Read: - Belonging - Think and Grow Rich Notes: Losing is a habit You need evidence that your processes are good Well-being - measure this by your energy. This is your foundation. Mindset, focus on your strengths. Pressure, measured by how well do you perform. Thinking well and performing well under pressure You have to build trust to be able to influence Self-leadership is critical You can focus on what you do well or what you don’t do well Your mind affects how you feel and how you feel affects your behaviour and your behaviour affects your performance and that’s what you need to be a high-performance business owner. Take action. Don’t say dumb shit out loud. Performance = Capability minus interference Is your mind an asset or liability in what you are trying to pursue? We want to make it an asset What are you trying to accomplish? What are going to be the key areas that you are going to need to develop personally and as a team? Where can you show me on your current schedule that you are giving attention to the things that matter? Without that GPS of where you are heading you are vulnerable to take multiple detours. If you follow that GPS then you get instructions along the way. Stay focussed. The vehicle we all have to translate our visions and goals and what we want to accomplish into time and space in a tangible way. Using that GPS, schedule the time, and have discipline. Part of doing a good job is delivering what you need to when you need to Do whatever it takes to get the job done What’s your say do ratio Back yourself Motivation? I operate out of discipline - LeBron James Be focussed on the opportunities and aware of the threats. Not the other way around. Operate from your strengths, not your weaknesses. Does anything grow without pressure?

We had the privilege of sitting down with Sam from Simple Studios, formally known as Simple Prints. While Sam was studying full time and working part time, she started to grow this beautiful business of hers. At the time believing that to be successful you had to work hard. Until everything changed. 3 days into Aotearoa’s nationwide lockdown in 2020, Sam suddenly lost her mum. At the time, working in a full time graduate role where she was undervalued, and taken advantage of. After building up the courage Sam took the leap, handing in her resignation and dived into her business full time! Take a listen to hear all that Sam has learnt through this journey - You can find Sam here:
Instagram: @simplestudios__ @inkling______ Website: simplestudios.nz

Kristy Campbell, Founder and Creative Director of Pink Pony Creative . Gain an insight into how she grew her business through social media, going full time, and all the advice she has to share. Take a listen - Thank you so much for stoppping by. We really hope that this has given you a burst of inspiration and you have a few ideas now of you YOU can grow your business. You can find Kristy here: Instagram: @pinkponycreative Website: Pink Pony Creative

Cam Leigh is one half of The FlatPack Company - a business built from the halls of Otago University and two young kiwi's looking for the next best idea. After struggling to find a bed for their first flat they quickly realised that every student in halls going into flats were also in the same situation. They now o ffer a mattress & bed frame package delivered to the customer on the same day they move into their flat. We were lucky enough to have a chat with Cam, covering all things business, mindset, finding a gap in the market, advice for business minded students, and so much more. Take a listen - Thank you so much for stopping by, we really hope that this has given you a boost of inspiration. You can find Cam here: Instagram: @theflatpack_co Website: www.theflatpack.co.nz

What the heck is it and why is it important? Colour psychology plays a huge factor in branding and marketing. It has an effect on your mood, behaviour, and feelings every single day and you probably didn’t even realise it. It's a subconscious thought that draws you into choosing one option over another. ‘Color can play an important role in conveying information, creating certain moods, and even influencing the decisions people make. Color preferences also exert an influence on the objects people choose to purchase, the clothes they wear, and the way they adorn their environments.’ Each colour group evokes different emotions, this is an important thing to consider when deciding on colour for brand identity projects. Along with many other factors. For example, businesses like KFC, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, and Wendys use red to prompt the feeling of hunger. Black, white, gold, and silver are used to create the feeling of sophistication. This is often used in luxury brands to create the high end look and feel. Take a look at the below guide for some more examples: Image sourced via: Huff Post When it comes to your branding this is something that is super important to consider. cross referencing your brand strategy to determine the colour decisions. If you are now realising that you are in desperate need of a brand identity for your brand then check out our packages we offer and get in touch for a free quote.

Setting up as a business, contractor, freelanceer, or self-employed? Keep reading. Introducing Luke Kemeys; a qualified chartered accountant and business development expert. Better known as 1 half of Next Advisory. We were lucky enough to have a chat, asking all our burning questions in the accounting space, and you get to be a fly on the wall. Not only does Luke go over everything you need to know in order to set up your accounts correctly from the start, but he also added in some insightful goal and mind setting tips. In this video we cover: - First things first: setting your accounts up correctly, right from the start. - The difference between a company and a sole trader. - Goal setting. - When you should approach an accountant and what to ask. - Breaking down these terms: Business expenses, cost of sale, equity, capital, profit, depreciation. - GST, what is it and when do you need to register? - Work smarter not harder. - Tax on investments. That's a whole lotta valuable content right there. Invest the time (28min 19sec) to upskill yourself, maybe you could skip that mindlessly scrolling on TikTok?? Thank you so much for stopping by. We really hope that this has given you a boost of confidence and you now have an idea of what you should be doing. You can find Luke here: Instagram: @nextadvisory.nz Website: nextadvisory.nz

Instagram can be one of the best tools used in marketing for your business, idea, personal brand, etc. Why? It's FREE!! And we all love free things. Better yet, there are currently 1.074 billion Instagram users worldwide. Just take a moment to process how many people that is using 1 app. Some fun facts: - 71% of the billion monthly active users on the Instagram app are under the age of 35. - Instagram users spend an average of 53 minutes per day. - 500 million IG accounts use Instagram stories every day. - Instagram can generate over 4 x more interactions on Instagram compared to Facebook. - Instagram helps 80% of Instagram users decide to buy a product or service. - 50% of Instagrammers follow at least one business. When it comes to Instagram we wanted to interview someone that has been doing this gig for years and knows her sh*t so naturally, the first person we thought of was Tasha Meys. Tash is the co-founder of Ace The Gram Podcast and the face behind Tastefully Tash. She has an incredible amount of insight and knowledge when it comes to this platform and I can guarantee you will learn something from this. Grab a notepad, drink in hand, and take a listen to this... Some things we ask: - What has your journey on social media looked like? - If you were starting an account from scratch what would be one of the first things you would do? - Most effective ways to grow organically on Instagram? - Sussing your target market from the beginning? - Any secrets to cracking the algorithm? - Talk us through content pillars. What are they, why are they important, and how do you figure out what yours are? You can find Tash here: Instagram: @tastefullytash
@acethegrampodcast

When it comes to accounting there is always that instant 'huh??' feeling. How did I not learn this in school? We know the feeling! Heading into business, contracting, or freelancing? you will want to continue reading. This is the first of many educational pieces we want to share with you to help make your understanding of all things finances in business a little bit easier. We were fortunate enough to sit down with Hannah Mellsop, the founder and director of Real Rad Food. After running her business for the last 4 years, let's just say Hannah has a lot of experience in the accounting world. We wanted to speak with Hannah as though we were asking for a friend and you get to be a fly on the wall. We are aware not everyone has that friend or family member they can go to, to ask these questions so we've done it for you. Take a listen.... Before you start anything figure out your business structure overview "There are different ways to structure your business — whether you’re contracting, self-employed, in partnership or run a company. Here’s where you’ll find information about each option, including the pros and cons, to help you decide which structure best suits you or your business." Find out what you can claim as a business expense here Instagram: @hannahmellsop @realradfood Website: realradfood.co.nz Disclaimer: This is in no way professional accounting advice. It is strictly a personal experience and opinion. Please speak with an accountant or financial advisor for any professional help.

Instagram is such a visual platform and it is crucial that your page is a visual representation of who you are and what you have to offer. Refer to our tips below to make sure you are using the app to its fullest potential and saving you valuable time. Adding a full colour background to your stories Take a photo Select the draw tool and choose a colour Tip - hold down on any colour to open up a wider range of colours Once you have selected a colour, hold down on the screen Easy! You should now have a full colour background Adding multiple images to one Instagram story Add a full colour background refer to first tip 'a dding a full colour background to your stories' Go to sticker gallery and scroll down to photo gallery button Select an image that you want to add, then adjust this to how you want it displayed. Tip - tap on the image for curved or sharp corners Continue using this method with as many images as you would like Add text, drawings, gifs, stickers, or anything else and you are done! Sharing a post to your Instagram stories Go to any post and tap on the paper plane icon Select 'Add Post to Your Story' Tip - By tapping on the image you can change the view of the post Adjust the size that you prefer Add a full colour background and any other elements that you would like thennn Your done! Ta daaa those are the basics that you have been needing to learn to up your Insta game. Go create some stories using these new tricks and tag us to see your work in the wild!

What is Dignity? Dignity is a social enterprise that provides free period products to all of those without access. It works through a buy one, give one partnership with businesses, and through our gifting initiatives available to the public. For every box of period products a business purchases, we give the equivalent away to those in need, and Individuals can also use our website to gift products. Access to period products gives people in Aotearoa the opportunity to: · Regularly attend education · Regularly attend work · Contribute to their community · Free up finances for essential household items such as food · Reduce the emotional burden and shame associated with their period · Increase their self-esteem and confidence · Normalise periods and talking about periods within their whānau and community How did this all begin? It was in 2016 that I first heard about Period Inequity. A news outlet ran a story on how school students were missing out on education because they had no access to period products. My flatmate, Jacinta Gulasekharam, and I began to research this issue further. Once we started talking to people affected, it became apparent that it was a huge problem. The expense and stigma of periods didn’t just affect school students, but many other groups across the whole of Aotearoa too. So, Jacinta and I founded Dignity. We were lucky to be given the opportunity to join the Victoria Entrepreneurial Bootcamp, which gave us the skills and resources to start a business. After around four or five months we eventually got our first customer, Flick Electric, and it went from there! How has this grown since then? Since launching, we have grown significantly. Around thirty other businesses including ANZ, Sharsies, Xero, NZ Post, and Cigna have signed up. Additionally, we launched our gifting initiative during lockdown which has allowed individuals and businesses to donate too. Together with these initiatives, we have provided free period products to more than 130 schools, youth organisations, and community organisations. To date, we’ve gifted the equivalent of 30,040 boxes of period products to people without access in Aotearoa. While this has been amazing, we still haven’t been able to reach everyone affected by period inequity. It became apparent that to achieve the scale required to solve this issue, serious investment would be necessary, so Dignity has also played a role in the advocacy space. Jacinta and The Positive Periods team started a petition that resulted in the government committing to provide period products to an estimated 20% of students. This won’t resolve the issue completely, but it’s an amazing start. Dignity has had an impact on over 35,000 lives, can you let us know how you have been able to accomplish this? Through the collective support of many, many people. Dignity is not just Jacinta, Anika (General Manager), Sophie (Operations Manager), and I. The initiative would not exist if it weren’t for people in business signing this off, the Dignity team for putting in the mahi, advisors lending us a hand when we need it, the media for sharing the story, and our friends and family for supporting the movement to name a few. We have been incredibly lucky in the support we’ve received that has allowed us to get to where we are. Any top highlights that stand out for you? A few that come to mind are: 1 - The first time we received survey results from business and community groups showing us that people really valued having freely accessible period products. It was incredible to see something we had put together have a real impact. 2 - When we were able to hire our general manager, Anika. It was amazing to get to a point where we could employ someone and let it be its own thing. What is your dream? I want complete period equity in Aotearoa. No-one should miss out on opportunities simply because they have their period. Starting something like this is by no means an easy task, how did you face the challenges to get to where you are today? Not everything has gone perfectly, and I have faced a lot of stress during the more challenging times. Ensuring I have a fulfilling personal life is what helps me compartmentalise the challenges when they come up. I love Dignity and all that it has done for Aotearoa, but it is hard work. My friends and family are the ones who make my life great, and prioritising them has been so important to me. We saw Dignity has partnered with some top businesses in NZ, how did this come about? A lot of perseverance and a bit of luck! We make contact with companies we would love to work with, give them the business case, and go from there. As we continue to establish ourselves, we’ve seen a lot more businesses reach out to us too. Any advice that you would give to someone starting out on their own venture? Just get started! Don’t wait until the timing is ‘perfect’, because it never will be. We were fresh out of university when we started Dignity and I think with that came some bravery and a little bit of naivety that actually worked in our favour. At the time, I don’t think I realised how likely it would have been for us to fail. The lack of that fear of failure meant I wasn’t limiting myself in a way that I potentially would now. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_dignitynz/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Dignity4all Website: https://www.dignitynz.com/
Edited by Kate Broadley: kjmb-259@hotmail.com

Hey Ethique! Tell us a bit about your team The best team, made up of passionate, intelligent and driven people who want to change the world. Ethique is such an incredible business, how would you best describe it? Ethique is the world's most sustainable company and we're on a mission to rid the world of single use plastic bottles! So far, we've saved over 9 million plastic bottles from being made or disposed of in landfills and our next goal is 50 million by 2025. Where did this all begin? “It all started back in 2012 when Brianne started mixing formulas up in her kitchen at her Christchurch (New Zealand) home. Back then, zero-waste wasn't the huge concern that it is for many today. Solid beauty bars weren’t a ‘thing’ and they definitely weren’t available from your local supermarket - or even Amazon.” You can read more about Ethique's story here: https://ethiqueworld.com/pages/journey Ethique has grown into such a well-known brand. Brianne, talk us through going from a uni student to raising funds to grow this business. This ones a bit of a long answer, the link above provides a great overview of the timeline and journey - including struggles of starting a plastic-free company! What do you think it was that made this such a successful business? Passion, uncompromising values, great products, obsessive customer service, listening and trying to predict what is going on in the world. Always trying to be the most ethical by tackling lots of issues at once. Sustainability plays a huge role in Ethique, tell us about this. Sustainability really is at the heart of everything we do and we care about the entire lifecycle of our products. We have a wealth of information on our website in the following links: https://ethiqueworld.com/pages/plastic-free https://ethiqueworld.com/pages/carbon-neutral https://ethiqueworld.com/pages/direct-trade https://ethiqueworld.com/pages/palm-oil-free https://ethiqueworld.com/pages/cruelty-free-vegan Brianne, would your biggest passion be? Animals - of every shape, size, colour, number of legs. Any new exciting products to keep an eye out for? Lots.. but we can't tell you what they are ;) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ethiqueworld/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ethiquenz Website: https://ethiqueworld.com/

Hey Jayden, tell us a bit about yourself Hello :) I grew up in Wellington. When I was 18 and had just finished school, I was unsure of what I wanted to do, so I bought a 1-way ticket to London and travelled Europe for a year by myself. Once I got home, I still did not feel ready to settle into a career, so I went to University down in Dunedin. I got a Bachelor of Commerce and Applied Sciences, majoring in Marketing and Design. I finished half way through my fourth year, and needed to wait until the start of the next year to be able to apply for grad jobs. So, in the meantime, I moved to Wanaka to snowboard for the season.
I learnt one main lesson in a design lecture at university that has guided my life ever since. The lecturer explained that everything is design: Cars, buildings, cities, job descriptions, packaging, societal systems; everything. This means that when we come across a 'problem' in life, all that is needed is a redesign. A redesign to turn that problem into an opportunity. When you really grasp this, It gives you the power to turn negatives into positives. One of my friends in my final year had a Nespresso machine in his room. During my time in Wanaka, I found myself pondering the system and the capsules. It did not take long to work out that there was a problem in the design. They were designed to be used for seconds and then go to landfill. Two weeks before heading back to Dunedin to graduate, I had founded my first business, Honest Coffee, distributing the world's first compostable capsules for Nespresso machines into Australia and New Zealand. What is For The Better Good? For The Better Good is a road map to regeneration. We believe that we can design waste out of the system, and create a world where our existence regenerates our earth, rather than degenerating it. We prove this through our own products, and then use our findings to assist other businesses to move beyond sustainability, and into regeneration. What did your life look like growing up? I have a few stories from my childhood that generally act as some quality surprises to friends. A couple of weird highlights - I was a childhood actor, the peak of my career probably came when I was chosen as the only New Zealander to audition to be Harry Potter. I had to have a knee operation when I turned 16 due to a rugby injury. This led me to take up Jet Ski racing, where I ended up winning the New Zealand Nationals in my class before getting sponsored and heading over to the USA for the World Finals where I came 8th. Looking back, I guess I’ve always been a little unconventional in my thinking and have always sought out exciting life challenges and opportunities. How did For The Better Good come about? Honest Coffee made me realise two things: 1- A better material alone was not going to save us, we needed to build an entire new system. 2- We have a powerful message but, as not everyone drinks coffee or uses coffee capsules, so we are not reaching as many people as we need to. We need a louder voice as this affects everyone. After having those realisations, I stood back from HC to work out a plan. While taking a drive from Auckland to Wellington, I was an hour in when I realised I forgot my reusable drink bottle. I pulled over to get a drink of water at a petrol station and, as I stood in front of the fridge, I felt a feeling of frustration and then confusion rise up within me. I needed water. I can't speak for everyone, but most of us humans do, yet my only option in this enormous fridge was to buy a bottle made from oil. I did not want to support the oil industry as I knew all of the destruction it brings to our environment. All I wanted for myself, and to be able to provide to others with, was a choice. A choice not to support oil just because you need water. A choice not to buy something you’ll only use for days or hours, but instead buy it in a bottle that will outlive you and your kids (and grandkids..). The choice to buy something I can reuse and not just 'throw away', where it will inevitably end up in our ocean or landfill if not recycled.

So, I set out to develop this choice. The brief was simple: take every negative plastic item, and redesign it into a positive. Creating a plant-based plastic bottle, where do you even start? You just start. You talk to as many people as you can who might be able to help. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other and, eventually, it becomes clear. It also helps to not have any time expectations. If you never give up, you'll get somewhere. I thought I would have a product on the market after 6 months of R&D. 3 years later, we finally launched. You are the founder of @forthebettergood_ + @edibleearth_ and co-founder of @buddyhempgoods, @nudesdrinks. Have you always considered yourself an entrepreneur? Never. To be completely honest, for some reason the word makes me cringe a little. I don't know why. Generally, I do what I do because it makes 100x more sense than what we are currently doing. If I get this feeling about something, and work out a better way to do it, I generally run it by people to sense check it. If they agree, at that point my motivation has grown and I don't feel like I have a choice but to do whatever I can to help make that change. Any advice to someone starting out on a business journey in uncharted waters? Just start. Aim for unchartered waters, this is where the magic is. Don't waste time looking for something to do, trust that it will show up when the time is right, then just make sure you have the strength and passion to see it through. The best advice I would give after looking back is to commit until you feel like you’ve come too far to quit, because you will want to some days. You’ll want to give up right before something magical happens, so I find it easier just to take that choice away. We always do our best work when we are backed into a corner. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/forthebettergood_/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bettergoodco Website: https://www.forthebettergood.com/ Edited by Kate Broadley: kjmb-259@hotmail.com