100 faces of small business
Showcases the human stories behind our state’s diverse small businesses and highlights their unique experiences and inspiring stories.
Small businesses make up 97.5% of all Queensland businesses, and the 100 Faces of Small Business are true advocates for small business, to inspire others to start, grow and employ more staff for their own small business.
Follow the journey and connect with our 100 Faces of Small Business of the North Queensland and Far North Queensland regions through their stories, videos and social media.
Michelle Murphy | Michelle Murphy Accounting – Saunders Beach
Michelle Murphy admires the motivation, skill, dedication and adaptability of small business owners. She left a large multinational accounting firm and set up her own accounting firm to focus on better serving the needs of other small businesses. In a service industry, being available is really important. Small business people, they want to be able to contact you, they want to be able to phone you and ask you questions without feeling silly. With specialised tax laws introduced for small business, Michelle prides herself on her expert advice and ability to easily explain complex tax issues. Her client base has grown predominantly through word of mouth, and Michelle’s commitment to service ensures a high level of satisfaction from both her referrers and her new clients.
E michellemurphy1@optusnet.com.au Ph 0412 779 706
Julie Sexton | TalkHQ – North Queensland
Whilst meeting for a coffee in their home town of Ayr, Julie Sexton and Jenna Morello realised they shared a common passion to change lives. They created TalkHQ with the goal of improving the lives of children with communication difficulties. Operating since 2014, the company now employs 17 staff across seven locations: Townsville, Ayr, Bowen, Charters Towers, Ingham, Palm Island, and Hughenden and is currently looking to hire three more speech pathologists to help with the demand for services. TalkHQ staff specialise in improving the communication needs of children by building strong talking, listening, reading, spelling and social skills. Their practices are built on a strong foundation of a positive team culture and strive to make therapy as fun as possible. Connect with the team at TalkHQ on social media, where parents and families can feel empowered to build communication into everyday routines.
E hello@talkhq.com.au Ph 07 4755 0225 W talkhq.com.au
Sharine Milne | R.H.D. Classic Supplies & Services – Aitkenvale
Sharine Milne is a motorcycle mechanic who now owns the business where she started as an apprentice. Through RHD Classic Supplies & Services, Sharine gives back to the Townsville community by helping rehabilitate PTSD suffers, training and providing work experience opportunities for disabled students, actively supporting charities and specialising in bike modifications for disabled riders, sharing her passion for motorcycling. What RHD does best is provide people with a safe place to come to that is judgement free, where they feel accepted for who they are. We teach servicing requirements, basic maintenance, working with others, and sometimes people just come in, make a coffee, have a chat or watch what we do. Sharine’s daughter joins her in the business making them an all-female run, motorcycle mechanic business.
Ph 07 4779 1340 f www.facebook.com/rhdclassic
Petina Tieman – 2018 National Indigenous Business Woman of the Year | Complete Business Solutions (QLD) Pty Ltd
Going from adversity to triumph has ensured that the multi-award-winning founders of Complete Business Solutions (QLD) Pty Ltd, Petina Tieman and Paul Gear, maintain a strong sense of humanity. The business, which offers mentoring, marketing, strategic planning, HSEQ management systems and sourcing funding services, boasts more than 80% success rate across 170 grants and tenders in the past 12 months, securing more than $4 million for their clients.Proudly 100% Indigenous owned and Supply Nation Certified, Petina and Paul use education and empowerment to provide low cost and funded solutions to help small business owners, equipping start-ups and SMEs with the tools, skills and knowledge to self-manage and grow. 30% of their work is provided pro-bono to the disadvantaged, homeless, NFPs and struggling businesses. Petina is the 2018 National Indigenous Business Woman of the Year. Take advantage of their free mentoring to find out how they can help you.
E petina@completebs.com.au Ph 07 4000 4141
Tiarnie Mueller | Outdoor Solutions Queensland – Portsmith
Landscape gardening in the tropics involves specialised skills and knowledge of the local environment. Outdoor Solutions, based in Cairns, delivers landscaping expertise and provides employment for Indigenous and long-term unemployed people. The climate and weather is very unpredictable in the tropics. Plants and grass grow very well in these climates, which keeps the maintenance side of the business busy all year round. Outdoor Solutions have worked hard to build strategic partnerships with other businesses and consultants including landscape architects and exterior designers. This allows the business to provide clients with a ‘one-stop solution’ to their landscaping needs and keep delivering quality services for the tropics, across commercial, government and residential projects.
E tiarnie@outdoorsolutionsqld.com.au Ph 07 4035 2414 W outdoorsolutionsqld.com.au
Ryan Moody | Ryan Moody Fishing – Online
After taking royalty and rock stars fishing during his many years operating a successful fishing charter business, Ryan Moody decided to swap the water for the web. Ryan’s online fishing courses are helping people from all around the world learn the secrets of fishing from his home in Far North Queensland. Ryan’s online tutorials have helped students land hundreds of metre-plus saltwater barramundi and his online teaching philosophy of ‘fish smarter not harder’ has won him a legion of fishing fans worldwide. Along with his wife Karen, Ryan now works full-time on Ryan Moody Fishing, creating a series of online fishing courses for a range of fish species caught around Australia and the world. “I think the barramundi is so revered by Australian fisherman because they’re a brilliant sport fish that is an iconic catch in our country.”
