So when the social media market wave began hitting our screens in the late half of the last decade they were there to ride on its crest as MOSH; the Social Media Marketing Specialists. Since taking on Business Mentor Phillip Adamson in October of last year Jon says MOSH has been fine tuning and further expanding their business horizons.

‘We are tighter at an organisational level and Business Mentors has provided us with a sharp focus on business strategy. It’s been a real boost to our productivity.’ Despite being a specialist company, Jon explains how quickly they’ve been able to expand since taking on Business Mentors, ‘We’ve taken on a new partner in the company and we can definitely foresee further expansion in the near future.’

MOSH is a front runner in the pack of social media marketing specialists operating to provide businesses the proper tools in utilising their social media connections correctly. ‘We are all about helping businesses use social media properly. We match their objectives up with the resources they require from social media while avoiding the fluff’ explains Jon, ‘Mosh allows business to communicate through social media while maintaining firm business strategy that so many social media marketing agencies miss.’

Before MOSH, Jon was a successful business banking manager, ‘I went into banking to learn about how to run my own business successfully. Me and my business partner had been working together for several years and eventually decided to branch out creatively and to take control of our own business.’

Coupled with his years of experience overseas, it was a natural decision to establish MOSH Jon says. ‘I’m grateful for the range of experience we have at MOSH, I feel it provides a perspective on social media that encompasses a worldly understanding of marketing as well as business that gives MOSH that extra advantage.’

Jon remembers hearing about Business Mentors some time last year when considering how to up the ante on MOSH. ‘We’ve been meeting with Phillip for six months now, but we first heard of Business Mentors some time last year through word of mouth. I’m keen for any and every advantage when it comes to business and when I heard about business mentors I thought that’s exactly the expertise we’re after.’

Jon and Jeremy were impressed by the professionalism of their mentor right from the get-go. ‘Phillip was really amiable and open. He acted as a sounding board that we could bounce ideas off and provided a voice of reason backed by years of experience, which helped us greatly in implementing our ideas and strategies.’

The MOSH team boasts a wealth of experience, including Jon’s management of a language school in Japan and Jeremy’s work as senior consultant in firms around the world, but something was missing says Jon, ‘We started out with our strengths being ideas and communication, we had all this energy potential, but we needed an action plan.

Phillip gave us the idea not only to expand the business with a new partner, but to find the missing link of what would make MOSH truly successful.’ Newly partnered Julian Thompson was that missing link. ‘Taking on Julian was a mentor inspired decision to find an action planner. We’ve known each other for nearly twenty years and it just made sense that he was exactly who we needed on board.’

Business Mentors has been providing business both old and new with experienced advice since 1991. Primarily funded by the private sector and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, Business Mentors offers a low cost, high yield opportunity for businesses that wish to expand and stake a claim on their market. A registration fee of $150 + GST is all it costs to provide businesses with two years of mentoring service. If you are interested in participating in the mentoring programme, visit the Business Mentors New Zealand website at www.businessmentor.org.nz where you can apply online.

Tanya had spent her early years in corporate recruitment roles, and was frustrated by the services provided by Auckland recruitment agencies. Tanya decided to flip the recruitment model into a user-friendly format, with fixed prices and a one-stop shop of services

She explains: `Building close, transparent relationships with clients is an important part of that customer focus, as is the clear pricing structure for all the services.

This service-oriented approach has seen Recruit NZ expand its operations – despite its establishment in the midst of a recession in New Zealand. After all, good service, trust and integrity never go out of fashion – no matter what the economy’s doing.’

She says: `At the beginning it was just me and I had a small family. About six months into the business I decided to get a business mentor. I had taught about small business management and promoted the benefits of having a business mentor. Then working in a senior role in recruitment before I started on my own had taught me what not to do business.

I had a newborn baby and wanted to learn how to get a balance. I spoke to Carley Duncan, the Auckland North Shore Business Mentors New Zealand Coordinator and told her I wanted a female mentor who would understand what being a mum meant and yet knew you could commit to being a successful business woman at the same time. I needed to set up fabulous systems and structures to analyse and run my business.’

Business Mentors New Zealand is the country’s only national volunteer mentoring service. Established in 1991, it depends largely on private sector support and ASB is a Patron Partner Sponsor. The not-for-profit organisation has over 1950 mentors placed throughout the country, all of whom are willing to share their expertise with small and medium sized business owners. In the last 21 years more than 60,000 businesses have had a mentor through the programme.

Recruit NZ specialises in working alongside business owners to help them understand the recruitment needs for their business, work with them on an effective plan, and take the time, stress and hassle involved in DIY recruiting off their hands, allowing them to focus on growing their business.

Tanya adds: `We challenge the status quo in terms of the fee structure and services we offer and we like to think outside the square for our clients to get the best results. I am so confident about the level of service we provide we offer a 100% money back guarantee. We provide a pick and mix menu option for our clients, end-to-end recruitment at a flat rate fee and also run seminars alongside other business professionals for our client base.

`I had two children at home and I had started at the beginning of the recession, so was very mindful of the market and needed to be agile in business. I worked on finding a real point of difference. My mentor, Susan, taught me a lot about analysis and defining the systems in the business. She talked to me about the challenges and my weaknesses. I had a very detailed business plan and always referred back to it. Above all I was able to get a life business balance and made sure I was looking after myself. She was there to talk through all the personal things too and it was absolutely amazing.

By the beginning of 2012 the business was growing and Tanya wanted a mentor with marketing expertise so she went back to Carley at Business Mentors New Zealand the BMNZ.

`I gave her a big long list of characteristics and she was wonderful as always and came up with Gareth. He is a Westpac manager, very good at listening with great connections and amazing ideas. We met a couple of times a month. I would always prepare for a meeting in advance. It worked out really well. He really has been there for me. He cuts through the complexity for me.

‘When I talk to people about starting a business, I say they need a business mentor. I am a BNZ customer and have spoken about it at the BNZ Connect meetings. You need to have a clear plan for your business and these people have been there and done it. If it doesn't work it is down to you because what you put in is what you get out of it. If you do the work you'll get amazing results. We are 54% above where we were last year, our client base has tripled, all through just getting help here and there and finding different ways of doing things.’

If you are interested in participating in the mentoring programme, visit the Business Mentors New Zealand website at www.businessmentor.org.nz where you can apply online. A $150 registration fee applies but there is no charge for the mentoring service. The site provides information on the programme, other case studies and a regularly updated news bulletin.

By Peter Boyes

Sarah worked with a range of education-based clients such as Granada Learning while Nik was a graphic designer in the fashion industry. But after a while they both started to feel pigeon holed and wanted to spread their creative wings.

“We had a great time overseas but it was time to come home,” says Nik. “We came back to New Zealand in late 2008 and set up Mount Deluxe design in a small apartment in the Beaumont Quarter. We still had some clients in the UK so we were being paid in pounds sterling when that was high. In the meantime we were starting to get some New Zealand clients, although no one really knew of Mount Deluxe.”

After relocating to Northcote Point on Auckland’s North Shore, Nik saw a TV advert about business mentoring and around the same time recalls seeing a story in the local council newsletter about business mentors. “We had been to some networking events but were mostly hanging out with other designers,” says Sarah. “We really needed advice on what to charge and strategic counsel on the next steps in growing the business.

“Greg Bateman, our business mentor, came to us with an accounting background, so he had quite a different viewpoint from ours. After the second or third meeting we just clicked. We were coming in as graphic designers who knew our jobs but we did not have the business experience and nous to work smarter.”

Nik agrees. “We were going to Designers Institute events when we should have been going to networking breakfasts and Chamber of Commerce meetings. Greg explained that’s where our prospective clients were. We needed a change of mindset to being a business that happens to do graphic design rather than graphic designers who are in a business. We discovered that there is a lot of satisfaction in running a business well.”

“We always said we wanted to work with people we like and be our own bosses for lifestyle reasons, but through the mentoring process I think we learned to respect each other and to realise that there is no place for inflated egos,” says Sarah. “We are both designers but there are also very different things that need doing in the business and we have become better at identifying the things we’re good at. So while we are both networking, Nik is doing more of the business development, as well as the accounts.”

Nik says Greg suggested a project management system to monitor how their time was being spent. “Tracking our time has helped a lot. Then there were the tips on how far to push the pricing. We discussed the difference between project management, account management and chargeable design time. Greg helped us identify the time we were not charging and made us think about the value of what we were offering. The next step was making the invisible visible so our clients could understand what is involved in the design process.” Sarah is enthusiastic about the results.

“We’ve been in business for three and a half years and although we finished our mentoring with Greg earlier this year, we have kept in touch. He helped us become accountable and more professional in a business sense. We went from being employees to business people. It has been a massively positive experience.” Nik points out that their time with their mentor is the only time they were forced to step back from the day to day activity and think about what they were doing. “We often went into our meetings with Greg frazzled but came out calm. I want to keep learning – there are more secrets out there that we are yet to discover.” Mount Deluxe is now housed in a smart Ponsonby villa with a range of clients including brand, identity and food packaging, but the couple have plans to hire staff and move to bigger premises. “We have tripled our income since working with Greg,” says Sarah.

“We’re now getting out and networking where our ideal clients are hanging out. We need to find the right space and work out who the ideal people are to help us grow Mount Deluxe. It feels like it’s a really big next step.” Mentoring made easy Business Mentors New Zealand provides access to a wide variety of volunteer mentors (who provide their experience, skill and knowledge free of charge).

The focus of the organisation is on developing capability, profitability, and employment generation. Since the organisation was established in 1991, Business Mentors NZ has assisted over 60,000 small to medium businesses. It is funded largely by patrons from the private sector, with additional support from New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. It provides a mentoring service to any businesses that are trading with evidence of accounts. The $150 registration fee allows mentoring for up to two years. The term of the relationship with a mentor depends on the objectives and goals both client and mentor jointly agree upon. One of a business mentor’s main roles is to act as both sounding board and brainstorming partner. A mentor can help a business owner take a step back from the company and take a look at the ‘bigger picture’.

A mentor can assist in identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that may have been missed. A mentor may also help the business owner refocus on their business goals and offer advice on strategies to better achieve them. For more information on Business Mentors NZ go to www.businessmentors.org.nz or call 0800 209 209. Peter Boyes is a volunteer business mentor and director of Boyes Public Relations, a brand and marketing communications consultancy. www.boyespr.co.nz

Why should successful New Zealand businesses donate their hard earned cash and resources to and organisation dedicated to helping new up and coming companies find their feet? Why should talented, experienced business people give freely of their time and knowledge to nurture the next generation of entrepreneurs? Given our inclination to turn our noses up at a free offer, why should a proud SME owner log on and ask someone they’ve never met for help? Yet since 1991 Business Mentors New Zealand (BMNZ), operating as a not for profit charitable trust, has been providing volunteer SME Mentoring, and it has seen an explosion of demand for its services.

According to BMNZ chief executive Ray Schofield: `Although we introduced a charge of $100 for registration to help defray our local administration costs the number of companies seeking help has continued to climb. BMNZ is a voluntary private sector initiative run by New Zealand businesspeople for New Zealand businesspeople. It works because we provide pragmatic assistance to the SME sector and although we do get some government aid we could not do what we do without support from the private sector.’

Companies like Lock Finance, which has just signed on as a National Patron of Business Mentors, see support for mentoring as an integral part of their vision for the economic development of New Zealand.

Lock Finance CEO Simon Thompson, who is a part time consultant to the World Bank, explains: `The country’s common future after this recession lies with nurturing our small and medium business sector. It’s never been more important to provide small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with support so that they can weather this period of uncertainty and be fit to take advantage of the upturn.

`Lock Finance is a 100% owned New Zealand finance company, providing financial services to small and medium-sized businesses throughout New Zealand. Our aim is to help them optimise their business growth by providing a range of fully integrated funding options including working capital, trade finance, debtor finance and factoring. It’s a great fit with Business Mentors New Zealand and at Lock Finance we do believe that by supporting the principles of business mentoring, we are investing in our own business opportunities as well as being good corporate citizens. After all, healthy businesses generate business.’

Business mentors come from every corner of commercial life and it’s that very variety that makes their contribution of advice, recommendation and know-how so valuable for small business owners.

Stephanie Hunt specialises in providing expertise on information technology and it is an area that she has spent a business lifetime accumulating. Born in Christchurch but brought up in Invercargill, after her education she went into banking and left the South Island for Wellington where she worked for the National Bank for 11 years.

She explains: ‘I was part of that first generation who had done computing at school where we had one of the first ever programming courses and I’d learned BASIC. I was a very early adopter and very excited about it but nothing much came of that professionally until I had been at the bank for about five or six years. A new computer system was introduced and for me it just clicked. Because I loved computers I was seconded by the HR department to go around all the branches and handle all the training. It was a great opportunity for training and up skilling. After 6 months I was offered a permanent position and that was how I got into accelerated learning training in computers.’

At this time she began to specialise in instructional design, writing the help protocols for online instruction as well as training in a wide variety of settings including one job with The Department of Corrections, which was installing a new system.

Then after fifteen years away Stephanie and her husband decided to return to Invercargill. Slowly the business, now called Market Elements, grew through word of mouth. Stephanie focussed on small businesses, which meant that she ended up as Jill-of-all-trades.

`I ended up doing everything from organising emails to how to set up and use an IPhone because they saw me as understanding a wide range of tech things. They like having someone local who they can trust and meet with and a lot of specialist technical support is a long way from here.’

Market Elements offers the full spectrum for small business on a pay as you use basis. There is a panel of part time contractors for website development, a partner handles traditional marketing support and Stephanie concentrates on the technology investing heavily on keeping up with what is happening online.

Five years ago Stephanie got in touch with Venture Southland, the Business Mentors New Zealand Regional Agent and offered to organise some seminars on the web and they suggested she became a mentor.

She says: `I agreed but I only mentor in the area of online marketing. I have worked with half a dozen clients so far; often after they have seen other mentors for help with other areas such as accounts or new product development or whatever and then come to me for the tech solutions. Often I end up looking at a system or a process and working out how it might be done better. I’ve got three active clients at present.

`It is a fantastic experience. I like helping people, like meeting people but you learn as much as you teach. There are great benefits in seeing how other businesses do things and within the mentoring community there are huge reservoir of experience to draw on. And yes every time I take on a new client I do get worried a bit each time whether I am experienced enough until I get into it and remember just how much I do know and have to offer.’

One of the first things Ailsa McGavin and Beccy Lane did when they went into business was get themselves a business mentor.

Award winning is now something of an entrenched habit for Key Skills, the specialist recruitment consultancy for Wellington’s industrial sector. The year Key Skills was founded by Ailsa McGavin and Beccy Lane in 2007 it was a Finalist in the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce Business Awards for Best Small Business.

In 2010 it was among the Finalists in the "Her Business" Wellington Businesswoman of the Year awards for Best Micro Business. Last year it was named New Zealand’s 12th fastest growing company by Deloittes Fast 50.

In 2010 they were joined by Josh Galuszka and Ati Aaifou-Olive and the business goes from strength to strength. All the Key Skills consultants have extensive experience in the recruitment business both within New Zealand and overseas and the team are known for their, passion, expertise, customer service and humour.

According to Ailsa McGavin: `We’ve always been top performers wherever we went. I have worked in recruitment for 12 years specialising in construction, engineering and manufacturing and migrated from Scotland a few years ago. We set up the business in 2007 because wanted to work in a more caring way. There is not a lot of care about customer service in our industry. I didn’t like that and wanted to work in a way where we could treat people well.’

Ailsa explains: `We had no experience of running a business. I thought very quickly that we would need a mentor. The big plus point for us setting up was that it is free because of the support given by private businesses and NZ Trade and Enterprise. `

We had the usual issues such as managing cash flow and organizing premises. But it is help in changing the mindset of employees to employers. And that pat on the back from someone whose opinion matters is so important. We got Chris Elphick as our mentor and hit it off straight away. It was great because he was used to dealing with strong women. He’d worked in Scotland and the UK and understood our background.

`Beccy and I are very close but very different and don’t always agree. Chris has been very good at helping us learn how to compromise. He gives us challenging questions and sets big heavy audacious goals, which we put down on paper. He helped make us accountable and kept an eye on our backs.

`We met all over the place on neutral ground every couple of months and we were really grateful for the flexibility. That quiet time away from the office is so valuable. In some ways it’s like having a teacher and a dad. Chris worked with us for quite a long time and although we’re still in touch our mentoring meetings have stopped now. Chris brought such a wealth of experience and he has seen people go through what we were going through. He was also great for reminding us how well we were doing. He gave us perspective about what we had achieved. We’ve come a long way for two wee girls.’

Business Mentors is unique in New Zealand in focussing on the development of capability, profitability and employment generation through its 1700 volunteer mentors who provide their experience, skill and knowledge free of charge. Much of the funding is provided by private sector Member Patron sponsors who believe in contributing to the greater community through the improved generation of wealth and employment.

Since 1991 it has assisted well over 57,000 SME businesses. With your help we can continue to provide our unique programme to the backbone of the New Zealand economy.

According to Ray Schofield at Business Mentors the surge in demand for mentoring and the Charities Commission decision to remove charitable status from Business Mentors operating arm means greater pressure on the organisation’s resources. He explains:

`This is why we are looking to our colleagues in the business community to help further support our work. A modest $1,000 donation helps five more New Zealand SMEs to have access to advice and counselling to enable them to work through those difficult early times.’

Peter Boyes is a volunteer business mentor with Business Mentors New Zealand and a PR and marketing communications specialist. For more information: www.businessmentor.org.nz

Sarah worked with a range of education-based clients such as Granada Learning while Nik was a graphic designer in the fashion industry. But after a while they both started to feel pigeon holed and wanted to spread their creative wings.

“We had a great time overseas but it was time to come home,” says Nik. “We came back to New Zealand in late 2008 and set up Mount Deluxe design in a small apartment in the Beaumont Quarter. We still had some clients in the UK so we were being paid in pounds sterling when that was high. In the meantime we were starting to get some New Zealand clients, although no one really knew of Mount Deluxe.”

After relocating to Northcote Point on Auckland’s North Shore, Nik saw a TV advert about business mentoring and around the same time recalls seeing a story in the local council newsletter about business mentors. “We had been to some networking events but were mostly hanging out with other designers,” says Sarah. “We really needed advice on what to charge and strategic counsel on the next steps in growing the business.

“Greg Bateman, our business mentor, came to us with an accounting background, so he had quite a different viewpoint from ours. After the second or third meeting we just clicked. We were coming in as graphic designers who knew our jobs but we did not have the business experience and nous to work smarter.”

Nik agrees. “We were going to Designers Institute events when we should have been going to networking breakfasts and Chamber of Commerce meetings. Greg explained that’s where our prospective clients were. We needed a change of mindset to being a business that happens to do graphic design rather than graphic designers who are in a business. We discovered that there is a lot of satisfaction in running a business well.”

“We always said we wanted to work with people we like and be our own bosses for lifestyle reasons, but through the mentoring process I think we learned to respect each other and to realise that there is no place for inflated egos,” says Sarah. “We are both designers but there are also very different things that need doing in the business and we have become better at identifying the things we’re good at. So while we are both networking, Nik is doing more of the business development, as well as the accounts.”

Nik says Greg suggested a project management system to monitor how their time was being spent. “Tracking our time has helped a lot. Then there were the tips on how far to push the pricing. We discussed the difference between project management, account management and chargeable design time. Greg helped us identify the time we were not charging and made us think about the value of what we were offering. The next step was making the invisible visible so our clients could understand what is involved in the design process.” Sarah is enthusiastic about the results.

“We’ve been in business for three and a half years and although we finished our mentoring with Greg earlier this year, we have kept in touch. He helped us become accountable and more professional in a business sense. We went from being employees to business people. It has been a massively positive experience.” Nik points out that their time with their mentor is the only time they were forced to step back from the day to day activity and think about what they were doing. “We often went into our meetings with Greg frazzled but came out calm. I want to keep learning – there are more secrets out there that we are yet to discover.” Mount Deluxe is now housed in a smart Ponsonby villa with a range of clients including brand, identity and food packaging, but the couple have plans to hire staff and move to bigger premises. “We have tripled our income since working with Greg,” says Sarah.

“We’re now getting out and networking where our ideal clients are hanging out. We need to find the right space and work out who the ideal people are to help us grow Mount Deluxe. It feels like it’s a really big next step.” Mentoring made easy Business Mentors New Zealand provides access to a wide variety of volunteer mentors (who provide their experience, skill and knowledge free of charge).

The focus of the organisation is on developing capability, profitability, and employment generation. Since the organisation was established in 1991, Business Mentors NZ has assisted over 60,000 small to medium businesses. It is funded largely by patrons from the private sector, with additional support from New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. It provides a mentoring service to any businesses that are trading with evidence of accounts. The $150 registration fee allows mentoring for up to two years. The term of the relationship with a mentor depends on the objectives and goals both client and mentor jointly agree upon. One of a business mentor’s main roles is to act as both sounding board and brainstorming partner. A mentor can help a business owner take a step back from the company and take a look at the ‘bigger picture’.

A mentor can assist in identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that may have been missed. A mentor may also help the business owner refocus on their business goals and offer advice on strategies to better achieve them. For more information on Business Mentors NZ go to www.businessmentors.org.nz or call 0800 209 209. Peter Boyes is a volunteer business mentor and director of Boyes Public Relations, a brand and marketing communications consultancy. www.boyespr.co.nz

Scrapbooking is an art form that creates stunning elaborate pages around items of personal and family significance. In 2000, Jackie took to running scrapbooking workshops, as much to introduce people to the craft as to give them the skills to create their own.

“It was growing well that we decided to just go for it,” says Jackie “we didn’t do much in the way of business planning or get any business advice, but were of the opinion that if the money’s not there you don’t spend it, and you never know until you try!”

While perhaps out of step with the conventional business planning model, Jackie’s passion for her trade was such that the business has maintained steady growth since then, establishing a name for itself amongst a nationwide customer base. “I’d heard about mentoring, but had always been a bit hesitant. My perception was that a mentor was something that businesses got when they were in trouble.”

“At a BA5 event in Inglewood the seed was planted that a mentor could add some real benefit to my business, and help me control the direction of her business, rather than just the day-to-day decisions,” Jackie says.

“So I signed up, and it’s been really good.”

Jackie’s mentor got her thinking about the potential of the business, but before long she moved to a second mentor who could help her focus on specific aspects of the business.

“Initially I was a bit apprehensive, but it has worked out really really well.”

Together the pair has worked through a range of business development tools, balancing planning for growth with more tangible growth-based initiatives.

“We’ve only actually sat down together twice, for a couple of hours each time, but have had a few phone calls beyond that.”

“He threw questions at me that made me think, either about the way I was approaching aspects of the business, or about new avenues that I hadn’t even considered. He also gave me a range of business tools that I wouldn’t have found otherwise, and the space to pull out the various aspects of each that fitted the business,” Jackie says. “In any business there will be aspects that can be improved, but it can be easy to miss things when you’re too close to the day-to-day running of the business.”

“You’ve got to be so many things as a small business owner that it’s just great to know you’ve got someone aware of your business but a step removed that you can go to when you need.”

“To anyone wondering if a mentor is a good move for their business I’d say go for it, regardless of where their business is currently at.” To find out more about the Business Mentors New Zealand programme contact Kirsten at Venture Taranaki on 06 759 5164 or kirsten@venture.org.nz

Demand from SMEs is high according to Business Mentors New Zealand (BMNZ), the nation’s only not-for-profit mentoring organisation, and it’s not just start ups and fledging companies seeking help. Many older companies are seeking help for the first time and this is not just a sign of a chilly economic climate. Increasingly businesspeople understand the value of having someone to talk to, outside of family and friends, who is ready and able to take an interest in what they do. One very special aspect about BMNZ is that it gives its clients, for a nominal registration fee of $100, access to expertise that they simply couldn’t buy. In many cases the mentors, successful, experienced business experts, are just not for hire. They volunteer their time and services. Others, such as me, provide services for a fee, but at a rate most SMEs wouldn’t be able to afford. We donate those services to BMNZ as our way of putting something back into the community. Which is why many big businesses support the organisation. It’s their way of demonstrating corporate and social responsibility. Mentoring, over time, often develops into a unique relationship, which enhances the professional lives of both mentor and client. Through one mentoring assignment I discovered a lot about heating innovations; in another a whole new world of retail fashion jewellery opened up. I’ve met some fascinating, dedicated, inspiring businesspeople. In return, I hope the clients were able to improve their marketing communications, grow their business and ultimately their sales. It is important to understand what you can get from a mentoring relationship though. Some clients think that you are going to do it all for them. It doesn’t work like that. We might point a client in the right direction but they have to walk the walk themselves.

This was recognised recently when they were named the 2009 and 2010 Auckland regional winner of the That’s Life! Best Chip Shop Competition, held bi-annually to find the healthiest and tastiest chips across New Zealand.

Located in Royal Oak, Auckland, The Chip Shop is now one of the busiest and most popular take-away shops for miles around. Tina and Trevor make their chips from scratch, emphasising the importance of draining them thoroughly, and crumb fish to order. They were also the first fish and chip shop to start offering gluten and wheat free products.

The couple decided to contact not-for-profit organisation Business Mentors New Zealand shortly after taking on their new venture. They were quickly teamed up with experienced local mentor, Ian Halsted, who has a wealth of retail and business knowledge at his disposal.

‘Tina had heard about Business Mentors and thought it sounded like just what we needed. So, we did a bit of research and decided to apply for a mentor,’ explains Trevor. ‘We knew that we wanted some guidance right from the beginning, rather than waiting until something went wrong and having to get someone in to fix it.’

‘Ian has been absolutely fantastic and we got on right from the beginning. He has been in business himself and has been successful so he understands what we’re going through and what the various pitfalls are. It was also good to have someone with an entirely fresh perspective looking at our company and brainstorming with us. He contributed thoughts and ideas that we wouldn’t necessarily have come up with and gave us pointers to keep us heading in the right direction.’

Trevor has a background in food, having been a butcher and a food importer in the past. However, running a chip shop was an entirely new challenge for both him and Tina. The previous owner stayed with him for two weeks following the sale of the business, to take him through how everything worked but after that he was on his own. It was then his responsibility to share his new found knowledge with Tina, who left her job teaching English to join him at The Chip Shop.

‘It was definitely a steep learning curve,’ laughs Trevor. ‘But we wouldn’t have it any other way now. We enjoy the sociable side of running a take-away shop and hearing the feedback from happy customers. It’s what keeps us going.’

Trevor and Tina are determined not to stand still and have big plans for the little fish and chip shop.

‘We have a solid base of regular customers who come from all over Auckland for our fish and chips but that doesn’t mean we’ll get complacent says Trevor. ‘Every time we achieve a goal, we are looking at what we can do next. Everything can be tweaked and improved, whether it is service or the menu. There is so much competition around nowadays that you have to keep adapting. Otherwise, you will lose profits, business value and you will be letting your customers down.’

Following their own positive experience with Business Mentors, Tina and Trevor are happy to recommend the service to other owners of small or start-up companies.

‘Having a mentor on board has been extremely valuable,’ says Trevor. ‘Simply having someone listening to us and challenging us on certain points gave us the confidence that we were going about things properly. It was also extremely useful to have access to someone with such a broad set of skills, who we could ask questions and discuss things with. We wanted to make sure we were starting out in the best way that we could and Business Mentors certainly helped us with that.’

Featured in NZBusiness magazine - July 2010

changed when Jonathan moved to New Zealand permanently in search of a better work-life balance.

In October 2008, he set up Interview Skills Ltd and with the help of Business Mentors New Zealand is now at the helm of an increasingly successful company.

For Jonathan, setting up and running a business has come with an interesting set of challenges and a steep learning curve. ‘I have plenty of knowledge and expertise when it comes to training, interviewing and conversation management,’ explains Jonathan. ‘However, prior to establishing Interview Skills Ltd, I had never owned my own company before so I was missing some important business skills when I started out.

‘A friend suggested that I look into Business Mentors, through Enterprise North Shore so I gave them a ring and asked if I could get some support right away.’

Jonathan was thrilled to be paired up with Neil Aston, a local business mentor who he clicked with from the beginning. ‘Neil’s guidance has been absolutely invaluable,’ smiles Jonathan. ‘He helped me put together a structured business and marketing plan and start making informed decisions about taking the company forward.'

‘Having a critical eye from the outside has been fantastic. My approach has been to be as open as possible and to learn as much as I can. I don’t understand people that don’t have a mentor. It grants you a priceless opportunity to network and upskill.’

The idea for Interview Skills Ltd first came about when Jonathan moved to New Zealand in 2006 and started working for the police force. He immediately saw an opportunity for interview training, and this thought remained on his mind as he returned to the Greater Manchester Police in the UK to work as an Advanced Specialist Interviewer and a qualified trainer in the field of Interviewing.

Eventually, Jonathan was drawn back to the more relaxed New Zealand lifestyle and he returned in 2008 to work for a training organisation. During this time, Jonathan was asked to give a presentation on interviewing skills at the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance Conference.

The huge amount of positive feedback he received afterwards convinced him that there was a demand for his kind of expertise. Jonathan took a leap of faith and set up Interview Skills Ltd, a company that offers interview and conversation management training on both a private and corporate level.

Jonathan is optimistic about the future of Interview Skills Ltd. The fact that he owns a unique business- New Zealand’s only established independent company supplying interview and conversation management training- means that Jonathan has not been unduly affected by the recession.

‘I’m at the stage now where, after a lot of hard work and knocking on doors, I am starting to see results,’ says Jonathan. ‘I’m already working with some big players, in the insurance market for example. I have also been meeting with many of New Zealand’s leading professional organisations as I feel I could make a positive difference to many of the member companies on their lists.’

Jonathan is adamant that it is possible for any individual to go out and establish a thriving business: ‘My dad always said that if you are passionate and apply yourself then you will get there in the end,’ he smiles. ‘There will be good days and bad days but working hard and making sure you are surrounded by people that support you, like the guys at Business Mentors, will take you one step closer to fulfilling your ambitions.’

Business Mentors New Zealand was established in 1991. It is funded largely by patrons from the private sector, with additional support from New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. It provides a mentoring service to businesses that have been operating for at least six months and is the owner’s main source of income. A registration fee of $150 + GST applies, which entitles you to use the mentoring service for two years. This is the only cost to you – the mentoring you receive is free!

This story featured in the October 2009 issue of NZBusiness magazine.