Wow, how is it February already? Thankfully, the COVID-19 blip in January looks to be a near miss for us in NZ, but it was a solid reminder none-the-less of the risks we continue to face and the role we, as business owners, can play in influencing best practices to mitigate those risks, particularly by encouraging use of the COVID-19 Tracer App.
I continue to be impressed with the levels of positivity and optimism I’m hearing and seeing across just about every industry segment at the moment, even in tourism where many have now adjusted to the ‘new norm’, while remaining anxiously excited about the opportunities that lay ahead once our borders reopen. Of course, we do also acknowledge those tourism players who are still feeling a lot of pain and remain in ‘survival’ mode. We really hope to see these business re-entering ‘thrive’ mode again soon.
Whether your business is in ‘survive’ or ‘thrive’ mode, we’re here today with some fresh offerings to help you grow. Over the past six months, we’ve been reflecting on feedback from 2020 and using this to make exciting new plans for 2021 and, today, we are very excited to announce some of the new ways we will be supporting our Grow NZ members, both this year and beyond.
It’s time to raise the bar together.
HOW WE ARE RAISING THE BAR FOR YOU
We’re launching a new member portal
Our new Grow NZ Member portal allows each member their own private, any-time access to business tips, eBooks, webinars and much more. Best of all, it’s free to existing members for the next 12 months! The prototype for this baby has been built and we’ll spend the next two weeks adding finishing touches to it before launch. If you have not already updated your registration to access your member portal, please do so here (the code is GrowNZFree).
Register for the Grow NZ member portal
We’re offering monthly webinars
We have 10 webinars scheduled for this year, all focussed on generating profitable growth and maximising your business value. Webinars are complimentary for all Grow NZ members, and don’t worry if you can’t make the day/time, we will be saving each webinar on your member portal so you can access it at your leisure. Details on how to register for upcoming webinars will be available via your member portal and we will give you a heads up via our newsletters and our Facebook community page too.
We’re sharing monthly eBooks
We have been crafting a diverse range of eBooks on a series of important topics ranging from practical tasks, like how to set up a Facebook pixel properly, to all-important instructions for maximising your potential business sale value. Each month, we will be adding a new eBook to your member portal, which will be ready for you to access at your leisure.
We’re expanding our Grow NZ Marketing Interns programme
In our member survey last year, more than 85% of you told us you wanted help with marketing to grow your revenue profitably. In response, we launched our marketing intern service late last year; a low-cost, effective way to address your marketing needs. We were instantly overwhelmed with demand so we have been busy recruiting more high-quality marketing interns to help our members.
If you need cost-effective, quality help with ad-hoc marketing requirements, content creation, creative copywriting, website content, email campaigns, graphic design or social media management, Grow’s marketing interns are just the ticket.
Find out more about Grow NZ’s Marketing Interns
We’re announcing new partners
A major part of our role in supporting you as a kiwi business owner, is to source partners you can rely on, because we know it can be hard to know who to trust to truly add value to your business. At Grow, we quality check every single partner and actually turn down around 80% of organisations that request to partner with us. This is because they do not meet the high standards we require to ensure you receive the support you need and deserve.
Please remember, if you need help with a particular opportunity or challenge, you can head to Our Partners page and, if by chance, you can’t find the solution there, please drop an email to [email protected], or reach out to the broader membership base via our Facebook community.
We are keen to source more quality partners in 2021 who can help specifically with revenue growth, marketing and business planning, as this is what you have told us your critical priorities are.
So on that note, we are very pleased to announce two brand new partners today:
Smetric Insights
Smetric helps businesses make smarter decisions, faster, through their advanced analytics and business intelligence software and services.
2B Connected
Outsource your lead generation to New Zealand’s fastest growing 24/7 contact centre and watch your 2021 sales pipeline grow.
We’re expanding our subsidised services
Grow NZ is a registered service provider with the Regional Business Partner Network (RBPN) and your business may be eligible to access subsidised support, pending approval from the RBPN.
We currently offer two services via RBPN:
Business Sustainability: ideal for businesses who are past the start-up phase and looking for sustainable ways to grow. You can access more information on this support via our website.
Marketing Strategy support: please visit our Marketing Strategy page to learn more.
We are planning to offer more services throughout the year based on the feedback you continue to give us regarding your priorities.
We’re further developing Grow NZ Registered Accountants
The end of the financial year is fast approaching which means tax, tax returns and all of that fun stuff. Grow NZ Registered Accountants can help with all this – but they are about so much more than sending through a bill for your tax and compliance work. Grow NZ Registered Accountants seek a deep understanding of your business goals so they can advise you on how to most effectively achieve them. When was the last time your accountant asked you what your business goals are? Maybe it’s time to change things up and partner with a Grow NZ Registered Accountant.
Connect with a Grow NZ Registered Accountant
We’re broadening our local support
We now have Grow NZ licensees in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty and, in 2021, we are planning to add Christchurch, Wellington and Otago to our localised support model. This will include on-boarding of local partners and the establishment of a local business community, so you can engage with fellow business owners to collaborate, share and support.
We’re offering cashflow support for revenue growth
It’s the old catch 22 – you need marketing to grow your revenue, but you need cash to pay for marketing. To help, we have built an innovative funding solution for you to access. We are offering a $10,000 marketing boost package to accelerate your revenue with repayments spread over 6 months to smooth out the cashflow. This offer will be available to approved applicants who meet our lending criteria.
Find out more about Grow NZ Marketing Loans
So, hopefully you find all the above an impressive list and you are getting a sense of our passion and determination to support you as a kiwi business owner. As always, we are all ears so, if you have any feedback, suggestions or need to some assistance, please email us at [email protected]