08/04/2026
We don't normally rant. But when we do... 👀
Grab a coffee. This one's real.
It's been a big week in the world of small business. And not the good kind of big. The kind where you sit at your desk at 9pm wondering why you're still doing this.
We need to talk about what's actually going down right now.
THE RBA just banned card surcharges. And before you think "oh great, less fees for me as a consumer" — flip the lens. You're also a business owner. From 1 October 2026, you can no longer pass on card transaction fees to your customers. The RBA called businesses out for being "greedy and dishonest" about surcharge transparency. Ouch. So now you get to choose. Absorb the fees and watch your already tight margins shrink even further. Or raise your prices and brace for the customer comments, the awkward conversations, the anxiety spiral that comes with every single price increase. Because we all know a price rise isn't just a number change. It's weeks of overthinking, second-guessing, and hoping like hell your customers don't walk.
That sick feeling in your stomach? We've all been there. And now it's coming for you whether you're ready or not.
FAIR WORK just ruled that junior pay rates for 18 to 20 year olds are being phased out. Effective from December this year, phased over 4 years. Right now, 18 year olds can be paid 70% of the adult wage. 19 year olds at 80%. 20 year olds at 90%. That's gone. Full adult rates, across the board. And look, we get it. Adults deserve adult pay. We're not arguing that. But for the small business owner who has carefully built a roster, managed a wage ratio, tried to keep a sustainable team without burning through cash every fortnight — this is a real cost hit. Wages are often the single biggest expense in a small business. And there's no government rebate coming for you. Just a higher bill and the same revenue to cover it.
We tried to book tickets to a regional tourism conference this week. You know, to stay informed about what's happening in our own industry, in our own region. $700. Per ticket. Each. Before fuel. Before accommodation. Before the days away from the business that don't run themselves. Professional development in regional Australia isn't just expensive. For many of us, it's simply not accessible. And yet we're expected to stay competitive, stay informed, and keep up with an industry that moves fast. With what budget exactly?
A client of ours tried to set up a basic phone and comms system for her brand new small business this week. The licensing fee alone? $250 a month. Not the full package. Just the licence. That's more than most people pay for internet and two mobile phones combined. For a licence. To run a phone system. Because apparently being in business now requires a second mortgage just to communicate professionally.
And here's the thing that really gets us.
Where is the space for small business anymore?
Where is the plan that actually accounts for the person who is doing everything — the quoting, the invoicing, the marketing, the deliveries, the client work, the team management, the compliance — and doing it all from a regional town with no foot traffic, limited access to support, and a family to get home to?
Every single week there is something new squeezing from the top down. And you can fill out every survey your local shire, chamber of commerce, or industry body throws at you. You can submit feedback and show up to the forums and do everything "right." And then watch the decisions get made anyway. By people who have never had to choose between paying themselves and paying their staff.
It doesn't feel fair. Because it isn't.
Here's where we land though.
We are a small business. Built specifically to serve small businesses. We cop every single one of these changes at the front line — and then we go home to our own independent businesses and cop them again there too. So when we say we get it, we mean it. Completely and without any filter.
And what we keep coming back to is this. The most powerful thing we can do right now — the thing that actually costs less than it gives back — is each other. Banding together. Sharing knowledge. Pooling resources. Showing up for one another in the spaces where the powers above simply aren't.
That's why we built The Business Social.
That's why CONNECT exists at around $2 a day — workshops, planning sessions, up to date information, and a community of women who actually understand what it feels like to be you right now. We have fought to keep that price as low as we possibly can because we know what tight margins feel like. We're living it too.
You are not alone in this. Not even a little bit.
If you're feeling the weight of all of this, come find us. The door is open. And the community is real. 💚
