New data from Employment Hero shows New Zealand’s small and medium business sector continuing to add headcount in May, even as wage growth stalled completely on an annual basis, highlighting a labour market where businesses are growing cautiously rather than competing hard for talent on pay.
Turning a dreaded parenting challenge into a science-powered solution, ISpy Nits is making head lice detection accurate, stigma-free, and even fun for kids, and in the process earning Kate Ricketts a well-deserved David Award.
After burnout and a corporate career, Nikki Taylor started her own business at 44, and discovered that midlife isn’t a crisis, but a chance for clarity, on what kind of work, and life, actually fits.
New Zealand’s productivity gap with countries like Finland isn’t about effort, it’s about clarity. Elliot Royce argues that as businesses grow, complexity quietly crowds out a shared understanding of what actually creates value, turning productivity into a symptom rather than the real problem.
A pilot programme’s runaway demand has exposed just how many promising New Zealand startups are being turned away by traditional bank lending.
New Zealand’s sustainable innovators remain confident about growth, but a new report shows many are struggling to access the capital and conditions needed to actually scale.
New Zealand’s small business productivity has flatlined, with the country continuing to trail Australia and the UK, even as Deloitte’s latest CFO survey shows finance leaders remain confident about growing their businesses despite economic uncertainty.
Solar retailer Lodestone Energy is opening up its “virtual rooftop” solar product to residential and small business customers for the first time, choosing Hawke’s Bay as the launch region for its new EASY Plan.
New Zealand tourism businesses are committed to becoming more sustainable, but new research shows the journey from good intentions to genuine change is anything but straightforward.
Spacebar Design won Most Innovative Business at The David Awards 2025, also taking out the Supreme Award, recognition that cements its role as a trailblazer in sustainable interior design.
New Zealand’s longest-running sustainability awards programme is calling for entries, with expanded categories and a direct pathway to a global million-pound prize.
Kiwibank has become the first New Zealand bank to roll out open banking across all its digital channels for both individual and business customers, delivering most of the data‑sharing capability required by regulators six months ahead of its statutory deadline.
Christchurch’s Tait Communications has been named PwC Hi-Tech Company of the Year at the 2026 NZ Hi-Tech Awards, capping a record-breaking night for New Zealand’s third-largest export sector.
Full-scale loyalty programmes are expensive, complex and slow to roll out, but a gift card programme can deliver many of the same benefits in a fraction of the time, and customers pay you upfront for the privilege.
Inside MOXX Brands, the Kiwi FMCG company growing at 512 percent and rewriting the export playbook in the process.
Hawke’s Bay’s Rockit has landed one of China’s most bankable celebrities as its brand ambassador.
Demand for Tapuwae Roa’s Tupu Accelerator keeps climbing, with a new cohort of ten high-growth Māori-founded ventures welcomed for the programme’s third consecutive year.
A new Christchurch start-up wants to turn the security cameras already watching your warehouse into a real-time safety system that spots risk before it becomes an incident.
As New Zealand businesses face mounting productivity pressure, new research from 2degrees shows AI is already delivering measurable gains for SMEs. From streamlining operations to unlocking new growth opportunities, the challenge now is turning early experimentation into lasting business impact.
Acron Plastics, a New Zealand thermoforming manufacturer, had been running as a fully paper-based business before adopting MRPeasy. We sat down with Business & Sales Manager Mark Wong to see how the company uses the system to structure orders, manage purchasing and inventory, and reduce the risk of missed jobs.
West Auckland’s Waitākere College has officially opened a new School of Business, founded and seeded by Just Life Group CEO Tony Falkenstein CNZM, with the goal of producing the country’s next wave of entrepreneurs from communities that have historically been overlooked by corporate New Zealand.
As AI rapidly shifts from experimentation to operational reality, AI start-up founder Dave Howden says the businesses that move first – and rethink how work gets done – will hold the advantage.
A new national productivity programme is aiming to back more than 4,000 Kiwi SMEs into AI adoption. But the most useful lesson for business owners, says ASB’s Ben Speedy, may be the simplest: Think small first.
Three decades behind the counter taught pharmacist turned entrepreneur Tim O’Donoghue that patients know exactly what they want. They just rarely get it. Now, with an FDA-listed product live on Amazon and a 14-strong self-care platform behind it, the Healthtex Co-founder is raising capital through PledgeMe and inviting Kiwi investors into a corner of the global pharmaceutical industry usually reserved for big backers.
Digital and AI experts will share practical strategies to help businesses stay visible and competitive as AI transforms online search and customer behaviour.
A former delivery driver who started at HELL Pizza straight out of school has become one of the brand’s youngest franchise owners, taking over the Kāpiti store at just 21 years old.
Satisfaction among SMEs with the Coalition Government has declined for the second consecutive year, according to new research from MYOB.
Entries are now open for the 2026 David Awards, with this year marking a new chapter for the long-running small business awards programme as NZBusiness steps into the role of Official Steward.
When consumers start watching every dollar, many businesses reach for familiar tactics: Bigger discounts, louder promotions and more urgent calls to buy.
As New Zealand businesses enter a new financial year, the economic outlook remains mixed.
If you were to write down the risks your small business currently faces, how many do you have protection for? And are you sure that protection will cover you if the worst were to happen? From reducing costs to working from home and moving operations online, New Zealand businesses have changed a lot since the start of the pandemic. And with more than three quarters of small business owners saying in a Vero industry survey that they plan to keep at least some of the changes, this appears to be the new normal. But despite the high level of changes to business, this isn’t reflected in updated business insurance. Some 20% have decreased their cover while 19% reduced the number
Successfully running a business is an impressive feat and challenges can be frequent, and testing. Yet through obstacles like these, business owners gain valuable learnings and insights into consumer behaviour, their market, and business in general. One area where small businesses often run into hurdles is during debt recovery. Healthy cash flow is instrumental to running a successful small business, with the power to turn a struggling operation into a happy one. In this article, we explore some of the biggest obstacles that New Zealand businesses run into when chasing their unpaid accounts. 1. Clear systems and expectations. Small businesses are known for moving quickly to try and hit the ground running. Often this comes at the expense of critical
The new D-Link Eagle Pro range aims to combine Wi-Fi 6 connectivity with AI (Artificial Intelligence) to enhance speed and coverage. The M15 mesh system comes in both a 2-pack and a 3-pack version depending on the coverage area required. D-Link recommends the 2-pack for coverage up to 370 sqm and the 3-pack to 500 sqm making them overkill for most houses, however house configuration plays a part in this so if you have solid walls or multiple floors you may want that extra unit! If you have Wi-Fi 6 devices (Most recent phones and tablets support it) you will get a significant speed increase moving to a Wi-Fi 6 router and even if you don’t it will future proof
There are several options when it comes to selling your business. It’s important when deciding your best path to keep in mind your financial and non-financial goals. After all you want the best possible return and outcome for your business, in order to maximise the investment you have made over the years. Here are three options to choose from: 1. Selling your business privately This will often provide the best return, especially if there is a strategic reason for someone purchasing your business. It pays to ensure the buyer is genuine and committed to going through with the purchase. Watch for competitors disguised as ‘buyers’. They may just use the opportunity for gathering valuable knowledge on your business systems and your
A new four-day week pilot is underway, as over 30 companies and almost 1000 workers across Australia and New Zealand get an extra day per week back with no loss of pay. The six-month coordinated trial, run by non-profit 4 Day Week Global, operates off the 100-80-100™ model where workers get 100% of the pay for 80% of the time, in exchange for a commitment to maintaining at least 100% of the output. Participating companies operate across a diverse range of industries, offering services in the manufacturing, fashion, healthcare, real estate, finance, technology, education and PR sectors, to name but a few. In New Zealand the companies include Cook Costello Limited, Haemata Limited, Kowtow Clothing and BVT Engineering Professional Services’
Brett Ashley shares four key actions to help business owners and leaders create greater resilience and buoyancy in business teams. Owning or managing a business will provide many challenges but once you have made that decision, the biggest challenge will be understanding your role as a leader. The first question you need to ask yourself is what type of leader do you want to become? I believe that we all have the ability to become effective leaders of people, and that leaders are created, not born. But to be both an effective and successful leader you have to be prepared to commit to a number of personal and organisational beliefs. Firstly, effective leaders need to understand the difference between leading
Upcoming event
Thursday 30 July 2026 | 7:00am – 9:00pm
📍 Covert Theatre, 51 Mackelvie Street, Grey Lynn, Auckland
Everyone talks about the importance of business strategy, but what does it actually mean in practice? Strategy trainer Ryan Sproull cuts through the jargon to give SME owners a clear, practical framework for thinking strategically about their business.
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