---
title: "Modern Small Business  Blog - Sapience Financial"
description: "Explore modern small business leadership through the lens of life, love, and business. Our blog helps you lead with purpose and become the change you want to see in your work and community."
url: "https://sapience.com.au/blog/modern-small-business?start=18"
date: "2026-06-18T11:03:21+00:00"
language: "en-GB"
---

#  Modern Small Business Leadership

- [ Modern Small Business ](https://sapience.com.au/modern-small-business-blog)

![Drew Browne Modern Small Business thought-provocateur](https://sapience.com.au/images/logo-brands/Drew-Browne-Modern-Small-Business-Blog.svg)

### Welcome to our Modern Small Business Leadership Blog

*Life, Love & Business* – it's a phrase we often use to explain the everyday interconnection between our business lives and our personal lives — all for the purpose of protecting and providing for those we love and nurturing our key relationships.

Our experience is most people want to be better people, to run better businesses and be better able to contribute to their communities and families in more meaningful ways. At its core of course, is the drive of leadership; who you are when nobody's looking, what you believe (and what you don't) who you value, what you support, and how you choose to show up in the world around you. Leadership is how we live (and work) with purpose and become that change we want to see in the world around us.

Our **Modern Small Business Leadership Blog** is for people who want to actively grow themselves, their businesses, and their community – so they can all live a bigger life.

![Written by Human Not made by AI sapience financial](https://sapience.com.au/images/icons/not-made-by-AI-sapience-financial-black.png)

### “Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision”

― Peter F. Drucker

---

  [ ![A very close up look into wads of $100 Australian currency notes](https://sapience.com.au/images/blog/leadership/what-does-it-mean-you-have-to-spend-money-to-make-money-drew-browne-small-business-blog.jpg) ](https://sapience.com.au/blog/modern-small-business/what-does-it-mean-you-have-to-spend-money-to-make-money "What does it mean you have to spend money to make money?") ##  [ What does it mean you have to spend money to make money? ](https://sapience.com.au/blog/modern-small-business/what-does-it-mean-you-have-to-spend-money-to-make-money)

### Ask yourself and then your Accountant this one question every year

Understanding the must-haves and the nice-to-haves

As a child, I remember hearing people say ‘you have to spend money to make money’.

It was one of those comments you would always feel the need to nod in agreement with, even though what it actually meant was a complete mystery to me.

I've gotten a little older now but the reason behind that statement still escapes many small business owners today.

- [ leadership ](https://sapience.com.au/all-tags/leadership)
- [ Modern Small Business ](https://sapience.com.au/modern-small-business-blog)
- [ 🤝 Small Business Risk & Partnership ](https://sapience.com.au/insights/small-business-risk-partnership)

 [ Read more … ](https://sapience.com.au/blog/modern-small-business/what-does-it-mean-you-have-to-spend-money-to-make-money)

  [ ![](https://sapience.com.au/images/blog/leadership/how-much-money-does-your-business-owe-you-drewbrowne-modern-small-business.jpg) ](https://sapience.com.au/blog/modern-small-business/how-much-money-does-your-business-owe-you "How much money does your business owe you?") ##  [ How much money does your business owe you? ](https://sapience.com.au/blog/modern-small-business/how-much-money-does-your-business-owe-you)

### How much money does your business owe you? (and will it ever pay you back?)

Why seeing yourself as a shareholder is often better than an owner

People go into business predominantly for the benefit of their families and for greater personal freedom.

The core motivation for many is more around serving others and less about personal entitlement

So is it any wonder, many small business owners often slip and prioritise others to their own personal and commercial detriment - and forget to pay themselves first?

- [ leadership ](https://sapience.com.au/all-tags/leadership)
- [ Modern Small Business ](https://sapience.com.au/modern-small-business-blog)
- [ 🛡️ Specialist Risk & Insurance ](https://sapience.com.au/insights/specialist-risk-insurance)
- [ 🤝 Small Business Risk & Partnership ](https://sapience.com.au/insights/small-business-risk-partnership)

 [ Read more … ](https://sapience.com.au/blog/modern-small-business/how-much-money-does-your-business-owe-you)

  [ ![happy young boy with his bagel](https://sapience.com.au/images/blog/leadership/what-a-9-year-old-boy-taught-me-about-courage-drewbrowne-modern-small-business.jpg) ](https://sapience.com.au/blog/modern-small-business/what-a-9-year-old-boy-taught-me-about-courage "What a 9 year old boy taught me about courage") ##  [ What a 9 year old boy taught me about courage ](https://sapience.com.au/blog/modern-small-business/what-a-9-year-old-boy-taught-me-about-courage)

### What a 9-year-old boy taught me about courage

Its never comfortable

Courage has always been an interesting character trait to me and over time I’ve decided that it’s not a trait, it’s a learnable skill.

- [ leadership ](https://sapience.com.au/all-tags/leadership)
- [ Modern Small Business ](https://sapience.com.au/modern-small-business-blog)
- [ 🤝 Small Business Risk & Partnership ](https://sapience.com.au/insights/small-business-risk-partnership)
- [ 🌍 Social Leadership & Conscious Business ](https://sapience.com.au/insights/social-leadership-conscious-business)

 [ Read more … ](https://sapience.com.au/blog/modern-small-business/what-a-9-year-old-boy-taught-me-about-courage)

  [ ![writing the word fragile on a cardboard moving box](https://sapience.com.au/images/blog/leadership/how-to-protect-your-business-from-the-natural-habits-you-dont-know-you-have-drewbrowne-modern-small-business-blog.jpg) ](https://sapience.com.au/blog/modern-small-business/how-to-protect-your-business-from-the-natural-habits-you-dont-know-you-have "How to protect your business from the natural habits you don’t know you have") ##  [ How to protect your business from the natural habits you don’t know you have ](https://sapience.com.au/blog/modern-small-business/how-to-protect-your-business-from-the-natural-habits-you-dont-know-you-have)

### There's a good reason why an invisible habit is hard to break

Life’s busy – no surprises there – so over time, we all develop habits and routines to help get stuff done, fast.

These decision-shortening processes continue to develop throughout our lifetime. It’s not long until we all develop our own *unconscious implicit bias* about people we like, situations we don’t, and how to see the world.

The result is regardless of how impartial we think we are, we all have implicit bias hiding in our subconscious.

The problem is what you don’t know can hurt you (and your business).

- [ leadership ](https://sapience.com.au/all-tags/leadership)
- [ Modern Small Business ](https://sapience.com.au/modern-small-business-blog)
- [ 🤝 Small Business Risk & Partnership ](https://sapience.com.au/insights/small-business-risk-partnership)

 [ Read more … ](https://sapience.com.au/blog/modern-small-business/how-to-protect-your-business-from-the-natural-habits-you-dont-know-you-have)

  [ ![boxers in the boxing ring at the end of the game](https://sapience.com.au/images/blog/leadership/10-strategies-to-improve-your-mental-toughness-drewbrowne-modern-small-business-blog.jpg) ](https://sapience.com.au/blog/modern-small-business/10-strategies-to-improve-your-mental-toughness "10 Strategies to improve your mental toughness") ##  [ 10 Strategies to improve your mental toughness ](https://sapience.com.au/blog/modern-small-business/10-strategies-to-improve-your-mental-toughness)

### The one skill that leverages all other skills

There is one mental skill that leverages and amplifies all of our other skills and abilities.

It's **the ability to be present in the moment**.

Whether you're leading a business, a family or simply learning how to make better decisions based upon good sense and clear judgment – your ability to be present in that moment can be the difference between success and another poor decision.

- [ leadership ](https://sapience.com.au/all-tags/leadership)
- [ Modern Small Business ](https://sapience.com.au/modern-small-business-blog)
- [ 🤝 Small Business Risk & Partnership ](https://sapience.com.au/insights/small-business-risk-partnership)
- [ 🌍 Social Leadership & Conscious Business ](https://sapience.com.au/insights/social-leadership-conscious-business)

 [ Read more … ](https://sapience.com.au/blog/modern-small-business/10-strategies-to-improve-your-mental-toughness)

  [ ![A skilled fishmonger opening an oyster with a knife](https://sapience.com.au/images/blog/leadership/the-irritation-of-doing-good-in-business-drewbrowne-modern-small-business-blog.jpg) ](https://sapience.com.au/blog/modern-small-business/the-irritation-of-doing-good-in-business "The irritation of doing good in business") ##  [ The irritation of doing good in business ](https://sapience.com.au/blog/modern-small-business/the-irritation-of-doing-good-in-business)

### How much do motives matter?

### This business question has always irritated me

There are many ways to do good in business, just as there are many motivations for doing so.

So what qualifies as a good motive, a bad motive, or just a nice idea?

- [ leadership ](https://sapience.com.au/all-tags/leadership)
- [ Modern Small Business ](https://sapience.com.au/modern-small-business-blog)
- [ 🤝 Small Business Risk & Partnership ](https://sapience.com.au/insights/small-business-risk-partnership)
- [ 🌍 Social Leadership & Conscious Business ](https://sapience.com.au/insights/social-leadership-conscious-business)

 [ Read more … ](https://sapience.com.au/blog/modern-small-business/the-irritation-of-doing-good-in-business)

1. [ Want the biggest benefit for your buck? Now you're thinking like a philanthropist](https://sapience.com.au/blog/modern-small-business/want-the-biggest-benefit-for-your-buck-now-you-are-thinking-like-a-philanthropist)
2. [ If it's not on your map, you probably won't go there](https://sapience.com.au/blog/modern-small-business/if-its-not-on-your-map-you-probably-wont-go-there)
3. [ Measuring the value of a business course – when is enough learning, enough?](https://sapience.com.au/blog/modern-small-business/measuring-the-value-of-a-business-course-when-is-enough-learning-enough)
4. [ Pushy sales people, boundaries and the Crowned Prince of Nigeria](https://sapience.com.au/blog/modern-small-business/pushy-sales-people-boundaries-and-the-crowned-prince-of-nigeria)
5. [ First time Dad, first time Boss and the world looks different now](https://sapience.com.au/blog/modern-small-business/first-time-dad-first-time-boss-and-the-world-looks-different-now)
6. [ Jesus, long hair and how bias affects my business decisions](https://sapience.com.au/blog/modern-small-business/jesus-long-hair-and-how-bias-affects-my-business-decisions)
7. [ Diversity matters – is your website a little too white? ](https://sapience.com.au/blog/modern-small-business/diversity-matters-is-your-website-a-little-too-white)

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