Built by someone who's won big — and lost just as hard.
This isn't a platform built by a consultant who read the books. It's built by someone who's actually been in the arena.
Small Business Connect started with a simple realisation: small business owners don't fail because they lack drive. They fail because they're doing it alone, without the right people around them, and without anyone honest enough to say "this is hard, and that's normal."
My path took me through professional sport, film and television, and executive roles in business — and I still watched businesses I cared about struggle and close.
Since COVID, far too many small businesses have shut their doors — not because the people running them weren't capable, but because they were carrying it all on their own. I've felt that weight myself. I've also spent close to six years working directly with small business owners and SEA (Self-Employment Assistance) program participants, helping people build something from nothing, often starting with little more than an idea and a lot of nerve.
I'm not a business coach, and I'll never pretend to be. What I'm good at is bringing people together — connecting them with the right people, the right resources, and a community that actually has their back. That's what Small Business Connect is.
Three worlds. One set of lessons.
Most platforms are built by people with one chapter. This one's built on three — and the lessons came from all of them.
Losing in public, and coming back anyway
Sport teaches you to perform under pressure and bounce back from a loss everyone watched happen. That resilience matters more in business than any qualification.
Every good story has a hard middle
Working in film and TV teaches you that the struggle in the middle of a story isn't a flaw — it's the part that makes it worth telling. Your business story is no different.
The higher you go, the lonelier it gets
Executive roles showed me that big decisions get lonelier the further up you go — and just how much you need people around you that you can actually trust.
What we stand for
Real over polished
Honest experience beats a polished pitch, every time. We'd rather be useful than impressive.
People, not just listings
A directory full of names is easy. A community where people actually show up for each other is the hard part — and the whole point.
Australian, properly
Built for Australian small businesses — not adapted from a US template. The marketplace stays Australian-only, on purpose.
Failure isn't the end of the story
We talk about what goes wrong as openly as what goes right, because that's where the real lessons live.
Come build it with us.
Whether you're listing your business or just looking for your people — there's a place for you here.