EMME Influence

The work worth handing over is the part that stops the whole place the week you're away, which is the bit most owners have backwards, because the first thing anyone wants to offload is whatever they like doing least.

So try this for a week, and every time you catch yourself going "oh, only I know this", write the thing down.

· Where the supplier login lives
· What you say when someone asks for a discount
· Which quotes you pitch too low, and why

By Friday you'll have a list, and the list is nothing like a to-do list, more a map of everything sitting in one person's head with no copy kept anywhere else.

Work down the list slowly, one line at a time, because every line you move out of your own head is a day you could take off.

Writing down what sits in your head so somebody else can run the work is what content creation is for, half the time.

The Local Business Toolkit is a head start on the list. emmeinfluence.com

What's the one thing in your business nobody else knows how to do?

The whole thing is a note on your phone, and writing that note takes about 20 minutes once, and then you're done.

What goes in the note: what you charge and why, the customers you want more of, the ones you knock back, and the line people use when they recommend you to a mate. Then you paste that note in before you ask AI for anything, every time, from now on.

Because that's the whole trick with AI for small business, and nobody mentions this bit when they're handing out advice, AI only knows what you've typed. Ask for a Facebook post about your plumbing business and what comes back is something any plumber anywhere could have written, and fair enough, because you handed over nothing to work with.

The first time most owners paste their own note in, the result is a bit of a shock. Same tool, and the writing that comes back sounds like the person who runs the place.

Here's the part worth sitting with: the way your business sounds online isn't something you're stuck with, and once that note exists you're the one deciding how the whole thing lands!

The Local Business Toolkit is that note, already written for you, so you're filling in your own answers instead of staring at a blank screen. emmeinfluence.com

What's the last thing you asked AI to write, and did the writing sound anything like you?

One line on your invoice, with a phone number sitting in the middle of that line, and whoever's trying to redirect your customer's payment moves along to an easier target.

Here's what changed, because for years the tells were bad spelling, dodgy grammar and a logo that looked a bit off, and any of those would make you stop and check. Not any more. AI for small business is brilliant, and the same tool helping you write a quote also writes a clean, polite email sounding exactly like the supplier you've used since 2017.

So the expensive version goes like this: someone copies your invoice, swaps the bank details, sends the invoice on to your customer, and your customer pays, and the money's gone, and you're the one on the phone explaining what happened. Australians reported 166.8 million lost to payment redirection last year, out of 2.18 billion across every scam type, in the national scam figures published in March.

The 5 minute fix is one line on the invoice, along the lines of "our bank details never change, so ring us on [your number] before you pay if anything looks off", and the same wording goes on your website and on your page.

Now your customer has somewhere to check, and a crook can copy your logo and your wording, but nobody can copy a phone call.

The Local Business Toolkit has the wording and where the wording goes. emmeinfluence.com

Has anyone ever rung you to check an email was from you?

a stranger decides in one frame whether your work reads as a business or a hobby

recognition is not a logo & not a rebrand
recognition is four codes repeating until someone describes your brand without naming you 🏛

colour
format
look
place

fix those four codes & every post afterwards has a standard to be measured against, which is the difference between building something & starting again every fortnight

the founders who look established did this early & quietly, before anyone was watching

signature architecture is a free plug & play ai dashboard that sets your four codes, logs every post against them & hands the weekly audit to the ai already open on your desk, claude or chatgpt both work. the workspace duplicates into yours in under five minutes

comment olive & the link lands in your dm

produced by melanie laas .co, founder, who writes every dashboard herself 🤎

Open a private incognito window and type the words a customer would use, something like "emergency plumber open right now" or "hairdresser who can fit you in Saturday" or "mobile mechanic that comes to you", so the results show you what a stranger sees instead of what you already want to see...

Then just read what comes back, because most business owners never have.

The whole thing takes less time than making a cup of tea and you don't post a single word, which makes this the easiest bit of content creation you'll do all week. Finding out what's already out there is content creation too.

Someone who has never heard of you is looking for four things:
· Whether you're open
· What you do
· Roughly what you charge
· How they reach a real human being

If any one of those is missing, a computer fills the gap with a guess, or skips past you and answers with somebody else instead.

Here's the part worth sitting with: whatever comes back is the first impression your business makes on everyone in town who hasn't met you yet, and unlike most first impressions, this one you get to write!

The school holiday break starts Saturday and runs for 17 days, and once those four things are sorted in your business they keep working while you're closed hanging out with the family, and while you're down at the pool pretending not to watch the kids, your business is still bringing in leads.

What do people type when they're hunting for someone in your line of work?

How lucky am I? ✨ Had the absolute pleasure of MC’ing The Fashion Runway in front of 50 enthusiastic people. The night felt like the most unexpected collision of my life.

Town planner Melanie.
Marketing Melanie.
Fashion girlie Melanie.
All in one.

Some people are surprised when they hear I studied Fashion Communication at QUT, worked as a paid fashion blogger for Castletown in North Queensland for several years, and later spent time modelling professionally in Sydney.

But if you know me well… it actually makes perfect sense.

Fashion has always been part of how I see the world.

Not in a superficial way.

In a 'why does this work?' way.

Why does one brand feel premium?
Why does one person command a room?
Why does presentation change perception?

That fascination never leaves.

Also… Mackay has an interesting relationship with style.

People here don’t dress for performance the way bigger cities sometimes do.

Macktown dresses for real life.

School drop-off.
Site visit in Paget.
Meeting in town.
Kids’ sport.
Dinner on Victoria Street.

Sometimes all in one day.
Sometimes all in one outfit.
And somehow with both flats and boots living in the car.

Someone once described my daily style as 'coastal executive' and yeah, I’ve never felt more flattered. 🥹

Part relaxed femininity.
Part structured blazer.
Part town planner marketing chic.

Becoming a mum definitely influenced my wardrobe too.

These days, if something is itchy, dry-clean only, or can’t survive a toddler… goodbye. Straight to Depop.

One of the wearable art designers also unlocked a core memory for me.
In primary school I entered a wearable art competition wearing a newspaper ballgown and paper mâché handbag made with Mum.
Second place.
Still mildly offended I didn’t win.

A huge thank you to the guest list who came along to support The Live Lounge.

Last night reminded me of something simple.
Great style rarely comes down to wearing the most expensive thing in the room.
Usually, it comes down to knowing what works for you.
And wearing it with confidence.
Confidence still changes how you enter a room.
And… confidence never goes out of fashion. 🤍

What a fantastic afternoon MC’ing The Live Fashion Runway in Mackay. ✨

Huge thank you Jayden and Leah at The Live Lounge (pictured), every designer, model, organiser and supporter who brought the afternoon to life.

Fashion looks different everywhere.

The most stylish person in any room usually isn’t wearing the most expensive outfit.

Usually, it’s the person completely comfortable in their own skin.

A big congratulations to the incredible featured designers:
✨ JLee Designs
✨ Sanjeev
✨ Edits by Indie
✨ Green Josephine
✨ EFII
✨ Funk’d Up Fairy

Every collection brought something different — sustainability, craftsmanship, bold creativity, colour, texture and personality.

Loved being part of this event and loved meeting so many creative people in our region.

Thank you for having me. 🤍

— Melanie Laas, EMME Influence

Possibly the BEST caramel latte I’ve ever had 🤤

Ever feel like you're expected to be a business owner, accountant, salesperson, customer service manager, photographer, videographer, marketer, and social media manager all at the same time? 😅

You're not imagining it.

One of the biggest changes in business is that customers often meet you online before they ever contact you.

Before the phone call.
Before the quote.
Before the referral.

They've already checked out your page, Instagram profile, website, reviews, and content.

That's why social media feels so important now. 📲

Not because you need to become an influencer.

Because people want to know who they're buying from.

The good news? You don't need to post every day or dance on camera.

You simply need enough visibility for people to understand who you are, what you do, and why they should trust you.

People buy from people.

And often that decision is made before the first conversation even happens. 💬

Organic-first free-to-post content is making a comeback and honestly… Australian businesses should be paying attention...

One of the biggest shifts happening in right now is audiences becoming far more selective with what they engage with online. Am I right?

The overly polished, heavily manufactured “ad-style” commercial content that interrupts someone’s BRB on-the-toilet scroll is losing effectiveness because people connect with content that feels human, relevant, and culturally aligned. Can we say it again, AI slop is a flop. 🚽🧻

Organic content is driving 13x higher engagement and 4.5x higher view rates compared to paid content alone. 😱📱

Visibility means very little if people aren’t connecting with what they’re seeing on a sentimental level.

EMME Influence's always believed the strongest content strategy starts with earned attention first.

Content that sparks conversation.
Content people willingly share.
Content that sounds and feels like there's a human behind it.

Social Media Training anyone?

Paid media absolutely still has a role, but know amplification works best when the creative already has momentum organically. AND IT's FREE TO POST 🤑

The brands standing out right now are the ones creating content that feels less like advertising and more like participation in culture, community, and conversation.

And duh, that’s why personality-led businesses are outperforming overly corporate brands online. Hence we love founder-led brands so much, they're our fav 🫶

Also, a quick appreciation post for Zoe from Greater Whitsunday Innovation ahead of Tech Verge this week where EMME Influence is the Social Media Partner (look out for our video reels 🌻📸) — Here is Zoe somehow coordinating events, communication, logistics, technology, and approximately five things at once while still looking effortlessly composed like corporate Madonna.

The modern businesswoman experience >>>

Curious to hear your thoughts:
Do you think audiences are becoming more resistant to overly “advertised” content online? What's your biggest content problem?