Blog

Many New Zealanders’ perception of waste management is of piled up landfills hounded by circling seagulls!

The reality, as highlighted by Waste Management winning the Supreme Business Excellence Award at the Westpac Auckland Business Awards 2020 – South & East region, is far different.

Food-kit leaders Woop have been recognised for their super star growth trajectory. After smashing their targets in a competitive market, they were awarded the top award at the Westpac Auckland Business Awards in the Central region.

Woop was named Supreme Business Excellence winner at the Central Gala dinner last month, after showing incredible commitment and innovation.

It could safely be said that not many businesses entered lockdown as spectacularly as Skydive Auckland. Their staff jumped into Waiheke Island for the day!

It was the last day of work before New Zealand’s first lockdown in March. “As uncertain as the lockdown was, it was great to end on such a high note,” says Skydive Auckland’s Marketing Manager Jo Austin.

Great mentoring will open doors, set direction and help you achieve your goals.

When you’re in the day-to-day of running your business and fighting fires, it can be hard to keep your eye on the big picture and focus on your goals. Having a mentor helps with this – not to mention giving your business a much higher chance of succeeding!

defining your vision, mission and position

The most important thing you need to do as a business owner is define your vision, mission and position.

• What is your vision (what you want your business to be)
• What is your mission (your purpose and values)
• What is your position (what is unique about your business and offering, and what differentiates you in the market)
  
  

You need to do this whether your business is just yourself, or you have a team. And whether you’ve just started or whether you’ve been going for years. Believe it or not, there are large, long-standing businesses that operate without one, two, or even all of these things!

I wanted to start by talking about the importance of having a business plan… for your business. I emphasised that last bit, because it’s vital to what we’re talking about - it has to be a plan for your business. You can have a standard format, but you should not have standard content. There is no one-size-fits-all formula for writing a business plan.

I often talk about the importance of knowing your ‘why’. What is the purpose or reason for being of your business? Why are you doing – often at great effort and expense – what you’re doing? You need to be able to answer this before you can even start your business plan. Once you have, then developing your business plan will be like a roadmap for your business to achieve your objectives and vision.

A thorough business plan is priceless for any business, and if you’re trying to grow your business in a crowded marketplace, it could be your biggest asset.