Fireside Business Advice
    Fireside Community Analysis

    Demographics
    of the Fireside
    Community

    Period: May – July 2026Members: 21,500+Coverage: All channels

    Community Members

    21,500+

    Across all channels

    Core Demographic

    78.3%

    Aged 25–44

    Based in Australia

    85.9%

    Of all members

    Largest City

    Brisbane

    30.4% of AU members

    Top Industry

    Trades

    41% of members

    Engagement Growth

    Key Facebook group engagement growth factors

    Feb 6 – May 4, 2026  ·  Click any metric to show or hide

    Engagement = posts + comments + reactions  ·  Total members on right axis (dashed)

    Section 01

    Community Overview

    Who is the Fireside community?

    Fireside Business Advice is a men's business community founded by Adam James, built to support business owners in growing their businesses and improving their lives. The community has grown to over 21,500 members across Australia and internationally.

    The data reveals a highly focused, commercially active audience — predominantly business owners aged 25–44, concentrated in Queensland, with strong representation across trades, construction, transport, finance, and professional services.

    Key community stats

    Total Members21,500+ across all channels
    Core Demographic78.3% aged 25–44
    Australian Members85.9% based in Australia
    With Business64% have a registered business
    Largest CityBrisbane — 30.4%
    Peak DayTuesday — highest engagement
    Best Time5–7 AM AEST Tuesdays
    Section 02

    Age Breakdown & Industry Profile

    Age breakdown — all members

    13–17
    0.1%
    18–24
    8.3%
    1,492
    25–34 ★
    47%
    8,428
    35–44 ★
    31.3%
    5,618
    45–54
    8.8%
    1,577
    55–64
    510
    65+
    234
    ★ Core demographic 25–44 = 78.3% of all members — commercially active business operators with real financial decisions to make.

    Industry breakdown

    Based on members with stated occupation

    Trades & Construction
    41%
    Finance & Mortgage
    8.8%
    Professional Services
    6.6%
    Transport & Logistics
    6.4%
    Technology & Digital
    4.5%
    Property & Real Estate
    3.2%
    Healthcare & Wellness
    2.6%
    Retail & Hospitality
    1.1%
    Trades & Construction accounts for over 4 in every 10 members with a stated occupation — the dominant industry profile across the Fireside community.
    Section 03

    Geographic Distribution

    Top 10 cities

    1

    Brisbane

    QLD — #1 by far

    5,46430.4%
    2

    Melbourne

    VIC

    1,1036.1%
    3

    Sydney

    NSW

    9625.4%
    4

    Gold Coast

    QLD

    7374.1%
    5

    Ipswich

    QLD

    5363.0%
    6

    Perth

    WA

    4872.7%
    7

    Sunshine Coast

    QLD

    3171.8%
    8

    Adelaide

    SA

    2971.7%
    9

    Townsville

    QLD

    1520.8%
    10

    Canberra

    ACT

    1030.6%

    State breakdown

    Queensland (QLD)

    ~64%

    Dominant — #1 state

    New South Wales (NSW)

    ~8%

    Strong presence

    Victoria (VIC)

    ~8%

    Melbourne well represented

    Western Australia (WA)

    ~3%

    Perth active

    South Australia (SA)

    ~2%

    Adelaide present

    TAS / ACT / NT

    ~1%

    Smaller but present

    A significant suburban cluster south of Brisbane — Ipswich, Browns Plains, Woodridge, Beenleigh, Park Ridge — reflects a strong trades and working-class business owner base worth targeting specifically.

    International members

    14.1% of the community is located outside Australia, with the largest contingents from New Zealand, India, Philippines, and Colombia. All content should be created with the Australian market as the primary audience — referencing Australian context where relevant (tax, employment law, local market conditions).

    Section 04

    Activity Patterns

    Engagement by day of week

    Mon

    64

    High

    Tue ★

    109

    Peak

    Wed

    41

    Moderate

    Thu

    32

    Moderate

    Fri

    27

    Low

    Sat

    27

    Low

    Sun

    27

    Low

    Best posting windows — Tuesday (AEST)

    12–4 AM

    Avoid

    5–7 AM

    Primary ★

    7–9 AM

    Good

    9 AM–4 PM

    Low

    4–6 PM

    Primary ★

    6–9 PM

    Good

    Early morning peak (5–7 AM) reflects tradespeople and business owners checking phones before the work day begins. Late afternoon (4–6 PM) reflects end-of-day check-ins. Avoid Saturday and Sunday mornings — consistently the lowest engagement periods.

    Section 05

    Top Performing Content

    Highest-engagement posts — 28-day period

    1

    Staff fuel card theft — crew stealing fuel for personal use, what would you do?

    Anonymous member

    2

    Property/strata maintenance — how do you land commercial contracts (shopping centres, Bunnings)?

    Jordan Saxby

    3

    Looking for a business mentor — 7–9 figure builders to help young blokes in business

    Adam James

    4

    22yr old, no qualifications, recovering from injury — ideas to start a business?

    Ryan Allen

    5

    Shop owner review-bombed after confronting a shoplifter — how to respond?

    Dan Miller

    6

    Melbourne — swap Google reviews, will return the favour

    Alan J Marchingo

    7

    Use current search data to find market gaps — I'll pull the data for your business free

    Adam James

    8

    Small business under pressure — super increases, junior wage rates, card surcharges

    Nathan Atkinson

    9

    4x4/camping/car parts businesses — give your gig a plug in the comments

    Adam James

    10

    Brisbane — anyone want to swap Google reviews?

    Chris Amey

    Section 06

    Audience Profile & Content Strategy

    Core audience profile

    Age25–44 years old (78.3% of community)
    LocationQueensland-first · Brisbane and Logan Corridor core · Secondary: NSW, VIC, WA
    Top industryTrades & construction (41%) · Plumbing, electrical, building, landscaping, transport, civil
    Business stageEarly to mid-growth · Revenue $200k–$2M · Owner-operator, 1–20 staff
    Top concernsStaff management · Cash flow · Fair Work compliance · Google visibility · Cost pressures
    AspirationsFinancial independence · Building something of lasting value · Peer respect and practical knowledge
    CommunicationDirect · Plain language · Real situations over tips lists · No corporate tone
    BehaviourMost active early morning and end of day on weekdays · Peaks Tuesday

    Channel priorities

    Fireside Community
    primary
    Paid Advertising
    high
    Google SEO
    high
    LinkedIn
    medium
    Email
    medium
    Instagram
    low

    Content that works

    Post format

    Real problems + a clear question. Lead with the situation, not the solution.

    Best time

    Tuesday 5–7 AM AEST primary. Monday 5–7 AM secondary.

    Top topics

    Staff, cash flow, Fair Work, Google visibility, trades challenges.

    Tone

    Direct, plain language. Real stories. No corporate speak.

    Frequency

    3 quality posts/week outperforms 7 average ones.

    Avoid

    Generic tips, promotional content, Sat/Sun mornings.

    July 2026 Refresh

    LinkedIn Company Page Performance

    LinkedIn at a glance

    Consistent professional publishing channel — video content is outperforming text by 2–3× on engagement rate. Peaks driven by coaching, tax and founder-story content.

    Posts (90 days)

    50

    Avg engagement

    ~5.2%

    Top engagement

    13.5%

    Avg impressions/post

    ~100

    Peak post impressions

    280

    Publishing cadence

    2–3 / week

    Top LinkedIn posts (Apr – Jul 2026)

    1

    James Grafton — From -$24 to $10M+

    Article

    2

    Coaching vs Mentoring vs Consulting

    Video

    3

    Tax Strategy: Bucket Companies

    Video

    4

    Want Accountability? Hire a Coach

    Video

    5

    Tim Sherlock Budget Discussion Event

    Event

    6

    Finance Strategy — Jason McNamara

    Video

    7

    James Grafton: Growth Strategy

    Article

    July 2026 Refresh

    Facebook Group — Last 28 Days

    Top performing posts (rolling 28d)

    1

    Platform Feedback — Instant Work Hub

    Chris Amey

    2

    Debt Recovery Solutions

    Adam James

    3

    Post-Budget Finance Changes

    Adam James

    4

    $70M Tech Investment Fund

    Paul McKenzie

    5

    Property Auction Crisis

    Adam James

    6

    Self-Employed Finance Podcast

    Adam James

    7

    Google Business Profile Comparison Tool

    Jacob Roy

    July 2026 Refresh

    Moderation & Cross-Channel Ecosystem

    Admin & moderation activity (60d)

    Adam James

    Lead admin

    ✓ 165✗ 120

    11 posts approved · 2 declined

    Kike Chavez

    Moderator

    ✓ 117✗ 9

    Member request approvals

    Fireside page

    Brand admin

    ✓ 25✗ 12

    Member request approvals

    Nathan Atkinson

    Moderator

    ✓ 6✗ 3

    Member request approvals

    ~58% approval rate on member requests — selective moderation is a deliberate quality signal, not a growth bottleneck.

    Cross-channel ecosystem

    Facebook Group

    primary

    Community & discussion

    18,219 members · 78% male · 25–44 · Daily

    LinkedIn Company

    high

    Professional publishing

    Business owners & professionals · 2–3 / week

    YouTube

    medium

    Archive & evergreen

    Long-form viewers · 1–2 / week

    TikTok

    medium

    Short-form discovery

    Younger demos · 2–3 / week

    Instagram

    medium

    Clips & highlights

    Early-stage audience · 2–3 / week

    X / Twitter

    low

    Updates & commentary

    Real-time followers · Daily

    Discord

    high

    Private deep discussion

    Active core members · Ongoing

    LinkedIn Group

    medium

    Professional network

    Business owners · 2–3 / week

    Strategic opportunities (July 2026)

    LinkedIn video

    Video posts are hitting 7–13% engagement vs 4% text — increase video cadence.

    Facebook prime time

    Tue/Wed 3–5 PM AEST is the sweet spot — schedule high-impact posts then.

    Cross-promotion

    Repurpose top Facebook discussions into LinkedIn carousels.

    Member spotlight

    Founder stories drive the highest reactions — formalise a spotlight series.

    Panellist content

    Expert intros consistently earn 3–4%+ engagement — expand the series.

    Brisbane focus

    30% of members are Brisbane-based — invest in local content and events.

    Section 10

    Summary

    The takeaway

    The Fireside community is a clearly defined group of Australian business owners, concentrated in the 25–44 age bracket and heavily weighted toward Queensland. The membership is consistent across all touchpoints: active business operators in trades, construction, transport, and services who are building, growing, or working to stabilise their businesses — and who want practical, peer-informed support to do it.

    Who to write for

    A business owner in his late 20s–early 40s running a trades or small services business in Queensland.

    When to post

    Tuesday 5–7 AM AEST for maximum reach. Consistency over volume — 3 quality posts beats 7 average ones.

    Funnel goal

    Community → mentorship program → advisory services. Consistent quality builds the relationship.