There’s plenty of business advice everywhere. But something I’ve learned as a small business owner, is that not all of that advice is relevant for small business.

Being in small business is just different. And if you’re in small business, you’ll know what I mean.

Across the past 12 months or so, I achieved my 10th year in business at Heart Content. As part of my stopping to celebrate this, I interviewed 10 incredible small business owners from my journey about their own business journey.

The interviews showed up consistent and powerful themes that offer a roadmap to success for small business owners.

If you’re looking to build a thriving business in an ever-changing landscape, here’s the top business 10 insights from these interviews.

Small Business Insight #1

Human connection and authenticity are the ultimate competitive advantage.

Human connection, understanding and having an authentically human perspective are going to be so important for businesses as we start to leverage AI.

I think we're about to enter the age of connection on a whole other level.

In a world where technology, automation and now A.I. dominate everything we do, it’s the human element that will increasingly become the most valuable asset in your business.

Successful businesses will work hard to build genuine connection with their customers. And maintaining your authenticity will be a crucial part of building longevity for your brand.

Connection will become your competitive advantage.

Human connection, authenticity, and having a real opinion are increasingly vital for brands and businesses as more content is created by non-humans

I’ve been talking about this for a decade. But my interviewees were in agreement.

Clear, authentic, articulate communication will be the number one thing that differentiates a business that gets lost in the noise or a business that that becomes iconic because there's just so much noise out there.
Joanna Neale, Entrepreneur

Personal brand has become much more crucial for leaders who need to convey their power through compelling connection and articulation of their message.
Anne Maree Wilshire, Vibrant Voices

Connection and authenticity are two really big themes that I'm seeing People want to connect with you before they decide whether or not to work with you...they want to really feel like they're connecting with you authentically.
Fi Mims, Fi Mims Photography

Relationships will continue to be one of the most important things in business.
Dianne Bunney, P1 Technology

Something that's going to really matter is connecting with your ideal client and getting really granular about where are they at, what do they need how do they talk what are they thinking about and being willing to shift and pivot to follow that.
Tahlia Meredith, The Melbourne Freelancer

Small Business Insight #2

Resilience and adaptability are crucial if you want to make it in business

If you don’t enjoy problem solving, then being in a small business might not be for you.

The ability to navigate challenges, pivot when necessary, and bounce back from setbacks are all keys to having a business that goes the distance.

A resilient mindset and the ability to pivot when things aren’t working were mentioned by all of the interviewees.

They said things like –

It's critical in all business but especially small businesses to be able to pivot when things change and to be able to be resilient in the face of change because that's the only constant.
Craig Jackett, Jackett Agency

I think when changes happen they can be quite painful at times. They also bust paradigms. And as a result of that we come up with a new fresher way of doing things.
Anne Maree Wilshire, Vibrant Voices

You don't last 10 years you don't even last five years in business if don't have some of those core qualities and enjoy solving problems.
Chloe Bright, strategy x soul

Small Business Insight #3

A.I. isn’t a replacement for human creativity

AI is one of the most powerful technological advancements available to small business. It offers huge potential for streamlining mundane tasks and enhancing the efficiency of systems in our business.

The key is in learning how to use it so that it improves our connection and streamlines what we’re doing.

It’s not a replacement for creativity. In fact, it’s at its most powerful when we choose to use it with our authentic intelligence leading the way.

Here’s what the interviewees had to say -

AI backed by human intelligence will just augment our ability to produce much more.
Andre Ash, Colour Andre

It is just a tool and the tool is only as powerful as the person using it.
Fi Mims, Fi Mims Photography

It's like a shovel. If you use it in the right way it's going to get you good results - but don't dig under foundations. You must still follow the principles of brand strategy and you need to still follow the connection to your customers.
Craig Jackett, Jackett Agency

I think those that can learn how to use AI in their respective roles I think they're going to excel because they're going to do things quicker better and so on... and it's going to free people up to have more meaningful conversations and be using those tool to do the low-level mundane tasks that nobody wants to do to be working at a higher level and have a higher impact.
Dianne Bunney, P1 Technology

Small Business Insight #4

A strong Brand Story Strategy is the foundation for clear and confident marketing

If you know me, then this insight won’t come as a surprise to you.

Brand Story Strategy is foundational work. It’s emotional labour. And it takes time. But when you invest that time and do the emotional work of brand story strategy, you’ll find yourself clearer in your message and more confident in your marketing. Which in turn means you’ll attract the right clients.

It’s about understanding your why, your values, your differentiators and your voice, so you can align them with the needs of your customer.

When you feel confident with your brand it's much, much easier for you to sell yourself. It's much, much easier for you to understand how all the pieces fit together, and to bridge the gap between business and brand and sales and marketing.

Investing in your business has never been a bad value spend ever. Taking that time to re-evaluate your business, listen to experts like Amey explain to you how to best use your Brand Story, find out what your Brand Story truly is, what your essence is, will set the platform up for a strong business growth.
Andre Ash, Colour Andre

The Brand Story Strategy Workshop gave me gave me a template to give to the graphic artist to give to our supplier to give to our formulators and it is a document we will use over and over again. It brings clarity, a complete clarity.
Joanna Neale, Entrepreneur

My favorite part has been growing confidence in marketing through getting the solid foundations and the framework that you've helped me to set out. I think it's helped crystallise in myself how I present myself so it's not only in written word, it's also in presentation and showing up to other people.
Stephanie Lee, Bliss Architecture

Brand story strategy allowed me to find the DNA of my brand...the real core pieces and then how that shows up in all the different elements in my business.
Anne Maree Wilshire, Vibrant Voices

The brand strategy workshop was so valuable because it really led me through this process. But one of the key parts of that was learning about your tribe - Who are the people that are going to feel connected to what you're saying that was magic. And like it may or may not be obvious to people but it was just like, yes, there's a tribe of people that will care about this.
Libby Staggs, Sustainable Business Matters

There is so much value in getting things right. And if your brand does not reflect your culture of your business and not only where you have been but where you want to go, and your brand has to dovetail into your [business strategy] otherwise you're just wasting your time.
Craig Jackett, Jackett Agency

Small Business Insight #5

You must take the time to deeply understand your ideal customer.

If you want to stand out, cut through the noise and really resonate with your audience, you have to set aside your assumptions and actually get to know your customer.

This means having actual conversations with them.

Because when you understand their why – their motivations, fears, beliefs and worldviews – you can target your message clearly, attract more of your ideals client and have more of an impact.

You've actually got to listen to that Target Market you've got to ask them the right questions and then you've got to talk to them.
Joanna Neale, Entrepreneur

Really connecting with your ideal client and like really getting really granular about where are they at what do they need how do they talk what are they thinking about and being willing to shift and pivot to follow that.
Tahlia Meredith, The Melbourne Freelancer

People are realising that they need to go deeper and they need to hone in on those skills that are the most important things when it comes to business and that is your relationship with your customers. And how can we actually extend that into the marketing as well how can we connect on the level of our clients. Who are you and what are you about as a business and how does that connect to your customers?
Chloe Bright, strategy x soul

You are not your customer. You’ve got to get in the head of your customer.
Craig Jackett, Jackett Agency

Small Business Insight #6

Seek external expertise and build a strong support network.

Nobody understands being in business like other business owners.

And no business owner can do everything alone.

All the interviewees talked about the importance of surrounding yourself with awesome people who know exactly what you’re going through.

Having trusted mentors, expert consultants, and a supportive community can give you fresh perspectives, normalise the challenging parts of business, and give you accountability to achieve your goals provides, all of which lead to increased resilience, better decision making and business growth.

The best people in business I find surround themselves with people that are smarter than they are things that they aren't excellent at excellent at.

Don’t think you can do it all yourself.
Andre Ash, Colour Andre

I feel so lucky to have you in my corner as someone that I can trust and share all the parts of my business with the hard part and the good parts.
Amey to Chloe Bright, strategy x soul

We've all got loved ones, family members that want to be supportive, but there's times where you're like trying to figure something out and you're talking it through. And I catch myself being like, but you just don't get it.
Tahlia Meredith, The Melbourne Freelancer

We are blessed enough to be in a goals group together...to support each other and nurture each other and hold each other accountable.
Amey & Anne Maree Wilshire, Vibrant Voices

Small Business Insight #7

Embrace visibility

We are more visible in our businesses today than we’ve ever needed to be before.

And with the erosion of trust that comes with A.I., we need to embrace the fact that being visible is going to become even more important.

Showing our face in our business builds trust, fast-tracks connection and helps potential clients get to know the person behind the brand.

And we should be doing this in photos, videos and in real life too.

The more we can show up as ourselves and be our brands...the more successful we can be in business.

If you post a photo [your audience will be] getting a better feel. If you post a video it amplifies it even more, if you speak on a podcast it amplifies it again and if you meet them in person that's probably the best connection of all.
Fi Mims, Fi Mims Photography

I work with high level international leaders and they so know their stuff but very often they're selling themselves short in terms of I am a powerful leader. They’re not necessarily conveying that in how they're connecting and how they're articulating their message and turning up. And so I think that's becoming more and more essential because the game's got hotter.

There are more people vying for that now and it's the ones who can turn up and go hi I'm here and I'm fabulous that get the opportunities.
Anne Maree Wilshire, Vibrant Voices

Small Business Insight #8

Your Mindset, Optimism, and Confidence Matter

We’ve already established that resilience is the cornerstone of being a successful small business owner. So, there’s no doubt really that mindset matters.

Many of the experts spoke about the importance of mindset, embracing optimism, and building self-confidence. are critical internal tools that empower business owners to overcome challenges and drive their ventures forward.

I think the best thing any business owner can work on is mindset because that's what will trip you up. You could learn skills you can learn software you can hire people you can do all of those things to move you forward but if you get stuck in a spiral of I'm terrible at this, I can't do it I'm getting everything wrong, that's the thing that's going to bring me down.
Tahlia Meredith, The Melbourne Freelancer

I took more risks, I was more optimistic with what I thought the outcomes were going to be and just it propelled me forward faster than probably any other skill that I've developed over my years in business.
Chloe Bright, strategy x soul

I'm in, in rooms with people that have more letters behind their names than the alphabet, but after a while, I think I'm just now getting old enough and wise enough to realise that I hold my own in that room just fine, in the expertise that I bring to it, the expertise that you bring to it, in that it is all part of the mix.
Andre Ash, Colour Andre

Small Business Insight #9

You’ve got to move from Technician to CEO

Leadership was something that came up a lot.

We all start out in our businesses because we’re good at a “thing”.

And we deliver on that thing for our clients. But growing a sustainable small business is about more than that.

You’ve got to work on moving yourself from technician to CEO. This move will help you to take your business from reactive doer, to proactive leader.

For a really long time I was the technician and that's all I wanted to do so I sort of relied on my clients to be like pseudo employers and that's not really how that's not an effective way to run a business. I'm much more trying to embrace like the CEO and you know I'm driving this ship I'm not waiting for people to drive it for me.
Tahlia Meredith, The Melbourne Freelancer

You need to treat your consultants and the way you bring them on board as though you are looking at someone's CV to see if they fit within your business.

They are part of your team and you need to bring them in the same with the same care and the same way that you would interview employees for a long-term position.
Joanna Neale

I’m much more audacious than I was 10 years ago. The only game I'm willing to play is the one that I enjoy playing. I have played enough I've earned the right if you like, to do it my way.
Anne Maree Wilshire

Small Business Insight #10

Strategy and systems are everything

Leaning into the last insight, if you want to have a strong small business, you’ve got to lead from strategy.

Being strategic is what will take you from good to great. And it needs to be more than just a marketing plan, or a vague business plan.

The power of strategy lies in using it to shape your entire business.

And then building systems around that strategy that help you to execute.

Strategy is the map that prevents chaos, guides high-level decision-making, ensures organisational alignment, and determines whether a business is resilient enough to endure when things get hard (because they will).

Strategy makes sure everything we do is driven by purpose.

I think my favorite part [of working with Amey] has been growing confidence in marketing through getting the solid foundations and the framework that you've helped me to set out.
Stephanie Lee, Bliss Architecture

The Brand Story Strategy Workshop gave me a template to give to the graphic artist to give to our supplier to give to our formulators and it is a document we will use over and over again. But it's not only informed the story, it also informed the visuals, informed the graphic artist of the colors to use so of the type of logo to develop, even the packaging is going to be informed from that Workshop.
Joanna Neale, Entrepreneur

There is a real negative connotation around marketing, but it doesn't have to feel icky if you are strong on your purpose and clear on your purpose and your strategy and what you're here to do.
Fi Mims, Fi Mims Photography

[Our brand story strategy] positioned us to be just more professional and again getting back to representing what we're actually doing yeah and I think making it easy for your customers to choose you because they can see that alignment between what you're offering and the thing that they need.
Dianne Bunney, P1 Technology

Brand Story Strategy gave me this map, that meant we can leap off and be so much more productive and efficient in putting into place all the systems or the social media or, rewording websites and sell pages and things like that.
Anne Maree Wilshire, Vibrant Voices

Like all areas of your business, you have a financial plan, you have a marketing plan, you have your sales plan, you have your research and development plan. You need to have an IT management and security plan.
Dianne Bunney, P1 Technology

You might be a solopreneur, but you definitely aren’t alone.

I hope you loved these insights. If you haven’t checked out the interviews yet, you can do that here.

One of the best things about doing these interviews, was being reminded how powerful the small business community is.

It’s chock full of passionate, smart, kind and incredible people doing amazing things.

So, whenever you’re feeling alone, step out from behind your business and go and find one of them to talk to. You and your small business will be all the better for it.

About the 10 Years, 10 Stories Interview Series

These insights come from a series of ten interviews I did in 2024, with ten people who have impacted my business journey throughout my ten years in business.

Each and every conversation full of insight, advice, memories and celebration.

And you can catch the whole series here.