Pictured above: Rongoa Māori health stall at Lower Hutt City Christmas market. Credit: Ann Kilpatrick.
Business owner and coach, Kim Hill, reveals three key strategies Māori businesses should employ to help scale their operations.
In the post-COVID landscape of Aotearoa 2024, Māori-owned business owners are experiencing the same widely felt pressures around rising living costs, inflation and interest rates, changing consumer behaviours, and staff challenges as the rest of the country.
“These factors continue to influence owner confidence and strategy planning, and while there are green shoots of optimism set to emerge in the second half of the year, the korero among my clients is to keep the momentum going as much as possible,“ says Kim Hill, business coach and owner of business consultancy Stratigi, which specialises in working with Māori-owned and operated SMEs and medium-sized enterprises.
Māori authorities aside, the influential Te Puni Kokiri Te Matapaeroa report from July 2020 identified ‘23,000 economically significant Māori-owned businesses’ and another 38,2000 Māori sole traders in a total economy valued at $70 billion.
Among that subset is a significant and rising number of wāhine and young entrepreneurs under 30 who are walking the tightrope between finding the time and resources to upskill, while navigating the daily challenges of running and growing a business.
“Financial literacy, access to investment and high-level planning are must-haves, but many young Māori and wāhine owners in particular are time-poor, learning ‘on the job’, and justifiably take the view that they’ll get round to filling up their kete further down the line,” says Hill.
While upskilling in these areas is critical, Hill explains that many Māori business owners are coming to specialist professionals like her in search of help in three key areas.
1. Gaining a business advantage by telling your story
Storytelling has been an integral part of Māori’s cultural heritage for centuries. The same goes for business: to gain trust, attract customers, and raise profits. Hill believes Māori businesses have a golden opportunity to formulate a USP, values, and impact to gain a competitive edge.
“Having a story and being able to communicate that clearly and effectively is something owners need to tap into as soon as possible in their ownership journey, as it influences identity, sales and marketing strategies, messaging and goals and values.
“Getting external advice, an outside perspective, from a business expert can help with that, and so many organisations are available to help support and uplift Māori business owners in areas such as sales and marketing,” says Hill.
2. Working in an extended framework
“Many Māori go into business wanting to create opportunities for their whānau and wider whānau and friends. It’s an intrinsic part of that intergenerational approach and exemplifies the extraordinary bond that exists between Māori businesses and families.
“Employing whānau is a strategic and sensible option when they are the right fit and have the right attitude. As the business expands, growing as a collective involves taking a strategic lens to recruitment,” says Hill.
“Businesses work best with a well-rounded support network with diverse experience. Employing the ‘right’ people and getting the best people on your waka is vital – not just the team in the office but accountants, suppliers, banks – the list goes on. Taking the bold step of recruiting from outside may seem daunting, and many owners don’t know where to begin, but once you make the move of surrounding yourself with professional people, the business takes on a more professional outlook.
3. Attracting ongoing, long-term support
Māori business owners are desperate for expert ongoing support according to Hill. This includes support from a trusted mentors who can help cultivate a long-term strategy, help manage expectations, broaden networks and make professional introductions.
“Relationship building is vital to Māori businesses, and building trusted relationships is gold. Successful relationships tend to be long-lasting, stitched more into the fabric of the business and less segmented than non-Māori enterprises.
“This is where regional business networks can make a difference, who understand Māori business values, have experience in the space, and know what it means to work in a circular thinking business culture and be authentic.”
Hill also believes that Māori and non-Māori businesses can share much with each other.
“Look at the websites of globally successful Kiwi companies like Allbirds and Mud House. These brands thoughtfully tap into the very bedrock of what it means to operate a Māori business; exceptional branding, championing green and clean ‘brand New Zealand’, the principles of Tikanga (relationships with people), an emphasis on environmental awareness, community wellbeing, and social responsibility.”
Hill predicts that in a history fostered by necessity, innovation and creativity, digital transformation and technological adoption will be a significant growth sector for Māori owned businesses in the next five years.
“Māori businesses are at the forefront of change, fostered by necessity and forged on innovation and creativity. Māori are entrepreneurial by nature and have been entrepreneurs for generations. This is a space which we must support and watch closely.
“We need to drop the word ‘development’ when discussing Māori businesses, owners, and upskilling. ‘Development’ suggests they lag behind other groups in knowledge and potential, when the reality is there are thousands of highly successful Māori owned and operated businesses out there and doing it nationally and globally,” says Hill.
