Cec Busby
Verified- Contributor and Head of Content, Pinstripe Media, Kochie's Business Builders
- Host, Flying Solo
Sydney
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Articles by Cec Busby
AFFB 2026: Family ties are woven into the fabric of Caspa Collective
“In her final weeks, I promised her I’d take care of the family. That promise stays with me.” When Jonathan Caspanello launched his North Queensland fashion label, Caspa Collective, in June 2025, he felt like he had a lot to prove. He was building a brand from scratch and taking a financial punt on designs he hoped people would want to wear in an industry known for its competitiveness. Behind his ambition wasa persomal commitment: a promise he’d made to his mum before she died from bowel cancer.
Calls to scrap merchant fees as small businesses revolt over surcharge ban
The backlash against Australia’s new card surcharge ban is gathering momentum, with a federal Labor minister suggesting banks should be stopped from charging small businesses fees, as a new advertising campaign takes the fight to Canberra. Mortgage broker Joseph Daoud and accountant Belinda Raso have launched the national advertising campaign calling on the government to stop putting the cost of card payments on small business owners.
ATO credit card ban delayed until June 2027
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will continue accepting credit card payments until 30 June 2027, backing down on plans to ban them from 1 December following a fierce backlash from small business groups. The announcement follows discussions between Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Tax Commissioner Rob Heferen , after a week of massive criticism directed at both the ATO and the federal government over the controversial ban.
Brain gain: Why Dr Sarah Stephens bet her career on a different approach to Alzheimer’s
Dr Sarah Stephens always wanted to be a doctor. She completed a PhD in mitochondrial disease at the University of Sydney before going to medical school, where she decided surgery was for her. She applied for the training program, didn’t get in and changed course. “I concentrated on family and a low-key medical career,” she says. Low-key is underselling it. Stephens went on to work as an assistant surgeon and had a career she liked.
ATO is ditching credit card payments: What business owners need to know
Business owners who use a credit card to pay their tax bills will need to find another way to pay from December, with the Australian Taxation Office announcing it will stop accepting credit cards after 30 November 2026. The change will also affect businesses with a credit card linked to an existing ATO payment plan. If that’s you, you’ll need to update your payment method before the first instalment due after 30 November to make sure you remain compliant with your payment plan.
The 23rd time’s the charm: How Euclove found its formula for national success
Do you remember your first call from a customer? Euclove founder Srini Ranganathan does. Srini and his wife Chelsy had been making cleaning products at home, mainly for family and friends, but had started tinkering with the thought of selling. So, Srini made a trip to Officeworks to print labels and even put his personal phone number on them because they wanted feedback. The products weren’t strictly for sale.
Hate selling? Kate Toon says you might be thinking about it all wrong
Selling is the part of running a business many small business owners say they’d happily hand over to someone else. You might love the work you do. You may be brilliant with clients, know your industry inside out and have a product or service people genuinely need. Then comes the awkward business of asking someone to pay for it. Kate Toon understands the feeling.
Regional Heroes: Angela Smith went looking for goats, the alpacas had other ideas …
Angela Smith has Sean Haylan to thank for an idea she thought was completely ridiculous. Eight years ago, Haylan was the Economic Development and Tourism Manager at Yass Valley Council, he suggested Angela and her husband Matthew open their Murrumbateman alpaca farm to visitors. Angela’s response was: “You’re crazy. No one is going to want to meet and walk our alpacas.” Yet, she agreed to give it a go, starting with two basic tours from a shed beside the house.
Three women dead in 24 hours: Domestic violence is our business too
There are weeks when writing about business feels pretty bloody insignificant. This is one of them. We’ve been calling violence against women a national crisis for years. We’ve had inquiries, campaigns, new laws, funding announcements and countless promises to do better, yet here we are again, reading about women allegedly killed by men they knew. This time, three in NSW in the span of 24 hours.
Regional Heroes: Michael Valantine was doing solar before most of us knew what it was
“I learned about a device called a solar panel that could produce electricity purely from sunlight.” Michael Valantine can remember a time when solar panels required an explanation. He was studying electrical and electronics when he first encountered the technology, and by 1993 he was involved in building a solar car for the World Solar Challenge. He went on to teach renewable energy and became the first person to develop renewable energy courses for TAFE NSW.
Regional Heroes: The Fleurieu cooking school without a kitchen
“Most kids don’t get taken to an abattoir on a day out, but I loved learning about the produce and thought it was completely normal.”says Jackie Mazzocato. Food was part of Jackie’s life long before she made a business of it. Her father worked at a senior level in the food and wine industry, and she grew up tagging along to abattoirs, container ships and his office while export deals were hammered out.
Regional Heroes: Mindarma wants to teach the mental health skills tough jobs demand
‘I wish I had learnt this earlier’. Psychologist Dr Sadhbh Joyce heard some version of that sentence again and again from the people she worked with. Many were first responders or doing other demanding jobs, and Joyce was teaching them practical psychological skills to help them deal with the pressures that came with the work. It raised an obvious question for Joyce and her husband Jamie Watson, why weren’t people learning these skills earlier?
Regional Heroes: How PT Blueboys found a fix for a dirty problem
“Why isn’t there something simple that protects these fittings?” It was a question Darren “Dillo” Dillon found himself asking after years working as a heavy diesel mechanic in Goondiwindi, Queensland. Dirt, dust, mud, and water getting into air and hydraulic fittings was a problem he faced every day in his workshop. Cleaning them wasted time and contamination could cause expensive damage, yet finding a fix seemed surprisingly elusive.
Regional Heroes: “Will she still love it in 10 years?” Janine Leghissa bets her business on yes
When illness and the GFC turned Janine Leghissa’s life upside down, selling jewellery helped her to pay the bills. Out of those early sales grew Desiderate, a regional NSW jewellery brand with customers who return again and again. In the early days of Desiderate, Janine Leghissa would make a couple of pieces of jewellery, sell one, buy some groceries and use what money was left to make a few more.
Regional Heroes: How a tiny outback teddy bear saved a community
Tambo Teddies has been part of its tiny Queensland hometown for more than 30 years. Since Alison Shaw and Tammy Johnson took over in 2014, they’ve found a way to grow the Australian-made business across two regional communities while keeping Tambo at the centre of the story. When Alison Shaw and Tammy Johnson bought Tambo Teddies in 2014, they knew exactly how much the business meant to their town. Tambo Teddies had already been making Australian sheepskin teddy bears for more than 20 years.
“The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off”: What Gloria Steinem taught us about challenging the status quo
“The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off.” Gloria Steinem had a knack for nailing a point. The journalist, author, activist and entrepreneur, spent more than six decades challenging assumptions about women, work, money and power. You’d be hard-pressed to find a woman who hasn’t heard of Steinem, she was one of the defining figures of the modern feminist movement.
Regional Heroes: The Jaspers’ spirited vision for the Preston Valley
Perry and Melanie Jasper moved to Western Australia’s Preston Valley expecting a quieter pace after decades working in mining and education. A 42-hectare property, a crash course in farming and an old hay shed later, and they’re making rum and vodka while trying to put their product on the map. A few years ago, the Jaspers thought they had their retirement sorted. Their bags were packed, and a once-in-a-lifetime overseas trip was booked; a reward for years spent working in mining and education.
Regional Heroes: How far can a shampoo bar take you? Cailin Cooper plans to find out
Cailin Cooper is very good at having ideas. Keeping them small appears to be more of a challenge. Cooper Delivered was originally going to be a haircare subscription service, but Cooper’s curiosity took the business down a winding path, traversing everything from apps to digital tools and an Australian handmade marketplace. Ask her about it, and Cooper has a pretty good description of the way her brain works.
Regional Heroes: How a fixer-upper and a tool belt built Handy Girl Australia
When Kim Halbert-Pere couldn’t find anyone to help renovate her regional Victorian farmhouse, she picked up the tools herself. Two decades later, Handy Girl Australia employs more than 30 women and helps thousands of Aussies. There was plenty to recommend the old farmhouse Kim Halbert-Pere bought in Dereel, Victoria. It was affordable, it gave her a renovation project to sink her teeth into and, apparently, it had once been a bikie hangout. “It was a real find” she jokes.
Your card surcharge has 28 days left to live
From 1 October, the little ‘+1.5% card surcharge’ sign is heading for the bin. In line with Reserve Bank guidelines, Visa, Mastercard, eftpos, and American Express are introducing no-surcharge rules from 1 October 2026, meaning businesses can no longer tack on a separate fee to debit, prepaid, or credit card payments across those networks. Sounds like good news? Except for business owners, the cost of accepting cards isn’t disappearing with the surcharge.
Five weeks until card surcharges vanish: what small businesses need to change now
If your EFTPOS machine still asks customers whether they’re happy to cop an extra 1 or 2 per cent at the checkout, the clock is ticking. From 1 October 2026, the way Australian businesses charge customers for card payments is changing, with businesses prohibited from card surcharges. Meanwhile, the cost of accepting cards isn’t disappearing. Businesses will still pay merchant and processing fees; it’s just in most cases, they won’t be able to add a separate card surcharge to recover them.
Grounds for success: How Huskee turned coffee waste into a global brand
Huskee co-founder Saxon Wright thought building a better reusable cup would help tackle waste. A decade later, he says the real challenge is in changing people’s behaviour. When Saxon Wright was a young coffee roaster, he travelled to China’s Yunnan province to work with coffee farmers on quality and environmental standards. While the trip gave him new insights into the farming process, what really struck him was the mountains of husk waste.
Why hiring offshore could come back to bite you
With the skill shortage continuing to bite, hiring offshore talent has become an increasingly popular way for Aussie small businesses to access the skilled staff they need without blowing the budget. Sounds like a win-win, except outsourcing an independent contractor from overseas can come with unexpected tax, super and payroll consequences. Calling an offshore worker a contractor doesn’t necessarily make them one. Australian workplace protections can apply to some overseas workers.
Sole purpose: How Angela Magut is putting rural Kenya back on its feet
Making shoes was not in Kenyan-born Angela Magut’s original game plan. By the time the Melbourne-based founder started thinking seriously about fashion, she’d already built a successful career in technology, but something wasn’t quite right … “I reached a point where I could see that sending money home from afar was not enough,” Magut says. “It helped with immediate needs, but it did not change the lack of steady income in my village.
The slowdown starts here: Small businesses under pressure says Xero
New data from Xero’s Small Business Insights (XSBI) report shows businesses are still growing, but the pace is slowing as economic conditions continue to have an impact on sales. Annual sales growth eased to 6.5 per cent in the June quarter, down from a two-year high of 7.9 per cent in the first three months of the year. The numbers suggest household and business owners alike are becoming more cautious as budgets tighten and economic uncertainty lingers.
“Tsunami of money”: July 2026 the hardest month in recent history for small businesses
NSW Nationals leader Gurmesh Singh says rising costs have created the perfect storm of challenging conditions for small businesses, with business owners finding July 2026 harder to navigate than almost any month in recent times. July 2026 marked the start of a new financial year and brought a raft of changes that impacted every business, and for some small businesses, it felt like all the bills were landing all at once.
Don’t ask ChatGPT: ATO issues tax-time warning over AI and finfluencers
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is warning small business owners and soloists not to rely on tax advice from AI or finfluencers as millions of Aussies prepare to lodge their tax return. Related Article Block Placeholder Article ID: 335655 More than 100 million pieces of information have now been loaded into the ATO’s systems, meaning most taxpayers can review their pre-filled tax return and lodge through myTax or their registered tax agent.
How this Smart50 star turned a laundry pile into an international business
In 2012, Susan Toft had a spare bedroom that had become home to a mountain of clean laundry. The washing was done. Folding it and putting it away was another matter. On busy mornings, Susan would rummage through the pile looking for something to wear before heading off to her corporate job and tackling the rest of the day as a working mum. “I remember thinking, surely I’m not the only one drowning in this,” she says.
What high interest rates are doing to small business values
Experts say interest rates are having a knock-on effect on the value of businesses coming onto the market. While most of the attention on interest rate hikes has centred on home loans, business-for-sale marketplace AnyBusiness says higher borrowing costs are also changing buyer behaviour and putting pressure on business valuations. Mary Tamvakologos, Director of Operations at AnyBusiness.com.au, says higher interest rates affect far more than the cost of finance.
Sitting pretty: How Delia Timms got a second chance at the business she built
Delia Timms’ children were both under two when she discovered just how difficult it could be to find a reliable babysitter. She and her husband, Jeff, had read about a new online babysitter database in the US and wondered whether a similar idea could work in Australia, so Delia started doing some decidedly low-tech market research.
Mat about you: How one epic laundry pile sparked Tazzy Tots
After one very long night, Pooja Mather and her husband found themselves staring at the laundry pile created by a single day with their baby daughter. There was a play mat, three change mats, a dozen terry towels, a sensory mat and plenty more waiting to be washed. Their daughter, nicknamed Taz after the Tasmanian Devil cartoon character thanks to her wild energy, was finally asleep. Her parents were knackered. “My husband said out loud, ‘Man, there has to be a better way to do this.
One in three small businesses think they’re too small for a cyber attack
One in three Australian small businesses believe they are too small to be targeted by cyber criminals, despite the vast majority holding personal or sensitive data, according to new research from auDA. The Digital Lives of Australians 2026 report suggests there is a worrying gap between the cyber risks facing small businesses and their confidence in dealing with them.
A change of taste: How Nandeeta Maharaj is putting purpose on the menu
Nandeeta Maharaj has a habit of building businesses that try to do some good in the world. Her first social enterprise, Goods 4 Good, created a platform selling products from Australian businesses for good and social enterprises, directing thousands of consumer dollars towards organisations working to create social impact. Now, she’s doing it again. This time, with chilli achar. Made for Change is a premium food brand inspired by the Indian pickles and condiments Nandeeta grew up eating.
Red flags, real action: Louise Edmonds’ mission to protect children
Trigger warning: This article discusses child sexual abuse, grooming, and trauma. Louise Edmonds was four years old when the sexual abuse began. By nine, she had realised no adult was coming to save her. She stood up to her grandfather and told him he could not do it to her anymore. The abuse against Louise stopped, but the man who abused her went on to target other children.
Tea towels and staying power: Emma McNeilly’s $20 million legacy
Growing up, Emma McNeilly was a classic latchkey kid. Her mum worked full-time, and Emma understood why. There were bills to pay and her mum showed up whenever she could. Still, Emma remembers being jealous of the kids next door who came home to Vegemite toast waiting for them on the kitchen bench. “I knew I wanted that with my own children,” she says. So when Emma began thinking about starting a family, she also started thinking seriously about how she wanted to work.
Booked for success: How Sarah Walkerden turned the page on city work
When Sarah Walkerden’s son landed in hospital, she was more than two hours away at work in Melbourne. Sarah and her family had moved to regional Victoria when her children were babies, but finding a local job that matched her experience in web content and digital marketing proved harder than anticipated. So Sarah continued working in Melbourne, leaving home at 6.30 am before her children woke and returning late into the night. At the time, her daughter was six months old, and her son was four.
Making a splash: How Shannon Cullen-Montfort built a swim school around her son
When a friend told Shannon Cullen-Montfort she had a pool and would make a good swimming teacher, she had no idea the suggestion would change her life. At the time, Shannon was working for the railway and raising her son Saxon as a single mum. She had never taught swimming, had no plans to open a swim school and certainly hadn’t mapped out a future as a small business owner. Three months later, she had left her government job and opened Spotto Swimstars in her backyard in Grafton.
School runs and show runs: How Celia Wouters built Events Outsourced
There aren’t many industries that demand more long days, late nights and weekend work than events. For years, Celia Wouters thought that was simply the price you paid to build a successful career. She loved the work, but after becoming a mum, she started wondering why it had to come at the expense of family life. So, while on maternity leave with her second child, she decided it was time for a new model, and Events Outsourced was born..
“I literally didn’t accept it”: How an MS diagnosis led Monique Bolland to build a global wellness business
“I firmly believe that you can’t always control your circumstances, but you can control how you react, and that can make all the difference.” Monique Bolland was 22 when a neurologist tried to tell her what the rest of her life would look like. The picture wasn’t encouraging. There would be illness, disability and the gradual loss of independence. The future she’d imagined for herself, travelling the world, building a career and one day working for herself, suddenly felt unreachable.
“I’d rather be part of the solution”: Why Abe Mikhail built an e-bike business differently
“I’d rather be part of the solution than watch from the sidelines while the category gets a bad reputation.” After more than 20 years building Fone King, entrepreneur Abe Mikhail recognised something familiar as e-bikes exploded in popularity. He’d seen it before: a fast-moving category growing faster than the education around it. “What I noticed with e-bikes was the same gap I saw with phones twenty years ago,” he says.
For Keeps and the stories we refuse to lose
“I’ve watched my mum lose her memories. I’d hate to see another family experience the pain and anguish of losing their stories.” For Jess Chalk, that sentence explains almost everything.
Why Dan Single’s biggest business lesson came after Ksubi
“Build a community and make things you genuinely believe in.” Dan Single doesn’t hesitate when asked what advice he’d give someone starting a business today. It’s the same philosophy that’s carried him through more than three decades in fashion, from helping build Ksubi into a global label to launching Return Flight, a project that takes vintage clothing and transforms it into one-off pieces. The businesses couldn’t look more different.
Brat business is here. Big business probably hates it
A generation ago, if you wanted to start a business, the advice was pretty predictable. Get some business cards printed, build a respectable website, learn how to network and try not to embarrass yourself. Now? A founder films themselves crying because a shipment has gone missing, racks up 400,000 views on TikTok and sells out their next product drop. Welcome to Brat business. Charli XCX may have accidentally created the founder aesthetic of 2026.
EOFY admin still chewing up hours for small business owners, says MYOB
With the end of the financial year (EOFY) just around the corner, MYOB suggests many small business owners are being buried under a mountain of paperwork. New research from MYOB suggests one in five businesses spend up to 10 hours on EOFY paperwork alone. The findings highlight just how much compliance work can eat into business time, particularly for owners already juggling customers, staff and day-to-day operations. 22 per cent of small businesses spend up to 10 hours on EOFY paperwork.
Driving for work? Here’s the tax deduction you don’t want to miss
For many sole traders, their car is effectively a mobile office. Whether it’s driving between job sites, visiting clients or making deliveries, kilometres add up quickly. Yet new research suggests plenty of sole operators may not be claiming the tax deductions they’re entitled to. Accounting software company Rounded estimates that Australia’s sole traders could collectively be missing out on hundreds of millions of dollars in work-related driving deductions each year.
Inside Houndsome: The Aussie-made dogwear brand winning over picky pet owners
“The most important decision was to stay clear about what Houndsome would not be.” When Lib Schleyder and Claire Stewart started Houndsome, they had already spent decades working in apparel, textiles, retail and branding. What they saw was a gap in the pet market for products that took fit, quality and comfort seriously. “Houndsome started with a simple idea: dog products could be better. Better made, better fitting, better looking, and more considered,” says Schleyder.
Bread and butter’ relief features in restrained NSW budget
The NSW government is handing down its state budget with an eye to the upcoming election as voters feel the sting of rising living costs. Tolls, trains, schools and hospitals are all slated for an upgrade in a cautious state budget intent on delivering services in rocky economic times. NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey will deliver his fourth, and potentially last, budget on Tuesday ahead of the March 2027 election.
Small business hiring stalls: MYOB reports
Australia’s small business sector appears to be putting recruitment plans on ice, with new MYOB data suggesting many owners are choosing caution over expansion as economic uncertainty continues. Ahead of this week’s Australian Bureau of Statistics labour force figures, MYOB says transaction data from more than 200,000 Australian small and medium-sized businesses points to slowing momentum across the sector.
For the love of Buddha: How a dog inspired an eight-figure business
“When Buddha was diagnosed with hip and elbow dysplasia, I was devastated.” Adam Guest was a police officer working in the Tactical Operations Unit, when his dog’s diagnosis changed his life forever. At the time, Guest’s career revolved around discipline, preparation, and decision-making under pressure. He wasn’t looking for a business idea, or toying with entrepreneurship, and he certainly wasn’t planning to build a pet food company. However, he was worried about his dog.
Reconciliation starts with showing up
If you’re a small business owner, reconciliation can feel like one of those things that you know matters but aren’t quite sure how to get started. Is it an Acknowledgement of Country at the start of a meeting? A social media post during National Reconciliation Week? A commitment to hire more Indigenous staff?
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