TERM 3, 2014
Leaders in enterprise and financial educationwww.youngenterprise.org.nz
New Pasifika Enterprise Competition TrialledA Thriving Business AcademyTim & Dan Alpe
2 ENTERPRISE MATTERS
Inspiring, Educating & Transforming
Students Through Enterprise
ExperiencesVisit www.enterprisematters.org.nz
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copy four times a year
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CC21103
Editorial Content Paul Newsom
Contact Paul on 04 570 3984 or [email protected]
Address Young Enterprise Trust, Level 2, iPayroll House, PO Box 25 525,
Wellington, NZ
www.youngenterprise.org.nz
Art Director Jodi Olsson
Publisher Espire Media,
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Enquiries Phone Richard on 09 522 7257
or email [email protected]
ISSN 1177-875X
Enterprise Matters is a publication of the
Young Enterprise Trust
Cover picture: Market Day fun
Enterpise Matters is a GREEN MAG created and distributed
without the use of paper so it’s environmentally friendly.
Please think before you print. Thank you!
ENTERPRISE MATTERS 3
CONTENTS
Talking About Enterprise.....................................................................................4 - with CEO Terry Shubkin
Headline News.....................................................................................................6 - Registration of interest for the 2015 BP Business Challenge is open now -PasifikaEnterpriseCompetitionTrialled - New Zealand Business Hall Of Fame Student Success................................................................................................12 - Enterprise in Action
Feature.............................................................................................................16 - A Thriving Business Academy
New Resource...................................................................................................20 - Personal Financial Management Standards - Primary: School Garden Project - Secondary: EPIC Challenge
Entrepreneur Insight.........................................................................................24 - Tim and Dan Alpe of Jucy rentals
Important Dates.................................................................................................30
The Close............................................................................................................31
4 ENTERPRISE MATTERS
There is nothing like having something bad happen to someone you know to make you
re-evaluate your own situation.
The last Enterprise Matters featured an article from the Chair of the YES Alumni Committee, Ben Reynolds. Shortly afterwards, Ben was in San Francisco for a short trip when he found himself unexpectedly in hospital.
After we established that he was ok, our discussion turned to what he put on his blog. Three days in a US hospital resulted in an invoice for $75,000. Really? $75,000? Was there a line item invoice to see how that was
broken down? We wanted to know.
Luckily Ben had taken out travel insurance, though we hear that he had debated whether it was worth the $150 fee. I am sure as a poor Uni student he was weighing up what else he could use that money for.
I went home and told my husband the story. Next thing, he’s on my case to make sure we have adequate insurance for our upcoming trip to the US to see my family.
What does the insurance cover? What if we have to delay our trip back home, like Ben did? What are the exclusions?
TALKINGABOUTENTERPRISEwith CEO Terry Shubkin
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These are all good questions, and ones that I have to admit that I have, in the past, been guilty of skipping over when choosing my insurance policy. This is one example of why it
is important to put the time into choosing insurance. Whether it’s for your house, contents, car or travel - do you need insurance? If so, how do you assess the risk and choose the best policy for your needs? Insurance literacy is an important area offinancialliteracy,butonethatoftengets over-looked. This is one reason we are so excited to announce our partnership with the Insurance Council of New Zealand to develop a range of resources for teachers, to help educate their students in this area.
Likeallaspectsoffinancialliteracy,it is not about telling people what to do, it’s about giving them knowledge and experience to make their own decisions. And Secondary school students do have a lot to think about inthisarea,astheymaybuytheirfirstcar,taketheirfirstoverseastripwithouttheirparents,orgoflatting.So, keep your eye out for a whole
new series of resources that will be released later this term. And if you’re anything like me, it might also make you take the time to review your own insurance policies.
“Like all aspects of financial literacy, it is not about telling people what to do, it’s about giving them knowledge and experience to make their own decisions.”
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HEADLINE NEWS
The BP Business Challenge is a unique three-day experiential learning programme that develops skills, understanding and attitudes about how a successful business operates, and connects students with their local business community.
In 2015, the programme will be run in 45 schools around the country, with
a minimum of 80 students participating at each school. The programme will beofferedtostudentsinYear11orabove. If funding permits, we may beabletooffertheBPBusinessChallenge to Year 10 students.
You can read more about the programme here and watch the introductory video here.
REGISTRATION OF INTEREST FOR THE 2015 BP BUSINESS CHALLENGE IS OPEN NOW
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We encourage you to consider combining with other schools for the Business Challenge. We know this works well; the students enjoy the experience and more schools get to participate.
To register your interest, complete the online registration form. Hurry, registration of interest closes Friday 19th September. Selected schools will be advised by Friday 24th October.
TheYoungEnterpriseTrust,PacificBusinessTrustandMinistryofPacificIslandAffairscollaboratedtointroduceLaunchpad.LaunchpadisaPasifikaEnterprise Competition for Year 10 students. It was designed to develop their entrepreneurial skills and help
‘sow the seeds’ of an interest in business for their senior secondary school years and beyond.The competition was trialled at the
end of May in Wellington, with seven local secondary schools taking part. Students were set the challenge
PASIFIKA ENTERPRISE COMPETITION TRIALLED
Launchpad Winners: Wainuiomata High School
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of coming up with an innovative product idea to encourage young people to adopt a healthier lifestyle: either through better eating habits or through increased exercise. Students brainstormed ideas, developed marketing plans for their product and then presented their
Student responses to the question “What did you learn?”.• “To think outside the box and more
creatively. It was amazing and I hope this continues for other kids.”
• “Buildingconfidence.Howtocope under pressure”
• “Beingmoreconfidentingeneral speaking. How to do sales, how to construct a business.”
“Brilliant to see students get up and perform in front of peers. Gave students the opportunity to see what they were learning in class has relevance. Allows those who compete to feed back to class.” Teacher
“Fantastic. This should have been around 15 years ago! Great that Year 10’s don’t have to wait until Year 12.” Parent
ideas to a panel of judges from the local business
community. All of this was completed within just two hours.
The feedback showed that all students felt they had learnt something, and that the competition fully achieved the objective of ‘sowing the seeds’ of interest in business as a subject for NCEA, and for many students, possibly starting their own business in the future.
Prime Minister John Key meets the Tawa College Launchpad team at their school
ENTERPRISE MATTERS 9
The New Zealand Business Hall of Fame was established in 1994 to recognise New
Zealanders who have made an outstanding contribution to business and society.Tom Anderson was chosen at the
Enterprise in Action weekend as the Young Enterprise Ambassador for the 2014 NZ Business Hall of Fame. Tom closed the night’s proceedings
with his thoughts on how small-town New Zealanders have the creativity, integrity and endeavour to make a big contribution to the world of business. “Business is not an easy profession. It
is tough. Businesspeople are sometimes seen as ‘cut throat’; forced to juggle multiple deadlines and make decisions
that can impact on thousands, even tens of thousands of people. There’s this perception that in business, the focus is only on the bottom line.To me, that is an unfortunate
generalisation, and one that the members of the Business Hall of Fame disprove with ease. I am the Head Boy at Roncalli College, a small school nestled in the South Canterbury town of Timaru.I am a typical teen who heralds from
your average Kiwi family; Dad’s an engineer and my mum is a librarian. I was chosen for this role out of 80
of the best young business leaders in New Zealand at an ‘Enterprise in Action’ event held in Auckland this June, and I was both very surprised
NEW ZEALAND BUSINESS HALL OF FAMETom Anderson Young Enterprise
Trust Ambassador
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and proud to be selected as the Student Ambassador for 2014.When I was chosen, many people
congratulated me and wished me well. What surprised me though, were the comments about how I was succeeding in spite of the fact that I am ‘only from little old Timaru’.There was an insinuation that
people from small towns lack the sophistication of our big city cousins. Now,I’mthefirsttosaythatIwasn’tthesmartestorthemostconfidentperson at Enterprise in Action. I wasn’t the stand-out leader of my group and I definitelydidn’thavethemostcharm.Sowhatmademedifferentfromall
the rest? The answer’s simple - I’m a Timaruvian, who proves that great things come from small places.As a young man from Timaru, I’m able
to experience and embrace a wealth of opportunities. During the last two weeks I have built electric fences, dismantled
anoldrailwayline,flowntoAucklandto practice for the Fed Ex International Trade Challenge, represented my school in Basketball and Table Tennis, run school Assemblies, and attended a couple of school balls. In between all of that I am running a small business forthefirsttime,throughTheLionFoundation Young Enterprise Scheme. Now that’s what I call a well-rounded education, and that’s what small towns offerNewZealanders.I also consider myself privileged
to come from a small school that punchesaboveitsweight.OurfirstfifteencompetesintheCrusadersPress Cup Competition and regularly beats schools with much greater numbers than ours. We have national representatives in rowing, sprinting, hurdles and even speed skating. Our school is fairly modest. We don’t
have laptops for every student and state of the art equipment isn’t always available. Because of our size, many of our students are obliged to take correspondence or online courses. I am the only Year 13 studying Accounting this year, a subject that I am teaching to myself.But none of that is a deterrent,
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>>>483 DAYS TO GO!>>>483 DAYS TO GO!
because we are taught not to make excuses. If we are underdogs in some way, shape or form, then we accept that challenge and never, ever give up. That’s an ethos that is well suited to the business world. We take risks, we embrace that number 8 wire mentality and we can think outside the square. I have been drawn to the business
world. I want to contribute to this country’s economic and social wellbeing, and I’d like to make a little money while I do that as well. What will enable me to achieve that, is attitude and the self-belief to make it happen.I feel privileged to be given this
opportunity today, and to be competing at the International Trade Challenge next week. I assure you that my teammates and I will represent you in the best traditions of being a New Zealander. We’ll go to that competition ready to be innovative, resilient and able to think outside the square. Being cut-throat is not the only way
to achieve success, as tonight’s Laureates have demonstrated. Honesty, integrity, endeavour, and our love of the challenge: these are the attributes that young Kiwis can carry forward into any situation.
Be assured ladies and gentlemen, there are plenty of young people out there like myself who have that ‘Kiwi can-do’ mentality. And I bet that many of them are hidden in small towns throughout New Zealand.So when you are hiring your next
junior executive, I’m sure you’ll remember that it’s not just about a flashysmileandaglossyC.V.Whatyouwantistofindoutwhat
makes that person tick, what sort of backbone and values they have. Young people from small town New Zealandhavemuchtoofferyou.Weare the ones with the highest mountain to climb, and we are the ones who are betteroffbecauseofitWe are the ones who prove that
great things really do come from small places.” [Abridged]
9th to 10th December 2015 ■
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STUDENT SUCCESS
Massey University hosted another inspiring “Enterprise in Action” event in June with
the support of NZ Trade and Enterprise and FedEx Express. Eighty Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme students from around the country came together to compete in two international competitions – the Global Enterprise
Challenge and the NZ heat of the FedEx/JA International Trade Challenge. With the clock ticking, students raced
to turn out robust business proposals that addressed the global decline of family farming, and then the challenge ofmarketingafish-basedproducttoJapan. With the support and guidance of their fabulous corporate hosts, the
Left to Right: FedEx Team: Lee Davies (FedEx Express), Tom Anderson, Ben Seelan, Amanda Ngo, Shannon Metcalfe, Dylan Rogan, Izzy Stangl, Dee Ngakuru (FedEx Express)
Enterprise in Action
ENTERPRISE MATTERS 13
2014 EiA students presented the judges with slick and sophisticated ideas. The opportunity for students to engage with the volunteer corporate hosts is invaluable. Thank you to everyone who gave up their time to be involved. In the Global Enterprise Challenge,
students from Team NZICA represented New Zealand. The winning title was taken by Cambodia this year, but we were very proud to see our team take out the Creativity Award. Team BECA were the winners of the NZ heat of the FedEx JA International Trade Challenge. Congratulations to both teams! This event is a full-on roller-coaster for both students and mentors, and this year was no exception.
The six students selected to represent New Zealand at the FedEx Express Asia-PacificfinalsinHongKongare:
• Amanda Ngo - Kings College (Auckland)
• Ben Seelen - Nayland College (Nelson)
• Dylan Rogan - Rangitoto College (Auckland)
• Izzy Stangl - Long Bay College (Auckland)
• Shannon Metcalfe - Avondale College (Auckland)
• Tom Anderson - Roncalli College (Timaru)
All 80 participants were recognised with a Massey University study award.
“I feel confident enough to speak with no notes or cue cards. This is a skill which will benefit me for my entire life and make me a much more employable person in the future – or maybe even the kind of person who does the employing!” Emily McCarthy, CEO of Perpetuum, student at Tauranga
Girls’ College, and member of Team ATEED NZ FedEx/JA ITC 2014.
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Our special thanks go to the awesome corporate hosts, whose staffmentoredstudentsthroughoutthe weekend: Air New Zealand, Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development, BECA, Minter Ellison Rudd Watts, New Zealand Trade & Enterprise, New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants, Samsung, Telecom, The Icehouse and Xero. Without them, this event would not be possible. ■
“The way these students are like sponges and just soak up what advice or experience you are sharing is unreal. You can actually see a visible difference in their confidence levels by the end of Monday morning.” Phil Giller, Corporate Host and
Mentor, Samsung Education Lead.
Team
Team ATEED
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Team NZTE Team Samsung
Team NZICATeam MinterEllison
Team BECA Team Icehouse
Team Telecom
Team Xero
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FEATUREWe spoke recently with HOD Vicky Crawford about how Albany Junior High School has created a thriving Business Academy
Why have AJHS introduced a Business Academy?Our Albany Junior High School (AJHS) curriculum encourages andoffersenterpriseopportunitiesfrom Year 7, and we observed that by the time students got to Year 9 their basic business knowledge had increased to a levelwhereweneededtooffermore advanced programmes. We also had a unique opportunity
at Year 9 and /10 to develop authentic learning opportunities that are often not available once students get to NCEA.
What actually is the Business Academy at your school? It is a Year 9 and 10 subject included in our option structure that is linked to a technology- based subject. Students who opt for the Business
Academy are also required to take one of: Digital Technology (Web and App design), Digital Design, and Product Development – all from the Technology department. The students then develop business groups or teams that must include at least one person from each technology option so they have a variety of skills in each team.
ENTERPRISE MATTERS 17
What is the purpose and what are the goals of the Academy?The purpose and goals of the Academy are encapsulated in the programme’s title: The Albany Junior High School NEXT Business Academy. We aim to produce students who are
Networked, Equipped, Xperienced and Transformed into young adults who areconfident,connectedandactivelyinvolved life-long learners. It is important that every student has
the opportunity to experience the business world, as many of these young men and women are the entrepreneurs and business owners of the future. We need to nurture their enthusiasm and drive for the future of New Zealand.
Where is Enterprise and Business offered in your curriculum, and what specifically are the students doing?Enterprise and Business is woven through the curriculum in various ways. At Year 8 students are introduced to Business and Enterprise by spending one term developing their own Market- Day business with a simple business plan.
At Year 9 and Year 10 Business is formally included in the Option Structure.
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This year the Business Academy programme has included:• A Twilight Market Formal business
planning that utilises the Young Enterprise Start-Up Programme
• Pursuing our PassionsCVand Career investigation, including primary research and work experience
• Financial Literacy Student groups researchanareaofpersonalfinance(Using sorted booklets and Young Enterprise trust hot topics), and then create their own Trade Stalls, which will be exhibited in an Open Evening for parents and the community during Money Week.
• Apprentice Challenges Students will designapersonalfinance‘app’foryoungpeople aged 15 to 25yrs. Community experts will judge the presentations in a style similar to Dragon’s’ Den.
• Global Entrepreneurship Our students will research the requirements of doing business in China. They will work with our local Chinese community as a resource for developing cultural understanding of the processes involved. The students will then develop a business plan to export a New Zealand product into the Chinese marketplace.
• Trips Human Resources, with a trip to Spookers; and Marketing, with a trip to Tip Top
• Guest Speakers Looking to the future we would like to develop our relationships with sponsors, business networks and our local Asian community. We will also be looking for ways to develop our authentic assessment processes and, by developing our own capabilities, give students the opportunity to start online businesses.
How do you staircase enterprise through the junior school years?Financial Literacy is embedded in the school across a variety of programmes. Students encounter financialeducationthroughmathematics, Integrated Studies (Year 7 to Year 8), Social Studies (Year 9 to Year 10) and through the Business Academy (Year 9 to Year 10).
How does the business academy prepare students for taking business subjects at the senior school? The Business Academy serves as an introduction to Accounting, Economics and Business Studies at Year 11. Students have a solid grounding in all of these key areas. AJHS links with the senior high school and the commerce staffworktogethertodevelopprogrammes. For example, the Twilight market this year was a combination of AJHS and ASHS students.
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How do you avoid students thinking ‘we have done this market day thing before’ as they move through the school years? Students enjoy doing Market Day and each year the expectations increase. They can be very competitive and are always striving to do better than the previous year.
It is interesting to note that students do look for others who have performed well in the past to join theirgroups.Beingfiredfromaprevious Market Day group or not successfully completing a previous challengedoesmakeitmoredifficultfor a student to be employed in a group. This is a real life experience, as far as we are concerned.
So, what have you been able to achieve by having the Academy?The students are becoming more engaged and self-directed in their
learning. They are learning about the importance of managing their time, and developing skills that enable them to function in groups and as an individual. They are looking at their futures and discussing and planning what these may look like.
How do you staircase financial literacy through the junior school years? The students use a whole range of strategies. They tend to approach family andfriendsfirst,followedbybusinessowners outside of school. Then they will approach companies that they have found on the internet.
The students have been very successful in developing these links – they have attended business meetings and presented their ideas to Boards of Directors. Ensuring that students have theconfidencetonetworkwiththebusiness community themselves is one of our key aims. ■
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NEWRESOURCE
PERSONAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT STANDARDSNZQA has announced that several of the PFM unit standards will expire, with a last date for assessment being the 31st of December 2015. A new set of standards and assessments have been released earlier this year. The new standards are graded with achievement, merit and excellence. Some of the existing standards have been updated and are being retained, but these do not have grading. Young Enterprise Trust has
had several Personal Financial
Management (PFM) Unit Standard packages available for you to use in the classroom for several years.The Personal Financial Management
Unit Standard teaching packages for the updated standards that are being retained are still available for you to use. However, these packages have not been updated in line with the updated standards.Teaching lessons and learning
packages for these standards are freely available when you sign up here.
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Level 1OLD STANDARD UPDATED STANDARD
24697 Perform income related calculations forpersonalfinancialmanagement.(1 Credit)
Perform income related calculationsforpersonalfinancialmanagement. (1 Credit)
24705 Interpret and verify accuracy ofpersonalfinancialdocuments.(2 credits)
Interpret Financial Documents andverifyaccuracyoffinancialdocumentsforpersonalfinancialmanagement. (2 credits)
24709 Produce a balanced budget for an individual. (3 credits)
Produce a balanced budget to managepersonalfinances. (3 credits)
Level 2OLD STANDARD UPDATED STANDARD
24695 Demonstrate knowledge of income, taxation, and other deductionsforpersonalfinancialmanagement. (3 credits)
Explain taxation and other deductions relating to personal income. (2 credits)
24699 Make an informed decision relating to personal income and evaluate its consequences. (2 credits)
Make an informed decision relating to personal income and explain its consequences. (2 credits)
We are currently working to develop resources for some of the new PFM graded (achievement/merit/excellence) Unit Standards. These will be available for use in 2015.
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PRIMARY: SCHOOL GARDEN PROJECTDevelop Enterprise and Financial Capability Through your School Garden Project
The new Pick Up and Go School Gardens resource has nine focus activities that engage students in fun, practical, hands-on experiences, easily integrated into the classroom literacy, numeracy, science, technology and social sciences curricula. School Gardens are a source of great
joy for children of all ages. They love to see the fruits of their labour result in colourfulflowerandvegetablegardens,along with the more exotic garden varietiessuchasbutterflygardens.This resource will enable you to extend
your science curriculum learning to include developing enterprise and financialcapabilitywithyourstudents.The resource takes an inquiry
approach, and lets you enjoy the school
garden journey with your students while we take care of the curriculum planning, visual and text materials, related exemplars and student worksheets. Give the Pick up and Go resources a try: you won’t be disappointed.
Resource School Year
Suggested Duration
Available
School Gala 4-8 5-6 weeks NowSchool Camp 1-4 6 weeks – 1 term NowSchool Gardens 1-8 6 weeks – 1 term NowSchool Performance 3-8 4 weeks – 1 term Term 4School/Community Project 1-4 4 weeks – 1 term Term 4
Access to these resources is free. Sign up here now.
3
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Our new competition for Year 10 students kicks off this termThe EPIC Challenge is a free programme and competition that takes just two weeks to complete and has links to the Science, Social Sciences, Commerce, Careers and Media Studies learning areas. It can be completed at any point during Terms 2, 3 or 4 and can be easily introduced in your classroom, or given to keen students to complete as an extracurricular activity.The challenge is simple – students
research career options in one of the Primary Industries, choose one career and then develop a promotional strategy to market that career to fellow students. Students can enter their work into the
national competition, and there are a wide range of prizes available, thanks to The Ministry of Primary Industries and DairyNZ.Watch this video tofindoutmore.
Sign up for the challenge here now
POTENTIAL CAREERS INCLUDE:
SECONDARY: EPIC CHALLENGE
• Forestry Scientist• Vet• Dairy Farmer• Agricultural
Engineer• Sharemilker• FisheriesOfficer• Rural Banker• Fertiliser
Representative
• Environmental Engineer
• Marketing• Beef Farmer• Geneticist• Viticulturalist• Policy Analyst• Irrigation
Specialist
Can your students conquer the EPIC Challenge?
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ENTREPRENEUR INSIGHTTim and Dan Alpe, founders of JUCY rentals
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Brothers Tim and Dan Alpe are co-founders of JUCY, a global tourism company operating over
2,700 car and campervan rentals in NZ, Australia and USA. The company also operates: JUCY Cruise Milford Sound, JUCY budget accommodation, the JUCY by Design manufacturing division, and New Zealand’s only car share business, CityHop. Founded in 2001, The JUCY Group nowhasmorethan240staffacrossNew Zealand, Australia, Germany, the UK and US; and 300,000 customers annually. Kings College old boys Tim and Dan
are passionate about helping young enterpreneursentrepreneurs get started, and Tim was a guest speaker at our IBT conference last year. We asked Tim and Dan what advice they have for young Kiwi entrepreneurs.
Favourite school memory? Dan: My 7th form school trip to the Himalayas. Tim: Boarding in my last year at school. It was a blast.
Worst school memory? Dan: All the rules., I
never was very good at following them.Tim: Three 3-hour
exams. I am not built for sitting still for that amount of time.
When and why did you decide to start your own business? Dan: I had holiday jobs from an early age,firstcleaningcampervansformyfather, and then working in a shoe shop for a family friend while I was at Uni. I wasn’t great at being told what to do so I realised pretty quickly I needed to do something for myself. Our father being a serial entrepreneur wasdefinitelyaninspirationtogooutand follow our dreams.Tim: We knew corporate life wasn’t
for us and really wanted to have our own business. I actually don’t think we had a choice in the matter to be honest. We loved the fact that whatever we did had an instant impact onthebusiness.Scarystuffbutalsoincredibly exciting at the same time.
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Family and friends often don’t make good business partners. How do you make it work so well? Itdefinitelydoesn’tcomewithoutitschallenges, as brother’s close in agewe have always been very competitive, so in the early days there were plenty of heated discussions and there may have been the odd punch thrown. The key for us has been to focus on
each other’s strengths and ultimately to respect each other.
Many entrepreneurs will say that they started several businesses before they figured out the right one and how to make it work. This is your first business, so what’s the secret?As much as JUCY as a business has been successful to date we have definitelymadeourshareofmistakesalong the way. I think the key is to know when enough is enough, lick your wounds and move on. The lessons learnt can often be worth far more than the investment lost.
Tip for young entrepreneurs:
You don’t need to know everything.
Surround yourself with
people that are smarter than you
and then trust them to get on
and do their job.
Don’t be afraid to fail, if you truly believe in something, follow your gut and give it a go. If it doesn’t work out, make sure you brush it off and take all the learning away with you.
ENTERPRISE MATTERS 27
Tip for young entrepreneurs: If you do decide to start up in a crowded market as we did, you need to make sure that you have a clear point of difference and ultimately deliver customer service that blows the competition out of the water.
Tell us about the JUCY brand, and how you have made it such an important part of your business.We started a company called EZY in Auckland with 35 cars. We soon realised that we were lost in the crowd of 200 other rental companies, and were using a company name that wasn’t unique. Getting a letter from some guy at Easyjet in Europe, threatening various actions on us for using the name Ezy was a further prompt to rethink our name. We sought the advice of a branding
specialist, who said we needed to grow up, stand out and own our brand worldwide. We settled on JUCY. At first,theteamthoughtwehadrocksinour heads, but within a week, they had all totally bought into the idea. It was the best thing we ever did.
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Your brand will appeal to certain people. When students set up their businesses they are encouraged to identify their target market, and test their market. How do you test your market?We worked in the industry before starting JUCY but didn’t really do any market validation when we started, and we lacked the skills to do it. We were hungry and we hustled to get what we wanted. We are still hungry and still hustle,
but with growth you have to do your market validation to understand the game that you are in, and to know the weaknesses of your competitors. We know we are not for everyone, but our target market is best described as people in their 40’s who are young at heart.
Poor communication can be the downfall of many new businesses. How do you make sure communication is working well at JUCY?Good communication is critical in our business. As an entrepreneurial business things move quickly and thereisnothingworsethanstafffindingoutaboutanewproductorofferingthroughthegrapevine,orevenworse from one of our customers. We are using social media more and
more to communicate with our teams, especially as we grow internationally. It amazes us that so many companies ban the use of Facebook and Twitter, because that’s how we communicate.
Embrace social media, sure, the last thing you want is your staff spending all day on Facebook, but rather than simply banning it, create a good policy and then use it to communicate with them.
Become one of your potential
customers and experience what is out there and
how you could improve on that
experience.
ENTERPRISE MATTERS 29
What is the biggest Challenge that you have faced in your business, and that young entrepreneurs will also encounter.Fundingisdefinitelyoursinglebiggest challenge. As a capital intensive business that is growing, we are constantly faced with the challenge of how to fund the next product line or venture. To date we have funded our growth through a mix of shareholder and bank debt. However, with the launch of the US businessin2012,wetookadifferentapproach on how we would fund the growth. Outside of the initial investment in year one, we have worked very hard on funding the business locally, through various means. While it is still a challenge, it isn’t having an impact on the growth of our New Zealand and Australia operations.
Tip for young entrepreneurs:
Don’t be afraid to give a little away
to get the right people and financial support around you.
Tim, you are a recent recipient of a Sir Peter Blake Leadership award. What is your advice to emerging business leaders? Don’tputofftomorrowwhatyoucan do today! Starting a business is a scary thing to do but also can be totally life changing. Dan and I were really lucky that we
got into our business at an early age and at a time when we had very few responsibilities (wives, kids, mortgages etc). We could basically work 100 days straight and not worry about neglecting other responsibilities. Itmightbeadifferentstoryifwe
started in our mid to late 30’s when there is a lot more at stake. ■
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WEBINAR• YES. Writing annual reviews, a guide for students and teachers.
Tuesday 26 August, 4.00-4.45pm - register now.
MONEY WEEKKeep an eye on the Money Week websitetofindourresourcesandeventstaking place in your area. If you are planning an event, please register it on the events section of the website. Please register private events that are happening in your class or school as well – this helps us to know what’s happening out there.
WE’LL SEE YOU THERE:NZPF Conference: 24-26 SeptemberU Learn Conference: 8-10 October
YES NATIONAL AWARDS: Wednesday 10th December.
The ultimate modern learning and teaching conferenceCORE Education invites you to a professional learning conference. Suitable for teachers, school
leaders and facilitators, from ECE to tertiary, ULearn is part of a continuum of sharing best practices and making transformational shifts towards effective modern learning and teaching.
www.events.core-ed.org/ulearn | @ulearnnz | #ulearn14
C O N F E R E N C E S T R A N D S
ULearn registrations are open.Group discounts for staff groups from the same school or organisation.
Modern learning technologiesModern learning practices Modern learning environments
Connected Educator MonthHe whatunga tangata,he whatunga mātanga.
This year, ULearn14 is the springboard for Connected Educator Month, a global initiative that CORE is bringing to New Zealand, with our US and Victorian (Aus.) partners.
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ENTERPRISE MATTERS 31
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