Monday 28 May 2007

Starting Business Sessions

If you have made the decision to start your own business and want to ensure that you start out on the surest footing, WE run a series of Start-up Workshops for NZTE that may be of use to you.

The series of four, three-hour workshops run twice during the year and cover the business set-up and management in more detail than the Pre Start-up sessions. It is expected that you attend all four sessions.

http://www.waitakereenterprise.co.nz/html/pageBuilder.php?id=015e4947

Starting a business Session 1
Synopsis: This workshop covers: elements of success; business start-up ‘must haves'; business structures; business planning; getting the marketing right; managing money; making decisions & action plans and; managing a business
Venue: Waitakere Enterprise
Date: 30th May (6:00pm - 9:00pm)
Cost: Free of charge
Register for this workshop now

Starting a business Session 2
Synopsis: This workshop looks at market research, pricing, developing a promotional plan and asks: ‘How's the competition?'; ‘Do you know your target market?'; ‘What's your pricing strategy?' and; ‘What's your competitive advantage?'
Venue: Waitakere Enterprise
Date: 6th June (6:00pm - 9:00pm)
Cost: Free of charge
Register for this workshop now

Starting a business Session 3
Synopsis: This workshop covers: record keeping; basic tax obligations; financial viability; cash flow management; profit & loss and; IRD resources
Venue: Waitakere Enterprise
Date: 13th June (6:00pm - 9:00pm)
Cost: Free of charge
Register for this workshop now

Starting a business Session 4
Synopsis: This workshop covers: E-commerce; choosing your team; time management; prospecting and selling, session Q&A; where to from here.
Venue: Waitakere Enterprise
Date: 20th June (6:00pm - 9:00pm)
Cost: Free of charge
Register for this workshop now

Friday 25 May 2007

The Small Business Expo

Wednesday 30th May - Friday 1st June inclusive - The Small Business Expo, ASB Showgrounds, Greeen Lane.
What is Business Expo? Business Expo gives you the chance to view all kinds of products and services that could help you to run your business more effectivley. This year the expo features The National Bank seealand Information seminar serise, the Vodafone Business Mentoring Zone and a new Statistics New Zealand Information Zone.

Entry $20. I have 1 free one.

For more details see: www.businessexpo.co.nz

Friday 18 May 2007

CoDIA - Design Incubator

You have reached the Blog for the Generator, a creative industries business incubator.

Some students at Universities study a subject without any wish or intention of pursing it after graduation. On the other hand, students in the creative industries usually consider their study as the beginning of a professional career. Many graduates of art and design teaching institutions want to set up their own studios and this effectively means starting their own businesses.

It is commonly believed that artists designers and crafts people cannot be effective and successful business people – it is also often thought by the practitioner that the good commercial practice is somehow damaging to their creative process and this is reflected in the loose attitude towards business practices that they adopt.
Indeed, it is commonly thought that ‘creatives’ need to take a day job to supplement their night time flurries into the creative world.
These beliefs are enforced by the common structures many educational establishments work off. For many, the syllabus focuses on the theoretical and technical aspects of the professions.

If we are to build sustainable creative businesses in New Zealand these attitudes have to be put to bed. Tertiary organisations need to expose their students to business practices so they won’t acquire them slowly, painfully and expensively after graduation.

There is nothing magical about being a competent business person or entrepreneur; the basic principals of management are well known and tested.
The Generator has been established to assist young ‘creatives’ develop a positive attitude towards the many aspects of running their creative enterprises.


About Incubators:

A Business Incubator is a facility designed to assist businesses to become established and sustainable during their start up phase. Typically, they do this by providing:

shared premises

business advice

business services

access to investor, market and international networks

mentoring.

The incubation period for an individual business is normally two to three years.
US statistics show that business incubators increase the survival rate of start-ups from 35 percent to 87 percent.

(New Zealand Trade & Enterprise website)

Our Vision

We see a future where substantial and high quality business incubation brings wealth, opportunity, employment and regeneration to local, regional and national economies.
This will be achieved through the successful creation of bright and sustainable new companies with exciting, valuable and innovative ideas.

Our Mission

Is to create successful new NZ enterprises and entrepreneurs by leading and promoting the development of high quality business incubation.
By providing a dynamic and proactive international hub, through which all our practitioners and stakeholders can engage with us and with each other, we enable vital know-how and good practice to be developed and shared. This gives our enterprises of the future their greatest chance of success.


The Generator has been established for graduates of Design Schools (primarily Unitec graduates) It is situated in Mount Albert on the Unitec campus and within the Design School. The Generator is surrounded by well equipped workshops and not far away from the Schools of Architecture & Landscape Architecture, the Applied Trades, Business and Entrepreneurship. Access to the wood, metal, plastic, ceramics and glass workshops will offer considerable support to incubator companies. The Design School facilities include Mac and PC labs, Roland rapid prototypers, and spacious well lit accommodation. There are also a number of galleries within its buildings, all of which are bookable and can be used to exhibit works created by incubator companies.

The primary aim of The Generator is:

to assist young designers in the start-up of their careers by providing them with space, access to design and business mentoring services and facilitating opportunities with manufacturing industries.

Through its mentors and the wider Design School staff, Generator is well connected to Regional National and International companies; it will be from these connections that design opportunities will spring. Financial and ‘in kind’ support for Generator will be sought from private companies and governmental departments.

Generator participants have access to business mentoring services, providing help with starting a business, business plans, marketing, tax planning etc. These services will be provided by (where ever possible) by Unitec staff.
There will be work available for the Generator participants allowing for valuable work experience and an income streams.
Social facilities will be shared providing necessary and valuable interaction between the Generator and residents and staff over lunch, coffee and social events.

The Design School has strong links with commercial design studios, manufacturers, light industry, retail and contract outlets etc. It is envisaged that these contacts will be accessible to Generator participants.

The Design School, Government funded project, Hothouse project offers other possibilities for Generator participants to collaborate, as does MayDE (Mayland Design Exchange) Guangzhou.

At the moment there are places available in the CI, but if demand exceeds supply. Designers may stay up to three years In the first year the monthy rent is repayable through participants spending time with enrolled students. Year 2 will see the introduction of a low rental fee and third year rents will be set at less than high street rates,
In entering the 2nd year, participants agree to pay at least 6 months rent which is only reimbursed if a replacement participants can be found.


For further information on MayDE and The Generator please contact:

Roger Bateman
Associate Head, School of Design
Unitec New Zealand.
Carrington Road
Private Bag 92025
Auckland
New Zealand.

Tel: +64 09 815 4321 ex 7667
Mob: +64 021 657 148
rbateman@unitec.ac.nz

Quote

"For me a business plan is a road-map to make your idea happen. Nothing more, nothing less. I’m not sure creatives should be talking about revenue streams and supply chains when they mean income and a network of friends and contacts in various creative fields. "I met this guy and he knows someone who can help out." That’s so underplayed and yet it’s so important to successful business. Terms like ‘supply chain’ are only so much alienating jargon.”

Hugo Manassei
Director, NESTA Graduate
Pioneer Programme

Quote

"Barbara made business seem so relevant. And that made it immediately interesting to me. I really felt that I wanted to understand it better because it’s related to what I am doing"

(Generator resident post Waitakere Enterprise/Generator Business Courses)