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Planning

12 Trends that Will Define Business in the "New Normal"

Stay up with the play - here are some trends to watch out for in 2012, Make sure you are tailoring your business to take advantage of them!
January 26th, 2012 by Sue Hirst

Kickstart 2012!

Have you already started thinking about what you want to achieve this year, or is that a 'later on job'? Whatever the case, we can help you create a winning plan for your business in 2012.
January 18th, 2012 by Jen Tyson

Beestings: What will you do differently next year?

New years bring new beginnings, so now is a great time to plan some changes that will bring great results in 2012. This week’s guaranteed-under-two-minute-read has some ideas to get you started.
November 22nd, 2011 by Bizbuzz Team

10 Small changes to make a big improvement to your business

Sometimes, it's little things that count. Debbie Mayo-Smith suggests ten things you can tweak in your business, which together should add up to a significant overall improvement. The trick is to get started, and keep honing away at them.
November 18th, 2011 by  Debbie Mayo-Smith 

Beestings: Grooming your business for sale (from day one)

Grooming a business for sale takes time and should be done throughout the business’s life. In this week’s guaranteed-under-two-minute-read, we’ve got some tips and tools to help you make a great exit from your business when the time is right.
November 8th, 2011 by Bizbuzz Team

Beestings: Are you making these mistakes?

Yes, making mistakes can be okay and you can learn from them, but it’s best to avoid the really bad ones if you still want to be in business this time next year. In this week’s guaranteed-under-two-minute-read, we’ve got some tips and tools to help avoid the worst business mistakes.
November 1st, 2011 by Bizbuzz Team

The challenges of exporting

While exporting can be lucrative and is certainly good for our economy, many Kiwi businesses put it in the "too hard" basket. Christopher Boys highlights some of the issues those thinking of embarking on selling overseas will need to address.
October 31st, 2011 by Christopher Boys
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Beestings: What's threatening your business?

While everything might seem to be going swimmingly in your business, you need to look beneath the surface to uncover and manage risks before they become real problems. This week’s guaranteed-under-two-minute read covers off some potential pitfalls and gives suggestions for how to deal with them
October 25th, 2011 by Bizbuzz Team

Beestings: What's your game-changer?

Way to go, All Blacks! What a win – and what a game to look forward to next weekend. And as small and home businesses, there are some take-aways too: while we don’t have control over everything that happens, building the skills and putting the foundations in place certainly mean when opportunities arise or calamity strikes, our businesses have the depth and ability to take advantage or show resilience. This week’s guaranteed-under-two-minute-read has some suggestions on how you can build game-changing strengths into your business.
October 18th, 2011 by Bizbuzz Team

The coffee’s a grind ... and how this hurt one business

You may be working hard at bringing in the income and keeping down expenses - but somehow things just aren't going the way they should. Sometimes it's not obvious what changes can be made, until you dig a little deeper.
September 22nd, 2011 by Jackie Bourne
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How to get paid what you're worth

If you’ve ever spent hours trying to work out what price or rate to charge, or come away from a negotiation thinking ‘I’ve undersold myself – again!’ you’re not alone. Hannah Samuel has some great advice to help you charge what you know you are worth.
August 29th, 2011 by Hannah Samuel

Are you and your employee headed in the same direction?

Identifying your business goals and working with your staff to ensure that they have the right knowledge, skills and abilities to achieve these goals is the essence of career development. Sharn Rayner explains why even the smallest employer needs to focus on career development and how to go about it.
August 24th, 2011 by Sharn Rayner

Beestings: Global and local marketing go hand in hand

Today’s successful businesses are often able to reach seamlessly around the world, frequently relying on the web and other technology to make sales happen quickly and easily – but it’s not quite that simple. This week’s guaranteed-under-two-minute read has tips and tools that will help you reach your customers, whether they are on your doorstep or the other side of the world.
August 9th, 2011 by Bizbuzz Team

Are you ready for International markets?

Many businesses looking to grow will at some point consider expanding into international markets. Whatever your situation, and particularly in times of global recession, it's essential that you do your homework thoroughly before making any decision to export.
August 4th, 2011 by Jen Tyson
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Enhance your reputation by reframing your relevance

Before you bring something "new" to your business, it's worth checking that's really what your customers want. All too often, Hannah Samuel says, it's not ....
July 29th, 2011 by Hannah Samuel
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Who's going to buy your business?

There are often a variety of potential options when you decide to sell your business, says Richard O'Brien. He details some of them and gives some useful guidelines - some of which it's useful to implement even when you're not actively thinking of selling up.
May 26th, 2011 by Richard O'Brien

What your small business needs to know to manage risk

Recent major events including the devastating Christchurch earthquake have had a dramatic impact on many small and home businesses. While many of the losses relating to these events are covered by insurance, the bigger risks to businesses are the less obvious risks that are not claimable through insurance policies. Risk management for your business is more important now than ever before.
April 1st, 2011 by Sue Hirst

Which talent trends will impact small and medium businesses in 2011?

There are numerous articles about what to expect from the Employment market and talent management trends for 2011 however many aren’t relevant to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). We will be affected differently than bigger businesses that have candidate ‘pulling power’ and greater resources. I’ve looked at the talent trends most likely to affect small and medium businesses and highlighted them here.
March 18th, 2011 by Tania Howard

Are you first, quicker, safer, or more expert than your competition?

Positioning is how your customer perceives the value you offer compared to your competitors. For example, are you first, better, quicker, more professional, safer, more expert or cheaper than your competition? How do you want to be perceived and how can you use your brand to communicate this to your target market?
March 10th, 2011 by Jen Tyson

Workforce planning – factors for consideration

Workforce planning is about determining your future staffing requirements, comparing it with your existing requirements and trying to work out when and how you should recruit to ensure that you have the right people, with the right skills, at the right time.
March 2nd, 2011 by Sharn Rayner