People Powered Business

People Powered Business Practical HR and people management support, exclusively for small business.

People Powered Business helps Australian small business owners avoid people drama, hire right, manage well, and become the boss their business actually needs them to be. The Footprint Group provides outsourced HR solutions to small to medium sized businesses across Australia.

I used to build these conversations up in my head for days before I ever had them too. Once it was even me that was in t...
04/09/2026

I used to build these conversations up in my head for days before I ever had them too. Once it was even me that was in tears…

I'd imagine the worst version, someone getting upset, me fumbling the words, and by the time I actually sat down to have it, I'd already worn myself out over something that hadn't even happened yet.

Nearly every time, the conversation itself took ten minutes. It was direct, it went fine, and afterwards I felt so much better, not worse.

The fear is almost always bigger than the reality. If there's something you've been carrying around in your head this week, the actual conversation is probably smaller than you think.

Comment BOSS if this is you right now.

03/09/2026

You don't want to have the uncomfortable conversation. So you don't.

Meanwhile you're paying a wage for work that isn't getting done, for a team member who isn't supporting the team, delivering results, or taking anything off your plate.

You already know what needs to happen. What's stopping you isn't confusion about the right call, it's not wanting to have the conversation that comes with it.

Waiting until you feel ready doesn't change anything. It just means you keep paying for the problem while you wait.

The confidence to finally have it doesn't show up before you do. It shows up once you have.

What are you putting off this week?

You've had a team member that hasn't worked out from the beginning yet you let them pass probation, avoided the performa...
01/09/2026

You've had a team member that hasn't worked out from the beginning yet you let them pass probation, avoided the performance conversations, and have your team picking up the slack.

When we are too slow to fire, we think we're protecting ourselves and the business from risky legal action, and that's important. It is a legally risky process, but being to slow to fire someone who needs to go can also have other negative effects across the entire business.

In Episode 339 of the People Powered Business podcast I'm talking about why we are so slow to fire and what to consider before firing someone from your business. Take a listen now wherever you love listening to podcasts.

01/09/2026

Pay rise conversations. Promotion talks. Interviews. Even asking for what you need. So many of the interactions we dread with our team aren't really "difficult conversations" in the dramatic sense, they're just conversations we haven't had enough practice having.

Some of us are naturally more comfortable being direct. Most of us aren't, and that's totally fine.

Here's what I know after twenty years of having these conversations myself: the practice is the thing. You don't get comfortable with them by waiting until you feel ready, you get comfortable by having them anyway.

The confidence doesn't turn up before the conversation. It turns up because you had it.

So what action can you take this week to help build that confidence? Let me know in the comments.

I didn't feel ready for that conversation. I had it anyway.I sat down with a member of my team for one of the hardest co...
31/08/2026

I didn't feel ready for that conversation. I had it anyway.

I sat down with a member of my team for one of the hardest conversations of my career. Friday afternoon, completely unprepared, not at all confident I was doing the right thing. I ended up in my office afterwards, in tears.

Looking back, the confidence I have now having conversations like that one didn't exist before I had it. It came afterwards, built from doing the thing while I was still working out how.

The truth is, the confidence to tackle things like tricky conversations with your team doesn’t come before you have them, it comes from taking action I, from practice, from getting it wrong sometimes and learning from that.

Read the full post to see what that day taught me: https://www.peoplepoweredbusiness.com.au/blog/how-to-lead-with-confidence-lessons-from-a-difficult-conversation

HR isn’t an isolated part of running a business. Your people, and your decisions about them impact everything. Your fina...
29/08/2026

HR isn’t an isolated part of running a business. Your people, and your decisions about them impact everything. Your finances, your profitability, the entire ecosystem.

Power Boss is my private coaching and mentoring service, built for successful, ambitious and savvy business owners. Yes we start with your team, your HR and your leadership style, but that’s just the start.

Because your team are only part of the puzzle of running a successful small business.

Support for all of it, when you need it.

If you’re ready to get the support you need to stop second guessing decisions, and finally step up as the boss in your business, Power Boss is built for you.

You can learn more at www.peoplepoweredbusiness.com.au/powerboss

Growing into "the boss" isn't a personality change. It's skill development.It looks like having the hard conversation in...
28/08/2026

Growing into "the boss" isn't a personality change. It's skill development.

It looks like having the hard conversation in week one of the problem, not month six.

Trusting your gut on a bad hire instead of talking yourself out of it. Making the call and living with it, instead of needing everyone to agree with you first.

None of that makes you difficult. It makes you someone your team can actually rely on.

Comment ‘boss’ below if you want to know more about mastering the mental game of being the boss in you business.

27/08/2026

The version of you who started this business had never had to fire anyone. Never hired someone and known within days it was a mistake. Never had a conversation that left you feeling sick to your stomach. That was the version of you who started this business.

Nobody warns you that as your team grows, you have to grow too. Not just as a business owner. As the person who now carries every decision and every hard conversation. I call this mastering the mental game of being the boss.

Want to know more? Comment BOSS and let's chat.

You've rehearsed the conversation in your head a hundred times. You've told yourself you'll do it when you feel ready.He...
26/08/2026

You've rehearsed the conversation in your head a hundred times. You've told yourself you'll do it when you feel ready.

Here's the truth. That day isn't coming. Every week you wait, nothing changes, things don’t get better. It gets worse.

I've been supporting business owners for 20 years and I still don't feel ready for some of this ‘hard stuff’.

Difficult conversations, terminations, admitting a hire hasn't worked out. These are things you will never feel ready for. But that doesn’t mean you should put them off.

In this weeks episode of The People Powered Business Podcast I am taking a look at what waiting to feel ready is really costing you, and what to do instead.

Take a listen ton Episode 338 today 🎧

24/08/2026

Your team doesn't need the version of you who started this business.

When it was just you and a couple of people, they needed you to muck in, be available, know how to do a bit of everything.

Now your team's grown, they need something different.

They need decisions made. They need the hard conversation handled. They need you to actually lead, not just work alongside them.

This is exactly the sort of transition I help my small business owners with in my Power Boss program. Closing that gap between the leader they've become and the leader their team actually needs.

If that's you right now, if you’re in one of these transitions, Power Boss might be for you. DM me and let’s chat.

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