Pita Pit co-founder Duane Dalton says the fact 80 per cent of New Zealand's small-to-medium enterprises business (SMEs) rate work-life balance as important as growing their business does not denote a lack of ambition in a vital sector of the economy.

The Suncorp New Zealand Business Success Index showed nearly 78 per cent of all New Zealand businesses value work-life balance as much as business growth. SMEs scored even higher, with 80 per cent valuing it as much as growth and more than a third saying they are not looking to grow at all.

But Dalton says the findings of this new survey do not mean SMEs and New Zealand businesses are interested only in a cushy life, doing just enough to get by.

"I think a lot of people end up going into business for themselves because of work-life balance," he says, "but that doesn't mean they do fewer hours or anything like that.

"It means they want to structure their day so they can go and see the kids' cross-country event at school - and get their work done when the kids go to bed. That kind of freedom of choice is really what we are talking about.

"Most people working for themselves know you just can't walk away from the business - you have to earn that right. It's like a sports coach - you don't walk away from a team talk unless you know the team captain can deliver the game plan. We've done that after putting the hours in at the start."

Dalton, who with Chris Henderson brought the Pita Pit franchise from Canada to New Zealand in 2007, were themselves an SME when they started out (Pita Pit now has 108 stores in New Zealand and 13 in Australia and 1200 employees) as a two-man operation in their Takapuna store, working until 3am to capture the "bar closing" market.

SMEs are a vital part of the Kiwi economy - 97 per cent of all New Zealand businesses are classified as SMEs (up to 20 employees) and they provide jobs for about 29 per cent of workers, producing about 26 per cent of our national GDP.

Dalton's view on the unique perspective of business owners is mirrored by other themes from the Suncorp New Zealand index, assessed from 435 small, medium and large companies surveyed on a quantitative and qualitative basis. It also demonstrated 58 per cent of New Zealand businesses would rather focus on productivity and efficiency over growth; the figure was higher for SMEs again, 62 per cent.

"Sometimes it isn't just about money," says Dalton, "it's about choices you can make when life gets flipped on its head."

He is referring to the recent death of his wife Tania Dalton, leaving him with three young children, and adds: "If I had been an employee of a company and had to turn up on a day-to-day basis, well, it just wouldn't have been an option."

Instead, he was able to take some time out, backed up by "good people in the company who got in behind me and everything clicked into gear. Things got done but you just can't do that unless you have the right people and the right culture in place."

Suncorp New Zealand CEO Paul Smeaton says the company's Business Success Index has highlighted some important insights about interpretation of the word "success".

"Clearly, SMEs - at 97 per cent of all businesses - have a major role to play in our economic growth. However, these findings seem to be telling us that success may have to be redefined.

"A lot of these businesses are telling us they think growth is viable but only at the expense of quality of life. We know work-life balance is important to many Kiwis - but we don't think it means that SMEs and other businesses aren't motivated to grow. They are a key engine driving our economy."

Smeaton says the findings relating to productivity and efficiency over growth were a big clue: "SMEs don't want to be told they need to grow in the traditional sense when what they really want is to be more efficient and productive in the hours they want to work."

Overall, 61 per cent of all businesses surveyed wanted to grow or look to grow; the majority of SMEs, however, wanted to maintain their current size but work more efficiently.

"It's our firm view the two are in no way mutually exclusive. Let's work smarter, not harder."

Smeaton says if part of the definition of "success" is achieving that work-life balance, business owners must have peace of mind about their business when they are not there-as evidenced by Dalton and Henderson at Pita Pit.

"Part of being able to really focus on your business and go home at 5pm is making sure you have that peace of mind," says Smeaton.

Key findings from the Suncorp Business Success Index include:

• The top three factors in business growth and success are having the right skilled people (87 per cent), quality and reliable staff (83 per cent) and a confident leadership team (77 per cent).

• Key factors inhibiting growth are access to capital and having the right staff.

• Less than half the businesses surveyed say they are confident making risk decisions.

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