10 Business Insights From Kiwi Business Owners
There is so much that can be learnt from our peers.
Getting better at business is an incremental process and one thing I know about Kiwi business owners, is we’re interested to hear what our neighbour is up to.
We’ve all had that moment when you meet up with someone who sparks an idea that you take away with you… despite having no intention of that outcome at the outset! That was when cafe’s were our second workplace.
So how do you create serendipity in your business day when we’re being locked down, socially distanced and generally prevented from unexpected moments of connection and inspiration? We listen to people we wish we could meet… and fortunately there are more opportunities to do that than ever before thanks to podcasts.
Ten Insights From A Kiwi Original Guests in 2020
At the beginning of 2020 I went live with A Kiwi Original episode 1 with the intention of recording at least one (ideally two) episodes every week at our Wellington office studio.
The first five episodes went great.
Then Covid hit.
So instead of postponing the show, we went virtual… and turned up the dial to 11.
Now we’re halfway to 100 A Kiwi Original episodes thanks to the generous time and insights of business owners, founders and CEO’s throughout New Zealand.
Here are ten of those insights… you can find plenty more in the show notes of each of the episodes of A Kiwi Original.
10. Getting Media Coverage
“Be willing to take risks and say things that are real when talking with journalists.” Pattrick Smellie — Co-Founder BusinessDesk.
9. Capturing Customer Insights
“Make sure you capture the customer insights. We capture all of those requests and then we do our fortnightly roadmap review and it came up time and time again and that had been led by the customers.” Grant Johnson — Founder Rocketspark.
8. Telling Customers Where You’re From
“I want to deal with a New Zealand software business. I know I could get the same software from the States or Australia but I want to deal with a New Zealand business.” Steve Nathan — Founder TimeHub.
7. Protecting Your Intellectual Property
“You’ll have more intellectual property than you realise. You need to think about whether that’s protected in some way.”
6. Licensing NZ Made Music For Your Marketing
“I always go direct if I’m looking to work with artists for collaborations.” Hoody Time.
5. Create a Cash Buffer For Employee Holiday Pay
“In the way that you prepare for tax, ACC and GST, also put enough contingencies aside for putting enough aside for holiday pay for your staff. That’s something some our clients have struggled with is not having that buffer of cash available to payout for employees annual leave.
4. Communicating What Your Product Does
“You have to communicate. You have to over communicate. Letting them know what your product does and your name is your job. It’s your constant job.”
3. Focus On The Domestic Market
“Focus on the domestic market. Don’t under-estimate the domestic market.”
2. Investing In Your Brand By Investing In Your People
“If you’ve got a brand and you’re trying to invest in it and then you’re hero-ing your people, actually your organisation culture and your ability to retain people is incredibly important. The larger you get, the harder that becomes.”
1. Commit To Marketing Platforms For the Long Term
“It is a game you don’t dabble at. You’ve got to commit. When you commit, that’s when it pays off.
Hearing From The Next Business Guest
Learning from your business peers can be a simple way to get inspired on the way to work, on the walk home or while you’re at the gym or walking in nature.
If you’d like to be notified when the next episode is released, make sure to subscribe at www.akiwioriginal.com or you can watch each episode on YouTube at www.youtube.com/buynzmade.
