This week we have been doing something very different. Each morning at 8.30am (Brisbane time) over on our Heart Harmony Communications Facebook page, we have been live broadcasting a quick team huddle, looking at different strategies to beat the overwhelm and make...

Trigger warning: This post discusses mental health and suicide. If you have had to close your business temporarily or permanently due to the Coronavirus, my heart goes out to you. You may be feeling a real mix of emotions: gut-wrenching grief, intense anxiety over how...

“I am not sure what I should be doing to help. Am I doing enough? I feel like what I am doing is useless.” “I feel helpless. I cry every time I turn on the news and see the fires.” “Should I be trying to market my business right now – it seems insensitive when people...

Today is the first day of a new decade – freshly minted and raw. Usually, I am excited about what a new year will bring. Today I face the new year with trepidation. Yesterday I watched in ever-increasing horror as the beaches where I spent many delightful summers as a...

The end of a year (and the end of a decade) can be particularly poignant. Part of what makes us human calls to look back on the year to see what the heck just happened, and to try and get a plan together for the coming year. Whether we look back and plan in a...

“But why do you do the Christmas lights?” Every night on the lead up to Christmas, I am asked the same question in a hundred different ways. I hear the whisper of the question from myself, as I lay out the props for the night’s adventures once again: Every night for...

Every year I share a list of the business books that I have read throughout the year that left the strongest impression on me. These are the books that challenged my thinking, forced me to look at my business differently, or helped to fill a skill gap. This year, the...

Have you joined the KonMari movement yet? I am now one of “those” people who Origami’s their undies and who goes around patting their belongings looking for a spark of joy (or at least not rampant disgust).

It was late 1998: The type of summer’s day when the song of cicadas are the loudest noises on the planet, and the heat makes every in-breath akin to gulping over-heated coffee. My tiny baby was asleep in the house, and I was using the few hours of her sleep to hit the ride-on mower and tame the overgrown grass on my ¾ acre property in the outskirts of Caboolture.

I shakily raised my arm to push the hostess call button above my airline seat. My face flamed with embarrassment as I squeaked out, “Could I please have a seatbelt extender.” I had spent 10 minutes struggling to get my lap band seatbelt connected, wriggling every...

Looking for inspiration or to ways build your business skills? You can’t beat a great book! These must read books for entrepreneurs will help you discover more about the psychology of marketing, tweak your mindset and enhance your leadership skills. These are the business books I love, recommend and buy for entrepreneurs and small business owners.

My ancient lawnmower grumpily skulked in my garden shed. It hated the sunshine and being removed from the cool dark cave. It hated, even more, being forced to start and did everything in its ageing power not to do any work.

First, it was spark plugs, and then the petrol wasn’t fresh enough. Then the oil was a teeny bit on the thick side. Next, the air filter had a bit of dust until finally, the primer decided to go out in sympathy.

If you are looking for inspiration, new ideas and some great business strategies, then you can’t go wrong with a well-written business book.

Each year I share the books that made the most impact on me during the year. These make great gifts for your favourite entrepreneur, or to read over the summer break.

Ask small business owners why they started their own business, and in amongst the desire to make a difference or to deliver a better service for people, you will also find a hunger to have a better work/life balance or live an improved lifestyle.

My own journey into business had the same blend of reasons. In my early days as a single mum, traditional wages employment was simply not working in making the balancing act work. So, I went into small business.

I was wondering why one of my favourite long term clients had not paid their monthly invoice. Sometimes they were a few days late when things got busy for them, but this was out of the ordinary.

And then I opened the email from their accounts team.

Tears were pricking at the back of my eyes. I was gripping the car’s steering wheel so tightly that it left indentations on my fingers. Waves of panic were threatening to crash dump over my head and force any remaining calmness into the sand.

I was a single mum with two very young kids in my car. I had decided in a fit of independent bravado to drive 1000+ km to take my kids to visit my family. The only problem was I was in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by stony-faced sheep, and I had no idea where I was or how to get to where I needed to be.

The Christmas/New Year break is a great chance to relax with a good book. If you are looking for a non-fiction book that is powerful, insightful and meaningful, here’s my top 5 recommended books from the 50+ books that I read this year.

Last week I broke a taboo.

On my personal Facebook page, I shared that 2016 had been tighter than I would have liked. While there were many brilliant moments and lovely clients, there was one week when even though work had been done and invoices had been issued, my income was a princely $20.17.

I was having a massive confidence wobble where a j-o-b was looking attractive.