One of the best line-ups in years has been assembled as finalists of the Westpac Hawke's Bay Chamber of Commerce Business Awards.
Forty finalists will contest the nine categories with the winners announced at the Hawke's Bay Opera House in Hastings on Thursday, November 3.
Today we profile the Barnes Mossman Small or Emerging Business Award.
Bay Tours & Charters
Bay Tours and Charters has been operating since 1982, but a little more than three years under the current ownership of Craig and Kathryn Marsh. The couple expanded the fleet and product range and adopted the slogan, Your Leisure, Our Pleasure, to define their service.
The company has grown to become the largest specialised tour operator in Hawke's Bay, and was last year voted Best Nationwide Transportation in the People's Choice Awards.
They say the key to their success has been providing personalised and outstanding service, by under-promising and over-delivering on every travel experience, from daily wine tours to fully escorted national and international trips.
Other critical success factors are door-to-door service, an extensive variety of trip options for customers to choose from, and innovations such as visiting local cottage industries.
By employing trained tour hosts instead of just drivers, the service levels are raised, and the customers' experience is lifted - rather than just being transported from point to point.
Attention to detail, such as pre-ordering lunches on large group outings to avoid delays, and providing detailed passenger itineraries, has also been a key factor in Bay Tours' growth.
Birdwoods Gallery
The Birdwoods enterprise was created in Zimbabwe by Bruce and Louise Stobart 20 years ago on their farm, where they established a community-based village project. It trained and employed 30 people to create metal sculptures out of recycled drums for export.
Because of political unrest and farm invasions, Birdwoods was forced to relocate to Harare in 2004. In January 2005 they moved to Havelock North and purchased an 8-hectare property 3km out of Havelock North on Middle Rd. An old church hall was relocated and renovated, and in February 2006 they opened an art gallery showcasing Birdwoods Metal Sculptures along with a range of African and New Zealand sculpture, art and crafts. The stories and cultural backgrounds are promoted to its customers.
In December 2007, a companion business was opened, The Birdwoods Sweet Shop, its building also having been relocated and renovated. The old-fashioned colonial/traditional sweet shop complements the Gallery.
A sculpture garden has been developed displaying New Zealand's largest selection of Zimbabwean stone sculpture pieces.
The combination of the gallery, a little café, sweet shop and sculpture garden has created a popular attraction for more than 85,000 local and international visitors.
Hawthorne House
Under the new ownership of Mel and Mike Lewis, and following major renovations in early 2010, Hawthorne House re-opened to guests in September 2010. Creating a relaxing yet luxurious atmosphere for domestic and international visitors, they love the opportunity to show off the best of Hawke's Bay's fine produce and wine to visitors to the region.
From October they are starting a series of cooking weekends showcasing cuisines from around the world.
Guests are promised new flavours with an expert chef, have the opportunity to visit some of our region's passionate food producers and get involved in a hands-on cooking experience.
Luxury shouldn't just be for visitors to Hawke's Bay - during winter they hosted a number of fun-filled Murder Mystery evenings, predominantly attended by locals. They are a great way to celebrate a special occasion, catch up with friends or a team building exercise for work colleagues. Because of ongoing demand they will continue through to summer for Christmas work functions and private parties. See www.hawthorne.co.nz for further details.
Lumsden Kindergarten
Lumsden Kindergarten is a privately owned kindergarten situated between Hastings and Havelock North which began as a small kindergarten for children of 3 and 4 years of age, but has grown because of the demand for high-quality pre-school education.
The Government's emphasis on numeracy and literacy is a priority focus.
The children learn how to hold a pencil and progress through to writing letters, then eventually their name.
Most are able to read and write a simple sentence by the time they leave. The kindergarten has earned a reputation that children leave well-prepared for primary school.
The interactive blog website enables the children's work and stories to be shared with with families and relatives anywhere in the world. They are the only early childhood service in Hawke's Bay that has such an interactive website.
There is a strong commitment from the staff of six to provide the best possible environment for the caring, nurturing and personal development of the children.
The Damson Collection
Damson plums are the inspiration of this business, kicked off in 2006 after the tasting of exceptional damson liqueur and damson jam.
A small portion of an orchard was transformed into a source of damson products for sale.
Education in the delights of damson was part of the business' initial marketing strategy.
Each and every time they do a tasting they ask people if they know what a damson is.
The reasons for success have been fivefold:
High-quality products, beginning with the fruit, methods of production and finally the packaging, have all helped to create gourmet damson treats.
Knowing who is the target market, and sticking with them even when sales were initially slow.
Sound business systems, from understanding what information is needed to run the business through to how data is analysed.
Dedicated and hard-working staff.
Customer feedback. If a new product does not wow the customer, then the product is not included in the range.
Strong line-up of Bay's small businesses
The New Zealand Drug Detection Agency
The New Zealand Drug Detection Agency (NZDDA) has been operating in the Hawke's Bay since 2009.
The current owners purchased the business in November 2010 while continuing as directors of NZDDA Taupo. The company specialises in mobile on-site workplace drug and alcohol testing 24/7, drug and alcohol policy design and development, education for managers and employees, community groups and educational institutes as well as testing properties to detect methamphetamine (P) residue.
A number of reasons are cited to explain their impressive success in the Bay, one of which has been marketing. Since opening their offices at 172 Hyderabad Road, Ahuriri, Napier in February, NZDDA has increased their monthly testing by an average of 70 per cent.
This has been due to accessibility for clients and an increase in overall brand awareness coupled with local companies wishing to operate a drug-free workplace whilst ensuing that any drug screenings are conducted compliantly to the AS/NZS 4308:2008 Standard and New Zealand legislation.
NZDDA is the only company in New Zealand to hold international accreditation (IANZ) as an Accredited Laboratory for on-site urine drug screening. Clients are assured that every screening is conducted to the highest standard.
Peak Appearance
Peak Appearance is a specialised Cosmetic Medicine Clinic offering non-surgical, minimally invasive solutions to help people in Hawkes Bay look their best, feel refreshed and have more confidence. Services include: wrinkle relaxers, dermal fillers, IPL skin rejuvenation, red vein and hair removal as well as advanced skin care and surgitron removal of unwanted lesions.
The clinic offers complimentary consultations and follow-up appointments to ensure client satisfaction.
It was founded by Lara Molloy, an experienced cosmetic nurse from Auckland and Debbie Whitelock, who has previous finance and administration experience in a farming-related industry.
The team at Peak Appearance is professional and passionate in all aspects of their service.
Customer satisfaction is at the forefront of everything they do. Many of their clients are people who care about their appearance and maintain very high personal standards. Accordingly they deliver a high-quality service and choose to use the best products. The team knows that how a person looks reflects the way they feel, so their mission is to do all they can to help people look and feel their best.
Premium Fitness
Personal trainers Premium Fitness, on the scenic Tuki Tuki Rd near Haumoana, started when Emma and Lika Akeripa moved to Hawke's Bay and decided to to step out of their comfort zone.
"We have a personal approach to achieving goals, working with people individually and in small groups," said Emma.
"Our attention is focused on our clients needs and being there with them every step of the way, to help guide them through their health and fitness challenges. The key to our success is personal interaction and looking after clients as if they are part of our family.
"We are unique with the setting of our private studio. Slightly rural, fresh air, beautiful outdoor scenery and private. We are family-orientated and have a clear understanding of the dynamics of balancing work, exercise and quality time while having a family."
Revolution Bikes
Revolution Bikes say they are very serious about serious fun.
They are the only bike shop in Hawke's Bay open seven days a week, all year round, offering fast repairs so you can enjoy your weekend riding.
Owner Hilton Taylor is well known for his love of mountain biking, being a commissaire for Bike NZ, a track builder and on the committee of the Hawke's Bay Mountain Bike Club. He was recently featured in the NZ Mountain Biker magazine and interviewed on TVHB's Chatroom.
Revolution Bikes isn't all about mountain biking though.
As well as a huge range of clothing and accessories, they guarantee to find the perfect bike for each customer, no matter how unique the demands are.
They stock a huge range of sport and high-performance mountain bikes, road bikes, BMX, ergonomic kids bikes, scooters, and some of the most stylish pathway bikes and beach cruisers around. They will also source bikes - they have imported Electric Dutch Bikes following customer requests.
Keeping in touch with the bike-riding community is made easier through their Village Press column, website, regular newsletter and emails, Facebook and Twitter.
Takaro Trails Cycle Tours
Takaro Trails Cycle Tours was established in October 2009 by business owner Jenny Ryan, driven by a desire to relocate from Auckland to Hawke's Bay.
After a long career in the travel industry including ownership of a successful retail travel agency for 14 years, Jenny saw an opportunity to create her own primary tourism product based on the successful Otago Rail Trail concept.
With the unrivalled Rotary Pathways network, flat terrain, cycle-friendly culture, great climate and many attractions easily accessible by bike, Hawke's Bay seemed poised to take advantage of the increasing number of New Zealanders cycling for recreation and become New Zealand's next major cycle touring destination.
Takaro Trail's core product is their multi-day, self-guided cycle tours ranging in duration from three days up to five days.
The tours reach as far south as Waipawa.
This concept is unique to Takaro Trails in Hawke's Bay and provides an important benefit to the region in that these tours attract visitors, from both the domestic and international markets, who may not otherwise have considered coming here to holiday.
Takaro Trails is an exciting addition to New Zealand's active holiday's scene.