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NIKKI MILNE • Business Mentor & Speaker

@nikkimilne_

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Your business is successful.Now let’s make it need less of you & create space for what’s next..
20yrs building businesses
Agency @theperthcollectivepr

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a year ago

Just pinning this here to reintroduce myself 🤍

At 16, I’d dropped out of high school. I was shampooing hair and sweeping floors in a country town salon. No degree. No big plan. Just a gut feeling I was made for more.

At 23, I bought my first business, a bankrupt hair salon in Perth. I was determined to be successful. Fast forward 8 years… That salon? Highly Profitable. Booked out. Thriving.

My first child arrived and l received an offer to sell I couldn’t ignore…. As one chapter closed, another door opened.

I always had a love for marketing. But without a degree or experience, no one would hire me. So I hired myself. I Started an Instagram account…. And it took off with over 40,000 followers in just afew months.

This enabled me to launch my PR & Marketing agency @theperthcollectivepr

Then when the world stopped overnight in 2020, I launched my online education platform for women, welcoming 1000s to the platform.

I’ve built multiple businesses. Built my wealth.
And built my freedom, the real goal.

Now I run my Agency from Perth, Western Australia and raise four kids with my Fire Fighter husband.

I teach women how to scale smart, charge their worth, so they can earn more and work less.

Because the truth is
You don’t need permission. You need strategy.
And someone who’s walked it.

If you’re scared to scale or perhaps hit a plateau, I’ve been there.

The life you want is already possible.
You just have to choose to build it. No excuses.

📌 Comment “EDIT” to join my weekly behind-the-scenes newsletter Built for ambitious women ready to grow a profitable business on their terms.

✨Follow @nikkimilne_ for real stories, strategy and business truths most people won’t say out loud.

#businessmindset #businesstips #businesswoman #businessstrategy #marketingdigital #marketingstrategy by @nikkimilne_

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a year ago

I've had a few conversations lately with Australian business owners who are seriously weighing up a move overseas. Some of them are excited about it, and some of them, if I'm reading between the lines, are just tired. Tired of the tax, tired of feeling like business owners here get very little support, and wondering if the answer is to pack up and start again somewhere that looks easier on paper.

I understand that, and I'll never judge anyone for choosing it. But every time I come home from a trip, whether it's a family holiday, a retreat or a speaking tour, I land in Perth and feel it all over again. This is the life I actually want. The kids at their school, the beach down the road, our community, my husband's work, all of it. When I ran the numbers on what moving could save me, it didn't come close to what I'd be giving up.

I think a lot of us end up chasing a version of freedom we picked up from someone else's feed.

For some it really is a new country. For others it's working three days a week, stepping out of client delivery, or simply being able to say no without checking the bank account first. None of those are wrong, but they need very different decisions in your business, and you can't make those decisions until you know which one is yours.

So yes, I'm frustrated by our tax system, and I'll keep saying the support for business owners in this country is REALLY bad atm. But at the end of the day, Australia is one of the safest places in the world to raise a family. We have one of the best healthcare systems in the world, and it's free to use. I can fill a glass of water straight from the tap, breathe clean air and step outside into beautiful weather most of the year. There are so many wonderful things about living here that I'm not willing to trade, so you won't be seeing me move overseas any time soon.

Did you find this post triggering? Are you tempted to move overseas as an Australian Business Owner? by @nikkimilne_

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an hour ago

SAVE THIS 👇 ✨✨

The woman who can’t step away from her business didn’t build it wrong. She built it around herself. Every answer, every approval, every client relationship runs through her. So the business can only grow as far as she can stretch.

I stopped being the centre of mine. My team has nine rules, and the business runs whether I’m at my desk or on the other side of the world ↓

1. Own the outcome, not just the task.
“I sent the email” isn’t done. “The client said yes” is. Everyone owns the result, not the to-do list.

2. Bring your best guess, not a question.
“What should I do?” becomes “Here’s what I’d do, am I right?” Most of the time, they are.

3. If you had to ask, write it down.
Every answer goes into the playbook. Nobody asks the same thing twice, and nobody new has to ask at all.

(I share the systems behind my team every week. Follow @nikkimilne_ so you don’t miss the next one.)

4. Every client has a contact who isn’t me.
From day one, clients know who looks after them. I’m not cc’d. I’m not the backup.

5. Under $500 you decide.
Small calls don’t need permission. Make it, note it, move on.

6. Raise it early. Nobody’s in trouble for that.
A small problem on Tuesday is a five-minute chat. The same problem on Friday is a crisis.

7. Disagree with me out loud.
If you think I’m wrong, say so. A team that only agrees with me still needs me in the room.

8. Teach what you know.
No one person should be the only one who can do something. Including me.

9. If it’s not on fire, it waits.
After hours, weekends, holidays. Everything that isn’t an emergency is still fine in the morning.

That’s it. Nine rules. A team that thinks for itself. A business that doesn’t need me in the middle of it.

If your business stops when you do, it’s not a business yet. It’s a job you can’t quit.

Send this to your team 🤎

Then follow @nikkimilne_ I’m building a business that runs without me, and I’m showing you exactly how so you can build yours. by @nikkimilne_

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4 hours ago

I've had this question come up in almost every client session lately, usually said half-jokingly: "So how do I get ChatGPT to recommend me?" And I get why. More and more people are asking AI who to hire, where to go and who's good at what, and nobody wants to be left out of that answer.

But when we open their website together, the problem is almost never the AI. It's that the business is so much better than the website says it is. Years of experience, a beautiful service, clients who rave about them, and then a homepage with a vague tagline, the important details tucked inside images, and nothing that clearly says who they help, where they work or why they're good at it. If I can't work it out in 30 seconds, a machine doesn't stand much of a chance either.

The good news is that the fix isn't some secret trick, and you don't need to pay anyone who's promising you a guaranteed spot. It's mostly the unglamorous work of explaining your business properly, in plain words, in the places people and these tools can actually read. It's the same work that makes your website better for every human who lands on it, which is why I think it's worth doing either way.

Save this for the next time you sit down to look at your website, and send it to the friend who's been asking the same question. by @nikkimilne_

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a day ago

People always ask how I get four kids and myself out the door by 8:15 in the morning, and the answer is a lot less glamorous than they expect. There are six of us in this house, with different schedules, more sport than I can keep track of, and two working parents. The only way it works is if nobody has to work out what's happening each day, because everyone already knows.

The rules themselves aren't anything special. What makes them work is that I've never bent them. Not once. The kids don't argue with me because there's nothing to argue about. These are the rules, they know it, and they've known it for as long as they can remember. I've learnt that the minute I make an exception, it's not one conversation anymore. It's four little voices all wanting to know why it doesn't apply to them too. So I just don't make exceptions, and our home runs calmly because of it.

I think about this a lot with the women I work with, because businesses run the same way. When the rules are clear and you actually hold them, your team stops coming to you for every little decision, clients know what to expect, and you're not renegotiating the same things every week. When the rules bend depending on the day, everyone learns to push.

I'd love to know what your non-negotiable is at home, so tell me in the comments. I'm always happy to steal a good one. 👇 by @nikkimilne_

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2 days ago

There's a moment that happens at almost every event I speak at. Someone comes up afterwards and says, "I'd love to do what you do, but how do you actually get paid for it?" And it's usually a woman who's been saying yes to every panel, every podcast, every "we'd love to have you" for years, hoping that one day it turns into something.

I understand it, because the invitations feel good. Being asked feels like proof you've made it. But behind every stage there's the prep, the travel, the time away from your family and your business, the clients who wait a little longer for you, and the energy it takes to show up and do it properly. When none of that is being paid for, someone is covering the cost, and it's usually you.

Speaking is just the most visible version of it. I see the same pattern in so many businesses I look at. The discounts given because it felt awkward not to. The extra work thrown in because the client was lovely. The "quick favour" that turns into a full week. None of it feels like a big decision in the moment, but add it up over a year and it's a lot of expertise walking out the door for free.

The women who change this don't suddenly become harder or less generous. They just get clear on what their time is worth and start asking better questions before they say yes.

I’ve just dropped a new guide to 50 things I do now if I wanted to take 4 weeks in January off - comment “50” and I’ll send it to you ✨ by @nikkimilne_

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3 days ago

I have this conversation with women all the time.

They've hit the goals they spent years working towards, but when I ask what's next, they don't light up at the thought of another location, a bigger team or doubling the business again.

They are quietly exhausted. They love their business but know they can't continue on running it at such a demanding level.

You may want:
More profit.
More predictability.
Less of YOU in every tiny decision.
More money actually reaching YOU personally.

And I think that's a really exciting stage of business. BUT I remember how hard it was to go from successful and overwhelmed (plus exhausted) to REGAINING the freedom and flexibility I originally built it for.

You've done the building. Now you get to be much more deliberate about what you're actually building towards.

If you are at a stage in your business where it is successful and established, yet it is still depending on you too much - this is the work I do. Over 12 months, we work closely together to restructure your business so it requires less of you.

Curious to find out more? Slide into my DMs with the word SEEN by @nikkimilne_

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2 months ago

SAVE THIS LIST ⬇️
for the next time someone asks for “friends rates” as you shouldn’t feel obligated to give discount to family& friends….

1. “I love that you thought of me. My rates are the same for everyone.”
2. “I don’t discount, but I can adjust the scope to fit your budget.”
3. “If the budget’s tight right now, I’d rather you wait than rush it.”
4. “I keep my pricing consistent so every client gets my best work.”
5. “I’d hate for money to get weird between us, so let’s keep it simple and I’ll send the invoice.”
6. “Let me know when the timing’s right. I’d love to work with you.”
7. “Friends are the people I most want to do a brilliant job for, and that means charging properly.”

Where do you stand on family and friend discounts? I’d love to know below 👇
____
Comment “50” for my list of 50 things to do in your business now so you can take January off in your business ✨ by @nikkimilne_

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16 days ago

🔥SAVE THIS 👇

The business owner who can’t take a day off isn’t bad at delegating. She’s built a business where every decision has to come through her. So she stays switched on, answers messages at 9pm, and calls it commitment.

I ran my business that way for years. Now my team runs it without me, and it comes down to five rules ↓

1. “Don’t bring me a problem without a solution.”
Even if it’s the wrong solution. I want them thinking, not waiting.

2. “If it costs under [$X], make the call.”
Small decisions shouldn’t need my approval. Give them a number and trust them with it.

3. “Done is better than perfect, unless it’s client-facing.”
They know exactly where the standard is non-negotiable and where it isn’t.

4. “Write it down the second time you do it.”
The first time is learning. The second time is a system.

5. “Tell me what you decided, not what you’re deciding.”
Updates, not permission slips.

Your team isn’t waiting because they’re not capable. They’re waiting because you’ve trained them to.

✨✨ Comment GUIDE & I’ll send you my step by step method for increasing your prices. ✨✨

If you’ve built something successful but it still can’t run without you, you’re exactly who I create for. I’ve spent 20+ years building businesses that pay me more and need me less, and I share every lesson over at @nikkimilne_ by @nikkimilne_

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9 days ago

There’s something very different about mentoring a woman for an entire year.

I’m not just seeing the polished version of her business once a month. I’m there for the decisions she’s been going back and forth on for six months. The price increase she knows she needs to make. The team member she’s not sure is right anymore. The offer that’s making money but taking too much from her. The big idea she sends me before she’s even fully convinced herself it could work.

And I get to watch what happens when she stops making those decisions alone.

The women I mentor 1:1 are already established. They’ve built good businesses. They know how to make money and they’re very capable at what they do.

What they want now is someone close enough to the business to see what they can’t always see from inside it.

That’s why my 12-month mentoring isn’t a course, a framework or a monthly call where we talk about goals and I send you on your way.

For a year, I know your numbers. I know your team. I know what you’re trying to build, what we decided three months ago and why, what keeps coming up, and when you’re playing smaller than the business you say you want.

Sometimes I’ll challenge you. Sometimes I’ll tell you to leave something alone. Sometimes I’ll introduce you to someone in my network or send you a message because I’ve seen something and immediately thought of your business.

That proximity matters.

Because the biggest business decisions rarely exist in isolation. Your pricing affects your profit. Your positioning affects the clients you attract. Your team affects your capacity. Your capacity affects what you can build next.

And over 12 months, I get to see the whole picture with you.

I keep the number of women I mentor small for exactly that reason. I want to know your business well enough that when you ask, “What do you think?”, I already understand everything sitting behind the question.

If you’re an established businesswoman and you’re looking for that kind of person in your corner for the next 12 months, my 1:1 mentoring applications are open for the final intake of 2026.

DM me READY to explore your next step x by @nikkimilne_

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2 months ago

A week ago a mentoring client told me she was about to email all of her clients to let them know she was taking a week off.

I asked, "Why?"

She looked at me slightly confused.

"Why what?"

"Why are you telling them?"

She paused.

"I've always done it."

I asked one more question.

"Will your week away affect their work?"

"No. Everything is already organised. My team knows what they're doing. We've got systems in place if anything comes up."

"So... why are you telling them?"

Here's what I think.

Too many business owners confuse transparency with reassurance.

If your absence changes nothing for your client, then your systems are doing exactly what they're supposed to do. The goal isn't to build a business that depends on you announcing every movement.

The goal is to build one that keeps delivering whether you're at your desk, on a plane, or spending a Tuesday afternoon with your kids.

I don't tell my clients every time I go away. They don't tell me either. Nor should they feel they have to. Because we've built businesses, not dependencies.

That's what great systems buy you. Not just efficiency.

Freedom.

Now tell me, do you tell your clients when you are going on holiday? by @nikkimilne_

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2 months ago