Business Mentors Providing More Involved Advice Than Ever Before

The country’s 1,900 volunteer business mentors are providing more in depth advice to New Zealand’s small to medium sized enterprises than ever before, the CEO of Business Mentors New Zealand, the only national, volunteer business mentoring organisation, told its 22^nd AGM today.

Ray Schofield, CEO Business Mentors New Zealand told the AGM, hosted by ASB Bank at its new North Wharf building in Auckland: `Our business mentors are now more hands on than ever. When we started 56% of SMEs saw their mentor only once. That figure has fallen to an all time low of 16% as mentoring has become so much more part of a business owner’s development. On average our mentors will visit a business more than four times, but many mentor/business relationships last for quite long periods of time and become an essential part of the business’ development. Our mentors work closely with tens of thousands of SMEs and their owners, and have become a vital part of nurturing the New Zealand economy.’

Business Mentors New Zealand helps around 250 businesses every month and has assisted more than 65,000 small to medium-size enterprise owners in New Zealand over the last 22 years.

Ray Schofield commented: `Cash flow is still the number one problem facing SMEs but our mentors with the support of many of our Partner Patrons have become more creative in helping businesses find solutions to managing it. We are still asked, what sort of mentor will I get, or will people think less of me for asking for help, but by and large New Zealanders are becoming more willing to use a business mentor as a way of making their business more successful.

‘We have clearly shown that business mentoring has a significant role to play in the health of the country’s economy. New Zealanders make very good mentors.  Friendliness and the values of “putting something back”, fairness and giving someone a hand up, resonate well with most of us. We have accumulated significant  “grassroots” knowledge of small businesses and their owners –what their strengths, weaknesses and needs really are (as opposed to what they say they are).’

Through the work of over 1,900 independent volunteer business mentors BMNZ enables people with recognised skills and success to put something back into their own communities. Business Mentors New Zealand provides access to a wide variety of volunteer mentors (who give their experience, skill and knowledge free of charge). The focus of the organisation is on developing capability, profitability, and employment generation. Business Mentors New Zealand 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 less than 25 employees.

There is no limit on the number of mentoring sessions. 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 agrees upon. They can also contact their co-ordinator at any point for further assistance

For more information about Business Mentors New Zealand please visit www.businessmentors.org.nz

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Companies Dying of Embarrassment Business Mentors NZ Warns

Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are literally dying of embarrassment in New Zealand because they are ashamed of seeking help just when they need it most, warns Ray Schofield, CEO of Business Mentors New Zealand, the only national, volunteer business mentoring organisation.

Mr Schofield says that many SMEs run into trouble early in their development but won’t ask for the help that could see them through a rough patch.

He explains: `There are lots of challenges in those first few months and early years of setting up a business but the New Zealand stoical attitude means that many struggling enterprises fail to seek help in time. The double whammy at 18 months when provisional tax really kicks in is often the final straw. But if only owner operators got themselves a business mentor earlier, more of them would survive. Our volunteer mentors, who provide a free service for up to two years, often arrive just in the nick of time.’

Business Mentors Patron Partner, Statistics New Zealand: NZ Business Demography Statistics for 2012 reports that there were only 40,690 new enterprises set up in New Zealand, a fall of 11.2 per cent on the previous year. This was the lowest birth rate since comparable data was first collected in 2000 and the third year in a row that more businesses have closed than opened. There were 469,120 enterprises in total, down by 0.8 per cent on the previous year. 

Lisa Ford, Business Mentors National Agency Manager told a meeting of volunteer mentors hosted by Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development at North Harbour Stadium this week: `Time after time our coordinators tell us they call up a new company owner to arrange mentoring only to find that they know nothing about it. That’s because their partner has called us in because they can see the business is struggling. They are simply too ashamed to ask for help themselves, yet some of the most successful companies in the country have got where they are today with the help of a business mentor. It’s something they really should be proud of doing. None of us knows everything and it’s the smart guys who know when to pull in an expert advisor.’

Business ‘deaths’ have outnumbered ‘births’ for the past three years meaning the total number of enterprises has been falling since 2009 with 30,000 fewer businesses set up last year than in 2004. Mentors report that finding the right support, financial as well as expertise, advice and tools to put a new venture on a sustainable footing are vital components to success. 

Business Mentors New Zealand helps around 250 businesses find a mentor every month and has assisted more than 65,000 small to medium-size enterprise owners in New Zealand in the last 22 years. Business Mentors provides access to over 1,900 volunteer mentors (who give their experience, skill and knowledge free of charge). The $150 registration fee allows mentoring for up to two years.

For more information please visit www.businessmentors.org.nz

TOWER INSURANCE SUPPORTS SMES THROUGH NEW PARTNERSHIP WITH BUSINESS MENTORS NEW ZEALAND

TOWER Insurance, one of the country’s leading providers of business cover, has teamed up with Business Mentors New Zealand, the charitable organisation which provides a national business mentoring service to support the development and growth of New Zealand’s small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs).

‘We are very excited about the opportunity to become a Business Mentors Partner,’ says TOWER Insurance CEO, James Douglas. ‘We understand the importance of nurturing New Zealand’s SMEs and hope that our support and business experience will help even more of them reach their goals.’

Ray Schofield, CEO of Business Mentors New Zealand, welcomes TOWER to the forward group of companies which support mentoring:

‘It is very encouraging that more prominent businesses such as TOWER are coming on board. Business Mentors New Zealand is a non-profit organisation, which is largely funded by patrons from the private sector. Without the backing of companies such as TOWER, we would not be able to keep providing our unique mentoring service to companies across New Zealand.

‘We are delighted to have established a relationship with TOWER and look forward to working with them.’

Business Mentors provides access to 1,600 volunteer mentors (who provide their experience, skill and knowledge free of charge), and the focus is on developing capability, profitability, and employment generation. Since the organisation was established in 1991, Business Mentors has assisted over 50,000 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 businesses that have been operating for at least six months and is the owner’s main source of income.

For more information on Business Mentors New Zealand, visit http://www.businessmentors.org.nz/

HOW PUBLIC RELATIONS CAN HELP BUSINESSES BEAT THE ECONOMIC DOWNTURN

The tightening New Zealand economy means that these are uncertain times for all types of business. The ‘R’ word is a regular feature in the media and cash flow worries are keeping Kiwi business owners awake at night. Many of them are reacting by putting a big thick red line through their public relations, marketing and advertising budgets.

However, cutting back on marketing spend during periods of economic hardship is a mistake.

Rather than slim-lining communications efforts, now is the time to start beefing them up. Business owners should be concentrating on maintaining the trust of their investors and customers by regularly touching base with them and letting them know how the company is dealing with the situation.

Many companies have fallen over during past recessions as a result of shying away from marketing and, consequently, dropping off the radar of the media, their shareholders, their customers and their potential customers.

At the other end of the scale, a number of clever businesses that have invested heavily in marketing during poorer economic circumstances have come out stronger than ever and way ahead of their rivals. For example, during the recession of 1990-1992, Procter & Gamble was the only marketer among the five biggest U.S. companies to increase spending in 1991. P&G managed to increase sales and earnings during this period (the late 1980s to early 1990s) and company sales surpassed the $30 billion mark in 1993.

Many business owners aren’t aware that PR is one of the most cost-efficient tools available, which can be a blessing when finances are tight. This value for money contrasts sharply with advertising which can become incredibly expensive, very quickly.

Online public relations is a particularly effective way of squeezing the maximum value out of your PR dollar and is something that business owners can do a lot of themselves. Writing a company blog, participating in business forums and sending out a regular e-newsletter are all simple but effective ways of reminding relevant parties that you are still alive and kicking.

Recessions are a natural part of the economic cycle. The markets, the consumers and the products will still be around once the economy has corrected itself. Business owners should try not to react by cutting out the very tools that could keep their heads above water. If companies are astute and pay attention to how they are communicating, at a time when their competitors are slashing their marketing budgets, they may even come out of the difficult economic period with an even larger portion of the market than when the recession began.

PUBLIC RELATIONS IS NOT JUST FOR THE RICH AND FAMOUS- SMEs NEED IT TOO!

Every budding entrepreneur understands the need for a strong and consistent advertising and marketing campaign when either launching or maintaining a brand. This is evident in the huge amount of small business ads that can be found in the New Zealand media. However, many small to medium sized businesses seem to give public relations little more than a passing glance. PR is mistakenly perceived as something that should be left to the ‘big boys’ or as a luxury that only larger companies can afford.

Yet a solid public relations campaign is just as vital for small businesses as it is for the corporate giants. A well executed public relations campaign can increase name recognition and familiarity in the community, bolster your organisations credibility, educate people on what you do and how it can benefit them, generate ‘word of mouth’ advertising as well as increase employee motivation and morale. Each of these outcomes is important for the success of a small or new company. It is incredibly difficult to sell a product or a service if nobody has ever heard of you.

Public Relations is not as intangible and as confusing as many people believe and it is certainly not a communications tool reserved for the large, the rich and the successful. On the contrary, PR is just as, if not more, important, for small or start-up companies that need their brand identities laid out and their reputations established. It should be a vital part of every small company’s business plan, right from the start. The results, including increased sales, customer loyalty, brand recognition and awareness of your business and what it does, are more than worth it.

(Find out more about what PR can do for your small or start-up business by reading my article 'PR for Small Businesses: Using PR to Put Your Small or Start-up Company on the Path to Success')