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

Today we are joined by special guest Amey Lee from Heart Content.

With years of experience helping brands bring together story, strategy, and content, Amey shows business owners how to increase their impact, streamline their marketing, amplify their message and attract their tribe by harnessing the power of brand story.

Her career in brand and marketing spans more than 20 years and includes clients such as Fernwood Fitness, Guild Insurance, Atherton and a role at the BBC where she helped deliver a learning campaign and broke a world record in the process.

Amey’s creative brain can turn out winning ideas and brilliant copy, whilst her strategic half is an expert in finding your difference, establishing your value, identifying your audience and translating these ideas into tangible goals that help to grow your business.

In this episode we aren’t talking about Brand Strategy though – we’re talking about the other AI – Authentic Intelligence.

Amey shares her brilliant thoughts on how to integrate your own authentic intelligence into your content and messaging, in a world where we are all using AI every day.

If you’d like to contact Amey you can reach her:

At her website: https://www.heartcontent.com.au/

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ameylee/

On Instagram: @heartcontentau

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heartcontentau

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’re talking about dealing with difficult people – because let’s face it, if you’re in business, you’ll need to deal with difficult people at some point or another. Whether it’s a customer, client, supplier, even the ATO. It’s not a maybe, it’s a guarantee.

As business owners there are different types of difficult people we might encounter.

Customers or clients is one type. This might be the complainers, the slow payers, the ones who “know better” or the boundary breakers.

Then there are suppliers, ones who provide unreliable deliveries, shifting terms, or ghost you when things go wrong.

We also have Referral Partners, perhaps they promise too much and underdeliver, or send you nightmare clients.

Then of course there is staff – but that’s for a whole other episode.

We then share some practical strategies to help you deal with difficult people:

Set Boundaries Early

• Contracts, clear payment terms, upfront expectations.
• Don’t let “just this once” become the norm.

Stay Calm, Stay Professional

• Don’t mirror aggression or emotion — it escalates.
• Script for customers: “I hear your concern. Here’s what we can do.”

Know When to Walk Away

• Fire a client/referral partner if they’re draining your business.
• Red flag: If they cost more than they bring in (time, energy, money).

Document Everything

• Especially with suppliers and regulators. Email > phone call.
• Keeps emotion out, creates a paper trail.

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 talking about surviving your first firing! When you start hiring staff, you don’t exactly think about how you might fire them, but at some point in your small business journey, terminating the employment of one of your team will be a reality, and let’s be honest, it won’t be fun.

In this discussion we look at the emotional toll firing might have on you, and why this causes so many of us to put it off way longer than we should.

Kristy-Lee also shares her expertise in the technical legal and compliance side of terminating staff, both within probation and beyond.

We then look at what to do after the firing, both when it comes to the individual involved and the team.

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.

Mentioned in this episode:

HR Made Simple - Free Webinar

Free Webinar: HR Made Simple - The 6 Part System Every Small Business Needs Most small business owners waste time winging it or throw money at HR software they don’t need. In this free training, I’ll show you the simple HR system that stops the constant chasing, removes the second guessing and gives you confidence in every people decision - even if you're busy, overwhelmed and exhausted. Join this free webinar on the 23rd September and find out more: https://www.peoplepoweredbusiness.com.au/simple