Modern telecommunications are so complex and ever-changing that it's near impossible for the average person to keep up with what's happening, Shane Nottage says.
For businesses, the choices can be even more complicated.
That's where a new angle to Mr Nottage and his wife Pip's company, SPN, comes in.
The couple own Mag
Zone in Victoria Ave and also the Telecom dealership alongside it. They have just split that business, with some staff still dealing with Telecom sales and others making up a new Telecom business hub.
The specialisation in business has doubled staff numbers to around eight - but those on the business side will be out talking to customers most of the time.
The idea is for them to service the telecommunication and technology needs of the 2000 or so small businesses from Patea to Bulls, and as far inland as Ohakune and Waiouru.
Their service is free to the businesses, because they are paid by Telecom.
Mr Nottage said Telecom had lots of different products and services to offer - land lines, cellphones, broadband connections, hosted email, computer back-ups, a cloud-based accounting system and websites.
His team had some new tools to use. They were able to analyse customers' bills online, and quickly see where they could make savings without changing the way they did business.
"The majority of the time we can save people money by doing these health checks on their accounts."
Mr Nottage said the expanded Telecom business would soon be swapping sides of the large Victoria Ave shopfront with Mag Zone. The building is leased from Mike and Julie Wright.
The Nottages have leased the shop since the early 2000s. Before that they spent 20 years in the service station industry and used to own the BP station in Taupo Quay.
