We are once again looking for small business leaders who are making a difference to their clients, the communities in which they live and work, and/or to society at large. If that is you, or you know of, are a friend or family member of, or are a patron of, such a business please get involved – nomination is a short, simple process and could result in that business owner being anointed one of this year’s Top 50.

As we look to profile as broad as possible a range of our small business leaders every year, we’d ask that those who have already featured in a Top 50 Report stand aside to allow us to profile 50 of your contemporaries – rest assured that, as always, we will continue to follow the progress of our previous winners and cover that progress as and when the opportunity presents itself. To every other small business leader in the country, we’d welcome your nomination.

Nominate your small business leader today by visiting this link.

Nominations for the 2025 Top 50 Small Business Leaders are open until May 30.

The post Nominations for 2025’s Top 50 Small Business Leaders now open appeared first on Inside Small Business.

Atherton’s Empowered Women in Trades (EWIT) was hailed as the champion in the Social Enterprise Business category at the 2024 Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Awards on August 24th.

The Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Awards aim to shine a spotlight on the economic, cultural, and social contributions of female-led small businesses, in both capital cities as well as rural and regional towns across the nation. The awards recognised EWIT for its outstanding contributions to the social enterprise sector in “revolutionising the trades industry”, by creating opportunities for and empowering women and non-binary people by encouraging them to enter a career in skilled trades.

In her acceptance speech, Atherton said, “Australia was once a world champion in Women’s Rights. We were the first country to give women the dual rights to vote and stand for parliament. Let’s get the representation of women and non-binary people in skilled trades from 3 per cent to 30 per cent and, as Australians, champion women again.”

Atherton is a Top 50 winner this year – click here to read more about her trailblazing work.

Sophie Doyle is set to clean up the UK Junior Design Awards for the fourth year running

Meanwhile, parenting brand Alf the Label, founded by 2022 Top 50 Small Business Leader Sophie Doyle, was named finalist for three categories in the 2024 UK Junior Design Awards for its stylish and innovative parenting accessory products that cater to the on-the-go lifestyle of modern parents.

Alf the Label’s Ari changing bag has once again been named a finalist for the “Best Changing Bag” award. It has previously won gold in the category for four consecutive years for being able to “seamlessly blend style and practicality.”

Another product, the Carabiner Capsule, is also in the running for “Best Innovative Product Design (Parents)” for its versatile and innovative mix and match accessory design that allows parents to create a customisable setup that transitions from pram attachment into a stylish handbag. It is also a contender in the newly entered category of “Best Travel Product (For Parents)”.

“I’m incredibly honoured that Alf the Label’s dedication to design and innovation continues to be recognised on the international stage,” said Doyle. “It’s truly humbling to see a Perth-born brand competing alongside established names in the industry.”

The UK Junior Design Awards are a renowned industry accolade, recognising excellence in design and innovation across the children’s product sector. The winners will be announced sometime in September.

The post Two ISB Top 50 Alumni honoured this week appeared first on Inside Small Business.

Unlike leadership in the corporate world, where you’re one cog in a very complex wheel, being a small-business leader means being able to lead yourself and others in a much more responsible way. You’re the one calling the shots, and ultimately the one trying to get your people to believe in your small business dream.

This year, I attended the launch of the Top 50 Small Business Leaders report, and many of the winners said they’d started their business as they’d identified something that was missing. Exploring this led to an idea, a vision and eventually, a business.

People are driven by purpose, so this vision is essential for small-business leadership. However, a small business can only survive if a business founder is healthy inside and out – mentally, emotionally, physically and energetically.

But most people forget this and suffer the consequences.

The small-business experience

Nine years ago I left my steady corporate finance job to start a business with my (now ex) partner.

The business was in the health and fitness space, and we were building an integrated one-stop solution for busy professionals from scratch. It was a big idea and a big vision with great possibilities

But six months into the business, I was struggling emotionally and physically. At first, I thought it was the stress and unpredictability of running a startup vs having a corporate job, but eventually, these struggles started impacting my work and my ability to be a leader.

From the outside, I looked like I had it all together, but on the inside, I was struggling – the burnout, stress and overwhelm I thought I’d left behind when I’d left the corporate world, were still there and had become even more amplified.

In hindsight, I can see how important it is for business founders to feel stable in themselves in order to thrive in small business. Often, the very idea that drives us to found a business, and our drive to be seen and recognised for our independence, our innovation and our impact, are underpinned by vulnerabilities that we’ve hidden inside. Our fear of being helpless, powerless, unseen and unheard.

My experience drove me to learn more about the deeper complexities of the human system, leading me to understand and create an embodied leadership approach.

Carrying the weight

For small-business leaders, the experience of being a founder can be an enlightening one. You have to face up to internal realities that might otherwise have stayed hidden. You need strong foundations within yourself and around you, to handle the ebbs and flows.

If you’re struggling under the weight of being a small-business founder and it’s impacting your sleep, ability to concentrate and your personal relationships, here are some tips that might help.

1. Learn to understand the language of your body and how it shows signs. Being able to identify your body’s early symptoms and warning signs can help you understand what your body is trying to tell you. Can you start paying more attention to your body?
2. Feel and integrate your emotions – even the hard ones. We’re scared to feel emotions when they rise, especially fear, anger, shame and anxiety. Rather than running away, learn to sense these emotions and understand them. What are you really feeling at work and in your personal life?
3. Cultivate rest. We are always running and doing, and constant external stimuli means that even when we’re working on one task, we’re thinking about the next thing to be done. We’re conditioned to be this way by our modern world. Try to practice taking time out for two-minute pauses and truly take a break, without guilt. Being able to rest is essential.

The post How to carry the weight of small-business leadership appeared first on Inside Small Business.