One born every day: top advice sites for NZ start-ups

Kiwis are known for their have-a-go attitude and innovation.

Every day in New Zealand, about one to two businesses are born, and set off on the exciting and exhausting adventure of a start-up.

There is much to be said for being one’s boss, taking an idea through to fruition, and earning money doing something you are passionate about. Business start-ups are fuelled by talent and passion, and can be incredibly rewarding if they succeed.

However, as we all know, many small businesses (meaning those businesses with 19 or fewer staff) fail. Of those enterprises begun in the February 2014 year, 85% survived until February 2015, according to Statistics New Zealand.

Longer term, only 27% of companies launched in the February 2005 year survived until their tenth anniversary.

So it’s imperative to have a robust start-up plan.

You may be one of those at the starting line who have a great idea for a business, and want to see it take flight. This can be an exciting, yet daunting time and it can be hard to know where to begin.

Obviously, initially, research is key. Questions might range from: Do I have what it takes to run a business? What are my legal and tax obligations? How do I draw up a business plan?

You’ve come to the right place. We’ve done some of the work for you, and hopefully saved you the bother of trawling through the internet to find the gems.

Here is The List (of sites run by reputable companies who know their stuff with comprehensive start-up advice).

A great place to start is the New Zealand government blogs, which offer good advice on all the legal aspects of starting a business.

• www.business.govt.nz – starting a business – This particular section is devoted to considering all aspects of beginning a business – from seeing if you have the personal qualities to run a business to business planning.
• www.business.govt.nz – tax and legal obligations – Worthy, but essential, this part of business.govt.nz is where you will learn what tax and legal obligations you need to meet, such as what structure your business will work in and how to register the name of your company.
• Work and Income – advice for those receiving a benefit – Work and Income provides advice on the basic building blocks of a start-up and information on how it will impact people on the benefit.
• New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, export markets and business pitch advice – While New Zealand Trade and Enterprise doesn’t run a section focused strictly on start-ups, it does have some really useful advice around things you may need to do at the beginning – such as delivering an effective business pitch.
• Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, employment resources – This is a good resource on employment agreements, parental leave obligations, and how to deal with things such as employment relationship conflicts.

• Citizens Advice Bureau – The Citizens Advice Bureau offers some sensible advice on what to consider when starting a business, and explores franchise ownership.

Most of the local government sites in the regions have specific start-up advice for their particular area such as:

• Auckland Events, Economic Development and Tourism
• Hamilton Economic Development
• Venture Taranaki
• Absolutely Positively Wellington
• Nelson Regional Development Agency
• Enterprise North Canterbury

The main banks have comprehensive advice on what you need in order to start a business. These are rich, free sources of advice and there is no obligation to open an account with them.

• ANZ business hub – ANZ has hand-picked videos, articles, workshops and tools on a range of topics relevant to starting your own business, including how to build a simple business plan.
• BNZ small business toolkit – BNZ has some great tools to forecast or track the financials of your business, from a cash flow planner to an employee cost calculator.
• Kiwibank, starting a business – Kiwibank poses some good reality checks on their site – such as looking at whether you can afford to set up a business.
• ASB guide to starting a business (pdf) – Like other banks, ASB has put together a guide outlining everything you need to consider, and a list of useful resources.