Technology is helping New Zealand’s small businesses focus on the important stuff and freeing up their valuable time, while dealing with the challenges and opportunities of a pandemic. As a nation of five million, we love to hold up our shiny success stories of Kiwi businesses that have made it big on the world stage. … Read more
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern today addressed the business community in her first policy speech since last month’s election. Here’s what she had to say. What’s all this then? Speaking amid the din of the US election and new lockdowns across Europe, Jacinda Ardern today outlined her government’s economic plans to New Zealand’s business community. Referencing … Read more
Voting is under way in the New Zealand general election. Explore the main parties’ pledges at Policy.nz, but here’s a whistlestop tour of what’s on offer for small businesses. Read more two-minute policy wraps here Small businesses have long been considered the bread and butter of New Zealand’s economy, accounting for 28% of all employment … Read more
Businesses in an iconic central Auckland food court continue to face threats of closure from their landlord. Now they’ve turned to the public for help. Several besieged businesses at Elliot Stables have failed to come to a resolution with their landlord, the Icon Group, which last month issued Property Law Act (PLA) notices giving the … Read more
Political leaders from the main parties gathered in Auckland today to address the business community and answer the question: ‘What is your party’s plan for economic growth?’ Here’s what they had to say. As the leaders of five main parties gathered today, the results of a Deloitte and Chapman Tripp election survey revealed some telling … Read more
Two lockdowns have meant businesses in a beloved central Auckland food court have struggled to pay their rent. They’re getting no relief from their former soap star landlord. Struggling businesses in the Elliot Stables building in central Auckland have been served Property Law Act notices from their landlord, demanding that they pay the shortfall in … Read more
For most businesses, applying for capital can mean a mountain of paperwork and precious time spent, so Kiwibank has provided a quicker way to do it instead. The idea of a business doing so well that it’s expanding seems bizarre in this day and age. It flies in the face of the economic climate and … Read more
With the economic effects of Covid-19 hitting small businesses hardest, shopping local has never been more important. Ben Fahy spoke to three businesses owners about surviving a pandemic. Things change quickly in 2020. One minute New Zealanders are able to hug openly, order shared plates at restaurants and gather in large groups to watch sporting … Read more
Today at noon, Auckland moves into alert level three while the rest of New Zealand moves into alert level two. Here’s how it will affect businesses and what you can do to help. Three days at a higher alert level may not seem like much, but for many fragile businesses still recovering from the devastating … Read more
One month since the country’s newest upmarket shopping mall opened its doors, Commercial Bay is giving some of its tenants a rent holiday to help soften Covid-19’s economic blow, reports Amy Williams for RNZ. Commercial Bay – a $1 billion development with more than 120 shops – occupies a city block in downtown Auckland. It … Read more
As Auckland suffers its worst drought in 27 years, many of the city’s self-service car washes are doing a roaring trade. Michael Andrew finds out how these businesses are getting around the strict water restrictions. Car washing may seem like a wasteful luxury in the middle of a drought, but take a weekend drive out … Read more
With roughly 97% of New Zealand enterprises categorised as small businesses – that is, 20 or fewer employees – accounting software platform Xero’s newly released analysis provides a stark picture of the severe impact of Covid-19 throughout the sector. What exactly does the data show? Essentially, the data shows that year-on-year revenue for small businesses … Read more
With half a million members, the New Zealand Made Products Facebook group has become a national phenomenon, thrusting small-time businesses into the national gaze. But what makes a post stand out among thousands of others? When scrolling through the seemingly endless visual extravaganza that is the New Zealand Made Products Facebook page, you’re likely to … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Political divisions rage as election looms, economic forecasts considered too optimistic, and travel routes start to move again. They had all been doing so well at getting along, but that’s all over now. A cross-party consensus is emerging that it’s time to get back to the … Read more
Budget 2020: Yesterday $50b worth of financial measures were committed to protect jobs in the industries most affected by Covid-19. So what did small business owners make of it? For many business, perhaps the most anticipated and welcome measure in the Covid-19 response budget was the $4bn support package, which included an eight-week wage subsidy … Read more
One of the success stories of the level four lockdown, SOS Business has provided a channel for incapacitated communities to send support where it is needed most. In the frenzied 48 hours before level four took effect, when packs of Cottonsoft were being ripped off supermarket shelves like the last lifejackets on a sinking ship, … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Government unveils fast-tracking of RMA for infrastructure, shape of cannabis law reform announced, and Fish and Game in disarray. In what seems like one of the most unlikely headlines of the year, the government has made RMA changes that are broadly palatable to the other … Read more
In the first part of our new series with Kiwibank answering your questions about Covid-19’s impact on New Zealanders’ finances, a reader asks about ways to get their business through the economic downturn and take advantage of new opportunities. Kiwibank’s Nigel Gaudin responds. Dear Nigel, I run a small retail business with five staff and … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Auditor general to investigate PPE supply, NZ man dies in Peru reportedly after testing positive for Covid-19, and government criticised over lack of small business analysis. The auditor-general will investigate the health ministry’s handling and distribution of personal protective equipment, after weeks of health worker concerns … Read more
Real data shows SMEs are in good health, yet business confidence is down. Three issues need tackling, writes Xero’s David Bell, to reshape the way we view the small business economy. Business confidence survey questions have been the lifeblood of how many view the economy for too long. Significant national business decisions are being made … Read more
In the near decade since Sawmill Brewery’s new owners came on board, they’ve made some of the best beers in the country, won awards and watched their brewery burn down. And their former landlords at the Leigh Sawmill Cafe accuse them of acting unethically. Alice Neville reports from Matakana. Every Monday, when the Sawmill Brewery’s … Read more
Summer reissue: It was supposed to be Auckland’s answer to Melbourne’s laneways or New York’s Chelsea Market, but the empty sites at Queen’s Rise paint a very different picture. Alice Neville reports. First published 31 October, 2019 In June 2018, to much hype, a new “laneway-style dining destination” opened in downtown Auckland. Housed behind the … Read more
Michael Fuyala helps run his family’s wildly popular Misa Christmas Tree Farm in Auckland. But in recent months, he’s decided to venture into something a little bit different, setting up not just one but two startups: an online fundraising platform for charities, schools and clubs called Rewardhub, and an affiliate marketing network called Linkshop. Jihee … Read more
Kiwi startup founder Jenene Crossan has spent two years enduring jetlag and heinous London Airbnb prices as she builds her latest business. Jenene Crossan, co-founder and CEO of beauty booking service Flossie, has spent most of the past two years sitting in airport lounges and living out of suitcases in a bid to launch Flossie’s offshoot, … Read more
From faster payments to ‘burden hunters’ that will hunt down and cut red tape, the government has announced a set of initiatives to make life easier for SMEs. Given it was actually quite good news the government’s announcement of measures to help small businesses flew surprisingly under the radar this week. Its biggest early Christmas … Read more
A corporate undertaker talks top tips for making sure you get paid, reining in rogue liquidators, and having a heart for those who’ve lost money. PwC’s John Fisk has handled high profile company failures from Pike River to Lombard Finance and the Ross Asset Management Ponzi scheme. He also chairs the catchily titled Restructuring Insolvency … Read more
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Valentin Ozich, founder of I Love Ugly. The fashion industry isn’t an easy one to break into. Very … Read more
It was supposed to be Auckland’s answer to Melbourne’s laneways or New York’s Chelsea Market, but the empty sites at Queen’s Rise paint a very different picture. Alice Neville reports. In June 2018, to much hype, a new “laneway-style dining destination” opened in downtown Auckland. Housed behind the historic facade of the QBE Centre building … Read more
Two years on from her open letter to Andrew Little on his vow to slash immigration numbers, Israeli-born Yael Shochat, who owns Ima Cuisine in Auckland, writes about the harm the changes to the work-to-residence visa will do to the hospitality industry. Last week I, like many who employ immigrants, received an email from Immigration … Read more