Carolyn’s small business career first began like many others: in the corporate world. She spent 20 years working with blue-chip companies on a range of marketing and brand communications before finding the vision and guts to strike out on her own.

After spending the entirety of their professional lives working with kids, Barbra and Gordon Bryan were ready to try something new. They knew they wanted to continue their work with children, but they also wanted to build something meaningful that they could retire on.

If you’re exhausted by the time the weekend rolls around and feel like there’s an ever-growing list of things to do in an ever-shrinking time span, you are not alone. According to the Australian Psychological Society’s annual survey, three in four Australians believe stress is affecting their health.

Systems that are informal can keep your business wheels from turning smoothly when it comes to day-to-day operations such as closing sales and ultimately from easily selling or passing down your business to the next generation (succession planning).

We’re at that time of the year again: the shopping centres are packed, you’re signing dozens of greeting cards, and little miss/mister has just handed you a ‘wish list’ longer than they are tall. And at the back of your mind, you might be hoping for a treat or two for yourself.

A well-established barber shop in a small town was hit hard when a new barber moved into the area and set up shop. Having held a monopoly prior to the arrival of the competitor, the barber had become complacent and benefited from false loyalty.  This sense of false security was disrupted by new competition.

Technology has the power to make our lives easier, and small businesses have the flexibility and the creativity to take advantage of this power. By staying lean and agile, a small business can adapt quickly in a moment and use new technology to power into emerging markets.

It’s the season of giving and what better way to show love and support to your family than to gift your children or grandchildren some much needed cash.

As a father of three, I often come back to a phrase I once heard. “In life, there are rubber balls and glass balls and you are always juggling.”

The rubber ones are the things that bounce: that work project, for example, that will still be there tomorrow if you plan in advance. But the glass ones — your family, say — are precious.

Ahh, summer. Firing up the coals for a backyard barbecue with friends, dusting off the bat to play beach cricket with the kids, or packing the car for a road trip along the coast. However you like to spend the summer months, and whatever business you run, the festive season is a perfect opportunity to step back and take stock.