Small enterprises eye growth wave
"If the confidence plays out, 2017 will be an excellent year." Andrew Webster, ANZ business banking general manager
No-one in the world makes surfboard blanks like Jack Candlish does, which could mean a big opportunity to grow his singleman operation overseas in 2017.
His Organic Dynamic surfboard is a more eco-friendly alternative to most on the market because it is made using recycled polystyrene from the Porirua tip.
Candlish said surfboards are inherently toxic and really bad for the environment because they are made out of polyurethane foam.
Though by using melted-down fishery containers and styrofoam containers, Candlish’s boards are made out of polystyrene.
He saw his method as a ‘‘wasteminimisation approach’’.
He hopes to sell the technology that accommodates a greener approach overseas.
‘‘The machine that I built to automate uses cloud technology, and I’m looking to sell that machine on a licence basis around the world, and keep my operation here quite small.’’
Candlish said he will be showing his design to surfboard manufacturers in California in July.
He hopes to eventually expand the design to make versions that suit skis and snowboards, but he needs to get a patent for the international market first.
Small businesses around New Zealand are upbeat about growth in the coming year, according to the ANZ Business Micro Scope quarterly survey.
Business confidence across New Zealand’s small firms rose to more than 20 per cent in December. A reading of zero would indicate that as many firms were optimistic as were pessimistic about their futures.
The study measured small firms’ activity outlook, hiring, investment and profit expectations, all of which improved from the September quarter.
Small businesses account for almost one-third of the country’s GDP and make up 97 per cent of New Zealand enterprises.
‘‘If the confidence plays out, 2017 will be an excellent year for small businesses, with a net 34 per cent expecting a lift in activity for their business over the next 12 months,’’ ANZ’S general manager of retail and business banking, Andrew Webster, said.
‘‘While overall sentiment and growth prospects are positive, concern about finding skilled staff continues to create a potential wedge between growth prospects and actual growth.’’
Webster said obstacles such as competition, regulation and a lack of skilled staff can create a wedge between growth prospects and actual growth.
There was growth across all sectors, especially construction, though agriculture had the biggest turnaround from last quarter, up 11 points to 1.4 per cent.
Wellington had the highest growth prospects, followed closely by the South Island (outside Canterbury).
Lisa Martin, the executive director of accountancy firm Gofi8ure, had this warning for small-business owners: ‘‘It’s a marathon, not a sprint.’’
She said that though smallbusiness owners are passionate and entrepreneurial, they often need more education to run a successful and sustainable business.
A 2010-15 Statistics New Zealand survey found that the highest rate of failure was among those with fewer than five employees. The study found 58 per cent of firms that hired no employees had failed after five years. Those that hired between one and five people had a 43 per cent failure rate.
Martin said a lot of knowledge about income, expenses, GST, PAYE, Kiwisaver, ACC and health and safety obligations doesn’t always seem obvious in the day-today operations of a small business.
‘‘It just frightens me how many people go into business where they will become responsible for other people’s mortgages as well as their own, and they really don’t know the basics,’’ she said.
‘‘Everyone just thinks that they can ask their next-door neighbour, ‘How did you do it?’ It’s just crazy.’’