February Newsletter


Manage your subscription below January 20, 2006
IN THIS ISSUE: SMEs Challenge Statistics on Business Success Creative - Fanning the Flame Creative - Choosing to be Great Playing to Win - End Game Planning Finance Seminars E-Marketing - Fundamentals February Fashion Series Exporter Education Programme THE BIZ CENTRE PO Box 386, Wellington TEL: (+64) 04 494 0990 FAX: (+64) 04 494 0991 EMAIL: info@thebizcentre.co.nz WEB: www.thebizcentre.co.nz	SMEs Challenge Statistics on Business Success Welcome back! And what better way to start the New Year than with some good news? A recent study by Massey University has thrown cold water on a theory that small businesses have a high level of failure. The study, which traced figures from the past seven years, found a survival rate of more than 77% among SMEs established in 1995. The surprise finding is echoed by another: that rather than being unable to grow because no one will invest in them, most SMEs are more than happy to remain the same size. The findings are being welcomed by SME owners, business development groups and all of us here at The Biz Centre. We’re proud to celebrate your successes and help guide you on the path to even greater innovation. We’re hitting the ground running this month with a cocktail of workshops. We have two exciting courses designed specifically for artists who want to develop their talents into successful SMEs, plus a range of goodies for those already in business who are interested in marketing, exporting and future planning. And if you’re a fashion designer, look out for our February Fashion Series – you’ll find the details below. Creative - Fanning the Flame If you’re an artist, looking to develop your business potential, then this workshop is for you. Fanning the Flame will help you understand: What it is that stops you from succeeding as quickly as you want The truth about the drivers of artistic success The secrets of success and what you're capable of as an artist How to fan the flame of your talent. Tuesday, 28th February, 5.30-8.30pm at The Biz Centre, Ground Floor, Radio New Zealand House, 155 The Terrace, Wellington. Contact Renee to book your place. Creative - Choosing to be Great In this workshop, designed for artists, you will learn: The pathways to greatness What it means to be great How to build a commitment to greatness and sustain it Knowing when you’re being great and when you’re not, and What you can do about it. Thursday, 2nd March, 5.30-8.30pm at The Biz Centre, Ground Floor, Radio New Zealand House, 155 The Terrace, Wellington. Contact Renee to book your place. Playing to Win - End Game Planning Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, suggests the most successful business people begin with a clear goal and then plan their business backwards. Playing to Win – End Game Planning takes this concept and builds it into reality. We’ll help you set an income target for your business five years in the future and then work backwards to find the best way to achieve it. Whether it’s financial, creative or international success you’re after, all it takes is sound end game planning. Monday, 30th January, 5.30-8.30pm at The Biz Centre, Ground Floor, Radio New Zealand House, 155 The Terrace, Wellington, presented by Karl Baker. Contact Renee to book your place. Finance Seminars These back-to-back seminars will provide you with all you need to know to about the fundamentals of accounting, from preparing your income tax return to paying staff. Don’t worry – there’s no Double Entry Accounting involved! The workshops will teach you the basic financial systems you need to have in place, how to use computer-based accounting systems and what your tax requirements are. The first, Budgeting and Cashflow, asks the fundamental question: "How do you make a profit?" In this workshop, we’ll tell you what a breakeven point is, show you how to budget backwards, debate the pros and cons of cashflow versus budget, and discuss capacity planning. In Financial Analysis, we’ll consider the six ‘Must Do’s’ of Small Business Finance, which include how to use a computer accounting system, control costs, set and monitor sales targets, and revisit return on investment. Budgeting and Cashflow - Wednesday, 22nd February, 5.30-7.30pm Financial Analysis - Wednesday, 1st March, 5.30-7.30pm Both courses will be held at The Biz Centre, Ground Floor, Radio New Zealand House, 155 The Terrace, Wellington, presented by James Fensom. Contact Renee to book your place. E-Marketing - Fundamentals Learn how to use the Internet as a communication channel in order to obtain new customers, increase loyalty amongst existing clients and improve profitability through repeat business. This workshop discusses the five golden rules of e-marketing, introduces what the key components of any e-marketing system are, and provides an introduction to traffic and lead generation strategies. Thursday, 23rd February, 5.30-7.30pm, at The Biz Centre, Ground Floor, Radio New Zealand House, 155 The Terrace, Wellington, presented by Hamish Clark & Richard Calkin. Contact Renee to book your place. February Fashion Series This series provides courses and business coaching for those in the fashion industry. It focuses on developing better business skills to enable you to survive and flourish in this extremely competitive industry. Each workshop stars a successful guest presenter, who will outline their rise to the top – pitfalls and all. The series also includes one-on-one mentoring, in which you’ll be able to complete your business plan, implement ideas and assess what steps will help you build a better business. Basic Business Audit – Tuesday, 14th February, 9.30am-12.30pm. Building Your Brand – Thursday, 16th February, 9.30am-12.30pm. Developing Your Business Plan – Tuesday, 21st February, 9.30am-12.30pm. Taking Your Product to Market – Thursday, 23rd February, 9.30am-12.30pm. All courses will be held at the Wellington Regional Chamber of Commerce, 109 Featherston Street, Wellington. This popular series is limited to 15 participants so it’s essential you register early! Contact Renee to book your place. Exporter Education Programme This is a New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) part funded programme that has been designed to equip existing and new exporters with the skills needed to grow their businesses. Future workshops in the Wellington region include: Getting Started in Exporting - Thursday, 16th February, 9am-4.30pm Winning Market Entry Strategies and Effective Partner Relationships - Tuesday 14th March, 9am-3pm Developing your Winning Sales Pitch - Thursday 6th April, 9am-1pm Tax Issues for Exporters to the UK and USA - Wednesday, 3rd May, 9am-3pm Planning for Export Success - Tuesday, 16th May, 9am-1pm Exporting to Australia - Tuesday, 13th June, 9am-4.30pm. Each workshop costs $180 (incl. GST), which also gives you access to: Up to four hours of one-on-one follow-up coaching after the workshop Virtual Advisor, in which your export questions are answered online by some of New Zealand's leading exporters and NZTE's worldwide network of trade consulate advisors Online training modules. To enroll online, please click on the links above. For more information or for a copy of the registration form, please email north@exported.co.nz or phone 0800 232 800.
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