A Perth hair salon owner has gone viral after delivering a raw and furious broadside at the federal government, laying bare the mounting financial pressures she says are pushing small businesses across Australia to the brink. Krystal Solera, owner of Cannington hair extension and colour salon Luxe Label, posted the unfiltered takedown to her Instagram account, where it quickly resonated with business owners nationwide.

From teenage stylist to small business owner — and fighting to stay afloat

Ms Solera's path to salon ownership began at age 14, when she first developed a passion for styling. Over the past 12 years she has grown Luxe Label into a thriving business with a team of seven full-time staff, along with a substantial online following built around her hair and beauty content.

Despite strong reviews, a loyal clientele and a large social media presence, the 34-year-old mother of two says operating the business has never felt more precarious.

"I'm f****** terrified and angry. For my business. For the millions of other businesses out there hanging on by their fingernails," she wrote in the post, which she captioned "f****** terrible time to be a business owner in Australia" and directed at the Prime Minister.

What Krystal Solera says small businesses are really dealing with

Ms Solera said she had become so frustrated with rising costs that she sat down to tally every obligation hitting her business each quarter. The list she compiled was extensive.

  • Payday superannuation requirements
  • The 12 per cent superannuation guarantee
  • Payroll tax
  • Workers' compensation
  • Insurance increases
  • Award wage rises
  • Business Activity Statements
  • Single Touch Payroll compliance
  • Director penalty notices for late payments

"Every quarter there's another deadline, another bill, another increase, another f****** thing we have to comply with and a penalty waiting if we don't," she wrote.

She called out what she described as a system that punishes employers for the act of hiring. "We pay payroll tax for the privilege of employing more people," she wrote. "What the f*** do you actually want from us?"

Speaking further on the issues, Ms Solera acknowledged that payday super obligations are fair in principle — but argued the timing creates serious cash flow problems for small operators. "The penalties for being days late are brutal," she said. She also pointed to tax brackets that don't keep pace with inflation, and policy changes announced mid-financial year that force owners to absorb unexpected costs personally.

"What I want is a system that keeps up with reality," she said. "Cost changes with no lead time — we budget 12 months out. When something lands mid-year it comes out of the owner."

Warning over apprenticeships and the skills shortage

Ms Solera also sounded the alarm over the longer-term consequences of the pressure on small businesses, warning it will directly reduce the number of apprentices being taken on across the country.

"You cannot scream about a labour shortage while making it impossible for the people who train the workforce to stay open," she wrote. "You're not solving it. You're causing it."

The warning strikes at a broader tension: small businesses like hair salons are among the primary trainers of trade and skilled workers, yet Ms Solera argues the current regulatory and financial environment is making it harder to keep the doors open, let alone bring on new staff.

Government paints a different picture

Ms Solera's account stands in sharp contrast to recent statements from the Treasurer, who in August pointed to record business registration figures as evidence that small businesses are flourishing under the current government.

The Treasurer noted that new company registrations had been higher under this government than any previous administration on record, and that there had only been two occasions since 1999 when more than 40,000 businesses were registered in a single month — both occurring recently.

For Ms Solera, however, registration figures tell only part of the story. She has pleaded with the government to "stop pretending" to support small business owners while — in her words — "absolutely slaughtering us and bleeding us all dry."

Her post has since gained significant traction online, with many business owners sharing similar experiences of feeling squeezed from every direction with little relief in sight.