The Real Biz Life Chronicles

Send us Fan Mail What happens when life strips you back to nothing and asks who you really are beneath the titles, the roles, the expectations? Most people break. Alpesh did not. He rebuilt time after time. Alpesh Shah has lived a life that does not fit neatly into a bio. Law. Dentistry. Entrepreneurship. Leadership. Loss. Reinvention. He has navigated business collapse, divorce, financial rock bo...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when the business you built starts shaping your life in ways you never intended? For many business owners, staying the course feels like the only option. We push, we endure, and we convince ourselves we are trapped because stepping away feels unthinkable. Ben De Jonge knows that feeling intimately. After 15 years of building and leading The Cut, a respected Shopify ag...

Send us Fan Mail  What does it take to start again when everything familiar disappears overnight? And how do you rebuild your identity, your confidence, and your voice, while learning to speak a new language and build a brand from scratch? I sat down with Elena Istomina , marketer, creator, Miss Universe Australia WA finalist, meditation devotee, and the woman behind a 55K-strong online community,...

Send us Fan Mail What does it really take to buy your time back? In this episode, I sit down with Seva Mozhaev, co-founder of Bright Tsar Studios, creative director, content strategist, and one of Australia’s most engaging voices in social media education.  Once a high school maths teacher, Sev walked away from a government job and built a business that helps founders, brands, and thought leaders...

Send us Fan Mail What if the one thing holding you back in business was the way you use your voice? Trang Nova left a ten-year relationship, bought a one-way ticket, and walked straight into the unknown. From a withdrawn introvert to an international speaking coach, Trang’s story is a reminder that your voice is your most powerful tool in negotiating what you want in this life.  In this episode, w...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when you walk away from fame to find peace, only to be called back into the spotlight on your own terms? Barbara McNaught ’s story is one of reinvention. Born in Poland and fluent in five languages, she was talent-spotted at just sixteen and went on to star in over 25 international films alongside actors like Jack Thompson and Malcolm McDowell. But when life in post-a...

Send us Fan Mail What if time isn’t as linear as we’ve been taught, and the life you’re dreaming of already exists on another timeline? This week, I sit down with mindset coach and sound healer Anna Hastie to unpack the buzz around quantum leaping , the idea that you can collapse the space between where you are now and where you want to be. Anna brings a grounded, human take on what happens when y...

Send us Fan Mail What does running 68 kilometres through snow at night teach you about business, risk, and resilience? For Mathew Breuillac, it’s everything. A former chemical engineer turned cybersecurity leader, Mathew has spent his career at the edge of danger, from nuclear sites in France to ethical hacking in Perth. Today, as the Managing Director of Cyber Node, he helps organisations stay on...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when your business partner is also the love of your life? From late-night strategy sessions to early-morning client calls, Zac Fogarty and Ruby Omrevjic have built 1Recruit , a human-first recruitment agency, on equal parts courage, trust, and a shared obsession with growth. They didn’t start with safety nets. They started with a bold plan to bet on themselves. Six mo...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when a man decides to lead with control and conscious sensitivity? Tristan Scifo is a financial adviser, life coach, and the founder of Purpose Advisory. But beyond the numbers and strategy, he’s a husband and father learning what it truly means to show up with strength, softness, and self-awareness. Tristan and I dive into the depths of the past to better understand...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when the life you’ve built looks successful on paper, but your body tells a different story? Nick Eggleton had the career many dream of, big agency roles in London, global clients, and a life that ticked every “success” box. However, what Nick had done was trade his health for success. He was 118 kilos, exhausted, and living on autopilot until he realised that somethi...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when your body starts lagging behind your ambition? Odhran McCorry built The Elite Executive to help high-performing professionals reclaim the health they’ve quietly traded for their careers.  A sports scientist turned performance coach, who delivers metrics. From sleep tracking to stress data, his work proves that you can’t outperform poor health, no matter how sharp...

Send us Fan Mail What if financial success doesn’t bring the happiness you expected? Our guest shares with us how to rebuild your career around that which sparks both creativity and profitability.  Ian Sloan didn’t plan to be an entrepreneur. From Safeway supermarkets in the UK to co-founding Tango IT Consulting in Perth, his path has been about curiosity, creativity, and quiet leadership. Today,...

Send us Fan Mail When she entered the mining site, to stake his claim, Hayden tagged Susan with his name and the rest is history. And in this episode we talk about their history in its authentic truth. From building a relationship underground and working 12 hour shifts, to figuring out how to use their partnership and capabilities to build a life, business and family. Since  then, Susan and Hayden...

Send us Fan Mail What does it take to walk away from a profitable business, move interstate with no plan, no network, and a baby on the way, and still build something bigger? Sean Smith has lived that story. Twice. From high school dropout to founder of Go To Apps , a digital agency serving clients nationwide, his journey spans mining, construction, sales, fitness, and tech. Every pivot was driven...

Send us Fan Mail What does it take to build a business in one of the toughest industries while holding onto trust, integrity, and a sense of humour? Jimmy McGregor and Sam Chami came together at Westref Enviro with a vision to do things differently. One grew up collecting rubbish at five years old. The other once thought he had left the waste industry behind for good. Together they created a partn...

Send us Fan Mail What if the future of flying looked more like booking an Uber than boarding a plane? Korum Ellis believes we’re standing at the edge of an aviation revolution, one that replaces noise, leaded fuel, and sardine-tin flights with clean, quiet, and accessible electric aircraft. Korum didn’t set out to be a pioneer in aviation. After decades in retail and service, he sold his business...

Send us Fan Mail What does it take to step into a company built by a giant, and not just carry the legacy, but redefine it? Darren Linton started on site at 15, not as the son of a managing director but as a kid with grit and determination. Today, he’s the Managing Director of Hanssen, WA’s largest apartment builder, with 6,500+ apartments delivered, 600 staff from 60 nationalities, and a flawless...

Send us Fan Mail When was the last time you experienced true silence? No traffic. No neighbours. No background noise. Just stillness. Peace and quiet are human needs. They give us space to reflect, rest, and restore the energy to show up fully in life and work. Without them, stress builds, fatigue deepens, and even safety can be compromised. Nigel Reid understands this well. His journey from const...

Send us Fan Mail What’s the hardest truth about managing people? Do gender labels help or hinder in business? And how do our beliefs about money shape the way we live and lead? In this exclusive episode of The Real Biz Life Chronicles, I sat down with three bold voices who know the trenches of business all too well. Paul Claessen, Sophie Stott, and Marcus Procopio. Together, we went deep into the...

Send us Fan Mail What do you do when your life feels like it’s breaking apart, and you realise the only way forward is to choose yourself? Donna Martin spent 15 years nursing hundreds of people in their final days. What she learned at the bedside is what most of us avoid until it’s too late: money doesn’t matter, accolades don’t matter, what we leave behind is love. But holding space for others wh...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when you’ve ticked all the “right” boxes only to realise you never wanted the life they lead to? Mark Birkinshaw qualified as a Chartered Accountant, walked away from it, and threw himself into the wild early days of the IBM PC boom. From there, he crossed borders, industries, and comfort zones, ending up in Perth as the co-founder of Tango, a business built on grit,...

Send us Fan Mail What does it take to build a brand that outlasts trends, tech shifts, and “quick fixes”? Lino Giangiordano has spent over 40 years shaping the visual identities of brands across Australia and Asia. Formally trained and globally experienced, he’s the designer you’ve probably never seen in the spotlight, but his work has spoken volumes for decades. From working with major internatio...

Send us Fan Mail For 99 episodes, I’ve been the one asking the questions. But for this milestone 100th episode, the mic is turned on me. I asked my business advisor, Paul Claessen, to take over as host. Paul has a way of cutting straight to the heart of things, and in this conversation, he doesn’t hold back. We talk about what business really costs, the risks that bleed into your whole life, the f...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when you build a billion-dollar business but say you’ve failed more than you’ve succeeded? Jim Penman never set out to be a mogul. He just needed to fund his PhD in history. That $24 mowing gig became Jim’s Group, now Australia’s largest franchise brand, with 5,500+ franchisees across 50+ divisions. Behind the beard and the brand is a story of fierce values, faith, an...