Business planning

ISSUE 58: March – May 2009 Business planning INSIDE – Business Mentors - The value of planning... Celebrating 20 years growing local business The Business Development Centre is celebrating its 20th anniversary this month. In that time, we’ve helped Hamilton entrepreneurs start up about 700 new businesses. Plus, we’ve worked with about 5000 local companies, helping to boost their business growth through training, mentoring and one-on-one business coaching. Looking back 20 years, the Business Development Centre was launched in response to a major recession that saw unemployment fluctuating between 8.5 and 10 percent. With today’s economic slowdown, our team feels like we’ve come full circle as we’re once again developing programmes to help local companies get through the recession. When the Business Development Centre first started, our primary role was to help people get off the benefit and into self-employment. Plus, we were a ‘networking’ agency that connected businesses to organisations, training programmes and other business support services based on their needs. On average, we helped about 30 people move from the unemployment benefit to self employment each year. Saara Tawha, Steve Murray, Sandra Perry, Sandy Turner (May 2005) BDC Timeline 1995 – Hamilton Enterprise Agency opens doors 1995-1997 – Be Your Own Boss programme is main focus 1997 – Business Grow programme begins From this narrow focus, we’ve continually expanded our services to provide a wide range of start-up and development programmes including the Enterprise Training Programme, Bank-able NZ™, Be Your Own Boss, the Lions Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme, Lean Manufacturing training, Business Coaching and more. More recently, in November 2008, Hamilton City Council appointed the Business Development Centre as the city’s economic development agency. This is a big vote of confidence that our team has the expertise and experience required to take a leading role for local businesses. And . . . watch this space! Our evolution isn’t over yet . . . . we’re set to take another giant step forward in coming months. 1999 – Agency secures the BITC Mentor Programme 1999 – Name changes to Enterprise Hamilton 2000 – Community Capacity Building/Mentoring programme begins 2005 – Name changes to Business Development Centre 2000 – Sandra Perry appointed as manager 2001 – Agency secures Enterprise Training Programme 2005 – Begins Business Mentor NZ programme for all of Waikato 2006 – BDC wins Special Award for Excellence in Assisting Emerging Businesses, Westpac Waikato Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Awards 2007 – Begin Lions Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme coordination 2008 – BDC is a finalist in the Not-for-Profit Category at the Vero Excellence in Business Support Awards 2008 – HCC appoints BDC as city’s economic development agency Geoff McDonald, Saara Tawha, Sandra Perry, Mavora Hamilton, Steve Murray, Tina Bertaut, Sandy Turner (November 2006 – Waikato Chamber of Commerce Business Awards) 2009 – WATCH THIS SPACE! President’s Report 4 Message from the CEO 5 Nigel Richards, McConnell Properties and Karl van Gisbergen 14 Message from the Mayor 6 Westpac latest statistics 7 Recent Events Published by: Waikato Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. 190 Collingwood Street, Hamilton P 07 839 5895 F 07 839 4581 e admin@waikatochamber.co.nz w www.waikatochamber.co.nz Editor Mike Blake Waikato Business Publications P 07 838 1333 M 0272 488 442 e mike.blake@wbn.co.nz Graphic design by: Waikato Business Publications P 07 838 1333 F 07 838 2807 W www.wbn.co.nz Advertising: Sally Birch or Bev McIntosh P 07 838 1333 M 0272 288 442 Printed by: Print House P 07 847 8102 e sales@phprint.co.nz W www.phprint.co.nz Disclaimer: The views represented by contributors are not necessarily those of the Waikato Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc 9 Karen Strawbridge and Wendy Wilson Chamber camera on the move 10-11 Mentors – The value of planning 14 2008 Business Excellence Awards Winners 15 Helen Appleby and Sarah Trotman Torpedo 7 16 Get Sustainable Challenge 17 Radio Network Winners 18 Owen Culliney and Karen Strawbridge. Proudly Sponsored By Media Partner ® The Chamber Voice ISSUE 58 March – May 2009 3 President’s Report It was great to see such an enthusiastic gathering of new members (29) when I made a brief appearance recently at one of CEO Wayne’s New Member evenings at Chamber headquarters in Collingwood Street. These get togethers are a regular happening and I believe it is important for all new members to get along, become acquainted with the enthusiastic staff and share a drink and a nibble. As well you touch base with the other wise business people who have opted to join the Chamber. This first gathering is the beginning of a most important opportunity offered through your membership of the Chamber – networking. And who better to start your networking with than fellow new members? The Chamber offers so much to its members through its philosophy of b fit, b connected, b ahead, b heard and b global. There are events held, and training offered, under each of those headings. As well the Chamber is the agent for the Business Mentors New Zealand programme throughout the region. Each event offers a golden opportunity for you to promote your business to other member participants. But remember networking must be done with care...don’t just rumble up to a group who are deep in conversation, break in and start handing around your business card. That’s a turn off. And more than likely you will have ruined someone else’s attempt at networking. Remember, there’s time. So don’t be impatient. If you’ve turned up with a friend, which is a good idea to start with, share a drink together as you survey the room. Mike Blake Don’t get stuck, maybe nod at someone who’s eye you’ve caught and move across for a chat. This will help you progress to more contacts. The regular Business After Five (BA5) meetings offer major networking opportunities. All members should make the effort to attend. The old excuses of “I don’t seem to be using it enough,” or “I’m not getting anything out of my membership” are just crazy talk. And if time is an issue...make time...because it’s all there, in one form or another, to help your business succeed. By taking advantage of the Chamber’s business mentoring service and attending the many excellent workshops on offer, you will assist the internal running of your business and its profitability. And while networking opportunities abound, ATTENDANCE is the only way to make them work for you. I look forward to meeting you at the next BA5, if not sooner. 4 The Chamber Voice ISSUE 58 March – May 2009 Message from the CEO Planning When I start to think about the value of planning, I imagine what our house would look like if it had not been built to a plan, what the city would look like if there was no grand plan, what the baking would look like without a recipe? Having just explored the roads between Hamilton and Whitianga, the relationship between business plan and strategic plan became clearer when I related it to the maps. Combined with the external forces of weather and road works and holiday makers one can make the appropriate choice of path to get to the desired destination. The big picture i.e. the state highways to me represented the big picture business plan, and the country road network represented the strategic plan – fitting in accurately to the big picture and connecting perfectly where appropriate. I am continually amazed by the loose concepts that you often find behind successful businesses, the plan or idea mapped out on the back of a serviette or what used to be a cigarette packet. In recent times these sorts of opportunities could develop into hugely successful businesses. When the commercial stage changes though, a more robust and articulated plan needs to be developed and shared. One of the key messages I often hear from business coaches is about making sure you have the right people, with the right skills on the bus, i.e. your business, all facing the same way and all knowing where you intend to go. This concept plus an evaluation of the external factors that may influence your business will maximise your opportunity of reaching your desired goal sooner rather than later. I hope this stimulates some thought about the benefit of investing in yourself and your team to develop a big picture and the smaller picture that will facilitate the big picture. There are many resources in Hamilton and Waikato for increasing your understanding and knowledge about business plans and strategic plans. No pun intended but it is up to you to plan to gain the knowledge to give you the edge and support to reach your goals asap. We are planning for a successful 2009/10, if we can help you achieve the same goal then please contact us by whatever communication avenue you feel most comfortable with. Email, Post, Blog, Telephone, Fax – we are here to enrich the commercial sector, if that’s you, then make a plan to contact us. Go well and prosper through positive action. Wayne Walford 1397WBEA86x185 Enter the Westpac Waikato Business Excellence Awards for 2009. Entries Close: 4pm Monday 28th September 2009. CATEGORY SPONSORS SUPPORT SPONSORS The Chamber Voice ISSUE 58 March – May 2009 5 Message from the Mayor It is quite fitting that this issue of the Chamber Voice is titled ‘The Value of Planning’ as over the past year our Council has spent a great deal of time planning for the city’s future through its work on the Proposed Long Term Council Community Plan (LTCCP) 2009-2019. Due to the current economic climate the decision-making process has proved as challenging as ever and many difficult choices needed to be made to ensure rates were kept at affordable levels. While Hamilton is a creative city bursting with ideas and high aspirations, the reality is we cannot afford to deliver on everything we would like to at this time – therefore the process has been to review all options, consider all merits, listen to the community and make prudent choices accordingly. The proposed plan therefore incorporates significant spending cuts, whilst ensuring major city infrastructure investment remains protected and future growth is catered for in a timely way. The end result is a Proposed LTCCP which sees around $200M of projects moved into unfunded, a deferment of the urban growth programme, no change to existing service levels to the community, and a budget that puts rate increases at or close to inflation. The Proposed Plan also retains the Claudelands redevelopment project, subject to achieving resource consent and the outcome of the tender process. The decision to keep the Claudelands project was significantly debated and was ultimately influenced by a number of key factors, including the desire to further establish Hamilton as an events destination, advance the city’s existing conference and exhibition market offering, boost the short term economy by supporting the local construction Bob Simcock HAMILTON MAYOR industry and deliver on this vision now rather than further delaying it. If postponed further the project would not only become a more expensive proposition for the future but also inhibit tourism and visitor opportunities that we need as a city and region. From 21 March until 21 April the public are encouraged to have their say on the recommendations we’ve made. Given that it has been one of the toughest budgets to be debated in some time, it is as critical as ever for residents to make submissions and give clear feedback on what has been proposed. I also encourage residents to attend the Your City Expo at the Celebrating Age Centre on Victoria Street on Saturday, 4 April. You will have the opportunity to discuss any aspects of the Plan, including how to make a submission, with elected members and Council staff. I hope to see you all there. 6 The Chamber Voice ISSUE 58 March – May 2009 A spent force 2008 was an undeniably tough year. Our latest GDP statistics for the September 2008 quarter show that the economy contracted 0.1% compared to the same period a year ago – the first contraction in annual terms in a decade. crushed, sending equity markets into a tailspin, currencies diving, and commodity prices tumbling. Combine that with our already tight local credit conditions and fragile domestic demand, and a renewed downturn in NZ in the first half of 2009 seems assured. In fact, near term GDP indicators suggest a sharp contraction is on the cards as export demand dries up, consumer spending weakens further, and business investments continue to be delayed. In short, households spent less, businesses invested less, and exporters exported less as they faced an unpleasant cocktail of drought, sharply rising costs, declining wealth, and falling global demand. No wonder we were pleased to see the 2008 year draw to a close! But as we contemplate what is in store for 2009, it is hard not to feel an overwhelming sense of gloom. Nor is it comforting that we share our gloominess with a large number of other New Zealanders. NZIER’s latest Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion (QSBO) showed that business confidence fell to its lowest level since at least 1970. Many other indicators are at levels not seen since the 1991 recession. The Westpac McDermott Miller Consumer Confidence survey showed that consumers too, are intensely concerned about the short term economic outlook, despite headline confidence levels suggesting otherwise. It seems the feeling of impending doom is pervasive. We can largely blame the global economy for our current state of misery. Forecasters are predicting a global downturn far worse than anything we have seen since the 1930s. Confidence around the world has been We are hopeful of a better second half of the year as monetary stimulus from the RBNZ and the next wave of tax cuts puts more money in people’s pockets, government infrastructure spend helps to offset a slump in private sector investment, a housing shortage encourages some more new home building, and a return to trend levels of net migration provides an additional boost to domestic demand. But don’t expect a sharp rebound. Our forecasts see GDP growth contracting 1.2% in calendar 2009 following an estimated 0.3% growth in calendar 2008. On a more positive note, an old adage is to never let a crisis go to waste and this one is a doozy. It is a time for firms to be proactive, get on top of costs, examine every aspect of the business, focus on debtors and liquidity, force through difficult decisions, and stay close to your bank! Those that come through will be stronger businesses, with fewer competitors, and will be able to make hay when the economic sun eventually shines. Donna Purdue Senior Economist Westpac “Westpac were as excited about our business as we were. ” When Kevin and Pia set up their online baby service, Nappies Direct, they knew they’d need good advice to avoid teething problems – just like any other business starting from scratch. That’s where their Westpac Business Banker came into the frame. From the beginning he helped them out with all the basics, giving their business a solid financial structure so they could avoid common pitfalls. But that wasn’t all. He also helped them focus on areas they hadn’t even considered yet. And that commitment to their business helped Nappies Direct grow into a highly successful operation, making Kevin and Pia very satisfied customers. Westpac. Working with you and your business. To talk to your local Business Banker today • Call us on 0800 177 567 • Or see us in branch Terms and conditions, fees and charges apply to Westpac products and services, visit your nearest Westpac branch for details. Westpac New Zealand Limited. The Chamber Voice ISSUE 58 March – May 2009 WPT 4653 7 ‘ Advertising is totally unnecessary. Unless you hope to make money. ’ – Jef I. Richards, US advertising professor Ph. 07 838 1333 8 The Chamber Voice ISSUE 58 March – May 2009 connected Recent Events The Chamber Voice ISSUE 58 March – May 2009 9 5 3 1 4 6 2 7 BA5 HAmIlTon AIrPorT 1 Nigel Richards, McConnell Properties; Karl van Gisbergen and Russell Smith, CB Richard Ellis. 2 WHAT A LINEUP: Lynnette Flowers, Bob Armstrong, Laurie Pilling and Jerry Rickman. 3 Sandy Turner, Ting Ting Eden and Paul Barlow. 4 Keith Goddard, Wilna van Eyssen, Fiona Schroeder and Geoff Guyett. BA5 ClAudElAndS 5 The grandstand in all its glory. 6 Dennis Jones, Pauline Sinel and Sandra Diekerof 7 Karen Strawbridge, Wendy Wilson and Jude McDonald. 1 2 3 4 5 BWn 1 Lynnette Flowers, Wayne Walford, Sarah Trotman and Fiona Schroeder 2 Whitney Hadfield, Anne-Maree Byrne and Colleen Kaelin. 3 Anne Bennett, Jacky Walker, Jennifer Ross and Rachel Bowley. 4 Lynnette Flowers, Lois Mener and Maxine Hodgson. 5 Helen Appleby, Sarah Trotman and Melissa Gibson. 10 The Chamber Voice ISSUE 58 March – May 2009 9 8 10 11 12 BA5 ClAudElAndS ConTInuEd 8 Tony Kane, Bob Monson, Graeme Smylie, Dennis Jones and Mark Christie. 9 Steve Tritt, Wayne Walford and Dennis Wallabh. BA5 WAIkATo TImES 10 Jeanette Starr, Margaret Jenkins and Aroha Waetford. 11 Jane Lawrence, Bernadette Kirkham and Pam Roa. 12 Aroha Waetford, Wayne Walford, John Martin and Margaret Simmons. 10 11 6 7 8 9 12 13 BA5 zoom 6 Brigitta Kirsten, Brenda Carter and Charlotte Isaac. 7 Owen Culliney and Karen Strawbridge. 8 Geoff Purkis and Janice Meharry. 9 The business card winners are: Carol Mills, Amanda Ratuki, Zoom presenter Oliver Raman, Dale Tims and Stacey Vander Drift. BA5 SmArTPArk 10 George Worner, Colin Vincent and Gay Hubbard. 11 Steve Murdoch, Paul Coles and Max Whitehead. 12 Mark Lockery and business card draw winner Leanne Lindsay. 13 Karren Saddleton, Mark Lockery and Brenda Carter. The Chamber Voice ISSUE 58 March – May 2009 11 Contact us to find out what we can do for you. 17 branches throughout the Waikato & Bay of Plenty Including Hamilton Branch at 800 Victoria Street Hamilton Phone 0800 NZCU 4 U (0800 692 848) 12 The Chamber Voice ISSUE 58 March – May 2009 Event Calendar April - July 2009 Date April Wed 8 Tue 14 Thur 16 Tue 21 Wed 29 May Tue 12 Wed 27 June Thur 4 Wed 17 Wed 17 Wed 24 July Wed 1 Wed 1 Tue 14 Wed 22 Mon 27 Wed 29 NZ Leadership Week WWBEA BA5 Bfit BA5 Bfit Sarah Trotman Official Launch / Entries Open iPayroll Restructures and Redundancies SKYCITY Hamilton Finance/Re-Finance/Re-Structuring TBC Radio Sport Lounge, Waikato Stadium Natuzzi WCC SKYCITY Hamilton WCC BA5 Bfit BA5 Bfit Westpac Performance Management to Increase Productivity Calder & Lawson Cashflow Management Westpac, Frankton WCC Calder & Lawson WCC BA5 BA5 Vodafone WellNZ Vodafone WellNZ BA5 Bfit BWN BA5 Bfit Learning Works Productivity Improvement Live Jo Seagar Plan-B Dale Carnegie Wintec, Gallagher Centre Wintec, Gallagher Centre Ferrybank Reception Lounge Tower Building, Hamilton Wintec, Gallagher Centre Event Host/Speaker Venue B u s i n e s s V i t a l i t y For information: P 07 839 5895 e events@waikatochamber.co.nz w www.waikatochamber.co.nz Increase your management skills, elevate your career prospects and expand your business knowledge The Postgraduate Diploma in Management Studies is your chance to gain comprehensive business knowledge – while you work. If you’re middle management and wanting to increase your business skills this programme is for you. You’ll test your new knowledge where it really counts – on the job. The programme is offered in the evening and can be spread across two years or completed in one year of intensive study. THE PROGRAMME BEGINS FEBRUARY 2010 Contact us for more aikato information about the W Chamber of Commerce Business Scholarship. KTD1172/11/08 Corporate & Executive Education Call 0800 800 891 www.execed.ac.nz execed@waikato.ac.nz The Chamber Voice ISSUE 58 March – May 2009 13 Mentors - The value of Planning Planning : Basic management function involving formulation of one or more detailed plans to achieve optimum balance of needs or demands with the available resources. The planning process (1) identifies the goals or objectives to be achieved, (2) formulates strategies to achieve them, (3) arranges or creates the means required, and (4) implements, directs, and monitors all steps in their proper sequence. ( Businessdictionary.com ) As Paul Coles from Results group wrote in our last edition - No matter what you want to do in business you need a plan to do it, that is the overwhelming conclusion to be drawn from a whole raft of data that has come out over the last few months. In fact the recent PricewaterhouseCoopers ‘Clever Companies Insight 2008’ went as far as to say that ‘Planning is a central trait of clever companies’. The core plan for businesses is the Business Plan, a document that is often mental rather than physical, that is the fundamental direction, market, analysis for why people are in Business. The Strategic plan is a more detailed call to action plan that meets the direction and aims of the business plan. Often the perception of these documents is that they are too hard or take too long to develop especially when you are busy. Sometimes it’s a mind leap that will enable the plan to develop. Market research can happen anywhere, over a coffee, over a beer, at the street BBQ or in the supermarket. When we mention the Westpac Waikato Business Excellence Awards (WWBEA) we often get the same result – it’s too onerous or I have seen how much work is required to prepare the entry or my business plan is out of date. Does the latter mean you are operating your business in 2009 based on assumptions of 2007 or earlier – a concept not worth contemplating considering the changes that have happened to different markets in that time. Completing the entry for the Business awards does take some planning, some planning you did when you where looking for ways to promote your business effectively. Some planning that will involve transferring much of your Business and Strategic plan data into an entry. Just like the plan required to achieve 10 days on a South Pacific island, or 4 days fishing – if it adds value for you and your business – do it. Many of the supporting agencies of the Chamber are offering free support to businesses looking to gain an edge with their entries. As always the best way is to have something prepared for them to look at rather than a talk-fest. The following are plans used by the supreme winner of the 2008 awards, Seales Ltd; Seales 5 Year Strategic Plan is aimed at 3 key areas: • To develop a strong stable business with sound growth strategies. • To strengthen supply relationships with global commodity traders and companies. • To maintain a strong customer focus through on-going innovation. The specific goals for the next 3 to 5 years are: • To increase the capacity at Morrinsville by 25% within the next 12 month, to facilitate immediate growth. • To meet our medium term growth targets. We are planning to develop a second feedmill at Tokoroa during the next 2 to 3 year period. • To expand our successful model into other key dairying areas in New Zealand, through either acquisition or joint venture partners. • To continue to lead the market through innovation and product development. Actually writing the plan cements your desire to succeed and should provide some measurable key performance indicators. Plans also provide a focus point for your staff/team so everyone knows what direction you are heading in and with the team buy in, maximises your opportunity to exceed your expectations. Whether it’s about reducing debt, investing in more plant, leveraging your business to export or having Friday’s off – these things haven’t got a chance of happening without a plan. Part of your marketing strategy should be to enter the Westpac Waikato Business Excellence Awards 2009. Apart from attending the Chamber networking events the Awards are a great way to show the region you rate and that you are planning to succeed. I wish I knew the of their 14 The Chamber Voice ISSUE 58 March – May 2009 Seales’ business model a winner Seales Ltd is a livestock feed manufacturing business distributing ‘custom blended’ quality stock feed directly to farmers in the South Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Taranaki Regions. The business was established in Morrinsville in 1968 and purchased by the current owners in 1997. The new management executed a comprehensive review of the business in 1999/2000 and adopted a new business model which resulted in sustained growth exceeding 35% per annum between 2000-2005. Over the past 3 years (2005-2008) Seales has grown sales by 180% and increased EBITDA by 224%. Furthermore in the first four months of our current year, sales are running in excess of 100% ahead, on a year to date basis. Seales competitive advantage is based around our ability to ‘custom blend’ pelleted feeds, targeting individual herd or farm needs. In fact rapidly changing on-farm conditions meant that Seales ability to meet these needs facilitated significant improvements in cow health, condition, production, conception rates, reduced animal health costs, but most importantly of all, an increase in our customers’ on-farm profitability. Our distinctive characteristic is that we are able to vary these batches for every order/delivery and provide a level of speed and or responsiveness, that matches rapidly changing farm/climatic conditions, which is unique in the feedmilling industry. Seales ability to vary key metabolic remedies makes it a leader in the field of animal nutrition. Furthermore, Seales invests considerably in searching the world for new innovative products that will benefit New Zealand farmers, and where possible secures exclusive licensing and distribution agreements for these products. Seales is a special organisation and business because we are the only compound stockfood manufacturer intimately involved with our customers. We deal exclusively and directly with our clients and do not sell through third party retailers. Developing Seales strategic plan is a dynamic process involving inputs from all our senior management team, along with our financial advisors and outside consultants. We revisit the plan as required at least every 12-18 months. Seales target market is firmly built around the NZ dairy industry, more specifically around progressive farmers utilising in-shed feed systems. Seales is No 1 in the manufacture of custom blended compound ruminant feed. Our focus on supplying custom blends, has resulted in a significant number of farmers recognising that the marginal cost of feed and return on investment, is more profitable than NZ’s traditional ‘pasture only’ model. Seales core competencies and capabilities are built around our technical expertise, experienced staff, strong customer focus and specialised custom blended pelleted feed. Our ‘state of the art’ feedmill is the only feedmill in NZ designed specifically to service the NZ dairy industry. Seales is the only feedmill of any substance or size that is totally NZ owned. This fact alone ensures we have an empathy and understanding of our customer needs that our Australian owned competitors cannot match. The Board of Directors consists of shareholder representatives, Ross Hyland, Tom Williams (Chairman) and Roy Wilson, along with the recent appointment of Wyatt Creech, as an independent director. They have a wide mix of business skills and experience and meet bi-monthly. In 2007 the Company was recognised at the Matamata Piako District Business Awards, by winning the award for most ‘innovative company’ in the region. Our recent success in making the Deloittes fastest 50 list and now the Westpac Waikato Business Excellence awards caps an outstanding year for the Company. 2008 Westpac Waikato Business Excellence Award winners Stafford Engineering Manufacturing Excellence Award Finalists: Newmont Waihi Gold, Seales Winner: Seales Hamilton Innovation Award Finalists: Industrial Tube, Vision Forest Lake, RPS Quality Homes Winner: rPS Quality Homes Waikato Times Retail Excellence Award Winner: Eastside refrigeration Deloitte Business Growth Award Finalists: Hamilton Garden Bags & Red Lid Wheelie Bins, Waikato Yamaha Winner: Waikato Yamaha NDA Global Operator Award Winner: newmont Waihi Gold ACC Workplace Safety Award Finalists: Chow Hill Architects, Eastside Refrigeration, Mbar Ltd, Newmont Waihi Gold, Seales, Livingstone Winner: livingstone Wintec Hospitality, Entertainment & Tourism Award Winner: Hamilton Workingmen’s Club Tompkins Wake Excellence Award Finalists: Chow Hill Architects, Waikato Yamaha, RPS Quality Homes Winner: rPS Quality Homes Gallagher Agriculture & Primary Production Award Finalists: Newmont Waihi Gold, Seales Winner: Seales Newstalk ZB Not-for-profit & Public Sector Organisation Award Finalists: Hamilton Workingmen’s Club, Balloons over Waikato Charitable Trust Winner: Balloons over Waikato Charitable Trust WEL Networks Best Emerging Business Award Finalists: Heatpump Airconditioning Specialists, Home Instead Senior Care Winner: Home Instead Senior Care Waikato Management School Leader of the Year Award Finalists: Richard Hill – Chow Hill Architects, Richard Johnston – Eastside Refrigeration, Ross Hyland – Seales, Campbell Hicks – Waikato Yamaha, Richard Shrubsall – Hamilton Workingmen’s Club Winner: richard Shrubsall – Hamilton Workingmen’s Club Westpac Waikato Business of the Year Award Winner: Seales 2009 WWBEA Dates: Sponsors Launch: Official Launch / Entries Open: Tickets On Sale: Entries Close: Black Tie Dinner: Thursday 25th June 2009 Wednesday 1st July 2009 Monday 14th September 2009 4pm Monday 28th September 2009 Friday 13th November 2009 The Chamber Voice ISSUE 58 March – May 2009 15 Torpedo7 exploding into cyberspace Torpedo7 founder and mountain bike enthusiast Luke Howard-Willis knew little about online retailing but knew it seemed ridiculous to buy the bikes and accessories he wanted online from overseas, or pay the high prices that main street bike retailers charged. you as you scroll down the page. You can click on it at any time to start a chat session with Torpedo7 customer service staff. Staff at the online store are dedicated to ensuring that products arrive with customers as quickly as possible after purchase. That generally means a next-day delivery anywhere in New Zealand, compared to the waits of more than a week that people can face when buying goods from overseas websites. An email database is also an important tool for communicating regularly with customers about information that is relevant to them. Torpdedo7 works to keep growing this database, and sends out emails three times a week detailing specials. Website technology Torpedo7 also focuses on keeping the website technology and infrastructure up to date. The website is now into its third generation, and this generation has been built largely in-house. The changes to the site have all been incremental – Luke emphasises how important it is not to alienate or confuse regular customers by frequently making large changes to a site. The first site was built professionally and good money was invested in a stock management system. With the business’s prime focus on growth it was important to have the right systems in place right from the start. Luke says staff also constantly monitor what customers do on the site and how they use it so that usability improvements can be built into the site. “Ease of use is so important,” he says. Monitoring the website’s statistics to understand how visitors find and get to the website and what keywords they use to search for things are also key tasks. Online shopping Luke believes that although the online retail business model is now fairly well-established in New Zealand, there is still a lack of good online stories and plenty of room for new ones. Torpedo7 has already launched its second site – 1-day.co.nz, and has new online retail initiatives it expects to announce in 2009. 1-day.co.nz is reported to be the second most-visited shopping website in New Zealand after TradeMe. 1-day sells three specials each day at midday, only three products a day and each day those three products are different – anything from electronics to food products and home ware, and everything in between. The site has become hugely popular with impulse buyers, perhaps a consequence of New Zealanders’ desire to find retail bargains. It offers an email alert service so that people can subscribe to each day’s specials, and ‘be the first to get the daily deals’. Its record day saw it gain more than 1.1 million visits in only 24 hours, not bad for a site where the growth has largely been driven by word-ofmouth. If there is one lesson to be learnt from the growth of Torpedo7 and 1-day, it seems to be that online retailing is a particular beast. Understand exactly how it works and focus on what makes customers feel comfortable and confident purchasing online, this will go a long way to ensuring your online business gets the best possible start. Have a look at the websites Torpedo7 is online at http://www.torpedo7.co.nz 1-day is online at http://1-day.co.nz ith those thoughts in mind, in 2003 the commerce graduate set about creating Torpedo7, his hugely popular online bike store that now sells a range of sports gear in New Zealand and Australia. “Our first step was working out what our advantages were and getting the suppliers sorted out. We also found people that could build the backend systems we needed, and spent a lot of time online finding out what other online shops did and how they did it,” Luke said. It was six months after start-up when the business began to achieve real growth. Now, with 70 staff, a large distribution warehouse in Hamilton and another in Melbourne, and huge year-on-year growth – 571 percent in the past year, Torpedo7 has certainly unlocked the secrets to online retailing success. It’s now a trendsetter in how online business should be done in New Zealand. Commentators say part of Torpedo7’s success comes from targeting and winning over a niche market (in this case mountain bike fans) with the products and prices that it wants, and then expanding from that market into other related products – the site now also sells snow, motocross and adventure gear as well as clothing. First-rate customer service Luke said two key tips for driving online sales are constant fresh content on the website and first-rate customer service. “We are very customer focused, with good deals and good products. We’ve learnt that the internet business is not just about products, it’s about creating an overall positive online shopping experience for our customers – favourite brands, best prices and proven service. “Focusing on these areas has led to high levels of customer satisfaction, which has kept our customers coming back time and time again and spreading the word to their mates.” Luke says his business’s growth has been driven largely through the biking community spreading the word and telling others about the site: “Our growth can be mostly attributed to word of mouth, which proves we are doing the right things. Customers buy online with confidence and tell their friends – it’s the best advertising we can get. We don’t have the overheads that traditional retailers have and we are happy to pass these savings onto our loyal customers.” Such growth saw the business become New Zealand’s fastest growing online business and the fifth-fastest growing overall business in the 2008 Deloittes Fast 50 awards.Torpedo7 was also prominent in the awards in 2006 and 2007. Unlike some online businesses that charge customers to speak to them on the phone, Torpedo7 places an emphasis on free customer service. The free-call customer service number is promoted on the site and the business encourages customers to call to ensure they get the service and understanding of products that they need. Online chat is another customer service feature of the New Zealand site. A small floating dialogue box appears when you open the site and follows 16 The Chamber Voice ISSUE 58 March – May 2009 W Get Sustainable Challenge identifies business values Challenging not-for-profit organisations to embrace sustainability is the aim of a new project launched by the Waikato Sustainable Business Network recently. The project aims to encourage organisations to embrace philosophies outlined in the network’s Get Sustainable Challenge, initially geared at profitable business. The challenge asks groups to identify and clarify their values and to follow up by aligning their organisation with those values. SBN’s Waikato regional manager Michelle Locke said 15 representatives from not-for-profit groups attended the breakfast launch of the project at The Greenspace in Hamilton recently. “Sustainability is really a journey for organisations and each group is at a different stage with their sustainability. We want to celebrate their achievements and encourage them to aim that little bit higher,” Michelle said. The project aims to simplify and demystify sustainability, particularly for organisations that may have previously put it in the “too hard basket.” SBN is a national organisation promoting sustainable practice throughout New Zealand, and supporting businesses on the path to sustainability. The network links businesses and provide forums for the exchange of ideas and experience. “We define sustainable business as the integration of economic growth, social equity and environmental management, both for now and in the future.” The Waikato network’s next workshop, themed transport, will be held at The Greenspace, 60 Te Aroha St, Hamilton, on April 30 from 8.45am to 12pm. For more information about the workshop, or the not-for-profit project, e-mail waikato@sustainable.org.nz THINKING GREEN: At front from left, are Waikato Sustainable Business Network (SBN) board member Paula Southgate, Glenys Radford of the Waikato Kindergarten Association, the Business Development Centre’s Robyn Robertson. Back row, kindergarten association head teacher Eleanor Wilder, SBN regional manager Michelle Locke and Waikato Chamber of Commerce chief executive Wayne Walford. readers every day. Don’t settle for less. 109,000 The best way to reach the Waikato * Nielsen Media Research National Readership Survey Average Issue Readership Jan – Dec 2008 (All people 10+). * The Chamber Voice ISSUE 58 March – May 2009 17 2008 membership promotion winners Sponsored by the Radio Network February March - Ricoh New Zealand Ltd April May - Viking Kayaks NZ June July - SmartPark Limited August September - Kirkman HR October November - Portfolio Art Hire Media Partner December January 09 - Hamilton Operatic Society For more details contact: Waikato Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc p 07 839 5895 B u s i n e s s V i t a l i t y e membership@waikatochamber.co.nz w www.waikatochamber.co.nz 18 The Chamber Voice ISSUE 58 March – May 2009 PRINTHOUSE The Chamber Voice ISSUE 58 March – May 2009 19 Vorsprung durch Technik www.audi.co.nz Audi Q7 at 6.9% finance. Power with economy. Drive away from just $1,875 per month*. 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