Indholdsfortegnelse for February 2020 i NZBusiness+Management

Matthew and Alex Wild are on a mission to connect and empower a community – to enhance their local community in Christchurch with “health and happiness”, and “ignite a ripple effect that changes the world for the better”. They are achieving that through their Connect Chiropractic practice in Ferrymead, which aims to make chiropractic care financially accessible to everyone. After launching in November 2018, in the first nine months they had subsidised more than $40,000 worth of treatment. The practice’s Koha Fee System works on a ‘pay what you can’ basis. “By providing this option we make vital chiropractic care accessible for everyone regardless of their financial situation,” explains Matthew. The business is also achieving the vision of its founders through its Community Connect Programme, which profiles three different community…

THERE WILL BE many disruptive start-ups in the 20s – locally and globally. Many will harness decentralised technologies, similar to the highly successful bitcoin, which have the potential to transform the business environment and accelerate globalisation. Mark Pascall, founder of TheDAO.Agency, believes it requires new ways of thinking about how to build a sustainable business, which can be challenging. “I believe traditional businesses can learn a huge amount from the DAO community1 in the sphere of token economics – which is essentially the intersection of governance and gamification. “Imagine an organisation where, instead of relying on a hierarchical ‘command and control’ structure, the organisational purpose is achieved by creating a set of incentives that encourages different groups to interact with the entity – and help it grow. The customers can…

New Zealand is one of the easiest places in the world to go into business – with just a few clicks of the mouse you can be up and running. No training, no specialised knowledge, no great investment, no worries. It’s almost too easy. And that can be dangerous. Lisa Martin, executive director and founder of accounting and bookkeeping specialists Gofi8ure, is a trained accountant with a Bachelor of Business (Accounting) and knows of at least two university papers that would benefit business owners just starting out. The Business Finance paper covers such basics as the impact time has on the value of money (i.e. one dollar today is worth much less a year later) – as well as funding, interest rates, how to get paid faster, how to remain…

The hardest part about getting a mentor via the Business Mentors New Zealand (BMNZ) service is making that initial decision you need support. One of the biggest mistakes anyone trying to establish or grow a business can make is thinking they have all the skills and knowledge required. Mentors are experienced business people and differ from business consultants or coaches. While a consultant is very task-oriented (i.e. “Give me a social media marketing strategy.”), a mentor might ask “Why do you want a social media marketing strategy? Let's discuss your financial position and talk about cashflow.” This is, of course, an oversimplification. The reality is that every single person who applies to our mentoring service is different and has different needs in this ever-evolving business environment. What you get from…

“Think objectively about the business. Remove your ‘owner’s hat’ and approach the business as if you were an outsider looking in – with no emotion or justifying decisions.” Here we are at the start of a new decade! It’s 2020 and it will be fascinating to see what the next ten years in business brings. The new year also brings us options; a chance for a fresh start; and the opportunity to ponder the next 12 months and what we can achieve. We know it’s the best time to do business and strategy planning, to not only figure out what we need to do but the step-by-step plan of how to do it. But let me ask you a question. How do you approach planning? Do you do it yourself…

With more than 3,000 updates annually, the Google search algorithm is always being refined and tweaked to optimise performance. While most of these changes are small, Google sometimes releases big updates which can significantly impact search results. It can be difficult for small businesses to stay on top of all of these changing factors. So this article aims to distil what I see as the most important things that small businesses can do in 2020 to drive customers to their website via Google search. AUTHORITY Work towards making yourself an industry authority. You want to be quoted by other trusted websites and be interviewed in blogs, podcasts, newspapers, etc. The best way to achieve this is by producing high quality content yourself; research papers, white papers, industry news. I have…

It costs organisations A$18,982 on average to hire one employee, and an average of A$34,440 to hire a new executive or A$23,059 for senior-level managers, according to research by ASX listed cloud-based HR and payroll solutions provider, ELMO Software. The survey of more than 1,500 HR professionals across Australia and New Zealand, conducted in partnership with the Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI), found an organisation’s average cost of hiring a new executive is A$34,440, compared to A$23,059 for senior-level managers, A$17,841 for mid-level and A$9,772 for entry-level positions. The company says in a media release that Australian companies typically fill vacant roles within 39.2 days while recruitment is over one week slower in New Zealand, with roles filled within an average of 47.2 days. High employee churn remains a central…

A report by IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, highlights how investors can tap into enormous potential in green buildings. The report, released in December, notes that Asia-Pacific, which will house half the world’s urban population by 2030, is a particularly promising area for investment, with an estimated US$17.8 trillion worth of investment opportunities, primarily in residential buildings. “The floor area of the buildings that dot our skylines is expected to double by 2060,” notes Alzbeta Klein, director of Climate Business at IFC. “The majority of this construction boom will occur in emerging markets, particularly in middle-income countries experiencing high population growth, rapid urbanisation, and income growth. “Green construction is one of the largest investment opportunities of the next decade that can spur low-carbon economic growth and create…

Data is king in today’s global economy; it informs decisions made at every level of business. We’ve seen companies rise and fall based on how they leverage and store it and how much their customers trust them with their personal information. And, at the same time, regulators are increasingly placing limits on how that data is gathered, stored and used. In the 21st Century economy it’s crucial for businesses to build a social contract of trust around data-gathering and sharing. However, a new IBM study shows that New Zealand and Australian businesses have some way to go in earning that trust with customers. IBM’s Global C-suite Study, an extensive bi-annual survey of business leaders, interviewed more than 13,000 C-suite executives around the world, including 430 in Australia and New Zealand.…

THE FIRST CHALLENGE, in an “instant feedback society”, is meeting increasing customer expectations. “There is a perpetual desire by customers ‘for more and better for cheaper’”, he says. “Businesses will need to be more reliant than ever on key staff, technology and being nimble.” Finding and retaining those key staff is the second big challenge. “We’ve already seen the rise of flexible working arrangements, four-day weeks and unlimited leave to attract the right people. These trends will continue, as will the increasing use of contractors as demand for skilled workers grows, and those workers develop the confidence to set their own hours.” The third challenge is around new business technology, says Monahan. “Particularly AI, with its potential to make certain roles and businesses obsolete. And the costs of change.” In…

The security of customer data and IT systems remains a major priority for iPayroll. With the global rise in cyber-crime, cyber security will continue to be a major risk for all business owners. To address this risk iPayroll has released a two-factor authentication (2FA) feature which is now available for all their customers. Just across the Tasman the Australian Tax Office has already made 2FA mandatory for all payroll providers. iPayroll managing director Martin Gleeson says all their Australian customers, using their Australian payroll system, CloudPayroll, are now covered under this requirement. “They’ve adopted multifactor authentication quickly. As a result, there has been a dramatic reduction in customers being exposed to fraud or data breaches.” iPayroll has mandated 2FA to be used for all internal staff in both New Zealand…

Sarah Bowman and her husband Caleb Clarke knew they faced more than the usual challenges when they decided to set up a craft brewery on Aotea Great Barrier Island. Sarah’s advice for people establishing a business includes: “Hunt out people beyond your business that can offer different perspectives but share your underpinning values. “Be as explicit about your environmental and social objectives as your commercial ones – businesses can only exist and thrive in relationship to their environment.”…

Officially launched on the New Zealand market in October 2018, wellness and skincare brand me|today wasted no time in researching the potential of offshore markets for its portfolio of products. This is largely due to the trio behind the brand – Grant Baker, Michael Kerr and Stephen Sinclair – who are all heavyweights in the wellness industry, and have experience with other well-known international brands, some of which had originated out of New Zealand – the likes of 42Below and Trilogy. So how did this mix of a new health and wellness brand and some of the best business brains out there come about? NZBusiness went to Michael Kerr for an explanation. He had worked for several great multinationals who made good products, such as Swisse, but not a lot…

Need a date? Dinner? Accommodation? A new TV show to binge-watch? Open an app, make a few clicks, and you can get just about anything you want. You can even balance your books with Xero’s app while you’re waiting for the kettle to boil. That phone in your pocket has above-average smarts and is roughly 100,000 times more powerful than the computer NASA used to send Apollo 11 to the moon. And yet what we’re using our available technology for pales in comparison to space exploration! While some of us are a slave to scrolling and wasting time, the smartphone is a great enabler for getting things done. We can communicate with people on the other side of the world, and if you’re out of town you can still say…

RECENTLY I was sitting in Fiji by a bonfire with an ice-cold Fiji Bitter in my hand. I don’t say this just to brag. Bear with me, there’s a point coming. I was enjoying the time to reflect and was absent-mindedly shuffling my feet in the sand as I did. You know what I mean; digging them deeper by pressing into the sand and shuffling them side to side. I was wearing my many-years-old Quiksilver jandals (or flip-flops, thongs, pluggers – whatever you like to call them). As I pulled them free of the sand, I looked at my footprints in stunned silence. I could see their logo imprinted into the sand where my foot had just been. Only, in a stunning marketing failure, the logo was backwards. It was…

Business leaders are increasingly stretching beyond the office and into the community, looking at ways their business can make a positive difference. Many New Zealand businesses play a valuable role in supporting the wellbeing of our children and young people – from contributions of time, expertise and in-kind donations to help a local initiative, to family-friendly workplaces, to sponsorship of large scale programmes and events. New Zealand’s first Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy, launched in August 2019, can provide a useful guide for businesses and organisations seeking to align their efforts to a common set of goals around child and youth wellbeing. Along with experts and science, the strategy was informed by engagement with more than 10,000 people, including more than 6,000 children and young people. Feedback reinforced that while…

QUEST NEWMARKET VOTED TOP FRANCHISEE JOHN AND SUE Harvey of Quest Newmarket were named Franchisee of the Year at the annual Quest Apartment Hotels New Zealand and Fiji Network Conference late last year. Global property management software developer RMS took out Supplier of the Year. The Harveys said it was an honour to be recognised with the award. “Both Sue and I share this with the rest of our team at Quest Newmarket who all play a huge part in contributing to our success,” said John. “We take pride in the fact that as a team we have been recognised by Quest Corporate Office for our work and our level of customer service. Our simple ethos is to keep the customer happy and they will return.” The conference featured technical…

NZB: In 2014 when you featured on the cover of this magazine, you were one of only two licensed intermediaries operating in the equity crowdfunding market. What have been the major milestones in the market since then? ANNA: 2014 feels like a lifetime ago! As you know, we were the first (equal) licenced platform in New Zealand, the first country to change its legislation to specifically cater to equity crowdfunding. Since then, we’ve been busy. Over $45 million has been pledged through PledgeMe. We’ve launched new products and launched in Australia. Milestones here in New Zealand have been the first campaigns hitting their maximums and the change to the Takeovers Code that finally allowed small companies to have more than 50 voting shareholders. This only happened in November 2019, more…

When Theo Gibson discovered there was a gap in New Zealand’s audiobook market, he developed a website selling audiobooks by New Zealand authors. As this was his first time taking on a project of this level, he contacted BMNZ to give him guidance and support on areas outside his expertise. He was paired with Ailsa Barr, and describes their relationship as “invaluable”. “When I had my first meeting with Ailsa, I knew she was totally on the same page as me. “I was still building the website so she was really helpful advising me what to focus on and how to structure negotiations with people.” Theo’s takeaway advice for others setting up a business includes “If you are shying away from doing something, then it is probably the most important…

An estimated 15,000 to 20,000 tonnes of honey is produced each year in New Zealand, contributing to export earnings of more than $340 million. Our liquid gold has become a staple in some Asian countries, so it goes without saying that the honey industry has become a particularly competitive space. Despite that, James Annabell’s business Egmont Honey has excelled in a short period. “In four years we have gone from a start-up brand working out of a tiny office, to a 40-person operation that is recognised globally as one of the leading mānuka honey brands,” he says. James, who started the business with his father Toby, says communicating the company’s story and locality has been a huge benefit. “I am a firm believer in building empathy with the consumer, and…

I FIND that in advising smaller businesses there is a real drive towards finding flexible options for employing or engaging staff. It is not always easy to find the right solution, because the law provides essentially a presumption that staff will be engaged as permanent employees with ongoing and regular employment. Permanent employees have better job security, access to benefits such as paid holidays and the like. Yet for small businesses in particular, it may be quite a commitment to bring on a full-time permanent employee and you may therefore look to other options. It is tempting to think that you will save money if you engage a contractor on a part-time basis. However, in the long run this may be a costly mistake, particularly if that individual will be…

Facial recognition technology has quietly integrated into a number of areas of everyday life. In addition to the more obvious security, public safety and surveillance applications (which have led, for example, to Hong Kong protesters wearing masks and felling lampposts equipped with facial recognition CCTV cameras in order to avoid identification), the technology is increasingly being used as a retail tool to track customer behaviours and movement to generate predictive consumer analytics. “The potential for mis-identification and error rates due to gender and racial biases in algorithms are known to be high, even with the best software of its kind.” And New Zealand is following suit. Last year the NZ Herald reported on a major supermarket chain having deployed facial recognition CCTVs in some of its stores and more recently…

It is fair to say that for as long as even the most experienced among us can remember executives have been, at least in part, focused on reducing cost to drive efficiency. Executives commonly pressure managers and workers to come up with savings believing there must be fat in the system. The pressure is thought to encourage real and deeper consideration of planned expenditures. Contractors are forced to sharpen their pencils believing this will result in innovation, benefiting everyone. Boards across the private and public sector regularly set financial limits, challenging budgets and stretch goals that demand finance managers and CEOs pay attention to how cost-efficient the organisation is. The consequence will be a focus on cost reduction. Targets for reductions are communicated. It’s déjà vu for those responsible for…