Indholdsfortegnelse for December 2019 i NZBusiness+Management

It has been less than two years since Alex Watson first went to the Riccarton Bush Farmers Market with just 45 jars of his slow-cooked bone broth. Today his commercial kitchen in Christchurch operates 24/7, with up to ten staff – bottling around 2000 jars a week and supplying more than 70 stores nationwide. He’s already an A List Foodstuffs South Island supplier and in the process of achieving the same status with Foodstuffs North Island. Alex was busy filling jars when NZBusiness phoned to gauge his reaction to winning the Supreme award, and the Most Outstanding Fledgling Business category, in the David Awards 2019. He had originally heard about the awards through a past supreme winner, Heat Pumps NOW, at his local BNI chapter. “We were absolutely rapt to…

Laura Lochhead was just 26 when she launched her interior design company in 2015. She had $3000, but no house, car or laptop. A bank turned down her request for business funding. But that didn’t put her off. “After seeing how the design agency I was working for turned away small space clients, I knew there was a real opportunity.” Laura quit her job, found her first client, and used the profit from that project to pay for a website. That lead to more business and a car – a vital purchase after a St Heliers client saw her waiting at a bus stop. “I’d just done an install lugging cushions around the city,” she recalls. “Not as professional looking as I would have liked!” Today, annual revenue has reached…

At the 2019 Air New Zealand Cargo ExportNZ Awards in June, a New Zealand brand marketing 100 percent natural toothbrushes and eco-friendly oral care essentials came out of almost nowhere to win the DHL Best Emerging Business (for Goods Exports). Judges commented that a cornerstone of Grin Natural’s strategy was understanding that to succeed in the highly competitive oral healthcare market with an innovative new premium natural product, you needed to begin with consumer education and a cost-effective sales channel. This has indeed been the approach taken by Grin. Since launching in 2015 and introducing its biodegradable toothbrushes to the market in March 2017, Grin has exceeded expectations – and sold more than 1.4 million toothbrushes. For Tara Tan, the company’s co-founder and GM, the award recognition and sales success…

In the hotly contested battle for peanut butter supremacy, husband and wife team Roman and Andrea Jewell continue to make significant strides. “I believe a large part of our success has been down to a couple of key factors,” Roman says. “Maintaining focus on our values and quality. “But we also have a hunger for innovation – whether it’s releasing new flavour varieties or creating interesting and sustainable packaging.” Their business, Fix & Fogg, has seen sales double year-on-year for the past five years, mostly driven by word of mouth. Its variety of spreads are now sold throughout New Zealand and several export markets, like Australia, Singapore, the Philippines and the US. Exports now comprise an important 20 percent of sales. Roman says growth is a good thing and every…

Having celebrated the 10th birthday of Pure SEO last week, I feel both privileged and humbled to see what we have built and the lives we have affected. Whilst Pure SEO has been a great success, I have started or been involved with a number of businesses that have not been so successful. Almost every entrepreneur has had business failures in their life, fortunately each of those can become valuable learning experiences that contribute to later successes. LESSON 1 My first real foray into business was when I had just turned 15 years old. I started a patio cleaning business with a friend of mine. We rented a pressure washer and started door knocking to drum up business. We booked in lots of patios and driveways to wash and agreed…

New Zealand is extremely well-placed to increase its share in the NZ$647 billion global space economy,” says Minister for Economic Development, Phil Twyford. A new report has found New Zealand’s space sector contributed $1.69 billion to the economy in the last financial year and employs 12,000 people. The report by Deloitte was commissioned by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and shows New Zealand has a globally unique and diverse ‘New Space’ economy that is driven almost entirely by the private sector. “The space economy’s $1.69 billion contribution in the 2018/19 financial year is significant for New Zealand and there is huge potential for us to grow our share,” says Phil Twyford in a statement. “The development of New Zealand’s space economy hasn’t followed traditional paths and its diversity…

More New Zealanders every day are becoming used to chatbots or digital employees who serve customer requests. The AI Forum of New Zealand’s recent research report Towards Our Intelligent Future – An AI Roadmap for New Zealand says chatbots are increasingly being used in New Zealand to resolve any queries or issues. Support chatbots are often used to provide assistance to people who cannot afford the services of professionals such as a lawyer or counsellor, or do not feel comfortable sharing their problems with another person, the report says. It says digital humans will increasingly become a key part of everyday customer experiences. The emotional connection is becoming more important as is the power of embodied brand in a digital world, AI Forum of New Zealand executive director Emma Naji…

The concept of workplace well-being has been around for decades, although it’s not until recent years that it’s started to truly pick up momentum. Depending on who you ask, well-being encompasses anything and everything from health and safety standards, yoga classes, smoothie bars, mindfulness practices and the provision of mental health days. For any Kiwi employer, the most stringent health and safety standards should be a given, but when you consider that New Zealand’s suicide statistics have just reached a new record high, it’s a sobering reminder that, as employers, we can (and should) be doing more to support those who work with us. The truth is that all the workplace safety policies in the world won’t be genuinely effective unless you’re also supporting and building people’s mental resilience and…

After first meeting as 16 year olds at Wanaka’s Mount Aspiring College, Ash Fogelberg and Nick Frandsen went on to become best mates and, in their early 20s, business partners with their ticketing and payments company 1-Night. Entrepreneurship comes naturally to these two. After dropping out of university to start 1-Night they quickly built the company up, always with a view to a managed exit and acknowledging the fact that it would be a learning experience. ‘High growth, high potential’’ soon became Ash and Nick’s mantra for business success, but as Ash points out, the key was to ensure that any business venture they got involved in was stable over the long-term. That’s precisely the road they’ve gone down with their latest venture Dovetail – a self-financed tech agency and…

For sisters Brittany and Johanna Cosgrove entering the David Awards was an absolute no-brainer. “We thought it was a great way to sit alongside, and champion, all the people like us who dream and toil and grow their own small businesses,” says Brittany. Their business NopeSisters is a social enterprise fashion company making clothes with messages that resonate with the sisters – who are both in their twenties – and their generation. “We only make things we really believe in or want to wear ourselves. We are just responding to our own experiences: such as coping with sexual assault, watching Mum and others go through breast cancer; managing our daily lives and business with days of deep depression, anxiety or disordered eating; or losing our friends and loved ones to…

Although the David Awards took a break in 2018, they came back in 2019 with a hiss and a roar in terms of calibre and number of entries. Now the intention is to grow on that foundation for 2020, says Pure SEO’s Richard Conway – a past supreme winner of the online-based awards and a key enabler behind this year’s Davids comeback. “The David Awards is already the longest standing and most prestigious awards for small and micro businesses,” says Richard. “Personally, I’d still like to see it get more publicity and keep growing.” Being a business owner can be a thankless and lonely place, he says. But these awards allows an owner to step outside the business and reflect on what they’ve achieved. “It also allows themselves to plan,…

It began with a slick video and some impressive facts highlighting the improved trading relationship and opportunities between New Zealand and the countries of Mexico and Peru. Notably, New Zealand enjoys two-way trade worth close to $800 million per annum with Mexico and F&P Healthcare’s factories there manufacture around a third of the company’s production. Further south, Peru is our third-largest export market in Latin America. We already have strong ties across both markets – but there is so much more potential presenting itself as we go into 2020. At the Doing Business in Mexico & Peru seminars hosted by NZTE on September 24th, many minds were opened to the new trade possibilities across both markets. A new appreciation for the opportunities in the Mexican market in particular came via…

There is no peak-hour traffic in Reefton. At 7.30 on a Monday morning, with the mist shrouding the surrounding hills, I’m strolling up the main drag of Broadway. It’s blissfully quiet and empty. It’s hard to believe more than a thousand people live here on the doorstep of the West Coast’s spectacular wilderness region – nestled between the pristine, 250,000-hectare Victoria Conservation Park and Paparoa ranges, and with its very own micro-climate. It’s a beautiful part of the country and Reefton is a heritage-laden town (it has achieved Tohu Whenua landmark status) that’s increasingly becoming a year-round tourist magnet. The town’s rich past, steeped in the history of the West Coast’s gold and coal mining eras, is now being preserved and revitalised for future generations. And with that comes exciting…

Every day most business leaders have to wrestle with ever growing demands on their time and mental capacity. Many of those demands can be supported by one of the millions of tools that are readily available. But there is one tool that you can’t buy, can’t borrow, and you certainly can’t fast track. That’s resilience. To me resilience can be earned, but it can’t be taught. The reason being is that the ability to be resilient is the ability to move forward no matter the circumstances. But this is where we need to be careful. It is not about blindly moving forward, but to have awareness of the process you are going through and the affect it is having on you and your business. The more documented narrative around resilience…

They make an interesting duo – particularly when you examine their respective backgrounds. Sarah McMurray was a pioneer female systems engineer with Fujitsu, promoted from a young age. An avid surfer (Peka Peka beach is her local favourite) and qualified surf lifesaver, she set up Kapiti-based GTB IT Solutions in 1999, initially to provide corporate-quality IT support “without corporate’s bad bits”. Sarah’s goal was to eventually swap the business for an outdoor adventure enterprise – but that has yet to happen. Mark Ternent began his career in the Navy – rising to the rank of commander in the role of director of logistics. He spent time in London where he received the New Zealand Order of Merit, before relocating back to New Zealand and the Kapiti Coast. At age 40…

SUSTAINABILITY HAS become the number one issue business leaders are being forced to confront. There are two views governing most business decisions in this area. One is that we should do it because we are being forced to and we will look bad if we don’t, or the second, which is that we should do it because it is the right thing to do. The trouble is, many businesses leaders today don’t know what to do to become more sustainable. This is where internal marketing can become a powerful tool for leveraging a company’s people in order to become more sustainable. Internal marketing, as you might suspect, is the promotion of a company's objectives, products and services to employees within the organisation. The purpose of internal marketing is primarily to…

Nothing that’s toxic is good for you and yet, it’s something that seems to be tolerated in organisational culture all around the world. There’s a sense of hopelessness and that ‘that’s just what it is’ and then everyone carries on regardless and yet, there is another way. You can deal with the toxicity and create something that is good for staff and that creates a positive environment of success. HOW TOXIC CULTURE CAN AFFECT PERFORMANCE Toxicity in organisations is a result of a working culture that has stagnated. In stagnant cultures there are no consequences for poor behaviour or poor performance, people avoid anything outside their comfort zone, staff wear headphones that block culture out, goals are unclear and feedback is non-existent. These kinds of cultures will not only miss…

Office [ aw-fis, of-is ] a room or a part of a building where people work sitting at desks. Wrong. Today’s businesses are ripping up the dictionary definition of their place of work, breaking down barriers to performance through embracing the blurred lines that now exist between work and life. With geography or traditional professional experience no longer such a defining factor in employment, successful businesses are focused on identifying and retaining talent wherever it can be found, no matter age, gender or culture. To do this they are having to up the ante considerably from just providing modern tools for staff. A fully collaborative workplace with integrated amenities and technology is becoming increasingly crucial to engagement, productivity and loyalty – and we are really just at the start of…

CHRISTCHURCH START-UP ENDS VOICEMAIL FRUSTRATIONS A START-UP born out of the University of Canterbury has launched software which promises to end frustrating voicemail inbox calls. Vxt is a smart assistant that converts voicemails to text for users to read in the Vxt app, or via an email. They are also developing tools to automate administrative tasks, such as event scheduling. The app, co-founded by 22-year-old students Luke Campbell and Lucy Turner, has just launched on the App Store and Google Play. The idea for the app came to Luke last year after receiving a voicemail. “Someone had sent me a voicemail and I was frustrated with how slow and annoying the process of checking it was. Checking voicemail is a pain in the ass and so I thought: ‘Why not…

It’s a classic story of business romance. Travel to the other side of the world; fall in love with a city; set up a business creating true artisan gelato; and proceed to make the local, and wider, population swoon with delight. That’s the story of Yuri Aristarco and Daniela Burlando and their Nelson-based Gelato Roma business. The couple believed Europe would not offer the lifestyle they were looking for – such as spending more time with their two children, working fairer hours, with less pressure and easy daily access to fulfilling experiences in the great outdoors, and so on. After coming to New Zealand in 2009 for a holiday and back again in 2010 to trial the country for six months, they found the ideal destination in Nelson. “It ticked…

Alex Kirichuk, the owner, distiller and director of Puhoi Organic Distillery, sees the David Awards as a perfect vehicle for his boutique family business. Alex regards the current incumbent big brand alcohol producers “who successfully make money manufacturing cheap and nasty alcohol” as their main adversary. The Ukrainian migrant family has weathered a long, tough journey to get their business to where it is today, but now they are setting big goals for 2020: starting their export initiative; further educating the market on the myths and the truth surrounding alcohol production; and making the Puhoi Organic Distillery an iconic VIP tourist destination. The micro-distillery is 100 percent autonomous and produces an all-natural product. “It is the only solar-powered distillery in New Zealand,” says Alex. The spirits produced at this South…

The Export Barometer conducted by ExportNZ and DHL each year is always a good indicator of the state of New Zealand’s export sector, and the confidence of the nation’s trading companies. This year’s survey, conducted among more than 400 exporters, revealed an optimism towards 2020 activity, yet caution around the international marketplace. The key takeaways are that 50 percent of exporters have seen international orders increase over 2019, and more than half are optimistic that orders will increase in 2020. The cost of exporting is a major concern – however, there have been some positive environmental changes, with 49 percent of exporters surveyed having implemented sustainable initiatives in 2019. DHL Express New Zealand country manager Mark Foy is pleased to see exporting confidence above last year’s level and that trade…

There are few growth strategies that can match international e-commerce’s potential for doubling or tripling the size of your business. There are currently more than 1.8 billion digital shoppers worldwide – with 2.2 billion predicted by 2021. By opening up to the international market with a well thought-out strategy, you present your products to, literally, hundreds of millions of new potential buyers. Successful international trade is about overcoming barriers for the buyer so purchasing becomes a straightforward process. The right e-commerce solution can help minimise shipping costs and maximize international sales potential. It takes just a few clicks to localise your store. In 2012, when online shopping was in its infancy, young entrepreneur Jimmy Wu founded Parcelport – an online cloud-based freight management service. Parcelport provides online courier solutions to…

Electrician Greg Topp, owner of Reefton’s Betta Electrical store, is in a happy space right now. His retail appliance store and electrical business has benefited from the uplift in building activity across the region, and his team is involved in many of the projects around town. “Rewiring old buildings in particular has created a lot of work,” he says. “Business has been incredibly good.” His son Nathan is taking advantage of the uplift in tourism too, with his Inland Adventures rafting business performing well above expectations. On top of all this new business activity, Greg and the Reefton Powerhouse Trust last year managed to secure funding of around $4.5 million to help restore the old river-fuelled Reefton powerhouse and install a modern generator to feed into the national grid. At…

In his address to the Federation of Maori Authorities (FOMA) annual conference in Nelson in September, Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr praised Maori businesses for their sustainable and innovative approach. “The economic practices of your tipuna (ancestor, grandparent) are well known to have been, and continue to be, long-term and inter-generational,” he said. With increasing public awareness of climate change, and desire to consume in more ethical ways, this comment is both relevant and timely. In Aotearoa New Zealand we have a unique cultural landscape, and the practices of Maori businesses are beginning to be recognised. Maorihave been integrating circular thinking to their business culture for years, and there is much to be learnt. SBN’s Leadership in Sustainability Course explored some of these time-honoured practices, which make Maori businesses sustainable…

More than half (58 percent) of New Zealand organisations say they have failed to realise notable benefits from cloud computing, largely because they have not integrated their migration plan into their broader business transformation strategy, according to a new study by Unisys Corporation. The first Unisys Cloud Success Barometer study explored the impact and importance of cloud by surveying 1,000 senior IT and business leaders in 13 countries including 88 leaders in New Zealand, says a media release from Unisys. Other key findings include: • New Zealand organisations for which cloud is a core part of their business strategy are twice as likely (55 percent) to say organisational effectiveness had changed for the better, compared to only 25 percent of those who said cloud was a minor part of their…

Modes and avenues of business learning are changing, as are the needs of business people and their organisations. And it seems that flexibility for students and competency-based education are on the rise. Alexander Richter, a Professor in Information Systems at Wellington School of Business and Government and the academic programme leader of its new Executive Master of Business Administration (Executive MBA), says students in professional programmes today are looking for more flexibility and for programmes that allow them to choose what resonates with them. Essentially, he says, it is about universities allowing these professionals the flexibility to customise the programmes’ offerings for their own needs and wants. He says that at the Business School, which is part of Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington, they create offerings that…