Flying Solo

Avril Henry shares her inspiring journey from South Africa during apartheid to becoming a leading advocate for gender equity and women in leadership in Australia. She discusses the importance of questioning authority, influence, soft skills, and challenging societal norms.

Key topics

Avril Henry's early life in South Africa and her anti-apartheid activism

The importance of questioning authority and challenging societal norms

The role of influence and soft skills in leadership and change management

Myths about women in leadership and how to bust them

The...

When you run a business that depends on you, it’s easy to let it consume every aspect of your life.   In this conversation with psychologist Faye Evans, we explore the pitfalls of entrepreneurial life and how to maintain a sense of self amid the chaos.

"We fuse with a business and we become it," Faye explains, highlighting the dangers of tying our self-worth to our business successes or failures. This realisation led her to write her book, Soulful Simplicity, which offers strategies for maintaining personal identity in the face of overwhelming responsibilities.

"Life is abou...

Being good at what you do doesn’t help much if nobody knows you exist. In this episode of Flying Solo, Cec Busby speaks with visibility mentor, author and communications specialist Bec Sands about putting your work in front of the world without becoming someone you’re not.

Bec Sands explains why capable people wait for permission to feel ready, how to work through judgment and rejection, and why visibility is less about chasing attention than building trust. She shares the practical system that helped her overcome a three-year resistance to live video, including scheduling visibility work, show...

How easy are you to fool? Andy Nunn, an Australian mentalist and TEDx speaker, has spent more than 25 years studying attention, persuasion, and human behaviour. In this episode, Andy explains why intelligence doesn’t always protect us from bad decisions, how confirmation bias helps us defend our assumptions, and why a nine-year-old can sometimes see through a trick more clearly than an engineer

Andy Nunn shares his Catch, Challenge, Change framework for solo business owners, reflects on the emotional pressure of working alone, and explores how AI, deepfakes, scams, and “ultra-processed information” are making discernment more important than e...

Julie-Anne Whitfield is the Workplace Program Manager at R U OK? She sits down for a chat about building genuine wellbeing and connection into small businesses all year round, not just on R U OK? Day.

Julie-Anne explains why supportive workplace cultures matter, especially when business owners are carrying financial pressure, isolation, and responsibility for everyone else.

We cover the four-step ALEC framework, recognising early signs of burnout, checking in through texts or phone calls, and supporting someone without trying to fix them. Julie-Anne also shares practical ways for sole traders to create connection. Her...

On this episode of Flying Solo, Cec Busby sits down with trailblazing entrepreneur Lisa Messenger, founder of The Collective Hub. Known for her fearless approach to reinvention and disrupting the status quo, Lisa Messenger has built an extraordinary career, from launching a globally celebrated print magazine at the height of “print is dead,” to growing her business from three staff to 36, traversing the highs and lows of entrepreneurship, and making a purposeful pivot to a lean, AI-powered education and community platform for founders.

Lisa reflects on business failures, the courage to start and close ventures, lessons learned from...

Matt Jones is  co-founder of Four Pillars Gin—the brand that launched from a $30K crowdfunding campaign and rose to become Australia’s most awarded craft gin before being sold in 2023.

Since then, Matt has authored a bestselling book, advised business leaders, and created the new podcast “Storywork,” which explores howa compelling story is a business’s greatest competitive advantage—especially in the age of AI-generated content.

Cec and Matt unpack the essential ingredients of building a brand that stands out, the role of authentic storytelling in business success, and how founders can harness the power of thei...

Amir Rodnia is a licensed financial planner, wealth strategist, and author of the new book Freedom Game Plan. Amir shares his personal journey from working long hours as a kitchen hand—risking his life for $100 during a Brisbane flood—to achieving true financial freedom.

Amir introduces practical frameworks like the “Freedom Score” and the “RICH Trifecta” to help business owners shift their mindset, build more buffers, reduce risk, and ultimately create a life on their own terms.

He explores why so many entrepreneurs end up swapping one boss for hundreds of clients, how to break out of the “...

Nick Bendel is the author of The 500 Lunches Effect. Nick  transformed his life and career by inviting 500 strangers to lunch over six years. Despite identifying as an introvert, Nick challenged himself to step out of his comfort zone in an experiment he calls “social courage.”

In this episode, we dive into what he learned from hundreds of conversations with people from all walks of life—entrepreneurs, politicians, creatives, and more—and what these experiences taught him about networking, building genuine relationships, and overcoming fears and hesitation that is holding you back.

Whether you struggle with confidenc...

Jessica Spendlove is a high-performance coach and author whose new book For the Long Run explores how sustainable success depends as much on rest, daily habits, and energy management as it does on ambition.

Drawing on over 15 years’ experience working with elite athletes, military personnel, and business leaders, Jessica shares practical strategies for soloists and small business owners to avoid burnout, build healthy work rhythms, and prioritise self-care without guilt.

Tune in as we unpack the myths around "optimisation," learn how to identify your personal domino habit, and discover simple changes you can make to bo...

Jayne Robinson is a former primary school teacher who redefined her life and career after asking herself the critical question: Is this all there is?

Jane shares her journey from a career crossroads to becoming a personal transformation coach, international speaker, and author.

In this episode they explore what happens when the business you built becomes a cage instead of freedom, how self-limiting beliefs can become bottlenecks in your work and life, and why embracing courage—and a little discomfort—might be the key to truly transformative change.

Whether you’re feeling stuck, comfor...

At 62, Jason Dunn is a pretty remarkable individual. He has completed more than 14 Ironman events, multiple ultramarathons, and built several successful businesses along the way; and he’s still chasing new challenges,

In this episode of Flying Solo, Dunn shares insights from his latest book, Greatness Doesn't Care, arguing that real success relies less on talent and more on the everyday choices we make. So settle in, as we explore the connections between discipline, resilience, overcoming self-doubt, and the mindset of an endurance athlete.

Whether you’re building your business from scratch or facing tough time...

Dr Amantha Imber is an organisational psychologist, founder of Inventium, and host of the acclaimed How I Work pHodcast. Despite years spent teaching leaders how to work smarter, Dr. Imber found herself burning out, leading her to question whether time management is really the answer to sustainable high performance.

In this episode Cec and Amantha explore the importance of managing energy—not just time—and share practical, science-backed strategies for boosting, resting, and protecting your energy so you can thrive in your business without running yourself into the ground.

If you’re a solo operator feelin...

Liz Nable is a former television journalist turned business owner who now specialises in helping entrepreneurs and small businesses to secure media coverage, build their public profiles, and position themselves as experts.

Drawing on 15 years in newsrooms, Liz shares insider tips on what journalists look for, how to craft a compelling brand story, and why being the face of your business is a powerful advantage in today’s media landscape.

Whether you’re overwhelmed by the thought of PR or wondering how to get your story noticed without a big budget, this episode is packed with...

Declan Edwards is the founder of BU Happiness College,  a positive psychology researcher, and author of the book How to Be Happy.

In this episode of Flying Solo, Declan explains why happiness isn’t just a lucky outcome or the reward for success—but a practical skill that anyone can learn and practice. Declan shares insights from more than a decade of happiness research, unpacks the myths around what truly brings fulfillment (beyond just landing the next big client or hitting a revenue milestone), and delivers actionable strategies so that solo business owners can build happier, more meani...

Work futurist Cherie Mylordis explores the powerful role purpose plays in helping soloists and small business owners thrive—especially when times get tough. Drawing on her transformative experience as part of the founding team for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, Cherie Mylordes shares insights into how a shared sense of purpose can energize teams, guide decision-making, and act as an antidote to burnout and uncertainty.

Cherie  unpacks the practical ways any business—no matter the size—can define and activate its purpose to engage people, attract the right customers, and build a motivated, resilient culture. If you’ve ever wond...

Salena Kulkarni  is a chartered accountant, property investor, and the founder of Freedom Warrior .

In this episode of Flying Solo,Cec and Salena sit down to unpack one of the biggest blind spots for solopreneurs: building personal wealth outside their business.

With over 25 years of experience helping entrepreneurs make smarter financial decisions, Salena shares essential insights into common money mistakes, why being good with money isn’t the same as building wealth, and practical strategies to stop working harder and start making your money work harder for you.

Whether you’re struggling with cash...

This week, we dive into the perils of hustle culture and ask: what happens when your drive for success starts to derail your health, energy, and happiness?

Our guest is Andrew Horsfield—author of Better: Escape Average, Beat Burnout, and Own Your Life. Once a high-flying corporate achiever himself, Andrew hit burnout hard and was forced to radically rethink how we define success and pace ourselves in business.

Today, Andrew helps professionals and business owners tackle the everyday stress, uncertainty, and self-doubt that can come with running your own operation—without sacrificing wellbeing along the way...

 In this episode, leadership coach Tamsin Simounds shares insights from her book 'The Experiment Mindset' on how to ditch perfection, take smarter risks, and make sustainable progress in personal and professional growth.

Discover how to reframe your approach to goals, overcome imposter syndrome, and embrace a learning-focused mindset.

Bernadette Schwerdt is a copywriter, ghostwriter, business book coach, and founder of one of Australia’s leading copywriting schools. She’s spent years uncovering what makes entrepreneurs turn million-dollar ideas into thriving businesses … insights she’s compiled in her book, Secrets of the New Online Entrepreneurs.

In this episode, Bernadette takes us through her unconventional career journey from acting to advertising to building a successful online business. We’ll dive deep into how she’s worked with top founders from brands like Airtasker, Bondi Sands, and Luxury Escapes, discovering what really sets successful businesses apart. We’ll unpack how to...

Does the thought of sales and selling make you squirm? You’re not the only one. Yet, selling a part and parcel of doing business, so how can you get over the ick?

To help us reframe our thinking and banish that cringe factor for good  we're joined by Kate Toon.

Kate is an ,award-winning business mentor, digital marketing coach,and author of the bestselling "Six Figures" series, including her latest, "Six Figures in Sales." We discuss what it really takes to sell without sleaze, why honesty trumps hype, how to price your services with con...

In this episode of Flying Solo, Jeff Purser, communication strategist and author of Yes Yes Yes, shares insights on modern persuasion techniques.

He emphasises the importance of timing, empathy, storytelling, and listening skills for soloists and small business owners to influence effectively without manipulation.

Key  topics

The shift from hard sell to empathetic influence

The importance of timing in persuasion

Storytelling as a persuasion tool

Masks of persuasion and emotional sequencing

Listening skills as a key to influence

Timestamped overview

Jasmin Hyde is the founder of strategic communications agency Hyde & Seek. She sits down with Flying Solo to explore the ins and outs of PR for small businesses.

Jasmin brings a wealth of insight on building visibility and telling powerful brand stories. Discover why PR isn’t just for big brands, how to get your story noticed without a huge budget, tips for pitching tobmedia, and how to communicate your brand’s purpose authentically.

Plus essential advice on navigating reputation management and the rise of AI in communications.

If you’re looking to level...

In today's episode,we're tackling a crucial yet often overlooked facet of entrepreneurship: your health. As a business owner, you enjoy unparalleled freedom, but it also means you're the sole safety net—no HR to check in and no one to notice when you’re burning out.

Our guest is Daniel Kirkbride, founder of Cyora specializes in helping founders and CEOs uncover hidden health issues that could be holding them back. Drawing from thousands of health reports, Daniel shares eye-opening insights about why most high performers are operating well below their biological capacity—even if they think they’r...

Today we’re diving into a critical topic that many business owners overlook—your exit plan. After pouring years of passion and energy into your business, have you thought about how you’ll eventually move on?

Simon Bedard is a seasoned expert with over 20 years of experience guiding owners through the exit process and author of "Exit Like an Expert." Bedard reveals why the biggest challenge in selling a business isn’t the market, but lack of preparation—only 20 to 30 per cent of businesses that go to market actually sell.

So, we’ll explore the mindset shif...

Maria Kathopoulis has firsthand experience with the frustrations of marketing spend that fails to deliver results. After investing $250,000 in agencies across two businesses without seeing the returns, she took a bold new approach—launching UNTMD, a consultancy that flips the traditional agency model on its head and prioritises tangible revenue and real outcomes over vanity metrics.

Maria shares her journey from costly missteps to scalable growth, exploring why understanding your business metrics, knowing your customer, and demanding accountability from your marketing partners is more important than ever. Plus, discover how AI is transforming marketing strategies for solopreneurs an...

Karen Dennett is a business and enterprise teacher, mentor, and founder of Hello Monday. She sits down for a chat with Flying Solo to explore why traditional networking doesn’t work for everyone and how a new approach is needed.

Karen shares her journey from corporate teaching to building communities rooted in friendship, support, and vulnerability. In this chat we unpack the “ick factor" of performative networking, and discuss the importance of psychologically safe spaces, and practical ways to cultivate genuine relationships that foster sustainable business growth.

If collecting business cards and small talk leaves you...

Graeme Cowan is a resilience expert, workplace mental health advocate, and founding director of R U OK.

Graeme shares his personal journey through one of the most severe cases of depression his psychiatrists had ever seen, revealing the early warning signs he missed, the pressures that contributed to his burnout, and the steps he took to rebuild his life.

Now, as the author of "Great Leaders Care," he’s on a mission to educate business owners on why mental health is not a luxury but an essential skill for high performance.

Cec and Gr...

Robyn Greaves is a career transition specialist and author of Your Third Chapter. In this episode of Flying Solo, she dives into what it means to reimagine your career and find new purpose—especially if you're in your 50s, 60s, or beyond.

Rather than viewing this stage as time to wind down, Robyn shares why more people are choosing to start something fresh, whether that's launching a solo business, transitioning into advisory or fractional roles, or simply exploring a new passion.

If you're wondering how to shift your mindset, rebuild confidence after redundancy, or make th...

Dominic Thurbon is a behavioral change expert, international speaker, and serial entrepreneur In this episode of Flying Solo Dominic tackles one of the most pressing challenges facing businesses in our era of misinformation and disinformation: honesty and truth.

Drawing on experiences from his own entrepreneurial journey, his time as a climate change partner at EY, and insights from his upcoming book To Be Honest, Dominic  explores the profound impact truth—or the lack thereof—has on leadership, team performance, and the health of any business.

He digs into the nature of truth in the workplace, the s...

This week, we take a deep dive into the world of small business legal essentials with special guest Tracey Mylecharane, founder of TM Legal Atelier and a passionate advocate for empowering small businesses.

Tracey shares her journey from courtroom litigation to supporting creatives, consultants, and coaches in laying strong legal foundations, helping them dodge costly mistakes and avoid business pitfalls.

Tracey unpacks the importance of having tailored contracts, client agreements, and privacy policies, revealing how the right legal framework can protect you from risk, enhance your professionalism, and reduce stress in your business.

...

Welcome to Flying Solo, the podcast dedicated to soloists and small business owners forging their own unique paths. In this episode, host Cec Busby sits down with Mel Browen to dive deep into the subject of financial literacy, especially for women who often feel uncomfortable taking control of their finances.

Mel Browne, is a renowned financial educator and bestselling author who’s just released her latest book, Dare to Be Wealthy. unpacks the cultural and societal barriers that make wealth a “dirty word” for many women. They discuss the gendered language of finance, and explore the challenges—from pay...

On this episode of Flying Solo, host Cec Busby sits down with business mentor and founder of scaledup.io, Shani Taylor. Together, they cut through the noise and hype surrounding business mentoring, addressing the real challenges that solo and small business owners face when trying to scale. Shani Thares her no-nonsense insights on everything from moving beyond the solopreneur phase, to managing rapid growth, to overcoming myths about easy wins in business. With her direct, BS-free approach, Shani dives into the importance of clarity, authentic leadership, staying resilient through challenges, and making sure mentorship helps entrepreneurs become the best...

Don't know your IQ from your EQ? Never fear, kick back, and check out our summer season highlight as we dive into a conversation with Amy Jacobson on emotional intelligence and why it's so crucial for business success.

Amy Jacobson is a human behaviour and emotional intelligence specialist, bestselling author, and keynote speaker. She has made it her mission to help leaders and organisations embed emotional intelligence into their workplace culture—something she believes is often overlooked, yet crucial for business success.

In this conversation, Cec and Amy explore what emotional intelligence really is, why it...

Looking for a great listen this summer? Check out our highlights from the past year and learn a new skill today!

This week's episode of Flying Solo focuses on the often overlooked yet crucial aspect of being a solo entrepreneur—our personal wellbeing and resilience.

Melli O'Brien, renowned coach, mindfulness educator, and author of Deep Resilience has aided over a million individuals worldwide in finding inner calm and clarity. She shares her personal journey from dealing with mental health crises to becoming a beacon of mindfulness and strength.

In this conversation, Melli dives in...

Today we are joined by Simi Rayat, a global productivity expert, business psychologist and founder of Wellbeing Face.

In our conversation, we delve into productivity and emotional wellbeing. Simi shares her journey from a budding interest in psychology to becoming an advocate for enhancing productivity through a scientifically backed approach.

Together, we explore key concepts from her latest book, "Productivity Joy," which offers strategies for boosting productivity and energy in just five minutes a day using the innovative 5Q formula.

We also touch on the importance of gratitude, emotional awareness, and self-compassion in...

Looking for inspiration to kick-start the new year? Check out our summer session highlights for the best advice we've heard from experts this year...

In this episode, we're joined by David Fastuca, co-author of the B2B Sales Playbook. David, who has successfully built a $150 million sales pipeline and scaled a SaaS business in a competitive market, shares his expertise on developing a simple, repeatable sales system that stands out from the pushy tactics many dread. We'll explore key aspects like the impact of AI on sales, the importance of having a structured sales operating system, and...

Summer's here, and we're taking a break, so we've put together a season of summer highlights for your listening pleasure. Kick back and enjoy!

Money! How to manage it, how to make the most of it, and how to attract more of it, are questions we’d all like answered and this week’s guest, Clare Wood, has some practical solutions. 

Clare is a sought-after money mentor, author, speaker and CPA-qualified accountant who helps service-based businesses to scale. She also runs The Profit Academy, an online school created to help business owners increase their profits expon...

As you kick back over summer, check out our season highlights for great advice on hot topics for small business owners.

If the mention of AI makes your eyes glaze over, you’re not alone—but what if AI could actually make your business smoother, more efficient, and free up valuable time?

To help unravel the mystery (and bust a few myths), Cec is joined by Tracy Sheen, award-winning business tech expert, speaker, founder of The Digital Guide, and bestselling author. With over 30 years spent in the tech trenches—and a brand-new, jargon-free book called AI and...

People and culture specialist Claire Gray, author of the new book Thriving Teams: When Teams Unite, Align and Achieve, dives into what truly makes a business excel—whether you’re leading a handful of people, working with an evolving group of freelancers, or just starting to build your own crew.

Claire shares insights from her extensive experience in leadership development, team dynamics, and her own entrepreneurial journey. We cover the essentials of building strong teams, the difference between simply performing and genuinely thriving, and why understanding your purpose and practicing quality conversations can make all the difference.