Business Basics

Borrowed Wisdom: 9 Lessons from Australia's Top Founders

4 min read

1 October 2026

Takeaways:

Focus your energy on what you can control. Worrying about the economy or competitors achieves little, while acting on your pricing, team and systems moves the business forward.
Speed and curiosity are a small business's advantage. Make decisions promptly and keep looking for the next opportunity.
You don't have to do it alone. The right team, advisers and peers make big challenges far more achievable.
Ideas only count when you act on them, and that includes looking after yourself. Small, consistent steps add up over time.

Lessons From Australian Founders

Inspirational quotes are easy to find. Putting them to work is the hard part. Most of us read a good line, nod along and get straight back to the inbox.
Some of Australia's best-known business leaders have shared advice that's worth more than a quick nod. Here are nine of those lessons, what they mean for business owners and how you can put them into practice.

Spend your energy where it counts

Canva co-founder Melanie Perkins has said she spends her time "improving the things I can change, not worrying about the things I can't."

Interest rates, the economy and a competitor's pricing can all keep business owners up at night, yet none of them are within your control. That energy is far better spent on the things you can influence, such as your pricing, your team, your systems and your customers.

Speed beats size

Media proprietor Rupert Murdoch put it bluntly: "Big will not beat small anymore. It will be the fast beating the slow."

Smaller businesses have an advantage that big companies often envy. They can move quickly. You don't need a committee to try a new idea, change a process or respond to a customer. But that advantage only works if you use it, and decisions that sit on the to-do list for months cost more than most people realise.

Keep asking "what's next?"

Harvey Norman CEO Katie Page has said she always wakes up thinking "What's next?"

Curiosity is one of the most useful habits an owner can have. The businesses that keep growing tend to be run by people who are always looking for the next opportunity, whether that's a new service, a new market or a better way of doing things.

You don't have to do it alone

Journalist and advocate Tracey Spicer has observed that big challenges become more achievable when you connect with others working towards the same goal.

Running a business can be lonely. Many owners carry every decision and every worry on their own shoulders. The ones who go furthest usually have people around them: a strong team, trusted advisers, mentors and peers who understand what they're going through.

You're not stuck with who you are today

OzHarvest founder Ronni Kahn has said that "who you think you are now has no bearing on who you could be."

It's easy to define yourself by your current role. "I'm a tradie." "I'm not a numbers person." "I'm not a leader." But skills can be learned and roles can change. Plenty of successful business owners started out doing something completely different.

Remember why you started

The late John Ilhan, founder of Crazy John's, believed that "when you do something you love, it's not really work."

No one loves every part of running a business. Payroll, compliance and difficult conversations come with the territory. But when the hard parts start to crowd out everything else, it helps to reconnect with what drew you to the business in the first place.

An idea is only worth what you do with it

RedBalloon founder Naomi Simson keeps it simple: "Thoughts without actions are useless."

Most business owners have a list of good ideas they've never acted on. The difference between those who grow and those who stay stuck often comes down to follow-through. A small step today is worth more than a perfect plan that never leaves your head.

Small actions add up

Movember co-founder Adam Garone believes that "everyone can make a difference in a variety of ways."

Movember began with a small group of friends and a moustache, and grew into a global movement. It's a good reminder that big outcomes usually start small. The same applies inside your business. Small improvements, made consistently, can change everything over time.

Look after yourself first

Emma Welsh, co-founder of Emma & Tom's, offers the simplest advice of all: "Take care of yourself."

It might also be the most important. You are your business's most valuable asset. When you're tired, stressed and running on empty, every decision gets harder. Looking after your health isn't a distraction from the business. It's what keeps the business going.

Putting it into practice

You don't need to act on all nine at once. Pick the one that hits closest to home and try one of these small steps this week:

Sort your worries. Write down the three things worrying you most about the business. Cross off the ones you can't control and choose one action for each that's left.
Make the decision. Find one decision you've been putting off for more than a month and give yourself until Friday to make it.
Ask your customers. Ask three of your best customers what else they wish you offered.
Share the load. Think of one problem you've been trying to solve alone, and talk it through with someone you trust.
Build a skill. Identify one skill that would make the biggest difference to your business and book a course, find a book or ask someone who does it well.
Do what you enjoy. Block out an hour for the part of your work you love most. If there's no time for it, that tells you something.
Take the first step. Pick one idea you keep coming back to, write down the first step and do it before the week is out.
Make one small change. Ask your team for one change that would make their work easier, then make it.
Book it in. Make the health appointment you've been putting off, or put your next holiday in the calendar.

Reading about success is easy. Acting on it is where the value lies. Choose one of these lessons, take the small step that goes with it and see what changes.