Business

BUSINESS | editorial

Late last year Maureen Tukaroa-Betham and Vaoa Muaulu from the Pacific Business Trust Porirua Office invited me to speak to the Porirua Business Association. I didn’t have a speech at hand but I jotted down a few key points which fitted nicely on an A4 paper aimed at people considering getting into business. I took the plunge a decade ago as a freelance journalist and publisher and after five years gained the confidence to plan our own publication (our means my wife Anne and I). And here SPASIFIK is in its fifth year with our ever growing website www.SPASIFIKmag.com in its second. So, I’m naturally keen for more Maori and Pacific people to seriously consider business, a field in which we are under-represented. But I’ve become wary of the high attrition rate, wary of those who venture into their own business ill-equipped and end up worse-off financially. So my key points were for those thinking of entering self-employment to take into consideration. Business is not just about making money, although you need to make a profit to survive.

• I have a brilliant business idea.
• No one else in the market I’m aiming at has adequately captured it.
• Even if they have, I possess the skills, experience and understanding of the market to match and surpass them.
• My product is beneficial and not exploitive of the market I’m targeting.
• My product is not harmful to the environment.
• I have a thorough business plan which contains realistic financial projections.
• I have the financial backing to not only get it off the ground, but to weather potential pitfalls if those financial projections are not met.
• The security behind my financial backing does not include the house I and/or my family live in.
• I or my team have the necessary skills for the business which includes administration.
• If demand for my business exceeds expectations, I have the skills or know of others who can help meet those expectations.
• I am fit, healthy, mentally strong and positive enough to cope with the financial pressures and the ups and downs of owning a business.
• I am constantly aware of changing trends within my market, either through the media, my own product and those of my competitors.
• I am flexible enough to change to those trends if need be.
• I have the financial discipline to stick to my budget and can resist unplanned financial demands from family.
• If I cannot resist family then I can regularly put money aside for such moments
• If the business is clearly not going as planned and the future looks bleak I am honest and realistic enough to pull the pin soon enough to minimize the damage to myself and others.
• If the business is going well enough and exceeding projections I’m prepared to invest the profits back into the business for further growth or invest it to build a more secure future.

If yes is the answer to all or nearly all of the points, then go for it and all the best.

Innes Logan
Business editor

June 10th 2008
ISSUE 26 ARTICLE
Seizing The Opportunity

An eye for opportunity has seen a business partnership between two Samoan friends sprout into a successful company servicing New Zealand’s growing events industry, writes REGION SALANOA-MOELASI.
Read more

June 10th 2008
ISSUE 26 ARTICLE
Repeka's Return

Building on the success of a 16-year career selling real estate in Auckland’s upmarket central suburbs and following her participation in the Air New Zealand Return to Roots Mission to Samoa and Tonga, Repeka Lelaulu is now expanding her business into the islands.
Read more

June 10th 2008
Australia finalising own Pacific migrant worker scheme

Australia could seen be trialling its own Pacific migrant scheme similar to New Zealand’s Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme.
Read more

June 9th 2008
Shaggy kicks off Digicel in Tonga

Telecommunications giant Digicel spread its influence in the Pacific even further after launching in Tonga, flying in reggae star Shaggy all the way from Jamaica just for the occasion. JOHN SULLIVAN was at the launch.
Read more

May 28th 2008
Pacific Briefs: May Update

The New Zealand Pacific Business Council brings you the latest business, trade and economic updates from around the Pacific region.
Read more

May 13th 2008
Pacific Business Trust welcomes new chair

A new Chair, Deputy Chair and member have been appointed to the Pacific Business Trust (PBT) Board.
Read more

April 8th 2008
POLITICS
NZ-China trade pact: Good or Bad?
The New Zealand Government is beaming with pride after signing a historic trade pact with China, while the Tibetan crisis rages on. But not long ago, Pacific nations were criticised for their own political dealings with China. So do terms like ‘cheque book diplomacy’ apply to Kiwis too?
Read more

March 29th 2008
BUSINESS
Business news briefs from the Pacific region

The latest Pacific business news briefs compiled by the New Zealand Pacific Business Council.
Read more

SPASIFIKmag.com Issue 25 Business Editorial
Getting the Best out of RSE

As the lone journalist invited to attend the Department of Labour’s forum on the Recognised Seasonal Employer Scheme in Wellington, I eagerly anticipated the opportunity for an inside look at the scheme that has come under criticism through the media (the mid-February conference was too close to this deadline, so look out for an exclusive, behind-the-scenes piece in our May/June 2008 issue).

As a business owner, it was even more enlightening, because of the various agendas involved. The New Zealand Government sees RSE as a means of filling a seasonal labour shortage in the horticulture and viticulture industries, while ensuring they get their share through taxes, which they often don’t when the money goes under the table to a foreign backpacker passing through. The Pacific Governments involved – Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Kiribati and Vanuatu - see it as a potential revenue earner through remittances, which primarily benefit the workers, their families and their villages.

And to make it all happen, the businesses have to tackle the bureaucracy involved. After the opening niceties the business owners and industry representatives spoke of the problems – or challenges as people like to call them. They didn’t hold back.

Certain media and critics can give the impression these problems are insurmountable. They’re not, and the general consensus was that what needed to be fixed, can be fixed (although who pays for it to be fi xed is another matter).

It reminded me of taking my first step into business a decade ago as a freelancer, followed by the huge step needed to set up SPASIFIK almost five years ago. The odds are against you. Far more start-up businesses fail than succeed. Industries
that are booming are usually fl ooded with businesses and industries that are seen to be avoided. And negative news and scandals sell. RSE will not only continue, but grow. Why? Because the various parties involved have seen the positive outcomes outweigh the negative. And when you’re starting something from scratch in business, it’s worth celebrating.


Innes Logan
Business Editor
business@spasifik.co.nz

March 12th 2008
SPASIFIKmag.com Issue 25 Article
New man driving Pacific prosperity

Richard Reid is the new CEO in the Pacific Business Trust hot-seat. Of Maori descent, he sees many similarities to the path Pacific people seek for a better quality of life and economic prosperity.
Read more

March 12th 2008
SPASIFIKmag.com Issue 25 Article
Natia finds her niche at NZPBC

Fresh from Samoa, Natia Tucker Laurenson found herself thrown in the deep end starting as Executive Officer for the New Zealand Pacific Business Council.
Read more

March 12th 2008
Digicel awarded GSM Mobile License in Fiji

Digicel Pacific, the fastest-growing mobile operator in the Pacific, has strengthened its footprint in the region after being awarded a license to operate a GSM network in Fiji.
Read more