Auckland Today Magazine 114

7 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD FEED CANIDAE, NZS

BEST AND MOST COST EFFECTIVE ALL NATURAL DOG FOOD.

1. NZs most cost effective premium brand available. Up to 38% cheaper

2. No Wheat, Corn, Soy or grain fillers. These are the main contributors to allergies. If your dog has an allergy, simply changing to a food that doesnt have these can solve the issue

3. Made with human grade ingredients

4. Less stool volume. This is because there are no fillers, which means the dog can digest most of the food.

5. Voted one of the best in the world by leading publications, journals, websites etc

6. Omega 6 and 3 for a healthy shiny skin and coat

7. FULL MONEY BACK GUARANTEE.

CALL FOR A FREE SAMPLE PACK NOW! ON 0800 101 729 For more information visit www.canidae.co.nz

CM

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

AAA AD 042015 FN.pdf 1 20/04/2015 1:15:47 p.m.

7 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD FEED CANIDAE, NZS

BEST AND MOST COST EFFECTIVE ALL NATURAL DOG FOOD.

1. NZs most cost effective premium brand available. Up to 38% cheaper

2. No Wheat, Corn, Soy or grain fillers. These are the main contributors to allergies. If your dog has an allergy, simply changing to a food that doesnt have these can solve the issue

3. Made with human grade ingredients

4. Less stool volume. This is because there are no fillers, which means the dog can digest most of the food.

5. Voted one of the best in the world by leading publications, journals, websites etc

6. Omega 6 and 3 for a healthy shiny skin and coat

7. FULL MONEY BACK GUARANTEE.

CALL FOR A FREE SAMPLE PACK NOW! ON 0800 101 729 For more information visit www.canidae.co.nz

4 | September 2015 www.aucklandtoday.net.nz

HEAD OFFICE AUCKLAND OFFICE2 Ivan Jamieson Place Christchurch AirportChristchurch 8053

MANAGING DIRECTORGary Collins

GENERAL MANAGER OF OPERATIONSKylie Palermo

NATIONAL SALES & DEVELOPMENT MANAGERClive Greenwood

ADMINISTRATIONStacey Coy Jade Haylett Angela Barltrop Laura McLoed Lyn WrightPhone: (03) 961 5050Fax 0800 555 054Email: [email protected]

SALES & ADVERTISINGMelissa Sinclair MEDIA CONSULTANTS Mariska Du Preez Grant Williams Tina Aiono Jamie Prebble Chris Graves

NEWSROOMJonathon Taylor EDITORLaura Baker JOURNALISTS Terri Cluckie Marie SherryPhone: (03) 961 5098 Email: [email protected]

PRODUCTIONJarred Shakespeare ART DIRECTOR Carolynne Brown PRODUCTION CO-ORDINATORSarah Betman DESIGNERS Alyssa Watson Olivia O'Callaghan

Phone: (03) 961 5077 | 0800 555 097 Email: [email protected]

Disclaimer: This publication is provided on the basis that A-Mark Publishing is not responsible for the results of any actions taken on the basis of information in these articles, nor for any error or omission from these articles and that the firm is not hereby engaged in rendering advice or services. A-Mark Publishing expressly disclaim all and any liability and responsibility to any person in respect of anything and of the consequences of anything done, or omitted to be done, by any such a person in reliance, whether wholly or partially upon the whole or any part of the contents of this publication. Advertising feature articles are classified as advertising content and as such, information contained in them is subject to the Advertising Standards Authority Codes of Practice. Contents Copyright 2013 by A-Mark Publishing (NZ) Ltd. All rights reserved. No article or advertisement may be reproduced without written permission.

ISSN 1173-1508(Print) | ISSN 2230-6168(Online)

Conditions of entry: One entry only per person and must be sent on the official entry form or as otherwise stated. Entry is free and open to all residents of New Zealand. All entrants must be over the age of 18, proof of identity and date of birth may be requested. Employees and their immediate families of Academy Publishing, the promoter and agencies associated with any promotion in this publication are ineligible to enter. Winner(s) will be notified by email/phone. The judges decision is final, no correspondence will be entered into. No responsibility is accepted for late, lost or misdirected mail. Prizes are not transferable or redeemable for cash. Academy Publishing, the promoter and agencies associated with any promotion in this publication shall not be liable for any loss or damage whatsoever suffered (including but not limited to direct or consequential loss) or personal injury suffered or sustained, during the course of prize winning travel or in connection with any other prizes won. Academy Publishing, the promoter and agencies associated with any promotion in this publication accept no responsibility for health, luggage, insurances, travel, personal expenses and transfers other than specified. Entries remain the property of Academy Publishing, the promoter and agen-cies associated with any promotion in this publication and cannot be returned. Academy Publishing, the promoter and agencies associated with any promotion in this publication reserves the right to photograph and publish winners. Entries may be used for further marketing purposes by Academy Publishing, the promoter and agencies associated with any promotion in this publication but are not made available to any third party.

Competition guidelines

This publication is printed on papers supplied by

All wood originates from sustainably managed forests or waste sources. All mills utilise the Chain of Custody system to verify fibre source. The end product is recyclable.

All mills are ISO 14001 certified.

Issue 114 September 2015

DISCLAIMER: A cancellation fee of 25% may be charged if the booking is cancelled after the sales cut off date. Your Media Consultant will be able to provide that information if you arent aware of it.

In this issue...

www.aucklandtoday.net.nz

www.magazinestoday.co.nz

Level 6 10 Scotia Place Auckland

32,290ABC circulation as at 30/06/15

Auckland Today Issue 114

Scan this QR code to check us out at: www.aucklandtoday.net.nz

Viewpoints

6 The PMs deskJohn Key outlines the initiatives designed to help Kiwi families get ahead

6 Business ethics - the answer to viability

Kevin Vincent on what he sees as a defining business issue of our time

6 Lets not get too downbeat about the economy

Despite losing some economic momentum, Martin Fraser-Allen says there are plenty of things that are going right

7 The importance of plans

The best thing about business plans, Glenn Hansen says, is not the end product, but the process this planning forces you through

7 The significance of definitions

Leigh Paulden on how confusion surrounding certain terms can be very damaging to a business

7 Staff holidays should be enforced

Martz Witty explains why hes adamant that holidays should be taken

8 How to say thank you

Suzanne Carter outlines why you should take every opportunity to engage with your websites visitors

8 Is technology wearing you out?

Jane Cowan-Harris on why you need to switch off in order to switch on

8 Events diary

This is where you find out whats on near you

News

10 The edge of innovation

Eco-systems, adapt or die, viruses, bugs. Were talking nature right? Wrong. For Geraldine McBride its strictly business

16 Fishing in a small pond

How to snare the catch of the day and, most importantly, ensure it doesnt get away

In Business

20 Goods & ServicesHow the team at PoweRun NZ can empower your business and the ways closure lining specialists Wadding Solutions protect products

22 Hospitality

The Luscious Food Stores world of flavour, we visit Mecca Caf - The Viaducts stylish slice of food heaven, and Alexandra Parks Kim Algie gives top tips on planning great company Christmas parties

26 Health & Lifestyle

Choosing natural health with Health 2000, and how your business can help fight a killer disease with The New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation

32 Focus

Auckland Grammar School builds for the future, opening a $6 million block of 12 classrooms

35 Property & Construction

Koia Architects designs to last a lifetime, Paul Schirnack Decorating, Mitchell & Stout Architects, Ward Demolition, Stone Warehouse, CS For Doors, Pro-Floors, the Waterview Connection Projects $1.4 billion ambition, Dingo Groundworx and North Shore Scaffolding

46 Systems

How Conveyor & Transmission keeps production lines moving

47 Transport & Motoring

Autocare - the driving force of New Lynn, and getting great deals on reliable vehicles at Albany Toyota

51 Agribusiness

Pukekohe vegetable grower, packer and distributor Hira Bhana & Co proves the spice to business life is diversification

Money Matters 12 Money mistakes to avoid

Common financial management errors to steer well clear of

13 Seven ways to get on top of your small business debt

Debt can be a useful tool to start and grow a business, but small business owners need to make sure their debt is working for, not against them

13 The cost of employing staff

Understanding the real price of staff turnover

14 Dealing with defaulting debtors

Ways to reduce your vulnerability to clients who cant pay their bills

THE REAL COST OF EMPLOYING STAFF

Issue 114 | September 2015

News | Initiatives | Interviews | Personalities | Success | Profiles | Finance | Property | Sustainability | Export | Transport | Retail | Solutions | ISSN 1173-1508

DEALING WITH DEFAULTING DEBTORSwhat to do when people can't pay up

The importance of plans

7MONEY MATTERS

WAYS TO GET ON TOP OF SMALL BUSINESS DEBT


BUSINESS ETHICS

- the answer to viability

Why you should enforce staff holidays


MyWave founder Geraldine McBride on thriving in a sea of digital opportunity

25

35


News | Viewpoints

By Rt Hon John Key, Prime Minister

Helping Kiwi families get ahead

As the National-led Government approaches our seventh anniversary of being in government, its a good opportunity to take stock of our progress.

Under National, 194,000 new jobs have been created since the start of 2011. A further 150,000 new jobs are also forecast to be created over the next four years.

Theres been a lot of discussion in recent weeks about the economic outlook, not just in New Zealand but worldwide, given lower than expected international dairy prices and the issues in Greece. New Zealand has a resilient economy. We remain one of the faster growing developed economies and growth is forecast to average 2.8 percent a year during the next four years.

The dairy sector is important but it only makes up about five percent of our economy, and other key industries like tourism, the services industry and ICT are performing well. This year, a number of initiatives have come into effect to help New Zealanders and their families, while putting more money back into their pockets.

On July 1, we introduced our policy for free GP visits and prescriptions for all children under the age of 13. This will benefit around 750,000 children across the country. National is committed to giving our youngest Kiwis the best start in life, and that means ensuring parents are able to take their child to the doctor any time of the day or night, without having to worry about the cost.

We have also increased paid parental leave payments and duration. This has moved from 14 to 16 weeks, and will increase again to 18 weeks on April 1, 2016. Payments have also increased to $516.85 per week.

Earlier this year, our KiwiSaver HomeStart package came into effect. This will help around 90,000 lower and middle income first home buyers attain the dream of owning their own home.

Under HomeStart, weve increased the amount and eligibility for government grants - couples are now eligible to apply for up to $20,000 to put towards a deposit to buy a house.

On election night last year, I said National would govern for all New Zealanders, and we are doing just that. In Budget 2015, we announced a $790 million package to help reduce hardship among children living in some of our poorest families.

We are also investing more than ever before into health and education and continuing to focus on getting better results for New Zealanders from that investment.

We have a clear plan for the year and term ahead we are focused and energised and we will continue to work hard for New Zealanders.

Business ethics - the answer to viability

Kevin Vincent is managing director of Vincent Consulting Limited. www.vincentconsulting.co.nz

Ethics in respect to business is the knowledge of understanding right from wrong and making sure you are doing the right thing.

I have always held to the belief that if I treat people as I would like to be treated and that if I continue to add value to the business relationship through delivering best service and outcomes, then that is ethical business behaviour.

Most ethical dilemmas in the workplace are not simple and can be quite challenging in many cases to navigate. Ethics are a significant and defining business issue of our time, affecting corporate profits and credibility, as well as personal security and the sustainability of our economy.

Practicing good ethical behaviours within organisations will bring good benefits in both moral and practical terms. Organisations can enhance relationships with employees, customers and suppliers, and improve profitability when sound ethics (principles and values) are set as daily disciplines.

The consequences or implications of failing to be ethical will ultimately cause any business to implode. Unethical business practices deplete profits, destroy reputations and put at risk all stakeholders.

Cultivation of high levels of ethics in business practice is something every company, no matter its size, should do. At the very foundation of business, ethics is the commitment to treating customers, employees, investors, suppliers, distributors and anyone else involved with ones organisation with honesty and respect.

Business ethics is an important management discipline and as such should be included in strategic thinking, planning and implementation. It should include codes of behaviour, roles of committees, policies, procedures and training. In short, companies should have plans in place to prevent and if necessary resolve any ethical dilemmas. Ethical codes of practice within organisations must identify and prioritise values to guide behaviours ensuring alignment with their company values.

Ethics must start right at the top with the owners values and sense of corporate social responsibility, which are then embraced into every business process, practice and procedure. If the board or chief executive is not seen to be behind the programme, employees will notice! The person at the top must lead by example.

Perhaps most importantly, attention to ethics in the workplace helps ensure that when leaders and managers are struggling in times of crises and confusion, they retain a strong moral compass.

Organisations should develop and document a procedure for dealing with ethical dilemmas as they arise. Ideally, ethical dilemmas should be resolved by a group within the organisation, e.g., an ethics committee comprised of top leaders/managers and/or members of the board.

Weve seen a string of indicators lately that point to a sharp slowdown in the economy, and there is now a lot of conjecture over whether our rock star economy is headed for recession.

I never liked that catch phrase. It overestimated how good things were and set us up for disappointment when the inevitable slowdown came. But at the same time, were probably getting a little too downbeat with talk of a looming recession and forgetting that weve still got a few good things going for us.

The June Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion (QSBO) was the latest negative indicator. The QBSO pointed to a net seven percent of firms being optimistic, well down from 20 percent in the prior survey and the lowest reading since mid-2012.

The March GDP report was weaker than expected, with growth of 0.2 percent well below the previous quarter and market expectations, while the June ANZ business survey saw confidence slip into negative territory for the first time since the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake.

The key culprit to all this is falling dairy prices, so it is unsurprising the dairy-intensive regions have experienced the biggest dive in confidence. Dairy products represent almost a quarter of our exports, so it would be foolish to underestimate the impact of the sharp decline in prices. However, there are still a number of positives as well.

We shouldnt forget that we export other products as well, and many of these are doing quite well. While global dairy prices have fallen more than 40 percent over the past two years, prices for meat, wool, horticultural produce and seafood have all gone up by an average of about five percent. If we account for the recent decline in the NZ dollar, the increase is more than 12 percent over the same period.

We also have few levers to pull to soften the blow. Weve seen two cuts to the Official Cash Rate (OCR), and there are more to come. The currency has fallen heavily, lessening the impact for dairy exporters and provides a nice boost to others. We should worry about the dairy sector and acknowledge an economy that is quickly losing momentum, but we also shouldnt ignore the things that are going right.

For Investment Advice please contact Martin Fraser-Allen, Investment Adviser at Craigs Investment Partners Christchurch branch by phoning 03 964 3246 or visit www.craigsip.com. Mark Lister is Head of Private Wealth Research at Craigs Investment Partners. His disclosure statement is available free of charge under his profile on www.craigsip.com. This column is general in nature and should not be regarded as specific investment advice.

Martin Fraser-Allen, Investment Adviser at Craigs Investment Partners. www.craigsip.com

Lets not get downbeat about the economy

Glenn NightingaleDirector Phone: +64 9 302 0457Mobile: 021 678 378

Expert tax and structure advice to the property industry

Director Glenn Nightingale has assisted clients with many proportionate property ownership scheme floats, a property fund

IPO and regularly advises clients on effective business and tax structures and GST issues specific to the industry.

www.aucklandtoday.net.nz September 2015 | 7

News | Viewpoints

The Importance of plans

Glenn Hansen is a chartered accountant and registered mentor with NZICA. www.hansenconsulting.co.nz

If youre looking to start a company or want the one youve got to move forward, Where do I start? is an easy question to answer. Start with planning.There are many things to consider, so what is most important is to work through them in an orderly fashion.

Planning! I am talking about planning your business, a business plan. There is much debate about the importance of a business plan, but the debate misses the point. It is not so much the end document that is important, but the process it forces you through.

The plan starts with a vision and a purpose; why does it exist and what will it look like in several years time?

The vision is your starting point for determining your objectives

From there through research we build a picture of market size, competitors, and importantly, who the customer is. The customer is all-important. Until you can easily describe the target customer it is not possible to determine:

Customer needs and wants

What motivates customers buy decisions

A brand promise that attracts and satisfies customers

How to get your message in front of the target customer

A key business element that will drive performance.

Once the customer is understood, the marketing plan becomes easier. This is also where you consider the other players in the market what they offer, pricing, how they may react to you.

Consider also how you may differentiate your offering (its not just the product - its the service, presentation, timelines, etc). What will your competitors not be prepared to do? What can they not do? Can you ring-fence a part of the market to restrict or prevent access?

And now, what needs to be done? Construct a timeline upon which you can position each action that must be taken.

And finally, put some numbers to it. Develop a cash-flow forecast, preferably built to allow for quick changes in data to account for different scenarios, and determine what your cash requirements are; not just at the outset, but through the initial growth phase. If necessary adjust the timeline to ensure you will comfortably operate within your cash resources.

At the outset, a business idea usually lacks direction and definition. By the time you have worked your way through a business planning process you will be very clear about what you are offering, why, who to, and how. The essentials have been considered, and you know the direction you intend to go.

Uncertainty is transformed into clarity. Its a good feeling!

In future articles I will discuss some of the nuts and bolts practical issues to attend to.

What do we really mean when we assign responsibility, make someone accountable or give authority?

Confusion surrounding the application of these terms can be very damaging to a business its how problems fail to be identified, acted on or resolved and, ultimately, how revenue is lost.

The main difference between accountability, responsibility and authority, is that the last two can be shared, while the first cannot. In his best selling book released last year, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits 2.0: Scaling up, Verne Harnish, founder and CEO of Gazelles International, says, If more than one person is accountable, then no one is accountable, and thats when things fall through the cracks.

So lets look at the definitions.

Accountability: Means having the ability to report or count. It is the role of tracking progress and speaking up when issues arise. Being accountable does not include making decisions or wearing consequences.

Responsibility: This falls to anyone with the ability to respond. It includes everyone involved in a particular process or issue.

Authority: This lies with the person or team who has the final decision making power and, like responsibility, this can be shared.

The example Harnish uses to illustrate the differences between accountability, responsibility and authority is from his own organisation, Gazelles.

Gazelles CFO has accountability for cash she literally counts and reports it to the team daily. And shes accountable for alerting the team if she senses any potential issues now or later in the year.

In turn, Harnish, as CEO, maintains the authority over cash, signing off on major expenditure and investments. And everyone in the company has responsibility for making sure that cash is spent wisely and that deals/contracts are structured so they help generate vs. absorb cash, as Gazelles continues to scale up.

Throughout different levels of an organisation, the balance between authority and accountability shifts.This is why leaders get paid the big bucks to bridge this ever increasing gap between accountability and authority, using their skills of communication, persuasion, education, visioning, etc.

So why do so many companies get it wrong?

Its because not enough attention is paid to the details. Clearly defining what each person is responsible and accountable for, and has authority over, within correct and consistent definitions is critical. They are not just words, they have meanings attached and its crucial to get those meanings right.

Leigh Paulden is a certified Gazelles consultant. www.ssbg.co.nz

The significance of definitions

By Martz Witty, head of the Martz Group, www.martz.co.nz

Staff holidays are there for a reason. In New Zealand you are typically entitled to four weeks annual leave and yet many businesses dont ensure their staff take the leave inside of a specified period.

We think that is bad business practice, notwithstanding there might be reasons to let a staff member accrue leave (e.g. an extended holiday later). So why are we so adamant that holidays should be taken?

Accumulating liability Not taking annual leave means that a very real liability is mounting in behind the accounts. A liability that many businesses dont even reflect in their annual statements. This can come and bite when the leave is eventually taken or on exit of the staff member. This can create major cash flow woes for a business.

Staff burnout Everyone needs time out occasionally and people who dont have this reprieve are more susceptible to burn-out. Thats bad for the staff and the business.

Increased absenteeism and sickness When you work for a prolonged period without a break (and this is heightened in demanding and stressful jobs), its common to end up with illness. This might result in short or long term sick leave. It has even been mooted that staff will fake sickness because they are afraid to ask for annual leave.

Increased staff turnover Staff move on for a variety of reasons, but one is commonly that they didnt feel they could ask for the time off from their current post. Insisting on leave being taken reduces this risk.

Uncover fraud As a former auditor, many was the time that a staff fraud was uncovered when staff were made to take annual leave. New eyes can find irregularities and it is quite frightening just how much staff fraud is being undertaken in New Zealand.

So how can you make sure your staff use their holiday entitlement? Stress to staff that it is okay to ask for holidays as a healthy life balance is a win-win for staff and business. Instil a culture that not everyone will always be at work; when people realise that not everyone is at work all the time, it becomes easier to request the time off. Have a business policy on leave and make it known to all members of staff. Have open communication about leave entitlements and age of holidays, and proactively suggest staff request time off.

In essence, having a good holiday entitlement programme with enforced leave means your workforce will be better balanced, less stressed, refocused and re-energised.

Staff holidays should be enforced


News | Viewpoints

EVENTS DIARYWhats happening on the business

and entertainment front

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9Business Excellence Network Breakfast Every second month more than 170 business owners and senior business managers gather for breakfast to network and enjoy a keynote speaker. Septembers breakfast will feature keynote speaker Kevin Kenrick from TVNZ. To register, go to: www.aucklandnz.com

TUESDAY - SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 - 13Auckland Home ShowThe iconic Auckland Home Show returns to the ASB Showgrounds, featuring more than 500 exhibitors showcasing the latest products, services and trends in renovations, building, furnishing, home improvements and outdoor living. For more information, visit: www.aucklandhomeshow.co.nz SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 12Become a Blogger Always wanted to blog but not known where to start? This course will give you the know-how to get started and get your blog out to the world. Learn how to start your own free and easy to run site and build a new blog from scratch. To register, go to: www.selwyncomed.school.nz

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14 The Aha! Influencers Change Slate WorkshopThis one day workshop covers the science and secrets of eliminating resistanceto your ideas, proposals and change strategies. Run by acclaimed author, presenter and persuasion expert Harry Mills. To register, go to: www.harrymillsworkshops.grow.co.nz

TUESDAY, 22ND SEPTEMBERThe Value of Difference: Cultural Diversity in the Workplace This breakfast hosted by the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and St Matthew in the City, will focus on how business today is responding to the demands of New Zealands increasingly multicultural identity. To register, go to: www.aucklandchamber.co.nz

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23 24Training 101: Problem Solving and Decision MakingThis two day workshop focuses on problem solving and the tools needed to better deal with work problems and decisions. Good problem solving rests in our ability to identify options, research them, and put things together in a way that works. To register, go to: www.kiwihost.co.nz

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30Emotional Intelligence (EQ) Training CourseThe pd training Emotional Intelligence Course helps you better understand yourself, which will allow you to build stronger relationships, succeed at work and achieve your career and personal goals. Learn skills like using and reading body language, active listening, questioning techniques and much more. To register, go to: www.pdtraining.co.nz

How to say thank you

Suzanne Carter is a specialist for website development company Limelight Online. www.limelightonline.co.nz

Just checking but you are thanking people, arent you?

You should be taking every opportunity to engage with your website visitors, but one opportunity that is very commonly overlooked is the thank you message when someone has made a purchase, completed a form, or subscribed to your newsletter.

Most websites have a standard message saying something similar to Thank you for your enquiry. We will be in touch with you as soon as possible and thats it.

While this is a nice, polite (if not dull) message, it has effectively ended the engagement with your website visitor. There is so much more you could do to continue the interaction.

Ideas for your thank you page

Set expectationsClearly set expectations as to what is the next step and give exact timeframes as to when you will be in touch, rather than just saying as soon as possible. Make sure though that if you are saying you will be in touch within 24 hours, or the product that has been purchased will be shipped in 48 hours, that you keep to these timeframes. There is nothing worse than having an expectation set only to be disappointed when the timeframes have not been met.

Add contact detailsYes, your contact information is on your contact page (or it should be), but make it easy on the user by adding them again in case they have an immediate enquiry.

Calls to actionThis is where you encourage further action so if someone has sent you an enquiry you could use the thank you page to ask them to subscribe to your newsletter or visit your Facebook page. You might want to ask them to leave feedback on their experience, so create a feedback form and link to it on the thank you page.

Social mediaIf you are active on social media then include the relevant icon links. Having your website visitors following and interacting with you on other channels, aside from your website, is great for brand awareness and promotion.

Building trustWhy not add a testimonial to this page? It reinforces your trust and credibility. Alternatively direct them to your testimonials page if you have one so they can continue to interact with your website. Including links to your blog posts, videos or whitepapers, you may have written will further enhance your brand credibility.

DesignYou can be creative with the design of this page. It can look totally different to your other pages, but not so different of course that there is a brand disconnect when landing on this page.

Jane Cowan-Harris is the head of WorkSpace IQ. www.workspaceiq.co.nz

Is technology wearing you out?

Do you wake up feeling refreshed every morning? Switched on and ready to go? If not it may well be technology thats slowing you down; youve got to switch off to switch on.

Desktop computers, laptops, tablets and smart phones unless youre actively avoiding them, the chances are youre using at least one or two of these devices every day, possibly more.

Of course, there are many positive aspects to all of these handy devices, but when they start affecting your sleep, your productivity at work and even your mental health, then maybe its time to start considering just how much you engage with them.

This is particularly important in the evening when, rather than winding it up, if you want to perform well the next day, its best to wind your brain activity down into a more relaxed state.

Give your neurons a break!

Mark Rosekind, former director of the NASA Ames Research Centre Fatigue Countermeasures Program, says One of the most simple but important reasons technology affects our sleep is cognitive stimulation. As your brain revs up, its electrical activity increases and neurons start to race. This is the exact opposite of what should be happening before sleep.

A hot topic at the moment is the glow from electronic devices. This blue light passes through the retina in our eyes into the hypothalamus, a part of the brain which controls several sleep activities, delaying the release of melatonin, the sleep inducing hormone we all need.

Let it go

Having your mobile phone to hand at all hours (like taking it into the bedroom), also means that you are left on alert and this ever ready state of alertness can lead to poor sleeping habits.

Disturbing more than our sleep

On top of causing many of us to sleep less and less, technology can also impact negatively on our mental health. A research study of over 4,000 young adult students, Dr Naim of the Los Angeles Sleep Study Institute, found that regularly using a computer before bedtime is not only associated with sleep disorders, but also stress and depressive symptoms in both men and women.

Switch off tonight to be more switched on tomorrow

The evidence is clear that burning the midnight oil to catch up on correspondence, the latest happenings on social media, or simply indulging in some bedtime reading on your tablet, may not be a great idea if you want a decent nights sleep. The secret could be as simple as switching it all off a little earlier in the evening.

An exciting way to eat sushi has hit Auckland and its bringing with it a whole new meaning to the term fast food.

Sushi Train first brought the rotation sushi bar system a unique part of the Japanese food culture to Australia more than 20 years ago with the first restaurant in Queenslands Surfers Paradise in 1994.

For the uninitiated, Sushi Train is a conveyor belt sushi restaurant and yes, just like it sounds, sushi travels on a conveyor belt system and you simply pick your selections from a steady stream of fresh authentic sushi options as they pass by.

Available on both the Viaduct and in Chancery, come experience the truly authentic feel of Sushi Train whilst dining out on our quality Japanese fare. Made from the freshest ingredients, we successfully incorporate our brilliant flavours with rotating conveyor style presentation to provide the customer with only the most authentic in Japanese experiences.

ViaductUnit P, 85-89 Customs Street West,Viaduct, Auckland, New Zealand 1010Phone: (09)358-3434

Chancery201A/32 Courthouse Lane,Chancery, Auckland, New Zealand 1010Phone: (09)368-7200

www.sushitrainnz.co.nz

ITS TIME TO JUMP ONBOARD THE SUSHI TRAIN

Named in recognition of the original concept of taking food dishes past the customer using a model train railway system, Sushi Train has since developed a simpler, more conventional conveyor system that also takes food past the customers table regularly.

Much like the popularity of Asian cuisine itself, the conveyor system was a massive hit with strong demand for the product and Sushi Train soon expanded to 41 stores across Australia.

What is it that makes the sushi-train concept so utterly intriguing to children and adults alike? How is it that having your food served to you

via conveyor belt somehow makes the whole meal more fun?

While we may never uncover the secret behind the sushi trains transcontinental appeal, this exciting new concept has finally made it to New Zealand shores and there are now two Auckland outlets tucked away in the CBD that will give your chopsticks a run for their wasabi. Sushi Train Viaduct has been open at 85-89 Customs Street West since 2006 and has since been joined by Sushi Train Chancery at 201A/32 Courthouse Lane last year.

With special lunch platters available - what better place to head to on your lunch break? Or better yet, drinks and

food are available after office hours, so you can head there straight after work. Locals love the delicious, easy and fun dining experience offering authentic Japanese fare and your friends will love it too.

The menu for both stores are available on the website and feature a delicious range of authentic cuisine, from nigiri and aburi, to rolls, udon and donburi, complemented by a range of hot dishes, drinks and desserts. All Sushi Train restaurants stick thoroughly to the traditional policy of always providing fresh food, priding themselves on delivering the most delicious, unrivalled sushi every time, with high quality ingredients ensuring only the freshest product.Highly qualified sushi chefs then professionally transform the ingredients into a product of great aesthetics and even greater quality.Kaiten-zushi (conveyor belt sushi) is a popular style of restaurant in Japan and with 41 Sushi Train restaurants in Australia and now two in Aucklands CBD - this popular style of dining has to be seen to be believed. Get in now to find out why Sushi Train makes eating so much fun.

An exciting way to eat sushi has hit Auckland and its bringing with it a whole new meaning to the term fast food.

Sushi Train first brought the rotation sushi bar system a unique part of the Japanese food culture to Australia more than 20 years ago with the first restaurant in Queenslands Surfers Paradise in 1994.

For the uninitiated, Sushi Train is a conveyor belt sushi restaurant and yes, just like it sounds, sushi travels on a conveyor belt system and you simply pick your selections from a steady stream of fresh authentic sushi options as they pass by.

Available on both the Viaduct and in Chancery, come experience the truly authentic feel of Sushi Train whilst dining out on our quality Japanese fare. Made from the freshest ingredients, we successfully incorporate our brilliant flavours with rotating conveyor style presentation to provide the customer with only the most authentic in Japanese experiences.

ViaductUnit P, 85-89 Customs Street West,Viaduct, Auckland, New Zealand 1010Phone: (09)358-3434

Chancery201A/32 Courthouse Lane,Chancery, Auckland, New Zealand 1010Phone: (09)368-7200

www.sushitrainnz.co.nz

ITS TIME TO JUMP ONBOARD THE SUSHI TRAIN

Named in recognition of the original concept of taking food dishes past the customer using a model train railway system, Sushi Train has since developed a simpler, more conventional conveyor system that also takes food past the customers table regularly.

Much like the popularity of Asian cuisine itself, the conveyor system was a massive hit with strong demand for the product and Sushi Train soon expanded to 41 stores across Australia.

What is it that makes the sushi-train concept so utterly intriguing to children and adults alike? How is it that having your food served to you

via conveyor belt somehow makes the whole meal more fun?

While we may never uncover the secret behind the sushi trains transcontinental appeal, this exciting new concept has finally made it to New Zealand shores and there are now two Auckland outlets tucked away in the CBD that will give your chopsticks a run for their wasabi. Sushi Train Viaduct has been open at 85-89 Customs Street West since 2006 and has since been joined by Sushi Train Chancery at 201A/32 Courthouse Lane last year.

With special lunch platters available - what better place to head to on your lunch break? Or better yet, drinks and

food are available after office hours, so you can head there straight after work. Locals love the delicious, easy and fun dining experience offering authentic Japanese fare and your friends will love it too.

The menu for both stores are available on the website and feature a delicious range of authentic cuisine, from nigiri and aburi, to rolls, udon and donburi, complemented by a range of hot dishes, drinks and desserts. All Sushi Train restaurants stick thoroughly to the traditional policy of always providing fresh food, priding themselves on delivering the most delicious, unrivalled sushi every time, with high quality ingredients ensuring only the freshest product.Highly qualified sushi chefs then professionally transform the ingredients into a product of great aesthetics and even greater quality.Kaiten-zushi (conveyor belt sushi) is a popular style of restaurant in Japan and with 41 Sushi Train restaurants in Australia and now two in Aucklands CBD - this popular style of dining has to be seen to be believed. Get in now to find out why Sushi Train makes eating so much fun.


News |Cover Story


Eco-systems, adapt or die, viruses, bugs. Were talking nature right? Wrong. For Geraldine McBride its strictly business.


News |Cover Story

A kiwi born and bred, Geraldine McBride has worked her way through the business world from IBM New Zealands class of 95 to starting her own company while sitting on the board of various others.

From this you may assume that she studied business, economics perhaps. But you would be wrong. McBrides career started in the world of zoology, or frogs to be exact, and she naturally progressed from there.

Her past roles include being former CEO and president of several regional divisions of SAP (North America, Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand), and senior vice president and global head of applications and BPO (cloud mobile and outsourcing services) for Dell.

Now, McBride heads up her own company called MyWave a revolutionary digital technology company in the form of a pocket-sized intelligent personal assistant for your smartphone (or the web) called Frank.

Setting up in 2013 with her own seed funding, the company is now worth an estimated $50 million and is completing a well subscribed Series B round a sure sign that she knows what shes doing.

One of the many gifts that Geraldines time in zoology gave her was that of spotting patterns, not just in nature, but in business. Her previous years in the corporate environment exposed her to a world of CEOs and top-level executives, who all had the same four concerns about the digital world: the consumerisation of devices (because there was more power in the hands of the people than ever before), the millenials (the kids born post-1986 who are social digital natives), the economy as a new normal (after the global financial crisis) and the experience economy, where people pay a premium for great experiences.

These all led to major questions. How do you connect with social-digital natives? How do you deliver experiences for people who are willing to pay a premium for them? How do you keep your company growing in double digits when everything is growing at much lower rates than before? These were questions Geraldine sought answers to and in many ways helped her create MyWave.

The CEOs Geraldine was spending time around were of course concerned about the impact of the digital world on their business an impact that she calls the tsunami of the digital revolution, i.e. the wave of opportunity brought to business by technology which is picking up some and drowning others.

Here she talks about the digital revolution and how to thrive in it, or rather surfing the waves of digital disruption rather than being dumped by them.

PhilosophiesAlthough MyWave was built for its own purposes to bring the customer experience into the 21st century Geraldine is using her position there to teach brands how to thrive in the digital world, and of course how MyWave can take them even further.

The digital age is all about ease, connection and growth, yet so many companies arent quite getting it, so it seems appropriate to ask first: why are so many companies failing?

Its 100 years of habit. And people are resistant to change... They wake up in the morning and think about themselves first. They polish their own rocks their products and processes.

The biggest problem Geraldine finds when looking at why businesses are sinking, is that many of them are still functioning under the same

principles that founded the industrial revolution 150 years ago principles that paint people as passive consumers.

Youre supply-chain led (and supply-chain led means that youre producing things and getting them out the door at the optimal possible cost, and theres nothing in there about an empowered consumer) theres nothing in there about creating great experiences and theres certainly nothing in there about personalising it.

And the first step in turning it around?

There needs to be a desire to change start looking at the world through the customers eyes. Start looking at the jobs that they need done. Start looking at the data youve got thats sitting in data mortuaries that is so old now because no one is maintaining it.

But this isnt news right? We know the consumer is no longer passive and we know that companies can certainly talk the talk about being customer centric in their approach to business. But are they really practising what they preach? According to Geraldine, the answer would be no.

Half a century ago the average Fortune 500 company was living about 75 years it could live that long. Today, the average Fortune 500 company is lasting about 14 years and declining the world is not becoming faster it is faster.

The world is changing at a great rate and the companies that are toppling are the ones that simply cannot keep up and so are being out-manoeuvred. Their business focus is out of whack and their narrow or siloed value chain does not reflect the needs of the customer, so they simply dont offer an experience that people want anymore. And why would anyone pay for something they dont want? People vote with their wallets and ratings.

The Norms of the Human RelationshipSo how does a business thrive in this new technological world?

Geraldine has five pointers that she sets out when guiding brands through this exact terrain, and they go by the name of The Norms of the Human Relationship. These norms are true in both physical and digital relationships.

1. Permission The person is in control of the experience.

In regards to advertising, bursting into a consumers personal online space is intrusive and annoying. Those loud, in your face adverts that scream at the viewer to grab attention completely wrong!

Geraldine calls her approach to advertising with MyWave Advertising 2.0, which is about permission. So Ill tell you the things that Im interested in so you can bring me ads that are not junk mail on digital steroids, but entertaining, informational and useful promotions of content on things that I want.

Let the customer tell you what they want and deliver.

2. RespectI am not a product. I am an empowered person wanting to get something done or an outcome achieved.

Respect is knowing your customer is not a product, they are in fact a human being who knows what they want and they want an end-to-end outcome. For example the customer does not want a mortgage, but a home, not a drill bit but a hole.

Moving from a siloed set of commoditised products to creating end-to-end outcomes

centered on the customer creates a sticky value-based relationship.

3. Transparency and TrustThe person controls their data and what they share.

Geraldine has found that people will share more about themselves if they know that their data is theirs, and in their control. When they are getting benefit from it they are prepared to share more about themselves, so start to participate, not passively at the end of the value chain, but empowered, in control and at the centre of it.

4. ConversationA two-way interaction between peers, not a master and slave relationship.

We have established now that consumers are not passive beings. The internet and digital technology have allowed people a space where they can search for what they want and create their own experiences because they have the power to do so.

The relationship between the consumer and the supplier should therefore be a dialogue, not a monologue.

5. Mutual ValueThe need to add value to both sides.

Building a relationship with your customer is important now more than ever. No longer does the narrow and siloed supply-chain process of business work.

People want end-to-end outcomes, hyper-personalised experiences, and they wont get that from mass production, static websites, or from companies making a quick commoditised buck. Give your customers what they want and they will reciprocate.

Big dataOf course in the online space, data is king, because without it businesses go in blind. But not only should it be used as efficiently as possible, it should also be used responsibly.

Geraldine believes a big mistake older companies make is thinking that because they own the customer data, they control the relationship.

They think thats a relationship with the customer, but its not, because youre effectively trying to hold your customer hostage. Whereas what we try and teach them is that its not actually about kidnapping and capturing your customer, its about building relationships with them.

Free-range customers are more valuable and there is no such thing as a captive customer anymore today they have choice.

She believes that understanding more about living, little data is key. That is where the value is unlocked and thats where you start to get the personal information economy.

Living, little data is centered on the individual, their needs, their dreams, their preferences and what they want to do next, maintained by the customer and shared with the brands in a dynamic two-way relationship that creates mutual value for everyone.

A recent study in the UK by Ctrl-Shift has found that 16.5bn could be unlocked through what is called the Personal Information Economy (PIE); increasing productivity for enterprise brands and also for individual consumers.

Part of this includes giving the consumer utility and control of their data (how it is used and the outcomes of that use), while simultaneously unlocking billions in increased sales and productivity for the economy.

Geraldine believes it can be unlocked for New Zealand and the rest of the world too, we just have to nurture data and figure out how best we can utilise it to deliver the experience a customer wants. And shes already doing that through MyWave and the opt-in attitude of Frank.

If you look at what MyWave does, were at the intersection of the Personal Information Economy and also the rise of the intelligent assistant. There are lots of intelligent assistants being created now and the reason why, is that the static website on its own is no longer good enough.

Its not personalised and nobody wants to be stalked and tracked through cookies and having all their data sucked up into goodness knows where, where youre siloed with no control or end-to-end outcome.

So the world responded by saying oh lets create an app and now there are apps for everything. The problem is that you end up with something called app fatigue and your life and data is siloed over many apps so the Intelligent Personal Assistant is something that actually rides across all of that.

"It creates these end-to-end experiences across any device. And our example with Frank is that he gets to know you and helps you get what you want, when you want it and in an easy and frictionless way.

Be the facilitator This is the most interesting thing about MyWaves purpose: the fact that it brings together everything a customer needs under one virtual roof.

Say for example a customer is looking for a new car. They tell Frank what kind of car they are looking for and supply their preferences data. Frank delivers those options through a quick search or intent cast and presents them to the customer.

But not only does he deliver the cars, he delivers the insurance, the finance and the registration options too. He essentially streamlines the entire process of buying a car, making the car buying, financing, registering and servicing process easy.

By pulling all of these services together, MyWave is essentially facilitating a relationship between not only the consumer and the supplier, but between the suppliers themselves.

It allows car manufacturers to work alongside dealers; banks to work alongside insurance companies. This might come as a surprise, seeing businesses work so closely and willingly with one another, but Geraldine speaks as if it couldnt be easier.

CEOs are hungry for growth and theyre not getting the growth in old world verticals alone so they know that, to keep the core alive and relevant, they need to actually start to do some things on the edge, or I call it on the edge of innovation.

Streamlining an experience for your customer is vital in todays business environment, and Geraldine is tough at pushing the fact that businesses no longer need to be the owner of all the assets or services, giving examples like Airbnb and Uber.

There is a digital chessboard emerging and some brands are becoming hubs, driving new ecosystems with Frank as the intelligent assistant platform, weaving the end-to-end experiences for their customers. Others will only be spokes in those hubs.

The battleground is be the hub and facilitate the end-to-end outcome for the customer.

www.mywave.me


News |Finance

Hundreds of new SME businesses fail in New Zealand every year. There are a countless number of factors that contribute to a business ventures demise such as failure to understand the market, business plan problems, bad location, internet presence and marketing and even expanding too fast. But perhaps the most deadly contributor to start-up failure is an inability to manage business finances correctly.

Dont let your SME become another statistic; act now to ensure your business is financially strong by avoiding these common financial management mistakes before its too late.

Is the price right?Pricing your products or services correctly is tricky business. But its worth investing some considered thought and time into this process because it can make all the difference between sinking or swimming. If your price is too high no one will buy; price too low and you lose out on revenue. Develop a strong pricing strategy by assessing what your competitors charge.

If you are unsure how to price your offering start slightly high, this allows you to give discounts. Avoid having the lowest price in the market. This can devalue your product and not only turn consumers off, but also force you to generate so much volume it could put you out of business.

Cash poorIt is common knowledge that entrepreneurs need a substantial amount of money to invest in the set-up of their business. But it is often months if not more than a year before new businesses start to generate a steady income, let alone make a profit. And it is during this time, if the business doesnt have enough cash reserves to carry it through, it can fail.

So start with adequate operating cash to get you through the initial turbulent financial phase.

By Laura Baker


Dont fool yourself with wishful thinking that the money will somehow appear.

Crippled by creditYoung businesses which havent secured sufficient operating cash for the initial set-up are forced to turn to credit cards for the early stages of survival. However once a business is plastic dependent, it is extremely hard to get out of debt due to the high interest charges and annual fees credit cards carry. Once a cash strapped SME is in credit card debt its often only a short amount of time before it is forced to close its doors. Steer clear of getting into credit card debt at all costs by ensuring you have sufficient operating capital.

Blurred lines Dont mix your personal and business finances. As a business owner, its tempting to blur the lines between personal and business expenses, but it is important to keep these two entities completely separate.

Maintaining a distinct separation makes it easier for accounting, budgeting and reconciling both sets of books. It is also vital to determining

actual profits and losses and for evaluating the financial health of your small business. Plus it reduces your own personal liability and makes the business more credible.

Going unpaid In the early stages of operation it is not uncommon for business owners to pay themselves a very small salary or even nothing at all. It may seem like a smart decision at the time to channel any and all profits back into the business, but sacrificing your own pay check could damage your personal financial good standing. And at the end of the day if you are not financially healthy your business will no doubt be affected.

Unpaid invoices Youve done the work, emailed the invoice to your client with the usual payment terms and its now overdue. Its a common complaint for any small business, but it shouldnt be left to get out of control. Unpaid invoices can stifle a businesses cash flow and bring operations to a grinding halt if large invoices continue to go unpaid.

Having a healthy cash-flow is paramount to your survival and success, so you have to learn how to tackle overdue invoices and ensure you get paid. Organise your accounts receivable system printing your payment terms on the back of every invoice, and follow a clear process in collecting payments. Make sending prompt reminders part of your business.

Dont diversify Look at successful companies you admire and chances are they started by offering just one or two things and so should you. Initially focus on what your business does best and do that one thing better than anyone else.

The typical business school of thought is to diversify and offer a wide portfolio of products, so when one product dies another one will hopefully flourish. But diversifying prematurely can cripple a business. The problem with selling too many things, especially for a young company, is that it is a massive financial investment that may not pay off because you end up watering down everything you do to the point of mediocrity and they all eventually fail.

Dont mix your personal

and business finances.

As a business owner,

its tempting to blur the

lines between personal

and business expenses

but it is important to

keep these two entities,

completely separate.

Let the divine taste of Love Manuka Chocolates raise your spirits and send your taste buds on a journey. Indulge yourself in the delicious, mouth-watering taste of Manuka Honey in our dark or creamy milk chocolates.

The Manuka Flower only grows in clean, green New Zealand giving you a sample of paradise on earth.All our chocolates are individually wrapped in foil to keep them fresh so you can enjoy a tantalising taste of the real New Zealand Manuka Honey.

Unit 3, 1 Bishop Dunn Place, Flat Bush, Auckland 2013P: 09 577 5788 E: [email protected] www.exoticaenterprise.com


Debt can be a useful tool to start and grow your business, says Victoria Crone, managing director Xero NZ, but small business owners need to make sure their debt is working for, not against them.

When a substantial amount of expenditure goes towards servicing debt rather than investing in the business, small businesses struggle to grow and can often get into trouble when expenses and debt begin to consistently outstrip revenue, she says.

As a small business owner, getting on top of your debt is one of the best resolutions you can make. More than a third of small business owners feel uncomfortable with their levels of debt, but taking a few steps to get things under control can go a long way to making your finances easier to manage.

News |Finance

ways to get on top of your small business debt 7

Heres where you can start:

1. Get visibility over your debtIf youre managing your finances through spreadsheets, you probably arent aware of all your debt obligations. And, if youre not aware of your debt, you cant make a plan to get on top of it. You need to have this information at your fingertips at all times. Using accounting software, like Xero, will help show what you really owe as well as working out your optimum level of debt for your business.

2. Prioritise your debtNot all debts are created equal. Prioritise your debt by asking yourself what would happen if I didnt make this payment? The more unpleasant the outcome, the higher priority the debt. Payroll is usually the highest priority, because if your people arent getting paid, they have no incentive to work. And, if theyre not working, they arent generating revenue to help you pay off the rest of your debt. The same

goes for your top suppliers and business partners, although not to the same extent.

3. Renegotiate bank loan termsYou can renegotiate your bank loan depending on your situation. If you need more cash in the short term, you can ask for a higher interest rate in order to reduce your monthly payments even though the overall repayment amount will be larger.

4. Work out a payment plan with your creditorsIf you are having trouble paying off your creditors, talk to them before they come asking for their money. If you put together a clear payment plan, they will be more receptive. After all, its in their interests for your business to succeed; if you go under, they get nothing.

5. Ask your biggest suppliers for a discountDont be shy. The people you buy from in bulk and / or have a long history with are great

candidates for getting discounts. These discounts can add up, and the savings can go into paying your debts.

6. Cut short term costsAccounting software gives you visibility of your largest outgoings, so you can see which costs to cut. For example, you could reduce the amount of office space you lease. Be sure to think carefully about where you cut costs sometimes it can be counter-productive. If you lose your biggest customer because you cut your ability to serve him or her for example, youll be worse off than you were in the first place.

7. Look for opportunities for more revenueEasier said than done but its not impossible. One way to get a short term boost is to offer clients a prompt payment bonus. Youll lose a bit of revenue, but youll have the cash you need to service your debt faster.

Small Business Minister Craig Foss has welcomed the release of an online tool to help small and medium sized businesses understand the cost of employing staff.

The tool, developed by Business.govt.nz at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, estimates the fixed and discretionary costs of hiring new staff.

Fixed costs include salary, ACC levies and KiwiSaver. Discretionary costs include recruitment, training and office equipment.

Understanding the cost of employing staff The Employee Cost Calculator is designed to help small and medium-sized businesses make confident hiring decisions based on realistic and reliable projections, Foss says.

The Employee Cost Calculator supports the Better for Business Result 9 programme, which is transforming the public sector to make it easier for businesses to interact with Government.

Business.govt.nz packages Government information in a way that makes sense to business. It provides information, advice and a variety of tools to help businesses succeed, Foss says.

For more information visit: www.business.govt.nz/employeecostcalculator

Business Problem Solver, Decision Maker, Sales Motivator, International Guru! 30 Years Experience, Enthusiastic, Energetic, Exciting Messages That Change Attitudes!

www.geewiz.co.nz | www.geewiztv.com | Ph. 0800GEEWIZ Or M.0274 720 410

Seminars Conference Speaking Sales & Marketing Consulting Coaching Mentor

Richard P Gee


Even if your business is booming, its still important to take measures to protect yourself against loss of revenue if one of your customers bubbles pops.Taking proactive measures to reduce credit risk will ensure if and when the economic development peak ends, your company will be well prepared.

Start-up businesses in particular need to make sure they are protected if a major customer declares bankruptcy. They are the most vulnerable to its effects, and can end up heading down the same path if they are not careful.

If you adopt a casual attitude to bill payment, allowing customers to have overdue accounts and mounting IOUs, you are setting yourself up for financial hurt and risk losing everything you are owed if your customer goes bust.

By allowing customers to have overdue accounts you are effectively becoming a charity service. If a customer asked you to give them a months worth of stock for free would you?

POTENTIAL RISKThere are a number of risks your business will face if you find yourself tied up with a customer who is going through bankruptcy, and it is not always easy to cut ties and walk away.

Mass loss If a customer has outstanding bills and files for bankruptcy, you are most likely going to find yourself out of pocket for a majority of the money. You can stand to lose up to 90 percent of what you are owed. And to intensify the situation the partial payment can not be paid until the businesses reorganisation plan has been approved, which can take up to 12 to 24 months.

Payback Not only are you set to lose up to 90 percent of your receivables if a customer files for bankruptcy, but the bankrupt customers has payment recovery rights. This means you may have to return payments you received from the customer 90 days prior to them filing.

Out of your hands Long term contracts can be very problematic when a customer goes out of business. If you have a long term supply agreement with the troublesome customer, you may not be able to terminate the contract and even worse you might be obligated to continue to honour the agreement, even if they owe you.

MINIMISE RISK There are several steps that can be taken to minimise credit risk against your company so you dont find your business stuck with a large bill and no one to pay it.

Impose a deposit

Some customers wont agree to the 20-day payment terms and some customers can be extremely slack at adhering to these terms. In this case you should enforce a deposit which you require to be paid before any goods are released. This should help to eliminate credit risk.

Control your contracts

Avoid long term contracts with at-risk customers wherever possible. It is best to look at the small print because some long term contracts can make it near impossible to terminate the

agreement with the customer if they are seeking bankruptcy protection. It can be a smart decision to operate monthly contracts with customers who are potentially at risk.

News |Finance

By Laura Baker

Dealing with defaulting debtorsTop tipIf you think a customer is struggling and may be considering bankruptcy, protect yourself against loss by limiting your customers inventory.

If a slow paying customer suddenly orders an unusually large volume of product, it may be a sign they are stocking up in anticipation of filing.

Is your website costing you money or making you money?

120 day money back guarantee on our Go Live WeBSites... If youre not 100% satisfied, well refund you in full, no questions asked.

for a standard business website or full e-commerce site, which means your business can sell products 24/7.

CHRISTCHURCH OFFICES2 Ivan Jamieson Place, Christchurch Airport, Chch 8053 112 Buchan Street, Sydenham, Chch 8023

AUCKLAND OFFICELevel 6, 10 Scotia Place, Auckland, 1010

[email protected] | 0800 444 090 | www.fatweb.co.nz

Did you know... If your site doesnt appear in the first 2 pages when someone Googles your industry, youre missing out on business.

In fact some studies show that less than 1% of people even look past the second page of Google. We pride ourselves on providing unbelievable SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) which means endeavouring to get your business on the first couple of pages on Google.

One of our defining features is that our sites are extremely easy to manage so you can change your content or photos as often as you like. If youre able to

book an airline ticket online, you can change the content on our websites.

Our websites start from $1997+gst

OUR DEFINing FEATURES

We specialise iN sites for companies with less thaN 20 staff.

4 WEEK TURNAROUNDWe will have your website ready within 4 weeks.

[email protected]

For a free

no obligation audit of your current website, or if youd simply like to find out more, please call us on

0800 444 090 or email our team on

Email [email protected] and include Free report in your subject.

FREE Report

11 things you must know before choosing a website company!

FatWeb, formally known as Treacy Advertising has been running for 15 years, so if you have any issues you can be sure well be here. We have been making websites for more than 15 years - we know what were doing.

Our parent company has been around since 1980.

a box of goodness!

*Excludes rural/non-urban areas, Saturday and overnight deliveries0800 70 40 70 | www.fruitdirect.co.nz

fresh fruitto your workplace?

with a delivery ofHelp retain staff

Fruit Direct delivers fresh apples, pears and juice at fantastic prices to workplaces throughout NZ who are passionate about healthy work culture.

Also great client gifts. Say thank you with fruit. Crisp, crunchy and fresh is what most of us want in an apple and thats exactly what we offer.

Likewise we provide quality, succulent, and juicy pears all delivered right to your doorstep. And dont forget our natural, irresistible and thirst quenching fruit juice! Fall for the taste of our

great value 3L bladders in a variety of blends. Serve chilled and enjoy. * As the candidate market in NZ is tighting,the spotlight for businesses is increasingly on

retention of staff....NZ Herald August 19th Visit www.fruitdirect.co.nz and check out our range and options.

P.S. we have a FREE* nationwide delivery service!

ORDER 5

OR

MORE CA

RTONS &

SAVE 10

%

Take the time to check out our range of Nelson, New Zealand apples, pears and refreshing juice.

*


Is your website costing you money or making you money?

120 day money back guarantee on our Go Live WeBSites... If youre not 100% satisfied, well refund you in full, no questions asked.

for a standard business website or full e-commerce site, which means your business can sell products 24/7.

CHRISTCHURCH OFFICES2 Ivan Jamieson Place, Christchurch Airport, Chch 8053 112 Buchan Street, Sydenham, Chch 8023

AUCKLAND OFFICELevel 6, 10 Scotia Place, Auckland, 1010

[email protected] | 0800 444 090 | www.fatweb.co.nz

Did you know... If your site doesnt appear in the first 2 pages when someone Googles your industry, youre missing out on business.

In fact some studies show that less than 1% of people even look past the second page of Google. We pride ourselves on providing unbelievable SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) which means endeavouring to get your business on the first couple of pages on Google.

One of our defining features is that our sites are extremely easy to manage so you can change your content or photos as often as you like. If youre able to

book an airline ticket online, you can change the content on our websites.

Our websites start from $1997+gst

OUR DEFINing FEATURES

We specialise iN sites for companies with less thaN 20 staff.

4 WEEK TURNAROUNDWe will have your website ready within 4 weeks.

[email protected]

For a free

no obligation audit of your current website, or if youd simply like to find out more, please call us on

0800 444 090 or email our team on

Email [email protected] and include Free report in your subject.

FREE Report

11 things you must know before choosing a website company!

FatWeb, formally known as Treacy Advertising has been running for 15 years, so if you have any issues you can be sure well be here. We have been making websites for more than 15 years - we know what were doing.

Our parent company has been around since 1980.


Eugene de Villiers provides some tips for fishing in a small pond: how to snare the catch of the day and most importantly, ensuring it doesnt get away.What advice do you have for business owners who are new to recruiting staff?

You need to be very specific on the profile you are looking for. The more specific you are the more successful your recruiting drives will be. In our organisation we give the heaviest weighting to cultural fit.

You can train people in the technical skills required, but no matter how technically capable staff are, if they are not passionate about customer service and going the extra mile, they are simply not going to fit our particular DNA.

Dont rush is one of the best pieces of advice I have ever been given. Dont be tempted to employ someone because they almost fit the bill, as every time I have done that I have lived to regret it. Sometimes the perfect candidate doesnt appear immediately, but the cost of employing someone who is not a perfect match is far more than a few months of patience.

How do you know if a candidate will be a good fit for your organisations culture?New Zealand is a small place and asking referees the right questions is crucial to matching a candidate's profile to your organisation.

Because we have refined our profile we can significantly reduce the chances of a bad hire. I also follow my own intuition (built up over many years), and nine times out of 10 I am right. Another measure I use is whether the candidate would be a good fit with our customer base. Might sound basic, but is so often overlooked.

Is it difficult to keep good staff? How do you make them happy?Like most business owners, I have learned from trial and error. One of my biggest learnings is that contrary to what many others might say paying the big dollars doesnt ensure staff will stay.

Retaining good staff is about customising their remuneration package. For example we have a number of working mothers in our team and so for them flexibility of hours is paramount.

Staff engagement is also very important. We regularly poll our staff on what makes them

News |Employment

Fishing in a small pond

happy to come to work and we know that celebrating milestones is on the happy list. So we regularly have a morning tea or decorate a staff members desk with balloons and streamers to celebrate both personal and professional successes.

We also have a shared lunch once a week where teams are nominated to prepare the meal, phones are turned off and we enjoy each others company without distraction. Whilst the days of Friday afternoon drinks have been toned down in terms of alcohol consumption, we encourage all team members to knock off early on a Friday and enjoy some friendly rivalry over the Foosball table. All of these things are low cost but high impact.

Poaching - what can you do to minimise this?In the same way that the incentive programmes we design for our clients are bespoke, we take those principals and practice what we preach internally.

By listening to what is important to our staff then we can reward them accordingly, be it with flexible working hours, staff development opportunities or other meaningful incentives.

Because we believe that our staff are at the top of their game, then chances are our competitors will think so too and so it is inevitable that they may be approached to jump ship.

Employers who simply motivate their staff by dollars are far more vulnerable to poaching, as

competitors simply up the anti by a few dollars. It is a great deal harder for competitors to replicate meaningful staff incentive programmes.

When you do lose a valued team member, do you have any tips for employers to ensure this doesnt de motivate the rest of the team?My number one rule is never ever to talk negatively about a departing staff member, regardless of whether you cant wait to see the back of them. Every time we lose a staff member we use this as an opportunity to re evaluate our team strengths and weaknesses, and to reassess our capabilities. This may influence the profile of our next desired candidate.

Eugene De Villiers is the Managing Director of the Auckland-based Extra Mile Company, which specialises in creating cost effective behavioural change programmes, utilising a range of awards including travel, merchandise, recognition and branded cash. For more information contact [email protected] or follow him on linkedin.com/company/extra-mile-company

Retaining good staff is about customising their

remuneration package. For example we have a number

of working mothers in our team and so for them

flexibility of hours is paramount.

If youre interested in advertising in the Canterbury Today Magazine please contact the Advertising Manager, Clive Greenwood on...

Ph: (03) 961 5176 | [email protected] | www.magazinestoday.co.nz

LOOKING AT GROWING YOUR BUSINESS?

PROUD To be a finalist ONCE AGAIN

in last years Netguide

Best Employment

site category!

LOOKING FOR STAFF?LAUNCH YOUR SEARCH WITH US!

HERES 4 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD USE THE BEST NZ OWNED AND OPERATED JOB SITE.

You can either buy 1 ad (for 1 month) for $99 or unlimited ads for 12 months for $795+gst.

100% money back guarantee if you dont think its the best money youve

spent all year plus well give you another 12 months free

free access to search cvs other companies charge thousands for this.

You can include your company profile next to your ad so applicants can see why they want to work there once again, other companies charge for this.

SEARCH ONLINE ON:

MYJOBSPACE.CO.NZ | 0800 486 329 | 2 IVAN JAMIESON PLACE, CHRISTCHURCH AIRPORT, CHRISTCHURCH 8053, NZ.

* search now

USE THE MOST COST EFFECTIVE AND EASIEST JOB SITE IN NEW ZEALAND. NOW WITH A NEW AND IMPROVED

WEBSITE MAKING THINGS EVEN EASIER, ENSUREING YOU GET QUALITY APPLICANTS, EVERYTIME!

*Mention this feature to receive 10% discount and free champagne for guests*conditions apply

S A V YC H A R T E R S

Cruise the Auckland Harbour in luxury or experience fishing in the Hauraki Gulf like never before with the team at Savoy ChartersSavoy takes up to 45 guests

LUXURY YACHT CHARTERS

Savoy uses the latest technology to track birds divingPUTTING YOU RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE WHALES

SIMRAD

CORPORATE CHARTERSHARBOUR CRUISES

SPORT & GAME FISHINGMULTI DAY RETREATS

GOURMET CUISINEFREEDIVING & SCUBA DIVING

VIP TRANSFERS

[email protected] 021 972 869

WWW.SAVOY.CO.NZ

Moored at the Viaduct, in downtown Auckland, the Savoy is a luxury charter yachtfully equipped to handlehalf-day and full-daycruises throughout thebeautiful Hauraki Gulfand further afield to some ofthe best fishing in Great Barrier for overnight or multi-day cruises.

The Savoys wide multi-hull design also makes it incredibly stable and comfortable forthose who are normally not so comfortable on the water. Sail into a quiet, secluded bay, and enjoy the tranquility and relaxation of your own private slice of paradise.

The vessel sleepssixcomfortably and has a large kitchen and dining area, perfect for entertaining.

Catering to both corporate needs and individuals, Savoy Charters is all about flexibility and tailoring. If you have clients visiting, charter the Savoy to take them out on the harbour to watch the Volvo Ocean Race, or simply for a sight seeing cruise.

For individuals, Savoy provides fishing charters, birthday charters, hen parties and stag dos.

AN UNFORGETTABLE CRUISE

For a memorable wedding, complete with stunning photo opportunities, you could do no better than booking a charter. The Savoy skippers are, without a doubt, Aucklands best fish whisperers and dolphin diviners. They are locals who are very experienced and their love of the harbour and the islands is obvious.

The Savoyis equipped withSimrad,a leading marine electronics brand for more than 60 years.Powered bytheSimrad NSS Evo2 andcombinedwith the Simrad Halo Pulse compression radar,enables Savoy to track down sea birds with long range detections.

Thisputsus right on spot forsomedynamic fishing andvirtually guarantees us catching large fish as a result; we often see dolphins and whales leaping form the water.

The deckhands/crew are all fishing fanatics and can assist with all levels of fishing experience - even those that have never cast a rod.

Hiring the Savoy for fishing is probably the most popular charter, be it for a commercial client or a bunch of guys wanting a weekend

away with plenty of snaps of large Snapper and Kingfish to show their mates at work on Monday.

Auckland has a beautiful harbour with easy access and is just a hop skip and jump, or in nautical miles - very few, to the handful of islands dotted conveniently in the Hauraki Gulf.Depending on the length of the charter the Savoy can take you to some or all of the islands.Waiheke Island, about 17.7 km (11.0 mi) from Auckland, is the second largest island in the Gulf and home to some of the best vineyards in New Zealand. Head ashore to partake in a premium wine tasting experience and work your way through a selection of premium wines, under the guidance of a local taste expert.Alternatively, enjoy an intimate wine tasting onboard Savoy with your family and friends, in a gorgeous secluded bay.

Your charter experience can be tailored to your unique needs, so just let the Savoy staff know if there is a particular Waiheke wine that youd like to try or any other refreshment guaranteed to quench your thirst.

The whole Savoy experience is about luxury and flexibility.

Documents

Auckland Today Magazine 114