Welcome to this weeks’ episode of The Australian Small Business Show!

Today we are taking a look at the recently implemented Right to Disconnect Laws which came into place for small businesses on the 26th August 2025.

In this episode we unpack what the right to disconnect is and what it actually means, we discuss the implementation, pathway and why this matters for small business now and we take a look at what will it actually mean for your businesses in practical terms.

I also share some real life examples of what I am seeing play out with the clients I am working with and how they are implementing the right to disconnect. 

If you need support with the Right to Disconnect, I’d love to invite you to the People Powered HR community – you can get all the details and join us here: https://www.peoplepoweredbusiness.com.au/pphr

Connect with Us: If you're an Australian Small Business Owner, we'd love to connect with you on socials. You can give our Facebook Page a like here: https://www.facebook.com/theaustraliansmallbusinessshow

Or follow us on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/aussmallbizshow/

Exciting news: our website is live – check it out at: https://www.theaustraliansmallbusinessshow.com.au/

* Disclaimer: The information shared on The Australian Small Business Show is general in nature and does not constitute professional advice, legal or otherwise. We recommend consulting with your advisors on your specific circumstances.

Welcome to this weeks’ episode of The Australian Small Business Show!

Today we are welcoming back returning guest Ryan Griffin from Chunky Duck.

Like many of us entrepreneurs, Ryan’s journey to his current business has not been a straight line. Initially a professional baseball player, he returned to Australia ready to start his career in digital marketing. He worked for many years in marketing agency before turning to scuba diving and juggling freelancing. As Covid hit he went all in on his own digital agency – now known as Chunky Duck.

In today’s discussion Ryan talks to us about engaging a creative, digital or full service agency – like Chunky Duck for your small business. In this discussion we unpack:

• What an agency can do for your small business
• When to outsource to an agency
• Why specialist help might be the right move
• Why doing it yourself is (often) not the best answer.

If you’d like to connect with Ryan you can find him on LinkedIn here, or head over to Chunky Duck to check out their work.

Connect with Us: If you're an Australian Small Business Owner, we'd love to connect with you on socials. You can give our Facebook Page a like here: https://www.facebook.com/theaustraliansmallbusinessshow

Or follow us on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/aussmallbizshow/

Exciting news: our website is live –check it out at: https://www.theaustraliansmallbusinessshow.com.au/

* Disclaimer: The information shared on The Australian Small Business Show is general in nature and does not constitute professional advice, legal or otherwise. We recommend consulting with your advisors on your specific circumstances.

Welcome to this weeks’ episode of The Australian Small Business Show!

In today’s episode we are chatting about your zone of genius, and asking you how much time you’re spending there…

This concept comes from a great book, called The Big Leap by author Gay Hendricks (you can pick it up at your favourite book store).

In the book the author explores the premise that there are 4 distinct ‘zones’ that we can work in, and that many of us spend our live (both work and personal) not doing things that are aligned with our zone of genius – which is where we can have the biggest impact on the world, and those around us.

The 4 zones as we unpack them are:

The Zone of Incompetence: doing things you’re not good at and are better done by someone else

The Zone of Competence: doing things you’re good, but not great at. Doing the ‘busy’ work rather than the important work.

The Zone of Excellent: doing things you’re great at, and get paid well for, often what you’ve built a career from. But the things that ultimately don’t light you up, that make you feel burnt out and can become bored of.

The Zone of Genius: where things flow, feel easy and time seems to disappear. Doing work here is where you can have the biggest impact and create the most value.

With this in mind, where are you spending your time? Let us know on our socials.

Connect with Us: If you're an Australian Small Business Owner, we'd love to connect with you on socials. You can give our Facebook Page a like here: https://www.facebook.com/theaustraliansmallbusinessshow

Or follow us on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/aussmallbizshow/

Exciting news: our website is live – check it out at: https://www.theaustraliansmallbusinessshow.com.au/

* Disclaimer: The information shared on The Australian Small Business Show is general in nature and does not constitute professional advice, legal or otherwise. We recommend consulting with your advisors on your specific circumstances.

Welcome to this weeks’ episode of The Australian Small Business Show!

In today’s episode we are posing the question: what traits to successful small business owners have in common?

To prepare for this recording, Kristy-Lee and Matt wrote down their own observations and thoughts on the 5 traits they see most often amongst the successful small business owners they work with, and compared notes in the discussion.

From resilience to knowing your numbers and how much grit you have – we only had one shared trait, but they all circled in similar territories.

What about you? What traits do you think it takes to be a successful small business owner? Let us know on our socials.

Connect with Us: If you're an Australian Small Business Owner, we'd love to connect with you on socials. You can give our Facebook Page a like here: https://www.facebook.com/theaustraliansmallbusinessshow

Or follow us on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/aussmallbizshow/

Exciting news: our website is live – check it out at: https://www.theaustraliansmallbusinessshow.com.au/

* Disclaimer: The information shared on The Australian Small Business Show is general in nature and does not constitute professional advice, legal or otherwise. We recommend consulting with your advisors on your specific circumstances.

Welcome to this weeks’ episode of TheAustralian Small Business Show!

In this episode we are joined by Tony Caine from Grow Wealth Solutions to talk about his book MoneyLife: A Blueprint for Financial Success and Happiness.

Tony is a Finance Coach who has helped thousands of clients, including hundreds of professional athletes, take control of their finances and build wealth through expert finance coaching. With over a decade of experience since 2008, Tony is a published author, podcaster, and holds an MBA. 

In this discussion Tony discusses his background and journey to being a financial coach (and spoiler: it wasn’t his original career plan) and also what inspired him to write his book, and how the book can support you to achieve financial success and happiness in your life as a small business owner.

To get a copy of Tony’s book you can do so via his Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/tonycaine/

Connect with Us: If you're an Australian Small Business

Owner, we'd love to connect with you on socials. You can give our Facebook Page a like here: https://www.facebook.com/theaustraliansmallbusinessshow

Or follow us on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/aussmallbizshow/

* Disclaimer: The information shared on The Australian Small Business Show is general in nature and does not constitute professional advice, legal or otherwise. We recommend consulting with your advisors on your specific circumstances.

Welcome to this weeks’ episode of The Australian Small Business Show!

In this episode we’re talking about our employees, and specifically setting KPI’s for your team.

We start by looking at what a KPI actually is. KPI is an acronym that stands for Key Performance Indicator. They are also sometimes referred to as KRA’s – Key Result Area or simply goals.

Put simply they are a measure of how successful someone is in their role. Matt had some great questions about the difference between ‘doing your job’ and performing your job description, and KPI’s.

We also discuss when, how and why to set KPI’s and then how to assess and measure them.

Importantly we also chat about what to do when an employee isn’t meeting their KPI’s.

What about you? Do you set KPI’s for your team members?

Connect with Us: If you're an Australian Small Business Owner, we'd love to connect with you on socials. You can give our Facebook Page a like here: https://www.facebook.com/theaustraliansmallbusinessshow

Or follow us on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/aussmallbizshow/

* Disclaimer: The information shared on The Australian Small Business Show is general in nature and does not constitute professional advice, legal or otherwise. We recommend consulting with your advisors on your specific circumstances.

Welcome to this weeks’ episode of The Australian Small Business Show!

In this episode we’re discussing a new topic – shrinkflation. Shrinkflation is the strategy of reducing the size or scope of a product or service while keeping the price the same. It’s a strategy that has long been popular in big business, especially in times like this where the rising cost of doing business is really escalating.

Some examples you might have noticed as a consumer:

• Chocolate blocks shrinking from 250g to 200g.
• Toilet rolls with fewer sheets.
• Coffee bags that say “250g” but contain 200g.

Often unnoticed at first – it’s a stealth inflation strategy. But when people do notice, they do talk about it. So the key is subtlety and value alignment.

Why Shrinkflation Matters for Small Business Owners

Most small businesses are feeling the squeeze. Cost of materials has gone up. Labour is more expensive. Delivery, packaging, software – all up.

In this environment you’ve often got two options: raise prices or tweak your offer.

Shrinkflation gives you a third lever: adjust quantity or scope without jarring your customers.

Communicating Shrinkflation Without Damaging Trust

This is the line between strategy and “sneaky.” Be transparent when customers will notice quickly or compare, it gives you a chance to reinforce value (e.g., “we’ve streamlined the package to make it more focused”) or when quality has improved in another way (e.g., faster turnaround, better experience).

It’s not about tricking people – it’s about staying in business without pricing yourself out of the market. Be strategic. Be smart. And always keep value front and centre.

Connect with Us: If you're an Australian Small Business Owner, we'd love to connect with you on socials. You can give our Facebook Page a like here: https://www.facebook.com/theaustraliansmallbusinessshow

Or follow us on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/aussmallbizshow/

* Disclaimer: The information shared on The Australian Small Business Show is general in nature and does not constitute professional advice, legal or otherwise. We recommend consulting with your advisors on your specific circumstances.

Welcome to this weeks’ episode of The Australian Small Business Show!

In this episode we are joined by Alex Solo from Sprint Law to talk legal essentials for small businesses. Alex is a lawyer, entrepreneur and co-founder of Sprintlaw, an international law/tech firm that’s transforming the way legal services are delivered to small businesses. Sprintlaw operates in Australia, New Zealand and the UK and has won many industry awards, including being listed as the fastest growing legal business in the Asia Pacific region by the Financial Times in 2022. As a lawyer, Alex specialises in the technology space and was named one of Australia’s Most Influential Lawyers by Australasian Lawyer in 2022, one of Asia Law Portal’s “30 People to Watch” in the Business of Law in Asia in 2020 and was selected by Lawyer’s Weekly as the top under 30 technology & media lawyer in Australia in 2019.

In this discussion we talk to Alex about the core fundamentals from a legal perspective in terms of protecting your business from risk.

Specifically we chatted about:

·       Business structures, getting it right, and making sure you have the right things in place legally

·       Branding, business names and protecting your Intellectual Property

·       Key contracts to have both for customers and suppliers

·       Privacy, digital presence and data protection

If you’d like to connect with Alex and the team at Sprintlaw visit their website here: https://sprintlaw.com.au/

Connect with Us:

If you're an Australian Small Business Owner, we'd love to connect with you on socials. You can give our Facebook Page a like here: https://www.facebook.com/theaustraliansmallbusinessshow

Or follow us on Instagram here:

https://www.instagram.com/aussmallbizshow/

* Disclaimer: The information shared on The Australian Small Business Show is general in nature and does not constitute professional advice, legal or otherwise. We recommend consulting with your advisors on your specific circumstances.

Welcome to this weeks’ episode of The Australian Small Business Show!

In this weeks episode we are unpacking key 1 July updates that Australian small businesses need to be across, and what they might mean for your business.

Specifically in this episode we discuss the following changes which begin in 1 July 2025:

·       Updates from ASIC including an increase in business name registration fees, company registration fees and annual company renewal fees;

·       The previously discussed 3.5% increased to the National Minimum Wage and the Modern Award minimum rates of pay

·       Superannuation increasing from 11.5% to 12%

·       The expansion of the Parental Leave Pay Scheme both in relation to the increase in days and the addition of superannuation to this payment

·       The removal of the ability to claim a tax deduction on ATO debt interest charges

·       The energy bill relief that eligible small businesses will get access to In addition, we talk about the upcoming changes to superannuation legislation which will have a big impact not only on funds with over $3 million dollars, but the flow on effect this will have on superannuation more broadly.

We discuss the right to disconnect laws that will be in place for small businesses from the 26th august and what this means. And finally we take a look at new obligations for tax practitioners and how this will impact all small businesses.

Connect with Us:

If you're an Australian Small Business Owner, we'd love to connect with you on socials. You can give our Facebook Page a like here:

https://www.facebook.com/theaustraliansmallbusinessshow

Or follow us on Instagram here:

https://www.instagram.com/aussmallbizshow/

* Disclaimer: The information shared

on The Australian Small Business Show is general in nature and does not

constitute professional advice, legal or otherwise. We recommend consulting

with your advisors on your specific circumstances.

Welcome to this weeks’ episode of The Australian Small Business Show!

In this weeks episode we are following up with our conversation last week with James Brown from BizTech Guru – on systems!

Today we’re talking about why a new financial year is a great time to re visit your systems and look at what’s working, what’s not, and what you need to fix first.

We chat about doing an audit on where you’re spending your time, and where you’ve experienced some pain points or bottle necks over the last 12 months to look at where things need to change, and then zooming up to take a helicopter view to look at systems in all areas of your business including:

Client Onboarding

Finances

People & HR

Marketing & Social Media

Internal Communications & SOPs

So, how to choose what to work on first?

Take a look at where you can get maximum impact with smallest effort and pick a quick win to get you started and get the momentum moving.

Connect with Us: If you're an Australian Small Business Owner, we'd love to connect with you on socials. You can give our Facebook Page a like here: https://www.facebook.com/theaustraliansmallbusinessshow

Or follow us on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/aussmallbizshow/

* Disclaimer: The information shared on The Australian Small Business Show is general in nature and does not constitute professional advice, legal or otherwise. We recommend consulting with your advisors on your specific circumstances.