northland chamber

BUSINESS ADVOCATE COLUMN MAY 2011
No matter the amount of planning, risk-management or sheer hard work, there is always the potential for things to go wrong with a business. It is often due to circumstances over which the individual has no control. This is evident in the number of businesses that cease trading every year. What is also evident is that there are many more who are willing to pursue their dreams of building a business. Obviously it would be great if we could reduce the number of businesses exiting the market each year while at the same time as increasing the number of new start-up businesses as this would result in economic growth.

The focus on reducing this “churn” relies on increasing the capability of these businesses and the productivity that this would result in. Northland businesses are generally small enterprises and while scale can present difficulties, it also allows for more opportunity to be flexible and innovative. With the right support these businesses can become very resilient to external pressures and very good at managing risks. Often though there is no substitute for knowledge gained from experience.

At a recent Northland Chamber of Commerce event we were lucky enough to have Auckland businessman Murray Higgs speak on his experiences in the area of export and manufacturing. With previous experience as trade commissioner to New York and working on the management teams of a number leading New Zealand companies including Fisher and Paykel, he is well-placed to pass on his knowledge and lessons learnt along the way.

There were a number of key messages that could relate to local business and I am sure that all the audience took away different lessons. An overriding message that applies to any business venture was to know your market. No matter how wonderful you think it is, you cannot sell a service or product that the market does not want.

Although the speaker had been involved in a range of sectors and roles during his business life (which is not yet over) other constants he identified were quality of product or service and the importance of strong relationships with others in the market that you are operating in. This is about learning from experience to make your business stronger. Equally the result of continuing to reinforce failure should not come as a surprise. It all sounds so simple. Which it is if the business learns from its mistakes, modifies its behaviour and responds to the market in which it operates.