Welcome

What do you see in the image above? A retiree out fishing? Probably a man who owns a caravan and spends his Saturdays polishing his Corolla? We live in a youth-obsessed culture from top to bottom. We want our heroes to be young, mean and keen and building empires online. Meanwhile, a steady movement is growing […]

A global evaluation involving more than a million sales people has revealed that meaningful economic growth in New Zealand and Australia is being held back by a lack of sales and sales management skills. The evaluation, conducted by Objective Management Group, surveyed hundreds of companies to determine how well prepared they are for growth. CEO […]

In November 2012 we launched NZ Entrepreneur to help inspire, educate and celebrate entrepreneurship in New Zealand. Since then, as part of our mission to show we all have the potential to be entrepreneurs, we’ve showcased 100+ #nzentrepreneurs from all sorts of backgrounds, industries and parts of the country. There is no doubt that us […]

Market validation is annoying. Why are you wasting valuable time interviewing people about your proposed business? Time that could be spent building your product’s killer features and starting to make some serious money? Right? It’s a dilemma a lot of start-ups face. Market validation and research can be seen as a thorn in the side of […]

Price pressure is a common reality of doing business and setting prices can drive an entrepreneur crazy. Not to mention the consternation faced by owners and managers everywhere, being asked to sign off on discounted deals by sales reps and customers alike. Price will be one of several buying motives for most people. If you […]

“They said my business won’t scale – does that mean I should give up?” Too often I hear from entrepreneurs who are discouraged from pursuing their dreams because they have been told by investors that they do not have a scalable and replicable model. “Hmm, great question…” is my usual reply as I stall for time […]

There are many business writers/mentors and coaches who encourage business owners to try and stay in a “cash flow crisis” space. Why? Surely this is one of the most stressful, lonely and desperate places to be? I agree – but it’s a space that insists that we function creatively. I have a story from my […]

If you are speculating on the New Zealand property market, you are a parasite, not an entrepreneur. (Same goes if you’re speculating on anything for that matter.) You are the people who give real entrepreneurs and capitalism a bad name, under the guise of “simply taking advantage of market conditions”. Now I’m certainly no anti-capitalist or “money […]

When I first saw the lone Wanaka willow tree, three thoughts popped into my mind, almost simultaneously. The first was, “Wow, how beautiful.” The second was, “How is this thing still alive?” And the third was, “How sad!” And when I thought about it I realised that this is pretty much exactly the way society […]

To get on top and stay on top it’s not enough to look after and develop just one area of strength. We need four primary areas of strength to drive effective business leadership. If any one of these areas of strength becomes deflated, our ‘wheel’ becomes difficult to turn. If we have gained some speed with […]

Here’s Richard Liew’s version of the entrepreneur mindset. What is it that keeps you going? What is your underlying “Why?” and what does your personal entrepreneur seesaw look like? It may well be different to this and that’s fine, but whatever it is, use it to remind yourself why you’re doing what you’re doing. Supporter […]

The lifestyle of an entrepreneur is a tempting one. It’s a great life, but it’s a life full of misconceptions and myths. I took the step of moving away from a safe but dull, full-time job and into the world of entrepreneurship. I created my own leadership development business, and I started travelling around the […]