Upland Consulting

29/10/2026

You've taken a step back and had a good look at your business. You've spotted a few things you could do differently. Maybe you've even had one of those moments where you think, "Why didn't I see that before?"

Excellent!

Now comes the interesting bit.

What are you going to do about it? 😉

Because we all know how quickly a good idea can disappear when the phone starts ringing, customers need attention and another busy week takes over.

That's where Business Ignite comes in.

It's Upland's focused 1-to-1 mentoring program for business owners who want to turn good intentions into action.

We'll bring the questions, tools, fresh thinking and support.

You bring the Four Aces:
🂡 Ambition
🂡 Openness to Advice
🂡 Willingness to take Action
🂡 Authority to make change happen

It's your business, your decisions and your results.

Ready to do something different?

Take the Business Ignite Readiness Check:
https://businessignite.upland.com.au/

How Can I Help You? Let's Have that Conversation and Find Out!

27/10/2026

Ever feel like you're running faster and faster, but not actually getting anywhere?

It's easy to get caught on the business treadmill.

Same routines.
Same problems.
Same way of doing things.

And sometimes, without realising it, we get very good at repeating the same mistakes!

That's why stepping back matters.

A little time to think, reflect and look at things differently can help us see opportunities we might otherwise miss.

And sometimes our best thinking happens when we're doing something completely different. Playing sport, listening to music or simply letting our minds wander.

In his latest blog, Step Back, Iain explores why taking time away from the day-to-day isn't wasted time.

It might be exactly what your business needs.

Have a read: https://upland.com.au/step-back/

How Can I Help You? Let's Have that Conversation and Find Out!

I was speaking recently with the CEO of a government trading enterprise.  As is often the case, his board had a mandatory maximum term for directors, and he had just seen an influx of new faces. This was good news to him.  Not that the outgoing directors were in any way substandard or problematic,...

22/10/2026

We measure lots of things in business.

Sales. Profit. Cash flow. Jobs. Customers.

But what about us?

How we think, respond to change, deal with risk, work with people, and look at the future all come into the business with us every morning.

One of the tools we’ve used at Upland is the Entrepreneurial Mindset Profile®, or EMP. Carmel is accredited to facilitate it, and it provides a snapshot across 14 different traits. We’ve used it with leaders at the beginning and end of a development program, giving them a useful way to reflect on where they started and what had changed.

It’s not about getting a 'good' or 'bad' score. It’s about understanding yourself a little better. Because sometimes when we’re reviewing the business, the person in the mirror deserves a look too.

How Can I Help You? Let’s Have that Conversation and Find Out!

20/10/2026

We talk a lot about working ON the business instead of always working IN it. But what does that actually look like?

Sometimes it’s simply giving yourself enough space to notice things.
🔸Why does that problem keep happening?
🔸Which work is actually making us money?
🔸What are our customers telling us?
🔸Where are we heading?
🔸What should we change?

You still have to run the business. Just don’t get so busy running it that you never get a chance to shape where it’s going.

How Can I Help You? Let’s Have that Conversation and Find Out!

15/10/2026

Got something in your business going round and round in your head?

A decision you need to make.
An idea you’re not sure about.
Something that isn’t working.
Or perhaps an opportunity you haven’t quite figured out.

Bring it to a Power Hour with Iain.

One hour.

One business owner.

One proper conversation about whatever needs your attention.

Sometimes saying it out loud to someone who’ll listen, ask good questions and give you a different perspective is exactly what you need to get unstuck.

What would you put on the table?

How Can I Help You? Let’s Have that Conversation and Find Out!

13/10/2026

What if you didn’t have to compete on price? Easy to say, of course! But it’s an interesting question. Take a fresh look at what you offer customers.

What could you do MORE of?
LESS of?
STOP doing?
Or offer that nobody else around you is offering?

It doesn’t always take one enormous, brilliant idea to make a business stand out. Sometimes it’s a small shift that makes customers look at you differently.

Instead of asking, “How do we beat the competition?”

Try asking: “What could we do differently?”

You might have a much more interesting conversation.

How Can I Help You? Let’s Have that Conversation and Find Out!

08/10/2026

There’s something useful about having a new person join a Board. They ask questions.

Sometimes very simple questions.
“Why do you do it that way?”

And every now and then, the answer is...
“Well... we’ve always done it that way.” 😬

A new Board member brings fresh experience and a different perspective. But they also make the existing Board explain how it works and why. That can be a very useful exercise for everyone around the table.

A Board refresh isn’t only about filling an empty seat. It might refresh the thinking as well.

How Can I Help You? Let’s Have that Conversation and Find Out!

06/10/2026

Family businesses have something other businesses don’t. Family!

Wonderful when everyone is heading in the same direction. A little more complicated when they’re not. 😉

When you step back and think about the future of a family business, it’s worth asking about more than the business itself.

What does everyone actually want?
What’s working well now?
What do you want to protect?
What might need to change?
And what would a good future look like for the family AND the business?

Sometimes the most useful first step in succession planning isn’t a plan at all.

It’s a good conversation.

How Can I Help You? Let’s Have that Conversation and Find Out!

01/10/2026

When you’re busy running a business, you get a VERY good view of what needs doing today.

The emails.
The customers.
The staff questions.
The job that should have been finished yesterday. 😄

But when did you last step back and look at the whole business?

What’s working really well?
What should you be doing more of?
What’s taking a lot of effort for not much return?
What has changed?
And what could you do differently?

Sometimes you don’t need to work harder. You need to get far enough away from the day-to-day to see things differently.

How Can I Help You? Let’s Have that Conversation and Find Out!

29/09/2026

Family business question.
Who do you call when the problem isn't just a business problem?

🔸Maybe Mum and Dad are thinking about stepping back.
🔸The next generation has ideas of its own.
🔸Two family members see the future differently.
🔸Or there's a big decision to make and suddenly the numbers, the business and the family are all tangled together.

Your accountant, lawyer and other advisers each have important expertise. But sometimes you also need someone who understands what happens when family and business meet. That's why there are specialist Family Business Advisors.

Iain Massey is an Accredited Family Business Advisor with Family Business Association, with additional training, tools and knowledge specifically for working with families in business.

Sometimes the value of an outsider isn't telling the family what to do. It's helping everyone get the important things onto the table, hear one another properly and work out a way forward.

A fitting thought as we come to the end of Family Business Month.

How Can I Help You? Let’s Have that Conversation and Find Out!