The Workplace Project with Emma Kirkwood

The Workplace Project with Emma Kirkwood We are a local group for business owners building their businesses with new strategies, on-line mark

ConnectBiz was built from first-hand experience of what it really means to own — and eventually sell — a business.After ...
02/09/2026

ConnectBiz was built from first-hand experience of what it really means to own — and eventually sell — a business.

After more than 30 years in business, including building, franchising and selling his own company, Mic Pilon saw an opportunity to approach business broking differently.

Selling a business isn’t simply a transaction; for many owners, their identity, family sacrifices and years of hard work are tied up in what they’ve built.

That understanding now sits at the heart of ConnectBiz.
Together with Geoffery Farrell and Jilly Pilon, the team starts by helping owners understand the realistic market value of their business and whether they’re genuinely ready to sell.

If the timing isn’t right, the conversation can instead focus on what needs to change to improve value and exit readiness.

Relationships matter on the buyer side too. By understanding what buyers are actually looking for, ConnectBiz can connect the right people without relying solely on advertising.

One sale was particularly personal for Geoff: helping a family whose business he had worked in growing up pass it on to another family ready to take its next chapter forward.

Having seen first-hand the years of work that family had put into the business made helping them achieve that transition especially meaningful.

For business owners wondering what their business is worth — or whether they’re actually ready to let it go — ConnectBiz encourages starting the conversation before the “For Sale” sign is needed.

What happens when a career in radio, journalism, digital and tech comes together? For Clea Jones, it became Freelance Co...
30/08/2026

What happens when a career in radio, journalism, digital and tech comes together? For Clea Jones, it became Freelance Copywriter.

Clea’s journey began in talk radio in 2000, where she worked as a producer before moving to Yahoo7.

Over eight years, she progressed from editorial into senior product management — a career move she admits was never on her bingo card.

Then, in 2015, redundancy presented an unexpected opportunity. With a two-year-old and no more lengthy commute, Clea launched Freelance Copywriter.

More than a decade later, it’s now a team of five helping businesses create marketing content that gets done consistently — and with purpose.

From blogs, SEO articles and email campaigns to award submissions, industry magazines, social content, brochures, graphics and video, the team specialises in turning complex ideas into content customers can understand.

Clea calls herself “the journalist, not the genius”. She asks the questions, finds the story and translates her clients’ expertise into something their customers can act on.

That might mean content that helps a sales team educate prospects, emails that generate enrolments, or an award submission that helps a business stand out.

And Clea has her sights set on the next evolution: becoming an outsourced content marketing team for small businesses — creating, publishing and keeping their marketing moving while they focus on running their business.

Perhaps that’s the lesson from Clea’s journey so far: marketing changes constantly, but good communication never goes out of date.

𝑽𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒕 𝑪𝒍𝒆𝒂'𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒃𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒉𝒕𝒕𝒑𝒔://𝒘𝒘𝒘.𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒑𝒚𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒓.𝒄𝒐𝒎.𝒂𝒖/ 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒃 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝑨𝑰 𝑽𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝑪𝒉𝒆𝒄𝒌𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝑨𝑰 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉 𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔.

26/08/2026

Most business owners don’t necessarily want to leave their business.

They just want the **choice** to.

To take four weeks away.
To spend less time solving the same problems.
To focus their time where it creates the most value.
To know the business can keep moving without them at the centre of everything.

That’s what 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐞 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧 is about.

On 23 September, we’re getting a small group of business owners together at North Head to step back from the day-to-day, identify what still depends too heavily on them, and build a practical 90-day plan to change it.

📆Wednesday 23 September
📍 WOTSO Manly – North Head
⏰ 9:30am–4:00pm

Want to join us?

Details and booking link in the comments 👇

If every key decision still comes back to you, the business is telling you something.It’s not just busy.𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭.O...
26/08/2026

If every key decision still comes back to you, the business is telling you something.

It’s not just busy.

𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭.

Owner dependency can show up in surprisingly ordinary ways:

🔹 The team waits for your call
🔹 Clients ask for you by default
🔹 Important knowledge still sits in your head
🔹 Systems work because you remember the missing steps
🔹 Things slow down when you’re not available

And sometimes the biggest clue is your own diary — because your time keeps being pulled back into work the business should increasingly be able to handle without you.

That’s what we’ll be working on at 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐃𝐚𝐲: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐞 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧.

It’s a practical working day for business owners who want to build a stronger business, reduce its reliance on them and get clearer about where their time is actually most valuable.

We’ll look at what would happen if you stepped away for four weeks, what needs to be delegated, strengthened or systemised, and what needs to change over the next 90 days.

We’ll also be joined by 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐅𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐥 and 𝐌𝐢𝐜 𝐏𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐧 from 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐁𝐢𝐳 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 for a guest session looking at what makes a business stronger, more valuable and ultimately more saleable.

📅 Wednesday 23 September
⏰ 9:30am–4:00pm
📍 WOTSO Manly – North Head

Want to join us?

👇𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬.

One of the things I like most about understanding behavioural and values preferences is how practical it becomes in real...
18/08/2026

One of the things I like most about understanding behavioural and values preferences is how practical it becomes in real client conversations.

A professional services client recently worked through this across their leadership, business development and account management teams.

They already had sales and retention strategies in place.

The shift was in recognising that we don’t all communicate, make decisions or build trust in the same way.

For example, the CEO or senior leader they were negotiating with often had very different preferences from the person managing the relationship day to day.

That gave the team a clearer way to adapt how they communicated, what they focused on and how they built trust.

The result?

More confidence.
Less guesswork.
More deliberate client conversations.

Their feedback was simple:

“It is practical and commercially relevant.”

That’s the point for me.

This isn’t about putting people into boxes. It’s about understanding the person in front of you well enough to communicate in a way that works for them.

Where in your client conversations are you still relying on instinct rather than insight?

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞This week I had the pleasure of meeting up with Shan Denkhaus, co-fo...
12/08/2026

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞

This week I had the pleasure of meeting up with Shan Denkhaus, co-founder of Denk. and hearing more about the thinking behind the agency she and Erik are building.

It's clear that building their business isn't about creating another marketing agency—it was about creating the kind of support she wished more business owners had access to.

After years working with global brands, media companies and digital agencies, Shan saw first-hand that large organisations benefited from experienced marketing strategy, while many small businesses were left trying to navigate an increasingly complex digital world on their own.

Together with her husband, Erik, whose strengths lie in business strategy and data, they have combined creativity with analytical thinking to create Denk.

Their philosophy is simple: rather than taking over a business's marketing, they work alongside owners to help them understand their audience, uncover the stories that already exist within their business and build the confidence to share them.

What stands out most is the way Shan talks about the people she works with. Often, they're passionate business owners who know their craft inside out but feel overwhelmed when it comes to marketing themselves.

Through practical guidance, clear strategy and ongoing support, Denk. helps transform uncertainty into confidence, giving business owners the tools to communicate their value in a way that feels authentic to them.

As the business continues to grow, Shan & Erik’s vision is not for Denk. to become the biggest agency; it’s to become one brands and businesses actively seek out, swear by and return to. A boutique business built on relationships, thoughtful strategy and the belief that every business already has a story worth telling—it simply needs someone to help bring it to life.

10/08/2026

Most business owners I speak with want more profit, more freedom or more growth.

Usually they want all three.

But when a business starts to feel stuck, it often comes back to one of three areas:

Strategy - are we clear about where we’re going and what we need to stop saying yes to?

Clients - is it easy for the right people to understand our value and more forward?

Team - have we created the clarity and environment people need to take ownership?

They’re all connected.

So if one area is creating more frustration than the others, that’s often the place worth looking at first.

Which one is it for your business right now - Strategy, Clients or Team?

Earlier this week, I shared a reflection about making space for ourselves.But creating space can be difficult when we ca...
05/08/2026

Earlier this week, I shared a reflection about making space for ourselves.

But creating space can be difficult when we can’t clearly see where our time is actually going.

That’s where a Time Snapshot can help.

It’s a simple way to step back and look at how your days are being spent.

What is moving the business forward?
What is draining your attention?
And what keeps finding its way into the week simply because it always has?

This isn’t about squeezing more into the calendar.

It’s about noticing what is already there, then making more deliberate choices about what stays, what changes and what may need to go.

If your week feels full but you’re not always sure where the time has gone, this worksheet is a useful place to start.

Message me TIME and I’ll send you a copy of the Time Snapshot. ⌛

A Question for Business OwnersCan changing your environment change your thinking?A few days ago, I disappeared to Billab...
04/08/2026

A Question for Business Owners

Can changing your environment change your thinking?

A few days ago, I disappeared to Billabong Retreat Sydney.

I’d been carrying a lot, and I realised I hadn’t made enough space to process it. So I changed one thing: the place.

I packed three books, a journal and my yoga mat. There was no agenda and no expectation that I’d come back with all the answers. Just the hope that a different environment might help me hear myself a little more clearly.

And it did.

Not because everything suddenly made sense, but because sometimes a different view gives us a different perspective.

As business owners, we make space for strategy, planning and everyone else. Sometimes we need to make space for ourselves too.

Where do you go when you need a little more space, or simply some time to be?

𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐁𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐍𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞Behind every great business is a personal story, and for Gabriela Pati...
03/08/2026

𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐁𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐍𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞

Behind every great business is a personal story, and for Gabriela Patino, the founder of Nannies by Nature, that story began long before launching her own platform.

As both a qualified teacher and an experienced nanny with more than 14 years working alongside families, Gabriela saw first-hand the challenges on both sides of childcare. Families were often faced with expensive agency fees, while passionate carers struggled to find safe, supportive ways to connect with the right opportunities.

Determined to create something different, Gabriela built Nannies by Nature as an online platform that makes quality childcare more accessible without losing the personal touch. Whether families are looking for a casual babysitter, holiday care or a long-term nanny, her focus is always on understanding each family's unique needs and matching them with trusted, experienced carers.

One of Gabriela's most rewarding moments came when one of her very first clients—a mum who found it difficult to trust anyone with her child—turned to the platform for support. With personalised guidance and carefully matched carers, she returned to book multiple times, giving Gabriela the confidence that she was building something that genuinely made a difference for families.

As Nannies by Nature continues to grow across Sydney, Gabriela's vision remains simple: to create a trusted community where families feel supported, carers feel valued, and every connection is built on trust, care and genuine relationships.

If you're looking for reliable childcare or you're a passionate carer searching for meaningful opportunities, Gabriela would love to welcome you to the Nannies by Nature community.



👋 Here at The Workplace Project we love sharing the stories of our local businesses. Would you like your business to be featured next? Send us a message to request your own Business Feature (or nudge a business you'd love to see get the visibility they deserve!)

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