Nicole owns a stake in a $4m business – and it cost her nothing

With thousands of small businesses seeking new owners, and lending for small business acquisitions stalled, innovative solutions are helping would-be entrepreneurs buy in.

Physiotherapist Nicole Nitschke has taken a non-traditional path to business ownership. Ian McKenzie

Michelle BowesWealth reporter

Updated Nov 24, 2025 – 2.27pm, first published at 5.00am

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Becoming a business owner was the furthest thing from Nicole Nitschke’s mind when she joined Mildura allied health provider Lime Therapy after graduating as a physiotherapist 12 years ago.

But fast-forward to today, and that’s exactly the position Nitschke, 35, finds herself in.

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Michelle BowesWealth reporterMichelle Bowes writes about personal finance from our Sydney newsroom. She has been a business journalist for 25 years and is the author of Money Queens: Rule your Money, an award-winning personal finance book for teenage girls.