Well-known Whangarei businessman Calvin Green's first assignment as head of the new business broking division of Colliers International Northland is to sell his own business, Storytime.
He owns the business with his wife, Annemarie Florian.
He also remains general manager of the Northland Business Development Trust (NBDT), which supports newbusinesses and offers business training programmes and seminars.
With the appointment to Colliers his working week will be divided into three days with the real estate company and two days at the NBDT.
Calvin Green has been involved in business in Whangarei for more than 20 years, having established more than 15 businesses from start-up stage, in retail, import/export and distribution.
Storytime, which sells books and educational toys for children, was started in 1989 by a co-operative of women interested in education, including Florian.
"Business broking, the buying and selling of businesses, is a key ingredient to economic growth, given that upwards of 90 per cent of our economy is made up of small businesses," says Green.
"People might have worked for years to build up a business and looked forward to selling the business to contribute to their retirement assets but may not be able to find a buyer.
"At that point they may just close the doors and walk away, and everyone loses.
"Good brokerage services achieve sales and ensure sustainability and job creation."
Succession planning should be started at least three years before putting a business on the market but most owners selling up were too busy just trying to keep their business afloat and growing.
"This is especially true in the current market but it's never too late to start working on succession planning whether the business is very small or one that needs national or international exposure for a sale," Green says.
He said Colliers believed the sales environment was looking more positive with Northland, and especially Whangarei, showing signs of coming out of recession, he said.
Calvin Green holds BSc and MSc in psychology from the University of Auckland and is a fully licensed real estate broker.
