bigger to specialize.

2:42

Be- like I know it feels like you're leaving money on the table by not, um, not being a generalist and all things to all people, but specialists grow, uh, more simply and more easily, and a niche in that specialty is what lets you grow fast.

2:55

Um, speak to one type of client, solve one type of problem every single day of the week.

3:00

So from there, um, you've hired admin, you're getting runs on the board, uh, you've picked a niche, you're specializing.

3:07

Then we wanna start to hire technical people in the business.

3:10

Um, and that's a natural kind of progression.