Nik Leigh
Advisory Experience Intro call

I build, franchise and advise service businesses

A bit about me — my background, my projects, and how I help business owners.

Nik Leigh

I'm Australian, but I'm not based anywhere in particular. I split the year between Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia. Business started early for me, between the family business and my own attempts at it. Fifteen years and a fair share of wins and losses later, I still find the energy of it addictive.

Most of those projects were my own, a few I consulted on. Some worked. Others didn't. That's business. Each one narrowed things down to what I know best: service businesses, and particularly where they meet technology. Usually that means software so the business stops being capped by the hours its people can physically work, or software that makes the model repeatable enough to run under a manager, in a second location, or without you in it at all.

That second one is where I've spent most of my time. I franchised my own service business across Australia and New Zealand and ran it for eleven years. Franchising makes you get good at all of it at once: legal and regulatory, brand, process, systems, technology, recruiting and training.

Whether you're after someone for a particular project, or someone in your corner through every challenge a business throws up, reach out. I'd like to hear what you're working on and see where I can add value.

What I work on

Some of the areas I might be able to help with.

Pricing & margin What you charge, and whether it reflects what the work actually costs you.
Job costing Finding the service lines quietly losing you money.
Systems & process Writing down how your business actually runs, then deciding what software should own it.
Brand & marketing Positioning, and whether your marketing is selling what you actually do.
Software & automation Choosing the right stack, or building your own when nothing off the shelf fits.
Productising services Turning your hours of work into something you can price, sell and deliver the same way twice.
Outsourcing Building your offshore team in Indonesia, covering software, AI, UI/UX, branding and design. I spend part of every year there.
Second locations Whether your business is repeatable enough to copy yet.
Franchising Manuals, territories, agreements and franchisee training. I built and ran a network for eleven years. Australia and New Zealand only.
Exit planning What buyers will test in your business, and what to fix well before they do.

Advisory

A free intro call and we'll be able to see the best way to work together.

Intro call Twenty minutes, video call.
Book, free
Advisor on call A ninety minute video call, booked as you need it.
Book, A$195
Custom projects Scoped and priced per project. Franchise builds, systems work, offshore teams.
Enquire

My work

Service StartersMay 2026 – Present
FounderConsulting/ Education
A four-week intensive for people looking to launch their own service business.
Service SubscriberMay 2025 – Present
FounderTechnology/ SaaS
Sell services like products, with one-off or recurring payments and delivery tracking.
Real CreatorJul 2023 – Present
FounderTechnology/ SaaS
Software for real estate and property media businesses.
Neat2020 – 2022
FounderRetail/ DTC
A portable platter product, sold direct to consumer and wholesale. It didn't work. Many lessons learnt.
Real Property PhotographyApr 2013 – Oct 2024
Founder & FranchisorService/ Franchising
Built a franchise network across Australia and New Zealand over eleven years, working with thousands of property professionals. Exited 2024.

Writing

Occasional notes on running a service business. More on Substack.

Most owners don't have a marketing problem Why flat revenue is usually a pricing problem wearing a marketing costume.
Mar 2026
The two service lines losing you money A simple way to job cost when your quotes have always come from gut feel.
Feb 2026
What a buyer actually tests Eleven years building a franchise network, and what diligence looked for at the end of it.
Jan 2026

Awards

NextGen in Franchising Finalist, Las Vegas.
2018
Australian Young Entrepreneur of the Year Business News Australia, Arts & Culture.
2018
Brisbane Young Entrepreneur of the Year Business News Australia, Arts & Culture.
2018

Education

I studied a Bachelor of Business Administration in Entrepreneurship at RMIT University, and hold a Certificate IV in Finance and Mortgage Broking from the National Finance Institute. I deferred the degree to pursue the business, which turned out to be the right call.

Who I work with

Trades and home services, property and professional services, studios and agencies, mostly across Australia and New Zealand. Service Starters is the exception, built for people who haven't started yet.

I'm less useful if you're raising money. Everything I've built has been bootstrapped, so I'm the wrong person for investors, term sheets and cap tables. Same goes for businesses in distress that need a turnaround specialist, and for retail and e-commerce, which aren't my strength. I've had a go at both and would rather point you to someone better than take the work. I'm not a broker, an accountant or a lawyer, and I'll say so when you need one.