Business Resources
Business advice and tips for changing times
In changing times businesses need to have a range of resources to assist them whenever necessary.
In addition to the services below, we have provided links to various articles, tools and information relative to business needs.
Three main services below:
Business Advisor - Smart Economy Consultant
Business Mentors New Zealand
BIZ Information Service
Useful Links:
Managing your business in tough economic times
Surviving difficult times
How to encourage repeat clientele
How understanding your customers can increase your sales
How to encourage word of mouth
Promoting your business with public relations
How to target your marketing
Do you need investment capital?
How to write a business plan
The Skill Builder
MITE Tool (Management Improvement Tool for Entrepreneurs)
Starting a Business guide
Help for first time employers
Buying, exiting or selling a business
Exporting and importing
Calculate your business financials and break even
Pricing products and services
Things to consider when preparing estimates and quotes
How to read a profit and loss statement
Using your financial information to improve your business performance
This series of articles has strategies to help you manage and grow your business in an economic downturn. Included is information on streamlining operations, maintaining staff and customer confidence, managing finances and cash flow, and spotting opportunities. Click here
Every business experiences both good and difficult times, some driven by external events such as major market or industry downturns, and others within the business. These changes make it important to ensure your business is in good shape to meet any challenges that lie ahead. Click here
How do you make yourself stand out in today’s market? This article explains how some well known companies have gained their point of difference over competitors. Discover how to create customer loyalty and guaranteed customer satisfaction. Click here
Understanding your customers and developing products and services for different customer groups and their needs is a crucial step in growing your business. Find out how to acquire new profitable customers, retain those you have and convince existing customers to buy more. Click here
A referral from a satisfied customer is the most cost effective marketing you can get. A good marketing campaign combined with great customer service will create positive word of mouth. Here's six ways to keep your customers singing your praises. Click here
Are you launching new product, promoting new business, or wanting to increase sales? Public relations (PR) can help customers understand your business, product, service, brand or message. Here are tips to create an impression and build a strong public image for your business. Click here
If you don’t target your marketing you’ll end up wasting time and money. The following link goes through to a free on-line training module through NZTE. Click here
A series of excellent articles on attracting investment capital to your business. Click here
A good business plan is an indispensible part of managing a successful business. Click here
The Skill Builder helps you define a management profile for yourself. By choosing definitions of management competence at a level suitable for your job you can make decisions about how competent you are and possible ways in which you may improve your competence. Click here
MITE is designed to help you as an entrepreneur decide where to direct your own personal energy for greatest success in your business. The questions are designed to stimulate an action plan for your business by asking you to think about eight important areas. Click here
This simple, easy-to-read guide (two parts) is designed to help people start-up and build a business based on good ideas and clear goals. (Note you can order a hard copy from the Tauranga Chamber of Commerce). Click here
As an employer you'll have new responsibilities relating to your staff, like ensuring employees have an employment agreement, making the right salary and wage deductions and filing employer returns with Inland Revenue. Click here
Looking to buy or sell a business, or spend less time working in the daily operations? Perhaps it's time to close the doors and wind things up. Planning your exit strategy can ensure things happen the way you want them to and make the transition easier. Buying Click here
Selling Click here
Is it time to globalise your business? If you're excited by the possibility of taking your ideas or your products overseas or already expanding your business operations outside of New Zealand, the information here can help you take your first steps. Exporting Click here
Importing Click here
Every business should know what its breakeven point is. This article provides formulas for working out your break even point with explanations on how to establish fixed and variable costs. Click here
How much should you charge for your products? There are four basic methods to determine the selling price of a product: cost-plus pricing; demand pricing; competitive pricing; and mark-up pricing. This article assistin setting an appropriate price point for your product or service. Click here
This information is from the consumer’s perspective of getting an estimate or a quote. It is a useful tool as it provides a checklist of what should make up a quote, the technicalities of paying for quoted goods and services, unauthorised work, and other problems that you may face. Click here
When you own a business it is important to have understanding of how a profit and loss statement is put together. Learn about how this is done and some of the terminology that goes with this financial report such as: sales, COGs, gross profit, depreciation, net profit, and income tax. Click here
Financial statements provide business owners and managers with information that can be used to improve the performance of the business. Here are six tips to help you analyse the information in your financial statements to add value to your business. Click here