Injection of youth a big boost
‘‘It’s important to have a mix of ages, ethnicities and genders, and sometimes in Southland we don’t quite get that balance right.’’ Kate Martin
The ability to work from anywhere and at any time is encouraging young people to enter the business world, adding fresh perspectives to regions’ business landscapes.
Kate Martin and Kirsten McKenzie each work fulltime day jobs, but after 5pm they are chief executives of their own business – Invercargill marketing agency Social Sisters.
The duo, aged 24 and 27 respectively, regularly work through lunch breaks, late into the evening and during the weekend to build their business.
The Angel Association New Zealand, an organisation which connects early stage investors nationally and internationally, found in its last startup ecosystem analysis in 2017 that the average age of founders in New Zealand was 35, lower than the global median age of 36.
Young Enterprise Scheme chief executive Terry Shubkin has said the amount of young people aged between 18 and 30 running their own businesses is growing, with many involved in the purpose-led business space, largely due to a growth in support available.
Social Sisters largely focuses on small businesses, who may not have the capital for large marketing campaigns and require more flexibility in pricing.
The agency has business owners from throughout the country on board, including major clients in Auckland.
‘‘It’s not even been Southland based at this stage, but that’s the flexibility we have, where everything can be done online and at any time,’’ McKenzie said.
Both felt businesses like their own had the potential to diversify Southland’s business landscape by making it more reflective of the general population.
‘‘It’s important to have a mix of ages, ethnicities and genders, and sometimes in Southland we don’t quite get that balance right. But with access to new technologies and opportunities, it does help young people to enter that landscape,’’ Martin said.
They credited an increase in resources available for their business growth.
‘‘Starting a business, you have to reach out to a lot of different people to figure it all out . . . [like] how do you register a business? Do we need an accountant? And that’s where organisations like COIN South [Invercargill business networking company] pointed us in the right direction.’’
COIN South community manager Fran Hesp said up to half of its activator sessions, which allow entrepreneurs to talk about the progress of their ideas and gain advice on how to turn them into a reality, were now under 30-yearolds.
‘‘It’s exciting to see how many young people have ideas that they are passionate about and keen to turn into reality, and it’s a great sign for the region heading into the future,’’ she said.