Episodes
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74: Hidden Time Traps Stealing Your Week
In this episode, we’re unpacking the common time traps that service-based business owners fall into — and how to spot them before they drain your energy and profit. If you're reaching the end of the week and wondering where the heck your time went, this episode is a must listen....
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73: Designing 2026 Before It Starts: Lessons from Our Early Planning Process
In this episode, we’re taking you behind the scenes of how we planned out our 2026 business year, before the new year even starts. We talk through how early planning helps us set clear priorities, reduce stress, and make space for real rest at the end of the year. We also let you in behind the...
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72: Your Guide To Setting Boundaries In Business
Boundaries aren't just for personal relationships. They're for business too. Trouble is, many of us business owners fail to establish any kind of boundaries and as a result, we end up resentful and burnt out. We say Yes to way too much and this is where the wheels fall off. Today's episode is all...
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71: Starting A Business On A Shoestring Budget
Has money stopped you from your ultimate dream of starting your own business? Well, it doesn't have to, and today's episode explains ways you can get started without a big financial backing. It's time to ditch the excuses and get motivated to start up scrappy. We did it and so can you ......
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70: How To Sell When You Hate Selling
No one likes to be "sold to". So with that said, how do you go about selling your service when this narrative is playing in the background? Today's episode is all about the "anti-sell". How to sell without feeling salesy, pushy or as we like to say, Gross! If you're ready to brush up on your...
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69: Simple Ways To Use Video Marketing For Your Service Business
Never before has Video Marketing been as easy, cost effective and timely to produce as it is now... so what's stopping you from hitting record?! Camera-shy peeps, listen up. As service-led business owners we have the power to leverage video marketing like never before and if you're not tapping…
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68: Behind The Scenes Of Moving Offices As A Service Business
In this episode of The Rising Professional Podcast, we're taking you behind the scenes of what’s been happening in Cara's world lately—including the big move into a new office space. Cara shares the real-life juggle of running a service-based business while navigating change, the challenges (and...
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67: How To Make Your Service Business Feel Like A Luxury Brand
Everyone loves a little luxury... so what if you could deliver exactly this in your business? Luxury isn't just about products. It's in the experience and how someone feels when they interact with your service offering. Today's episode is all about ways you can tap into a luxury service offering...
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66: Signs You've Built A Frankenstein Business That Is Taking Over Your Life (and Your Love for Business)
Could you be building a Frankenstein Business without even realising? That is - a business that has taken on a life of it's own, and perhaps grown too big that you as the owner feel completely out of control, exhausted and ready to throw in the towel just to feel some relief! Every business owner...
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65: Things We Would Do Differently If We Were Starting Over In Business
Hindsight is a wonderful thing. The "if only's" and "what if we did it this way from the start" thoughts that plague our minds as business owners. But in truth, would you REALLY do things differently? Today we're stepping back in time to revisit our younger business selves to ask the question…
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64: How These Multiple Income Streams Helped Us Boost Revenue
Have you hit an income ceiling in your business? You've nailed your service offering and your client book is full to the brim BUT the thought of putting a cap on your earning potential hurts every part of your being as a business owner. The reality? There's only so many hours in the day ... and...
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63: Legal Know-How With Riz Amin of Foundd Legal
When Riz Amin discovered a specific niche to help fellow business owners navigate the complex legal landscape, she stepped into action to create Foundd Legal - a platform that empowers Australian online businesses and creative professionals with easy-to-understand legal templates. In today's...
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62: The Power Of A Great Morning Routine: How We Set Ourselves Up For Daily Success
We often find the most successful business owners have one thing in common. A consistent morning routine that works for THEM. And today, we're sharing ours. Health, fitness, food and rituals we do on the daily to stay on top of our game and set the tone for a productive day ahead. The reality is,...
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61: Cooking and Business With The Happy Chef : Mel Alafaci
Mel Alafaci is not your average chef. Rather, she's an international media personality, cooking expert, passionate teacher, and savvy businesswoman. Vibrantly known as "The Happy Chef", Mel is passionate about teaching the culinary art of cooking to millions worldwide through her books, online...
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60: Supercharging Your Client Journey: How To Manage Client Expectations So Referrals Flow
When you run a service business, the client journey matters - and finding ways to tweak and improve this experience is what leads to greater retention, more referrals and yep, more revenue for you! Managing a client's expectations not only sets them up for a great experience... it positions your...
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59: Business Feeling Stale? How To Reignite The Spark And Get Back Your Business Mojo
Are you feeling uninspired in your business? Like, you have that nagging feeling that something needs to change but you're not sure what. When you've been burning the midnight oil in your business for some time now, things that once felt fresh and exciting can soon turn into mundane tasks you...
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58: Profit First : Cara's Honest Review of The Finance Bestseller
As a business owner, you should be taking your profit out first, before any other payments ... or should you? In this episode, our resident financial advisor Cara shares her personal take on author Mike Michalowicz's : Profit First. Are the concepts in the book realistic for today's business…
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57: Splurge vs Save : Where We Spend and Where We Save
Ever wondered how people really spend their money? We all see value differently when it comes to the things we choose to spend up big on, versus those where we like to budget a little harder. Neither choice is wrong, but the differences from person to person can be quite stark as you'll see in…
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56: Business Metrics You Need To Keep An Eye On
When we're busy running our business it can be easy to overlook those important but not urgent tasks. Keeping an eye on certain metrics in your business is crucial for efficiency and today, we're unpacking what you should be investing your time in as part of your ongoing operations. If you're...
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55: Building A Values-Driven Business with Taylor Bagster
So many of us build businesses without ever thinking, "does this actually align with my values?" Money, freedom and self-satisfaction are typically at the forefront of why many people go into business, but few of us ever consider whether our personal values will truly align with what we're about…
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54: How To Ask (and Get) Share-Worthy Testimonials
If you can't build Trust, you won't have a service business (for long anyway). Word of mouth marketing and having people spread the (good) word about you and your business is the surefire way to creating the kind of trust that draws clients in. Today we're focussing specifically on how you can…
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53: Dentistry Done Differently with Dr Cate Gerber
Imagine booking an appointment with you dentist you actually get excited for! This is the experience Dr Cate Gerber and her team deliver to clientele and patients every single day. Smile Studio is a Newstead based dental practice that is fast expanding to include a range of complementary health...
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52: Female Led Businesses We're Crushing On Right Now
We love seeing business owners win, especially our fellow ladies! In this week's episode, Cara and Wendy make special mention and recognition of some of the top women in business who have come across their radar. From small service based business owners leading their field to women who have…
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51: Creating Kick-Ass Systems with Peta Charles
Do you feel like you're trying to run EVERYTHING in your business all by yourself and burning out in the process? Ultimately, you're doing things the hard way and it's probably because you haven't setup the right systems and processes to make life easier and leverage your time as the business...
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50: How To Manage Your Energy As An Introverted Business Owner
Is your introversion holding you back in business? Introverted business owners are a unique breed with our own challenges, and in particular, when it comes managing energy. As a business owner, having the energy to move through the day without running out of steam is so important but as an...
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49: Has Your Business Hit An Income Ceiling? Here's What To Do Next
Have you hit an income ceiling in your business? There's no doubt service-based businesses can be tricky to scale, because in essence, you're exchanging time for money - and there are only so many hours in the day. In today's episode, we reveal ways you can dial up your income and increase...
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48: Are You Suffering From These Business Growth Pains?
Starting a business is exciting but GROWING a business is a whole other skillset. It's not until most businesses hit the 2 year mark that challenges begin to present. This episode identifies what those challenges might be and ways you can navigate them so your business moves through its infancy...
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47: Smart Ways To Nurture Your Referral Partners So They Keep Referring
It's no secret that most successful service based businesses are built on partnerships and alliances the business owner has managed to create and nurture over the long term. In today's episode, we discuss ways you can best nurture your existing relationships with referral partners but also, how...
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46: 5 Free Ways To Market Your Service Based Business In 2025
Here's what you do when you have $0 to spend on marketing in your service business. Marketing is crucial to success and longevity but what happens when you don't have the big budgets the bigger players do - or perhaps you just don't WANT to spend up big. Today's episode is all about ways you can...
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45: These Are The Businesses Thriving Right Now
2024 saw a downturn for many businesses but not all. Today we pick apart the ones who have seemed to thrive during this time versus those who have struggled. Our resident financial planner, Cara is privy to the financials behind various businesses and today's episode is an insight into why some...
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44: How To Lift Your Reputation Through Personal Branding
People buy from people. If you work in service, personal branding should be at the top of your priorities if you want to create a successful and sustainable business. In this episode, Wendy leads the discussion on what you should be doing to ensure you're putting the right building blocks in…
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43: Cara and Wendy's Most Significant Highs and Lows of 2024
As we approach the end of 2024 we look back on what the year's most significant highs and lows were and take stock of how these are impacting our next moves for 2025. This episode is a very personal insight into Cara and Wendy's personal and professional journey's throughout 2024 - what happened…
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42: Business Succession: What Can Happen When You Ignore Your Exit Strategy
The last thing on most business owners' minds when they start a business is what the end game will look like. But as savvy professionals, it's up to us to think ahead and consider what the long term future of the business might be. This means planning your exit strategy, or in fancier terms -...
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41: Insights Into How People Manage Their Money With Cara Brett
Ever wondered what other people's finances look like? As a professional Financial Advisor for over 10 years, our co-host Cara Brett has the privilege of seeing behind the curtains to how people manage money and approach decisions - both in their personal lives and in business. In this week's...
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40: How To 10x Your Client Experience
Nothing grows a service based business faster than word of mouth and referrals. Building a tribe of raving fans that talk about your service (even years after you've worked together) is the secret to success in the world of service. But how do you do it? In today's episode we walk you through the...
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39: How To Grow Your Business By Acquiring Other Businesses with Courtney Lockett
Early in her career, Courtney Lockett realised the unlimited potential of becoming your own boss, and rather than working for the man - becoming the man (or woman should we say)! Courtney is Owner and Principal Lawyer at Lockett McCullock Lawyers, a full-service law firm with offices throughout...
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38: Why Wendy Started A New Business
You could say our co-host Wendy is a serial entrepreneur, particularly in the property space, and today she is sharing all the intimate details about her business journey so far - including why she started another business this year. Wendy shares the very personal reasons behind why she founded…
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37: Micro-Niching: How These Businesses Have Nailed Their Niche
What is micro-niching? We talk a lot about micro-niching on this podcast and that's because it WORKS, especially for service-based businesses. Refining your customer profile down to a very specific person who you serve allows a business to have laser-like clarity, especially when it comes to...
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36: How This Mum And Corporate Lawyer Started A Successful Side Hustle
If you think you don’t have time to start that passion project or side hustle, Natalie’s story will inspire you to take that next step and get moving — literally! Natalie Orola isn’t your average mum. She’s a commercial litigation lawyer, wife, mum to 2 boys, and founder of The Balanced Dancer…
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35: A Step-By-Step Guide To Calculating Your Life Number
What is your Life Number and why is it so important to know exactly what it is when you're in business? Knowing how much money we need to live AND operate our business is crucial and today we're explaining the concept of your Life Number - the amount you need to make each year in order to cover...
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34: 5 Tell Tale Signs You're Ready To Go Out On Your Own
Is it time to venture out on your own? In business that is. When we started our businesses there were critical signposts that led to all systems go, and today, we're sharing what they were. It can be incredibly daunting taking that leap of faith and moving from paid employment to starting your…
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33: The Top 5 Financial Mistakes New Business Owners Make That Set Them Back
Could your finances be better managed in your business? Running a business is complex and there are many moving parts that founders must learn and navigate if we want our business to thrive — and the Financial stuff is up there on the top of the list. But how many of us are neglecting to manage…
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32: How To Turn A Creative Side Hustle Into A Thriving Business with International Artist Kerrie Hess
Today we interview International Artist and Fashion Illustrator, Kerrie Hess on how she turned her passion for art and painting into a profitable global business. Kerrie shares her story on how she went from working as a creative to building an internationally acclaimed personal brand and…
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31: What You Can Do NOW To Finish The Year Strong
As we head toward the end of 2024, it's tempting to move into holiday mode quicker than we should, and whilst Christmas seems close, we still have three whole months to navigate. In today's episode, we share some of the things business owners can do NOW to finish 2024 on a high note whilst at the...
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30: Upcoming Trends In Business That Are Changing The Game
The world of business is constantly evolving and as savvy business owners wanting to stay ahead of the game, you need to keep your eye on how the landscape is changing. AI is but one of the major advancements that will impact business but what else is silently evolving in the background that you...
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29: How To Start, Grow and Sell A Service-Based Business - with Lauren Robinson
Ever wondered what it’s like to go full circle ⭕️ in your business? That is - the initial idea — the build — growth and then exiting (for a profit). Our featured guest on today’s episode has done exactly that and she’s ready to spill the beans on her experiences and what she would have done...
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28: The Top 3 Reasons Women Start Their Own Business
This week we're taking you inside our group chat where we posed the question - "why did you start your business?" And specifically, give the top 3 reasons that instantly come to mind when you think back to that start up time. Interestingly, we all had very similar driving factors that led to the...
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27: Interesting Ways To Find Your Niche
If you're the only business servicing a particular type of client in your industry, then your competition becomes zero. This is the power of niching. Identifying a niche for your business gives you the ability to set yourself apart and put you in a league of your own, and in today's episode…
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26: Creating A Client Onboarding Process
Good businesses are run off efficient systems and great business owners know that by implementing consistent, systemised practices into their day to day operations, the business has the power to grow and scale. One of the very first processes you should implement is your client onboarding process...
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25: Simple Ways To Build Your Referral Network
"Your network is your net worth". In part, this is true, and especially for service-based business owners who rely heavily on word of mouth and referrals to fuel the client pipeline. Your personal network is one of your greatest assets and forms an integral part of your business ... so that's why...
About this show
This is the podcast where we talk all things business and career building and where we share our experiences, learnings and sometimes completely different points of view.
Hosted by
Cara Brett and Wendy Russell
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