Business Whanganui - Chamber of Commerce wants to see local businesses thrive

Helen Garner, chief executive of Business Whanganui - Chamber of Commerce, with Bryce Robb, director of Beaver Trees Group and board member of Business Whanganui - Chamber of Commerce.

Business Whanganui - Chamber of Commerce wants to see local businesses thrive and flourish by presenting a trilogy series of mentoring for Whanganui businesses, starting on November 16.

“We want to get business people together to learn how to be successful in business,” said chamber board member Bryce Robb, who is a director of the Beaver Trees Group.

“People are good at their craft, whether they are an accountant, an arborist, a builder or a hairdresser - but do they know how to run a business? At least 50 per cent of it can be attributed to business acumen and 50 per cent being good at your trade or craft.

“I’ve done quite a lot of business mentoring over the years, as a paid position. This time around, I’m doing it as a ‘give back to the community’, I won’t be charging a fee. I love public speaking, I enjoy getting enthusiastic and I’m passionate about it. I’ve done a lot of public speaking back in Christchurch, as a keynote speaker at various events.

“Last time I spoke, we were going to do a trilogy. I did the first session, but Covid came along. I bumped into some people in the street who had attended and they said ‘Thank you, Bryce, I never thought I could increase my prices, but I’ve done it and haven’t lost any of my clients.’

“Another said, ‘I’ve let go of control, I’ve put in a manager, and I’m stepping back from the business, thank you very much.’”

Helen Garner, chief executive officer of Business Whanganui - Chamber of Commerce, mentioned Michael Gerber’s book The E Myth.

“In his book, he talks about moving from technician to manager.

“I’ve been mentoring since 2003, I led the Business Mentors’ New Zealand Accreditation Programme for eight years and managed the New Zealand delivery at one point.

“Your growth as an owner is moving away from being that sole, independent person, along with the physical movement, and the head shift from technician to manager.

“It’s moving from independent contractor to thinking of interdependence, where the sum of us is greater than anything I can achieve on my own.

“There is an absolute head shift, there are some key points that help you make that: leverage, understanding, scaling up and the importance of a manager’s role.

“You need to make a mental and physical move away from being a technician. There’s a matrix as you progress, in a leadership sense. When you were just managing yourself, as you become supervisor, manager, or hirer, you move up the hierarchy, if you’re doing everything, like you were when you were the independent contractor or technician, you’re a pain in the neck to everybody else, and you’re a danger to your business and your team.

“You need to be able to shift yourself on the way, it’s so important. That’s where mentoring comes in, bringing reality to the theory of things. That’s what this is about,” she said.

Robb is still involved in an advisory role for the four companies he is director of, plus an asset company.

“We have a CEO, a chief financial officer, and booking managers running each business in Christchurch, Wellington/Kāpiti, Manawatū and Taupō.

“We have seven staff in the office running the operation. I still work with business mentors myself. My staff are happy, it’s all about the culture - two words - thank you - to your staff. It seems so obvious, but that’s the truth, regularly. Let them come up with ideas, and run with them. We run regular games, one a month, such as how many reviews we can get.

“Our staff are team members and like to be part of an organisation that is giving back - it’s not all about profits.

“We want to encourage business to thrive. We want to emphasise the importance of joining the chamber as well, it’s a good organisation to be part of.

“Members get a discounted rate for attending our seminars, to which any business person can come along to. We want it to be a fun and enlightening session. People who come to these sessions will take away two to three key takeaways they can input into their business straight away,” he said.

The first session is titled Walk The Talk, growing capability and maturity as business owners.

“We are committed to creating sustainable business, we want you to be in business in 20 years,” said Garner. “The second session will be Show me the Money and the third will be Building the Dream Teams.

“We want you to be able to support yourself, and your family, serve your community and as you grow, employ one or two people.

“Our money stays in the region, we support community groups and schools. We stick by our people as small employers, we will look after them in hard times,” she said.

If you would like some inspiration and want to take your business to the next level then come along to one or all of the trilogy of events. Find out more on the Business Whanganui website www.businesswhanganui.nz.