March, 2018 - The Profit

Simon Hendery

Worshipping craft beer at the Abbey

When you pitch up at Abbey Cellars, in the Bridge Pa Triangle wine district west of Hastings, the first difficult decision to make is whether you’re there for a beer or a wine. The Haworth family established the Abbey Cellars wine brand in 2002 and a decade later, son Dermot started getting serious about beer. He began selling small-batch brews...

Brewing success on their own patch of God’s Own

In the heart of wine country on SH50 west of Hastings, Godfrey Quemeneur and Rachel Downes have established GodsOwn Brewery – a rural haven where craft beer enthusiasts can sample product brewed on-site. The couple bought their 6.5ha property at Maraekakaho in 2010, embarking on a project to establish an environmentally sustainable brewing and hospitality business complete with a hops...

High Demand for hi-tech talent

Hawke’s Bay’s technology sector is on a roll but are there enough skilled staff wanting to work here? Recruiting the skilled staff needed to grow a business has often been one of the top challenges for both start-ups and established technology companies in the Bay. But there are signs that’s beginning to change. The skyrocketing cost of living in centres...

Show Me The Money

After a long period of low inflation and low wage and salary rises pressure is building in the remuneration market. There are a number of factors having an impact, most of which have featured prominently in the media. The new Government’s pledge to increase the minimum wage will be good news for those on low wages and will undoubtedly also...

Expect the best, plan for the worst and prepare to be surprised

It is important for every business to have formal Terms of Trade. When comparing large businesses to small, it’s fair to say the larger the business the more likely it will have written Terms of Trade. While there may be some who have operated for a substantial amount of time without written Terms of Trade and have never had cause...

Pro Business advice

Stick to what you know

The topic of how difficult it is to find a tradie with capacity is a popular one at the moment, which leads me to believe that accounting, paperwork and tax will not be top priority for those in the industry. Now is a great time to look forward and decide what direction you want your business to go in 2018....

The value of a registered valuer

Late last year Napier City Council updated the Rating Valuations (RV) for properties within its Territorial Authority (TA). Also known as Government Valuations (GVs) these property valuations are undertaken every three years and are based on mass appraisal techniques. The values are used primarily for assessing local authority rates and in many cases the subject property has not been inspected....

Lightbulb Moment – An alternative to Wifi, that’s worth considering?

The summer holiday season is here! It’s been good to have a few days off over Christmas and enjoy this little piece of paradise with friends and family. It’s been great to keep in touch and there haven’t been many places I haven’t been able to get access to Wifi to check emails and generally carry on with business. Wifi...

Do you want tulips with your bitcoin?

The cryptocurrency bitcoin continues to make the news. What many New Zealanders don't realise is that if they hold loyalty cards like Fly Buys or an air points card, they already own digital currencies. However, when we read in December of a Wellington waterfront property for sale in bitcoin, and that bitcoin futures recently debuted on Wall Street, the subject...

Steaming ahead for success

When the Newton team took to online capital-raising platform Kickstarter in September seeking seed funding, it took them just 23 minutes to secure the $10,000 they were after. Production of a unique Hawke’s Bay eco-friendly coffee machine is underway after the team behind the award-winning project took just 23 minutes to raise the required start-up funding online. Designing and manufacturing...