FYI September 2017

Take Stock Lunch with Phil Goff Pg 7

– evaluating your business and planning for growth

$30m

Member Survey results Pg 10

$20m

Finding and keeping tenants Pg 13

$10m

$5m

$1m

SEPTEMBER 2017 — MEMBER NEWS AND INFORMATION

businessnh.org.nz

ONE DAY SALE SATURDAY, 25 NOVEMBER Register your business and participate in the biggest shopping day of the year!

• Maximise sales • Move excess stock before Christmas • Attract new customers What participants said last year The event was well organised and well The sale exceeded supported by the public, with our expectations – a constant flow of people more foot traffic than through the day. expected!

We’re normally open on a Saturday, but we were up 300% in sales compared to other Saturdays!

REGISTER YOUR INTEREST AT BUSINESSNH.ORG.NZ/ONEDAYSALE2017

FROM THE CHAIR

From the Chair The growth experienced within the Business North Harbour boundaries over the last few years reflects not only the impact of the ‘Auckland sprawl’, but the willingness of existing, new and start-up businesses to move into our BID – an area that is the ‘Postcode of Choice’ for a growing number of businesses of all sizes. As an organisation, our purpose is to empower economic prosperity and growth, which is the focus of this edition of FYI. Business North Harbour has expanded and grown alongside our members, and in doing so, faced the same issues as other growing businesses. In particular, dealing with expansion costs such as relocation, recruitment and rebranding, while remaining relevant to our core customers, providing improved programmes and services and working within strict budgets.

As an organisation, we understand that growing a business involves an element of risk, and we can assist in this area. We’ve been around a long time, we’ve conducted surveys, we have knowledge about this area.

So I urge all our members to use us. Spread

as then Mayor Phil Goff on the 31st August, both very well attended events. Other opportunities for growing your profile and your business include sponsoring special events, advertising in FYI magazine, making use of our conference rooms and engaging with the staff at head office. We are connected!

Use us!

Finally, we have a number of Gold Sponsors who are dedicated to our area and generously support the work Business North Harbour does on behalf of members.

They’re listed on this page, and be sure to use the search function in the Online Business Directory to see if they, or any other members, have the skills and services you need to grow and expand.

Thank you for reading and wishing you all the very best in business!

the risk. Use Business North Harbour’s wide sphere of relationships, influence and connections to make the growth of your business more sustainable.

During a recent conversation with a local Insolvency Practitioner, I was advised that the likelihood of a business folding in the middle of a growth spurt is four times more than while trading in a shrinking market. The demands on skills, resources and, particularly cash flow, can become unsurmountable. Therefore planning, execution and accountability are key factors in ensuring your business successfully steps from one turnover level to the next. Business North Harbour plans to increase our Business Capability Programmes (specifically designed to assist you while in growth mode) over the next 12 months. This includes a programme geared towards CEO’s, as well as expanding our existing schedule.

I encourage members to maximise the opportunities available to them, such as our business lunches. A coup was hosting Prime Minister Rt Honourable Bill English in March,

Greg Frittelli Chair, Business North Harbour

In this issue 3

From the Chair

10 Member Survey Results

20 Straker Translations Profile

4 In Brief

13 Property Matters

21 Tea Total Profile

5

Community – Blue September

14 New Gold Sponsors

22 Transport

6

Dates for your Diary

24 Crime Prevention

7

Events

9

Lunch with Phil Goff

16 Take Stock – evaluating your business and planning for growth

26 Professional Development – shared office space 28 Professional Development – property considerations

25 Government Support

29 Gold Sponsors

BUSINESS NORTH HARBOUR GOLD SPONSORS 2017-2018

Women in Business Event Series Sponsor

Contact FYI Magazine Business North Harbour General Manager Janine Brinsdon janine@businessnh.org.nz

Editor Carolynn Day carolynn@realspark.com

Advertising Shirner Kenny shirner@businessnh.org.nz

Design Lewis Hurst lewis@hurstmedia.nz

Printer MHP Group www.mhpgroup.co.nz

Business North Harbour, 12 Parkway Drive, North Harbour, 0632. PO Box 303 126, North Harbour 0751 office 09 968 2222 web businessnh.org.nz The opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily the views of the publishers.The publisher does not endorse any person, company or organisation that advertises in this publication.

SE P T E MBE R 2 0 1 7 FYI BUSINE SS N H . O RG. N Z

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IN B RIEF

ADVANCE NOTICE

Auckland named the top meetings and conference destination in Australasia at the 2017 World Travel Awards.

Business North Harbour Inc. AGM 2017 Advance notice is given that the Annual General Meeting for Business North Harbour Inc. will be held, 11 am 19 October 2017 at Business North Harbour’s offices, 12 Parkway Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632.

The 2017 AGM will focus on two key elements, the first being the presentation of the association’s Annual Report. Greg Fritelli as Chair, and Janine Brinsdon, as General Manager, will present the outcomes and achievements over the past twelve months to the members. The association’s Financial Statements for the financial year ending 30 June 2017 will also be presented for approval. The second element of the 2017 AGM will provide the opportunity for the Chair and General Manager to present for approval, the core member programme and service elements we aim to deliver within the 2017-18 period. These priorities will focus on managing and supporting growth - at a regional level through to an individual business or investment level, and increasing capability, capacity, connection and collaboration within our membership. How we intend to improve communication and engagement with our members will be outlined at the AGM. The full Annual Report (30 June 2017) and Business Plan (2017-2020) will be available to all those who attend, with a digital copy available through our website from 6 October 2017.

At the AGM, Executive Committee Membership nominations will be called for.

All interested parties are welcome to attend, however as per the rules outlined in the association’s constitution, only full North Harbour Business Improvement District members are entitled to vote.

Further information will be uploaded onto businessnh.org.nz/AGM017 from the 4 September 2017. If you have any questions, please feel free to call Janine Brinsdon – GM on 09 968 2222 or 021 212 4942, or email janine@businessnh.org.nz

We look forward to seeing you on the 19 October 2017.

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This is the first time Auckland has received the award, which has gone exclusively to Melbourne in recent years.

Dubbed the “Oscars of travel”, senior members of the international travel industry as well as high-end consumers vote on the annual awards. As well as Auckland’s vibrant urban lifestyle and natural beauty, the thriving economy also contributed to gaining the award. Added together, the factors make the area ideal for people to live, work, invest, play, and meet for business.

The latest release of the International Congress and Convention Association rankings also shows how Auckland’s profile internationally as a business events destination is continuing to grow. Auckland moved up 14 places to 79 from 93 last year, a shift 32 of places overall since 2014.

Hosting business events provides a significant economic contribution to the regional economy and also helps to develop thought leadership globally, positioning the area firmly in the minds of key international influencers and creating strong relationships between research and industry.

Find out about business events in Auckland, including workshops, seminars and networking opportunities. www.aucklandnz.com/visit/events

Inorganic collection – get ready!

Do you have bulky waste items that won’t fit in your standard waste bin? Do you want to reduce landfill and play an active role in the business recycling community? Then register for the upcoming inorganic waste collection initiative from Business North Harbour.

Collection days are Thursday 12th and Friday 13th October All the items collected (wood, plastics, glass, scrap metal, cardboard, paper etc) are recycled and won’t go to landfill.

Register now on the Business North Harbour website www.businessnh.org.nz/inorganiccollection

COMMUNITY

Blue September How Business North Harbour Members can join in the fight against prostate cancer

The Prostate Cancer Foundation wants you to get your blue on for Blue September. They are spending the month getting the message out to our men to go and get checked for prostate cancer.

A great way to support this is to have a Blue Do at your workplace, sports club or community group. Get together with some friends, have a good time, and raise some money to support the Prostate Cancer Foundation. Blue Dos past and present include Zumba classes, mufti days, golf tournaments and quiz nights.

Bikers, workmates and radio hosts are all getting in on the act. You can check out upcoming events and get ideas for your own Do on the website. Perhaps you fancy a blue breakfast, a bet on blue or a blueberry bake off? “One of my favourite ideas is the

“I am all about getting the word out on men’s health issues especially when so many deaths can be prevented by a simple test.”

– Brett McGregor, Masterchef

Blue Friday that many offices organise. It really gets people involved in dressing up, preparing some novelty food, and focuses on awareness of prostate cancer,” says Graeme Woodside, CEO at the Foundation.

Most people don’t know that prostate cancer is the most prevalent cancer in NZ men. Over 3000 men are diagnosed every year – that’s around 8 men every day. And around 600 Kiwi men die from prostate cancer each year, about the same number as women who die from breast cancer.

Early detection is the key. That’s why the Blue September campaign challenges Kiwi men to get along to their doctor to get checked. Men aged between 50-70 should consider an annual visit that includes both a PSA blood test and a digital rectal examination (DRE). Early detection saves lives – it’s as simple as that.

Prostate cancer is a family issue. Not only can it have a devastating effect on relationships, finances and careers, there’s a higher risk to the individual if brothers, fathers, uncles have had prostate cancer. 5-11 times higher, in fact. Men over the age of 40 are strongly recommended to have regular checks if there’s a family history of prostate cancer.

Business North Harbour is encouraging Members to get involved and enjoy themselves while supporting this important and life-saving campaign. When you register for your Blue Do, you get your own fundraising page to share with your friends,

family, colleagues and business contacts.

It’s a great way to show that your company supports health issues and cares about local people. You get a fantastic starter pack with balloons, bunting and other goodies.

Masterchef Brett McGregor has even put in some party food recipes to get the ball rolling.

We want to hear about your events, so be sure to send us pictures and reports from your Blue Dos for our Facebook page.

To register your event and receive your free Blue Do pack go to www.blueseptember.org.nz As well as putting on or joining in a local event, you can donate online, in Farmers and PlaceMakers stores, and at Coffee Club cafes.

The Prostate Cancer Foundation of NZ www.prostate.org.nz Phone 0800 477 678

SE P T E MBE R 2 0 1 7 FYI BUSINE SS N H . O RG. N Z

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DIARY DATES

Diary Dates September

19 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

10.30am-11.30pm, 12 Parkway Drive, Rosedale.

This is your opportunity as members of the association to influence the programmes offered and Business North Harbour’s strategic plans for the 2017 - 2019 period, and to receive the Annual Report for the 2016 - 17 Financial Year. www.businessnh.org.nz/AGM2017

21 BUSINESS AFTER FIVE – Parkland

North Shore Commercial Property Group

Date to be announced.

Check businessnh.org.nz/calendar

23 General Election Day

November

October

9

Women in Business

10.30am-12.00pm. Celebrating the success of women business leaders, join us at our women in business event in October. This event is a high-tea format and is sponsored by Eclipse Recruitment.

Date to be announced.

Check businessnh.org.nz/calendar

12-13 Inorganic Collection

6 3

16 St John – Basic life support workshop

$50 plus GST per Business North Harbour Member.

Non-members pay $80 plus GST per person to attend. Limited numbers, register at businessnh.org.nz/calendar

25 One Day Sale

54

By the numbers

St John – First to respond workshop

$30 plus GST per Business North Harbour Member.

Non-members pay $50 plus GST per person. Limited numbers, register at businessnh.org.nz/calendar

North Harbour growth outpaces the rest of the Auckland Region, and the rest of the country.

GROWTH

National

Auckland Region

Upper Harbour

GDP

2.5%

3.5%

5.4%

Employment

2.7%

4.1%

5.7%

Population

2.1%

2.8%

4.1%

Business units

1.6%

3.4%

4.4%

2016 Statistics from www.informetrics.co.nz for the Upper Harbour Local Board area.

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EVENTS

Left to right is Lisa Whyte, Chairperson of Upper Harbour Local Board, Ben Schumacher from Wyndham and Greg Frittelli, Chairman of Business North Harbour Board, Jacqui Cheal, Ramada Albany General Manager, Marayam Bassam, Sajad Basssam, Director/Owner Ramada Albany, Kazam Bassam, Director Ramada Albany

After 5 and Ramada Suites official opening The Business North Harbour After 5 networking meeting on July 29th was privileged to host the grand opening of the new Ramada Suites Hotel in Albany. Members nibbled on delicious canapés as they networked, and then took full advantage of the guided tours of the guest rooms, conference facilities and meeting rooms that the complex provides.

Roger and Alanna Earl, of Insurance Choices Ltd, recently returned to the area from Australia and are keen to pick up business opportunities where they left off. Newly-signed up Business North Harbour members, they’d been to the Expo in May and were on the lookout for exactly this kind of opportunity to do some “networking and card swapping.”

Patsy McCook from AccountabilityNet is at the other end of the scale. An After 5 regular, she’s been in business in the area for 21 years and was involved in the very first Business Expo back in 2011. “I love coming to these and catching up with people. It’s great to keep up with developments on your doorstep, especially the new businesses starting up.”

There were old acquaintances too.

Stephen Taylor, Director at Safari Group (who developed the Ramada Suites complex) was at Patsy’s wedding 23 years ago. “I hadn’t seen what Safari had been up to for a few years,” said Patsy. “It’s good to see how the business has grown. And to know that we’re all still neighbours.”

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EVENTS

Marsha Marshall – Women in Business 13 June

Meet the Mayor – Phill Goff Business Lunch 31 August

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EVENTS

Phil Goff on the challenges of unprecedented growth “We have never grown at this rate in the history of the city.”

Business North Harbour hosted Auckland Mayor, Phil Goff, at the QBE Stadium in August, where he outlined his priorities for supporting growth across the region, and the North Shore in particular.

Transport

“Growth is good, I’m not complaining about growth, but it brings challenges.”

Mr Goff quoted figures showing that congestion on Auckland roads contributed to a $2 billion loss in productivity in the last year.

That includes time lost travelling between jobs, and having to employ extra staff or increase fleet sizes just to counteract the effects of being stuck in traffic. That makes it harder to do business, and it brings down the quality of life in the city. Auckland Council has $26.9b available over the next decade for transport infrastructure, “which helps us keep up with the growth we have now, but we need to do more,” he said. $5.9 of that is not yet funded. Mr Goff wants it to come from the government. He’s hopeful, as he says that Bill English recently referred to the relationship between government and Auckland Council as “the best it’s ever been.”

Mr Goff doesn’t believe that more motorways are the way forward, and Auckland Council is focussing on public transport and other active modes of transport. He talked about the success of the Northern busway, with 53% of North Shore residents now more likely to take public transport into the CBD than use their cars. Transport projects brought forward in council plans for the North Shore area include the Penlink toll road, main arterial routes and the link from Albany to Orewa, amounting to $840 million worth of infrastructure.

Housing

“We need to keep the best and attract the best.”

A league table that perturbs Mr Goff places Auckland as the fourth least affordable city in the world. That means industries, companies, health services and schools are not attracting skilled people from inside and outside New Zealand, as salaries fail to cover the housing costs involved. Auckland needs to build 14-15,000 affordable houses per year to keep up with demand, so this issue directly affects North Harbour businesses looking for employees and new customers. Mr Goff pointed out that the pace and scale of building needs to change. He’s made that a priority for Auckland in the last nine months, including the Consenting Made Easy service.

Council performance

Mr Goff said he and Auckland Council have spent the last nine months working hard on creating mechanisms to bring more transparency, accountability and efficiency to relationships with Council Controlled Organisations (CCOs), including ATEED, Watercare and Auckland Transport. For example, bringing CCOs together to share common resources with the council in areas such as insurance, treasury functions and procurement is already saving ratepayers tens of millions of dollars.

Funding

“A Supercity producing 38% of the country’s GDP needs to be funded in a modern way, not just through property rates.”

Mr Goff stressed the immediate and longterm need to look at a broader revenue base throughout his talk. In particular the need to secure capital for infrastructure investment that won’t top-out the very small margin on the debt-to-borrowing ratio the council inherited.

Successes to date include $900m negotiated from the government to be managed by the newly created Crown Infrastructure Partners, which will bring forward the construction of

23,800 homes across the region, including the North Shore. Other proposals include requesting that Auckland gets the GST collected on rates back ($239m) and that rates are paid on government properties in Auckland ($39m). A regional petrol tax could raise between $130–160m per year.

M r G o ff a l s o t o o k q u e s t i o n s f r o m Business North Harbour members and gave comprehensive responses around busways, park and ride schemes, investing in innovation and R&D, the likelihood of a North Shorebased airport and the progressive shift of Auckland Port away from its current citycentre location. He wound up by reiterating that he sees his job as advocating on our behalf, and that he will be doing that.

Event Sponsor

Thank you to Kiwibank – Business for sponsoring the event.

Contact Terry Zouch at Terry.Zouch@kiwibank.co.nz for all your business banking needs.

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MEMBER SURVEY RESULTS

Business North Harbour Member Survey Every year we survey our Members, including property owners, business owners and local employees. We ask for feedback on our programmes, events, communications and advocacy efforts to help us plan ahead for the 12 months following the survey.

The numbers

#’s

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Business Owners Feedback

73% 63% 43%

have employed new staff in the last two years and envisage hiring more staff in the next 12 months of businesses are in the ‘growth’ phase.

Involvement in programmes:

52%

of business owners want to be part of an informal industry cluster group to share knowledge and experiences.

41% 34%

would like to offer internships and apprentices are interested in being business mentors

MEMBER SURVEY RESULTS

Building capability

When we asked you what advice and guidance you’d find helpful, we had eight clear answers.

Financial Management

Every year Business North Harbour invests close to $900,000 in the area to help you to connect, communicate and collaborate with other businesses and to add capability to your business growth. This investment covers the establishment of programmes to directly connect with our property owners via specialists’ groups, such as the North Shore Commercial Property group, and dedicated property owner written communications.

In this issue of FYI, we’re encouraging you to take a look at your business and take stock, and our annual membership survey enables Business North Harbour to do exactly the same. This is our chance to review the programmes and services we offer to ensure they’re in line with our member’s requirements.

The North Harbour Business Improvement District area is growing at a phenomenal pace and Business North Harbour wants to ensure that the management of this growth maintains the attractiveness of the area for future investment, supports local employment opportunities and focusses on easy access into the area.

This year the survey included employees.

With close to 30,000 local employees, it’s important for us to understand where they work, where they live, how they travel to work and how relevant our programme development is to them.

The stand outs

Business owners want us to explore the promotion of local charities and to set up a local community notice board (where people can post jobs, office lease opportunities and general items of interest).

People Management

Process & Project Management

Customer Service

it is close to my home good variety of businesses and shops in the area access to skilled and educated workforce

Health & Safety Business Planning

The property owners’ top three priorities are advocacy with local and central government, making the area more attractive through promotion, and creating a vision or ‘growth plan’ for the Business Improvement District.

We found that 90% of employees live locally and appreciate the short commute to work, but have issues with traffic and busway options in the area. 75% of employees want to hear about upcoming events and programmes, and 98% of employees prefer contact via our weekly e-newsletters.

It’s clear from the feedback and in our one-to-one conversations with members that the business mood is positive.

What makes the North Harbour Improvement District an attractive place for you to do business?

61% 33% 27%

Marketing

Research & Development

22% 36%

39% of survey respondents felt that the North Harbour business district performs better than the wider Auckland economy.

11% say they’re in start-up mode, with 43% currently in growth.

This leaves the rest in a mature state – either happy with how their business is tracking, or starting to look at exiting the operation in the coming years.

The review highlights a couple of key areas where we believe we can add additional value.

This should help you build further capability within your organisation and leverage from the collective knowledge that exists across the North Harbour business district.

Businesses would like to hear more about:

large residential customer base low crime and safe area

67% 66%

local and central government policy changes feature stories on new business in the area

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MEMBER SURVEY RESULTS

You spoke, we listened.

Business North Harbour is introducing new programmes based on member feedback CEO Forums We recognise that our programmes need to reflect the diversity of our membership.

Many business owners gain value from our business networking events – such as our Business After Five and Women in Business series. While others benefit from access to speakers such as Prime Minister, Rt Hon. Bill English or Auckland

Mayor, Phil Goff. However, feedback suggests that these larger gatherings may not suit all, so we’re creating a series of bespoke focus groups, aimed at connecting CEOs to discuss specific needs resulting from scale.

The first CEO Forum is on 19th September, where 20-30 business

owners and managers have the chance to connect, collaborate and communicate with their peers.

Find out more, and register your interest for upcoming CEO Forums at www.businessnh.org.nz/ceoforums

Business Capability Workshops We are committed to providing access to people and resources which, individually, would be cost prohibitive or would simply be out of reach for members. Therefore, Business North Harbour is hosting five Business Capability workshops before July 2018, giving local businesses the chance to increase their skills within the marketing, business planning, health and safety, customer service and people management sectors. We believe these workshops will make a real difference to your business and enhance the performance of your organisation.

Property Owners Feedback

76% 71% 52% 75%

bought a property with the intention to occupy don’t intend to sell their property in the near future ant information on local infrastructure, including w transport, water and fibre.

of property owners want a dedicated ‘Property Owners’ page (website or print) relating to industry articles, and a space to share knowledge and interests.

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Employee Feedback

34%

of employees have been employed for longer than 10 years in the area

24%

have been working in the area for last 3-5 years

75%

travel to work via private vehicle, and 44% arrive between 7.30am and 8am in the morning While 53% leave work between 4pm and 5pm

54%

of employees enjoy our networking events, and 41% would like more workshop and training opportunities

PROPERTY MATTERS

Finding and Keeping Tenants Janet Marshall, Commercial Manager and Director at Colliers International NZ Ltd, passes on some valuable tips about successful commercial leases

In commercial property, the lack of a tenant means there’s no cash flow – and cash flow is the driver for commercial investments.

So one of the principle challenges for commercial property investors is finding and keeping tenants.

A commercial investment is a long-term purchase, and the value is determined predominantly by the quality of the lease. Investors should carefully scrutinise the contracts in place with tenants, paying close attention to the length of lease, terms and conditions and renewal terms. Lease agreements can be lengthy and complex, so getting expert assistance is essential.

For landlords and tenants negotiating a new lease it’s highly recommended that legal advice is sought from a lawyer who specialises in commercial property. Usually the investor who is looking to purchase commercial already owns residential rental properties, and has branched out into

commercial to seek a passive investment.

When negotiating a commercial lease there are many pitfalls to look out for.

The value of the investment is determined by the length of lease and the rental, so it’s imperative that the face rent is at least market or better. Rental reviews, rights of renewal (in the favour of the tenant), and ensuring that the correct fixtures and fittings are stated in the lease are important factors in any lease.

In the Sixth Schedule of the current Deed of Lease, the Premises Conditions Report is critical. This ensures that both parties have agreed on the tenancy condition prior to the commencement of the lease, and will assist immensely when the tenant’s lease expires and if there is any make-good when vacating.

If you make a mistake on the lease, you’ll find it more difficult to litigate if a tenant violates the terms.

There can be confusion on the rights of renewals by the landlord and the tenant

Are you “hands on” or should you work with a property management company? Current income does not seem so great if you’re putting in another full-time shift working on your rental property. There are property management firms that will run your rental property for a percentage of the rental income.

And as an owner and occupier, the same applies with regards to keeping in touch with market rentals and yields.

on how much notice should be given. We recommend that both parties diarise at least 4 months prior to ensure that there is communication so that a right of renewal can be confirmed in writing by the tenant.

Similarly, diarising a rent review in plenty of time to allow for market research, valuation and notification ensures that there’s time for discussions.

Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, a commercial property owner/ landlord is a Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU). This means you have a duty of care, so far as is reasonably practicable, to ensure the health and safety of everyone involved with, or affected by, work on or at your property. This includes work that you organise or are responsible for.

Those that could be affected include tenants, contractors engaged by you, or members of the public visiting your property.

Making sure that the tenant has the correct Body Corporate contact details (if there is one), and keeping in regular touch with the tenant ensures a good happy relationship.

Attending Body Corporate AGMs means you have your say and keep abreast of what’s happening in your development.

Janet Marshall 09 488 4775 021 684 775 Janet.Marshall@colliers.com SE P T E MBE R 2 0 1 7 FYI BUSINE SS N H . O RG. N Z

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GOLD SPONSORS

Welcome to our New Gold Sponsors Business North Harbour is delighted to announce our Gold Sponsors for 2017-2018.

Gold Sponsorship is a unique way to support and connect with our local business community.

As we welcome our new and renewing Gold Sponsors, we also say thank you to our outgoing Gold Sponsors: AUT Millennium, Centurion, Driveline, Friends of Albany Rotary, MiIT, Hobbs Global Logistics, McCollams Print and Pickles Café.

AccountabilityNet is a progressive accounting practice that works with the latest cloud-based technologies to support and grow your business. We provide expert assistance for Xero set up and add-on implementation, including WorkflowMax, Tradify and Receiptbank. We help businesses seamlessly transfer from desktop to cloud-based systems, to ensure their finances are correctly managed and available 24/7. www.accountabilitynet.co.nz AMPM Marketing Ltd are a One Source Marketing Company, offering Web Services, Promotional Products & Apparel, Print Management & Graphic Design. Founded in 1987, AMPM is a New Zealand owned and operated company. Terry Ottow & Vern Pere are our Directors, with backgrounds in print, sales and marketing, advertising, promotional products, web and digital solutions. Our team of in-house and external specialists offers a unique approach in the market.

We harness the energy and passion of creative and multi-talented personnel, who offer customeroriented service, delivering creative and effective results. www.ampm.co.nz Kristin School is an independent, co-educational school of approximately 1550 students, from Kindergarten through to Year 13, located in Albany on Auckland’s North Shore.

The Junior, Middle and Senior Schools are all situated on the same campus, on 50 acres of park-like grounds with state-of-the-art and award-winning facilities. Each school follows the philosophy of Kristin while creating their own distinctive character relative to the age group of the students. Kristin is non-denominational and welcomes students from all cultures and backgrounds. www.kristin.school.nz McVeagh Fleming has been helping our clients succeed for almost 100 years. We provide a full range of legal services, including corporate, commercial, property, litigation and private client, together with a range of specialist practice areas within those categories. We build on-going relationships with our clients by ensuring that we fully understand and focus on their requirements, and by offering excellent service and practical solutions to a wide range of legal issues. Our philosophy is personal, friendly and efficient service for all of our clients. www.mcveaghfleming.co.nz​ Located in the heart of Takapuna, the North Shore’s commercial hub, NAI Harcourts North Shore has a team of dedicated professionals covering commercial and industrial sales and leasing, commercial property management, and business sales. Several members of the team are fluent in Korean, Cantonese, Mandarin and Malay. Managed by Andrew Bruce and Rob Meister, the business has a reputation for excellence, entrepreneurial marketing flair and getting outstanding results for their clients. From leasing to the divestment of significant key assets, NAI Harcourts North Shore has the resources and capability to get the job done across all asset classes and value ranges. www.nziharcourts.co.nz

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GOLD SPONSORS

Established in 1961, North Shore Golf Club is a 27 hole course spanning 180 acres of parkland running up the banks of Lucas creek. Nestled in the suburban area of Albany on the North Shore, it’s just a few minutes drive from both the Spencer on Byron, Takapuna and the new Ramada Hotel, on Oteya Valley Road. This stunning course offers members and visitors the unique opportunity to play the three 9 holes in combinations that translate into three quite different 18 hole courses in one. With the latest edition of the new 3rd Hole, covered driving range and superb short-game practice area this is without doubt one of the very best golfing facilities in the Auckland area. www.northshoregolfclub.co.nz Quay Travel’s focus is to exceed your expectations on your next travel experience. Our strong values of friendship, passion, being real, taking ownership, and going beyond in what we do, ensure we build long-standing personal relationships with our clients. Our passion for travel, as well as our extensive travel knowledge and consistent attention to detail, make us the go-to resource when planning your next adventure or corporate getaway. Having to deal with airlines, hotels, company policies, and every other detail involved, makes corporate travel a challenge to execute efficiently. Quay Travel owner-operator, Michelle Malcolm, understands the complexities involved, personally ensuring full accountability and the best team possible. www.quaytravel.co.nz Serving the needs of North Shore businesses for over 20 years, Solution Dynamics Ltd (SDL) transforms an organisation’s ability to personalise customer communications across digital and physical media, whilst increasing control and reducing business costs. From digital printing to mail house services, postal distribution or multichannel campaigns, SDL has helped countless businesses reduce costs and increase revenues. From small to large, simple or complex – we look at every job as a new opportunity to work with our customers. As one of very few Registered Postal Operators, we can make your campaigns more affordable and track costs for transparency.

So before you commit to your next customer communication, talk to one of New Zealand’s largest mail houses. www.solutiondynamics.com Sometimes in business it can feel like you need to do everything on your own. Wouldn’t it be great if someone offered a helping hand? Spark Business North Shore offers products and services tailored to your business. Simply dial 0800 482 746 to arrange your 30-minute business tech check. How nice and easy is that for a change? www.spark.co.nz/business

Trio was originally conceived as a mainly corporate-based café in Albany. But it quickly developed into a ‘café on wheels’, catering to the wider area. Now the Trio Express mobile coffee van is out and about supplying our award-winning Fixation coffee and delicious food all over the place. Our experienced team also brings catering to your door, to your event and to your heart. We have the knowledge and passion to organise your event from start to finish. So, whatever the occasion, let Trio Events take care of all the hard work and make your event a success. www.trioevents.co.nz

Our Event Category Partnership Programme was created in 2016 to provide an unprecedented opportunity for an organisation to align with Business North Harbour’s premium leadership and business development events. We are proud to have Eclipse Recruitment partnering with Business North Harbour to deliver our ‘Women in Business Series’ for 2017-2018.

The team at Eclipse is passionate about helping you achieve business success through your people. We work alongside you to find and develop people who fit your role, industry and culture. Eclipse specialises in the recruitment of business operations & administration, sales & marketing, accounting & finance and human resources roles to a senior management level. We also offer a suite of skill and psychometric assessments to offer further insight into a candidate’s personality and ability. www.eclipserecruitment.co.nz

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15

MANAGING GROWTH

Take stock

– evaluating your business and planning for growth

Your business is thriving and wellestablished. Now you want to capitalise on the sales, marketing and operations models that have given you financial success and built your reputation so far. You need to expand into new markets and distribution channels, capture a larger market share, and find new sources of revenue. Whether you’re moving from the $1m to the $5m level, or from $10m to $30m, Business North Harbour wants to see trade and commerce dealing with rapid growth and increased workloads in a planned, dynamic and sustainable way. In the first in our series on managing growth, we get some expert advice on evaluating your business model and current processes as the best way to understand the steps you need to take to grow.

The big picture

There are 33,500 owner-managed businesses in New Zealand turning over more than $1m and employing more than five people. While many of these businesses are doing okay, most of them could be doing a lot better, according to Liz Wotherspoon, Director of Growth at The Icehouse in Auckland CBD. “Moving established small to medium sized businesses from being merely good to being truly great isn’t just significant for them, it’s also vital to local business communities like Business North Harbour and the national economy,” says Liz. “A desire to grow your business is only the start. Sustainable and profitable growth is what matters over the long run.”

All businesses follow a journey as they mature. The initial steep start-up and 16

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Whether you’re moving from the $1m to the $5m level, or from $10m to $30m, Business North Harbour wants to see trade and commerce dealing with rapid growth and increased workloads in a planned, dynamic and sustainable way. scaling phase is followed by a transitional period, where growth slows, presenting an opportunity to diversify, re-set and develop.

These phases are important to acknowledge because, if you know where you and your business are in terms of growth, you can proactively make the changes necessary to manage through the transitions. You need to be keenly aware that ‘what got you here, won’t always get you there’.

“I believe that many Owner Managers know their business and their industry very well, but don’t spend enough time thinking about the bigger macro environment and the wider market forces that have the potential to impact them,” says Liz.

Three things to consider when evaluating your business and planning for growth are: 1. What is your vision or ‘winning aspiration’ – where are you trying to get to?

2. How well do you know your customers of today, and tomorrow, and why do they buy from you instead of from competitors?

3. Have you ‘earned the right to grow’?

This means having a platform for growth in place, with strong financial, operational and people systems and processes.

Growth businesses appreciate the value in creating the space to grow, stepping outside their comfort zone, understanding that to win they must choose to do some things and not others. Think about how much time you spend each week on the strategy and direction of the business and if it’s not much, why not?

Identify what’s stopping you from spending more of your time on high-value activities.

Effective growth managers identify what could be delegated to someone else in their team, and accept that someone doing a task differently doesn’t make it wrong, as long as the outcome is the same.

While it may sound clichéd, creating the personal time to work on, rather than in your business has never been truer. Having a clear vision, knowing where you want to go, how you want to get there, measuring how you stack up, and communicating are vital steps to realising sustainable growth.

MANAGING GROWTH

$30m

Common factors Whether your business is moving from $1m – $5m or $10 – $30m you need to:

$20m

• Let go and delegate - you need a team of key people who must be better than you are at their core role within your business • Understand the value your business is providing to current customers - customer value is the constant around which you must build, shape and mould your business • Be aware of your market share – use all available government and NZTE research sources, and if necessary engage top quality research companies, with a clear scope, at a fixed cost.

• Have the right professional support in place - successful businesses always have strong advisory, banking, commercial and legal providers investing their time, people who truly understanding your business • Enjoy leading the change – it’s hard and rewarding work, and businesses that grow and thrive have owners and teams who enjoy what they do and are passionate about their success

$10m

$5m $1m

Growing a $1m—$5m business “If your revenue is around $1million, you’re well on the way to having a sustainable future,” says Murray Fulton, Director of Advantage Business. Focusing on cash flow control, understanding and protecting your profitability, and enhancing your financial, operational and marketing support systems are the keys to realistic and sustainable growth at this level.

Structure – your internal team and external team

• Review your strengths and weaknesses • Work out how to delegate your weaknesses • Create a plan to gradually grow or hire talent to take over your strengths Don’t look at growing a team purely in terms of cost. There are many ways to ensure that this resource generates revenue and margin and becomes an investment.

A realistic timescale

• Set your growth goal with an amount and

a timescale • Make sure your gross margin grows at the same rate as your projected revenue growth in a year Use the Cumulative Annual Growth chart below as a guide.

Your market position

Do you understand where you sit in your market, and what your market actually is?

Quality market research is essential. It can be bought in as a service, but there are also many ways to create this yourself, using: • Well-constructed client surveys, carried out every 12 months • A well-constructed Digital Marketing strategy and execution plan

Face your fear

All business owners have a fear of failure between zero and $1m annual revenue.

When you move towards $5 million revenue, the greatest barrier can be a fear of

success – which can have drivers in a number of areas. At a simple level, the driver may be a lack of confidence, or a concern about ‘what is next?’ At a more complex level, the fear of success may come from personality traits, family background, or potential ambition becoming exhausted.

Whatever the driver, it’s essential to address this within your mind as a business owner, because growing a business towards $5 million leaves little room for self-doubt.

Energies need to be directed positively towards taking the business and team forward to meet the growth goal.

Why are you in business?

Take stock of why you own your current business. Can it take you into the future you want for yourself? Do you want to lead it into the future? If yes, work with your internal and external team to create the plan that makes this happen. If not, you have plenty of valid options. Decide what’s in it for you.

CAG - Cumulative Annual Growth CAG 15%

Year 0

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

Revenue

1,000,000

1,150,000

1,322,500

1,520,875

1,749,006

2,011,357

Revenue

10,000,000

11,500,000

13,225,000

15,208,750

17,490,063

20,113,572

Revenue

30,000,000

34,500,000

39,675,000

45,626,250

52,470,188

60,340,716

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17

MANAGING GROWTH

Growing a $10m—$30m business “Building a $10m revenue business is no mean feat. Few owners achieve this,” says Murray Fulton. “But when moving from a $10m to $30m revenue business, the scale increase means that quality execution creates much larger business value, but execution errors also cost a great deal more.”

Structure

Now the stakes are raised even higher, it’s imperative to review the current state of your business in detail: • What’s the current and potential market position for your business? Which areas can be exploited within the market, which need to be defended, and which should be reviewed or discontinued?

• What are the current and projected financial resources of your business? – cash flow, ability to access funding and/or capital • Can your business fund growth from its own resources, or will you need bank funding, an equity partner, a joint venture partner, or a mixture of all of these?

• What capability investments do you need? production capacity, improved or additional team skills, premise size and location, IT systems, market research • Are there customers and areas of your business that should be discontinued?

• Are there technologies that could be embraced and incorporated into your business?

Take stock of how your business has changed as it’s grown to its current capacity. Is your core team family-based, or a mix of family, business partners and employees?

• If your family owns the business, who is committed, who isn’t, and what is the succession plan for the business?

• If family members aren’t interested on a succession basis, how are you identifying and nurturing talent to run the business?

• W h a t s t a n d a r d s d o y o u h o l d y o u r leadership and management team to? What are your most important values?

• Are you interested in building a larger business to leave a legacy, to make more money, to make a difference to the world, or to help your customers? Or a mixture of all four?

Owner fatigue

Owners need to be able to take 6 weeks at a time away from the business, to learn, grow, rejuvenate, take stock, and sometimes just get out of the way of the leadership team. Every leader in the business needs to understand and practice mental and physical resilience.

It’s essential that your evaluation and planning takes these aspects into account.

And don’t overlook another significant factor in your evaluation and planning – family fatigue. Are your loved-ones prepared to 18

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support you and the business to the next level?

Or do they feel they’ve invested enough? Do they see the move as benefiting them, or are the time and resources they’re expected to give or share too high a price to pay?

Financial worth

Get your business valued by a quality professional who specialises in the valuation of businesses. The cost of an annual business revaluation is minor, and an initial valuation is one of the best investments it’s possible to make. As well as providing a sound baseline for your planned growth, it can help if the ‘unthinkable’ happens. “If you can’t lead your business, you don’t have a succession plan, and your business valuation is more than a year old, then at least 35% of the value of

your business could leak down the drain,” says Murray.

A quality, regularly updated valuation of your business is also part of another planning consideration in this size business – your exit strategy. A current business valuation makes it far cheaper and less stressful to exit your business vertically than horizontally.

To sum up, growth for its own sake is of little value, and is in fact dangerous. There needs to be a deeper purpose, with growth drivers that come from the values of the business owners and leaders. The centre of your evaluation and planning should be around identifying your drivers for growth, knowing that your leadership and management team understand these drivers, and a certainty that they buy into them.

Talking to people who can help At minimum: banking services, an external chartered accountant and specialised legal services, plus a business advisor with experience with clients in a range of industries, including yours, who ideally has a network of hand-picked professionals in finance, law, digital marketing, PR, advertising and so on.

The Icehouse provide specialist workshops, programmes, coaching and diagnostic tools to business owners, as well as start-up incubation and investments. Their Business of International Quality (BIQ) framework allows business owners to hone in on six areas proven to make a real difference – leadership, offering, market, systems/processes, capital and governance 0800 ICEHOUSE grow@theicehouse.co.nz Advantage Business specialises in providing advisory services to business owners, charting a personalised course through the evaluation, planning and execution phases of business growth.

Check the Business mfulton@advantagebusiness.co.nz 021-900-001 North Harbour Online Directory

Keep an eye out for more on ‘managing growth’ coming up in the next three issues – taking your staff with you as you grow, increasing your market share, and financing your growth.

BUSINESS SUCCESS

Translating opportunities into global success Straker Translations enjoyed unprecedented growth when they responded to a worldwide opportunity in a ground-breaking and uniquely Kiwi way.

Straker Translations is one of the world’s fastest growing translation agencies - ranked in the top 60 of 27,000 global vendors in an industry valued at US$40billion. Starting out as a computer programmer, Grant Straker launched his own software development company in the 1990s. By 2000 the company employed a handful of tech-savvy employees and was doing very nicely creating and selling multi-lingual content management platforms. “Did you know that 90% of the world’s spending can be reached in just 13 languages, and 73% of consumers are more likely to buy a product from a website with information in their first language?” says Grant. The platforms certainly did the job, but more and more customers were enquiring about translation services to create the content they needed for their websites and online tools. Grant tried partnering with translation companies to provide those services to his customers, but quickly recognised the advantages of going alone.

“We figured out how to do it ourselves. And we realised we had the skills in-house to create our own hi-tech language solutions.”

The company evolved into a fully-fledged translations agency in 2010.

They created a unique, cloud-based translation technology platform, which launched the company into a period of accelerated growth. The Albany head office now has 40 staff, with 50 more in production centres in Barcelona, Denver and Dublin, and in sales offices around the world. Straker Translations has more than 10,000 customers and employee numbers are expected to double again over the next 18 months. The company needed the right capital framework to achieve this impressive growth, so created a firm strategy to raise the necessary capital. This funded the overseas office set ups. “It was obvious we needed people on the ground in the different markets to make this work,” says Grant. Their overall strategy was to concentrate on having one platform and one way of working that is easy to replicate, sustain and manage. And they used the momentum of the operational lead their technology gave them to help them grow.

Straker Translations are currently providing solutions around the world in more than 80 languages. They have over 5,000 trained, tested and expert translators covering every conceivable subject and medium. “As we advertise for customers, that’s the same place translators are looking. So mostly they 20

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Grant Straker

“90% of the world’s spending can be reached in just 13 languages” approach us. We’re adding translators all the time,” says Grant.

Business opportunities continue to grow. The company recently acquired two businesses on different sides of the world and converted them to the Straker Translations platform. There’s an opportunity to acquire more legacy businesses and to build a highlyeffective global translation platform, creating a new standard for millions of translation customers. In order to meet demand, Grant is training and promoting staff to management positions within the company. And the company is launching an Initial Public Offering on the Stock Exchange next year to raise some of the capital they’ll need for further expansion.

It’s not surprising that the company has won national innovation awards. They’ve been finalists in the special categories ‘Excellence in Innovation’ and ‘He kai kei aku ringa’ for Maori Excellence in Export. And Grant firmly believes that Straker Translations’ rapid growth and success can motivate other Maori to choose technology as a valuable

and rewarding career path. Another of his passions is for raising national standards in computing – particularly among young Maori – and runs educational courses designed to assist the next generation of workers to become more employable, and future-proof New Zealand’s place on the global stages of technology and innovation.

“If you try to do same thing as all your competitors, you’re unlikely to be successful,” says Grant. “Our key driver is to use innovation to be very different. That’s how we keep a sustained competitive advantage.”

Which is how Straker Translations advises Business North Harbour members to keep growing and enjoy international success.

Find Straker Translations in the Business North Harbour Online Directory

09 951 8320 sales@straker.co.nz www.straker.co.nz

BUSINESS SUCCESS

Totalling Up Moving every six years because the business outgrew its premises is testament to Tea Total’s success in taking stock and adapting to the market.

Recognising the start of a trend, being prepared to take a risk, and a deep fascination with consumer behaviour are three key factors that help Anna Salek grow her businesses exponentially. Already an established entrepreneur and businessowner in her mid-twenties, Anna dared to move in a completely new direction when an opportunity presented itself in 1994.

Living and working in Sydney at the time, Anna decided to check out a newly opened tea shop. “It was a completely new concept back then. As someone who loves art, I was instantly seduced by all the different colours.

As a foodie I was intoxicated by the wonderful aromas. And as a tea drinker I was just plain excited by the whole thing!” she says.

Anna decided to buy 12 of their brightest and most beautiful teas and trial them at The Rocks Market, where she already had a stall.

And that was the start of a twenty-year-andcounting love affair with the tea business.

Selling directly to customers worked well in The Rocks, but on returning to Auckland, Anna opened Tea Total as a café, selling drinks and snacks as well as packets of tea. Anna read the market and approached other cafes to sell and serve her products.

The coffee industry was in full growth, and businesses serving espresso understood the value of serving premium tea. “Who wants to pay $4 for a pot of tea that’s no different from what you’ve got at home? You need to offer people something better.”

Listening to customers and watching market trends has been at the heart of Tea Total ever since. “Our core business hasn’t changed,” Anna says, “but we’ve changed the deliver method and target end user to evolve the business.”

That meant the first Tea Total website in 2001, when e-commerce platforms and buying online was still relatively new. Anna found that customers loved the whole convenience factor of having the product delivered to their door. She looked at other ways to create and capture unique customer experiences to keep the business evolving.

“Change is necessary just to stay still!” she says.

Having outgrown its space once again, Anna took the opportunity to reassess her entire operation in 2015, deciding on

“Who’d have known all those years ago, a visit to a tea shop would be the start of such an interesting, profitable and fun ride?” a Concept Store in the thriving Rosedale/ Albany area. The change in direction came from Anna’s own ‘business model’ (“20 years of consumer behaviour knowledge and gut instinct honed by listening to my staff and taking inspiration from other successful businesses”) and a willingness to ‘shake up’ the current business structure. “We were in danger of being a bunch of middleaged women for a while. But we hired some younger team members and male staff.

The inevitable work dynamic and marketing shift means we now appeal to a much broader demographic.”

Nothing ever goes entirely according to plan, of course, and there were some surprising results – positive as well as negative. “It cost more than we expected…” says Anna. The space was perfect: in a growth area with the kind of mixed economy and plentiful parking unavailable in other areas of Auckland. However, because the building had not been ‘in continuous use’ when they took over, there were council compliance regulations that Anna and her team just hadn’t foreseen. As well as costing more, dealing with compliance delayed the opening. That, however, proved to be a blessing in disguise. “Customers were still finding us, even though we weren’t open yet. So we just showed them our offices – and they really liked it!” So now, instead of going out to trade and retail shows, the marketing focus has deliberately changed to bringing people into their space. Tea Total now has a wholesale business showroom with tea-tasting sessions to inspire retail customers, supported by expert, on-the-spot advice. “We can show clients how to use the product, and grab possible alternatives straight off the shelves. We couldn’t do that if we were still taking the product out to them.”

Because they have customers in their

warehouse, the whole facility is friendly and welcoming, with painted floors and walls, proper furniture and a north-facing kitchen.

Which means staff are spending their day in an extremely pleasant working environment.

“The whole atmosphere has moved up one,” says Anna. “Staff dress more nicely, it’s changed the atmosphere, and there’s a great team spirit.” It involved extra costs, but Anna says you can never undervalue the way people feel and work as a team. “It’s a big part of our success. People enjoy working here.”

Recently, Anna has taken a good look at Te a To t a l ’ s infrastructure, business model, staff structure and business culture and is confident that it “can run without me!” While remaining involved and enjoying the journey to another resounding success, she also works as a business mentor and public speaker, sharing her triumphs and disasters to inspire and encourage other business people.

Find Tea Total on the Business North Harbour Online Directory

www.teatotal.co.nz

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TRANSPORT

NEW APP

AT Mobile App AT Mobile will help you plan, save and track your journeys across AT Metro’s bus, train and ferry services with a great new interface that’s easy to use.

With AT Mobile you can: • Track your bus in real time • Get alerts on how far your bus is away and when to disembark • View School Bus routes • Create and save journeys • Personalise and edit your regular journeys • Receive route specific notifications like bus stop closures or major disruptions

Smart Transport is getting things moving Do you want to be part of it?

The recent Sustainable Business Network Smart Transport Forum agreed there needs to be more collaboration to speed up the delivery of low carbon, sustainable and smarter transport. Here are the four areas the Forum believe have the most potential for change.

1. Boosting the national electric vehicle fleet

More incentives for building owners to fit electric vehicle charging facilities would be a positive move. Financing incentives could encourage buyer groups, and individuals, to purchase electric vehicles and charging stations.

2. Getting our people more active

Promoting health and well-being is a powerful way to get people active and de-prioritising car use. As would investing in bike share schemes in urban areas.

Cycling on the rise “In the last year, we’ve seen a 44 percent increase across the whole city centre. So where we’re building infrastructure, we’re seeing people use it. Those city cycleways all connect at Upper Queen Street and at that location, it’s almost a 250% increase since 2013.”

Kathryn King, Auckland Transport’s manager for walking and cycling.

The reasons Aucklanders cycle 65% exercise 54% recreation 21% shopping 14% to visit family and friends 12% commuting

Fun fact – Back to the Future!

If cycling to school at was similar to the year 1990, there would be 39,000 fewer car trips in the Auckland morning peak traffic.

Is the Electric Bike a game changer?

“In 2013, we imported about 3000 e-bikes to New Zealand and last year we imported almost 14,000. So the growth is phenomenal and if you go out and stand on a cycleway now, you’ll start to see every five bikes or so is an e-bike.

It really makes cycling accessible to more people. And it means you can wear your normal clothes, hop on your bike, ride to work and not have to change.”

Kathryn King

Download cycle, run and walkway maps at at.govt.nz/cycling-walking/auckland-cycle-run-walkway-maps/ 22

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3. Flexible working to free up traffic capacity

The Forum is in favour of a combined card that gives people instant access to all the transport systems available everything from public transport to car shares. They also question whether a ‘congestion charge’ would help control traffic demand in Auckland. This combined with promoting work flexibility, local working hubs and office shares, would encourage people to do more work closer to home.

4. Caring for sharing

Large-scale smart transport action plans for all the major cities could include enhanced licensing for shared transport services, support for innovative pilot projects and incentivising greater use of information technology to make work more flexible.

SBN CEO Rachel Brown said: “The Forum generated a wealth of very practical ideas on how to improve New Zealand’s transport. This is a big deal. It offers us the chance to cut greenhouse gas emissions, cut wasted time and resources and make New Zealand a nicer place to be.”

TRANSPORT

Auckland’s transport revolution In the year to June, there were 88.4 million trips on Auckland’s public transport network, a 6.7 per cent increase on the previous year. More people using public transport makes it cheaper to run and means fewer cars on the road. So there’s less congestion and faster journeys for those who do choose to drive.

The massive increase in passengers on buses, trains and ferries includes: • Introducing a Simple Fares system that lets passengers transfer between different types of public transport, and only pay one zone-based fare • Improvements to the Northern Busway means that more than half of the people who travel across the Auckland Harbour Bridge on a weekday do so by bus

• Electrifying the rail network and buying in a new fleet of trains

It’s a numbers game

In the year to June, there were: • 62.7 million passenger trips on the bus network, a 4.1 per cent increase on last year • 6.15 million ferry trips, a 4.6 per cent increase on last year • 19.6 million trips on the train network, a 16.7 per cent increase on last year • 4.9 million passenger journeys over the Northern Busway

And there’s more to come

Auckland Transport is aiming to roll out the new bus network on the North Shore by mid 2018.

Change the view!

Monitor the Business North Harbour traffic cameras from your mobile with a new app The NUUO app gives you real time viewing - and you can rotate the cameras for your preferred view. You can use them to check traffic before you head home, or let visitors to your business know what to expect on their journey.

The Business North Harbour cameras are situated at Apollo/Rosedale, Rosedale/ Bush Road, Rosedale/Tawa, Paul Matthews/ Upper Harbour Highway, Constellation/ Apollo and Arrenway/Apollo, with more locations to be announced.

To get access to the cameras please contact Sarah de Zwart on sarah@businessnh.org.nz or 09 968 2222

NEW APP

Albany paid parking update Business North Harbour want to give a big ‘thank you’ to everyone who completed the recent Auckland Transport survey regarding the proposed Albany paid parking. Your feedback was extremely valuable, and when combined with the voice of over 1500 other submitters, we presented a very strong collective position to Auckland Transport.

The majority of respondents were opposed to losing the current free on-street parking facilities. Auckland Transport have indicated to Business North Harbour that paid parking is their preferred strategy to manage the over demand for on-street parking. We will continue to lobby on behalf of our business owners, their employees, trade visitors and commercial property owners – that before a paid parking strategy is implemented, Auckland Transport needs to give a commitment to provide alternative commuting options.

Our preferred solution is an increase in public transport feeder routes and improved connectivity to the park and ride facilities.

You can view the Business North Harbour submission on our website under ‘Our Purpose – Formal Submissions’. We need your support to get this over the line. So please make sure you and your team are signed up to receive our e-newsletter, so you receive updates and public meeting notifications.

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CRIME PREVENTION

Crime prevention as your business grows Sergeant Kirsten Evans from the North Shore Policing Centre passes on some sound advice on keeping your security in line with business expansion When your company is in a position to expand, both in premises size and staffing, it’s important to keep security measures in mind.

When expanding your building size you’ll need to readjust the security you have in place. This is a good time to look at your current security, and whether or not to update or extend what you have.

If you already have a camera security system, look to see if it can be upgraded to include more cameras. Also check that the recording system has enough capacity for any extra cameras. And review the quality of your cameras and recording. There’s no point having cameras that aren’t recording clearly enough to identify the offender. Giving yourself a quick refresher on how your camera and recording system works, and

how to retrieve the data, will also help you greatly in the event of a burglary - or worse.

Lighting is the next area to check for upgrading. Make sure there are no unlit areas that your cameras watch. This helps deter offenders, and ensures you get the best value from your security system. Make sure you keep up to date with the maintenance of your cameras, recording equipment and lights.

Business expansion is also a good opportunity to make sure you incorporate CPTED (Crime Prevention through Environmental Design) principles. This can be as simple as ensuring you have adequate lighting and clearing back bushes and trees from your entrances, all the way to putting an all-new security plan in place.

Overnight or when the premises aren’t

Tackling crime with social media The Waitemata Police District has set up a Facebook page (www.facebook.com/ WaitemataDistrictPolice/) to reach out and connect more with the local community.

Hoping to increase their local engagement and build trust and confidence, the Facebook page features photographs of people wanted by Police and requests to help locate missing persons. It alerts people to what’s going on in their neighbourhood and shares good work stories from the boys and girls in blue.

“We’ve set an aspirational target to increase the likes on our Facebook page to 40,000 in the next six months,” said Acting Senior Sergeant James Bolton, Youth & Communities Manager with North Shore Police.

Keeping up to date with crime trends and crime prevention posts can be a huge benefit to local businesses. So Business North Harbour members are encouraged to join up, like and share.

If there’s anything you’d like to see on the Facebook page then please let James know at the North Shore Policing Centre on james.bolton@police.govt.nz

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being used by staff, consider installing or upgrading your gates and locks to deter people from wandering through the property.

The equipment is only as good as the staff monitoring it, of course, so make sure you have good systems and routines in place for closing and locking up. Don’t leave valuable items (such as tools) in vehicles that are left outside when not in use. This makes your property less desirable to offenders. Increase vehicle safety by considering immobilisers and alarms. However the first option is always keeping the keys secure, and knowing who has access to them, at all times.

You should also consider reviewing your internal security measures. Ensure windows that are left ajar have security stays attached, and keep doors shut and locked when no one is around. Put small desirable objects (such as laptops, tablets and tools) out of sight at the end of each day. Place personal items such as wallets and handbags out of sight under desks or in lockers, which deters potential walk-in opportunist offenders.

Remember the best security system in the world won’t stop offenders if you don’t use it or don’t use it correctly.

Acting Senior Sergeant Kirsten Evans 09 477 5001 Ext: 97654 021 191 6056 kirsten.evans@police.govt.nz Safer Communities Together www.police.govt.nz

GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

Business support and the latest news from ministries and government agencies

Callaghan Innovation – the government’s business innovation agency Callaghan Innovation specialises in support for hi-tech businesses in New Zealand. It can connect you with advisors, partners, mentors and technology providers.

Helping you identify the expertise you need, the agency has highly developed national and international networks. It can introduce Business North Harbour Members to likeminded companies, provide access to shared facilities, and use its partnerships to help you take your idea to commercial reality.

Growth Grant

Accessing experts • • • • • •

Founder Incubators Accelerators Technology Incubators Networks Global experts Enterprise Europe Network

Technology and product development

Callaghan Innovation can help you develop your components, products, processes and technology by applying or adapting existing tech, or supporting you to develop your own ground-breaking research. It has the facilities and expertise to help you research, develop, test, measure, analyse and calibrate products – from proof of concept to commercialisation.

Innovation skills training

The agency offers a range of programmes, training and workshops to help your business improve performance, eliminate inefficiencies and increase customer satisfaction.

Business collaborations

Because it works with hundreds of businesses, industry associations and research organisations, Callaghan Innovation can identify opportunities for collaborative projects, reducing overall R&D costs and sharing industry knowledge. This can solve common industry problems, help you join missions to international events, visit world-class facilities, or widen your personal networks of industry contacts.

Grants

The agency has R&D grants structured to meet your business needs – whether you’re a young start-up, an established R&D performer, or want to bring students on board to assist in your R&D activities.

The Growth Grant is for three-years and helps you increase your R&D investment.

It helps you: • Add scale to your R&D investment for greater market impact • Be flexible by allowing you to adapt to where you want to take your R&D programme, outside the constraints of traditional R&D grant criteria • Continue to grow your investment in R&D for maximum return

How does it work?

Your business will: • Receive 20% of your eligible R&D expenditure, up to $5m per annum • Receive a two-year extension after three years, subject to having met annual review requirements

Who can apply?

To apply for a Growth Grant, your business must be one of the following: • Registered under the Companies Act • R e g i s t e r e d u n d e r t h e L i m i t e d Partnerships Act • A Māori incorporation or trust established under the Te Ture Whenua Māori Act, a trust set up to

“We exist to liberate innovators” manage assets as part of a Treaty of Waitangi settlement, a Māori statutory body, or a business controlled by one or more of these entities To qualify, your business must also: • Have spent at least $300,000 per annum and 1.5% of revenue on eligible R&D in each of the last two years; OR plan to exceed these levels over the next year (transitional application) • Meet financial and due diligence requirements

How do I apply?

Contact: 0800 422 552 info@callaghaninnovation.govt.nz and agency staff will help you through the process.

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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

A Shared Future Shared Office Space – the ultimate way to network for growth?

Have you considered how sharing office space can support business growth, inject innovation into our area and encourage connections through collaborative working environments?

The team at The Crate can tell you all about outgrowing office space. They’ve expanded three times in four years and don’t expect to stop any time soon. Started as a solution to his own need for affordable, short-term business accommodation, CEO and Director Dean Payn quickly found he’d tapped into a large and unexpected market. “I mainly rent to people just like me,” says Dean. “I was running my online marketing business from home, which did save on certain costs, but I wasn’t getting out and meeting anyone. I was isolated. With no networking opportunities, I couldn’t grow.”

Are you in a similar situation to Dean? He needed somewhere to meet new clients, to hold business meetings and give his company the ‘look and feel’ of a successful, prestige operation. But he didn’t want to commit to a three-year contract in an office space that might be little better than “a dingy cupboard under someone’s stairs…” So he found 160sqm of space in Albany and rented it out to other people with the same needs and short-term cost restrictions. But changing his physical space and boosting his image wasn’t

Ray Lu and Dean Payn.

“Collaborating with people and networking builds business.” the only thing that dramatically changed Dean’s business.

Within two weeks Dean found himself collaborating with the person next to him, software developer Ray Lu. This went on to become a very successful partnership.

“When my next marketing client asked me ‘you don’t do software do you?’ I was able to say ‘why yes! I’ll bring my chief developer along on Monday!’” said Dean. “I can’t develop software, Ray wasn’t able to sell. But together we achieved something we couldn’t have done alone.” Dean and Ray’s aimy Plus Software now operates in five countries.

Pierre Ferrandon, Country Manager of Regus NZ, has first-hand knowledge of the proven value of shared office space in France, Australia and now New Zealand. The advantages for North Harbour businesses wanting to trade internationally, break into overseas markets or set up abroad

are considerable.

Access to a global office network gives you a place to work when travelling, lets you test out other New Zealand and overseas markets, helps you set up a new business, and relocate if necessary. Regus has 3000 locations globally as well as utilising virtual offices. “One local PR agency was able to set up in Hong Kong,” says Pierre. “They saw opportunities and a virtual office gave them a presence. Having a local address and a phone number made it a lot easier to attract customers while offshore.”

Pierre suggests that businesses think about physical office space in the same way they do about their systems infrastructure.

“Companies used to invest in onsite servers, data storage and had in-house engineers to keep things running,” he says. “Now it’s done on service contracts with Cloud-based operators on a pay-as-you go basis.” Shared space rental agreements are endlessly

Pierre Ferrandon – “You could be in the shared kitchen with the CEO of a Fortune 500, someone launching an international business or a global freelancer. The possibilities are always exciting.”

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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

like networking,” he says. flexible. You can pay by “And because I know these the hour, pay for meeting people so well, I actively space and office equipment want to promote them to only when you use it, have other business people I the ability to scale up and meet.” After experiencing down or add or subtract staff the enthusiastic, productive exactly when you need it. It shared environment, and requires zero investment, Pierre Ferrandon seeing other businesses only a fixed monthly fee. growing around them, Dean’s And service contracts are tax customers often tell him they deductible. “I’d like people to wish they’d taken up the option much sooner. change their perception from their office being Regus are opening a new shared space a necessary cost to seeing it as a tool for in Constellation Drive on 18th September. As growth,” says Pierre.

Dean agrees. At The Crate, he’s sharing well as providing workspace facilities and space with 30 other companies. He may be administrative supporting services, Regus in close proximity to 60 -100 people, meeting hosts monthly events, including sustainable over coffee, building friendships, forming business meetings, Chamber of Commerce working partnerships. mingles and ideas exchanges.

“It’s 24/7 networking without it feeling Adding their new site in Apollo Drive to their

existing facility in Constellation Drive gives The Crate over 1000sqm, including a software lab to assist software development start-ups.

With access to senior lead developers for advice and coaching, the lab provides mentoring on setting up your company, raising investment and taking your business offshore.

The Crate also partners with international software industry employment specialists, Industry Connect, to find interns for growing companies. www.thecrate.co.nz www.regus.co.nz

Check the Business North Harbour Online Directory

Kat Corbett from Shaking Trees recently joined The Crate and met Simon Welch from Design Managers. Within 2 weeks, Kat and Simon collaborated and pitched for a job. They won a contract worth $30,000.

Is it time to take your business to the next level?

We’re in the business of helping businesses take that next step.

We’ve helped businesses in Auckland to do just that – transforming them from good to GREAT businesses.

Our focus is on improving growth, profit and value for the businesses we work with by tailoring a unique blend of business diagnostics, advice and structured coaching, that will also transform YOUR business to new levels.

All you need to do is take the first step.

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Call us today for a no-obligation FREE chat and let’s unlock the true potential of your business.

Be one of the first 5 callers and we’ll throw in a FREE detailed business appraisal to get you started.

Call Now on: 0800 100 371

www.brightpath.co.nz

“Unlock the true potential of your business”

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Got Your Head Down?

Rob Meister, Joint Manager and Business Owner, NAI Harcourts North Shore, points out some important areas to consider for your business and property Being head down in your business can mean that considering the future becomes a bit secondary. There’s often a focus on business income and medium-term profitability, and less attention on issues such as succession planning, possible sale or partial sale of the business, and the implications of all of this on property and contracts. Talking to experts is a great way to focus your attention on the future.

Advice first

In too many cases, planning and activity related to major transactions is left to the last minute. Getting advice earlier would have improved results. Choose an expert who works in areas such as business broking, property sales and leasing, and commercial property management. Taking stock and considering the future from a broad perspective, rather than the transaction nature of day-to-day business, is becoming more and more important.

prior to any sale, and is often a condition of the sale and purchase agreement. While a landlord may not unreasonably withhold approval to assign the lease, it’s still important to present the facts in a positive and wellcommunicated manner, making a request well in advance of the assignment date.

Remembering to do that means guarantees contained in the lease continue, despite the lease being assigned.

Baby Boomers retiring

The Baby Boomer generation is retiring, and a wave of business owners are considering how to pass the baton on to the next owner. The most common areas NAI Harcourts advises on are around retiring and unexpected poor health. Some clients’ intricate web of business ownership, commercial property ownership and other income-producing assets takes time to understand fully, and requires thoughtful planning to achieve the desired outcome.

Positive economic conditions

The current business climate has a high degree of positivity, and it’s important that business owners capitalise on this and take that one opportunity to sell at a premium on favourable terms. Start by preparing quality company financial information, and collect key information related to your business operation, including supplier contracts, detailed income analysis by customer, and key liabilities such as leases, loans and finance.

Other considerations

As well as the business sale, there’s the issue of any lease obligations. Leases are a contractual liability, and a change of ownership requires landlord consent on any assignment of the lease. This must be done 28

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Taking stock and considering the future from a broad perspective, rather than the transaction nature of day-to-day business, is becoming more and more important.

Invest for the future

Every client’s needs are unique. And understanding the future requirement for income is the next most common area where

we offer advice. We’re not registered financial advisors and our fees are commissionbased, but we understand that clients need alternatives to cash-in-the-bank, and we offer properties with passive income profiles.

Commercial property mixes the tangible ‘bricks and mortar’ asset class with low expense ownership, and can achieve a good return on capital. The potential for capital gain is based on your asset appreciating through increased rental income or market pricing increases, due to lowering yields on net income. Compared to residential property investment, commercial property ownership is materially different. The deed of lease ensures that most outgoing expenses are paid by the tenant. This commonly includes rates, insurances, body corporate levies, property management fees and maintenance.

NAI Harcourts offer a professional commercial property service to manage these types of assets. And in most cases the management cost is covered as a tenant expense in the lease.

To enjoy your future, start planning today.

Ensure your business is prepped for sale, you have a succession plan and that you’ve considered what you’ll do with the proceeds.

NAI Harcourts can provide advice to a range of private individuals and companies to help with their business and property needs.

We also work with other professionals to ensure we make broad-based recommendations to our clients.

Contact: Rob.Meister@naiharcourts.co.nz 09 486 9260 www.northshore.naiharcourts.co.nz

GOLD SPONSOR

McVeagh Fleming

At McVeagh Fleming, we recognise results matter and we’re proud to have provided legal services for almost 100 years. The firm was founded in 1918 by James McVeagh and T J Fleming, who initiated the partnership in Auckland. A rich history brings us to the present and we are now located both in Albany, North Harbour, and on Queen St, Auckland City.

We are community focused and proud to be Gold Sponsors of Business North Harbour.

Kate Chivers, an associate in our Albany office, has been a voluntary member of the Business North Harbour governance board since 2013. In fact, many of our staff members are engaged in voluntary work focused on the enhancement of the North Harbour and wider North Shore community.

Our first North Shore office opened in Takapuna in 1979, later relocating to Albany.

We’re excited to have recently completed an expansion and renovation of our Albany offices located on Corinthian Drive, opposite the Westfield Albany mall.

Effectively doubling our floor space, with a brand-new reception area and greatly enhanced interview room facilities, our improved office space is a direct response to the rapid growth in demand for the services our Partners, associates, staff solicitors and talented support staff provide to our clients every day.

We focus on creating and fostering ‘clients for life’. We’re excited to see the younger generations of the same families join us as clients. Our name is our reputation, and we truly appreciate the growth we’re achieving through the personal recommendations we receive.

We build on-going relationships by ensuring that we fully understand and focus on clients’ requirements, and by offering excellent service and practical solutions to a wide range of legal issues. We have the legal experience amongst our partners, lawyers and support staff to assist with specialised services, top quality advice and in-depth support.

Our aim is to ensure that one of our

partners is always there as the key point of contact for each client. Using the combined power of the team’s specialist knowledge and extensive experience, we provide legal solutions that can be used as an integral part of your business or personal matters.

Affiliated with many other firms throughout New Zealand, we’re also the New Zealand member law firm of the Ally Law legal network (formerly the International Alliance of Law Firms). Ally Law provides us with a strong link to members of the profession in all the major global cities.

McVeagh Fleming is committed to making New Zealand a better place to work and live.

As members of the Sustainable Business Network, we play our part to help New Zealand fulfil its potential as a dynamic business environment, a place that looks after its people, its communities and its environment through best practice and sustainable growth.

Whatever the issue, we look forward to working with you.

To contact McVeagh Fleming: Kate Chivers kchivers@mcveaghfleming.co.nz Hamish Coupe hcoupe@mcveaghfleming.co.nz 09 415 4477 www.mcveaghfleming.co.nz Or drop in to our Albany office at 5-7 Corinthian Drive Find McVeagh Fleming in the Business North Harbour Online Directory

Kate Chivers

Hamish Coupe

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GOLD SPONSORS

Trio

Trio was originally conceived as a mainly corporate-based café in Albany. But it quickly developed into a ‘café on wheels’, catering to the wider area. Now the Trio Express mobile coffee van is out and about supplying our award-winning Fixation coffee and delicious food all over the place.

Our experienced team also brings catering to your door, to your event and to your heart. We have the knowledge and passion to organise your event from start to finish. So, whatever the occasion, let Trio Events take care of all the hard work and make your event a success.

People say, “you eat with your eyes.” We are dedicated to consistently providing high quality service, fresh and innovative food, all presented in a first-class manner.

From working lunches, kids’ birthdays, home dinners, sports events and tradeshows to weddings, our well trained, professional and friendly staff deliver your event. We can create specialised and individual menus, hire staff and glassware for you, provide a mobile coffee or fresh fruit juice van or a complete bar service. We find the best way to suit your event, budget and requirements.

Alisha Tomlinson, Managing Director 0274-806-554 info@trioevents.co.nz www.trioevents.co.nz

Managing corporate travel – we’ve got you covered.

Quay Travel’s owner and North Harbour local, Michelle Malcolm, understands the time and commitment involved in planning for and managing growth in business.

Since moving Quay Travel to the North Shore three years ago we’ve doubled in size.

I had to stay focused on our core business of travel management and partner with the most reliable, cost effective suppliers to ensure we managed our growth and kept control over our expenses.

We understand the complexities involved with dealing with airlines, hotels, rental cars,

company policies and the many components involved booking corporate travel. We know this can be challenging, time consuming and can take you and your team away from your core business.

We would love to connect with you to start the dialogue on how we can collaborate and help you achieve your business goals. “I, personally guarantee an experienced team

with knowledge and full accountability will take care of all your travel needs”, says Michelle.

Using a travel expert means you have an experienced advocate - someone who is accountable for the time and money you’re investing. Someone who is there when you need them 24/7. We are based in Apollo drive and are your local travel experts for both business and leisure travel!

Choose over 30 years’ experience in corporate travel management

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Utilise Quay Travel’s Team Of Experts who truly care about their clients’ businesses and travel Hand It Over – your corporate travel just became hassle free, from start to finish

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Quay Travel, Level 2, 49 Apollo Drive Ph: 477-0212 Email: michelle@quaytravel.co.nz www.quaytravel.co.nz

Whether it is employment law advice that you require, or simply assistance in handling your own HR matters, we can help.

Visit our website and sign-up to the ML Newsletter to receive a complimentary 30-minute consultation with Emma Monsellier.

monsellierlaw.com