Jacoby Poulain: Trio win big with small approach

Jacoby Poulain is a Hastings District Council Flaxmere Ward councillor and a Hawke's Bay District Health Board member

Yesterday I enjoyed reading the article "Young mums Join business world" in the Dannevirke news section of HB Today. The article was about three young Dannevirke mums who have launched and developed their own respective businesses with the assistance of a shared business mentor.

My head was nodding in agreement with almost everything in the well-written account of how the lives of these three women have become intertwined with a business mentor who shares her expertise and networks to help each of these driven young women achieve business and lifestyle success for themselves and their families.

It's evident throughout the story that business mentor Annette Kendall believes economic development in a community extends beyond solely attracting big business but rather it also, and perhaps more importantly, incorporates people in a town being able to create and earn a living for themselves by doing something they love.

Here she has taken three young women under her wing. For various reasons, ranging from wishing to be with their children to finding it difficult to find employment in the traditional market in Dannevirke, each woman was seeking assistance to develop alternative initiatives that would sustain them not only financially but also reward them more holistically with fulfilling work that would contribute to their interests, self-esteem, confidence and family lives.

The result is clearly seen in the glowing smiles on each of their faces in the photo accompanying the story. Three women have each launched a business that brings them confidence and esteem, and they profess that without the guidance and support of their mentor it simply would not have happened.

I find this story remarkable and encouraging. It is a testament again to the truth that with a bit of support and encouragement so many of us are capable of so much more. This is economic development in action and being led by three young mums.

It can't be denied that big business employs the majority of the NZ workforce, but small business shouldn't be overlooked either for its importance to our economy. Small and medium-sized enterprises of up to 20 employees, according to 2013 data from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, account for 97.2 per cent of all enterprises, 30.2 per cent of all employees and an estimated 27.8 per cent of New Zealand's gross domestic product. That's nothing to be sneezed at.

The Hawke's Bay Chamber of Commerce knows the value of small business and has taken over the running of the highly successful formerly Napier City Council-run Business Mentoring NZ programme in order to expand the service.

Since the programme began, about 1000 small and medium businesses have been supported from Wairoa to Waipukurau/Central Hawke's Bay and much credit must go to developer Ron Massey and mentors along the way such as Annette Kendall who, whether part of this programme or otherwise, have provided an important service that makes possible stories such as this of three young mums advancing economic development for themselves, their families and communities.

Attracting big business to town is super-important but with all the stars that need to be lined up, hoops that need to be jumped through and all the chefs that need to decide on the ingredients, it makes sense that we focus equally, if not more, on the small-to-medium-business scene.

By their smaller nature, these businesses are often feasible, quick to mobilise and get great results. These women have done it within weeks. They are solving their employment and lifestyle dilemmas and are an example to many, myself included.