About Us

What is the Self Employed Business Academy?

The Self-Employed Business Academy is a ‘one stop shop’ for people who own their own business to access:

• tools and resources that might otherwise be unavailable to you (at least without substantial cost),
• training to help you understand the things you need to know to run your business, and
• a community forum where you can talk to other small business owners or experts and get answers to your questions.

In other words, the Academy is all about helping people who are self employed to be successful.

Our vision is that the Self Employed Business Academy is the premier community for self employed small business owners – a place where people who are self employed can learn how to run their business better, connect with other small business owners and industry experts, and have access to the tools and strategies they need to grow your business profits and reap the rewards from the risks they have taken by starting your own business.

In other words, if you are a self-employed small business owner, the Academy is here for you!

Why We Do It

We’re on a mission to smash small business success rates out of the park. Why? We do it because we have been there ourselves and know how tough it can be to get the right advice and resources that save you time and money and boost your chances of success. We do it because we believe that small businesses—just like yours—are the backbone of the economy. And finally, we do it for you. At the end of the day, it’s you – our clients – who are important. You have risked much to run your own business, and we want to see you get the success you deserve.

Who We Are

“Hi, I’m Wayne Burgan. I have been involved with small business almost all my life. My first business at age 14, was a guitar school where I taught other kids (and some adults) how to play guitar. I did that for several years until I left my home town to go to university and study accounting.

After 10 years of working for the Australian Taxation Office (the equivalent of the IRS) and seeing the problems of small business owners from that perspective, I started an accounting practice focused on helping them. I quickly discovered many needed help with their record-keeping so I developed a product to help them and that grew into an international business with offices in Australia, the UK and North America.

I sold that business in early 2018 and ‘retired’, but I am still passionate about helping self employed people to be successful. So that’s why I have joined together with my North American friend and colleague, Bud Chapplain, to create the Self Employed Business Academy.”

“Hi, I’m Bud Chapplain. My background is in sales. I grew up in the direct sales industry and spent many years with Encyclopedia Britannica. As you can imagine, it takes some doing to become successful in the direct sales industry where I went from being a regular sales person to a regional sales manager.

I first met my colleague, Wayne Burgan, when Britannica appointed me to a sales manager position in Adelaide, Australia. We went to the same church and our love of golf meant that we often spent time together on the golf course as well. I was promoted back to Canada but we kept in touch, and when I finished up with Encyclopedia Britannica, I managed Wayne’s software business in Canada and the United States.

Like Wayne, I am passionate about helping small business owners, and believe that my sales experience can be a great help to the members of the Academy all over the world.”

We are the people behind the Academy, and as a member of the Academy, you will have access to a variety of professionals and experts from different backgrounds, fields and even countries who want to help you succeed.