Australia’s Top 50 Small Business Leaders 2020 Revealed

With a Master’s degree in Education and a Bachelor’s degree in Business, Irene is ideally placed to building the bridge required in cultural exchange between host families and au pairs from around the world. Through Melbourne-based social enterprise 99aupairs, Irene helps families to reduce the stress of managing in-home care – be that childcare, aged care or disability care.

Irene’s “why” is to help as many mothers as possible to get back into workforce and ensure they stay independent, in so doing inspiring the next generation of women to build their support networks regardless of their ambitions. In a bid to further advocate for better chances for women, 99aupairs has partnered with not-for-profit organisation Muskaan Bhopal that supports girls from India's slum areas to stay in school longer and avoid forced child marriages.

Irene is also wife to her trailblazer, feminist husband who has twice spent periods at home to care for their two kids as Irene worked hard to build the business.

Paul is the CEO of the Australian and New Zealand arm of the world’s first and largest business coaching company for SMEs, ActionCOACH.

Paul entered the world of business coaching 17 years ago from a background in mainframe computing and electronic engineering to develop and operate several successful entrepreneurial ventures across a range of Industries, as well as gaining his MBA.

Paul joined ActionCOACH as a Franchise Partner in 2003 and coached over 350 SME owners, becoming one the top five per cent of business coaches globally before taking on the role as CEO of ActionCOACH’s founding region in 2015.

Paul has a deep and real understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing business owners and has huge respect and admiration for those that go ‘out on a limb’ to start and run their own business.

Paul believes that SMEs need all the support they can get to ensure their businesses are successful as they are the lifeblood of every community, feeding into the local economies to keep them buoyant.

Cassandra is the founder of Millennium Communications, a creative PR and marketing agency. She established the business in 2016 at just 22 years of age and has subsequently built a strong reputation for herself and Millennium Communications in the PR industry in Australia.

Cassandra's success has come despite a time of extreme despair when she struggled with weight-related illnesses, bullying and an absence of direction or purpose. After deciding she couldn’t continue on this destructive path, Cassandra embarked on an inspiring weight-loss journey while launching a lifestyle blog and E-book – projects that gave her the confidence to launch her own business.

Bringing authenticity and integrity to any project she works on, Cassandra built Millennium Communications with the same philosophy and core values. The firm belief that “as long as you’re your true self with others, they will be more receptive to your words and professional advice”, has helped Cass and her team continually deliver great results for her clients.

Tim is responsible for all the content on the Inside Small Business website and in the quarterly magazine. He has come into journalism after a long career – including management roles – in hospitality, insurance and credit management, giving him significant insights into the way business works. His experience as a credit manager offered a first-hand experience of dealing with the issue that small-business owners repeatedly cite as their biggest challenge to staying afloat and prospering – getting paid by those to whom they have provided goods or services!

Tim now combines this business experience with a particular passion for start-ups and small businesses, a sector he is now fully immersed in and for which he is a passionate advocate. The highlight of his journalism career has been the enthusiasm with which every year’s Inside Small Business Top 50 Small Business Leaders Report has been received by the small-business communities around the country.

Les specialises in helping enterprises of all sizes across a range of industries throughout Australia and South-East Asia to achieve peak productivity. His depth of knowledge and skill come from over 30 years of experience as a trainer, speaker and coach in self-management, productivity, work wellbeing, communication, motivation, sales, team building and customer service.

Les has recently achieved one of his career highlights by working with Deakin University’s ManuFutures Division as a coach, trainer and mentor to hi-tech manufacturing start-ups.

Les also invests in up-and-coming small to medium businesses through his involvement with organisations such as Business Builders Group, Localised, Torquay Commerce and Tourism, Geelong Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business Smart Business, Runway and Entrepreneurs Geelong.

Les is the author of time-management bestseller Get Back An Hour In Every Day.

Brooke is an Instagram specialist, international keynote speaker, creator of the global Social Club Membership and Academy and a regular guest on Channel 9 News Perth. With a background in sales and marketing, Brooke’s love of customer service and her enthusiastic personality allowed her to skyrocket through the digital marketing world to become one of Australia’s most influential Instagram speakers and trainers working with brands such as American Express, Dermalogica and Mazda.
Brooke specialises in educating businesses on exactly how to leverage the power of social media to increase their brand awareness and boost their bottom line. Her online coaching community – The Social Club Membership – has empowered thousands of businesses in 32 countries with the knowledge, confidence and tools to get real results and sell using Instagram.