Reclaiming the JOY of Business

Business owners seek advice from experts because they have a specific problem. But sometimes the problem may not be the key issue for the business and the owner is looking for advice. Many times the business owner doesn’t know what question to ask and if the adviser has one tool in their tool bag then the owners is getting one solution. There are obvious differences between a specialist and a gene...

As a business owner, have you found yourself lying in bed, staring at the ceiling unable to sleep?  Your mind is racing with the things you have to do, anxiety rising because it's not being done right, you reach for your phone start scrolling, another hour of sleep lost.  If this describes you, then this episode of the Inspiring Business Podcast is for you. Two reasons. The first Is Jane Tarr...

Mangala Martinus provides an insight into what it takes to build a successful business over time. Mangala took his experience as an employee and applied it to his goal of being a Consultant, and has built a business that is based on collaboration amongst a group of peers to provide a specific solution to a specific problem within a specific niche. There were many moments of wisdom woven into the c...

Considering whether to include Environment, Social and Governance in your Brand awareness strategy may not be obvious, but Owen Hughes gives you some compelling arguments why you should start to consider it. It definitely ruffled Elon Musk’s feathers. Owen and I recorded this conversation in May 2022 and about the same time there was controversy over the dropping of Tesla from the S & P 500 ES...

The thing about running a business, especially ones without a senior management team, is you’re typically making decisions in isolation and these are based on your knowledge and experience to date.   Simone’s strategy has been to develop relationships with people who have the same values, similar drive and positivity and perhaps have experienced the problem you're facing and so can provide a...

Human design is a truly fascinating subject and I think one that if ignored will be at your peril.  As I mentioned during the chat with Lynda, it feels like the early days of Emotional Intelligence or even the personality profiling or communication systems. But like Lynda I’m not an expert in these areas and although I’ve found them to be useful to a degree, even though their supporters would say...

The story behind the story and something that resonated for me was that over Gavin’s career there was a common theme of continually looking for a purpose and a way to then have a positive impact on the environment around him. That’s certainly something that has driven me for the past 30 years.  Many business owners start with the purpose of creating a life that is better than the one they had.  Wh...

Colin Lee from Inspire Realty is attempting to be a catalyst for structural change in the property advising industry through his bespoke approach to creating individual investment portfolios. Colin’s management approach as he scales his business has been formed from years of  experience and as he says ‘I’m still figuring this out”. As we all are. I thought it was clever and astute how Colin connec...

I’m sure many of you can relate to Chris’ situation in which you started your business. It doesn’t always come from being disillusioned but it often comes from a desire to do things better that serves your passion and purpose. You may not express it exactly that way but I’ve never met a business owner who didn’t think they could do it better. Chris’ DNA is to solve problems with simplicity and he...

I’ve had multiple conversations with Angela and Cristina and every time I get a sense of their enjoyment at what they do and the impact they want to have not just with their clients but with their individual passion. During the interview I had to stop several times because I had so much information to process and I wanted to make sure we were able to drill deep into a few key areas. You’ve heard h...

Another wonderful conversation with so many thoughtful insights into how to become a better business owner, leader and human being. There were too many nuggets of gold to list them all here, but the two that stood out for me were the principle to hire quality staff, elevate them and celebrate their success and the second was the lesson that letting go and being less controlling actually enables yo...

Will Samson is, in my opinion one of those individuals who is paving the way with innovative concepts on how to reclaim the lost art of human interdependence. The concepts that have been generated by the ‘self help’ industry that you can do this on your own with the 6 simple steps is obviously not working and a new narrative is emerging. I think we see this in the information that is emerging abou...

Another thought provoking conversation on the challenge that business owners and managers face when it comes to adopting new technology. The challenge is always knowing whether an idea is a distracting shiny object or a strategic initiative to advance the businesses position. Christopher Fox is a thought leader in the world of finance and has a unique perspective on how to tackle the ideation and...

After 18 years of marriage my wife Debbie and I divorced. Like most divorces it was difficult and uncomfortable but the outcome was a beautiful relationship where we knew we still loved each other, but we were not IN Love. Once the decision was made the advice was to make every decision with the children in mind. The fact that over the 18 years we had created wonderful relationships with friends a...

In this week's Episode I share some of the key elements that I think a Business Owner needs to consider as they create a life for themselves. 1. Being a good Technician doesn't make you a good business person 2. Know you don't know everything 3. Really take time to create a strategy that fits into your purpose 4. Get good at delegating 5. Accept that you and your team will make mist...

Having spent years as a Financial Planner and working with individuals to create wealth, Ivan came to the realisation that money does not make you happy, it provides you with options. He realised that the conversations he was having with his clients were more about the emotional outcomes and goals than the money. He now focuses on helping Executives to find the time to enjoy themselves on the Golf...

I don’t know what I don’t know is a frequently used term especially when starting something new.  As you have more experiences sometimes they don’t work out and now there’s pain or doubt associated with that decision.  I don’t think your age helps or hinders, I believe it’s a function of the experience. Now knowing what you know and not having had a great experience makes you cautious. That could...

Sandra D’Soza is the Founder and CEO of Ellect whose focus is helping businesses to achieve their Environmental Social and Governance Goals in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Ellect offers two products being the Ellect Stars in Gender Equality and the Supplier Diversity Marketplace. Sandra and I spoke after the interview about our conversation and there were not many references to ‘how to’ and it...

Brett Martin is the President of Zenatta Consulting. In this episode Brett gives us some nuggets of gold amongst his engaging stories and passion for business and life. This is definitely one of those conversations where the more you listen to it, the more you can appreciate that it's the small but intentional decisions that you make in life that is your value and values. Some of the big ones...

Nigel Harris is the Managing Director of Nigel Harris and Associates. Nigel’s career spans nearly 40 years in the Not For Profit sector, 25 years with the Mater Foundation and Nigel was appointed the Chief Executive Officer in 1997 In 2020 Nigel established Nigel Harris and Associates to support both sides of the philanthropic model. Helping charities to better position themselves to be more effec...

Ruchi Motial-Suri is the founder of Success Culture, based in Sydney Australia and has over 25 years’ corporate leadership experience with blue chip organisations in Asia, Australia & the UK. Ruchi is passionate about creating high performing working environments, empowering business leaders to bring the best out of them and their teams.   Ruchi likes to work with companies who are themselves...

Caroline McDonald who is the Chairwoman of Progressive Investment Management Group that houses BBX, Bconnect, Zipett, Deposit Solutions and Your Agent Real Estate. The Group is a global organisation that offers multiple digital platforms and solutions which allows its B2B, B2c, P2P members to better manage cash flow, connect with new suppliers, gain new customers and forge networks. After the unex...

In this Episode I drill down into how ed Johnson, the founder and Director of Exdia Bookkeeping Services has over a relatively short period of time has carved out a reputation for providing quality services to Faith based entities and Small Business. Once of the keys to Ed's approach is being comfortable with not being the centre of the business, and being really clear, and humble, about what...

I this Episode you'll hear from two leading business owners in the Australia construction industry, Theo Vairaktaris MD of the Usher Group and Simon Boyes MD of Benchmark Scaffolding. Their view is that Post COVID will bring with it a different set of challenges with the practical issues of finding good quality people to manage the volume of work that will come. Both Theo and Simon have been...

This is a special podcast with Melissa Donnelly, Hasan Sharif and Graeme Barkus. They have all appeared in previous Podcasts and were insightful in their own right but having them in the same space really accelerated the conversation that allowed a deep analysis of where we have been over the past 2 years and what the future holds for us. The one thing that was unanimous amongst us all was that th...