Is access to people or funding holding New Zealand back?

8 August 2017

Our inaugural Suncorp Business Success Index showed that access to people and funding are two of the top four factors that influence success and growth for New Zealand businesses.

Getting quality, reliable staff with the right training who were in line with company culture was a key factor hindering growth, but also an area that could significantly boost a company’s performance when managed well.

But when small businesses are putting their own or their family’s money on the line to ‘bootstrap’ their own funding, is the risk too great to allow for growth?

We asked our panel what they think about the importance of people and funding for business success.

Scientist and entrepreneur Sir Ray Avery said that treating the people you work with like family is a game-changer.

“Across big companies you have fragmentation, but if you can get them all to speak from the same song sheet, believing that they’re part of that family… that family believes they can achieve anything,” says scientist and entrepreneur Sir Ray Avery.

Cecilia Robinson from My Food Bag said the personal and financial pressure of running a small business is often the first hurdle that start-ups need to face, and not to be under-estimated. 

“It’s often a lot harder to run a $5 million dollar business than a $100 million dollar business,” says Cecilia Robinson. “The level of personal sacrifice that’s going into those businesses is so great… when they’re trying to grow and make do, it’s a really hard situation to be in.”

What’s keeping you awake at night? We’d love to hear your thoughts on LinkedIn