The new rules of SME growth

New Zealand’s SMEs are heading into 2026 with a mixture of caution and optimism, and many are looking for clearer direction after several tough trading years. That need for clarity is at the heart of the upcoming Ready to Rise Business Breakfast, a NZBusiness event bringing together experts to explore strategies for growth. As part of the morning’s proceedings on November 27 at the Hilton in Auckland is a panel discussion on how purpose, intellectual property and digital presence are reshaping the way Kiwi SMEs create and protect value.

The panel, which includes international strategist and Single Organizing Idea (SOI®) creator Neil Gaught, intellectual property author and advisor Kate Wilson, and digital strategist Loren Tomlinson, will join the breakfast lineup alongside economic insights from Simplicity Co-founder, Sam Stubbs, tech talk by Co-founder of Gravity, James Boult and SME sentiment research from 2degrees.

Event organiser and panel moderator David Nothling-Demmer says the timing could not be more important. “Confidence is still fragile and business owners are stretched,” he says. “But we’re starting to see signs of momentum returning. This event aims to give SMEs the tools and foresight needed to make the most of that shift.”

Building purpose, protecting value, and powering growth

For Gaught, whose work spans more than 60 countries, the conversation around purpose is about to undergo a major global reset. He is part of the international expert group developing ISO 37011, a new standard that will define what “purpose” actually means in a business context. “ISO 37011 is a game changer,” he says. “There’s a big difference between saying you have a purpose and being purpose-driven from a governance point of view, and that’s where many organisations, particularly in New Zealand, are still getting it wrong.”

Gaught believes New Zealand businesses cannot afford to rely on outdated ways of operating. “Business as usual is obsolete,” he says. “Those old top-down mission and vision statements are not how dynamic businesses operate today.” One of the issues, he adds, is that many leaders still confuse brand with purpose. “Brand is how you communicate. Purpose is how you govern. They are not the same thing.”

While Gaught focuses on strategic direction, Wilson says too many SMEs remain unaware of where their real value lies. Intellectual property, she notes, makes up “over 90 percent of the value of a business,” yet most business owners never fully recognise the scale of their intangible assets. “Because they don’t see it, they’re leaving money on the table,” she says.

Unlike physical product, intangible assets can scale without constraint. “IP enables you to export without actually sending goods anywhere. It’s huge.” Wilson wants more SMEs to move away from reacting to IP issues only when something goes wrong. In her view, building IP strategy into business planning early is fundamental to creating long-term value. She also sees a natural alignment between purpose, brand and IP, one she expects will emerge clearly during the panel discussion.

For Tomlinson, the biggest gap she sees is in how businesses present themselves to the world. Many SMEs, she says, are still not communicating effectively online, even when they are doing meaningful and innovative work behind the scenes. “There’s a real digital disconnect,” she says.

“Some brands are saying one thing and doing another. Others are doing amazing things but not communicating any of it on digital platforms.” She believes that in the current market, digital presence is no longer a branding exercise but a credibility one. “Businesses aren’t showcasing what happens once customers come on board — the journey, the results, the partnership. That’s a huge missed opportunity.”

Tomlinson says that with audience expectations evolving rapidly, SMEs must communicate with more consistency and clarity. “Clarity and consistency are more important now than complexity,” she says.

The speakers agree that SMEs who understand these intersections — purpose, protected value, and digital visibility — will be best positioned to take advantage of the next stage of economic recovery. “I think the three of us are actually going to contribute quite nicely to a good picture for SMEs,” Wilson says, noting that the combined perspectives give business owners a more complete understanding of where their future value will come from.

With only a limited number of tickets remaining for the Ready to Rise Business Breakfast, now is the time to secure your seat.

Nothling-Demmer says the event offers business owners something increasingly rare: “Direct access to specialists who work daily with the issues shaping business value today, from shifting global standards to IP protection, and digital trust.”