The Biz Bloke Business Coach Melbourne

19/04/2026

New blog post - steps to stop working weekends without losing clients.

Key takeaway? Set your boundaries and stick to them. Get that phone switched off.

https://volkman.au/automation/stop-working-weekends/

Working weekends isn't a time problem — it's a structure problem. Here are 5 practical steps to stop working weekends without losing a single client.

26/03/2026

Your best staff member just handed in their notice. 😬 Now what?

In small business, losing a rockstar employee can feel like the wheels are falling off, and it's happened to me more than a few times over my business ownership lifetime. The businesses that handle staff turnover without missing a beat all have one thing in common: the staff run on a system that doesn't rely heavily on owner input.

I think a really important trifecta of staff automation is:
✅ Staff attraction, so great candidates find you before you go to Seek or other HR services.
✅ Onboarding & training all automated by videos, checklists, and processes so that you don't ever touch the onboarding at all.
✅ Assigning internal ongoing mentorship to bridge the culture gap, from at least two different mentors so that things don't slowly silo over time.

I feel like if you can hit this trifecta, losing your rockstar staff doesn't feel quite as painful. And at the very least - it won't affect you emotionally as the business owner, as it's not your workload to pick up at the end of the day.

When your processes do the heavy lifting, no single departure can derail you. The talent will always move around - that's just the nature of good people in a competitive industry. But with the right systems in place, small businesses can get their enjoyment back.

Has staff turnover ever hurt your business? Tell me below.

25/03/2026

Scaling up isn't the only definition of success.

Big businesses make a lot of noise, so often highly successful small businesses get overlooked in the business world when we're thinking about metrics of success. Running a solo or small partnership business can deliver an extraordinary quality of life — often better than growing a larger team ever could.

With lower overhead, full autonomy, and the ability to be genuinely selective about clients and projects, many Australian business owners are finding that four staff or fewer is the sweet spot — not a stepping stone. The key to getting this done is in really leveraging the technology around you so that your non-billable hours are minimized, and your billables match your passion. That way, the gross profit is strong, and the overheads stay low. I can say, having run a team over over 20 people in an allied health environment, that a small group of professionals is often much more enjoyable than a larger business heirarchy. And the pay isn't as different as you'd tihnk.

Another great method is using virtual assistant - not the ones who sit on the phone calls - but the ones who jump in and do your marketing systems for you. I think it's a great option for a lot of small businesses.

If you're a solopreneur or small business owner who's ever felt pressure to "go bigger," what do you think?

I'd love to know — has staying small been a conscious choice for you, or something you're considering? Share your thoughts.

21/03/2026

Stop losing $12,000 a year in your inbox. 🤯💸

It may seems dramatic, but email tends to be a major time killer that adds up to less billable hours.

If you're still manually sorting through your email every day and deleting, dragging, and downloading emails, there's an easy way to improve your small business quality of life, and spend more time sailing.

Swipe through to find out why the humble email filter might be the most powerful, overlooked tool in your business arsenal.

Spending just 20 minutes a day on basic "digital housekeeping" might not seem like much, but it adds up to 80 hours a year of lost billable time. For people with a chargeout rate of only $150 (pretty low), that's already $12k of time you could be spending on clients instead.

The fix isn't complex AI, although there are a few AI tools that work directly with filters for you; it's smart automation using filters you already have access to. Get low-priority emails out of your focus and into folders for later, so you can keep your head in the high-value work.

Every newsletter should go to a low priority folder. Every major item should go to a high priority folder. Unsorted things stay in the main inbox so you know what to improve on.

🎁 THE BONUS TIP: Take it one step further. The real game-changer is setting up filters to automatically forward recurring items to software. Send bills from specific senders directly into Xero, and connect it all up for an easy work-life experience.

You never have to open the individual bill email again—it's waiting for approval in your accounting hub, ready for reconciliation. Reclaim that time and spend it doing what you actually enjoy (maybe even getting out on the water like me!).

Save this post to remind you to set up your filters this weekend! 📌

Follow for more simple workflow and time-saving automation tips to grow your business. 🚀

20/03/2026

Is your "customer convenience" costing you 10 hours a week? 💸

I used to run a fairly large 20-staff business, and we took payments via 2 credit card terminals, via stripe, via cash, via bank transfer, via something called 'GrabPay' (which Malaysians and Singaporeans will know well).

This was great for the customer. They could rack up points on their preferred system, and had access to afterpay features and all sorts of things.

But the bookkeeping reconciliation! O... M... G...

Seriously, our book-keeping was tight and highly efficient, but the actual reconciliation steps were a nightmare - even with custom coded python automations. I think the problem really stems from the fact that no bookkeeper can actually guarantee 100% accuracy.

These days, I only accept stripe payments and bank transfers. And I'm genuinely considering dropping stripe as well, as auto reconciliation has never been perfect (invoicing via xero is the closest I've ever reached to perfect automation). The great thing about having less payment channels is that everything auto-reconciles, and if a payment is missing, it flags almost immediately in Xero on the reconciliation statement.

Is it a deal-breaker for clients? Nah.

It turns out this whole time, We'd just been doing it because everyone else did. In this case, less is definitely more.

The most successful lifestyle-focused small businesses keep it simple. By narrowing your payment options to one primary channel that auto-reconciles with your accounting software (like Xero or MYOB), you can reclaim nearly 10 hours of your week (or your staff's week).

That’s 10 hours you could spend:
- Growing your business.
- Grabbing a coffee in Kew (As a Doggies fan, I like going to Bonte's cafe).
- Actually getting some sleep!

Even if you outsource all of your book-keeping, this one will make everybody's lives easier.

How many payment channels are you currently juggling? Tell me in the comments—no judgment! 👇

17/03/2026

Are you running your business, or is it running you? 🌊
We often hear about the "80-hour work week" like it’s a badge of honour - especially here is Australia. But the only reason to be your own business owner is for the freedom and opportunities it creates.

In the world of small business, we often prioritize the bottom line over our own peace of mind. While the financial wins are great, they don’t mean much if you’re too burnt out to enjoy them. Doubly so if you end up spending your hard earned cash on vanity items to get your mental health back up to where it should have been anyway!

My personal preference: the 2 hour lunchbreak 🌹
There's a myriad of different ways you can structure your quality of life, but I love getting out when the sun's up (or when the winds up in this video). So a 2 hour exercise break in the middle of the day really works for me. My wife loves the opposite. She starts work late so she has the entire morning for recreation.

Remember This:
You are your business’s most important asset, and you have to keep the maintenance up if you're going to enjoy your business after the first through years.

Take the time. Look after yourself. Your business (and your brain) will thank you for it.

What's your style?

14/03/2026

Are you a solopreneur or small business owner feeling like you’re falling behind? It’s easy to get caught up in the "Tech Bro" hype—the 10-million-dollar revenues, the celebrity status, and the 80-hour work weeks.

But who is actually winning?

If you’re making a great living and enjoying your life on the beach while they’re slaving away in an office, you’ve already won. In small business, the true measure of success isn't just your bottom line—it’s your quality of life. Aim for under 40 hours a week and reclaim your time. That is the ultimate business goal.

If you're like me, and you run a lifestyle-focused business - don't lose heart when you see others who are more successful. Enjoy where you're at. 🙂

14/03/2026

Showing my Tasmanian side today with the three heads 🤣. Are you a business owner? Don't work more than 4.5 days per week and enjoy your lifestyle business.

Go doggies!

14/03/2026

Mixing business with pleasure? It’s a bold move! 💼❤️ Doing business with your partner can be an amazing experience, but it’s not without its challenges.

I've done it, and although we had a great run, both me and my wife vow to never work together again. 🙂
I’m sharing the single most important rule to keep your business thriving and your relationship strong. Don't let your work life consume your home life!

If you're a small business owner in Australia or anywhere else, this tip is for you. Learn how to set boundaries and enjoy the fruits of your labour by never talking about your business at home.